A man has been ordered to pay compensation after graffiting racist abuse on the doors of Hebden Bridge train station.
James Allen, 62, of Wood Villas, Hebden Bridge, appeared unrepresented at Calderdale Magistrates’ Court.
He admitted causing £700 damage and possessing two bags of cannabis.
On seven different occasions between April 23 and June 7, station staff found graffiti supporting the English Defence League daubed on the back of doors in the male toilets.
An undercover officer from British Transport Police went to the station on June 7 to wait for the culprit.
He saw Allen enter the toilets at 1.41pm.
Paul Ramsey, prosecuting, said: “He sat on a bench watching all men who were going in. A minute later Allen was seen to leave his bike on the platform.
“The defendant exited two minutes later with what was believed to be a white marker pen in his right jeans pocket.”
After the officer checked the door, he followed Allen and arrested him. While searching Allen, he found two bags of cannabis.
He admitted both offences to police.
Allen told officers he was not a member of the English Defence League but he wrote grafitti in support of the group to “vent his frustration”.
When asked to explain his actions to magistrates, he said he had nothing to tell them.
“I’m just embarrased about it,” he said.
He was given a 12-month community order and told to complete 60 hours of unpaid work, pay compensation of £100 and £85 towards costs.
Halifax Courier
Monday, 27 June 2011
EDL founder denies rally assault (UK)
The founder of the English Defence League (EDL) has denied assaulting a man during a rally of the far-right group in Blackburn.
Stephen Lennon, also known as Tommy Robinson, was arrested and charged with the offence this month following the alleged incident at an EDL gathering in Blackburn on April 2.
He is said to have committed common assault against Alan McKee.
Around 2,000 members of the group gathered in the centre of the Lancashire town in April as they were kept about 150 yards apart from a counter-protest by up to 500 anti-fascists.
About 50 EDL supporters gathered at Blackburn Magistrates' Court to support their leader with a visible police presence outside.
Lennon, 28, of Luton, Bedfordshire, will go on trial at Preston Magistrates' Court on September 29. The hearing was listed for one day.
Lennon was granted bail on conditions of residence, that he reports to his local police station on Saturday afternoons and does not participate in public protests that are 12 miles away from his home town.
Garstand Courier
Stephen Lennon, also known as Tommy Robinson, was arrested and charged with the offence this month following the alleged incident at an EDL gathering in Blackburn on April 2.
He is said to have committed common assault against Alan McKee.
Around 2,000 members of the group gathered in the centre of the Lancashire town in April as they were kept about 150 yards apart from a counter-protest by up to 500 anti-fascists.
About 50 EDL supporters gathered at Blackburn Magistrates' Court to support their leader with a visible police presence outside.
Lennon, 28, of Luton, Bedfordshire, will go on trial at Preston Magistrates' Court on September 29. The hearing was listed for one day.
Lennon was granted bail on conditions of residence, that he reports to his local police station on Saturday afternoons and does not participate in public protests that are 12 miles away from his home town.
Garstand Courier
Saturday, 25 June 2011
Muslim council vows to oppose extremism (UK)
Cambridge Muslim Council held its official launch last night as the far-right English Defence League (EDL) gets set to march in the city.
The newly formed council has already held an emergency meeting after the News reported the march and counter protest would be held on July 9.
Muslim leaders are calling on the community not to get involved in a counter demonstration and fear for the security of mosques and shops in the city.
Mirza Baig, vice-chairman of the council, told the News: “We held a meeting of our emergency response committee as soon as we heard about the march. We have set out or policy on how we should react.
“We are urging Muslims not to take part in a counter protest and we do not want groups coming from Luton and Peterborough for the march – we can deal with any issues ourselves.
“We do fear for the security of our mosques and some of the shops but are working closely with police.”
He added: “The EDL has every right to protest and we support that democratic right.”
Last night, the city’s MP Julian Huppert, mayor Cllr Ian Nimmo-Smith and Farooq Murad, the Muslim Council of Britain chairman, met at the Holiday Inn, Impington, for the launch of the council, which has vowed to fight extremism and violence.
It has been formed because of an increase in the city’s Muslim population to 7,000 and it will become an umbrella group for 28 Islamic organisations in Cambridge.
Mr Huppert said he was delighted to support the formation of the new council and condemned the planned march by the EDL.
The MP is discussing the issue with Chief Superintendent Rob Needle and will shadow him during the march.
Mr Huppert said: “I deplore the fact that these people have targeted Cambridge in this way. They are not welcome here.
“I will be working alongside the police during the march and hope that it will pass off peacefully.
“While I recognise the EDL’s democratic right to protest, I hope that this protest will take place without incident.
“Our city is a very special place where people from a diverse range of nationalities and cultures live and work together. This multi-racial mix makes our city very unique and we are proud of the strong community spirit that exists here.
“We want to promote and protect that diversity and there is no room for people who don’t understand our city’s special qualities.”
Cambridge News
The newly formed council has already held an emergency meeting after the News reported the march and counter protest would be held on July 9.
Muslim leaders are calling on the community not to get involved in a counter demonstration and fear for the security of mosques and shops in the city.
Mirza Baig, vice-chairman of the council, told the News: “We held a meeting of our emergency response committee as soon as we heard about the march. We have set out or policy on how we should react.
“We are urging Muslims not to take part in a counter protest and we do not want groups coming from Luton and Peterborough for the march – we can deal with any issues ourselves.
“We do fear for the security of our mosques and some of the shops but are working closely with police.”
He added: “The EDL has every right to protest and we support that democratic right.”
Last night, the city’s MP Julian Huppert, mayor Cllr Ian Nimmo-Smith and Farooq Murad, the Muslim Council of Britain chairman, met at the Holiday Inn, Impington, for the launch of the council, which has vowed to fight extremism and violence.
It has been formed because of an increase in the city’s Muslim population to 7,000 and it will become an umbrella group for 28 Islamic organisations in Cambridge.
Mr Huppert said he was delighted to support the formation of the new council and condemned the planned march by the EDL.
The MP is discussing the issue with Chief Superintendent Rob Needle and will shadow him during the march.
Mr Huppert said: “I deplore the fact that these people have targeted Cambridge in this way. They are not welcome here.
“I will be working alongside the police during the march and hope that it will pass off peacefully.
“While I recognise the EDL’s democratic right to protest, I hope that this protest will take place without incident.
“Our city is a very special place where people from a diverse range of nationalities and cultures live and work together. This multi-racial mix makes our city very unique and we are proud of the strong community spirit that exists here.
“We want to promote and protect that diversity and there is no room for people who don’t understand our city’s special qualities.”
Cambridge News
Friday, 24 June 2011
Brazilian Soccer Star Appalled at Racist Incident in Russia
Roberto Carlos had a banana thrown at him during a recent game in the Russian soccer league. The revered footballer is spending the sunset of his career playing on a lucrative contract for the oligarch-backed Anzhi Makhachkala, and it’s a second “banana incident” targeting him in four months. The first intolerant gesture ended up costing Zenit Saint Petersburg—whose fans threw the fruit—a little over $10,000.
“I am used to there being no racism in football,” says Carlos. “Russia should not be an exception.”
In reality, Russia is somewhat of an exception when it comes to racism. The country is home to almost half of the world’s skinheads (according to some experts, there are as many as 100 thousand Russian skinheads), who have made the last decade their own. Racist and other violent attacks by neo-Nazi skinhead groups have been rising since 2004 by some 15 percent per year, a trend that was finally broken in 2009. According to Human Rights First’s partners in Moscow, the SOVA Center for Information and Analysis, in 2010, there were at least 37 racist murders, while some 368 people were injured in suspected racist attacks (compared with 71 murders in 2009 and 109 in 2008).
Around 2008, after years of dismissing the alarms by Russian and international civil society groups, the authorities have finally started investigating the bloody trails left by neo-Nazi gangs, or “hooligans,” as they were usually called before. We’re seeing real results: prosecutions are up, and the number of murders has been declining rapidly. SOVA reported “only” 11 murders and 55 injuries during the first five months of 2011. Despite these improvements, the government lacks a comprehensive policy to address hate crime, manifested by poor police training, uneven high-level political rhetoric, and weak popular initiatives.
This year, the Russian justice system has brought closure to several high-profile cases. In April, a divided jury issued a guilty verdict against Nikita Tikhonov and Yevgeniya Khasis, the neo-Nazi couple accused of murdering Stanislav Markelov and Anastasia Baburova in downtown Moscow on January 19, 2009. Tikhonov will spend the rest of his life in prison, where he’ll be joined by two prominent ultranationalist leaders from St. Petersburg. A week ago, Aleksei Voevodin and Artyom Prokhorenko had been given life sentences, and a dozen of their associates were also found guilty of committing a series of murders. This Voevodin-Borovikov group was responsible for some of the most high-profile hate crimes in Russia, including the ethnologist Nikolai Girenko and the nine-year-old Tajik girl Khursheda Sultanova.
The incident with Roberto Carlos will be investigated by the Russian soccer authorities, who’ve already promised to do everything possible to “change the situation.” Yet, none of the news outlets who covered the banana-throwing saw the bigger picture of racism in Russia: a bloody tale of fear, violence, and lawlessness.
Roberto Carlos and his teammates, some of whom are also international stars, live the life of luxury in Moscow. It’s too dangerous to reside in Makhachkala, the capital of the North Caucasus province of Dagestan which is represented by Anzhi in Russia’s top soccer league. The team’s owner, the billionaire Suleiman Kerimov, makes sure that his stars are shielded from the hustle and bustle of daily life. It’s likely that Mr. Kerimov treats his stars as well as another oligarch from Dagestan, Gadzhi Makhachev, treated the guests at his son’s three-day wedding that was poetically detailed in a wikileaks cable by a senior U.S. State Department official.
The vast majority of victims of racist violence in Russia could never dream of such riches. Central Asian labor migrants—the top targets—are underprivileged, poor, and socially deprived. Unlike Roberto Carols, these individuals are rarely identified by their names in the media, though they are subjected to the ultimate danger of racism in Russia: violent hate crime.
Human Rights First
“I am used to there being no racism in football,” says Carlos. “Russia should not be an exception.”
In reality, Russia is somewhat of an exception when it comes to racism. The country is home to almost half of the world’s skinheads (according to some experts, there are as many as 100 thousand Russian skinheads), who have made the last decade their own. Racist and other violent attacks by neo-Nazi skinhead groups have been rising since 2004 by some 15 percent per year, a trend that was finally broken in 2009. According to Human Rights First’s partners in Moscow, the SOVA Center for Information and Analysis, in 2010, there were at least 37 racist murders, while some 368 people were injured in suspected racist attacks (compared with 71 murders in 2009 and 109 in 2008).
Around 2008, after years of dismissing the alarms by Russian and international civil society groups, the authorities have finally started investigating the bloody trails left by neo-Nazi gangs, or “hooligans,” as they were usually called before. We’re seeing real results: prosecutions are up, and the number of murders has been declining rapidly. SOVA reported “only” 11 murders and 55 injuries during the first five months of 2011. Despite these improvements, the government lacks a comprehensive policy to address hate crime, manifested by poor police training, uneven high-level political rhetoric, and weak popular initiatives.
This year, the Russian justice system has brought closure to several high-profile cases. In April, a divided jury issued a guilty verdict against Nikita Tikhonov and Yevgeniya Khasis, the neo-Nazi couple accused of murdering Stanislav Markelov and Anastasia Baburova in downtown Moscow on January 19, 2009. Tikhonov will spend the rest of his life in prison, where he’ll be joined by two prominent ultranationalist leaders from St. Petersburg. A week ago, Aleksei Voevodin and Artyom Prokhorenko had been given life sentences, and a dozen of their associates were also found guilty of committing a series of murders. This Voevodin-Borovikov group was responsible for some of the most high-profile hate crimes in Russia, including the ethnologist Nikolai Girenko and the nine-year-old Tajik girl Khursheda Sultanova.
The incident with Roberto Carlos will be investigated by the Russian soccer authorities, who’ve already promised to do everything possible to “change the situation.” Yet, none of the news outlets who covered the banana-throwing saw the bigger picture of racism in Russia: a bloody tale of fear, violence, and lawlessness.
Roberto Carlos and his teammates, some of whom are also international stars, live the life of luxury in Moscow. It’s too dangerous to reside in Makhachkala, the capital of the North Caucasus province of Dagestan which is represented by Anzhi in Russia’s top soccer league. The team’s owner, the billionaire Suleiman Kerimov, makes sure that his stars are shielded from the hustle and bustle of daily life. It’s likely that Mr. Kerimov treats his stars as well as another oligarch from Dagestan, Gadzhi Makhachev, treated the guests at his son’s three-day wedding that was poetically detailed in a wikileaks cable by a senior U.S. State Department official.
The vast majority of victims of racist violence in Russia could never dream of such riches. Central Asian labor migrants—the top targets—are underprivileged, poor, and socially deprived. Unlike Roberto Carols, these individuals are rarely identified by their names in the media, though they are subjected to the ultimate danger of racism in Russia: violent hate crime.
Human Rights First
EDL founder in court after far-right rally clashes (UK)
The founder of the English Defence League (EDL) will appear in court today accused of common assault.
Stephen Lennon, also known as Tommy Robinson, was arrested after a rally of the far-right group in Blackburn, Lancashire, on April 2.
The demonstration saw minor skirmishes among the 2,000 members of the group who had gathered in the centre of the town.
Police kept EDL supporters about 150 metres apart from a counter-protest by around 500 anti-fascists.
Lennon, 28, of Layham Drive, Luton, will appear on bail at Blackburn Magistrates Court.
This is London
Stephen Lennon, also known as Tommy Robinson, was arrested after a rally of the far-right group in Blackburn, Lancashire, on April 2.
The demonstration saw minor skirmishes among the 2,000 members of the group who had gathered in the centre of the town.
Police kept EDL supporters about 150 metres apart from a counter-protest by around 500 anti-fascists.
Lennon, 28, of Layham Drive, Luton, will appear on bail at Blackburn Magistrates Court.
This is London
Thursday, 23 June 2011
White Wolves associate sentenced to 30 months (USA)
The goal was to increase the Connecticut White Wolves' presence in the white supremacy movement by selling guns to an associate of the Ku Klux Klan.
But the associate was an FBI informant, and all the plan accomplished was landing three suspected Wolves members and followers in federal prison.
On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Janet C. Hall sentenced the last of the trio, William Bolton, 32, a U.S. Army and Navy veteran formerly of Milford and Stratford, to 30 months in prison. He previously pleaded guilty to plotting the robbery of an Ansonia weapons collector and to selling a sawed-off rifle to a convicted felon.
"He's not a bad guy," attorney Alexander Schwartz said of Bolton, his client. "It's unfortunate he got wrapped up in Alex DeFelice."
DeFelice, a 33-year-old Milford man, was convicted last fall on a number of federal weapons charges, including manufacturing hand grenades. Hall sentenced him to 10 years in prison. A third man, Edwin Westmoreland, of Stratford, received a 40-month sentence on three federal weapons charges.
Kenneth Zrallack Jr., the 29-year-old reputed head of the White Wolves, now known as Battalion 14 Connecticut Chapter of North East White Pride, was acquitted of all charges by the jury.
And the judge was not convinced that Bolton fell completely under DeFelice's spell.
"For a person who served his country," Hall said, "I don't understand how he could have a conversation contemplating a home invasion."
On Jan. 31, 2009, Bolton, DeFelice and the informant drove past the collector's apartment and discussed their plans, which included "shanking" the man on the back of the head if he was home. "In context of all the evidence in this case, it's pretty chilling," the judge said. "Obviously if he had gone through with this ... he'd probably be looking at life."
Bolton also was part of a late fall 2008 White Wolves discussion as to how a race war might result if President Barack Obama were assassinated. While the discussion occurred, it did not involve any claims of planning or participation in any attack on the president.
Bolton, a short, stocky balding man, admitted he was "wrong and sincerely apologize."
He said his involvement with DeFelice was out of "sheer stupidity and desperation. I didn't have friends at the time."
Bolton has been in custody since his arrest on March 20, 2010, at an Army base in Virginia.
CTPost
But the associate was an FBI informant, and all the plan accomplished was landing three suspected Wolves members and followers in federal prison.
On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Janet C. Hall sentenced the last of the trio, William Bolton, 32, a U.S. Army and Navy veteran formerly of Milford and Stratford, to 30 months in prison. He previously pleaded guilty to plotting the robbery of an Ansonia weapons collector and to selling a sawed-off rifle to a convicted felon.
"He's not a bad guy," attorney Alexander Schwartz said of Bolton, his client. "It's unfortunate he got wrapped up in Alex DeFelice."
