The normal conclusions you’d draw from knowing these things are that the Internet is an amazing tool to connect people, a powerful way of spreading information and changing opinions, and a vast world to explore and so on. On the other hand, the conclusion drawn by many dictatorships is that the internet is dangerous when used by the peoples they try to oppress. This is illustrated in how censorship is implemented in states such as China and Iran and in how social media such as Facebook have become symbols of revolution in the Arab Spring movement. It is therefore no surprise that greater powers seek to consolidate their positions by keeping up with their own time and realizing the potential, the usefulness and the dangers of the Internet.

SOPA, PIPA, ACTA. These acronyms have caused uproar in Europe, America and Asia where people speak up in debates, go out on the streets and demonstrate and wage virtual war against the attempts to stop net-piracy from the USA and EU, who seek to make it possible to shut down and block entire websites that feature, for example, copyright-protected images. The opposition believes that any form of internet-regulation, no matter reason, would lead us closer to a world where governments can regulate the streams of information to control what people can know. Thoughts of George Orwell’s dystopic “1984” haunt the minds of many concerned citizens who see the American attempts to regulate the Internet as a sign of the very same imperialist hubris that started the War on Terror. They used 9/11 as an excuse to secure oil from Iraq and Afghanistan – now they try to control the Internet discreetly in the name of War on Online Piracy.

This collides violently with the interests of the Kurdish people in many ways, brothers and sisters. For it is so, that the Internet is a key tool in our struggle for freedom – imagine it being controlled by states allied to our enemies in Ankara or Tehran, enemies who have shown that they don’t hesitate to attack journalists, activists, photographers or a certain Kurdish TV-station in Scandinavia. Imagine how more SOPAs and PIPAs slowly undermine freedom of speech over the years and how the War on Online Piracy is able to evolve into a campaign against enemies of the American government and its allies. Imagine that we, the already silenced people in mainstream media, become silenced on the net, having our sites taken down, our blogs blocked and our videos and images that prove committed atrocities deleted.

To succeed in our struggle, we need all the help we can get. And it is an accepted doctrine among the Kurds that we must seek support in non-Kurdish governments and peoples who can apply outside pressure on our oppressors. But, in order to do that we need to keep the information flowing from the homeland – the proofs of killed civilians, the jailed journalists, the children on hunger-strikes. There is a reason behind the systematic attacks against Kurdish media by the Turkish, Iranian and Syrian governments – if knowledge is power and additionally free and easily accessible then it’s also dangerous for the regimes. The sharpest spears in our struggle are the pencils we hold in our hands – the letters in an article are more dreaded than the bullets fired by rebels.

Knowing these things it should be absolutely out of the question to even accept that the Internet falls into the hands of any government that may be capable of censorship and cutting information-streams – especially not the information-streams vital to the survival of our struggle and nation. Opposing regulations on the Internet is therefore a question of necessity and survival, of protecting our flanks and sides in the virtual world.

Now, the pessimist might say: “what use is there to protest, they will let these laws pass anyway”. Yes, the governments of the West will probably not back down on these laws sooner than we would like and the opposition is in for a long fight. But it is our resolve that should determine the intensity of our struggle – not the resolve of the people we oppose. With such pessimism the attempts of dialogue between Turks and Kurds could be dismissed as futile, especially since the fascists in Ankara use the army to quell the opposition, in contrast to the states of the West. Yet, the struggle in northern Kurdistan goes on – as should the struggle on the streets and squares of Europe and the forums on the net. The cause, to preserve freedom of speech, will have to fuel people and turn the angry freedom-fighters into patient, unrelenting freedom-fighters. If anything, patience and perseverance are the traits every Kurd carries deep within him or her – born from the constant struggle, which have more than once seemed utterly fruitless. The Kurd is not only in need of joining the ongoing campaign against War on Online Piracy but has a natural place in the struggle and can prove to be a valuable ally of the global opposition.

