Life in Afghanistan & Iran and attack on Rushdie

‘They beat girls just for smiling’: life in Afghanistan one year after the Taliban’s return. 

Mursal Nabizada, a former lawmaker in the Afghan parliament before the Taliban's takeover, was shot dead in her home,

eight months on, Sonia has shared an image of a head wound she says she suffered at the hands of Iranian security forces when they detained her again. She says she was dragged from her car and blindfolded, before being abducted and beaten. Hengaw, a group that monitors human rights violations in Iran, says the 17-year-old suffered multiple injuries and was "left alone in one of the streets of Abdanan after being threatened, interrogated, and tortured for more than two hours".

There has been an international outcry following the order by Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers to introduce an indefinite ban on university education for the country’s women.

A number of girls and women who once played a variety of sports told The Associated Press they have been intimidated by the Taliban with visits and phone calls warning them not to engage in their sports. The women and girls spoke on condition of anonymity for fear they will face further threats.

Forces said to have opened fire on crowds demonstrating over attack targeting Hazara community

Amini was on a visit with her family in the Iranian capital when she was detained by the police unit responsible for enforcing Iran's strict dress code for women. State television broadcast images on Friday purportedly showed her falling to the ground while arguing with another woman about her dress.

Allegations that 16-year-old Sarina Esmailzadeh was beaten to death at a protest follow news of the similar death of 17-year-old Nika Shakarami

Iranian schoolchildren were being arrested inside school premises by security forces arriving in vans without licence plates, according to social media reports emerging from the country as protests against the regime entered their fourth week.

Protests follow appearance of ‘tortured’ writer on state television, while human rights group warn forced confessions on the rise as hijab laws hardened

Demonstrations under the slogan “Women, life, liberty” are taking place in many major cities, including Rome, Zurich, Paris, London, Seoul, Auckland, Melbourne, Sydney, Stockholm and New York.

after (the) murder of the young Iranian Masha Amini for not wearing the veil correctly, protests continue to spread throughout the country despite brutal police repression. According to the NGO Iran Human Rights, the death toll now stands at 215, including 27 minors. Among the latest fatalities would be Ashra Panahi, a 16-year-old student that, according to the teachers’ union of Aradabil -northwest of Iran-, would have been murdered on October 13 in a female institute in the city

Initially, it was mostly grown women who took to the streets, young and old. But then the demographic began to trend younger, with schoolgirls showing their middle finger to an image of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei or chasing an official from their schoolyard. Others were recorded chanting "death to the dictator!" – to the applause of the men looking on.

Authors, publishers and government officials around the world have expressed their shock over the attack on author Salman Rushdie. Tony Blair, the former UK prime minister, said: “My thoughts are with Salman and all his family. A horrible and utterly unjustified attack on someone exercising their right to speak, to write and to be true to their convictions in their life and in their art.” Rushdie has lost sight in one eye and use of one hand, says agent

Portuguese monstrosities

On May 7, 1996, a detainee was killed, beheaded, and his body and head were hidden in different places at the GNR station in Sacavém.

A 37-year-old man, Public Security Police (PSP) officer, was accused of three crimes of sexual abuse against a minor, his 12-year-old niece, diagnosed with autism

GNR soldiers filmed themselves torturing immigrants in Odemira

... the boys describe that they tried to flee, but were attacked with batons, punches and kicks. Three of the friends were then taken to the police vehicle and, they say, blindfolded with their own shirts and attacked again until they reached the Trofa GNR

The gang were also threatening to make their victims’ daily business activities impossible if they failed to comply. Suspicion was first directed to police officers owing to their ostentatious lifestyles that seemed incompatible with the GNR officers’ earnings.

José Braz and another colleague from the PSP, who was also stationed in the Torres Vedras area, were dedicated to illegal security, participated in aggressions and were allegedly bribed to control, with the Police, any complaints that ran against their accomplices. As for the guard João Pina, from the GNR, who worked in the Torres Vedras Traffic detachment, he was detained for corruption.

two police (PSP) officers, who appear on a list of 15 defendants, were arrested by the Judiciary Police (PJ) when accompanying a shipment of 375 kilos of cocaine between the port of Setúbal and a warehouse in Azambuja. They were in uniform, with service weapons, and, according to the MP's accusation, they helped remove the drug from the banana container.