DeFelice, a 33-year-old Milford man, was convicted last fall on a number of federal weapons charges, including manufacturing hand grenades. Hall sentenced him to 10 years in prison. A third man, Edwin Westmoreland, of Stratford, received a 40-month sentence on three federal weapons charges.
Kenneth Zrallack Jr., the 29-year-old reputed head of the White Wolves, now known as Battalion 14 Connecticut Chapter of North East White Pride, was acquitted of all charges by the jury.
And the judge was not convinced that Bolton fell completely under DeFelice's spell.
"For a person who served his country," Hall said, "I don't understand how he could have a conversation contemplating a home invasion."
On Jan. 31, 2009, Bolton, DeFelice and the informant drove past the collector's apartment and discussed their plans, which included "shanking" the man on the back of the head if he was home. "In context of all the evidence in this case, it's pretty chilling," the judge said. "Obviously if he had gone through with this ... he'd probably be looking at life."
Bolton also was part of a late fall 2008 White Wolves discussion as to how a race war might result if President Barack Obama were assassinated. While the discussion occurred, it did not involve any claims of planning or participation in any attack on the president.
Bolton, a short, stocky balding man, admitted he was "wrong and sincerely apologize."
He said his involvement with DeFelice was out of "sheer stupidity and desperation. I didn't have friends at the time."
Bolton has been in custody since his arrest on March 20, 2010, at an Army base in Virginia.
CTPost
Arrests after Yorkshire anti-racism gig stormed (UK)
Police are continuing to investigate after an anti-racism concert was stormed by protesters chanting support for the English Defence League.
Three men were arrested on suspicion of affray after a hail of rocks and bottles were thrown into the 150 strong crowd of music fans and at windows at The Well venue, Chorley Lane, near the city centre.
Two people were injured at Saturday’s all day Rage Against Racism event. One man had teeth knocked out.
Kevin Berry, assistant manager at The Well, formerly Joseph’s Well, suffered an injured wrist during the fracas while shielding himself from a missile as he stood behind the bar. He said: “A group of around 15 people, estimated to be aged between 16 and 23 barged into the premises shouting and chanting ‘EDL’. They were throwing bottles and rocks. The police attended quickly and arrests were made.
“Despite the incident, the event continued without a problem. We had to carry on. It would mean that these people would have stopped the benefit gig and all the hard work done to arrange it.
The group also allegedly posted their plans on Facebook and afterwards boasted on the internet about what had happened.”
Organisers today said that the concert continued as planned until the early hours of Sunday morning.
Star guests at the punk, ska and reggae event included The Mighty Oppressed, Low-Life UK and DJs Jon Firth and Jamie Headcharge.
Four windows were broken, including one at offices above the venue. Two people were injured in the attack.
All money raised at the event will be donated to the Unite Against Facism organisation and local projects.
The EDL claims to be a street protest movement which opposes what it sees as the spread of Islamism, Sharia law and Islamic extremism in England.
A spokesman for West Yorkshire Police said: “Officers were called shortly before 2.40pm on Saturday to reports of a disturbance at The Well.
“One man received a serious facial injury and others received minor injuries, with damage also caused to the premises.
Three men were arrested on suspicion of affray, and were bailed pending further enquiries, which are being led by City and Holbeck CID.”
Witnesses are asked to call 0845 6060606.
Yorkshire Evening Post
Three men were arrested on suspicion of affray after a hail of rocks and bottles were thrown into the 150 strong crowd of music fans and at windows at The Well venue, Chorley Lane, near the city centre.
Two people were injured at Saturday’s all day Rage Against Racism event. One man had teeth knocked out.
Kevin Berry, assistant manager at The Well, formerly Joseph’s Well, suffered an injured wrist during the fracas while shielding himself from a missile as he stood behind the bar. He said: “A group of around 15 people, estimated to be aged between 16 and 23 barged into the premises shouting and chanting ‘EDL’. They were throwing bottles and rocks. The police attended quickly and arrests were made.
“Despite the incident, the event continued without a problem. We had to carry on. It would mean that these people would have stopped the benefit gig and all the hard work done to arrange it.
The group also allegedly posted their plans on Facebook and afterwards boasted on the internet about what had happened.”
Organisers today said that the concert continued as planned until the early hours of Sunday morning.
Star guests at the punk, ska and reggae event included The Mighty Oppressed, Low-Life UK and DJs Jon Firth and Jamie Headcharge.
Four windows were broken, including one at offices above the venue. Two people were injured in the attack.
All money raised at the event will be donated to the Unite Against Facism organisation and local projects.
The EDL claims to be a street protest movement which opposes what it sees as the spread of Islamism, Sharia law and Islamic extremism in England.
A spokesman for West Yorkshire Police said: “Officers were called shortly before 2.40pm on Saturday to reports of a disturbance at The Well.
“One man received a serious facial injury and others received minor injuries, with damage also caused to the premises.
Three men were arrested on suspicion of affray, and were bailed pending further enquiries, which are being led by City and Holbeck CID.”
Witnesses are asked to call 0845 6060606.
Yorkshire Evening Post
Dutch MP acquitted in 'hate' trial (Netherlands)
Far-right Dutch politician Geert Wilders has been acquitted by a court in Amsterdam where he was on trial for inciting hatred and discrimination against Muslims.
Wilders, leader of the Freedom Party, has described Islam as a "fascist ideology", comparing the Quran to Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf. He was acquitted on all five charges that were pressed against him.
The judge on Thursday said that Wilders' statements were "rude and condescending" but not a criminal offence according to Dutch law.
"The bench finds that your statements are acceptable within the context of the public debate," the judge told Wilders, who has been on trial in the Amsterdam regional court since last October.
Wilders has said he has a "problem with Islamic tradition, culture, [and] ideology; not with Muslim people".
The judge interpreted Wilders' remarks as challenging Islam as an ideology, which is not a criminal offence in the Netherlands. "[…] although gross and degenerating, it did not give rise to hatred," the judge said.
Wilders supporters applauded and he smiled as he left the courtroom.
Freedom of speech
A collection of minority groups that view Wilders' comments as having overstepped the boundaries of free speech first pressed charges in 2007; however, the Dutch public prosecution refused to pursue Wilders, saying it did not believe in a successful outcome to the case.
In 2009 an Amsterdam appeals court overturned that decision and ordered an investigation into "Fitna"
("Discord" in Arabic) - a short film Wilders produced on alleged Islamic extremism.
The case against Wilders started in January 2010, but then collapsed following claims that the judges were biased. It was re-started a month later.
Wilders' supporters labelled the case a left-wing conspiracy and a head-on attack on freedom of expression in the Netherlands.
On the other side of the spectrum, anti-Wilders groups warned the plaintiffs of the consequences of giving the politician a platform, fearing it would only raise his profile further.
Wilders formed his Freedom Party [PVV] - now the country's third largest party - after defecting from the VVD [right-wing liberals] in 2004 and has seen his following grow ever since.
Wilders' anti-Islamic and anti-establishment ideas won the PVV 15 per cent of the vote at the 2010 election.
Wilders, who remained silent throughout most of the proceedings, argued in his final statement on 6 May that: "The Netherlands is under threat of Islam. Truth and freedom are inextricably connected. We must speak the truth because otherwise we shall lose our freedom."
He reminded the court of Dutch politician Pim Fortuyn, who was murdered in 2002 by a left-wing environmentalist for his political ideas, and Dutch film maker Theo van Gogh, who was murdered by a Muslim extremist in 2004 after making comments on Islam.
"I am here because of what I have said," Wilders stated, "I am here for having spoken. I have spoken, I speak and I shall continue to speak. Many have kept silent, but not Pim Fortuyn, not Theo van Gogh, and not me."
Aljazeera
Wilders, leader of the Freedom Party, has described Islam as a "fascist ideology", comparing the Quran to Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf. He was acquitted on all five charges that were pressed against him.
The judge on Thursday said that Wilders' statements were "rude and condescending" but not a criminal offence according to Dutch law.
"The bench finds that your statements are acceptable within the context of the public debate," the judge told Wilders, who has been on trial in the Amsterdam regional court since last October.
Wilders has said he has a "problem with Islamic tradition, culture, [and] ideology; not with Muslim people".
The judge interpreted Wilders' remarks as challenging Islam as an ideology, which is not a criminal offence in the Netherlands. "[…] although gross and degenerating, it did not give rise to hatred," the judge said.
Wilders supporters applauded and he smiled as he left the courtroom.
Freedom of speech
A collection of minority groups that view Wilders' comments as having overstepped the boundaries of free speech first pressed charges in 2007; however, the Dutch public prosecution refused to pursue Wilders, saying it did not believe in a successful outcome to the case.
In 2009 an Amsterdam appeals court overturned that decision and ordered an investigation into "Fitna"
("Discord" in Arabic) - a short film Wilders produced on alleged Islamic extremism.
The case against Wilders started in January 2010, but then collapsed following claims that the judges were biased. It was re-started a month later.
Wilders' supporters labelled the case a left-wing conspiracy and a head-on attack on freedom of expression in the Netherlands.
On the other side of the spectrum, anti-Wilders groups warned the plaintiffs of the consequences of giving the politician a platform, fearing it would only raise his profile further.
Wilders formed his Freedom Party [PVV] - now the country's third largest party - after defecting from the VVD [right-wing liberals] in 2004 and has seen his following grow ever since.
Wilders' anti-Islamic and anti-establishment ideas won the PVV 15 per cent of the vote at the 2010 election.
Wilders, who remained silent throughout most of the proceedings, argued in his final statement on 6 May that: "The Netherlands is under threat of Islam. Truth and freedom are inextricably connected. We must speak the truth because otherwise we shall lose our freedom."
He reminded the court of Dutch politician Pim Fortuyn, who was murdered in 2002 by a left-wing environmentalist for his political ideas, and Dutch film maker Theo van Gogh, who was murdered by a Muslim extremist in 2004 after making comments on Islam.
"I am here because of what I have said," Wilders stated, "I am here for having spoken. I have spoken, I speak and I shall continue to speak. Many have kept silent, but not Pim Fortuyn, not Theo van Gogh, and not me."
Aljazeera
BULGARIA SENTENCED IN STRASBOURG FOR DISCRIMINATING AGAINST 2 RUSSIANS
Bulgaria has been sanctioned by the Human Rights Court in Strasbourg to pay EUR 2 000 each to two Russian citizens, residing in the country, over discrimination.
The two have filed a claim they have been blackmailed in order to graduate from high school. Anatoliy and Vitaliy Ponomariovi were born in 1986 and 1988 respectively in the Soviet Kazchstan. They were able to prove that Bulgaria has violated their right of free education, after granting their mother permanent status in 1994, but asking them for EUR 800 and EUR 2 600 in order to issue their high school diplomas. The brothers arrived in Bulgaria when their Russian mother divorced their Russian father and married a Bulgarian from the southern city of Pazardzhik. They started school in Bulgaria and learned to speak Bulgarian as a native language. Upon turning 18 they faced bureaucracy in Bulgaria for no longer being minors and dependents of their mother. Anatoliy requested his own permanent residency document and was told he had to go back to Russia, obtain a Bulgarian visa and then file an application for residency.
The family could not afford the trip since the mother had been unemployed and their step-father forced to close his small internet coffee shop. The Foreign Affairs Ministry finally allowed Anatoliy to file for visa from Bulgaria, but his residency papers were returned with the request for a fee of BGN 1 300. With his brother, they turned to the Commission for Forgiveness of Uncollectable State Fees, which made them take a loan of BGN 1 400 each. In 2005, when Anatoliy was about to graduate from high school, the Regional Pazardzhik Inspectorate for Education forced the high school principal to ask the brothers to pay a fee for attending a Bulgarian school in order to issue their diplomas. According to the Education Act from 1991, education is free for foreign citizens without permanent residency status.
The Strasbourg Court ruled that the Russians have been discriminated against and one of their basic human rights the right of education violated. Bulgaria is sentenced to further pay EUR 2 000 for the Court's expenses.
Novinite
The two have filed a claim they have been blackmailed in order to graduate from high school. Anatoliy and Vitaliy Ponomariovi were born in 1986 and 1988 respectively in the Soviet Kazchstan. They were able to prove that Bulgaria has violated their right of free education, after granting their mother permanent status in 1994, but asking them for EUR 800 and EUR 2 600 in order to issue their high school diplomas. The brothers arrived in Bulgaria when their Russian mother divorced their Russian father and married a Bulgarian from the southern city of Pazardzhik. They started school in Bulgaria and learned to speak Bulgarian as a native language. Upon turning 18 they faced bureaucracy in Bulgaria for no longer being minors and dependents of their mother. Anatoliy requested his own permanent residency document and was told he had to go back to Russia, obtain a Bulgarian visa and then file an application for residency.
The family could not afford the trip since the mother had been unemployed and their step-father forced to close his small internet coffee shop. The Foreign Affairs Ministry finally allowed Anatoliy to file for visa from Bulgaria, but his residency papers were returned with the request for a fee of BGN 1 300. With his brother, they turned to the Commission for Forgiveness of Uncollectable State Fees, which made them take a loan of BGN 1 400 each. In 2005, when Anatoliy was about to graduate from high school, the Regional Pazardzhik Inspectorate for Education forced the high school principal to ask the brothers to pay a fee for attending a Bulgarian school in order to issue their diplomas. According to the Education Act from 1991, education is free for foreign citizens without permanent residency status.
The Strasbourg Court ruled that the Russians have been discriminated against and one of their basic human rights the right of education violated. Bulgaria is sentenced to further pay EUR 2 000 for the Court's expenses.
Novinite
BNP leader Griffin addresses demonstrators outside court (UK)
British National Party leader Nick Griffin led a demonstration outside Bolton Crown Court yesterday in response to a high-profile case involving an alleged child prostitution ring.
The controversial politician, who was joined by about 30 BNP activists, spoke to the assembled crowd on a megaphone as his supporters waved placards and handed out leaflets.
A BNP trailer blaring out the theme from Dam Busters was also being driven around the town centre.
There was a large police presence in Black Horse Street as officers from Bolton and Rochdale ensured the demonstration passed off peacefully.
It was triggered by a preliminary hearing in a Rochdale court case which was being heard in Bolton yesterday.
Eight men from Rochdale are accused of offences including rape, paying for the sexual services of a child, trafficking a child and controlling child prostitution.
They have yet to plead to the charges.
Mr Griffin, who was accompanied by a bodyguard, said: “We want to keep the pressure on so action is taken in every town.”
Among the demonstrators was local BNP candidate Dorothy Sayers.
She said: “We’re not racist. We’re simply standing up for the British people because no other party is prepared to.”
But onlookers condemned the demonstration.
Rev Les Allmark, the Bolton town centre chaplain, said: “This is racist propaganda. If they were here every time there was a paedophilia trial they might get more respect.
What we’re seeing here is a small number of activists trying to stir up trouble where there is none.”
Worker Helen Jones added: “I don’t think there’s any place for the BNP in our country. All they do is promote intolerance, ignorance and prejudice in a way that will ultimately divide communities.
We live in a multicultural society and we should be embracing that, not inciting hatred.”
Nishielle-Tamar Lloyd, aged 20, from Heaton, who was waiting for a bus nearby, said: “I don’t agree with it. I’m a Christian and something doesn’t feel Christian about what they’re saying.”
Police said the event passed peacefully. Insp Paul Murphy, who was overseeing the operation, said: “We’re here to facilitate a peaceful protest and prevent a breach of the peace.”
The Bolton News
The controversial politician, who was joined by about 30 BNP activists, spoke to the assembled crowd on a megaphone as his supporters waved placards and handed out leaflets.
A BNP trailer blaring out the theme from Dam Busters was also being driven around the town centre.
There was a large police presence in Black Horse Street as officers from Bolton and Rochdale ensured the demonstration passed off peacefully.
It was triggered by a preliminary hearing in a Rochdale court case which was being heard in Bolton yesterday.
Eight men from Rochdale are accused of offences including rape, paying for the sexual services of a child, trafficking a child and controlling child prostitution.
They have yet to plead to the charges.
Mr Griffin, who was accompanied by a bodyguard, said: “We want to keep the pressure on so action is taken in every town.”
Among the demonstrators was local BNP candidate Dorothy Sayers.
She said: “We’re not racist. We’re simply standing up for the British people because no other party is prepared to.”
But onlookers condemned the demonstration.
Rev Les Allmark, the Bolton town centre chaplain, said: “This is racist propaganda. If they were here every time there was a paedophilia trial they might get more respect.
What we’re seeing here is a small number of activists trying to stir up trouble where there is none.”
Worker Helen Jones added: “I don’t think there’s any place for the BNP in our country. All they do is promote intolerance, ignorance and prejudice in a way that will ultimately divide communities.
We live in a multicultural society and we should be embracing that, not inciting hatred.”
