Category: Human Rights

The European Court of Justice on Wednesday dismissed the PKK terror group’s request seeking its removal from the EU’s terror list.

The EU General Court, a constituent court of the EU Court of Justice, announced its decision in the lawsuit filed by the terror group last year.

The decision, in which the terms "terrorist act" and "terrorist group" were defined, affirmed that PKK was a "terrorist organization," referring to the UK's 2014 and the US' 1997 and 2001 decisions banning the terror group.

The decision pointed out that the PKK's actions could not be seen as part of the “Kurdish people's right to self-determination” and that resorting to armed force for the exercise of this right could not be considered legitimate.

The decision also affirmed the assessment of the EU Council that the terrorist risk regarding the PKK continues.

The EU Council reviews the list of sanctions such as freezing the financial assets of persons, groups and entities deemed terrorists and prohibiting the provision of financial resources at least once every six months.

Source: Anadolu Agency

A Bangladeshi court on Monday rejected the bail petitions of more than 200 opposition leaders and activists accused of being linked to recent clashes between Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) members and police.

At least one person was killed and over a hundred injured, including dozens of police officers, in the hours-long clashes on Dec. 7 between activists of the BNP and members of law enforcement in the capital Dhaka’s Naya Paltan neighborhood, where the headquarters of the BNP is located.

The bail petitions of 224 opposition party members were rejected Monday and the court ordered that they be sent to jail.

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and central leaders Mirza Abbas, Abdus Salam, Khairul Kabir Khokon, Shahid Uddin Chowdhury Annie and Fazlul Haque Milon were among them.

Lawyers for the accused said the case filed by police against the BNP leaders and activists was politically motivated and just to harass them.

The BNP leaders have been accused of instructing people to attack the police during the Dec. 7 clashes.

Amid the volatile and tense political environment, the BNP will hold nationwide protests Tuesday demanding the withdrawal of all politically motivated cases against party leaders and activists and releasing them from jail.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency, BNP vice-chairman Shamsuzzaman Dudu said the ruling Awami League government is trying to control the mass upsurge by pushing opposition leaders into jail through false cases.

“But people no longer want this government and they want a change through a free, fair and participatory election. The spontaneous participation of hundreds of thousands of people in the Dec. 10 mass rally in Dhaka despite heavy obstacles by the government proves how much people are fed up with the Awami League government,” Dudu said.

The BNP held a grand rally on Dec. 10 in the capital Dhaka demanding the reinstatement of a non-political caretaker government system for holding next year’s national elections and freeing Begum Khaleda Zia, the 76-year-old party head and two-time prime minister who has been jailed for 17 years since being convicted in 2018 in two graft cases.

The Awami League party's general secretary, Obaidul Quader, however, vowed at a party meeting Monday that no election would be held under a caretaker government.

“If the BNP wants to exist politically, they should make preparations for the next election under the existing system,” said Quader.

Source: Anadolu Agency

A court in Japan on Monday rejected a suit by the second generation of nuclear bomb victims seeking government compensation.

“The state not providing aid to so-called second-generation hibakusha, who were born to atomic bomb survivors, did not violate the constitutional guarantee of equality under the law,” read a ruling by Nagasaki District Court.

Survivors of the atomic bombing are locally known as “hibakusha.”

Japan is the only country to have been the victim of nuclear bombs that resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands and affected the lives of future generations.

Nagasaki court’s ruling came after 28 petitioners had demanded 100,000 yen ($730) each from the government in aid.

A similar case is pending before a court in Hiroshima – the site of the world’s first atomic bombing by the US military planes on Aug. 6, 1945. Later, the US forces bombed Nagasaki, which resulted in the deaths of at least 140,000 people by the end of that year. The dead included more than 20,000 Koreans.

Hibakusha receive from the Japanese government “various forms of financial assistance” including the full cost of their medical expenses.

“Such aid does not extend to their children,” Kyodo News reported.

In their argument, the petitioners told the court their “parents’ exposure to radiation” in the 1945 US atomic bombing “had affected their health.”

Presiding Judge Hiroyoshi Amakawa ruled: “The genetic influence of radiation could not be determined.”

The Japanese government told the court the “effects of radiation exposure on the children were not confirmed and that there was therefore no legislative obligation to expand the scope of the financial aid.”

“The scope of the atomic bomb survivors’ assistance law will be left to the legislature's discretion,” he added.

Ruling out any “discriminatory” approach, the court said: “It can only be said that we cannot deny the possibility of a hereditary influence of atomic bomb radiation exposure.”

