EU Values - Islamist Turkey building very large prisons for future mass crackdown.

Source quote here

EU Values - Islamist Turkey building very large prisons for future mass crackdown. HT: abdullahbozkurt.

If nothing else, the prison construction frenzy in the last several years by the Islamist ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) government in Turkey is enough evidence by itself to suggest that the current rulers of the nation are intent on cracking down on rights and freedoms, muzzling criticism and stifling dissent by putting critics and opponents behind bars en masse.

The ambitious yet sinister program of upgrading and expanding prisons across the country was undertaken by the government on the calculations that the inmate population would increase dramatically in Turkey.

When asked, officials declined to provide details on how they arrived at these predictions other than saying the crime rate is soaring, prosecution is better, and they are clearing backlogged cases. That is not a real answer and does not explain why the crime rate is on the rise and the backlog is growing despite purported clearance.

The answer lies in the systematic campaign of imprisonment by the government, whose partisan prosecutors overwork day and night to detain anyone deemed a threat to the autocratic regime of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. That led to an unprecedented squeeze on the prison system on the back of the already broken and grossly abused criminal justice system.

It is not only prominent journalists, human rights defenders, leading dissidents, intellectuals or political opposition figures but even ordinary citizens, housewives, people with disabilities and high school students who are being detained by the police in large numbers just because they shared a photograph, posted a message on social media or ran a food drive to benefit a congregation in their neighborhood.

The charges are all the same, ranging from being a member of fictitious terrorist groups to espionage, from coup plotting to smearing public officials — classic symptoms of authoritarian governments. In most cases, government loyalist prosecutors simply Xerox the same charge sheets for dozens or even hundreds of people detained arbitrarily in their offices and homes.

The government’s secret plan to increase the prison population was actually discovered by a delegation from the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) during their visit to Turkey on June 9-21, 2013. The visit came right after the countrywide Gezi Park anti-government protests during which many were arbitrarily detained and charged.

The delegation’s report, later published on the Council of Europe (CoE) website, said “the authorities planned to bring into service 207 new prisons (with an overall capacity of some 125,000 places) by the end of 2017, thereby increasing the total capacity of the Turkish prison estate to some 245,000 places.”

It also noted the government expected the size of the prisoner population to increase to 180,000-190,000 (an incarceration rate of some 250 people per 100,000 inhabitants). The delegation questioned Turkish officials on the spike in the inmate population and how they came to the large figures for the future. The answer was the same as mentioned above. Read the full story here.

 Related: 

'Advanced Islamist Democracy' Turkish prisons crowded with record breaking numbers.

Video - Egyptian Intellectuals on the Plight of Liberals in Egypt: There Can be No Progress without Blasphemy.

Video - Egyptian Intellectuals on the Plight of Liberals in Egypt: There Can be No Progress without Blasphemy. (Memri).

In a recent TV debate, Egyptian intellectuals discussed the plight of liberalism in Egypt. Khaled Muntaser, criticizing Egypt's law against blasphemy, said that "there would have been no progress in the world without the so-called blasphemy," bringing Galileo and Darwin as examples. Maher Samuel made a plea for using one's mind and questioning one's beliefs, saying that "the quest for truth is a moral duty" and that "if it is proven that faith cannot prevail against scientific research, it is not worthy of my belief." He criticized the educational system that has "destroyed the mind" and turned it into "fertile ground for superstition." The debate aired on Egypt's TV channel 1 on February 8, 2016

PMW YouTube account reinstated.

Source

PalWatch got booted off YouTube for exposing Palestinian incitement videos. (JPost)

An NGO media watchdog that monitors Palestinian incitement claimed on Sunday that the video-sharing website YouTube has "terminated" their account after they released a Palestinian Authority broadcast featuring a little girl reciting a provocative anti-Zionist  poem.

The NGO Palestinian Media Watch said in a press release that after they had uploaded a video on Thursday showing a Palestinian girl recite a poem on PA TV which calls for a "war that will smash the oppressor and destroy the Zionist's soul," YouTube terminated the NGO's account for violating their "terms of service."

