UK: Al-Awlaki’s sermons influenced Muslim woman student to stab British MP

Roshanara Choudhry, a 21-year-old student who has been jailed for life for trying to assassinate British MP Stephen Timms in May this year, told police she had wanted to die as a martyr after watching more than 100 hours of video sermons from the American-born extremist cleric Anwar al-Awlaki on the internet.

…

She also said that she had been learning more about Islam those days, and Awlaki’s sermons on YouTube made her believe that “we shouldn’t allow the people who oppress us to get away with it“.

“I downloaded the full set of Anwar al-Awlaki’s lectures,” Choudhry told police, saying that she listened to more than 100 hours of them.

The effect of listening to and viewing the cleric’s video was such that she chose to withdraw from contact with her friends and ended her studies, quitting as the top student in her course at King’s College London on 27 April this year before carrying out her attack on 14 May.

Meanwhile, YouTube has reportedly started removing hundreds of videos of Awlaki, the radical cleric based in Yemen who has been linked to several terrorist plots against the US and the UK, under the instructions of American and British authorities.

via al-Awlaki’s sermons influenced Muslim woman student to stab British MP – Oneindia News.

Background: Woman stabbed MP “in revenge for Iraq war vote”.

Libya: pro-reform newspaper suspended

MuamarEl Gadaffi

The Libyan government has suspended printing of a newspaper controlled by a reformist son of leader Muammar Gaddafi, local media reported, in what could be the latest phase in a power struggle inside the oil exporting state.

The print version of the Oea newspaper, controlled by Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, was suspended soon after it published an article calling for a “final assault” on the government which it alleged had failed to tackle corruption, local media said.

Saif al-Islam — who played a key role in ending sanctions on Libya and is seen as a possible successor to his father — has been waging a turf war with a conservative old guard and has been openly critical of the government.

“(Prime Minister) Al-Baghdadi Ali al-Mahmoudi has suspended the publication of the weekly Oea,” the prime minister’s office said in a statement that was printed by three Libyan newspaper websites. It did not give a reason for the suspension.

via Libya suspends pro-reform newspaper | Reuters.

UK: Al-Qaeda Terrorist Arrested

Theresa May

On Wednesday, British Home Secretary Theresa May said that its very likely British extremists hardened and trained in Somalia may try to commit mass murder in London. This comes after it was revealed that they arrested a member of al-Qaeda and is holding him. They have pledged to do more to target terrorism overseas.

Talking to the Royal United Services Institute, May revealed that an associate of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula was arrested earlier this year and is suspected of planning an attack on the country. This terrorist unit has been blamed for the cargo bomb plot on the US just last week, which was intercepted. The bombs were found in printer cartridge packages in Dubai and Britain and were being mailed to the US. It’s believed that Anwar al-Awlaki, a US national and al-Qaeda leader, was the mastermind behind the attack from his base in Yemen.

May says that the government’s review on counter-terrorism will include big changes that will lead to a much better balance. They will enhance their protective security measures where necessary, she explained, and will invest in stopping plots and conflict prevention overseas. They will refocus the strategy for preventing radicalization in Britain, she continued, and will strike a better balance between their security and liberties.

via al-Qaeda Terrorist Arrested in Britain | Travel news from car rentals.

I would like to know, how they are going to do that, if they don’t fight the ideology behind.

Photo: here.

UN: Cuba, Venezuela, Iran Top the List of Countries Lining Up to Scrutinize U.S. Human Rights Record During U.N. Review

Shameful.

A lawmaker who chairs Iran’s parliamentary human rights committee, Zohreh Elahian, said this week that the countries registering to take part in the UPR are doing so “to declare their criticisms of the U.S. policies in area of human rights.”

Charging that the U.S. holds itself up as the example for others to emulate even while violating rights at home, Elahian told Iran’s Fars news agency that this had “redoubled the importance” of the U.S. review.

She said Iran’s delegation planned to address the session and would also hold sideline meetings with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) on the subject of the U.S. human rights record.

As part of the UPR  process, every U.N. member state presents its rights record, once every four years, for the rest of the international community to examine, question and offer recommendations. More than 100 countries have gone through the process since it was inaugurated in mid-2008.

…according to diplomats cited Wednesday by a Geneva-based NGO, U.N. Watch, Cuban officials “took the lead last week in circulating an advance sign-up sheet.”

“We are concerned that Iran, Cuba, Venezuela and other non-democracies are planning to hijack the session to score propaganda points and drum up anti-American sentiment worldwide,” said the organization’s executive director, Hillel Neuer.

via Cuba, Venezuela, Iran Top the List of Countries Lining Up to Scrutinize U.S. Human Rights Record During U.N. Review | CNSnews.com.

Meanwhile, Iran is rumoured to be, with Saudi Arabia, in the governing body of UN Women’s Rights Agency. There is a group in FB to protest about this.

