AUTHOR
BY LISA JUNG, AYÇA ZEHRA KARABABA, HELENA PARISE SANVICENTE, MAGDALENA SKUZA, SIAVASH GHASEMI & CÉLINE KLECKNER
THIS WEEKS BLOG CONCERNS SEVERAL ISSUES THAT HAVE BEEN AROUND FOR QUITE SOME TIME. THINK ABOUT THE HATE AGAINST ASIANS, WHICH ISN’T DISCUSSED OFTEN BUT VERY MUCH ALIVE IN MODERN DAY SOCIETY, AND THE FREEDOM OF SPEECH DISCUSSION WHICH RECENTLY SURFACED IN SPAIN. IN THAILAND THE CORONA CRISIS HAS LED TO NEW PROTESTS, IN GERMANY A SYRIAN HAS BEEN CONVICTED FOR WAR CRIMES, AND LASTLY IN TURKEY A MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT HAS BEEN SENTENCED TO PRISON.
TURKISH MP ÖMER FARUK GERGERLIOĞLU SENTENCED TO 2 YEARS AND 6 MONTHS
ÖMER FARUK GERGERLIOĞLU, TURKISH DOCTOR, HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST, WRITER, JOURNALIST AND POLITICIAN. IN 2018 WAS ELECTED DEPUTY OF THE PEOPLES DEMOCRATIC PARTY IN TURKEY'S GENERAL ELECTIONS. DURING HIS TIME AS A MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT, HE WORKED TO DEFEND EVERYONE'S RIGHTS. THEREFORE, ÖMER FARUK GERGERLIOĞLU WAS A MP IN TURKEY WHO HAS BEEN RECOGNIZED AS A HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER. HOWEVER, THE SUPREME COURT 16TH CRIMINAL CHAMBER UPHELD THE PRISON SENTENCE OF 2 YEARS AND 6 MONTHS GIVEN TO MP GERGERLIOĞLU FOR "MAKING PROPAGANDA FOR A TERRORIST ORGANIZATION". THE FINAL JUDICIAL DECISION ON GERGERLIOĞLU WILL BE NOTIFIED TO THE TURKISH GRAND NATIONAL ASSEMBLY BY THE SUPREME COURT. WHEN THE FINAL VERDICT DECISION IS READ IN THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE TURKISH GRAND NATIONAL ASSEMBLY, GERGERLIOĞLU'S PARLIAMENTARY MEMBERSHIP WILL FALL. DEPUTY ÖMER FARUK GERGERLIOĞLU SAID IN A STATEMENT HE MADE ABOUT THE PUNISHMENT GIVEN TO HIM, "I WILL NOT GIVE IN. IF WE WERE SUCH A PERSON, WE WOULD NOT BE IN THE FIELD OF POLITICS AND HUMAN RIGHTS ADVOCACY."
ÖMER FARUK GERGERLIOĞLU, A MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT AND MEMBER OF THE PARLIAMENTARY HUMAN RIGHTS INVESTIGATION COMMISSION, APPLIED TO THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT (AYM) AGAINST THE APPROVAL OF THE PRISON SENTENCE GIVEN TO HIM BY THE SUPREME COURT. GERGERLIOĞLU STATED THAT HE WAS PUNISHED FOR HIS TWEET, WHICH IS A CALL FOR A PEACEFUL SOLUTION TO THE KURDISH PROBLEM IN TURKEY. ACCORDING TO GERGERLIOGLU, THIS PUNISHMENT IS A CLEAR VIOLATION TO FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION.
WAVE OF PROTESTS AND UNREST IN THAILAND CONTINUES AMONG GOVERNMENT REPRESSION
THAILAND HAS BEEN SWEPT BY WAVES OF PRO-DEMOCRACY PROTESTS EVER SINCE THE (FLAWED) 2019 ELECTIONS WHICH GRANTED A SECOND TERM IN OFFICE FOR PRIME MINISTER GEN. PRAYUT CHAN-OCHA. THIS GOVERNMENT HAS FAILED TO ADDRESS SEVERAL CRITICAL ISSUES THAT POSE A THREAT TO HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE COUNTRY, SUCH AS THE REPRESSION AND PROSECUTION OF SUPPOSED CRITICS OF THE MONARCHY, AND HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES IN ONGOING CONFLICTS IN THE SOUTHERN BORDER PROVINCES. SINCE THE START OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC, LOCKDOWN AND SOCIAL DISTANCING MEASURES HAVE BECOME A PRETEXT FOR CENSORSHIP AND RESTRICTION ON PEACEFUL DEMONSTRATIONS. AS PROTESTORS AND HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVISTS DEMAND A CHANGE IN GOVERNMENT, IN THE MILITARY-BACKED CONSTITUTION, AND THE REFORMATION OF THE MONARCHY, AUTHORITIES HAVE RESPONDED WITH MORE CENSORSHIP AND VIOLENCE.