Nishielle-Tamar Lloyd, aged 20, from Heaton, who was waiting for a bus nearby, said: “I don’t agree with it. I’m a Christian and something doesn’t feel Christian about what they’re saying.”
Police said the event passed peacefully. Insp Paul Murphy, who was overseeing the operation, said: “We’re here to facilitate a peaceful protest and prevent a breach of the peace.”
The Bolton News
Wednesday, 22 June 2011
MASKED NEO-NAZIS MARCH BY TORCHLIGHT AS A PROVOCATION IN CZECH TOWN OF KRUPKA
This past Saturday about 11 neo-Nazis staged a provocation of the residents of Krupka, marching through the town dressed in black, carrying flaming torches and wearing masks. The event was organized by the so-called "Order of the Cogwheel" (Øád ozubeného kola), which is associated with the Workers' Social Justice Party (Dìlnická strana sociální spravedlnosti - DSSS). The marchers convened at 21:30 CET by a local memorial to the WWII-era victims of a death march which Nazi prisoners of war were forced to undergo in 1945. "A large number of police officers are here. The neo-Nazis are already marching through the town," a correspondent for news server Romea.cz reported from the scene at about 22:30 CET on Saturday. "The neo-Nazis are wearing white masks. They are evidently members of the Workers' Youth (Dìlnická mládeže - DM). I saw what looked like Lucie Šlégrová's dog with them," the correspondent said. Lucie Šlégrová is Vice-Chair of the DM, which is connected to the DSSS.
The group marched through the town center past the town hall and then down the hill to the lower housing estate, where they disappeared into one of the buildings after 23:00 CET. Members of the Order did not enter the upper housing estate where local Romani people had gathered. "We monitored the march had a sufficient number of police officers on hand for any necessary interventions," police spokesperson Jana Matonohová said. The Order of the Cogwheel is linked to the DSSS, which organized a march in Krupka this past April.
Romea
The group marched through the town center past the town hall and then down the hill to the lower housing estate, where they disappeared into one of the buildings after 23:00 CET. Members of the Order did not enter the upper housing estate where local Romani people had gathered. "We monitored the march had a sufficient number of police officers on hand for any necessary interventions," police spokesperson Jana Matonohová said. The Order of the Cogwheel is linked to the DSSS, which organized a march in Krupka this past April.
Romea
DUTCH ANTI-ISLAM LAWMAKER WILDERS FACES JUDGEMENT
Dutch far-right lawmaker Geert Wilders faces judgement Thursday in an Amsterdam court for his statements attacking Islam, which he claimed were made to "defend freedom in the Netherlands." Wilders, 47, will be in the dock as Judge Marcel van Oosten starts his verdict at 9:00 am (0700 GMT) in a trial watched closely by both Wilders' supporters and his detractors and broadcast live. Wilders faces five counts of hate speech and discrimination for his anti-Islamic remarks on websites, Internet forums and in Dutch newspapers between October 2006 and March 2008, and in his controversial 17-minute movie "Fitna" ("Discord" in Arabic). In the past he has likened the Koran to Hitler's "Mein Kampf" and "Fitna" shows shocking images of 9/11 and other terror attacks on western targets interspersed with verses from the Koran. The 2008 movie caused widespread outrage in Muslim countries and opposition from the Dutch government, who feared it might spark a militant response similar to that which followed the publication in Denmark of cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed.
But Wilders -- one of Europe's most heavily-guarded politicians -- has demanded his acquittal before the court, saying he was "obliged to speak, because the Netherlands is "under threat" from Islam. "Acquit me. I do not encourage hatred, I do not encourage discrimination," he told the Amsterdam court during its closing hearing on June 1. The blonde-haired parliamentarian, whose right-wing Party for Freedom (PVV) lends its support to a right-leaning Dutch coalition government, said he was "defending the character, the identity, the culture and the freedom of the Netherlands." His case has been helped by a reluctant prosecution, who last month again asked for his acquittal, saying his comments formed part of the public debate. The prosecution's unwillingness to take aim at Wilders stems back as far as 2008 when it refused to take up a case against him following complaints. On January 21, 2009, however, the Amsterdam appeals court forced the prosecution to mount a case against him.
Prosecutor Paul Velleman told the court that although Wilders' remarks may have caused anxiety and insult on several occasions, they were not criminal as they criticised a religion and therefore could not be punished. On trial since October last year, Wilders risks up to a year in jail or a 7,600-euro fine if found guilty. Wilders' trial comes against a backdrop of plans by the central-right Dutch government to move away from a multicultural approach towards a tougher stance against those who ignore Dutch values and break the law.
AFP
But Wilders -- one of Europe's most heavily-guarded politicians -- has demanded his acquittal before the court, saying he was "obliged to speak, because the Netherlands is "under threat" from Islam. "Acquit me. I do not encourage hatred, I do not encourage discrimination," he told the Amsterdam court during its closing hearing on June 1. The blonde-haired parliamentarian, whose right-wing Party for Freedom (PVV) lends its support to a right-leaning Dutch coalition government, said he was "defending the character, the identity, the culture and the freedom of the Netherlands." His case has been helped by a reluctant prosecution, who last month again asked for his acquittal, saying his comments formed part of the public debate. The prosecution's unwillingness to take aim at Wilders stems back as far as 2008 when it refused to take up a case against him following complaints. On January 21, 2009, however, the Amsterdam appeals court forced the prosecution to mount a case against him.
Prosecutor Paul Velleman told the court that although Wilders' remarks may have caused anxiety and insult on several occasions, they were not criminal as they criticised a religion and therefore could not be punished. On trial since October last year, Wilders risks up to a year in jail or a 7,600-euro fine if found guilty. Wilders' trial comes against a backdrop of plans by the central-right Dutch government to move away from a multicultural approach towards a tougher stance against those who ignore Dutch values and break the law.
AFP
Tuesday, 21 June 2011
Far right threats to Scottish football journalists (UK)
The National Union of Journalists is planning to raise concerns over far right threats to journalists in Scotland with the first minister, Alex Salmond.
The Journalist reports that the move "follows threats and defamatory comments made on unofficial football supporters' websites."
The NUJ's Scottish organiser, Paul Holleran, said: "We are aware of several journalists working in the area of Scottish football that have been threatened and smeared...
"These people are no ordinary football fans; they are far right elements using intimidatory behaviour to attack journalists who write copy they disagree with."
One targeted journalist identified by Holleran is Phil Mac Giolla Bhain, a member of the union's Irish executive council. He writes regularly about the politics and culture of Scottish football, including for The Guardian (see here).
Holleran said: "Alex Salmond has already spoken out against this behaviour as unacceptable, and I hope we can agree steps to prevent publication of this bigoted diatribe which borders on fascism.
"I know that Mr Salmond and the SNP want to be seen to be cleaning up Scotland. They can start with these toxic websites that defame and threaten our members and other people."
The Scottish government is preparing to fast track legislation to deal with football bigotry following a series of incidents over the past season.
Neil Lennon, the manager of Celtic, has been sent bullets and letter bombs, and was assaulted during a match in Edinburgh. He has also been subjected to a vicious online campaign.
Ministers are said to be considering making sectarian conduct at football matches a specific criminal offence, which would carry a five-year jail sentence.
Guardian
The Journalist reports that the move "follows threats and defamatory comments made on unofficial football supporters' websites."
The NUJ's Scottish organiser, Paul Holleran, said: "We are aware of several journalists working in the area of Scottish football that have been threatened and smeared...
"These people are no ordinary football fans; they are far right elements using intimidatory behaviour to attack journalists who write copy they disagree with."
One targeted journalist identified by Holleran is Phil Mac Giolla Bhain, a member of the union's Irish executive council. He writes regularly about the politics and culture of Scottish football, including for The Guardian (see here).
Holleran said: "Alex Salmond has already spoken out against this behaviour as unacceptable, and I hope we can agree steps to prevent publication of this bigoted diatribe which borders on fascism.
"I know that Mr Salmond and the SNP want to be seen to be cleaning up Scotland. They can start with these toxic websites that defame and threaten our members and other people."
The Scottish government is preparing to fast track legislation to deal with football bigotry following a series of incidents over the past season.
Neil Lennon, the manager of Celtic, has been sent bullets and letter bombs, and was assaulted during a match in Edinburgh. He has also been subjected to a vicious online campaign.
Ministers are said to be considering making sectarian conduct at football matches a specific criminal offence, which would carry a five-year jail sentence.
Guardian
MPACUK Press Release: EDL's Vicious Attack on Muslim Bystanders (UK)
The Muslim Public Affairs Committee (MPACUK) reports an attack on two Muslim bystanders during an anti-Muslim march in Dagenham by the far-right group, the English Defence League. The viscous attack occurred on Saturday 18th June, when the two Muslim men, both in their mid 20’s, were walking through their town when they encountered the EDL march. It is estimated that around 250 EDL members were present at the march and were shouting Islamophobic and racist chants.
Surprisingly, there was not a single uniformed policeman in the area and local residents were not warned by the police prior to the march that they must remain vigilant.
The two victims, Aftab Baig and Mohammed Baig crossed over to the other side of the road to avoid the EDL thugs but some of the EDL protesters followed them and started hurling abuse at the two men. Six of the EDL members then launched a violent attack on the two men, throwing them to the ground where they were kicked and punched repeatedly.
Both men sustained multiple injuries and Mohammed Baig was hospitalised suffering head injuries and a broken jaw.
MPACUK would like to know why the problem of the EDL is not being taken seriously by the government or the police despite the EDL having a track record of violence and disorder. A number of EDL members have criminal records for violent offences. The EDL is an extremist group that should be banned.
MPACUK
Surprisingly, there was not a single uniformed policeman in the area and local residents were not warned by the police prior to the march that they must remain vigilant.
The two victims, Aftab Baig and Mohammed Baig crossed over to the other side of the road to avoid the EDL thugs but some of the EDL protesters followed them and started hurling abuse at the two men. Six of the EDL members then launched a violent attack on the two men, throwing them to the ground where they were kicked and punched repeatedly.
Both men sustained multiple injuries and Mohammed Baig was hospitalised suffering head injuries and a broken jaw.
MPACUK would like to know why the problem of the EDL is not being taken seriously by the government or the police despite the EDL having a track record of violence and disorder. A number of EDL members have criminal records for violent offences. The EDL is an extremist group that should be banned.
MPACUK
Norwich man sentenced over racist Twitter comments (UK)
A Norwich man who made racist comments on a social networking site about a new Norwich City signing has been ordered to carry out 120 hours of unpaid work.
Luke O’Donoughoe, of Johnson Place, was handed a lifetime ban from Carrow Road by the club following his comments on Twitter, and today he was sentenced to community work after pleading guilty at magistrates’ court.
O’Donoughoe, 23, made racist comments about James Vaughan and the Canaries’ current playing squad shortly after the Premier League club’s signing of the former Everton striker at the end of May.
A complaint from a member of the public to Norfolk police was investigated and O’Donoughoe was subsequently charged with sending an offensive message by public communication network.
Today, he appeared at Norwich Magistrates Court, where he pleaded guilty.
At the beginning of the month he became the first person to be banned from a football ground for making racist remarks on Twitter.
In taking the action, the club reiterated that they took a zero tolerance policy on racisim or discrimination of any kind, something that is in its supporters’ charter and ground regulations. This action was backed by Kick It Out – the national campaign for equality and inclusion in football.
O’Donoughoe, who was a season ticket holder for nine years at Carrow Road before 2007, had also seen his original comments deplored by Canaries fans on Twitter, while football pundit and former player Mark Bright was the loudest in his protests at the original comments on the website.
Shortly afterwards he deleted the offensive comments and offered his “sincere apologies” to James Vaughan via Twitter. His account has been deleted.
O’Donoughoe was sentenced to a 12 month community order and 120 hours of unpaid work.
Evening News 24
Luke O’Donoughoe, of Johnson Place, was handed a lifetime ban from Carrow Road by the club following his comments on Twitter, and today he was sentenced to community work after pleading guilty at magistrates’ court.
O’Donoughoe, 23, made racist comments about James Vaughan and the Canaries’ current playing squad shortly after the Premier League club’s signing of the former Everton striker at the end of May.
A complaint from a member of the public to Norfolk police was investigated and O’Donoughoe was subsequently charged with sending an offensive message by public communication network.
Today, he appeared at Norwich Magistrates Court, where he pleaded guilty.
At the beginning of the month he became the first person to be banned from a football ground for making racist remarks on Twitter.
In taking the action, the club reiterated that they took a zero tolerance policy on racisim or discrimination of any kind, something that is in its supporters’ charter and ground regulations. This action was backed by Kick It Out – the national campaign for equality and inclusion in football.
O’Donoughoe, who was a season ticket holder for nine years at Carrow Road before 2007, had also seen his original comments deplored by Canaries fans on Twitter, while football pundit and former player Mark Bright was the loudest in his protests at the original comments on the website.
Shortly afterwards he deleted the offensive comments and offered his “sincere apologies” to James Vaughan via Twitter. His account has been deleted.
O’Donoughoe was sentenced to a 12 month community order and 120 hours of unpaid work.
Evening News 24
English Defence League to march in Cambridge (UK)
The right-wing English Defence League (EDL) is to hold a march in Cambridge for the first time.
Cambridgeshire police has confirmed it has been approached by the organisation to hold a demonstration on Saturday, July 9.
A counter-demonstration will be held on the day organised by the Cambridge branch of Unite Against Fascism, which will meet in market square at 11am.
Martin Booth, spokesman for Unison at Cambridge health branch, said: “We have a lot of diversity at Addenbrooke’s and in Cambridge and we don’t want these characters coming to the city.”
An EDL march in Peterborough last year was policed by about 1,000 officers from 18 forces.
A police spokeswoman said: “We have been approached by a member of the English Defence League to inform us of a protest in Cambridge on July 9.
“Plans are underway to ensure an appropriate police response on the day.
“The force fully supports people's right to peaceful protest, as well as ensuring minimal disruption to the people of Cambridge.”
Trade unionists, politicians, faith group and community leaders have already signed up to a statement opposing the EDL and supporting the multi-cultural “We are Cambridge” event.
Cambridge News
Cambridgeshire police has confirmed it has been approached by the organisation to hold a demonstration on Saturday, July 9.
A counter-demonstration will be held on the day organised by the Cambridge branch of Unite Against Fascism, which will meet in market square at 11am.
Martin Booth, spokesman for Unison at Cambridge health branch, said: “We have a lot of diversity at Addenbrooke’s and in Cambridge and we don’t want these characters coming to the city.”
An EDL march in Peterborough last year was policed by about 1,000 officers from 18 forces.
A police spokeswoman said: “We have been approached by a member of the English Defence League to inform us of a protest in Cambridge on July 9.
“Plans are underway to ensure an appropriate police response on the day.
“The force fully supports people's right to peaceful protest, as well as ensuring minimal disruption to the people of Cambridge.”
Trade unionists, politicians, faith group and community leaders have already signed up to a statement opposing the EDL and supporting the multi-cultural “We are Cambridge” event.
Cambridge News
Monday, 20 June 2011
Purported Conn. white supremacist faces sentencing (USA)
A purported white supremacist from Connecticut faces sentencing for what authorities describe as a plan to sell a rifle to the Ku Klux Klan.
William Bolton of Milford is scheduled to be sentenced Wednesday in federal court in Bridgeport for robbery conspiracy and sale of a firearm to a felon.
Prosecutors say Bolton joined Connecticut's largest white supremacist group, Battalion 14, formerly known as the White Wolves, and participated in a plan to sell a sawed-off rifle to the KKK. The buyer was a cooperating government witness.
Authorities said in court papers supplying a gun to the KKK "is like putting a match to the dry kindling of one of this country's most well-known, long-term and destructive reigns of hate motivated violence."
Bolton faces about three years under sentencing guidelines.
NECN
William Bolton of Milford is scheduled to be sentenced Wednesday in federal court in Bridgeport for robbery conspiracy and sale of a firearm to a felon.
Prosecutors say Bolton joined Connecticut's largest white supremacist group, Battalion 14, formerly known as the White Wolves, and participated in a plan to sell a sawed-off rifle to the KKK. The buyer was a cooperating government witness.
Authorities said in court papers supplying a gun to the KKK "is like putting a match to the dry kindling of one of this country's most well-known, long-term and destructive reigns of hate motivated violence."
Bolton faces about three years under sentencing guidelines.
NECN
Rise in racist abuse reported (Switzerland)
Reported cases of racism against blacks and Muslims went up in Switzerland in 2010.
Incidents mainly happened in public areas, at work and in contact with the police, according to the 2010 report by the Federal Commission against Racism and the non-governmental humanrights.ch.
It mainly took the form of verbal abuse.
“It is striking how often those accused were in socio-economic positions of power and used this position, directly or indirectly against the victims,” the report says.
Those affected came from a wide range of backgrounds, and were both Swiss and immigrants.
