The second of two Nova Scotia brothers convicted of a hate crime for burning a cross on an interracial couple's lawn last winter will be sentenced today.
Justin Rehberg, 20, of Avondale was convicted last fall of inciting racial hatred and criminal harassment.
His 21-year-old brother, Nathan, was sentenced Monday to six months in jail, minus four months credit for time already served.
Prosecutor Darrell Carmichael said Monday he recommends a lesser sentence for the younger Rehberg.
Nathan Rehberg wept in court and apologized for setting a 2.5-metre wooden cross on fire last year outside the Poplar Grove home of Shayne Howe and Michelle Lyon.
Howe, who is black, and Lyon, who is white, testified they awoke in the middle of the night last Feb. 21 to the sight of a blazing cross on their lawn.
Howe said after Monday's sentencing that he accepted Rehberg's apology.
Winnipeg Free Press
Tuesday, 11 January 2011
Borough Council wants EDL march in Luton banned (UK)
Luton Borough Council has written to the home secretary asking her to ban a proposed march by the English Defence League (EDL) in the town next month.
The EDL, which says it opposes Islamic extremism, wants to march through Luton on 5 February.
The council also wants Theresa May to extend the banning order to any proposed counter protests by groups such as Unite Against Fascism.
In a statement the council said there was a real risk of disorder.
'Spark tensions'
"We recognise that a banning order on the EDL and counter demonstrators would not prohibit them from holding a static demonstration," the statement said.
"However a march is, in our opinion, provocative and not conducive to the public good at this time and would risk serious disorder."
The council said that any march proposed by the EDL would need to travel through residential areas from the railway station and other access points into the town.
"The presence of high numbers of demonstrators supporting rival and diametrically opposing views is not conducive to the wellbeing of our community and has the potential to spark tensions and community impacts which as a council we have worked so hard to avoid in recent years," the statement went on to say.
The EDL, Unite Against Fascism and the TUC demonstrated in Peterborough on 11 December.
A 28-year-old was arrested and bailed in relation to those protest marches.
BBC News
The EDL, which says it opposes Islamic extremism, wants to march through Luton on 5 February.
The council also wants Theresa May to extend the banning order to any proposed counter protests by groups such as Unite Against Fascism.
In a statement the council said there was a real risk of disorder.
'Spark tensions'
"We recognise that a banning order on the EDL and counter demonstrators would not prohibit them from holding a static demonstration," the statement said.
"However a march is, in our opinion, provocative and not conducive to the public good at this time and would risk serious disorder."
The council said that any march proposed by the EDL would need to travel through residential areas from the railway station and other access points into the town.
"The presence of high numbers of demonstrators supporting rival and diametrically opposing views is not conducive to the wellbeing of our community and has the potential to spark tensions and community impacts which as a council we have worked so hard to avoid in recent years," the statement went on to say.
The EDL, Unite Against Fascism and the TUC demonstrated in Peterborough on 11 December.
A 28-year-old was arrested and bailed in relation to those protest marches.
BBC News
Police hunt racist thugs over attack in Manchester (UK)
Police are hunting a gang of racist thugs who attacked and robbed a door-to-door salesman in Greater Manchester.
The victim, a 20-year-old Asian man, was working on the Limeside Estate, in Oldham, selling digital television products, on the afternoon of Wednesday 5th January when he was assaulted.
He was working around Walkers Road, Oak Road and Firth Avenue but throughout the afternoon, a group of five white men were walking around the estate shouting racial abuse at the victim.
At about 6pm, on Hollins Road, the group approached the victim, grabbed him, racially abused him and demanded his mobile phone and cash.
They pushed him against a wall and patted his body for items. As they tried to grab his mobile the victim resisted and he was punched twice to the head by one of the offenders, who then intimated he had a knife.
The group ran off with the phone.
The main offender in the group was about 5ft 6in tall of medium build with dark hair. He was wearing a lime green hooded top.
Police Constable Andrew Swettenham said: "This was a horrendous experience for this man, who was simply trying to do his job. The abuse that he suffered culminated in an attack where he was robbed.
"Someone on this estate will know who these people are and may even have witnessed this incident."
Anyone with information is asked to call police on 0161 856 9577 or the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
Click Manchester
The victim, a 20-year-old Asian man, was working on the Limeside Estate, in Oldham, selling digital television products, on the afternoon of Wednesday 5th January when he was assaulted.
He was working around Walkers Road, Oak Road and Firth Avenue but throughout the afternoon, a group of five white men were walking around the estate shouting racial abuse at the victim.
At about 6pm, on Hollins Road, the group approached the victim, grabbed him, racially abused him and demanded his mobile phone and cash.
They pushed him against a wall and patted his body for items. As they tried to grab his mobile the victim resisted and he was punched twice to the head by one of the offenders, who then intimated he had a knife.
The group ran off with the phone.
The main offender in the group was about 5ft 6in tall of medium build with dark hair. He was wearing a lime green hooded top.
Police Constable Andrew Swettenham said: "This was a horrendous experience for this man, who was simply trying to do his job. The abuse that he suffered culminated in an attack where he was robbed.
"Someone on this estate will know who these people are and may even have witnessed this incident."
Anyone with information is asked to call police on 0161 856 9577 or the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
Click Manchester
Monday, 10 January 2011
Deputy state prosecutor target of far-right hate video (Israel)
Clip reportedly calls for Shai Nitzan's murder after he asked police to investigate anti-Arab Facebook groups; PM: Incitement hurts democracy.
The deputy state prosecutor Shai Nitzan has become the target of a video circulating the Internet which reportedly called for his murder, after he asked the Israel Police last week to launch an investigation into two Facebook groups that contained anti-Arab racist content on Wednesday.
Nitzan said the Facebook groups, which were were opened under the names "Death to all Arabs" and "Demonstration in Umm el-Fahm against the Islamic Movement," had violated anti-racism and anti-incitement laws.
RELATED:
Opinion: That we need a reminder to integrate Arabs is shameful
Police question Eliahu on anti-Arab posters from 2008
Israel Radio reported on Monday that the video, which ended with the slogan "Kahane was right," accused Nitzan of failing to investigate Arab incitement and focusing only on Jews.
The video has been distributed via email, and was sent by an individual posing as the Justice Minister, Yaackov Neeman.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu called on police to investigate the video and track down those who made it, saying, "criticism is legitimate but incitement and calls to murder... harm the values of democracy of the State of Israel and must be severed."
The "Death to all Arabs" Facebook group had 170 followers, and included clear calls for acts of violence against Arabs and support for such acts, Nitzan stated last week.
