The British National Party has rejected claims its supporters have been threatening a Bolton Euro MP.
Yesterday, The Bolton News reported how Sajjad Karim, the North West Conservative MEP, had employed 24-hour security to watch over his family after receiving abusive emails. He believes BNP sympathisers were behind the verbal attacks as the emails followed his criticism of the party and the subsequent appearance of a story about him on the BNP website.
But John Walker, the BNP’s press spokesman, said: “The BNP rejects, with contempt, all attempts by Mr Karim to stir up trouble and slur our party.”
However Mr Karim said: “We now have enough evidence to prove that these emails came as a direct result of traffic from the BNP website and from blogs by employees of the party.”
This is Lancashire
Friday, 26 November 2010
Suburbs 'greater threat to Muslims' (UK)
Muslims and their mosques face a higher level of threats and intimidation in UK suburbs and market towns than in big cities, according to a report.
Case studies reveal examples such as a Muslim woman who was punched and called a "terrorist" in front of her petrified daughter. The report said such attacks often go unreported, and in this case the woman was too scared to inform the police.
She also played down the incident to reduce her child's distress and avoided explaining why she was singled out for wearing a burka and being a Muslim woman.
The new study, Islamophobia and Anti-Muslim Hate Crime: UK Case Studies, reveals this kind of unprovoked incident is a largely hidden.
The report is part of a 10-year academic research project led by the University of Exeter's European Muslim Research Centre (EMRC). It captures a snapshot of these experiences which are often unrecognised by the media, politicians and wider British society.
The research also combines an academic approach to identifying world events and policy information that inform the way reactions and actions towards Muslims can be influenced.
Findings show that since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, arson, criminal damage, violence and intimidation against mosques has increased dramatically and smaller or isolated Muslim communities in places like Colchester, Bishop Stortford and Boston have become especially vulnerable.
Dr Jonathan Githens Mazer, co-director of the EMRC, said: "Islamophobia and anti-Muslim hate crime are very real problems for British Muslims going about their everyday business."
The report also analyses the local activity by the British National Party, English Defence League and other organisations.
Google Hosted News
Case studies reveal examples such as a Muslim woman who was punched and called a "terrorist" in front of her petrified daughter. The report said such attacks often go unreported, and in this case the woman was too scared to inform the police.
She also played down the incident to reduce her child's distress and avoided explaining why she was singled out for wearing a burka and being a Muslim woman.
The new study, Islamophobia and Anti-Muslim Hate Crime: UK Case Studies, reveals this kind of unprovoked incident is a largely hidden.
The report is part of a 10-year academic research project led by the University of Exeter's European Muslim Research Centre (EMRC). It captures a snapshot of these experiences which are often unrecognised by the media, politicians and wider British society.
The research also combines an academic approach to identifying world events and policy information that inform the way reactions and actions towards Muslims can be influenced.
Findings show that since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, arson, criminal damage, violence and intimidation against mosques has increased dramatically and smaller or isolated Muslim communities in places like Colchester, Bishop Stortford and Boston have become especially vulnerable.
Dr Jonathan Githens Mazer, co-director of the EMRC, said: "Islamophobia and anti-Muslim hate crime are very real problems for British Muslims going about their everyday business."
The report also analyses the local activity by the British National Party, English Defence League and other organisations.
Google Hosted News
Racist attack at Burnham shop (UK)
A Burnham trader has spoken of her shock after being subjected to racist abuse from a customer.
Monika Morris, who is Austrian, said it was the first time she had experienced such abuse in her 24 years in the country.
Mrs Morris, co-owner of GW Hurley toyshop, in High Street, was on the receiving end of abuse from 24-year-old woman Ashley Sullivan, after she was refused a refund for toys she claimed were faulty.
Sullivan, of Church Street, Highbridge, was sentenced at Sedgemoor Magistrates’ Court on Monday, having earlier pleaded guilty to racially aggravated harassment.
The court heard Sullivan swore at Mrs Morris and called her a foreigner.
She was given a one-year conditional discharge, and ordered to pay £85 costs, plus £25 compensation to Mrs Morris.
Mrs Morris said: “It’s the first time I’ve come across racial abuse. The whole incident was very unpleasant and it did surprise me.
“People usually associate it [racism] with a different skin colour, but any kind of racism is to be taken seriously.
“She caused a lot of upset and I would like to give her a life ban as I don’t want her anywhere near my staff.
“At the end of the day, we have to stand up for what’s right. Nobody is entitled to call anybody names. But I think some justice has been done as she’s been charged and sentenced.”
Mrs Morris said she would give the compensation money to charity.
Burnham and Highbridge weekly news
Monika Morris, who is Austrian, said it was the first time she had experienced such abuse in her 24 years in the country.
Mrs Morris, co-owner of GW Hurley toyshop, in High Street, was on the receiving end of abuse from 24-year-old woman Ashley Sullivan, after she was refused a refund for toys she claimed were faulty.
Sullivan, of Church Street, Highbridge, was sentenced at Sedgemoor Magistrates’ Court on Monday, having earlier pleaded guilty to racially aggravated harassment.
The court heard Sullivan swore at Mrs Morris and called her a foreigner.
She was given a one-year conditional discharge, and ordered to pay £85 costs, plus £25 compensation to Mrs Morris.
Mrs Morris said: “It’s the first time I’ve come across racial abuse. The whole incident was very unpleasant and it did surprise me.
“People usually associate it [racism] with a different skin colour, but any kind of racism is to be taken seriously.
“She caused a lot of upset and I would like to give her a life ban as I don’t want her anywhere near my staff.
“At the end of the day, we have to stand up for what’s right. Nobody is entitled to call anybody names. But I think some justice has been done as she’s been charged and sentenced.”
Mrs Morris said she would give the compensation money to charity.
