12 Zambales youth activists released after Labor Day arrest
The police and military also forced the victims to sign a document linking them to the Communist Party of the Philippines - New People's Army (CPP-NPA), CEGP said. The post 12 Zambales youth activists released after Labor Day arrest appeared first on Bulatlat......»»
After SC victory, young activists face arrest as local court issues warrant
The Bulacan local court, which orders the arrest, sets a bail amounting to P18,000 each for Jonila Castro and Jhed Tamano.....»»
Muslim leaders condemn MSU bomb attack
Muslim leaders and peace activists condemned the bombing during a Catholic mass at the Mindanao State University gymnasium in Marawi City last Sunday and demanded that the police and the military identify and arrest the perpetrators......»»
Mexico says ex-diplomat accused of sex crimes arrested in Israel
Mexican writer and former diplomat Andres Roemer, who faces multiple accusations of sex crimes, has been arrested in Israel, Mexico's president said Monday. Roemer "will be extradited," Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said at his regular morning press conference. The allegations against Roemer, which number about 60 according to activists, began in February 2021 when the Mexican dancer Itzel Schnaas accused him of sexual assault. The 60-year-old former Mexican consul in San Francisco and goodwill ambassador to UNESCO "categorically" denied the first accusation. But he withdrew from social media in the face of mounting allegations that he had touched women inappropriately after meeting them on a work pretext. Mexico requested Roemer's extradition in June 2021. Its foreign ministry confirmed in a statement that Israeli police detained Roemer on Sunday "for extradition purposes, at the request of the Mexican Government." "Although there are no extradition treaties with the State of Israel, the arrest... was carried out based on the principle of reciprocity and international cooperation, based on the good bilateral relationship that exists in all areas between both countries," it said. The post Mexico says ex-diplomat accused of sex crimes arrested in Israel appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Red-tagged individuals create their own classification (1)
It is amusing to read about individuals or groups protesting about being tagged as New People’s Army or NPA supporters, or even communists themselves. At least one of them filed a civil suit for damages against two anchors of a program in SMNI for allegedly tagging him as a communist sympathizer and his mother as a closeted communist. Red-tagging has become a whipping boy of leftist organizations and their sympathizers. The dwindling number of left-leaning party-list representatives who survived the electoral debacle of their comrades have become the mouthpiece. They have been regularly and constantly attacking the government officials who described them as supporters of the communist rebels. This protesting sector of our society has described red-tagging as “the act of labeling individuals or groups as “communist fronts,” “communist terrorists,” or communist sympathizers.” They have likened such acts to “McCarthyism” in the 1950s in the United States. The American Heritage Dictionary defines McCarthyism as “1. The political practice of publicizing accusations of disloyalty or subversion with insufficient regard to evidence; and 2. The use of methods of investigation and accusation regarded as unfair, to suppress opposition.” McCarthyism is known as the “second Ref Scare” in the United States. It was an era of “political repression and persecution of left-wing individuals and a campaign spreading fear of alleged communist and Soviet influence on American institutions and Soviet espionage in the United States during the late 1940s through the 1950s.” Joseph McCarthy, a Wisconsin Senator, started what appeared to become a national witch-hunt in the United States in the late forties and early fifties. He rose to national prominence in the US after an alleged three-year undistinguishable stay in the US Senate, after delivering a speech in Congress where he claimed to have a list of “members of the communist party and members of a spy ring employed in the US State Department.” As a result of McCarty’s speech, congressional hearings were conducted by the U.S. House Committee on Un-American Activities that led to the imprisonment of 10 Hollywood screenwriters and directors. Likewise, hundreds of their colleagues in the movie industry were placed on the “blacklist.” The so-called human rights groups in the Philippines claim that red-tagging is often done without evidence. A human rights alliance group, Karapatan, slammed the NTF-ELCAC for gaining “notoriety in the red-tagging, harassing and intimidating political activists and other government critics and for instigating mass surrenders of civilians alleged to be supporters of the revolutionary movement.” Karapatan alleged, “Many of the victims of NTF-ELCAC’s red-tagging campaigns had ended up arrested and detained on trump-up charges, while others have been