E-mails reveal: 'Belgium made sure Saudis knew it voted regime onto U.N. women’s rights commission'

Belgian Foreign Min Reynders on the right

Leaked e-mails: Belgium made sure Saudis knew it voted regime onto U.N. women’s rights commission. (UN Watch).

Scandal: internal emails reveal that Belgium instructed its diplomats to vote Saudi Arabia onto the U.N. women’s rights commission — and to make sure the fundamentalist regime knew of Belgium’s support.

New elements calling Belgian FM Reynders into question.

April 28, 2017 – At least nine hours passed between the time when the cabinet of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was informed of the request of a vote at the United Nations Commission for Women’s Rights and the time when it was answered, as confirmed Friday by the Ecologists’ party, based on internal emails.

According to the Green Party, the Belgian delegation to the United Nations in New York informed the cabinet of Didier Reynders on April 9 at 12:33 a.m. of the request for a vote from the United Stations about the entry of Saudi Arabia into the commission. The response was sent at 3:34 p.m. Uncertainty remains about the way the time delay should be considered, but at the very least, nine hours had passed.

“This gives a false image of the foreign office”

According to these documents, the cabinet’s reply, written in the first person, mentions the following elements. The “clean slate” procedures should be followed and Belgium should therefore provide its support to the candidates for the various positions during the secret vote. Furthermore, the delegation was requested to inform the various candidates, including Saudi Arabia, of this support if possible.

According to the minutes from a meeting that took place at the foreign office yesterday (see the tweet from Kristof Calvo below), the administration complained about the communication about this affair and implied that Reynders was indeed aware of it. “Some press information insinuates that our Permanent Mission in New York may have acted on its own initiative, and that the Ministry may have not been aware of it. This give a false image of the foreign office as a completely uncontrolled organization.” Read the full story here.

Update :  

Belgian FM @dreynders: We voted Saudis onto UN women's rights commission to try and make them into better feminists.https://t.co/WDMB3HDHcQ pic.twitter.com/Pu1h4A7YtP

— Hillel Neuer (@HillelNeuer) May 1, 2017

                          Hmmm.......Didier Reynders met Saudi Prince sought by Interpol

Who's Who at the UN........See below

Video - Iraqi federal police freed 11-years-old Yazidi girl from ISIS Captivity in west Mosul.

Two transgender Pakistanis tortured to death in Saudi Arabia.

Two transgender Pakistanis tortured to death in Saudi Arabia. (ET).

Two transgender persons, both natives of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), died on Tuesday after being subjected to torture allegedly by Saudi police in Riyadh for dressing up as women in public.

Thirty-five transgender people were arrested by a law enforcement agency for cross-dressing, which is a punishable offence in the kingdom.

A rest house was raided where a ‘Guru Chela Chalan’ gathering, a formal meeting of Khuwaja Sara in which they choose their Guru (leader) and Chelas (Students), was taking place.

Amna, 35, who belonged to the Mingora area of Swat and Meeno, 26, who was from Peshawar died in police custody. 

The police allegedly packed them in sacks and thrashed them with sticks in prison.

Colonel Fawaz bin Jameel alMaiman, the police’s media spokesperson in Riyadh, told a local news agency that the field-control management had the site under constant surveillance. Women’s clothing and jewellery were also recovered from the rest house.

He added that the 35 people inside had been apprehended.

“Majority of the arrested, belong to K-P and the others from other cities of Pakistan. Torturing humans after throwing them into bags and beating them with sticks is inhumane,” said Qamar Naseem, a transgender rights activist.

While 11 were released later after paying a fine of 150,000 riyals, 22 are still in police custody, Naseem added.

The suffering ended for these two after being physically tortured, however, the rest are still languishing in Saudi jails, he added.

”No one is there to save them as the life of a transgender is not of any value to anyone, not even for our own government,” he lamented.

Naseem said that the National Commission for Human Rights had been contacted and they are awaiting their response. Read the full story here.

Turkish Human Rights Association IHD: "We are experiencing the worst period for human rights in Turkey".

Turkish Human Rights Association IHD: "We are experiencing the worst period for human rights in Turkey". (ANF).

