Latest news with #persecution
Globe and Mail
21 hours ago
- General
- Globe and Mail
American transgender woman files asylum claim in Canada after Trump's edict on gender
An American transgender woman has lodged an asylum claim in Canada, in what her lawyers say is a test case of whether U.S. President Donald Trump's edicts on gender and other recent measures restricting equality rights constitute persecution. Hannah Kreager, from Arizona, on Monday lodged an asylum claim with the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada on the grounds that she has a well-founded fear of persecution in the U.S. 'This case is about safety. It's about whether Canada will recognize the threat Hannah faces in the U.S.,' said her lawyer Yameena Ansari. She said Canada considers the U.S. as a safe country to live in, but this is no longer true if you are transgender. Ms. Ansari added Mr. Trump has singled out transgender people through executive orders, including one saying the federal government recognizes two sexes only – male and female. She said this has trickled down into a wider erosion of their rights and protections across the U.S. She said the case is 'precedent-setting on the basis of it not being safe in the U.S. for being trans.' She also said her 22-year-old client is 'a young lady with a well-founded fear of persecution. She is very much fearful.' Ms. Ansari is among the Canadian immigration lawyers who have been inundated with inquiries from transgender Americans about how to move to Canada, including whether they could claim asylum on grounds of persecution by the U.S. government. Mr. Trump has decreed that the U.S. government now only recognizes two genders and has stopped issuing passports and identity cards with an X gender marker to transgender and non-binary Americans. The Trump administration has also abolished the U.S. government's diversity, equity and inclusion departments and signed executive orders designed to exclude transgender people from the U.S. military and restrict their participation in sports. Scores of transgender Americans seeking route to Canada, including through asylum claims Canadian Medical Association to file legal challenge over Alberta law limiting access to treatment for transgender youth Ms. Kreager, who is in Calgary, said she felt far safer since coming to Canada, and said 'the safety alone has increased my confidence tenfold.' In an interview, she said she was worried about renewing her passport, which carries an X, after hearing that other transgender people had had them confiscated or damaged. Ms. Kreager also said she was worried about going to the bathroom in a public place in the U.S., after reports about police coming in and questioning people about their gender since President Trump was elected. She said even though transgender people make up a tiny proportion of the population, they are being disproportionately targeted in the U.S. as 'the easiest people to pick on.' 'I was very stressed out in the States,' she said, adding that she was worried that if something did happen, it wouldn't be dealt with fairly by the authorities. Ms. Kreager said transgender people should be able to have their documents updated with their desired name and gender, but she can no longer do this in the U.S. She added she is having to launch a GoFundMe page to cover her legal and living expenses. In his address to Congress earlier this year, President Trump referred several times to transgender people, including that he had signed an executive order preventing transgender women from participating in women's sports. Ms. Ansari said Mr. Trump's edicts had led to the curb in support for transgender people in state-funded institutions, as well as their rights by some American state legislatures. A bill proposed in the Texas legislature on 'gender identity fraud,' would, if passed, make it illegal to identify as transgender on official documents. The bill, filed by Republican state representative Tom Oliverson, would make it a state felony if a person 'knowingly makes a false or misleading verbal or written statement' by identifying their sex assigned at birth incorrectly to a government body or their employer. Earlier this year, Texas state representative Brent Money, a Republican, filed a bill that would make it illegal for a health care provider to treat patients, including adults, with surgeries, puberty-suppressing medication or hormone therapy if its purpose is to affirm the patient's gender identity. The bill is based on a law enacted in 2023 that prohibits such treatments for minors. Ms. Ansari said there are also now strong grounds for Canada to create an exception for transgender foreigners living in the United States to allow them to claim asylum here. Transgender people, from outside the U.S. are not allowed to make a claim in Canada, if they cross the border from the U.S. Under the Safe Third Country Agreement with the U.S., which came into effect in 2004, asylum seekers must make a claim at the first country in which they arrive. The agreement, which is being challenged in the Canadian courts, means that most asylum seekers arriving at the Canadian border are automatically returned to the U.S., with some exceptions, such as people facing the death penalty.
