Daily Archives: April 25, 2023

The battle between the United States and authoritarian regimes is moving beyond the confines of cyberspace and increasingly is playing out on U.S. soil as countries like China and Iran target dissidents and minority groups in ever more brazen operations.

FBI senior counterintelligence officials Wednesday warned of new tactics and of lines that are being crossed by a growing number of countries, saying the U.S. is now facing an inflection point in trying to fend off transnational repression.

The change that we're trying to highlight is sort of an increase in the level of threats, and threats of violence, threats of intimidation that cross lines we have not previously seen, a senior FBI counterintelligence official told reporters, briefing them on the condition of anonymity under guidelines set by the bureau.

China, Iran and other countries see this as a priority for them to stabilize their regimes and make sure that they continue to exist, a second senior official said. They're increasing the priority of this ... they're more willing to go on U.S. soil to go after dissidents.

Wednesdays warning from the FBI comes just days after the FBI arrested two New York City residents, charging them with operating a secret and illegal police station on behalf of Chinas Ministry of Public Security.

We cannot and will not tolerate the Chinese government's persecution of pro-democracy activists who have sought refuge in this country," U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said while announcing the charges on Monday.

We remain resolved and steadfast to fight against any efforts by the Chinese Communist Party to oppress and intimidate our residents, he added.

FBI officials declined Wednesday to share details on just how many countries are engaged in transnational repression, which includes tactics like stalking, intimidation, or assault, against people residing in the U.S.

Multiple threats

We try not to rack and stack threats, the first FBI official said, noting China and Iran have been significant offenders.

Other U.S. officials have pointed to indictments against suspects linked to Belarus, Egypt and Saudi Arabia. And concerns about Russia are ever present.

But regardless of which government is behind the acts of repression, human rights organizations agree the threat is growing.

A database maintained by the U.S.-based Freedom House has tracked 854 physical incidents of transnational repression committed in 91 countries by 38 governments since 2014, including 79 incidents in 2022 alone.

China was the most prolific, according to the Freedom House data, engaging in 253 incidents of what the organization described as direct, physical transnational repression over the past nine years.

Turkey was second, followed by Tajikistan, Russia, Egypt, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Belarus, Iran and Rwanda.

Growing sophistication

FBI and other law enforcement officials also warn that many of these countries are becoming more sophisticated and more brazen in their efforts to silence critics in the U.S.

In its Worldwide Threat Assessment earlier this year, U.S. intelligence agencies said the Chinese government is actively monitoring Chinese students abroad, mobilizing Chinese student associations to help stifle dissent.

And when that is not enough, Beijing is willing to enlist the aid of China-based commercial enterprises to help surveil and censor PRC critics, the report said.

As for Iran, the report cautioned that Tehran remains committed to developing surrogate networks inside the United States, an objective it has pursued for more than a decade.

Some of Irans attempts have made headlines in the U.S., including multiple plots targeting Masih Alinejad, an Iranian American human rights activist and VOA Persian TV host.

Earlier this year, the U.S. Justice Department charged three members of an Eastern European criminal gang in connection with a plot to kill Alinejad outside her New York City home.

In a separate plot last year, U.S. prosecutors charged a member of Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in a murder-for-hire plot targeting former U.S. national security adviser Ambassador John Bolton.

In another case, last year, an official with Chinas MPS was charged with trying to interfere with the congressional campaign of a U.S. military veteran who had been involved with the 1989 pro-democracy protests at Tiananmen Square.

Reaction

Chinas embassy in Washington, late Wednesday, rejected the FBIs allegations.

Chinas police do not engage in transnational repression and coercion against the so-called dissidents and dissenters, embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu told VOA in an email.

The Chinese government strictly abides by international law, and fully respects the law enforcement sovereignty of other countries, he said, accusing the U.S. of seeking to smear Chinas image.

Other countries named by U.S. officials as engaging in transnational repression, including Iran, Belarus, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, have yet to respond to requests for a response to the U.S. allegations.

U.S. officials, however, have repeatedly dismissed denials like those from China.

US pushback

As alleged, these brazen acts of transnational repression violate U.S. law; they infringe on our sovereignty; and perhaps most critically, they are an attack on our most fundamental values, U.S. Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said during a speech last month in Washington.

We will use every tool to expose the repressive tactics of autocratic regimes and force their agents to answer for their unlawful behavior, she said. And we will support our allies and partners in doing the same.

Over the past two years, the FBI has ramped up training, both for its analysts and for its field officers, including those who work closely with airports and other transportation hubs, to help them better recognize activities that may point to transnational repression plots.

But the governments engaging in transnational repression are finding more sophisticated ways to silence those they do not like, including the growing use by China and Iran of private investigators, who are not always aware of what is going on.

