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[31 May 2012] Leveson inquiry: British media & political class - Comment - English Tony Blair arrived at the Royal Courts of Justice with a wave, but there were protests going on outside. Tony Blair's testimony at the Leveson inquiry was as measured and considered as ever. David Lawley-Wakelin, a documentary film-maker, who managed to get past security-coded doors to access the judges' corridor leading to courtroom 73 on May 28, pointed to the 59-year-old ex-Labour leader and shouted, "This man is a war criminal." "This man should be arrested for war crimes. JP Morgan paid (Mr. Blair) off for the Iraq war. Three months after he invaded Iraq they held up the Iraq bank for $20 billion (£13bn)," said Lawley-Wakelin. "He was then paid $6 million (£4m) every year and still is from JP Morgan six months after he left office."

Marwa Sherbini is being hailed as the shahida, or martyr, of the Hijab The body of a Muslim woman, killed in a German courtroom by a man convicted of insulting her religion, has been taken back to her native Egypt for burial. Dr. Marwa Sherbini was three-months pregnant when she was murdered in court by her molester. Her murder has sparked off angry protests around the Muslim world. Dr. Marwa Sherbini, 31, was stabbed 18 times by Axel W, who is now under arrest in Dresden for suspected murder. Husband Elwi Okaz is also in a critical condition in hospital, after being injured as he tried to save his wife. Ms Sherbini had sued her killer after he called her a "terrorist" because of her headscarf. The case has attracted much attention in Egypt and the Muslim world. German prosecutors have said the 28-year-old attacker, identified only as Axel W, was driven by a deep hatred of foreigners and Muslims. 'Martyr' Medics were unable to save Ms Sherbini who was three months pregnant with her second child. Her three-year-old son was with the family in court when she was killed. Egypt funeral for stabbing victim Egyptian woman killed in a knife attack in a Dresden courtroom is laid Axel W and Ms Sherbini and family were in court for his appeal against a fine of 750 euros ($1,050) for insulting her in 2008, apparently because she was wearing the Muslim headscarf or Hijab. Newspapers in Egypt have expressed outrage at the case, asking how it was allowed to happen and dubbing Ms Sherbini "the martyr of the Hijab". Senior Egyptian officials and German diplomatic staff attended the funeral in Alexandria along with hundreds of mourners. Media reports say Mr Okaz was injured both by the attacker and when a policeman opened fire in the courtroom. http://intermultira cialissues. suite101. com/article. cfm/killing_ of_pregnant_ muslim_woman_ in_german_ court#ixzz0KVKCI aS3&D "People are looking for victims and Muslims are sometimes seen as a viable option" Sulaiman Wilms, European Muslim Union For eight long minutes, the 28-year old German man of Russian origins continued to stab Marwa Sherbini. For eight long minutes, she suffered the stabs in full view of the panel of judges inside the Dresden courtroom. When the German police finally arrived on the scene, they shot her husband who was desperately trying to save her. The image of middle-easterners as potential terrorists, an image propagated by the media for years now, led them to the wrong conclusion that Elwy Okaz, genetic researcher at Max Planck Institute, must have been the perpetrator of the violence. Marwa Sherbini’s Four-Year Old Son Watched his Mother Being Butchered Four-year old Mustapha was witness to the massacre of his mother and the injury of his father. After the incident, he was left in the custody of German Authorities until his aunt arrived to take him home back to Egypt, suffering from severe shock. He will need rehabilitation to be able to cope with the trauma he experienced. In all probability, the tragedy will leave a permanent psychological scar on his whole life. Marwa’s Body Arrived in Egypt Marwa Sherbini probably never imagined that this was how she would return home after her years with her husband in Germany. Hosts of grieving mourners stood at 8pm on 5th July, 2009, as the body of the Egyptian pharmacist arrived at Cairo Airport. The dominant feeling was one of deep anger. Her funeral in her native city of Alexandria the following afternoon was marked by masses of people who probably never knew her. Among the mourners were young students from her old school, the EGC, who came to pay their last respects to her Media Silence Regarding the Murder of the Muslim Woman in the Courtroom The official stand of the German authorities has been one of muted regret. European media in general, and German media in particular, gave the brutal attack no prominence at all, regarding it as an isolated incident and presenting the attacker as a man who is mentally disturbed. The question that immediately comes to mind is where Marwa Sherbini