A video showing Union minister Kiren Rijiju purportedly waking up Congress leader Rahul Gandhi during a session in the Lok Sabha went viral this week. In the video, Rijiju is heard jokingly saying, “This is why I tell you, dada, don’t talk all the time—you’ll fall asleep.”
The video was shared by verified X user @SaffronSunanda who claimed that it was Rahul Gandhi who had fallen asleep. She remarked, in her post, “…Rahul Gandhi is just a Joke in Indian Politics”. (Archive)
This man sleeps during Parliament proceedings and debates and he wants to become Prime Minister of India.
The post was then amplified by actor Paresh Rawal. Resharing the video, he wrote, “He is like a Bad joke with no Punch line!” referring to the Leader of Opposition. The post was later deleted. (Archive)
Several other Right-wing influencers amplified it. (Archives, 1, 2, 3, 4)
Upon checking, we found that this was not the first time this video went viral. In August, media outlet WION published a similar video as a Facebook reel titled, “Rahul Gandhi Caught Sleeping in Lok Sabha?”
On August 9, news channel NDTV published a video on its official YouTube channel with the title “Rahul Gandhi Sleeping In Lok Sabha | Giriraj Singh Reacts After Opposition MP Caught Sleeping In LS”. The previous day, Kerala-based media outlet Asianet News also published the same with the headline “Viral | Rahul Gandhi Caught Sleeping During Waqf Discussion? Rijiju & Giriraj Singh React”. However, neither of the videos shows Rahul Gandhi.
Alt News found that the viral video had been been clipped from Parliamentary proceedings of Lok Sabha’s Monsoon session held on August 8 where the Union minister of parliamentary and minority affairs introduced the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024. A nine-hour-long video of the proceedings is available on news agency ANI’s YouTube channel. The chain of events seen in the viral video took place at the 4:01:13-minute mark.
Here, Rijiju was defending the Bill, against which Opposition leaders had raised concerns. “Dada was asking me if there are any Muslims in my constituency. There are many Muslim voters in my constituency…” he says just as BJP MP and Union minister of textiles Giriraj Singh, seated nearby, quips, “So gaye, so gaye…” (He has fallen asleep). This prompted laughter and ridicule from the treasury benches. Rijiju then jested, “This is why I tell you, dada, don’t talk all the time—you’ll fall asleep.”
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla also commented, “If there’s a speech going on, will you go to sleep in the House?”
Rijiju further quipped, “I am not going to ask him what he was doing last night,” which led to uproar and protests from the Opposition.
During this entire exchange, not once did the camera focus on Rahul Gandhi.
In its fact-check report, Kerala-based publication Mathrubhumi contacted its Delhi bureau chief, Manoj Menon, who was present during the session. Menon said that it was senior Trinamool Congress leader Saugata Roy who had dozed off. However, it should be noted that the camera did not pan to any Opposition member while Rijiju spoke.
However, it is worth noting that ‘Dada’ is a term of endearment generally used for Bengali men.
Rahul Gandhi’s Clip From the Same Day
After carefully watching that day’s Parliamentary proceedings, Alt News found that the clip of Rahul Gandhi that is seen in the viral video is from same day (August 8). At the 3:17:45-minute mark of the ANI video, Rahul Gandhi can be seen sitting in the same position—head tilted to the side and arm stretched out against the backrest. In the viral clip, Gandhi’s image from this portion has been highly magnified, resulting in a noticeable degradation of image quality. This makes it hard to determine whether the Congress leader was simply looking down or asleep. Below is a screengrab of the moment.
Also, the three-second clip was looped repeatedly in the viral video, creating the false impression that the moment lasted longer than it actually did.
It’s also important to remember here that the camera focuses on Rahul Gandhi in the above position during Rijiju’s speech on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024. However, in the viral video, the Opposition leader’s clip has been juxtaposed with Rijiju’s responses on the Bill, which actually happened later in the day. For clarity, look at the screengrabs below. The image on the left, showing Rahul Gandhi, is from 14:17 hours. The image on the right, where Rijiju and Giriraj Singh are pointing to the sleeping MP is from 15:01 hours.
So, the incidents happened at different times but were edited to make it seem like they were unfolding at the same time.
Also, Rahul Gandhi is the leader of the Opposition—a position that is often under constant scrutiny—and seated prominently at the front of the Opposition benches. It’s unlikely that him falling asleep during proceedings would have gone unnoticed by cameras in the House. We found no reports or videos since August that can conclusively show or indicate that it was Rahul Gandhi who had fallen asleep. Reports by news outlets such as The Indian Express as well as news agency ANI referred to whoever had fallen asleep simply as MP or an ‘Opposition MP’.
To sum it up, the video of Kiren Rijiju addressing and ridiculing an Opposition MP for falling asleep during House proceedings with the claim that the sleeping MP is Rahul Gandhi is misleading. A clip of Gandhi was edited into the video to create the false impression that Rijiju’s remarks against a sleeping MP were addressed to him.
Istanbul, November 27, 2024—Turkish authorities should stop treating journalists like terrorists by raiding their homes and detaining them, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday.
