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  • ECI turns a blind eye to rabidly communal speeches by Himanta Biswa Sarma

    Is it the government’s responsibility to make mullahs? So, I ordered them to immediately put a stop to these businesses (dukans) of mullah-producing madrasas. An official said, “Sir, there will be a huge issue (bawal).” But I told him that let such small issues happen, I would deal with it. But these madrasas should be immediately closed down. In Assam, I closed down over 700 madrasas. No one had the guts to raise any issue with it…

    …Wherever she (Mamata Banerjee) sees mullahs, she starts reading namaz right then and there…

    Love Jihad used to happen in our place. They use a Hindu name on Facebook, and after marriage, it is disclosed that they are not Hindu. I’ll break their legs if they make duplicate accounts with fake names on Facebook…you can’t misguide our daughters and do Love Jihad…

    I want to tell Didi that our country is a Hindu nation, so if one has to stay here then one must learn to stay here like a Hindu. It was Hindus who had created this nation…

    In speech after speech this election season, Assam chief minister and BJP leader Himanta Biswa Sarma has openly targeted the Muslim community with rabidly communal language and on the other hand, exploited religious sentiments by raising the issue of the Ram Mandir, in complete disregard to the Model Code of Conduct. The above are just a few examples. 

    Buoyed by the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) failure to clamp down on the violations, Sarma has villainised Muslims by talking about ‘Love Jihad’, ‘Land Jihad’ and the demolition of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya.  He has repeatedly referred to the community with the denigrating term ‘Mullah’. In several speeches, the Assam chief minister credited PM Modi with the construction of the Ram Mandir and urged voters not to be satisfied with it, as the saffron party, according to him, had plans to build Gyanvapi temple in Varanasi and Krishna temple in Mathura. Following in the footsteps of PM Modi, Sarma also referred to Muslims as ‘ghuspetiyon‘ (infiltrators) and termed madrasas as ‘mullah-producing organisations’ during his Jharkhand rally on May 15.

    In one of his speeches, Sarma took a jibe at Congress and questioned the religious identity of Sonia Gandhi, depending on which, Sarma said, she would be allowed entry to the Ram Mandir. In almost all the speeches that Alt News followed, he targeted the Opposition by claiming that if voted to power, they would give reservation to Muslims. In another one, she said West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee would start offering Namaz whenever she saw a ‘mullah’.

    Several parties have written to the poll panel drawing its attention to the model code violations by Sarma. Assam Congress chief Bhupen Kumar Borah wrote to chief election commissioner Rajiv Kumar stating that Sarma had “willfully” and “deliberately” violated the model code of conduct in his campaign speeches. The Assam state unit of the Trinamool Congress complained to the ECI regarding Sarma’s hate speech in Jharkhand (documented below). The Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind also appealed to the poll panel to take cognizance of the divisive speeches delivered by him in Bihar on May 18 (documented below). However, the ECI is yet to act on these complaints. Alt News has already reported how the election commission’s double standards have empowered BJP leaders to make brazen violations of the poll codes.

    Following are a few excerpts from Himanta Biswa Sarma’s speeches:

    Barasat, West Bengal, May 19

    1:12:00: “When you gave 300 seats to Modiji, Modiji constructed the Ram Mandir, didn’t he? Ram Mandir was built in place of Babri Masjid, right? When Modiji won 300 seats, did he not abrogate Article 370? When Modiji won 300 seats, did he not pass the CAA rules? There were three temples in India. The first one was to build Ram Mandir in the place of Babri Masjid. Babar had destroyed the original Ram Mandir and built Babri Masjid in its place. Even in Mathura, which is the birthplace of Lord Krishna…Aurangzeb had built Shahi Idgah in its place.’’

    1:13:08: “And even in the case of Baba Vishwanath, even in front of the Vishwanath temple, it was this Aurangzeb…. Be it  Aurangzeb, Shah Jahan or Sandeshkhali’s (Sheikh) Shahjahan…they are all the same, this is their habit. Aurangzeb also built the Gyanvapi mosque over the Gyanvapi temple. When we got 300 seats, we built Ram Mandir. If we win 400 seats this time, we will construct Krishna Mandir in Mathura and also build the Gyanvapi temple in place of the Gyanvapi mosque. This is why you should vote for Modiji and make him win by 400 seats.”

    1:14:00: “There are 26 per cent of Muslims in Bengal and 36/37 per cent in Assam. But I also mingle with them, eat with their mothers and enquire about their well-being. And then I ask some of them that I am unable to manage one wife, unable to give her enough time because I am a busy politician…but how are you (Muslims) are able to manage 4 marriages? First, you marry one, then you marry a second one, and then a third one and then a fourth one! One should think about what goes on in the hearts of these wives…one should think that in a family of one mother when two, three and four mothers come, how much painful it must be for those mothers. When Modiji is re-elected as the Prime Minister this time, this business of doing polygamous marriage will be put to a stop. We will not allow this business anymore.”