Source: Anadolu Agency

Vanuatu, a carbon-negative country and yet one of the most vulnerable nations to climate change, has rolled up its sleeves to seek "climate justice" at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

The tiny island nation in the South Pacific Ocean has circulated a draft resolution with 17 other countries at the United Nations General Assembly asking the world court to take a stance on protecting vulnerable nations from climate change.

Vanuatu is the world's most at-risk country for natural hazards, according to a UN University World Risk Index.

"Every year, we are affected by natural disasters, and the severity increases because of climate change," Vanuatu's Ambassador to the UN, Odo Tevi, told Anadolu Agency in an interview.

The country was hit by Category 5 cyclones in 2015 and 2021, which affected 60% of its GDP, Tevi said, adding that "it is huge for a small economy like Vanuatu."

"Old people in my country say that they've never witnessed Category 5 cyclones that severe, so it shows that climate change is real."

"Flooding affects infrastructure -- bridges, roads. Every year, we have to rebuild our economy... Our economies are like broken glasses," he said.

Facing rising sea levels, Vanuatu is vulnerable to coastal erosion.

"When I was a little boy, we used to have pigs in certain areas, but now they're all covered by the sea. So that's the challenge that we're facing by climate change," he said.

He said Vanuatu has relocated its citizens from some islands to the mountainous mainland due to rising sea levels, adding it is a major challenge for its low-lying neighbors in the Pacific such as Tuvalu.

Climate justice

Vanuatu and 17 other countries are calling for a UN resolution seeking an advisory opinion from the ICJ to clarify what responsibilities governments have to protect future generations from climate change.

The resolution is expected to be voted on in the 193-member UN General Assembly early next year, and Vanuatu's campaign has gained support from around 100 countries.

The world is falling short of limiting global warming to 1.5C (2.7F), Tevi said.

"We need protection and especially international law. It's an important tool, though it's not the silver bullet, it's not going to resolve climate change. But it's going to be a tool that can be used and can be referred to," he said.

While the ICJ has no binding authority, its advisory opinion could strengthen the positions of vulnerable countries in international negotiations and could define climate change as a human rights issue.

He said the "loss and damage" fund adopted at the recent COP27 climate summit in Egypt for poor nations impacted by climate change was a "baby step" but a "good start."

"We know climate change is not an easy subject, because it's highly politicized. It's political. We live in a polarized world, so it's not going to be easy," he said.

"The next step is more and more countries that are responsible for the greenhouse gas emissions have to ramp up their ambition and provide more funds to the loss and damage facility."

Source: Anadolu Agency

Peru’s former President Pedro Castillo was transferred to a prison on Wednesday night, capping off a dramatic day that saw him impeached for rebellion after he tried to dissolve parliament.

Castillo was taken to the Barbadillo prison in the capital Lima’s Ate district.

Castillo was arrested hours earlier after a televised speech in which he said he planned to dissolve Congress, a last-ditch attempt to retain power as he faced an impeachment trial.

Dina Boluarte has been sworn in as Peru’s new president, the first woman to hold the position in the country.

Castillo’s move was immediately condemned by political forces, including the party that brought him to power, Peru Libre (Free Peru), and a series of Cabinet resignations followed.

Boluarte, who was vice president until Wednesday evening, also “rejected” Castillo’s decision to “perpetrate the breakdown of the constitutional order by closing the Congress,” while the nation’s ombudsman called the attempt to dissolve Congress a “coup.”

Following the chaos generated by Castillo’s statement, local media reported that the president had gone to the Mexican Embassy in the capital Lima to request asylum.

A video circulating on social media showed how police intercepted his car and took him into custody.

Lawmakers voted 101-6, with 10 abstentions, to remove Castillo, citing reasons of “permanent moral incapacity.”

Source: Anadolu Agency

The ruling by the three-judge panel, including two Trump appointees, will go into effect in seven days unless an intervention by the full circuit court or the Supreme Court is made.

The decision by the US Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit marked a decisive defeat for Trump in a ruling that said a lower-court judge should never have granted his request for an independent arbiter in the first place and is unlikely to be overturned in the event of appeal.

“Former President Donald J. Trump brought a civil action seeking an injunction against the government after it executed a search warrant at his Mar-a-Lago residence,” the appeals court wrote in a unanimous 23-page opinion.

“The law is clear,” it said. “We cannot write a rule that allows any subject of a search warrant to block government investigations after the execution of the warrant. Nor can we write a rule that allows only former presidents to do so,” it added.

Trump is likely to appeal the 11th Circuit’s decision to the conservative-majority US Supreme Court. The 11th Circuit said its order will not take effect for seven days, during which time the former president could seek to challenge it.