“Turkish authorities once more raided the homes of multiple journalists in the middle of the night, in order to portray them as dangerous criminals, and detained them without offering any justification. CPJ has monitored similar secretive operations in the past decade, and not one journalist has been proven to be involved with actual terrorism,” said Özgür Öğret, CPJ’s Turkey representative. “The authorities should immediately release the journalists in custody and stop this systematic harassment of the media.”
In a statement Tuesday, Turkey’s Interior Ministry said police had conducted simultaneous operations in 30 cities and detained a total of 261 people who suspected of having ties to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) or alleged offshoot organizations. At least 12 journalists are reported to be held in custody:
The reasons for the detentions are unknown, as there is a court order of secrecy on the investigation, preventing the detainees and their lawyers from being informed of the investigation’s details and possible charges, a common practice in such crackdowns.
CPJ emailed Turkey’s Interior Ministry for comment but received no reply.
Separately, Devlet Bahçeli, leader of the government ally Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), threatened the pro-opposition outlet Halk TV and its commentators for criticizing his party with a vow that the MHP will make them suffer.
“We are taking note, one by one, of the ignorant and arrogant commentators, especially Halk TV,” Bahçeli said Tuesday at a MHP meeting in Ankara. In October, he had told the outlet to “watch your step.”
Editor’s note: The alert was updated to correct the name of Ahmet Sümbül.
The House of Representatives passed a bill Thursday that would empower the Treasury Department to revoke the tax-exempt status of any nonprofit it deems has provided material support to a terrorist organization. A broad coalition of civil society groups have opposed the bill, warning that it would give the Trump administration sweeping powers to crack down on political opponents. H.R. 9495, the Stop Terror-Financing and Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act, passed the House 219 to 184 largely along party lines, with 15 Democrats supporting the Republican majority. “This bill is essentially a civil rights disaster,” says Darryl Li, an anthropologist, lawyer and legal scholar teaching at the University of Chicago. Li, who recently wrote a briefing paper on the anti-Palestinian origins of U.S. terrorism law, says “anti-Palestinian racism is one of the great bipartisan unifiers in Congress.”
This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.
Just hours after the United States vetoed yet another U.N. Security Council resolution calling for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire in Gaza, the U.S. Senate on Wednesday rejected three resolutions supported by less than two dozen Democratic senators that sought to block the sale of U.S. tank rounds, bomb kits and other lethal weapons to Israel. HuffPost correspondent Akbar Shahid Ahmed reveals that the White House lobbied against the Senate resolutions and suggested that lawmakers who support blocking arms sales to Israel were aiding Hamas. In the face of such stringent opposition from Democratic leadership, even partial support from party members is “historic and symbolic.” As the Biden administration continues “working hand in glove” to provide weapons and rhetorical cover for Israel’s genocidal war, says Ahmed, such willingness to buck the status quo proves dissatisfaction with the U.S.’s role is “not going away.”
This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.
China’s Foreign Ministry on Tuesday denied reports that the leader of an ethnic rebel army was being held under house arrest in Yunnan province, which borders Myanmar’s Shan state.
Peng Daxun, the leader of the insurgent Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, or MNDAA, traveled to Yunnan last month for medical treatment and was still receiving care, spokesperson Lin Jian said at the ministry’s regular news conference.
Lin did not provide details about Peng’s condition or his exact whereabouts.
A source close to the military junta regime told RFA that Peng was being held at a hotel in Yunnan that’s owned by his father.
The MNDAA captured Lashio, northern Shan state’s biggest city, on Aug. 3. Since then, Beijing has put pressure on the rebel army to withdraw from the city, an important commercial gateway near the Chinese border.
Over the last year, the rebel army has seized control of more than a half dozen other towns in the area that serve as significant border trading hubs.
Border gate backlog
Also in Shan state, Chinese authorities on Tuesday morning reopened the Hsin Phyu border gate in Muse, allowing more than 300 delivery vehicles stuck in China’s Kyegong town for more than a week to enter Myanmar. Muse is about 170 km (108 miles) north of Lashio.
“Trucks loaded with potatoes and a variety of goods have entered this morning unexpectedly and immediately, while the road was repaired near the gate,” a border trade merchant told RFA.
Muse’s two other border connections with Kyegong remain closed to vehicles, merchants said.
China’s restrictions on small-scale, informal trade with northern Myanmar over the last few weeks increased in the wake of junta leader Min Aung Hlaing’s early November visit to China, but it wasn’t immediately clear if the two were linked. The recent border closures have resulted in price hikes in the region.
The military junta has yet to release any information about the status of the border gates.
The conditions under which Hsin Phyu – also known as the White Elephant gate – was reopened were unknown, another border trader said.
“It is not clear whether only the trapped cars will be allowed into Myanmar, or if the gate will be opened normally,” he said. “However, cars from the Myanmar side are not allowed to enter China.”
‘Kyaukpyu has been surrounded’
On the other side of the country, armed conflict between ethnic Arakan Army insurgents and junta troops has intensified in Rakhine state’s Kyaukphyu township, a seaside city where Chinese-funded projects include a deep sea port complex, a special economic zone and energy pipelines that could eventually stretch across Myanmar to the Chinese border.