A police source told The Jerusalem Post that video "was being examined" by investigators.
Jerusalem Post
The deputy state prosecutor Shai Nitzan has become the target of a video circulating the Internet which reportedly called for his murder, after he asked the Israel Police last week to launch an investigation into two Facebook groups that contained anti-Arab racist content on Wednesday.
Nitzan said the Facebook groups, which were were opened under the names "Death to all Arabs" and "Demonstration in Umm el-Fahm against the Islamic Movement," had violated anti-racism and anti-incitement laws.
RELATED:
Opinion: That we need a reminder to integrate Arabs is shameful
Police question Eliahu on anti-Arab posters from 2008
Israel Radio reported on Monday that the video, which ended with the slogan "Kahane was right," accused Nitzan of failing to investigate Arab incitement and focusing only on Jews.
The video has been distributed via email, and was sent by an individual posing as the Justice Minister, Yaackov Neeman.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu called on police to investigate the video and track down those who made it, saying, "criticism is legitimate but incitement and calls to murder... harm the values of democracy of the State of Israel and must be severed."
The "Death to all Arabs" Facebook group had 170 followers, and included clear calls for acts of violence against Arabs and support for such acts, Nitzan stated last week.
A police source told The Jerusalem Post that video "was being examined" by investigators.
Jerusalem Post
Survey to uncover real extent of hate crime (UK)
An attempt to uncover the true extent of hate crime in South Wales is being made, with the launch of a new survey.
Experts fear the number of attacks they know about is just the tip of the iceberg, with up to 90% of offences not reported to police.
The survey, launched by the Cardiff and the Vale Equality and Human Rights Network, will investigate racial and religiously motivated crimes as well as those motivated by hostility against disability, gender and sexual orientation.
Disability rights campaigner Simon Green, confined to a wheelchair after suffering a series of benign tumours on his legs, said: “I might be on a night out in town, sitting in a cafe with my mother, or shopping in the supermarket, and someone will walk up to me and make a vile, derogatory comment about my disability.
“People have called me a cripple, have said they will wring my neck and have tried to tip me out of my wheelchair.”
The 35-year-old, from Bryntirion, Bridgend, said: “People will excuse it as friendly banter, but it’s a crime.
“The work that is being done to highlight this issue is massively important because there are people out there who don’t realise they can report these attacks.”
The survey is part of the three-year Big Lottery funded All Wales Hate Crime Research Project, led by Cardiff-based Race Equality First in partnership with Cardiff University.
Race Equality First’s Mair Rigby said: “I am of the opinion that hate crime is significantly under-reported in Wales.
“As we don’t know the actual amount of hate crime, it’s difficult to give a degree or percentage. But most surveys show that across strands between 50% to 90% of victims state not reporting hate crime to the police. The police estimate that about 90% of homophobic hate crime goes unreported, for example.
“We need more research to give us a better idea of the true levels of under-reporting.”
People can register their interest in participating in the survey by going to the website: www.waleshatecrimeresearch.com
Wales Online
Experts fear the number of attacks they know about is just the tip of the iceberg, with up to 90% of offences not reported to police.
The survey, launched by the Cardiff and the Vale Equality and Human Rights Network, will investigate racial and religiously motivated crimes as well as those motivated by hostility against disability, gender and sexual orientation.
Disability rights campaigner Simon Green, confined to a wheelchair after suffering a series of benign tumours on his legs, said: “I might be on a night out in town, sitting in a cafe with my mother, or shopping in the supermarket, and someone will walk up to me and make a vile, derogatory comment about my disability.
“People have called me a cripple, have said they will wring my neck and have tried to tip me out of my wheelchair.”
The 35-year-old, from Bryntirion, Bridgend, said: “People will excuse it as friendly banter, but it’s a crime.
“The work that is being done to highlight this issue is massively important because there are people out there who don’t realise they can report these attacks.”
The survey is part of the three-year Big Lottery funded All Wales Hate Crime Research Project, led by Cardiff-based Race Equality First in partnership with Cardiff University.
Race Equality First’s Mair Rigby said: “I am of the opinion that hate crime is significantly under-reported in Wales.
“As we don’t know the actual amount of hate crime, it’s difficult to give a degree or percentage. But most surveys show that across strands between 50% to 90% of victims state not reporting hate crime to the police. The police estimate that about 90% of homophobic hate crime goes unreported, for example.
“We need more research to give us a better idea of the true levels of under-reporting.”
People can register their interest in participating in the survey by going to the website: www.waleshatecrimeresearch.com
Wales Online
Liverpool players accused of racism in FA Youth Cup tie at Anfield (UK)
• Crystal Palace player 'disgusted with racism throughout game'
• We didn't receive any complaints, says Liverpool spokesman
• We didn't receive any complaints, says Liverpool spokesman
The Football Association intends to contact Palace today for a full account of what happened and to ascertain whether they intend to make an official complaint. Palace were not returning calls yesterday.
The FA may also ask to speak to Dan Pringle, one of the players involved in a 3-1 defeat for Palace. Pringle expressed his dismay on his Twitter account after the match, saying: "Disappointed with result but really disgusted with the racism from Liverpool throughout the game. Disgraceful."
When he was contacted by several Palace supporters he later clarified that he was talking about Liverpool's players rather than the crowd.
Liverpool reacted with surprise, not least as they had several black players in their team. A club spokesman said: "We didn't receive any complaints either during or after the game and nothing was mentioned by the referee."
Liverpool's academy side are managed by Rodolfo Borrell, who was appointed in July 2009 after a successful 13-year spell at Barcelona, where he managed every age group from under‑11 to under‑17.
The Guardian
Sunday, 9 January 2011
Arson attacks against Berlin mosques continue (Germany)
Detectives said on Saturday there was a message left at the site of the attack at the Ahmadiyya community in the Wilmersdorf district of Berlin, but did not reveal what it said.
Someone had set the entrance to the mosque on fire, but the passer-by noticed the flames at around 1:45 am on Saturday, and started putting out the blaze himself. When police officers arrived, they finished off the job with a fire extinguisher from their vehicle.
Criminal detectives are now on the case, trying to determine whether there is a link between this attack and arson attacks on other mosques during 2010.
The last six months of last year saw six such attacks – the Shitlik mosque on Columbiadamm was attacked in June, twice in August and again in November, while the Neukölln Al-Nur mosque was attacked in November and an Islamic cultural centre in Tempelhof was targeted in December.
No-one was hurt in any of the attacks, but damage was done in every case.
