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zondag 28 november 2021

#WORLD #WORLDWIDE #NFA #NetworkforAnimals #animals #News #Journal #Update - Grateful for friends like YOU! Part 4: The brave little shelter that could!

 

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A special 5-part series to THANK YOU (and for Giving Tuesday)!

Please donate now

Dear friends, 

The special day of giving, Giving Tuesday, is now only two days away.

Today, we want to share the fourth installment in our 5-part email series that gives thanks to YOU - a vital friend to the NFA family and animals in need. Today’s uplifting rescue story simply would not have been possible without the support of animal-loving friends like YOU!

In today’s story you’ll see just what your support for NFA means for shelters doing a hero’s work in far-flung places.
From Thailand’s remote mountains to impoverished South African townships, YOU ARE SAVING ANIMALS. And sometimes, you even save the heroes who save animals too!
Please donate now
That’s exactly what happened with one of our local partners in South America - the APA El Refugio animal shelter (the ONLY shelter in Montevideo, Uruguay).

The news was shocking. 

Four thugs, armed with handguns and under the influence of drugs, had broken into the El Refugio shelter at 8:30 in the morning when breakfast for the dogs was being prepared. 

As you’ll discover in a moment, most of the dogs at El Refugio are elderly, or infirm. 

They pose absolutely no threat to anyone. But when the thugs attacked the shelter cook and the dogs started barking, the vicious criminals attacked the poor dogs too!

El Refugio does a wonderful job. 
Network for Animals is proud to work with them, including helping pay for specialist veterinary care and a young vet from Venezuela who assists at El Refugio every week.
But this day, the caring and dedicated vet had arrived at a scene from hell.
The attackers set their sights on assaulting HIM next!
The shelter dogs there might be elderly, but they were not about to let their friend be beaten to death! 

Although the thugs savagely beat the vet and left him bleeding on the ground, the dogs made such an uproar that the brutes finally took fright and fled.
Generosity like yours enabled NFA to dip into our emergency fund for this terrible and totally unexpected event... and helped cover a special donation that will help the vet, help the animals of El Refugio, and help support all the work there.
Small, hardworking shelters - located in some of the world’s most remote regions - are so special to us here at Network for Animals.  
They don’t have deep pockets. But they DO have big hearts - Like El Refugio, whose tireless volunteers shower endless amounts of love and attention on elderly dogs who have special needs.

Without friends like you without the NFA family, they would have no source of outside help at all - especially when tragedy hits, like the attack on the dogs and their poor part-time vet.
Please donate now
Whenever you choose to donate, whether today for Giving Tuesday or any other time, please know that our ability to rescue, rehabilitate and fight for the animals, would be impossible without YOU…
…including help for tiny hardworking shelters like 
El Refugio, saving animals in the world’s most far-flung places.  
Thank you,thank you! 
Because of supporters like you, we will NEVER face having to turn our backs on a single animal - no matter how far away, no matter how desperate or dangerous the situation.

You make Network for Animals the one-of-a-kind organization it is, and we’re so glad to know you’re beside us. This November, and always.

For the animals,

Brian and Gloria Davies (and Max and Flora!)
Founders
Network for Animals

P.S. Your kind donation today WILL mean the difference between life and death for animals in desperate need. No matter how large or small your contribution, it WILL help fund rescues, provide food and medical care and so much more for hardworking remote partners around the world, just like El Refugio in Uruguay.

#WORLD #WORLDWIDE #TURKEY #UK #EU #STATEWATCH #PRESS #News #Journal #Update - Special report: #Algorithmic persecution in Turkey

 Press release

Turkey: Algorithmic persecution based on massive privacy violations used to justify human rights abuses, says new report

More than 13,000 Turkish military personnel have been dismissed since July 2016 on the basis of an algorithm used by the authorities to assess the alleged “terrorist” credentials or connections of military officers and their relatives in violation of multiple human rights, says a new report published today by Statewatch. [1]

The algorithm, known as the ‘FETÖ-Meter’, is based on 97 main criteria and 290 sub- criteria, [2] many of which violate individual privacy. It was deployed following the July 2016 coup attempt in order to root out alleged followers of the cleric Fethullah Gülen.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been profiled and assigned a ‘score’ by the algorithm, which is operated by a special unit called ‘The Office of Judicial Proceedings and Administrative Action’ (ATİİİŞ in Turkish acronym) within the Turkish Navy.

