Court in Tunisia sentences blogger to two years in prison over social media posts

Blogger Wajdi Mahouechi was reportedly arrested after he criticized the public prosecutor in Tunisia. On November 12, the Tunis First Instance Court convicted him of all charges and sentenced him to two years in prison along with a fine of 1,000 Tunisian Dinars (USD 300)




November 27, 2020 by Peoples Dispatch



https://peoplesdispatch.org/2020/11/27/court-in-tunisia-sentences-blogger-to-two-years-in-prison-over-social-media-posts/




Tunisian blogger Wajdi Mahouechi was sentenced to two years in prison for criticizing the country’s judiciary, North Africa Journal reported on November 24, Tuesday. The judgement was widely condemned by human rights groups and others as an assault on the freedom of speech and expression in Tunisia. Mahouechi was reportedly arrested after he criticized the public prosecutor in Tunisia for not arresting and prosecuting an Imam who had posted social media material which justified last month’s killing of a public school teacher in France. The French teacher was killed for exhibiting images of the Prophet in his classroom as part of a class on freedom of expression.

Mahouechi had responded to the video posted by the Imam on Facebok with another video in which he criticizes the public prosecutor for not taking action against the Muslim cleric. In the video, he also claims that the public prosecution has failed to take action against a complaint made by him against two police officers in 2019 for physically assaulting him. Mahouechi was arrested the next day by officers from the Hay El Khadra Unit for Combating Terrorism and Organized Crime and later interrogated for around four hours. His lawyer, Mohamed Ali Bouchiba, was allowed to be present during the investigation.

During investigation, Mahouechi defended himself by claiming to the authorities that he was not targeting anyone individually or specifically, but only acting as a whistleblower against the Imam who according to him was propagating extremism and terrorism.

Mahouechi was accused under multiple serious charges, including “accusing officials of crimes without providing proof,” “offending others via telecommunications networks,” “public calumny,” and “insulting an officer on duty.” Meanwhile, no legal action was taken against the Imam. On November 12, the Tunis First Instance Court convicted him of all charges and sentenced him to two years in prison along with a fine of 1,000 Tunisian Dinars (USD 300).

31-year-old Mahouechi is a regular blogger and commentator on various social and political issues in Tunisia. Following his conviction and imprisonment, his lawyer stated, “we are seeing an increase of prosecutions that remind us of the arrests and trials of bloggers and social media critics in 2017. The prosecutions never stopped really. They just slowed down and now they’re back.”

Human rights organizations tracking human rights violations and judicial excesses in Tunisia have criticized the judgment against Mahouechi. Amnesty International stated that since 2018, at least 40 Tunisians have been criminally prosecuted by the Tunisian authorities for “publishing online posts critical of local authorities, the police or other state officials.” Human Rights Watch (HRW) also expressed concern about a growing number of social media users, bloggers and human rights activists being targeted with criminal charges on the basis of social media posts critical of the government. In two different reports last year, HRW documented at least 15 Tunisians facing criminal charges such as “spreading false information,” “harm of others through telecommunications networks,” “accusing public officials of crimes related to their jobs without furnishing proof of their guilt,” “calumny,” and “insulting the head of state.”

According to HRW, many of these criminal charges date back to the time of former Tunisian dictator Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, who was overthrown in a popular revolution in 2011. Since 2017, at least six Tunisians have received prison sentences for exercising their freedom of speech and expression on social media and sharing their views on various issues. So far, Mahouechi’s prison sentence is the harshest and longest to be awarded by a Tunisian court in a similar case, raising concern among activists and human rights groups.

Police brutality against protesting migrants in Paris draws widespread outrage

On November 23, Monday, French police brutally attacked migrants protesting at the Place de la Republique in Paris against last week’s forceful evacuation of the Saint-Denis migrant camp

November 27, 2020 by Peoples Dispatch



https://peoplesdispatch.org/2020/11/27/police-brutality-against-protesting-migrants-in-paris-draws-widespread-outrage/




Migrants and activist groups staged protests in Paris earlier this week against the deteriorating living conditions of migrants in France and the police attack on protesting migrants on November 23, Monday. The migrants were protesting at the Place de la Republique in Paris against last week’s forceful evacuation of the Saint-Denis migrant camp.

On Monday, migrants and activists occupied the Place de la Republique with makeshift tents, demanding immediate accommodation for those forcefully evacuated. The police in the evening responded with violence to forcefully disperse the occupying migrants. The footage of the brutal police action went viral, drawing widespread criticism across the country.

