tagged w/ beatings
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Nothing like this day in history to make you appreciate the present, no matter how nuts it is.Nothing like this day in history to make you appreciate the present, no matter how... more
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In response to the recent brutal beating of popular Syrian political cartoonist and human-rights activist Ali Ferzat. Cartoonists around the world have been asked to respond in the best way they know how. Here is my Cartoon suggesting that the solution to the Syrian problem would be to simply erase Bashar al-Assad. Unfortunately it's not going to be that easy.In response to the recent brutal beating of popular Syrian political cartoonist and... more
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http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01835/iraq_1835614c.jpg
BAGHDAD - Iraqi security forces detained about 300 people, including prominent journalists, artists and lawyers who took part in nationwide demonstrations Friday, in what some of them described as an operation to intimidate Baghdad intellectuals who hold sway over popular opinion.
On Saturday, four journalists who had been released described being rounded up well after they had left a protest of thousands at Baghdad's Tahrir Square. They said they were handcuffed, blindfolded, beaten and threatened with execution by soldiers from an army intelligence unit.
"It was like they were dealing with a bunch of al-Qaeda operatives, not a group of journalists," said Hussan al-Ssairi, a journalist and poet who described seeing hundreds of protesters in black hoods at the detention facility. "Yesterday was like a test, like a picture of the new democracy in Iraq."
The Iraq protests were different from many of the revolts sweeping the Middle East and North Africa in that demonstrators were calling for reform, not for getting rid of the government. Their demands ranged from more electricity and jobs to ending corruption, reflecting a dissatisfaction with government that cuts across sectarian and class lines.
Yet the protests were similar to others in that they were organized, at least in part, by middle-class, secular intellectuals, many of whom started Facebook groups, wrote and gave interviews supporting the planned demonstrations.
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who only recently formed a fragile governing coalition that is supported by the United States, was apparently concerned about the protest billed as Iraq's "Day of Rage." Leading up to Friday, he ordered a curfew on cars and urged Iraqis to stay home, as a government spokesman warned of "terrorists" who might use "sniping and silencer pistols" to target crowds. Security forces raided a prominent journalist watchdog group involved in organizing the protest.
Despite that, tens of thousands of Iraqis turned out for the protests, which began peacefully but degenerated as forces fired water cannons, sound bombs and live bullets to disperse crowds.
The death toll rose to at least 29 Saturday, as officials reported that six more protesters, including a 14-year-old boy, died from bullet wounds. The deaths were recorded in at least eight places, including Fallujah, Mosul and Tikrit.
Ssairi and his colleagues had joined the protests in Baghdad's Tahrir Square, some wrapping themselves in white sheets in a sign of peace. As the sun set, helicopters swooped down into the crowd, signaling the start of the crackdown.
Around 4 p.m., Aldiyar TV manager Fiysal Alyassiry, who had broadcast the demonstrations, reported that security forces had attacked the station, beat a worker, arrested seven people including a director and an anchorman, and closed the station.
About the same time, Ssairi and his colleages were sitting at an open-air restaurant two miles from the square. According to interviews with him and several others, two Humvees pulled up and about a dozen camoflauge-clad soldiers stormed inside. They paused for about five minutes, looking at the faces.
They descended upon the table where Hadi al-Mahdi, a journalist and theater director, was sitting with three friends and began beating them as others looked on.
"We said, 'What are you doing - we're journalists!' " Mahdi said. "And they said [expletive] journalism.' "
They loaded them into the Humvees, drove them to a side street, where they beat them again. Then, blindfolded, they were driven to a place Mahdi later recognized as the former Defense Ministry building, which houses an intelligence unit of the army's 11th Division.
Inside, they heard soldiers laughing and chanting "Maliki liar!" - mocking a slogan some protesters had shouted. Mahdi said he was taken to a room alone, and soon, he was being beaten with sticks, boots and fists. One soldier threatened to rape him, he said. They threatened to kill him. They took his shoes off, wet his feet and administered electric shocks to them.