The report, which includes testimonies from several high-ranking former military officers who have since sought asylum in the EU, highlights that application of the algorithm has been arbitrary and underpinned punitive measures not only against primary suspects, but anyone in their social circles, including their family members, colleagues, and neighbours.

The report’s authors, Dr. Emre Turkut and Ali Yildiz, argue that the FETÖ-Meter system therefore gives rise to a dangerous standard of guilt by association, in flagrant violation of many fundamental human rights and principles of modern criminal law.

The ATİİİŞ obtained the sensitive personal data of at least 810,000 individuals from various official bodies including nineteen million lines of financial data from Turkey’s Savings Deposit Insurance Fund which was used to identify those who had an account in Bank Asya, and those who have made payments or donations to media outlets, education institutions, trade unions, associations and foundations which were dissolved by emergency decrees. Even linguistic skills such as knowledge of English were included in the FETÖ-Meter as a criterion pointing to possible involvement in a subversive conspiracy.

In addition, the telephone calls and Internet records of approximately one million GSM numbers have been processed by the ATİİİŞ. The report finds that there is no legal basis to obtain and process such personal data.

Quotes

Ali Yıldız, a lawyer registered in the Ankara and Brussels bars and one of the authors of the report, said:

“The report shines a flashlight on the (mis)use of algorithms and other information-based systems by the Turkish government in its ruthless counter- terrorism crackdown since the July 2016 events. Thousands of people have been put out of work, detained, and persecuted by reference to ‘scores’ assigned to them by a tool of persecution, the so-called FETÖ-Meter. This situation is far from being unique to Turkey: in an increasingly connected world where states make wider recourse to counter-terrorism surveillance tools, the possibility of falling victim to algorithmic persecution is high. The report therefore serves as a wake-up call to bring more awareness to the devastating effects of algorithmic persecution and oppression not just in Turkey, but also in the entire world.”

Yasha Maccanico, a researcher for Statewatch, said:

“This report is a chilling reminder that criteria used to algorithmically identify suspects can be engineered to allow the authorities to criminalise whoever they wish. It also raises the issue of whether it is appropriate for EU funding to be allocated to a country instrumentally designated as “safe” for refugees in which a crackdown on civil society, public officials, military personnel and political opposition is underway. It is worth reading about this example of blanket algorithmic criminalisation in connection with the EU’s own expansive hi-tech plans for internal security.”

Notes for editors

[1] The report, ‘Algorithmic persecution in Turkey’s post-coup crackdown: The FETÖ- Meter system’, was written by academic Emre Turkut and a practicing human rights lawyer, Ali Yildiz. It is available here: https://www.statewatch.org/fetometer

Statewatch produces and promotes critical research, policy analysis and investigative journalism to inform debates, movements and campaigns on civil liberties, human rights and democratic standards. It began operating in 1991 and is based in London.

[2] These are detailed in the report on pages 13-18.

#WORLD #WORLDWIDE #UK #EU #STATEWATCH #FRONTEX #News #Journal #Update - Issue 19/21: Record number of #Frontex deportations; historical archive materials published online

 Statewatch News

26 November (Issue 19/21, also available as a PDF)

www.statewatch.org

Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter

In this issue:
  • we examine an internal Frontex report detailing a record number of deportations in the first half of 2021;
  • a new report we published this week analyses algorithmic persecution in Turkey in the wake of the attempted July 2016 coup; and
  • a host of materials from our Library & Archive are now available online.
Plus, all our other news, links and documentation from the last two weeks.