InfoMigrant.net reported that “in footage filmed during the evening, police raise a tent and turn it over to knock down the person inside. In others, they throw the migrants’ belongings into trucks.” The police also reportedly used tear gas and LBD fire to disperse the migrants.

Parisians from all walks of life extended their support and solidarity to the migrants’ protest. Protesters have demanded a stop to police violence against migrants and called for the resignation of police prefect Didier Lallement and interior minister Gérald Darmanin, who are being held responsible for the police brutality.

Pro-migrant activist group Utopia 56 stated, “the violent evacuation of the camp for exiled people in Saint Denis on Tuesday, November 17, left between 700 and 1,000 people homeless without accommodation solutions.” The group has demanded the Paris authorities and the government to immediately provide 1,000 shelters to unconditionally accommodate these migrants as well as a cessation of police violence against the migrant population. They also demanded the French government establish a proper first reception system for exiled people, which allows immediate access to accommodation solutions.

On November 17, a police operation dislodged 2,500 refugees from a camp located in the north of Paris. According to reports, around 800 refugees remain shelterless as of now.

Monday’s police action against migrants coincided with protests that are taking place in the country against the proposed ‘global security’ bill proposed by the Emmanul Macron-led government. Among the main aspects of the controversial bill, currently being debated in the French parliament, is that it illegalizes the dissemination of images where police officers can be identified. As the footage of police brutality at Place de la Republique went viral, progressive sections in the country reiterated their opposition to the global security bill, which is likely to eliminate another check against the abuse of power by the police and other state authorities.

Palestinian administrative detainee Maher al-Akhras free at last

Maher al-Akhras who was sent into administrative detention in July was released on November 26. He had gone on a 104-day hunger strike demanding his freedom

November 27, 2020 by Peoples Dispatch




https://peoplesdispatch.org/2020/11/27/palestinian-administrative-detainee-maher-al-akhras-free-at-last/




Palestinian administrative detainee Maher al-Akhras was finally released from Israeli custody on November 26, Thursday. Al-Akhras had earlier been on a 104-day hunger strike to protest his illegal administrative detention by Israel and to demand his release. He agreed to end his hunger strike after successfully securing an agreement for his release at the end of his current term of administration detention, which would have otherwise most likely been renewed for another term.

Since reaching the agreement, al-Akhras has been treated at the Israeli Kaplan hospital. He was transferred there from prison due to a drastic decline in his health and serious medical issues as a result of the hunger strike.

According to a statement by Qadri Abu Bakr, head of the Prisoners’ Affairs Authority of the Palestine Liberation Organization, al-Akhras has now been transferred to the Al-Najah university hospital in the city of Nablus in the occupied West Bank. He will continue to receive medical treatment and undergo health checkups until he makes a full recovery. The medical director of Al-Najah hospital, Abdul-Karim Al-Barqawi, has said that a decision on allowing him to return home will be made in the coming days following a medical assessment of his health and recovery.

Upon his release, 49-year-old al-Akhras told reporters “I secured my freedom by embarking on a long, drawn out hunger strike. The strike proved that the Palestinian people need to fight for their rights and liberty, and we can’t wait for anyone else to end our oppression. My freedom is the freedom of my people, and we have won over the occupation with our will and determination.”

Arrested on July 26 by Israeli domestic intelligence agency Shin Bet, al-Akhras was accused of being a prominent member of the Gaza-based Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group. He was then placed under administrative detention for four months without charge or trial. The Israeli authorities also withheld from his lawyers the supposed evidence they had against him based on which he was accused of terrorist activities. Al-Akhras launched his hunger strike immediately after the administrative detention order against him was passed.

Close to three months into the hunger strike, his health condition turned critical, forcing the prison authorities to transfer him to hospital. Doctors attempted to force-feed him against his will to break his hunger strike at the insistence of the prison authorities but ultimately failed. Meanwhile, his lawyers filed appeals in the Israeli high court, requesting for a nullification of his detention order and his release. The court finally ordered his release at the end of his current administrative detention order but did not approve his immediate release.

Al-Akhras lost more than 40 kg in body weight and continues to experience acute headaches and pain in his ears and joints, as well as loss of consciousness. His lawyers and human rights activists had expressed alarm that he was on the ‘verge of death’ and ‘irreversible damage’ was being inflicted on his body.

