… on a quiet day, I can hear her breathing

Tag: protest

  • Journalists decry escalating state attacks on press freedom in India

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    Original article by Abdul Rahman republished from peoples dispatch under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA) license.

    Journalists and activists protest in Delhi against the state’s attacks on press freedom. Photo: DUJ

    The ultra-right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) governments in various provinces in India have used sedition charges against journalists for their critical reporting on policies and actions.

    Members of the Delhi Union of Journalists (DUJ) and the Kerala Union of Working Journalists (KUWJ) held a protest in India’s capital, New Delhi, on Wednesday, August 27, denouncing the rising cases of state-sponsored attacks on journalists in the country.

    The protesters also demanded the immediate withdrawal of all the false charges against senior journalists Siddharth Varadarajan, Karan Thapar, and Abhisar Sharma, calling them blatant attacks on media and press freedom in the country.

    The DUJ and KUWJ warned that if their cases are not withdrawn and such attacks on press freedom continue in the future, journalists in the country will take larger public action and flood the streets in protest.

    Siddharth Varadarajan, founding editor-in-chief of the independent newsportal The Wire, Karan Thapar, senior editor with The Wire, and another senior journalist, Abhisar Sharma, were booked by the police in India’s north-eastern state of Assam and charged with sedition and other criminal activities.

    The case against Abhisar is related to his reporting on his YouTube channel on the charges of corruption against the chief minister of Assam, Himanta Biswa Sarma. Abhisar also talks about the chief minister’s openly sectarian policies and provocative language against Muslim minorities in his video.

    Varadarajan and Thapar were booked first in July and then again in August by the Assam police for their critical reporting on Operation Sindoor, India’s military operation against Pakistan in May which created a war-like situation between the two nuclear-powered neighbors.

    Varadarajan and Thapar went to the court demanding the dismissal of the cases against them. While the matter was still under consideration by the court, the Assam police filed fresh charges against them. The Supreme Court of India (SCI) provided the journalists temporary protection from any action.

    Abhisar Sharma also received interim relief from the SCI on Thursday. However, in both cases the SCI failed to quash the First Information Reports (FIRs), the official document in India that initiates criminal proceedings.

    BJP’s attempts to silence critical voices

    What the DUJ calls “attempts to browbeat and harass the media into submission”, has been a policy of the BJP government to silence critical voices in the country.

    Assam is ruled by the same BJP which runs the union government in Delhi.

    Several other journalists have faced false charges in the state in the last few years. In March of this year, Assam witnessed large-scale protests against the arrest of senior journalist Dilwar Hussain Mazumdar, who was arrested after he tried to expose corruption in a cooperative bank.

    The union government has also used its agencies to raid and shut down independent newsportals, such as Newsclick, and has threatened others, including the Wire, to try to silence them.

    Reflecting on the state of media in India earlier this year, Reporters without Borders (RSF) demanded that the state must “end media raids and arrests of journalists, often carried out under the guise of anti-terrorism laws or tax regulations.”

    RSF had noted that “this judicial harassment has reached a critical level for independent news media”, with authorities repeatedly misusing the legal provisions.

    Misuse of sedition

    Apart from anti-terrorism laws and allegations of financial irregularities, the BJP government has also used sedition, a colonial era offense which remained a part of India’s legal codes even decades after independence. It has been frequently invoked against journalists questioning government policies.

    Following massive public outcry and court interventions, the BJP government promised to scrap it in 2023, underlining its “colonial origin”. However, within months, the same government brought it back with a new name under the new set of legal codes called Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), promulgated in 2024.

    The Wire has filed a fresh petition in the court to remove the sedition charges from the new code (section 156 of the BNS).

    The DUJ hopes that the section “will be struck down so it can no longer be used to arrest, imprison, browbeat and harass those who dare to speak truth to power.”


  • Microsoft employees, activists protest tech giant over ties to Israel’s Gaza war

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    This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

    A sign is seen at the Microsoft headquarters on July 3, 2024 in Redmond, Washington [David Ryder/Getty Images]

    A group of demonstrators, including current and former Microsoft employees, staged a protest at the company’s Redmond headquarters in the US state of Washington against the tech giant over its ties to the Israeli army amid the ongoing Gaza war, according to media reports.

    The protest was organized by a group called No Azure for Apartheid, named after Microsoft’s flagship cloud computing service Azure.

    Protesters gathered inside the office of Microsoft President Brad Smith in Building 34, where they chanted slogans and held banners.

    One sign renamed the office the “Mai Ubeid Building,” honoring a Palestinian software engineer from Gaza killed in an Israeli airstrike in 2023. Another banner called on Microsoft to “cut ties with Israel,” among other demands.

    Police arrested seven people who entered Smith’s office, reports said.