BBC News
7 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Politics driving interest in witches and witch-hunts
Increased interest in the history of witchcraft and witch-hunts is connected to rising political intolerance and polarisation, according to a story of women persecuted by Matthew Hopkins, who proclaimed himself "Witchfinder General" in the 17th Century, is being told on ghost trails and heritage plaques in towns across the East of Marion Gibson of Exeter University, an expert in the history of witchcraft, said there had been a spike in interest in the subject, which she connected to contemporary events."People have an interest in histories of persecution because we do live in times where accusations are being thrown about," she said. "Things are very polarised. Some politicians have even started using the word 'witch-hunt' - we hear that quite a lot in the media - and I think that's all pushed up interest in real-life witch-hunts of the past."Prof Gibson said Hopkins, who was born at Great Wenham, Suffolk, and later died at his home in Manningtree, Essex, was "a fascinating creature". "From 1645 to 1647, when he died, this quite young man, in his mid-20s, rampaged across Essex, East Anglia and into the Midlands, accusing people of witchcraft," she said."By the time he is finished, about 200 people across that region have been executed."Hundreds more have been accused and had their lives ruined, and [were] thrown into prison." Ghost tours featuring stories of witches run in towns and cities including Norwich, Colchester, Cambridge and Bury St Edmunds, Proctor is host of The Original King's Lynn Ghost Tour, which covers the Norfolk port's ghost stories, myths and legends in 26 the weekly tours, devised during the Covid-19 pandemic lock-down, she typically welcomes between 10-20 people keen to know more about the darker side of the town."People say, 'I wasn't going to come because ghosts aren't really my thing' but they they are really glad they did because there is just so much history on the tour as well," she stop on her tour is the "heart house" on Tuesday Market Place, where the story of Mary Smith is told. According to Ms Proctor, Mrs Smith was the wife of a glovemaker who was always in awe of the other women who seemed to do so much better than her selling their goods at market. "One day the devil appeared in front of her, promising that if she renounced God she would be given power by the devil," she said."She would be able to curse people. This she did by cursing a sailor who had hit her son. His fingers began to rot and had to be amputated."Another alleged victim was a widow who Mary accused of stealing a hen, she said."The woman had to be taken to taken to her bed through illness and neighbours claimed to have seen her levitate from the bed. "Mary was condemned as a witch. She was burned at the stake and at the point of death her heart leapt from her chest and to lie under the spot where mysterious forces carved a heart within a diamond upon the wall." Prof Gibson said: "You have to think about why people are telling these stories, and it may be that this woman and others did think actually think she has the power to curse her neighbours."So I think in some cases we're dealing with people who have strong magical beliefs and might have thought had the capacity to curse."In other cases, we're probably just dealing with very innocent, ordinary people who have been accused because they are said to have looked at somebody funny, or the community just didn't like them." Follow Norfolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
NHK
26-05-2025
- Politics
- NHK
UN sounds alarm after hundreds of Rohingya die at sea
The UN refugee agency says it is "gravely concerned" about reports that more than 400 Rohingya people died recently trying to cross the sea to safety. It calls for greater international support to help those fleeing persecution in Myanmar. The UNHCR was responding to reports that two boats carrying a total of over 500 refugees either sank or capsized off the Myanmar coast this month. An estimated 427 of them died, while only 87 survived. It says this would be this year's worst tragedy at sea involving the Muslim minority group. Over 700,000 people fled Myanmar to neighboring Bangladesh in 2016 and 2017 following military attacks. Most are now living in camps. But more and more are risking their lives to escape a dire situation by making a dangerous journey to another country. The UN agency says the humanitarian situation is being made worse by funding cuts, including those in the United States. It warns that more people may be driven to make the hazardous attempt to cross the ocean. The agency says it needs nearly 400 million dollars this year to help the refugees and support nearby host countries. It says only 30 percent of these funds have been collected so far.