More here: “Cuba Organizing Rogue Speakers’ List of Hardliners in Bid to Ambush U.S. at Friday’s U.N. Review. UN Watch Backgrounder on U.N.’s 1st UPR Review of America’s Human Rights Record“.

Iran: Life of Jailed Human Rights Lawyer at Great Risk

Nasrin Soutudeh

This is an update on this story:

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, should immediately intervene with Iranian authorities to ensure the physical well being of detained human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said today.

On Sunday, 31 October, Sotoudeh, one of Iran’s most prominent human rights lawyers went on a dry hunger strike protesting her detention and ill treatment inside Tehran’s Evin prison. Her family reported that her health is quickly deteriorating.

“As High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay has a duty to come to the aid of embattled human rights defenders,” said Hadi Ghaemi, spokesperson for the Campaign. “Her failure to respond to systematic persecution and prosecution of human rights lawyers, including Sotoudeh, would be cause for concern.”

“Sotoudeh is putting her life on the line not only for the rights of people in Iran, but for the very principles the UN was founded to uphold,” he added.

via International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran – Life of Jailed Human Rights Lawyer at Great Risk.

The Iranian Mullahcracy, always protecting Women’s Human Rights (and of the rest of the human beings under their control).

Afghanistan: Fifth Haqqani Network Leader Confirmed Killed During Paktiya Operation

The International Security Assistance Force confirmed another Haqqani Network senior leader, Hibati, was killed during an overnight operation in Paktiya province Saturday.

Former ISAF releases confirmed Zubair and Qari Amil, both Haqqani Network facilitators responsible for the movement of weapons and improvised explosive device materials, along with Shabudin and Ibrahim, both Haqqani Network senior leaders in the area, were also killed during the operation. Hibati was Zubair’s deputy, who was the targeted individual in the operation.

Intelligence tips led the security force to a remote compound in Dzadran district. As the security force approached the area, they encountered several armed insurgents in established fighting positions. The security force could not assess all the engagement areas, but rocket-propelled grenades were among the weapons used by the insurgents.

Intelligence reports later confirmed the death of the five Haqqani leaders as well as several additional Haqqani fighters. It is assessed the security force had broken up a Haqqani leadership meeting.

via UPDATE: Fifth Haqqani Network Leader Confirmed Killed During Paktiya Operation | ISAF – International Security Assistance Force.

Background:
Report: Haqqani, the Taliban who made porn videos, raping poor, defenseless girls.
Pakistan: another Taliban killed.

Egypt: Challenging Sexual Harassment on Cairo’s Streets

A new project aimed at combating sexual harassment on the streets of Cairo will soon be launched. The project, called HarassMap, aims to create a map of the ‘hotspots’ of harassment in Cairo – that is, the places where harassment most frequently occurs.

The interactive project will rely on the public’s participation. A unique mapping technology will use information sent by SMS to HarrassMap’s number to plot the locations where women are harassed. Women who send an SMS to HarrassMap will then receive a response including where the women can receive help, ranging from legal aid to psychological support.

According to co-founder Rebecca Chiao, mapping Cairo’s hotspots is only the first step toward the group’s goal “to change the social acceptability of sexual harassment.”

Once hotspots are identified, HarrassMap will go in groups of volunteers to speak with the community, particularly shop owners.

“Our message is that sexual harassment at these levels, with no consequences or support for women, is against Egyptian values, traditions, religions, everything. We’ve tolerated it and stayed silent for too long and now it has grown out of control,” Chiao told Bikya Masr.

via Challenging Sexual Harassment on Cairo’s Streets – Bikya Masr.

Background: Egypt: sexual harrasment on the rise. “98 percent of the foreign women and 83 percent of the Egyptian women have at some point been subject to sexual harassment in Egypt. Often the blame is placed squarely on the shoulders of the victims… Its victims include Egyptian women from all social and religious classes, veiled and unveiled“.

US: Jihadist webmaster Abdel Hameed Shehadeh held without bail in Brooklyn Federal Court

A terrorist wanna-be charged with lying to the FBI about his aspirations to become a Taliban jihadist was ordered held without bail Tuesday in Brooklyn Federal Court.

Abdel Hameed Shehadeh, 21, of Staten Island, was arrested last week in Hawaii, where he had tried in the past to travel to Somalia, but failed because he was on a “no fly” list.

Shehadeh nodded his head to indicate he understood his legal rights when Magistrate Judge Ramon Reyes explained them.

“The defendant poses both a flight risk and a danger to the community,” Assistant U.S. Attorney James Loonam told Reyes when asked for the government position on bail. “No conditions can alleviate any of those concerns.”

Shehadeh, who was born in the U.S., became radicalized around 2008 and created several websites advocating attacks against the West. He faces up to eight years in prison if convicted.

Defense lawyer Jeffrey Pittell had no immediate comment.

via Jihadist webmaster Abdel Hameed Shehadeh held without bail in Brooklyn Federal Court.

More information here.