    1:18:43: “A CM like Mamata Banerjee knows nothing except appeasement politics, wherever she sees mullahs, she starts reading namaz right then and there.”

    Buxar, Bihar, May 18

    7:55: “I want to tell you that although Ram Mandir has been constructed, we still have a lot of work to do. Is the Krishna Janambhoomi complete yet? The Shahi Idgah is still there on the land of Krishna Janambhoomi in Mathura, is it not? The Gyanvapi masjid in Benaras is still located in front of the Baba Vishwanath temple, is it not? Hindus are not just satisfied with the construction of the Ram Mandir. We need Krishna janambhoomi, we also need Gyanvapi temple…and this is why you should vote for Mithilesh Tiwari.”

    8:45: “I meet people from the Muslim community and ask them that I can barely manage one marriage, how can they manage four marriages? Think about it, one man will marry their first wife, then five years later, will bring the second wife, then after 10 years they will bring the third wife and 15 years later, the fourth wife. What will happen to the first wife? Will she not be in pain?… This business of doing four marriages should be stopped.”

    16:00: “I asked the President of Maharashtra Congress Committee, Nana Patole, ‘What is the religion of your Congress President, Sonia Gandhi? First, tell us if she is a Hindu or a Christian. After that, we will decide if she has the right to enter Ram Mandir or not.”

    17:30: “Hindu temples create a large amount of employment, which even the Indian government cannot provide to that extent. Look at how the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya has created lakhs of job opportunities. In Assam, the Kamakhya temple also led to a rise in employment. Tirupati temple in Tirupati has also given jobs to people…Laluji asks, “Why are you building temples?” If temples are closed then crores of people will lose their jobs, which you (Lalu Yadav) won’t understand. Mosques don’t create jobs, churches don’t create jobs. But our Hindu (temples) in Kedarnath, Badrinath, Vaishnadevi, Ma Kamakhya, Gaya and Ayodhya give jobs to crores of people.”

    19:58:  “I said, “Is it the Government’s responsibility to make mullahs? So, I ordered them to immediately put a stop to these businesses (dukans) of mullah-producing madrasas. An official said, “Sir, there will be a huge issue (bawal).” But I told him that let such small issues happen, I would deal with it. But these madrasas should be immediately closed down. In Assam, I closed down over 700 madrasas. No one had the guts to raise any issue with it.” 

    21:37: “This election is not about Mithilesh Tiwari. This election is about building the Krishna temple in Mathura. This election is about building the Gyanvapi temple in Benaras. This election is about implementing the Uniform Civil Code…We only have to focus on one thing. We have to make sure that Modiji wins by 400 seats and along with the chants of ‘Jai Shree Ram’, we also have to build the temple on Krishna Janambhoomi.”

    Giridih, Jharkhand, May 15, 2024

    5:17: “Infiltrators are entering Jharkhand and are forcefully marrying advasi women. These Muslim infiltrators are again becoming citizens of Jharkhand and are grabbing lands in Jharkhand. In some places, these people are also dreaming of becoming citizens. When these infiltrators first entered Assam, we did not pay much attention to them. First, they came in one thousand, then two thousand and then five thousand…we did not pay much attention to it. But now the population of these (Muslim) infiltrators have risen to 36% in Assam. They came in thousands, and then in lakhs and now they are in crores. Today, we (Hindus) have to fight daily for our existence. The same thing has just started in Jharkhand by the Congress.”

    6:32: ”Once these infiltrators start entering the nation, it will only take 20 years to destroy the state. 20 years later, you’ll see how the demography and the population of the state start to change. I want to tell the people of Jharkhand that we (Hindus) are victims today. Today, we (Hindus) are minorities in 12 zilas of Assam. We should stop Jharkhand from becoming like this.”

    10:22: ”We (BJP) don’t do communal politics. Saving Muslim women from talaq is not communal politics. This is social justice. Saving Muslim women from their husbands’ torture is not communal politics. This is called social justice, which we have to make Congress understand.”

    Referring to the arrest of Jharkhand minister Alamgir Alam for a money-laundering case, Sarma says at the 10:55 mark, “Such huge amounts of money are only found in Alamgir Alam’s house. Do you have Rs 30 crore in your homes? Does any Ram, Kedar or Annapurna possess Rs 30 crore in their house?…If Rs 30-35 (crores) are found in one Alam’s house, imagine how many Alamgir Alams are there in this country who have hundreds of crores of cash stocked in their home.”