Burnham and Highbridge weekly news
White sheep kicking out black sheep: racist swiss ad?
Posters showing a black sheep being kicked off the Swiss flag by a white sheep have cropped up in stations and squares in Switzerland, as part of a campaign for the Swiss People’s Party’s demand to automatically deport foreigners convicted of serious crimes. The demand is to go before a Sunday referendum.
In 2007, the same posters were widely condemned, with Doudou Diene, the UN’s racism expert at the time, saying the images draw on stereotypes to paint foreigners as felons and benefit cheats. This year, a study by a polling group shows that 54 per cent of voters approved the measure.
Critics of the deportation proposal include legal experts, who say the law could clash with international treaties. “For the same crime some people will suffer one punishment, others will suffer two,” said Marcelo Kohen, a professor of international law at the Graduate Institute in Geneva.
Indian Express
In 2007, the same posters were widely condemned, with Doudou Diene, the UN’s racism expert at the time, saying the images draw on stereotypes to paint foreigners as felons and benefit cheats. This year, a study by a polling group shows that 54 per cent of voters approved the measure.
Critics of the deportation proposal include legal experts, who say the law could clash with international treaties. “For the same crime some people will suffer one punishment, others will suffer two,” said Marcelo Kohen, a professor of international law at the Graduate Institute in Geneva.
Indian Express
BULGARIAN CLERIC SENTENCED FOR CURSING THE DISABLED
Bishop Theodosius, Abbot of the Troyan Monastery, has become the first Bulgarian cleric to be sentenced for discrimination, after inexplicably insulting disabled laymen. Back in 2008, Bishop Theodosius chased away a group of disabled believers from the Troyan Monastery, calling them "sinners" and "cursed". The Bishop's obnoxious behavior has cost him the humble BGN 250, as decided by the Bulgarian Protection Against Discrimination Commission on Wednesday. Petar Kichashki, who made the discrimination complaint, appealed to the Bulgarian church to officially excommunicate Bishop Theodosius. "I am glad there is finally a verdict. The BGN 250 fine is not much, but it is a sign that Bishop Theodosius' behavior is unacceptable," Kichashki stated. Bishop Theodosius commented that he will not appeal against the fine and that he does not feel remorse, since the disabled were "very noisy with their wheelchairs and behaved badly."
Novinite
Novinite
Nazi sympathiser plastered racist stickers across Hastings (UK)
Stefan Luff was wearing a ring bearing the symbol of the Nazi paramilitary group the SS when he was arrested in September last year, after racially abusing members of the public.
After police searched his home they discovered a large amount of racist literature and Nazi iconography as well as contact information relating to extreme right wing political groups and organisations such as the National Socialist Movement and the Ku Klux Klan.
Today at Lewes Crown Court Luff was jailed for nine months suspended for 18 months. He was also ordered to pay £1,000 in compensation to his victims and £340 costs.
The 49-year-old, of Portland Terrace, Hastings, had previously denied two counts of racially aggravated behaviour and one count of publishing and distributing racial material but was convicted following a trial.
In total Sussex Police received 26 reports of racist stickers being plastered across buildings in Hastings. On average a couple of stickers a month were reported to police between February and September 2009.
The stickers appeared mostly on the Seafront around White Rock, The Old Town and the West Hill. Marks and Spencer in Queens Road was also targeted.
Luff was initially investigated after abusing two groups on one day in September 2009. He first racially abused a woman and her two young nieces as they walked down Strand Hill in Winchelsea.
He then racially abused a couple on a beach in Rye. The husband managed to photograph Luff on his mobile phone before he walked off.
Chief Inspector Mark Ling, Hastings District Commander, said: "Hastings Police will continue to work hard with our partners to prevent and reduce all types of racial crime and support those who are subjected to it.”
Detective Inspector Emma Heater said: “Luff caused a lot of distress to his victims in Rye who were visiting 1066 Country and the distribution of racist material around Hastings town centre was very upsetting for the local community.”
The Argus
Thursday, 25 November 2010
Neo-Nazi leader strikes plea bargain for Auschwitz theft
A Swedish neo-Nazi leader accused of ordering the theft of the Auschwitz death camp entrance sign will serve 32 months behind bars in his homeland under a plea bargain, Polish prosecutors say.
Anders Hoegstroem, who had risked up to 10 years behind bars if convicted in Poland of masterminding the theft, admitted his role before the case reached court, said a spokesman for the prosecutors' office in the city of Krakow.
"After having pleaded not guilty during the investigation, Hoegstroem admitted his guilt," prosecutor Robert Parys said.
"Under a plea bargain with prosecutors, he accepted a penalty of two years and eight months in prison. He will serve his sentence in Sweden."
Mr Hoegstroem was arrested in Sweden on a Polish warrant in February on suspicion of ordering the theft of the infamous "Arbeit macht frei" sign from the site of the World War II Nazi camp in the southern Polish city of Oswiecim.
Polish police recovered the five-metre metal sign - which means "Work Will Set You Free" in German - two days after it went missing late last year. It had been chopped into three pieces.
Five Polish men were arrested and charged with the actual theft of the sign, three of whom have already been sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison.
The two others are still to face trial.
In 1994, Hoegstroem founded the National Socialist Front, a Swedish neo-Nazi movement he ran for five years before quitting.
He told Swedish media he was to act as an intermediary to pick up the sign and sell it to a buyer, adding however that he informed Polish police about the people behind the plot.
ABC News
Anders Hoegstroem, who had risked up to 10 years behind bars if convicted in Poland of masterminding the theft, admitted his role before the case reached court, said a spokesman for the prosecutors' office in the city of Krakow.
"After having pleaded not guilty during the investigation, Hoegstroem admitted his guilt," prosecutor Robert Parys said.
"Under a plea bargain with prosecutors, he accepted a penalty of two years and eight months in prison. He will serve his sentence in Sweden."