Additionally, a 620 km (1,000 mile) high-speed railway and road network known as the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor is planned to run from Kunming city in Yunnan province through Myanmar’s major economic hubs and on to the port.
The corridor would ultimately give China crucial access to the Indian Ocean at Kyaukphyu.
The military junta has been reinforcing troops and tightening security in some neighborhoods and nearby areas of Kyaukphyu township, residents said on Tuesday. Junta authorities also ordered the closure of all private banks on Nov. 15.
“They have set up the defensive walls with concrete structure,” one Kyaukphyu resident told RFA. “These junta forces are not from the bases in Kyaukphyu, but from other battalions.”
The AA has blocked all land routes up to 10 kilometers (six miles) away from Kyaukphyu as fighting has taken place in nearby Taungup and Ann townships, residents said. Ann township is home to the junta’s Western Region Command headquarters.
An analyst on Rakhine military affairs who asked for anonymity for security reasons told RFA that the AA is expected to eventually advance toward Kyaukphyu town once it takes control of Toungup and Ann townships.
“Kyaukpyu has been surrounded for quite a long time,” he said.
The Arakan Army, or AA, has been fighting the junta for control of Rakhine state. The group is part of the Three Brotherhood Alliance of ethnic armies that also includes the MNDAA and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army. The alliance launched an offensive against the junta in October 2023.
Attempts by RFA to contact Hla Thein, the junta’s spokesman and attorney general for Rakhine state, were unsuccessful on Tuesday.
Translated by Kalyar Lwin and Aung Naing. Edited by Matt Reed.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by RFA Burmese.
With just days to go before the November 5 presidential election, fears are growing that Republicans intend to interfere with the official results in order to install Donald Trump as president. At Sunday’s Madison Square Garden rally, Trump said he had a “little secret” with House Speaker Mike Johnson that would have a “big impact” on the outcome, though neither he nor Johnson elaborated on what that entailed. Elie Mystal, the justice correspondent for The Nation, says the secret is almost certainly a plan to force a contingent election, whereby no candidate wins a majority of the Electoral College and the president is instead chosen by the House of Representatives, where Republicans hold a slim majority. Mystal notes that even if Democrats challenge such an outcome, the case would still end up before a Supreme Court with a conservative supermajority that is likely to side with Trump.
This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.
U.S. President Joe Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan arrived in China on Tuesday on a three-day trip that includes talks with Foreign Minister Wang Yi, and comes after complaints from China’s neighbors about what they see as its territorial intrusions.
Sullivan and Wang “will hold a new round of China-U.S. strategic communication,” according to China’s foreign ministry, exchanging views on bilateral relations, “sensitive issues” and “major international and regional hotspots.”
A senior White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told reporters on Friday that Sullivan and Wang would discuss a range of topics including areas of disagreement, such as Taiwan, Ukraine and the Middle East.
The visit comes amid protests by U.S. allies Japan and the Philippines about what they say are Chinese incursions.
Japan said a Chinese Y-9 reconnaissance plane entered Japanese airspace for two minutes on Monday, which Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi described as “utterly unacceptable.”
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said on Tuesday China was trying to verify the report, adding that its military had “no intention of intruding” into any country’s airspace.
Meanwhile, Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said on Tuesday that China was “the biggest disrupter” of peace in Southeast Asia.
His comments came after a clash on Sunday between Philippine and Chinese vessels near a disputed reef in the South China Sea.
US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan is welcomed by Director General of the Department of North American and Oceanian Affairs of the Foreign Ministry Yang Tao (C) and US Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns (L) upon arriving at the Beijing Capital International Airport in Beijing on Aug. 27, 2024. (Ng Han Guan/POOL/AFP)
Sullivan was greeted at Beijing’s Capital Airport by the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s North American and Oceanian department head Yang Tao, and U.S. ambassador Nicholas Burns.
His trip is the first official visit to China and the first by a national security adviser since Susan Rice went to Beijing under the Obama administration in 2016.
Sullivan and Wang have met in Washington, Vienna, Malta and Bangkok over the past 18 months.
Edited by Mike Firn.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By RFA Staff.
The Nov. 5 U.S. presidential election will be on the agenda but “not the point” of a three-day visit to China next week by President Joe Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, for talks with Foreign Minister Wang Yi, a senior White House official told reporters on Friday.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the Aug. 27-29 trip, said the pair would discuss a range of topics including areas of disagreement, such as Taiwan, Ukraine and the Middle East.
“I wouldn’t tie this trip or associate it too closely with the election – that’s not the point,” the official said, adding that Sullivan and Wang had aimed to meet earlier in the year and were behind schedule.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, second right, attends a bilateral meeting with U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, second left, in Malta on Sept. 16, 2023. (Lian Yi/Xinhua via AP)
Still, the official acknowledged the high-stakes election was “always in the background in any engagement we have with foreign officials concerned about what comes next” in terms of U.S. foreign policy.
“But this meeting will be focused on the topics and the issues that we are dealing with now,” they said. “There is a lot we can get done.”