Also, aligning ourselves with the people who protect the Internet is according to the principle to seek non-Kurdish support for our cause. As I have stated before, we live in the age of free information and a completely new, global, internet-culture is emerging. Anonymous, Lulzsec and other hacker-groups are groups created from online-communities and when looking at different demonstrators around the world we see that they carry symbols, signs and masks indicating a common cultural base – internet-memes and Guy Fawkes-masks tell us about the new generation of internet-users, the generation that one day will inherit the world. Joining the opposition would therefore not only be an act of defending the interests of our people, but also to create spheres of influence for the Kurds. By demonstrating side by side and joining forces we’d be getting new friends in a generation that is currently gaining power fast. By protecting the values and ideals all free peoples of the world should staunchly preserve, we remind the new generation that we are humans too. And as the development of the Internet-movement continues Kurds ought to jump on the train in time to keep up – the struggle for the Kurdish people lies not only in preserving our ancient culture and following nationalist paroles from the past, but also in carrying our nation, culture and people from one time-period to another. This is the eternal duty every Kurdish generation is tasked with.

Although most Kurds may not even have any access to the Internet it is no reason for us in the diaspora to neglect the ongoing events of War on Online Piracy. In fact, responsibility lies heavier on our shoulders (or should I say, our keyboards?) since we are the only ones who are able to speak for the Kurds in online media. As our brethren suffer unspeakable atrocities in the hands of our enemies, our duty is to keep the flow of information going – and to protect the backs of our people in Kurdistan.

With all this said, we have a lot to win in joining the struggle and a lot to lose if we do not. Let us therefore join the fight against SOPA, ACTA and PIPA as one of the free peoples of the world. We do it for You, Kurdistan.

It was a wicked invention; everything good and beautiful became revolting and disgusting when reflected by the mirror.

One day, the Devil flew around in the air with his mirror, reflecting the divine sky but it was too much beauty for the mirror to handle. It broke into millions of pieces, some as small as grains of sand. They fell onto the ground, but also into the hearts and eyes of men, women and children whose heart froze to ice and whose eyes could now only see that which was unpleasant and evil.

The Verdict Of ROJ TV

Not many miles away from the birthplace of Hans Christian Andersen and merely 137 years and a few months after his death, the verdict of the trial of the Kurdish TV-channel ROJ TV was announced.

We were 500 snowmen outside the court in Copenhagen, paralysed and silenced by the cold gushes of wind. Then, we heard a scream of joy; we all melted and became a sea of flames.

I was burning and freezing when I turned my back to the dancing crowd, bowed my head and tweeted ”we won.”

We did not win. Yes, ROJ TV was allowed to keep broadcasting from Denmark but only because of formalities in the Danish penal law; a penal law so vague and obscure that the satellite provider, Eutelsat, suspended its agreement with ROJ TV and shut down its satellite signal to avoid being part of ”terrorist activities.”

The Danish court ruled that ROJ TV has acted as a mouthpiece for terror. This ruling was based on the judge’s conviction that ROJ TV is controlled by PKK, a Kurdish rebel group listed as a terror organisation by the European Union, the United States and Turkey, in regard to both finance and content. Therefore, the court sentenced the two companies behind ROJ TV to pay a fine of approximately 900,000 dollars, a verdict that was appealed to High Court three days later.

The verdict of ROJ TV is 190 pages long. The following section will present the essential conclusions that were summarised by the Danish newspaper, Jyllandsposten.

1 – From February 7, 2008 to February 10, 2010 ROJ TV has acted as a mouthpiece for the terror organisation, PKK.

2 – The TV-station has repeated messages from PKK without presenting other views. The guerrilla is portrayed in a positive way and manner that indicates more than sympathy for PKK.

3 – There is however no proof of these links between ROJ TV and PKK in the period June 10, 2006 to February, 2008 which had also been a count in the charge against ROJ TV.

4 – PKK has ”to a great extent” supported ROJ TV financially from 2006 to 2010

5 – The decision about what ROJ TV is allowed to broadcast is made by a media company in Belgium. The department in Denmark has no influence on what programmes to broadcast.

6 – Documents found in Belgium show that individuals with close relations to PKK have had the final word in regard to what ROJ TV should or should not broadcast about PKK.