Mr Hoegstroem was arrested in Sweden on a Polish warrant in February on suspicion of ordering the theft of the infamous "Arbeit macht frei" sign from the site of the World War II Nazi camp in the southern Polish city of Oswiecim.
Polish police recovered the five-metre metal sign - which means "Work Will Set You Free" in German - two days after it went missing late last year. It had been chopped into three pieces.
Five Polish men were arrested and charged with the actual theft of the sign, three of whom have already been sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison.
The two others are still to face trial.
In 1994, Hoegstroem founded the National Socialist Front, a Swedish neo-Nazi movement he ran for five years before quitting.
He told Swedish media he was to act as an intermediary to pick up the sign and sell it to a buyer, adding however that he informed Polish police about the people behind the plot.
ABC News
Nearly 150 people arrested in London hate-crime raids (UK)
Police have arrested 147 people across London in dawn raids to tackle domestic violence and hate crimes.
Suspects were arrested for offences ranging from violence and common assault to breach of court orders.
Raids took place on International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, also known as White Ribbon Day.
They were part of the Metropolitan Police's (Met's) Operation Athena, where officers target suspected hate-crime offenders.
'Cowardly crimes'
While focusing on violence against women, the raids also targeted suspected racist, homophobic and disability motivated crime, as well as crimes against the vulnerable or elderly.
"We are taking a proactive approach in order to bring those responsible to justice and support the victims of these heinous crimes," said Det Supt Darren Williams, head of the Met's public protection unit.
"My key message to victims of these offences is tell us what is happening so we can help you but if you can't tell the police, tell someone."
London's deputy mayor for policing Kit Malthouse said: "There is no place in London for domestic violence and those arrested this morning found out first hand.
"I want to reassure Londoners that there is zero tolerance in the capital for these cowardly crimes and all perpetrators will be dealt with swiftly and severely."
BBC News
Suspects were arrested for offences ranging from violence and common assault to breach of court orders.
Raids took place on International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, also known as White Ribbon Day.
They were part of the Metropolitan Police's (Met's) Operation Athena, where officers target suspected hate-crime offenders.
'Cowardly crimes'
While focusing on violence against women, the raids also targeted suspected racist, homophobic and disability motivated crime, as well as crimes against the vulnerable or elderly.
"We are taking a proactive approach in order to bring those responsible to justice and support the victims of these heinous crimes," said Det Supt Darren Williams, head of the Met's public protection unit.
"My key message to victims of these offences is tell us what is happening so we can help you but if you can't tell the police, tell someone."
London's deputy mayor for policing Kit Malthouse said: "There is no place in London for domestic violence and those arrested this morning found out first hand.
"I want to reassure Londoners that there is zero tolerance in the capital for these cowardly crimes and all perpetrators will be dealt with swiftly and severely."
BBC News
Teenage girl held over 'Koran burning' in Sandwell (UK)
The 15-year-old was questioned and bailed by detectives last Friday after the alleged incident at a school in the Sandwell area of the West Midlands.
She is alleged to have posted footage of the burning booklet on Facebook.
A 14-year-old boy was arrested on Tuesday on suspicion of making threats on the social networking site, in connection with the alleged incident. He was released on bail, a spokeswoman for West Midlands Police said.
She added: "The local neighbourhood team have strong links with the school and have been working closely with key partners from the community and the local authority to resolve the matter locally.
"West Midlands Police will investigate and monitor any crime reported by individuals who may have been targeted because of their disability, gender, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation or transgender."
Birmingham Mail
Another PVV MP reveals criminal record he kept secret (Netherlands)
Another MP for the anti-Islam PVV has criminal convictions he had not revealed to party leader Geert Wilders, it emerged on Wednesday evening.
Jhim Bemmel has a 2006 conviction for fraud, for forging freight documents. He was fined €500. He also has a drunk driving conviction in 2000.
The MP, who has had some of his parliamentary responsibilities removed by Wilders, said he did not come clean about his past because it was private.
In total, seven members of parliament have a criminal conviction, according to a survey by RTL news: five of the 24 PVV MPs have a record, one SP MP and one VVD MP. Most related to drunk driving or speeding.
Dutch News
Jhim Bemmel has a 2006 conviction for fraud, for forging freight documents. He was fined €500. He also has a drunk driving conviction in 2000.
The MP, who has had some of his parliamentary responsibilities removed by Wilders, said he did not come clean about his past because it was private.
In total, seven members of parliament have a criminal conviction, according to a survey by RTL news: five of the 24 PVV MPs have a record, one SP MP and one VVD MP. Most related to drunk driving or speeding.
Dutch News
More hate crime being reported in North Wales (UK)
Nearly 1,800 race hate crimes have been reported to North Wales Police in the past five years – with young people the worst offenders.
In all the force has dealt with more than 2,100 hate crime complaints in that period, from racially aggravated physical attacks to homophobic taunts.
Children as young as 10 were involved in the hate offences.
North Wales Police revealed of the 1,775 racially aggravated crimes reported since 2005, 641 were committed by youngsters aged between 10 and 19.
A further 387 offences were committed by people aged between 20 and 29.
Hate crimes are broken down into five categories including race and the Welsh language, religion and belief, disability, sexual orientation and transgender. A hate crime is one motivated by the offender's hatred of people because they are seen as different.
A Gwynedd kebab shop owner, who asked not to be named, said he was more likely to be racially abused by young people than anyone else: “They have no respect towards other people or themselves.”
An Asian man said last night: “It’s not as bad as it can be in other parts of Britain but it can spoil a night out to be racially abused for simply walking down the street.”
Figures show the number of racially aggravated incidents reported in the Wrexham area increasing during the past three years. Last year 109 incidents were reported, up from 91 in 2008 and 88 in 2007.