IHD Co-chair Öztürk Türkdoğan: “We are experiencing the worst period for human rights. We are facing developments that never should have happened in a country that claims it’s democratic.”

Human Rights Association (Insan Hakları Derneği - IHD) Co-chairs Eren Keskin and Öztürk Türkdoğan met with the press in a breakfast in Cezayir Conference Hall. IHD Deputy Co-chair Gülseren Yoleri and Executive Committee members Mukaddes Şamiloğlu, Osman İşçi, Selahattin Okçuoğlu and Hatice Kalpaklı were also in the meeting.

IHD Co-chair Öztürk Türkdoğan called Turkey’s current situation an “autocracy” and said that Turkey is governed by a de facto presidential system. Türkdoğan pointed out that Turkey is being governed by an administrative model outside its constitution and added: “This actually shows that democracy has been shelved. We are experiencing the worst period for human rights. We are facing developments that never should have happened in a country that claims it’s democratic.”

Türkdoğan said IHD pushed for a democratic Constitution since the day it was founded, and added:

“Until the Constitution in Turkey brings freedom of expression and gender equality, until it solves the Kurdish issue, until it brings true freedom of faith and religion, it is not possible for us to support such propositions. The constitutional amendment proposed today will not only not solve these problems, but it will make them more chronic and turn the administration absolutely autocratic. We state once more that we don’t support this. Other than the eclipse of reason, we are talking about an absolutely irrational constitutional amendment. This is a group of people pushing their political stance on all of us.”

Türkdoğan also pointed out the following: “The dialogue started, but it never could turn into negotiations. On one hand, there is the ongoing war, and on the other, there are the amendments that will guarantee the administrators themselves. The most important issue Turkey is facing is the Kurdish issue. The political power doesn’t want there to be a discussion on peace. This is unacceptable. Thus, we have to continue talking about peace under such conditions. In this sense, we will continue our efforts.

Do you know that there are 12 soldiers and police officers PKK is holding hostage now? The President announced this as 31. The detention time for these people is getting longer and longer. There is no explanation on this matter by the political power. Think of a country that is as insensitive as this about their own officers. We have shown initiative to ensure these people are released and a return to peace.”

“Currently, we are under the State of Emergency rule. It is pretty unlawful. Definitions outside our punishment and discipline legislation were brought in with the Statutory Decrees. The political power can define whatever framework they want,” said Öztürk Özdoğan and stressed that the Council of Europe should object these Statutory Decrees. Türkdoğan added that the tolerance the Council of Europe shows Turkey causes an increase in rights violations.

Türkdoğan also touched upon the detentions and arrests targeting the Peoples’ Democratic People (Halkların Demokratik Partisi - HDP) and Democratic Regions Party (Demokratik Bölgeler Partisi - DBP) and said: “There are close to 5 thousand arrested politicians. In Turkey, if you are aligned with the governing party, there is the will of the people, but if you’re in the opposition, there is no will of the people. The will of the Kurd is void, but the will of AKP voters is valid.” Türkdoğan stated that the pressure on the Kurdish politicians should be lifted.

Türkdoğan also spoke on the referendum process and said they foresee that the referendum will be held under strict “security” precautions with police and soldiers stockpiled. Türkdoğan warned that these extreme precautions may be provocative and stated that they will be election observers as an association in places with their branches and representatives, and that they will invite international committees.

Türkdoğan said the election process should be observed and added: “What we want is the referendum to be held in an atmosphere of ballot safety, and the election observation obstacle to be lifted for NGOs.”

Speaking after, IHD Co-chair Eren Keskin pointed out the rights violations in prisons and said: “Especially, cameras are set up in women’s wards. They can’t even fulfill their private needs.” Keskin stated that the most fundamental problem in Turkey is militarism and continued: “Militarism doesn’t mean that the soldiers are in government. It means it is organized in every aspect of life. Up to now, I have never seen a period of time when militarism was so widespread in society.”


Türkdoğan answered the question “What will happen when the outcome of the referendum is Yes or No?” and said: “Turkey will enter a new era. The peace table will certainly be set up to solve the Kurdish issue. Because this is now imposing itself and has become an international problem. If the outcome is Yes, or if it’s No, Turkey’s new constitution will be written at the peace table. This constitution is a move by the government. I believe in Turkey’s peoples’ commitment to democracy.”