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Help us to keep you informed

Become a Friend of Statewatch with a regular donation to help us to keep you informed, and to stand up for civil liberties and individual rights in Europe.

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Frontex-coordinated deportations hit record numbers

Frontex supported EU member states in removing over 8,300 non-EU nationals to their countries of origin in the first half of 2021, the largest ever number for a six-month period. However, the number of operations with at least one human rights monitor on board decreased by 7%, according to a report recently circulated to EU member states by the border agency. The report says that once COVID-19 related restrictions are no longer a barrier to deportations, “the Agency will play an even stronger role in assisting with an unprecedented number of returns, also taking into account possible backlogs in member States.”

Read more here and take a look at our report Deportation Union, published last year, for detailed background and context.

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Algorithmic persecution in Turkey

More than 13,000 Turkish military personnel have been dismissed since July 2016 on the basis of an algorithm used by the authorities to assess the alleged “terrorist” credentials or connections of military officers and their relatives in violation of multiple human rights. The algorithm, known as the ‘FETÖ-Meter’, is based on 97 main criteria and 290 sub- criteria, many of which violate individual privacy. It was deployed following the July 2016 coup attempt in order to root out alleged followers of the cleric Fethullah Gülen. Those identified by the algorithm were subject to mistreatment, torture and were unable to obtain judicial redress, leading them to exile in Europe.

Read more here.

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Historical materials on policing, racism and public order now available online

You may not know it, but Statewatch has an extensive Library & Archive containing hundreds of books and over 2,500 pamphlets, officials reports and ‘grey material’ on issues concerning civil liverties and the state. On Wednesday we took some of the key materials relating to policing and racism to an event in Bristol, and our friends at MayDay Rooms assisted us with digitizing them so they are available for all to see. We hope to add make many more items from the Library & Archive available online in the future.

You can find the digitized material here.

Visits can be arranged to the Library & Archive. You can find more details and browse the catalogue here.

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News

EU: Deportations at record levels as Frontex foresees an “unprecedented number" of post-pandemic removals

EU: Tracking the Pact: Consolidated text of revised Asylum Procedure Regulation proposal

Press release: Turkey: Algorithmic persecution based on massive privacy violations used to justify human rights abuses, says new report

EU: Greek-led military exercise examined intervention in fictional country of "Seglia"

EU ropes in intelligence agencies for enhanced border checks targeting Afghan nationals

Time theft as part of the state’s anti-migration arsenal: expansive harms and policy

EU: Tracking the Pact: High level diplomacy between Frontex and Western Balkan partners

Interpol must change its practices to protect human rights

The Roundup

Germany: New coalition announces "repatratiation offensive" as part of revamped immigration policy

UK: Stop Priti Patel’s Dangerous Pushback Policy

Joint Statement: Call on the EU: Restore Rights and Values at Europe’s Borders

UK: Channel deaths: Priti Patel disinvited to meeting with France

THE DOCTRINE OF THE “INSTRUMENTALIZATION” OF REFUGEES. THE BORDERS OF EVROS IN THE ERA OF THE SECURITIZATION OF BORDERS”

Interpol appoints Emirati general accused of torture as president

UK: Priti Patel has quietly been stuffing even more punitive anti-protest powers into the policing bill

Migrants and refugees in Libya face crimes against humanity: ICC must investigate, EU must stop support

Malta: Courtesy translation of public inquiry report published

Commissioner calls for immediate access of international and national human rights actors and media to Poland’s border with Belarus to end human suffering and violations of human rights

Revealed: EU plan to make 1,400 people-smuggling arrests in 2022

EU top court slams Poland and Hungary again

Northern Ireland: BELFAST MURDERS: WHAT ARE POLICE TRYING TO HIDE?

