www.timesonline.co.uk

West Bank torturers funded by Britain

Millions of pounds of British government money is going to Palestinian security forces which use methods of torture including hanging prisoners by their feet and putting them in “stress” positions for hours at a time.

Evidence to be published next month in a report by Human Rights Watch was corroborated last week in interviews by The Sunday Times with victims in the West Bank, ruled by President Mahmoud Abbas’s western-backed Palestinian Authority.

Prisoners who have emerged from Palestinian Authority jails – many of whom have never been charged with any offence or even seen a lawyer – said they had been subjected to mock executions, kicked, punched and beaten with sticks, plastic pipes and hoses.

The disclosures came at the end of a week in which a Berlin conference of 40 donor nations, including Britain, pledged £121m over the next three years to bolster the Palestinian security forces and judicial system in the West Bank.

Of this total, about £20m will come from Britain, which is already committed to spending £2.7m on the training of Palestinian security forces this year. A British brigadier based in the West Bank city of Ramallah is involved in the training. Britain has set aside a further £4.5m for reform, civil justice and public prosecution over the next three years.

A total of £4 billion overall has been promised to the government of Abbas, who is the commander-in-chief of the Palestinian security forces.

Western support for Abbas’s security forces is part of a strategy to isolate Hamas fundamentalists who seized control of Gaza last year.

However, many of those detained on suspicion of links to Hamas described a form of torture called “shabah” in Arabic – being forced to hold stress positions for prolonged periods.

Some have been made to stand with one leg and one arm raised for hours. Others have had to sit on the edge of a chair with their hands tied to their feet.

Amar al-Masri, 43, a Nablus businessman who is married to Kholoud al-Masri, an elected Hamas municipal official, has been held since last month in al-Jenid prison in Nablus. Last Thursday, his son Abdullah, 13, crossed off day 54 on a calendar on the family’s refrigerator.

“What is shocking me is that no charge has been addressed against my husband,” Kholoud said last week, sitting in her home in Nablus, a hijab (head-scarf) covering her hair.

“He is in a Palestinian jail, but we don’t know why.” She has been allowed to visit him only once.

“He said he was hung by his two legs by a rope connected to the ceiling,” Kholoud said. The prisoner’s lawyer said he had seen puffy wrists and legs that supported the testimony, as well as scabs on his legs and hands.

A former prisoner, interviewed at a coffee shop near his third-floor flat in Nablus after he was released at the end of a 50-day spell in prison, described similar experiences.

“They arrested me on fantasy charges that I had rockets,” said the 29-year-old law student, who did not want his name used out of fear the security forces would come after him.

“They tied my hands behind my back, and the rope was connected to a pipe,” he said. “They would stress the rope every 20 seconds. They said if they did it more I would be paralysed.”

He was eventually released without charge. “They [the security forces] told me, ‘You have been steadfast under torture so we have decided you are clean. We will not bother you again.’ ” The Palestinian Authority denied using torture in detention centres. “They are prisoners. We do not give them chocolate and roses,” said Akram Rajoub, head of preventive security in Nablus. “But I can assure you that we don’t use torture methods or shabah methods.”

The Foreign Office expressed concern at the Human Rights Watch revelations.

“The UK is concerned to hear reports of human rights violations in the occupied Palestinian territories,” a spokesman said. “We are committed to reforming the Palestinian security sector.”

British officials confirmed that the aid money pledged last week would be going to the West Bank security forces, which locals said were engaged in a crackdown on their political opponents in Hamas.

Although Hamas, a conservative Islamic party, was elected to power in January 2006, it has been largely shunned by the West because it refuses to recognise Israel or renounce violence.

Palestinian territory is virtually divided by internal disputes; Hamas’s writ runs in Gaza, while Abbas has appointed an emergency government composed mostly of officials from his Fatah party in the West Bank.

A spokesman for the Department for International Development, which administers the funds paid to the Palestinian Authority, confirmed that money was going to West Bank security forces but said some of it would be used to root out abuses.

“People are aware of irregularities in their behaviour . . . and that’s why we are investing in making them a more professional outfit and a more accountable police force,” the department said.

Human Rights Watch last week called for the aid going to the Palestinian Authority security forces to be made conditional on effective efforts to reduce arbitrary arrests and torture and on improving the system of justice.

Obama to Meet His Fans in Europe

By Gregor Peter Schmitz in Palo Alto, California www.spiegel.de

Barack Obama, the man most Europeans would like to see elected the next US president, plans to visit Berlin, Paris and London soon. The Democratic candidate is looking for statesmanlike images to boost his campaign and German politicians will be hoping some of his popularity rubs off on them.

From www.spiegel.de
Here is the story from www.spiegel.de

A study on Islamic preachers in Germany has found that most imams are unable to help Muslim immigrants integrate into mainstream German society because they are insufficiently prepared for their stay in Germany.

According to the study "Imams in Germany," up to 20 percent of preachers belong to the more conservative, fundamentalist strand of Islam. The study also discovered that only one fifth of imam's possess academic qualifications.