    Begusarai, Bihar, May 11, 2024

    13:00: “Love Jihad used to happen in our place. They use a Hindu name on Facebook, and after marriage, it is disclosed that they are not Hindu. I’ll break their legs if they make duplicate accounts with fake names on Facebook…you can’t misguide our daughters and do love jihad.”

    15:08: “Muslims should get reservations in Pakistan, not in India…Our reservations are for scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and OBC. There can be no reservation for Muslims…We need 400 seats so that no Lalu Yadav or Rahul Gandhi can misuse the OBC reservation and allocate it to Muslims.”

    19:25: “If Congress wins, they will bring back Babri Masjid. We should not be satisfied with the Ram Mandir. Babar and Aurangzeb have done a lot of things. We have to overturn all those things done by Babar and Aurangzeb…We have to build a nation which is based on Hindu culture.”

    Barrackpore, West Bengal, on May 10

    13:53: “Mamatadi challenges Modiji, but does Mamatadi have the power to demolish Babri Masjid and then build a temple on it? The Babri Masjid was there for 500 years and now Modiji built a Ram Mandir in its place. Does (Mamata) Didi have that power? I haven’t seen it. I haven’t seen any of Didi’s power.’’

    22:00: “(Mamata) Didi might say that these BJP people don’t know anything besides Hindus. But first, I want to tell Didi that our country is a Hindu nation, so if one has to stay here then one must learn to stay here like a Hindu. It was Hindus who had created this nation. No one can now do injustice to Hindus, or else the country will never progress.’’

    25:43: “We just recently finished the building of Ram Mandir, but we still have a lot of work to do. Our work is not finished yet. We have to build the Gyanvapi temple in the place of the Gyanvapi mosque in Kashi. We still have a lot more work to do. We’ve just built the Ram Janambhoomi, but we still have to build Krishna Janambhoomi. Brothers and sisters, although the pran-prathisthan of Ram Lalla has taken place (in Ayodhya Ram Temple), we still have to make sure that no Babri Masjid is rebuilt again in the place of Ram Lalla. We have to make sure of this.’’

    The post ECI turns a blind eye to rabidly communal speeches by Himanta Biswa Sarma appeared first on Alt News.


    This content originally appeared on Alt News and was authored by Abira Das.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Hong Kong trade offices ‘keep an eye’ on ‘anti-China’ activities

    The role of Hong Kong’s overseas Economic and Trade Offices has changed, and should include “keeping an eye” on ‘anti-China’ activities, a top government adviser has said, appearing to confirm claims that the offices have been targeting pro-democracy activists on foreign soil.

    Regina Ip, a former secretary for security who is currently convenor of the city’s Executive Council, or cabinet, made the comments after British police charged three men with spying for the Hong Kong authorities, accusing them of running surveillance and other operations targeting exiled democracy activists on U.K. soil.

    Hong Kong and Chinese officials typically refer to pro-democracy activists at home and overseas as “anti-China” forces, accusing them of trying to undermine the government with the help of foreign powers.

    Ip appeared to refer to those activists in an interview with Hong Kong’s Now News on May 18.

    “A group of anti-China members in [the U.K. Parliament] and some Hong Kong exiles are causing trouble there, often introducing bills against the city and even calling for sanctions,” she said.

    ENG_CHN_HKUK SPIES_05212024.2.JPG
    Defendant Chung Biu Yuen leaves Westminster Magistrates’ Court after being charged with assisting Hong Kong’s foreign intelligence service, in London, Britain, May 13, 2024. (Toby Melville/Reuters)

    “The [trade office] must pay attention, probably by gathering intelligence,” she said in comments reported by the English-language South China Morning Post newspaper. “Such so-called gathering of intelligence means merely paying attention to these developments.”

    Ip’s comments came as Bill Yuen, an office manager at the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in London who holds dual Chinese and British nationality, prepares to appear at the Old Bailey on May 24 charged with “assisting a foreign intelligence service” and “foreign interference” under the National Security Act 2023.

    Yuen’s co-defendants, Peter Wai, 38 and Matthew Trickett, 37, face similar charges, and the trio stand accused of forcing and entering a property in the U.K. and of targeting exiled Hong Kong activists on British soil, according to the Metropolitan Police.

    The accusations come amid growing concerns over Chinese Communist Party infiltration of all aspects of British life, and warnings from Hong Kongers in exile over growing acts of violence by Beijing supporters and officials alike.

    More than economic activities

    Political commentator Benson Wong said Ip’s comments will likely damage the reputation of the trade offices.

    “Regina Ip’s comments … seem to confirm that some staff working in the London office aren’t engaged in economic and cultural activities,” Wong said.