    READ: OCHA warns famine in Gaza may soon reach central and southern areas

    Bloomberg previously reported that Microsoft has faced a “small but persistent revolt” over the past year from employees urging the company to end its business ties with Israel amid the Gaza war.

    The company reportedly sought help from the FBI and worked with local law enforcement to monitor and suppress protests.

    The latest demonstration follows reports that Israel’s Unit 8200 used Microsoft Azure to store Palestinian phone call recordings. Earlier this year, the Associated Press revealed Microsoft’s partnership with Israel’s Defense Ministry to process intelligence for target selection.

    After the AP report, Microsoft said an internal review found no evidence that Azure or its AI technologies were used to target or harm people in Gaza. While it did not publish the review, the company said it would share factual findings from a follow-up review prompted by The Guardian once completed.

    Israel has killed nearly 63,000 Palestinians in Gaza since October 2023. The military campaign has devastated the enclave, which is facing famine, rendering it uninhabitable.

    READ: Israel claims double strike on Gaza’s Nasser Hospital targeted Hamas “surveillance camera”

    Experiencing issues with this image not appearing. I suspect because it's so critical of Zionist Keir Starmer's support of and complicity in Israel's genocides.
    Genocide denier and Current UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is quoted that he supports Zionism without qualification. He also confirms that UK air force support has been essential in Israel’s mass-murdering genocide. Includes URLs https://www.declassifieduk.org/keir-starmers-100-spy-flights-over-gaza-in-support-of-israel/ and https://youtu.be/O74hZCKKdpA
    UK Labour Party government ministers Keir Starmer, Angela Rayner and Rachel Reeves explain that they are partners complicit in Israel's Gaza genocide. The UK has provided Israel with arms, military and air force support. They explain that they don't do gas chambers but do do forced marches, starvation, destroy hospitals, mass-murders of journalists and healthcare workers.
    UK Labour Party government ministers Keir Starmer, Angela Rayner and Rachel Reeves explain that they are partners complicit in Israel’s Gaza genocide. The UK has provided Israel with arms, military and air force support. They explain that they don’t do gas chambers but do do forced marches, starvation, destroy hospitals, mass-murders of journalists and healthcare workers.
    Vote Labour for Genocide.
    Vote Labour for Genocide.

  • Thousands march in Argentina to demand an end to the genocide in Gaza

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    Original article by Peoples Dispatch republished from peoples dispatch under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA) license.

    Buenos Aires march on Saturday, August 9. Photo: Argentine Committee for Solidarity with the Palestinian People

    Protesters on Saturday also denounced the very close relationship between the governments of Milei and Netanyah

    On August 9, thousands of Argentines took to the streets of the capital, Buenos Aires, demanding an end to the genocide being committed in Gaza, Palestine Israel. The slogan of the march was “We are all children of Gaza”.

    The protesters denounced the indiscriminate attacks and forced starvation that, they claimed, Israeli forces are perpetrating against the civilian population.

    The demonstration ended at Plaza de Mayo, where, according to some media outlets, more than 10,000 people demanded an end to the repressive actions in Palestine: “ Gaza is starving, time is up!” and “Palestine will prevail from the river to the sea” were some of the slogans chanted by the protesters as they waved Palestinian flags.

    The march brought together human rights organizations, left-wing political parties, and various social movements, which declared that the only solution to any conflict in Palestine is peace, respect for sovereignty, and a dignified life for those who live there.

    “We are facing genocide, which is confirmed by Israeli leaders themselves when they openly say that it is lawful to starve and dehydrate the entire population of Gaza, including its children. This genocide must be denounced relentlessly,” said Gabriel Solano, one of the leaders of the Left Front, during the mobilization.

    For its part, the Palestinian Embassy in Argentina posted on X: “THANK YOU ARGENTINA, WE WILL NEVER FORGET! An impressive demonstration took place on Saturday, August 9, in Buenos Aires to denounce the genocide being carried out by the state of Israel against the Palestinian people.”

    A close relationship between the governments of Argentina and Israel?

    The demonstration also criticized the close ties between the Argentine and Israeli governments, which Argentine President Javier Milei (who recently traveled to the occupied Palestinian territories) has never denied. One of the slogans heard at the march was: “Milei, Zionist, you are the terrorist”.

    Milei has announced that in 2026, he will relocate the Argentine embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, a move that Palestinians and several governments around the world have heavily criticized. For his part, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed that he will soon come to Argentina on an official visit, a move that various Argentine political movements and parties have strongly denounced.

    In addition to Buenos Aires, demonstrations against the genocide in Palestine took place in other Argentine cities, such as San Carlos de Bariloche, El Bolsón, Trelew, Comodoro Rivadavia, Ushuaia, Río Grande, San Salvador de Jujuy, Salta, San Miguel de Tucumán, San Juan, La Rioja, Catamarca, Mendoza, Santa Fe, Concepción del Uruguay, Córdoba, Cosquín, Alta Gracia, Villa Dolores, La Plata, Bahía Blanca, Mar del Plata, Neuquén, and Viedma.