killed by vigilante groups or in armed encounters staged by the military.” There is a whale of a difference between the red-baiting in the United States during the McCarthyism period and the so called red-tagging in the Philippines. For one, those who have been red-tagged, if they feel they have been unjustly classified as communist supporters or secret members of the NPA, can always resort to civil suits for damages, just like one of them did. Unlike the late Senator McCarty, the perceived violators of their human rights are not immune from lawsuits. McCarty was immune from being sued when he red-tagged suspected members of the communist party because he enjoyed parliamentary immunity when he delivered the red-tagging speech. The claim that those red-tagged by government officials led to their deaths is just a claim. The human rights groups have not produced any proof of that. As to those arrested and jailed, it only means there was probable cause for the crimes they have been charged with — hence, the courts issued warrants for their arrest. As to the claim of trump-up charges, there have been instances where the courts have dismissed those criminal cases filed against them because the prosecution failed to produce the quantum of proof required by law in court. They can seek judicial redress by filing malicious criminal prosecution against those who made up the false charges plus damages. (To be continued) The post Red-tagged individuals create their own classification (1) appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Clampdown and grief as Iranians remember Mahsa Amini
Iranians at home and abroad marked the first anniversary Saturday of the death in police custody of Mahsa Amini, with activists speaking of a renewed crackdown to prevent any resurgence of the protests which rocked major cities last year. Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurd, died a few days after her arrest by religious police for allegedly violating the strict dress code for women in force since shortly after the 1979 revolution. Her family says she died from a blow to the head but this is disputed by Iranian authorities. Anger over her death rapidly expanded into weeks of taboo-breaking protests which saw women tearing off their mandatory headscarves in an open challenge to the Islamic republic's system of government under supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. But after several months, they lost momentum in the face of a crackdown that saw security forces kill 551 protesters, according to Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHR), and arrest more than 22,000, according to Amnesty International. Iranian authorities say dozens of security personnel were also killed in what they describe as "riots" incited by foreign governments and hostile media. Seven men have been executed after being convicted in protest-related cases. Campaigners say the authorities have renewed their crackdown in the runup to the anniversary, putting pressure on relatives of those killed in the protests in a bid to stop them speaking out. New York-based Human Rights Watch said family members of at least 36 people killed or executed in the crackdown had been interrogated, arrested, prosecuted or sentenced to prison over the past month. "Iranian authorities are trying to impose a chokehold on dissent to prevent public commemoration of Mahsa Jina Amini's death in custody, which has become the symbol of the government's systematic oppression of women, injustice and impunity," said HRW's senior Iran researcher, Tara Sepehri Far. 'Repressive forces' deployed The two journalists who did the most to publicize the Amini case –- Niloufar Hamedi and Elahe Mohammadi who respectively reported from her hospital and funeral –- have been held in prison for almost a year. Another reporter, Nazila Maroufian who interviewed Amini's father Amjad, has been arrested repeatedly. Amjad Amini has told Persian media based outside Iran that he plans to hold a commemoration for his daughter in their hometown of Saqez in Kurdish-populated western Iran later Saturday. Outlets, including Prague-based Radio Farda, said he was summoned by intelligence officials after his announcement. He was not arrested but one of Amini's uncles, Safa Aeli, was detained in Saqez on 5 September. According to Kurdish-focused news outlet Hengaw, the government has sent additional security forces to Saqez and other towns in western Iran that could become flashpoints. On Saturday, Hengaw said, "repressive forces" were deployed around the Amini family residence in Saqez. It posted photos on X, formerly Twitter, showing armed men in fatigues on the streets of Saqez, as well as video of shops shuttered and on strike to mark the anniversary in Saqez, Sanandaj and other cities of Kurdistan province. 