“The decision does not address the merits that clearly demonstrate the impropriety of the unprecedented, illegal and unwarranted raid on Mar-a-Lago. President Donald J Trump will continue to fight against the weaponized Department of Justice,” a Trump spokesman said in a statement.

Trump sought to have what is known as a special master appointed to review the trove of 11,000 records seized during an Aug. 8 FBI search of Mar-a-Lago, a request granted on Sept. 5 by District Judge Aileen Cannon when she appointed Senior Judge Raymond Dearie.

The former president’s legal team is seeking to have the special master examine the documents to determine whether any may be covered by what is known as executive privilege.

Source: Anadolu Agency

"We repeat once again our commitment to destroy the terrorist group that murdered a 5-year-old boy and a 22-year-old teacher in the attack in Gaziantep2s (border) district of Karkamis, until its last militant is neutralized,” Erdogan said after a Cabinet meeting in the capital Ankara.

Erdogan said Türkiye's determination to establish a 30-kilometer-deep (18.6-mile) security strip next to its borders continues, something it previously sought to do with US and Russian cooperation on its southern border. Turkish officials have complained that Washington and Moscow failed to uphold their ends of the deal.

"We do not need to get permission from anyone while taking steps concerning the security of our homeland and our people, and we will not be held accountable to anyone," Erdogan added.

He stressed that no one will be able to force Türkiye to any position against its own interests in political, diplomatic, economic, and military terms through "empty threats."

The president also said no one should be disturbed by Türkiye's military operations aimed at expanding the circle of security and peace.

"We do not have to tolerate the hypocrisy of those who support registered terrorist groups with naming-change games," Erdogan said.

Ankara has long claimed that terrorism has no religion, language, race, nationality, and it is not possible to fight a terrorist group by supporting another terrorist group.

Recently, Türkiye launched Operation Claw-Sword in northern areas of Iraq and Syria, a cross-border aerial campaign against the terror group PKK, which has illegal hideouts across the Iraqi and Syrian borders where they plan and sometimes execute attacks on Turkish soil.

After the air operation was launched on Nov. 20, Erdogan also signaled a ground operation into northern Iraq and northern Syria to eliminate the terror threat.

The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the European Union and the US, and is responsible for the deaths of 40,000 people, including women, children and infants. The YPG is the terrorist PKK's Syrian branch.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Speaking at a gathering in Berlin, Scholz said the Social Democrat-led coalition government is planning to modernize laws to build a more inclusive and democratic society.

"Today 9 million people have no German citizenship, although they have been living and working in our country for many years," Scholz said, adding that these immigrants have made significant contributions to the German economy and society.

"For example, in the health sector, about a quarter of doctors in Germany are not born here, they have immigration background. Similarly, one third of nurses, caretakers have immigration background," he said.

The chancellor said planned reforms will make it easier for immigrants to become German citizens and will enhance integration and political participation.

"One who permanently lives and works here should also have the right to vote and to stand for election, should be part of our country, with all rights and obligations, irrespective of origin, skin color or religious beliefs," he stressed.

Scholz also underlined that planned reforms will enable immigrants to hold dual citizenship, or multiple nationality, which is currently not possible for immigrants from certain countries.

Reform of German citizenship and immigration laws was a centerpiece of the coalition agreement between Scholz's Social Democrats, the Greens and the pro-business Free Democrats when they formed the government last year.

As part of Germany's immigration reforms, people who have already lived in the country for several years should be able to become citizens more easily. Instead of eight years, as is currently the case, it should be possible to obtain citizenship after five years of residence in Germany.

In the case of "special integration achievements," this should even be possible after three years – for example if immigrants have shown special academic or professional achievements or voluntary commitment or have particularly good language skills.

Children born in Germany to foreign parents should automatically become Germans if one parent has had their "lawful habitual residence" in Germany for five years. So far, this has only been the case after eight years.

Source: Anadolu Agency

One soldier was also killed in efforts to retake the Villa Rays Hotel, Somali Federal Police spokesman Sadik Dodishe told a news conference in the capital Mogadishu.

Out of six attackers, five were shot dead by security forces and one blew himself up, he added.

He added that security forces rescued 60 people during the operation.

The siege ended more than 20 hours after the terrorists blasted their way into the hotel in the capital.

According to local media and victims’ relatives, among the people killed in the attack were two British-Somali dual citizens.

The hotel is located in Somalia’s most protected neighborhood, close the presidential palace.

Al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorist group al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the attack.

Source: Anadolu Agency