    Solidarity with Palestine continues to grow

    “The last three demonstrations have grown due to the news about the genocide taking place in Gaza,” Gabriela B., an activist with Nuestramérica and member of the Argentine Committee for Solidarity with the Palestinian People, told Peoples Dispatch. For her, there is a significant increase in support for the cause, “If there was ever a belief that people could ignore the situation in Palestine without it affecting their humanity or without their stance being noticed, that idea has been shattered.”

    She also pointed out the importance of Israel in Argentina: “In Argentina, the situation is very difficult. As a colleague mentioned, Argentina is considered the capital of Zionism [in Latin America], which means that the mainstream media only broadcasts voices that cover up the genocide. Furthermore, any action or complaint related to Palestine is framed within the concept of anti-Semitism, making solidarity and questioning of the situation even more difficult. The silence is already unsustainable, and Netanyahu’s possible visit, as well as the famine in Gaza, have triggered acts of repudiation. This resulted in posts on the accounts of famous artists during the week and in the large march that took place not only in Buenos Aires but in 30 other locations throughout the country, including cities and provinces.”

    Regarding the demands made by the protesters, Gabriela said: “The main demand was a call to stop the genocide and famine, and to reject the possible visit to Argentina by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.” Other demands included:

    • The withdrawal of Israeli troops from Palestine, Syria, and Lebanon.
    • Ending diplomatic relations with Israel. Cancelling the Mercosur-Israel agreement (a Free Trade Agreement between Israel and a bloc of South American countries).
    • Stop the persecution of those who show solidarity with the Palestinian people.

    In Argentina, two prominent political figures are currently being persecuted for tweeting about the genocide in Gaza: Vanina Biasi and Alejandro Bodart.

    When asked about the criticisms raised during the march against Milei’s close relationship with Netanyahu, Gabriela B. said that in the last month, key political and progressive movements have begun to join the movement in support of Palestine and rejecting Israel’s actions. After Saturday’s march, momentum has continued to build, “various complaints were filed after Saturday by trade unions and human rights organizations, demanding Netanyahu’s arrest if he visits Argentina. The same complaint alleges that Netanyahu committed ‘genocide and war crimes’ against the Palestinians (presented by the secretary general of ATE Buenos Aires, Daniel ‘Tano’ Catalano, and the representative of the H.I.J.O.S. group, Verónica Castelli).”

    She added: “However, as far as Milei and the ruling party are concerned, nothing has happened. No media outlet, except for alternative ones, has reported on the large march. The only news that managed to break through the media blockade and name Israel as a murderer was the news of the six journalists who were killed on Sunday. This march has served to denounce the Zionist alliance that the government maintains and to continue raising awareness among our people.”

    Original article by Peoples Dispatch republished from peoples dispatch under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA) license.

    Experiencing issues with this image not appearing. I suspect because it's so critical of Zionist Keir Starmer's support of and complicity in Israel's genocides.
    Genocide denier and Current UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is quoted that he supports Zionism without qualification. He also confirms that UK air force support has been essential in Israel’s mass-murdering genocide. Includes URLs https://www.declassifieduk.org/keir-starmers-100-spy-flights-over-gaza-in-support-of-israel/ and https://youtu.be/O74hZCKKdpA
    Keir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza's hospitals and universities,mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.
    Keir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza’s hospitals and universities,mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.

  • ‘The protests are now unstoppable’

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    https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/protests-are-now-unstoppable

     A woman is led away by police officers as supporters of Palestine Action take part in a mass action in Parliament Square, Westminster, central London, August 9, 2025

    Thousands expected to attend next protest against Palestine Action ban, organiser say

    THOUSANDS of people are expected to attend the next protest against the banning of Palestine Action under terror laws.

    Announced today and planned for September 6, organisers Defend Our Juries (DOJ) are hopeful that the demonstration could lead to the ban on the direct action group being lifted, with Yvette Cooper losing her job as home secretary.

    At least 532 people — half aged over 60 — were arrested for holding signs in support of Palestine Action, after an estimated 1,000 took part last weekend. 

    …

    Today, a spokesman for DOJ said: “With all the real challenges facing the country, it is absurd that the Labour government has generated a political crisis over people quietly holding cardboard signs against genocide in Parliament Square. This won’t be forgiven or forgotten.

    “In a desperate attempt to justify their position, Keir Starmer and Yvette Cooper have resorted to lying to the public about Palestine Action, claiming it to be a violent organisation, which they know to be false.

    “The political ineptitude is staggering. The only beneficiaries of this policy — the brain-child of Lord Walney, a paid lobbyist — are the Israeli government and Elbit Systems, the main manufacturer of the weapons of genocide, with factories across Britain.