THE PRO-DEMOCRACY MOVEMENT HAD BEEN QUIET IN DECEMBER AND JANUARY AS A SECOND WAVE OF COVID19 HIT THE COUNTRY, BUT RECENT EVENTS HAVE SPARKED NEW UNREST AND DEMONSTRATIONS. FOUR PROMINENT ACTIVISTS AND PROTEST LEADERS WERE ARRESTED IN THE BEGINNING OF FEBRUARY. AFTER THEIR ARREST ON LÈSEMAJESTÉ CHARGES, THE THAI CRIMINAL COURT DENIED BAIL FOR HUMAN RIGHTS LAWYER ANON NAMPA AND FOR FELLOW ACTIVISTS PARIT CHIWARAK, SOMYOS PRUEKSAKASEMSUK, AND PATIWAT SARAIYAM. THEY ALL FACE A 15- YEAR PRISON SENTENCE FOR CRITICIZING THE MONARCHY. APART FROM THE ARREST OF THE FOUR PROTEST LEADERS, ANOTHER KEY EVENT HAS CAUSED THE REIGNITION OF THE ANTI-GOVERNMENT PROTESTS. ON FEBRUARY 20TH , PRIME MINISTER GEN. PRAYUT CHAN-OCHA FACED AND SURVIVED A NO-CONFIDENCE PARLIAMENTARY VOTE FOR THE SECOND TIME. AS PROTESTS AROSE AND CONTINUED, THAI AUTHORITIES DEPLOYED MORE THAN 10 000 OFFICERS TO CONTROL THE CROWDS WITH RUBBER BULLETS, TEAR GAS, AND WATER CANNONS. ON FEBRUARY 28TH , THE VIOLENT REPRESSION LEFT 16 PEOPLE INJURED AFTER A PROTEST NEAR THE PRIME MINISTER’S HOME IN BANGKOK. PROTESTORS IN BANGKOK ARE ALSO STANDING IN SOLIDARITY WITH THE ANTI-COUP DEMONSTRATIONS HAPPENING IN MYANMAR AND WITH THE MILK TEA ALLIANCE OF PRO-DEMOCRACY ACTIVISTS FROM HONG KONG, TAIWAN, THAILAND, AND MYANMAR.
SYRIAN CONVICTED FOR WAR CRIMES BY THE GERMAN COURT
SYRIAN FORMER INTELLIGENCE OFFICER WAS CONVICTED OF AIDING AND ABETTING CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY BY THE GERMAN COURT.
EYAD AL-GHARIB WAS FOUND GUILTY OF DETAINING AT LEAST 30 OPPOSITION ACTIVISTS WHO DEMONSTRATED AGAINST THE SYRIAN GOVERNMENT IN 2011. HE WAS SENTENCED TO FOUR YEARS IN PRISON AS GHARIB WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR SENDING THE PROTESTOR TO AN INTELLIGENCE CENTRE WHERE HE KNEW THAT THEY WOULD BE TORTURED.
THE WITNESS IN THE TRIAL RECOUNTED HOW HE BLINDFOLDED AND HIT WITH A RIFLE BEFORE BEING LOADED INTO A BUS AND TAKEN TO THE INTELLIGENCE CENTRE- BRANCH 251. THE DETAINEES WERE PACKED INTO A SMALL CELL WITH 88 PEOPLE. ACCORDING TO THE EVIDENCE, TO OBTAIN THE INFORMATION, THE PRISONERS WERE TORTURED WITH ELECTRIC SHOCKS, BEATINGS AND SEVERE PSYCHOLOGICAL ABUSE. MOREOVER, PRISONERS DID NOT GER SUFFICIENT FOOD OR MEDICAL CARE, AND THEY HAVE BEEN KEPT IN INHUMANE CONDITIONS.
THIS CASE IS A MILESTONE STEP ON A LONG ROAD TO ACHIEVING JUSTICE FOR SYRIA. IN MOST CASES, THE STATES HAVE THE RIGHT TO PROSECUTE CRIMES COMMITTED ON THEIR TERRITORY, HOWEVER, IN THIS CASE, \GERMANY USED THE PRINCIPLE OF UNIVERSAL JURISDICTION, WHICH IS ENSHRINED IN GERMAN LAW AND ALLOWS FOR THE OVERSEAS TRIALS OF THE INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE ACCUSED OF COMMITTING GRAVE ACTS SUCH AS GENOCIDE OR WAR CRIMES.
FREEDOM OF SPEECH IN SPAIN
TUESDAY FEBRUARY 16, PABLO HASSEL WAS ARRESTED IN THE UNIVERSITY OF LLEIDA, LOCATED IN WEST CATALONIA, THE SPANISH RAPPER WAS DETAINED AFTER HE AND HIS SUPPORTERS TRIED TO BARRICADE THEMSELVES INSIDE THE INSTITUTION IN ORDER AVOID HIS ARREST.
