New Age Islam News Bureau
07 October 2020
US Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden boards
his campaign plane for travel to Miami, Oct. 5, 2020. (Reuters)
-----
• ISIS Terrorists Known As The 'Beatles' Likely To Be Brought To U.S. In Coming Days
• Oxford University Fellow Says City's Centre for
Islamic Studies Sacked Him for Being Bisexual
• Ulema Belonging To All the Islamic Schools Of
Thought Agree On Code to Promote Peace and Inter-Sect Harmony
• UAE Stresses Return of Hope for Palestinians, Israelis
to Work on Two-State Solution
• Arafat Wanted In On Camp David Accords but Hafez
Assad Threatened Him: Prince Bandar
• Lawyers Walk Out Of Sudan Ex-President Al-Bashir
Trial in Protest
• Allahabad HC Directs Three CJMs, of Lucknow,
Bareilly and Meerut to Hear Cases Against Tablighis
North America
• Biden Hits Out At Turkey, Calls on Erdogan to
Reverse Decision on Hagia Sophia
• ISIS Terrorists Known As The 'Beatles' Likely To Be
Brought To U.S. In Coming Days
• Iran owes family of ex-FBI officer presumed dead
$1.4 billion: US court
• Maximum pressure campaign on Iran to increase in
coming ‘days and weeks’: US official
--------
Europe
• Oxford University Fellow Says City's Centre for
Islamic Studies Sacked Him for Being Bisexual
• Boy, 15, Accused Of Preparing For Isis Inspired
Terror Attack Says He ‘Didn’t Mean’ Martrydom Vows
• Westminster Holocaust memorial would be 'trophy
site' for terrorists
• Nagomo-Karabakh death toll rises to 280 since start
of Armenia, Azerbaijan conflict
• ‘Islamophobic’ Tory councillor escapes punishment
--------
Pakistan
• Ulema Belonging To All the Islamic Schools Of
Thought Agree On Code to Promote Peace and Inter-Sect Harmony
• Imran's 'Naya Pakistan' Rocked By Pashtun, Sindh,
and Baloch Agitations
• Pak govt invokes sedition law against opposition
leaders amid calls for 'political revolution'
• Pakistan urges world not to be selective in fighting
terrorism
• Man acquitted of blasphemy charge after six years
--------
Arab world
• UAE Stresses Return of Hope for Palestinians,
Israelis to Work on Two-State Solution
• UAE’s FM Vows ‘Never Again’ During Holocaust
Memorial Visit with Israeli Counterpart
• Saudi Arabia’s Prince Bandar Bin Sultan Calls out
Palestinian Leaders over Peace Deal
• Lebanon's new government consultations to start Oct.
15: President Aoun
• Oman becomes first Arab country to reinstate
ambassador to Syria
• 17 killed, dozens wounded in bomb attack in
northwest Syria: Reports
• Syria's Assad: Turkey sending militants to Karabakh
after instigating war
• Iran: Chemical arms treaty abused to wrongly accuse
Syrian government
--------
Mideast
• Arafat Wanted In On Camp David Accords but Hafez
Assad Threatened Him: Prince Bandar
• Arab nations adamantly opposed to relations with
Israeli regime, survey shows
• FM Spokesman Calls for Instant Ceasefire in
Nagorno-Karabakh
• Iranian Speaker Urges End to Yerevan-Baku Clashes
• Iran: Six Prisoners Executed at Rajai Shahr Prison
on September 23
• Father of jailed protester commits suicide over
son’s death sentence
• Iran: Juvenile Offender Arman Abdolali Sentenced to
Death despite Lack of Evidence
• Three members of the Association of Iranian Writers
jailed
• Turkey's EU membership bid evaporating due to
government’s actions: Commission
• Israel demolished 166,000 Palestinian homes since
creation: Report
• Muslim scholars, Palestinian factions condemn
normalization deals
• Islamic Jihad: Palestinian resistance can target all
parts of occupied territories
--------
Africa
• Lawyers Walk Out Of Sudan Ex-President Al-Bashir Trial
in Protest
• Morocco arrests four ISIS-linked extremist suspects
• Mali frees over 100 militants seeking hostage swap
--------
India
• Allahabad HC Directs Three CJMs, of Lucknow,
Bareilly and Meerut to Hear Cases Against Tablighis
• Jammu and Kashmir: Two terrorists eliminated in
Sugan Shopian encounter
• PSO, terrorist killed in attack at J&K BJP
worker’s house
• Occupying public place for protests not acceptable:
Supreme Court on petitions on Shaheen Bagh protests
--------
South Asia
• Nearly Two Decades after US Invasion, Afghans Fear
Taliban Return
• Suicide attack in Afghanistan kills 8, Governor
survives
• 10 Afghan Security Members Killed in Two Separate
Incidents
• Taliban Shouldn’t ‘Fear’ the Cease Fire: Ashraf Ghani
• Taliban, Afghan negotiators set ground rules to
continue peace talks: Sources
--------
Southeast Asia
• Malaysian Muslim MP Unrepentant Over 'Corrupted
Bible' Claim
• Najib defends religious affairs minister, criticises
Putrajaya, PH
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/biden-hits-turkey-calls-erdogan/d/123069
--------
Biden hits out at Turkey, calls on Erdogan to reverse decision on Hagia Sophia
Joseph Haboush
06 October 2020
US Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden boards
his campaign plane for travel to Miami, Oct. 5, 2020. (Reuters)
-----
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden called on the Trump administration to “press” Turkey to stop its threats against Greece and said Turkey needed to reverse the decision to convert the Hagia Sophia to a mosque.
“The Trump administration must press Turkey to refrain
from any further provocative actions in the region against Greece, including
threats of force, to create the space for diplomacy to succeed. I also call on
Turkish President Erdogan to reverse his recent decision to convert the Hagia
Sophia to a mosque and to return this treasure to its former status as a
museum, ensuring equal access for all, including the Orthodox faithful,” a
statement from Biden said.
For all the latest headlines, follow our Google News
channel online or via the app.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan joined hundreds
of worshipers on July 24 for the first Muslim prayers in 86 years inside Hagia
Sophia, the Istanbul landmark that served as one of Christendom’s most
significant cathedrals, a mosque and a museum before its conversion back into a
Muslim place of worship.
Brushing aside international criticism, Erdogan issued
a decree restoring the iconic building as a mosque, shortly after a Turkish
high court ruled that the Hagia Sophia had been illegally made into a museum
more than eight decades ago.
Erdogan pressed ahead with his provocative behavior
despite warnings from the international community.
Greece has accused Turkey of violating its sovereignty
by pushing ahead with natural gas exploration activities in disputed waters
southwest of Cyprus. Both countries deployed naval warships to the area in
shows of force, elevating concerns over a possible clash.
Read more: Turkey pushing ahead with its agenda,
risking the wrath of US, EU sanctions
But NATO officials have stepped in along with the
European Union to reduce tensions.
On Tuesday, Biden applauded the work of NATO Secretary-General
Jens Stoltenberg, European allies and the US administration to defuse tensions
in the eastern Mediterranean. “Disagreements in the region should be resolved
peacefully, and the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries must
be respected and protected,” Biden said.
Meanwhile, the former vice president praised the
recent decision to “finally end the counterproductive embargo on nonlethal
security assistance for Cyprus, which is a strategic partner for the United
States.”
Turkey criticized the US after last month’s move
announced by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that Washington would lift a
33-year arms embargo on Cyprus and deepen its security cooperation with
Nicosia.
Turkey invaded Cyprus in 1974 in response to a coup
engineered by the then-military regime in Athens, which sought to unite the
island with Greece.
The island has remained largely peaceful in the
ensuing decades, with Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders working to
build ties in recent years.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/world/2020/10/06/Biden-hits-out-at-Turkey-calls-on-Erdogan-to-reverse-decision-on-Hagia-Sophia
--------
ISIS Terrorists Known As The 'Beatles' Likely To Be
Brought To U.S. In Coming Days
Oct. 6, 2020
Full interview with Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee
Elsheikh 42:12
-----
Two of the British Islamic State terrorists dubbed the
"Beatles," accused of involvement in the murders of U.S. hostages in
Syria, are likely to be brought to the United States in mid-October, according
to two government officials.
The men, Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh, who
are being held in U.S. military custody in Iraq, are accused of taking part in
the kidnappings of international hostages, including U.S. aid workers Kayla
Mueller and Peter Kassig and U.S. journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff.
Kotey and Elsheikh admitted their involvement in the
captivity of Mueller for the first time in an interview obtained exclusively by
NBC News, which aired in July. Mueller was tortured and sexually abused before
her death in 2015.
In the interview, the men also admitted for the first time
to having beaten Foley, who was beheaded on camera by the leader of the
so-called Beatles, Mohammed Emwazi, who was killed by Hellfire missiles fired
from a CIA drone in 2015.
The hostages nicknamed Emwazi, Kotey and Elsheikh the
Beatles by because of their British accents. The fourth Beatle, Aine Lesley
Davis, was sentenced to 7½ years in prison in Turkey in 2017.
U.S. and British authorities say the men were
responsible for 27 killings, including the beheadings of Foley, Sotloff and
Kassig, as well as of British aid workers David Haines and Alan Henning.
Kotey and Elsheikh have denied involvement in the
killings and torture in previous interviews, describing themselves as
"liaisons" between the hostages and more senior members of ISIS like
Emwazi
In the interviews obtained by NBC News, Kotey and
Elsheikh gave new incriminating details about Mueller's time in captivity.
"I took an email from her myself," Elsheikh
said, meaning he got an email address ISIS could use to demand ransom from the
family. "She was in a large room, it was dark and she was alone, and ...
she was very scared."
In an email reviewed by NBC News, ISIS demanded that
the Muellers pay 5 million euros and threatened that if the demands weren't
met, they would send the family "a picture of Kayla's dead body."
Captured by Kurdish forces in 2018, Kotey and Elsheikh
were turned over to U.S. troops last year and have been in U.S. military
custody in Iraq amid questions over how and when they will face justice. U.S.
prosecutors in the Eastern District of Virginia have been investigating the
case. U.K. authorities have investigated, as well.
The families of the Americans killed by ISIS have been
pushing for the prosecution of the two men in the U.S. because they would face
longer sentences than if they were tried in the U.K. British authorities
revoked their U.K. citizenship after they were found to have joined ISIS.
The transfer to the criminal justice system for trial
in the U.S. had been held up by legal proceedings in the U.K. that had barred
British authorities from transferring evidence to U.S. prosecutors over
concerns about possible death sentences for the two men. After Attorney General
William Barr promised to take the death penalty off the table in August, a U.K.
judge lifted the ban on sharing information, paving the way for prosecution in
the U.S.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/isis-terrorists-known-beatles-likely-be-brought-u-s-coming-n1242176?utm_source=iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=1587190_
--------
Oxford
University Fellow Says City's Centre for Islamic Studies Sacked Him for Being
Bisexual
7
October 2020
Dr
Kevin Fogg, 37, who is an expert in the history of Islam in south-east Asia,
will face the center in an employment tribunal due to begin next week
-----
An
Oxford University fellow believes he was unfairly dismissed from his role as an
academic for being bisexual, as he 'did not comply with the preferences' of the
centre's major Saudi funders.
Dr
Kevin Fogg, 37, from Virginia, U.S, was dismissed from his role at The Oxford
Centre for Islamic Studies in 2018 after five years as a research fellow, he
argues this was due to his age and sexual orientation.
The
centre, which is dedicated to the study of all aspects of Islamic culture,
civilization and contemporary Muslim societies, receives funding from a number
of states including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Malaysia, and the United Arab
Emirates - where homosexuality is illegal.
Dr
Fogg believes that the preferences of the centre's board of trustees which
includes Saudi Arabia's Prince Turki Al-Faisal and Malaysia's Sultan Nazrin
Shah, sultan of Perak, influenced the decision to dismiss him.
Dr
Fogg, who is an expert in the history of Islam in south-east Asia, will face
the centre in an employment tribunal due to begin next week.
He
told The Daily Telegraph: 'As a homo- sexually partnered bisexual man, I do not
comply with the preferences of the centre's major funders.
'The
leadership made several references to my age, which I believe to have been
coded language equivalent to call- ing me a 'confirmed bachelor'.
He
added that he felt the centre was intolerant towards 'non-heterosexual
lifestyles' and that his dismissal had been detrimental to his mental health.
The
centre dismissed the claims, telling The Daily Telegraph that Dr Fogg's
allegations had 'no basis in fact'.
A
spokesman for the centre told the publication that Mr Fogg had been employed on
a five-year academic fellowship which had come to an end after being extended
for a further year, and said that the fellow 'has been treated very well'.
MailOnline
has contacted The Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies for comment.
The
centre is a recognised independent centre of the University of Oxford.
Mr
Fogg is now Associate Director of the Carolina Asia Center at the University of
North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina, U.S.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8812787/Oxford-University-fellow-says-dismissed-role-academic-bisexual.html
--------
Ulema
Belonging To All the Islamic Schools Of Thought Agree On Code To Promote Peace
And Inter-Sect Harmony
October
07, 2020
ISLAMABAD:
Religious
scholars belonging to all the various Islamic schools of thought have agreed on
a 20-point code of conduct to promote peace and inter-sect harmony in the
country.
This
code of conduct – signed by over a dozen religious scholars as well as the
Federal Minister for Inter-faith Harmony Noorul Haq Qadri and the Council of
Islamic Ideology (CCI) Chairman Dr Qibla Ayaz – was drafted in the
Paigham-e-Pakistan Conference organized by the CCI on Tuesday.
The
Paigham-e-Pakistan was a fatwa sought by the government of Pakistan in 2018 to
counter terrorism. It was prepared by the International Islamic University and
signed by 1,800 religious scholars of Pakistan.
The
code of conduct agreed upon on Tuesday urged the government to ensure
protection of non-Muslims and to promote interfaith harmony by banning airing
of controversial speeches on TV, print and electronic media.
It
said it is obligatory on every citizen to recognize and accept the Constitution
of Pakistan and fulfill their oath of loyalty to the state.
“All
citizens should ensure implementation of all basic rights of the people
enshrined in the Constitution that pertain to social and political lives,
freedom of expression, right to worship and religious beliefs etc.
“The
protection of the Islamic identity of the Constitution should be guaranteed. It
is the right of every citizen to strive peacefully for the implementation of
Sharia laws in the country.”
The
code said armed struggle against the state and spreading chaos in the name of
religion should be considered an act of rebellion. Such acts, it said, are
against the spirit of Islam and no individual has the right to declare any
person, government or state institution an infidel.