'Doubling down' While some women are still seen walking in public without headscarves, particularly in wealthy, traditionally liberal areas of north Tehran, the conservative-dominated parliament is currently considering a draft law that would impose far stiffer penalties for non-compliance. "The Islamic republic is doubling down on repression and reprisals against its citizens and seeking to introduce new and more draconian laws that severely restrict further the rights of women and girls," said Sara Hossain, the chair of the UN fact-finding mission set up to investigate the crackdown. Under the slogan "Say her name!", Iranian emigres are expected to hold commemorative rallies, with large demonstrations expected in Paris and Toronto. Amnesty International accused Iran's authorities of committing a "litany of crimes under international law to eradicate any challenge to their iron grip on power" and lamented that not a single official had been even investigated over Amini's death or the crackdown. "The anniversary offers a stark reminder for countries around the world of the need to initiate criminal investigations into the heinous crimes committed by the Iranian authorities under universal jurisdiction," said Amnesty's Middle East and North Africa deputy director, Diana Eltahawy. On the eve of the anniversary, Iran's arch-foe the United States and its Western allies including Britain and the European Union imposed new sanctions on the Islamic republic over its protest crackdown. Announcing the measures, US President Joe Biden led international calls in solidarity with Iranians on the anniversary of Amini's death. "Iranians alone will determine the fate of their country, but the United States remains committed to standing with them," he said. Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani slammed the Western countries' "illegal and undiplomatic actions" in a statement late Friday. The post Clampdown and grief as Iranians remember Mahsa Amini appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Iran re-arrests reporter who interviewed Amini father
Iranian authorities have re-arrested a journalist who interviewed the father of the woman whose custody death sparked months of protests, just two days after her release from jail, activists said on Tuesday. Nazila Maroufian walked out of Tehran's Evin prison on Sunday, posting on social media a picture of herself without a headscarf in defiance of the Islamic republic's strict dress code for women. "Don't accept slavery, you deserve the best!" she wrote in her posts. But she has now been detained again and moved outside of Tehran to Qarchak women's prison, whose conditions are repeatedly criticized by rights groups, the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) said. The group, which collates information from activists, said it had confirmed her re-arrest with a source close to the family. Maroufian, whose age is given by Persian media outside Iran as 23, in October published an interview on the Mostaghel Online news site with Amjad Amini. He is the father of Mahsa Amini, 22. Her death in custody last 16 September after she allegedly violated the dress rules sparked months of protests. In the interview, Amjad Amini accused authorities of lying about the circumstances of his daughter's death. Iranian authorities have indicated she died because of a health problem, but the family and activists have said she suffered a blow to the head while in custody. Echoes of another case Maroufian, a Tehran-based journalist from Amini's hometown of Saqez in Kurdistan province, was first arrested in November. She was later released but in January said she had been sentenced to two years in jail, suspended for five years, on charges of propaganda against the system and spreading false news. According to rights groups, Maroufian was again ordered back to Evin prison in early July. Her rapid return to prison after posting defiant images upon her release on Sunday recalls the case of labor activist Sepideh Gholian. In March, Gholian was re-arrested hours after she walked free from jail bare-headed and chanting slogans against Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Gholian, one of the most prominent female activists detained in Iran, remains in prison. Iran has reacted harshly to reporting inside the country on the Amini case. The two women journalists who helped bring the story to the world's attention have now spent almost a year in Evin prison after their arrest in September. Niloufar Hamedi reported for Iran's Shargh newspaper from the hospital where Amini languished in a coma for three days before she died, and Elahe Mohammadi, a reporter for the Ham Mihan newspaper, went to Saqez to report on Amini's funeral. Both are now on trial on charges of violating national security, which they vehemently deny. According to the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists, 95 reporters were arrested in the crackdown on the Amini protests, although most have now been released on bail. The crackdown left hundreds dead, mainly demonstrators but also security personnel. The post Iran re-arrests reporter who interviewed Amini father appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Hardline Cambodian PM Hun Sen to step down after four decades
