Uncategorized – Page 9 – Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.)

American Women’s Constitutional Rights and Extremist Attacks on Their Lives

In our support for the Constitutional rights of American women, we support the Equal Rights Amendment (E.R.A.) as an urgent and necessary protection for American women. Many of the reasons for such protection have been well documented: sexual discrimination against women, inconsistently enforced oppression and violence against women, the denial of equal rights and opportunity in the workplace, the disparate laws across the United States of America, which provides inconsistency in the protection of women’s rights.

But one other aspect to having a culture where there is a shared understanding of women’s rights and equality UNDER THE LAW is in the repeated cases we have seen on extremist attacks on American women.

Such extremists who seek to attack, threaten, oppress, injure, or kill women, based on some extremist ideology would now be held to a higher standard. If local courts did not ensure the protection of such women and the enforcement of the law, federal protection of women’s equal rights would.

One instance would be in cases of so-called “honor killings” by extremists, which are enforced differently in states around the nation. Only when there is interstate issues of travel or kidnapping do federal authorities get involved. Our American justice system should set a standard for consistency in Constitutional equality for women, as the LAW of the land, where all people coming to the United States of America will know that crimes against women – are crimes against this great United States of America itself.

We have seen such crimes against women, where a Constitutional amendment to enforce such women’s equality might have made the difference in protecting not only women’s rights, but also women’s lives.

Amina and Sarah Said in Dallas, Texas: sisters aged 17 and 18, murdered for dating non-Islamic boyfriends and developing “Westernized” ways. They were shot 11 times by their father Yaser Abdel Said, who remains at large.

Amina and Sarah Said - Victims of "Honor Killings" in Texas — Amina and Sarah Said – Victims of “Honor Killings” in Dallas, Texas

Methal Dayem in Cleveland, Ohio: shot four times with three bullets hitting her legs and torso, with the fourth going through her neck and she suffocated on her own blood. Cleveland prosecutors sought to bring charges against men believed in an “honor killing” against her, but her murderer(s) have never been punished. Her mother left the American court, sobbing that “You will not get away from Allah. Allah will punish you.”

Methal Dayem - Victim of "Honor Killing" in Cleveland, Ohio — Methal Dayem – Victim of “Honor Killing” in Cleveland, Ohio

Noor Almaleki in Peoria, Arizona: 20 year old woman murdered by her extremist father Faleh Almalek, who used his Jeep Cherokee to run over his daughter and another woman. He sought to commit an “honor killing” because her daughter was “too Westernized” and left an arranged marriage.

20 Year Old Noor Almaleki - American Girl Murdered for an "Honor Killing" — Noor Almaleki – American Girl Murdered for an “Honor Killing” in Peoria, Arizona

Aasiya Zubair Hassan in Buffalo, New York: 37 year-old woman beheaded by her husband Muzzammil Hassan in an “honor killing;” Ms. Hassan was a spokeswoman for a Muslim television program, “Bridges.” A Buffalo National Organization of Woman (NOW) representative was criticized for challenging an ideological view which believed that women were subordinate to men.

Aasiya Zubair Hassan - Suspected Victim of "Honor Killing" in Buffalo, NY — Aasiya Zubair Hassan – Victim of Suspected “Honor Killing” in Buffalo, NY

Sandeela Kanwal in Jonesboro, Georgia: 25 year-old woman strangled to death and beaten with an iron in a “honor killing” by her father Chaudhry Rashid, because she wanted to get out of an arranged marriage.

Sandeela Kanwa - Victim of "Honor Killing" in Georgia — Sandeela Kanwa – Victim of “Honor Killing” in Georgia

Tina Isa in Indianapolis, Indiana: 16 year-old child was stabbed to death 13 times by father in an “honor killing” for causing “dishonor”to her family for applying for a job at Wendy’s restaurant and seeing a black friend from school.

Tina Isa - Victim of "Honor Killing" in Indianapolis — Tina Isa – Victim of “Honor Killing” in Indianapolis

Amina Ajmal in Brooklyn, New York: 23 year-old woman told a court of her father “honor killing” threats and plots, after she was forced into an arranged marriage and allegedly gunned down her true love’s father and sister after she ran away

and another child threatened with an “honor killing” for seeking freedom of religion…

Rifqa Bary in Columbus, Ohio: teenage girl who stated her parents threatened to kill her for changing her religion and converting to Christianity.

Columbus, Ohio: Christian Convert Rifqa Bary – Stated She Was Threatened with “Honor Killing” Death

And these are just the ones we KNOW about.

These murder and attacks by those with an extremist ideology are an affront to the women’s human rights. They did not take place in Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Iran, or another extremist nation.

These attacks and threats happened in:
— Dallas, Texas
— Cleveland, Ohio
— Peoria, Arizona
— Buffalo, New York
— Jonesboro, Georgia
— Indianapolis, Indiana
— Brooklyn, New York
— Columbus, Ohio

They happened in AMERICA – from Arizona to Buffalo. Your country.

The same America, where the failure to set an expectation of full Constitutional equality for women has led people to believe that women in this nation can be treated as subservient to men, who if they fail to obey, such extremist men think they have the right to murder such women.

The same America, where women still in this 21st century, don’t have guaranteed Constitutional equality in this nation, where such crimes can be investigated (or not) based on each city or each state’s laws.

The same America, where some politicians question, if we need an Equal Rights Amendment (E.R.A.)?

But I have some first hand insight on this, coming from another city in Chicago, Illinois. It was a heart-chilling sight for those who respect American equality. In Chicago, I witnessed a public meeting of the extremist group Hizb ut-Tahrir in a Chicago hotel venue to promote the same Caliphate that ISIS seeks. The women in that venue were instructed that they had to be seated in the back of the room, where their “male masters” felt they belonged. In our nation. In the 21st century.

