Tag: hate crime

  • Khawaja Sira community members attacked by mob in Karachi; No action taken yet

    Khawaja Sira community members attacked by mob in Karachi; No action taken yet

    The first-ever elected transgender member of the Karachi Municipal Council and transgender rights activist Shahzadi Rai took to X (former Twitter) and described an incidence of violence against her community members.

    Shahzadi wrote, “A mob attack occurred at Johar Mor. These individuals first beat members of my community, then threatened to kill us openly. Please help and kindly tag the police. @sindhpolicedmc8 @BBhuttoZardari @PPP_Org @AuratMarchKHI @TMItalks.”

    In the video she highlighted how police arrived quite late while she was constantly being threatened with being killed. In another video, she was trying to calm the mob, but nothing worked at that point. She has appealed to the Sindh police to take legal action against the hate crime and violence.

    Member of Awami Workers Party, Ammar Rashid, wrote, “Horrifying to see. There is a direct line from the anti-trans hate being spread by rightwing activists, youtubers & parties to such mobs. Your ‘gender activism’ hobby & moral panic clickbait leads to situations of life & death for others. And no surprise Sindh police is MIA.”

    Transgender Rights Activist Aradhiya Khan demanded strict action, “ Urgent Alert: Another mob attack at Johar Mor! Once again, our community is being targeted and hunted down. We’re facing threats of violence and need immediate intervention.
    @sindhpolicedmc8 , please step in to stop this cycle of terror. Lives are at stake! #StopViolence”

    Human Rights Activist Gulalai Ismail highlighted the consequences of online campaigns against transgender community, “This is terrifying and highly condemnable. The recent trans-hate politics of JI and likes of Maria B has intensified the existing threats to the lives of Pakistani khwajasira community. These hate mongers should be held accountable & brought to justice.”

    Aurat March Karachi also reacted to the situation and said, “This is outrageous and horrifying. Till when will the khawaja sira community and trans people be forced to live in fear of such gruesome violence? Why do these fanatical cis men feel emboldened enough to issue threats like these, that too so openly? We stand in solidarity with the trans community and reiterate our demand to immediately end the hate campaign & mob violence targeting them.”

    Lawyer Muneeb Qadir said, “’Taang pe taang rakh ke cheer doon ga’ was what Qaiser Raja had said about transgenders & while specifically naming Shahzadi Rai in that speech. Hate speech can have dangerous consequences as you can see from what happened in Johar Mor last night. Maria B, Mishi, this one’s on u”

  • Three Palestinian students studying in US shot for wearing keffiyah

    Three Palestinian students studying in US shot for wearing keffiyah

    Three Palestinian students were shot for wearing their country’s traditional keffiyeh scarves in Vermont, USA.

    The three boys – identified as Hisham Awartani, Kinnan Abdel Hamid and Tahseen Ahmed – were in Burlington for Thanksgiving holidays when they were targeted and injured, leaving one critically wounded.

    The victims, aged 20, were students of Harvard University, Brown University and Trinity University.

    According to the police, they were walking while visiting the home of one of the victim’s relatives when they were confronted by a white man with a gun.

    “Without speaking, he discharged at least four rounds from the pistol and is believed to have fled,” Burlington Police Chief Jon Murad said in a statement.

    “The fact is that we don’t yet know as much as we want to right now,” he added. “But I urge the public to avoid making conclusions based on statements from uninvolved parties who know even less.”

    According to a statement released by the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, the victims were Palestinian American college students and that there is “reason to believe this shooting occurred because the victims are Arab.”

    It further revealed that a man shouted at and harassed the three young men, who were chatting in Arabic, and then shot them.

    The FBI Albany, New York, posted a statement on X (formerly Twitter) stating that they are
    “actively” investigating the case with the Burlington Police Department, ATF and other federal, state and local agencies.

  • Pakistani-American doctor stabbed to death in front of 17 people

    Pakistani-American doctor stabbed to death in front of 17 people

    52-year-old Pakistani American paediatrician Dr. Talat Khan was stabbed to death in a park in her apartment complex on Saturday afternoon, in front of 17 people.