Two Saudi Women Sentenced to 20 Lashes each for Using ‘Obscene Words’ on WhatsApp.

Two Saudi Women Sentenced to 20 Lashes each for Using ‘Obscene Words’ on WhatsApp. (IFP).

Saudi Al-Watan newspaper reported that one of the young women came to the Criminal Court in Jeddah and accused the other of using abusive expressions during their WhatsApp conversation. She then showed her phone at the Court’s request to prove her words.

During the next session, the court confirmed that the woman had indeed sent obscene messages to the other, but the defendant said she was not the first to start the hassle and showed a message which she received from her counterpart two months ago. 

The court then referred the case to a higher instance and one month later, the judge decided that the two girls were equally guilty and punished both of them. The women will spend 10 days in prison and receive 20 lashes each. Both of them could face a much more severe punishment if the incident is repeated, a source close to the investigation told the newspaper.

According to a report covered by YJC, Saudi Arabia has been repeatedly criticized by human rights groups for violating human rights, including public be-headings and floggings, discrimination against women and restrictions on freedom of expression. Hmmm.....Good luck To the UN Human rights council, if they have to lash each  woman that uses obscene words.

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Iran: Three Christians sentenced to 80 lashes by Sharia court for drinking communion wine.

Iran: Three Christians sentenced to 80 lashes by Sharia court for drinking communion wine. (Express).

Yaser Mosibzadeh, Saheb Fadayee and Mohammed Reza Omidi will be flogged in public after being arrested at a house church gathering in Rasht, Iran, earlier this year.

The trio spent weeks in prison before finally being released on bail, but will now be subjected to the cruel and degrading punishment after being found guilty by Islamist judges. 

Security agents also raided the home of their pastor Yousef Nadarkhani and his wife Fatemeh Pasandideh and arrested them at the same time, but they were not detained.

Iranian authorities later charged converts Mosibzadeh, Fadayee and Omidi for consuming alcohol during a communion service.

It is not illegal for Christians to drink alcohol in Iran but under Islamic law, Muslims are forbidden from drinking and it is illegal for Muslims to convert. 

The trio’s conversion from Islam to Christianity is not recognized by Iranian authorities who subscribe to Sharia law.

An Iranian court sentenced the trio to 80 lashes each as punishment for their actions.

Many people faint after eight strokes due to the severe pain of the barbaric corporal punishment, which was commonplace in the Middle Ages.

The group, alongside Nadarkhani, are also due to be sentenced for “action against national security” at a later date at the Revolutionary Court in Rasht.

Lawyers for the Christians are planning to appeal the flogging punishment, according to Middle East Concern.

Christian charity Release International is calling for the Iranian authorities to allow its citizens to choose their own faith and to acquit the group. 

Release Chief Executive Paul Robinson said: “Why should Christians be lashed for taking communion?

“Why is Iran refusing to allow its own citizens that most basic of all freedoms, the freedom to choose their own faith?

“These men have chosen to call themselves Christians. The state should respect that.”

Christian charity Release International is calling for the Iranian authorities to allow its citizens to choose their own faith and to acquit the group.

Release Chief Executive Paul Robinson said: “Why should Christians be lashed for taking communion?

“Why is Iran refusing to allow its own citizens that most basic of all freedoms, the freedom to choose their own faith?  “These men have chosen to call themselves Christians. The state should respect that.”

Related French: 

http://www.christianophobie.fr/breves/iran-trois-chretiens-condamnes-a-80-coups-de-fouet

http://www.christianophobie.fr/breves/iran-le-pasteur-nadarkhani-libere-mais#.WDBS6H1rX2Y

Hmmm........Outrage by EU politicians.......? Crickets.

New rule of law index is out. 'Islamist Dictatorship' Turkey ranks 99 out of 113 countries.

New rule of law index is out. 'Islamist Dictatorship' Turkey ranks 99 out of 113 countries. (worldjusticeproject).

Hmmmm........

'The war on Christianity' - 743 Christians Attacked by Muslims in German Refugee Camps in 2016.