Weve seen where the private investigators are not witting to what's going on and where, in fact, the subjects are using some kind of cut-out company to mask who is behind, an FBI official told VOA separately, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

In other cases, the official said China has even tried to co-opt local police.

When you're dealing with local law enforcement, they tend to trust other law enforcement, the official told VOA. So, when they get a request from, let's say, Chinese law enforcement theyre going to accept it at face value.

FBI outreach

One of the things we're trying to do is to conduct outreach to private investigator associations, just to apprise them of the threat and explain if you get this type of request, it may be transnational oppression, the official said.

Same thing with local police departments, the official added. Part of the outreach is explaining hey, some of these countries use things like red notices for political reasons, where they're going after someone who disagrees with them, and the charges are made up.

The FBI has also invested in outreach to immigrant communities that have been targeted in the past or that are likely to be targeted in the future.

Already, the FBIs threat intimidation guide has been translated into more than 60 languages. And efforts to make sure those communities are comfortable dealing with the FBI are ongoing.

Still, it can be tricky.

Officials say authoritarian regimes often make good use of cyberspace to intimidate and silence those they do not like.

It's certainly an enabler, a second FBI official told VOA. Any country with even limited resources can certainly engage in at least online harassment with very little investment or expertise.

And some authoritarian regimes, like China and to a lesser extent Iran, have even managed to use threats and money to coerce those they are targeting to help silence others.

This is almost an area of potential double victimization, the second FBI official told VOA. A person could be threatened with impacts to their loved ones back in the autocratic country if they don't report on others here in the United States.

It's really challenging, the official added.

Masood Farivar contributed to this report.

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FBI Warns of Inflection Point as Foreign Governments Target US Residents - Voice of America - VOA News

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There have been rumors about increasing fuel prices in Iran. While officials deny this, they tacitly confirm the reports through actions such as recollecting government-issued fuel cards from people. Meanwhile, many consider increasing fuel prices as playing with fire with severe consequences for the ruling theocracy.

The state TV keeps on speaking about the necessity to increase fuel prices due to the devaluation of Irans national currency, the rial, forcing an enormous financial burden on the government, thus leaving no choice for the regime but to increase fuel prices.

The regime tested the publics tolerance on April 4 by issuing an unsigned statement, confirming the increase in fuel prices. The Guardian Council and government have ratified increasing fuel prices to 50,000 rials for rationed gasoline and 750,000 rials for regular fuel, the statement read.

Fearing a public backlash, none of the regimes governing bodies took responsibility for this statement.Now, state officials try to recollect fuel cards under the pretext of combatting gasoline smuggling, which they claim amounts to 50 million liters daily. Even some state-run outlets have rejected this bogus claim.

The fuel tanker capacity is highly variable, with a maximum threshold of 35,000 liters. To put this into perspective, to smuggle a staggering 50 million liters of fuel, over 1,500 high-capacity road tankers must depart the nation daily! the state-run Etemad daily wrote on April 18.

Fuel smuggling in Iran is a reality. But the regime is to blame for it, as the borders, ports, and the countrys oil and gas industry are controlled by the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC).

Obviously, road tankers cannot smuggle 50 million liters of gasoline per day. Even if smugglers use fuel vans or trucks and trailers, which have a small capacity, hundreds of thousands of vehicles should line up at borders daily to smuggle this amount of gasoline. Such a scenario is unfeasible. Therefore, to effectively combat smuggling, authorities must dismantle the structured networks and entities that operate within official ports and borders, with access to their own private pipelines, the paper adds.

In another piece on April 21, Etemad acknowledged how authorities are playing with fuel prices and opting to plunder people further while fearing their reaction.

With many drivers still awaiting fuel cards, the recent news of gasoline price hikes, recollecting fuel cards, and authorities denial of such increases have caused a significant social disturbance. The governments sudden increase in fuel prices in November 2019, which officials had denied just a day prior, still lingers in societys memory. The aftermath of that incident proved to be arduous for the public. Consequently, experts speculate that the current game of cat-and-mouse played by the authorities regarding fuel price hikes is an attempt to gauge the publics patience, the paper wrote, warning about the consequences by reminding authorities about the major protests in November 2019, which rattled the regimes foundation.

By increasing fuel prices, the regime will shoot itself in the leg. Yet, the ruling theocracy desperately needs money to fund its oppressive apparatus and terrorism machine. Ebrahim Raisis government has a huge budget deficit of roughly $11 billion. Yet, his budget bill includes a whopping 131% increase for the IRGC, the regimes primary force of oppression.

In the interim, the bill mandates a minimum wage of 70 million rials per month or the equivalent of $171. In March, the Ministry of Labor estimated the poverty threshold to be approximately 150 million rials or $341 monthly. Furthermore, Iranian citizens are egregiously lacking in any form of governmental assistance, including social welfare and medical provisions. Raisi wants to compensate for his governments budget deficit by increasing taxes and digging his hands deeper into peoples pockets by raising the price of basic needs such as fuel.