    The suspected murderer is 24-year-old Miles Joseph Fridrich, and is a white male.
    One of the witnesses, Mathew Amador explained what he saw when he got to the scene of the crime. He said that Fridrich stabbed Khan in broad daylight over and over again, checking to see if she was alive. “When I got there, he was checking her pulse to make sure she was alive,” Amador said, “and then stabbed her three more times.” Amador also yelled out the description of the suspect as the police arrived and they quickly took him into custody. The relationship of the suspect with the victim is unclear and witnesses declared that they have not seen him in the locality before. “I’ve never seen evil like that in my life,” Amador said.

    The Council on American Islamic Relation (CAIR) stated that, “police have not released a motive for the killing. We want to assure everyone that we are in conversation with law enforcement agencies. We are unsure at this moment if this was a hate crime; however, given the tragic circumstances, we are paying very close attention to the investigation.”

    Khan’s brother Wajahat Nyaz said his sister was a kind soul. “Talat’s life revolved around those two things, her kids — her son and daughter — and her kids [patients] she looked after as a paediatrician,” he said.

    The Associate Director of the Al Ansaar Mosque, Mohammad Ayubi said that Khan was a regular visitor and the whole community of 300 to 400 families are grieving. The security around the complex has also been increased.

  • Landlord stabs Palestinian- American child to death, injures mother in hate crime

    Landlord stabs Palestinian- American child to death, injures mother in hate crime

    Joseph Czuba, a 71-year-old man has stabbed a six-year-old Palestinian-American boy to death while also injuring his 32-year-old mother in Plainfield, Illinois USA in what local police have confirmed is a hate crime.

    The Palestinian-American family was reportedly attacked by the man after he got influenced watching and reading about the conflict in the Middle East.

    Czuba reportedly shouted “You Muslims must die” as he entered the family’s rented home and attacked the mother. When she ran to the bathroom to call 911, Czuba stabbed six-year-old 26 times, killing him on the spot.

    President Joe Biden has released a statement, saying that he is “sickened” by the incident.

    “This horrific act of hate has no place in America, and stands against our fundamental values: freedom from fear for how we pray, what we believe, and who we are,” he said.

    “As Americans, we must come together and reject Islamophobia and all forms of bigotry and hatred.”

    Czuba has been charged with first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, hate crimes and aggravated battery.

    Will County Sheriff’s Office said on Sunday that they received an emergency call while the woman was fighting the killer.

    She “ran into the bathroom and continued to fight off her attacker”, he explained.

    By the time the police reached the scene, the mother and the child had “multiple stab wounds to their chest, torso, and upper extremities”.

    Bothwere taken to hospital, but the boy who was reportedly stabbed 26 times couldn’t survive the attack.

    Czuba, on the other hand, sat “upright outside on the ground near the driveway of the residence.”

    “Detectives were able to determine that both victims in this brutal attack were targeted by the suspect due to them being Muslim and the ongoing Middle Eastern conflict involving Hamas and the Israelis,” the Sheriff’s office added.

    Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Chicago) identified the boy as Wadea al-Fayoume, and his mother as Hanaan Shahin.

    Wadea was born in the US, while his mother was originally from Beitunia in the West Bank and came to the country 12 years ago.

    According to CAIR-Chicago executive director Ahmed Rehab, Wadea had celebrated his birthday only a few weeks back.

  • ‘Anti-Muslim hate speech increases in India around elections’: Hindutva Watch

    ‘Anti-Muslim hate speech increases in India around elections’: Hindutva Watch

    A recent report on Hindutva Watch by Raqib Hameed Naik, Aarushi Srivastava and Abhyudaya Tayagi titled ‘2023 Half-Yearly Report: Anti-Muslim Hate Speech Events in India’ reveals that there have been 255 documented incidents of hate speech in gatherings targeting Muslims in the first half of 2023.

    The watchdog used the definition of hate speech by the United Nations which states, “any form of communication, whether oral, written, or behavioral, that employs prejudiced or discriminatory language towards an individual or group based on attributes such as religion, ethnicity, nationality, race, color, descent, gender, or other identity factors.” This definition includes all forms of expression, including speech, writing or behavior, and specifically focuses on any language that is either discriminatory (biased, bigoted, or intolerant) or “pejorative” (prejudiced, contemptuous or demeaning) of an individual or group.

    It also notes that overwhelmingly, 205 (80 per cent) of these hate speech events occurred in BJP-ruled states and union territories. Maharashtra, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Gujarat witnessed the highest number of hate speech gatherings, with Maharashtra alone accounting for 29 per cent of such incidents.