'The war on Christianity' - 743 Christians Attacked by Muslims in German Refugee Camps. (Voiceofthepercecuted).

As Voice of the Persecuted has reported in the past, Christians fleeing violence are persecuted in Europe’s refugee centers.

(CBN) A new report from a coalition of Christians groups in Germany has found that 743 Christians and 10 Yezidis were victims of religiously motivated attacks in refugee camps so far this year.

The report comes from Open Doors Germany, AVC (Action on Behalf of Persecuted Christians and the Needy), IGFM (International Society for Human Rights), Aid to the Church in Need, and ZOCD (Central Council of Oriental Christians in Germany).

“The situation of Christian refugees in German refugee shelters is still unbearable. As a minority they are discriminated against, beaten up by and receive death threats from Muslim refugees and partly by the Muslim staff (security, interpreters, volunteers) on grounds of their religion,” the report says.

The Christian groups believe attacks on Christians are even more widespread than the number of reported incidents.

They call the survey, “the tip of the iceberg in regard to the number of religiously motivated attacks on Christian refugees and other religious minorities.”

“It must be assumed that there is a high number of unreported cases,” they conclude. “Effective measures for the protection of religious minorities (in refugee camps have) yet to be implemented.”

Video - Children working 60 hrs a week in Sweatshops from Turkey, unethical & unfair competition towards the EU

BBC vid of Syrian refugee children (from Aleppo) working 60 hrs a week in Turkish factories. pic.twitter.com/KuNLlcbt5G

— Rojava (@AzadiRojava) October 28, 2016

BBC vid of Syrian refugee children (from Aleppo) working 60 hrs a week in Turkish factories. 

And the EU[nuchs] in the EU parliament want this to become part of the European market!

Tehran says not to authorize the European Union to open an office in Iran.

Tehran says not to authorize the European Union to open an office in Iran. (Taz).

Iran will not authorize the European Union to open an office in Tehran, said Human Rights Staff Chief Mohammad Javad Larijani in reference to a recent EU strategy resolution on Iran.

Such an office will be a “house of corruption, and the Judiciary will not allow such a thing,” he said, ISNA news agency reported October 26.

“The report has many problems,” Larijani said, adding, “The EU is not entitled to tell us we have to mend ourselves.”

The statements come a day after the Iranian Foreign Ministry hailed the EU’s resolution on “normalization of ties with Iran.”


“This issue [passing the resolution] demonstrates the positive will of the EU towards expansion and deepening of bilateral ties with Iran in all spheres,” Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qasemi said.

Turkey: Emergency Decrees Facilitate Torture! Human rights watch reports.

Turkey: Emergency Decrees Facilitate Torture! Human rights watch reports.  (HRW).

Istanbul – Turkish police have tortured and otherwise ill-treated individuals in their custody after emergency decrees removed crucial safeguards in the wake of a failed coup attempt in July, 2016, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today.

The 43-page report, “A Blank Check: Turkey’s Post-Coup Suspension of Safeguards Against Torture,” documents how the weakening of safeguards through decrees adopted under the state of emergency has negatively affected police detention conditions and the rights of detainees.

It details 13 cases of alleged abuse, including stress positions, sleep deprivation, severe beatings, sexual abuse, and rape threats, since the coup attempt.


“By removing safeguards against torture, the Turkish government effectively wrote a blank check to law enforcement agencies to torture and mistreat detainees as they like,” said Hugh Williamson, Europe and Central Asia. Read the full report here. Download report PDF here.

Video - Pakistani Policeman Slaps Female Anchor During Live Report.

Video - Pakistani Policeman Slaps Female Journalist During Live Report. (Sputnik).

Saima Kanwal, reporter with Pakistani news channel K-21 was doing a live report on the problems faced by the peoples at the Nadra registration center in Karachi when a Pakistani Frontier Constabulary trooper deployed as a guard slapped her face.

Frontier Constabulary personnel first tried to stop the news reporter Saima Kanwal from entering the premises of the Nadra registration office and then the guards tried to stop the cameraman from taking the video footage of the office area.