In between, the soldiers interrogated him, he said. They accused him of being a tool of outsiders wishing to topple Maliki's government and demanded that he confess to being a member of the Sadaam Hussein's Baath party. Hadi explained that he blamed Baathists for killing two of his brothers. He told them that he'd been a member of Maliki's Dawa party until he recently became disillusioned.
"They said, 'You're Dawa?' " Hadi said. "Then I realized they were totally stupid."
A soldier accused him of being a traitor and beat him some more. And then Hadi, who comes from a prominent family, was told he and his colleagues would be released, the result of friends who made some well-placed phone calls.
Just before they were freed, however, Hadi was held in a room where about 300 people sat on the floor. They had black hoods over their heads. Many were groaning, their shirts bloodied. Some wore suits and ties. An elderly man had passed out. Hadi recognized a friend, a TV broadcaster, among them.
"This government is sending a message to us - to everybody," Hadi said Saturday, his forehead bruised, his left leg swollen.
Gathered at a house in the afternoon, which was quiet the day after the Friday protests, Hadi's colleagues told similar stories as they smoked cigarettes. Many said that despite their treatment, they considered the protest successful.
"It's put pressure," said Raad Mushatat, a filmmaker who was not detained. "The government is scared. But they do not scare me anymore."
ALSO: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/26/AR2011022601854.htmlhttp://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01835/iraq_1835614c.jpg
BAGHDAD - Iraqi... more
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DEAR VANGUARD JOURNALISTS / PRODUCERS: PLEASE INVESTIGATE THESE CASES -- IT NEEDS TO BE HEARD, IT NEEDS TO BE SHOWN, IT NEEDS TO BE STOPPED.DEAR VANGUARD JOURNALISTS / PRODUCERS: PLEASE INVESTIGATE THESE CASES -- IT NEEDS TO... more
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Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (CNN) -- For the first time, Malaysian authorities have caned three Muslim women under Islamic law for acts of adultery, the Malaysian national news agency Bernama said.
Home Minister Hishamuddin Hussein announced the canings Wednesday, saying the penalty was carried out February 9 at a women's prison near Kuala Lumpur.
The canings -- a punishment that persists across Malaysian society since the British colonial era of the 19th century -- have been denounced by one Amnesty International official, who says "caning is tantamount to torture."
But Hishamuddin said the punishment was carried out "to educate and make the offenders realize their mistakes and to return to the right path."
"It is hoped that the issue will not be wrongly interpreted to the extent of tarnishing the sanctity of Islam," he was quoted as saying. He also said the punishment did not cause any injury and that the women were remorseful and repented, Bernama reported.
The women were struck with a rattan cane. One woman was released Sunday after spending a month in prison, another will be released in the next few days, and the third will be released in June.
Malaysia, which considers itself a moderate Muslim country, has a dual-track justice system, in which Islamic courts operate alongside civil ones. Muslims make up about 60 percent of the country's population of 28 million.
Last year, a woman was sentenced to caning under Islamic law for drinking alcohol in public -- beer at a hotel bar -- and that case caused an uproar in the country. Malaysia forbids alcohol consumption by Muslims, even those who are visiting the country.Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (CNN) -- For the first time, Malaysian authorities have caned... more
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Italy is gripped by crisis and unemployment and with democracy in danger, but is not the only nation in Western Europe in these conditions. Greece experience a similar situation in many respects. Even though recently there the Socialist Party won the election, still isn't ended the social unrest that followed the death of a 15 years old student, killed by police on 6 December 2008. New clashes between students and the Greek police took place on November 17.
http://www.inaltreparole.net/en/world/grecia191109.htmlItaly is gripped by crisis and unemployment and with democracy in danger, but is not... more
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A 50 years old woman who earns a living with acupuncture and massage is a risk to national security? Another woman of 45 years with a husband and two adult children, is a danger to italian citizens?
These are the stories of "illegal" immigrants detained without trial, without reason and without any conviction in the identification and deportation centers (Cie), for a period of up to 6 months.A 50 years old woman who earns a living with acupuncture and massage is a risk to... more
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