Hizb ut-Tahrir Instructs Women to Sit in Back of Conference Room

(This is the same Hizb ut-Tahrir organization, which had an anti-women’s rights event in the United Kingdom in March 2015, to deny that women’s equality was a universal human right, and the same group that had previously scheduled an event “Honor Killings are Morally Justified.”)

HT-and-Women — Scene for Hizb ut-Tahrir’s Anti-Women’s Rights Event – where Women are NOT Equal to Men (Source: YouTube)

This didn’t happen in a Middle East extremist nation. This happened in America – in YOUR HOME – that your children will inherit. Is this the America you want to bequeath to them?

But some politicians still don’t think we need an Equal Rights Amendment (E.R.A.)?

More than ever in our nation’s history and its place in the role, the United States of America truly needs the Equal Rights Amendment (E.R.A.). America needs to make stand without question, without caveat, that in the LAW of this land – women and men are partners with full Constitution rights in this great nation.

We need to show once again we are a nation – responsible for equality and liberty – for ALL.

Human Rights for Oppressed Christians: Love Means Action

Christian human rights matter, as Christians as oppressed around the world, a call to love one another is a call to action for human rights.

Christians worship and pray on Friday, known as “Good Friday” to the Christian community, as they remember the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. As they do so, there is no greater time for Christians to remember this sacrifice of love and take such action to demonstrate their love for one another by actively supporting the oppressed people around the world, including their Christian brothers and sisters.

Across the nation and the world in churches on Easter Sunday, there will be Christian pastors and worshipers who will rejoice in their eternal salvation through Jesus, which is truly the point of the Christian faith.

On this Good Friday, Christians can also remember Jesus’s painful, brutal sacrifice of his life on Earth for humanity, as well as the commandment he gave his followers. In John 13:34-35, Jesus is quoted as with this new commandment “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” This was a command, not a suggestion, and it is an imperative for the billions in the Christian community.

The commandment to love one another must be more than social pleasantry. Christians are right to offer kindness and friendship in their community and fellow human beings are the world. Love is an active verb seeking more than pleasant thoughts, and it calls for action to help those in need. The command to love one another means giving our outstretched hand to our brothers and sisters in humanity around the world, suffering from oppression, poverty, abuse, and despair. As a Christian myself, surely our hearts are big enough that when we love one another, we can reach out to help one another. That is what people who love one another do.

The Christian ethic requires that we reach out and love one another of every identity group, religion, ethnic background around the world, including our defense of rights of our fellow human beings, who we are taught to love.

Certainly this outreach must also include love and support for their fellow Christians who face oppression and violence. With 2.2 billion Christians in the world, the commandment to love one another should produce group the largest human rights activists in the world. Instead, there are small, but determined groups of human rights activists, missionaries, and asylum supporters, whose courage and persistence provide an example for the entire community. Their impact and influence of these activists far outweighs their limited numbers. The Christian community of 2.2 billion can do much more and must coordinate more of their efforts in defending the human rights of oppressed people around the world, including our own Christian brothers and sisters.

As a starting point, let us assume that if we love one another, we believe that our fellow human lives’ matter. The eternal lives of Christians have always been our priority, as it must be in the Christian faith. But our love for one another should also include a commitment to work for the rights and security of our fellow Christians, rather than abandon them around the world to be hunted down, tortured, imprisoned, and killed. Our loved ones deserve that we care for their well-being. All of the lives of our fellow human beings matter; Christian lives matter as well.

Yet in many churches around the world, the oppression of our fellow human beings and of our fellow Christians will be not the topic of sermons in weeks and months to come. Many are uncomfortable discussing such issues, and billions of Christians are uninformed by their religious leaders. Christian churches are for prayer and honoring God, not for politics. But following the command to love one another is not a political issue; it is a moral issue of responsibility to love one another, and to care for each other’s well-being.

The oppression of Christians around the world is every bit of an evil as the historic bondage and slavery that we have challenged for generations for Christians and others around the world. Within the Christian community, we need a new generation of abolitionists, who seek the abolition of oppression of our Christian brothers and sisters. They need to be freed from the slavery of oppression, torture, and murder; they need to be freed from prisons where they are enslaved for their faith. If we love one another, surely the injustice to them must be a cause for our action.

We can do more in defending the human rights of oppressed Christians around the world, who are regularly being tortured, raped, murdered, and imprisoned. We Christians must pray. But we must also reach out our hands, open our hearts, and open our lives to our brothers and sisters who need help. There must be more than us shaking our heads and stating “isn’t that a shame.” If we are commanded to love one another, that command calls for us to do something to help our loved ones in times of need. As we remember the sacrifice for us, surely we can sacrifice for those we are commanded to demonstrate our love.

The Open Doors organization estimates 100 million Christians face persecution, and according to the International Society for Human Rights, up to 80% of acts of persecution are directed at people of the Christian faith. If we seek to act to love one another, we must also work to help our brothers and sisters suffering around the world. It is not pleasant to see this suffering or to recount it. Perhaps some leaders view the problem of our oppressed brothers and sisters too unpleasant to discuss. But the Christian community must come together to understand the magnitude of the oppression of Christians today. This is a global problem, and it requires context of the global issue for the resources of the billions of Christians to work together.

There is no crime, no abuse of human rights, no murder that cannot be committed against Christians around the world – without apparent impunity. The billions of Christians need to become aware of this and develop a voice of love for one another, where we seek the protection of our loved ones. Our love for one another must be a challenge to those who oppress Christians around the world, and to reject the policies of Dechristianization by extremists in nation after nation. The universal human rights of all people include the freedom of religion for Christians.