Meanwhile, Saima Kanwal started asking questions with the security guard about why he had been misbehaving with the women present at the registration office then suddenly one of the Frontier Constabulary guard slapped her very hard and also fired his gun in the air. Read the full story here.

Turkey’s National 'Islamist' Police reportedly establish special torture unit following coup attempt.

Turkey’s National 'Islamist' Police reportedly establish special torture unit following coup attempt. (TurkeyPurge).

With allegations of ill-treatment of Turkey’s post-coup detainees becoming more widespread with every passing day, TR724 has claimed that the National Police Department has set up a torture unit in order to deal with alleged coup plotters.

Independent news portal TR724 on Monday published the fourth part in a series on the re-emergence of torture in Turkey’s detention centers following a failed coup on July 15.

Unlike the other previously published installments, the fourth part focuses on the identities of the police officers who were specifically assigned to be responsible for torturing detainees in the aftermath of the putsch.

While the personal accounts of the victims and their families have been used as the primary sources for the revelations so far, TR724 stated that the social media posts of those who were involved in torture were referenced in this instance.

U.Ö and A.K., two chief inspectors in Ankara and İstanbul, respectively, were specially tasked with torturing soldiers allegedly involved in the July 15 coup attempt, the news portal claimed.

Participating in the interrogation of Gen. Akın Öztürk, one of the alleged leaders of the coup who was photographed after having been beaten, U.Ö also tortured several detainees by inserting bottles in their anuses, TR724 alleged, backing up its claims with the officer’s own statements.

Several S.A.T. commandos, meanwhile, were tortured for days by A.K. who drove them to forested land in İstanbul instead of a police station after they were detained following the July 15 coup attempt, according to the media outlet.

Anti-Smuggling and Organized Crime Department heads C.T., R.A.T., M.B., S.Y., M.T.G. and T.K. in Antalya were also involved in torture by inserting bottles in detainees’ anuses, the news platform stated.

Among other department heads who reportedly tortured detained judges, prosecutors and soldiers in İstanbul are F.A., A.S., İ.G., M.S., H.K., C.A. and Ö.F.G.

S.G., G.G. and E.A. from the Çanakkale Police Department’s Organized Crime Unit forced a detained woman to take off her headscarf, while the same staff also tortured detained academic S.T. to force him to plead guilty.

Related: Turkey removes evidence of torture, maltreatment in prisons ahead of ‘Committee for the Prevention of Torture’ visit

Tortured detainee would choose 50 years in prison over return to custody in Turkey

Transgender woman's Burned & mutilated body found in 'Islamist' Turkey.

Transgender woman's Burned & mutilated body found in 'Islamist' Turkey. (Mirror).

 The badly-burned body of a young transgender woman who went missing last week has been found BURNT by the side of a road in Istanbul.

It is the latest in a series of hate crimes in Turkey shocking the LGBT and international community.
Sex worker Hande Kader was last seen getting into a client's car - and her partner raised the alarm and filed a missing persons' report when she did not return last week.

Despite being badly mutilated, the 22-year-old's body - found in the upmarket neighbourhood of Zekeriyakoy - was finally identified by prosthetics at the city morgue.

Politically active, Kader had been photographed participating in protests and demonstrations for LGBT rights.

The chilling incident comes less than two weeks after the murder and decapitation of a gay Syrian refugee just a few miles from where Kader's body was found.

Although Turkey is traditionally seen as one of the most tolerant countries in the region, a recent poll by PEW Research Centre showed that almost 80% of Turks believe homosexuality is "morally unacceptable". Hmmm....lets give those 80% = 64 Million free visa travel to Europe. Read the full story here.

Related: August 04 2016. Turkey - Gay Syrian refugee murdered and decapitated in Istanbul.

Sound cloud: Here are Stories from real Saudi women on Guardianship Law, StopEnslavingSaudiWomen.

Sound cloud: Here are Stories from real Saudi women on Guardianship Law, StopEnslavingSaudiWomen .HT And Source: The JihadComplex.

Saudi Woman pleading tears for help to end Guardianship Law#سعوديات_نطالب_باسقاط_الولايه23#StopEnslavingSaudiWomen pic.twitter.com/QrY1hsIauO

— Isaac Cohen (@IHWCo) August 13, 2016

Turkey - Gay Syrian refugee murdered and decapitated in Istanbul.