The Local Germany
THE AGONISING PACE OF THE LAST NAZI TRIAL (Germany)
The final chance to get justice for 27,900 Jews murdered at Sobibor has descended into farce
He used to cover his face with a grey baseball cap to try to escape the glare of publicity, but that was over a year ago. These days the judges have relented: the man alleged to be the last Nazi mass murderer to face justice is allowed to wear sunglasses in court all the time – even if the world's media now virtually ignores him. Ninety-year-old John Demjanjuk is suspected of having been a brutal prison guard at the infamous Sobibor extermination camp in German-occupied Poland during the Second World War. He stands accused of complicity in the slaughter of 27,900 Jews, most of whom were Dutch. Yet, lying prone on a hospital bed wrapped up in a green prison coverlet, Mr Demjanjuk often falls asleep as evidence against him is read out in court. The Demjanjuk trial has been billed as Germany's, and quite possibly the world's, final attempt to bring one of the remaining suspected Nazi war criminals to justice. For elderly Holocaust survivors such as Jules Schelvis, whose entire family was murdered in Sobibor, a verdict is far more important than retribution: "Justice must be done and be seen to be done, the sentence is almost irrelevant," he declared as the trial opened. He is one of the very few to have survived Sobibor.
The Munich court case against Mr Demjanjuk began in November 2009 and was meant to end in early 2010 at the latest. No one is making predictions now. "We are not quite sure when it will end," said Michael Koch, one of the lawyers representing the families of Sobibor victims. "If things don't go in our favour, we could still be here in October." The scores of reporters from across the globe who attended the trial opening have gone. So have nearly all the relatives of those who were murdered in Sobibor. As a result, the case has been shifted to Munich Court B266, a smaller and dingier 1970s-built courtroom. Among the few journalists who now cover the proceedings is a reporter who works for a neo-Nazi website. Were it not for the gravity of the crimes that Ukranian-born defendant is alleged to have committed, his appearances in court, would qualify as material for a television farce. The trial often degenerates into stand-up shouting matches between Ralph Alt, the presiding judge, and Ulrich Busch, Mr Demjanjuk's defence lawyer – not least because the proceedings are agonisingly slow. Every shred of evidence read out in court has to be simultaneously translated into Ukranian by a court translator to enable Mr Demjanjuk to comprehend what is going on. Yet the accused says nothing and only ever opens his mouth to emit moans or strange gurgling sounds.
The proceedings have been slowed to a snail's pace by the aged and apparently ailing defendant's state of health. Doctors have ruled that bone marrow disease and the fact that he suffers from anaemia, attacks of gout, and chronic hip pain mean that he is only fit to appear in court for two days a week for a maximum of three hours a day. They are by no means certain that he will live long enough to witness the end of his own trial. Proceedings often grind to a halt as soon as they start with doctors proclaiming that their patient is "not well enough to attend court today". Mr Demjanjuk is then driven back to his cell in Stadelheim prison, Munich, where he has been incarcerated since his extradition from the US in May 2009. But Mr Demjanjuk's health is far from being the only barrier in the way of justice being done and being seen to be done. The prosecution case is severely hampered by the fact that there is not a single witness still alive who remembers having seen Mr Demjanjuk in Sobibor. One of the few witnesses who had been expected to help solve this problem was a former Nazi death camp guard called Samuel Kunz who had been due to give evidence last month. But Kunz, who also faced the prospect of being tried himself for the alleged murder of thousands of Jews, died quietly at his home near Bonn in the middle of November aged 89.
The main piece of evidence against Mr Demjanjuk is what is alleged to be his SS identity card, No 1393, which has been released to the court from former Soviet archives. The other is a statement by a former and now deceased camp guard called Ignat Danilchenko, who testified under Soviet interrogation that he had seen Mr Demjanjuk driving Jews into the gas chambers of Sobibor. However, Mr Demjanjuk's defence lawyer argues that the ID card is a fake document manufactured by the KGB in order to deliberately incriminate Mr Demjanjuk. He has also found other statements by Danilchenko which contradict his claims about having seen Mr Demjanjuk in Sobibor. In 1993, the Israeli Supreme Court overturned a previous conviction of Demjanjuk saying it had reasonable doubts about his identification as another Nazi prison guard nicknamed Ivan the Terrible. The court must also decide whether to accept an argument put forward by the prosecution, which has no legal precedent in post-war death camp trials. This proposition, backed by historians' research, maintains that simply by being employed as an SS guard in Sobibor, Mr Demjanjuk would automatically have taken part in the mass murder of prisoners. The defence argues that such claims are ridiculous, and that the prosecution must prove not only that he was there but that he also murdered.
Mr Demjanjuk may never have addressed the court in person, but on the first anniversary of the opening of his court case in Germany last November, his lawyer read out a statement from him. In it, Mr Demjanjuk claimed to be a "simple prisoner of war" who was being unjustly prosecuted by a German judiciary which in the past had not only acquitted war criminals but also not even bothered to prosecute them. History bears out his latter claim. Germany's post-war legal system was often massively short on justice. Back in 1966, 11 former Nazi SS men were tried by a West German court for the genocide at Sobibor. Only Karl Frenzel, the camp commandant, was sentenced to life imprisonment for his crimes. The court heard accounts of how Frenzel whipped a dying prisoner and then pulled out a pistol and shot him dead. Five other defendants were given jail terms of between three and eight years. The other five were acquitted. At scores of similar trials during the same era, defendants had charges against them dropped simply because they could argue that they were only obeying orders and that not to have done so would have meant their own certain deaths.
The Demjanjuk trial, as today's fortysomething state prosecutors and lawyers put it, is an attempt by a "new generation within the German judicial system" to make amends for the gross shortcomings of the past. German historian Norbert Frei sums it up as follows: "The Germans owe it not only to the victims and the survivors to put Mr Demjanjuk on trial, they also owe it to themselves."
The Independant
He used to cover his face with a grey baseball cap to try to escape the glare of publicity, but that was over a year ago. These days the judges have relented: the man alleged to be the last Nazi mass murderer to face justice is allowed to wear sunglasses in court all the time – even if the world's media now virtually ignores him. Ninety-year-old John Demjanjuk is suspected of having been a brutal prison guard at the infamous Sobibor extermination camp in German-occupied Poland during the Second World War. He stands accused of complicity in the slaughter of 27,900 Jews, most of whom were Dutch. Yet, lying prone on a hospital bed wrapped up in a green prison coverlet, Mr Demjanjuk often falls asleep as evidence against him is read out in court. The Demjanjuk trial has been billed as Germany's, and quite possibly the world's, final attempt to bring one of the remaining suspected Nazi war criminals to justice. For elderly Holocaust survivors such as Jules Schelvis, whose entire family was murdered in Sobibor, a verdict is far more important than retribution: "Justice must be done and be seen to be done, the sentence is almost irrelevant," he declared as the trial opened. He is one of the very few to have survived Sobibor.