It
is necessary for ulemas, scholars and citizens to support state institutions,
especially those tasked with enforcing law and order so that terrorism can be
rooted out from society and every individual should abstain from joining any
anti-state movement that focuses on ethnic, religious and sectarian issues.
“No
person should spread inter sect hatred or engage in inter sect armed conflicts.
He should also not impose his ideals upon another person. “
It
said private, government and religious educational institutions should neither
train nor provide knowledge relating to militancy, hatred and extremism to
students.
“Strict
action, based on solid evidence and proof, will be taken against such
institutions or elements found involved in these practices,” it added.
According
to the code, strict action will be taken against any elements found promoting
extremism, sectarian hatred and torture, regardless of which organization or
belief they belong to.
All
sects belonging to Islam have the right to propagate their message but no one
will be allowed to utter any sentence which promotes hate against any person,
institution or organization.
It
said no one will be allowed to insult the Holy Prophet (PBUH), the righteous
caliphs (RA), the prophet’s family members (AS), the prophet’s companions (RA)
and the prophet’s respected wives (RA).
It,
however, clarified that a person or group will neither be allowed to take the
law into their hands nor obstruct the investigation or prosecution of cases
pertaining to blasphemy cases.
It
said it is the prerogative of the courts to decide who is guilty of an act of
kufr. The definition of a Muslim, as mentioned in the Constitution, will remain
the same.
No
person will commit acts of terrorism and neither provide training to
terrorists. He will neither be involved in any terrorist activities nor include
militants into his organisation.
“Religious,
public and private educational institutions will accommodate the differences of
opinion of various Islamic schools of thought in their syllabi as religious
institutions are the best places where ideological differences can be studied
and investigated.”
It
said all Muslim citizens and government officials will carry out their duties
based on the laws of Islam and the Constitution and Islamic knowledge regarding
the rights of the elderly, women, children and the differently-abled will be
provided at every level.
The
code said it is the right of the non-Muslim citizens of Pakistan to practice
their religious activities according to their beliefs. It said Islam protects
the rights of women and no person is allowed to snatch their rights of
employment, vote and education from women.
“People
should abstain from committing acts such as marrying women to the Holy Quran,
honour killings, karo kari, vani and other similar practices as these are
against the teachings of Islam.”
It
said no person will use the mosque pulpits, imam bargahs or majalis to make
speeches or issue controversial statements that promote inter sect hatred.
Controversial statements on sectarian issues should be avoided on print,
electronic and social media.
“Freedom
of expression operates within the Constitution and the laws of Islam, hence no
programme should be aired on media that promote sectarian hatred or damages
Pakistan's Islamic identity.”
https://tribune.com.pk/story/2267230/ulema-agree-on-code-for-inter-sect-harmony
--------
UAE
stresses return of hope for Palestinians, Israelis to work on two-state
solution
06
October 2020
The
UAE’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed said on Tuesday
that it was most important to stress the “return of hope” for Palestinians and
Israelis to work towards achieving the two-state solution, state news agency
WAM reported.
Sheikh
Abdullah was speaking during a joint press conference with his Israeli
counterpart Gabi Ashkenazi and German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas in Berlin,
after the three of them visited the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe.
“The
most important thing that must be emphasized today is the return of hope for
Palestinians and Israelis to work on the two-state solution and for a brighter
future for the children of the region,” Sheikh Abdullah said.
The
UAE normalized ties with Israel after a US-brokered deal which was announced at
the White House on August 13 and signed in Washington on September 15.
The
UAE agreed to normalize relations with Israel, while Israel agreed to continue
with plans to suspend its annexation of the West Bank. The UAE also abolished
on August 29 a previous law that mandated an economic boycott of Israel.
Sheikh
Abdullah said that the Middle East has entered a new safer and more prosperous
era after the signing of the deal.
"Today,
I discussed with my colleague Gabi Ashkenazi a set of proposals and ideas,
perhaps most notably the cooperation in the field of energy and the Fourth
Industrial Revolution. This takes into account the fact that cooperation in
research and development could represent a step towards a more stable,
integrated and prosperous Middle East."
“The
agreement changes the traditional thinking of how to address the challenges of
our region, while focusing on practical steps with tangible results,” he added.
“We
in the UAE are looking forward to opening more new horizons of cooperation to
achieve peace and to the economic opportunities that will be created in the
region... We will work together to benefit from our world-class capabilities in
the sectors of research and development in order to meet the needs of current
and future generations.”
“I
emphasize the availability of opportunities in our region to expand and
strengthen our cooperation in various sectors, such as food security, energy
and technology," Sheikh Abdullah added.
The
minister said that the UAE, Germany and Israel have the shared interest of
“preserving regional stability within the framework of a peaceful international
order, governed by cooperation and stability.”
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/gulf/2020/10/07/UAE-stresses-return-of-hope-for-Palestinians-Israelis-to-work-on-two-state-solution
--------
Arafat
wanted in on Camp David Accords but Hafez Assad threatened him: Prince Bandar
Ismaeel
Naar and Omar Elkatouri
06
October 2020
Late
Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat wanted to sign the Camp David Accords but
Syria’s Hafez al-Assad had threatened to assassinate him, Saudi Arabia’s Prince
Bandar bin Sultan recounts during an exclusive sit-down interview with Al
Arabiya.
“After
the Oslo Accord, I asked Abu Ammar, God rest his soul - and as they say
remember the virtues of your dead - what he thought of the autonomy provisions
in the Camp David Accords,” Prince Bandar bin Sultan, Saudi Arabia’s former
ambassador to the US recalled.
For
all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
“He
said, ‘Bandar, Camp David’s autonomy provisions were ten times better than the
Oslo Accord. I said, ‘Well, Mr. President, why did you not agree to it?’ He
said, ‘I wanted to, but Hafez al-Assad threatened to kill me and to drive a
wedge among the Palestinians, turning them against me,’” Prince Bandar bin
Sultan said quoting Arafat.
Israel’s
Menachem Begin and Egypt’s Anwar Sadat agreed in 1978 on a framework for
regional peace that calls for an Israeli withdrawal in stages from Egypt’s
Sinai and a transitional Palestinian government in the West Bank and Gaza in
what came to be known as the Camp David Accords.
Prince
Bandar bin Sultan told Al Arabiya he wondered how history would have been written
otherwise had Arafat signed the Camp David Accords at the time.
“I
thought to myself, so he could have been one martyr and given his life to save
millions of Palestinians, but it was as God willed it,” he said.
Prince
Bandar’s statements came during the first part of a three-episode exclusive
interview with Al Arabiya in which he discusses Saudi Arabia's position on the
Palestinian cause, calling out the Palestinian leadership for its historical
and ongoing “failures,” including its criticism of Gulf states following the
UAE-Israel peace deal.
Prince
Bandar is Saudi Arabia’s former ambassador to the US and served as director
general of the Saudi Intelligence Agency from 2012 to 2014 and the head of the
National Security Council from 2005 to 2015.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/features/2020/10/06/Arafat-wanted-in-on-Camp-David-Accords-but-Hafez-Assad-threatened-him-Prince-Bandar
--------
Lawyers
walk out of Sudan ex-President al-Bashir trial in protest
06
October 2020
Most
lawyers for Sudan’s ousted president Omar al-Bashir and other defendants walked
out of his trial over a 1989 coup in protest at alleged bias on the part of the
prosecutor general.
Dozens
of lawyers, in a hearing broadcast on Sudanese television, left the courtroom
after the prosecutor, Tagelsir al-Hebr, read out the charges.
Al-Bashir
and the 27 others face accusations of undermining constitutional order and use
of military force to commit a crime, Hebr said.
For
all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
Defense
lawyer Abdelbasit Sebdarat said that Hebr had made the same accusations even
before taking up the post of public prosecutor.
“He
lodged these complaints as an ordinary citizen. Now, as he is prosecutor
general, we object to him reciting the charges,” the lawyer said.
Presiding
judge Essam Ibrahim responded that “whoever wants to leave, they can,” and
adjourned the trial to October 20.
The
28 defendants stand accused of plotting the 1989 Islamist-backed military coup
that brought al-Bashir to power.
Proceedings
have been repeatedly delayed, with Tuesday’s hearing the sixth since the trial
opened in July.
Al-Bashir
ruled with an iron fist for 30 years until his overthrow on April 11, 2019
following unprecedented youth-led street demonstrations.
If
convicted, al-Bashir and his co-accused - including former top officials -
could face the death penalty.
Al-Bashir
is also wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on charges of genocide
and crimes against humanity in the western region of Darfur.
The
United Nations estimates 300,000 people were killed and 2.5 million displaced
in the conflict since 2003.
Sudan’s
transitional government has agreed that al-Bashir would stand trial before the
ICC.
However,
in an August peace deal with rebels, the government agreed to set up a special
court for crimes in Darfur and that al-Bashir should also face that court.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2020/10/06/Lawyers-walk-out-of-Sudan-ex-President-al-Bashir-trial-in-protest-
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Allahabad
HC Directs Three CJMs, of Lucknow, Bareilly and Meerut to Hear Cases Against
Tablighis
By
Sameer
6th
October 2020
Allahabad:
Allahabad High Court directed three Chief Judicial Magistrates (CJMs) of
Lucknow, Bareilly and Meerut to hear the cases against Tablighis.
A
division bench comprising Justices Shashi Kant Gupta and Shamim Ahmed passed an
order that the three CJMs should not only hear all the cases against the
Tablighis but also make decisions within eight weeks. It said that the hearing
can be done through video-conferencing.
Transfer
of cases
It
also directed the Chief Secretary of the State to transfer the cases.
Cases
pending in Kanpur, Gorakhpur, Prayagraj, Varanasi and Lucknow Zones should be
transferred to the Lucknow CJM whereas, cases in Agra and Meerut zones should
be handled by CJM, Meerut. CJM, Bareilly will hear the cases pending in
Bareilly Zone.
The
cases have to be transferred within two weeks of the filling of order. The
order was filled on 30th September.
Petition
In
the petition heard by Allahabad HC it was mentioned that accused are facing
logistic difficulties due to cases pending in different courts. It was also
alleged that the bail conditions imposed by various court were not uniform.
In
the entire state, a total 188 cases were lodged against Tablighis. Out of 188,
15 cases that were registered at Sultanpur, Meerut and Jaunpur were decided by
the magistrates.
https://www.siasat.com/allahabad-hc-directs-three-cjms-to-hear-cases-against-tablighis-1992209/
--------
North America
Iran
owes family of ex-FBI officer presumed dead $1.4 billion: US court
06
October 2020
A
US judge has ordered Iran to pay $1.45 billion to the family of a former FBI
agent believed to have been kidnapped by the Islamic Republic while on an
unauthorized CIA mission to an Iranian island in 2007.
The
judgment this month comes after Robert Levinson’s family and the US government
now believe he died in the Iranian government’s custody, something long denied
by Tehran, though officials over time have offered contradictory accounts about
what happened to him on Kish Island.
Tensions
remain high between the US and Iran amid President Donald Trump’s maximalist
pressure campaign over Tehran’s nuclear program. And though the US and Iran
haven’t had diplomatic relations since the aftermath of the 1979 US Embassy
hostage crisis in Tehran, America stills holds billions of dollars in frozen
Iranian assets that could be used to pay Levinson’s family.
For
all the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
In
a ruling dated Thursday, the US District Court in Washington found Iran owed
Levinson’s family $1.35 billion in punitive damages and $107 million in
compensatory damages for his kidnapping. The court cited the case of Otto
Warmbier, an American college student who died in 2017 shortly after being
freed from captivity in North Korea, in deciding to award the massive amount of
punitive damages to Levinson’s family.
“Iran’s
conduct here is also unique, given that – astonishingly – it plucked a former
FBI and DEA special agent from the face of the earth without warning, tortured
him, held him captive for as long as 13 years, and to this day refuses to admit
its responsibility,” the ruling by Judge Timothy J. Kelly said.
“And
his wife and children, and their spouses and children – while keeping
Levinson’s memory alive – have had to proceed with their lives without knowing
his exact fate. These are surely acts worthy of the gravest condemnation,” the
judge added.
Iranian
state media and officials in Tehran did not immediately acknowledge the ruling
in a case in which Iran offered no defense. Iran’s mission to the United
Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday from The
Associated Press.
In
a statement, Levinson’s family called the court’s award “the first step in the
pursuit of justice.”
“Until
now, Iran has faced no consequences for its actions,” the family said. “Judge
Kelly’s decision won’t bring Bob home, but we hope that it will serve as a
warning against further hostage taking by Iran.”
Levinson
disappeared from Iran’s Kish Island on March 9, 2007. For years, US officials
would only say that Levinson, a meticulous FBI investigator credited with
busting Russian and Italian mobsters, was working for a private firm on his trip.
In
December 2013, the AP revealed Levinson in fact had been on a mission for CIA
analysts who had no authority to run spy operations. Levinson’s family had
received a $2.5 million annuity from the CIA in order to stop a lawsuit
revealing details of his work, while the agency forced out three veteran
analysts and disciplined seven others.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2020/10/06/Iran-owes-family-of-ex-FBI-officer-presumed-dead-1-4-billion-US-court
--------
Maximum
pressure campaign on Iran to increase in coming ‘days and weeks’: US official
Joseph
Haboush
05
October 2020
The
United States will increase its maximum pressure campaign on Iran “in the
coming days and weeks,” a senior US diplomat said Monday.
“The
pressure has never been like this. And we will keep it going, and we will
increase it, as you’ll see, in the coming days and weeks,” US Special
Representative for Iran Elliott Abrams told CNN.
For
all the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
Abrams
said, regardless of who the US president was after the November presidential
elections, the Iranians would be ready to enter into negotiations for a new
deal because “they can’t take four more years of this.”
“I
think the pressure will have achieved its goals if they [Iran] see that we're
ready to keep it going,” the veteran US diplomat said, adding that the maximum
pressure campaign has had an “enormous” impact on Iran.
He
pointed to the Iranian economy and tumbling currency in Tehran as a result of the
sanctions.
“Previous
sanctions were nothing like what we have now. There’s never been this kind of
pressure,” Abrams said.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2020/10/05/Maximum-pressure-campaign-on-Iran-to-increase-in-coming-days-and-weeks-US-official
--------
Europe
Boy,
15, accused of preparing for Isis inspired terror attack says he ‘didn’t mean’
martrydom vows
Lizzie
Dearden
07
October 2020
A
boy accused of preparing for an Isis-inspired terror attack when he was 14
years old has said he did not mean what he said in a series of extremist
videos.
