Free Republic

For years, the Mail has campaigned against the insidious and remorseless undermining of the sovereignty of Parliament and our judicial system by the remote, unaccountable European Court of Human Rights. From demanding that prisoners should get the vote to halting the deportation of terrorists who hate this country’s values, it is synonymous with judgments that fly in the face of common sense and the interests of the British people. Indeed, judicial activism in Strasbourg—and, remember, some ECHR members represent countries with populations smaller than the London borough of Islington—has warped the original noble intentions of the British authors of the...

We all know how tolerant radical Shari’a Muslims are toward Christians, especially when it comes to kidnapping, torture, hangings, and beheadings. As brutal as they are toward Western Christians, they are even worse (if that’s possible) toward Islamic converts. It’s also no secret that Shari’a based Islamic governments don’t like to be criticized for the iron veil of oppression by which they control their populations. So in 2009 when an Iranian web publisher petitioned Sweden for asylum in order to escape political persecution from the strangulating Iranian government, one would think the welcome mat would have been laid out...

The UN is not just a joke. It’s also a really expensive waste of money. But sometimes it can be hard to remember that. Prince Zeid Ra’ad Zeid Al Hussein was officially appointed by the 193-Nation UN General Assembly to become the next United Nations human rights chief in Geneva.“Prince Zeid’s work on sexual violence and his leadership on the international criminal court give a good foundation for this new role,” said Peggy Hicks, global advocacy director at Human Rights Watch. I bet. Jordanian law protects the perpetrators of honor crimes.The section of the penal code most frequently invoked on...

What if Iraq is not a country of people with common cultures and interests and generally accepted borders, but rather an amalgam of warring groups cobbled together by British and American diplomats? What if only a strongman like Hussein — however evil and ill suited for government by Western standards — can keep peace and stability in an artificial country like Iraq?

The American who tore up his own tourist visa on landing in North Korea and demanded to be arrested so that he could experience prison life in the communist nation has been sentenced to six years hard labor for entering the country illegally to commit espionage. Matthew Miller, 24, of Bakersfield, California, looked thin and pale at his trial in Pyongyang on Sunday, as he was handed out his sentence. Miller, who looked thin and pale at the trial and was dressed completely in black, is one of three Americans now being held in North Korea.

Special to Israel News Agency from Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs Jerusalem, Israel --- September 9, 2014 ... Instead of investigating Hamas’ deliberate attacks on Israeli civilians and the use of Palestinian civilians as human shields, the UN decided to “investigate” Israel, a democracy exercising its legitimate right of self-defense. Throughout the recent conflict Israel has done its utmost to comply with the strictest standards of international humanitarian law, despite significant operational costs. On July 23, while Hamas rocket fire on Israel continued daily, the United Nations Human Rights Council decided to appoint a “commission of inquiry” the purpose of...

Western intelligence agencies have been assisting the Syrian government of Bashar al Assad fight militants of Isis (now called the 'Islamic State'), by providing details on the location of militant leaders for targeted air strikes. The information was passed to Assad's government by German intelligence service Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND), which acted as an intermediary, a source told the Independent... In recent weeks, Syrian forces have launched a series of airstrikes against Islamic State commanders and headquarters, as they battle to halt the advance of jihadist forces from their stronghold in the east of the country. The Assad regime has been accused...

Earlier this month, Senator John McCain indicated that it was time for the United States to consider selling lethal weapons to Vietnam after a 30-year embargo. The recent maritime standoff between Beijing and Hanoi over Chinese oil exploration off the central coast of Vietnam exposed Hanoi’s many strategic weaknesses. Providing Vietnam with coast guard and maritime systems as a first step - and eventually radar, fighter aircraft and spare parts for leftover American military equipment - would bolster Hanoi’s strategic capabilities vis-a-vis China and give substance to the "comprehensive partnership" announced last year between Hanoi and Washington. But more than...

“Potentially unethical.” That’s how one expert described an Italian scientist’s plan to perform a “head transplant” by severing two heads at the same time, then cooling and flushing out the ‘recipient’ head before attaching it to its new body with polymer glue.That is “POTENTIALLY unethical?” Making one person out of two, and throwing away the unused halves, is only “potentially” unethical?Shock and awe.* * * * *Neuroscientist Sergio Canavero is undeterred by criticism, however. Canavero now reports that it’s possible to merge bone marrow, surgically cut with an ultra-sharp knife, when fusing one person’s head onto another person’s spine. The...

Part Three: What the People of a Free Biafra Need from AmericaDo the Christian indigenous people of Kurdistan and Biafra deserve our support in their fight against Islamic extremists? While supplying weapons to some insurgents fighting for freedom in Syria, why has the Obama administration not supplied support and weapons to those in Kurdistan or Christian Nigeria fighting for their survival? Why has the administration refused to give support to the independence of these beleaguered peoples? As ISIS expands its grip on lands in Iraq and turns its attention to Kurdistan, Prime Minister Maliki has finally sent in air support...