Turkey - Gay Syrian refugee murdered and decapitated in Istanbul. (lgbtinewsturkey).

Syrian gay refugee Muhammed Wisam Sankari left his house in Aksaray on the night of 23 July. He was found dead in Yenikapi on 25 July. He was beheaded and his body mutilated beyond identification. Wisam’s killers have not been caught. Wisam, who was previously threatened, kidnapped by a crowded group of men, and raped, was trying to go to another country as a refugee because his life was in danger. After the murder, we listened to Wisam’s housemates Rayan, Diya and Gorkem tell us about what Wisam went through, what it is like to be an LGBTI refugee in Turkey, and the problems refugees face. They spoke to KaosGL.org about the murder that was so clearly in the making, how the authorities did not take any preventive measures, and their anxieties about “who is next”.

Rayan, who has known Wisam for a year, says “He was feeling very insecure recently. When we asked him, he would not tell us much” and explains that Wisam had been threatened and kidnapped before. He said they had difficulties even walking on the streets of Aksaray where they lived and where crowded male groups wielding knives had threatened them several times, saying they wanted to rape them. According to Rayan, Wisam experienced the following:

“We were staying in a different house before and we had to leave that house just because we are gay. People around would constantly stare at us. We did not do anything immoral? About five months ago, a group kidnapped Wisam in Fatih. They took him to a forest, beat him and raped him. They were going to kill him but Wisam saved himself by jumping at the road. We complained to the Police Headquarters but nothing happened.”

Gorkem is also Wisam’s friend and he was among the people who went to identify the body after Wisam was killed. Gorkem tells the story of Wisam’s disappearance and the news of his death in tears:

“That night Wisam left the house. We were already anxious because of the threats. We told him not to go but he said he was going out for 15-20 minutes. He didn’t come home all night. The next day, we panicked when we couldn’t reach him. We went to the Association for Solidarity with Asylum Seekers and Migrants (ASAM). They directed us to Fatih Police Headquarters. We did not even know how to get there or what to say.
“On Sunday police called us. We went to Yenikapi with Rayan. They had cut Wisam violently. So violent that two knives had broken inside him. They had beheaded him. His upped body was beyond recognition, his internal organ were out. We could identify our friend from his pants.”

Diya says they live in fear and with the thought of “who is next” following Wisam’s death and says they are afraid to go out on the street:

“I am so scared. I feel like everyone is staring at me on the street. I was kidnapped twice before. They let me go in Cerkezkoy and I barely got home one time. I went to the UN for my identification but they did not even respond to that. No one cares about us. They just talk. I get threats over the phone. I speak calmly so something does not happen. It does not matter if you are Syrian or Turkish, if you are gay you are everyone’s target. They want sex from you and when you don’t they just tag along. I don’t have identification, who would protect me? Who is next?”

Hmmm........2013:  Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan called homosexuality a “sexual preference” and said it conflicted with the “culture of Islam,”

Video - Iraqi Ayatollah Al-Haeri: People Who Will Oppose the Mahdi Will Become Slaves or Slave Girls, Who Can Be Lent Out to Friends.

ISIS, Iraqi Government Forces Have Record of Laws of War Violations. HRW.

ISIS, Iraqi Government Forces Have Record of Laws of War Violations. HRW. (HRW).

Use of Child Soldiers.

ISIS and the PMF use children in their ranks. A man who fled Ramadi in May 2015, when ISIS controlled the city, said ISIS recruited children as young as 7 through the mosque or by force:

“Whoever had four sons had to give two to ISIS,” he said. “Whoever had three or two sons, had to give one.”

In August 2015, Human Rights Watch interviewed two children who managed to flee an ISIS training camp for over 340 children in Tel Afar. They said teachers trained older children in religious studies and boys aged 14 and over in combat. In Syria, ISIS and other groups used children in combat.

ISIS also prevents civilians from fleeing. In Fallujah, ISIS executed people trying to flee in March 2016, a lawyer in Baghdad who had a first-hand account told Human Rights Watch. Several people fleeing the Hawija area, in Kirkuk governorate, said that ISIS has mined fields to prevent people leaving, and executed people caught trying to escape. 