The
teenager, who cannot be named because of his age, said he had learned Islamist
terminology from the dark comedy film Four Lions.
Giving
evidence at Leicester Crown Court on Monday, he called videos where he claimed
he would “carry out jihad” evil, adding: "I don't mean what I said."
The
defendant allegedly tried to create “bottle bombs” and filmed himself setting
out his wish to become a martyr and teaching others how to carry out their own
attacks.
While
being questioned by defence barrister Mary Prior QC on Monday, he denied
planning to kill anyone or be martyred while “carrying out jihad”.
He
said he had learned to make “bottle bombs” from a YouTube video and had picked
up the term “kuffar”, to refer to non-Muslims, from the film Four Lions.
Questioning
the teenager on his behaviour as a whole, Ms Prior said: “Why are you doing
this?”
"I
don't really know," the schoolboy replied, adding that he was upset by
watching the “nasty” videos he made.
He
is charged with preparing acts of terrorism after rapidly developing “extreme
views” associated with Isis at the start of the year.
Opening
the prosecution case, Anne Whyte QC said the boy had researched how to make
different kinds of potentially deadly devices and had been experimenting with
the idea of using shrapnel.
"This
is an unusual case and it concerns the activities of a young person who, we
will be suggesting, felt isolated and angry about his personal circumstances,”
she added.
“In
summary, it is said that, even though he was young, he had developed extremist
views, radical views, associated with the terrorist organisation Islamic State.
This probably happened in early 2020.”
The
court heard that the boy carried out experiments in his bedroom in Eastleigh,
Hampshire.
Officers
who searched his home found the boy had put components and weapons inside a
wardrobe fitted with an alarm system.
The
teenager also allegedly possessed diagrams relating to improvised explosive
devices, switches and detonators.
It
is also alleged the defendant had researched and made basic drawings of a “dead
man's switch”, which enable bombers to detonate devices after being shot by
police or incapacitated.
The
court heard that he told a social worker he had converted to Islam in May, but
that his online activity suggested it occurred several months before.
The
boy is accused of creating a note on his iPhone in February, which was later
deleted, calling for Muslims to follow Sharia law and calling Western culture a
“cancerous tumour”.
The
note said Isis would “rise again stronger” after its territorial defeat in
Syria and Iraq, and “rape” the countries involved in fighting the terrorist
group.
It
called women “tools, an object to be used a sex slave” and lashed out at
homosexuality, calling for the “extinction of the western race”.
Other
notes referred to the former Isis leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, and the court
heard the boy had searched online for official Isis propaganda outlets.
The
teenager denies one count of preparing acts of terrorism. The trial continues.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/terror-attacks-plots-uk-isis-boy-eastleigh-court-bombs-martrydom-vow-b812385.html?utm_source=iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=1587190_
--------
Westminster
Holocaust memorial would be 'trophy site' for terrorists
6
October 2020
Plans
for a Holocaust memorial next to Parliament would create a "trophy
site" for terrorists, the former independent reviewer of terror laws has
warned.
The
memorial has been proposed for Victoria Tower Gardens on Millbank.
But
a planning inquiry has been told by Lord Carlile that the landmark would be a
"self-evident terrorism risk".
The
Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) said it was
confident the site would be secure.
The
plan was previously rejected by Westminster City Council, but the final
decision will be made by the government following the public inquiry.
However,
the plans have significant support from more than 170 MPs and peers, including
Housing and Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick.
And
last week, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer told the Jewish Chronicle the memorial
was "vital" in order to educate future generations about the
Holocaust.
An
online planning inquiry into the plans began on Tuesday
In
his written evidence to the inquiry, Lord Carlile said: "From my extensive
experience of observing, analysing and discussing terrorism issues with
front-line practitioners, I have absolutely no doubt that the proposed site
raises a clear - indeed self-evident - terrorism risk.
"I
give this warning with regret, but with total conviction. This would be a
threat to the public, and also a potential threat to Parliament."
The
project features 23 large bronze fin structures and an underground learning
centre.
It
was announced in 2016 by then Prime Minister David Cameron, who said it would
be dedicated to the six million Jewish men, women and children and other
victims murdered by the Nazis.
However,
several senior Jewish figures have also voiced their opposition to the location
of the memorial, while the Royal Parks said it would have a "significant
harmful impact" on the area.
Lord
Carlile QC said the issue was personal to him.
"I
have a strong interest in this," he told the BBC.
"Many
of my close relatives were exterminated in the Holocaust. My half-sister's
mother was murdered in Auschwitz.
"I
am absolutely determined that this should be remembered properly. I just feel
that this isn't the right place for it."
He
added: "I know - indeed I believe everybody knows - that the Houses of
Parliament are an iconic target for terrorists.
"This
site is cheek by jowl with the Houses of Parliament.
"This
site would also be, potentially, a target for right-wing extremists. It seems
to be foolish for these two iconic places to be on the same broad site."
He
added: "International terrorists usually want to make a splash. Having a
site which combines the Houses of Parliament and the new British Holocaust
memorial seems to me to be asking for trouble."
A
spokesman for the MHCLG said: "We are fully aware of the security
implications associated with this site and we have been advised on measures to
mitigate risks.
"The
memorial will stand as a reminder to all in parliament, and the whole nation,
of our responsibility to remain vigilant against intolerance and bigotry."
In
addition to Lord Carlile's security concerns, a group of 42 Holocaust academics
raised concerns that the centre would portray Britain as "the ultimate
saviour of the Jews".
In
a joint letter to the inquiry led by Dr Hannah Holtschneider of the University
of Edinburgh, they said: "Situating the UK Holocaust memorial next to the
Houses of Parliament is likely to create a celebratory narrative of the British
government's responses to the Jewish catastrophe during the Nazi era and
beyond."
'Wholehearted
support'
The
project has government backing as well as support from the opposition benches.
Sir
Keir told the Jewish Chronicle: "The fight against intolerance and
prejudice in our society, and the stain of anti-Semitism, goes on.
"So
I offer my wholehearted support to the Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre
and its placement next to the heart of our democracy."
Communities
Secretary Mr Jenrick said in February the government remained "implacably
committed" to the construction of the memorial.
He
said it would ensure "future generations never forget".
Karen
Pollock, chief executive of the Holocaust Educational Trust, said the project
was important to preserve the stories of survivors of the Holocaust as well as
the stories of the six million "whose voices we will never hear".
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-54428099?utm_source=iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=1587190_
--------
Nagomo-Karabakh
death toll rises to 280 since start of Armenia, Azerbaijan conflict
07
October 2020
The
defense ministry of the Nagorno-Karabakh region said on Wednesday it had
recorded another 40 casualties among its military, pushing the military death
toll to 280 since fighting with Azeri forces erupted on Sept. 27, the Interfax
news agency reported.
The
region has seen the deadliest fighting in more than 25 years between ethnic
Armenian and Azeri forces.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/world/2020/10/07/Nagomo-Karabakh-death-toll-rises-to-280-since-start-of-Armenia-Azerbaijan-conflict
--------
‘Islamophobic’
Tory councilor escapes punishment
06
October 2020
A
Conservative Party councilor who was accused of making Islamophobic comments on
social media has escaped any form of sanction over her behavior.
Dorset
Tory councilor, Beverley Dunlop, made a series of inflammatory posts in two
different Facebook groups attacking Muslims and their way of life.
In
one post Dunlop suggested banning mosques in the UK by way of effectively
rooting out institutional expressions of Islam in the British Isles.
In
another post she said [Islamic] “fundamentalists” were “hiding in plain sight
in the Muslim community” and that this would not change “until they are
frightened of the British government (because they and their families might get
deported) than they are Isis [Daesh]”.
However,
a supposedly “independent” investigation has concluded that Dunlop did not
breach the council’s “code of conduct”.
According
to lead investigator, Tim Darsley, Dunlop had been acting in a “personal
capacity” as opposed to an “elected official” when she posted the comments on
social media.
A
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council standards committee is expected to
be asked to accept Darsley’s findings.
Dunlop’s
prejudiced views came to light after a dossier containing Islamophic comments
made by several Tory councilors was sent to the Guardian (November 12, 2019).
The
decision not to punish Dunlop has been sharply criticized by Bournemouth
University lecturer, Osman Ahmed, who made a formal complaint against the Tory
to the council last November.
According
to Ahmed, Dunlop’s comments have brought the council into “disrepute” and she
ought to be “removed from her position”.
"Religion
is a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010, and expressing
disrespectful, ignorant, and frankly hateful views such as these [Dunlop’s] is
wholly incompatible with a councilor holding public office”, Ahmed added.
Official
denials notwithstanding, the Conservative Party has been struggling with
Islamophobia-related issues for years.
Earlier
this year the Muslim Council of Britain published a research document setting
out the depth and breadth of Islamophoba among the Tory rank and file.
In
November 2019, Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, backtracked from his earlier
promise of holding an independent inquiry into Islamophobia in the Tory Party.
Instead,
the PM called for a “general investigation into prejudice of all kinds”. Nearly
a year later no reported progress has been made in relation to this “general
investigation”.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/10/06/635781/UK-Tory-Party-Islamophobia-Dorset-Councilor-Dunlop
--------
Pakistan
Imran's
'Naya Pakistan' Rocked By Pashtun, Sindh, and Baloch Agitations
Oct
6, 2020
NEW
DELHI: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's 'Naya Pakistan' is disintegrating
both as a concept and country. In just the last few days, three different
regions of Pakistan are up in arms against the army-supported Khan government.
The
Pashtuns are angry over the filing of terrorism charges against the parents of
human rights activist Gulalai Ismail, who had fled to the United States; people
in Sindh are protesting the Khan government's presidential ordinance to take
over their islands; Balochistan activists converged in Canada to mark their
protest against human rights violations against the Baloch people by the
Pakistani government.
When
Khan had coined the term Naya Pakistan in 2017, it conjured among the people
much hope, optimism and a vision for Pakistan. After all, Khan was a
celebrated, successful international cricketer. The people of a beleaguered
country expected Khan to play another resounding knock in his political
innings. However, two years later Khan is a jaded politician and Naya Pakistan
a poor carbon copy of purana Pakistan with public dissatisfaction rife across
the country.
The
world is currently looking at how Pakistan has framed terrorism charges against
the elderly parents of activist Ismail, who had fled to the US in September
2019 after the country had leveled treason charges against her. Embarrassed at
her fleeing the country from right under their noses, a Pakistani
anti-terrorism court has charged her parents-retired university professor
Mohammad Ismail and his wife-of involvement in terror attacks in 2013 and 2015.
Gulalai
is an activist of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) which is campaigning for
Pashtun human rights and highlighting Pakistani atrocities against them.
Gulalai, an award-winning activist, was on the right side of the Pakistani
establishment for her vocal criticism of the Taliban for its terror. However,
once she began to highlight the Pakistani military and intelligence-the forces
behind the rise of the Taliban-she found herself into their crosshairs. Now,
Pakistan is terrorizing her parents.
Veteran
US diplomat Alice Wells had shared her concerns about Gulalai's family in a
tweet: "We are concerned by reports of the continued harassment of Gulalai
Ismail's family, and her father's detention today. We encourage Pakistan to
uphold citizens' rights to peaceful assembly, expression, and due process."
Stung
by the harassment of Gulalai's parents, Pashtun groups are running a
pro-Gulalai campaign-#WeStandWithGulalaiFamily. Separately, young Pashtuns have
been running a prolonged campaign against the Khan government's
shenanigans-abductions and disappearances, internal displacement and military
operations by the security forces. The elders of the community have also been
holding rallies asking the government to rehabilitate the displaced people and
rein in the Taliban.
Unrest
continues from Pakistan's north-western region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to the
vast south-western region of Balochistan.
Some
of the biggest names in the Balochistan movement converged in Toronto, Canada,
on Sunday to protest against the human rights violations by the Pakistani government.
Writer Tarek Fatah, Baloch activist Karima Baloch, Human Rights Council of
Balochistan's Lateef Johar and other leaders held a rally to remember the
disappearance of activist Shabir Baloch who had been kidnapped by Pakistani
authorities in October 2016.
The
protest, called #ReleaseShabirBaloch, demanded that Pakistan provide liberties
and restore human rights for the people in the regions of Balochistan, Sindh
and Khyber Pakhtunwa. Besides the denial of rights and dignity, the Baloch
people also allege economic exploitation at the hands of Pakistan which they
say is colluding with China to take away the mineral resources from Balochistan
through the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
The
Baloch activists have also highlighted the activities of the secretive death
squads, allegedly established by the Pakistani government and the Army, in
Balochistan to murder and kidnap people who seek better socio-economic
conditions for one of Pakistan's most deprived regions.
This
large-scale disaffection across vast regions of Pakistan has taken over the
eastern province of Sindh as well.
The
Khan government's presidential ordinance to establish the Pakistan Islands
Development Authority has ignited Sindh where people feel that the central
government is trying to encroach over private land. The Pakistan Islands
Development Authority ordinance has brought together the main opposition party,
the PPP, civil society organizations, activists and intellectuals with none
taking kindly to the proposal.
The
ordinance seeks to bring urban development to islands by constructing mega
cities on them. Human rights activist I.A. Rehman told Pakistani newspaper The
Express Tribune that the islands are the property of the people. "You
cannot take them without their consultation. Any takeover of the islands will
be against the country." The ordinance has given rise to fears that
different kinds of indigenous people including fishermen will be affected if
the government takes over the numerous islands.
With
most of Pakistan protesting against the Imran Khan government for poor
governance, misrule and human rights violations, the dream of Naya Pakistan,
remains just that-a dream while Khan himself joins a long list of failed
leaders delivering empty promises.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/imrans-naya-pakistan-rocked-by-pashtun-sindh-baloch-agitations/articleshow/78510844.cms
--------
Pak
govt invokes sedition law against opposition leaders amid calls for 'political
revolution'
Oct
6, 2020
ISLAMABAD:
As opposition parties in Pakistan form a united front for a "political
revolution" to "bring law and order" in the country, the Imran
Khan-led government has launched multiple crackdowns against opposition leaders
using sedition law.
The
latest case under the sedition law was filed against former prime minister
Nawaz Sharif, his daughter Maryam, and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir
"premier" Raja Mohammad Farooq Ahmed Khan on October 1.A First
Information Report (FIR) was registered on the basis of a complaint lodged by a
local resident in Shahdra police station against the Pakistan Muslim League
(Nawaz) leader on the charges of criminal conspiracy for the "provocative
speeches" he made in London to "defame Pakistan's institutions".
Sharif's daughter, Khan and three retired generals among 40 PML(N) leaders have
also been named in the FIR.