The 484 incidents reported in the area over five years are the highest for the North Wales Police force area with Conwy recording 415 incidents and Gwynedd 379.
But Gillian Grainger, Community Cohesion Coordinator at Wrexham Council, put the rise down to the proactive approach to hate crime taken in the county.
She said: “Victims are encouraged to report incidences of hate crime and receive the necessary support and guidance they may need.
“The projects are all part of a multi agency approach we are taking in the county borough that are showing positive results."
A North Wales Police spokesman added: “We are committed to the promotion of equality and diversity within the force and within the communities it serves.
“We have designated Diversity Officers to help and support victims of hate crimes and incidents and ensure the Force Hate Crime Policy and Divisional Hate Crime Protocols are fully applied in all Hate Incidents and Hate Crimes.
“Strenuous efforts have been made in recent years to increase reassurance and the level of care to victims of hate crime generally.”
Daily Post
In all the force has dealt with more than 2,100 hate crime complaints in that period, from racially aggravated physical attacks to homophobic taunts.
Children as young as 10 were involved in the hate offences.
North Wales Police revealed of the 1,775 racially aggravated crimes reported since 2005, 641 were committed by youngsters aged between 10 and 19.
A further 387 offences were committed by people aged between 20 and 29.
Hate crimes are broken down into five categories including race and the Welsh language, religion and belief, disability, sexual orientation and transgender. A hate crime is one motivated by the offender's hatred of people because they are seen as different.
A Gwynedd kebab shop owner, who asked not to be named, said he was more likely to be racially abused by young people than anyone else: “They have no respect towards other people or themselves.”
An Asian man said last night: “It’s not as bad as it can be in other parts of Britain but it can spoil a night out to be racially abused for simply walking down the street.”
Figures show the number of racially aggravated incidents reported in the Wrexham area increasing during the past three years. Last year 109 incidents were reported, up from 91 in 2008 and 88 in 2007.
The 484 incidents reported in the area over five years are the highest for the North Wales Police force area with Conwy recording 415 incidents and Gwynedd 379.
But Gillian Grainger, Community Cohesion Coordinator at Wrexham Council, put the rise down to the proactive approach to hate crime taken in the county.
She said: “Victims are encouraged to report incidences of hate crime and receive the necessary support and guidance they may need.
“The projects are all part of a multi agency approach we are taking in the county borough that are showing positive results."
A North Wales Police spokesman added: “We are committed to the promotion of equality and diversity within the force and within the communities it serves.
“We have designated Diversity Officers to help and support victims of hate crimes and incidents and ensure the Force Hate Crime Policy and Divisional Hate Crime Protocols are fully applied in all Hate Incidents and Hate Crimes.
“Strenuous efforts have been made in recent years to increase reassurance and the level of care to victims of hate crime generally.”
Daily Post
Portsmouth Muslim Academy target of hate crimes (UK)
A Muslim academy in Portsmouth has been the target of two hate crimes in the past fortnight, police have said.
In the first incident, a brick with a racist message on it was thrown into the Portsmouth Muslim Academy, on Old Commercial Road, on 13 November.
A beer bottle was then thrown through a window at the front of the building last Friday.
The city's Jami Mosque was also targeted twice in two days on 12 and 13 November.
The mosque was first attacked a day after an Islamic group, Muslims Against Crusades, burned remembrance poppies in London during a two-minute silence to mark the anniversary of Armistice Day.
Hate crime
A poppy was subsequently painted on the front of the mosque, on Victoria Road North in Southsea, and 100 people staged a demonstration outside.
The mosque's imam, Muhammad Muhi Uddin, said he had condemned the poppy burning and was mystified as to why the building had been targeted. One man was arrested on suspicion of a public order offence.
Police said they were treating the incidents of criminal damage at the Portsmouth Muslim Academy as hate crimes.
Insp Fiona Quade, of Hampshire Constabulary, said: "My officers regularly conduct patrols in the area around Old Commercial Road, but if you saw what happened, could identify a suspect or know who did this, please get in touch.
"We've already got an investigation ongoing into the disorder at demonstrations outside the Jami Mosque."
BBC News
In the first incident, a brick with a racist message on it was thrown into the Portsmouth Muslim Academy, on Old Commercial Road, on 13 November.
A beer bottle was then thrown through a window at the front of the building last Friday.
The city's Jami Mosque was also targeted twice in two days on 12 and 13 November.
The mosque was first attacked a day after an Islamic group, Muslims Against Crusades, burned remembrance poppies in London during a two-minute silence to mark the anniversary of Armistice Day.
Hate crime
A poppy was subsequently painted on the front of the mosque, on Victoria Road North in Southsea, and 100 people staged a demonstration outside.
The mosque's imam, Muhammad Muhi Uddin, said he had condemned the poppy burning and was mystified as to why the building had been targeted. One man was arrested on suspicion of a public order offence.
Police said they were treating the incidents of criminal damage at the Portsmouth Muslim Academy as hate crimes.
Insp Fiona Quade, of Hampshire Constabulary, said: "My officers regularly conduct patrols in the area around Old Commercial Road, but if you saw what happened, could identify a suspect or know who did this, please get in touch.
"We've already got an investigation ongoing into the disorder at demonstrations outside the Jami Mosque."
BBC News
The EDL are not the defenders of Britain, and they never will be.
A recent video by the You Tube member Richard Coughlan about the poppy burning Muslims extremists at this year Remembrance Day service is so good that we felt we really had to share it.
Please support Richard Coughlan and subscribe to his channel’s. Coughlan616
Key panto hit as EDL protest forces show switch
Hundreds of panto fans have been left disappointed after the Key Theatre revealed it would close on the day of the city’s controversial English Defence League march.
Theatre operators Vivacity announced yesterday that the 1.15pm, 4pm and 7pm performances of Jack and the Beanstalk on December 11 will be moved to December 12.