It will be the fifth in-person meeting between Sullivan and Wang in 18 months, when tense ties began to thaw, and their first in Beijing. The previous talks were held in Vienna in May 2023, Malta in September 2023, Washington in October 2023 and Bangkok in January.
The last U.S. national security adviser to travel to the Chinese capital was Susan Rice under President Barack Obama in 2016.
Harris or Trump?
The White House official declined to comment on Sullivan’s likely response to what they called “the continuity question” – whether the winner of the Nov. 5 election would change their policy in regards to China – even as they acknowledged it would likely be discussed.
“It’s up to the next administration to determine China policy and how they intend to use some of these channels of communication,” the official said. “What we can speak to is how we intend to manage the balance of this administration … [and] manage the transition.”
However, the official did say it “bears repeating that U.S. diplomacy and channels of communication do not indicate a change in approach” to China from the the White House, or a softening of relations.
“It really is about clearing up misperceptions and avoiding this competition from veering into conflict,” the official said. “Even amidst competition, we can find constructive ways to work with each other.”
Edited by Malcolm Foster
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By Alex Willemyns for RFA.
Mira Rapp-Hooper is the Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for East Asia and Oceania at the White House National Security Council, or NSC.
During this week’s NATO Summit in Washington, she spoke with RFA Korean’s Lee Sangmin, touching on points related to increased cooperation between Russia and North Korea, following Vladimir Putin’s visit to North Korea last month.
The summit included representatives from the Indo-Pacific Four, or IP4, an informal grouping of South Korea, Japan, New Zealand and Australia, and Rapp-Hooper said that it was important to include those countries in discussions with NATO, especially considering that the partnership between North Korea and Russia concerns security in both the North Atlantic and the Indo-Pacific.
The interview has been edited for length and clarity.
RFA: So how much are you concerned about the recent deepening relationship between Russia and North Korea?
Rapp-Hooper: We are extremely concerned about the relationship between Russia and North Korea. Of course, we have been for about a year as that relationship has grown closer and closer, and it has become clear that both Russia and North Korea are exchanging extremely worrisome forms of support with one another.
On the one hand, of course, we know that the (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, or DPRK) has been providing Russia with millions of rounds of ammunition, as well as missiles that have been used on the battlefield in Ukraine to devastating effect fueling Russia’s war machine, and taking the lives of innocent civilians, all over the conflict. And that’s deeply disturbing.
But one of the things that is also very troubling about this relationship is the fact that we know that Russia is probably providing the DPRK with technical assistance, sophisticated forms of support for some of its military programs. But those forms of cooperation are much harder to track. So while we know what the DPRK is giving to Russia, we know less than we would like to about what Russia is giving to the DPRK. And that is something that should concern not only the countries of the Indo-Pacific who care about peace and stability in the Korean Peninsula and beyond.
Mira Rapp-Hooper, Senior Director for East Asia and Oceania, National Security Council, at the Asia Center in Washington, Sept. 13, 2023. (U.S. Institute of Peace via Flickr)
But countries in Europe are increasingly understanding that this relationship affects them, too. Now, of course, this has all become more prominent recently because of Vladimir Putin’s visit to Pyongyang, when the two countries released a declaration that looks very much like an alliance treaty.
But really, what this does is capture something that we knew the whole time, which is the fact that this is not just a marriage of convenience where these two powers are cooperating so that Russia can get help in its war against Ukraine. There is political buy-in at the highest levels, from both of these governments.
The piece of optimism that I would offer today, however, is that it is not just the ROK, the United States and Japan who are worried about this problem. We have very good trilateral cooperation amongst the three of us to share intelligence and to coordinate our policy actions.
But part of what you’re seeing here at NATO today is that all of our NATO allies also care about this problem, because Russia has brought DPRK technology to Europe in the form of ballistic missiles being used on the battlefield in Ukraine. So we’ve never seen our European allies more engaged in DPRK issues, more wanting to cooperate, to address, and limit, this relationship. And we are hopeful that that cooperation will have a stabilizing effect in the face of all of this destabilizing behavior.
RFA: In what ways can NATO and its allies counter cooperation between North Korea and Russia?
Rapp-Hooper: Well, there are, you know, certain areas where cooperation, unfortunately, is quite difficult to affect. We know that many of the shipments that take place between DPRK and Russia take place within their territorial seas or over rail lines. So there’s very few options for the international community there.
But there are other areas, where we do cooperate, and we will continue to do so. And that relates to things like financial sanctions that may run at the heart of their cooperation, and other measures that we can take, such as intelligence sharing, information sharing that might allow one country to be more empowered to limit this cooperation wherever they can.
There is also, of course, the role that we all play diplomatically, not just in putting pressure on both Pyongyang and Russia, but on additional countries, who might be able to take action to try to limit this relationship.
The world is, of course, watching (the People’s Republic of China, or PRC) and the question looms large, what Beijing will do about this relationship, given that it is so destabilizing and not in China’s interests either. But we’ve yet to see a clear answer to that question.
RFA: What kind of a role can China play in dealing with North Korea issues?