Cascais police in court accused of setting up a trafficking and corruption network: the main suspects accessed the police database to use information in exchange for which they issued threats or demanded money; created a parallel activity to that of the police and developed private security services for people or companies, services or favors in exchange for money or influence

The Court of Appeal of Porto confirmed the sentence of 13 years and six months in jail imposed by the Court of Penafiel to José Coelho, head of the prison guard accused of introducing drugs in the Paços de Ferreira prison. The sentences of Mário Barros (10 years) and Diamantino Oliveira (6 years and three months) were also confirmed. In question, crimes of drug trafficking, active and passive corruption and money laundering

Despite being accused, for now for omission of assistance and illegal exercise of private security, neither the security guards nor the company Prestibel will be subject to PSP sanctions, at least until the conclusion of the judicial process. The lawyer for the family of Ihor, José Schwalbach, confesses to being "scared" that these security guards remain at work

images that show the victim talking to two police (PSP) officers near Setúbal train station, Nuno Jorge Pires being found about 200 meters ahead with a head injury that, according to the autopsy, may be compatible with a blow

A key witness who alerted authorities to Madeleine McCann prime suspect Christian Brueckner has claimed that he let slip that she “didn’t scream” when she was kidnapped. In his first public interview, Helge Busching explained that his former acquaintance appeared to incriminate himself in the disappearance of the three-year-old girl (the Portuguese authorities tried to incriminate the girl's parents!)

witnesses say a group of about 15 men (in Bragança) approached Luis Giovani dos Santos Rodrigues and two of his friends armed with belts, sticks and other weapons. The report goes on to say that Rodrigues was beaten and left unconscious with bruises to his head. He spent 10 days in the hospital before succumbing to his injuries

The commander of the Volunteer Firefighters ... about three dozen firefighters from this corporation, two military personnel, security guards and pre-hospital emergency technicians, are among the “clients” who requested these false certificates.

Jessica’s mother would have gone to the false nursemaid, Ana Cristina, to do a “witchcraft job” and maintain her relationship with the girl’s stepfather. The debt, of 400 euros, would be behind the kidnapping of the girl, held by her captors for five days and beaten into a state of agony.

A child murder case that horrified the nation for its callous brutality has seen perpetrators Sandro and Márcia Bernardo sent to jail for 25 years and 18 years and nine months respectively. The duo rose to national infamy after ‘pretending’ Sandro’s nine-year-old daughter Valentina Fonseca had mysteriously gone missing

The Judiciary Police are looking for Luís Lopes' accomplice who helped him to dismember and hide the corpse of Valdene Mendes

Maria Malveiro and Mariana Fonseca were a couple and were accused of being responsible for the death of Diogo Gonçalves, aged 21, in 2020. The death was caused by suffocation and the young man's body was later dismembered, with the body parts of Diogo Gonçalves being found in different areas of the Algarve, such as Sagres and Tavira

"... sexually abused, repeatedly, in various circumstances and places, by her father", "with the consent and participation of her mother".

One refers to an alleged pedophile in Faro accused of no less than 100,000 crimes; another to a former firefighter accused of causing 18 fires in Alfândega da Fé.

Several footballers who played in Rio Ave in 2020/21 denounced sexual harassment by the then coach of the Vila do Conde club, Miguel Afonso, who was currently the coach of Famalicão.

114 young people were rescued from the Bsports Academy, in Riba d'Ave, being in reception centers to be given to their respective families in Latin America, Africa and Asia. At stake are suspicions of trafficking in human beings that led Mário Costa, president of the General Assembly of Liga Portugal and Bsports Portugal, to be accused by the Public Ministry in the case

"What Tiago Guedes calls 'agreeing', I call censorship, emotional blackmail, coercion, threat and abuse of power", reads a publication by Tiago Correia, on the social network Facebook, about not publishing a text by the playwright Regina Guimarães, in the theater sheet of the show "Turismo", which was on stage at the Campo Alegre auditorium at Teatro Municipal do Porto (TMPorto).