The closure is due to the EDL march, which will pass near the theatre as it moves from London Road to Peterborough Magistrates’ Court, in Bridge Street, between 1pm and 3pm.
Vivacity chief executive Kevin Tighe said: “We felt it was in the best interests of all concerned to cancel the performances and close the theatre on this date.
“We are sorry for any disruption caused to our customers’ pre-Christmas plans. This has been a very difficult decision to make but the welfare of our customers has to be the priority at all times.”
The march has already caused Peterborough United to bring its home match against Rochdale at London Road forward to December 10 to avoid a clash.
Some shopkeepers in the Rivergate Shopping Centre are considering shutting their doors on the day.
The Key Theatre closure means the Peterborough Trades Union Council (TUC) can finish its anti-EDL counter march in the theatre car park.
An estimated 2,000 TUC marchers – including members of Unite Against Fascism – are expected and will leave the Bishop’s Road car park, walk along Rivergate and arrive at the theatre as the EDL marchers head into Bridge Street - meaning the rival protesters will be just 100 yards away from each other.
But the TUC has dispelled fears that their protest will increase the risk of violence.
Peterborough TUC president Ron Graves, said: “We are not looking for a fight. We are marching peacefully to promote unity. We don’t want the EDL here, but we won’t be antagonistic.
““It will be properly marshalled by stewards.
“We felt that this route would create the least disruption.”
The TUC expects representatatives from all the major unions to be involved in its march, as well as local faith groups.
The TUC march is being promoted as a unity event to bring different cultures together.
The route for the march was finally agreed after a meeting between the TUC, Cambridgeshire police and Peterborough City Council.
Superintendent Paul Fullwood said: “We have a duty to support and facilitate people’s right to peaceful protest, whilst balancing this with the rights of those who want to go about their business.”
All theatre tickets for Saturday will be transferred to Sunday and arrangements will be made for those who cannot attend on Sunday.
To confirm attendance on the Sunday, call the Key Theatre box office on 01733 207239 by December 4.
Peterborough Today
Theatre operators Vivacity announced yesterday that the 1.15pm, 4pm and 7pm performances of Jack and the Beanstalk on December 11 will be moved to December 12.
The closure is due to the EDL march, which will pass near the theatre as it moves from London Road to Peterborough Magistrates’ Court, in Bridge Street, between 1pm and 3pm.
Vivacity chief executive Kevin Tighe said: “We felt it was in the best interests of all concerned to cancel the performances and close the theatre on this date.
“We are sorry for any disruption caused to our customers’ pre-Christmas plans. This has been a very difficult decision to make but the welfare of our customers has to be the priority at all times.”
The march has already caused Peterborough United to bring its home match against Rochdale at London Road forward to December 10 to avoid a clash.
Some shopkeepers in the Rivergate Shopping Centre are considering shutting their doors on the day.
The Key Theatre closure means the Peterborough Trades Union Council (TUC) can finish its anti-EDL counter march in the theatre car park.
An estimated 2,000 TUC marchers – including members of Unite Against Fascism – are expected and will leave the Bishop’s Road car park, walk along Rivergate and arrive at the theatre as the EDL marchers head into Bridge Street - meaning the rival protesters will be just 100 yards away from each other.
But the TUC has dispelled fears that their protest will increase the risk of violence.
Peterborough TUC president Ron Graves, said: “We are not looking for a fight. We are marching peacefully to promote unity. We don’t want the EDL here, but we won’t be antagonistic.
““It will be properly marshalled by stewards.
“We felt that this route would create the least disruption.”
The TUC expects representatatives from all the major unions to be involved in its march, as well as local faith groups.
The TUC march is being promoted as a unity event to bring different cultures together.
The route for the march was finally agreed after a meeting between the TUC, Cambridgeshire police and Peterborough City Council.
Superintendent Paul Fullwood said: “We have a duty to support and facilitate people’s right to peaceful protest, whilst balancing this with the rights of those who want to go about their business.”
All theatre tickets for Saturday will be transferred to Sunday and arrangements will be made for those who cannot attend on Sunday.
To confirm attendance on the Sunday, call the Key Theatre box office on 01733 207239 by December 4.
Peterborough Today
MEP's Simonstone home targeted by far-right extremists (UK)
An East Lancashire Euro MP has hired a private security firm to guard his home because of threats from far-right extremists.
Sajjad Karim has been bombarded with offence emails over his stance on halal and kosher meat.
Mr Karim’s Simonstone home has also had ‘BNP’ daubed on it in graffiti.
He said he was worried about the safety of his wife and two children, aged eight and 10, while he is away in Europe.
He said he had paid for a private security firm to watch over his house 24 hours a day.
A British National Party spokesman ‘utterly condemned’ any threats, saying the issue had also been raised in the mainstream media.
Police are investigating an allegation of racist abuse by email.
Mr Karim, who represents the North West in the European Parliament, blamed BNP supporters for the onslaught, claiming the threats had come shortly after the far-right party published an article criticising him on its website.
Mr Karim, who opposed an EU proposal that would require all ritually-slaughtered meat to be labelled, said there had been an ‘orchestrated’ campaign against him.
He said: “There are perfectly legitimate arguments on both sides of the debate. But it is being hijacked and they are trying to frighten me.
“We have lived here for 11 years and never had anything like this. This is their way of saying ‘we know you are here’.
“The police are providing the best level of protection they can, but when it comes to these people I am not going to take any chances.”
Lancashire Police said it was investigating the messages and would meet the MEP this week.
John Walker, a spokesman for the BNP, said the party was campaigning on the issue of ritually slaughtered meat, which he said was ‘barbaric’. But he distanced the party from any threats, saying the BNP was being ‘demonised’.
He added: “This is a common tactic of political opponents to claim they have been intimidated.”
