Sexual harassment | ‘Arrest BJP MP-cum-WFI chief by June 9 or else…’: Farmer leaders warn Modi govt

News Network
June 2, 2023

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New Delhi, June 2: Farmer leaders who are supporting India's top athletes in their fight against wrestling body chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh have given a fresh ultimatum to the centre - arrest him or face a larger protest.

"We have taken a decision that the government must address the grievances of wrestlers and he (Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh) should be arrested. Otherwise, we will go with the wrestlers to Jantar Mantar in Delhi on June 9 and hold panchayats across the nation," farmer leader Rakesh Tikait said.

"The cases against the wrestlers should be withdrawn and the arrest of Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh must happen," Mr Tikait said.

Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, a BJP MP, faces allegations of sexual harassment and intimidation. The wrestlers have alleged he misused his position as the chief of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) to sexually harass athletes.

Farmer groups held a "khap mahapanchayat" in Uttar Pradesh and a series of protests in Punjab and Haryana yesterday in solidarity with the wrestlers.

The wrestlers were allegedly manhandled by Delhi Police personnel when they tried to march towards the new parliament building after its inauguration by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday.

Sports Minister Anurag Thakur has assured of justice to the wrestlers, who, however, have not agreed on nothing less than the arrest of the BJP MP.

"The government favours an unbiased investigation... All of us want justice to be delivered, but it will happen after following the due process," Mr Thakur said at Times Network's India Economic Conclave yesterday. 

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News Network
November 21,2024

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The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued arrest warrants for Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former minister of military affairs Yoav Gallant over war crimes against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

The court’s Pre-Trial Chamber I issued warrants of arrest for Netanyahu and Gallant "for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed from at least 8 October 2023 until at least 20 May 2024, the day the Prosecution filed the applications for warrants of arrest”, it confirmed in a statement Thursday.

It is the first instance in the court's 22-year history it has issued arrest warrants for Western-allied senior officials.

In its statement, the ICC's Pre-Trial Chamber I, a panel of three judges, said it has rejected appeals by Israel challenging its jurisdiction. 

The chamber said it has decided to release the arrest warrants because "conduct similar to that addressed in the warrant of arrest appears to be ongoing", referring to Israel's ongoing onslaught on Gaza.

Netanyahu and Gallant, it said, “each bear criminal responsibility” for “the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare; and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts,” as well as “intentionally directing an attack against the civilian population.”

All 124 states that signed the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the court, are now under an obligation to arrest the wanted individuals and hand them over to the ICC in the Hague. 

The court relies on the cooperation of member states to arrest and surrender suspects. The Netherlands' foreign minister quickly said his country was prepared to enforce the warrants while 93 nations earlier reiterated their support for the ICC.

Triestino Mariniello, a lawyer representing Palestinian victims at the ICC, called the warrants "a historic decision".

He noted that the court had endured "pressure and threats of sanctions" from the US government, but acted nonetheless.

As expected, the Tel Aviv regime rejected the rulings, with its security minister Itamar Ben Gvir calling the warrants “anti-Semitic through and through.”

The ICC said Israel’s acceptance of the court’s jurisdiction was not required.

Israel and its major ally, the United States, are not members of the court. 

Israel unleashed its bloody Gaza onslaught on October 7, 2023. So far, it has killed at least 43,985 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured 104,092 others, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

Israel faces an ongoing South Africa-led genocide case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

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