Human Rights

06 Jan 2019; MEMO: Iraq’s caretaker Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi revealed yesterday that he was scheduled to meet the Iranian Quds Force Commander Qassem Soleimani on Friday, the day the US assassinated him in a drone strike in Baghdad.

Abdul-Mahdi told the Iraqi parliament during a session to discuss the foreign presence in Iraq that he was due to discuss efforts to defuse tensions in the region with the deceased general.

06 Jan 2019; MEMO: Egyptian activist Mahmoud Abdel-Majeed Mahmoud Saleh died inside Egypt’s notorious Scorpion Prison on Saturday evening as a result of medical negligence, his sister said.

Saleh, a 46-year-old father of four, used to work in media, printing and publishing.

Guwahati, Jan 5 (PTI) Protest against the amended Citizenship Act continued across Assam on Sunday with thousands of people hitting the streets in the state capital in a 15-km long march originating from Bhupen Hazarika's memorial.

Called by the artiste community and supported by All Assam Students' Union (AASU) and Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuva Chhatra Parishad (AJYCP), the march was joined by anti-CAA leaders like Samujjal Kumar Bhattacharya, Lurinjyoti Gogoi and popular singer Zubeen Garg.

New Delhi, Jan 5 (PTI) Swaraj Abhiyan chief Yogendra Yadav was allegedly manhandled outside the Jawaharlal Nehru University campus where a clash broke out between members of the students' union and the ABVP.

Yadav said no one was there to stop the "hooliganism" and he was not allowed to speak to the media.

He alleged that police personnel were standing but were not doing anything, saying "if the police is afraid, they can take out their uniform".

Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 6 (PTI) Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday condemned the violence at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New in Delhi and said "Nazi- style attacks" on students and teachers inside the campus was an attempt to create unrest and violence in the country.

Vijayan said the attack on students is an "appalling display of intolerance running amok" and asked the Sangh Parivar forces to end its "diabolical plan" to silence the universities with bloodshed.

New Delhi, Jan 6 (PTI) The Jawaharlal Nehru Teachers' Association has written to the President, who is the Visitor to the varsity, demanding the removal of the Vice Chancellor.

Holding the Vice Chancellor responsible for the "orgy of violence" in JNU on Sunday, JNUTA said entry of goons into the campus without connivance of the adminstration was not possible.

"The JNUTA with full sense of responsibility accuses the JNU Administration headed by the Vice-Chancellor of being responsible for the orgy of violence in JNU," they said.

Lucknow, Jan 6 (PTI) Samajwadi Party supremo Akhilesh Yadav and BSP chief Mayawati condemned the violence inside Jawaharlal Nehru University in which students and teachers were attacked by masked persons.

Hitting out at the Centre, Yadav said that masked men attacking teachers and students in JNU shows how "low" the government will stoop to rule through "fear" adding that the BJP is using violence and hate to polarise society.

New Delhi, Jan 6 (PTI) The Congress on Monday accused the government of unleashing "state-sponsored terrorism" in campuses across the country and said the violence in the JNU campus reminded it of the Nazi rule.

Demanding a judicial probe into the violence that erupted in the JNU campus on Sunday evening, Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said the enquiry should look into the role of the government, the JNU administration and the Delhi police.

New Delhi, Jan 6 (PTI) Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Monday dubbed the National Register of Citizens a "sinister and mischievous plan" to divide the country and alleged that the NRC-CAA-NPR exercise is part of the RSS-BJP plan to push its "divisive" agenda of a 'Hindu Rashtra'.

Terming the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) "patently discriminatory", he said three neighbouring countries have been included, while Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Bhutan excluded and some minority groups, including Muslims, kept out of its ambit.

NEW DELHI, Jan 6 (NNN-PTI) – University and college students staged protests and demonstrations across many cities in India, including Mumbai, Delhi and Aligarh, throughout Sunday night, against the violence that erupted inside the Delhi-based Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), injuring around 30 students.

Students belonging to various colleges, institutes and universities were seen continuing with their protests at Mumbai’s popular monument Gateway of India, till Monday morning.