7 – The two companies, ROJ TV A/S and Mesopotamia Broadcast A/S, have promoted PKK activities and are therefore sentenced to pay a combined fine of approximately 900,000 dollars.

8 – The companies are acquitted prosecutors’ demand of suspending the broadcasting license in Denmark. The Danish penal law cannot on legal basis confiscate the rights of companies, associations, etc.

One Man’s Terrorist

When the trial of ROJ TV started in August 2011, the court not only had to decide whether ROJ TV was a mouthpiece for terror or not, but also if PKK was indeed a terror organisation as Turkey, the European Union and the United States have listed it to be.

The judge looked at the terror lists, she looked at the extracts from ROJ TV’s programmes selected by the prosecutors and then found herself enlightened enough to declare PKK a terror organisation.

Now, this can nothing but enrage people seeking justice and expecting nothing but justice from a court in Denmark that holds its freedom so dear, so dear.

How can anyone regard Turkey’s terror list trustworthy when Turkey is infamous for its treatment of journalists and its restrictions on freedom of press and freedom of speech all the while referring to its terror law?

How can anyone regard the US’ terror list trustworthy when the US only removed Nelson Mandela from the list 4 years ago, when the US is ignorant enough to think that “by killing people who has killed people we can teach people not to kill people” and when the US still has not closed the most terrifying man-made institution on this Earth, Guantanamo Bay?

How can anyone regard the EU terror list trustworthy when the European Union Court in 2008 annulled its ruling that PKK was a terror group?

How can anyone regard terror lists trustworthy when it is common knowledge that one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter?

How can anyone regard terror lists trustworthy when it is always the ”state”, ”the richest and the biggest” that has enough money and power to make up a list, put people on it and say: ”There you go, one terror list, please follow it or I will make your life a living Hell.”

How?

The judge did not even allow for ROJ TV lawyer, Bjoern Elmquist, to present his material about ROJ TV to the same extent as the prosecutors. This has given the prosecutors, who have been criticised for their close and friendly relationship with the authorities in Ankara, plenty of opportunities to portray ROJ TV and PKK as terrorists without the risk of being proven wrong by Elmquist.

An Unjust Law

The entire trial of ROJ TV has been a curious one. This has caused many experts to comment upon the fact that the judge did not take into consideration that she was dealing with a TV-channel and should therefore judge ROJ TV by the rules that apply for the media.

If the media is not allowed to interview the part in a conflict called the terrorist, then who is? Yes, ROJ TV may have portrayed the Kurdish guerrillas as freedom fighters, but PKK is after all the resistance movement that was formed as a re-action to Turkey’s oppression of the Kurdish people, a tyranny and brutality only condemned in vague words by the rest of the world.

The Kurdish people and ROJ TV are puppets in a play dominated by world leaders. If the Kurdish people do not speak up, it is massacred by the Turkish state, but if it does speak up, it is silenced by the European Union and United States.

Henry David Thoreau (1817 – 1862), author of the essay “Civil Disobedience”, wrote:

Must the citizen ever for a moment, or in the least degree, resign his con science to the legislator? Why has every man a con science, then? I think that we should be men first, and subjects afterward. It is not desirable to cultivate a respect for the law, so much as for the right. […] Law never made men a whit more just; and, by means of their respect for it, even the well disposed are daily made the agents of in justice.

If the law is seeking to silence the rightful rebellion of the Kurdish people against the barbaric and heartless oppression, then the law is unjust; then the governments are what Thoreau calls the agents of injustice.

ROJ TV has a conscience that cannot remain silent under Turkey’s oppressive regime and is therefore offering itself as being the mouthpiece for the Kurdish people, dwell on this for a moment: mouthpiece for the Kurdish people.

The Kurdish people consist of freedom fighters, only freedom fighters. Kurdistan is freedom for it is borderless and those who fight for freedom are Kurds.

We Face Death

Everything is relative and has to be seen in its context. ROJ TV is not the average TV-channel whose viewers are safe at home and free to speak the language they want, read the books they want, sing the songs they want or even wear the clothes they want.