The Munich court case against Mr Demjanjuk began in November 2009 and was meant to end in early 2010 at the latest. No one is making predictions now. "We are not quite sure when it will end," said Michael Koch, one of the lawyers representing the families of Sobibor victims. "If things don't go in our favour, we could still be here in October." The scores of reporters from across the globe who attended the trial opening have gone. So have nearly all the relatives of those who were murdered in Sobibor. As a result, the case has been shifted to Munich Court B266, a smaller and dingier 1970s-built courtroom. Among the few journalists who now cover the proceedings is a reporter who works for a neo-Nazi website. Were it not for the gravity of the crimes that Ukranian-born defendant is alleged to have committed, his appearances in court, would qualify as material for a television farce. The trial often degenerates into stand-up shouting matches between Ralph Alt, the presiding judge, and Ulrich Busch, Mr Demjanjuk's defence lawyer – not least because the proceedings are agonisingly slow. Every shred of evidence read out in court has to be simultaneously translated into Ukranian by a court translator to enable Mr Demjanjuk to comprehend what is going on. Yet the accused says nothing and only ever opens his mouth to emit moans or strange gurgling sounds.
The proceedings have been slowed to a snail's pace by the aged and apparently ailing defendant's state of health. Doctors have ruled that bone marrow disease and the fact that he suffers from anaemia, attacks of gout, and chronic hip pain mean that he is only fit to appear in court for two days a week for a maximum of three hours a day. They are by no means certain that he will live long enough to witness the end of his own trial. Proceedings often grind to a halt as soon as they start with doctors proclaiming that their patient is "not well enough to attend court today". Mr Demjanjuk is then driven back to his cell in Stadelheim prison, Munich, where he has been incarcerated since his extradition from the US in May 2009. But Mr Demjanjuk's health is far from being the only barrier in the way of justice being done and being seen to be done. The prosecution case is severely hampered by the fact that there is not a single witness still alive who remembers having seen Mr Demjanjuk in Sobibor. One of the few witnesses who had been expected to help solve this problem was a former Nazi death camp guard called Samuel Kunz who had been due to give evidence last month. But Kunz, who also faced the prospect of being tried himself for the alleged murder of thousands of Jews, died quietly at his home near Bonn in the middle of November aged 89.
The main piece of evidence against Mr Demjanjuk is what is alleged to be his SS identity card, No 1393, which has been released to the court from former Soviet archives. The other is a statement by a former and now deceased camp guard called Ignat Danilchenko, who testified under Soviet interrogation that he had seen Mr Demjanjuk driving Jews into the gas chambers of Sobibor. However, Mr Demjanjuk's defence lawyer argues that the ID card is a fake document manufactured by the KGB in order to deliberately incriminate Mr Demjanjuk. He has also found other statements by Danilchenko which contradict his claims about having seen Mr Demjanjuk in Sobibor. In 1993, the Israeli Supreme Court overturned a previous conviction of Demjanjuk saying it had reasonable doubts about his identification as another Nazi prison guard nicknamed Ivan the Terrible. The court must also decide whether to accept an argument put forward by the prosecution, which has no legal precedent in post-war death camp trials. This proposition, backed by historians' research, maintains that simply by being employed as an SS guard in Sobibor, Mr Demjanjuk would automatically have taken part in the mass murder of prisoners. The defence argues that such claims are ridiculous, and that the prosecution must prove not only that he was there but that he also murdered.
Mr Demjanjuk may never have addressed the court in person, but on the first anniversary of the opening of his court case in Germany last November, his lawyer read out a statement from him. In it, Mr Demjanjuk claimed to be a "simple prisoner of war" who was being unjustly prosecuted by a German judiciary which in the past had not only acquitted war criminals but also not even bothered to prosecute them. History bears out his latter claim. Germany's post-war legal system was often massively short on justice. Back in 1966, 11 former Nazi SS men were tried by a West German court for the genocide at Sobibor. Only Karl Frenzel, the camp commandant, was sentenced to life imprisonment for his crimes. The court heard accounts of how Frenzel whipped a dying prisoner and then pulled out a pistol and shot him dead. Five other defendants were given jail terms of between three and eight years. The other five were acquitted. At scores of similar trials during the same era, defendants had charges against them dropped simply because they could argue that they were only obeying orders and that not to have done so would have meant their own certain deaths.
The Demjanjuk trial, as today's fortysomething state prosecutors and lawyers put it, is an attempt by a "new generation within the German judicial system" to make amends for the gross shortcomings of the past. German historian Norbert Frei sums it up as follows: "The Germans owe it not only to the victims and the survivors to put Mr Demjanjuk on trial, they also owe it to themselves."
The Independant
Boss racially harassed manager, tribunal rules (UK)
A company boss harassed a London-based office manager by making a "highly offensive racist remark", an employment tribunal has ruled.
David Wood asked in the presence of Valerie Moxam, "Why is it that white girls like black men?" then laughed, the panel found.
Ms Moxam was later fired by text message by Mr Wood, managing director of landscaping contractor Visible Changes, though that was not racially motivated, the tribunal in Watford said.
However at a subsequent grievance meeting, Mr Wood made another racist remark, saying: "Yeah, I often joked about 'Why do black men have big c****?'," which also amounted to harassment, it found.
Other claims of discrimination, including against the company's health and safety co-ordinator Susan Ward, failed.
British-born Ms Moxam's parents are from Jamaica. She is fair-skinned like her parents, and has ginger hair and blue/green eyes.
Ms Moxam, 42, of Dolphin Road, Northolt, west London, said after the hearing: "The past 18 months have been extremely challenging and stressful, but I felt so strongly that I wouldn't give up.
"What I have learned from this victory is that it is important for each one of us to take a stand and fight for respect and dignity. It is our civil liberty. People must be held accountable for their actions in the workplace."
Employment judge John Hobson said of Mr Wood's remark about white girls liking black men, which the panel found had been said: "This was a highly offensive racist remark in the presence of the claimant and amounted to harassment."
Claims against the company, of South Harrow, north-west London, and Mr Wood of race discrimination by harassment were upheld. It was understood that the parties reached a financial settlement after the findings.
Milngavie Herald
David Wood asked in the presence of Valerie Moxam, "Why is it that white girls like black men?" then laughed, the panel found.
Ms Moxam was later fired by text message by Mr Wood, managing director of landscaping contractor Visible Changes, though that was not racially motivated, the tribunal in Watford said.