    Strikingly, seven out of the top eight states with the highest hate speech events are governed by the BJP and its coalition partners. Around 52 per cent of hate speech gatherings in BJP-ruled states and union territories were orchestrated by entities affiliated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), including the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), the Bajrang Dal, the Sakal Hindu Samaj, and the Bharatiya Janata Party. Overall, 42 per cebt of all hate speech gatherings in 17 states which includes two centrally controlled territories were organized by groups affiliated with the RSS.

    The report finds that approximately 64 per cent of the events in BJP-ruled states and union territories incorporated references to popular Hindu far-right anti-Muslim conspiracy theories. Overall, 51 per cent of all the hate speech gatherings in 17 states which includes two centrally controlled territories featured anti-Muslim conspiracy theories.

    A concerning 33 per cent of all the gatherings explicitly called for violence against Muslims and about 11 per cent of events included explicit calls for Hindus to boycott Muslims. Disturbingly, 4 per cent of all the events featured hate-filled and sexist speeches explicitly targeting Muslim women.

    Nearly 12 per cent of events featured calls to arms. Notably, 33 per cent of hate speech events took place in states that have already conducted or are set to conduct state legislative elections in 2023. Furthermore, over 36 per cent of these events occurred in states slated to hold legislative elections in 2024. In total, nearly 70 per cent of these events were reported in states with legislative elections either in 2023 or 2024.

    Hindutva Watch tracks the activity of Hindu far-right organizations and their members on social media, scraping data from X (formerly known as Twitter), Facebook, Instagram, Youtube and Telegram to find verifiable videos of hate speech events. They also employ data scraping techniques to identify verifiable videos of hate speech events, followed by in-depth research conducted by a team of dedicated journalists and researchers. Additionally, they draw upon credible reporting from established news organizations to compile comprehensive data. To ensure the accuracy of their findings, they conduct verification processes, confirming the authenticity of the videos, their precise location, and the date on which they were recorded.

  • Muslim boy beaten to death in India

    A 22-year-old young Muslim named Rahul Khan was beaten to death by his friends over the alleged stealing of a mobile in the Indian state of Haryana at Palwal district on Tuesday, December 14. His family claimed that the video of an incident shows the act of hate crime.

    Police have arrested all three friends Aakash (alias DIljale), Vishal and Kalua who will remain in custody. They all belong to the same village, Rasoolpur.

    According to the victim’s father, Chiddi Khan, his son went to a wedding ceremony in Hoshangabad with his friends. His father received a phone call at 6 pm from the accused who informed him that his son was seriously injured in a road accident.

    However, the district superintendent of police (DSP) Yashpal Khatana said that on returning to Rasoolpur, an argument took place when they were drinking that Khan was hiding Kalua’s mobile phone. When his friends allegedly found the mobile from Khan’s possession, they started beating him with rods and other weapons.

    Khan was taken to canal afterwards to be assaulted further and where the purported video was shot by his friend, Aakash.

    While talking to Indian media, his brother-in-law, Akram said that he went to Kalua’s residence after being reported about his accident initially, the victim was barely conscious. His head was crushed and he had injuries on his arms and legs. He was taken to a hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. Kalua accompanied his family along to a hospital.

    His father initially filed a complaint stating that his son was killed after an unknown vehicle hit his son’s motorcycle at Nangal road.

    On the next morning on December 15, the family received the video of Khan’s physical assault, which was also uploaded on social media. It showed him being beaten and in which voices can be heard saying Rahul was a Muslim and they (suspects) were Hindus that made them believe that Khan was murdered because of communal hate.

    Rahul Khan’s wife, Saina claimed that on December 15, before his last breath in the hospital, he told her that he was beaten up with rods by some people including Kalua.

    His sister, Razia also alleged that that the accused was demanding a large amount of money from her brother as their father retired from the Indian Railways in April this year.

    Initially, police registered a first information report (FIR) under an Indian Penal Code (IPC) Sections 279 (rash driving) and 304 (a) (death caused by negligence) but after the video surfaced and the assessment of the post-mortem revealed all of the victim’s injuries, they added charges of murder and arrested Khan’s friends.

    The police have confiscated the mobile phone on which the video was recorded. During the interrogation, it was revealed that Aakash shot the clip of physical assault and he also uploaded it on social media to supposedly save himself from an incident. He allegedly said in the video not to beat the victim.

    The video has been sent to the forensic lab for analysis. The relevant charges would be added if the communal hate was found.