By increasing fuel prices, the prices of other consumer goods will also skyrocket, putting more pressure on the Iranian people, who are deprived of their basic needs due to the countrys financial calamity. According to the state-run Donyaye Eqtesad website, taxi fares will increase by 45% starting April 24, and Aftab News reported a simultaneous 23% increase in Tehrans subway tickets

Inflation hovers above 50%, the prices are skyrocketing, and according to Irans state media, over 80% of the population lives under the poverty line.

The nightmare of downfall, particularly amid the ongoing nationwide uprising, haunts the clerical regime. Irans society is on the verge of another social explosion, and anything could lead to a devastating ending for the regime. Irans regime is walking on thin ice as the people have reached a point where they have nothing left to lose, and actions such as increasing fuel prices may only serve to hasten the regimes downfall.

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Is Iran's Regime Playing with Fire by Increasing Fuel Prices? - NCRI - National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI)

Young people

Calls for police powers to be rolled back in favour of funding for youth services and mental health initiatives

Mon 24 Apr 2023 19.01 EDT

A community-led approach is needed to tackle serious youth violence, such as more funding for youth services and mental health initiatives while rolling back police powers, a report has said.

Education is central to the fight against serious youth violence, which must involve an end to school exclusions and the removal of police from schools, according to Holding Our Own: A guide to non-policing solutions to serious youth violence.

The report written by nine organisations working across human rights, youth services, racial justice, mental health and policing calls for a radical rethink of how the government tackles the issue across the UK.

It comes as polling revealed that 69% of people said the government should look for solutions to the root causes of youth violence rather than relying on policing, which disproportionately targets black people, and young black men and boys, in particular.

More than three-quarters (76%) of people said they were concerned about sexism and racism in policing.

The poll of 2,015 adults across the UK was carried out by Walnut Unlimited in March 2023. It found that more than four in five members of the public (81%) are concerned about police officers abusing their power.

Almost three-quarters (74%) would like to see more funding for youth services, which have faced severe funding cuts over the past decade, the report says.

Martha Spurrier, the director of Liberty, said: Whatever our postcode or the colour of our skin, we all deserve to grow up with the support and care we need to thrive.

But thats not the reality for many young people growing up today. Communities have been stripped of resources, and in place of real support for young people the government has simply handed the police more and more powers to harass and target people particularly young black people.

The result is a failure to tackle the root causes of serious youth violence, and a lifetime of trauma for those young people targeted by dehumanising police tactics like strip-search and stop and search.

The report says the government has continued to hand more powers to the police through the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act and the public order bill despite an erosion in public trust.

This report shows an alternative is possible. By rolling back police powers and investing in the solutions that our communities need, we can ensure that no young person is subjected to abuse of power by the police, and that everyone is given the best chance in life, Spurrier added.

More funding for mental health care is also needed, the report says. Amy Wells, the communications manager for the National Survivor User Network, a charity that supports people who have lived experience of mental distress, said: Wed like people to understand where a call for more mental health services can be problematic, because of the harm people can experience within the system, including through coercion and police involvement.

What we want to see is investment in community-based approaches to mental health support. In our network there are hundreds of user-led grassroots groups working within their communities to meet specific needs in ways that larger organisations and statutory services cant or wont.

They offer support emotional, cultural, material, practical, financial that also seeks to alter or alleviate social conditions that drive distress or mental ill-health, including marginalisation and oppression. However, they are extremely under-funded and under-resourced we want to see this change.

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Community-led approach needed to tackle youth violence in UK, report finds - The Guardian

New Delhi: The Tamil Nadu Assembly adopted a resolution on Wednesday, April 19, urging the Union government to extend statutory protection, rights, and concessions, including reservation, to Scheduled Caste members who have converted to Christianity.

After moving the resolution, chief minister M.K. Stalin said it is unfair to deny Dalit Christians the benefits of reservations enjoyed by the other members of the same community only because of their conversion to Christianity.

While humans have the right to follow the religion of their choice, they cannot do it in the case of caste. Caste is not just about the identity of two different persons. On the other hand, it treats one as higher and the other as lower. It is not horizontal, but vertical. The philosophy of social justice is to use the same casteism, a tool of oppression, to provide reservation and uplift the victims of oppression. It is the objective of the Dravidian Model Government to follow in all aspects, The Hindu quoted Stalin as saying after moving the resolution before the Assembly.

The four MLAs of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) walked out of the House, opposing the resolution. Speaker M. Appavu expunged the remarks made by BJP MLA, Vanathi Srinivasan, on the issue. According to the Times of India, Srinivasan called the resolution by Stalins government a diversionary tactic, questioning the rationale behind bringing out a such resolution at a time when the Union government, led by her party, had constituted a committee to examine the need to extend quota to Dalit Christians.