Rapp-Hooper: That’s really up to China. In the past, the PRC has long played a role on the Korean Peninsula. Obviously, it is a key continued trading partner of Pyongyang and a longtime political partner. There is obviously a very close political relationship as well, between Beijing and Moscow – which is its own cause for concern.
But there’s no doubt that if Beijing was interested in doing so, it could play a stabilizing and responsible role, to encourage in particular, the worst (aspects of the) DPRK-Russia cooperation to come to an end. But again, all eyes are on Beijing to see if it will make that choice.
RFA: Why is it significant that the IP4 are participating in the NATO Summit?
Rapp-Hooper: Our IP4 partners in the (Republic of Korea, or ROK), Japan, Australia and New Zealand have been at the last three NATO summits. And from our perspective, it really symbolizes the fact that the Euro-Atlantic and the Indo-Pacific are increasingly connected.
Security problems that matter for Europe matter for the Indo-Pacific. And likewise, Asia matters greatly to our European partners. And when the Biden administration took office, we were very keen to help support the IP4 and build it out into something that is a more institutionalized meeting because we think it is strictly advantageous for our Indo-Pacific allies to be working with our European allies and vice versa.
But of course, the way that the IP4 really got increased, was after the tragic and aggressive invasion of Ukraine by Russia, in which so many of our Indo-Pacific allies stepped up to demonstrate that they stand with Ukraine and would provide assistance. And that, I think, really drove home to our European allies in NATO, the fundamental value of working with partners in the Indo-Pacific. So today, again, they’re here for their third summit.
Mira Rapp-Hooper, Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for East Asia and Oceania, National Security Council and Matthew Brest arrive at the White House for the State Dinner for Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, and wife Kishida Yuko, April 10, 2024, in Washington. (Jacquelyn Martin/AP)
They have had the opportunity to participate in a plenary session, with significant substantive focus on the Indo-Pacific and the links between the two theaters. When we talk about those links, clearly DPRK-Russia cooperation is very squarely on the agenda. It has been a focus of their discussions. They participated in the leaders dinner last night. They had their own meeting with President Zelensky of Ukraine, which is an important demonstration of the fact that they are fiercely dedicated partners to Ukraine. And you saw that with two new announcements from New Zealand and Australia announcing new aid packages to Ukraine concomitant with the NATO summit.
And then, of course, the IP4 partners, had some time with the president, and Secretary General Stoltenberg, to affirm the importance of their participation here at NATO.
RFA: What role do you expect that South Korea can play in partnership with NATO?
Rapp-Hooper: We expect South Korea to play whatever role is most advantageous for South Korea. I think if you ask our South Korean friends, what they will say is they are extremely worried about DPRK-Russia cooperation, and they want to work with NATO partners to do the most that they can to limit that cooperation.
But really what they want to do is use these interconnections between the region to help keep the Indo-Pacific and the Korean Peninsula safer and more stable, and we’re fully supportive of that goal.
RFA: After the summit between North Korea and Russia,there has been growing sentiment in South Korea that it needs its own nuclear weapon. What kind of response would you have to that sentiment?
Rapp-Hooper: Well, what I would actually point to is the fact that President Biden and (South Korean) President Yoon spent some time together today. And after they did so, we released an important joint statement, signed off by each of them. And what that statement does is remind the world that it’s been a year since the Nuclear Consultative Group (or NCG) met for the first time in Seoul.
It was inaugurated following President Yoon’s state visit to Washington back in April of 2023. And over the course of that year, that nuclear consultative group has made remarkable progress, towards standing itself up as an institution, and doing the work that we will need to do together, as allies, to strengthen our extended return to the ROK.
Edited by Eugene Whong.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By Lee Sangmin for RFA Korean.
Istanbul, June 14, 2024—Turkish authorities must do everything in their power to provide security for journalist Murat Ağırel and his family to protect them from harassment and intrusions, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday.
Ağırel, a columnist for Cumhuriyet, a daily known for its critical coverage of the government, said he observed people wandering around and filming his house in Istanbul, picking through his trash, damaging his car, and following his family members, according to four videos the journalist posted Wednesday on X, formerly known as Twitter, and a report by his outlet. Ağırel told CPJ he suspected these incidents were connected to his reporting and commentary on narcotics trafficking.
“Turkish authorities must do everything that they can to ensure the security of journalist Murat Ağırel and his family,” said Özgür Öğret, CPJ’s Turkey representative. “The authorities should take swift action before something irrevocable happens and prove that members of the media in Turkey are not defenseless against those who harass them and mean them harm.”
Ağırel told CPJ that some of the people were identified by the police and questioned, but authorities took no further action after the suspects denied spying on the journalist.
Ağırel told CPJ he filed a criminal complaint with police and applied for a gun license, which was denied because of his 2020 conviction for violating the country’s national intelligence laws in his reporting on the death of a National Intelligence Agency officer.
Ağırel said authorities told him that he could apply to the police and ask for close protection, but he did not because he had already asked for that in the criminal complaint.
“It feels ridiculous to me to apply again [and] again,” Ağırel told CPJ.
On Thursday, CPJ emailed the Interior Ministry of Turkey, which oversees the police, asking about what security measures are being taken to protect Ağırel. The email did not receive a reply.