In Pakistan, we have seen attacks on three churches in the past two weeks, and we have seen the continuing institutional abuses of Christian minorities. On March 15, two Christian churches were attacked during Sunday prayer services in the Youhanabad neighborhood of Lahore, with 15 killed that day and nearly 80 injured. Another three more Christians died from the attack, including a six year old girl, bringing the death toll from that attack alone to 18, and the situation has continued to worsen with arrests of hundreds of Christians. Days later, another Christian church was targeted for an attack in Pakistan. Pakistan Christians have long been a target of attack, abuse, mob murder, violence, and oppression. This has included use of the Pakistan “blasphemy” law to rationalize oppression, imprisonment, and violence against Christians. Mobs have previously destroyed Christian villages in Gojra, burned to death a Christian husband and wife in Kasur district, and have made numerous attacks on Christians. The Pakistan “blasphemy” law is also used to imprison Christians such as Pakistan woman Asia Bibi, based on hatred and grudges from non-Christians against them; Asia Bibi has been given the death sentence for trumped up and false charges of blasphemy and remains in a Pakistani prison.

In Thailand, Pakistan Christian refugees have been seeking asylum, and 300 have recently been arrested and placed in Immigration Detention Centers, while the UNHCR reviews their status in applying for asylum in fleeing from the oppression of Pakistan. We continue to reach out to the Kingdom of Thailand government, the UNHCR, and United States government to provide some mercy for these refugees seeking asylum from oppression due to their faith.

In Kenya, the latest crime against Christian human rights took place on Thursday in the attacks by the terrorist group Al-Shabaab killing 147 and wounding 79 at the Garissa University College. Christians were hunted down and hand-picked for execution by the terrorist group. The terrorist group has previously targeted Christians in a December 2014, killing 36 in the village of Kormey. The Al-Shabaab group has made numerous other attacks in Niger and Kenya – attacking churches, Christian shops, and pastor’s homes.

In India, an elderly nun was recently raped in West Bengal’s Ranaghat at the Convent of Jesus and Mary at Ranaghat, Nadia District. A rash of recent anti-Christian attacks in India has including an attack on a church under construction in the Haryana’s Hisar district. Reuters India has reported that Christians feel “under siege” in India as a result of recent attacks on them.

In Libya in February 2015, 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians were marched on their knees to a bloody beheading filmed by the ISIS terrorist organization, with the beaches of Libya covered with their blood. The ISIS terror group was proud of its grisly accomplishment and shared the video of their terrorist atrocity which it called as “a message signed with blood to the nation of the cross.” Egyptian Copts have protested the outrageous murder of Christians by this terrorist group.

In Syria, ISIS terrorists recently kidnapped over 200 Christians, thousands of Christians have been forced from their homes, and according to the BBC, Syrian Christians have been ordered to convert to Islam, pay jizya (a religious levy), or face death.

In Egypt on March 27, 2015, a Coptic Christian church being built in Al Our village in the Minya governorate being built to honor the 21 Christians beheaded by ISIS in Libya, was attacked by an angry mob with Molotov cocktails, injuring seven people and burning a Christian worshiper’s car.

In Nigeria, reports continually flow in about Christian churches being burned down in town after town. As of October 2014, Nigerian news reported that “185 churches have been razed and 190,545 people displaced.” This was after the global terror organization Boko Haram’s attack on Nigerian towns in Borno and Adamawa states. In November 2014, Fr. Gideon Obasogie, Head of Social Communications of the Diocese of Maiduguri, has provided news media with further updates on the destruction of Diocese of Maiduguri, with the fall of Mubi, with an estimated 2,500 Catholic Christians killed, 100,00 Catholics displaced, and over 50 churches destroyed. Christian churches and lives have been a target for destruction by the Boko Haram terrorist group, as well as terrorist attacks throughout northern Nigerian causing thousands of women and children to flee the country to neighboring nations.

In Communist China, on March 25, 2015, a Chinese Christian preacher Huang Yizi, who opposed an ongoing “anti-church” demolition campaign that saw hundreds of places of worship destroyed, has now been jailed on trumped-up charges of “gathering crowds to disturb social order.” The Communist Chinese Party (CCP) court sentenced him to one year in prison. The totalitarian CCP has long sought to oppress people of faith and conscience as part of oppression of universal human rights. Chinese Christian have regularly had prayer sessions to protect their houses of worship, but we have reported on numerous cases where the CCP authorities bully Chinese Christians and bulldoze their house of worship.

In the United States of America, African-Americans have been a target of abuse in major cities throughout the country. This has included Christian African-Americans in the city of Ferguson, Missouri. Christian leaders have come out of their pulpit to have a voice for human rights, dignity, and justice, but also to call for peace. As one woman pastor sought to keep the peace, she was shot in the stomach by a 60 caliber rubber bullet causing a bloody wound. But she stood back up and continued her commitment for peace and dignity.

As Christians worship during this Holy Week, in terms of rights, lives, and dignity of their fellow Christians and other fellow human beings, there is much that needs to be done. This is hardly a comprehensive list of the current oppression on Christians’ human rights, but the point is that this is a global problem, which needs a global solution.

The commandment for love is not only for quiet prayer, but also a call for acting in love. For our fellow Christians, it is a call to get our leaders to influence and change the views of nations where Christians are routinely oppressed, tortured, imprisoned, and killed. It is a call to work together to find ways to help, provide asylum, and find routes for Christians who flee such oppression to find a safe haven.

Americans had a history in addressing the disgrace of slavery for those fleeing such states where human rights and dignity were denied for African-Americans. They created a network of secret routes and safe houses for enslaved African-Americans to escape slave states and their oppressors. This commitment to their journey to freedom was a commitment to human rights. Just as Americans did in their history of providing safe haven (and continuing to fight for the rights) of African-Americans, so Christians around the world must come to the aid of those Christians seeking asylum from oppressive nations.

