https://abcnews.go.com/International/police-fire-tear-gas-hong-kong-protesters-tensions/story?id=63651958
2019-06-12 09:14:00Z
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Rabu, 12 Juni 2019
Police fire tear gas at Hong Kong protesters as tensions spiral over extradition bill - ABC News
https://abcnews.go.com/International/police-fire-tear-gas-hong-kong-protesters-tensions/story?id=63651958
2019-06-12 09:14:00Z
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The return of Hong Kong's umbrella movement - CNN
Police and the government were completely wrong footed Wednesday morning, as thousands and then tens of thousands of mostly young protesters surrounded the city government headquarters -- known as the Legislative Council -- blocking roads and preventing lawmakers from going to work.
Those lawmakers were supposed to start the second reading of a hugely controversial extradition bill with China. On Sunday, according to organizers, more than a million people marched in protest against the bill, which has also been heavily criticized by business groups, human rights NGOs, and the international community.
Despite the huge turnout and opposition across a wide swath of society, it seemed there was little anyone could do to stop it. Protests were expected Wednesday but more as a display of anger and venting of frustration, rather than an effective blocking tactic.
The young protesters, most in their teens or early twenties, had other ideas, however. By noon, the protest had transformed into a redux of the 2014 Umbrella Movement.
"(This) boils down to a display of people power in Hong Kong, a display in particular of young people power," opposition lawmaker Claudia Mo told the tens of thousands who had gathered outside the Legislative Council building.
"At the end of the Umbrella Movement, didn't we say, 'we will be back'? And now, we are back!"
With authorities forced to cancel Wednesday's legislative session, and thousands still in the streets, Mo and other opposition lawmakers have called on the government to shelve the bill rather than risk an escalation into violence.
Even some supporters of the changes to the law have criticized the speed at which Chief Executive Carrie Lam is seeking its passage, bypassing normal procedure.
"Before Carrie Lam announces that the extradition bill is shelved we will not leave here," said Shum Tsz-kit, convenor of the Civil Human Rights Front, which organized Sunday's march. "We call on bigger companies, bigger organizations to support the strike, so all Hong Kong can come out and tell the world that we oppose the extradition law."
Seizing control
After a tense but peaceful evening Tuesday, as thousands of protesters gathered around the Legislative Council building ahead of Wednesday's meeting, it was unclear what, if anything protesters could do to break the impasse, amid a huge police presence.
Police, however, were focused on blocking entrances to the Legislative Council complex itself, and either didn't have the resources or had not expected to have to prevent tens of thousands of protesters swarming into the roads.
That's what they did in massive numbers, after a mass text message went out at 8 a.m. to a core group of protesters, who led others into the main highways passing the Legislative Council building carrying makeshift barriers, coordinating via shouts, megaphones and walkie talkies.
In less than 10 minutes, two main roads -- Harcourt and Lung Wo -- had been closed off to traffic. Attempts by police to push them back were unsuccessful, and they quickly retreated, except for those who had been deployed to guard the entrance to the legislature, now effectively trapped inside. Protesters set up large barricades using the fences that had been designed to keep them away, and reinforced them with cable ties and unfurled umbrellas.
Tense, angry scenes, during which police used pepper spray several times, gave way to a more relaxed atmosphere as it was announced legislators would not debate the bill Wednesday, with protesters reveling in a victory few thought was possible.
"A million of us chose to come out to fight the government because the government chose to make an evil law. But after that protest, the government still chose to push the evil law and ignore the voice of a million citizens," said 18-year-old protester Sunny Chan.
"I think this is unacceptable and we are very upset and angry. So we choose to come out today and stand in the front and protest and try to protect our freedom."
No options
Along the main Harcourt Road thoroughfare, now a traffic-free pedestrian area, there was a real feeling of being back in the Umbrella Movement.
Thousands of protesters sat around chatting happily, occasionally joining in with triumphant chants. As it reached midday, they were joined by many office workers from nearby buildings in Admiralty.
During the umbrella protests, the main Admiralty camp became something of a local tourist attraction, with many workers regularly having their lunches among the protesters, students doing their homework there, and artists and educators putting on displays and giving talks.
Multiple trade unions and around 350 small businesses have called for a work stoppage Wednesday to protest the law, though most on the streets appeared to be high school or university age.
The size of the crowd and the degree to which they are dug in presents a major dilemma for the government and police. Short of incredibly heavy-handed tactics that could spark an even larger backlash, it's unclear what police could do to clear the roads.