From the 18-question survey, which was addressed to 1,052 students aged between 17 and 30, it was found that many students had been victims of sexual violence at least once.

"increase in the number of rapes committed by unknown persons or individuals unrelated to the victim and in the number of individuals from younger age groups constituted as defendants seem to be the indicators that will, in the future, deserve particular attention". 

The Judiciary Police arrested a 26-year-old man for sexually abusing four children between the ages of seven and nine in the municipality of Loures, in Lisbon

A 39-year-old man was detained by the Judiciary Police (PJ) for being heavily indicted for committing aggravated crimes of kidnapping, rape and pornography that targeted a 13-year-old minor, in Vila do Conde. the same defendant allegedly committed identical acts in Póvoa de Varzim,

A 33-year-old man is suspected of sexually abusing his 14-year-old daughter in Vila Nova de Gaia. He was detained by the Judiciary Police and will await trial in preventive detention.

A 40-year-old defendant, suspected of having abused a 12-year-old partner's daughter, had already served effective prison sentences for the same type of crimes

Grandfather in custody for sexual abuse of his granddaughter in Ponte de Sor

A man was arrested for sexually abusing a 10-year-old child in Santa Maria da Feira

A 27-year-old man was detained by the Judiciary Police of Braga for being "suspected of the possible practice of several crimes of aggravated child sexual abuse"

A 58-year-old farmer was arrested in the Bragança area on suspicion of sexually abusing a child, currently aged 13

Two men, aged 47 and 59, were detained in the Azores due to "strong indications of committing crimes of rape and sexual coercion", According to the Judiciary Police, the victims were "two children and a teenager, aged 11, 12 and 16".

The Madeira PJ arrested a 28-year-old man on Tuesday for allegedly committing the crime of sexual abuse of children, of which two minors, currently aged 14 and 13, were victims.

A 31-year-old man was arrested by the Judiciary Police (PJ) for strong indications of having sexually abused a minor in his family circle, in Algarve 

Catholic clergy in Portugal have abused at least 4,815 children since 1950, an independent commission said

Reports that paedophiles were using Casa Pia orphanages to source victims surfaced in the early 1980s but they were swept under the carpet. Teresa Costa Macedo, a senior government official, said she informed the country's then president, General Ramalho Eanes, and provided photographic evidence. But the photographs were "lost" by police and Mrs Macedo said she was also intimidated by phone calls from anonymous callers. "They said they would kill me, flay me and a lot of other things," she recalled.

Firm action to prevent portuguese police ill-treatment and ensure that cases are effectively investigated

The Council of Europe's Anti-Torture Committee (CPT) has recommended that the Portuguese authorities take firm action to prevent police ill-treatment and ensure that alleged cases are effectively investigated.

images that show the victim talking to two police officers near Setúbal train station, Nuno Jorge Pires being found about 200 meters ahead with a head injury that, according to the autopsy, may be compatible with a blow

Taliban ‘set woman on fire for bad cooking’

An Afghan woman was reportedly set on fire by Taliban fighters because they were dissatisfied with her cooking amid a wave of capricious attacks as the Islamists revel in their victory. The alleged incident described by an Afghan judge comes after the group attacked people waving the Afghan flag and a Germany charity was forced to close after Islamists went door to door hunting journalists and interpreters.

The not so new terrorism

Online incel forums are steeped in extremist misogyny, with members regularly suggesting women should be raped and murdered. They encourage each other to rise up in a “day of retribution” or “incel rebellion”, when they will punish society, and women in particular, for their suffering, by murdering as many “normies” (non-incels) as possible.

A Dutch journalist exposed the mob and defied death threats. Now he’s been shot

It was evening in Amsterdam when Peter R. de Vries stepped out of the television studio and into the busy downtown streets. Decades of investigating cold-case killings and mob hits had earned the silver-haired 64-year-old accolades and a reputation as one of the most famous journalists in the Netherlands

Collective – shocking exposé of needless deaths in Romania

The cynicism and indifference to suffering is truly horrible, and a kind of insidious evil rises from the screen like carbon monoxide, and also a terrible sadness. There is a moment ... when Tolontan and his colleagues are shown a secretly filmed video of maggots wriggling in a patient’s incompetently dressed wound. If that was in a fictional film, the metaphor would be dismissed as too obvious. Finally, Tolontan and his team are shown discussing sinister communications they have had from the intelligence services, telling them to be careful, for their families’ sake.