There was an incident during one court session. The prosecutors were showing an excerpt from ROJ TV and they pointed out that the journalists were wearing PKK-clothing. The looks from the Kurdish audience in the courtroom must have been those of incredulity and astonishment; this was merely another ignorant comment from the prosecutors who, if they had done their research properly and if the judge had not dismissed all Elmquist’s witnesses including Leyla Zana, would have known more about the Kurdish culture and understood that the ROJ TV journalists were wearing Kurdish clothes.

ROJ TV is much more than the average TV-channel; it gives the Kurdish people a sense of unity that one rarely feels because of the brutal division and oppression of Kurdistan. It is the symbol of the peaceful Kurdish struggle for freedom; it is a mouthpiece for freedom, a mouthpiece for our freedom fighters like members of BDP, the pro-Kurdish party in Turkey, and the passionate Kurdish youth fighting for its identity.

ROJ TV is perceived a mouthpiece for terrorism because the world does not know what terrorism is.

ROJ TV is perceived a mouthpiece for terrorism because the human being is a suppressor of oppression.

ROJ TV is perceived a mouthpiece for terrorism because it is alive, it is not afraid of man-made institutions or death.

To be a freedom fighter is to be alive because being constant aware of death makes you kiss the earth softly, rest your cheek on the scabrous bark of a tree and lay your head on sweet smelling moss. To be alive is what the rest of the world fails to be because being safe and comfortable is to be dead. You are only alive if life tastes like the salty sweat that evaporates from your body when you are fighting in what seems to be Hell.

Boiling Blood

Denmark is the kingdom of the Snow Queen and the West is her empire; she reigns it with a coldness that renders her vassals motionless and speechless. The cold winds carry flakes of snow, which the Snow Queen weaves into the clothes of her subjects, thereby hindering the small pieces of the Devil’s wicked mirror from leaving the eyes and hearts of men.

The Snow Queen’s most loyal servant, the vicious and despicable troll, the worst of trolls, the Devil is laughing, his plan is working: Every single one of the cold, dead vassals see only a distortion of that which is beautiful, stunning, ravishing, alive!

The troll and his empress have a weakness, though, Hans Christian Andersen revealed: the small pieces of the troll’s wicked mirror can be melted and oh, who is better to melt ice than the burning Kurd with the boiling blood?

The Snow Queen and the wickedest of trolls can easily be defeated. Every Kurdish freedom fighter has flames shooting from his fingertips, flames kept alive by the blazing, roaring Sun.

As long as the Sun is burning so long will ROJ TV burn; because ROJ TV is the mirror in which the Sun reflects itself.

It therefore baffles me how little consideration they have for those individuals who need to be protected online especially if they use the internet as a resource to engage in risky (but necessary) activities. Anything from discouraging anonymity on the likes of Facebook and Google+ to requiring legit photos on sites like LinkedIn, not realizing that some of us live in areas where human rights advocacy is not just frowned upon but severely punishable by our governments. Anything you do to protect yourself – these companies consider to be against their “user agreement” forcing you to reveal sensitive information, making this field 10 times more dangerous just so these companies can be more “relevant” and therefore profitable. The problem is that we can’t just simply quit these services. We need them as tools to empower our work.

Every other week I’d get an email from an internet service stating that my account has been deleted or disabled.

Why? “You’re not using a real photo.” No, I use an avatar, which they deleted, and then another avatar, which they also deleted, and attempted to keep it empty, which they didn’t allow, and then finally resorted to just having a logo – but uh oh! Disabled again. This is despite my several attempts at communicating this to customer service reps at these companies. They couldn’t care less. Regardless of what their CEOs say at tech conferences. Irrelevant. They do not abide by these values when it comes to managing their companies and reviewing their user agreements and privacy policies. Do we matter?

Despite all that is being said about the future of the internet, and how great and open it’s going to be specifically in light of the SOPA debates, this remains to be a huge issue. We talk about censorship but we don’t expose the double standards of some of these online companies. Sure we can simply stop using their services – it’s theirs and they can do whatever they want to their terms of agreement (which to be fair we had to agree on before signing up on the site), but it’s still alienating, it’s still dangerous and the more and more companies that adopt these policies the more we risk losing in this struggle against censorship and surveillance.