    ENG_CHN_HKUK SPIES_05212024.3.PNG
    Peter Wai (front row, left) is shown in police uniform in an undated photo. (Peter Wai via Facebook)

    “It’s still unclear whether the Economic and Trade Office will be required to abide by certain commitments, or even have some of its privileges canceled,” he said.

    U.S.-based exiled activist Anna Kwok, who heads the U.S.-based Hong Kong Democracy Council, said the Hong Kong offices have long spied on overseas activists wherever they are located.

    “We’ve always had good reason to believe that the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Offices are carrying out a lot of activities including monitoring Hong Kongers, not just in the U.K., but in the United States as well,” she said.

    “We’ve heard in the past few years of Economic and Trade Offices monitoring Hong Kongers in the United States,” said Kwok, who has an arrest warrant and a bounty on her head issued by Hong Kong’s national security police. 

    ENG_CHN_HKUK SPIES_05212024.4.PNG
    Screenshot from Matthew Trickett’s LinkedIn page. (RFA)

    “The simplest example is that when we go to a demonstration, people we suspect are employees of the Economic and Trade Offices take photos of everyone there to identify them.”

    “One person told us that he was asked about the Hong Kong Democracy Council at a very ordinary dinner by a member of staff at the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, including personal information about the Council’s members,” Kwok said.

    Kwok said the Hong Kong Democracy Council will step up its campaign for a bill banning the offices to be introduced to Congress.

    Gathering intelligence

    Meanwhile, Regina Ip said foreign consulates in Hong Kong likely also engage in such activities.

    “I believe that each of the consulates based in Hong Kong is gathering intelligence. Some of the intelligence is publicly available, [such as] TV programmes, media and online information,” she said.

    “If our personnel are making similar collection efforts at the [trade offices], why would it be against the law? I really do not understand,” Ip said.

    ENG_CHN_HKUK SPIES_05212024.5.JPG
    Defendant Chi Leung Wai, also known as Peter Wai leaves Westminster Magistrates’ Court after being charged with assisting Hong Kong’s foreign intelligence service, in London, Britain, May 13, 2024. (Toby Melville/Reuters)

    U.K.-based Hong Kong activist Simon Cheng, who has reported being followed on April 9 in central London by unidentified people speaking Mandarin, said Ip should know the difference between a consulate and Hong Kong’s trade offices, which aren’t regulated by the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.

    “Some countries allow the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Offices a quasi-diplomatic status, but that’s up to the host country to allow them that courtesy,” Cheng said. “Some countries may do this according to agreements signed with the Hong Kong government, but such agreements aren’t regulated by the Vienna Convention either.”

    “Such diplomatic courtesies can easily be revoked unilaterally,” he said.

    Cheng, a former trade representative for Scotland based at the British consulate in Hong Kong who was detained and tortured by Chinese state security police during the 2019 protest movement, said consulates have teams of staff dedicated to gathering news and information about their host country or city, but such newsgathering is part of legitimate attempts to understand the places they are posted to, and to get a feel for public opinion there.

    ENG_CHN_HKUK SPIES_05212024.6.JPG
    Pro-democracy campaigner and political science assistant professor at Hong Kong Baptist University Benson Wong packs up his office in Hong Kong, after receiving a letter in February from the university stating that his contract will not be renewed this year, July 19, 2018. (Isaac Lawrence/AFP)

    China’s ambassador to the United Kingdom Zheng Zeguang expressed “serious concerns” to the British government about the spying accusations on May 15, saying the case had been “fabricated” to “smear and attack” the Hong Kong government.

    “All those accusations are groundless and slanderous,” Zheng said in comments posted to the embassy website, accusing the British police of “wantonly harassing, arresting and detaining” Chinese citizens in the U.K. 

    Eleven people including Yuen, Wai and Trickett were arrested in a nationwide operation but eight were later released without charge, the Metropolitan Police said on May 13.

    “This constitutes a grave provocation against China and severely contravenes basic norms of international relations. It is totally unacceptable,” Zheng said.

    Translated by Luisetta Mudie. Edited by Malcolm Foster.


    This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By Kit Sung and Kwong Wing for RFA Cantonese.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • 50 UN members eye alternative to disbanded North Korea monitoring panel

    Fifty U.N. members, including the United States, Japan, and South Korea, are considering alternatives to ensure continued “objective and independent” monitoring of sanctions on North Korea after the recent dissolution of a panel investigating suspected violations, they said in a statement.

    The joint statement, delivered by U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield on Wednesday, emphasized the need for impartial analysis to address North Korea’s unlawful development of weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles.