went wrong. She sought justice and had no doubt in her mind that she would get it. The cruel irony was that she was murdered in the very place that should have protected her and afforded her the highest degree of safety and justice. She trusted the propaganda that Europe was a place of freedom and equality for all, regardless of gender, race or religious persuasion. She did not realize that in Europe some human beings are more equal than others. She had paid for her misconception with her very life. http://intermultira cialissues. suite101. com/article. cfm/killing_ of_pregnant_ muslim_woman_ in_german_ court#ixzz0KVKpL CPz&D For eight long minutes, the 28-year old German man of Russian origins continued to stab Marwa Sherbini. For eight long minutes, she suffered the stabs in full view of the panel of judges inside the Dresden courtroom. When the German police finally arrived on the scene, they shot her husband who was desperately trying to save her. The image of middle-easterners as potential terrorists, an image propagated by the media for years now, led them to the wrong conclusion that Elwy Okaz, genetic researcher at Max Planck Institute, must have been the perpetrator of the violence. Marwa Sherbini’s Four-Year Old Son Watched his Mother Being Butchered Four-year old Mustapha was witness to the massacre of his mother and the injury of his father. After the incident, he was left in the custody of German Authorities until his aunt arrived to take him home back to Egypt, suffering from severe shock. He will need rehabilitation to be able to cope with the trauma he experienced. In all probability, the tragedy will leave a permanent psychological scar on his whole life. Marwa’s Body Arrived in Egypt Marwa Sherbini probably never imagined that this was how she would return home after her years with her husband in Germany. Hosts of grieving mourners stood at 8pm on 5th July, 2009, as the body of the Egyptian pharmacist arrived at Cairo Airport. The dominant feeling was one of deep anger. Her funeral in her native city of Alexandria the following afternoon was marked by masses of people who probably never knew her. Among the mourners were young students from her old school, the EGC, who came to pay their last respects to her Media Silence Regarding the Murder of the Muslim Woman in the Courtroom The official stand of the German authorities has been one of muted regret. European media in general, and German media in particular, gave the brutal attack no prominence at all, regarding it as an isolated incident and presenting the attacker as a man who is mentally disturbed. The question that immediately comes to mind is where Marwa Sherbini went wrong. She sought justice and had no doubt in her mind that she would get it. The cruel irony was that she was murdered in the very place that should have protected her and afforded her the highest degree of safety and justice. She trusted the propaganda that Europe was a place of freedom and equality for all, regardless of gender, race or religious persuasion. She did not realize that in Europe some human beings are more equal than others. She had paid for her misconception with her very life. http://intermultira cialissues. suite101. com/article. cfm/killing_ of_pregnant_ muslim_woman_ in_german_ court#ixzz0KVKpL CPz&D Egypt cleric seeks stiff penalty for Sherbini killer Tantawi says man who killed 'veil martyr' in Germany should receive maximum punishment. ALEXANDRIA - A man who stabbed a pregnant Egyptian woman to death in Germany should be punished to the utmost extent of the law, Egypt's top cleric said on Monday as the woman was buried in her hometown. "The man who killed Marwa Sherbini, the Egyptian citizen in Germany, and wounded her husband Elwi Ali Okaz should receive the maximum punishment," Grand Imam Sheikh Mohammed Sayyed Tantawi told the official MENA agency. "The killer is a terrorist who should receive severe punishment for what he has done, something that contradicts all the values of humanity, decency and religion," he said. Sherbini, 32, was killed in a court in the northern German city of Dresden on Wednesday shortly before she was to give evidence in an appeal lodged by her attacker. The 28-year-old attacker, identified only as Axel W. had been convicted and fined after calling her a "terrorist" for wearing the Islamic headscarf. According to the Egyptian press, Sherbini was three months pregnant when she was killed. She was laid to rest in her hometown of Alexandria in northern Egypt on Monday. Her husband, a researcher in genetic engineering who was reportedly shot by German police while trying to save his wife, is still in critical condition in hospital having also been stabbed by the assailant. Tantawi told MENA he hoped the killing of Sherbini, whom he described as a "martyr," would not negatively affect the dialogue between the West and Islam because it was "an isolated event."