Meanwhile, Stalin questioned the constitutional position of not extending reservations to Dalits who convert to Christianity and Islam. As per the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order of 1950, no person belonging to a religion other than Hinduism, Sikhism or Buddhism can be deemed Scheduled Caste and hence cannot avail reservation.

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When they remain as the Scheduled Castes historically, it is but fair to extend them the benefits. They can get education and employment only through reservation, Stalin argued, adding that Adi Dravidars continued to face caste atrocities even after conversion to Christianity. Adi Dravidars are categorised as a Dalit community in Tamil Nadu.

Stalin recalled that former chief minister M. Karunanidhi had written to the then prime ministers in 1996, 2006, and 2011 requesting for reservations to be extended to Dalit Christians.

He also said that his government had made rules to extend all benefits, except reservation, available for Dalits, to Adi Dravidards who accepted Christianity. The chief minister said it was part of his partys, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagams, election manifesto.

Meanwhile, the Union government has made it clear, through multiple affidavits filed before the Supreme Court, that it is not willing to extend quota to Dalit Christians and Muslims. In November 2022, it had claimed alleged foreign contributions as justification for keeping Dalit Muslims and Dalit Christians out of the Scheduled Castes list.

Similarly, in an affidavit filed before the top court in December 2022, it had made it clear that it was not willing to consider the recommendations of the2007 Justice Ranganath Misra Commission for Religious and Linguistic Minorities, which suggested that reservations benefits be extended to Dalits who accepted Christianity and Islam.

The government affidavit had called the 2007 commissions report flawed, as it was composed within the four walls of a room. The Modi government, however, had constituted in October 2022Justice K.G. Balakrishnan Commission to consider the pleas of Dalits Christians and Muslims to be included in reservation quotas. The time period granted to the Justice Balakrishnan Commission is two years.

Recently, on April 13, when the issue came before the top court, the Union government had requested the court to delay the hearing until the latest commissions report is ready. However, the court dismissed the governments plea. Tomorrow there will be a different political dispensation which may say that new report is not acceptable. How many committees would be appointed? the court had slammed the government.

Stating that the matter has been pending for almost 20 years, the three-member bench of the apex court had observed, Social stigma and religious stigma are different things. Social stigma may continue even after conversion. We cannot shut our eyes when we are considering all these constitutional matters.

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Extend Reservation to Dalit Christians, Tamil Nadu Assembly Tells Centre in Resolution - The Wire

The Russian Permanent Mission to the UN Office in Geneva received a letter from the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Trk, a letter in which Trk condemned the 25-year prison sentence against outspoken Kremlin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza.

Kara-Murza, 41, holds both Russian and British passports and has spent years as a politician opposing Russian President Vladimir Putin and lobbied foreign governments and institutions to impose sanctions on Russia and individual Russians for purported human rights violations.

"We are grateful to Mr. Trk for his close attention paid to domestic affairs in our country and the prompt comments," Russian Ambassador Gennady Gatilov said in a statement. "Undoubtedly, taking into account the principle of neutrality of the UN bodies, his Office must have already written and sent out similar letters to the permanent missions of the US and France."

"It is regrettable that Mr. Trk persistently continues to exemplify notorious 'double standards' and political bias towards the countries regarded as 'objectionable' by the specific group of Western states," he continued. "This once again casts doubt on the impartiality of the High Commissioner and his Office."

The British government summoned the Russian ambassador to make clear its condemnation of what it described as the "politically motivated" conviction and sentencing of outspoken Kara-Murza, a British dual national.

The German foreign ministry sharply condemns the sentencing of Kara-Murza, a spokesperson for the ministry said on Monday during a government press conference.

The United Nations human rights chief called on Moscow to free Kara-Murza.

"No one should be deprived of their liberty for exercising their human rights, and I call on the Russian authorities to release him without delay," said Volker Turk in a statement.

He added that the sentence was "another blow to the rule of law and civic space in the Russian Federation".

The United States condemns the sentencing of Kremlin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza for "speaking out against the Russian governments war of aggression against Ukraine," the US State Department said in a statement on Monday.

"Mr. Kara-Murza is yet another target of the Russian governments escalating campaign of repression," the department said after Russia sentenced Kara-Murza to 25 years in prison on treason and other charges earlier on Monday.

France's foreign ministry on Monday condemned the sentencing of Kremlin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza to 25 years in prison for treason, saying the Russian justice system had become a tool for oppression.

It added that the sentencing was another illustration of the Russian authorities' campaign of repression against all voices critical of the Russian leadership and its war of aggression against Ukraine.

Norway's foreign ministry on Monday condemned the sentencing of Kremlin critic and human rights activist Vladimir Kara-Murza to 25 years in prison.

"This is a deeply alarming and harsh sentence for exercising the right to freedom of expression," Norwegian foreign minister Anniken Huitfeldt said in a statement.