During the Umbrella Movement, protesters held Admiralty for several months, before numbers and support had waned enough that police could go in and clear them.
Those protests began in September 2014, and their fifth anniversary is rapidly approaching. With protest leaders promising to remain in the streets until the bill is shelved, Hong Kong could be in for another summer of discontent.
https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/12/asia/hong-kong-umbrella-extradition-intl-hnk/index.html
2019-06-12 08:28:00Z
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Hong Kong delays extradition debate but protesters want it scrapped - Guardian News
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2n4DDWog9lg
2019-06-12 06:47:01Z
52780310542261
Selasa, 11 Juni 2019
Ivan Golunov arrest: Russian reporter to go free after public outcry - BBC News
Russia has dropped all charges against an investigative reporter accused of drug dealing, after a massive public outcry over the case.
In a rare public show of support, Russian newspapers rallied around freelancer Ivan Golunov.
Russian Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev admitted on Tuesday that Mr Golunov's guilt had "not been proven".
An internal inquiry was under way and the two arresting officers had been suspended, Mr Kolokoltsev said.
The decision came after "forensic, biological, fingerprinting and genetic tests," the interior minister added.
"He will be released from house arrest today, the charges have been dropped," he said.
Mr Kolokoltsev said he would ask Russian President Vladimir Putin to dismiss two high-ranking officials over the case: the head of the Interior Affairs Directorate of Moscow's Western Administrative District, Gen Puchkov, and the head of the Drugs Control Directorate, General Devyatkin.
A file on the case had been sent to criminal investigators, Mr Kolokoltsev said. It would be up to them "check the legality of actions by officers directly involved in the detention of this citizen", he added.
What happened to Ivan Golunov?
Mr Golunov, 36, is a freelance journalist who had been working for the Latvia-based news website Meduza, among others. The news site was established by Russian journalists from Lenta.ru, who formed their own outlet abroad after a takeover by a new pro-Kremlin owner.
Mr Golunov's reporting included coverage of the loan shark business, the earnings of the family of Moscow's deputy mayor, the unusually high cost of public works in the Russian capital, and the alleged censorship of journalists.
He was on his way to meet another journalist in Moscow last week when he was stopped and searched by police officers.
Media playback is unsupported on your device
Officers said they had discovered the drug mephedrone in his bag and more drugs and weighing scales in a search of his home. Reports said he was beaten during his arrest.
Mr Golunov's lawyers and press freedom activists said that the drugs were planted in order to silence the investigative journalist. Much of Russia's media is controlled by the state and Russia is ranked 83rd out of 100 countries for press freedom by Freedom House.
Supporters immediately claimed the journalist was innocent and a victim of fabricated drugs charges, which activists say are used against opposition figures and human rights activists by the Russian state.
Analysis: A serious embarrassment
By Jonah Fisher in Moscow
This case was becoming a serious embarrassment for the Russian authorities.
At the weekend the police had to retract pictures they'd released of drugs paraphernalia, when it was pointed out that they weren't from inside Ivan Golunov's apartment.
Then today a series of forensic tests failed to establish any link between the journalist and the drugs stash.
It was becoming very hard to argue with Mr Golunov's supporters who said, from the very start, that he'd been set up, targeted because of his hard-hitting investigative reports.
The case was on the front page of newspapers on Monday, and plans were being made for a demonstration in Moscow on Wednesday.
Clearly the decision was taken, almost certainly from the very top, that Mr Golunov's case was not going to quietly go away.
What has the reaction been?
"This is the result of an unprecedented international solidarity campaign," Mr Golunov's employer Meduza said in a statement.
"We are glad that the government has listened to the people. That's how it should be when injustice occurs."
Reporters Without Borders tweeted: "We hail the historic mobilisation of the Russian civil society. Now those who tried to set him up must be judged."
"It's just wonderful news," Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny said on Twitter.
"It's an inspiring and motivating example of what simple solidarity with people who are persecuted can achieve."
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-48600233
2019-06-11 15:04:46Z
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Ivan Golunov arrest: Russian reporter to go free after public outcry - BBC News
Russia has dropped all charges against an investigative reporter accused of drug dealing, after a massive public outcry over the case.
In a rare public show of support, Russian newspapers rallied around freelancer Ivan Golunov.
Russian Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev admitted on Tuesday that Mr Golunov's guilt had "not been proven".