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, one of the world's longest-serving leaders, said Wednesday he will resign and hand power to his eldest son after almost four decades of hardline rule. The former Khmer Rouge cadre has run the kingdom since 1985, eliminating all opposition to his power, with opposition parties banned, challengers forced to flee and freedom of expression stifled. His Cambodian People's Party won a landslide victory in an election on Sunday with no meaningful opposition, taking 82 percent of the vote, paving the way for a dynastic succession to his eldest son that some critics have compared to North Korea. "I would like to ask for understanding from the people as I announce that I will not continue as prime minister," the 70-year-old said in a special broadcast on state television. Election authorities disqualified the only serious challenger, the Candlelight Party, on a technicality in advance of the election, and the CPP is expected to win all but five lower house seats. The government hailed the 84.6 percent voter turnout as evidence of the country's "democratic maturity" but Western powers including the United States and European Union condemned the poll as neither free nor fair. Hun Sen said Hun Manet, a 45-year-old four-star general, would take over as prime minister at the head of a new government on the evening of August 22. "I ask people to support Hun Manet who will be the new prime minister," he said. Chinese influence Hun Sen has trailed the handover to his son for a year and a half, and the 45-year-old played a leading role in campaigning for Sunday's vote. But the outgoing leader has made it clear that he still intends to wield influence, even after he steps down, scotching the notion the country could change direction. In his announcement on Wednesday, he said he would become president of the senate and act as head of state when the king is overseas. Under Hun Sen, Cambodia has tacked close to Beijing, benefiting from huge Chinese investment and infrastructure projects, including the redevelopment of a naval base that has alarmed Washington. China welcomed Sunday's election, with President Xi Jinping sending Hun Sen a personal message of congratulations. But the flood of Chinese money has brought problems, including a rash of casinos and online scam operations staffed by foreign workers, many trafficked and toiling in appalling conditions. Critics say his rule has also been marked by environmental destruction and entrenched graft. Cambodia ranks 150th out of 180 in Transparency International's corruption perception index. In Asia, only Myanmar and North Korea rank lower. Rights groups accuse Hun Sen of using the legal system to crush any opposition to his rule -- including critical activists and troublesome union leaders as well as politicians. Scores of opposition politicians have been convicted and jailed during his time in power and the law was changed ahead of Sunday's election to make it illegal to call for voters to spoil ballots. Five days before polling day, authorities banned exiled opposition figurehead Sam Rainsy from running for office for 25 years for urging people to void their ballot papers. Opposition leader Kem Sokha was in March convicted of treason and sentenced to 27 years in prison over an alleged plot to topple Hun Sen's government. He is currently serving his sentence under house arrest. The post Hardline Cambodian PM Hun Sen to step down after four decades appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Indian ‘debt slaves’ rescued
Eleven shackled workers in India digging wells for 12 hours a day without wages have been rescued from a chain gang, a government rights body said Monday. The rescue of the laborers from Maharashtra state was launched on 17 June after one of them slipped his chains and reported their torture to the police, the National Human Rights Commission said. It shone new light on the long-outlawed practice of bonded labor, dubbed “debt slavery” by rights campaigners, in which debtors are forced to work to pay back borrowed cash while interest keeps mounting. NHRC said in a statement that the workers were chained to prevent them from escaping, were fed once a day and forced to defecate where they worked. Police had arrested four people but the NHRC said more had to be done than the “mere rescue by the police and arrest of some of the accused.” The NHRC said the case “grossly violated” the 1976 abolition of the bonded labor system. Rules against bonded labor are regularly flouted to maximize profits with little fear of prosecution, with activists saying there are some 10 million bonded laborers in India. The NHRC said the employers in this case were “habitual” in engaging laborers and then using such brutal conditions that, when the workers were released after three or four months, “they preferred running away without asking for wages to escape more torture.” The post Indian ‘debt slaves’ rescued appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Twitter, Saudi Arabia sued in US over jailed user