Berlin, May 1, 2024—Russian authorities must drop legal proceedings against Sergey Mingazov, a journalist for the Russian edition of Forbes magazine, and detained journalists Konstantin Gabov and Sergey Karelin and ensure that members of the press are not imprisoned for their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday.
On April 27, a court in the city of Khabarovsk in Russia’s Far East placed Mingazov under house arrest for two months as he awaits trial, according to newsreports.
Mingazov was detained the previous day on charges of spreading “fake” information about the Russian army by reposting on the Telegram channel Khabarovskaya Mingazeta reports about the massacre of civilians in the Ukrainian town of Bucha in 2022, according to the journalist’s lawyer, Konstantin Bubon, who spoke to CPJ, and newsreports.
If convicted, Mingazov could be jailed for up to 10 years under Russia’s criminal code, which was amended after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 to include lengthy sentences for spreading false news about the army.
Bubon told CPJ that Mingazov’s case was directly linked to his journalistic work and authorities had seized the journalist’s electronic devices, as well as computers and phones belonging to his wife and children while searching his apartment, before taking him for further questioning.
Bubon also said he had filed a complaint challenging the court’s decision to ban Mingazov from using the internet.
Charged for working for ‘extremist’ Navalny channel
Separately, on April 27, Russian courts placed freelance videographer Karelin, who has worked for The Associated Press news agency and German broadcaster DW, and Gabov, who has worked with Reuters news agency and DW, under pre-trial detention for two months, according to newsreports.
The general jurisdiction courts of Moscow said on Telegram that Gabov, who was detained in Moscow on April 27, was accused of participating in an extremist organization for preparing photos and videos for Navalny LIVE. The YouTube channel is run by supporters of the opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died in prison in February.
The courts’ Telegram post described Navalny LIVE as a platform for posting content for Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation, which Russian authorities have banned as extremist.
Karelin, who was detained on April 26 in the northern region of Murmansk, faces similar charges.
If convicted, the two journalists could face up to six years in prison each under Russia’s criminal code. CPJ was unable to determine exactly what materials the men were accused of producing.
“We are deeply troubled by the persistent pattern of intimidation and legal harassment faced by journalists in Russia,” said Gulnoza Said, CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia program coordinator, in New York. “Russian authorities should drop the charges and immediately release Sergey Mingazov from house arrest, provide information on the charges against Konstantin Gabov and Sergey Karelin, and ensure that they are not prosecuted for journalistic work.”
The AP said that it was “very concerned” by Karelin’s detention and was “seeking additional information.”
Charged for working for ‘undesirable’ Meduza
In a separate case, on April 23, a district court in the Russian-occupied Crimean capital, Sevastopol, in Ukraine, charged freelance reporter Anastasiya Zhvik with participating in an “undesirable organization” for publishing in the exiled independent news website Meduza, the journalist told CPJ via messaging app.
The Russian Prosecutor General’s office outlawed Meduza as “undesirable” in 2023. Organizations that receive such a classification are banned from operating in Russia, and anyone who participates in them or works to organize their activities faces fines and up to six years imprisonment.
Zhvik told CPJ that as a first-time offender and based on fines given to other journalists for similar charges, she expected to be fined about 5,000 rubles (US$54) if convicted.
Russia held at least 22 journalists behind bars when CPJ conducted its 2023 prison census, making the country the world’s fourth-worst jailer of journalists that year. CPJ’s prison census documented those imprisoned as of December 1, 2023.
CPJ’s emails to district courts in Khabarovsk and Sevastopol, and the Anti-Corruption Foundation seeking comment did not receive any replies.
This year’s WHCA dinner takes place at a time when journalists face grave threats globally and in a year when much of the world’s population heads to the polls.
Press freedom facts:
In 2023, attacks on journalists’ lives remained at near-record levels, with CPJ documenting 99 journalists and media workers killed worldwide, the highest number since 2015 and a 44% increase from 2022.
The rise was driven by the intensity of killings in the Israel-Gaza war, starting on October 7, 2023, which claimed the lives of more journalists in the first three months than have ever been killed in a single country over an entire year. CPJ has confirmed 97 journalists and media workers have been killed in the war to date.
U.S. journalists continue to face a hostile press freedom environment. From the decline of local media outlets to the expanding criminalization of public interest reporting, the public stands to lose access to credible, reliable, and timely journalism that affects their welfare and livelihood.
The 2022 killing of veteran Las Vegas Review-Journal reporter Jeff German serves as a stark reminder of the dangers local reporters face when covering their communities. Ongoing efforts to access German’s devices after his death highlighted the importance of a federal shield law for reporters.
A draft of a federal shield law, the PRESS Act, is currently sitting in the Senate. Pushing forward this legislation would signal the vital role that journalists play in fortifying democracy in the United States.
Media availability:
CPJ CEO Jodie Ginsberg will attend the White House Correspondents’ Association’s annual dinner and is available to speak with the media. To arrange an interview, contact press@cpj.org.
As part of the White House Correspondents’ dinner events, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg Center and the Committee to Protect Journalists are hosting an event: In the Crosshairs: Protecting Journalists in 2024.