President Barack Obama drew a diplomatic line at the first ever U.S-Africa summit at the White House this week by not inviting Zimbabwe’s brutal dictator Robert Mugabe. But the guest list still included several other African leaders with only slightly better human rights records. The White House promoted the summit as the largest-ever gathering of African leaders in the United States, with more than 50 countries represented. The red carpet was rolled out for Equatorial Guinea's Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, who shot or jailed virtually all his political opponents, Gambia’s Yahya Jammeh, who threatened to ‘cut off the head’ of...

Remember back in April, 2007, when then-CIA director George Tenet appeared on 60 Minutes, angrily telling the program host, "we don't torture people"? Remember a few months later, in October, President George W. Bush saying, "this government does not torture people"? We knew then it was not true because we had already seen the photos of Iraqis tortured at Abu Ghraib prison four years earlier. Still the US administration denied that torture was torture, preferring to call it "enhanced interrogation" and claiming that it had disrupted so many terrorist plots. Of course, we later found out that the CIA...

For decades, the Corner House stood as a silent reminder of Russian oppression. Now, the former KGB headquarters are open and exposing the horrors committed against the people of Riga. It’s like the plot of one of those dystopian young adult novels. There’s a sudden rapping at the door in the middle of the night. A stoic man in a trim suit hands you a warrant. Before you can open the crisp envelope you’re escorted to an imposing structure in the center of town. You’re led inside, and you disappear—never to be heard from again. For years, this was the...

This is the first picture of the mother-of-two who has been sentenced to death in Sudan for being a Christian - from inside the prison where she is being held. In an exclusive photo, Meriam Ibrahim puts on a brave face as she holds her newborn baby girl Maya who was born in the jail where she has been locked up for eight months. But behind the smile there is a different story - Meriam's eyes have dark rings under them, her arms are alarmingly thin and her face looks gaunt. Gone is the radiant glow from the day she...

Houston METRO police need your help apprehending a man who is punching people on a rail platform. According to surveillance video, a man walked up to a passenger who had just exited a train onto the platform at Main Street near Preston downtown and punched him in the face. The video then shows the same man punching another man as he gets onto the train from the same platform. METRO Police Chief Victor Rodriguez says he doesn’t think the attacks are related to the so-called “knockout game.” “A review of the tape does not indicate that anybody else is involved,”...

With persecution against Christians increasing in African nations and other places worldwide where Islam is advancing, an American pastor is calling black churches and others to join together to raise voices of opposition. Stephen Broden of the Fair Park Bible Fellowship Church in Dallas is organizing a rally in his city next month under the banner of Americans Against the Persecution of Christians in Muslim Countries. The coalition says it’s “committed to stopping the genocide of Christians in many Muslim countries.” Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2014/04/black-pastors-lead-rally-against-persecution-by-muslims/#rXMFfRzHogfZUmxZ.99

In February, the United Nations released a remarkably comprehensive report on North Korea's human rights abuses. The report interviewed 320 people, including a number of survivors from the notorious secret political system, and concluded that the country was committing human rights violations “without any parallel in the contemporary world.” So how did North Korea respond?

Norway's human rights record came in for sharp criticism during a UN hearing on Monday, with Saudi Arabia and Russia weighing in to highlight the country's shortcomings. Saudi Arabia and other Islamic countries accused Norway of doing too little to protect its Muslim minority, with Saudi Arabia calling for all criticism of religions or their prophets to be made illegal. Meanwhile, Russia accused the country of allowing extremist groups to "operate freely" and of moving too quickly to separate children from their parents. Norwegian Foreign Minister Børge Brende was in Geneva on Monday to respond to criticisms from no fewer...

At a joint press conference in Malaysia today, Major Garrett asked President Obama about human rights concerns in Malaysia, saying the issues were “up for grabs” in the country. He asked the President why he hadn’t discussed human rights while in Malaysia, and why he hadn’t met with jailed opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim. (video here) President Obama said that not meeting with Mr. Anwar was “not indicative of a lack of concern,” and said that “there are a lot of people I don’t meet with.” “I think the Prime Minister is the first to acknowledge that Malaysia’s still got some...

The U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan confirmed Thursday that three American doctors were killed by an Afghan security guard who opened fire at a Kabul hospital. The shooting at Cure International Hospital in the western part of the Afghan capital was the latest attack on foreign civilians in the city this year. Two others, including an American nurse, were wounded, according to Afghanistan's Health Ministry. "With great sadness we confirm that three Americans were killed in the attack at CURE Hospital," said a statement posted on the Embassy's Twitter page. "No other information will be released at this time." Afghanistan Minister...