Seven Royal Marines have been arrested after information emerged that an insurgent was murdered. A fellow soldier claimed that the insurgent was killed by British troops in a way that broke the army’s strict rules of engagement. The seven marines were arrested by the Royal Military Police on Thursday and the Ministry of Defence will lead an inquiry into the killing, which is said to have happened last year. "The Royal Military police have today arrested seven Royal Marines on suspicion of murder.” said an MoD spokesperson. “The arrests relate to an incident in Afghanistan in 2011. The...
The United States has criticised the Russian government as “morally bankrupt” after a plane travelling to Syria was seized by Turkish authorities, who claimed Russian military equipment was on board en route to the Syrian regime. Speaking to reporters State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland stated that the US had “grave concerns” that material was being supplied by Russia to aid besieged Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to help quell rebels in the country. She told reporters, "We have no doubt that this was serious military equipment," "There are no Security Council sanctions on Syria...
A Syrian passenger plane that departed from Moscow has been forced to land in Ankara after Turkish fighter jets intercepted it and escorted the Syrian Air flight to Esenboga airport. Turkish authorities stopped the plane over suspicions that it carried military equipment. Officials claimed “illegal cargo” was discovered on the plane and it had been confiscated. Syrian and Russian officials strongly denied the claims and said Turkey endangered the lives of the passengers and the crew. "Turkish military aircraft forced the plane to land without giving prior warning to the pilot. The military...
Human Rights Watch (HRW) have released a detailed report on activities that could amount to crimes against humanity in during violence between Boko Haram militants and government forces in Nigeria in 2009. The report, which is based on field research between July 2010 and July 2012, details allegations of systematic murder and persecution by the Islamist militia Boko Haram, as well as numerous abuses such as extrajudicial killings by government security forces. Boko Haram, which translates as ‘Western education is a sin’, want to impose strict Sharia law in northern Nigeria, and focus their attacks on police, government security agents and Christians as well as Muslims accused of cooperating with the government. HRW claims that poverty, corruption, police abuse and impunity has made Nigeria an ideal breeding ground for violent militancy. Africa director at HRW, Daniel Bekele said, “The unlawful killing by both Boko Haram and Nigerian security forces only grows worse; both sides need to halt this downward spiral. Nigeria’s government should swiftly bring to justice the Boko Haram members and security agents who have committed these serious crimes.”
Through a collective effort from the local government and private sector, poor and working class people from China are increasingly being evicted from their homes, stated a report released on Thursday by Amnesty International. More than 41 cases of self-immolation have been collected by human rights group since January 2009 depicting resistance to local government’s forceful eviction. Relocation of people has been steadily rising as Beijing ordered local governments to play a crucial role in stimulating the economy. Local government has seized land and sold development rights, noted during...
Slovakia has reaffirmed its recognition of the Armenian genocide, stating that denial of it was punishable under by law. The remarks came as Chairman of the Slovakian Supreme Court Štefan Harabin visited the Armenian genocide memorial and museum, where he stated , "The United Nations Commission on Human Rights [UNCHR] has recognized the Armenian Genocide. The European Parliament likewise has recognized it. In 2004, Slovakia also recognized the Armenian Genocide. In addition, there is a law [in Slovakia] on criminalizing genocide denial.” He went on to say , ''There is a rule of law in...
An agreement on the rules for a referendum on Scottish independence is in its final stages and almost ready to be signed by Alex Salmond of the SNP and the British Prime Minister David Cameron. A Scottish government spokesperson said : “We are on track for the full agreement, including the terms of a section 30 order, to be presented to the First Minister and the Prime Minister over the next few days.”
Nato’s secretary general Anders Fogh Rasmussen said on Tuesday that the alliance is ready to defend Turkey against any aggression from Syria, after a week of clashes between the neighbours. Rasmussen spoke to reporters ahead of a Nato defence ministers’ meeting in Brussels, and said, "Obviously Turkey can rely on Nato solidarity. "We have all necessary plans in place to protect and defend Turkey if necessary." Turkey meanwhile has said it will continue to retaliate against attacks by Bashar al-Assad’s Syrian forces. "Every kind of threat to the Turkish territory and the Turkish people will...
The President of Serbia, Tomislav Nikolic, has told reporters that genocide did not take place in Srebrenica, as the EU has urged the country to reconcile with and recognise Kosovo. Talking to Italian media ahead of a trip to the country, Nikolic reportedly stated , " Genocide did not take place in Srebrenica. This is about individual guilt of members of the Serb people. The Serbian parliament condemned this crime, but did not say it was genocide. No Serb recognizes that genocide took place in Srebrenica, and I am no different. " His comments come as the European Union released their annual report on countries looking to join the EU, calling on Serbia to do more if they wanted to achieve member status. The report called on Serbia to reconcile with Kosovo, "while respecting the territorial integrity of Kosovo and the particular needs of the local population". However, the Serbian President stated, "Europe can ask anything except that we renounce Kosovo... In case it was necessary to renounce Kosovo, then it's more acceptable to us to forget about Europe (EU) .
According to an independent analysis of criminal justice in the European Union, carried out by the London based organisation Fair Trials International, the abuses of Human rights in EU based criminal trials has doubled in the past five years. The analysis found that states on the eastern fringes of the EU habitually violated individual’s right to liberty and a fair trial. The figures, which were taken from a 5 year between 2007 and this summer, showed the number of right to a fair criminal trial violations increase by over a 100%. The most frequent violation was delay in bringing cases to...