Al Jazeera
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Uganda targeting LGBTQ community with hatred and violence: HRW
Uganda's LGBTQ community is facing intensified persecution following the enactment of harsh anti-gay laws two years ago, according to an international NGO. In a report released on Monday, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Ugandan authorities have 'perpetrated widespread discrimination and violence' and 'spread misinformation and hatred against LGBT people' since the 2023 law was enacted. The 2023 Anti-Homosexuality Act made consensual same-sex relations punishable by up to life imprisonment and 'aggravated homosexuality' punishable by death. As the legislation took effect, rights groups and international partners condemned the law and withdrew funding. The HRW report says the government has followed up the legislation with a campaign of persecution, detailing widespread police abuse, including harassment, extortion, and arbitrary arrests based on perceived or actual sexual orientation or gender identity. HRW found that the law has ramped up already existing abuse and discrimination against LGBTQ people to unprecedented heights. The report also detailed the rights violations enabled by the law and the devastating effect it has had on the lives of LGBTQ people, activists, allies, and their families in Uganda. During the months leading up to and following the law being passed, the Ugandan authorities, including high-profile political and government figures, used traditional and social media to spread misinformation and hatred against LGBTQ people, the report notes, leading to an uptick in attacks and harassment against them and LGBTQ rights groups. 'For the last two years, LGBT Ugandans have suffered a range of abuses because of the government's willful decision to legislate hate against them,' said Oryem Nyeko, senior Africa researcher at HRW. 'The Ugandan authorities need to urgently improve this environment, which enables a wide range of human rights violations and puts countless Ugandans at serious risk of abuse.' The interviewees reported a surge in threatening messages. 'People would keep on calling you [saying]: 'We know where you stay. We know what you do,'' one told HRW. Another activist described how online threats escalated until three men broke into her home in 2023, attacking her and sexually assaulting her friend. She told HRW that one assailant said: 'You make me ashamed to be Ankole. If we want, we can kill you and no one will look for you.'' Ankole is one of Uganda's main ethnic groups. Other Ugandan rights groups have reported similar patterns since the law's passage. Within 24 hours of its enactment, eight cases of physical and sexual violence, including corrective rape, were identified, according to Kampala-based DefendDefenders. 'The number of requests [for assistance] is overwhelming,' a staff member told HRW. Prominent LGBTQ organisations were also targeted, according to the report, including through group bans, staff arrests, and harassment of lawyers representing queer clients. HRW contacted government, legal, and police authorities but received no response.
Russia Today
25-05-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
US de facto financing persecution of Christians in Ukraine
The US is essentially facilitating the persecution of Christians in Ukraine by supporting the Kiev government, which has been waging a purge campaign against the nation's canonical Orthodox church, American journalist Tucker Carlson has said. Carlson made the statement during an interview with a former Ukrainian MP, Vadim Novinsky, released on Friday. 'Every day, churches and temples are seized by soldiers with machine guns who come in, throw out priests, beat believers, children, old people, women…' the former lawmaker stated, adding that 'it is happening all over Ukraine.' 'I think very few Americans understand the degree to which the Ukrainian government under [Vladimir] Zelensky has persecuted the Ukrainian Orthodox Church,' Carlson said. The former Fox News host then asked Novinsky what he would like to say to the American lawmakers who have nevertheless approved financial aid to Kiev. 'The Speaker of the House of the United States Congress is a man who describes himself as a Christian and he has been paying for this,' the journalist said, referring to Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican. The former Ukrainian MP replied that he would like to see the US aid going directly to ordinary Ukrainians and not the authorities, who 'live in parallel realities.' US government agencies appropriated a total of $182.8 billion on various forms of assistance to Kiev between 2022 and the end of 2024, according to Ukraine Oversight, an official portal that tracks such expenditures. Last week, US President Donald Trump stated he was concerned that billions of dollars were being wasted on aid to Ukraine. He said Congress was 'very upset about it' and that lawmakers were asking where all the money was going. Kiev has accused the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) of maintaining ties to Russia even though it declared independence from the Moscow Patriarchate in May 2022. The crackdown has included numerous arrests of clergymen and church raids, one of the most notorious of which took place in the catacombs of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, where holy relics are kept. Last year, Zelensky signed legislation allowing the state to ban religious organizations affiliated with governments that Kiev deems 'aggressors,' effectively targeting the UOC. Earlier this week, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Moscow would not abandon the Orthodox believers in Ukraine and vowed to make sure that 'their lawful rights are respected.'