Not all abuse is reported and the real figure is believed to be much higher, the report says.
The report calls on cantons to improve measures protecting people against discrimination.
Swiss Info
Incidents mainly happened in public areas, at work and in contact with the police, according to the 2010 report by the Federal Commission against Racism and the non-governmental humanrights.ch.
It mainly took the form of verbal abuse.
“It is striking how often those accused were in socio-economic positions of power and used this position, directly or indirectly against the victims,” the report says.
Those affected came from a wide range of backgrounds, and were both Swiss and immigrants.
Not all abuse is reported and the real figure is believed to be much higher, the report says.
The report calls on cantons to improve measures protecting people against discrimination.
Swiss Info
Saturday, 18 June 2011
DUTCH JEWS, MUSLIMS APPEAL RITUAL SLAUGHTER PLAN (Netherlands)
Jewish and Muslim representatives Thursday appealed to Dutch lawmakers not to enforce plans requiring animals to be stunned before halaal and kosher slaughtering rituals. "We are against any form of stunning because it's against our religion," Yusuf Altuntas, president of the CMO -- an organisation that links the Muslim community with the Dutch government -- told a parliamentary commission. "One of the first measures taken during the occupation (during World War II) was the closing of kosher abattoirs," Dutch Chief Rabbi Binyomin Jacobs added during the debate in The Hague. Dutch law required animals to be stunned before being slaughtered but made an exception for ritual halaal and kosher slaughters. The country's Party for Animals (PvdD) which holds two seats in the 150-seat Dutch parliament, has submitted a proposal, if implemented, would see this exception abolished.
Dutch media widely reported that the PvdD's proposal was expected to get a majority nod from parliamentarians. "It will cause an irreversable fracture in our society," said Ronnie Eisenmann, who leads Amsterdam's Jewish community. "Changes in the law will do nothing to ease the suffering of animals," he added. Jewish and Muslim representatives Thursday insisted the ritual slaughter respected the animals' welfare, notably restriction methods used to limit suffering and those slaughtering received expert training. They did however offer to implement some measures which they said would ease the animals' suffering, especially better controls in abattoirs where ritual slaughters were performed and an improvement in conditions under which animals were being transported.
AFP.com
Dutch media widely reported that the PvdD's proposal was expected to get a majority nod from parliamentarians. "It will cause an irreversable fracture in our society," said Ronnie Eisenmann, who leads Amsterdam's Jewish community. "Changes in the law will do nothing to ease the suffering of animals," he added. Jewish and Muslim representatives Thursday insisted the ritual slaughter respected the animals' welfare, notably restriction methods used to limit suffering and those slaughtering received expert training. They did however offer to implement some measures which they said would ease the animals' suffering, especially better controls in abattoirs where ritual slaughters were performed and an improvement in conditions under which animals were being transported.
AFP.com
Youth party fights for rights of whites (Denmark)
A new nationalistic Danish party was established last Saturday by defectors from the Danish National Socialist (DNSB) movement, led by a 21-year-old self-confessed racist and holocaust denier. Danskernes Parti (The Danes’ Party) will stand in the 2013 council elections and will seek to deport all non-European foreigners, withdraw from the EU and fight for the environment. The party’s young leader, Daniel Carlsen, reportedly said he believes they stand a good chance in the elections. “We are still experiencing massive immigration and we are still controlled by the EU despite promises of the opposite,” he told TV2 News. Carlsen, who calls himself a ‘modern nationalist’, and other members of the DNSB left the party in April to establish the new party in order to fight for the rights of white Danes. “We are all Danes before we are anything else. Before you are an academic you are a Dane, before you work you are a Dane, and even though I am a student I am first and foremost a Dane,” he said. “But despite this all we hear about are parties that either fight for workers or academics, ‘the rich’ or ‘the weak’. You never hear about people who fight for Danes. But that’s what we do.”
The party’s website demonstrates sympathy for far-right nationalist parties and movements and features an article written by the leader of the American Third Position, a newly established party that works to promote the interests of white Americans. Their website also indicates a co-operation with Svenskarnas Parti (The Swedes’ Party). “Our fight is not only about Denmark, but the whole of Scandinavia, the north and Europe. All Europeans face the same challenges as us,” reads a statement from the website. Carlsen joined the DNSB when he was 16 and his far-right beliefs have often brought him into the media spotlight, most notably when his parents were interviewed on DR’s Aftenshowet about his beliefs.
Copenhagen Post
The party’s website demonstrates sympathy for far-right nationalist parties and movements and features an article written by the leader of the American Third Position, a newly established party that works to promote the interests of white Americans. Their website also indicates a co-operation with Svenskarnas Parti (The Swedes’ Party). “Our fight is not only about Denmark, but the whole of Scandinavia, the north and Europe. All Europeans face the same challenges as us,” reads a statement from the website. Carlsen joined the DNSB when he was 16 and his far-right beliefs have often brought him into the media spotlight, most notably when his parents were interviewed on DR’s Aftenshowet about his beliefs.
Copenhagen Post
Friday, 17 June 2011
Police probe far-Right links to 'poison packages' at mosques (UK)
Muslim leaders across London are on high alert after fake anthrax was posted to five mosques by suspected far-Right extremists.
Detectives from Scotland Yard's Counter Terrorism Command are investigating after imams at the mosques received bags of white powder.
One package, sent to the Finsbury Park mosque, also contained "evil drawings" of the Prophet Mohammed similar to cartoons published in Denmark.
The Evening Standard understands up to five other mosques in pockets of extremism outside London - thought to be Luton and Birmingham - were targeted in the past 10 days.
Scotland Yard is so concerned about the threat to community cohesion that it has sent a warning to more than 200 mosques in the capital. An email from the Association of Muslim Police warns staff to avoid touching any mail they deem suspicious.
It says: "The inquiry relates to suspicious but non-hazardous packages sent to mosques. Inquires are ongoing and no arrests have been made at this stage. We recognise the distress and disruption caused by such incidents and will continue to investigate them, and any others which come to light, robustly.
"Anyone receiving an item they think is suspicious should treat it seriously and follow the following advice: Call 999; 1. Do not touch or handle it any further; 2. Remain calm; 3. Move everyone away to a safe distance; 4. Safely communicate instructions to staff and public; 5. Ensure that whoever found the item or witnessed the incident remains on hand to brief the police."
Detectives are studying hours of CCTV footage as many of the packages did not have stamps and are thought to have been hand-delivered to the mosques.
Some of the mosques were evacuated while specialist officers in protective suits checked the suspect material.
When a package arrived at the Finsbury Park mosque last Thursday, police closed the building and surrounding roads for four hours.
Ahmed Saad, the imam at the mosque, told the Evening Standard: "Our security guard was in the office when I opened the letter and he called the police right away.
"He told me to wash my hands and face just in case the powder was dangerous. The police arrived with ambulances and evacuated the building.
"It could have been anything in the envelope, my first thought was that it could be anthrax, or it could be some kind of [other] poison.
"It was very frightening. Something like this should not happen, we live in a multi-cultural society."
Mohammed Kozbar, the manager of the mosque, said: "We often get a lot of malicious communications but this is worse than anything that happened before. The envelope also had nasty, devil, evil drawings of the Prophet Mohammed and Muslim women in hijab clothing.
"It is very bad - we have worked hard to change the culture of the mosque since the case of Abu Hamza [the extremist former imam]. These racists won't succeed and we will carry on with our work."
In 2005, a Danish newspaper published 12 offensive cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed. The row triggered protests across the world and led to the bombing of the Danish embassy in Pakistan.
Mr Kozbar believes the package was sent by someone with far-Right views.
A BNP spokesman said: "We are in the political business now and we certainly do not indulge in any activity of that sort."
Scotland Yard said "no line of enquiry had been ruled out".
Meanwhile, a counter-extremism group has warned British Muslims could also end up victims.
Ghaffar Hussain of Quilliam, a counter-extremism thinktank, said: "This is a reminder that British Muslims can also be victims of extremism and intolerance."
This item continues at This is London
Detectives from Scotland Yard's Counter Terrorism Command are investigating after imams at the mosques received bags of white powder.
One package, sent to the Finsbury Park mosque, also contained "evil drawings" of the Prophet Mohammed similar to cartoons published in Denmark.
The Evening Standard understands up to five other mosques in pockets of extremism outside London - thought to be Luton and Birmingham - were targeted in the past 10 days.
Scotland Yard is so concerned about the threat to community cohesion that it has sent a warning to more than 200 mosques in the capital. An email from the Association of Muslim Police warns staff to avoid touching any mail they deem suspicious.
It says: "The inquiry relates to suspicious but non-hazardous packages sent to mosques. Inquires are ongoing and no arrests have been made at this stage. We recognise the distress and disruption caused by such incidents and will continue to investigate them, and any others which come to light, robustly.
"Anyone receiving an item they think is suspicious should treat it seriously and follow the following advice: Call 999; 1. Do not touch or handle it any further; 2. Remain calm; 3. Move everyone away to a safe distance; 4. Safely communicate instructions to staff and public; 5. Ensure that whoever found the item or witnessed the incident remains on hand to brief the police."
Detectives are studying hours of CCTV footage as many of the packages did not have stamps and are thought to have been hand-delivered to the mosques.
Some of the mosques were evacuated while specialist officers in protective suits checked the suspect material.
When a package arrived at the Finsbury Park mosque last Thursday, police closed the building and surrounding roads for four hours.
Ahmed Saad, the imam at the mosque, told the Evening Standard: "Our security guard was in the office when I opened the letter and he called the police right away.
"He told me to wash my hands and face just in case the powder was dangerous. The police arrived with ambulances and evacuated the building.
"It could have been anything in the envelope, my first thought was that it could be anthrax, or it could be some kind of [other] poison.
"It was very frightening. Something like this should not happen, we live in a multi-cultural society."
Mohammed Kozbar, the manager of the mosque, said: "We often get a lot of malicious communications but this is worse than anything that happened before. The envelope also had nasty, devil, evil drawings of the Prophet Mohammed and Muslim women in hijab clothing.
"It is very bad - we have worked hard to change the culture of the mosque since the case of Abu Hamza [the extremist former imam]. These racists won't succeed and we will carry on with our work."
In 2005, a Danish newspaper published 12 offensive cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed. The row triggered protests across the world and led to the bombing of the Danish embassy in Pakistan.
Mr Kozbar believes the package was sent by someone with far-Right views.
A BNP spokesman said: "We are in the political business now and we certainly do not indulge in any activity of that sort."
Scotland Yard said "no line of enquiry had been ruled out".
Meanwhile, a counter-extremism group has warned British Muslims could also end up victims.
Ghaffar Hussain of Quilliam, a counter-extremism thinktank, said: "This is a reminder that British Muslims can also be victims of extremism and intolerance."
This item continues at This is London
Scottish bill to tackle Twitter hate crime (UK)
Anyone who makes sectarian comments on Twitter could be put behind bars for up to five years, under new proposals unveiled on Friday by the Scottish government.
The Scottish government's plans follow attacks on Celtic manager Neil Lennon, his lawyer Paul McBride and the Celtic-supporting former MSP Trish Godman in March, when they were sent suspected letter bombs.
Social networking site Twitter has also been a source of conflict, and earlier this year 19-year-old Rangers Ladies player Lisa Swanson was forced to apologise following her remarks about Celtic and Lennon.
The Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications (Scotland) Bill includes online hate crime, such as abusive or offensive comments posted on Twitter and any behaviour deemed to be threatening, abusive, disorderly or offensive, which both carry the maximum jail term.
Celtic's chief executive, Peter Lawwell has welcomed the proposals.
"The issues this legislation seeks to address are problems for society as a whole and not just football," he said.
"The type of behaviour intended to be covered by this legislation has no place anywhere in Scottish society."
Ministers hope the new laws, which would see the upper sentence for sectarian offences raised from six months to five years, could come into effect by the end of the month.
This has prompted some criticism of the bill, which the Law Society of Scotland say is being pushed through Parliament too quickly and the subsequent lack of scrutiny means any discrepancies in the legislation may not be found.
Bill McVicar, convener of the society's criminal law committee, said sectarianism must be tackled.
"This is a very serious issue and one that needs both attention and action from our political leaders," he said.
"However, it is because of the importance of this issue that the Scottish Government needs to allow adequate time to ensure the legislation can be properly scrutinised.
"It is particularly vital for sufficient time to be allowed at stage one, the evidence gathering stage, for proper public consultation."
But Scottish Football Association chief executive Stewart Regan has welcomed the wide-reaching bill.
He said: "In particular, we are pleased to see that it covers sectarian and other forms of unacceptable chanting and threatening behaviour.
"As we approach the start of a new season, it is important we look forward with anticipation and excitement. Football is this country's national sport and we all have a responsibility to ensure that entertainment replaces aggravation and that a family atmosphere is generated inside our grounds instead of a hostile one.
When the letter bomb plot was uncovered, Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond said that sectarianism was a 'parasite' which needed to be eradicated.
It was the latest in a string of security incidents against Neil Lennon who said if it "was to escalate further then I would seriously have to reconsider my position".
The Celtic manager claims his background as a Catholic and a Northern Irishman at the club fuels plenty of the treatment he is subjected to.
"I never envisaged coming here would create such hatred for myself or my persona as it has done. I don't know what it is that brings the worst out in people when it comes to myself," he said.
UTV
The Scottish government's plans follow attacks on Celtic manager Neil Lennon, his lawyer Paul McBride and the Celtic-supporting former MSP Trish Godman in March, when they were sent suspected letter bombs.
Social networking site Twitter has also been a source of conflict, and earlier this year 19-year-old Rangers Ladies player Lisa Swanson was forced to apologise following her remarks about Celtic and Lennon.
The Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications (Scotland) Bill includes online hate crime, such as abusive or offensive comments posted on Twitter and any behaviour deemed to be threatening, abusive, disorderly or offensive, which both carry the maximum jail term.
Celtic's chief executive, Peter Lawwell has welcomed the proposals.
"The issues this legislation seeks to address are problems for society as a whole and not just football," he said.
"The type of behaviour intended to be covered by this legislation has no place anywhere in Scottish society."
Ministers hope the new laws, which would see the upper sentence for sectarian offences raised from six months to five years, could come into effect by the end of the month.
This has prompted some criticism of the bill, which the Law Society of Scotland say is being pushed through Parliament too quickly and the subsequent lack of scrutiny means any discrepancies in the legislation may not be found.
Bill McVicar, convener of the society's criminal law committee, said sectarianism must be tackled.
"This is a very serious issue and one that needs both attention and action from our political leaders," he said.
"However, it is because of the importance of this issue that the Scottish Government needs to allow adequate time to ensure the legislation can be properly scrutinised.
"It is particularly vital for sufficient time to be allowed at stage one, the evidence gathering stage, for proper public consultation."
But Scottish Football Association chief executive Stewart Regan has welcomed the wide-reaching bill.
He said: "In particular, we are pleased to see that it covers sectarian and other forms of unacceptable chanting and threatening behaviour.
"As we approach the start of a new season, it is important we look forward with anticipation and excitement. Football is this country's national sport and we all have a responsibility to ensure that entertainment replaces aggravation and that a family atmosphere is generated inside our grounds instead of a hostile one.
When the letter bomb plot was uncovered, Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond said that sectarianism was a 'parasite' which needed to be eradicated.
It was the latest in a string of security incidents against Neil Lennon who said if it "was to escalate further then I would seriously have to reconsider my position".
The Celtic manager claims his background as a Catholic and a Northern Irishman at the club fuels plenty of the treatment he is subjected to.
"I never envisaged coming here would create such hatred for myself or my persona as it has done. I don't know what it is that brings the worst out in people when it comes to myself," he said.
UTV
RIGHT EXTREMISTS SQUABBLE OVER A CROSSWORD PUZZLE (Germany)
The right-wing extremist party, the NPD, is no stranger to controversy. Usually, however, more than a simple crossword is to blame. But a puzzle included in the party newspaper put out by the Berlin branch of the NPD has managed to infuriate members across the country.
Three months ahead of elections for the Berlin city-state parliament, party members included the puzzle in the internal paper, one million copies of which are set for release in August, according to a report in the daily Süddeutsche Zeitung. One clue for a five-letter word reads: "It's a German first name that has fallen somewhat out of fashion." The answer? "Adolf."
Another clue refers to a "German politician ('freedom flyer') of the 20th century," to which the four-letter answer is "Hess," in reference to Rudolf Hess, who was Adolf Hitler's deputy before he flew to Scotland in 1941 in hopes of coming to a peace agreement with the UK. Those who successfully complete the puzzle can submit their answers for prizes such a bicycle, party literature or clothing. Everybody likes a prize, but party members have been outraged by the puzzle's blatant references to Nazism.