WHAT: Panel exploring how to protect journalists and free those wrongly imprisoned for simply doing their jobs, featuring Ginsberg and CPJ Europe and Central Asia Program Coordinator Gulnoza Said.
WHEN: 1-3 p.m. Friday, April 26, 2024
WHERE: Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg Center, 555 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington DC
The Committee to Protect Journalists is an independent, nonprofit organization that promotes press freedom worldwide. We defend the right of journalists to report the news safely and without fear of reprisal.
Democracy Now! speaks with an active-duty soldier in the U.S. Air Force on hunger strike to demand an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. Senior Airman Larry Hebert is on day three of his hunger strike outside the White House, where he has been holding a sign that reads “Active Duty Airman Refuses to Eat While Gaza Starves.” “It’s just completely wrong and immoral for civilians to be starved and bombed and targeted in any manner,” says Hebert. “I’m hoping that other active-duty members will be more public with their concern over the atrocities happening in Gaza.” Hebert was inspired by the actions of Aaron Bushnell, a 25-year-old active-duty member of the U.S. Air Force who set himself on fire in front of the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C., in February to demand a Gaza ceasefire. “What really infuriated me was the silence thereafter. … I don’t know a single member of our government or leaders in the military that really spoke on Aaron, even uttered his name,” says Hebert, who is now looking to leave the military after learning more about U.S. foreign policy. “I can’t see myself continuing service.”
This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.
Twyford said Labour unequivocally supported the call for special humanitarian visas for families of New Zealanders currently trapped in Gaza.
“We created a special visa for the families of Ukrainian Kiwis so they could sponsor their families to escape the war zone. To not do so for the people of Gaza is a disgraceful double standard,” he said.
Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick reiterated her party’s support for special visas.
“The Minister of Immigration has patronisingly said that the government do not want to offer what they call false hope to the people of Palestine. Let us say, that’s for the people of Palestine.
‘Offer consistency’
“It’s not for politicians in this place to patronise the people in Gaza and tell when what they should or shouldn’t hope for. The very least we can do is offer the consistency that we have to those affected in Ukraine by Russia’s aggressions.”
Last week, the government was urged to create a special humanitarian visas for Palestinians in Gaza who have ties to New Zealand.
It followed more than 30 organisations — including World Vision, Save the Children and Greenpeace — sending an open letter to ministers asking they step up support and help with evacuation and resettlement efforts.
More than 200 people gathered at Parliament in support of the petition. Image: RNZ/Anneke Smith
Immigration Minister Erica Stanford acknowledged there was an “unimaginable humanitarian crisis in Gaza” but said issuing special visas would not assist people.
“Those people in Ukraine were able to leave. They were able to get on a plane and get to New Zealand. The situation in Gaza is that they cannot leave.
“I’m not going to be issuing visas, which is issuing false hope, for people on a great scale who cannot leave. As and when the situation changes, we will reconsider our position.”
Labour MP for Nelson Rachel Boyack, a Christian, said she was calling on MPs of all faiths in Parliament to stand up for Palestine.
‘War about land, power’
“Our religion and our faith has been used to fight a war that is fundamentally about land and power. I said in the House earlier this week in the debate that as a Christian, it pains me greatly to see other people of faith misuse their faith to kill and harm other people.”
The urgent humanitarian situation in Gaza will be a focus of the trip, with Peters saying New Zealand was part of an “overwhelming international consensus demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire”.
“This travel will allow us to share information and perspectives with a range of interested parties and coordinate on broad international action,” he said.
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson said Peters did not need to travel to the region to understand the need for further humanitarian support.
“it’s good to hear the minister talking about some support but we can do it now,” sdhe said.
“It’s right now that people are starving and dying without water and medical supplies. We can actually see that from here and that decision can be made right now to use all of the levers to get that kai and food and medical supplies through.”
This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.
This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.
Thailand’s Parliament on Wednesday passed a same-sex marriage bill at the final reading, moving the country a step closer to becoming the first in Southeast Asia to provide equal marriage rights to LGBTQ+ persons.
The bill sailed through the lower house receiving 400 votes in favor and 10 against, according to deputy speaker Pichet Chuamuangphan.
The landmark legislation still requires approval from the conservative-leaning Senate and endorsement from the king before it becomes law – a process that would see Thailand join only Taiwan and Nepal in Asia in recognizing the rights of same-sex couples to wed.
“This law ensures that the rights of ordinary men and women are not diminished in any way. Your legal rights remain unchanged in all respects,” Danuporn Punnakan, chair of the special Committee reviewing the bill, told Parliament before the final reading.
“Simultaneously, this law will protect a group of people, whether they are called LGBT, transgender men, transgender women, or anything else.”
Thailand boasts one of the most vibrant LGBTQ+ communities in Asia, and public surveys show that the bill enjoys overwhelming support.
Same-sex couples were previously unable to adopt children, make emergency health care decisions for their partners, or access spousal benefits, including tax deductions and government pensions.