    The U.N. panel of experts, tasked with investigating violations of sanctions related to North Korea’s prohibited nuclear and ballistic missile programs, was officially dissolved on Tuesday. This followed the U.N. Security Council’s failure to renew the panel’s mandate on March 28 due to a veto by permanent council member Russia.

    Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield stressed that the sanctions on North Korea remain in effect, reiterating the Security Council’s consistent demand for the North to comply with its obligations under multiple Security Council resolutions.

    When asked about possible alternatives to the disbanded panel, Thomas-Greenfield said countries are considering various possibilities. She added that the U.S. is working closely with South Korea and Japan to propose ideas for the rest of the member states to consider.

    The panel, which consists of eight experts drawn from the permanent members of the Security Council, is tasked with assisting the North Korea Sanctions Committee to investigate alleged violations of sanctions by North Korea, and has issued in-depth reports twice a year on the sanctions violations.

    The Security Council has extended the panel’s mandate for one year each March by passing a resolution. Its mandate expired at the end of April.

    Russia’s use of its veto follows accusations from the U.S., South Korea and others that North Korea is supplying Russia with weapons to use in its war in Ukraine – an accusation that both countries have denied.

    But the panel, in a report released in March, gave details, with photographs, of Russia’s arms dealings with North Korea in violation of sanctions. The panel said it was investigating reports of the arms transfers.

    Edited by Mike Firn.


    This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By Taejun Kang for RFA.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • 50 UN members eye alternative to disbanded North Korea monitoring panel

    Fifty U.N. members, including the United States, Japan, and South Korea, are considering alternatives to ensure continued “objective and independent” monitoring of sanctions on North Korea after the recent dissolution of a panel investigating suspected violations, they said in a statement.

    The joint statement, delivered by U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield on Wednesday, emphasized the need for impartial analysis to address North Korea’s unlawful development of weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles.

    The U.N. panel of experts, tasked with investigating violations of sanctions related to North Korea’s prohibited nuclear and ballistic missile programs, was officially dissolved on Tuesday. This followed the U.N. Security Council’s failure to renew the panel’s mandate on March 28 due to a veto by permanent council member Russia.

    Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield stressed that the sanctions on North Korea remain in effect, reiterating the Security Council’s consistent demand for the North to comply with its obligations under multiple Security Council resolutions.

    When asked about possible alternatives to the disbanded panel, Thomas-Greenfield said countries are considering various possibilities. She added that the U.S. is working closely with South Korea and Japan to propose ideas for the rest of the member states to consider.

    The panel, which consists of eight experts drawn from the permanent members of the Security Council, is tasked with assisting the North Korea Sanctions Committee to investigate alleged violations of sanctions by North Korea, and has issued in-depth reports twice a year on the sanctions violations.

    The Security Council has extended the panel’s mandate for one year each March by passing a resolution. Its mandate expired at the end of April.

    Russia’s use of its veto follows accusations from the U.S., South Korea and others that North Korea is supplying Russia with weapons to use in its war in Ukraine – an accusation that both countries have denied.

    But the panel, in a report released in March, gave details, with photographs, of Russia’s arms dealings with North Korea in violation of sanctions. The panel said it was investigating reports of the arms transfers.

    Edited by Mike Firn.


    This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By Taejun Kang for RFA.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • A Police K-9 Took This Man’s Eye | Field Notes


    This content originally appeared on VICE News and was authored by VICE News.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • ‘You better shut up’: A Ghana family’s relentless calls for justice

    Kamilu Ibrahim Tahidu and his brothers gather every evening outside their family home in Ghana’s capital of Accra. They sit in a circle of plastic chairs and enjoy each others’ company. They pray together. And they never forget that one of them is missing.

    It’s been over four years since assassins came to their neighborhood, waited for their sibling, investigative journalist Ahmed Hussein-Suale Divela, and then shot him in his car. “We heard the gunshot,” Tahidu recalled in a recent interview with CPJ. “Someone ran and said that they were killing our brother.”  

    Sitting steps from the crime scene, Tahidu expressed frustration with the failure by Ghanaian authorities to apprehend those responsible. Certain political elites have not been sufficiently scrutinized, he said, and his speaking out about the murder had brought new threats.

    The lack of accountability in Divela’s case is indicative of a broader pattern of impunity for crimes against journalists in the West African country, often seen as one of the region’s most stable democracies with a high degree of media freedom. As with cases of other journalists attacked in recent years, Tahidu expressed dismay that officials had not been more supportive and communicative about their investigations.

    Ghana’s presidential election is scheduled for December 2024 and opposition candidate John Mahama recently committed to “speed up” the investigation into Divela’s January 2019 killing. But words from authorities have offered the family little clarity or comfort. “They promised to get results very soon,” Tahidu said, recalling a conversation with Ghanaian Inspector General of Police George Akuffo Dampare following his appointment back in 2021. “Soon is yet to come.”