While the NPD is certainly known for its Third Reich nostalgia, in recent years the party has sought to downplay its affection for Nazis, focusing on creating a more palatable image and appealing to a broader voting base. The tactic is meant to earn credibility for the disputed party and prevent critical coverage by the mainstream media.
The crossword puzzle is among "the dumbest PR actions in the history of the NPD" and "stupid squared," Hesse state party leader Jörg Krebs told online publication DeutschlandEcho over the weekend. Meanwhile Michael Schäfer, head of the NPD youth organization Junge Nationaldemokraten, criticized the campaign material in a Facebook entry. "That's how one squanders the points won in the election," he wrote. "Those of us at the base are the fools once again. Great!"
Credibility in Question
National party spokesman Klaus Beier refused to comment on the dispute, but Berlin NPD leader Uwe Meenen told the Süddeutsche Zeitung that criticism from those like Krebs was trivial. "He's not responsible in Berlin," he told the paper.
Meenen also refused to elaborate on the Nazi references in the crossword puzzle for fear of "ruining the fun of the riddle for people."
Meanwhile the neo-Nazi party may have a bigger battle for credibility ahead. State interior ministers plan to discuss the possibility of withholding tax revenue from the NPD at a meeting on June 21. Plagued by a number of financial and donation scandals in recent years, the NPD is funded in large part by German taxes in proportion to the number of votes they earn. In 2009 the party received about €1.2 million -- some 37 percent of their total receipts.
But a December 2010 report by the German parliament's research service may have discovered a loophole that could exclude the NPD from receiving state money in the future. Sources told SPIEGEL that it outlines the legal possibility of "excluding an unconstitutional party from state party financing." Such a measure would, however, require two-thirds majority vote in parliament to amend the constitution.
Spiegel
FAR-RIGHT COULD PUSH SWEDEN INTO CRISIS
Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt warned Wednesday the left-wing and far-right opposition parties were pushing his minority government towards crisis. "If you are not prepared to take responsibility for Sweden together and in the long-term, you should not ruin it in the short-term through recklessness," Reinfeldt told Jimmi Åkesson, the head of the far-right Sweden Democrats, during a parliamentary debate of all party leaders. Reinfeldt's centre-right coalition won a second mandate last September but fell two seats short of a majority in an election marked by the spectacular performance of the SD, which entered parliament for the first time, snagging 20 seats and the role of kingmaker. The SD has since sided with the leftwing opposition Social Democrat, Green, and Left parties to defeat the government on a series of key votes, including on the sale of state-owned companies and a controversial back-to-work scheme for the unemployed. "Our protection against having a parliamentary majority take over Sweden is the finance policy framework. It is the core of the government's power, to eliminate the possibilities of short-sighted, irresponsible majorities such as those Aakesson is pushing for," Reinfeldt said.
Reinfeldt also lashed out at the Social Democrats and the Greens, which had vowed ahead of last year's elections never to cooperate with the SD, hinting that their attacks on the government's job policies were undermining the possibility for a minority government to rule effectively. "This is not just about this government and this mandate period. This will create the basis for ruling Sweden for a long time to come," he said. New Social Democrat leader Haakan Juholt was visibly annoyed by the prime minister's comments. "Fredrik Reinfeldt should not lecture us Social Democrats on the economy. We invented the finance policy framework" that in the 1990s simplified minority rule, he said. Wednesday's debate was the first for Juholt, who took over the party in March after his predecessor Mona Sahlin stepped down in the aftermath of its disastrous election results.
The Swedish Wire
Reinfeldt also lashed out at the Social Democrats and the Greens, which had vowed ahead of last year's elections never to cooperate with the SD, hinting that their attacks on the government's job policies were undermining the possibility for a minority government to rule effectively. "This is not just about this government and this mandate period. This will create the basis for ruling Sweden for a long time to come," he said. New Social Democrat leader Haakan Juholt was visibly annoyed by the prime minister's comments. "Fredrik Reinfeldt should not lecture us Social Democrats on the economy. We invented the finance policy framework" that in the 1990s simplified minority rule, he said. Wednesday's debate was the first for Juholt, who took over the party in March after his predecessor Mona Sahlin stepped down in the aftermath of its disastrous election results.
The Swedish Wire
English Defence League blames police over protests (UK)
Guramit Singh said police "banned" two protests in Dudley in April and July.
Asked what he thought caused violent demonstrations last year, Mr Singh said police "wouldn't facilitate anything".
The West Midlands force said it went to "great lengths" to facilitate the protests but had to balance the rights and needs of everyone involved.
Assistant Chief Constable Garry Forsyth added: "That includes the local communities, the EDL, other groups that want to protest and also a number of business communities as well who all made representations to us."
Nine people were arrested in April 2010 when rallies were held by the EDL and anti-fascist group Unite Against Fascism.
The two groups organised demonstrations which resulted in the city's market closing and shops being boarded up.
An EDL demonstration was staged in Dudley in July 2010 and Unite Against Fascism held a counter protest. Twenty-one arrests were made.
Mr Singh told BBC WM's Hard Talk series other demonstrations around the country had been peaceful, with "minor arrests here and there", but Dudley was an exception.
'No agenda'
The West Midlands EDL spokesman added: "When they [police] work with me and we come to a good agreement.... then the demonstrations always work.
"But West Midlands was a one off because West Midlands' constabulary refused to facilitate the English Defence League...
"They imposed a ban on us."
Mr Forsyth denied a ban was imposed and said the force "can't ban a lawful protest".
"We've got no powers to do that," he said.
He said officers could however impose certain conditions.
"That would be through the process of an intelligence assessment in engaging with local communities and working out what we think is going to happen on the day," he said.
He said the force had "no agenda against anybody" and had "a very strong history of facilitating protests across a full range and spectrum of groups, including the EDL".
He took issue with Mr Singh's claims over EDL protests elsewhere, adding action was "not by any definition of peaceful as I understand it".
BBC News
Thursday, 16 June 2011
Hackers expose neo-Nazi party supporters
A left-wing hacker group has stolen up to 400 names and home addresses of supporters of Germany’s neo-Nazi National Democratic Party (NDP) and published them on Google Maps.
The German hacking crew ‘n0-N4m3 Cr3w’ stole the details of financial backers after hacking 25 NDP websites last month, before publishing them on Google maps and its homepage.
The NPD was founded in 1964 as a successor to the Third Reich.
Leader of the hacking group, Dark Hammer, said the hack was a politically-motivated attempt to prevent the NDP from gaining influence in Germany.
“I love Germany above everything, and I do everything in my power to improve the image of Germany,” the hacker said in a translation.
“We will not allow that which brings the NPD or the right wing to bring our children on the wrong track.
“I know my action will have broad public interest. That is exactly my goal.”
The NDP was left red-faced in April after some 60,000 internal emails were sent to journalists that exposed the party’s 2011 election strategy.
The exposure of German NDP member details follows a declaration yesterday by right-wing New Zealand blogger Cameron Slater that he had obtained 450 names of the country's Labour Party sponsors, which he threatened to publish.
CRN
The German hacking crew ‘n0-N4m3 Cr3w’ stole the details of financial backers after hacking 25 NDP websites last month, before publishing them on Google maps and its homepage.
The NPD was founded in 1964 as a successor to the Third Reich.
Leader of the hacking group, Dark Hammer, said the hack was a politically-motivated attempt to prevent the NDP from gaining influence in Germany.
“I love Germany above everything, and I do everything in my power to improve the image of Germany,” the hacker said in a translation.
“We will not allow that which brings the NPD or the right wing to bring our children on the wrong track.
“I know my action will have broad public interest. That is exactly my goal.”
The NDP was left red-faced in April after some 60,000 internal emails were sent to journalists that exposed the party’s 2011 election strategy.
The exposure of German NDP member details follows a declaration yesterday by right-wing New Zealand blogger Cameron Slater that he had obtained 450 names of the country's Labour Party sponsors, which he threatened to publish.
CRN
EDL leader Stephen Lennon faces Blackburn assault charge (UK)
The founder of the English Defence League (EDL) has been charged with assault following an altercation at a rally in Lancashire.
Stephen Lennon, also known as Tommy Robinson, was arrested in connection with a brawl at the EDL demonstration in Blackburn on 2 April.
On Wednesday, he was charged with one count of common assault. Mr Lennon, 28, of Layham Drive, Luton, is due to appear at Blackburn Magistrates' Court on 24 June.
BBC News
Stephen Lennon, also known as Tommy Robinson, was arrested in connection with a brawl at the EDL demonstration in Blackburn on 2 April.
On Wednesday, he was charged with one count of common assault. Mr Lennon, 28, of Layham Drive, Luton, is due to appear at Blackburn Magistrates' Court on 24 June.
BBC News
Wednesday, 15 June 2011
Swedish kids invited to neo-Nazi summer camp
A Swedish neo-Nazi political party is offering children free admission to a camp scheduled to be held in a secret location in southern Sweden this summer. But not everyone is welcome to attend.
The camp is being organised by the Party of Swedes (Svenskarnas parti -- SVP), which has its roots in Sweden's neo-Nazi movement.
“Targeting young people is a very conscious strategy of these organisations. It is easier to reach young people with Nazi-propaganda before they have really made their mind up on what Nazism stands for,” journalist Johannes Jakobsson told The Local.
Jakobsson, who writes for Swedish magasine Expo, which studies and maps anti-democratic, right-wing extremist and racist tendencies in society, said there is little doubt about the party's heritage.
“The party leadership is the same as the old National Socialistic Front (National Socialistisk Front – NSF), they represent an ethnic nationalism and they believe in anti-Semitic conspiracy theories,” he said.
In July, the party is organising a gathering for “all nationalists” under the name of Nordisk Vision 2011 ('Nordic Vision 2011').
The camp, which is described as a “summer-camp with drive” has on its agenda “several interesting lectures, speeches, workshops, competitions, self-defence classes, airsoft, rounders and a lot more,” according to the party's website.
The location of the camp is a secret as organisers fear harassment.
“We have a fixed gathering point but from there the directions are secret. We can’t make the location official after all the harassment we have been subjected to in the past,” organiser Andreas Carlsson told Dagens Nyheter (DN).
According to Carlsson, there is no political agenda to the gathering. He told daily DN that the aim is to “have fun, creating kinship and meeting new people".
Carlsson told daily Aftonbladet that the focus for the kids would be on “having fun” but that everyone will be able to take part in a debate on the Sunday where one of the topics will be “Who is a Swede and who isn’t?”.
But the organisers would not agree that the camp itself is targeting young people, despite Swedish media calling it a "Nazi children's camp".
They are marketing the camp as having activities for both “young and old” and claim that children under 15 go in for free as it is a family event and they want to subsidize the price for families.
However, that doesn't mean that everyone is invited.
“You can have a foreign name, but if it is from outside Europe it becomes more difficult. And we don’t necessarily see someone as Swedish just because they have a Swedish citizenship,” Carlsson told DN.
Jakobsson says that there is no reason to doubt that the participants won't be paddling, playing rounders and taking part in all the activities advertised on the webpage.
However, he doesn't believe that the gathering is without a political agenda.
“They have said that they will have political speeches and discussions so when they say that it’s not political they are contradicting themselves,” he told The Local.
The Party of Swedes party is formerly known as the People's Front (Folkfronten) and was founded by members of the former National Socialist Front (Nationalsocialistisk front, NSF) in November 2008.
At the time it dissolved, NSF was the largest neo-Nazi political party in Sweden. It became a political party on April 20th, 1999, the 110th birthday of Adolf Hitler.
The Local Sweden
The camp is being organised by the Party of Swedes (Svenskarnas parti -- SVP), which has its roots in Sweden's neo-Nazi movement.
“Targeting young people is a very conscious strategy of these organisations. It is easier to reach young people with Nazi-propaganda before they have really made their mind up on what Nazism stands for,” journalist Johannes Jakobsson told The Local.
Jakobsson, who writes for Swedish magasine Expo, which studies and maps anti-democratic, right-wing extremist and racist tendencies in society, said there is little doubt about the party's heritage.
“The party leadership is the same as the old National Socialistic Front (National Socialistisk Front – NSF), they represent an ethnic nationalism and they believe in anti-Semitic conspiracy theories,” he said.
In July, the party is organising a gathering for “all nationalists” under the name of Nordisk Vision 2011 ('Nordic Vision 2011').
The camp, which is described as a “summer-camp with drive” has on its agenda “several interesting lectures, speeches, workshops, competitions, self-defence classes, airsoft, rounders and a lot more,” according to the party's website.
The location of the camp is a secret as organisers fear harassment.
“We have a fixed gathering point but from there the directions are secret. We can’t make the location official after all the harassment we have been subjected to in the past,” organiser Andreas Carlsson told Dagens Nyheter (DN).
According to Carlsson, there is no political agenda to the gathering. He told daily DN that the aim is to “have fun, creating kinship and meeting new people".
Carlsson told daily Aftonbladet that the focus for the kids would be on “having fun” but that everyone will be able to take part in a debate on the Sunday where one of the topics will be “Who is a Swede and who isn’t?”.
But the organisers would not agree that the camp itself is targeting young people, despite Swedish media calling it a "Nazi children's camp".
They are marketing the camp as having activities for both “young and old” and claim that children under 15 go in for free as it is a family event and they want to subsidize the price for families.
However, that doesn't mean that everyone is invited.
“You can have a foreign name, but if it is from outside Europe it becomes more difficult. And we don’t necessarily see someone as Swedish just because they have a Swedish citizenship,” Carlsson told DN.
Jakobsson says that there is no reason to doubt that the participants won't be paddling, playing rounders and taking part in all the activities advertised on the webpage.
However, he doesn't believe that the gathering is without a political agenda.
“They have said that they will have political speeches and discussions so when they say that it’s not political they are contradicting themselves,” he told The Local.
The Party of Swedes party is formerly known as the People's Front (Folkfronten) and was founded by members of the former National Socialist Front (Nationalsocialistisk front, NSF) in November 2008.
At the time it dissolved, NSF was the largest neo-Nazi political party in Sweden. It became a political party on April 20th, 1999, the 110th birthday of Adolf Hitler.
The Local Sweden
CATHOLIC PRIESTS PROTEST AGAINST ULTRA-RIGHT PARTY IN KRNOV (Czech Rep.)
A group of Catholic priests has protested against neo-Nazism in Krnov. The daily Bruntálský deník reports that the priests protested against a rally there by the extremist Workers' Social Justice Party (Dìlnická strana sociální spravedlnosti - DSSS). The priests unfurled a banner reading "Christians against Neo-Nazism" and "We Don't Want E.coli or Neo-Nazism". The daily reports that some DSSS promoters - apparently bored by the lengthy, incomprehensible speech being given by party leader Tomáš Vandas - asked the priests what E.coli was and then asked for an explanation of the relationship between bloody diarrhea and neo-Nazism. They also tried to discuss the role played by the Catholic Church in Czech history with the Catholic activists. When asked what specifically they were doing for a better future for humanity and their country, the priests described their pastoral work among prisoners in Mírov. In his speech, Vandas admitted and emphasized the continuity between the dissolved extremist neo-Nazi Workers' Party (Dìlnická strana - DS) and today's DSSS. "As a result of our electoral results we received CZK 750 000 from the state, and that's the only subsidy we have been given so far," Vandas claimed. The state contribution, however, was made to the treasury of the DS, which has since been dissolved.
Romea
Romea
2 Russian Neo-Nazi leaders sentenced to life in prison for the killings of non-Russians
Two leaders of a neo-Nazi gang were sentenced Tuesday to life in jail for a rash of hate killings that terrorized minorities in Russia's second-largest city.
The St. Petersburg City Court said Alexei Voevodin and Artyom Prokhorenko headed a gang that enlisted Russian supremacists and football fans aged 16 to 22 who preyed on non-Slavs with dark skin or Asian features, kicking and stabbing them to death.
The court also sentenced another 10 gang members to up to 18 years in jail for their roles in dozens of attacks over three years. Their victims included a nine-year old from the ex-Soviet republic of Tajikistan, and natives of North Korea, China and African nations.
The gang also killed two former members suspected of co-operating with police and buried their bodies in a suburban forest.
In 2004, the gang members gunned down Nikolai Girenko, a prominent expert on African ethnology and a human rights advocate who organized anti-racist conferences and helped police investigate hate crimes.
The killings rattled St. Petersburg, a city long plagued by assaults on labour migrants from ex-Soviet Central Asia and Russia's Caucasus region, as well as natives of African and Asian nations. Critics accused police of doing little to prevent the crimes and find the culprits, and the gang was caught only after a local newspaper ran an investigative report.
Voevodin and Prokhorenko, with shaved heads and bulging biceps covered with tattooed Celtic imagery, stood calmly in a cage in the courtroom as they listened to the verdict. At a court session last week, Voevodin threatened the judge with "a horrible death," Gazeta.ru online newspaper reported.