A young man fleeing Atshana village in Kirkuk, in September 2015, said ISIS shot at his group as they made a dash for the Kurdish front lines. Human Rights Watch spoke with several people who said that ISIS is not allowing anyone, including civilians, to leave Mosul at present. 

A civilian from ISIS-controlled Ba’aj, a town 160 kilometers west of Mosul, told Human Rights Watch that he had to pretend his wife was sick to be allowed to leave in May 2015. He said ISIS burned the car of another family because they tried to flee the town, warning them they would be killed if they tried again.

ISIS forces, in August 2014, attacked the city of Sinjar and surrounding areas in Ninewa province inhabited by many from the Yezidi religious minority. ISIS enslaved more than a thousand Yezidi women and girls and executed many Yezidi men.

An Annex on Military Matters of the Islamic State, a manual for its commanders, lists among the necessary attributes of an Islamic State commander, that he “observ[e] the rulings of war in their entirety” without specifying the nature of ISIS’ understanding of those rules. Read the full story here.

Bangladesh Supreme Court to discuss abandoning Islam as State religion.

Bangladesh Supreme Court to discuss abandoning Islam as State religion. (AsiaNews).

Bangladesh’s Supreme Court has begun hearings to decide whether to eliminate Islam as the State religion. The initiative stems from a petition submitted by writers, educators and activists, with the goal of reducing violence by Islamic radicals against religious minorities.

The Christian community has welcomed the overall proposal. The Muslim community is instead divided between those who believe it legitimate in a country where Muslims account for 90% of the population, and who believes that the state should "represent all citizens equally".

In 1988 with the eighth amendment, the military authorities in Bangladesh inscribed Islam as the official religion in the Constitution. In the first basic charter of 1971, drafted upon independence from Pakistan, the confessional element was absent.

According to the petitioners in recent months, the Islamic religion has been used to "justify" a series of violent acts and discrimination against Christians, Hindus and Shiites.

Minorities are the target of ruthless fundamentalists attacking Christians private property, churches and Hindu priests, as well as bloggers, writers and activists guilty of being "atheists".

The minorities feel like "third class citizens, abandoned by the authorities." This is why they decided to challenge the legality of the eighth amendment.

Speaking to AsiaNews, Rosaline Costa, Catholic activist and coordinator of Hotline Human Rights Bangladesh, says: "In a State one religion should not prevail. I believe there should be equal rights for all faiths. If the High Court is considering whether to eliminate Islam in the Constitution, this means that we can all ask the Government for the same rights".

"Our people - she adds - can no longer be attacked by Islamic radicals and justice will be done more easily, because in that case we will be regarded as victims of crimes".

The Muslim world is divided on the issue. Mahammad Hasan, a university student, says: "I would not welcome the elimination of Islam as the state religion. 90% of the population is Muslim, and so it is right that Islam is the religion of our state".

Yousuf Rahman is of a different opinion. He tells AsiaNews: "I believe that there should not be no state religion, because people with different faiths live in the country. It is a country for all its citizens. I would be pleased if the Supreme Court delivers a verdict against Islam as the official religion".


Rosaline Costa concludes: "No progressive nation has an official religion. If a state belongs to one confession, this creates barriers to harmony between its communities".

'Refugee children are being raped in camp of the Calais Jungle' say aid workers.

Rigid Muslim socieites have the highest rape scales in the world – Study

'Refugee children are being raped in camp of the Calais Jungle' say aid workers. (Independent).

Medical volunteers say they have treated seven boys aged between 14 and 16 in the past six months.

Teenage boys are being raped in the Calais Jungle, aid workers have claimed, amid concerns over the lack of child protection measures in place in the refugee camp – and the risks of abuse facing thousands of displaced children across the continent.

Medical volunteers helping those camped outside the French town told The Independent they have treated seven boys aged between 14 and 16 in the past six months. who claimed to have been raped. They all had injuries consistent with these claims.

In four cases, the boys required surgery. Only one attended hospital, however, with the others refusing treatment for fear of repercussions or through shame at having been abused. Read the full story here.