Two US police officers have been ordered to stand trial in the death of a mentally ill homeless man following a violent arrest last summer. California's Orange County Superior Court Judge Walter Schwarm made the ruling after a hearing that included surveillance video of the confrontation between the officers and 37-year-old Kelly Thomas in the city of Fullerton. Officer Manuel Ramos is charged with second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter. Jay Cicinelli is charged with involuntary manslaughter and assault or battery by a public officer. Both have pleaded not guilty. The officers confronted Thomas while responding to reports that a homeless man was looking into parked cars at a transit center. "This is another victory, on another battle," said Thomas' father, Ron. "We're going to start a new one with the trial." John Barnett, Ramos' attorney, said he would seek another court's review of Schwarm's ruling and did not expect his client would end up facing a jury trial. "We're disappointed that they were held to answer but we will seek review in an appropriate manner," he told reporters after the ruling. "He believes, and he is innocent." Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas said during the hearing that Ramos bullied a shirtless Thomas with his menacing remarks and aggressive stance — actions that would have led anyone to fear they were about to get beaten by police. "Any person, any creature on this earth would have fear at that point," Rackauckas told the court during the preliminary hearing. "You're going to fight or flee because this is an imminent threat of a serious beating by a police officer who is there with a baton and a gun and other police officers.... This is going to be a very bad deal," the prosecutor said. Defence attorneys countered that police — who are authorised and trained to use force when necessary — viewed the incident as an encounter with a man who refused to give his name and continued to resist arrest even as multiple officers rushed to assist. The three-day hearing was marked by repeated showing of clips from surveillance video and audio recordings of the confrontation. The footage includes scenes of officers pummelling and pinning down Thomas as he screams that he can't breathe and moans for his father until he goes silent and is taken away by medics, leaving behind a pool of blood. Barnett, Ramos' attorney, said during the hearing that the video — which was introduced by the prosecution — shows that his client made a conditional threat during his conversation with Thomas, stating he wanted the man to start listening and following police orders, such as sitting with his legs stretched out and providing his name to officers. "All that Kelly Thomas had to do was simply comply," Barnett said. "Officer Ramos just lifts him up, he's going to arrest him. ... Not only can he do it, he must do it. He is bound to do it." "Officer Ramos didn't do anything that should or could kill Kelly Thomas," Barnett said, pointing out that his client is often seen on the video at the man's feet. Prosecutors have argued that Ramos punched Thomas in the ribs, tackled him and lay on him to hold him down while Cicinelli — who arrived later on the scene — used a Taser four times on Thomas as he hollered in pain and hit him in the face eight times with the Taser. Thomas lost consciousness and was taken to a hospital. He was taken off life support and died five days later. The coroner's office found that Thomas died from compression of his chest that made it difficult for him to breathe and deprived his brain of oxygen, and facial injuries stemming from his confrontation with law enforcement. In court, Schwartz, Cicinelli's attorney, challenged those findings, noting that testimony by a paramedic who treated Thomas at the scene indicates that Thomas was breathing, although with difficulty, during the confrontation. Schwartz also defended his client's use of the Taser on Thomas, who was still struggling and resisting officers' efforts to handcuff him, and said Cicinelli only swung the Taser at Thomas' hand when the man made an effort to grab the weapon. "To call that a crime is to effectively handcuff our police officers out in the field from dealing with any combative suspect," Schwartz said. The hearing in a Santa Ana courtroom was marked by lengthy testimony from medical experts and graphic photos of Thomas' injuries, including multiple bruises and a bloodied eye, while he was lying on the autopsy table. Attorneys repeatedly played portions of the grainy surveillance video, which was paired with audio from digital recorders worn by some of the officers who were present and which brought some of Thomas' supporters to tears and prompted them to leave the courtroom. The incident last July prompted an ongoing FBI investigation to determine if Thomas' civil rights were violated, an internal probe by the city, protests by residents and an effort to recall three Fullerton councilmembers that is slated for next month's ballot. The recall was sparked after angry residents chastised the council members for failing to take significant action regarding the incident.

Vincent Bugliosi presents a tight meticulously researched legal case that puts George W. Bush on trial in an American courtroom for the murder of nearly 4000 American soldiers fighting in Iraq. Bugliosi is a famed Prosecuter who never lost a Murder Case in his career which included the Infamous Manson Family Trial.