However at a subsequent grievance meeting, Mr Wood made another racist remark, saying: "Yeah, I often joked about 'Why do black men have big c****?'," which also amounted to harassment, it found.
Other claims of discrimination, including against the company's health and safety co-ordinator Susan Ward, failed.
British-born Ms Moxam's parents are from Jamaica. She is fair-skinned like her parents, and has ginger hair and blue/green eyes.
Ms Moxam, 42, of Dolphin Road, Northolt, west London, said after the hearing: "The past 18 months have been extremely challenging and stressful, but I felt so strongly that I wouldn't give up.
"What I have learned from this victory is that it is important for each one of us to take a stand and fight for respect and dignity. It is our civil liberty. People must be held accountable for their actions in the workplace."
Employment judge John Hobson said of Mr Wood's remark about white girls liking black men, which the panel found had been said: "This was a highly offensive racist remark in the presence of the claimant and amounted to harassment."
Claims against the company, of South Harrow, north-west London, and Mr Wood of race discrimination by harassment were upheld. It was understood that the parties reached a financial settlement after the findings.
Milngavie Herald
Road rage racist gets five months (UK)
A road rage driver who punched a motorist through the open window of his car on a South Tyneside road after hurling racist abuse has been jailed.
Robert Crane pulled up his car behind Emrah Cifti's motor at traffic lights on John Reid Road, South Shields, got out and launched the terrifying attack.
Newcastle Crown Court heard Mr Cifti, a British national who is of Turkish origin, suffered a "glancing blow" to his face, but was not seriously injured.
Crane, who had used racist abuse towards to Cifti, drove away from the scene but was followed by another motorist, who passed on his registration number to the police.
Crane was tracked down and arrested within days.
During police interview, Crane admitted he had become angry and said it was because of Mr Cifti's bad driving.
Judge Roger Thorn jailed Crane for five months.
The judge said: "You left your vehicle and used words of racial hostility then decided you would become judge, jury and sentencer.
"These incidents of road rage are something that happen almost daily and have a terrifying impact on upon victims. Sentences will be passed that mark the courts' severe disapproval of this kind of behaviour."
Crane, of Split Crow Road, Gateshead, had pleaded guilty to racially aggravated common assault.
Ron Mitchell said the dad-of-two is a family man, who works as a panel beater, who had succumbed to a loss of temper. Mr Mitchell added: "It was a moment of complete stupidity."
Shields Gazette
Robert Crane pulled up his car behind Emrah Cifti's motor at traffic lights on John Reid Road, South Shields, got out and launched the terrifying attack.
Newcastle Crown Court heard Mr Cifti, a British national who is of Turkish origin, suffered a "glancing blow" to his face, but was not seriously injured.
Crane, who had used racist abuse towards to Cifti, drove away from the scene but was followed by another motorist, who passed on his registration number to the police.
Crane was tracked down and arrested within days.
During police interview, Crane admitted he had become angry and said it was because of Mr Cifti's bad driving.
Judge Roger Thorn jailed Crane for five months.
The judge said: "You left your vehicle and used words of racial hostility then decided you would become judge, jury and sentencer.
"These incidents of road rage are something that happen almost daily and have a terrifying impact on upon victims. Sentences will be passed that mark the courts' severe disapproval of this kind of behaviour."
Crane, of Split Crow Road, Gateshead, had pleaded guilty to racially aggravated common assault.
Ron Mitchell said the dad-of-two is a family man, who works as a panel beater, who had succumbed to a loss of temper. Mr Mitchell added: "It was a moment of complete stupidity."
Shields Gazette
Saturday, 8 January 2011
Imprisoned Neo-Nazi claims he’s the victim of religious discrimination
Michael Heaton, 43, who is a former leader of the British Freedom Fighters, was jailed last year for posting more than 3,000 hate-filled comments on far-right websites.
But the Aryan Strike Force member has complained to prison chiefs at HMP Wymott, Lancs., after he was banned from wearing a Thor’s Hammer pendant.
He claims his rights are being infringed but prison bosses have ruled that the necklace has a ”fascist meaning” and ”Neo-Nazi overtones”.
In a letter sent to inmates’ magazine Inside Time, the ex-English Defence League activist complained he was being singled out for religious discrimination.
He said: ”Moslems (sic) can wear hats in prison when nobody else can, Christians are allowed their crosses, so imagine my shock when I enquired about wearing my religious pendant and was refused.
”I am what is called an Odinist. So that I can feel nearer my god I requested to be allowed to wear my pendant.
”The reply I got was that my application had been refused on the grounds that the pendant ‘looks a little like a Maltese cross, which has a fascist meaning and neo-Nazi overtones’.
”To say I was shocked at this would be an understatement! Other religious groups are afforded the respect for their religious symbols in prison, so why not me?
”His (the governor) response was that Thor’s hammer is on the prison ‘banned list’. Surely this cannot be right? Is there anything I can do about it?”
Heaton, serving 30 months in jail for using threatening and abusive language likely to stir up racial hatred, claims that his pendant is an Odinist rather than a Nazi symbol.
However, prison staff refused his request to wear it after learning that far-right groups have adopted the symbol as a depiction of aryan supremacy.
A trial at Liverpool Crown Court in June last year heard food packer Heaton, who has a scorpion tattoo on his neck, wanted to ”clear the country of all ethnic minorities”.
He posted a series of racist comments on the Aryan Strike Force website including: ”Jews will always be scum and must be destroyed.”
He added: ”I would encourage any religion or race which wants to destroy the Jews, I hate them with a passion.”
When cops raided his home in Greater Manchester they found large quantities of Nazi and Hitler memorabilia, a semi–automatic BB gun and a samurai sword.
Judge Stephen Irwin said: ”You wanted to start a race war. You were clearly filled with racial hatred.”
A Prison Service spokesperson said it would not discuss complaints made by individual inmates.
He said: ”The provision of religious artefacts in prison is at the discretion of the governor following a thorough risk assessment.”
Norse gods Thor and Odin are worshipped by Odinists and Pagans but their symbols have been hijacked by many white supremacist and Neo-Nazi groups.
Heaton’s co-defendant Trevor Hannington, 58, of Cardiff, was sentenced to two years for six offences.
Small World News Service
Racist abuse hurled at woman (UK)
A racist yob who hurled abuse at a Bolton woman is being hunted by police.
The 30-year-old woman was subjected to a barrage of name-calling while waiting at Darwen railway station.
She was standing on the Manchester bound platform to catch a train to Bolton when a man on the opposite platform began shouting racist abuse at her.