The sister of a Saudi national imprisoned after tweets criticizing the government on Tuesday sued both Twitter and the kingdom, alleging they worked together to support "repression." The lawsuit filed in a US federal court in San Francisco, which named powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as a conspirator, seeks a jury trial to determine damages. Abdulrahman al-Sadhan was working for the Red Crescent in Riyadh when he was taken away from the office in 2018 and later handed a 20-year jail sentence. Al-Sadhan, who had studied in the United States, had set up an anonymous Twitter account through which he critiqued the ultra-conservative monarchy and retweeted dissident voices. US prosecutors later charged two former Twitter employees for spying on behalf of Saudi Arabia. One was convicted in December with another believed to have left for the kingdom. The lawsuit said the agents transmitted confidential Twitter data 30,892 times. Al-Sadhan's sister Areej al-Sadhan, a US citizen, said in the lawsuit that she learned that secret police "broke Plaintiff Abdulrahmam's hand and smashed his fingers, taunting him that 'this is the hand you write and tweet with.' "The secret police also tortured Plaintiff Abdulrahman with electric shocks, flogged and hung him from his feet, suspended him in contorted positions, deprived him of sleep, threatened to behead him, insulted him, and kept him in solitary confinement for years," the lawsuit said. The lawsuit sued Twitter and Saudi Arabia on allegations of racketeering, a US crime initially used to target the mafia that involves coordinating illegal activity for profit. The lawsuit noted that a Saudi investment firm as of late last year was the second biggest shareholder in Twitter after CEO Elon Musk and that some of the Saudi stake had been sold to the kingdom's sovereign wealth fund. The lawsuit said that Twitter, including by allowing anonymous accounts, had been a champion for activists in the Arab Spring democratic uprisings. "Unfortunately, Defendant Twitter became a participant tool of transnational repression to silence voices of dissent beyond Saudi Arabia's borders in the United States and abroad, all in an effort to monetize its commercial relationship with Defendant KSA," it said, referring to the kingdom. Areej al-Sadhan said in the lawsuit that she has had to be "constantly vigilant" since her brother's arrest and fears being kidnapped. "Plaintiff Areej suffers daily as a target of the Saudi Criminal Enterprise, in what she can only describe as a 'living nightmare,'" it said. The post Twitter, Saudi Arabia sued in US over jailed user appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Anti-monarchists among UK protesters arrested before king’s coronation
UK police on Saturday arrested leading members of the anti-monarchy group Republic as they prepared to protest along the route of a procession for the coronation of King Charles III, the organization said. "They've arrested six of our organizers and seized hundreds of placards, they won't tell us why they've arrested them or where they're being held," a Republic activist told AFP in London's Trafalgar Square. Republic chief executive Graham Smith was one of those arrested before the group had a chance to wave placards declaring: "Not My King." Some onlookers nearby shouted "free Graham Smith" but others shouted "God save the king" and waved UK flags. A camera crew from the group Alliance of European Republican Movements was at the scene and asked a senior police officer why the group had been detained. "They're under arrest. End of," the officer told them, walking off, according to footage posted by the group on Twitter. UK police forces were controversially granted new anti-protest powers by the government under a new law rushed through this week. On its Twitter feed, Republic confirmed the arrests and seizure of placards. "Is this democracy?" it demanded. Smith told reporters last week: "We certainly have no plans to disrupt the actual procession." Waving placards and shouting would show "in front of the world's press that we are not a country of loyalists, that there is a growing opposition", the Republic founder said. The new law was enacted after months of disruptive tactics around Britain by groups opposed to fossil fuels. It entails stiffer jail terms against activists gluing and padlocking themselves to immovable objects. Separately Saturday, 13 members of the group Just Stop Oil were arrested and handcuffed by police on The Mall between Trafalgar Square and Buckingham Palace, an AFP reporter saw. In a statement, the Metropolitan police confirmed only seven arrests early Saturday "on suspicion of offenses including breaching the peace and conspiracy to cause public nuisance close to the coronation". Officers seized "lock-on devices" from one group next to Trafalgar Square, it said. The post Anti-monarchists among UK protesters arrested before king’s coronation appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Group questions student activists’ arrest
The International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines condemned yesterday what it described as the unlawful arrest of student activists during a lightning rally in front of the United States embassy in Manila on Tuesday......»»
