Anti-terrorism laws: unjust powers

Do anti-terror laws make us safer? Whom do they protect?
- define terrorism more broadly, thus blurring any distinction between anti-government protest and organized violence against civilians;
- label numerous organisations as ‘terrorist', as a basis for placing entire communities under suspicion of associating with ‘terrorism';
- use ‘intelligence' obtained by torturing detainees abroad;
- and detain and prosecute people for suspected activities which could just as well be handled under other laws. Read more

What's new
Haiti Action Committee strongly condemns the continued US and UN support for Haitian dictator Jovenel Moise as he flaunts the Haitian constitution and clings to power. Moise has been ruling by decree for months, and is now pushing to enact illegitimate constitutional reforms that would give him even more power.
Haiti Action Committee, 7 February 2021
Nearly 500 search and seizure warrants were executed as part of the Mueller investigation into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election. Some of those warrants were for the electronic data belonging to a graphic designer, that contained 'gag orders' preventing Google and Microsoft from informing him that his data had been handed over.
Sputnik News, 22nd January 2021
The Pegasus snooping scandal shook the confidence of WhatsApp users and dispelled the notion that some devices are more secure. Under pressure from users, WhatsApp has deferred its new privacy policy, but after Pegasus, WhatsApp will have to do a lot more to restore faith in privacy and security,
The Leaflet, 17 January 2021
More than 250 Tamil Organizations based in the UK have come together in a bid to push the British Government to sponsor a Resolution in relation to Sri Lanka at the 46th UN Human Rights Council session in March 2021.
Colombo Telegraph, 6 January 2021
Documents obtained by Drone Wars using the Freedom of Information Act (FOI) reveal how British military officials view the UK’s next generation armed drone, known as Protector, and the types of advanced capabilities the aircraft will have.
Drone Wars, December 7th 2020
Britain's signals intelligence spy agency, Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), is accused of "blacklisting" the head of investigations at Declassified UK in an exclusive report published by the media organisation on 1 December 2020.
Sputnik News, 1 December 2020
The Undercover Policing Inquiry was set up to investigate claims of police had infiltrated more than 1,000 trade unions, environmental and anti-war groups, and leftist movements, all operating legally within England and Wales. But the judge in charge refuses to permit the public to watch the hearings, a participant tells Sputnik.
Sputnik, November 27th 2020
The BBC World Service has announced the BBC Sinhala radio service will close this Monday on 30 November. The service has 833,000 listeners each week, representing around 7 per cent of the total Sinhala-speaking population of Sri Lanka.
The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) in the UK is urging the BBC to urgently press pause on this plan and reconsider the closure, especially given the large audience and the current clampdown on media freedoms and human rights in the country.
National Union of Journalists, November 26th 2020