Human Rights

WICHITA, (AP) — Three militia members convicted of taking part in a foiled plot to massacre Muslims in southwest Kansas were sentenced Friday to decades in prison during an emotional court hearing in which one of the targeted victims pleaded: “Please don’t hate us.”

U.S. District Judge Eric Melgren sentenced Patrick Stein, the ringleader, to 30 years in prison and Curtis Allen, who drafted a manifesto for the group, to 25 years.

26 Jan 2019; DW: The Austrian regional court in Graz, capital of the state of Styria, on Friday jailed the self-appointed president of the "Federation of States" ["Staatenbund"] for 14 years, saying the heavy penalty was a "clear signal that anti-state activities will not be tolerated."

The woman, identified in media reports as Monika Unger, was also convicted of subversion over her bid since 2015 to lead the group said by Austria's domestic intelligence service to number 2,700 members.

26 Jan 2019; DW: Events to mark the birth of modern Australia in 1788 are being countered by large rallies by indigenous communities. They're demanding that the Australia Day public holiday be changed so it doesn't celebrate colonialism.

Rallies have been held in several Australian cities calling for the country's national day to be abolished because it marks the anniversary of the British arrival at Sydney Cove in 1788.

MOSCOW, January 25. /TASS/. The Russian Foreign Ministry warned Russian citizens who are going abroad about the threat of harassment by the US law enforcement bodies and intelligence agencies in a statement on Friday.

Caracas, January 25; GANASHAKTI: MIT Professor Emeritus Noam Chomsky; co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, Mark Weisbrot; and 68 other scholars published an Open Letter Thursday demanding that the United States Government back off Venezuela.

Srinagar, Jan 26, 2019; Two Kashmiri sepratists were killed in an encounter with security forces on Saturday in Khunmoh area on the outskirts of Srinagar city in Jammu and Kashmir, police said.

Security forces launched a cordon and search operation following information about presence of separatists in the area, a police official said, as Republic Day events were being held in parts of the city.

He said the search turned into a gun battle after separatists opened firing on security forces.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A prominent American-born anchorwoman for Iran’s state television says she believes the U.S. government jailed her because of her work as journalist and her beliefs, and as a warning to her to “watch your step.”

25 Jan 2019; DW: Two men, members of a militia group called the "White Rabbits," have pled guilty after trying to blow up a mosque to "scare" Muslims out of the country. They are also suspected of trying to bomb an abortion clinic.

Two members of a militia group that calls itself the "White Rabbits" pled guilty on Thursday to bombing a mosque in the US state of Minnesota. The men said that they had hoped to scare Muslims into leaving the country.

ANKARA, January 24. /TASS/. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday he was shocked by the decision of US President Donald Trump to recognize Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido as interim president.

"I was shocked by Trump's attitude [to the situation in Venezuela]. It is necessary to respect the person who won the election. We are coming out against any anti-democratic actions," Erdogan told a news conference in Ankara after talks with Maltese President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 24 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced Thursday that the United States had imposed sanctions against two Syria-based, Iran-backed militias and two aviation entities linked to Iranian airline Mahan Air.

The Treasury accused that the fighters of the two Syria-based militias, mostly Afghan and Pakistani refugees and migrants residing in Iran, are recruited by Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC).