Suu Kyi justifies punishment for journalists who exposed Myanmar's military atrocities

Agencies
September 13, 2018

Hanoi, Sept 13: Myanmar's de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi said on Thursday that two Reuters journalists jailed for investigating a massacre in Rakhine state were not convicted because they were journalists but because they broke the law.

Wa Lone, 32, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 28, were each imprisoned for seven years last week for breaching the country's hardline Official Secrets Act while reporting atrocities committed during the military crackdown in Rakhine.

The sentence prompted a storm of global outcry as an assault on freedom of speech, while erstwhile rights champion Suu Kyi came under intense pressure for failing to speak up for the pair.

She broke her silence on the issue on Thursday during a discussion at the World Economic Forum, robustly defending the court's decision to jail the duo.

"They were not jailed because they were journalists" but because "the court has decided that they had broken the Official Secrets Act", she said in her first direct comments on the issue.

Challenging critics of the verdict -- including the United Nations, rights groups who once lionised her and the US Vice President -- to "point out" where there has been a miscarriage of justice, Suu Kyi said the case upheld the rule of law.

"The case was held in open court... I don't think anybody has bothered to read the summary of the judge," she added.

Army-led "clearance operations" last August drove 700,000 Rohingya into Bangladesh, carrying with them widespread accounts of atrocities -- rape, murder and arson -- by Myanmar police and troops.

The Reuters reporters had denied the charges, insisting they were set up while exposing the extrajudicial killing of 10 Rohingya Muslims in the village of Inn Din in September last year.

This week, the UN rights office accused Myanmar of "waging a campaign against journalists".

It decried "the instrumentalisation of the law and of the courts by the government and military in what constitutes a political campaign against independent journalism".

Suu Kyi, who has so far bristled at foreign criticism of her country and defended the crackdown against "terrorists" from the Muslim minority, also addressed the army's handling of the crisis.

"There are of course ways (in) which, in hindsight, the situation could have been handled better," she said in rare comments on the crackdown.

Myanmar has come under intense diplomatic pressure in recent weeks, with the UN rights office singling out its powerful military chief for his role forcing the Rohingya from the country.

The stateless Rohingya are denied citizenship in Myanmar and widely reviled in the Buddhist-majority country.

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News Network
October 22,2024

Several Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) schools across India were hit with hoax bomb threats on Tuesday, just days after an explosion occurred near a CRPF school in Delhi. The threats, sent via email late Monday night, targeted schools in Delhi and Hyderabad, according to sources.

Earlier this week, a bomb exploded outside a CRPF school in Delhi’s Rohini area, causing significant damage to nearby vehicles and property. Fortunately, no casualties or injuries were reported.

In response to the blast, Delhi Police confiscated CCTV footage from nearby markets as part of their investigation. Sources indicate that surveillance footage captured a suspect at the scene, wearing a white T-shirt, displaying suspicious behavior the night before the explosion.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the explosive device had been hidden in a polythene bag, buried in a shallow pit, and covered with garbage. The blast caused a hole in the school's boundary wall and shattered the window panes and signboards of nearby shops.

Following the incident, the Delhi Police registered a First Information Report (FIR) under Section 4 of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, Section 3 of the Indian Explosives Act, and other relevant sections.

The FIR states, "A case of an explosion caused by an unknown explosive substance has been registered, and the investigation continues." It also details the damage, noting that the blast left a hole in the boundary wall and affected nearby structures.

The targeted schools serve children from CRPF and other paramilitary families, and the recent threats have heightened concerns. In response, Delhi authorities have placed the city on high alert, ramping up security measures, especially in markets, ahead of the Diwali festival. 

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News Network
October 28,2024

Bengaluru: The Enforcement Directorate on Monday undertook fresh searches in connection with the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) linked money laundering case in which it has booked Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, official sources said.

About seven-eight premises in Bengaluru and Mysuru are being covered, the sources said.

The federal agency had conducted the first round of raids in this case on October 18 when it searched the MUDA office in Mysuru and some other locations.

It also questioned some lower-rank officials of the MUDA at its Bengaluru zonal office last week.

The ED has filed a enforcement case information report (ECIR) under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to book the CM and others taking cognisance of a Lokayukta FIR.

Siddaramaiah is facing Lokayukta and ED probes into alleged irregularities in the allotment of 14 sites to his wife by the MUDA.

Siddaramaiah's wife Parvathi B M, brother-in-law Mallikarjuna Swamy, Devaraju -- from whom Mallikarjuna Swamy purchased land and gifted it to Parvathi -- and others are named as other accused in the case by the two probe agencies.

Parvathi was recently questioned by the Lokayukta.

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News Network
October 25,2024

udupimurder.jpg
The accused wife and the victim husband

 

Udupi, Oct 25: A seemingly natural death has unraveled into a heart-wrenching case of betrayal and murder in Udupi’s Marne village. 

Balakrishna (44), who had been battling fever and severe illness for nearly a month, succumbed to his condition on October 20, despite extensive treatment at multiple hospitals. 

Diagnosed with jaundice, he was under care at KMC Hospital in Manipal, Wenlock Hospital in Mangaluru, NIMHANS Hospital in Bengaluru, and Victoria Hospital. But his symptoms persisted, and he was brought home on October 19, only to pass away at 3:30 am the next morning.

A complaint filed by his grieving brother, Ramakrishna (42), has now transformed Balakrishna's case into an alleged murder investigation. According to Ramakrishna, his brother’s wife, Pratima, had been in a relationship with Dileep from Hirgan. Allegedly, frustrated by Balakrishna's interference in her relationship, Pratima conspired with Dileep to eliminate him.

The complaint suggests that Pratima and Dileep plotted to gradually poison Balakrishna, lacing his meals with a toxic substance that steadily worsened his health. 

In the early hours of October 20, Dileep allegedly visited the home, where he and Pratima are accused of suffocating Balakrishna with a bedsheet, ending his life in a final act of betrayal. 

The Ajekar police have now registered a murder case, transforming Balakrishna's tragic death into a haunting investigation. They also have managed to arrest the victim’s wife and her boyfriend. 

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