Kan Kerdmeemun (left) and Pakodchakon Wongsupha (right), who have been together for 30 years, pose for photos during a ceremony to unofficially wed LGBTQ+ couples on Valentine’s Day in Bangkok, Feb. 14, 2024. [Lillian Suwanrumpha/AFP]
A key aspect of the bill is to allow “two individuals (of any gender)” to marry, amending current wording of the Civil and Commercial Code that specifies marriage as between a man and a woman. The change will allow spouses of all genders to manage assets and legally adopt children.
“A public opinion survey showed that 96.6% of the population agrees with this bill. The benefits of the act affirm the government’s intention and policy to respect and promote human rights by amending unjust laws to ensure that everyone has the right to equally and fairly establish family relationships,” said Deputy Prime Minister Somsak Thepsutin while presenting the bill for consideration.
Speaking before the vote, Pakodchakon Wongsupha, a 67-year-old woman with a transgender partner, said the amendments would provide social security and legal recognition.
“If something went wrong that resulted in death, I wouldn’t have the legal right to file any complaint like other legalized couples. It makes me hurt when I think about it. Every couple in this world, regardless of gender, should have the right to receive welfare benefits or legal recognition like anyone else,” Pakodchakon told BenarNews.
Thailand’s road to approving same-sex marriage legislation has been years in the making.
An earlier draft marriage equality bill, introduced by opposition lawmakers from the progressive Move Forward Party, reached its second reading in November 2022, but didn’t move beyond that because of a series of legislative delays after which the Parliament was dissolved in March ahead of the May general election.
Mookdapa Yangyuenpradorn, a Southeast Asian human rights associate at Fortify Rights, said she hoped that Thailand’s law could inspire other countries in Southeast Asia.
“While this law may not be 100% perfect, from the perspective of an international human rights organization, it makes Thailand’s legislation more aligned with international standards,” Mookdapa told BenarNews.
Wilawan Watcharasakwet and Ruj Chuenban in Bangkok contributed to this report.
BenarNews is and RFA-affiliated news service.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By Nontarat Phaicharoen for BenarNews.
The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday passed new legislation that could force TikTok’s Chinese parent company to divest in the social media app to prevent it being banned in America.
Lawmakers backing the new bill say that forcing ByteDance to sell its controlling stake in the app, which has 170 million monthly American users, is the only way to ensure Beijing cannot use it for propaganda.
TikTok, though, has denied any interference from Beijing.
The legislation still needs to pass the Senate, but U.S. President Joe Biden last week said he will sign it into law if it does land on his desk. A similar bill was last year championed by a bipartisan group of senators, suggesting that it could face little resistance in that chamber.
The bill passed the House in a 352-65 vote, less than a week after it was introduced and was approved by the House Energy and Commerce Committee in a 50-0 vote. The fast-tracking meant the bill needed a two-thirds majority to pass, which it easily achieved.
TikTok’s offices are seen in Culver City, Calif., March 13, 2024. (Mike Blake/Reuters)
Beijing has long denied interfering in TikTok’s operations and has in turn accused the lawmakers backing the legislation of being motivated primarily by anti-China paranoia and protectionism.
There was no evidence TikTok’s Chinese ownership was a threat to U.S. national security and that it would “come back to bite the United States” by damaging the country’s reputation, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said at a press briefing.
“This kind of bullying behavior that cannot win in fair competition disrupts companies’ normal business activity, damages the confidence of international investors in the investment environment, and damages the normal international economic and trade order,” Wang said.
Senate hurdles
In a statement, TikTok called the bill’s fast passage the product of a “secret” process and said it was “jammed through” the House.
“We are hopeful that the Senate will consider the facts, listen to their constituents, and realize the impact on the economy, 7 million small businesses, and 170 million Americans who use our service,” it said.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said his chamber would consider the bill in due time, while Senate Commerce Committee Chair Sen. Maria Cantwell, a Democrat from Washington state, said she wants to ensure any bill signed into law “could hold up in court.”
But the legislation already has some high-profile backers.
Two of the advocates of last year’s similar Senate bill – Sen. Mark Warner, a Democrat from Virginia who also serves as chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, and Sen. Marco Rubio, a Republican from Florida – said they “look forward to working together to get this bill passed through the Senate and signed into law.”
Devotees of TikTok gather at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., as the House votes on a bill that could ban TikTok, March 13, 2024. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP)
Rep. Mike Gallagher, a Republican from Wisconsin who led the bill in the House, has said Chinese ownership of the app, which is the fourth-most download on Apple and Google’s app stores, is akin to a Soviet-run company owning the New York Times in the 1960s.
Gallagher and other lawmakers note TikTok is legally required to expose American user data to Beijing upon request, and say it could be forced to alter its algorithms to promote Chinese propaganda.
“The Chinese Communist Party, and its leader Xi Jinping, have their hands deep in the inner workings of the company with devastating consequences for our personal freedoms,” he said last week.
That analysis has been mirrored by FBI Director Christopher Wray and other leaders of U.S. intelligence agencies, who say the app’s widespread use means it could be used to distribute misinformation to millions of Americans and could even sway election results.
Edited by Malcolm Foster.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By Alex Willemyns for RFA.
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