As
many as 11 Pakistani opposition parties, prominent among which are the Pakistan
People's Party (PPP), PML(N), Awami National Party, and Jamiat
Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), at the conclusion of an All Parties Conference
(APC) on September 20 announced the formation of a joint platform, Pakistan
Democratic Movement (PDM).A 26-point resolution adopted by the APC pledged to
ensure that all organs of the state are run strictly as mandated under the law.
It called for the establishment of a truth and reconciliation commission to
probe abuses against the people since Pakistan's independence in 1947. Such an
investigation can reveal a long, sordid history of military abuses, it said.
It
also demanded that Prime Minister Khan and his ruling Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf
party step down and announce fresh nationwide elections.Soon after the APC,
PML(N) president and Sharif's brother Shahbaz was arrested in a money
laundering case from the Lahore High Court, according to Gulf News.
Shahbaz
is currently on a 14-day physical remand.The PML(N) on Sunday slammed the
government saying that "political revolution" in the country would be
possible only through the newly formed alliance, adding that the opposition
leaders are being "silenced" for speaking against a
"corrupt" government.Besides the PML(N) president, the country's
anti-corruption body -- National Accountability Bureau -- has also issued a
notice to JUI-F chief Fazlur Rehman.According to Dawn, the notice against
Rehman and others pertains to "corruption and corrupt
practices/accumulation of assets beyond means".Meanwhile, an
accountability court indicted former president Asif Ali Zardari of PPP and
others in Park Lane and Thatta water supply scheme references.Lashing out at
the government for continuous appearances of Zardari in the accountability
court, PPP leader Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said the regime's response to their
APC has come in the shape of increase in the frequency of court appearances by the
former president.Accusing the government of using the law to silence the
protests by the united opposition front, the opposition parties are planning to
launch a mass campaign, comprising public gatherings, political rallies,
no-confidence motions, en masse resignations from Assemblies and a long march
in January that would culminate in a sit-in in capital Islamabad.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/pak-govt-invokes-sedition-law-against-opposition-leaders-amid-calls-for-political-revolution/articleshow/78509982.cms
--------
Pakistan
urges world not to be selective in fighting terrorism
Anwar
Iqbal
07
Oct 2020'
UNITED
NATIONS: Pakistan assured the international community on Tuesday that it was
committed to fighting terrorism in all its forms because it believed that a
selective approach would not work.
At
a UN meeting on “Measures to Eliminate International Terrorism”, Pakistan’s
Permanent Representative Ambassador Munir Akram said that the US-Taliban
agreement could also help eliminate terrorism.
Pakistan
supports the Afghan peace process and played a key role in finalising the
US-Taliban deal in February this year. Now, Islamabad is also backing US
efforts to push forward an intra-Afghan dialogue that Washington hopes will end
19 years of war and destruction.
“The
US-Taliban agreement and the intra-Afghan negotiations initiated recently will
hopefully yield a political solution. Peace in Afghanistan will create
conditions conducive to eliminating terrorism from our region,” Ambassador Akram
said.
Underlining
Pakistan’s commitment to defeating terrorism, he said: “Terrorism must be
defeated comprehensively, everywhere, in all its manifestations. It cannot be
addressed selectively.”
Pakistan
has long emphasised the need to combat state-backed terrorism as well, like in
the Indian-occupied Kashmir. Islamabad argues that repressive policies
encourage terrorism.
In
the UN, Pakistan aligned itself with the statements delivered by Saudi Arabia
on behalf of the members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and
by Iran on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM). Both stress the need to
defeat terrorism in all its forms, without any discrimination.
Ambassador
Akram told the world body that global cooperation had succeeded in defeating
the “core” of the major terrorist organisations — Al Qaeda and the militant
Islamic State group — yet, their associates and affiliates had survived and
spread across the world.
“Terrorism
is manifesting itself in various new and mutated forms which are not being
effectively addressed,” the ambassador warned.
“We
have been the target of cross-border terrorism for decades,” said the Pakistani
envoy while referring to terrorist attacks inside Pakistan that had taken
almost 70,000 lives and caused $120 billion of economic losses.
“It
is essential to examine why — despite global strategies, mechanisms and
interventions — terrorist violence has proliferated and now appears endemic,”
he added.
One
of the main reasons, he said, was that “an insufficient effort has been made to
distinguish terrorism from the legitimate struggle of peoples for
self-determination and national liberation”.
Ambassador
Akram pointed out that legitimate freedom struggles were entitled, under
international law, to resort to “all available means” to secure their right to
self-determination.
“History
reveals that such popular struggles against colonial and foreign occupation
have been often equated with terrorism. Yet, they have always triumphed,” he
said.
Noting
that India too was trying to suppress the Kashmiri struggle for the right of
self-determination under various excuses, the Pakistani envoy said: “The
Kashmiri struggle cannot be suppressed by India’s attempt to equate it with
terrorism.”
Pointing
out that global counter-terrorism endeavour had failed to address “state
terrorism”, he said: “The suppression of self-determination and foreign
occupation is the worst form of state terrorism.”
https://www.dawn.com/news/1583598/pakistan-urges-world-not-to-be-selective-in-fighting-terrorism
--------
Man
acquitted of blasphemy charge after six years
Wajih
Ahmad Sheikh
07
Oct 2020
LAHORE:
The Lahore High Court (LHC) has acquitted a Christian man on death row six
years after his conviction for alleged blasphemy, which also led to torching of
more than 100 houses at Joseph Colony, a Christian-dominated neighbourhood in
Badami Bagh.
A
two-judge LHC bench comprising Justice Asjad Javed Ghural and Justice Syed
Shahbaz Ali through a short order on Monday allowed the appeal of Sawan Masih
against his conviction by a trial court.
A
detailed verdict of the bench was yet to be released, Nadeem Anthony, a member
of the appellant’s legal team, told Dawn.
Sawan
was booked and arrested on the complaint of Shahid Imran on March 8, 2013.
After a year-long trial, an additional district and sessions judge on March 27,
2014, handed down death penalty to him under Section 295-C of Pakistan Penal
Code.
The
appeal filed in 2014 stated that the trial court ignored the basic principles
of criminal justice in general and principles of Islamic justice in particular.
It said the trial court committed material irregularity in non-reading and
misreading of the evidence on record that caused serious miscarriage of
justice.
The
convict during the trial had argued that the allegation against him was part of
a conspiracy hatched by Badami Bagh iron market traders who had been interested
in purchase of Joseph Colony land, but the residents had rejected their offers.
Following the alleged occurrence hundreds of people after being provoked by the
local clerics had attacked Joseph Colony and torched more than 100 houses of
the Christians. Police had registered cases against the attackers under Section
7 of Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997, but all the suspects were later acquitted for
‘want of evidence’.
In
his appeal, Sawan argued that the trial court based the conviction on the
second version of the complainant recorded in a supplementary statement some
eight days after the occurrence of offence in an attempt to remove lacuna in
his initial version. The trial court also ignored a serious lapse in the
prosecution case that the FIR of the alleged incident was registered with an
‘unexplained’ delay of 33 hours, he said.
The
appellant pleaded that the trial court failed to take judicial notice of the
‘false’ story in which the complainant alleged that he “suddenly started
uttering derogatory remarks” against Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him). It
said the trial court completely ignored the statement of the appellant under
Section 342 of the criminal procedure code.
According
to the appeal, the prosecution failed to prove its case on the basis of
independent and unimpeachable evidence as the same was full of contradictions
and uncorroborated evidence.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1583600/man-acquitted-of-blasphemy-charge-after-six-years
--------
Arab world
UAE’s
FM vows ‘never again’ during Holocaust Memorial visit with Israeli counterpart
Tuqa
Khalid
06
October 2020
The
UAE’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed visited the
Holocaust Memorial in Germany with his Israeli counterpart Gabi Ashkenazi and
vowed “never again” on Tuesday.
Sheikh
Abdulla left a message written in the visitors’ book at the Memorial to the
Murdered Jews of Europe memorial in Berlin.
For
all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
He
wrote in Arabic that the site was “a witness to the fall of a group of human
beings who were victims of advocates of extremism and hatred,” and stressed
“the importance of strengthening the values of tolerance, coexistence and
acceptance around the world without discrimination.”
“Whatever
led to the murder of millions of innocent victims will not happen again,”
Sheikh Abdullah added and emphasized that the UAE’s message to the world is one
of “peace, tolerance and hope,” according to a statement by the UAE’s Ministry
of Foreign Affairs.
"Never
Again," Sheikh Abdullah wrote in English – a slogan often taken up by
survivors of Nazi Germany's World War Two genocide to justify actions to
protect Israel and the Jewish people.
The
memorial commemorates “the memory of around six million Jews who were murdered
by the Nazis,” and “consists of 2,710 concrete slabs on a space of
19,000-square meters in the form of a maze, where visitors can walk between the
slabs.”
The
UAE and Bahrain became the first Arab nations to establish relations with
Israel since Egypt in 1979 and Jordan in 1994. The two Gulf countries signed in
mid-September US-brokered deals to normalize relations with Israel.
The
two foreign ministers were accompanied by German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas.
Maas
called the agreement between Israel and the UAE as the "first good news in
the Middle East for a long time – and a chance for new movement in the dialogue
between Israelis and Palestinians".
"This
opportunity must be seized," he said, voicing the readiness of the
European Union to help.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/gulf/2020/10/06/UAE-s-FM-vows-never-again-during-Holocaust-Memorial-visit-with-Israeli-counterpart
--------
Saudi
Arabia’s Prince Bandar bin Sultan calls out Palestinian leaders over peace deal
Tommy
Hilton and Omar Elkatouri
Oct
7, 2020
Saudi
Arabia’s former ambassador to the US Prince Bandar bin Sultan has called out
the Palestinian leadership for its rejection of the UAE-Israel peace deal.
“This
low level of discourse is not what we expect from officials who seek to gain
global support for their cause. Their transgression against the Gulf states'
leadership with this reprehensible discourse is entirely unacceptable,” said Prince
Bandar in an exclusive interview with Al Arabiya.
Prince
Bandar, who served as Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the US from 1983 to 2005 and
the Kingdom’s intelligence chief from 2014 to 2016, said the criticism of the
UAE and other Gulf countries following the deal with Israel had been “painful
to hear.”
Palestinian
leaders including President Mahmoud Abbas have described the UAE’s decision to
normalize ties with Israel as a “stab in the back of the Palestinian people.”
Abbas
later backtracked and banned offensive statements about other Arab leaders,
following a request from GCC Secretary-General Nayef al-Hajraf to apologize.
According
to Prince Bandar, the reaction of Hamas in Gaza and the Palestinian Authority
(PA) in the West Bank reflected their broader failures.
“Gaza
Strip leaders, who have seceded from the PA to govern Gaza independently,
accuse the West Bank leadership of treason, while at the same time, West Bank
leadership has accused separatist Gaza Strip leaders of stabbing them in the
back,” he said.
“Efforts
in the past years would have been better spent on the Palestinian cause, peace
initiatives, and protecting the rights of the Palestinian people to reach a
point where this just, albeit robbed, cause can finally see the light, and when
I say robbed, I mean both by Israel and Palestinian leaders equally,” Prince
Bandar added.
Bahrain
followed the UAE and agreed to normalize relations with Israel on September 15,
and both countries have said they remain committed to a just solution for
Palestinians.
Saudi
Arabia’s Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan said that the Kingdom’s stance on
the Palestinian cause is “firm” and “will not change” in response to the peace
agreements.
Palestinian
leaders have history of “failure”
Prince
Bandar said that while the Palestinian cause is “just,” its leaders have a
history of failure.
“The
Palestinian cause is a just cause, but its advocates are failures. The Israeli
cause is unjust, but its advocates are successful. That sums up the events of
the last 70 or 75 years,” he told Al Arabiya.
Prince
Bandar pointed to the example of Amin al-Husseini, the Palestinian religious
leader who was one of the main leaders of the Palestinian cause while the
country was under the British mandate from 1918 to 1948.
Al-Husseini
was known to have sympathies to Nazi Germany as an alternative backer to
undermine British rule over Palestine. The Palestinian uprising against British
rule known as the Arab Revolt from 1936 to 1939 was a disaster for the
Palestinian people, leaving one in ten men exiled, imprisoned, or dead;
al-Husseini’s pro-German approach crumbled with the defeat of Nazism in World
War II.
Prince
Bandar also criticized Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) leader Yasser
Arafat, who he referred to as Abu Ammar, for siding with Iraq’s Saddam Hussein
in the first Gulf War in 1990.
Arafat
visited dictator Hussein in 1990 during the short-lived Iraqi occupation of
Kuwait.
“Kuwait
was then an occupied Arab nation, and it had, alongside the other Gulf states,
always welcomed the Palestinians with open arms and was home to Palestinian
leaders,” explained Prince Bandar.
“Yet
we saw Abu Ammar in Baghdad, embracing, laughing and joking with Saddam,
congratulating him for what had happened. This has had a painful impact on all
the peoples of the Gulf, especially on our Kuwaiti brothers and sisters,
specifically the Kuwaitis who stayed in Kuwait and resisted the occupation,” he
said.
Prince
Bandar said that Saudi Arabia had not reacted against the Palestinian
leadership, even when images had emerged showing young Palestinians in Nablus
celebrating and holding images of Hussein when Iraqi rockets hit Riyadh during
the Gulf War.
More
recently, he criticized the failure of different Palestinian groups to come to
an agreement in peace talks held in Egypt.
“How
can we speak in the name of all Palestine, and convince others to support our
cause, when we ourselves are not united, and when the Palestinians are divided
amongst themselves?” he said.
Saudi
Arabian support for Palestine
Saudi
Arabia has historically supported Palestine despite its leadership’s mistakes,
said Prince Bandar.
The
prince outlined the history of Saudi Arabian support for the Palestinians,
including the 1945 meeting between King Abdulaziz ibn Saud and US President
Franklin Roosevelt, in which the king lobbied for the Palestinian cause.
More
recently, Prince Bandar pointed to an initiative under Saudi Arabia’s King
Abdullah that aimed to unify the Palestinian leadership.
According
to the prince, Hamas and the PA had agreed to a deal in Mecca after intensive
Saudi Arabian brokering.
“Only
a few days after they left Saudi Arabia, we received news that each side had
already dishonored their agreement and gone back to conspiring against each
other once again,” he said.
This
reflected the failure of the Palestinian organizations, who had taken Saudi
Arabian support for granted, added Prince Bandar.
