Category: Other

Sweden: Hate Crimes Against Jews Increase 400 Percent

Antisemitism in Sweden (translated report)

Hate crimes against Jews, greatly increases
— Hanna Hellström

— “Notified Swedish hate crimes against Jews rose by 400 percent in the early year, in connection with the conflict in Gaza.”

— “Police figures reveal that ten percent of the notified anti-Semitic crimes about violence and abuse. JSS is estimated that there is a hate crime per day against the Jews in Sweden. The source also says that they have a closely with the police and that the work is coordinated jointly.”

—  “Lena Posner-Körösi, chairman of the Central Jewish Council, says it is more and new players threatening.”

— She states that the threats have been “from both left and right, even the Christian far right, I also feel that the threat from
Muslim extremist groups have increased,” says Lena Posner-Körösi.

— “Ten years ago it was the extreme right, which was the biggest threat, now we find that left-wing extremists and radical Muslim groups are a greater threat to Jews, “says the source of the JSS.”

Iran: Court in Iran refuses to release French student Clotilde Reiss

— London Times reports:
— “A Tehran court has ordered that a teacher from Lille must remain under house arrest at the French Embassy after hopes for her release were set back by Franco-Iranian tensions over a prisoner swap.”
— “After a three-hour hearing, Clotilde Reiss was told that she would be summoned again before the conclusion of her trial on charges of spying and provoking unrest. President Ahmadinejad raised the prospect last week that Ms Reiss, who was arrested after the anti-government demonstrations in June, could be nearing the end of her ordeal as a pawn between Tehran and Paris. In Copenhagen on Friday President Ahmadinejad said that Tehran was eager to resolve the case, and that this would happen if French leaders ‘correct a little their behaviour’.”
— “French officials said this was a reference to Ali Vakili Rad, an Iranian serving a life sentence in France for the 1991 murder in Paris of the Shah’s former Prime Minister, Shapour Bakhtiar. At his trial, Rad said that he had been acting on orders from Tehran when he stabbed Bakhtiar more than 20 times.”

Tehran wants Ali Vakili Rad, left, freed in exchange for Clotilde Reiss (London Times)
Tehran wants Ali Vakili Rad, left, freed in exchange for Clotilde Reiss (London Times)
France's Clotilde Reiss has been held prisoner in Iran
France's Clotilde Reiss has been held prisoner in Iran

Pakistan Court Orders Mutilation “as part of an Islamic punishment”

— Times of India: “Pakistan court orders a nose for a nose”
— ” ‘The court ordered that the nose and ears of Sher Mohammad and Ammanat Ali be chopped off as part of an Islamic punishment of a nose for a nose and ears for ears,’ court official Azhar Ameen said.”
— “The men were found guilty of kidnapping a woman who had refused to marry one of them, then hacking off her nose and ears.”

Iran: Many Thousands Reportedly Challenge Iranian Regime, Violence After Funeral

— Hundreds of thousands challenge Iranian regime
— “Mourners chant anti-government slogans at funeral of dissident cleric Ayatollah Montazeri.”
— Fresh violence reported in Iran — “after the funeral of dissident cleric Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, attended by vast crowds of mourners”
— Iranian cleric’s funeral draws protesters

Turkey: European Human Rights Court Rules in Favor of Turkish Church

Turkey: European Human Rights Court Rules in Favor of Turkish Church

— CDN reports: “In a decision many hope will lead to greater religious freedom in Turkey, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) found that a Turkish court ruling barring a church from starting a foundation violated the congregation’s right to freedom of association.”
— “Orhan Kemal Cengiz, a Turkish attorney and legal advisor for the litigants, said the decision earlier this year was the first time the ECHR has held that religious organizations have a right to exist in Turkey. Other issues the court addressed dealt with organizations’ rights to own property, he said.”
— “Cengiz added that this case is just the first of many needed to correct conflicts within the Turkish legal system in regard to freedom of association, known in Turkey as the concept of ‘legal personality.’ ”
— ” ‘This case is a significant victory, but it is the first case in a long line of cases to come,’ Cengiz said.”
— “Ihsan Ozbek, pastor of Kurtulus Church in Ankara, which set out to establish the foundation, said he was pleased with the court’s decision.”

Turkey: Plot Targeting Turkey’s Religious Minorities Allegedly Discovered

Turkey: Plot Targeting Turkey’s Religious Minorities Allegedly Discovered
— CDN reports: “Chilling allegations emerged last month of a detailed plot by Turkish naval officers to perpetrate threats and violence against the nation’s non-Muslims in an effort to implicate and unseat Turkey’s pro-Islamic government.”
— “Evidence put forth for the plot appeared on an encrypted compact disc discovered last April but was only recently deciphered; the daily Taraf newspaper first leaked details of the CD’s contents on Nov. 19.”
— “Entitled the ‘Operation Cage Action Plan,’ the plot outlines a plethora of planned threat campaigns, bomb attacks, kidnappings and assassinations targeting the nation’s tiny religious minority communities — an apparent effort by military brass to discredit the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). The scheme ultimately called for bombings of homes and buildings owned by non-Muslims, setting fire to homes, vehicles and businesses of Christian and Jewish citizens, and murdering prominent leaders among the religious minorities.”
— “Dated March 2009, the CD containing details of the plot was discovered in a raid on the office of a retired major implicated in a large illegal cache of military arms uncovered near Istanbul last April. Once deciphered, it revealed the full names of 41 naval officials assigned to carry out a four-phase campaign exploiting the vulnerability of Turkey’s non-Muslim religious minorities, who constitute less than 1 percent of the population.”
— “A map that Taraf published on its front page — headlined ‘The Targeted Missionaries’ — was based on the controversial CD documents. Color-coded to show all the Turkish provinces where non-Muslims lived or had meetings for worship, the map showed only 13 of Turkey’s 81 provinces had no known non-Muslim residents or religious meetings.”
— “The plan identified 939 non-Muslim representatives in Turkey as possible targets.”

France: Anti-Muslim graffiti found on French mosque — Nazi swastika and “white power”

France: Anti-Muslim graffiti found on French mosque
— AP reports: “Police say assailants have scrawled a Nazi slogan and hung pig feet on a mosque in southern France.”
— “Interior Minister Brice Hortefeux has denounced the “vile and racist desecration” of the mosque in the town of Castres.”
— “Police say the swastika in black paint and slogans including Hitler salute “Sieg Heil” in German, “France to the French” in French, and “White Power” in English were scrawled on the mosque.”