MPD files raps vs EDCA protesters
The Manila Police District on Wednesday revealed that it has already filed criminal charges against two individuals who were part of the group that staged a lightning rally in front of the United States Embassy early Tuesday. MPD chief P/Brig. Gen. Andrei Dizon identified the two as John Gabriel Magtibay and Joanne Pagkaliwangan, who were arrested by police after their group caused a ruckus in front of the US Embassy. The students were from the University of the Philippines and Far Eastern University based on records and they are believed to be members of the militant group Anak Bayan and League of Filipino Students. To recall, a group of 30 individuals converged at the US Embassy and threw paint at the emblem before escaping in different directions, but police who were posted in the area chased the protesters and managed to catch the two students. “The Manila Police had always respects peaceful assembly and human rights and freedom of an individual but it must have a corresponding responsibility. In addition we have four freedom parks in the city of Manila — Plaza Miranda , Liwasang Bonifacio, Plaza Dilao and Plaza Moriones which is open to the public provided that they adhere to the existing laws,” Dizon said. Charges filed against the two were for violation of B.P. 880 (Public Assembly Act of 1985), Vandalism and violation of Article 151 of the RPC (Resisting Arrest). Meantime, the Office of the City Prosecutor of Manila has ordered the release of the two student activists. However, inquest prosecutor William Arimboyutan Jr. recommended the charges be referred for further investigation. The post MPD files raps vs EDCA protesters appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Cordillera activist arrested, 8 others charged with rebellion
“We condemn the continuing weaponization of the law that is used to arrest and detain activists without bail. No due process was observed in this case as the respondents say that they were not duly informed of the case." The post Cordillera activist arrested, 8 others charged with rebellion appeared first on Bulatlat......»»
CA voids search warrants vs Baby River’s mother, 2 other activists
The Court of Appeals says the search warrants issued in 2019 that led to the arrest of three activists failed to meet standards, deeming all recovered evidence as inadmissible.....»»
Justice for those killed in search warrant abuses
Last week, the Supreme Court made public its amended rules on search warrant issuances and search operations, aimed at ending the abuses by law enforcers that have resulted in the killing of dozens and arrest of hundreds of activists in the past three years......»»
Rights group urges release of activists arrested using questionable warrants
“For accountability and justice to hold sway, we press that a review be made of all cases that emanated from the sala of those judges who turned their courts into a search warrant factory that led to the arrest and outright killing of activists." The post Rights group urges release of activists arrested using questionable warrants appeared first on Bulatlat......»»
Courts junk motion questioning warrant vs 4 activists nabbed on Human Rights Day
Two local courts junked the separate motions to junk search warrants that led to the arrest of the four activists part of the dubbed "Human Rights Day 7.".....»»
Zambales youth activists released after Labor Day arrest
The police and military also forced the victims to sign a document linking them to the Communist Party of the Philippines - New People's Army (CPP-NPA), CEGP said. The post Zambales youth activists released after Labor Day arrest appeared first on Bulatlat......»»
12 Zambales youth activists released after Labor Day arrest
The police and military also forced the victims to sign a document linking them to the Communist Party of the Philippines - New People's Army (CPP-NPA), CEGP said. The post 12 Zambales youth activists released after Labor Day arrest appeared first on Bulatlat......»»
‘Randomized swab testing’ used to arrest 2 activists, youth group says
Alicia Lucena’s phone was then confiscated, denying her the opportunity to contact a paralegal or a lawyer. Bangayan said Lucena’s father arrived at the village hall, accompanied by a staff from the government’s Inter-Agency Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict. The post ‘Randomized swab testing’ used to arrest 2 activists, youth group says appeared first on Bulatlat......»»