“I
believe that we in Saudi Arabia, acting on our good will, have always been
there for them. Whenever they asked for advice and help, we would provide
without expecting anything in return, but they would take the help that we
provide and ignore the advice. Then they would fail and turn back to us again,
and we would support them again, regardless of their mistakes, about which were
honest to them,” he said.
“I
think the circumstances and times have changed, and I think it is only fair to
the Palestinian people to know some truths that have been kept hidden,” he
added.
According
to Prince Bandar, Palestinians were wrong to look to either Iran or Turkey as
their ally.
“Who
are the allies of the Palestinians now? Is it Iran, which is using the
Palestinian cause as a bargaining card at the expense of the Palestinian
people? Iran and Khomeini, who want to liberate Jerusalem through Yemen, Lebanon,
and Syria?”
“Or
is it Turkey, which Hamas leaders have thanked for its stance in support of
Hamas and the Palestinian cause? That is simply because Erdogan announced that
he was withdrawing his ambassador from the UAE in support of the Palestinian cause,”
he added.
Prince
Bandar also discussed other elements of the history of the Palestinian cause,
including Saudi Arabia’s policy under King Abdulaziz and the 1967 Arab-Israeli
War.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/features/2020/10/05/Saudi-Arabia-s-Prince-Bandar-bin-Sultan-calls-out-Palestinian-leaders-over-peace-deal
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Lebanon's
new government consultations to start Oct. 15: President Aoun
07
October 2020
Lebanon's
President Michel Aoun said on Wednesday parliamentary consultations to choose a
new prime minister who will form the country's next government will begin on
October 15.
For
all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
Lebanon's
government resigned on August 10 in the wake of a devastating blast that killed
nearly 200 people and wrecked swathes of the capital, Beirut.
Mustapha
Adib, the country's former ambassador to Berlin, was picked on August 31 to
form a cabinet after French President Emmanuel Macron intervened, securing a
consensus on naming him in a country where power is shared out between Muslim
and Christian sects.
He
quit in late September, however, after trying for almost a month to line up a
non-partisan cabinet. His resignation dealt a blow to a French plan aimed at
rallying sectarian political leaders to tackle the worst crisis since the
nation's 1975-1990 civil war.
Under
the French roadmap, the new government would take steps to tackle corruption
and implement reforms needed to trigger billions of dollars of international
aid to fix an economy that has been crushed by a mountain of debt.
But
Adib's efforts stumbled in a dispute over appointments, particularly the post
of finance minister, who will have a key role in drawing up economic rescue
plans.
Macron
admonished Lebanon's leaders following Adib's resignation, saying the failed
efforts amounted to a collective “betrayal,” but vowed to push ahead with his
efforts.
The
country's leaders bristled at Macron's accusations, but there has been little
movement since.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2020/10/07/Lebanon-s-new-government-consultations-to-start-Oct-15-President-Aoun
--------
Oman
becomes first Arab country to reinstate ambassador to Syria
05
October 2020
Oman
has reinstated its ambassador to Syria, becoming the first Persian Gulf Arab
state to do so since militancy erupted in the country about nine years ago.
Syria’s
Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem accepted the credentials of Oman’s Ambassador
Turki bin Mahmood al-Busaidy, who was appointed to the post in a royal decree
in March, on Sunday.
The
Sultan of Oman, Haitham bin Tariq Al Said, pledged when assuming power in
January to continue maintaining friendly ties with all nations.
Some
Arab states are seeking reconciliation with Damascus whose forces have gained
the upper hand against the foreign-backed terrorists.
In
December 2018, the UAE officially reopened its embassy in Damascus, which had
been closed soon after militancy began in Syria in 2011. The country has a
charge d’affaires there.
Syria
has been gripped by foreign-backed terrorism since March 2011. The Syrian
government says the Israeli regime and its Western and regional allies,
including the UAE, have been aiding Takfiri terrorist groups that were wreaking
havoc in the Arab country.
Government
forces have already managed to undo terrorist gains across the country and
bring back almost all of Syrian soil under the government control.
The
government's gains in Syria have enraged the US, which has long been
collaborating with anti-Damascus terrorists plundering Syria’s resources.
Washington
has imposed new sanctions against Syria over the past few months, and warned
that anyone doing business with Damascus would be exposed to sanctions.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/10/05/635687/Oman-reinstates-ambassador-Syria
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17
killed, dozens wounded in bomb attack in northwest Syria: Reports
06
October 2020
At
least 17 people have been killed and dozens of others wounded in a car bomb
explosion in northwest Syria, reports says.
The
terrorist attack occurred on Tuesday when explosives planted on a car were
detonated in the Turkish-occupied town of al-Bab in Aleppo Province, killing 17
civilians and wounding at least 50 others, Sputnik news reported.
Earlier,
Turkey’s official news agency Anadolu had reported that the terror attack had
claimed the lives of at least 14 civilians, including women and children. It
said the blast happened in a crowded area of the town.
Images
circulating on social media showed plumes of black smoke rising from the site
of the explosion, which caused several fires and inflicted damage to nearby
buildings.
There
was no immediate claim of responsibility for the deadly attack in the Syrian
border town.There has been a series of attacks in the occupied town since its
capture by Turkish troops and their allied militants in February 2017. Now part
of Turkey’s so-called buffer zone, al-Bab is located some 30 kilometers
northeast of Aleppo City, the eponymous provincial capital.
Turkey
usually blames such attacks on militants of the US-backed Kurdish People’s
Protection Units (YPG), which is viewed by Ankara as a terrorist organization
tied to the homegrown Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militant group. Since
1984, the PKK has been seeking an autonomous Kurdish region in Turkey.
The
remnants of Daesh, which has been defeated in Syria and Iraq, are known to
carry out sporadic attacks in the two countries as well.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/10/06/635776/17-killed-dozens-wounded-in-bomb-attack-in-northwest-Syria-Reports
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Syria's
Assad: Turkey sending militants to Karabakh after instigating war
06
October 2020
Syrian
President Bashar al-Assad has called Turkey the “main instigator” of the
Azerbaijan-Armenia military conflict, saying Damascus can confirm that Ankara
is sending Takfiri militants from northern Syria to operate in the disputed
Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Assad
said in an exclusive interview with Russia’s Sputnik news agency published on
Thursday that his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan was “waging wars in
different parts of the world in order to divert public opinion at home from his
actions, especially after his scandalous relations with Daesh in Syria.”
Assad
added that the Takfiri Daesh terror group “used to sell Syrian oil through
Turkey under the umbrella of the US Air Force.”
The
Syrian leader also criticized Erdogan as “the main instigator and initiator” of
the ongoing deadly clashes between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the contested
region of Nagorno-Karabakh, stating that Ankara had also deployed Takfiri
militants to his Arab country as well as Libya in North Africa.
“Let’s
be blunt and clear. Erdogan has supported terrorists in Syria, and has been
doing so in Libya. He was the main initiator and instigator of the recent
conflict that has been going on in Nagorno-Karabakh between Azerbaijan and
Armenia. I would, therefore, view his behavior as dangerous for various
reasons,” Assad said.
Assad
said Damascus can “definitely” confirm the deployment “not because we have
evidence, but sometimes if you don’t have evidence you have indicators. Turkey
used terrorists coming from different countries in Syria.”
“They
used the same method in Libya; they used Syrian terrorists in Libya, maybe with
other nationalities. So, it's self-evident and very probable that they are
using that method in Nagorno-Karabakh because as I said earlier, they are the
ones who started this problem, this conflict; they encouraged this conflict.
They want to achieve something and they're going to use the same method,” the Syrian
president added.
The
so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said on October 3 that at
least 64 Turkish-backed Syrian militants had been killed in clashes between
Armenian and Azerbaijani forces over Nagorno-Karabakh region.
The
Britain-based war monitor said they were among the 1,200 combatants from
pro-Ankara Takfiri groups that Turkey has sent to fight on the Azerbaijani
side.
At
least 36 of them have been killed in clashes in the past 48 hours alone, the
Observatory added, increasing a previous toll of 28 to 64.
Late
last month, British daily newspaper The Guardian, citing three men living in
the last militant-controlled corner of northern Syria, reported that Takfiris
had signed up to work for a private Turkish security company as border guards
in Azerbaijan.
They
added that the militants expected to travel over the border to Turkey before
being flown to Azerbaijan.
Reuters
news agency, citing the account of two unnamed Syrian militants, also reported
on September 28 that they were deploying to Azerbaijan to fight in the ongoing
clashes with Armenian forces in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Previously
active in Turkish-controlled territory in northern Syria, the extremists said
their transport and deployment was coordinated with Turkey.
Armenia’s
Ambassador to Moscow Vardan Toghanyan likewise said last month that Turkey had
sent around 4,000 Syrian militants who were active on the Azerbaijani side in
Nagorno-Karabakh.
Azerbaijan
has strongly denied claims that any Syrian militants were among its ranks.
Hikmat
Hajiyev, a foreign policy aide to Azeri President Ilham Aliyev, called the
claims “complete nonsense” and an Armenian “provocation,” noting, “Our armed
forces have more than enough personnel and reserve forces.”
Azerbaijan’s
Embassy in London also dismissed SOHR’s report on Tuesday.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/10/06/635754/Assad-Syria-Erdogan-militants-Karabakh
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Iran:
Chemical arms treaty abused to wrongly accuse Syrian government
06
October 2020
Iran’s
UN ambassador has censured the misuse of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC)
and the Security Council to bring groundless charges against Syria, warning
that such an “unproductive” approach will damage the credibility of the world
body.
Speaking
during a Security Council meeting on Syria and chemical weapons on Monday,
Majid Takht-Ravanchi said the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical
Weapons (OPCW), the UN’s chemical watchdog, had confirmed the destruction of
Syria’s entire chemical stockpile and its 27 production facilities.
However,
this fact and the Syrian government’s significant cooperation with the OPCW and
the United Nations, including the submission of more than 80 monthly reports
and other information, are being ignored, he added.
Takht-Ravanchi
also stressed that such “unproductive policies” will not contribute to the
resolution of the outstanding questions, but it has rather “divided this
Council, eroded the OPCW’s credibility and weakened professionalism and
consensual decision-making process in that Organization.”
Reiterating
Iran’s call for the “balanced, full and non-discriminatory implementation of
the CWC,” the envoy said, “In the past several years, based on unsubstantiated
allegations, the processes of the CWC, OPCW and the Security Council have been
abused against the Syrian government.”
Syria
surrendered its entire chemical stockpile in 2013 to a mission led by the
United Nations and the OPCW.
However,
Western countries have repeatedly accused the government of President Bashar
al-Assad of conducting chemical attacks in Syria.
Damascus
has categorically rejected the accusations, saying the attacks had been staged
by foreign intelligence agencies to pressure the government in the face of army
advances against militants.
It
has also specifically pointed to the role of the White Helmets, a group which
claims to be a humanitarian NGO but has long been accused of working with
anti-Damascus militants and staging false-flag gas attacks.
Recently,
a former OPCW lead investigator challenged the final report of the body’s
Fact-Finding Mission into an alleged chemical attack in the Syrian city of
Douma near the capital Damascus on April 7, 2018, saying it may not reflect the
reality on the ground.
In
late 2019, whistleblowing website WikiLeaks published several batches of
documents suggesting that the OPCW may have intentionally doctored its
findings, notably avoiding revelations which may point to terrorists having
been behind the alleged chemical attack.
Elsewhere
in his remarks, Takht-Ravanchi voiced support for comprehensive investigations
into any allegations of chemical weapons attacks, but cautioned that such
probes must be impartial.
As
a major victim of chemical weapons in contemporary history, Iran strongly
condemns the use of chemical weapons by anyone, in any place and under any
circumstances, he said.
Tehran
stands ready to help restore the authority of the OPCW and promote the full
implementation of the CWC without discrimination, the Iranian official added.
‘OPCW
reports highly politicized’
Additionally,
Syria’s Ambassador to the UN Bashar al-Ja’afari said the recent Arria Formula
meeting that recently convened on the matter “revealed the high level of
politicization on the part of some governments that seek to use OPCW reports
against Syria.”
“Those
same States — which support terrorists in his country and continue to impose
sanctions that suffocate the population — do not want to hear the truth. They refuse to recognize the facts,
corroborated by Sigrid Kaag in her 2014 report, that Syria has fully abided by
its commitment to destroy its chemical weapons production facilities,” he said.
Kaag
headed the joint OPCW-UN mission that oversaw the destruction of Syria’s
chemical arsenal.
Ja’afari
further said, “Syria has sent over 200 letters to the United Nations,
containing detailed lists of parties that continue to send chemical and other
weapons into the country.”
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/10/06/635741/Iran-Takht-Ravanchi-chemical-weapons-Syria
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Mideast
Arab
nations adamantly opposed to relations with Israeli regime, survey shows
07
October 2020
A
new survey has revealed that Arab populations continue to overwhelmingly oppose
the recognition of Israel and the establishment of ties with it, despite recent
decisions by rulers in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain to normalize
with the Tel Aviv regime.
The
2019-2020 Arab Opinion Index was based on face-to-face interviews conducted
with 28,000 individual respondents across 13 Arab countries, including Jordan,
Palestine, Lebanon, Egypt and Mauritania, between November 2019 and September
2020.
The
result showed that the nations viewed Israel as the primary threat their
country was facing.
When
asked whether they would “support or oppose diplomatic recognition of Israel by
your country” only respondents in Sudan and Saudi Arabia came in at less than
80 percent for “oppose,” at 79 percent and 65 percent respectively.
Even
in the two countries that already recognize Israel – Jordan and Egypt –
opposition was very high, at 93 percent and 85 percent, respectively.
Neither
Emirati and Bahraini nationals nor citizens from Oman, whose country is
believed to be next in line to normalize with Israel, were included in the
survey.
Many
respondents were also fearful of the United States, with the Sudanese ranking
the country as the gravest threat to their own, at 37 percent.
Libya
relinquishes presidency of Arab League
Meanwhile,
Libya’s Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) has announced that it
would not take over the current presidency of the Arab League.
The
decision was made after the Palestinian Authority announced on September 22
that it had relinquished its right to hold the rotating presidency of the
regional organization.
Palestine
was protesting the League’s refusal to adopt a Palestinian-drafted resolution
that would condemn the US-mediated normalization deals with Israel.
The
Palestinian resolution was voted down during a session of Arab League foreign
ministers on September 9. The organization blamed the failure to pass the document
on the Palestinians, who said they would either accept a condemnation or no
statement at all.
Palestinians,
who seek an independent state in the occupied West Bank and Gaza, with East
Jerusalem as its capital view the deals as betrayal of their cause.