Lancashire Telegraph
Sajjad Karim has been bombarded with offence emails over his stance on halal and kosher meat.
Mr Karim’s Simonstone home has also had ‘BNP’ daubed on it in graffiti.
He said he was worried about the safety of his wife and two children, aged eight and 10, while he is away in Europe.
He said he had paid for a private security firm to watch over his house 24 hours a day.
A British National Party spokesman ‘utterly condemned’ any threats, saying the issue had also been raised in the mainstream media.
Police are investigating an allegation of racist abuse by email.
Mr Karim, who represents the North West in the European Parliament, blamed BNP supporters for the onslaught, claiming the threats had come shortly after the far-right party published an article criticising him on its website.
Mr Karim, who opposed an EU proposal that would require all ritually-slaughtered meat to be labelled, said there had been an ‘orchestrated’ campaign against him.
He said: “There are perfectly legitimate arguments on both sides of the debate. But it is being hijacked and they are trying to frighten me.
“We have lived here for 11 years and never had anything like this. This is their way of saying ‘we know you are here’.
“The police are providing the best level of protection they can, but when it comes to these people I am not going to take any chances.”
Lancashire Police said it was investigating the messages and would meet the MEP this week.
John Walker, a spokesman for the BNP, said the party was campaigning on the issue of ritually slaughtered meat, which he said was ‘barbaric’. But he distanced the party from any threats, saying the BNP was being ‘demonised’.
He added: “This is a common tactic of political opponents to claim they have been intimidated.”
Lancashire Telegraph
Two men charged with making racist and abusive threats to takeaway owner (UK)
Two men accused of making racist and abusive telephone threats to the owner of a takeaway are to face a crown court judge.
Joynal Ali, 25, of Dixon Street, Lincoln, and Mohammed Ali Noor, 20, of Hunt Lea Avenue, Lincoln, are each charged with one offence.
It is alleged that between January 13 and June 14, last year they caused Ofiekur Khan, of the Burton Spice Indian Takeaway, in Lincoln, to fear, on at least two occasions, that violence would be used against him.
The Crown says Mr Khan received 31 nasty phone calls, including one where threats were made to kill him by setting his business on fire.
Another call threatening to kill the businessman ended with the word Paki, as did a call for a delivery to Monks Road, the Crown says.
Both defendants indicated no pleas.
Magistrates said it would be appropriate to send the case to Lincoln Crown Court.
The accused were granted unconditional bail to appear back in court on January 19 for the case to be sent to crown court.
This is Lincolnshire
Joynal Ali, 25, of Dixon Street, Lincoln, and Mohammed Ali Noor, 20, of Hunt Lea Avenue, Lincoln, are each charged with one offence.
It is alleged that between January 13 and June 14, last year they caused Ofiekur Khan, of the Burton Spice Indian Takeaway, in Lincoln, to fear, on at least two occasions, that violence would be used against him.
The Crown says Mr Khan received 31 nasty phone calls, including one where threats were made to kill him by setting his business on fire.
Another call threatening to kill the businessman ended with the word Paki, as did a call for a delivery to Monks Road, the Crown says.
Both defendants indicated no pleas.
Magistrates said it would be appropriate to send the case to Lincoln Crown Court.
The accused were granted unconditional bail to appear back in court on January 19 for the case to be sent to crown court.
This is Lincolnshire
Wednesday, 24 November 2010
Iranian ministry denies authorising neo-Nazi website
Iran's Ministry of Islamic Guidance and Culture said it has not recognised a neo-Nazi group that recently claimed its website had been registered "according to the laws of the Islamic Republic of Iran".
"The website was only registered [in the ministry's list of approved websites] by an individual," Mehdi Sarami, an official of the ministry, told the Tabnak news portal on Saturday. There was no mention of the neo-Nazi group in the registration form, he said.
The ministry was criticised last week by Tabnak, which is affiliated with the conservative politician Mohsen Rezaie, for unblocking the group's website (irannazi.ir), which discussed Nazi ideology, principles and beliefs and the "Fuhrer's character, thoughts and speeches" in its various forums.
The ministry's censorship body blocked the neo-Nazi website soon after it was created on August 23, unblocked it a month later and has again blocked access since Monday.
The website had published statements by an obscure neo-Nazi group that calls itself Iran Nazi Society. It is the only "significant and reliable Nazi website in Iran", Behrouz, the administrator of the website, claimed in a note on the inauguration of the website.
"Why has the Culture Ministry given permission to the so-called Iran's Nazi Society…. We hope the authorities have an appropriate explanation for that," Tabnak said in an article last week titled "Expansion of Activities of Nazis and Racists on .ir [internet] Domains" and asked whether the activities of "this extremist cult" had been approved by the authorities.
Iran blocks access to millions of websites, including those affiliated with opposition and dissident groups, ones with explicit sex-related material as well as social networking sites such as Facebook.
The authorities have not offered any explanation for blocking the neo-Nazi group's website, but the group believed the country's Jewish community was responsible. After being blocked on the internet in Iran the first time, the group claimed in a statement that it had been blocked "just for insulting religious minorities, ie, the Jews".
"Only 17 days after [the creation of the website] we were targeted by these creatures and got into trouble as a result of personal complaints of Jews," the statement said.
Adherence to Nazism has a long history in Iran. The Iran National-Socialist Workers (Sumka) group was established in 1952 by Davoud Monshizadeh, an Iranian professor at Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich, who had served with the SS.
The militaristic, pro-monarch and anti-communist Sumka was strongly opposed to the popular premier Mohammad Mosaddegh, who was ousted by a British-American coup in 1953. The group never went beyond establishing a minor support base among university students. A group calling itself Sumka still exists alongside some other small and obscure neo-Nazi groups but little is known about its membership or activities.