    Ahmed Hussein-Suale Divela was shot to death in Accra, Ghana, on January 16, 2019. (Tiger Eye Private Investigations)
    Ahmed Hussein-Suale Divela was shot to death in Accra, Ghana, on January 16, 2019. (Tiger Eye Private Investigations)

    Divela decided to become a journalist out of dissatisfaction with inflation and the economic situation for average people in Ghana, his family told CPJ. He worked as a reporter with Tiger Eye Private Investigations, an investigative journalism group headed by Anas Aremeyaw Anas. The identities of Tiger Eye PI members are not publicly known, as they operate largely undercover to document alleged wrongdoing by those in positions of power.

    The year before the murder, Anas and Divela received public threats from Kennedy Agyapong, a prominent member of Ghana’s ruling party now seeking to be Ghana’s president. The threats came ahead of the release of a Tiger Eye PI film exposing alleged corruption among African football officials, including then president of the Ghana Football Association Kwesi Nyantakyi. The documentary, “Number 12,” caused an uproar in Ghana’s soccer world when it aired in 2018, prompting Nyantakyi’s resignation and world governing body FIFA to ban him for life from football-related activities.

    In March, a Ghanaian judge dismissed Anas’ defamation suit brought in response to Agyapong’s comments. A similar defamation suit filed in the U.S. is ongoing.

    According to a Forbidden Stories investigation into Divela’s killing, Agyapong said he had “nothing to do with this murder.” Police said they questioned Agyapong – described as being close to Nyantakyi – as part of their preliminary investigation, but Tahidu believes the politician has not been adequately investigated. “He thinks he [is] above the law,” Tahidu said. CPJ’s calls to Agyapong did not connect, nor did calls to his brother, Ralph Agyapong, who also serves as his lawyer.

    Tahidu told CPJ he reacted with furious disbelief when police showed him a cheap cell phone without internet capabilities as the device Nyantakyi handed over for the murder investigation. Tahidu did not believe something so low-tech could be the primary device of a once-powerful sports boss and said it suggested the authorities had not taken their job seriously. Local media reported that police seized phones and computers from Nyantakyi months before Divela’s murder as part of their fraud investigations related to the allegations from Tiger Eye PI’s film, but Tahidu said police did not mention these to Divela’s family.

    CPJ reached Nyantakyi by phone, but when asked about the police investigation into him after the killing, he said, “OK, thank you” and then the line disconnected. Follow-up calls rang unanswered.     

    Anas, who only allows himself to be photographed with his face covered, told CPJ that police had summoned him twice to give statements. The first was immediately after the killing and the second was more recently after a new homicide unit opened to investigate cold cases. Anas said he explained his working relationship with Divela and told police he did not have any information about the murder.

    Divela’s killers waited for him at this corner, a short walk from his family home.(Photo: Jonathan Rozen/CPJ)
    Divela’s killers waited for him at this corner, a short walk from his family home. He was shot when he slowed his car at the intersection. (Photo: Jonathan Rozen/CPJ)

    Tahidu now serves as the sole spokesperson for the family because of threats they’ve received. Tahidu told CPJ that in the period after the murder he was followed by a blue car with tinted windows and also received a call from an anonymous number. “If you know what happened to Ahmed, then you better shut up,” a voice said on the line before disconnecting. Tahidu informed the Ghana police of both incidents, but received no follow up.

    Unus Alhassan, another of Divela’s brothers who previously spoke for the family, told CPJ in a phone interview that he left Ghana in 2020 over safety concerns related to his speaking about the killing. Two unidentified men had followed him on a motorbike in Accra and his friends speculated that he may be targeted further, Alhassan said. He too filed a police report, but has not received any follow-up.

    CPJ visited the Ghana police headquarters in Accra in March to request an interview about Divela’s case and other investigations into attacks on journalists in the country, but was told no one was available to speak. Officers there provided a Google email address for media requests. CPJ emailed that address and another listed on the police website requesting an interview, but received no response. Police similarly did not respond to questions about Divela and 30 other journalists arrested, threatened, or physically attacked since January 2019.

    “We only feel totally neglect[ed], as if we are not Ghanaians in our own country,” Tahidu said, emphasizing that he and his family will continue pressing for answers. “If it is left with this Ghanaian law enforcers, I’m afraid it will always be a talk show.” Tahidu also refuses to let anyone else in his family become a journalist. He knows why his brother Ahmed entered the profession, but vows to prevent anyone else he loves from doing something so dangerous.