While we need long-term efforts to change the conditions where Christians are oppressed, we also need immediate action to help our fellow Christians in crisis. Groups such as the Pakistan Christian Congress, OpenDoors, Jubilee Campaign, ChinaAid, Christian Asylum Seekers, Iman Foundation Trust, Farrukh Saif Foundation, and others seek to work to help Christians in crisis, and they need your support.

To help Christians in crisis, we also need our own “underground railroad” to help oppressed Christians fleeing oppressor nations to find freedom. We need to work with our government agencies, United Nations refugee organizations, NGOs, and other refugee organizations to help oppressed Christians who are forced to flee their oppressors find a refuge in a free nation. Christian human rights organizations need to find ways to work more cohesively together for greater impact in human rights and safety of Christians around the world.

Open Doors reports that each month 322 Christians are killed for their faith, 214 churches and Christian properties are destroyed, and 772 forms of violence are committed against Christians. In Kenya alone, on Thursday, 147 people were killed, mostly Christian – in ONE DAY.

If we follow the commandment to love one another, and we respect the human rights of our fellow human beings, these global patterns of oppression must be unacceptable to the billions of Christians.

Love Means Action. Christian Lives Matter. All Lives Matter.

Women’s Equality Denied as Human Rights by Extremist Group Hizb ut-Tahrir

The notorious extremist group Hizb ut-Tahrir is planning an anti-women’s rights event on March 28, 2015 to promote the concept that women should be denied equality as part of our shared universal human rights, and that legal and human rights efforts for gender equality are wrong. The Hizb ut-Tahrir (HuT) extremist group’s press release for their anti-women’s rights event mocks International Women’s Day (March 8) and denounces gender equality as a universal human right.

HT-Rejects-Gender-Equality — Extremist Group Hizb ut-Tahrir Rejects Universal Human Rights for Women and Gender Equality (Source: HT YouTube Video)

The HuT extremist group has been notorious for its calls to deny human equality, religious freedom, and to publicly call for the death penalty for those who it considers “apostates” from Islam. HuT has been promoting a video for this conference, where it calls for the end of gender equality and seeks to define its own version of humanity’s universal human rights where gender equality is not a part of our shared universal human rights.

The HuT organization is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, and claims to have supporters in 50 countries with a million members. Like ISIS, the HuT organization’s goals are to create a multiple nation “caliphate,” where the only law would be their extremist interpretation of theocratic law, denying shared human rights.

The extremist HuT organization seeks to rationalize its call to reject democracy and human rights based on its interpretation of Islam and Sharia law, but it fails to note the reference to “Sharia law” in the Qur’an (sura 45:18) merely calls for the pursuit of “the right path,” not a call to subjugate women. Interpretations of this reject the spirit of Islam and unquestioningly reject our shared universal human rights.

The HuT March 28 event calling for a denial of gender equality as a universal human right will include UK HuT national women’s officer Nazreen Nawaz, who has appeared on UK television shows to promote the HuT extremist ideology. Her 2009 appearance was shared by White House advisor Dalia Mogahed, as per our report on this. The adviser did not challenge HuT’s extremist views.

HuT seeks to promote its own version of violent jihad, and has a history of association with violent individuals. A recent video of HuT cleric Ismail al-Wahwah making vile anti-Semitic comments demonizing Jewish people and claiming that they will “pay with blood” has been revealed by the news media.

Australian terrorist Man Haron Monis, has reportedly been associated with HuT, and had a front-row seat at a HuT event, after their talk “Honor Killings are Morally Justified” was canceled. Monis’ attack and hostage taking of the public at a Lindt chocolate shop, led to two dead hostages, Ms. Katrina Dawson and Mr. Tori Johnson. Monis also pledged allegiance to the ISIS group during his terrorist attack .

Bae-Jieun-runs-from-terrorist — Lindt Terror Attack: Bae Jieun Flees from Terrorist Man Horan Monis who Supported Hizb ut-Tahrir (Source: AFP)

CAGE research director, Asim Qureshi, who has referred to ISIS killer Mohammed Emwazi as a “beautiful young man” also has been active in HuT events in front of the U.S. embassy in London, calling for violent jihad.

London: Qureshi calling for jihad in front of U.S. Embassy (Source: YouTube) — Hizb ut-Tahrir London Event: Asim Qureshi calling for jihad in front of U.S. Embassy (Source: YouTube)

Counterterrorist research organizations have reported that HuT has developed an armed wing called “Harakat ul-Muhojirinfi Britaniya,” and news media have reported concerns that HuT’s involvement in Southeast Asia could lead to greater extremist terrorism than that of ISIS.

R.E.A.L. has repeatedly protested the anti-human rights and anti-democracy efforts of the HuT extremist group, including R.E.A.L. demonstrations in Chicago and in R.E.A.L. demonstrations in Washington, D.C.

We challenge the violent and anti-human rights message of the HuT, which is demonstrated in its images such as a beheaded statue of liberty. This provides a graphic representation of their rejection to equality and liberty for women.