"Neo-Nazis share some traits and beliefs, mainly their denial of the Holocaust and hatred of Israel, with hardliners such as the country's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, but there is a big difference between them. Neo-Nazis, who may or may not be religious, hate the Jews as a race but Islamic hardliners direct their anger at Israel and those who support Zionism, but not Judaism as a religion because the Quran recognises them as a legitimate religion too," said a political analyst in Tehran, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject.
Iran is home to about 25,000 Jews, the second largest Jewish community in the Middle East after Israel. Its history in Iran goes back 2,500 years. Judaism has been recognised as a "legitimate religious minority" along with Christianity and Zoroastrianism in Iran's Constitution. Insulting religious minorities is banned by the country's press law, which applies to internet content.
The small but lively Iranian Jewish community, which has its own representative in the Iranian parliament, strongly protested when Mr Ahmadinejad publicly denied the Holocaust. The atrocities against the Jews during the Second World War were "historical reality", they said in letters printed in the monthly magazine published by the Jewish Association of Tehran.
Iran's religious establishment and Mr Ahmadinejad distinguish between adherence to Judaism as a religion and Zionism, which they say is only the ideology of the state of Israel. The Iranian Jewish community strongly refutes any affiliation to Zionism.
The National
"The website was only registered [in the ministry's list of approved websites] by an individual," Mehdi Sarami, an official of the ministry, told the Tabnak news portal on Saturday. There was no mention of the neo-Nazi group in the registration form, he said.
The ministry was criticised last week by Tabnak, which is affiliated with the conservative politician Mohsen Rezaie, for unblocking the group's website (irannazi.ir), which discussed Nazi ideology, principles and beliefs and the "Fuhrer's character, thoughts and speeches" in its various forums.
The ministry's censorship body blocked the neo-Nazi website soon after it was created on August 23, unblocked it a month later and has again blocked access since Monday.
The website had published statements by an obscure neo-Nazi group that calls itself Iran Nazi Society. It is the only "significant and reliable Nazi website in Iran", Behrouz, the administrator of the website, claimed in a note on the inauguration of the website.
"Why has the Culture Ministry given permission to the so-called Iran's Nazi Society…. We hope the authorities have an appropriate explanation for that," Tabnak said in an article last week titled "Expansion of Activities of Nazis and Racists on .ir [internet] Domains" and asked whether the activities of "this extremist cult" had been approved by the authorities.
Iran blocks access to millions of websites, including those affiliated with opposition and dissident groups, ones with explicit sex-related material as well as social networking sites such as Facebook.
The authorities have not offered any explanation for blocking the neo-Nazi group's website, but the group believed the country's Jewish community was responsible. After being blocked on the internet in Iran the first time, the group claimed in a statement that it had been blocked "just for insulting religious minorities, ie, the Jews".
"Only 17 days after [the creation of the website] we were targeted by these creatures and got into trouble as a result of personal complaints of Jews," the statement said.
Adherence to Nazism has a long history in Iran. The Iran National-Socialist Workers (Sumka) group was established in 1952 by Davoud Monshizadeh, an Iranian professor at Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich, who had served with the SS.
The militaristic, pro-monarch and anti-communist Sumka was strongly opposed to the popular premier Mohammad Mosaddegh, who was ousted by a British-American coup in 1953. The group never went beyond establishing a minor support base among university students. A group calling itself Sumka still exists alongside some other small and obscure neo-Nazi groups but little is known about its membership or activities.
"Neo-Nazis share some traits and beliefs, mainly their denial of the Holocaust and hatred of Israel, with hardliners such as the country's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, but there is a big difference between them. Neo-Nazis, who may or may not be religious, hate the Jews as a race but Islamic hardliners direct their anger at Israel and those who support Zionism, but not Judaism as a religion because the Quran recognises them as a legitimate religion too," said a political analyst in Tehran, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject.
Iran is home to about 25,000 Jews, the second largest Jewish community in the Middle East after Israel. Its history in Iran goes back 2,500 years. Judaism has been recognised as a "legitimate religious minority" along with Christianity and Zoroastrianism in Iran's Constitution. Insulting religious minorities is banned by the country's press law, which applies to internet content.
The small but lively Iranian Jewish community, which has its own representative in the Iranian parliament, strongly protested when Mr Ahmadinejad publicly denied the Holocaust. The atrocities against the Jews during the Second World War were "historical reality", they said in letters printed in the monthly magazine published by the Jewish Association of Tehran.
Iran's religious establishment and Mr Ahmadinejad distinguish between adherence to Judaism as a religion and Zionism, which they say is only the ideology of the state of Israel. The Iranian Jewish community strongly refutes any affiliation to Zionism.
The National
SIX CZECHS SENTENCED FOR RACISM
The Municipal Court in Brno Thursday sentenced six members of the Czech outlawed far-right Workers' Party (DS) to fines and probation over public racist statements they made at the May Day rally in Brno in 2009, state attorney Jan Lata told CTK. The defendants received four to six months' suspended sentences and were fined 20,000-30,000 crowns. Lata said the defendants had incited hatred for immigrants and some ethnic groups, Romanies in particular, with their statements. One of them supported a movement suppressing human rights and freedoms. Former party leader Tomas Vandas said Thursday it was incredible that some people were being tried over expressing their views at a legal public rally. Vandas said the accusations were expedient. At the demonstration last year, Vandas warned of immigration and spoke on behalf of "decent" citizens at the housing project Janov in Litvinov, north Bohemia. Vandas went on to speak about a destructive immigration wave. DS members Jiri Stepanek and Petr Kotab criticised Vietnamese crime.
