Bahrain foils huge terrorist plot backed by Iran: Report
Terrorist Qassem Soleimani Brigade disbanded, planned to blow up public facilities
Published: September 21, 2020
Samir Salama, Associate Editor
Manama, Bahrain
Abu Dhabi: The Bahraini Ministry of Interior has thwarted a huge terrorist plot in the Kingdom that received support and funding from fugitives in Iran, and elements of the terrorist Revolutionary Guard, local media reported.
The Bahraini newspaper, Akhbar Al Khaleej, which reported the news on Sunday, said that search and investigation operations revealed that terrorist elements in Iran had begun forming a new terrorist organisation under the name of the Qassem Soleimani Brigade.
The newspaper pointed out that the terrorist organisation had drawn up a plan to blow up a number of public and security facilities in Bahrain, in addition to monitoring a number of private guards for important figures in the Kingdom with the aim of assassinating them, in response to the killing of Qassem Soleimani.
Ahead of FATF meet, Pakistan continues
to treat 21 dreaded terrorists as VIPs
Sources said that the international community is concerned about the hypocrisy of Pakistan which is pretending to take action against terrorists but is funding them
September 21, 2020
Business Standard
In a big revelation exposing the double standards of Pakistan, the country, despite the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) sword hanging over its head, continues to harbour terrorists and is giving VIP treatment to many of them including underworld don Dawood Ibrahim and Pakistan-based Khalistan Zindabad Force (KZF) terrorist Ranjeet Singh Neeta, according to ANI.
Sources said that the international community is concerned about the hypocrisy of Pakistan which is pretending to take action against terrorists but is funding them.
According to the sources, the Pakistan government is giving VIP security to 21 dreaded terrorists including those sanctioned last month.
The Financial Action Task Force, also known by its French name, Groupe d'action financière, is an intergovernmental organisation founded in 1989 on the initiative of the G7 to develop policies to combat money laundering. In 2001, its mandate was expanded to include terrorism financing. Wikipedia
Ethiopia charges prominent critic with terrorism-related offences
Jawar Mohammed was arrested in July during protests over killing of singer-activist
The Associated Press
September 19
Ethiopia has charged its most prominent opposition figure, Jawar Mohammed, and 23 others with terrorism-related offences, telecom fraud and other crimes, the attorney general's office announced Saturday. They could face life in prison if convicted.
They are scheduled to appear in court on Monday. The charges relate to deadly violence that erupted in July in parts of the capital, Addis Ababa, and the Oromia region after the killing of singer Hachalu Hundessa, a prominent voice in anti-government protests that led to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed coming to power in 2018.
Authorities said more than 180 people were killed in July's unrest.
Jawar, a media mogul-turned-politician, has huge support among youth in the Oromia region and returned to Ethiopia after Abiy took office and urged exiles to come home amid sweeping political reforms that led to him receiving the Nobel Peace Prize last year.
The Oromo make up Ethiopia's largest ethnic group but had never held the country's top post until they helped bring Abiy to power. Now ethnic tensions and intercommunal violence are posing a growing challenge to his reforms.
Jawar has become fiercely critical of the Ethiopian leader, most recently over the postponement of the general election once planned for August because of the coronavirus pandemic. The government's mandate expires late next month, and a new election date has not been set.
Jawar has been detained since he and several thousand people were arrested during the July violence. His lawyers have repeatedly asserted he was locked up because of his political views and have called for his release.
His lawyer, Tuli Bayissa, told The Associated Press that the charges astonished the legal team, and he couldn't comment on them because he found out only by reading the official announcement on social media.
"This is unethical. I haven't heard anything like this," he said. He expects to receive details at Monday's court appearance.
Human rights groups have warned that such arrests show that Abiy's political reforms are slipping.
Youth in Oromia have staged a number of recent protests calling for the release of political prisoners, including one in late August that left "scores" of people dead, according to the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission and witnesses who spoke to the AP.
Abiy, in an opinion piece published this week in The Economist, wrote that "individuals and groups, disaffected by the transformations taking place, are using everything at their disposal to derail them. They are harvesting the seeds of inter-ethnic and inter-religious division and hatred." He rejected "dangerous demagogues."
The prime minister also acknowledged alleged abuses by security forces during the bouts of unrest, saying that "given the institutions we have inherited, we realize that law-enforcement activities entail a risk of human-rights violations and abuse." Security reforms take time, he said.
Senior ISIS terrorist jailed for over 12 years in Turkey
SAKARYA, Turkey
A Turkish court on Sept. 18 sentenced a senior member of the ISIL terrorist group to over 12 years in prison.
The 2nd High Criminal Court in Turkey’s northwestern Sakarya province ordered 12-years-and-six-months jail term for the so-called high-ranking Daesh militant Halis Bayancuk, also known by his codename Abu Hanzala.
Bayancuk was charged with forming and managing an armed terrorist organization.
Turkey was one of the first countries to declare ISIL a terror group in 2013.
The country has since been attacked by ISIL terrorists multiple times. The terror group has carried out at least 10 suicide bombings, seven bomb attacks, and four armed attacks, killing 315 people and injuring hundreds more.
In response, Turkey launched anti-terror operations at home and abroad to prevent further attacks.
Switzerland: Draft anti-terrorism law sets ‘dangerous precedent’, rights experts warn
The Swiss parliament building in the capital, Bern.Unsplash/Claudio Schwarz
11 September 2020
Human Rights
A proposed new anti-terrorism law in Switzerland could set a dangerous precedent for the suppression of political dissent worldwide, a group of five independent UN human rights experts warned on Friday.
The draft legislation, currently before the Swiss Parliament, expands the definition of terrorism and no longer requires the prospect of any crime at all, they said, in a plea for a last-minute reversal by legislators.
‘Expansive’ definition of terrorism
Citing international standards, the experts defined terrorism as the intimidation or coercion of populations or governments through violence that causes death or serious injury, or the taking of hostages.
Under the bill, “terrorist activity” may encompass even lawful acts aimed at influencing or modifying the constitutional order, such as legitimate activities of journalists, civil society and political activists.
“Expanding the definition of terrorism to any non-violent campaign involving the spreading of fear goes far beyond current Swiss domestic law and violates international standards”, said the experts, all of whom were appointed by the UN Human Rights Council.
“This excessively expansive definition sets a dangerous precedent and risks serving as a model for authoritarian governments seeking to suppress political dissent including through torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”
Other sections of the draft law have also raised concerns, such as those giving the federal police extensive authority to designate “potential terrorists” and to decide preventive measures against them.
Expertise declined
The rights experts had earlier written to the Swiss authorities, expressing their concerns about the incompatibility of the bill with human rights and international best practices in counter-terrorism. However, no changes were implemented.
“While we recognize the serious security risks posed by terrorism, we very much regret that the Swiss authorities have declined this opportunity to benefit from our technical assistance and expertise on how to combine effective preventive measures with respect for human rights”, they said.
The experts called on Swiss parliamentarians to keep in mind their country’s traditionally strong commitment to human rights, urging them to reject a law which “is bound to become a serious stain on Switzerland’s otherwise strong human rights legacy.”
Role of UN Special Rapporteurs
The five experts are all UN Special Rapporteurs who are mandated to monitor specific country human rights situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world.
They are not UN staff, nor are they paid by the Organization.
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