The research is the work of a Duisburg social scientist, Rauf Ceylan, the son of Turkish immigrants. To conduct the study he attended religious services in mosques and carried out interviews with Muslim preachers.

According to Ceylan, the religious groups running mosques in Germany were mainly interested in their preachers correctly reciting the Koran. "An examination of the content of the holy book," he said was "not the primary goal."

Ceylan also found that many imams were susceptible to "superficial interpretations" of the Koran, because they lacked a proper academic education. It was not uncommon, Ceylan said, for these lay preachers to be drawn from the ranks of extremists.

Among the preachers who do have an academic qualification, the majority are employed in mosques run by a Turkish umbrella organization, DITIB. According to the study, these elite preachers are the only imams who are in a position to help members of their congregations to integrate.

However, these imams only come to Germany for four years. In the abscence of any exchange of knowledge between those preachers who have considerable experience of Germany and the newcomers, new imams have to start from scratch, the study concluded.

I disagree with the studies conclusion that these Imams Quranic interpretations are "superficial." I believe they are spot on. It's people who want to bury their heads in the sand who say things like that. It's these give peace a chance types that will be the death of us all.
I also think these preachers are well trained in their mission. That being the re-taking of Europe for Islam. They are the first wave of "troops" their to establish the an Islamic beach head in Germany and other countries.

www.compassdirect.org
IRAN: CONVERT COUPLE ARRESTED, TORTURED, THREATENED
Officers seize Christians from their home, leaving ill 4-year-old girl unattended.

LOS ANGELES, June 25 (Compass Direct News) – Security police officials in Tehran this month tortured a newly converted couple and threatened to put their 4-year-old daughter in an institution after arresting them for holding Bible studies and attending a house church.

A Christian source in Iran said that 28-year-old Tina Rad was charged with “activities against the holy religion of Islam” for reading the Bible with Muslims in her home in east Tehran and trying to convert them. Officials charged her husband, 31-year-old Makan Arya, with “activities against national security” after seizing the couple from their home on June 3, forcing them to leave their 4-year-old daughter ill and unattended.

Authorities kept them in an unknown jail for four days, which left them badly bruised from beatings, with Rad “very ill” and unable to walk, said the source. Rad was released on bail of US$30,000 bail, and her husband was freed on payment of US$20,000.

“The next time there may also be an apostasy charge, if you don’t stop with your Jesus,” a female security police officer told Rad during interrogation, according to the source. Under Iran’s strict Islamic laws, Muslims who convert from Islam to another religion can be executed.

A draft law before the Iranian parliament would make the death penalty mandatory for “apostates” who leave Islam.

“They went to a court hearing just for show,” the source said, “as secret police had already taken their signatures by force with a statement that they had not changed their religion.”

The charges, however, are still open, said the source, a close friend of the couple.

The female security police official warned Rad that if she and her husband continued attending a house church and holding Bible studies, they could be imprisoned “for a very long time” and would lose their daughter, Odzhan Arya. An officer also told Rad that authorities could concoct a drug case against them, “and you will be punished as drug smugglers.”

A male security police official also threatened Rad, who along with her husband received Christ as savior about three months ago, the source said.

“He told Tina during the interrogation that if she doesn’t cooperate and tell some names and addresses, she won’t see her daughter for a long time,” the source said. “They said, ‘Next time if we catch you, you are going to miss your whole family forever.’”

An officer also told Arya that authorities could place his daughter “in a protected religious institution.”

The charge against Arya of “activities against national security” was based on his allowing Bible sessions with Muslims in his apartment and trying to go to the house church, the source said.

Confirmation from the couple’s denomination of their arrest and mistreatment was not immediately available.

Forced Statements

The couple was forced to sign a statement, the source said, that they wouldn’t go back to their house church and that they would have no contact with other Christians – and that if they did, “they will be punished by the law of Islam.”

The charges and forced statements seem to contravene the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Iran is a party, giving it the force of law. Article 18 of the covenant stipulates that everyone shall have the right to adopt a religion or belief, as well as freedom individually or in community in public or private to manifest one’s religion or belief in worship, observance, practice and teaching.

The couple would forfeit their bail and their freedom if secret religious police catch them engaged in Christian activities, they were told in the court before their release.

“They were tortured psychologically and physically,” the source said. “There are a lot of blue places on their bodies. Tina can’t walk well and is very ill, and her husband Makan is still very shocked.”

The couple was arrested after a relative of Arya informed security police of the couple’s Christian activities. According to the friend of the couple, officers confiscated their personal computer, satellite dish and television set, as well as all books, videos, CDs, DVDs and even a photo album.

“Tina is very sick, and because of the pain on the right side of her head from the torture, and the shock of the whole situation, she can’t leave the house and their daughter,” the source said. “She knows for sure that they are monitored in all their communications.”

Societal Hostilities

Following their arrest, the husband and wife also suffered at the hands of family and area Muslims.

