Despite "confirmed war crimes of willful killing, torture, and rape," the ICC closes probe into abuse of Iraqis by British troops

Despite "confirmed war crimes of willful killing, torture, and rape," the ICC closes probe into abuse of Iraqis by British troops

    Thursday, December 10, 2020   No comments

 Key Quotes from the ICC Prosecutor's Statement:

The Office "confirmed, that there is a reasonable basis to believe that members of the British armed forces committed the war crimes of wilful killing, torture, inhuman/cruel treatment, outrages upon personal dignity, and rape and/or other forms of sexual violence."

"the more than ten year long domestic process, involving the examination of thousands of allegations, has resulted in not one single case being submitted for prosecution to date: a result that has deprived the victims of justice."

"the only professionally appropriate decision at this stage is to close the preliminary examination and to inform the senders of communications. My decision is without prejudice to a reconsideration based on new facts or evidence."

The AP reported that the International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor said she is closing a preliminary probe into allegations of killings and torture of Iraqi prisoners by British troops from 2003-2008 and will not open a full-scale investigation because U.K. authorities have investigated the allegations.

The global court only takes on cases of crimes against humanity, war crimes and other serious international offenses if a member state is unwilling or unable to investigate them or has carried out investigations that were not genuine with a view to shielding suspects from justice.

In a statement, Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said her office confirmed that there is “a reasonable basis to believe that members of the British armed forces committed the war crimes of wilful killing, torture, inhuman/cruel treatment, outrages upon personal dignity, and rape and/or other forms of sexual violence" against Iraqi detainees.

Read:

• The Statement
  
  
• The Report

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What US 2020 Elections tell us about Americans’ values systems

What US 2020 Elections tell us about Americans’ values systems

    Monday, November 09, 2020   No comments

 

Trump: “This fucking virus, what does it have to do with me getting reelected?”

~  Inside Donald Trump’s 2020 undoing

Let’s not forget what US presidential elections tone and results confirm: The rude and candid discourse that elevates personal interests above all else; the power of those who consider themselves better and superior and more deserving; and their view that everyone else should be grateful that they can serve them and be thankful for the opportunity to exist in the same space they exist even as servants… just under half of the American public approved of such tone and character. And from what data reveal, the standard bearer of the supremacist discourse lost not because, nationally, just 3% of the voters 3% more people rejected his supremacist discourse and value system, but because 3% of the voters disapproved of his mismanagement of a pandemic crisis that killed quarter million people in less than eight months. This reality cannot be covered by the veneer of deliberately selected photos of some Americans celebrating the win by the less openly supremacist candidate.

 News story: ~  Inside Donald Trump’s 2020 undoing

Aisha Bakari Gombi: a terror to the terrorists

Aisha Bakari Gombi: a terror to the terrorists

    Friday, October 09, 2020   No comments

By Ebele Orakpo 

It’s often said that what a man can do, a woman can do even better. This saying has been proven to be true in the North-Eastern region of Nigeria, which has been the theatre of war between the forces of evil (Boko Haram terrorists) and good (the Security agencies and the poor masses) for about 11 years.

In Adamawa State, one of the states being ravaged by the Boko Haram, considered the third most dangerous terrorist organisation on earth after Al Qaeda and The Islamic State,  lives a queen by all standards, by name, Sarauniya (Queen) Amina Bakari Gombi, a  wife, mother, hunter, warrior, and tailor. Due to her exploits as a warrior, she has entered the folklore of the locals just like the legendary Queen Amina of Zazzau, Hausa warrior queen who ruled in the mid-16th Century. 

Perhaps, one can confidently say that Queen Amina has come alive in Aisha Gombi, Queen Hunter and nemesis of Boko Haram fighters. At a time when many, including men, were running away from the insurgents who were raiding communities, maiming, killing raping, and abducting men, women, and children, and razing down villages, Aisha stood to be counted.

... read more; Source: https://bit.ly/3lyisxJ

Full text and summary of the 25-year China-Iran deal covering Trade and Military Collaboration

Full text and summary of the 25-year China-Iran deal covering Trade and Military Collaboration

    Friday, July 17, 2020   No comments

Media review: Iran replaces its nuclear deal with the P5+1 with one with China

China and Iran are reported to have quietly drafted a comprehensive military and trade partnership. The deal would make way for about $400 billion worth of Chinese investments into Iran’s key sectors, such as energy and infrastructure, over the next 25 years.

The deal:

An 18-page draft of the proposed agreement, the Persian version of it available at the end of this summary,