    …

    See the original article at https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/protests-are-now-unstoppable

    Palestine Action joke that appeared in the UK satirical publication 'Private Eye'.
    Palestine Action joke that appeared in the UK satirical publication ‘Private Eye’.
    Keir "I support Zionism without Qualification" Starmer supporting genocide.
    Keir “I support Zionism without Qualification” Starmer supporting genocide.
    UK Labour Party government ministers Keir Starmer, Angela Rayner and Rachel Reeves explain that they are partners complicit in Israel's Gaza genocide. The UK has provided Israel with arms, military and air force support. They explain that they don't do gas chambers but do do forced marches, starvation, destroy hospitals, mass-murders of journalists and healthcare workers.
    UK Labour Party government ministers Keir Starmer, Angela Rayner and Rachel Reeves explain that they are partners complicit in Israel’s Gaza genocide. The UK has provided Israel with arms, military and air force support. They explain that they don’t do gas chambers but do do forced marches, starvation, destroy hospitals, mass-murders of journalists and healthcare workers.

  • Amnesty urges police restraint ahead of London protest about Palestine Action ban

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    This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. 

    Pro-Palestinian activists stage a solidarity protest outside Royal Courts of Justice as co-founder of Palestine Action Huda Ammori takes Home Secretary to High Court over proscription of the group as terror organization in London, United Kingdom on July 4, 2025. Ammori is seeking to block the proscription coming into effect. [İlyas Tayfun Salcı – Anadolu Agency]

    Amnesty International UK has urged the Metropolitan Police against mass arresting peaceful demonstrators expressing support for the recently banned group, Palestine Action, ahead of a major protest planned in London on Saturday, Anadolu reports.

    The protest organized by the activist group, Defend Our Juries, is expected to draw hundreds.

    Since the group’s ban on July 5 under the Terrorism Act, more than 200 people across the UK have been arrested for displaying slogans such as “I Oppose Genocide. I Support Palestine Action.”

    Police have indicated they may arrest hundreds more this weekend, and prison authorities have been asked to prepare for a potential influx of detainees, after the justice ministry initiated a “capacity gold demand,” according to reports.

    Amnesty UK Chief Executive Sacha Deshmukh urged officers to exercise restraint and uphold international human rights law, in a letter to Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mark Rowley.

    “Peaceful protesters must be free to express themselves this weekend without fear of reprisals, said Deshmukh. Arresting people on terrorism offences for peacefully holding a placard flies in the face of international human rights law.”

    “At a time when people are quite rightly outraged by the genocide they see being perpetrated in Gaza, it is more crucial than ever that there is space to peacefully express that outrage,” he also said.

    The letter argues that criminalizing protest slogans supportive of Palestine Action breaches the UK’s international obligations to protect freedom of expression and assembly.

    It adds that under international law, protest speech can only be criminalized if it incites violence, serious property damage, hatred or discrimination — criteria which, Amnesty notes, are not met by holding a placard.

    The letter also references the High Court’s recent decision to grant a full hearing to a judicial review challenge against the proscription.

    Read: Britain’s war on Palestine has come home

    The Court ruled that the case raised “serious issues to be tried,” meaning the legal foundation for arrests under sections 12 and 13 of the Terrorism Act is now in doubt.

    The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights also publicly criticized the UK’s decision to ban Palestine Action.

    And the UN Special Rapporteur on Counter-Terrorism and Human Rights has been granted permission to intervene in the judicial review.

    Defend Our Juries, which focuses on civil disobedience and protest trials, has led peaceful demonstrations in Westminster since the Palestine Action ban took effect. The protest on Saturday is expected to include up to 500 demonstrators who are expected to hold placards in open defiance of the ban.

    Amnesty International has urged police to focus on facilitating peaceful protest rather than suppressing it.

    “I call again on the Met police to think carefully before making rash decisions this weekend – their job is to facilitate peaceful protest, not shut it down,” said Deshmukh.

    In June, the government announced a ban under the Terrorism Act 2000 after activists from Palestine Action spray-painted planes at a Royal Air Force base, an act being investigated under counter-terrorism laws.

    The ban was later passed in the House of Commons and the House of Lords in July.

    This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. 

    Keir "I support Zionism without Qualification" Starmer supporting genocide.
    Keir “I support Zionism without Qualification” Starmer supporting genocide.
    UK Labour Party Shadow Foreign Secretary repeatedly heckled at a speech to the Fabian Society over his and the Labour Party's support for and complicity in Israel's genocide of Gaza.
    UK Labour Party Shadow Foreign Secretary repeatedly heckled at a speech to the Fabian Society over his and the Labour Party’s support for and complicity in Israel’s genocide of Gaza.
    Vote Labour for Genocide.
    Vote Labour for Genocide.