Tag Archives: Discrimination/Terror/Hate Crimes

Nationality + Migration

Bangladesh News | Foreigners

Terrorist attack and standoff in Bangladesh kills at least 20, injures 30
  • Seven gunmen attacked the Holey Artisan Bakery, a popular restaurant in Dhaka’s diplomatic quarter, and took hostages for 11 hours before security forces stormed in.
  • The restaurant was popular with immigrants and other foreigners, and gunmen allegedly ordered Bangladeshis to stand before attacking foreign patrons including Italians, Japanese, Indians, and Sri Lankans.
  • The attack, claimed by the Islamic State, is the largest in an escalating series targeting secularists, gay activists, foreigners, and religious minorities in the country.

Read more:
“20 Hostages and Six Gunmen Killed in Bangladesh Attack” (The New York Times)
“Islamist militants kill 20 in Bangladesh before commandos end siege” (Reuters)
“20 killed execution-style” (Dhaka Tribune)
“Fate of seven Japanese among Bangladesh hostages unknown after siege ends” (The Japan Times)

(Image Credit: Reuters, via The Japan Times)

Nationality + Migration, Race + Color + Ethnicity

U.K. News | Immigrants & Racial Minorities

Hate crime reports surge in U.K. in wake of Brexit
  • Since the U.K. voted to leave the European Union, a 500% increase in hate crimes reported online has drawn attention to a wave of racist, anti-immigrant sentiment in the country.
  • Some 331 reports have been filed through the online report filing portal in the week since the vote (a significant increase from the weekly average of 63) as critics of the “Leave” campaign have accused the anti-E.U. movement of stirring xenophobic sentiment in the country.
  • PM David Cameron announced additional funding to security forces to stem the tide and called on politicians across political parties to condemn hate crimes.

Read more:
“Hate crime reports surge in Britain after divisive EU referendum, police say” (Reuters)
“Cameron announces plan to tackle hate crime after vote to leave EU” (The Guardian)
“U.K. Announces New Plan to Tackle Hate Crimes” (The Wall Street Journal)

(Image Credit: PRU/HO/AFP/Getty Images, via The Wall Street Journal)

Gender, Sexual + Gender Minorities

Cote d’Ivoire News | Gay Men

Six gay men featured in U.S. embassy photo attacked in Cote d’Ivoire
  • After holding an event in Abidjan in solidarity with the victims of the mass shooting in an Orlando gay club and posted a picture, the U.S. embassy posted a photo featuring members of a local LGBTI advocacy group to its website.
  • Days later, two of the men were physically attacked and the others harassed in separate incidents as the photo was circulated through digital channels.
  • While private same-sex relations have never been criminalized in Cote d’Ivoire, public visibility has subjected many LGBTI Ivorians to harassment and violence.

Read more:
“Gay men in Ivory Coast attacked for showing support to Orlando victims: rights group” (The Thomson Reuters Foundation)
“Gay men attacked over photo posted by U.S. embassy” (AP via CBS News)
“Orlando : des homosexuels menacés en Côte d’Ivoire pour avoir participé à un hommage” (Le Monde, in French)

Nationality + Migration

Turkey News | Travelers

Dozens from more than 9 countries dead, hundreds injured after attack on Turkey’s main airport
  • Three suicide attackers killed at least 41 and wounded 239 more in Istanbul’s Ataturk airport in an attack claimed by the Islamic State.
  • At least 23 victims were Turkish, while others killed included people from Saudi Arabia, Iraq, China, Iran, Jordan, Tunisia, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.
  • Over the last year, Turkey has experienced multiple terror attacks as the government faces threats from the Islamic State, political divisions between Islamists and secularists, and violent conflict with Kurdish separatists.

Read more:
“Islamic State prime suspect after suicide bombers kill 41 at Istanbul airport” (Reuters)
“Victims in Istanbul Airport Attack Reflect City’s International Character” (The New York Times)
“At Least 41 Killed Including 13 Foreign Nationals In Attack On Istanbul Airport” (BuzzFeed News)

(Image Credit: Osman Orsal/Reuters, via BuzzFeed News)

Sexual + Gender Minorities

Turkey News | LGBT

Istanbul LGBT and transgender marches banned following threats
  • The Istanbul Governor’s Office revoked organizers’ assembly permits following threats from conservative groups, particularly Turkish ultranationalists.
  • Organizers criticized the government response as kowtowing to anti-LGBT parties rather than increasing security and protecting the LGBT community’s right to assemble.
  • Coinciding with Ramadan, Pride Week in Istanbul is scheduled to take place from June 19-26, with the main LGBT parade originally planned for the final day.