Hizb ut-Tahrir Caliphate conference shows "beheaded" Statue of Liberty and "burning" NYC — Hizb ut-Tahrir Caliphate conference shows “beheaded” Statue of Liberty and “burning” NYC

R.E.A.L. leaders have publicly witnessed the efforts of HuT to call for the death of those who religious views that disagreed with in HuT America documents being distributed at a HuT America (HTA) conference in a Chicago suburb. R.E.A.L. also witnessed the role of women in HuT, assigned to remain in the back of the conference room and delegated to be the inferior to their male counterparts.

july19-ht-women-in-back — Hizb ut-Tahrir America event – can’t see the women in the back? That was the POINT – this is the reality HuT truly seeks for women

R.E.A.L. believes our struggle with extremist groups of every kind — who reject our equality and dignity of women and men, of all religions, of all races, of all ethnic groups, of all sexual orientation, and of all identity groups – begins with an uncompromising and unequivocal position on the equality and human rights for all human beings. We believe that without such a position on these rights, and especially women’s rights, that we are not only losing the struggle of ideas against such extremist groups, we are surrendering that struggle.

The women of the world deserve our support and our defense of the human rights to decide whatever choice they may make – as long as it is their choice – not someone else’s dictate.

Women’s Rights are Human Rights. Gender Equality is Human Equality. These are and will be essential parts of our universal human rights, everywhere, and for every woman.

Blasphemy Law used to Oppress Pakistan Christian Woman in Islamabad / Rawalpindi

Volunteer human rights group Responsible for Equality and Liberty (R.E.A.L.) has received new reports from Pakistan of threats against a Pakistan woman who has been leading a Christian ministry.

The new Pakistan field report states that a 33 year old Pakistan woman, Ms. Saiqa, is being threatened by extremists who are using the oppressive Pakistan blasphemy law, PPC Section 295-C, against her. R.E.A.L. initially reported on this case on January 3, 2015.

Ms. Saiqa has been leading Christian ministry efforts in the “in slum areas of Rawalpindi / Islamabad” and is a professional teacher.

According to the new report, Ms. Saiqa has been convicted of blasphemy and called an “agent of western countries.”

In January, we reported how Molvi Razzaq had tried to force her from practicing Christianity and tried to force her convert to Islam, which is in violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), Article 18. We previously reported that after she rejected the advances by Molvi Razzaq, he tried to use the Pakistan Blasphemy laws to silence her and her teaching, and how he filed a FIR to the police claiming that she had defamed Islam. We reported how Molvi Razzaq announced a fatwa against her on a loud speaking and posted fatwa posters to find her, as she fled.

Molvi Razzaq has successfully defied Ms. Saiqa’s universal human rights and freedom of religion, using the Pakistan Blasphemy Laws to silence her.

The local report also states that:

“Molvi Razzaq and group of people of different mosques went to police station to file FIR to the local police station station that Ms. Saiqa used dirty language against Islam and Muhammad. Molvi Razzaq also announced a Fatwa on loud speaker and put Fatwa posters in different areas to find her. Molvi Razzaq has also distributed posters and has announced a reward if any one from Jammat will find her. Molvi Razzaq and other mosque’s clerics assured his people that they will address this matter in Raiwind Lahore for yearly convention, where Pakistan’s clerics and laymen gather for yearly convention.”

Our reporters approached the police station to assess the scale of situation. Police officer says that FIR has been filed and they have public pressure to find Miss Saiqa to fulfill the requirements of law.”

R.E.A.L. is sharing this report with the public, to our friends in the human rights media to get help to Ms. Saiqa, and we challenge the Pakistan government to act to stop this oppression.

R.E.A.L. previously reached the Pakistan Embassy spokesman Nadeem Hotiana on this specific case, who is very concerned about the image of Pakistan in the media. In January stated he would like into resolving this issue; we will remind him on this case. If the Pakistan government is concerned about its reputation, the way to make a difference is to act, not talk, to defend the human rights of religious minorities oppressed throughout Pakistan, in defiance of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. We call upon the Pakistan government, and we call upon Nadeem Hotiana to personally intervene to stop such oppression of religious minorities.

We call for the defense of this woman, Ms. Saiqa, in Islamabad, and we call for the defense of her human rights, freedom of conscience, safety, and human dignity, in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) accepted by the United Nations over 60 years ago.

Thailand and UNHCR: Appeal for Mercy to Refugees

The day after International Women’s Day, we have been contacted by Pakistan Christian refugees in Thailand, about women fleeing from persecution in a country they fled to as refugees.

There are thousands of women, children, and men in Thailand who have applied for refugee status with the UNHCR, are being abandoned by the forces of human rights, and the Thailand police have started a new round of arrests of law-abiding Pakistan Christian refugees, and the UNHCR delays have allowed their visas to expire.

As our good friend with the Pakistan Christian Congress, Dr. Nazir Bhatti states, “according to International rules of Refugee under UN, it is bound to take decision on asylum applications with 90 days that any countries immigration rules may not effect but UNHCR offices in Thailand are giving 3 years’ time for decision. ”

But we are getting first-hand reports of Pakistan Christian refugees being rounded up today and arrested by Thailand law enforcement. We have appealed to the Thailand Prime Minister, the UNHCR, the Thailand embassy in Washington DC, and the United States embassy in Bangkok, to work to delay such arrests until the UNHCR can review and make decisions on their refugee applications. The content of our letters today are listed below.

We call for all women’s rights activists, all human rights activists, and all those who respect our universal human rights to act to support these women and other Pakistan Christian refugees who are being arrested and hunted in churches and the market to be round up and sent to Immigration Detention Centers.

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Letter to Thailand Prime Minister

March 9, 2015

Kingdom of Thailand
The Secretariat of the Prime Minister
Government House, 1 Phitsanulok Road, Dusit, Bangkok 10300
General Prayut Chan-o-cha, Prime Minister
Honorable Prime Minister –
With great respect, I am contacting you on behalf of the human rights volunteer group Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.) regarding the need to assist Christian refugees who have fled from Pakistan due to the oppressive religious discrimination that they are facing in that country, and who are seeking asylum. (R.E.A.L. is based in the United States of America.)