PMW added that the account contained virtually all of their videos which were no longer accessible. Read the full story here.

Former German police officer Nick Hein says: " Cologne gang has no fear".

Former German police officer Nick Hein says: " Cologne gang has no fear".(smh).

Cologne: With a new police report blaming predominantly north African migrants for the horrific sexual assaults and robberies at Cologne's train station on New Year's Eve, one man is not surprised.

Former police officer Nick Hein says on his facebook page that a migrant crime gang was operating with impunity at the station, in the knowledge that they could not lose their refugee status.

Mr Hein wrote on Facebook on Sunday that he was a policeman for more than 11 years, and in the last three of those he had shifts at the main train station in Cologne.

"It was a special place," he said. "You saw the depths of humanity – drugs, organised theft, asylum seekers and suicide."

But pickpocketing was "by far the biggest crime phenomenon at Cologne central station", he said.

"It was almost always the same group of offenders – north African asylum seekers."

Mr Hein said the obvious question was "how can an asylum seeker commit crimes without fear of being deported"?

The answer, he said, was article 53 of Germany's Residence Act, which allows foreigners to be deported but only in serious cases – crimes punishable by at least three years' imprisonment.

"This is unbelievable to me," Mr Hein wrote. Read the full story here.

Related: Outcry of a young German female police commissioner: 'Male Muslims have no respect for female cops or Authority'.

Isis terrorists executed first female journalist who reported from inside its territory.

We read some newspapers say that Nissan Ibrahim is with our group we want to Confirm that she is not with #RBSS #IS pic.twitter.com/ffNkWHH9le

— Abu Mohammed (@Raqqa_sl1) January 5, 2016

Isis terrorists executed first female journalist who reported from inside its territory. (Independent).

Isis has executed what is believed to be the first female citizen journalist for reporting inside its territory, Syrian media has reported.

The execution of Ruqia Hassan marks the fifth journalist who reported on Isis to be killed since October, according to Syrian journalism organisation Syria Direct.

Ms Hassan, who also went by the pseudonym Nisan Ibrahim on social media, was a independent reporter. Her death was confirmed by Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently (RBSS), a group exposing human rights abuses from within Syria.

Abu Mohammed, founder of RBSS, tweeted on Saturday that Ms Hassan’s last words were: “I’m in Raqqa and I received death threats, and when Isis [arrests] me and kills me it’s ok because they will cut my head and I have dignity its better than I live in humiliation with Isis [sic]”

One of her final posts on Facebook mocks Isis, also known as Islamic State, for banning Wi-Fi hotspots in the city of Raqqa. Her post, translated by Syria Direct, reads: "Go ahead and cut off our internet, our messenger pigeons won't complain."

The exact date of Ms Hassan’s execution is unknown, but her presence on social media stopped abruptly on July 21, 2015. Read the full story here.

German security agencies warn: "Migrants will bring Antisemitism

German security agencies warn: "Migrants will bring Antisemitism. (JPost).

BERLIN – Germany’s security and intelligence agencies expressed alarm over the influx of refugees and migrants who harbor radical Islamic views and hatred of Jews, according to a Sunday report in Welt am Sonntag.

According to a security document obtained by the paper and read by top-level agency personnel, “We are importing Islamic extremism, Arab anti-Semitism, national and ethnic conflicts of other peoples as well as a different societal and legal understanding.”

The document, called “the non-paper” because it was not signed, stated: “German security agencies...will not be in the position to solve these imported security problems and thereby the arising reactions from Germany’s population.” (PEDIGA).

In early October, in a meeting with Chancellor Angela Merkel, the head of Germany’s Central Council of Jews in Germany, Josef Schuster, raised the community’s concern about Jew-hatred from immigrants and refugees from Muslim-majority countries.

He told Die Welt daily, that “among the people, who have sought refuge in Germany, many come from countries in which Israel is an enemy and are raised with this hostility toward Israel.”

He said the migrants “frequently carry over their resentments toward all Jews in general.” Hmmm.........As i warned before .....Prepare for the rise of extreme right all over Europe. Read the full story here.