HASSEL WAS CONVICTED IN 2018 FACING CHARGES OF GLORIFYING TERRORISM A SWELL AS SLANDERING THE CROWN AND STATE INSTITUTIONS ON HIS SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNELS AND HIS LYRICS, AND HE NOW FACES 9 MONTHS OF TIME IN JAIL. THIS IS NOT THE FIRST-TIME SPANISH ARTISTS ARE BEING ACCUSED AND CONVICTED FOR “CRIMES OF EXPRESSION”, IN 2018 ANOTHER RAP ARTIST CALLED VALTONYC FLED TO BELGIUM AFTER BEING CONVICTED OF SIMILAR CRIMES.
AFTER HASSEL’S ARREST, THE SPANISH GOVERNMENT STATED THAT IT IS PLANNING TO REDUCE PENALTY’S REGARDING “CRIMES OF EXPRESSION” SUCH AS THE GLORIFICATION OF TERRORISM, HATE SPEECH AND INSULTS TOWARDS THE CROWN AND RELIGION, IN THE PRODUCTION OF ARTISTIC AND CULTURAL ACTIVITIES.
THE SCAPEGOATING OF ASIANS THE GLOBAL PANDEMIC WE ARE CURRENTLY IN IS CHALLENGING FOR EVERYONE. HOWEVER, THE ONE PART OF THE POPULATION THAT HAS TO SUFFER THE MOST IS THE ASIAN COMMUNITY. SINCE THE LAST YEAR, THERE HAS BEEN A SKYROCKETING OF ATTACKS TARGETING ASIAN PEOPLE, WHICH ARE OFTEN CAUSED BY MISINFORMATION AND CONSPIRACY THEORIES INCLUDING THAT CHINESE PEOPLE ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE PANDEMIC. THE RESULT OF THIS IS DAILY HARASSMENT AND THE AVOIDANCE AND EXCLUSION OF ASIAN INDIVIDUALS IN PUBLIC TRANSPORT. ADDITIONALLY, NOT ONLY CHINESE PEOPLE ARE THE VICTIMS OF SUCH HARASSMENT, BUT ALL KINDS OF ASIAN COMMUNITIES ARE TARGETED. JUST RECENTLY AN 84-YEAR-OLD THAI MAN WAS ATTACKED ON THE STREET AND DIED FROM HIS INJURIES IN AMERICA. ANOTHER RECENT ATTACK TARGETED A 61-YEAR-OLD FILIPINO MAN, WHO WAS SLASHED ACROSS THE FACE BY A STRANGER ON THE SUBWAY IN MANHATTAN. NOT ONLY WAS HE SEVERELY WOUNDED, BUT NO ONE IN THE SUBWAY MADE ANY EFFORT OF AIDING THE WOUNDED ELDERLY. SUCH INCIDENTS ARE FINALLY SHARED AND HIGHLIGHTED IN SOCIAL MEDIA, THANKS TO ASIAN ACTORS CONDEMNING SUCH ACTS OF RACISM. JUST RECENTLY, PRESIDENT BIDEN PUBLICLY CONDEMNED XENOPHOBIA, RACISM, AND INTOLERANCE AGAINST ASIAN AMERICANS. HOWEVER, THIS IS NOT ONLY A PROBLEM IN AMERICA, AS ALSO IN THE NETHERLANDS, BUT ASIAN COMMUNITIES ARE ALSO TARGETED. EVEN ON A LOCAL LEVEL, MANY ASIAN INDIVIDUALS HERE IN MAASTRICHT REPORT BEING NAME-CALLED AND HARASSED SINCE THE LAST YEAR. FILMMAKER AND CHILDREN´S BOOK AUTHOR CHEE-HAN KARTOSEN-WONG MADE AN INCREDIBLE VIDEO ESSAY TO RAISE AWARENESS OF ANTI-ASIAN RACISM AND THE STEREOTYPICAL IMAGE OF ASIAN DUTCH. SHE MENTIONED THAT ALTHOUGH ANTI-ASIAN RACISM HAS BEEN PREVALENT FOR DECADES, SHE FINALLY BROKE THE SILENCE. UNFORTUNATELY, ANTI-ASIAN RACISM IS OFTEN OVERLOOKED WHEN THE TOPIC OF DISCRIMINATION AND RACISM IS RAISED, BUT THAT DOES NOT MEAN THAT IT IS NOT A PROMINENT PROBLEM BOTH LOCALLY AND INTERNATIONALLY. IN FACT, ANTI-ASIAN RACISM HAS BEEN AROUND SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY, WHEN MANY CHINESE MIGRANTS CAME TO THE NETHERLANDS AFTER THE ECONOMIC DEPRESSION, THE RACISM GREW EXPONENTIALLY, AND SOME PEOPLE EVEN WANTED TO PUT ALL ASIAN MIGRANTS IN CONCENTRATION CAMPS. ALTHOUGH ASIAN DUTCH HAVE SPOKEN OUT AGAINST RACISM FOR DECADES, JUST RECENTLY, THANKS TO SOCIAL MEDIA, ARE THEIR VOICES AMPLIFIED.
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