These Pakistan Christian refugees have applied for asylum with the UNCHR, including women and children, who are refugees from religious oppression in Pakistan. I urge the government of Thailand to grant asylum to these refugees, or to at least give them the opportunity to seek asylum in the United States of America through the U.S Embassy in Bangkok.

I thank you for your stand on women’s rights, yesterday, on International Women’s Day.

There are many women, however, who need your leadership, as well as children and men among the Pakistan Christian refugees who have fled Pakistan seeking safety and asylum. There many thousands of Pakistan Christian asylum seekers who are contributing members to your nation and your economy while they await the decision on their asylum applications with office of UNHCR in different cities of Thailand.

Pakistan Christian refugees seeking asylum by Thailand have been communicating in an appeal to human rights groups to address their plight. One such Pakistan Christian asylum seeker, Jarvas Jerry, died last week as he was waiting for medical care, which apparently came too late. Mr. Jarvas Jerry died in the Siri raj hospital Bangkok on February 28, 2015. He had applied for asylum with the UNCHR.

I join with other human rights groups in appealing to your mercy and your own stand on human rights, just yesterday, to protect such rights for the safety and dignity of Pakistan Christians seeking asylum. I join the voices of other human rights groups on behalf of Pakistani Christians as token of mercy and human rights to ask you to direct the Thailand police to not make unnecessary arrests under immigration rules to allow their UNCHR applications to be considered.

I have appealed to your Ambassador here in the United States as well as to others. Please show the mercy and the commitment to human rights to these Pakistan Christian refugees, which you expressed in your speech to the world on International Women’s Day on March 8.

We share those common goals together, sir. Surely, mercy to these Pakistan Christian refugees would be great demonstrations of our ability to mutual demonstrate such support. Please let me know what we can do to assist your nation on this serious problem.

Jeffrey Imm, Founder
Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.)

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Letter to UNHCR

March 9, 2015

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
Case Postale 2500
CH-1211 Genève 2 Dépôt
Suisse.
Telephone: +41 22 739 8111
FAX: +41 22 739 7377

cc: UNHCR Regional Representative in Thailand
3rd Floor, United Nations Building, Rajdamnern Nok Avenue, 10200 Bangkok, Thailand
Telephone: 66 2 288 1858
FAX: 66 2 280 0555
Email: thaba@unhcr.org

UNHCR Headquarters and UNHCR Office in Thailand –
I am with the human rights volunteer group Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.), and I am contacting you on behalf of Pakistan Christian refugees who have fled from Pakistan due to the oppressive religious discrimination that they are facing in that country. They have applied for UNHCR refugee status and they are seeking asylum as refugees.

I have heard directly from Thailand-based refugees who have applied for asylum as refugees with the UNHCR offices in Bangkok, Thailand. Some of these refugees have been waiting for years on a refugee status decision. In the meantime, the Thailand police are arresting Pakistan Christian asylum seekers. I was directly contacted about a round of arrests in Thailand today, March 9, 2015.

Pakistan Christian women, children, and men refugees are desperately seeking asylum as refugees from the oppression that they routinely face in Pakistan.

I join with the Pakistan Christian Congress and other human rights groups which call for your agencies to take action to protect the universal human rights, dignity, and security, of such refugees who have placed their hopes in your commitment to the universal human rights that the United Nations has itself declared as standard for all nations of the world.

Yesterday, the world celebrated International Women’s Day. Today women and children Christian refugees fleeing from Pakistan are now hiding from arrests going on in Thailand, while they have been awaiting action by the UNHCR.

There are many thousands of Pakistan Christian asylum seekers who are contributing members to Thailand and its economy while they await the UNHCR decision on their asylum applications with office of UNHCR in different cities of Thailand.

Please act to support these women, children, and men Christian refugees in Thailand who are only seeking the universal human rights that the United Nation is committed to in its Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) for the world.

Jeffrey Imm, Founder
Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.)

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Letter to Thailand Embassy in United States

March 9, 2015

Kingdom of Thailand
Royal Thai Embassy
1024 Wisconsin Avenue, NW, Suite 40
Washington, DC 20007
United States
Contact: H.E. Mr. Pisan Manawapat – Ambassador
Telephone: (202) 944-3600
Thailand Embassy/Consulate Email: information@thaiembdc.org, consular@thaiembdc.org

Honorable Ambassador Pisan Manawapat –
With great respect, I am contacting you on behalf of the human rights volunteer group Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.) regarding the need to assist Christian refugees who have fled from Pakistan due to the oppressive religious discrimination that they are facing in that country, and who are seeking asylum. (R.E.A.L. is based in the United States of America.)

I am available to meet with you in person in Washington DC at your embassy on behalf of these Pakistan Christian refugees. Please let me know your schedule, and I will come to the embassy to meet with you and explain the situation these Pakistan Christians face, and why their asylum is so essential.

Honorable Ambassador Pisan Manawapat – I know you are well aware of the struggles that religious minorities face from extremists, as Thailand itself has a history of suffering from such extremist challenges, which I know you are well aware in your role in the foreign ministry. I have myself reported on such extremist challenges in Thailand over the past decade, urging assistance for your nation from the United States on our shared challenge from extremists.

Today, March 9, 2015, I have been hearing reports from Pakistan Christians whose fellow refugees are currently being arrested in Thailand today, and are being held in Thailand Immigration Detention Centres (IDC). We have heard from Pakistan refugees as to the immediate and urgent situation for the Pakistan Christian asylum seekers in Thailand, who have communicated directly with our human rights group on the plight Pakistan Christians seeking asylum. One such Pakistan Christian asylum seeker, Jarvas Jerry, died last week as he was waiting for medical care, which apparently came too late. Mr. Jarvas Jerry died in the Siri raj hospital Bangkok on February 28, 2015. He had applied for asylum with the UNCHR.