Related: Outcry of a young German Female commissioner - 'Male Muslims have no respect for female cops or Authority'.

Video - Council of Europe Conference on Freedom of Expression FoE2015 session4 live - ECHR

Bavaria's PM Horst Seehofer is threatening Chancellor Merkel with "self-defense" against refugees.

Bavaria's PM Horst Seehofer is threatening Chancellor Merkel with "self-defense" against refugees.(Sueddeutsche). [GoogleTranslated].

• Bavaria's Prime Minister Horst Seehofer is threatening the Chancellor with "self-defense" against refugees.

• In criminal law, self-defense is something ordinary - in politics is not.

• State of emergency, state of self-defense: This is a threat with funds that come from the thought structure of the absolute state.

Horst Seehofer speaks of "self-defense". Bavaria's Prime Minister says not exactly what he means. He whispered. The CSU leader does not threaten the refugees, as do right-wing extremists; rather it threatens the chancellor, he announced an "effective self-defense" in Bavaria against the further admission of refugees to.

In criminal law, such a self-defense is something ordinary: Someone who is attacked by force, must defend themselves against this violence. That's allowed defense, which is legal. In politics, it is different. Since the concept of self-defense always signaled that a politician wants to do something that really is not absolutely lawful - but he himself considers it necessary.

Most recently, the Union has earlier 23 years ago resorted to self-defense and emergency vocabulary - even then related to refugees. 

Back then, in the autumn of 1992, spoke Federal Chancellor Helmut Kohl (CDU) of a "state of emergency". He did this in the face of the then rising numbers of refugees (then lower numbers than today): The "mass immigration" of asylum seekers, he said, had led to intolerable conditions in the communities that he could and would therefore not see how the situation will become unbearable and the state unable to act.

Therefore Kohl announced, if necessary even without the approval of the SPD restricting the fundamental right of asylum, ie without the required for under the Basic Law two-thirds majority - with only a simple majority of its government.

Edmund Stoiber (CSU), Bavarian Minister of the Interior at the time, which also called for. Such asylum-emergency legislation would have been the open violation of the constitution. Hmmmm..........'Refugeees....No longer welcome it seems. Read the full story here.

Related: Outcry of a young German policewoman - 'Male Muslims have no respect for female cops or Authority'.

Trouble in the EU Paradise: German Officials Hide Refugee Crimes, Fearing Backlash.

Trouble in the EU Paradise: German Officials Hide Refugee Crimes, Fearing Backlash. (SP).

Authorities in Germany are deliberately keeping quiet about crimes occurring in refugee shelters, especially those involving brutality against women, as the country's policy of taking in asylum-seekers and providing them with sustenance and a monthly stipend has enraged many, who see the massive influx of young, mostly male Muslims as a threat.

There are no comprehensive statistics available reflecting the situation on criminal violations in refugee camps in the country, which is connected to federal structure of Germany, where each federal state's police force reports to its own interior ministry, Reuters explains. To confound matters further, the federal states are responsible for managing accommodation for asylum seekers.

Police union chief Rainer Wendt believes that state authorities have played down the problem of women being assaulted in refugee camps and shelters, Reuters reported on Tuesday.

“It is understandable that there is the desire to calm things down politically,” Wendt commented to Reuters, referring to the attempts of officials across the country to dispel 'rumors' regarding the dangers associated with taking in tens of thousands of migrants. “There is a lot of glossing over going on. But this doesn't represent reality,” he added.

Germany's Gewerkschaft der Polizei (Trade Union of the Police) along with women’s groups, however, have insisted that ignoring the problem would be counterproductive. Now, women rights activists have reportedly raised their voices and call for the creation of safe zones for migrant women, which would require gender segregation in residential areas.

Adult men account for almost three fourths of all asylum seekers in Germany; women and children account for the remaining fourth.

Women, who comprise the minority, often become victims of an increasing number of crimes, especially sexual assault, rape and, reportedly, forced prostitution, as a recent open letter signed by several charities suggests, according to Reuters.