When asked about his health after his release, Al-Akhras stated that he still suffers from pain but hopes to recover soon to return to his home in the town of Silat al-Dahr, north of Jenin city, to be reunited with his wife and six children.

Repeated appeals were made to the Israeli prison authorities for al-Akhras’ release by various international human rights organizations, activists, and diplomatic representatives of several countries. Over 470 Palestinians remain in Israeli custody as administrative detainees, including two minors. Human rights groups have regularly reported that Palestinians in Israeli custody face extremely cruel treatment and are subjected to various forms of psychological and physical torture in clear violation of international humanitarian law.

Trade unions and progressive movements across the world unite to #MakeAmazonPay

During the pandemic, Amazon emerged as the first trillion-dollar corporation ever while its CEO Jeff Bezos became the first person to amass over USD 200 billion. Meanwhile, its workers across the world have complained of denial of rights

November 28, 2020 by Peoples Dispatch




https://peoplesdispatch.org/2020/11/28/trade-unions-and-progressive-movements-across-the-world-unite-to-makeamazonpay/




A global coalition of progressive movements and trade unions staged a massive scale boycott campaign of Amazon on the annual Black Friday sales day, that fell on Friday, November 27. The coalition held an organized global campaign in as many as 15 countries that constitute the bulk of Amazon’s customer base, under the banner of #MakeAmazonPay. Dozens of international and national trade union movements, trade justice groups, environmentalist organizations, and progressive political movements participated in the campaign.




A number of trade unions and trade unions confederations took part, including the GMB Union in the United Kingdom, Ver.di in Germany, IndustriAll, International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), UNI Global Union, Amazon Workers International, and Public Services International (PSI) among others. Several of these groups and their national and regional affiliates also organized walk-out strikes on Friday.




Groups such as the Progressive International, the pan-European Democracy in Europe Movement 2025, All India IT and ITeS Employees’ Union from India, Momentum from the United Kingdom, the Athena Coalition from the United States, along with advocacy groups like the Workings Peoples’ Charter, Focus on the Global South, IT for Change and the Transnational Institute were also part of organizing it.




In their campaign statement, the organizers pointed out how despite reaping huge profits during the COVID-19 pandemic, the company continues to evade taxes. “But instead of giving back to the societies that helped it grow, the corporation starves them of tax revenue. In 2019, Amazon paid just 1.2% tax in the United States, where the corporation holds its headquarters.”

“As Amazon’s corporate empire expands, so too has its carbon footprint, which is larger than two thirds of all countries in the world. But instead of giving back to the societies that helped it grow, the corporation starves them of tax revenue,” the statement reads.

During the pandemic, Amazon emerged as the first trillion-dollar corporation in human history, while its founder and CEO Jeff Bezos became the first person to amass over USD 200 billion worth of wealth.

In the meanwhile, the corporation has been accused by workers across the world of vehemently denying its over 876,000 employees fair compensation. “Amazon warehouse workers risked their lives as essential workers, and faced threats and intimidation if they spoke out for their rights to a fair wage,” added the campaign.




In an article in the Guardian, Casper Gelderblom, coordinator of the #MakeAmazonPay campaign at the Progressve International, wrote, “While Bezos’s [Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos] wealth has risen by more than $70bn (£52bn) since the onset of the pandemic, Amazon workers have put their health at risk daily with only marginal increases in pay. The corporation is said to monitor its warehouse workers, sanctions them whenever their productivity drops and has spied on their efforts to organize. The result: claims that workers have been forced to urinate in bottles for lack of adequate break-time (Amazon has disputed such claims), thousands of Covid infections and claims of inadequate worker protections. Bezos could pay each of his 876,000 employees a $105,000 (£79,000) bonus – and still be as obscenely rich as he was before the pandemic broke out.”

The campaign was also backed by prominent political leaders and activists across the globe.

Legal proceedings against former de-facto government officials begin in Bolivia

The newly elected MAS government has opened investigations against several former officials of the de-facto government for their role in crimes committed during their one year tenure after the coup détat ágainst former president Evo Morales

November 28, 2020 by Peoples Dispatch




https://peoplesdispatch.org/2020/11/28/legal-proceedings-against-former-de-facto-government-officials-begin-in-bolivia/




With the restoration of democracy in Bolivia, the process to seek justice for the numerous crimes committed by former ministers and officials of the coup-installed government has begun in the country. The newly elected government of president Luis Arce and vice-president David Choquehuanca of the Movement Towards Socialism (MAS) party has opened investigations against several former officials for their role in various corruption cases, massacres, incidents of violence and human right violations committed during their one year in office.