As if we needed any more proof that the international media deliberately avoids exposing anti-Muslim, anti-Palestinian injustices, its suspect behavior during recent days has sealed the case. Even as we were being force-fed minute details of Michael Jackson's colorful life along with endless speculation as to the true parentage of his children, a former U.S. Congresswomen and presidential candidate, Cynthia McKinney, was languishing in an Israeli jail. Her 'crime' was boarding the Free Gaza Movement's aid vessel The Spirit of Humanity in Cyprus, in an effort to break Israel's cruel siege of Gaza, which even the U.S. President has condemned. Like several of her sister vessels, The Spirit of Humanity was attacked by the Israeli Navy in international waters before being boarded by Israeli commandos and dragged along with its crew and passengers towards Israel. Once there, 21 human rights advocates from the U.S., Britain, Ireland, Denmark, Jordan, Palestine and Yemen, including McKinney, Noble Laureate Mairead Maguire, and documentary filmmaker Adam Shapiro, were incarcerated. Let's be realistic. If just about any other high-profile U.S. politician on any other mission had been detained within a cell block on foreign soil, the incident would have merited headlines. However, McKinney's abduction went almost unnoticed. Not only was the story relegated to the back pages, if it ran at all, there was a corresponding absence of comment from Congress and the White House. McKinney is now home after refusing to sign a statement in Hebrew that she was guilty of a violation, but the mainstream media is certainly not clamoring at her door for interviews. As far as I can tell, her ordeal has mostly been covered by left-wing outlets such as Democracy Now or Middle East networks including Al Jazeera and Press TV. A number of McKinney's supporters say the reason for the media blackout was the fact that she is a Black American. But, in fact, it's her cause that's the problem rather than her color. My analysis is based on the lack of media coverage given to the Viva Palestina aid convoy of trucks and ambulances from London to Gaza, led by British Parliamentarian George Galloway. The Herculean efforts of hundreds of ordinary Britons to deliver much-needed humanitarian supplies to war-torn Gaza earlier this year was a non-event as far as the media was concerned until Galloway was barred from entering Canada as a result. Unless you're a person who relentlessly digs on the internet, you probably are not aware that during McKinney's ordeal, Galloway, along with Vietnam War veteran Ron Kovic, were meeting up with over 200 Americans in Cairo armed with $2 million (Dh7.35 million) that was raised in the U.S. to buy trucks and medical aid destined for Gaza. The Egyptian English-language paper Al Ahram Weekly dubs this ""the largest grassroots medical relief effort for Gaza in U.S. history"" but once again, this doesn't merit column inches in either U.S. or European mainstream papers. In a similar vein, is the way that the horrendous courtroom stabbing of 32-year-old Marwa Al Sherbini was considered inconsequential by the German media until it elicited angry protests in her hometown of Alexandria. There are so many aspects to this story, which should have been emblazoned across front pages. First of all it was a blatant race crime, which Germany is normally sensitive about. Second, it begs questions concerning court security. What were armed officers doing when Marwa was stabbed 18 times and why was her husband shot when he attempted to protect his pregnant wife? What kind of editors would bin reports of such a horrendous crime carried out in full view of the authorities? What were they thinking? Purely coincidentally, I was sitting at a table with one of Marwa's uncles in an Alexandria coffee shop when he received a call on his mobile and had to dash off because of a ""family emergency"". Today, this exceptionally close-knit family is devastated and hurt that the murder of one of their own wasn't initially treated with the weight the crime deserved. Egyptians are outraged at Germany's disinterest and the inaction of their own foreign office. The numbers who attended her funeral, who gathered outside the German embassy in Cairo and who demonstrated in Cairo and Alexandria speak for themselves. Because Marwa's dispute with her attacker was based on his objections to her Islamic headscarf, the death of the young pharmacist has become an emblem for the rights of Muslim women at a time when the French President is attempting to ban the burqa. Marwa loved life. She didn't plan to become a martyr. But in the eyes of Egyptians calling for a mosque and a street in Alexandria to be renamed in her honor, she is a heroine. If the U.S. and Europe are chronically supine when it comes to Muslim causes, then the governments and media throughout the Arab and Muslim world should embrace them clearly and loudly. With anti-Muslim hate crimes on the rise, Muslims need a strong united voice on the international stage. Shame on the world's media that appears to be united only in its anti-Muslim bias! Linda S. Heard is a specialist British writer on Middle East affairs. (Source: Gulf News