In Hamburg, eight cases of sexual assault in refugee camps have been confirmed this year; there the, Green Party's spokesperson for refugee affairs Tuelin Akkoc sees that right-wing political groups may use such reports to play the xenophobia card and try to turn public opinion against refugees.

“That's no reason to sweep this issue under the carpet. Right now is the time for the authorities to raise their voices in order to prevent extremist groups from dominating the debate,” Akkoc told Reuters.

For now, the general line for German officials is to wage war against far-right groups by giving speeches in public. The aim is to disperse rumors circulating all over the country and around the social media regarding how dangerous migrants from Middle East are. Read the full story here.

Related: Outcry of a young German policewoman - 'Male Muslims have no respect for female cops or Authority'.

Outcry of a young German policewoman - 'Male Muslims have no respect for female cops or Authority'.

The outcry of a young German policewoman. (DieWelt).[GoogleTranslated].

Policemen are increasingly exposed to violence in action. Straight male Muslims have no respect for the police, says Commissioner Tania Kambouri - especially if confronted by a woman.

The bruises on her body Tania Kambouri no longer counts for a long time. "If there are only bruises, you can still cope," says the 32-year-old. The past September was a bad month for the Police Commissioner. A few weeks ago she was struck unexpectedly by a rioter with a lighter in his fist in the face. She suffered a hemorrhage in the left eye. Of this there is nothing now to be seen.

Even worse for them was an incident a few months ago in Bochum, as a shackled evildoer wild occurred in the back seat of the patrol car around and almost caught her face. "I felt the breath of air literally. It lacked only a few centimeters, then my whole face had been smashed," says Kambouri while talking in a cafe.

She is a robust, direct person, clear message, stare. It works internally extremely stable, but this near-injury has for months occupied her. "If you imagine what could have happened, years of OPs, a disfigured face such a thing takes time until it is processed but if you are repeatedly injured, you can not get more rest. "

In a way a taboo.

The daughter of Greek-born parents gets firsthand feel for how the violence against police officers increases and the authority of police officers increasingly waning. She has written a book about it, which appears on this Monday and entitled "Germany in blue light. Emergency call police officer".

On 220 pages she describes what happens to you; she describes impressions, called causes. "It was years ago still individual cases, the shake of the head and indignation provoked in me and my colleagues, they are now acknowledged as the weather forecast. Sad day, not only in Bochum," writes Kambouri.

It is in a way a taboo because they told relentlessly that even predominantly Muslim immigrants attack the state power. "That should be no blanket condemnation and certainly not racial prejudice on grounds of origin or of faith, but it is simply a fact that some populations are strikingly over represented  in certain behavioral characteristics and crime," writes Kambouri.

She laments, "general disrespect" "disrespect of fundamental law and human rights", "autonomous parallel structures", "mislaid integration will." What Kambouri writes, confirmed by many colleagues who are on patrol.

As a police officer she has encountered a lot of negative experiences. She joins Heinz Buschkowsky, the former Social Democratic Deputy Mayor of Berlin-Neukölln.

"Multiculturalism happens to have too many risks and little social romantic truths:. Cultural influences, religious beliefs, inherited traditions are sometimes simply incompatible This is not a right-wing populism, but common sense," writes Kambouri.

It is just with Muslims that we experience "the greatest difficulty, especially with young men.

People from this culture, whether they are Turks, Kurds, Lebanese, Tunisians and other nationalities, have it remarkably difficult to integrate into Germany." Do not accept in particular female police officers, Kambouri is sometimes addressed as "bitch". Read the full story here.

Video - The Invasion of Europe - Pat Condell

Free speech? - Merkel presses Zuckerberg to monitor racist posts on Facebook.

Free speech? - Merkel presses Zuckerberg to monitor racist posts on Facebook. (RT).

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she wants more action from Facebook when it comes to filtering hateful racial posts. The comments were overheard by media as Merkel was speaking to CEO Mark Zuckerberg on the sidelines of the UN summit.

Merkel’s request could be heard on a live transmission broadcast seconds before the introductory remarks at a luncheon in New York on Saturday.