    This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Jonathan Rozen.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Two French journalists flee Yemeni island of Socotra after questioning, house arrest

    On May 28, 2023, five armed soldiers and three police chiefs on the Yemeni island of Socotra arrested freelance journalist Quentin Müller and Sylvain Mercadier, co-founder and director of the independent Iraqi news website The Red Line, at their apartment, according to tweets by Müller and Mercadier, who communicated with CPJ via email. The authorities also confiscated the journalists’ passports, two laptops, two cameras, and several books.

    The soldiers and police officers were affiliated with the Southern Transitional Council, a United Arab Emirates-backed secessionist group involved in Yemen’s civil war, which aims to establish an independent state in southern Yemen. The STC has been the de facto ruler of Socotra since April 2020. 

    At the central Socotra police station, officers insinuated that the request for their arrest came from “other Gulf states” and high-ranking officials who were not Yemeni, according to those tweets and Mercadier. The officers referenced the journalists’ reporting on Yemen, specifically Socotra, demanded the journalists disclose the names of their sources and reveal meeting places, and told the journalists that their reporting on Yemen did not sit well with those Gulf countries.

    French journalist Sylvain Mercadier was placed under house arrest in Socotra, Yemen between May 28 and June 1, 2023. (Photo Credit: Sylvain Mercadier)

    Officers questioned Müller about his August 2021 article regarding the UAE’s interference in Yemen and the brutality of its proxies, and an October 2021 Al Jazeera documentary about Socotra and the UAE’s attempts to gain control of the island, which features interviews with Müller, according to Mercadier. 

    The officers also said Müller’s photo had been circulating in WhatsApp groups involving individuals working in security coordination between the STC and those Gulf countries. Officers compelled the journalists to unlock their laptops and searched them and their cameras for interviews with political figures who were anti-UAE or anti-STC, Mercadier said.

    Müller has extensively reported on the political tensions in Socotra and the broader Middle East in media outlets, including the French monthly newspaper Le Monde Diplomatique, the U.K. newspaper The Independent, and the French website Orient XXI, which denounced the arrest of the two journalists.

    Mercadier has also reported on the region for outlets including the U.K. newspaper The Guardian, the London-based website Middle East Eye, and Orient XXI.

    The journalists were placed under house arrest and questioned several times about their reporting between May 28 and June 1, according to Mercadier. On June 1, authorities returned the journalists’ equipment after requiring them to sign a document saying they had written politically sensitive articles that jeopardized the stability of Socotra without prior authorization from authorities.

    On June 4, a national security officer affiliated with the STC pressured the journalists to leave the island, which they did, abandoning their reporting plans and returning to France, according to Mercadier. The officer presented it as “a sort of concern for our safety, but all they wanted was to prevent us from having any opportunity to work in Socotra. There was no danger to our safety apart from the local authorities,” Mercadier added.

    “The French journalists were questioned in Socotra due to their lack of proper credentials,” Summer Ahmed, the STC’s U.S.-based representative, told CPJ via email. “We have advised them to register properly as journalists with the National Southern Media Authority (NSMA).”

    The NSMA operates in all areas under STC control, including Socotra and the south of Yemen, and functions as an “arm of the STC,” Ahmed told CPJ.

    Mercadier told CPJ that he believes their detention was “politically motivated,” adding that NSMA insists on being informed about all meetings and interviews before they occur, calling the request “drastic measures completely incompatible with the conduct of independent journalism.”

    Following the arrest of the two journalists, NSMA issued a directive on June 7 urging all media outlets to register their outlets and journalistic employees. On June 13, a second directive urged foreign journalists and international media outlets to register and obtain licenses from NSMA before conducting any reporting activities. 

    Local journalists and press freedom advocates have named NSMA as one of the factors contributing to the deterioration of press freedom in Yemen. In September 2022, the Yemeni Journalists Syndicate denounced the NSMA’s decision to prohibit certain journalists from conducting interviews with specific media channels.

    Journalists reporting in areas under the control of the STC have faced assault and prolonged detention, especially when they report on abuses allegedly committed by militias loyal to the STC or critically report on the UAE. 

    In August 2022, STC security forces detained freelance Yemeni journalist Ahmed Maher and his brother in Aden. Maher remains in custody, has endured harsh interrogations, and was banned multiple times from attending his own trial.

    In February 2023, security forces affiliated with the STC took control of the Yemeni Journalists Syndicate’s headquarters in Aden and transferred control to a newly established STC entity known as the Southern Media and Journalists’ Syndicate, according to a statement by the syndicate. On June 9, the Yemeni Journalists Syndicate issued a statement that condemned the ongoing control of their headquarters by the STC and demanded its restoration.