شهیده حجاب کے قتل پر جرمنی کے نسل پرستانہ اقدام کی مذمت حسن قشقاوی نے جرمنی کی عدالت میں باحجاب مصری خاتون کوشہید کرنے کے نسل پرستانہ اقدام کی مذمت کی ہے۔ اسلامی جمہوریہ ایران کی وزارت خارجہ کے ترجمان حسن قشقاوی نے جرمنی کی عدالت میں باحجاب مصری خاتون کوشہید کرنے کے نسل پرستانہ اقدام کی مذمت کی ہے۔جرمنی کے شہر درسڈن کی عدالت کے اندر بدھ کےروز ایک نسل پرست جرمن شہری کے ہاتھوں اسلامی حجاب کی پابندی کرنے کی وجہ سے تینتیس سالہ مصری خاتون مروہ الشربینی کو شہید کردیا گیا تھا۔اسلامی جمہوریہ ایران کی وزارت خارجہ کے ترجمان حسن قشقاوی نے انسانی حقوق کے دعویدار ملکوں ميں انسانی اقداراور اصولوں کی کھلی خلاف ورزی کی وضاحت کرتے ہوئے کہا کہ عدالت میں پولیس کی نگاہوں کے سامنے بزدلانہ قتل جرمنی میں بدامنی اور مہاجروں و اقلیتوں کے تئيں بڑہتی ہوئی نفرت کا ثبوت ہے۔اور اس قسم کے ہولناک واقعے کا انسانی معاشرے میں کوئي جواز نہیں پیش کیا جاسکتا۔ وزارت خارجہ کے ترجمان نے مصری عوام اور حکومت نیز مروہ شربینی کے اہل خاندان کو تعزیت پیش کرتے ہوئے اسلامی کانفرنس تنظیم اور دوسرے عالمی اداروں سے مطالبہ کیا ہے کہ اس قسم کے انسانیت دشمن اقدامات کا جائزہ لینے اور اس کا مقابلہ کرنے کیلئے ایک کمیٹی تشکیل دینے کا مطالبہ کیاہے۔ El-Sherbini, who was nearly four months pregnant, was involved in a court case against her neighbor, Axel W., who was found guilty last November for insulting and abusing the woman, calling her a terrorist. She was set to testify against him when he stabbed her 18 times inside a Dresden courtroom in front of her 3-year-old son. El-Sherbini's husband came to her aid but was also stabbed by the neighbor and shot in the leg by a security guard who initially mistook him for the attacker, German prosecutors said. He is now in critical condition in a German hospital. "The guards thought that as long as he wasn't blond, he must be the attacker so they shot him," the victim's brother told an Egyptian television station. The 28-year-old Axel W. remains in detention and prosecutors have opened an investigation on suspicion of murder. The incident has received little coverage in German and Western media, sparking widespread criticism by German Muslim groups as well as Egyptian journalists, who say the incident is an example of how hate crimes against Muslims are overlooked in comparison to those committed by Muslims against Westerners. Many commentators pointed to the uproar that followed the 2004 murder of filmmaker Theo van Gogh by a Dutch-born Muslim who was infuriated by the portrayal of Muslim women in the Dutch director's film. Nearly four million Muslims living in Dresden condemned el-Sherbini's killing, expressing concern about the consequences of such terrorist attacks against Muslims. Steg described the killing as 'a horrible and outrageous act', saying the German government had not reacted earlier as details were hazy in the immediate aftermath of the crime.

Iran protests and condemns Germany for the death of Marwa El-Sherbiny - 11July09 - English

ARE YOU STILL PAYING FOR THAT CABLE & DISH. PLEASE REALIZE WHAT YOUR RESPONSIBILITY IS. I AM NOT ASKING YOU TO NOT PAY FOR THAT CABLE & DISH... BUT BE PREPARED TO ANSWER TO IMAM E ZAMANA (AS) THAT WHY YOU PAID EVERY MONTH AND MADE THESE MEDIA STATIONS THIS STRONG THAT THEY ARE FREE TO DO PROPAGANDA AGAINST ISLAM BUT NOT EVEN MENTION THE DEATHS OF INNOCENTS, LET IT BE GAZA, LEBANON, IRAQ, AFGHANISTAN, PAKISTAN. I PRAY FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART THAT ALLAH KEEPS YOU AND YOUR FAMILY SAFE BUT TRUST ME THAT SOONER OR LATER YOU WILL BE A VICTIM OF THIS UNFAIR, UNJUST AND BIAS MEDIA. Again, I pray that Allah protect you and your family. DISCONNECT THE CABLE AND DISH AT YOUR HOUSE. STOP SUPPORTING MAINSTREAM MEDIA!!!

Press TV Tehran

The Hijab Martyr Marwa al-Sherbini, has inspired a group of multinational women to call the OIC (Organisation of the Islamic Conference) to declare July 1 the International Day of Hijab. Hijab is an expression of Muslim Women's freedom; and is a choice for them. Democracy is allegedly a pioneer of freedom and as a result should support the right of women to wear the Hijab. Instead Marwa al-Sherbini was murdered in cold blood by Alexander W (full name has never been released by German Authorities) in a German Courtroom with Judge, Jury and Lawyers present by the racist who had initially abused her and sparked the event which led to them being in court in the first place. Her husband was also shot by a police officer when he went to assist his wife; and their child looked on in horror as his mother was murdered and father was wounded. The western media has attempted to cover up this issue; and the exact condition of Marwa's husband is not known since Press TV has been denied access to him by the German authorities. The police officer who shot Marwa's husband has yet to be charged with his crimes and offences by the German authorities.