Celtic crosses are popular among Russian neo-Nazis as substitutes for swastikas.
A handful of their supporters raised their right hands in a Nazi salute and yelled "Hail Russia! Hail heroes!" Some of them were holding small, hand-drawn pictures of Adolf Hitler.
Voevodin formed the gang in 2003 after most of the members of his previous group, the Mad Crowd, were arrested and charged with multiple killings and assaults. He ordered his followers not to name the gang, refrain from wearing Nazi and ultranationalist symbols and advertising their crimes — unlike other neo-Nazi groups that often posted videos of their attacks online.
In recent years, dozens of mostly underage neo-Nazis have stood trial and been convicted across Russia amid a surge in xenophobia and hate crimes triggered by the influx of labour migrants. Some average Russians and nationalist politicians accuse the migrants of stealing jobs and forming ethnic gangs.
Racially motivated attacks peaked in 2008, when 110 were killed and 487 wounded, independent human rights watchdog Sova said.
Since then, the number of hate crimes dwindled, but human rights groups say neo-Nazis are increasingly resorting to bombings and arson against police and government officials, whom they accuse of condoning the influx of illegal migrants. Ultranationalist groups have also stepped up attacks on human rights activists and anti-racist youth groups.
In early May, a member of an ultranationalist group got a life sentence for the Jan. 2009 killing of a human rights advocate and a journalist, his girlfriend and accomplice was sentenced to 18 years in jail.
In April 2010, a federal judge who presided over trials of White Wolves, a mostly teenage group of skinheads convicted of killing and assaulting non-Slavs, was gunned down contract-style outside his Moscow apartment.
Members of a neo-Nazi group accused of planning to blow up a mosque, a McDonald's restaurant and railway stations are currently standing trial in Moscow.
Neo-Nazis operate in small, semi-autonomous groups that co-ordinate their actions through Internet forums and coded messages, rights groups say.
Yahoo News
The St. Petersburg City Court said Alexei Voevodin and Artyom Prokhorenko headed a gang that enlisted Russian supremacists and football fans aged 16 to 22 who preyed on non-Slavs with dark skin or Asian features, kicking and stabbing them to death.
The court also sentenced another 10 gang members to up to 18 years in jail for their roles in dozens of attacks over three years. Their victims included a nine-year old from the ex-Soviet republic of Tajikistan, and natives of North Korea, China and African nations.
The gang also killed two former members suspected of co-operating with police and buried their bodies in a suburban forest.
In 2004, the gang members gunned down Nikolai Girenko, a prominent expert on African ethnology and a human rights advocate who organized anti-racist conferences and helped police investigate hate crimes.
The killings rattled St. Petersburg, a city long plagued by assaults on labour migrants from ex-Soviet Central Asia and Russia's Caucasus region, as well as natives of African and Asian nations. Critics accused police of doing little to prevent the crimes and find the culprits, and the gang was caught only after a local newspaper ran an investigative report.
Voevodin and Prokhorenko, with shaved heads and bulging biceps covered with tattooed Celtic imagery, stood calmly in a cage in the courtroom as they listened to the verdict. At a court session last week, Voevodin threatened the judge with "a horrible death," Gazeta.ru online newspaper reported.
Celtic crosses are popular among Russian neo-Nazis as substitutes for swastikas.
A handful of their supporters raised their right hands in a Nazi salute and yelled "Hail Russia! Hail heroes!" Some of them were holding small, hand-drawn pictures of Adolf Hitler.
Voevodin formed the gang in 2003 after most of the members of his previous group, the Mad Crowd, were arrested and charged with multiple killings and assaults. He ordered his followers not to name the gang, refrain from wearing Nazi and ultranationalist symbols and advertising their crimes — unlike other neo-Nazi groups that often posted videos of their attacks online.
In recent years, dozens of mostly underage neo-Nazis have stood trial and been convicted across Russia amid a surge in xenophobia and hate crimes triggered by the influx of labour migrants. Some average Russians and nationalist politicians accuse the migrants of stealing jobs and forming ethnic gangs.
Racially motivated attacks peaked in 2008, when 110 were killed and 487 wounded, independent human rights watchdog Sova said.
Since then, the number of hate crimes dwindled, but human rights groups say neo-Nazis are increasingly resorting to bombings and arson against police and government officials, whom they accuse of condoning the influx of illegal migrants. Ultranationalist groups have also stepped up attacks on human rights activists and anti-racist youth groups.
In early May, a member of an ultranationalist group got a life sentence for the Jan. 2009 killing of a human rights advocate and a journalist, his girlfriend and accomplice was sentenced to 18 years in jail.
In April 2010, a federal judge who presided over trials of White Wolves, a mostly teenage group of skinheads convicted of killing and assaulting non-Slavs, was gunned down contract-style outside his Moscow apartment.
Members of a neo-Nazi group accused of planning to blow up a mosque, a McDonald's restaurant and railway stations are currently standing trial in Moscow.
Neo-Nazis operate in small, semi-autonomous groups that co-ordinate their actions through Internet forums and coded messages, rights groups say.
Yahoo News
ITALY AGAINST THE JEWS
Murky wave of anti-Israel zeal, demonization of Jews growing at alarming rate in Italy
By Giulio MeottiGiulio Meotti, a journalist with Il Foglio, is the author of the book A New Shoah: The Untold Story of Israel's Victims of Terrorism
The first months of 2011 have confirmed Italy’s status as one of Iran’s biggest European trade partners, all while the ayatollahs pursue the means to perpetuate a second Holocaust. Rome is doing business as usual with the greatest totalitarian threat to international peace and security since the defeats of Soviet communism and Nazi fascism, providing a lifeline to an Iranian regime that is cruel at home, sponsors terror abroad and preaches anti-Jewish revolt. Meanwhile, a murky wave of anti-Israel zeal is also growing at an alarming rate in Italy. “The old anti-Jewish libels are now aimed at the State of Israel”, says Stefano Gatti, one of the top researchers at the Center for Documentation in Milan. Pro-Palestinian activists are threatening to “ignite” Milan, the financial capital of Italy where an Israeli exhibit is going displayed in a central square. Meanwhile, the city of Turin hosted a “cultural festival” where the image of Shimon Peres was used as a shoe-throwing target. For one euro, Italian students had the chance to hit the face of Israel’s president, who was fitted with a Nazi-style Jewish nose.
An Israeli student at the University of Genoa has been harassed and threatened with death by Arab students. Muslim students shouted at him “Allahu Akbar” (God is great) and “Itbach el Yahud” (slaughter the Jews.) Another Israeli student at the University of Turin, Amit Peer, confessed that “the Jews here are hiding their own identity because they risk becoming a target.” Meanwhile, demonization of the Jews is spreading in the liberal media. Leftist newspaper “Il Manifesto” published a caricature of a Jewish candidate for parliament, Fiamma Nirenstein, with Fascist insignia, a campaign button and a Star of David. The cartoon “Electoral Monsters” was dubbed “Fiamma Frankenstein.” L’Unità, the official newspaper of the leftist Democratic Party, published an interview with anthropologist Nancy Scheper-Hughes, where she claimed that Israel is a world leader in organ trafficking. The accusation resembled that of the Middle Ages blood libel whereby Jews were accused of kidnapping Christian and Muslim children before Passover in order to murder them and use their blood for matza.
Lists of boycotted Israeli products
Ucoii, the largest Islamic organization in Italy, published an ad in many mainstream newspapers entitled “Nazi Bloodshed Yesterday, Israeli Bloodshed Today.” An Italian court ruled that the Nazification of Israel came under “freedom of expression” and was not a case of incitement to hatred. In 2009, Italy sent the largest European delegation of artists to an Iranian cartoonist festival on the Holocaust. The cartoons presented the Holocaust as an invention of Jews with hooked noses typical of Nazi propaganda. Pisa, Rome and Bologna are among the most prestigious Italian universities that annually host anti-Zionist conferences and pro-Intifada speakers. Israeli attaché Shai Cohen was prevented from speaking at Pisa University after a violent attack by students, who called out “butcher, fascist, assassin.” The Israeli ambassador, Ehud Gol, fled Florence University after a similar “protest.” Meanwhile, the Riccione city council sponsored a meeting against “the militarism of Israel,” explaining that “Israeli governments don’t represent the Jewish people.” The Coop and Conad, two of the largest supermarket chains in Italy, for some weeks last year removed Israeli products from their shelves in the name of a boycott of Jewish settlements in Judea and Samaria. Lists of boycotted Israeli products have been launched also by local Christian communities and leftist groups, targeting L’Oreal, Ahava and other firms. Flaica, a trade union with 8,000 members working in large-scale retail, promoted the boycott of “all Rome shops managed by Jews” and drew up lists of Jewish-owned shops to be avoided, because of “what is happening in Gaza.” In Rome, a new pro-Hamas Freedom Flotilla has just been presented in the official buildings of the Professional Order of the Journalists, a body financed by the Italian government. Some members of Turkish terror group IHH were also on hand.
Anti-Semitism becoming fashionable
The Foreign Press Association in Rome, a state-funded institution, suspended two journalists, both Jews: Yedioth Ahronoth correspondent Menachem Gantz and French journalist Ariel Dumont. Iranian journalist Masoumi Nejad, who has been arrested for a arms trading involving Italy and Iran, has never been expelled by the association. Anti-Semitism is becoming fashionable also among the “chattering classes”, intellectuals and academicians. Actress Sabina Guzzanti attacked the “Jewish race” in a primetime television program. Literary guru Alberto Asor Rosa wrote in a book on the transformation of the Jews from “a persecuted race” to “a warrior persecutor race.” Renowned leftist philosopher Gianni Vattimo declared that he had “re-evaluated” “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion” and now felt they largely reflect the truth about the Jews. The slandering of Israel is also growing among the most important Catholic journalists. Vittorio Messori, who conducted the first book-length interview with Pope John Paul II, recently wrote an editorial for the Italian daily “Il Corriere della sera” where he stated: “All governments of all Muslim nations are under the tsunami of the violent intrusion of Zionism that has come to put its capital in Jerusalem.”
The growing anti-Semitism is also evident by the security around the largest synagogue in Rome, one of the oldest in the world. The Jewish temple looks like a military outpost: Private guards everywhere, metal detectors and policemen at every corner. The Jewish school looks like a “sterilized area” protected by policemen, bodyguards and cameras. All school windows are plumbed with iron grates. I saw the same in the Jewish homes of Hebron and in the schools of Sderot. Pro-Palestinian groups just recently marched into the ghetto, shouting “Fascist” and “Assassins” to the Jews, some of them Holocaust survivors. It was here, on 16 October 1943, that 1,200 Jews were deported to Auschwitz; none of the 200 Jewish children came back home. It was here, on 9 October 1982, that an Arab terrorist opened fire on Jews; a two-year old baby, Stefano Taché, became the first Italian victim of anti-Jewish violence since the war. Not far from the ghetto, in the lower part of the Titus Gate, named after the Roman emperor who destroyed the Second Temple in Jerusalem, someone wrote in Hebrew: “Am Yisrael Chai.” The people of Israel not only had not been destroyed, but defiantly remained alive. It's comforting to know that there is still someone with the courage to write it.
YNetNews
By Giulio MeottiGiulio Meotti, a journalist with Il Foglio, is the author of the book A New Shoah: The Untold Story of Israel's Victims of Terrorism
The first months of 2011 have confirmed Italy’s status as one of Iran’s biggest European trade partners, all while the ayatollahs pursue the means to perpetuate a second Holocaust. Rome is doing business as usual with the greatest totalitarian threat to international peace and security since the defeats of Soviet communism and Nazi fascism, providing a lifeline to an Iranian regime that is cruel at home, sponsors terror abroad and preaches anti-Jewish revolt. Meanwhile, a murky wave of anti-Israel zeal is also growing at an alarming rate in Italy. “The old anti-Jewish libels are now aimed at the State of Israel”, says Stefano Gatti, one of the top researchers at the Center for Documentation in Milan. Pro-Palestinian activists are threatening to “ignite” Milan, the financial capital of Italy where an Israeli exhibit is going displayed in a central square. Meanwhile, the city of Turin hosted a “cultural festival” where the image of Shimon Peres was used as a shoe-throwing target. For one euro, Italian students had the chance to hit the face of Israel’s president, who was fitted with a Nazi-style Jewish nose.
An Israeli student at the University of Genoa has been harassed and threatened with death by Arab students. Muslim students shouted at him “Allahu Akbar” (God is great) and “Itbach el Yahud” (slaughter the Jews.) Another Israeli student at the University of Turin, Amit Peer, confessed that “the Jews here are hiding their own identity because they risk becoming a target.” Meanwhile, demonization of the Jews is spreading in the liberal media. Leftist newspaper “Il Manifesto” published a caricature of a Jewish candidate for parliament, Fiamma Nirenstein, with Fascist insignia, a campaign button and a Star of David. The cartoon “Electoral Monsters” was dubbed “Fiamma Frankenstein.” L’Unità, the official newspaper of the leftist Democratic Party, published an interview with anthropologist Nancy Scheper-Hughes, where she claimed that Israel is a world leader in organ trafficking. The accusation resembled that of the Middle Ages blood libel whereby Jews were accused of kidnapping Christian and Muslim children before Passover in order to murder them and use their blood for matza.
Lists of boycotted Israeli products
Ucoii, the largest Islamic organization in Italy, published an ad in many mainstream newspapers entitled “Nazi Bloodshed Yesterday, Israeli Bloodshed Today.” An Italian court ruled that the Nazification of Israel came under “freedom of expression” and was not a case of incitement to hatred. In 2009, Italy sent the largest European delegation of artists to an Iranian cartoonist festival on the Holocaust. The cartoons presented the Holocaust as an invention of Jews with hooked noses typical of Nazi propaganda. Pisa, Rome and Bologna are among the most prestigious Italian universities that annually host anti-Zionist conferences and pro-Intifada speakers. Israeli attaché Shai Cohen was prevented from speaking at Pisa University after a violent attack by students, who called out “butcher, fascist, assassin.” The Israeli ambassador, Ehud Gol, fled Florence University after a similar “protest.” Meanwhile, the Riccione city council sponsored a meeting against “the militarism of Israel,” explaining that “Israeli governments don’t represent the Jewish people.” The Coop and Conad, two of the largest supermarket chains in Italy, for some weeks last year removed Israeli products from their shelves in the name of a boycott of Jewish settlements in Judea and Samaria. Lists of boycotted Israeli products have been launched also by local Christian communities and leftist groups, targeting L’Oreal, Ahava and other firms. Flaica, a trade union with 8,000 members working in large-scale retail, promoted the boycott of “all Rome shops managed by Jews” and drew up lists of Jewish-owned shops to be avoided, because of “what is happening in Gaza.” In Rome, a new pro-Hamas Freedom Flotilla has just been presented in the official buildings of the Professional Order of the Journalists, a body financed by the Italian government. Some members of Turkish terror group IHH were also on hand.
Anti-Semitism becoming fashionable
The Foreign Press Association in Rome, a state-funded institution, suspended two journalists, both Jews: Yedioth Ahronoth correspondent Menachem Gantz and French journalist Ariel Dumont. Iranian journalist Masoumi Nejad, who has been arrested for a arms trading involving Italy and Iran, has never been expelled by the association. Anti-Semitism is becoming fashionable also among the “chattering classes”, intellectuals and academicians. Actress Sabina Guzzanti attacked the “Jewish race” in a primetime television program. Literary guru Alberto Asor Rosa wrote in a book on the transformation of the Jews from “a persecuted race” to “a warrior persecutor race.” Renowned leftist philosopher Gianni Vattimo declared that he had “re-evaluated” “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion” and now felt they largely reflect the truth about the Jews. The slandering of Israel is also growing among the most important Catholic journalists. Vittorio Messori, who conducted the first book-length interview with Pope John Paul II, recently wrote an editorial for the Italian daily “Il Corriere della sera” where he stated: “All governments of all Muslim nations are under the tsunami of the violent intrusion of Zionism that has come to put its capital in Jerusalem.”
The growing anti-Semitism is also evident by the security around the largest synagogue in Rome, one of the oldest in the world. The Jewish temple looks like a military outpost: Private guards everywhere, metal detectors and policemen at every corner. The Jewish school looks like a “sterilized area” protected by policemen, bodyguards and cameras. All school windows are plumbed with iron grates. I saw the same in the Jewish homes of Hebron and in the schools of Sderot. Pro-Palestinian groups just recently marched into the ghetto, shouting “Fascist” and “Assassins” to the Jews, some of them Holocaust survivors. It was here, on 16 October 1943, that 1,200 Jews were deported to Auschwitz; none of the 200 Jewish children came back home. It was here, on 9 October 1982, that an Arab terrorist opened fire on Jews; a two-year old baby, Stefano Taché, became the first Italian victim of anti-Jewish violence since the war. Not far from the ghetto, in the lower part of the Titus Gate, named after the Roman emperor who destroyed the Second Temple in Jerusalem, someone wrote in Hebrew: “Am Yisrael Chai.” The people of Israel not only had not been destroyed, but defiantly remained alive. It's comforting to know that there is still someone with the courage to write it.