Father of three and former journalist was jailed for 25 years by a Russian court after they found him guilty of treason and other offenses he denied.

State prosecutors accused him of treason and of discrediting the Russian military after he criticized what Moscow calls its "special military operation" in Ukraine.

Hours before his arrest, Kara-Murza told CNN in an interview, alleging that Russia was being run by a "regime of murderers. He had also used speeches in the United States and across Europe to accuse Moscow of bombing civilian targets in Ukraine, a charge it has rejected.

In his final speech to the court, Kara-Murza had compared his own trial, which was held behind closed doors, to Josef Stalin's show trials in the 1930s and had declined to ask the court to acquit him, saying he stood by and was proud of everything he had said.

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Russia attacks UN envoy for 'political bias' over jailed Putin critic - The Jerusalem Post

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The Iranian regimes supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, delivered two speeches this week, in which he made it clear the nationwide uprising and its persistence have created a deadlock for the ruling theocracy.

While repeating his rhetoric about overcoming the riots and other bogus claims, Khamenei once again underlined the necessity of oppression and that he cannot retreat a single step in the face of mounting pressure.

Referendum

In his remarks on Tuesday addressing members of the so-called university Basij, Khamenei once again rejected the idea of having a referendum, suggested by so-called reformist figures within the regime as the only way to save the mullahs rule.

How can we put the countrys different issues on a referendum? Do all participants qualify to analyze those issues? What is this nonsense? How could there be a referendum? They speak about holding a referendum for six months to polarize society. No, this is not going to happen, he said.

Those advocating for a referendum are opting to preserve the ruling theocracy but have a more share of power.

Despite witnessing the countrys volatile society due to the regimes decades of corruption, ineptitude, and oppression, those seeking a referendum are still trying to prevent the uprising from expanding.

They do so by desperately attempting to use the so-called systems capabilities as if there is a solution within a regime that the entire Iranian population wants to overthrow.

Khamenei knows the regimes best interests, as his destiny is tied to the systems existence. He has clearly heard people chanting Death to Khamenei and Poverty, corruption, high prices, we continue until regime change and is aware of their unwavering determination to topple the clerical regime. By blatantly rejecting the Iranian peoples right to self-determination about their countrys future, Khamenei tries to imply that he will not loosen his grip on power even a bit.

In his speech, Khamenei considered privatization as the only solution to the countrys economic crunch.

People should control the important economic sectors. I have repeatedly said governmental and semi-private companies shouldnt compete with the private sector. We thought the government could realize economic justice, but it didnt. Now we have to have people and the private sector to generate income, he said.

The terms private sector or giving economic opportunities to people serve as a euphemism employed by Khamenei to denote the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) and its economic juggernauts alongside the preeminent conglomerate of the regimes supreme leader. Any enterprise wishing to attain substantial economic might in Iran must have ties with the IRGC.

Khamenei tacitly urged the Ebrahim Raisi government to implement the so-called public assets plan. This plan is being supervised by a delegation of seven high-ranking officials with full authority to decide what needs to be sold. It is an effort to cover the governments massive budget deficit, which has been largely allotted to the IRGC.

In a nutshell, Khameneis wailing for the private sectors interests once again shows the regime has no solution for Irans financial problems and will result in further plundering of public assets.

Now, can Khamenei proceed with his plans in the regime? His speech on Saturday during Eid-al-Fitrs prayer sermon implies that he cannot.

In his speech on Saturday, Khamenei acknowledged his failure to consolidate power in his regime and among the three branches.

A very important strategy is the cooperation between heads of three branches. They all should cooperate and synthesize. The constitution has created a perfect opportunity for them to work together; if so, they can overcome every problem. I advise the heads of the three branches not to block each others path and instead to pave the way for one another, he said.

Following the major November 2019 uprising that rattled his regimes foundations, Khamenei realized that the slightest disunity in his regime could lead to the ruling theocracys demise. So, he began consolidating power. He first purged the candidates of the rival faction in the sham parliamentary elections in 2020 and literally handpicked parliamentarians. In June 2021, Khamenei ensured the victory of Ebrahim Raisi in the sham presidential elections, despite an unprecedented nationwide boycott and Raisis dark human rights record. A few weeks later, the Supreme Leader installed Gholam Hossein Mohseni-EjeI, another notorious criminal, as the head of the judiciary.

Khamenei described Raisis presidency as the sweetest event in 2021. Less than two years, Raisis failure to address the countrys economic and social crises has increased the regimes infightings. With the dismissal and resignation of five key cabinet members, four Ministers, and the head of the Planning and Budget Organization, Raisi holds the record of changes in a cabinet in the last 44 years. Besides, there have been growing calls in the regimes parliament for his impeachment.

