Human Rights

11 Jan 2022; MEMO: Campaign groups have claimed a "huge victory" against Israeli weapons manufacturer Elbit Systems, which they claim has been forced to shut one of its UK branches following an 18-month long sustained direct protest by Palestine Action.

Elbit sold off its Ferranti Power and Control business in Manchester to TT Electronics for $12 million in a deal which the Israeli firm completed, apparently, as part of its restructuring of its UK operations.

11 Jan 2022; MEMO: Repression and fear are preventing Saudi Arabia's traditional power brokers from trying to unseat Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman, claims an article in the Economist. Religious scholars, princes from the ruling House of Saud and ordinary Saudis are said to be seething at reforms introduced by the prince, and they would, it is claimed, like nothing better than to overthrow or even assassinate the 36-year-old de facto leader of the Kingdom.

11 Jan 2022; MEMO: Occupation forces arrested 16 civilians, including a minor, from the village of Al-Atrash in the Negev desert, including three women, the Palestinian Information Centre reported.

The residents reported that the police stormed the village and fired rubber-coated metal bullets and sound bombs, while carring out a campaign of arrests in an attempt to deter the Arab residents from confronting the bulldozers that were razing their lands in preparation for its seizure.

11 Jan 2022; MEMO: An Uyghur Muslim scholar detained in Saudi Arabia may be deported back to China "within days" and is at risk of facing imprisonment and torture, his family has revealed.

According to the London-based news outlet Middle East Eye, which the Uyghur scholar and businessman, Aimadoula Waili's daughters spoke to, a Saudi judicial official saw their father last week and informed him that he should be "mentally prepared" to be extradited to China "within days".

11 Jan 2022; MEMO: The first high-level detainee at the controversial US military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, has been cleared for transfer with security guarantees, according to a recently published report and also reported by Anadolu News Agency.

10 Jan 2022; MEMO: The fringe Muslim Ahmadiyya sect, which is feted by the ruling Conservative Party in Britain, has been rocked by a scandal involving its members and claims that its spiritual leader insisted that the relatives of an alleged rape victim should keep quiet about the case.

An audio recording has emerged which reveals that the leader of the Ahmadiyya community, Mirza Masroor Ahmad, encouraged a woman named as Nida Ul Nasser to keep quiet and urged her against taking the matter any further.

10 Jan 2022; MEMO: The warnings stated recently by Yair Lapid, the Israeli Foreign Minister, regarding the insistence of those that he described as enemies of the occupation to describe the Israeli policy towards the Palestinians an "apartheid state", which is the other term of the "apartheid regime", are still provoking more internal Israeli reactions, as well as a state of annoyance that is spreading in the Israeli diplomatic community.

11 Jan 2022; MEMO: Three former Israeli army commanders have warned that the increasing settler violence in the occupied West Bank might ignite a Third Intifada, Haaretz reported yesterday.

The newspaper did not name the commanders, but said they are members of the movement Commanders for Israel's Security, which includes retired officials from the Israeli army, Shin Bet, Mossad and Israel Police.

"Uncontrolled violence of extremist settlers undermines the deterrence of the Israeli army," the letter warned.

Jammu, 10 January 2022: Two Kashmiris were killed on Wednesday by Indian security forces in Hassanpora village of Kulgam district of the Indian Administered Kashmir, Indian officials said.

10 Jan 2022; MEMO: The death penalty has become rampant in Egypt, reports Madr Masr, with executions in 2020 tripling to over 130.

In just one month, October of that year, 53 people were executed, more than the number of people executed each of the previous three years.

The number of executions in the last decade amount to almost half the number issued in the past century.

Egypt is one of the top executioners worldwide.