The German leader asked Zuckerberg about hate speech posts, with the Facebook CEO responding: “We need to do some work.”

Merkel followed up: “Are you working on this?” Zuckerberg was heard replying: “Yeah.”

The transmission was then cut off as the luncheon began.

This is not the first time Merkel has called on Facebook to curtail hate speech comments on the social network.

“When people stir up sedition on social networks using their real name, it’s not only the state that has to act, but also Facebook as a company should do something against these [people],” Merkel told regional newspaper Rheinische Post earlier in September.

The German leader added that the social media company has the tools to track hate speech, but is lacking in enforcement. “The rules need to be implemented,” Merkel said.

The increased attention towards online hate is believed to have been triggered by an influx of refugees traveling to Germany, with around 1 million migrants expected to come to the country this year. The rise in immigrants and refugees from war zones has divided the population, with massive pro- and anti-refugee rallies hitting the country amid intensifying hate rhetoric.

Following criticism, Facebook committed to improve its efforts to fight racism online. On September 14, the company announced its cooperation with German Internet watchdog, Voluntary Self-Monitoring of Multimedia Service Providers, to keep an eye on hate speech posts. Hmmmm......I warned that the flood of refugees would bring a massive increase of extreme right, just wait till the next elections in Europe, and limiting free speech won't stop it on the contrary. I don't approve of hate speech but free speech is a must in a democracy.

'Moderate' Iran, 'Islamist' Turkey to cooperate in field of human rights.

'Moderate' Iran, 'Islamist' Turkey to cooperate in field of human rights. (Taz).

Iran and Turkey signed an agreement on cooperation in the field of human rights, the Iranian news website bazresi.ir. reported Sept. 18.

The agreement was signed as part of the international symposium on ombudsman institutions, held in Ankara September 16-17.


The ombudsmen from 28 countries, including Azerbaijan, Iran, Jordan, Ukraine, Pakistan, Russia, Sudan, Kyrgyzstan, Georgia and others attended the symposium.

Hmmm....that's like NAZI Germany and Imperial Japan cooperating on Jewish -Chinese rights.

Video - Does Free Speech Offend You?

Should offensive speech be banned? Where should we, as a society, draw the line where permitted speech is on one side, and forbidden speech is on the other? Should we even have that line? And should free speech be limited by things like trigger warnings and punishments for microaggressions? Greg Lukianoff, president of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, answers these questions and more.

You can support Prager University by clicking https://www.prageruniversity.com/dona... Free videos are great, but to continue producing high-quality content, even small contributions are greater.

Saudi Arabia reiterated its call to Criminalize vilification of religious symbols at UNESCO organized meeting.

Saudi Arabia reiterated its call to Criminalize vilification of religious symbols at UNESCO organized meeting. (SaudiGazette).

LILLE, France — Saudi Arabia has reiterated its call on the international community to criminalize any act vilifying religious beliefs and symbols of faith as well as all kinds of discrimination based on religion.

Addressing an international symposium on media coverage of religious symbols based on international law, which started in this French city on Saturday, a senior Saudi official said the Kingdom emphasized years ago that the international community must act urgently to confront ethnic, religious and cultural intolerance, which has become widespread in all communities and peoples of the world.

"We have made it clear that freedom of expression without limits or restrictions would lead to violation and abuse of religious and ideological rights," said Abdulmajeed Al-Omari, director for external relations at the Ministry of Islamic Affairs.

"This requires everyone to intensify efforts to criminalize insulting heavenly religions, prophets, holy books, religious symbols and places of worship," he added.

Al-Omari pointed out that such abuses bred intolerance, extremism and human rights violations and contributed to the growing phenomenon of defamation of religions.

The Kingdom is participating in the forum, with representatives from 16 European countries, a number of international organizations led by UNESCO, Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the Association of Islamic Universities.

Al-Omari said the Saudi participation in the symposium falls in line with its efforts to support the principles of justice, humanity, promotion of values and the principles of tolerance in the world as well as to emphasize the importance of respecting religions and religious symbols.  Hmmm.....It might turn out to be only concerning 'defamation of Islam'.