The consistency of the nationwide uprising in the last seven months, despite the regimes severe crackdown, and the prospect of a more extensive and devastating wave of dissent have exacerbated the regimes infighting, preventing Khamenei from consolidating power in his regime.

While Ali Khamenei is not known for exposing himself to criticism and refrains from public appearances when possible, addressing his supporters twice in less than a week and calling for unity was a humiliating debacle for him after his victory rhetoric. The Iranian peoples unwavering determination to topple the clerical regime has revealed its weakness and its bleak future.

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Khamenei's Speeches: A Humiliating Debacle for Iran's Regime ... - National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI)

Muzaffarabad [PoK], April 23 (ANI): Pakistan suffered an embarrassing setback when the self-proclaimed Prime Minister of Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK), Sardar Tanveer Ilyas was disqualified for contempt of court, Asian Lite International reported.

PoKs High Court on April 11 declared Ilyas unfit to be a member of the legislative assembly due to contempt charges and from holding any public office for two years.

This decision came after Ilyas was summoned to the PoK Supreme Court and high court for using derogatory language about the superior judiciary in his public speeches.

Ilyas belongs to Imran Khans Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) and is the first serving PoK prime minister to be disqualified on contempt charges, as per Asian Lite International.

This development is another illustration of how the phoney political structures in the PoK are failing miserably and inflicting great misery on the local populace.

Ilyas was a known troublemaker who constantly fought with the leaders of his own party and those of other political groups. He got into a heated argument with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif during the unveiling of the Mangla Dam Hydroelectric Power Plants Units 5 and 6 refurbishment project last year. Ilyas publicly denounced Shehbaz for neglecting to recognise the sacrifices made by the Kashmiri people for the progress and prosperity of Pakistan during the refurbishment project. Sharif responded to the humiliation by sealing the Ilyas family-owned Centaurus Mall in Islamabad as payback, according to Asian Lite International.

Following the heated exchange between the Prime Ministers of PoK and Pakistan at the event in Mangla, the government ordered the CDA to seal the building at 3 am as retaliation.

Ilyas bemoaned the political victimisation the ruling Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) administration had inflicted upon him as a result of the mall sealing episode. He was not successful in getting the public to back PTI as he had planned. He said that the PDM in power was attempting to overthrow his administration in PoK by paying off lawmakers from his party in December of last year. PoK has suffered immensely since assuming his so-called premiership in last April. The PoK is currently experiencing serious fuel and food shortages as Pakistan is on the verge of becoming bankrupt.

Regular sit-ins and protests have taken place in these places, but the local political establishment has not complied with the populaces demands. It is significant that PoK is usually governed by the same party that controls Islamabad.

The situation became far more complicated in the occupied territory, with a PTI leader in power in PoK and the PDM government in Islamabad. With another PTI leader, Chaudhry Anwarul Haq replacing Ilyas, the political turmoil in PoK is likely to worsen in the coming months, Asian Lite International reported.

After Haq got appointed as the new Prime Minister of PoK, in a late-night assembly session, Ilyas expressed his concerns, releasing a statement, Today, I have come to know about the machinations of Haq. On the one hand, he was assuring PTI leadership of his efforts to save the party, on the other, he was striking a deal with the establishment.

A week-long impasse brought on by Ilyass disqualification seemed to be resolved when Haq was declared the joint candidate of the combined opposition and a 12-member PTI forward bloc in PoKs legislative assembly. Ilyas attempted to challenge his disqualification on technical grounds, but the PoK Supreme Court rejected his case on April 12. This allowed other PTI leaders to step into Ilyas position. The Tehreek-e-Jawanan Pakistan and Kashmir (TJPK) leadership, however, rejected the unconstitutional decision on April 15 and announced the Justice Movement for PoK Leader Sardar Tanveer Illyas, which would start following Pakistans Eid-ul-Fitr holidays.

The protestors criticised the decision, saying, We do not accept these rules of oppression, we do not accept these decisions of repression, the unconstitutional decision against Sardar Tanveer Ilyas is unacceptable, these rules of oppression are unacceptable. Such reactions hint that the Pakistan Army used local courts in PoK to remove Ilyas from power.

Ilyas abrupt disqualification has raised a lot of questions regarding the decision-making process. According to media reports, cited by Asian Lite International, the court was notified by Ilyass social media posts that were disparaging of the judiciary. The Council of Judges sent notice to Ilyas on April 10 after the court was given a newspaper clip of his speech. Ilyas was removed from office within 24 hours of receiving the notice based on prima facie evidence. It has never happened before for a PoK prime minister to be ousted from office without due process.

Despite the central leadership of the PTI calling for respect for the courts judgement, Ilyass expulsion is a setback to Imran Khans party, which is now engaged in a power struggle with the ruling PDM government and the military establishment. The political intrigue that follows in PoK is probably going to make things worse for the locals there, Asian Lite International reported. (ANI)

This report is auto-generated from ANI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.