    On June 18, STC security forces arrested and detained journalist Akram Karem in Aden for criticizing the local authorities in the Al-Tawahi district and exposing corruption on his Facebook page. He was released on June 20 on the orders of the governor of Aden.


    This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Inspired by Shireen Abu Akleh, journalist Shatha Hanaysha was an eyewitness to her killing  

    Al-Jazeera correspondent Shireen Abu Akleh, whose body was laid to rest in Jerusalem Friday, was an inspiration to a generation of female Palestinian reporters – including one who witnessed Abu Akleh’s killing on May 11. 

    Shatha Hanaysha, a 29-year-old correspondent for news website Ultra Palestine and contributor to regional news website Middle East Eye, was next to Abu Akleh in the Israeli-occupied West Bank city of Jenin when Abu Akleh was shot in the head. 

    “I wanted to reach her, but I just couldn’t,” Hanaysha said, recalling the danger of extending her hand to touch her colleague’s body. 

    In an interview with CPJ, Hanaysha recounted the incident and spoke about Abu Akleh’s influence in the occupied Palestinian Territories and beyond. Abu Akleh’s funeral was also met with violence as Israeli forces beat up mourners.

    CPJ called for an international investigation into Abu Akleh’s killing, which Al-Jazeera alleged was committed by Israeli forces “in cold blood.” The Israeli military said either Palestinian or Israeli fire killed the journalist and that Israel is continuing to investigate the incident in a statement emailed to CPJ. 

    A screenshot of an Al-Jazeera broadcast interview May 11 with Shatha Hanaysha about Shireen Abu Akleh. (YouTube/Al-Jazeera)

    What happened on the day Shireen Abu Akleh was killed?

    Shatha Hanaysha: We wore our helmets and “Press” vests and moved as a group of journalists to try and enter Jenin [refugee] camp. We waited about 10 minutes until the Israeli army saw us, and after that, we started moving further. We moved about 100 meters [328 feet] and then the shooting started at us. If the army wanted to ban us from reaching the area, they would have fired warning shots.

    We were trapped. Behind us was a wall, and the street was wide in front of us. Any move meant danger. When shooting started, [journalist] Mujahed al-Saadi jumped on the wall and told us to do so too, but I froze with fear. We moved back. 

    Shireen started screaming “Ali was hit. Ali was hit” [in reference to Al-Jazeera producer Ali al-Samoudi, who was also shot and injured]. They took him to the hospital, and then we were fired upon again. I was alone with Shireen when the [Israeli] occupation [forces] shot at us. I heard the shots but couldn’t imagine they were directed at us. I looked at Shireen and I thought that she just fell down. I was screaming, I knew she was hit, and then my colleagues started screaming. I just wanted to check if she was awake or not, but the shooting continued. 

    One of the guys on the street facing us tried to approach us but he couldn’t because it was too dangerous. He turned and came from behind, jumped on the wall behind us, and evacuated me, and then tried to assist Shireen. She couldn’t wake up. She didn’t wake up. That’s what freaked us out. She wasn’t waking up. 

    The shooting didn’t come from the Palestinian side. The street we were on was busy with moving cars. There weren’t any clashes, not even burning tires, which was the reason we had kept going – in order to get closer to the action and cover what was happening. 

    We were facing a house and an open space. We were fired upon from an area above us and shots hit the tree I was standing behind from above. It was where Israeli occupation forces were. 

    She was killed in Jenin and buried in Jerusalem. Every Palestinian village mourned her. I heard a person saying that he “grew up with Shireen.” We all did. We all lived with Shireen because she was in all of our houses since she joined Al-Jazeera in 1997. She left a mark in our hearts, in all Palestinian hearts. 

    Shireen’s colleagues covered her killing and funeral. They were filming, reporting, and crying. This will leave a mark that will never go away. 

    How did Shireen influence you as a female journalist?

    Shireen was the first woman reporter I saw in my whole life. Back when I was young, there weren’t many news outlets, only Al-Jazeera. This channel was in every Palestinian house, we followed all the news on it. Most of the time, Shireen was the one covering the news. She was a leader to us, because she was so brave, her presence in the field was impeccable.

    When I was young, my family members would tell me to “talk like Shireen.” When I was asked, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” I often answered, “I want to be a journalist like Shireen.” Shireen was my model and I wanted to be like her, a brave and successful professional journalist, a role model. 

    What was Shireen like as a colleague?

    She was magnificent. Both on the personal and professional levels, she was great. She had more than 20 years of experience, and I only have seven, but she always treated me as a colleague with respect. She respected and treated everyone with love. She memorized people’s faces.

    Everyone she reported on, including prisoners and martyrs’ families, were really saddened by the news of her killing. Everyone who watched her cried.


    This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by CPJ Middle East and North Africa Staff.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.