Polish border guards deploy water cannon on migrants

Poland: Access to public information must not be constrained

UK: JUSTICE publishes report on the Windrush Compensation Scheme for victims of the Windrush Scandal

EU set to widen Belarus sanctions over migrant crisis

People helping migrants 'increasingly persecuted in EU'

Europe: New report highlights increased criminalisation against migrants’ rights defenders

EU: The European Commission Deletes Mass Amounts of Emails and Doesn't Archive Chats

Home Office plans to offer UK visitors option to upload images and fingerprints for forensic immigration checks

Trabajadoras Transfronterizas con Derechos

News

26 NovemberEU: Deportations at record levels as Frontex foresees an “unprecedented number" of post-pandemic removals

Frontex supported EU member states in removing over 8,300 non-EU nationals to their countries of origin in the first half of 2021, the largest ever number for a six-month period. However, the number of operations with at least one human rights monitor on board decreased by 7%, according to a report recently circulated to EU member states by the border agency.

26 NovemberEU: Tracking the Pact: Consolidated text of revised Asylum Procedure Regulation proposal

The Council has circulated an unofficial consolidated text of the revised proposal for an Asylum Procedure Regulation, which would replace a previous Directive on common procedures for international protection in the EU. Available here, it will aid understanding of the proposal for individuals and organisations working to protect individual rights.

25 NovemberPress release: Turkey: Algorithmic persecution based on massive privacy violations used to justify human rights abuses, says new report

More than 13,000 Turkish military personnel have been dismissed since July 2016 on the basis of an algorithm used by the authorities to assess the alleged “terrorist” credentials or connections of military officers and their relatives in violation of multiple human rights, says a new report published today by Statewatch.

24 NovemberEU: Greek-led military exercise examined intervention in fictional country of "Seglia"

An EU military exercise led by Greece in June this year tested the procedures and activities for launching an intervention in the fictional country of "Seglia", where incursions by the "Newborn Extremist State" and political interference from the country "Kronen" were leading to a deteriorating security situation with an impact on the EU's political and strategic interests.

18 NovemberEU ropes in intelligence agencies for enhanced border checks targeting Afghan nationals

Intensified border security checks targeting Afghan nationals have been agreed by the Council of the EU, with the procedures requiring the extraction of mobile phone data and significant coordination with national intelligence agencies – despite the EU having no competences in the realm of “national security”.

18 NovemberTime theft as part of the state’s anti-migration arsenal: expansive harms and policy

A new book offers a broad geographic and inter-disciplinary analysis of how time is used to dehumanise, disenfranchise and disempower asylum-seekers, irregular migrants and people awaiting deportation.

17 NovemberEU: Tracking the Pact: High level diplomacy between Frontex and Western Balkan partners

A meeting on 16 November 2021, co-organised by Frontex and the Slovenian Council Presidency, covered joint operations, information exchange and capacity building in a region seen by the EU as a "buffer zone" to deflect arrivals to its borders.

16 NovemberInterpol must change its practices to protect human rights

Civil society organisations, elected representatives and other prominent public figures are calling on Interpol to take steps to prevent the abuse of international policing databases and alert systems by authoritarian and dictatorial regimes. A resolution sent to the policing organisation a week before its 89th General Assembly calls for the protection of human rights by the full implementation of recommendations made by the Council of Europe and European Parliament. Statewatch is one of the signatories of the resolution.

The Roundup

Material we have shared on our Twitter and Facebook accounts in the last fortnight.

InfoMigrants, 25 NovemberGermany: New coalition announces "repatratiation offensive" as part of revamped immigration policy

The crackdown comes alongside measures to regularise certain undocumented people and to ease routes to citizenship and family reunification.

Channel Rescue, 25 NovemberUK: Stop Priti Patel’s Dangerous Pushback Policy

“Seeking to turn around boats carrying migrants will inevitably risk the lives of children, women and men who want nothing more than sanctuary.

We believe the plans are not only morally wrong - they are also unlawful. So, we’re bringing a case against Priti Patel, Secretary of State for the Home Office, to ensure that this inhumane and life-threatening policy is never approved or put into action.”