Following
Palestine’s withdrawal, Qatar and Kuwait also refused to assume the post.
Nomination
of Kuwait, Qatar and then Libya for the current presidency of the Arab League
was based on Article 6 of the internal regulations of the union, which states that
the interim chairmanship of the organization will be taken up by the
representative of the country that will be the next president in case the
current president of the Arab League at the ministerial level fails to take
over the position.
Fatah
suspends all deals with Israel
Moreover,
Secretary General of the Fatah Central Committee, Jibril Rajoub, said his
movement had ended agreements with Israel.
“We
have taken a decision to dissolve all agreements with the Occupation (Israel).
We seek to reach a national Palestinian consensus with all factions and Hamas
[resistance movement] in order to form a united political front,” Rajoub said
in an interview with Lebanon-based Arabic-language al-Mayadeen television news
network on Tuesday.
He
noted that the Fatah movement has informed Hamas and other Palestinian factions
of its plans since it considers the formation of a national coalition
government highly necessary at the current stage.
Earlier
in the day, Secretary General of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad resistance
movement, Ziad al-Nakhala, called on the Palestine Liberation Organization
(PLO) not to recognize Israel by any means and stop implementing the agreements
signed with the regime.
“We
will not oppose any national program that does not recognize the Zionist
regime. We will always be with our people, resistance forces, fighters and
defenders of our nation’s rights to freedom and liberation. We will vigorously
participate in all popular activities. Our people will remain steadfast in
their rejection of initiatives that forfeit their fundamental rights,” Nakhala
pointed out.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/10/07/635824/Arab-nations-adamantly-opposed-to-normal-relations-with-Israeli-regime,-survey-shows
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FM
Spokesman Calls for Instant Ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh
Oct
06, 2020
Khatibzadeh
wrote on his Twitter account on Monday that both Armenia and Azerbaijan
Republic should hold ceasefire and stick to the law of war in refraining from
targeting defenseless people.
He
noted that the current tension between the Caucasian countries can only be
settled through political means.
Earlier
on Monday, Khatibzadeh had warned Azerbaijan Republic and Armenia against
violating Iranian borders, describing it as Tehran’s redline.
“Both
warring sides should take heed that the Islamic Republic cannot tolerate
clashes on its borders and aggression on its soil,” Khatibzadeh said on Monday,
noting that Baku and Yerevan should observe Iran’s redline.
“Since
the start of the conflict, Iran has told both parties that there will be no
military solution for the decades-long dispute,” Khatibzadeh said on Monday,
and added, “We emphasize that military conflict should stop quickly to start
comprehensive political dialogue.”
He
further said Iran has prepared a plan after consultations with both warring
sides to end the Armenia-Azerbaijan war.
Battles
between Armenian and Azerbaijan forces over the disputed region of
Nagorno-Karabakh still continue.
Iran
has invited the neighboring countries of Azerbaijan Republic and Armenia to avoid
tensions and adhere to self-restraint to resolve Nagorno-Karabakh conflict,
stressing the need for regional peace.
Iranian
Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif called on his Azeri and Armenian
counterparts to refrain from military ways as tensions have risen between the
two countries over Nagorno-Karabakh region.
During
phone conversations with Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan and
Azeri Foreign Minister Jeyhoun Bayramov, Zarif voiced concern over the
situation and called on both sides to declare ceasefire and end hostilities.
He
called for negotiations according to the international law and expressed Iran's
readiness to use all its capacities to help settle disputes.
https://en.farsnews.ir/newstext.aspx?nn=13990715000135
--------
Iranian
Speaker Urges End to Yerevan-Baku Clashes
Oct
06, 2020
“Azerbaijan
Republic and Armenia should stop conflict,” Qalibaf said, calling on the two
sides to settle tension through negotiations.
He
made the remarks in a phone conversation with Chairman of the Russian State
Duma Vyacheslav Volodin on Monday.
Volodin,
for his part, also said that the conflict should be resolved peacefully through
negotiations.
In
relevant remarks on Monday, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Saeed
Khatibzadeh warned Azerbaijan Republic and Armenia against violating Iranian
borders, describing it as Tehran’s redline.
“Both
warring sides should take heed that the Islamic Republic cannot tolerate
clashes on its borders and aggression on its soil,” Khatibzadeh said on Monday,
noting that Baku and Yerevan should observe Iran’s redline.
“Since
the start of the conflict, Iran has told both parties that there will be no
military solution for the decades-long dispute,” Khatibzadeh said on Monday,
and added, “We emphasize that military conflict should stop quickly to start
comprehensive political dialogue.”
He
further said Iran has prepared a plan after consultations with both warring
sides to end the Armenia-Azerbaijan war.
Battles
between Armenian and Azerbaijan forces over the disputed region of
Nagorno-Karabakh still continue.
Iran
has invited the neighboring countries of Azerbaijan Republic and Armenia to
avoid tensions and adhere to self-restraint to resolve Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict, stressing the need for regional peace.
Iranian
Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif called on his Azeri and Armenian
counterparts to refrain from military ways as tensions have risen between the
two countries over Nagorno-Karabakh region.
During
phone conversations with Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan and
Azeri Foreign Minister Jeyhoun Bayramov, Zarif voiced concern over the
situation and called on both sides to declare ceasefire and end hostilities.
He
called for negotiations according to the international law and expressed Iran's
readiness to use all its capacities to help settle disputes.
https://en.farsnews.ir/newstext.aspx?nn=13990715000259
--------
Iran:
Six Prisoners Executed at Rajai Shahr Prison on September 23
26
September - IHR previously reported the execution of a female prisoner, Mahtab
Shafiei in Rajai Shahr Prison, Karaj. According to the newly obtained
information, five male prisoners were also executed with Mahtab that day. All
five prisoners appear to have been sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for
murder.
According
to Iran Human Rights, on 23 September, one woman and five men were executed in
Rajai Shahr Prison. All five appear to have been sentenced to qisas
(retribution-in-kind) for murder.
Yesterday,
IHR reported the execution of a female prisoner whose identity was established
as 32 year old Mahtab Shafiei. She had been sentenced to death for the murder
of her husband and his grandmother, and was transferred from Qarchak Prison in
Varamin to Rajai Shahr Prison in Karaj on Tuesday to be executed.
Another
executed prisoner has been identified as Hossein Shahani, previously held at
Hall 2, Ward 1 of the prison but no information is yet available on the
identities of the other four prisoners who were executed that day.
At
the time of publication, the execution of the six prisoners has not been
announced by domestic media or official sources in Iran.
According
to Iran Human Rights’ annual report on the Death Penalty in Iran, at least 225
of the 280 of those executed in 2019 were charged with murder.
As
there are no legal distinctions made between murder and manslaughter, whether
voluntary or involuntary in Iran, those charged under the umbrella term of
“premeditated murder” will receive the death penalty regardless of intent and
the circumstances.
https://iranhr.net/en/articles/4443/
--------
Father
of jailed protester commits suicide over son’s death sentence
28
September - The father of a jailed political prisoner who has been sentenced to
death for his participation in Iran’s November 2019 protests committed suicide
and passed away. According to ROKNA state-run News Agency, Mohammad Moradi, the
60-year-old father of jailed protester Amir Hossein Moradi, died this morning
in his home. The report said that he hanged himself in his basement.
Amir
Hossein Moradi’s lawyer, Babak Paknia also confirmed the report.
Emteded,
a “reformist” Telegram channel that operates from Iran, said that immediately
after Mohammad’s death, security forces came to his home along with a number of
people with cameras, who stayed “for a few hours”.
According
to Mehdi Mahmoudian, a “reformist” journalist, they came to the house to
extract “forced confessions” from the Moradi family.
Amir
Hossein Moradi’s mother said that Mohammad Moradi was under severe pressure due
to his son’s death sentence and that until his death, he constantly talked
about his son and was extremely concerned about Amir Hossein.
Amir
Hossein Moradi, was detained for his role in November 2019 protests that
erupted all over the country after the regime tripled the price of gasoline overnight.
Amir Hossein and two other protesters, Saeed Tamjidi and Mohammad Rajabi were
sentenced to death by the Tehran Revolutionary Court.
Reports
indicate that Amir Hossein Moradi was brutally beaten by security forces during
interrogations after his arrest in November 2019.
According
to a source close to his family, the 26-year-old political prisoner said he was
subjected to electric shocks during interrogations and told that if he did not
cooperate, his stay in solitary would be prolonged. He also said that an agent
stood on his chest, damaging his rib cage.
After
the Judiciary confirmed the death sentences of the three young men in June,
Iranians took to social media channels with the Farsi hashtag اعدام نکنید, or “Do Not Execute”, tweeting the hashtag
more than 10 million times. US President Donald Trump also used the hashtag in
a tweet to support the death row protesters.
Due
to international protests, the lawyers of the three men announced that the
Supreme Court had agreed to review the death sentences.
Despite
this, Emtedad said that the Moradi family was under “mental pressure” during
this time and that the family was kept in a state of limbo about the death
sentence.
An
informed source told Human Rights in Iran website that the Intelligence Agency
had summoned Amir Hossein Moradi’s mother and brother after Mohammad’s death,
threatening them to keep silent. They were told that they would be arrested if
they talked to the press.
“Since
Amir Hossein’s arrest and death sentence, his parents have been in poor mental
health. His father was under severe mental pressure,” the source told Human
Rights in Iran.
There
are currently at least nine Iranian protesters languishing in prison who have
been sentenced to death. The regime hanged Mostafa Salehi, a protester and
father of two in Isfahan, central Iran in August, and recently hanged Navid
Afkari, a wrestling champion in Shiraz, southwestern Iran.
https://irannewswire.org/father-of-jailed-protester-commits-suicide-due-to-pressure-from-sons-death-sentence/
--------
Iran:
Juvenile Offender Arman Abdolali Sentenced to Death Despite Lack of Evidence
29
September - Arman Abdolali, who was under 18 years old at the time of
committing the alleged murder, has been sentenced to qisas
(retribution-in-kind) again by Branch Five of the Tehran Criminal Court despite
the victim’s body never being found.
According
to the Iran newspaper website, Branch Five of the Tehran Criminal Court has
sentenced Arman Abdolali to qisas (retribution-in-kind). Per the reports, Arman
confessed to murder during interrogations but withdrew his confession in court.
As the victim’s body was never found, the defence lawyer has suggested that he
may be alive.
Arman
Abdolali was previously taken to the gallows in Rajai Shahr Prison on 1 January
2020 but was returned to his cell after the sentence was suspended.
Iran
is one of the few countries in the world that still carries out the death
penalty for crimes committed as minors. However, Article 91 of the new Islamic
Penal Code, ratified in 2013, gives judges the power to not issue death
sentences for minors who did not understand the nature and sanctity of their
crimes.
According
to Iran Human Rights’ annual report on the Death Penalty in Iran, in 2019, at
least four children were executed in breach of the Convention on the Rights of
the Child, which has been signed and ratified by the Islamic Republic.
Given
the repression of civil society and the limitations in contacting prisoners, it
is very likely that the number of child offenders executed is much higher than
the official numbers recorded.
https://iranhr.net/en/articles/4448/
--------
Three
members of the Association of Iranian Writers jailed
1st
October - Reporters Without Borders
(RSF) reiterates its condemnation of the judicial harassment and arrests of
Iranian writers and journalists, after three members of the Association of
Iranian Writers, Reza Khandan Mahabadi, Baktash Abtin and Kayvan Bagen, were
returned to prison on 26 September to serve sentences ranging from three and
half to six years in jail.
These
three writers and journalists were sentenced by a Tehran revolutionary court in
May 2019 on charges of anti-government propaganda and illegally publishing an
online newspaper on Facebook. Although confirmed by a Tehran appeal court, the
sentences were suspended for four months because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
In
a statement delivered outside Evin prison, the three writers and journalists
said they were the victims of “false accusations” and had been convicted
because they “fought against the censors and for freedom of expression.” The
Association of Iranian Writers is Iran’s oldest civil society organization. Its
activities were banned under the Shah and again under the Islamic Revolution.
Two of its leaders, the writers and journalists Mohamad Makhtari and Mohamad
Jafar Pouyandeh, were murdered in 1998.
https://rsf.org/en/news/iran-press-freedom-violations-recounted-real-time-january-2020
--------
Turkey's
EU membership bid evaporating due to government’s actions: Commission
06
October 2020
The
European Union's executive said on Tuesday that Turkey's government was
undermining its economy, eroding democracy and destroying independent courts,
leaving Ankara's bid to join the EU further away than ever.
Blaming
"excessively" centralized presidential power for deteriorating
conditions in freedom of speech, prisons and the central bank, the European
Commission said the government was also exposing Turkey to "rapid changes
in investors' sentiment".
For
all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
"The
EU's serious concerns on continued negative developments in the rule of law,
fundamental rights and the judiciary have not been credibly addressed by
Turkey," the Commission said in its annual report on the country.
"Turkey's
(EU) accession negotiations have effectively come to a standstill," it
said.
A
NATO ally, Turkey has been negotiating its EU membership since 2005 after
economic and political reforms that made it an important emerging market
economy and trade partner.
Although
never easy because of disputed Turkish claims over Cyprus, talks rapidly
unraveled after a failed coup in Turkey in July 2016 and President Tayyip
Erdogan's ensuing crackdown on perceived opponents.
"In
Turkey, the serious backsliding observed since the 2016 coup attempt
continued," the Commission said.
There
was no immediate comment from Turkey. Ankara has said in the past that EU
criticism is unfair and disproportionate.
Turkey
has since faced several years of harsh Commission reports, and the EU executive
once again intensified its criticism, citing monetary policy, public
administration and widespread corruption as failures of the Turkish government.
While
the EU, Turkey's biggest foreign investor, relies on the country to house some
4 million Syrians fleeing civil war rather than let them proceed to Europe,
Brussels also reiterated its threat to impose economic sanctions on Ankara over
an energy dispute in the Eastern Mediterranean.
EU
leaders agreed last week to consider sanctions if Turkey continued to explore
for oil and gas in waters claimed by Greece and Cyprus.
"In
case of renewed unilateral actions or provocations in breach of international
law..., the EU will use all the instruments and the options at its
disposal," the report said.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2020/10/06/Turkey-s-EU-membership-bid-evaporating-due-to-government-s-actions-Commission
--------
Israel
demolished 166,000 Palestinian homes since creation: Report
07
October 2020
Israel
has demolished nearly 166,000 Palestinian homes since its illegal creation, a
report says, adding that about one million Palestinian people have been
displaced as a result of the Israeli occupation.