I want internet companies to realize that they’re not doing their service a favor by alienating many of us who prefer to keep ourselves protected. There is certain information that we really prefer to simply not share. It’s not because we’re stubborn. It’s because not all of us are courageous enough to share every aspect of our lives, checking in from every location, uploading every photo, revealing our physical addresses or phone numbers. Some of us have a lot of reason to be scared shitless of the likelihood of being an easier target by ruthless regimes and armed groups if we did share all of these bits and pieces that these services require.

We’re not asking you to recreate your products to be more fitting for our needs. We’re not asking you to make your products more tempting for spambots and potentially abusive users.

We’re asking you to be considerate.

We’re asking you to make an exception.

For some of us out there, our lives literally depend on these little exceptions.

Respect our privacy if you want users to be loyal to your service. After all, you need us to keep churning up those big checks, don’t you? And we could also your help in staying connected without having to magnify the risks involved in our sensitive online activities.

Please don’t ban me from every service you produce simply for wanting to stay safe.

- Half of the period of Kareem
Whenever I think of the length of my sentence (2 years), I remember that Kareem Amer was imprisoned for 4 years and he was ignored more than me million times… I was sentenced with half of the period which he spent, despite I was exceeding the limits a million times more than him… The universe isn’t fair! 2011/12/16

- The ones who kept silent
What did injustice to me wasn’t the military… What did injustice to me were the ones who kept silent on the societal racism against me for the past years and the ones who kept silent on the military’s continued violations against me. 2011/12/16

- Public debate
Military officers are capturing (making themselves as lions) and everyday the come in newspapers and TVs to say lies about me, they know that I’m imprisoned, I won’t be able to respond to their lies… If the military officers (and the leaders of the Supreme Council of Armed Forces) had the courage, I invite them to a live debate on air in any subject he chooses… What’s up then? 2011/12/16

- Maltreatment
There are many prisoners who treat me very badly… Many times I feel that there are many Egyptians who don’t deserve the sacrifices which were made for them. Many of the Egyptians don’t deserve anyone but Mubarak, Tantawi and Abboud El-Zomor… No angel is going to come by elections in a society of devils! 2011/12/16

- El-Ganzouri and the Chinese experience
All of El-Ganzouri’s interest is in economy and security, he has no relation with politics or political reform… This is the same line for the National Democratic Party which was repeating the Chinese experience which was built upon the economic reform while continuing in political tyranny! 2011/12/20

- Prison is
Prison under the rule of the militarist regime of July is a place where criminals restrict the freedom of the nobles! 2011/12/21

- Post in prison
I get so happy with the letters which reach me in prison, this elevates my morale so much… I don’t feel strange of the letters which reach me from Europe, America and Canada, but I didn’t expect that I would receive letters from countries such as Bahrain and South Korea. A few letters reach me from Israel, I feel delighted by them, despite that I am sad of their scarcity… Freedom must come. 2011/12/22

- The accused is convicted till proven innocent
The military keeps on stating in the media that the sentence issued against me was because I couldn’t deny the charges against me. Maximum impertinence! What are the principally?! Is the accused innocent till proven guilty, or is he convicted till proven innocent? Principally, the human is innocent and a sentence is issued against him if a proof was found proving his conviction, and if the proof was missing he should be acquitted even if he had actually committed a crime. But the philosophy of distributing the charges to the people without a proof and demanding them to find a proof of their innocence, it’s a legal futility which doesn’t exist in any respectable country. 2011/12/22

- I forgot the keyboard
I feel that because of the length of my confinement, I forgot the places of the letters on the keyboard… Damn. 2011/12/23

- The civilian judiciary isn’t less corrupt
My experience in dealing with the civilian judiciary says that the civilian judiciary isn’t less corrupt that police, military judiciary, State Security courts or any other corrupt establishment… The civilian judiciary was the one to imprison Saad El-Din Ibrahim, Kareem Amer and Ayman Mansour, also it was the one to imprison Ayman Noor and forfeiting of his political rights and refused to re-try him again after the revolution. The civilian judiciary is the one to confine Alaa Abdel Fattah right now, and it was the one to aid Mubarak and later Tantawi to manipulate the results of elections… Even in my presence inside prison, the public prosecution is colluding with the ministry of interior and is helping them to escape punishment of their crimes… A total revolution is needed to purge the judicature. 2011/12/23