YNetNews
BNP lose another councillor (Hope Not Hate, UK)
The BNP last night lost another councillor when Amber Valley member Cliff Roper resigned from the party whip and became an Independent.
In his resignation statement he said:
"It is with sadness that I have this evening resigned the British National Party whip on Amber Valley Borough Council. I will now sit as an Independent Member of the Council, though I retain my membership of the British National Party and, of course, my nationalist views.
This change will make no difference to the way I assist and deal with enquiries from my constituents, but is a symbolic protest at recent events within the British National Party, both at a national and local level."
Hope Not Hate
In his resignation statement he said:
"It is with sadness that I have this evening resigned the British National Party whip on Amber Valley Borough Council. I will now sit as an Independent Member of the Council, though I retain my membership of the British National Party and, of course, my nationalist views.
This change will make no difference to the way I assist and deal with enquiries from my constituents, but is a symbolic protest at recent events within the British National Party, both at a national and local level."
Hope Not Hate
Tuesday, 14 June 2011
White supremacist cries rape (Canada)
A wannabe white supremacist, who was placed in a Calgary Remand Centre cell with two members of visible minorities, said Monday he was raped by them.
The complainant, who can’t be identified, said he shaved his head after being sent to the northwest Calgary jail to get rid of two Nazi symbols carved into his hair.
But he testified at least one of his alleged attackers saw the symbols and other minority inmates made threatening comments about them.
And he rejected suggestions by lawyers for Ali Sanghar and Samar Sigar he consented to having sex with the two men in their cell on May 30, 2010.
Both Sanghar, 31, and Sigar, 19, face charges of sexual assault with a weapon.
The witness told Crown prosecutor Bev Bauer he awoke in the middle of the night to find a towel placed over his face and Sigar, who is black, holding a weapon on him,
“He pointed something at the back of my neck, which I thought was a knife,” said the witness.
“He told me he was in there for murder and he could either rape me or murder me, and he chose to rape me,” he said.
“I didn’t want to die so I just took it.”
During the attack Sanghar, who is of middle-eastern origin and required a Farsi interpreter in court, woke up and assaulted him as well, the complainant testified.
“I guess he wanted to join in so the black guy held my arms while the Iraqi, Middle Eastern guy took his turn,” the man said.
He said he was trying at the time to get membership in the white supremacist group Western European Bloodlines, but never joined.
He admitted being a racist at the time, but said his decision to have a friend carve Nazi symbols into his hair was more of a drunken lark than anything else.
Both defence lawyers Alan Fay and David Andrews suggested the complainant was making up the rape claim after agreeing to have sex with his new cellmates.
“You consented because you knew that if you didn’t do something you would continue to remain vulnerable because of your beliefs about persons of different races, isn’t that correct?” Andrews said.
“No that is not,” the witness replied.
Fay went one step further, saying the man agreed to have sex with Sigar and make it look like rape so other non-whites would be pacified.
The trial continues Tuesday.
Calgary Sun
The complainant, who can’t be identified, said he shaved his head after being sent to the northwest Calgary jail to get rid of two Nazi symbols carved into his hair.
But he testified at least one of his alleged attackers saw the symbols and other minority inmates made threatening comments about them.
And he rejected suggestions by lawyers for Ali Sanghar and Samar Sigar he consented to having sex with the two men in their cell on May 30, 2010.
Both Sanghar, 31, and Sigar, 19, face charges of sexual assault with a weapon.
The witness told Crown prosecutor Bev Bauer he awoke in the middle of the night to find a towel placed over his face and Sigar, who is black, holding a weapon on him,
“He pointed something at the back of my neck, which I thought was a knife,” said the witness.
“He told me he was in there for murder and he could either rape me or murder me, and he chose to rape me,” he said.
“I didn’t want to die so I just took it.”
During the attack Sanghar, who is of middle-eastern origin and required a Farsi interpreter in court, woke up and assaulted him as well, the complainant testified.
“I guess he wanted to join in so the black guy held my arms while the Iraqi, Middle Eastern guy took his turn,” the man said.
He said he was trying at the time to get membership in the white supremacist group Western European Bloodlines, but never joined.
He admitted being a racist at the time, but said his decision to have a friend carve Nazi symbols into his hair was more of a drunken lark than anything else.
Both defence lawyers Alan Fay and David Andrews suggested the complainant was making up the rape claim after agreeing to have sex with his new cellmates.
“You consented because you knew that if you didn’t do something you would continue to remain vulnerable because of your beliefs about persons of different races, isn’t that correct?” Andrews said.
“No that is not,” the witness replied.
Fay went one step further, saying the man agreed to have sex with Sigar and make it look like rape so other non-whites would be pacified.
The trial continues Tuesday.
Calgary Sun
Church beatifies Nazi-victim priest (Germany)
The Catholic Church has beatified the venerated priest Alois Andritzki, who was murdered by the Nazis at the Dachau concentration camp. Andritzki has long been revered by Sorbs, a minority ethnicity in eastern Germany.
German Priest Alois Andritzki, who died at Nazi hands in Dachau, has been bestowed the title "Blessed" by the Catholic Church.
Andritzki, who was arrested by the National Socialists in 1941 for criticizing the regime and later murdered by lethal injection, was beatified Monday at the Dresden Cathedral in a bilingual ceremony in German and Sorbian, the language of the eastern German Slavic minority to which he belonged.
Roman Cardinal Angelo Amato read the papal declaration of Andritzki's beatification at a ceremony which drew an estimated 11,000 people, many of them in traditional Sorbian dress.
Dresden's Bishop Joachim Reinelt praised Andritzki in his sermon, saying the priest had showed a "bright face" even through the "most awful beastly work" at the Dachau concentration camp.
Saxony State Premier Stanislaw Tillich, who spoke at the ceremony in Sorbian, said Andritzki had "unshakably stood by his faith during the time of the inhuman Nazi dictatorship."
Pope Benedict XVI, who approved Andritzki's beatification in December, honored the priest on Sunday during his noon prayer St. Peter's Square. Benedict said Andritzki remained an attestor to the faith even in times of great suffering.
Andritzki has long been revered by eastern Germany's Catholic Sorbs. Beatification is the third of the four steps in the canonization process.
DW-World
German Priest Alois Andritzki, who died at Nazi hands in Dachau, has been bestowed the title "Blessed" by the Catholic Church.
Andritzki, who was arrested by the National Socialists in 1941 for criticizing the regime and later murdered by lethal injection, was beatified Monday at the Dresden Cathedral in a bilingual ceremony in German and Sorbian, the language of the eastern German Slavic minority to which he belonged.
Roman Cardinal Angelo Amato read the papal declaration of Andritzki's beatification at a ceremony which drew an estimated 11,000 people, many of them in traditional Sorbian dress.
Dresden's Bishop Joachim Reinelt praised Andritzki in his sermon, saying the priest had showed a "bright face" even through the "most awful beastly work" at the Dachau concentration camp.
Saxony State Premier Stanislaw Tillich, who spoke at the ceremony in Sorbian, said Andritzki had "unshakably stood by his faith during the time of the inhuman Nazi dictatorship."
Pope Benedict XVI, who approved Andritzki's beatification in December, honored the priest on Sunday during his noon prayer St. Peter's Square. Benedict said Andritzki remained an attestor to the faith even in times of great suffering.
Andritzki has long been revered by eastern Germany's Catholic Sorbs. Beatification is the third of the four steps in the canonization process.
DW-World
Derby music festival clashes with plan for English Defence League march (UK)
A Derby music promoter is planning a multiculturalism music festival on the same day as an English Defence League (EDL) march in the city.
The Love Music Hate Racism festival will feature music at seven different venues in the city on the same day as it aims to celebrate different cultures. The festival website describes the aim of the event as "living testimony to the fact that cultures can and do mix. " before adding that music "unites us and gives us strength, and offers a vibrant celebration of our multicultural and multiracial society. Racism seeks only to divide and weaken us. Love Music Hate Racism (LMHR) was set up in 2002 in response to rising levels of racism and electoral successes for the Nazi British National Party (BNP)."
Approximately 300 people have already indicated on the EDL's Facebook page that they will attend the Derby march on 9 July.
A Derbyshire Police spokesman said it was aware of the march but had not been officially contacted by the EDL.
Supt Gary Parkin told the BBC: "We will continue to look at the intelligence arrangements and make sure we have an appropriate policing response to make sure the policing of Derby is as safe as possible.
"We will facilitate lawful protest - but I would be very unhappy if I had to put a policing response and put a lot of police on the streets."
While the EDL, has for now refused to comment further on the subject, the festival spokesman Baby J said he hoped the police would step in and control the demonstration because the EDL "do not represent the city".
"We live in a very multicultural city and we get along very well and work alongside people or all different faiths and colour - and this is something we want to celebrate."
IBTimes
The Love Music Hate Racism festival will feature music at seven different venues in the city on the same day as it aims to celebrate different cultures. The festival website describes the aim of the event as "living testimony to the fact that cultures can and do mix. " before adding that music "unites us and gives us strength, and offers a vibrant celebration of our multicultural and multiracial society. Racism seeks only to divide and weaken us. Love Music Hate Racism (LMHR) was set up in 2002 in response to rising levels of racism and electoral successes for the Nazi British National Party (BNP)."
Approximately 300 people have already indicated on the EDL's Facebook page that they will attend the Derby march on 9 July.
A Derbyshire Police spokesman said it was aware of the march but had not been officially contacted by the EDL.
Supt Gary Parkin told the BBC: "We will continue to look at the intelligence arrangements and make sure we have an appropriate policing response to make sure the policing of Derby is as safe as possible.
"We will facilitate lawful protest - but I would be very unhappy if I had to put a policing response and put a lot of police on the streets."
While the EDL, has for now refused to comment further on the subject, the festival spokesman Baby J said he hoped the police would step in and control the demonstration because the EDL "do not represent the city".
"We live in a very multicultural city and we get along very well and work alongside people or all different faiths and colour - and this is something we want to celebrate."
IBTimes
Monday, 13 June 2011
SOCIAL MEDIA'S INFLUENCE ON ‘HATE CRIME' (Turkey)
Whilst the rise of the Internet and social networking websites has, in many ways, presented many positives for society, particularly in terms of freedom of speech and communication, it has also created a platform on which abusive and threatening opinions can be more easily voiced, in particular against certain individuals or groups of people, which is often referred to as hate speech. Despite hate speech being restricted to the act of verbal abuse, some experts are worried by its tendency to develop into something more serious, falling under the bracket of hate crime. A hate crime is a criminal offense motivated by hostility or prejudice based on a victim's race, ethnic origin, religion or beliefs, sexual orientation or disability. This kind of crime may include robberies, threats, harassment, intimidation or actual acts of physical violence such as physical assault, sexual assault, rape, torture, attempted murder or murder. Hate crimes are unique as they have a social undertone in their aim. They are intent on sending a message to entire groups or individuals, as well as to their families and other supporters, that they are unwelcome in particular communities. What sets hate crimes apart from other acts of violence is the psychological damage that they leave behind. Although any type of victimization carries with it psychological consequences, certain types of emotional reactions are more frequent among survivors of hate crimes. These feelings include depression, anxiety, fear, stress and anger.
The Internet and social media networks are not under any sort of inspection against racist ideas, hate or abusive speech in the name of freedom of surfing the Web. The news that features on media outlets are getting onto social networking websites like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, where hate speeches are added and uploaded. Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, who was fatally shot in front of the headquarters of the bilingual Armenian weekly Agos in 2007, was one of the biggest victims of hate crime in Turkey as he was killed only because of his "Armenian" identity. Forty-eight Roma from 13 families were forced to leave Selendi in Manisa, where they had lived for many years, after clashes erupted between the district's Roma population and other locals. These two examples show how serious these hate crimes can be. An organization named the Association for Social Change (ASC) is currently the only association that solely deals with every aspect of hate crime. Their slogan is "Hate Crimes Kill."
In an interview with Cihan new agency, ASC's secretary-general, Fikret Levent ªensever, stated that there are various organizations that are working against hate crimes, such as the International Hrant Dink Foundation. ªensever said that hate speech on online community and social networking websites strongly influences hate crimes. "We have to differentiate hate crime and hate speech first. Hate crimes are physical crimes against individuals or groups of people, based on many aspects, such as ethnic origin, religious belief and so on. Hate speech is normally only in the form of verbal attacks; however, they can sometimes lead to hate crimes, too." Currently there is no legislation about hate crimes in the Turkish Constitution. Though there are some articles in the Turkish Penal Code (TCK), as they do not directly cover hate crime or hate speech, criminal cases on such issues are not solved as they are in European countries and criminals generally get away with what they have done.
Hate speech does not only declare one's hate or anger, but also sets a premise for hate crime. ªensever stated that the Turkish government should take immediate action in creating legislation on hate crime and inform and train judicators, attorneys, police officers and civil societies. ªensever told Cihan news agency, the government in the United Kingdom trains media personnel on discrimination issues to prevent any sort of racism or hate crimes, and they also provide booklets and newsletters concerning hate crime. ªensever said the ASC was founded on Feb. 26, 2009 by activists in order to carry out various campaigns on social, cultural and environmental issues, and to support such efforts through projects and campaigns. He also mentioned that there were not many organizations that are dealing with hate crime in Turkey. "In Western countries, especially in the United States, the government produces reports on hate crime every year. However, this is not the case in our country. So far there have been no reports on hate crimes in Turkey, so we do not know which segments of society are victims of hate speech," he said.
Chan News Agency
The Internet and social media networks are not under any sort of inspection against racist ideas, hate or abusive speech in the name of freedom of surfing the Web. The news that features on media outlets are getting onto social networking websites like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, where hate speeches are added and uploaded. Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, who was fatally shot in front of the headquarters of the bilingual Armenian weekly Agos in 2007, was one of the biggest victims of hate crime in Turkey as he was killed only because of his "Armenian" identity. Forty-eight Roma from 13 families were forced to leave Selendi in Manisa, where they had lived for many years, after clashes erupted between the district's Roma population and other locals. These two examples show how serious these hate crimes can be. An organization named the Association for Social Change (ASC) is currently the only association that solely deals with every aspect of hate crime. Their slogan is "Hate Crimes Kill."
In an interview with Cihan new agency, ASC's secretary-general, Fikret Levent ªensever, stated that there are various organizations that are working against hate crimes, such as the International Hrant Dink Foundation. ªensever said that hate speech on online community and social networking websites strongly influences hate crimes. "We have to differentiate hate crime and hate speech first. Hate crimes are physical crimes against individuals or groups of people, based on many aspects, such as ethnic origin, religious belief and so on. Hate speech is normally only in the form of verbal attacks; however, they can sometimes lead to hate crimes, too." Currently there is no legislation about hate crimes in the Turkish Constitution. Though there are some articles in the Turkish Penal Code (TCK), as they do not directly cover hate crime or hate speech, criminal cases on such issues are not solved as they are in European countries and criminals generally get away with what they have done.
Hate speech does not only declare one's hate or anger, but also sets a premise for hate crime. ªensever stated that the Turkish government should take immediate action in creating legislation on hate crime and inform and train judicators, attorneys, police officers and civil societies. ªensever told Cihan news agency, the government in the United Kingdom trains media personnel on discrimination issues to prevent any sort of racism or hate crimes, and they also provide booklets and newsletters concerning hate crime. ªensever said the ASC was founded on Feb. 26, 2009 by activists in order to carry out various campaigns on social, cultural and environmental issues, and to support such efforts through projects and campaigns. He also mentioned that there were not many organizations that are dealing with hate crime in Turkey. "In Western countries, especially in the United States, the government produces reports on hate crime every year. However, this is not the case in our country. So far there have been no reports on hate crimes in Turkey, so we do not know which segments of society are victims of hate speech," he said.
Chan News Agency
Reprisals feared following murder of Russian extremist
The authorities in Russia are on alert for a violent far-right reaction to the murder of Yuri Budanov, a notorious former colonel who became an icon for extreme nationalists.
Mr Budanov was shot four times in the head in central Moscow on Friday, in an attack that far-right groups immediately blamed on Chechens.
The police claimed the killing could be a “provocation” intended to ignite smouldering ethnic tension in Russia.
Mr Budanov was convicted in 2003 of having brutally murdered teenager Elza Kungayeva during a tour of duty in war-torn Chechnya, after being cleared of the killing in a previous trial.