ECRE, 26 NovemberJoint Statement: Call on the EU: Restore Rights and Values at Europe’s Borders

“While we fully condemn the actions of Belarus, we urge a response from the EU, the EU’s Member States, and all relevant European and international organisations that is in line with EU and international legal obligations and with standards of common decency.”

The Guardian, 26 NovemberUK: Channel deaths: Priti Patel disinvited to meeting with France

“Boris Johnson’s public letter to Emmanuel Macron on Channel drownings deemed ‘unacceptable’”

The letter from Boris Johnson, which has clearly gone down like a lead balloon with the French authorities, also suggested that the UK and France could fund "joint deployment of private security contractors" for operations against refugees in the Channel.

HumanRights360, 25 NovemberTHE DOCTRINE OF THE “INSTRUMENTALIZATION” OF REFUGEES. THE BORDERS OF EVROS IN THE ERA OF THE SECURITIZATION OF BORDERS”

“The doctrine of the “instrumentalization” of refugees, which is constantly invoked by the political leaders of the European Union, deliberately removes from the refugees their human condition, and legitimizes the violations of international law and their human rights.”

The Guardian, 25 NovemberInterpol appoints Emirati general accused of torture as president

“A general from the United Arab Emirates accused of complicity in torture has been elected as president of the international policing agency Interpol in the teeth of fierce objections from human rights groups.”

The Independent, 25 NovemberUK: Priti Patel has quietly been stuffing even more punitive anti-protest powers into the policing bill

“Away from prying eyes, in the parts of parliament which journalists don’t pay much attention to, Priti Patel has effectively criminalised the act of protest. The Government waited until the final stages of a bill’s legislative process and then suddenly proposed a series of amendments, leaving reporters and human rights groups very little time to raise the alarm.”

ECCHR, 23 NovemberMigrants and refugees in Libya face crimes against humanity: ICC must investigate, EU must stop support

“Today, the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR), the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and Lawyers for Justice in Libya (LFJL), in collaboration with survivors, have filed a Communication to the International Criminal Court (ICC) on grave crimes committed against migrants and refugees in Libya which may amount to crimes against humanity. They urgently demand: the ICC must investigate the responsibility of armed groups, militias and Libyan state actors involved in the commission of such crimes including arbitrary detention, torture, murder, persecution, sexual violence and enslavement.”

Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation, 20 NovemberMalta: Courtesy translation of public inquiry report published

“When the Public Inquiry into the circumstances of Daphne Caruana Galizia’s assassination terminated in July this year, the final report by the board was published in Maltese. As we are not aware of any government plans to have the report translated to enable access to an international audience in the interests of justice, transparency, and public accountability, we have commissioned an English translation of the Public Inquiry report.”

Council of Europe, 19 NovemberCommissioner calls for immediate access of international and national human rights actors and media to Poland’s border with Belarus to end human suffering and violations of human rights

“Although the situation is the result of the reprehensible actions by Belarus, this does not absolve Poland from its human rights obligations. An approach must be found that puts human beings first and ensures respect for their dignity and human rights.”

EUobserver, 18 NovemberRevealed: EU plan to make 1,400 people-smuggling arrests in 2022

“A leaked internal document has revealed the detail of dozens of operational plans to crack down on migrant smugglers next year, including a target to make over 1,400 arrests - mostly under the aegis of the EU's border agency Frontex.”

EUobserver, 17 NovemberEU top court slams Poland and Hungary again

“Hungary and Poland were both slapped down again by the EU's top court on Tuesday (16 November) for violating the bloc's rules - in a further sign that the rule-of-law dispute between the EU and the two countries has become structural.”

Declassified, 17 NovemberNorthern Ireland: BELFAST MURDERS: WHAT ARE POLICE TRYING TO HIDE?

“In an unprecedented and controversial move, the Northern Ireland police chief wants to censor a watchdog’s report into a mass murder before it is even published.”