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Disqualification of PoK Prime Minister adds to ongoing political upheaval - ThePrint

Madurai: A study undertaken in 114 reserved panchayats by dalits rights organization Evidence has found that panchayat presidents undergo caste-based oppression ranging from verbal abuse by dominant castes to assault. One panchayat leader was killed as well. Evidence executive director A Kathir told reporters on Thursday that they deployed 17 researchers in March for a field study in 19 districts. There are 12,525 panchayats in the state, of which 2,352 are reserved for scheduled castes. Almost all of the 114 presidents acknowledged they faced oppression which could be categorised into 30 types including sexual harassment of women panchayat leaders. The president of Tharavendiram panchayat in Krishnagiri district, Narasimhamoorthy, was murdered in August 2022. Relatives of presidents have been assaulted in many reserved panchayats, Kathir said. In all, 87 panchayat presidents said they are discriminated based on caste, 60 felt being not respected while 78 complained of interference in resolutions. Besides, 79 presidents complained they were not allowed to exercise their duties. More than 11 complained they are not allowed inside offices, and 23 said they are forced to sign on panchayat documents. Twelve panchayat presidents said they are not allowed to hoist national flag and 30 said they are denied information about panchayat schemes. Most of the time, vice-presidents and members from dominant castes are the oppressors, Kathir said. Women panchayat leaders face caste and patriarchal discrimination. Most of the panchayat leaders acknowledged that they are not able to carry out their works, and live in constant fear of assault. Kathir demanded a white paper from the government on caste discrimination on dalit panchayat presidents. Government should pay the panchayat presidents a monthly salary of Rs 10,000 and Rs 5,000 as pension. There should be state nodal officer to take care of reserved panchayats and the district collector and SP should be intimated about the amendment in SC/ST act that empowers them to take action on anyone preventing the Dalit panchayat presidents from taking out their duties.

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Dalit panchayat chiefs face all-round oppression: Study - Times of India

Solidarity Center

Rana Plaza Collapse at 10 Years: Brands, Bangladesh Government Must Do More

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Ten years after the multi-story Rana Plaza building collapsed in Bangladesh, killing 1,138 workers and injuring thousands more, garment workers and their unions say that although safety has improved in some instances, much more needs to be done. And fundamental to achieving safe working conditions is ensuring workers have the freedom to form unions.

When a trade union exists in a factory, the union committee, on behalf of the workers, can negotiate with management about the problems the workers face, says Babul Akter, general secretary of the Bangladesh Garment and Industrial Workers Federation (BGIWF).

Credit: Solidarity Center

In the wake of the Rana Plaza tragedy, which came months after a factory fire at Tazreen Fashions that killed more than 100 garment workers, unions and fashion brands created the Bangladesh Accord on Fire and Building Safety. The Accord, which covers factories producing ready-made garments, has been successful in large part because it is a legally binding agreement. Accord inspectors have conducted more than 40,000 inspections and required 513 factories to comply with remediation.

Yet with more than 4,000 garment factories and more than 4 million workers, 58 percent of them women, safety hazards remain. A series of developments have weakened implementation of the Accord, including the ejection of the Accord Foundation from its office in Bangladesh and its replacement with an employer- and brand-dominated process in which worker voice is limited. And workers seeking to form unions to improve safety and health increasingly are facing employer and government harassment and even violence. Democratic unions encounter stiff resistance from authorities when they apply for the registration required to operate legally.

The greatest challenges exercising freedom of association is the adverse mindset of employers, says Rashadul Alam Raju, general secretary of the Bangladesh Independent Garment Workers Union Federation (BIGUF). Whenever workers organize, the employers try different means, including harassing and using violence against the workers, filing false legal cases against them and terminating them to prevent them from organizing. The reluctance of government bodies to address the problems is the second challenge.

In 2022, the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) ranked Bangladesh among the 10 worst countries in the world for working people. In the garment sector, the countrys largest industry, industrial police have obstructed and brutally attacked striking workers seeking to form unions. In 2021, police fired live rounds and used batons and tear gas to disperse workers, killing six workers and severely injuring others.

Without unions, millions of garment workers who produce clothing imported by the United States and Europe are afraid to say No when asked to work in unsafe jobsthe same conditions that existed at Rana Plaza. Unable to collectively negotiate higher wages, garment workers often live in poverty conditions, even as the clothing they make accounts for nearly 82 percent of Bangladeshs exports, making the ready-made garment industry vital to the national economy.

Thousands of garment workers, like Mosammat Mukti Khatun (above, looking at the Rana Plaza rubble) who survived the Rana Plaza disaster, remain too injured or ill to work and support their families. Solidarity Center/Balmi Chisim

The day before Rana Plaza collapsed on April 24, 2013, structural engineers found cracks so severe in the building they advised that no one enter it. Yet factory managers threatened workers with the loss of a months pay if they did not return to work. Ultimately, building owner Mohammed Sohel Rana was arrested after trying to flee the country.

