November 19, 2009 – in discussions with Washington Dulles Marriott Hotel events manager Nancy Majuka (703-471-9500), the “white nationalist hate group” American Renaissance has canceled its February 19-21 conference reservations at the Washington Dulles Marriott Hotel and is looking for a new location for the groups’ meeting. We will keep you posted on any new developments.
Wherever racist “white nationalism” is promoted, you can expect those of us at Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.) to publicly protest in support of inalienable human rights of equality and liberty.
ChinaAid reports that on November 18, when Jiang Tianyong and a handful of other human rights lawyers attempted to meet with U.S. President Obama, the U.S. Embassy told Mr. Tianyong that President would not meet the group. The groups was then surrounded by 200 Communist Chinese “police officers,” and interrogated. The next day, Mr. Tianyong was arrested and his wife beaten in front of their 7 year old daughter.
Human Rights Attorney and Defender of Women's Rights Jiang Tianyong -- Arrested November 19, 2009 by Communist Chinese Authorities
“BEIJIN — At 7:40 AM (Beijing time) on Nov. 19, Jiang Tianyong and his wife attempted to leave their home to take their daughter to school, when they were barred from leaving the apartment building by Public Security Bureau officers assembled at the gate. Before Jiang could speak with them, four officers grabbed him violently and forced him into a police car. A police officer named Wang Tao threw his wife to the ground and began striking her. Jiang’s 7-year-old daughter cried helplessly as she watched her father being dragged away to detention by the officers.”
“Jiang Tianyong was arrested and held in detention at the Yangfangdian PSB office of Haidian District, Beijing for over 13 hours, under the guard of Officers Li Aimin and Wang Tao. He was allowed only one meal during his detention. A dozen human rights lawyers rallied in front of the station to demand Jiang’s release and to show support for their colleague. He was released at 9:26 PM (Beijing time) to return home to his family.”
“Immediately after learning of Jiang’s arrest, ChinaAid contacted the US Embassy in Beijing and several U.S. Congressional offices, notifying them of Jiang Tianyong’s brutal treatment and detention. A US Embassy official quickly responded and said that the Embassy had called the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and formally registered the U.S. Government’s concern and opposition to this action. The embassy further reported the incident to the National Security Council and the State Department, all prior to Jiang’s release.”
“Fearing the lawyers would become targets upon their return, Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission co-chair Frank Wolf of Virginia warned against ill-treatment upon the lawyers’ return: ‘If any of them are arrested or harrassed when they get back, I will do everything I can to just create the biggest problem possible for the Obama adminsitration and for the Chinese government.’ ”
“Yesterday, on November 18, Jiang Tianyong and a fellow legal researcher attempted to arrange a meeting with President Obama before he left China, hoping to follow through with the lawyers’ request for US acknowlegement of the current dire situation. After receiving a phone call from the U.S. Embassy, informing him President Obama would not be able to meet with the group of five human rights lawyers who had gathered, 200 police officers immediately pulled up, and interrogated Jiang and one of his colleagues in the hotel for over an hour. They were informed they ‘were not allowed to meet President Obama” and would “be held until he left’ yesterday afternoon.”
“The brutal assault of Jiang Tianyong, his wife, and their daughter is an unjust an inexcusable attack on the rights of peaceful Chinese citizens. Jiang’s family now suffers even more from this abuse, as their well-being was taxed after Jiang’s license to practice law was revoked and his tenure at the Beijing Global Law Firm was terminated in April of this year.”
“ChinaAid denounces the cruel and inhumane treatment of human rights Attorney Jiang Tianyong. We urge the Chinese authorities to stop their harassment of Attorney Jiang and the other human rights lawyers and their families who have been detained during President Obama’s visit.”
“ChinaAid further calls on the international community to pray for healing from this unjust persecution, in the wake of Jiang’s courageous tour in the United States, and to call on American leaders to voice their opposition to human rights abuses in China.Raise your concerns on Jiang’s behalf to the Chinese Embassy in Washington, D.C.”
Chinese Embassy Press Secretary Baodong, Tel: 202-495-2218
NOTE: If you are a citizen of another country, please click here to find the contact information of the Chinese embassy in your own nation http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/eng/wjb/zwjg/2490/.