'Islamist' Turkey: Erdogan gives 700,000 free tablets to students.

'Islamist' Turkey: Erdogan gives 700,000 free tablets to students. (Taz).

Just days before the June 7 elections, the Turkish president has promised further support for Turkish students and teachers across the country Anadolu Agency reported

Addressing a ceremony at the Ankara chamber of commerce ATO Friday, where around 3,000 students and teachers had gathered, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced: "We are now giving out 700,000 tablets in 81 provinces to the students and giving them [as part of the government’s support] for the education system."

The distribution of the tablets began across Turkey after the announcement.

Earlier, the government had handed over 737,800 tablets to teachers and students across the country. The current round of distribution will be for mostly class ninth schoolchildren, the Turkish Education Ministry said on its website.

The president highlighted that the tablets, which would be used as educational tools in the classrooms, had been produced locally and had superior qualities than most other brands in the market.

He added that there would be more such distribution of tablets in the near future.

"We will deliver 10.6 million more tablets after 2016 within four years," Erdogan said. He added that the tenders for the project had already been made.

He also said that the local tablet production would support the domestic information technology sector.

The locally-produced tablets have a multi-core processor with 2 gigabytes of RAM, 32 gigabytes of internal memory, a high resolution 10.1 inch screen, WIFI capability, and front and rear cameras, the ministry website said.
Also, a two year warranty will be provided for the tablets, while the battery life would have a four-year warranty.

The tablet PCs will be loaded with pre-installed educational applications. Teachers will be able to interact with students and design new course works using the tablets, while students will be able to take notes directly on their tablets, the website added. Hmmm........Comes with free 'Islamist intell inside'.

'Empty Barrels make the most noise' - European Parliament 'postpones' voting on key Turkey report.

'Empty Barrels make the most noise' - European Parliament 'postpones' voting on key Turkey report. (Bugun).

The Turkey Progress Report prepared by Turkey rapporteur Kati Piri will be delayed until June to get more time to stir up discussion.

The report had severely criticized Turkey on the subjects of “independence of the judiciary, freedom of expression and the freedom of press," pointing out that the press has reached a level of self-censorship as a result of a number of infringements by the government.

“Attempts to ban social media, later overturned by the Constitutional Court, and pressures on the press leading to a widespread self-censorship, reflect a restrictive approach to freedom of expression. The approach taken in the area of freedom of assembly remains restrictive," the report reads.

The report echoed the criticism against the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) for not tackling corruption allegations which surfaced in the December 17-25 probes and instead exploiting the situation to conduct purges and politicize the police force and the judiciary.

“The response of the government following allegations of corruption in December 2013 has given rise to serious concerns regarding the independence of the judiciary and separation of powers.

The widespread reassignments and dismissals of police officers, judges and prosecutors, despite the government’s claim that these were not linked to the anti-corruption case, have impacted on the effective functioning of the relevant institutions, and raise questions as to the way procedures were used to formalise these."

The Christian Democrats had called for the removal of the items pertaining to the opening of new chapters in the report.

In the meantime, the Green Party MEP’s raised concern stating that they did not want the subject of Turkey’s accession process to the EU be exploited in the internal politics of member states. Hmmmm....Actions speak louder then words, as i said before Europe will sell all Human right values for cheap Gas from 'Islamist' Turkey.

Freedom House: 'Advanced Islamist Democracy' Turkey secures ‘not free’ position on press freedoms.

Freedom House: 'Advanced Islamist Democracy' Turkey secures ‘not free’ position on press freedoms. (Bugun).

Global human rights watchdog Freedom House has released its latest report on press freedoms, and Turkey’s Press Freedom score deteriorated an additional three points in the past year to 65 as Ankara moves more and more aggressively to stifle dissent through laws and intimidation.

Global human rights watchdog Freedom House has released its latest report on press freedoms, and Turkey’s Press Freedom score deteriorated an additional three points in the past year to 65 as Ankara moves more and more aggressively to stifle dissent through laws and intimidation. 