Prague Monitor
Prague Monitor
MUSLIMS IN FRANCE FACING JOB DISCRIMINATION, STUDY SHOWS
Muslims in France have a lower chance of being hired than Christians, a study published by the Washington-based National Academy of Sciences showed. “We have established a clear, albeit uncomfortable, finding,” the study, carried out by researchers at Stanford University, Paris I Pantheon - Sorbonne University and University of California-San Diego, said in its conclusions. “Muslims have faced barriers to economic integration in France that are higher than they would have been if everything about them were the same save for their religion.” Researchers mailed 275 pairs of resumes, all identical, except for the names, to companies based in France. They sent the resume of a fake Senegalese Christian called Marie Diouf and of her fictitious counterpart, a Muslim Senegalese named Khadija Diouf. For every 100 positive responses Marie the Christian received, Khadija, the Muslim, got 38. That’s 2.5 times less. “This is in fact a low estimate,” Marie-Anne Valfort, an assistant professor at the Sorbonne university said in an interview. “Had the candidate been a man, the discrimination may likely have been bigger.” She said Senegalese identity had been chosen for both fictitious candidates in order to help eliminate the race factor as a reason for discrimination.
Muslim Population
Muslims residing in France -- both foreign nationals and French citizens -- comprise an estimated 6.3 percent of the population, or about 4 million people, according to French authorities. The figure is an estimate because statistics on race and religion are forbidden in France, a practice long regarded as a bulwark of the republic’s concept of “equality” among its citizens. French citizens of Arab descent face discrimination, according to past studies. Today’s report, published by the proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, is the first that studies job discrimination against Muslims. France’s statistics office, Insee, showed in a Nov. 12 study that the employment rate of French men of North African descent, of whom at least one of the parents is of immigrant origin, is 21 percentage points lower than the average national rate of 86 percent. For North African women, the rate is 18 percentage points lower. A May 2006 study by the government’s High Authority Against Discrimination showed that 40 percent of all discrimination in France is based on a person’s origin and 45 percent happens at the workplace.
‘Prison’
President Nicolas Sarkozy enacted a law this year that bans the wearing in the streets and in public places of the burqa, a Muslim full-face veil. He pledged to safeguard the “values” of France and said “we don’t want” veiled women in France in a televised interview Nov. 16, calling the veil a “prison.” “There are 2,000 Muslim religious sites in France, but no minarets and no muezzin for the prayers,” Sarkozy said in the televised interview. “Everyone can live their religion but we want an Islam of France and not Islam in France.” The National Front, the anti-immigration political party, launched an ad campaign last month that shows a map of France, with minarets and a fully veiled woman, with the caption: “No to Islamism.” One of the party’s leaders, Marine Le Pen, has also used radio interviews to criticize increased sale of halal meat in France.
Bloomberg
Muslim Population
Muslims residing in France -- both foreign nationals and French citizens -- comprise an estimated 6.3 percent of the population, or about 4 million people, according to French authorities. The figure is an estimate because statistics on race and religion are forbidden in France, a practice long regarded as a bulwark of the republic’s concept of “equality” among its citizens. French citizens of Arab descent face discrimination, according to past studies. Today’s report, published by the proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, is the first that studies job discrimination against Muslims. France’s statistics office, Insee, showed in a Nov. 12 study that the employment rate of French men of North African descent, of whom at least one of the parents is of immigrant origin, is 21 percentage points lower than the average national rate of 86 percent. For North African women, the rate is 18 percentage points lower. A May 2006 study by the government’s High Authority Against Discrimination showed that 40 percent of all discrimination in France is based on a person’s origin and 45 percent happens at the workplace.
‘Prison’
President Nicolas Sarkozy enacted a law this year that bans the wearing in the streets and in public places of the burqa, a Muslim full-face veil. He pledged to safeguard the “values” of France and said “we don’t want” veiled women in France in a televised interview Nov. 16, calling the veil a “prison.” “There are 2,000 Muslim religious sites in France, but no minarets and no muezzin for the prayers,” Sarkozy said in the televised interview. “Everyone can live their religion but we want an Islam of France and not Islam in France.” The National Front, the anti-immigration political party, launched an ad campaign last month that shows a map of France, with minarets and a fully veiled woman, with the caption: “No to Islamism.” One of the party’s leaders, Marine Le Pen, has also used radio interviews to criticize increased sale of halal meat in France.
Bloomberg
Fears grow over EDL city protest (UK)
Chief Supt Tim Jacques, head of Preston Police, revealed the plans ahead of the demonstration by the English Defence League and counter demonstration by Unite Against Facism and the Trade Union Council.
The protests coincide with the PNE v Millwall game at Deepdale.
Police officers’ days off have been cancelled and specially trained public order officers are being drafted in from other parts of the county to support the policing operation, which will see the mounted branch, road police and other units taking to city centre streets.
The two groups of demonstrators will be in the city’s Flag Market with temporary low level fencing to separate them.
Today Chief Supt Jacques said it would be one of the biggest police operations seen in Preston in recent years but insisted the city was “open for business as usual” on Saturday - the fourth week before Christmas and the first official Christmas shopping weekend.
He also moved to calm fears of violence that has been seen in similar demonstrations in other cities.
He said: “We are working with the community and police officers are going to be in the areas where the mosques are on Saturday to reassure people.
“We have had lots of meetings with the mosques and are working with the demonstration organisers in terms of minimising the impact. There are no planned demonstrations outside any mosques but it is in our minds.
“Our number one priority is keeping people in the city safe and to minimise disruption on a busy Saturday before Christmas.”
He said the force would be making a proportionate response to any threats and added: “There’s no doubt there will be a lot of police officers in Preston and in surrounding areas. All the information we have suggests we can facilitate two lawful and peaceful demonstrations.
“It will be one of the biggest operations seen in Preston in terms of planning but on terms of what we are dealing with it is smaller - in the past we have dealt with 6,000 Premier League fans coming into the city.”
We have to look at the context of where we are as a city - some of the backdrop of the places of previous demonstrations are different. Preston is a pretty cohesive city so our starting point is different to other places.”
Lancaster Evening post
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