Yet another stoning in Somalia with a crowd of 200 watching – this is the second stoning in Somalia this month. This latest stoning of a woman on November 17, 2009 was done by the extremist group al-Shabab. BBC and other news services conflict over the age of the woman who was stoned to death (see reports below).
— BBC reports: “Somali woman stoned for adultery” — “A 20-year-old woman divorcee accused of committing adultery in Somalia has been stoned to death by Islamists in front of a crowd of about 200 people.”
— “A judge working for the militant group al-Shabab said she had had an affair with an unmarried 29-year-old man.”
— “He said she gave birth to a still-born baby and was found guilty of adultery. Her boyfriend was given 100 lashes.”
— “It is thought to be the second time a woman has been stoned to death for adultery by al-Shabab.”
— “The group controls large swathes of southern Somalia where they have imposed a strict interpretation of Islamic law which has been unpopular with many Somalis.”
— “According to reports from a small village near the town of Wajid, 250 miles (400km) north-west of the capital, Mogadishu, the woman was taken to the public grounds where she was buried up to her waist.”
— “She was then stoned to death in front of the crowds on Tuesday afternoon.”
— “The judge, Sheikh Ibrahim Abdirahman, said her unmarried boyfriend was given 100 lashes at the same venue.”
— “Under al-Shabab’s interpretation of Sharia law, anyone who has ever been married – even a divorcee – who has an affair is liable to be found guilty of adultery, punishable by stoning to death.”
— “An unmarried person who has sex before marriage is liable to be given 100 lashes.”
— “BBC East Africa correspondent Will Ross says the stoning is at least the fourth for adultery in Somalia over the last year.”
— “Earlier this month, a man was stoned to death for adultery in the port town of Merka, south of Mogadishu.”
— “His pregnant girlfriend was spared, until she gives birth.”
— “Last month, two men were stoned to death in Merka after being accused of spying.”
— “President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, a moderate Islamist, was sworn in as president after UN-brokered peace talks in January.”
— “Although he says he also wants to implement Sharia, al-Shabab says his version of Islamic law would be too lenient.”
— “The country has not had a functioning national government for 18 years.”
— South Africa News 24/DPA reports: “Somali woman stoned to death” — “Somali insurgent group al-Shabaab has stoned a 29-year-old married woman to death for adultery, the second such execution this month, officials said.”
— “Sheikh Ibrahim Sheikh Abdirahman, an al-Shabaab judge, also ordered the woman’s sexual partner, and unmarried man, to receive one hundred lashes.”
— “Hundreds of spectators watched the stoning late on Tuesday in the village of Eelbon, southern Somalia.”
— “Al-Shabaab and its ally Hizbul Islam are battling the weak central government and control much of south and central Somalia. They have been implementing strict sharia, or Islamic law, in the areas they control, ordering floggings and executions. They have also banned musical ringtones and dancing at weddings. An estimated 19 000 civilians have died since early 2007 in Somalia’s bloody insurgency…”
— Daily Nation reports “Somalia: Woman Stoned to Death for Adultery”:
— “Mogadishu — An unnamed woman was stoned to death at Eel-boon in Wajid district, 330 kilometres southwest of Mogadishu, on Wednesday. She was sentenced by an Islamic court after she was found guilty of adultery.”
— “The woman was taken to a square, her body half buried and then stoned.”
— “A crowd was present as well as officials of al-Shabaab, an Islamist movement that opposes the Transitional Federal Government and controls a large territory in Southern and Central Somalia.”
— “A young man, who was also caught in the same adulterous act, received 100 strokes of the cane.”
— “According to Sheikh Ibrahim Sheikh Abdurahman, a judge of the Islamic court who sentenced the woman to death and the man to whipping said the cases differed.”
— ” ‘The woman was had been married before and under Sharia (Islamic law) she is to be stoned to death upon proof,’ said Sheikh Abdurahman.”
— ” ‘The young man with no previous marriage experience is to receive 100 whips under the same law,’ he added.”
— “Last Friday, another Islamic court that falls under the control of al-Shabaab sentenced a young man to death by stoning in Marka town, 110 kilometres south of Mogadishu. He was found guilty of committing adultery following a case of alleged rape.”
— “At a football stadium facing the Indian Ocean, the condemned man was taken to a corner of the playground, his body half buried in dirt before youngsters started hitting him with stones.”