But for many of the workers who survived, the injuries they sustained were so debilitating they were unable to work again and support their families. Moriom Begum, a sewing operator at New Wave Style, one of five factories in Rana Plaza, was among many survivors whose stories the Solidarity Center chronicled over the years. Moriom remained pinned beneath furniture for two days before she was rescued. She lost her right hand, suffered constant pain and could not return to work. Yet survivors and the families of the deceased in most cases waited for years after the collapse to receive compensation.

If there was a trade union, this incident would never have happened, says Srity Akter, general secretary of the Garment Workers Solidarity Federation (GWSF), who spent days at the Rana Plaza site digging through rubble to rescue trapped workers. Garment workers like Srity long ago vowed #RanaPlazaNeverAgain, a phrase activists for safe factory conditions have adopted across social media and the name of site memorializing Rana Plaza workers.

To commemorate the 10th anniversary of the preventable Rana Plaza tragedy this month, hundreds of garment workers, trade union leaders and their allies in Bangladesh marched through the streets, and held a workers conference to demand an end to harassment in workplaces when workers seek to form a union, and called for reforming laws that allow systematic oppression of workers.

When Halima joined with her co-workers at Hop Lun Apparels Ltd., they experienced many obstacles before they successfully formed a union. Now general secretary of the Hop Lun Apparels Ltd. workers union and a member of Sommilito Garments Sramik Federation (SGSF), Halima says workers have one of the most successful unions in the garment sector and have signed several collective bargaining agreements that have raised wages and improved safety. The contrast between working conditions at Hop Lun and Rana Plaza is stark.

Solidarity Center, working alongside partner organizations in many key garment exporting countries, are calling on governments and brands to take steps to establish an environment where all workers in the garment sector have safe, decent working conditions and earn a living wage. To attain that:

Says Anju, president of Jesus Fashion Shramik Union: No organization ensures dignity like a trade union does.

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Rana Plaza Collapse at 10 Years: Brands, Bangladesh Government ... - The Solidarity Center

PARIS The council of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg imposed on Monday sanctions on 25 individuals and eight entitiesin Syria it holds responsible for theproduction and trafficking of narcotics,notablyCaptagon.

The individuals sanctioned include Wasim Badi al-Assad, Samer Kamal al-Assad, Mudar Rifaat al-Assad, all cousins of the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Others sanctioned include Lebanese nationals, arms smuggler Nouh Zaitara, and Hassan Dekko known as the king of Captagon.

The entities included in the category of supporting state oppression include for instance theal-Areen Foundation, directed by First Lady Asma al-Assad. This alleged charity group is accused of being closely affiliated with Syrian militias and supporting the goals of the government. Private security companiesoperating in Syria, such as Al-Jabal Security and Protection, Castle for Security and Protection and Aman for Protection and Security were also sanctioned for their roles in oppressing the Syrian people. According to the EU, these entities also act asshell companies for pro-government militias.

Finally, the Russian engineering company Stroytransgaz, currently controlling Syrias largest phosphate mines, is accused of benefitting from and supporting the Syrian government.

Any assets in EU territories belonging to the individuals and entities that appear on the new sanctions list have been frozen. The individuals on the list are banned from entering EU countries. Also, EU individuals and companies are prohibited from doing business with these parties.

While most of the individuals and entities on the new EU list were sanctioned for their involvement in alleged large-scale drug trafficking involving the government of President Bashar al-Assad, the list also includes two more sanctions categories. The second targets those responsible for oppressing the Syrian population, and the third relates to economic deals with Russia that are harmful to the Syrian people.

Mondays decision by the EU brings the total number of people and entities subject to sanctions in view of the situation in Syria to 322 persons, targeted by both an assets freeze and by an EU travel ban, and81 entitiessubject to an asset freeze.

In parallel to the decision sanctioning Syrian individuals and entities, the Foreign Affairs Council of the European Union also adopted a new wave of restrictive measures Monday against eightindividuals and one entityresponsible for serious human rights violations in Iran. With this new wave of sanctions, the EU list on Iran includes restrictions against 211 individuals and 35 entities.

On Monday, the USTreasury sanctioned four other senior officials of the Law Enforcement Forces of Iran and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), responsible for the brutal suppression of the protests in the country. On the same day, the United Kingdom also sanctioned Iranian entities and individuals over breaches of human rights. A statement issued by the British Foreign Ministry said its new package of sanctions targeted "four IRGCcommanders, under whose leadership IRGC forces have opened fire on unarmed protestors resulting in numerous deaths, including of children, and have arbitrarily detained and tortured protestors."

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EU slaps Captagon sanctions on relatives of Syria's Assad - Al-Monitor