Some former officials have been arrested, while some have fled the country. The president of the de-facto government, Jeanine Áñez, who has not yet been questioned by the authorities, also tried to escape Bolivia on November 23. However, she was prevented from boarding a plane by a group of representatives of various social organizations at the Jorge Henrich Arauz airport in the Trinidad city in the Beni department.

Áñez faces a liability trial related to the massacres in Sacaba and Senkata as well as other incidents of violent police and military repression carried out on her orders against protesters mobilizing in rejection of the coup d’état against former president Evo Morales. According to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), 36 people lost their lives in different regions of the country during various violent repression operations by security forces after the coup.

On November 23, a group of independent experts from the IACHR arrived in Bolivia to investigate all the incidents of violence committed under Áñez’s rule. The next day, on November 24, the commander of the Cochabamba Military Garrison, General Alfredo Cuellar, was arrested in connection with the massacre in Sacaba city. He has been charged with the crime of murder.

Additionally, the same day as Áñez tried to run away, the Prosecutor’s Office issued arrest warrants against former oil minister Victor Zamora and former immigration director Marcel Rivas for various crimes.

Former oil minister Zamora is under investigation for the crimes of abuse of power, breach of duties, corruption and unconstitutional resolutions. He allegedly committed these crimes during the lockdown period due to COVID-19 pandemic, when he was in charge of the state-owned oil company, the Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales Bolivianos (YPFB).

According to the national police, Zamora’s whereabouts are unknown. He has not been located at his declared legal address nor at his parents’ home. The Prosecutor’s Office has requested information from the immigration department about his possible flight.

Former immigration director Rivas has been arrested and is being investigated for the crimes of inappropriate use of influence, concealment, breach of duties and political persecution. He has been accused of facilitating the escape of former government and defense ministers as well as of using the institution for “political purposes” and illegally issuing over 495 immigration alerts against the officials, politicians, journalists, diplomats and businessmen considered close allies of the ousted president Morales and opponents of the Áñez’s regime.

Last week, on November 16, arrest warrants were issued against former government minister Arturo Murillo and former defense minister Fernando López in the “tear gas” case, related to the purchase of the non-lethal chemical weapons from a Brazilian company, Condor, at an inflated price for the national police. They are accused of misuse of power and of having purchased 50,000 units of long-range and triple-action projectiles for 2 million USD.

On November 17, the general commander of the police, Jhonny Aguilera, reported that both the officials had fled the country. He stated that Murillo and López escaped to Brazil on November 5, three days before the rule of the de-facto government ended. From Brazil, Murillo fled to Panama on November 9. Three officials of the immigration department, in addition to Rivas, have been arrested for allowing the escape of fugitives, on whom an immigration alert was already weighing.

According to the recent police investigations, Murillo and former vice-minister of interior Javier Issa are now in the United States, and López remains in Brazil.

Issa is accused of having participated in the theft and supposed burning of the military service book of former president Morales. In this case, the former director of the Special Force for the Fight Against Crime (FELCC), Iván Rojas, has also been detained.

Colombian social leader Julián Gil released after 900 days in prison

https://peoplesdispatch.org/2020/11/26/colombian-social-leader-julian-gil-released-after-900-days-unjustly-held-in-prison/
Colombian social leader Julián Gil released after 900 days unjustly held in prison


The technical secretary of the People’s Congress Julián Gil was released from La Picota Prison on Wednesday night

November 26, 2020 by Peoples Dispatch




“This is a victory of people’s movements,” declared Julián Gil as he left the prison and was greeted by dozens of family members, friends as well as militants and leaders of his organization Congreso de los Pueblos (the People’s Congress). Gil, who worked as the technical secretary of the organization was arrested 902 days ago outside the organization’s office and falsely accused of having participated in and planned acts of terrorism.

On Tuesday November 24, the Specialized Judge of Cundinamarca absolved Gil of all charges and declared that he should be released immediately. Gil had been accused of rebellion and pertaining to the insurgent group National Liberation Army (ELN) as well as of trafficking and transportation of explosives and arms. The charges were levelled based on one testimony which, Gil’s defense pointed out, was contradictory in explaining how Gil was allegedly involved in the crimes. The prosecution team was unable to find any evidence to support the unreliable testimony, but kept him in prison while they attempted to build a case.