The
Palestinian Information Center, citing a report by the Land Research Center of
the Arab Studies Association in the occupied Jerusalem al-Quds, said in a
statement on Tuesday that the Israeli regime had razed to the ground about
165,690 Palestinian homes since its inception, and caused about one million
Palestinians to be subjected to internal and external displacement.
“During
the first nine months of the year 2020, the occupation forces demolished 450
homes and facilities, and also pushed some Palestinians to demolish their homes
with their own hands,” the center added.
The
statement also underlined that the Israeli regime had adopted the policy of
limiting construction by Palestinians and compelling them to resort to building
their homes without permits.
The
center said Palestinians in the occupied Jerusalem al-Quds alone were in urgent
need of 25,000 residential units.
Israeli
authorities usually demolish Palestinian homes in the occupied Jerusalem
al-Quds and elsewhere in the West Bank, claiming that the structures have been
built without permits. They also sometimes order the Palestinian owners to
demolish their own homes or pay the demolition costs to the municipality if
they do not.
Israeli
prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced that he would start plans for
annexing more areas in the occupied West Bank, in accordance with US President
Donald Trump’s "deal of the century" scheme, further infuriating
Palestinians.
Trump
officially unveiled his scheme in January at the White House with Netanyahu on
his side, while Palestinian representatives were not invited.
The
proposal gives in to Israel’s demands while creating a Palestinian state with
limited control over its own security and borders, enshrining the occupied
Jerusalem al-Quds as “Israel’s undivided capital” and allowing the Tel Aviv
regime to annex settlements in the West Bank and the Jordan Valley.
Israel’s
unlawful annexation push has drawn widespread criticism from the entire
international community, including the regime’s closest allies.
The
United Nations, the European Union and key Arab countries have all said the
West Bank annexation would violate international law and undermine the
prospects of establishing a sovereign Palestinian state on the 1967 boundaries.
Palestinians
want the West Bank as part of a future independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem
al-Quds as its capital. But Israel's aggressive settlement expansion and
annexation plans have dealt a serious blow to any prospects of peace.
More
than 600,000 Israelis live in over 230 settlements built since the 1967 Israeli
occupation of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and East Jerusalem
al-Quds.
All
Israeli settlements are illegal under international law.
Anti-Netanyahu
demo turns violent in Tel Aviv
Media
reports said on Tuesday that clashes erupted between protesters and Israeli
forces in Tel Aviv during demonstrations against Netanyahu as well as his
handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
The
protesters carried banners that read, "Oppressor! Resign!" and a
cartoon image of the Israeli premier behind bars, a reference to the Netanyahu's
ongoing trial for corruption charges.
Israelis
have been staging street rallies over the past months to protest soaring
unemployment, a hike in covid-19 infections and a return of coronavirus
restrictions.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/10/07/635816/Palestinian-Information-Center-Israel-Palestinian-homes
--------
Muslim
scholars, Palestinian factions condemn normalization deals
07
October 2020
Muslim
scholars and Palestinian factions have once again strongly condemned the
normalization deals between some Arab states and Israel. In an international
conference in the Gaza Strip, they also stressed that the deals have not
undermined the Palestinians' will to resist against Israeli occupation.
Muslim
scholars along with leaders of Palestinian factions in the blockaded Gaza Strip
slammed the normalization deals between the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and
Israel describing them as an all-out treason.
During
an international conference in Gaza the Muslim scholars said that normalizing
ties with Israel is an unforgivable crime.
Participants
from several Muslim countries attended the event via satellite link. The US
brokered normalization deals were signed at the White House on September 15.
Palestinian
resistance groups say the deals won't undermine their will to fight occupation.
Later
in the day the leaders of Palestinian factions attended a digital festival due
to the coronavirus pandemic to mark the 33rd anniversary of the Palestinian
Islamic Jihad movement.
The
movement organized the digital festival entitled “Jerusalem is our
destination" through social media platforms. Ziyad al-Nakhala, the
secretary general of Islamic Jihad addressed the attendees via satellite link.
During
his speech al-Nakhala slammed the normalization deals and vowed to continue all
forms of resistance against the Israeli regime.
Palestinians
consider normalization with Israel as a betrayal of their cause and a blow to
their quest for freedom.
Observers
say that normalizing ties with the Israeli regime will only encourage Tel Aviv
to further violate the rights of the oppressed Palestinian people.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/10/06/635812/Palestinian-factions-condemn-normalization
--------
Islamic
Jihad: Palestinian resistance can target all parts of occupied territories
06
October 2020
Islamic
Jihad says Gaza-based Palestinian resistance movements have the capability to
strike Tel Aviv or whatever part of the Israeli-occupied territories that they
choose.
“The
resistance is capable of bombing Tel Aviv and all of the occupiers’ cities and
settlements,” the resistance group’s leader, Ziyad al-Nakhalah, said on Tuesday
during a televised address. “It has done so whenever it has chosen to,” he
added.
Alongside
Hamas, the fellow resistance movement in the Gaza Strip, Islamic Jihad, has
been defending the Palestinian territory against near-daily Israeli aggression,
including three full-scale wars that the Israeli regime carried out against the
enclave in the 2000s.
Nakhalah
said his group’s history has been characterized with “determination for
struggle and confrontation against Zionists’ plots through resistance across
all Palestinian territories.”
He
identified “national unity” among Palestinian people and factions as the
“safety valve” ensuring Palestine’s security.
The
Palestinian leader announced his group’s solidarity with all the groups
opposing compromise with the Israeli regime.
His
remarks came as the United States has gone on a campaign aimed at bringing
about détente among some regional Arab states and the occupying entity.
In
mid-September, US President Donald Trump hosted a ceremony at the White House
that saw the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain sign normalization deals with
Israel on the back of Washington’s intermediary efforts.
Nakhalah
said the US-backed scheme was aimed at ensuring obedience towards Israel and
consigning the region’s history and civilization to oblivion.
The
Palestinian official, however, said he was certain that the Arab and Muslim
nations kept standing by Palestinians and their cause of liberation from
Israeli occupation and aggression under whatever circumstances.
Observers
have likewise noted that such conciliatory decisions by a handful of unelected
Arab rulers do not represent the opinion of the world’s millions-strong Arab
and Muslim community.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/10/06/635783/Palestine-Israel-Islamic-Jihad-warning-bombing-Tel-Aviv-occupied-territories
--------
Africa
Morocco
arrests four ISIS-linked extremist suspects
05
October 2020
Morocco
on Monday arrested four suspects allegedly linked to ISIS terrorist group who
were plotting “dangerous and imminent terrorist” attacks, the judicial police
said.
The
four Moroccan men, all in their 20s, were detained in the northern city of
Tangiers during a raid in which police fired warning shots, the Central Bureau
of Judicial Investigations (BCIJ) said in a statement.
They
were planning to “destabilize security in the kingdom... through terrorist
methods inspired by operations” carried out by ISIS extremist in Syria and
Iraq, the statement added.
For
all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
Bladed
weapons and electronic equipment were also seized, it said.
Coronavirus:
Morocco locks down Casablanca, closes schools amid COVID-19 surge
In
September, authorities said they had dismantled an ISIS-linked cell and
arrested five men accused of preparing suicide attacks against prominent
figures and a security headquarters in Morocco.
At
the time, BCIJ head Abdelhak Khiame told AFP in an interview that ISIS has
“developed” in the Sahel-Sahara region due to conflict in Libya and in
countries like Mali, which he said were unable to “control their security”
situations.
“Terrorist
cells and terrorism are growing in the region, but also organized crime networks,
drug trafficking, (and of) weapons and human beings,” he said.
“All
of this... makes the Sahel region, in my opinion, a time bomb.”
The
Sahel covers western and north-central Africa.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/north-africa/2020/10/05/Morocco-arrests-four-ISIS-linked-extremist-suspects
--------
Mali
frees over 100 militants seeking hostage swap
05
October 2020
Insurgency-hit
Mali freed over 100 alleged or convicted militants over the weekend in a bid to
secure the release of a top politician and French charity worker, an official
in charge of the negotiations told AFP on Monday.
The
rare mass release of prisoners, confirmed by a member of the security services,
comes as an eight-year insurgency, that has claimed thousands of lives,
continues to threaten the fragile West African country.
For
all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app
Soumaila
Cisse, a 70-year-old former opposition leader and three-time presidential
candidate, was abducted on March 25 while campaigning in his home region of
Niafounke ahead of legislative elections.
Sophie
Petronin, a French charity worker who is now 75, was abducted by gunmen on
December 24, 2016, in the northern city of Gao. She is the last French national
held hostage in the world.
The
last video in which Petronin appeared was received in June 2018. She seemed
tired and emaciated, and appealed to French President Emmanuel Macron for help.
In
another video in November 2018, in which she did not appear, her kidnappers
said her health had deteriorated.
The
militant prisoners were released in the central region of Niono and the
northern region of Tessalit after arriving by plane, the negotiations source
said.
A
lawmaker in Tessalit, who also requested anonymity, confirmed to AFP that
“large numbers of extremist prisoners” arrived there on Sunday.
Petronin’s
son Sebastien Chadaud cautiously welcomed the news. “We have to be attentive
and remain very careful because if there are any attempts (to free them) we
don’t want to disrupt that,” he said.
“It
is too early to rejoice because we have lived through moments like this
before.”
Malian
authorities suspect an Al-Qaeda-linked group in central Mali led by militant
cleric Amadou Koufa is responsible for the kidnappings.
Mali
is currently led by an interim government after a military junta overthrew
president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita in August.
The
kidnapping of former opposition leader Cisse was one of the factors that fueled
popular protests which led to the ouster of Keita over his perceived inability
to tackle the jihadist insurgency.
Swathes
of the vast and arid nation of 19 million already lie outside government
control and the insurgency has inflamed ethnic tensions.
Keita
officially opposed negotiations with extremist groups but his government
launched talks with some of them in February.
Covert
negotiations have continued for a ceasefire and liberation of hostages,
according to sources, with the military junta vowing in particular to secure
Cisse’s release.
Mali’s
former colonial ruler France has 5,100 soldiers deployed across the Sahel
region as part of its anti-militant Operation Barkhane.
A
Canadian woman and her Italian partner kidnapped in Burkina Faso in 2018 were
found in good health in the northwest of Mali in March after fleeing their
captors.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/world/2020/10/05/Mali-frees-over-100-militants-seeking-hostage-swap-
--------
India
Jammu
and Kashmir: Two terrorists eliminated in Sugan Shopian encounter
Oct
7, 2020
SHOPIAN:
Two terrorists were neutralised by the security forces in an ongoing encounter
in the Sugan Zainapora area of Shopian district on Wednesday, police said.
"Sugan
Shopian encounter update: Two unidentified terrorists killed. Operation going
on. Further details shall follow," the Jammu and Kashmir Police tweeted.
The
encounter started on Tuesday evening.
In
a similar incident, two terrorists were killed in an encounter with the
security forces here in the Samboora area of Awantipora district on September
27.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/jammu-and-kashmir-two-terrorists-eliminated-in-sugan-shopian-encounter/articleshow/78525641.cms
--------
PSO,
terrorist killed in attack at J&K BJP worker’s house
Oct
6, 2020
SRINAGAR:
The personal security officer (PSO) of a BJP worker was killed in a gunfight
with terrorists who attacked the politician’s house in central Kashmir’s
Ganderbal district late Tuesday. A terrorist identified as Sajjad Ahmad was
also killed in the fire exchange, police said.
As
many as five politicians were killed and one injured in terror attacks in July
and August alone.
Confirming
the attack, Kashmir Police tweeted that unidentified terrorists opened fire at
BJP worker Ghulam Qadir’s house in Ganderbal’s Nunar area. PSO constable Altaf
Hussain retaliated and shot down one of the attackers, but sustained critical
injuries in the gun battle and succumbed on the way to a hospital. Qadir,
however, escaped unhurt.
On
July 8, three BJP workers — Waseem Bari, his father and brother — were killed
in north Kashmir’s Bandipora district. On August 4, terrorists fired upon and
critically injured BJP panch Arif Ahmad near his residence in Qazigund area of
south Kashmir’s Kulgam district. Ahmad succumbed later.
On
August 6, BJP sarpanch Sajad Ahmad Khanday was shot dead by terrorists at Vessu
in south Kashmir’s Qazigund.
On
August 10, terrorists lobbed a hand grenade at the house of PDP panch Bupinder
Singh in south Kashmir’s Tral, Pulwama, but Singh escaped unhurt. On August 11,
BJP worker Abdul Hamid Nagar of central Kashmir’s Budgam was injured in a
terror attack.
Such
attacks prompted authorities to shift panch members of various political
parties to safer places, particularly in the Kashmiri Pandit clusters and in
several hotels in Srinagar and Pahalgam in Anantnag. The move came after
numerous BJP workers quit the party citing threat to their lives.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/pso-terrorist-killed-in-attack-at-jk-bjp-workers-house/articleshow/78521444.cms
--------
Occupying
public place for protests not acceptable: Supreme Court on petitions on Shaheen
Bagh protests
Murali
Krishnan
Oct
07, 2020
The
right to protest in public places is not absolute and public places cannot be
occupied indefinitely for such protests, the Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday
in a case highlighting the troubles faced by general public due to the road
blockade at Shaheen Bagh in south Delhi by protestors who were opposing the
Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
Dissent
and democracy go hand in hand but protests must be carried out in designated
areas, a three-judge bench, headed by justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul ruled.
“Occupation
of public places for protests is not acceptable. Authorities must ensure
removal of occupation of public places,” the bench which also comprised
justices Aniruddha Bose and Krishna Murari held.
However,
the manner in which occupants should be removed to clear public places is to be
decided by government authorities and they should not hide behind or wait for
court orders in order to carry out their functions, the top court added.
The
ruling came on a plea by filed by advocate Amit Sahni in February seeking lift
of road blockade in the Shaheen Bagh – Kalindi Kunj stretch due to protests at
Shaheen Bagh by those opposing the CAA.
The
CAA, which was passed on December 12, 2019, amended Section 2 of the
Citizenship Act, 1955 in a manner which made any person belonging to Hindu,
Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi or Christian communities from Afghanistan,
Bangladesh or Pakistan eligible to apply for Indian citizenship by
naturalization even if they were illegal migrants.
However,
the Muslim community was excluded from the purview of this amendment, thereby,
preventing Muslim illegal migrants from availing the opportunity to apply for
Indian citizenship, a benefit which was extended to illegal migrants from the
other six communities by the amendment. The exclusion of Muslim triggered
widespread protests across the country, as did the linking of citizenship with
religion.