He was granted early release from jail in 2009 due to good behaviour, to the fury of Ms Kungayeva’s family and many others, who saw him as the embodiment of the brutal methods used by the Kremlin to crush Chechnya’s rebels.
He was hailed as a hero, however, by some soldiers and officials and by ultra-nationalist groups that have grown in number and prominence in recent years, and which often target people from the mostly-Muslim Caucasus republics.
Extra patrols and riot police were deployed around Moscow after Mr Budanov was gunned down.
Investigators sought to prevent potential reprisals against people from the Caucasus by saying that eyewitnesses had described the getaway driver as being of typically Slavic appearance.
Heightened security measures were put in place around Manezh Square next to the Kremlin where, six months ago, thousands of nationalists rioted in a furious response to the alleged murder of a football fan by a youth from the Caucasus.
A number of well-known leaders of nationalist and football fan groups gathered again on the square following Mr Budanov’s murder.
The police prevented large crowds from forming, and the security services were on guard for potential trouble during yesterday’s annual Russia Day events.
Football fans and soldiers were among those who placed flowers and other tributes at the place where Mr Budanov was killed.
Many of these people are expected to attend his funeral this week.
Last month, an ultra-nationalist was convicted of the murder in 2009 of lawyer Stanislav Markelov, who was campaigning against Mr Budanov’s early release from jail.
Irish Times
Mr Budanov was shot four times in the head in central Moscow on Friday, in an attack that far-right groups immediately blamed on Chechens.
The police claimed the killing could be a “provocation” intended to ignite smouldering ethnic tension in Russia.
Mr Budanov was convicted in 2003 of having brutally murdered teenager Elza Kungayeva during a tour of duty in war-torn Chechnya, after being cleared of the killing in a previous trial.
He was granted early release from jail in 2009 due to good behaviour, to the fury of Ms Kungayeva’s family and many others, who saw him as the embodiment of the brutal methods used by the Kremlin to crush Chechnya’s rebels.
He was hailed as a hero, however, by some soldiers and officials and by ultra-nationalist groups that have grown in number and prominence in recent years, and which often target people from the mostly-Muslim Caucasus republics.
Extra patrols and riot police were deployed around Moscow after Mr Budanov was gunned down.
Investigators sought to prevent potential reprisals against people from the Caucasus by saying that eyewitnesses had described the getaway driver as being of typically Slavic appearance.
Heightened security measures were put in place around Manezh Square next to the Kremlin where, six months ago, thousands of nationalists rioted in a furious response to the alleged murder of a football fan by a youth from the Caucasus.
A number of well-known leaders of nationalist and football fan groups gathered again on the square following Mr Budanov’s murder.
The police prevented large crowds from forming, and the security services were on guard for potential trouble during yesterday’s annual Russia Day events.
Football fans and soldiers were among those who placed flowers and other tributes at the place where Mr Budanov was killed.
Many of these people are expected to attend his funeral this week.
Last month, an ultra-nationalist was convicted of the murder in 2009 of lawyer Stanislav Markelov, who was campaigning against Mr Budanov’s early release from jail.
Irish Times
Far-right demo leader ‘treated like caged animal’ says: We’ll be back in thousands (uk)
The leader of the far-right English Defence League has vowed to stage a large national protest in Dewsbury after complaining that supporters were treated like “caged animals” at a demonstration in the town on Saturday.
A protest by 400 EDL supporters passed off without serious incident but leader Tommy Robinson was angered that the protesters were contained within high steel barriers.
He said the EDL should have been allowed to protest at Dewsbury Town Hall, rather than a tightly cordoned area of the railway station car park.
Mr Robinson said Saturday’s protest was a regional demonstration but the next one in would be national and “the EDL bandwagon will be coming back to Dewsbury in our thousands.”
Many of the EDL protesters were from outside West Yorkshire, including members from Merseyside, Teeside, Burnley, Bolton, Leicester and Mansfield.
A nearby counter-protest by Unite Against Fascism attracted about 50 people at its height.
A large police operation ensured that the day passed off relatively peacefully, although traders in the town said they were thousands of pounds out of pocket because many shoppers stayed away.
Kirklees Divisional Commander Chief Superintendent John Robins said: “On duty in West Yorkshire in relation to this operation there has been around 700 police officers in total but I stress they have not all been at Dewsbury. They have been around West Yorkshire in support of this operation.”
Six men were arrested by West Yorkshire Police and British Transport Police.
They were: A 31-year-old from Batley, for possessing an offensive weapon; a 44-year-old from Barnsley, a 39-year-old from Merseyside and a 41-year-old from Cleckheaton, all for public order offences; a 16-year-old from Bradford for criminal damage; and an 18-year-old from Preston for trespass on railway property.
Yorkshire Post
A protest by 400 EDL supporters passed off without serious incident but leader Tommy Robinson was angered that the protesters were contained within high steel barriers.
He said the EDL should have been allowed to protest at Dewsbury Town Hall, rather than a tightly cordoned area of the railway station car park.
Mr Robinson said Saturday’s protest was a regional demonstration but the next one in would be national and “the EDL bandwagon will be coming back to Dewsbury in our thousands.”
Many of the EDL protesters were from outside West Yorkshire, including members from Merseyside, Teeside, Burnley, Bolton, Leicester and Mansfield.
A nearby counter-protest by Unite Against Fascism attracted about 50 people at its height.
A large police operation ensured that the day passed off relatively peacefully, although traders in the town said they were thousands of pounds out of pocket because many shoppers stayed away.
Kirklees Divisional Commander Chief Superintendent John Robins said: “On duty in West Yorkshire in relation to this operation there has been around 700 police officers in total but I stress they have not all been at Dewsbury. They have been around West Yorkshire in support of this operation.”
Six men were arrested by West Yorkshire Police and British Transport Police.
They were: A 31-year-old from Batley, for possessing an offensive weapon; a 44-year-old from Barnsley, a 39-year-old from Merseyside and a 41-year-old from Cleckheaton, all for public order offences; a 16-year-old from Bradford for criminal damage; and an 18-year-old from Preston for trespass on railway property.
Yorkshire Post
Sunday, 12 June 2011
Turkey PM warns of Dutch radicalism (Netherlands)
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan says he is worried by the “radical” turn Dutch politics is taking. "In politics I strongly oppose radicalism. The right way is a middle course”, Mr Erdogan told Dutch media on the eve of Sunday's general elections in Turkey. “Radicalism only causes problems, for people and the country”, he went on to say, without mentioning Freedom Party leader Geert Wilders. “Our party, as you know, steers a middle course in politics. We are neither left nor right wing. We are far removed from the extremes. We are far removed from the radicals. We only work with those who are close to everybody. “ “Erdogan is the worst kind of Islamist”, Mr Wilders says in a reaction. “If he wins the elections, Turkey will turn its back on Europe for good. We don’t want them in the EU anyway, but with him even normal relations will become more complicated. He is, therefore, a dangerous man who is a radical Islamist himself.” "Erdogan is the worst kind of Islamist”, Mr Wilders says in a reaction. “If he wins the elections, Turkey will turn its back on Europe for good. We don’t want them in the EU anyway, but with him even normal relations will become more complicated. He is, therefore, a dangerous man who is a radical Islamist himself.”
Radio Netherlands Worldwide
Radio Netherlands Worldwide
Muslims call for action against hate crimes (UK)
Islamophobic attacks have been on the rise, with an increase in assaults, vandalised mosques and desecrated graves
Britain's largest mainstream Muslim organisation will today call for "robust action" to combat Islamophobic attacks amid fears of growing violence and under-reporting of hate crimes.
The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) will challenge the "ethnic profiling" of members of its community, claiming that minorities are 42 times more likely to be targeted under the Terrorism Act.
MCB secretary-general Farooq Murad will tell the council's AGM in Birmingham that there must be more monitoring of anti-Muslim crimes in response to incidents including violent assaults, death threats and the desecration of graves. He will also complain that not enough is being done to encourage communities to report crimes to the police.
The calls, supported by leading academics, a counter-terrorist think-tank and Muslim groups, come as the Metropolitan Police confirmed a total of 762 Islamophobic offences in London since April 2009, including 333 in 2010/11 and 57 since this April. A spokesman said the Met was aware of "significant" under-reporting of hate crime, and acknowledged "missed opportunities" to keep victims safe.
Despite rising concerns about the impact of hate crime on all communities, the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) said that data on such offences are not collated centrally as this would be an "overly bureaucratic process for local forces". Assistant Chief Constable Drew Harris, who leads the police on hate crime, was unavailable for comment.
In his speech, Mr Murad is expected to warn that attacks are increasing. "Islamophobic attacks, on persons and properties, are committed by a tiny minority, but the number of incidents is increasing. Robust action is necessary and this means we must have a systematic manner of recording, monitoring and analysing such attacks. Only a small number of police forces record anti-Muslim hate crimes."
He will claim that figures collated from only two police forces indicate 1,200 Anti-Muslim crimes in 2010, as opposed to 546 anti-Semitic crimes from all the police forces in the UK.
Muslims from across the country have reported attacks on imams and mosque staff, including petrol bombings and bricks thrown through windows, pigs' heads being fixed prominently to entrances and minarets, vandalism and abusive messages.
Mr Murad will tell the gathering at the Bordesley Centre: "It is not a piece of cloth on someone's head or face, the shape of someone's dress, a harmless concrete pillar on a religious building or even not speaking a common language that creates alienation."
Dr Robert Lambert, co-director of
the European Muslim Research Centre and research fellow at the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, Exeter University, said a decade of research will report before the 10th anniversary of 11 September.
His report will provide comprehensive figures on attacks on mosques, Islamic organisations and Muslim institutions, while avoiding confusion over race-related or random attacks.
Dr Lambert, a former counter-terrorism police officer, said problems over data collection stemmed from a lack of political will, rather than from the police efforts – and that the onus was on Muslim communities to emulate the "outstanding" data collection around anti-Semitic crimes conducted by the Community Security Trust.
He added: "When I was working in the police, some of the notable spikes in incidents came after terrorist events such as 9/11 and 7/7. We have more than 50 incidences of fire-bomb attacks and we have yet to reach the 10-year anniversary. But no leading politician has seen fit to stand shoulder to shoulder with mosque leaders. That is quite something."
Ghaffar Hussain of the counter-extremism think-tank Quilliam said: "Anti-Muslim bigotry is very real. It does exist. There are sections of our society who are deeply suspicious of Muslims, even of Muslims building mosques, and are threatened by the idea of Islamification across Europe."
Some 40 to 60 per cent of the mosques, Islamic centres and Muslim organisations in the UK have suffered at least one attack since 9/11.
Taji Mustafa, spokesman for Hizb ut-Tahrir in Britain, said: "Xenophobic attacks on Muslims have increased under successive governments. In a manipulative alliance with some sections of the media, they have demonised Islam as part of their foreign policy propaganda."
Continued at the Independent.
Britain's largest mainstream Muslim organisation will today call for "robust action" to combat Islamophobic attacks amid fears of growing violence and under-reporting of hate crimes.
The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) will challenge the "ethnic profiling" of members of its community, claiming that minorities are 42 times more likely to be targeted under the Terrorism Act.
MCB secretary-general Farooq Murad will tell the council's AGM in Birmingham that there must be more monitoring of anti-Muslim crimes in response to incidents including violent assaults, death threats and the desecration of graves. He will also complain that not enough is being done to encourage communities to report crimes to the police.
The calls, supported by leading academics, a counter-terrorist think-tank and Muslim groups, come as the Metropolitan Police confirmed a total of 762 Islamophobic offences in London since April 2009, including 333 in 2010/11 and 57 since this April. A spokesman said the Met was aware of "significant" under-reporting of hate crime, and acknowledged "missed opportunities" to keep victims safe.
Despite rising concerns about the impact of hate crime on all communities, the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) said that data on such offences are not collated centrally as this would be an "overly bureaucratic process for local forces". Assistant Chief Constable Drew Harris, who leads the police on hate crime, was unavailable for comment.
In his speech, Mr Murad is expected to warn that attacks are increasing. "Islamophobic attacks, on persons and properties, are committed by a tiny minority, but the number of incidents is increasing. Robust action is necessary and this means we must have a systematic manner of recording, monitoring and analysing such attacks. Only a small number of police forces record anti-Muslim hate crimes."
He will claim that figures collated from only two police forces indicate 1,200 Anti-Muslim crimes in 2010, as opposed to 546 anti-Semitic crimes from all the police forces in the UK.
Muslims from across the country have reported attacks on imams and mosque staff, including petrol bombings and bricks thrown through windows, pigs' heads being fixed prominently to entrances and minarets, vandalism and abusive messages.
Mr Murad will tell the gathering at the Bordesley Centre: "It is not a piece of cloth on someone's head or face, the shape of someone's dress, a harmless concrete pillar on a religious building or even not speaking a common language that creates alienation."
Dr Robert Lambert, co-director of
the European Muslim Research Centre and research fellow at the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, Exeter University, said a decade of research will report before the 10th anniversary of 11 September.
His report will provide comprehensive figures on attacks on mosques, Islamic organisations and Muslim institutions, while avoiding confusion over race-related or random attacks.
Dr Lambert, a former counter-terrorism police officer, said problems over data collection stemmed from a lack of political will, rather than from the police efforts – and that the onus was on Muslim communities to emulate the "outstanding" data collection around anti-Semitic crimes conducted by the Community Security Trust.
He added: "When I was working in the police, some of the notable spikes in incidents came after terrorist events such as 9/11 and 7/7. We have more than 50 incidences of fire-bomb attacks and we have yet to reach the 10-year anniversary. But no leading politician has seen fit to stand shoulder to shoulder with mosque leaders. That is quite something."
Ghaffar Hussain of the counter-extremism think-tank Quilliam said: "Anti-Muslim bigotry is very real. It does exist. There are sections of our society who are deeply suspicious of Muslims, even of Muslims building mosques, and are threatened by the idea of Islamification across Europe."
Some 40 to 60 per cent of the mosques, Islamic centres and Muslim organisations in the UK have suffered at least one attack since 9/11.
Taji Mustafa, spokesman for Hizb ut-Tahrir in Britain, said: "Xenophobic attacks on Muslims have increased under successive governments. In a manipulative alliance with some sections of the media, they have demonised Islam as part of their foreign policy propaganda."
Continued at the Independent.
Saturday, 11 June 2011
March Against Neo-Nazi's in Sofia on June 12 (Bulgaria)
People Against Racism will stage an "anti neo-Nazi march" on June 12 at the Sveta Nedelya Square in Sofia, media reports have said.
The organisers said that they will commemorate the one year anniversary since the foundation of the People Against Racism, but also to mark the anniversary of the "tram attack" in which several youths were attacked and beaten by suspected skinheads. Six men were arrested following an assault aboard tram 20 in Sofia on June 6 2010. Reportedly, the six are said to be members of far-right extremist groups. Other reports have them linked to Sofia-based football "firms", hooligan supporter groups. The authorities named the six perpetrators – Dimitar Lazarov, Vassil Pavlov, Matei Penev, Emil Alexiev, Rossen Kunev and Mario Abdal Gamal.
The latter's name has also been reported as Mario el Makoussi in other media. On the day of the attack, the masked men burst into the tram, allegedly armed with metal rods, and proceeded to attack four youths in the vehicle.
The victims were supporters of asylum seekers' rights in Bulgaria. People Against Racism say that neo-Nazi attacks in Sofia are increasing. Traditionally, they are aimed at Roma and people of darker skin complexion, as well as homosexuals, but they can sometimes happen randomly and against anyone they perceive as strange. The anti-Nazi march in Sofia on June 12 is not politically motivated, the organisers said.
The Sofia Echo
The organisers said that they will commemorate the one year anniversary since the foundation of the People Against Racism, but also to mark the anniversary of the "tram attack" in which several youths were attacked and beaten by suspected skinheads. Six men were arrested following an assault aboard tram 20 in Sofia on June 6 2010. Reportedly, the six are said to be members of far-right extremist groups. Other reports have them linked to Sofia-based football "firms", hooligan supporter groups. The authorities named the six perpetrators – Dimitar Lazarov, Vassil Pavlov, Matei Penev, Emil Alexiev, Rossen Kunev and Mario Abdal Gamal.
The latter's name has also been reported as Mario el Makoussi in other media. On the day of the attack, the masked men burst into the tram, allegedly armed with metal rods, and proceeded to attack four youths in the vehicle.
The victims were supporters of asylum seekers' rights in Bulgaria. People Against Racism say that neo-Nazi attacks in Sofia are increasing. Traditionally, they are aimed at Roma and people of darker skin complexion, as well as homosexuals, but they can sometimes happen randomly and against anyone they perceive as strange. The anti-Nazi march in Sofia on June 12 is not politically motivated, the organisers said.
The Sofia Echo
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