ISTANBUL (AA): Calling for respect for the fundamental rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir, speakers at an international conference in Istanbul on Friday sought the resolution of the Kashmir dispute on the basis of UN resolutions. Lawmakers, diplomats, activists and civil society members from Türkiye, Kuwait, Pakistan and Kashmir spoke a...
KARACHI, Pakistan (AA): Kashmiris residing in Pakistan and both parts of the disputed Kashmir valley on Wednesday observed “Accession Day.” The day marks the adoption of a resolution by the All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference at a convention in Srinagar, the capital of Indian-administered Kashmir, on July 19, 1947, that called ...
Cairo, Egypt (AFP): An Egyptian court has sentenced rights researcher Patrick Zaki to three years in prison for “spreading false news”, according to human rights defender Hossam Bahgat. Bahgat, who runs the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights where Zaki worked, said no appeal is possible against the conviction over an article Z...
Rabat, Morocco (AFP): Morocco’s highest court has rejected the final appeals of two journalists — Omar Radi and Soulaimane Raissouni. The two were imprisoned on sexual assault charges, and reject the allegations, according to their lawyer. The Court of Cassation in Rabat “rejected our appeal and confirmed the prison sentences...
ISLAMABAD (AA): A US lawmaker has proposed that his government exchange two high-profile prisoners. The first is a Pakistani national, Aafia Siddiqui, who is serving an 86-year prison sentence in Texas for the attempted murder of a US soldier in Afghanistan. The second is Shakil Afridi, a Pakistani doctor who helped the CIA run a […]
ISTANBUL (AA): A Malaysian politician was arrested in a pre-dawn raid on Tuesday, charged with sedition for comments about a member of the royal family. Sanusi Mohammed Nor, the caretaker minister of the northwestern Kedah city, claimed he was “being subjected to political persecution and silenced” through legal proceedings related...
Bamako, Mali (AFP): A prominent Malian TV and radio journalist has been acquitted of charges that he falsely claimed a former premier had been murdered while in detention under the ruling junta. Mohamed Youssouf Bathily was placed in custody on March 13 after allegedly saying former prime minister Soumeylou Boubeye Maiga had not died from [&he...
Srinagar, India (AFP): India’s top court has begun considering a challenge to the 2019 imposition of direct rule in Indian Occupied Kashmir, a decision accompanied by mass arrests of Kashmiris and a months-long internet blackout. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government suspended a section of the constitution that guarantees limit...
RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA): Israel released senior Hamas leader Hasan Yousef from prison on Sunday after 20 months of detention, according to his son. “My father was released from Ofer prison, west of Ramallah, and he is at home now,” Oweis Hassan told Anadolu. There was no confirmation yet from the Israeli authorities. In February 2022, [&helli...
Geneva, Switzerland (AFP): The United Nations has voiced deep concern that the crackdown on freedoms in Tunisia is now targeting journalists. UN human rights chief Volker Turk said vague legislation was being used to criminalise independent journalism and stifle criticism of the authorities. “It is troubling to see Tunisia, a country tha...