Shaheen
Bagh was the epicentre of such protests in the national capital. The protests
at Shaheen Bagh started on December 15, 2019 and continued for more than 3
months.
Sahni
stated that while people have the right to protest, the same is subject to
reasonable restrictions and protestors cannot be allowed to occupy public roads
indefinitely. He contended that right to protests it should not inconvenience
public at large.
Solicitor
General Tushar Mehta representing the central government also concurred with
the petitioner stating that right to protest cannot be absolute and is subject
to reasonable restrictions.
“Every
right is qualified,” Mehta had argued.
During
the hearing of the case, the court had on February 17, attempted to resolve the
issue by sending two lawyers, senior advocate Sanjay Hegde and advocate Sadhana
Ramachandran to mediate with the protestors. However, the talks did not yield
any results.
https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/public-places-cannot-be-occupied-indefinitely-supreme-court-on-petitions-on-shaheen-bagh-protests/story-BTyccB3Ef98KSuRIsHooyM.html
--------
South Asia
Nearly
two decades after US invasion, Afghans fear Taliban return
Oct
6, 2020
KABUL:
Almost two decades after the United States launched what would become its
longest-ever war with air strikes on Afghanistan's ruling Taliban regime, the
hardline group are in a stronger position than ever.
The
invasion on October 7, 2001 quickly toppled the militants, who had harboured
Al-Qaeda, the group behind the September 11 attacks that killed nearly 3,000
people in America just weeks earlier.
Nineteen
years after their brutal Islamist regime collapsed, the Taliban are pushing for
a return to power, having signed a landmark troop withdrawal deal with
Washington in February and currently holding peace talks with the Afghan
government.
Fearful
that the Taliban have changed little since the darkest days of their regime --
when they killed women accused of adultery, attacked minority religious groups
and barred girls from going to school -- many Afghans worry about a new era of
Taliban influence.
"I
remember the Taliban regime like a nightmare. We are scared for our future and
my daughter's future," said Kabul resident Katayoun Ahmadi, a 26-year-old
mother.
She
recalled seeing severed hands and fingers on Kabul's streets following
amputations for petty crimes under the Taliban's strict interpretation of
Sharia law.
The
2001 invasion heralded some enduring improvements for young Afghans --
particularly girls -- and ushered in a constitution guaranteeing certain
freedoms including the right to an education.
But
so far in peace talks in Doha, which started last month, the Taliban have said
little about issues such as women's rights or freedom of expression.
Ahmadi's
husband Farzad Farnood, 35, a researcher for the Afghanistan Institute for
Strategic Studies, said a rise in Taliban violence since a deal was signed
between the hardline group and Washington shows the militants have not changed.
"Is
this creating hope for Afghans? No, it is not," he said.
As
a teenager, he witnessed the Taliban stoning a woman to death and public
executions and floggings in Kabul's football stadium. His family had to hide
their black-and-white television's antenna in a tree when the Taliban banned
music and entertainment.
"All
the achievements we have made in the last 18 years did not exist in the Taliban
era," he said.
A
Taliban spokesman declined to comment.
Zia-ul-Rahman,
a former insurgent who battled foreign troops and Afghan government forces for
four years, told AFP the Taliban were pushing for "the establishment of an
Islamic system", even though the Islamic republic's constitution already
gives primacy to the religion.
"We
have no problem with girls getting an education or women working, but they have
to wear a hijab," he added.
US
involvement in Afghanistan has proven painfully difficult for the superpower,
draining more than $1 trillion from its coffers and resulting in about 2,400
troop deaths in a war the Pentagon has characterised as a stalemate.
In
Doha, the Taliban and the Afghan government are struggling to agree common
language on a range of issues before they can even establish an agenda, in
talks that could continue for years.
Some
US lawmakers have said they would oppose any deal that fails to protect women
and minorities, but President Donald Trump's administration has stressed it
wants little to do with the outcome which he said will be
"Afghan-owned".
Jawed
Rahmani, a 38-year-old security worker in Kabul, said US disengagement would
inevitably lead to a Taliban takeover of Afghanistan.
"These
are not peace talks but a deal to hand over the next government to the
Taliban," he said.
"People
are happier with whatever we have right now, compared to the darkest era of the
Taliban."
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/south-asia/nearly-two-decades-after-us-invasion-afghans-fear-taliban-return/articleshow/78506480.cms
--------
Suicide
attack in Afghanistan kills 8, Governor survives
Oct
5, 2020
LAGHMAN:
The Governor of Laghman, Rahmatullah Yarmal's convoy was targeted on Monday by
a suicide attacker, leaving eight dead and over 30 injured.
The
Governor, though slightly injured, survived the attack. A spokesman for the
provincial governor, Assadullah Dawlatzai said here on Monday, Sputnik
reported.
No
radical group operating in the country has taken responsibility for the attack
so far, stated the report.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/south-asia/suicide-attack-in-afghanistan-kills-8-governor-survives/articleshow/78491155.cms
--------
10
Afghan Security Members Killed in Two Separate Incidents
By
Mohammad Haroon Alim
07
Oct 2020
Helmand
Local officials reported, that the ANA has suffered heavily when a car bomb hit
a checkpoint in the Yakhchal area of Nahrul-Saraj district in Helmand province.
Omar
Zwak, Helmand governor’s spokesman told khaama press, that four ANA soldiers
were killed and three others are wounded in the incident around 10 pm on
Tuesday night.
On
the other hand, Gul Islam Siyal, spokesman for the Zabul governor, said that
the Taliban group attacked a security checkpoint in the Safa City district of
Zabul province last night (Tuesday,6 Oct), killing three policemen and wounding
two others.
But
a security source, who did not want to be named, confirmed to Khaama Press that
a Taliban attack on a security checkpoint in the Safa City district of the
province has killed six policemen.
He
added that Taliban fighters also captured and abducted some of these policemen.
Taliban
militants have not yet commented over the incidents.
https://www.khaama.com/10-afghan-security-members-killed-in-two-separate-incidents-8876574/
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Taliban
Shouldn’t ‘Fear’ the Cease Fire: Ashraf Ghani
By
Mohammad Haroon Alim
07
Oct 2020
President
Ashraf Ghani, speaking at the Center for Conflict and Humanitarian Studies on
Tuesday, iterated that the Taliban shouldn’t fear the ceasefire and accept
peace.
The
president added, Taliban must adhere to peace and have the courage to reconcile
with other Afghans.
He
stressed that people must come first, because people are sovereign, therefore
the government must put people first and do what constrictions, religion and
moral command requires.
Ceasefire
in the 2018 Eid Festival is a sign that Afghans can agree on peace, and this
shows an immense capacity to overcome the past and focus towards the future,
President Ghani added.
Ghani
mentioned women saying, that “the women of Afghanistan do not need someone to
speak for them or write for them; they speak for themselves; they can represent
themselves.”
The
president pointed on the unexplored mineral wealth the country has and it can
potentially render the country as a wealthy nation.
Abundant
minerals worth 1 trillion dollars in Afghanistan, and the “ten poorest
provinces in the country have the richest mineral deposits”, President Ghani
said.
He
also stressed the country’s geographical status, that the nation exists right
in the middle of Asia, and all the natural sources as wind, sun, and water can
be utilized to produce energy and Afghanistan is full of cultural values.
He
added that the Doha agreement between the United States and the Taliban was not
up to the Afghan government and that the Taliban should leave their agreement
with the United States aside and negotiate with the Afghan government in the
light of the Qur’an and Islamic principles.
On
the other hand, Zabiullah Mujahid spokesman to the Taliban militants tweeted,
“Our agreement with the United States is based on the Qur’an and Sunnah, and
the next steps will follow. Do not advise us on the Qur’an and Sunnah. Learn to
recite the Qur’an yourself and do not be afraid to apply the rules. We have
given sacrifices two and a half decades for the implementation of the Qur’an”.
It
has been almost a month since the start of Intra-Afghan talks between the
Afghan government and the Taliban, both sides are still busy in talks and
haven’t reached a decision yet.
The
Taliban delegation wants to advance Intra-Afghan talks under an agreement with
the United States, but the Afghan government says that agreement is not up to
them and says the Taliban should proceed with talks based on Quran and Islamic
principles.
https://www.khaama.com/taliban-shouldnt-fear-the-cease-fire-ashraf-ghani-8786547/
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Taliban,
Afghan negotiators set ground rules to continue peace talks: Sources
06
October 2020
Taliban
officials and Afghan representatives have agreed on a code of conduct that sets
ground rules to advance their peace talks in Doha, three official sources said
on Tuesday.
The
delegations, helped by US officials, agreed on Monday on 19 rules which make up
a code of conduct that will be followed to stop the peace talks collapsing, the
sources told Reuters.
Negotiations
between the Afghan government and the insurgent Taliban started last month in
Qatar’s capital and are aimed at ending decades of war in Afghanistan.
Meanwhile
a suicide attack targeting an Afghan provincial governor killed at least eight
people Monday, officials said.
Twenty
eight people were wounded when the attacker rammed his explosives-filled
vehicle into the convoy of Rahmatullah Yarmal, the governor of eastern Laghman
province.
“The
governor was driving to his office when his car was hit. Four of his bodyguards
and four civilians were killed, 28 wounded,” the governor’s spokesman
Assadullah Daulatzai told AFP, adding that the governor was unhurt.
Interior
Ministry spokesman Tareq Arian confirmed the attack and said most of the
wounded were civilians.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/world/2020/10/06/Taliban-Afghan-negotiators-set-ground-rules-to-continue-peace-talks-Sources
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Southeast Asia
Malaysian
Muslim MP unrepentant over 'corrupted Bible' claim
October
06, 2020
A
prominent Muslim lawmaker in Malaysia has remained steadfast in his refusal to
apologize for saying that the Christian Bible has been corrupted and its
message has been distorted in comments that have caused outrage among the
country’s Christians.
During
a recent session in parliament, Nik Muhammad Zawawi Salleh, a prominent Muslim
politician who studied in Egypt and Jordan, insinuated that the New Testament
did not reflect the true message of Jesus’ life and ministry because the text
had been altered over the centuries.
The
statement caused outrage among many Christians in a country where Islamic
fundamentalism has been on the rise, but it is in line with a normative Muslim
belief that holds that whereas Jesus was a messenger of Allah, he did not die
on the cross and was not divine.
Such
views in Islam are backed up by certain passages in the Quran, which Muslims
consider the true word of God.
Several
lawmakers have chastised Zawawi for voicing this view in parliament, saying his
comments were religiously divisive and asking him to apologize.
Yet
Zawawi refused to do so, adding further fuel to the uproar by saying it was a
“fact” that the Christian Bible had been corrupted. “They have no right to be
offended,” the Muslim lawmaker said.
“What
I said was not an accusation but a fact,” he went on. “There is no need to
apologize. Why should I? I don’t want to comment. What I said is right. Why
should I apologize?”
In
response, Kelvin Yii Lee Wuen, a politician from the Democratic Action Party,
stressed in a public statement that the Muslim lawmaker’s comment “sets a bad
precedent in the honorable house where such insensitive comments against other
religions can be made without any repercussions.”
Yii
added: “I will continue to pursue the Bible issue as it is important to send
the correct message that, regardless of position or power, no one is above the
law.”
Zawawi,
who represents the district of Pasir Puteh in the state of Kelantan, has also
ignored calls for an apology from several interfaith and Christian
organizations from across the country, including the Association of Churches in
Sarawak, the Sabah Council of Churches and the Sarawak Evangelical Christian
Association.
Archbishop
Julian Leow Beng Kim, a prominent and outspoken Catholic clergyman, and several
other religious leaders from the Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism,
Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism have also warned in a public
statement that denigrating the faith of Christians and others in the country’s
parliament could set “a dangerous precedent.”
Zawawi’s
comments were “totally unacceptable to all peace-loving Malaysians of all
faiths,” the archbishop and his fellow signatories said.
“Parliament
is a place to debate responsible and just governance based on rational
arguments, best practices and in tune with the provisions of the federal
constitution,” they stressed.
“If
this is the new normal, it will open the door for others to do the same and it
may lead to unnecessary arguments that may pit one religion against another, to
be used by politicians for their political gain and maneuvering.”
In
a separate statement, Archbishop Kim, who is chairman of the Christian
Federation of Malaysia, took Zawawi to task over his comments.
“In
trampling with shocking audacity on the sacred and holy Word of God, the
representative for Pasir Puteh showed a reprehensible disrespect not only for
his fellow Malaysians who are Christians but also for all the efforts of our
forefathers in forging peoples of diverse creeds, colour and cultures into a
peace-loving and harmonious nation,” the archbishop said.
“Recalcitrant
and reportedly unwilling to withdraw or apologise for his demeaning words, this
lawmaker must be unreservedly censured and rebuked by all right-minded people.”
https://www.ucanews.com/news/malaysian-muslim-mp-unrepentant-over-corrupted-bible-claim/89774#
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Najib
defends religious affairs minister, criticises Putrajaya, PH
October
6, 2020
PETALING
JAYA: Former prime minister Najib Razak has come to the defence of Minister in
the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Zulkifli Mohamad Al-Bakri,
who has tested positive for Covid-19.
Zulkifli
has come under criticism after reports emerged that he attended a number of
functions following his return from Sabah, which has seen a spike in
infections.
But
Najib said Zulkifli, who had in the past criticised him, returned from Sabah on
Sept 24, before the government made it mandatory for those returning from the
state to be tested for Covid-19 and be quarantined.
He
said that during campaigning for the Sabah election, Pakatan Harapan (PH)
leaders and NGOs like Aliran and Bersih 2.0 opposed the health ministry’s
proposal for mandatory quarantine, claiming it would impede voters residing
outside the state from going back to vote.
“I
believe the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government caved in to this demand as they
did not want PH to turn this into an election issue,” he said.
Had
the government implemented mandatory quarantine sooner, Najib said, more
Covid-19 cases in Peninsular Malaysia which originated from Sabah could have
been avoided.
He
said the PN government should have allowed Sabahans to cast postal votes just
as the Barisan Nasional administration did for overseas Malaysians in the 14th
general election.
“If
we can do it for overseas voters, why can’t we do it for voters outside of
their states?” he asked.
Najib
also said the government should have instructed for a mandatory 14-day
quarantine instead of three days as the incubation for Covid-19 is two weeks.
Now,
he said, it was too late, but both PH and PN should avoid repeating mistakes of
the past.
“And
I pray that our religious affairs minister makes a full recovery as soon as
possible,” he added.
https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2020/10/06/najib-defends-religious-affairs-minister-criticises-putrajaya/
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