Investigate Europe, 17 NovemberGreece: #Pressfreedom: I am the journalist being watched by the Greek secret service

“Greek Journalist Stavros Malichoudis found out through a newspaper article that the National Intelligence Service has been monitoring his work. He is working with our Greek collaboration partner, Reporters United. His reporting on migration has brought Investigate Europe a joint nomination for the European Press Prize. He asks: Is journalism a threat to democracy?”

Irish Independent, 17 NovemberPolish border guards deploy water cannon on migrants

“Polish border forces have said they were attacked with stones by migrants at the border with Belarus and responded by using water cannons against them.

Police said the migrants were given gas grenades and other weapons by Belarusian forces, who directed the entire violent operation with a drone.”

Politico Europe, 16 NovemberHungarian law criminalizing asylum seeker help breaches EU law, top court rules

“Hungary’s law criminalizing support for asylum seekers and limiting the right to asylum violates EU law, the bloc’s highest court ruled on Tuesday.”

Article 19, 15 NovemberPoland: Access to public information must not be constrained

“The undersigned partners of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) are highly concerned about new possible restrictions on the right to information in Poland that could further erode press freedom in the country. On 15 December 2021, the Constitutional Tribunal will hold a hearing on the constitutionality of core provisions of the bill that regulates access to public information.”

JUSTICE, 15 NovemberUK: JUSTICE publishes report on the Windrush Compensation Scheme for victims of the Windrush Scandal

“This JUSTICE Working Group will publish its report ‘Reforming the Windrush Compensation Scheme’ on 15 November 2021. It makes 27 recommendations to improve the process for those seeking compensation from the Home Office for the losses and hardships they suffered as a result of not being able to demonstrate their lawful immigration status.”

EurActiv, 15 November 2021EU set to widen Belarus sanctions over migrant crisis

“EU’s chief diplomat Josep Borrell confirmed new details on sanctions as EU foreign ministers are set to widen punitive measures against Belarus on Monday (15 November) over what EU officials have called a “hybrid attack” at its eastern border.”

EUobserver, 15 NovemberPeople helping migrants 'increasingly persecuted in EU'

“A number of activists going on trial this week in Greece risk 25 years in jail - for having helped rescue people at sea.”

OMCT, 15 NovemberEurope: New report highlights increased criminalisation against migrants’ rights defenders

“In recent years, attacks on human rights organisations and activists working to defend migrants’ rights have increased dramatically in Europe. Migrant deaths have also soared, with 1,146 people losing their lives in the Mediterranean Sea in the first half of 2021 alone, and more than 40,000 people having drowned since 2014. However, policies to deter migration and seal off borders continue to prevail over the imperative to respect human rights and save lives at both European Union and member State level.”

Spiegel, 12 NovemberEU: The European Commission Deletes Mass Amounts of Emails and Doesn't Archive Chats

“Each month, the European Commission deletes several thousand emails and texts, and WhatsApp messages are not archived at all. Now, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is, once again, facing uncomfortable questions about allegedly deleted text messages. An expert describes the practices as legally "questionable."”

Public Technology, 9 November 2021Home Office plans to offer UK visitors option to upload images and fingerprints for forensic immigration checks

“The Home Office has outlined its long-term intent to adopt a system through which visitors to the UK can remotely upload images and fingerprint scans to enable forensic identity checks to be undertaken by immigration authorities.”

APDHA, 26 October 2021Trabajadoras Transfronterizas con Derechos

“Desde la APDHA os animamos a firmar este manifiesto por los derechos de las trabajadoras transfronterizas en Ceuta, cuya situación es intolerable: algunas llevan hasta 20 años trabajando a diario en Ceuta, sin que se les reconozca ningún derecho y tras el cierre de la frontera, llevan más de año y medio sin poder salir de la ciudad autónoma ni ver a sus familiares.”

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Help us to keep you informed

Become a Friend of Statewatch with a regular donation to help us to keep you informed, and to stand up for civil liberties and individual rights in Europe.

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