— “Before the execution, the clergymen who rule Marka town and surrounding areas announced that a woman who had also been sentenced for committing adultery was in custody, to be stoned.”
— “The woman is said to be pregnant.”
— “Al-Shabaab and Hizbu Islam, the Islamist groups that strongly oppose the TFG, generally enforce the severe punishments.”
— “In 2008, a teenage girl was accused of adultery in Kismayu, 500 kilometres south of Mogadishu, sentenced by a court and stoned to death.”
Update on the reported release of two Christian convert women from Islam, Maryam Rustampoor and Marzieh Amirizadeh Esmaeilabad, who Elam Ministries states were ” released from Evin Prison in Tehran on November 18 at 3:30 pm [local time], without bail.” Elam Ministries reports: “However, they may yet have to face a court hearing and still need our prayers. ‘Words are not enough to express our gratitude to the Lord and to His people who have prayed and worked for our release,’ they said.”
— Ms. Maryam Rustampoor (27) and Ms. Marzieh Amirizadeh Esmaeilabad (30), were arrested for their religious beliefs in Christianity in Iran on March 5, 2009
15-year-old Egyptian girl Dina el-Gowhary, who converted from Islam to Christianity, has sent a plea to President Obama, complaining of mistreatment by the Egyptian Government and asking for his mediation. “Mr President Obama,” she writes, “we are a minority in Egypt. We are treated very badly. You said that the Muslim minority in America are treated very well, so why are we not treated here likewise? We are imprisoned in our own home because Muslim clerics called for the murder of my father, and now the Government has set for us a new prison, we are imprisoned in our own country.”
The handwritten Arabic letter, posted on Coptic websites, also says “I am 15 years old but I still have hope that my message will reach President Obama.”
The el-Gowhary family was barred from leaving Egypt on September 17, 2009 without any legal reason. They were told, however, that the order came from a higher authority (AINA 9-26-200).
Dina, is the daughter of 57-year-old Maher el-Gowhary, also known by his Christian name Peter Athanasius, who embraced Christianity secretly 35 years ago. In August, 2008 he filed the second ever lawsuit of a Muslim-born Egyptian against the Egyptian Government to officially alter his identification documents to reflect his new Christian identity. He lost the case in June 2009. According to the Court ruling, the religious conversion of a Muslim is against Islamic Sharia law and poses a threat to the “Public Order” in Egypt. (AINA 6-16-2009). He appealed the ruling.
Maher and Dina have been living in hiding ever since he filed his lawsuit because Muslim clerics have called him an apostate and several Fatwas (religious edicts), for ‘spilling his blood’ have been issued. He frequently changes where he lives to evade being killed, and friends supply him with food. “We cannot sleep, eat or go out in the street,” he said. He believes that the authorities are putting pressure on them (he and Dina) to re-convert back to Islam, “but this will never happen, even if we have to live on the streets. We love our Lord Jesus, and we have left Islam for good.”
Peter Athanasius (aka Maher el-Gowhary) and 15 year old Daughter Dina el-Gowhary
Missouri: KKK Shows at Kennett March for Heather Ellis
— FOX13 reports: “The 1.5 mile march began at the Wal-Mart parking lot where Heather Ellis is accused of assaulting officers after a verbal altercation with a store cashier when Ellis cut line in January 2007. The march will end in front of the courthouse.”
— “According to FOX13’s Les Smith, the march has proceeded peacefully. Approximately 20 supposed members of the KKK are among those lining the streets, holding signs with KKK slogans and swastikas. One arrest of an alleged skinhead was made prior to the march.”
— New York Times: “Obama skirts Chinese political sensitivities”
— “NYT: President’s low-key approach on human rights means no meetings with Chinese liberals, free press advocates”
— New York Times: “Whether by White House design or Chinese insistence, President Obama has steered clear of public meetings with Chinese liberals, free press advocates and even ordinary Chinese during his first visit to China, showing deference to the Chinese leadership’s aversions to such interactions that is unusual for a visiting American president.”
Daily Telegraph reports: “Human rights were also the subject of discussion, with President Obama again espousing his view that freedoms of speech and assembly were ‘universal rights’ that should be enjoyed by all peoples, including ethnic minorities.”