Read more:
“Governor’s Office bans LGBT Pride march in Istanbul” (Hürriyet News Daily)
“Turkey bans Istanbul gay pride due to ‘security fears’” (Al Jazeera)
“Istanbul authorities ban transgender and gay pride marches” (The Guardian)

(Image Credit: via Hürryiet News Daily)

Religion + Belief

Bangladesh News | Hindus

Hindu teacher attacked as Bangladesh cracks down on Islamist militants
  • Ribon Chakraborty, a college math teacher, survived a machete attack by three assailants in his home in Madaripur.
  • The government reported that the three attackers were a part of the banned group Hizb ut-Tahrir.
  • More than 11,000 have been arrested across the country in the last week, including political dissidents, as security forces have begun taking extensive action to combat the targeted killings of minorities that have left more than 30 dead since 2015.

Read more:
“Hizb ut-Tahrir men hacked Madaripur teacher” (Dhaka Tribune)
“Bangladesh Hindu teacher’s attacker killed in shootout” (Reuters)
“194 Held in Bangladesh Mass Arrests May Have Militant Ties, Police Say” (The New York Times)

Sexual + Gender Minorities

Mexico News | LGBT

At least 5 dead following May shooting in Mexico gay bar
  • On May 22, gunmen entered La Madame in Xalapa, Veracruz, and opened fire, with reports indicating between five and seven dead and 12 to 14 injured.
  • Reports indicate that six men entered the bar and began firing on patrons, with at least one witness reporting the attackers targeted a group of men before firing randomly on those present.
  • Security officials blamed the shooting on a territorial dispute by drug cartels, while LGBT activists argued police were downplaying the homophobic nature of the crime.

Read more:
“Cae presunto implicado en ataque al bar ‘Madame’” (El Universal, in Spanish)
“Ataque en bar de Xalapa fue contra ocupantes de una mesa: testigo” (Milenio.com, in Spanish)
“The Massacre at a Mexican Gay Bar That No One Talked About” (teleSUR English)
“7 people were killed in a Mexico gay bar, but it’s not big news” (PinkNews)

(Image Credit: El Universal)

Gender, Sexual + Gender Minorities

Kenya News | Gay & Bisexual Men

Kenyan court upholds legality of anal examinations as evidence in homosexuality prosecution
  • The presiding judge dismissed a challenge to the state’s subjection of men accused of homosexuality to anal exams, widely decried in the medical community as unscientific and invasive.
  • The ruling comes as part of a case against two men charged with “unnatural acts,” “indecent acts between adults,” and “trafficking in obscene materials.”
  • Though being appealed by Kenya’s main LGBT advocacy group, anal exams can now be used as evidence of “unnatural acts,” whereas historically they were most often used in same-sex rape cases.

Read more:
“Kenyan Court Upholds Anal Exams For Homosexuality Charges” (BuzzFeed News)
“Two Kenyans in gay sex case lose bid to outlaw anal examinations” (Reuters)
“Kenya court rules anal tests on ‘gay suspects’ legal” (AFP via Capital News)

Ideology + Affiliation

U.K. News | Politicians

UK MP assassinated after meeting with constituents
  • Labour Party MP Jo Cox was murdered near near a library in the village of Birstall, near Leeds.
  • The homicide was allegedly the culmination of an altercation between Cox, elected to Parliament in 2015, and 52-year-old Tommy Mair.
  • At least three witnesses reported that Mair shouted “Britain first” while shooting Cox, the slogan and name of a far-right nationalist group pushing for the U.K.’s exit from the European Union in the upcoming referendum on June 23.

Read more:
“Labour MP Jo Cox dies after being shot and stabbed” (The Guardian)
“Labour MP Jo Cox Dies After Shooting” (BuzzFeed News)
“Jo Cox MP dead after shooting attack” (BBC)

(Image Credit: via BBC)

Nationality + Migration

Philippines News | Canadians

Second Canadian hostage believed killed in the Philippines
  • Abu Sayyaf, an Islamist separatist group in the southwest Philippines, reportedly beheaded Canadian citizen Robert Hall.
  • Hall had been abducted from a Samal Island resort in September 2015 along with another Canadian (killed in late April), a Norwegian man, and a Filipina woman.
  • The group had demanded an $8 million ransom, which the Canadian government refused to pay to deter future extortion attempts.