Freedom House, a Washington-based NGO that monitors and advocates for democracy, political freedom and human rights, has released its ‘Freedom of the Press 2015’ report detailing global shifts in press freedoms over 2014, and it shows a marked deterioration in Turkey’s overall score.

On a scale from 0 (free) to 100 (not free), Turkey’s score has increased in the past year from 62 to 65 “as the government moved more aggressively to close the space for dissent through new legal measures and intimidation."

The report notes that while there is somewhat more media diversity in Turkey than before, “Political leaders have steadily tamed once-independent outlets, using various forms of pressure against private owners and creating media sectors that are firmly tilted in the ruling Justice and Development Party’s [AK Party] favor.”

The report details the many methods Ankara has used to suppress press coverage, from new laws, to economic incentives for cronyism, and even open threats.

Turkish authorities “aggressively” utilize the Turkish criminal code, laws against defamation and counter-terrorism to cow the media, says Freedom House. Read the full story here.

Female South African Writer Who Expressed Admiration for Rushdie interned in mental institution.

Female South African Writer Who Expressed Admiration for Rushdie interned in mental institution. (Pen).

PEN American Center expressed outrage at the harassment and confinement in a mental institution of South African psychologist and novelist Zainub Priya Dala (ZP Dala) exacted in reprisal for her comments in appreciation of the writing of former PEN American Center President Salman Rushdie.

Speaking at a literary event at a school several weeks ago, Dala voiced public appreciation for Rushdie's work. Shortly thereafter she was the victim of a violent attack in which the attackers referenced her praise for Rushdie.

She was hit in the face with a brick and had a knife held to her throat, resulting in a broken cheekbone. 

Regrettably, rather than rallying around Dala, some members of the local Muslim community in Durban, South Africa, have ostracized Dala, putting her under extreme pressure to renounce her statement about Rushdie's work, repent for her "sins," and to make a public vow of religious loyalty to Islam.

When she continued to refuse to make a religious vow or other statements inconsistent with her personal beliefs she was admitted to a mental institution.

A psychologist by profession, Dala is the mother of a young child and ultimately consented to go to the hospital to avoid intense and intrusive harassment at her home. She also reports continued questioning about her beliefs by hospital staff.

PEN America calls for Dala's immediate and unconditional release from institutionalization and demands that all parties cease their questioning and harassment of her for her opinions and beliefs.

It calls upon all competent South African authorities, including President Zuma, the courts, and the police, to ensure Ms. Dala's safety and to prevent reprisals against her freedom of expression and thought.

"It is terrifying that in an open democracy like South Africa an individual could be taken to a mental institution for voicing their opinions about an author or a book," said PEN America Executive Director Suzanne Nossel, who was visiting South Africa and had contact with Ms. Dala. Read the full story here.

'Advanced Islamist Democracy' Turkey threatens Google with ban over hostage image.

'Advanced Islamist Democracy' Turkey threatens Google with ban over hostage image. (BBC).

Turkey threatened to ban Google unless it removed links to images of a prosecutor being held at gunpoint.

The images were taken last week in a siege at an Istanbul courthouse when two gunmen took the prosecutor hostage. All three died during a rescue attempt. The threatened ban on Google was lifted after the search giant removed links to sites hosting the pictures. Turkish authorities briefly cut off several social networks in a bid to stop images circulating.

This is about the freedom of information.

If Google caves in now for the demands of the 'Turkish 'Dictator', you can expect him to throw a fit each time something displeases him on Google.

Appeasement doesn't work with Dictators...especially Islamist ones, next it will be 'blasphmy speech', The 'Armenian Genocide.....or whatever he will come up with to silence the opposition.

Google has a duty to defend the freedom of information....or step out of the business as search engine. Read the full story here.

Update: US urges Turkey to unblock access to social media sites.

State Department spokesperson Marie Harf told Today's Zaman on Monday that her country supports freedom of expression in Turkey and opposes any action that encroaches on the right to free speech.

Google said it is working to restore access. "An independent and unfettered media is an essential element of democratic, open societies," Harf said after the social media bans became known.