An internal inquiry was underway and the two arresting officers had been suspended, Mr Kolokoltsev said.
The decision came after "forensic, biological, fingerprinting and genetic tests," the interior minister added.
"He will be released from house arrest today, the charges have been dropped," he said.
Mr Golunov, 36, is a freelance journalist who had been working for the Latvia-based news website Meduza, among others. He was on his way to meet another journalist last week when he was stopped and searched by police officers.
Media playback is unsupported on your device
Officers said they had discovered the drug mephedrone in his bag and more drugs and weighing scales in a search of his home. Reports said he was beaten during his arrest.
Mr Golunov's lawyers and press freedom activists said that the drugs were planted in order to silence the investigative journalist. Much of Russia's media is controlled by the state and Russia is ranked 83rd out of 100 countries for press freedom by Freedom House.
Mr Kolokoltsev said he would ask Russian President Vladimir Putin to dismiss two high-ranking officials over the case: the head of the Interior Affairs Directorate of Moscow's Western Administrative District, Gen Puchkov, and the head of the Drugs Control Directorate, General Devyatkin.
A file on the case had been sent to criminal investigators, Mr Kolokoltsev said. It would be up to them "check the legality of actions by officers directly involved in the detention of this citizen", he added.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-48600233
2019-06-11 15:00:00Z
52780311954846
Hong Kong braces for more protests over proposed extradition law - NBC News
Hong Kong was bracing for more demonstrations and strikes Tuesday night over plans for a law that would allow extraditions to mainland China.
The planned protests come three days after as many as 1 million people took to the streets against the bill.
Hong Kong is a former British colony that was returned to Chinese rule in 1997. It has since been governed as a semi-autonomous region under the principle of "one country, two systems." In theory this should allow Hong Kong to retain its own economic and administrative system, free from interference by Beijing until 2047.
Backers say the proposed extradition law is needed to stop Hong Kong becoming a haven for fugitives. But some critics feel it is the latest step in China seeking to erode Hong Kong's freedoms.
June 11, 201901:03
What is the new law?
Hong Kong does not currently have an agreement to extradite suspected criminals to China. The "Fugitive Offenders and Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Legislation (Amendment) Bill 2019" would change that.
The bill was prompted after a man in Hong Kong was accused of murdering his girlfriend in Taiwan but could not be extradited because there was no legal framework in place.
"It is a very important objective and the city's commitment to the global community to ensure that Hong Kong does not become a haven for fugitives," a statement from the Hong Kong government said Monday.
Beijing supports the new legislation but Carrie Lam, Hong Kong's chief executive, who is appointed by committee and approved by China, says she has received no instruction from the government in Beijing.
"We are still doing it out of our clear conscience and our commitment to Hong Kong. We want Hong Kong to fare well," she said.
Lam has attempted to calm any fears by introducing what she says are several safeguards to the bill.
These include the government having final say on any extradition request, even if it's approved by the courts, as well as guaranteeing certain human-rights protections mirroring standards set by the United Nations.
"We will only surrender a fugitive requested by a requesting party when these guarantees are being fully met," the chief executive said.
Why are some people opposed to it?
Some critics see the law as the latest example of Hong Kong, a relatively untrammeled financial hub, being drawn under the influence of an increasingly authoritarian China.
They believe it will increase the risk of Hong Kongers who are critical of the mainland being sucked into a system that cracks down on dissent with impunity.
Since President Xi Jinping came to power in 2013, China has engaged in "increasing repression" of its people, including systematic abuses against minorities, arbitrary detentions of human-rights defenders, and the development of the world's largest mass-surveillance program, Human Rights Watch said.
June 4, 201907:51
In 2014 the so-called Umbrella Revolution saw months of protests by people demanding universal suffrage, and a year later tensions intensified after several booksellers who had been critical of Beijing vanished and resurfaced in custody on the mainland.
"The proposed changes to the extradition laws will put anyone in Hong Kong doing work related to the mainland at risk," said Sophie Richardson, China director at Human Rights Watch, in a statement. "No one will be safe, including activists, human rights lawyers, journalists, and social workers."
Tim Summers, a senior consulting fellow at the London think tank Chatham House, believes it is debatable the degree to which the new law is a sign of Beijing's meddling.
But nevertheless he says the protests are a sign of how emotive the issue has become for many in this city. There are also more legitimate concerns, he adds, about how the bill is being rushed through the legislature.