He called her names and asked where she came from, which British Transport Police Officers said made her feel “extremely uncomfortable”.
The incident happened on Monday, November 29 PC Lorraine Faulkner, at British Transport Police, said: “The abuse levelled at the woman was completely unacceptable and we are trying to trace the man responsible.”
He is described as being white, about 5’ 8” tall with a reddish complexion and short sandy coloured spiky hair.
He was wearing dark grey tracksuit bottoms and a similar coloured top and the victim believes he had no top teeth.
Anyone with information should call British Transport Police on 0800 40 50 40 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111, quoting background log B8/NWA of 7/1/11.
This is Lancashire
The 30-year-old woman was subjected to a barrage of name-calling while waiting at Darwen railway station.
She was standing on the Manchester bound platform to catch a train to Bolton when a man on the opposite platform began shouting racist abuse at her.
He called her names and asked where she came from, which British Transport Police Officers said made her feel “extremely uncomfortable”.
The incident happened on Monday, November 29 PC Lorraine Faulkner, at British Transport Police, said: “The abuse levelled at the woman was completely unacceptable and we are trying to trace the man responsible.”
He is described as being white, about 5’ 8” tall with a reddish complexion and short sandy coloured spiky hair.
He was wearing dark grey tracksuit bottoms and a similar coloured top and the victim believes he had no top teeth.
Anyone with information should call British Transport Police on 0800 40 50 40 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111, quoting background log B8/NWA of 7/1/11.
This is Lancashire
Friday, 7 January 2011
Leading rabbi in Berlin warns Jews to hide their identity as fears of neo-Nazi attacks rise
Jews living near Berlin are being warned to shed clothing that identifies their religion as fears of neo-Nazi attacks rise.
A leading rabbi in the German state of Brandenburg, made the plea, 65 years after the end of the Second World War and the Holocaust. He is urging Jews not to wear skullcaps, long coats or other “identifying symbols” of Judaism, unless they know self-defence.
Shaul Nekrich, the new chief rabbi of Brandenburg, said: “I think the state has a problem with anti-Semitism.
“I hear the stories from the communities. They are wary of being recognised as Jews on the streets. In the town of Bernau, the synagogue has been defaced with swastikas several times.
“As a Jew it is dangerous to wear things that identify you as such unless you are well versed in martial arts.”
He said that he had been accosted on a train in Brandenburg three years ago by drunks who threw his Hebrew prayer book to the ground.
Formerly from Russia, Rabbi Nekrich is responsible for teaching in an area where there are 1,300 Jews.
After reunification, Brandenburg became the centre of skinhead activity in Germany.
But it was thought that the problem was under control after the introduction of local initiatives to face down Hitler worshippers.
The Mirror
A leading rabbi in the German state of Brandenburg, made the plea, 65 years after the end of the Second World War and the Holocaust. He is urging Jews not to wear skullcaps, long coats or other “identifying symbols” of Judaism, unless they know self-defence.
Shaul Nekrich, the new chief rabbi of Brandenburg, said: “I think the state has a problem with anti-Semitism.
“I hear the stories from the communities. They are wary of being recognised as Jews on the streets. In the town of Bernau, the synagogue has been defaced with swastikas several times.
“As a Jew it is dangerous to wear things that identify you as such unless you are well versed in martial arts.”
He said that he had been accosted on a train in Brandenburg three years ago by drunks who threw his Hebrew prayer book to the ground.
Formerly from Russia, Rabbi Nekrich is responsible for teaching in an area where there are 1,300 Jews.
After reunification, Brandenburg became the centre of skinhead activity in Germany.
But it was thought that the problem was under control after the introduction of local initiatives to face down Hitler worshippers.
The Mirror
GOVERNMENT VOWS TO ABOLISH DISCRIMINATORY LAW AGAINST ROMA (Turkey)/
A law that allows the Interior Ministry to expel Roma people from Turkey as it deems necessary, referring to this group as “gypsies” in its text, will be abolished, State Minister Faruk Çelik has announced. In a meeting he held with representatives of more than 20 Roma associations from all over Turkey at Justice and Development Party (AK Party) headquarters yesterday, Çelik said the Roma were highly dignified people who were also sensitive about Turkey’s unity. He said legislation that was first passed in the 1930s urgently needed to be amended. He recalled that the AK Party had removed an article from the Public Works Law of 1934 that stated: “Those who have not shown allegiance to Turkish culture, anarchists, nomadic gypsies, spies and those who have been expelled cannot be accepted as immigrants to Turkey.” He said a similar provision that left it to the will of the Interior Ministry to expel “gypsies” was to be removed this week. “I know the Roma are proud to be citizens of Turkey and to be in Turkey under this flag. They are people who are in love with this country, this flag and the country’s unity. That’s why expressions humiliating the Roma were removed from relevant legislation in 2006,” he said.
The government launched the Roma initiative in late 2009. A government-sponsored workshop was held on Dec. 9, 2009 to address issues facing the Roma community. Representatives of Turkey’s Roma community in Ýstanbul, Edirne, Kýrþehir, Artvin, Van and several other cities, 120 people in all, attended the event. A report was drafted listing the Roma community’s demands from the government following the workshop. In an unprecedented meeting, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoðan met with nearly 10,000 Roma in March of last year as part of the Roma initiative. Çelik said the government is determined to continue with the Roma initiative and to address problems faced by them. AK Party Deputy Chairman Salih Kapusuz also delivered a speech during the meeting and said the AK Party government has been exerting great efforts to abolish discrimination and misconceptions in the society about the Roma and other disadvantaged groups. “A Turkey where everyone is a first class citizen and where past mistakes have been abolished is our target,” Kapusuz said. Meanwhile, a group of Roma was in Parliament yesterday and listened to Prime Minister Erdoðan as he delivered a speech during his party’s parliamentary group meeting.
Today Zaman
The government launched the Roma initiative in late 2009. A government-sponsored workshop was held on Dec. 9, 2009 to address issues facing the Roma community. Representatives of Turkey’s Roma community in Ýstanbul, Edirne, Kýrþehir, Artvin, Van and several other cities, 120 people in all, attended the event. A report was drafted listing the Roma community’s demands from the government following the workshop. In an unprecedented meeting, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoðan met with nearly 10,000 Roma in March of last year as part of the Roma initiative. Çelik said the government is determined to continue with the Roma initiative and to address problems faced by them. AK Party Deputy Chairman Salih Kapusuz also delivered a speech during the meeting and said the AK Party government has been exerting great efforts to abolish discrimination and misconceptions in the society about the Roma and other disadvantaged groups. “A Turkey where everyone is a first class citizen and where past mistakes have been abolished is our target,” Kapusuz said. Meanwhile, a group of Roma was in Parliament yesterday and listened to Prime Minister Erdoðan as he delivered a speech during his party’s parliamentary group meeting.
