LONDON: A London-based law firm filed an application with British police Tuesday seeking the arrest of India’s army chief and a senior Indian government official over their alleged roles in war crimes in Indian-administered Kashmir.
Law firm Stoke White said it submitted extensive evidence to the Metropolitan Police’s War Crimes Unit documenting how Indian forces headed by Gen. Manoj Mukund Naravane and Home Affairs Minister Amit Shah were responsible for the torture, kidnapping and killing of activists, journalists and civilians.
The law firm’s report was based on over 2,000 testimonies taken between 2020 and 2021. It also accused eight unnamed senior Indian military officials of direct involvement in war crimes and torture in Kashmir.
India’s Foreign Ministry said it was not aware of the report and refused to comment. The Ministry of Home Affairs also did not comment.
“There is strong reason to believe that Indian authorities are conducting war crimes and other violence against civilians in Jammu and Kashmir,” the report states, referring to territory that is part of the Himalayan region.
The request to London police was made under the principle of “universal jurisdiction,” which gives countries authority to prosecute individuals accused of crimes against humanity committed anywhere in the world.
The international law firm in London said it believes its application is the first time that legal action has been taken abroad against Indian authorities over alleged war crimes in Kashmir.
Hakan Camuz, director of international law at Stoke White, said he hoped the report would convince British police to open an investigation and ultimately arrest the officials when they set foot in the UK Some of the Indian officials have financial assets and other links to Britain.
“We are asking the UK government to do their duty and investigate and arrest them for what they did based on the evidence we supplied to them. We want them to be held accountable,” Camuz said.
The police application was made on behalf of the family of Zia Mustafa, a jailed Pakistani militant whom Camuz said was the victim of an extrajudicial killing by Indian authorities in 2021, and the behalf of human rights campaigner Muhammad Ahsan Untoo, who was allegedly tortured before his arrest last week.
Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan, which both claim the region in its entirety. Muslim Kashmiris support rebels who want to unite the region, either under Pakistani rule or as an independent country. In Indian-administered Kashmir, tens of thousands of civilians, rebels and government forces have been killed in the past two decades.
Kashmiris and international rights groups have long accused Indian troops of carrying out systematic abuse and arrests of those who oppose rule from New Delhi. Rights groups have also criticized the conduct of militant groups, accusing them of carrying out human rights violations against civilians.
In 2018, the UN human rights chief called for an independent international investigation into reports of rights violations in Kashmir, alleging “chronic impunity for violations committed by security forces.”
India’s government has denied the alleged rights violations and maintains such claims are separatist propaganda meant to demonize Indian troops in the region.
The law firm’s investigation suggested that the abuse has worsened during the coronavirus pandemic.
Its report also included details about the arrest of Khurram Parvez, the region’s most prominent rights activist, by India’s counterterrorism authorities last year.
Parvez, 42, worked for the Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society, which has written extensive reports about Indian troops’ use of violence and torture.
Other accounts in the report discuss journalist Sajad Gul, who was arrested earlier this month after he posted a video of family members and relatives protesting the killing of a rebel commander.
Human rights lawyers have increasingly used the universal jurisdiction principle to seek justice for people who were unable to file criminal complaints in their home countries or with the International Criminal Court, located in The Hague.
Last week, a German court convicted a former Syrian secret police officer of crimes against humanity for overseeing the abuse of thousands of detainees at a jail near Damascus a decade ago.
Camuz said he hoped the request to British police seeking the arrest of Indian officials will be followed by other legal actions also focusing on Kashmir.
“We are sure this is not going to be the last one, there will probably be many more applications,” he said.
Law firm asks UK police to probe Indian officials over 'war crimes' in Kashmir
https://arab.news/9d2kf
Law firm asks UK police to probe Indian officials over 'war crimes' in Kashmir
- Law firm Stoke White said it submitted evidence documenting how Indian forces were responsible for atrocities
- Says Indian army chief and home minister were responsible for torture, kidnapping and killing of civilians
US agencies should use advanced technology to identify mysterious drones, Schumer says
- The radio wave detector can be attached to a drone or airplane and can determine whether another flying object is a bird or a drone, read its electronic registration, and follow it back to its landing place
BOSTON: After weeks of fear and bewilderment about the drones buzzing over parts of New York and New Jersey, elected officials are urging action to identify and stop the mysterious flights.
“There’s a lot of us who are pretty frustrated right now,” Rep. Jim Himes, D-Connecticut, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said on “Fox News Sunday.”