- I need a lawyer
It’s unbelievable that I’ve been imprisoned for 9 months and I asked for a lawyer to visit me in prison and no lawyer practiced this mission came to visit me… I think that it’s my right for the revolutionary lawyers that they come to visit me and help me to take legal steps against the violations which are committed against me inside prison. 2011/12/23

- Against the judiciary supervision on elections
For all of my life I’ve been against the judiciary supervision over elections, this was the reason that I didn’t sign the statement for Baradei before the revolution… I knew that the Egyptian judiciary is Islamized and would give the country to Islamists. The Egyptian judiciary is racist, against women, it was clear from its refusal to appoint women in judicial positions. The Egyptian judiciary is racist against non-Muslims, it was the reason in the disgusting rulings against atheists, Bahais and sometimes Christians… In the respectable countries, there is a national council for elections, representing all factions of the society, and there is an essential role for the civil society, we should do that if we loved to be a respectable country and to have fair elections. 2011/12/23

- Defenders and opponents
I feel it’s strange of the people who defend me without having been read my articles. How come you defend someone without knowing what did he say? I also feel it’s strange of the people who attack me and swear-word me without having been read for me anything. How come you attack me and criticize me without knowing what did I say? Isn’t it possible that when you read for me you would be convinced with I say? All the issue reminds me of all the ones who defended or attacked Sayyed El Qemni, Nasr Hamed Abu Zeid and Farag Foda, without even reading anything of their writings… A nations that doesn’t read is a disgusting nation. 2011/12/23

- The girl whom they stripped
It pained me so much to see the picture of the girl who was stripped by Tantawi army during the breaking of the sit-in of the cabinet… I tell her that nudity isn’t a sin, the body isn’t a shame, many girls around the world recuperate on beaches with bikinis without any problem… But, the shame, the scandal and the disgrace have to be attributed to the soldiers who take their salaries from our taxes to protect us, but instead they betray the trust and direct their weapons to their citizens and rape the nobles… All the shame and disgrace on the Egyptian military and all who is in it while keeping silent on what happened. 2011/12/24

- The military elongated its period of conflict with me
I was supposed to travel to Europe in the last June, and I would have started a master, then a doctorate, I would have been out at least 5 years outside Egypt… But, the military’s stupidity confined me and made me free to write against it, it confined many people against the military and is contributing in taking-off its legitimacy gradually… The one who takes the decision inside the military holds a doctorate with an excellent rating in folly. 2011/12/25

- My hunger strike and Nahhas Pasha
I just knew that Mustafa El-Nahhas Pasha died in 23 August… It was the same day I started my hunger strike… I’m happy with this coincidence, because Nahhas is almost the only political personality that I respect in the contemporary history of Egypt… A rose on your grave, the leader of the nation. 2011/12/25

- The dentist
I almost wonder of my bravery in confronting death and my strong frighting of the dentist… How weird are humans! 2011/12/26

- How many members of the Muslim Brotherhood died a martyr in the revolution?
We know that many Christians and Muslims died in the revolution, men and women, old and young people… But, the vital question: how many member of the Muslims Brotherhood was killed! 2011/12/26

The arrests came under the premise of alleged links to the Union of Committees in Kurdistan (KCK). Turkish “anti-terrorism” police specifically targeted pro-Kurdish media, mainly DIHA and ETHA news agencies, the Özgür Gündem daily newspaper, the Demokratik Modernite magazine and the Gün printing press. Turkish state media alleged that the recent wave of arrests was part of a two year long investigation into the KCK and its members. In addition, French Kurdish photographer Mustafa Ozer, who works for the French news agency Agence France Presse, was detained, smiling as he was carried away by security officers.