Today Zaman
Neo-Nazi Guilty in Threat Case (USA)
In U.S. district court in Chicago Wednesday, jurors found avowed neo-Nazi William White (pictured) of Roanoke, Va., guilty of soliciting an attack on Mark Hoffman of Chicago, who six years ago was foreman of the jury that convicted white supremacist Matt Hale of plotting to murder a federal judge.
In 2008, White posted information about Hoffman on the website Overthrow.com, including his home address, his phone numbers, and the fact that he is gay and his partner is African-American. White also wrote on the site that he held Hoffman responsible for what he considered the wrongful conviction of Hale. Hoffman then began receiving numerous hateful and harassing phone calls and text messages, leading federal prosecutors to charge White with solicitation.
Prosecutors said White’s posting of the information clearly showed he wanted to incite violence against Hoffman. Defense attorneys argued that the intent was merely to harass him, which is not a violent crime.
In an unusual development Wednesday, jurors asked for the courtroom to be cleared of press and spectators before they announced their verdict, a request the judge denied. Prosecutors said they could see why the jurors were concerned.
“They were hearing a case where the life of another juror was threatened by a white supremacist because of his role in convicting another dangerous white supremacist,” assistant U.S. attorney William Hogan Jr. told the Tribune. Defense attorney Nishay Sanan, however, said the request showed the verdict was “based on fear,” not the law.
White, who will be sentenced later, faces up to 10 years in prison in the case. He is already serving a 30-month sentence on another online threat conviction in Virginia.
Advocate
Office manager's dismissal 'tainted by race', tribunal told (UK)
The dismissal of an office manager from the north west London company she worked for was "tainted by race", an employment tribunal has been told.
There is overwhelming evidence to support a finding of discrimination, Valerie Moxam's representative, Peter Ward, said in closing submissions.
British-born Ms Moxam, whose parents are from Jamaica, has told the hearing in Watford that David Wood dismissed her from landscaping contractor Visible Changes for reasons of race. She is suing the company, Mr Wood, and the firm's health and safety co-ordinator, Susan Ward.
Ms Moxam, of Dolphin Road, Northolt, west London, who is fair-skinned like her parents, and has ginger hair and blue/green eyes, was fired by text message, the tribunal has heard.
She said she had previously heard racist remarks being made at the firm, of South Harrow, north west London, and added: "There is no doubt in my mind that the reason for my dismissal was, at least in part, my race."
Managing director Mr Wood has denied that he used an email from his accountant telling him of the firm's financial problems as an excuse to get rid of Ms Moxam because she was not fitting in.
He also denied allegations that he made racist comments, including one at a grievance meeting which followed the text message, where he is alleged to have said: "Yeah, I often joked about 'Why do black men have big c****?'
Mr Ward said: "Ms Moxam simply did not fit in in the workplace, because she did not join in with the racist banter. It was becoming obvious to employees that she was from an ethnic minority. 'Who are we going to get rid of?' - That is tainted by race."
Mr Wood has told the tribunal he "panicked" after receiving an email from his accountant, telling him to cut any employee who was not needed. He said he and his wife Alison decided they could do Ms Moxam's work, but he added: "We suffered tremendously when Val left."
The tribunal panel started its deliberations but said it would not give any judgment before Friday morning.
Google Hosted News
There is overwhelming evidence to support a finding of discrimination, Valerie Moxam's representative, Peter Ward, said in closing submissions.
British-born Ms Moxam, whose parents are from Jamaica, has told the hearing in Watford that David Wood dismissed her from landscaping contractor Visible Changes for reasons of race. She is suing the company, Mr Wood, and the firm's health and safety co-ordinator, Susan Ward.
Ms Moxam, of Dolphin Road, Northolt, west London, who is fair-skinned like her parents, and has ginger hair and blue/green eyes, was fired by text message, the tribunal has heard.
She said she had previously heard racist remarks being made at the firm, of South Harrow, north west London, and added: "There is no doubt in my mind that the reason for my dismissal was, at least in part, my race."
Managing director Mr Wood has denied that he used an email from his accountant telling him of the firm's financial problems as an excuse to get rid of Ms Moxam because she was not fitting in.
He also denied allegations that he made racist comments, including one at a grievance meeting which followed the text message, where he is alleged to have said: "Yeah, I often joked about 'Why do black men have big c****?'
Mr Ward said: "Ms Moxam simply did not fit in in the workplace, because she did not join in with the racist banter. It was becoming obvious to employees that she was from an ethnic minority. 'Who are we going to get rid of?' - That is tainted by race."
Mr Wood has told the tribunal he "panicked" after receiving an email from his accountant, telling him to cut any employee who was not needed. He said he and his wife Alison decided they could do Ms Moxam's work, but he added: "We suffered tremendously when Val left."
The tribunal panel started its deliberations but said it would not give any judgment before Friday morning.
Google Hosted News
Warrant issued for man over B.C.-based racist website (Canada)
The RCMP have issued a Canada-wide warrant for Paul Craig Cobb, 59, who is believed to have gone to the United States.
Cobb — who holds both U.S. and Canadian citizenship — runs the website podblanc.com, which he created in 2005 from Estonia, where he was living at the time. The site has since been shut down.
The Estonian government deported him in August 2009 and the RCMP say Cobb has been living in Canada since then.
He was arrested at the Vancouver Public Library last June after a six-month investigation by the B.C. Hate Crime Team.
"During the course of the investigation, evidence was obtained that alleged the website was being operated by Mr. Cobb from various locations within Vancouver and that this website contained hate material," said RCMP spokesman Insp. Tim Shields.
But Cobb was released within 10 hours of his arrest because a criminal charge could not be laid immediately.
He is believed to have fled to the United States soon after his release.
On Dec. 30, 2010, a charge of wilful promotion of hatred was approved against Cobb and a warrant was issued for his arrest.
Vancover Sun
Wednesday, 5 January 2011
Nazi-era graves to be dug up in Austria
Officials in western Austria say exhumations are to take place at a psychiatric hospital thought to contain the remains of Nazi victims.
The remains of 220 people are buried at a cemetery in Hall in Tyrol province.
The Nazis murdered thousands of disabled people they thought unfit to live, deeming it "euthanasia". The hospital believes many died there as part of the programme.
A planned construction project has been halted to allow a full investigation.
Some 30,000 people were killed at one psychiatric hospital alone - Schloss Hartheim, near Linz in upper Austria.