Please sir, I urge you to speak to your Thailand government regarding this situation. These Pakistan Christian refugees have UNHCR refugee applications.

I request the opportunity to speak or meet with you, so I can see how we can assist Thailand to help these refugees. These Pakistan Christian refugees in Thailand seeking asylum from oppression include many women and children.

As you stated in your recent letter to the Washington Post, “Thailand looks forward to working with the US to advance our mutual interests in fighting extremism, supporting human security, global health. security, climate change and many more.”

We share those common goals together, sir. Surely, mercy to these Pakistan Christian refugees would be great demonstrations of our ability to mutual demonstrate such support.

I have the greatest respect for your leadership for the Thai people, and I respect your commitment to human rights and human dignity. Please let me know what we can do to assist your nation on this serious problem.

Jeffrey Imm, Founder
Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.)

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Letter to United States Embassy in Thailand

March 9, 2015

Embassy of the United States of America
Bangkok, Thailand
Chargé d’affaires, a.i.
W. Patrick Murphy
GPF Tower A, 10th Floor, 93/1 Wireless Road,
Bangkok 10330, Thailand
Telephone: +66-2-205-4485
Central Fax: +66-2-650-8921
IRC Fax: +66-2-650-8918; BKK CIS Fax: +66-2-650-7770

Chargé d’affaires, a.i., W. Patrick Murphy –
In lieu of a new U.S. ambassador to Thailand, I am contacting you on behalf of the human rights volunteer group Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.) regarding actions by the Thailand government involving Christian refugees who have fled from Pakistan due to the oppressive religious discrimination that they are facing in that country, and who are seeking asylum. (R.E.A.L. is based in the United States of America.)

Since these Pakistan Christian refugees are being not granted asylum by Thailand, these individuals seeking asylum have been communicating in an appeal to human rights groups to address their plight. One such Pakistan Christian asylum seeker, Jarvas Jerry, died last week as he was waiting for medical care, which apparently came too late. Mr. Jarvas Jerry died in the Siri raj hospital Bangkok on February 28, 2015. He had applied for asylum with the UNCHR.

Today, March 9, 2015, I have been hearing from Pakistan Christians who are currently being rounded up and arrested in Thailand today, and are currently being held in Thailand Immigration Detention Centres (IDC).

We have heard from Pakistan refugees as to the immediate and urgent situation for the Pakistan Christian asylum seekers in Thailand, including a Mr. Imran Ishaq, who has communicated directly with our human rights group on the plight Pakistan Christians seeking asylum. Refugee Imran Ishaq has led the Iman Foundation Trust in support of such Pakistan Christian refugees (ImanFoundationTrust@praxitech.com).

Please sir, I urge you to speak to the Thailand government regarding this situation. These Pakistan Christian refugees have UNHCR refugee applications, but the UNHCR has not taken action on this yet. Human rights groups have reached out to the Thailand Prime Minister on this.

We have this urgent situation where Pakistan Christian refugees desperately need asylum. If the Thailand government continues to deny asylum to these refugees and the UNHCR has not supported such refugee applications, I call upon the United States of America’s embassy in Bangkok to grant Pakistan Christian refugee visitors to the U.S. asylum for safe passage to the United States of America.

The U.S. Embassy can do this, in accordance with U.S. CIS asylum application Form I-589, Application for Asylum and for Withholding of Removal. There are Pakistan Christians seeking asylum to the United States today.

Mr. Murphy – I know that you share our commitment to the universal human rights of fellow human beings, and yesterday (March 8) you stood to celebrate International Women’s Day and reaffirm your commitment to women’s rights, along with other women around the world, as did our human rights organization. These Pakistan Christian refugees in Thailand seeking asylum from oppression include many women and children. Please let our actions match our words of commitment, sir.

Thank you for your time. Please help these refugees who need to be heard.

Jeffrey Imm, Founder
Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.)

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International Women’s Day Event – March 8

Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.) and other human rights-supporting organizations are holding an International Women’s Day event on the afternoon of Sunday, March 8, from 1:30 to 4:30 PM, at a meeting room in the Bethesda Regional Library. This International Women’s Day event will be to share successes and challenges over the past year, as well as to discuss actions we can take to make a difference in challenges towards women’s equality and human rights.

We are inviting women from all backgrounds to join us at this event, where we will share the experiences of women around the world today, and ongoing struggle for equal rights, and in the United States of America, the struggle for Constitutional Equality. During the past year, we have seen the public response to high profile cases of battery, abuse, rape, murder, and persecution of women by misogynists. We demand that women’s equality and rights are considered an essential part of our shared human rights. #WomensEqualityMatters #MakeItHappen

We have invited leaders from United4Equality, Montgomery County Business & Professional Women (MC BPW), and supporters of the National Organization of Women (NOW). Please share this event with other women activists interesting in participating in this Sunday, March 8, International Women’s Day event.

EVENT LOCATION:
Given the recent weather conditions, we are holding this as an indoor event at the following address:

Bethesda Regional Library
Meeting Room
7400 Arlington Road
Bethesda, MD 20814
240-777-0970

Meeting Room Permit #: 325740

EVENT TIME:
We are planning the total even from 1:30 PM to 4:30 PM, but we anticipate most participants will be actively there from 2 PM to 4 PM.

CONTACT:
Jeffrey Imm, 301-613-8789, jeffrey.m.imm@gmail.com.
(Please contact us prior to the event to let us know that you will be coming.)

TRANSPORTATION:
Weekend parking is free at the Bethesda library.