This wave of arrests is only the latest in Turkey’s sustained assault against the KCK and all those affiliated with it. The new arrests brings the number of journalists alone in Turkish prisoners over 90, making Turkey one of the worst countries in the world for imprisoning members of the media. Along with journalists, Turkey has been undertaking a systemic campaign of arresting children, activists, academics, politicians, and arguably any other powerful voice of dissent in the country.

Although for the most part Turkey’s unjust actions against the Kurds go unnoticed, the arrest of 40 Kurds, most of whom are journalists, has received some of the criticism is deserves. Hundreds of journalists gathered in Taksim Square in Istanbul to protest the arrests and demand that freedom of the press in Turkey be preserved and protected. “The imprisonment of journalists means the usurpation of our right for information” read the statement released at the demonstration. “We are here today to defend both our colleagues and the right of information.”

In addition, the international organization Reporters Without Borders released a statement saying they were “very concerned” by the latest arrests, and called on the Turkish government and authorities to “stop trying to criminalize journalism, including politically committed journalism.”

The Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) also released a statement, calling on all those who support the right of information and freedom of the press to protest Turkey’s many human rights abuses.

The detention of 40 journalists, all seeking to reveal the same truth about the situation of Kurds in Turkey, is in fact affecting the entire profession of journalism. With 40 less people reporting on Turkey’s marginalization of the Kurdish community, Turkey is further quashing voices of dissent in the name of anti-terrorism and clearing the path for even more human rights abuses in the future.

This article first appeared on our website KurdishRights.org.

Zainab is one of Bahrain’s most prominent human rights activists. Throughout her advocacy campaigns, she has never encouraged, partook in or condoned violence. She is however guilty of what appears to be a much larger crime: peacefully demanding her rights. Yesterday afternoon, Zainab began protesting in Budaiya doing exactly that. Her persistence and courage in the face of riot police led to her arrest. The Bahraini government has made it clear, time and again, that they fear Zainab merely for her ongoing bravery in exposing oppression, torture and police brutality. She does this despite threats, constant surveillance and harassment.

It’s worth noting that Zainab’s father, Abdulhadi Alkhawaja, is currently serving a life sentence in prison for a “crime” not that different than what led to Zainab’s arrest yesterday. Her husband is also in prison.

Zainab consistently notes that the real heroes of the Bahrain uprising are those who have paid the price of freedom with their life and blood. Protesters cannot hold funerals for them without being dispersed by tear gas or otherwise met with force. Here is a video showing police ripping off the pictures of such victims:

Tear gas are used in areas where protests are not even taking place yet as a warning sign not to engage in any:

Tear gas in Bani Jamrah

Al Deer village

Abu Saiba

More tear gas in Abu Saiba

These are all evidence of abuse and must serve as a prime example of the Bahraini government’s grave injustices that remain unpunished. We must work together to free our activists so that they may continue telling their stories.

CrowdVoice has been curating images and videos of frequent arrests as well as evidence of abuse and tear gas in daily protests, primarily throughout Bahrain’s villages. CrowdVoice is one of many sites censored in Bahrain since the 17th of February for coverage of the country’s police brutality – in addition to the many sites that have been censored since many years for providing alternative outlets for political expression.

Mass Arrests of Kurdish Intellectuals in Istanbul:

My father-in-law was one of fifty people arrested on Friday morning, and while the police were civil at his house—calling him beyefendi (sir) and taking care not to break anything—in other parts of Turkey they kicked in doors and turned homes inside out. Read more.

Low-Level Torture—A Letter From An Istanbul Prison:

My father in law has been transferred to Kandıra prison in Izmit. They’ve split all the prisoners, sending them willy nilly to different high security prisons around the country. We had hoped for a visit this holiday, but were told that there would be no visits at all this week. Read more.

BDP threatens to boycott Parliament:

Turkey’s main Kurdish political party has threatened to withdraw from parliament due to arbitrary arrests of its MP’s in the past months. Read more.

Offices of Kurdish lawyers raided:

The offices of Asrin Hukuk Burosu in Istanbul were raided by Turkish police, and elsewhere in Turkey 70 people were taken into custody, 48 of them were lawyers. Among them is BDP’s former executive lawyer Huseyin Calisci. Read more.