Read more:
“Robert Hall, Canadian hostage, killed by Abu Sayyaf militants in Philippines” (CBC News)
“Philippines: Abu Sayyaf group beheads Canadian hostage” (Al Jaxeera)
“Extremists Have Killed Another Canadian Hostage In The Philippines” (BuzzFeed News)

(Image Credit: Site Intelligence Group/YouTube, via CBC News)

Sexual + Gender Minorities

U.S. News | LGBT

Mass shooting in Florida gay club leaves at least 50 dead in deadliest shooting in U.S. history
  • A gunman opened fire in the early morning hours at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, killing at least 50 and wounding at least another 53 in what authorities are investigating as a terror attack.
  • The club was hosting a Latin-themed dance night, drawing patrons from within and beyond the LGBT community.
  • According to the currently released numbers, the attack is now the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history.

Read more:
Florida nightclub shooting: updates (The Guardian)
Shooting at Pulse Florida Nightclub: Updates (The New York Times)
“Fifty people killed in massacre at Florida gay nightclub: police” (Reuters)
“Here Are The Victims That Have Been Identified In The Orlando Nightclub Shooting” (BuzzFeed News)
“How to Help the Victims of the Pulse Orlando Nightclub Shooting” (TIME)

(Image Credit: Steve Nesius/Reuters)

Race + Color + Ethnicity

South Africa News | Hate Speech

South African woman slapped with $10,000 fine for racist remarks
  • The woman faced charges from the African National Congress (ANC) for comparing black South Africans to “wild monkeys” in a Facebook rant about beaches in the country.
  • The Umizito Equality Court ordered her to pay the 150,000-rand fine to charity within 60 days.
  • South African hate speech laws stem from constitutionally guaranteed protections against the incitement of hatred and the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act of 2000.

Read more:
“South African woman fined $10,000 for racist comments” (Reuters)
“Racism: Penny Sparrow fined R150K, community service for Theunissen” (News24)
“SA’s laws are set against hate speech” (Times Live, January 2016)

Additional:
The Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act of 2000

Gender, Race + Color + Ethnicity, Religion + Belief

Interregional News | Yazidi Women

IS to be tried for crimes against Yazidi women in international court
  • Human rights lawyer Amal Clooney will prosecute the Islamic State for crimes against the Yazidi community including sexual slavery, rape, and genocide.
  • The prosecution follows a campaign by Yazidi advocates like Nadia Murad Basee Taha, who petitioned the U.N. Security Council and the international community to take action.
  • IS has accused Yazidis of being devil-worshippers, driven more than 700,000 from their homes in northern Iraq, and enslaved more than 7,000 women and girls.

Read more:
“Exclusive: Amal Clooney to represent ISIS survivor Nadia Murad and victims of Yazidi genocide” (The New York Times)
“Human rights lawyer Amal Clooney to defend Yazidi women, ISIS sex slaves” (Reuters)
“Amal Clooney to represent Yazidi sex slaves and demand Isis genocide investigation at The Hague” (International Business Times)

(Image Credit: Mustafa Yalcin/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images, via The New York Times)

Nationality + Migration, Race + Color + Ethnicity

Israel & Palestine News | Israelis & Palestinians

Israel revokes travel permits for tens of thousands of Palestinians following Tel Aviv killings
  • Four Israelis were killed and six wounded after two Palestinian gunmen opened fire in a Tel Aviv market.
  • In response, the government cancelled entry permits for some 83,000 Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza for three days, revoked work permits for more than 200 of the attackers’ relatives, and increased its security presence in the occupied West Bank.
  • Following a condemnation of the homicides, the U.N. warned Israel that their response could be classified as collective punishment, illegal under the Geneva Conventions.

Read more:
“Tel Aviv Terror: What We Know So Far About the Sarona Shooting” (Haaretz)
“Palestinian Gunmen Open Fire in Tel Aviv, Leaving Four Dead” (The New York Times)
“Palestinians barred from entering Israel after Tel Aviv killings” (The Guardian)
“U.N. says Israeli move on Palestinian permits may be collective punishment” (Reuters)

(Image Credit: Tomer Appelbaum/Haaretz)

Ideology + Affiliation, Nationality + Migration, Race + Color + Ethnicity

Germany News | Turkish-German Politicians

Turkish-German lawmakers receive death threats following Armenian Genocide resolution
  • Germany’s 11 MPs of Turkish descent received the threats following the passage of a resolution to recognize the 1915 mass killings of Armenians in Turkey as genocide.
  • Targets included Cem Oezdemir, the leader of Germany’s Greens Party who had pushed for the resolution.
  • Officials have been advised against travel to Turkey after Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan publicly accused them of betraying their Turkish heritage.

Read more:
“After threats, security concerns for German MPs with Turkish roots” (Reuters)
“Report: German MPs advised not to visit Turkey” (Deutsche Welle)
“German-Turkish war of words intensifies after ‘genocide’ vote” (euronews)

(Image Credit: Hannibal Hanschke/Reuters)