The Bethesda Library meeting location is also within walking distance from the Bethesda Metro Station (Red Line) at 7450 Wisconsin Avenue, Bethesda, MD 20814. We can also coordinate to pick up some people from the Bethesda Metro to the library meeting room, if necessary. Ride On Bus 36 also stops outside the Bethesda Library.

Walking Directions to Bethesda Library Meeting Room from Bethesda Metro Station:
— Bear left at the top of the station’s escalator.
— Walk through the bus terminal and then straight ahead 2 blocks on Edgemoor Lane to the library.

Google’s additional Walking Directions from the Bethesda Metro Station

Randy Berry Announced as U.S. Special Envoy for the Human Rights of LGBT Persons

The U.S. State Department has announced that Randy Berry will fill the role as Special Envoy for the Human Rights of LGBT Persons. Randy Berry now has the opportunity to speak out for those LGBT persons being persecuted, tortured, and murdered around the world. The world has seen the recent gruesome images of gay men being thrown off building and stoned to death in Raqqa,Syria, the execution of 4000-6000 gay people in Iran since 1979, mob attacks, lynching, and anti-rights bill in Uganda, as well as violence in the U.S. and around the world. This is indicative of the challenges around the world. Our shared universal human rights matter for everyone, everywhere, all the time.

Iraq: 45 Muslims Burned to Death by ISIS

BBC reports on an atrocity in western Iraq Al Anbar Governate’s town of al-Baghdadi. BBC reports that “Violent Extremist militants from Islamic State (IS) have burned to death 45 people in the western Iraqi town of al-Baghdadi, the local police chief says.” BBC also indicates “The fighting and poor communications in the area make it difficult to confirm such reports.”

If confirmed, this is likely the burning to death of 45 Muslims (Sunni) by a global terrorist organization which claims its goal to create an “Islamic State.” Wikipedia reports that: “Nearly all the inhabitants of the province are Sunni Muslims and mostly from the Dulaim tribe.”

As more information is available, R.E.A.L. will update this posting. It is astounding that such a gruesome mass murder likely of Sunni Muslims is going with limited reporting.

This demonstrates again the priority of our defending our human rights and human dignity for all of our fellow human beings. Those who reject such shared human rights will sink to any level to deny and degrade our fellow human beings.

‪#‎MuslimLivesMatter‬

Fairfax, Virginia: Natasha McKenna Tasered to Death

A woman at the Fairfax County Jail, Natasha McKenna, died after by shackled by police deputies and a Taser stun gun was used on her repeatedly for failing comply with the deputies’ commands, according to reports citing the sheriff’s office. The repeated Taser shocks apparently drove her into a cardiac arrest and resulted in her death. She was shackled while being repeatedly shocked with an electric Taser stun gun, with four 50,000 volt shocks from the Taser gun, while strapped into a restraint chair. It is a disgrace and an embarrassment to human rights activists that the individuals responsible for Natasha McKenna’s death have not yet been identified and held accountable.

How are they above the law?

UPDATE:
February 12, 2015: “‘It takes six deputies to restrain a 5’3′, 37-year-old woman?’ Harvey J. Volzer, an attorney for McKenna’s family, asked in an e-mail to The Washington Post. He said that McKenna had been diagnosed with schizophrenia when she was 12.”

“The Fairfax sheriff’s office declined to answer further questions about the incident Thursday. In an e-mail, Capt. Tyler Corey said, ‘We are grateful for the diligence and professionalism displayed by the Police detectives as they work through their investigation.'”

Fairfax County Sheriff's Captain Tyler Corey proud of investigators, after woman tasered to death, and no action taken. — Fairfax County Sheriff’s Captain Tyler Corey proud of investigators, after woman tasered to death, and no action taken.

April 1, 2015 from the Washington Post: “A mentally ill woman who died after a stun gun was used on her at the Fairfax County jail in February was restrained with handcuffs behind her back, leg shackles and a mask when a sheriff’s deputy shocked her four times, incident reports obtained by The Washington Post show.”

Restraint Chair Similar to those used in Fairfax County Jail

“Natasha McKenna initially cooperated with deputies, placed her hands through her cell door food slot and agreed to be handcuffed, the reports show. But McKenna, whose deteriorating mental state had caused Fairfax to seek help for her, then began trying to fight her way out of the cuffs, repeatedly screaming, “You promised you wouldn’t hurt me!” the reports show.”

“Then, six members of the Sheriff’s Emergency Response Team, dressed in white full-body biohazard suits and gas masks, arrived and placed a wildly struggling 130-pound McKenna into full restraints, their reports state. But when McKenna wouldn’t bend her knees so she could be placed into a wheeled restraint chair, a lieutenant delivered four 50,000-volt shocks from the Taser, enabling the other deputies to strap her into the chair, the reports show.”

Another report on April 13, 2015, states that “experts” felt this was inappropriate. (As if you have to be an expert to know it is wrong to strap down a woman and electrocute her.)

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Responsible for Equality And Liberty defends the right of equal justice for all people, and rejects the use of authority as a tool of oppression to belittle and deny justice to people in the United States of America, and anywhere in the world.

Like many in our America today, and especially among human rights activists, we are used to making such reports and protesting such behavior from fascist and totalitarian rogue nations with a history of oppression such as: North Korea, Communist China, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and other rogue nations in the greater Middle East, Asia, Africa, and South America.

Do not let our reporting deceive anyone, we are as sickened and disgusted by what is going on in the United States right now as anyone else.

As we continue to see the litany of reports about American rogues in law enforcement, we must challenge those who have lost their way (some would say lost their minds) and remind them as human rights activists, our challenge to oppressors of human rights are not just to distant shores, but also right here in the United States of America.

Human Rights Future is the Present

For many individuals whose human rights are denied or compromised, the future is the present. Our future goals in defending their universal human rights must be to ensure their human rights today.