Busting Moves for the Revolution: Kurdish Songs Against Assad:

As the Syrian revolution runs into its ninth month, protesters on the ground in Syria have yet to run out of ideas to creatively express their discontent with the regime and their demand for freedom. Read more.

Kurdish girl arrested in Iran:

A Kurdish Med student has been arrested in Iran. Rojin Mohemedi was arrested upon her return to Iran. She studied at Manila Medical School of Philippines and has been transferred to Evin prison.

The charges against her include incitement of propaganda against the regime. She is a Human rights activist, and has been vocal about the Iranian regimes horrendous human rights record. Read more.

Kurdish workers attacked by Nationalists in Turkey:

Kurdish workers were attacked in Tokat city, Turkish nationalists chanted “We don’t want Kurds here” as they continued their verbal abuse of Kurdish workers. Read more.

Turkey sanctions Syria for Human Rights Abuses:

Turkey wants to create the illusion that it upholds Human Rights, lets take a look at Turkey’s treatment of Kurds. Read more.

European Lawyers federation urge Turkey to release Kurdish lawyers:

European lawyers federation AED and ELDH have urged the Turkish government to release Kurdish lawyers imprisoned in the KCK investigation. Read more.

76 Kurds put on trial for attending politics classes in Turkey:

Legal action has been taken against 76 Kurdish politicians, including 30 detainees who were taken into custody for taking part in political classes. The detainees are charged with “spreading propaganda for an illegal organisation”. The classes were organised by BDP, which is a legal Pro-Kurdish political party, with 36 seats in parliament. Read more.

More Kurdish politicians arrested in Turkey:

Police raided the houses of many Kurdish politicians in Diyarbakir and Bitlis today. According to ANF, 21 people have been taken to custody. In the past 6 months alone, hundreds of Kurdish politicians, activists and journalists have been detained by Turkish police. Today’s arrests is a reminder of Turkey’s brutal and systematic discrimination against Kurdish people. Read more.

21-year old Kurdish student killed by Turkish police:

Thousands of people turned up to a meeting in Amed, with BDP co-chair Selahattin Demirtaş, BDP deputies and Sur Mayor Abdullah Demirbaş, as well as civil society organisations. Security forces in Amed used tear-gas and live ammunition to disperse an open-air meeting between Kurdish activists. Murat Elibol was shot in the back, and died later in hospital. Read more.

121 Kurdish activists arrested this week — new arrests!

In a new wave of arrests, 24 people have been taken to custody today. Among them five BDP executives, association chair Evrim Konak and executives Murat Kur, Deniz Kırbağ and Hıdır Yıldız.

Earlier this week, 21 people were taken into custody, and 76 were arrested for attending politics classes — a total of 121 have been arrested this week alone in Turkey. Read more.

Kurdish Politician Mahmut Alınak arrested:

Kurdish politician Mahmut Alınak has been arrested on suspicion of being associated or having links with KCK. Last month, he was arrested in Istanbul and later released because it could not be established that he had secret ties with KCK. Read more.

Children jailed for being part of KCK in Turkey:

Dicle News Agency reports that 7 people have been detained, among them 2 children with alleged links with KCK. Earlier this month, 121 Kurdish activists were detained on similar grounds, including a prominent Kurdish politician and former MP Mahmut Alınak. Read more.

Kurdish prisoners forced to say Turkish national anthem:

New report released by IHD Adana branch highlights the Human rights violations of Kurdish activists in prison. The report concludes the following; Children prisoners forced to say Turkish national anthem. Expired or rotten food were given to both children, and women. Read more.

Continue building up the wall of the prison – tomorrow the revolution will rise and won’t let anything

Down with the military rule

Maikel Nabil Sanad
El-Marg general prison
2011/11/28

Rojin is a student at Manila School of Philippines, and the charges against her include incitement of propaganda against the regime, and human rights activism against the regime. The actual account of her charges are unclear, and given Iran’s terrible record of Human rights, the life of Rojin could be in danger.

Iran has executed hundreds of Kurdish political activists, and many activists from minority backgrounds are detained on bogus charges, with little information available to the outside world.