“’We don’t know’ is not a good enough answer,” he said.
National security officials have said the drones don’t appear to be a sign of foreign interference or a public safety threat. But because they can’t say with certainty who is responsible for the sudden swarms of drones over parts of New Jersey, New York and other eastern parts of the US — or how they can be stopped — has led leaders of both political parties to demand better technology and powers to deal with the drones.
Sen. Chuck Schumer called Sunday for the US Department of Homeland Security to deploy better drone-tracking technology to identify the drones and their operators.
“New Yorkers have tremendous questions about it,” Schumer, the Senate Majority leader, told reporters about the drone sightings. “We are going to get the answers for them.”
The federal government did little to answer those questions in its own media briefings Sunday morning. “There’s no question that people are seeing drones,” US Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos. “But I want to assure the American public that we are on it. We are working in close coordination with state and local authorities.”
Some of the drones reported above parts of New York and New Jersey have turned out to be “manned aircraft that are commonly mistaken for drones,” Mayorkas said. “We know of no foreign involvement with respect to the sightings in the Northeast. And we are vigilant in investigating this matter.”
Last year, federal aviation rules began requiring certain drones to broadcast their remote identification, including the location of their operators. It’s not clear whether that information has been used to determine who is behind the drones plaguing locations over New York and New Jersey. Mayorkas’ office didn’t respond to questions about whether they’ve been able to identify drones using this capability.
Schumer wants the federal government to use a recently declassified radio wave technology in New York and New Jersey. The radio wave detector can be attached to a drone or airplane and can determine whether another flying object is a bird or a drone, read its electronic registration, and follow it back to its landing place. Schumer said state and local authorities do not have the authority to track drones.
On Sunday, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said federal officials were sending a drone detection system to the state.
“This system will support state and federal law enforcement in their investigations,” Hochul said in a statement. The governor did not immediately provide additional details, including where the system will be deployed.
Dozens of mysterious nighttime flights started last month over parts of New Jersey, raising concerns among residents and officials. Part of the worry stems from the flying objects initially being spotted near the Picatinny Arsenal, a US military research and manufacturing facility and over President-elect Donald Trump’s golf course in Bedminster. Drones are legal in New Jersey for recreational and commercial use, but they are subject to local and Federal Aviation Administration regulations and flight restrictions. Operators must be FAA certified.
Drones are now being reported all along the northern East Coast, with suspicious sightings in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Virginia, according to news reports.
Some US political leaders, including Trump, have called for much stronger action against these drones, including shooting them down.
Certain agencies within the Department of Homeland Security have the power to “incapacitate” drones, Mayorkas said Sunday. “But we need those authorities expanded,” he said.
A bill before the US Senate would enhance some federal agencies’ authority and give new abilities to local and state agencies to track drones. It would also start a pilot program allowing states and local authorities to disrupt, disable or seize a drone without prior consent of the operator.
“What the drone issue points out are gaps in our agencies, gaps in our authorities between the Department of Homeland Security, local law enforcement, the Defense Department.,” said Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., Trump’s pick to be his national security adviser, speaking on CBS’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday. “Americans are finding it hard to believe we can’t figure out where these are coming from.’’
German Chancellor Scholz to ask parliament to clear way for new elections
- Lost confidence vote opens path to snap elections
- Scholz hopes to be acting chancellor until new government formed
BERLIN: Chancellor Olaf Scholz will call on Germany’s parliament on Monday to declare it has no confidence in him, taking the first formal step toward securing early elections following his government’s collapse.
The departure last month of the neoliberal Free Democrats from the three-way coalition left Scholz’s Social Democrats and the Greens governing without a parliamentary majority just when Germany faces its deepest economic crisis in a generation.
Rules drawn up to prevent the series of short-lived and unstable governments that played an important role in helping the Nazis rise to power in the 1930s mean that the path to new elections is long and largely controlled by the chancellor.
“If legislators follow the path I am recommending, I will suggest to the President that he dissolve parliament,” Scholz told reporters on Wednesday after requesting the motion.
President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has said he will act accordingly after Monday’s vote and agreed with parliamentary parties on Feb. 23 as the date for early elections.
Assuming the no-confidence vote passes, Scholz and his ministers will remain in office in an acting capacity until a new government is formed, which could take months if coalition negotiations prove lengthy.
Scholz has outlined a list of measures that could pass with opposition support during that period, including 11 billion euros ($11.55 billion) of tax cuts and an increase in child benefits already agreed on by former coalition partners.