In order to make the bail payments, Arya obtained financial help from his father – on the condition that he promise to divorce his wife.

“So he did [promise], and now of course he refuses to divorce,” the source said. “So his father gave him an ultimatum. There is discrimination even in the family against them.”

After their release, the couple found the window of their clothing shop had been smashed.

“Almost the whole street knows about them, so imagine how difficult their business is,” said the source. “They want to change the shop and go somewhere else. Every day and night they get some calls from unknown people, and their life at this moment is under invisible and visible surveillance.”

On Monday (June 23) Arya received letters at both the clothing shop and his home stating that he must place evidence on his new window pane indicating his Islamic faith by displaying a statement and photos, or else he would have to buy a new window every day.

The source said Arya displayed a photo of Islamic leaders on the window, “but they want to go somewhere else.”

Arya went to area police asking for protection, the source said, “but they told him not to lie and to ‘go do something about it if you are a real believer of Islam.’”

Arrest them, try them, and then I am sure these idiots will start believing in the death penalty. Note, Spain is "...a member of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague and has adopted a law allowing war crime lawsuits to be filed within its borders. According to the ICC's constitution, any of its members have the universal judicial authority to try suspected war criminals, even if they are in another country." This is what we will get with Obama. Can you imaging U.S. military personal, or Republican politicians, being charged the same way, because that Tool Obama would join the world court. Terrorist, and Obama, the new great evils in the world that need to be defeated. The enemy from within and from without.

www.worldbulletin.net
Israel warns its ministers of being arrested in Spain
A Spanish human rights organization filed a lawsuit last week against Israeli officials involved in the assassination of senior Hamas member Salah Shehade six years ago.
Monday, 30 June 2008 17:00
Israeli Foreign Ministry has warned a number of Israeli officials not to visit Spain after an international arrest warrant was issued against them on charges of committing war crimes in Gaza, Israeli newspaper reported.

A Spanish human rights organization filed a lawsuit last week against Israeli officials involved in the assassination of senior Hamas member Salah Shehade six years ago. Sixteen Palestinians were killed in the airstrike in the heart of Gaza.

The report added nearly all heads of the defense establishment at the time of the assassination are included in the list of defendants: Former Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, former IDF Chief of Staff Lieutenant-General (Res.) Moshe Yaalon, former Shin Bet Director Avi Dichter, former Israel Air Force Commander Dan Halutz, former head of the IDF Operation Branch Major-General (Res.) Giora Eiland, and former Southern Command Chief Doron Almog.

Former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is also on the list. During his tenure as prime minister, Sharon gave the army the green light to assassinate the leader of Hamas' military wing.

Spain is a member of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague and has adopted a law allowing war crime lawsuits to be filed within its borders. According to the ICC's constitution, any of its members have the universal judicial authority to try suspected war criminals, even if they are in another country.

And when they say anti-discrimination group substitute Marxist or Communist group. They had to go somewhere after the Berlin Wall fell.

www.worldbulletin.net
Dutch not to prosecute anti-Islam MP over film

A Dutch anti-discrimination group, The Netherlands Shows its Colours, said it would appeal the prosecutors' decision and wanted a Dutch court to judge Wilders' statements.
Monday, 30 June 2008 17:39
Dutch prosecutors said on Monday they will not take action against a politician who insulted Islam with a film of the Holy Koran because he is protected by so-called "right to free speech".

Prosecutors received dozens of requests for an investigation after anti-immigration politician Geert Wilders produced a film in March, prompting protests and condemnation in Muslim countries.

They had also received complaints about comments Wilders made in newspaper interviews including one in which he compared the holy book Koran to Hitler's Mein Kampf.

"That comments are hurtful and offensive for a large number of Muslims does not mean that they are punishable," Dutch prosecutors said in a statement, adding they saw "no grounds" for prosecuting Wilders for inciting hatred or discrimination.

Wilders' right-wing Freedom Party has nine out of the 150 seats in the Dutch parliament.

"Politicians need to have room to voice their opinions."

The film has sparked calls for boycotts of Dutch products in some Muslim countries.

Wilders welcomed the ruling and said he had been careful to limit his criticism to the religion of Islam and not Muslims, but said he was still concerned about a case Jordan has launched against him.

"I have not crossed the line. I will continue doing what I have done," Wilders told NOS public television.

A Dutch anti-discrimination group, The Netherlands Shows its Colours, said it would appeal the prosecutors' decision and wanted a Dutch court to judge Wilders' statements.

"Wilders and other party members are not only attacking Islam but also Muslims as a group and numerous other minorities," the group said in a statement.

Prosecutors said they are still investigating a Dutch cartoonist, working under the name Gregorius Nekschot, who has published images that mock Islam and Muslims and who was briefly detained in May, a spokeswoman told reporters.

Reuters

And I don't mean by drinking to much beer or eating to much sauerkraut. No, in order to fight the hoax of man made global warming, they want to pump their CO2 gas into the ground. Well I guess it makes sense. They want to give the world gas and we want to give it a bad case of BO.