"There is an emotional sense that this is a fundamental threat to Hong Kong's way of life," said Summers, who's based in the city. "When you have hundreds of thousands of people in the streets, that's a pretty good statement of how Hong Kong politics feels very different to anywhere else in China."
What's happening with the protests?
On Sunday, as many as 1 million people took to the streets to protest the new law. If this estimate by organizers is correct, it would represent one-seventh of the city's population.
It was the biggest demonstration at least since Chinese rule resumed 22 years ago.
It was largely peaceful but there was a minority involved in "running battles" with police outside the city's legislative and administrative headquarters, according to the South China Morning Post newspaper.
Video showed demonstrators dismantling metal fences, and officers responding with pepper spray. Several police and demonstrators were injured.
Because Hong Kong residents cannot elect their leader — Lam was appointed by 1,200 representatives and approved by Beijing — many see protest as the main way of making their voices heard.
Despite the widespread display of unease, however, there appears to be little sign of the bill being changed or postponed. It will debated by lawmakers Wednesday and likely passed at some point during the summer.
In response, an online petition has called for 50,000 people to surround the legislature building at 10 p.m. Tuesday and remain there until Wednesday.
Thousands of businesses and teachers look set to strike Wednesday and perhaps even for the rest of the week.
The Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong also called on the government not to pass the bill "hurriedly" and urged all Christians to pray for the former colony.
Reuters contributed.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/hong-kong-braces-more-protests-over-proposed-extradition-law-n1016156
2019-06-11 13:58:00Z
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Nizar Zakka: Iran frees detained Lebanese businessman - Aljazeera.com
Beirut, Lebanon: Lebanese citizen and permanent United States resident Nizar Zakka, who was imprisoned for years in Iran, has been freed and is on his way back to his native Lebanon, officials confirmed.
Zakka is set to return to Beirut on Tuesday, alongside Lebanon's General Security Chief Abbas Ibrahim, who accompanied the former prisoner on a government jet.
Ibrahim told Reuters news agency the release was not based on a wider prisoner swap. He also denied information disseminated by semi-official Fars News Agency, which reported that Zakka would be transferred to Hezbollah.
General Security confirmed Zakka's imminent return and said he was set to meet Lebanese President Michel Aoun at Baabda Palace.
Zakka, an information technology expert, disappeared in Tehran while attending a state-sponsored conference in September 2015.
According to a statement by his lawyer, Zakka was last seen leaving his hotel in a taxi to the airport to return to Beirut. But he never boarded his flight. In November 2015, Iranian state television announced Zakka was in Iranian custody and accused of espionage.
The statement claimed that Zakka, who graduated from the Riverside Military Academy of Gainesville in Georgia, had "deep links" with US military and intelligence agencies.
In 2016, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison and ordered to pay a fine of $4.2m for espionage.
Release campaign
In the statement published on Iran's Mizan News Agency on Tuesday, Iran judiciary spokesperson Gholam Hussein Esmaeili said Zakka's release was in line with Iran's Constitution, which allows for the conditional release of prisoners sentenced up to 10 years, if they had served at least a third of the sentence and shown good behaviour.
The spokesperson also mentioned key ally Hezbollah's request to expedite his release. The conditions of Zakka's release were not specified.
Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri and Aoun have yet to comment on the developments. However, Aoun's office told Al Jazeera that an official statement will be made upon Zakka's arrival in Beirut.
Zakka was held at Tehran's Evin prison, a facility established in 1972. Human Rights Watch (HRW) and other rights groups have reported allegations of torture and ill-treatment there, including solitary confinement and denial of access to medical care.
Zakka's family and friends, who have been campaigning for his release, have claimed he went on hunger strike numerous times and was tortured.
Sarah Fallah, a Lebanese lawyer who represented Zakka, told HRW in March 2016 that Iranian authorities refused to let her visit her client.
Over the past four years, Zakka's family members have repeatedly called on the Lebanese government to negotiate for his release.
The US government has also been vocal in calling for Zakka's release. Both the Congress and the Senate passed resolutions in 2017 calling for the unconditional release of US citizens and residents held in Iran, including the Lebanese national.
More recently, in December 2018, then-US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley endorsed and republished a letter by several families of held US nationals and residents in Iran, including Zakka's relatives.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/06/nizar-zakka-iran-frees-detained-lebanese-businessman-190611113502472.html
2019-06-11 12:38:00Z
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