Measures to better protect the Constitutional Court from the machinations of a future populist or anti-democratic government, to cut energy prices and to extend a popular subsidised transport ticket are also under discussion.
The outcome of the vote is not certain, with Scholz’s SPD likely to vote that they have confidence in their Chancellor, while opposition conservatives, far ahead in the polls, and the Free Democrats expected not to.
The far-right Alternative for Germany, with whom all other parties refuse to work, could surprise legislators by voting that they do have confidence in Scholz.
If both the SPD and the Greens also back Scholz, that would leave him in the awkward position of remaining in office with the support of a party that he rejects as anti-democratic. In that case, most observers expect he would resign, which itself would trigger elections.
To avoid that scenario, many legislators expect the Greens to abstain from the vote.
UN launches fresh attempt to resolve Libya’s election impasse
- The new committee of Libyan experts will look for ways to overcome outstanding issues in electoral laws, the UN mission’s (UNSMIL) acting head, Stephanie Koury says
The United Nations will convene a technical committee of Libyan experts in an attempt to resolve contentious issues and put the country on the path to long-awaited national elections, the acting head of the UN mission in Libya (UNSMIL) said on Sunday.
A political process to resolve more than a decade of conflict in Libya has been stalled since an election scheduled for December 2021 collapsed amid disputes over the eligibility of the main candidates.
The new committee of Libyan experts will look for ways to overcome outstanding issues in electoral laws, the UN mission’s (UNSMIL) acting head, Stephanie Koury, said in a video statement.
They will also look for options to “reach elections in the shortest possible time including with proposed guarantees, assurances and a timeframe,” she added.
A Government of National Unity (GNU) under Prime Minister Abdulhamid Al-Dbeibah was installed through a UN-backed process in 2021 but the parliament no longer recognizes its legitimacy. Dbeibah has vowed not to cede power to a new government without national elections.
Libya has had little peace since a 2011 NATO-backed uprising, and it split in 2014 between eastern and western factions, with rival administrations governing in each area.
While all major political players in the country have repeatedly called for elections, many Libyans have voiced skepticism that they genuinely seek a vote that could push most of them from positions of authority.
“UNSMIL will also continue to work to help advance the unification of military and security institutions and, with partners, advancing national reconciliation,” Koury said.
Moscow says ‘part’ of its diplomatic personnel in Syria evacuated by plane
- His fall from power was a serious setback for Moscow, which was along with Iran the main ally of the former Syrian president and which had intervened militarily in Syria since 2015
MOSCOW: Russia’s foreign ministry said it has evacuated some of its diplomatic staff from Syria Sunday, a week after the fall of Bashar Assad.
“On December 15, the withdrawal of part of the personnel of the Russian (diplomatic) representation in Damascus was carried out by a special flight of the Russian Air Force from the Hmeimim air base” in Syria, the ministry’s crisis situations department said on Telegram.
The ministry said the flight arrived at an airport near Moscow, without specifying how many people were aboard.
The flight also carried members from the diplomatic missions of Belarus, North Korea and Abkhazia, a Moscow-backed separatist region of Georgia, the department said.
“The Russian embassy in Damascus continues to function,” said the press release published on Telegram.
Following an 11-day offensive, a rebel coalition dominated by Islamist group Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) overthrew Assad, who fled to Russia along with his family.
His fall from power was a serious setback for Moscow, which was along with Iran the main ally of the former Syrian president and which had intervened militarily in Syria since 2015.
The fate of Russia’s two military bases in Syria — the Tartus naval base and the Hmeimim military airfield — is now uncertain.
The sites are key to Russia maintaining its influence in the Middle East, in the Mediterranean basin and as far as Africa.
On Wednesday, a Kremlin spokesperson said Moscow was in contact with the new authorities in Syria regarding the bases’ future.
Britain has had ‘diplomatic contact’ with Syria’s HTS group
- “HTS remains a proscribed organization, but we can have diplomatic contact and so we do have diplomatic contact as you would expect,” Lammy said
LONDON: Britain has had diplomatic contact with the Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) group that swept Syrian President Bashar Assad from power last week, British foreign minister David Lammy said on Sunday.
“HTS remains a proscribed organization, but we can have diplomatic contact and so we do have diplomatic contact as you would expect,” Lammy told broadcasters.
“Using all the channels that we have available, and those are diplomatic and, of course, intelligence-led channels, we seek to deal with HTS where we have to.”
On Saturday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the United States has had direct contact with HTS.