Since day one, Julián and Congreso affirmed his innocence as well as the deeply political nature of his arrest and incarceration. They classified it as another attempt of the Colombian state to silence those who dare to think differently and fight for a country with peace and dignity, against the interests of the ruling class.

Following the announcement on Tuesday, members of Congreso de los Pueblos gathered outside La Picota Prison where Julian has been held for the past 900 days in order to pressure the prison authorities to release him. However, they informed that the process was delayed and he would not be released until Wednesday. Finally on Wednesday November 25, at around 19:00h, Julián was free.

Throughout the 900 days, Julian never lost hope or determination. The prison became his new trench of struggle from where he and other prisoners in his cell block organized libraries, donation drives and political education classes.

Following his release Julian declared that the struggle is far from over and that it must intensify so all prisoners are free. Gil declared: “This is why we are convinced that we must fight and transform all of this. Together we can achieve this comrades. The hope and joy of all of you always has been contagious and we will continue in the fight for a long time.”

Assassination of Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh condemned across the globe

Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was attacked by unknown assailants near Tehran on Friday. Both Iranian authorities and observers around the world accused Israel of being behind the murder

November 28, 2020 by Peoples Dispatch



https://peoplesdispatch.org/2020/11/28/assassination-of-iranian-nuclear-scientist-mohsen-fakhrizadeh-condemned-across-the-globe/




The assassination of Iran’s top nuclear scientist, Dr. Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, has drawn harsh condemnation from all over the world. Dr. Mohsen (62) was shot and killed by unknown assailants on Friday, November 27 in Absard city, around 70 km away from capital, Tehran.

Assailants attacked his vehicle with bombs and guns. Dr. Mohsen was gravely injured in the attack and he later succumbed to his injuries in the hospital. The encounter between the assailants and Dr. Mohsen’s bodyguards resulted in a few more deaths. While the Iranian media said the assailants were killed in the shoot-out, Times of Israel said those killed were Dr. Mohsen’s bodyguards, and that the assailants had escaped. Dr. Mohsen, who was a professor of physics at Imam Hossein University at Tehran, was also heading defense ministry’s Organization of Defensive Innovation and Research.

Iranian president Hassan Rouhani said on Saturday that the assassination was carried out by “mercenary usurper Zionist regime.”

Iranian foreign minister Javad Zarif tweeted that “there are “serious indications of Israeli role” in the terrorist attack. He also urged the international community to condemn this “state act of terror”.

Israel, which has serious objections to Iran’s nuclear program, has been accused of the assassination of several other Iranian scientists. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu had mentioned Dr. Mohsen’s name in a presentation in April 2018, accusing him of heading Iran’s “clandestine nuclear program”.

Israel was also accused of the killing of Iran’s nuclear scientist Majid Shahriari in 2010.

Reacting to the assassination, Iranian Revolutionary Guard’s Corps (IRGC) commander Major General Hossein Salami warned of harsh revenge against those responsible for the act. The Iranian interior ministry launched an investigation to identify the culprits.
International Reactions

Meanwhile, several international groups, institutions and activists have issued statements offering condolences and some of them even called the assassination of Dr. Mohsen an act of terror. The groups included Yemen’s Ansar Allah and Palestine’s The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) which called Dr. Mohsen a “martyr”.

Senior Swedish politician Carl Bildt called the assassination a plot to derail the possibilities of betterment of Iran-US relations after the election of Joe Biden as president. Biden has promised to re-join the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) from which Donald Trump had withdrawn in 2018. The deal has been opposed by Israel and Saudi Arabia who have also expressed their reservations regarding Biden’s promise to re-join it.

United Nation’s expert on extrajudicial, summary and arbitrary executions, Agnes Callamard, called the assassination of Dr. Mohsen an act of terror and a violation of the UN charter which prohibits use of force extraterritorially.




Several human rights and peace activists have condemned the act. CODEPINK, a US-based peace group, issued a statement on its Twitter handle calling the act an Israeli attempt to incite a war with Iran before Trump leaves office.




Medea Benjamin, co-founder of the CODEPINK, asked president elect Joe Biden to “walk the talk” and condemn the assassination of Dr. Mohsen in a tweet on Saturday.




UN secretary general António Guterres issued a statement asking for restraint and avoiding any action which can lead to the escalation of tensions in the region.