Tilak, the company responsible for the Hall hospital, said the graves contained the remains of people buried between 1942 and 1945.
There were, it added, "suspicions that the dead [were] at least partially victims" of the programme of murders the Nazis referred to as "euthanasia".
'Dark chapter'
Exhumations are to begin when the ground thaws, probably in March.
Announcing that a commission of experts would be formed shortly to investigate, Guenther Platter, governor of Tyrol province, said he had been "deeply shaken" by the discovery.
"This dark chapter of history must now be carefully brought to light," he added.
Investigators would be seeking to identify the remains and establish the cause of death, Tilak representatives were quoted as saying by Austria's Die Presse newspaper.
Hospital historian Oliver Seifert said it was already clear that not all of those buried had been victims of the Nazis.
"We know that active killing went on at other institutions in Austria... but there are no indications of this at the moment in Hall," he told Reuters news agency.
Hall Hospital remains a functioning psychiatric hospital, with beds for 500 patients.
BBC News
The remains of 220 people are buried at a cemetery in Hall in Tyrol province.
The Nazis murdered thousands of disabled people they thought unfit to live, deeming it "euthanasia". The hospital believes many died there as part of the programme.
A planned construction project has been halted to allow a full investigation.
Some 30,000 people were killed at one psychiatric hospital alone - Schloss Hartheim, near Linz in upper Austria.
Tilak, the company responsible for the Hall hospital, said the graves contained the remains of people buried between 1942 and 1945.
There were, it added, "suspicions that the dead [were] at least partially victims" of the programme of murders the Nazis referred to as "euthanasia".
'Dark chapter'
Exhumations are to begin when the ground thaws, probably in March.
Announcing that a commission of experts would be formed shortly to investigate, Guenther Platter, governor of Tyrol province, said he had been "deeply shaken" by the discovery.
"This dark chapter of history must now be carefully brought to light," he added.
Investigators would be seeking to identify the remains and establish the cause of death, Tilak representatives were quoted as saying by Austria's Die Presse newspaper.
Hospital historian Oliver Seifert said it was already clear that not all of those buried had been victims of the Nazis.
"We know that active killing went on at other institutions in Austria... but there are no indications of this at the moment in Hall," he told Reuters news agency.
Hall Hospital remains a functioning psychiatric hospital, with beds for 500 patients.
BBC News
MUSLIM GROUPS OFFER TO PROTECT THREATENED COPTIC CHURCHES (Netherlands)
Three Dutch Muslim organisations have offered to help protect three Coptic churches in the Netherlands from possible terrorist attack, the Telegraaf reports on Tuesday. The names of the three churches – in Eindhoven, Utrecht and Amsterdam - are listed on a website which is considered to have links to Al Qaida. The Muslim organisations have called on all Muslims to denounce the threat. 'We are the ones who should do this because Al Qaida claims to operate in the name of Islam,' the Telegraaf quoted the organisations as saying. 'Christian Copts, ourselves and all the Dutch have a common enemy: terrorists.' Police have already taken action to increase security around the church in Utrecht and the counter-terrorism service is monitoring the situation, the paper says. The Coptic church celebrates Christmas on January 7, and the website had called for bomb attacks on targets around Europe on that date.
Dutch News
Dutch News
UKIP and BNP seek to woo voters in Oldham by-election (UK)
The leaders of both the BNP and UKIP have been campaigning in the Oldham East and Saddleworth by-election, bidding to woo disenchanted voters.
Nick Griffin, whose party came fourth in the seat at the general election, said a BNP win would boost the area.
But the UKIP leader Nigel Farage said his party wanted to "thrash the BNP in this constituency."
The poll, on 13 January, was triggered by a court ruling annulling the general election result from May.
The BNP gained 5.7% of the poll in the 2010 General Election while UKIP came fifth with 3.9% of the votes cast.
"To get the British National Party elected in a place like this would be such a huge shock to the political system without a shadow of a doubt, the government would try and pour money into the place to try and bribe voters back with their own money," said Mr Griffin.
"We're saying vote for us and finally they'll stop ignoring Oldham."
Mr Farage said: "I was absolutely determined on behalf of our party that we chose a strong candidate for the big campaign.
"I want us to thrash the BNP in this constituency, there is no room for that kind of extremism in British politics.
"With UKIP you have a party that is patriotic, proud to be British but not extreme in any way."
The election was called after an election court found that victorious MP Labour's Phil Woolas had made false statements about his Liberal Democrat opponent Elwyn Watkins.
The full list of candidates (in alphabetical order) is:
* Debbie Abrahams (Labour)
* Derek Adams (British National Party)
* Kashif Ali (Conservative)
* Peter Allen (Green Party)
* David Bishop (Bus-Pass Elvis Party)
* The Flying Brick (Monster Raving Loony Party)
* Loz Kaye (Pirate Party of the United Kingdom)
* Stephen Morris (English Democrats)
* Paul Nuttall MEP (UK Independence Party)
* Elwyn Watkins (Liberal Democrats)
BBC news
Nick Griffin, whose party came fourth in the seat at the general election, said a BNP win would boost the area.
But the UKIP leader Nigel Farage said his party wanted to "thrash the BNP in this constituency."
The poll, on 13 January, was triggered by a court ruling annulling the general election result from May.
The BNP gained 5.7% of the poll in the 2010 General Election while UKIP came fifth with 3.9% of the votes cast.
"To get the British National Party elected in a place like this would be such a huge shock to the political system without a shadow of a doubt, the government would try and pour money into the place to try and bribe voters back with their own money," said Mr Griffin.
"We're saying vote for us and finally they'll stop ignoring Oldham."
Mr Farage said: "I was absolutely determined on behalf of our party that we chose a strong candidate for the big campaign.
"I want us to thrash the BNP in this constituency, there is no room for that kind of extremism in British politics.
"With UKIP you have a party that is patriotic, proud to be British but not extreme in any way."
The election was called after an election court found that victorious MP Labour's Phil Woolas had made false statements about his Liberal Democrat opponent Elwyn Watkins.
The full list of candidates (in alphabetical order) is:
* Debbie Abrahams (Labour)
* Derek Adams (British National Party)
* Kashif Ali (Conservative)
* Peter Allen (Green Party)
* David Bishop (Bus-Pass Elvis Party)
* The Flying Brick (Monster Raving Loony Party)
* Loz Kaye (Pirate Party of the United Kingdom)
* Stephen Morris (English Democrats)
* Paul Nuttall MEP (UK Independence Party)
* Elwyn Watkins (Liberal Democrats)
BBC news
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