Human Rights

15 Feb 2021; MEMO: The people of Iraq have been remembering the bombing of Al-Amiriyah Air Raid Shelter in Baghdad by the US Air Force on 13 February, 1991. The Americans targeted the shelter with two laser-guided "smart bombs", killing at least 408 civilians and wounding an unknown number of others.

A number of Israeli tanks today carried out incursion in the east of the city of Jabalya in the north of the Gaza Strip and opened fire at Palestinian farmers, Palestinian security sources said.

According to the sources, three bulldozers and three tanks breached the borders and trampled on agricultural land and farms inside Gaza.

They destroyed land and building dirt mounds and opened fire and shot smoke canisters.

Israeli occupation drones were flying overhead during the incursion.

15 Feb 2021; MEMO: Senior Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti is planning to stand for election as Palestinian Authority president despite an official request from the movement only to seek election to the Legislative Authority, news agencies reported on Sunday. Barghouti has been in an Israeli jail since 2002.

New Delhi, Feb 15 (PTI) Social activists and environmentalists called for immediate release of climate activist Disha Ravi who was arrested in the 'toolkit' document case, asking the government to stop targeting India's youth.

Ravi (22) was arrested on Saturday from Bengaluru for allegedly sharing with Greta Thunberg the toolkit related to the farmer's protest against the Centre's three new agriculture laws, police said.

New Delhi, Feb 15 (PTI) Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday called the arrest of climate activist Disha Ravi in the toolkit document case an unprecedented attack on democracy .

The 21-year-old activist was arrested on Saturday from Bengaluru for being allegedly involved in sharing the "toolkit" related to the farmer's protest on social media.

Arrest of 21 yr old Disha Ravi is an unprecedented attack on Democracy. Supporting our farmers is not a crime, Kejriwal tweeted.

The Arab Organisation for Human Rights in the UK has written an open letter calling on world leaders to pressure the Saudi authorities to release the detained scholar Salman al Salman Al-Ouda. The following is the full text of their open letter released on 13 February:

To whom it may concern

Re: Salman Al-Ouda, political detainee by Saudi Authorities

After the death of his wife in an accident in 2017, Salman Al-Ouda became everything for his family especially his young children.

New Delhi, Feb 14 (PTI) A 21-year-old climate activist has been arrested from Bengaluru for being allegedly involved in sharing the "toolkit" related to the farmer's protest on social media, police said on Sunday.

Disha Ravi was arrested by a Cyber Cell team of the Delhi Police from Bengaluru on Saturday, a senior police officer said.

Srinagar, Feb 14 (PTI) National Conference vice president Omar Abdullah on Sunday claimed he and his family, including his father and Member of Parliament Farooq Abdullah, have been put under house arrest by authorities.

However, police said the movement of protected persons was "discouraged" on Sunday due to adverse inputs on the second anniversary of the 2019 Pulwama attack.

13 Feb 2021; MEMO: The US State Department announced on Thursday that Jerusalem is subject to final status negotiations.

This came in a press briefing by State Department spokesperson Ned Price, in which he conveyed: "The ultimate status of Jerusalem is, in fact, a final status negotiations issue. This has been a long-standing policy of the United States."

12 Feb 2021; MEMO: Israeli occupation forces blew up the family home of a Palestinian prisoner being held in Israeli jails, who is accused of killing a settler last December.

The move came a week after the Israeli High Court of Justice gave the go-ahead to destroy the two-floor building in which Muhammad Maruh Kabha lived, based in the village of Tura, southwest of Jenin.