Definition of Violence against women

The violence against women indicator presents you with data on:

• Attitudes toward violence: The percentage of women who agree that a husband/partner is justified in beating his wife/partner under certain circumstances

• Prevalence of violence in the lifetime: The percentage of women who have experienced physical and/or sexual violence from an intimate partner at some time in their life

• Laws on domestic violence: Whether the legal framework offers women legal protection from domestic violence

Pope says Brazil has no salvation

the religious of the diocese of Campina Grande (PB) met Pope Francis and asked the Brazilians for a blessing. In a relaxed manner, the pontiff smiled and fired: “You have no salvation. You drink a lot of cachaça and pray little”.

US' terrorists still active and organized

"We are in a full blown military operation right now to remove the threats and install our President back in power and control the violence in the big cities,” wrote one QAnon supporter.

QAnon influencers, many of whom also invoked prayer and God’s role in what is supposedly to come. Over the last three years, QAnon’s high profile figures have attracted hundreds of thousands of loyal followers. Many of them have made a lot of money from their followings, and they’re not about give up the grift.

when Trump’s legal efforts failed, the Proud Boys called for him on social media to use his presidential powers to stay in office. Some urged him to declare martial law or take control by force. In the last two weeks of December, they pushed Trump in their protests and on social media to “Cross the Rubicon.”

Now Is the Perfect Time to Ruin The Donald’s Life

For the rest of his miserable life, he should be made to face the consequences of all his charges: rape; bank fraud; tax fraud; insurance fraud; trying to steal an election; and when all else fails, helping fuel and organize an insurrection.

Over 500 animals slaughtered

Over 500 animals have been slaughtered in a walled estate in Azambuja purportedly making way for a massive solar energy park. Uproar began over social media last weekend after photographs of ‘the massacre’ were uploaded by some of the Spanish hunters who had taken part.

Ukrainian citizen was victim of torture at Lisbon airport

The national director ... admitted that the Ukrainian citizen killed at Lisbon airport, Ihor Homenyuk, was a victim of torture.

Hollow denials exposed by the watchdog

When The Times first claimed in 2011 that a “culture of silence” had for years facilitated “the sexual exploitation of hundreds of young girls by criminal pimping gangs” in towns and cities across northern England and the Midlands, denial followed denial. We reported that most of the identified victims were white and most known offenders were of Pakistani heritage,

The tradition on the Noite de São João involves locals placing a cat in a clay jar and hanging it on a pole clad in straw which then is set alight

The fun, apparently, is in watching the string holding the jar burn and seeing the cat and container crash to the ground.

Portugal's Missing Valentina: body found. Father and stepmother arrested

it’s understood that ... (*) will have driven his daughter’s body to the place roughly 5 kms away where it was found, ‘covered by bits of shrubbery’. 

(*) monsters doesn't deserve to be named.

[Last year, another child, Lara, was murdered in similar circumstances as Valentina (as far I know, and I did not follow that case, without physical torture). Teenager Rui Pedro disappeared many years ago and portuguese justice system was unable to effectively manage a strong case against the main suspect, letting it to be displayed as the "perfect crime". There's many monstrosities that we didn't notice, like this one. Many blatant murders occurred recently in Portugal commited by relatively young people. The maximum penalty in Portugal is only 25 years in jail and the monsters, when they get it, often walk free several years before serving the full time. Child abuse, terrorism and domestic violence, are "mainstream" in Portugal, who had many tenebrous "histories". Even a king was abused!

"25-year-old psychology graduate Rúben Couto confessed that he killed talented musician Beatriz Lebre in a fit of jealous rage, explain reports, throwing her body afterwards into the Tejo river."

Even outside the country, the monsters are committing their monstrosities.

The mob that killed Luís Giovani are no more than a horrific collection of monsters]

India: A Doctor Was Assaulted (by the police!) On Her Way To The Hospital

What she never imagined was that she — a doctor — would be stopped by police on her way to work, abused, assaulted, hauled into a police station, and then work a 12-hour-shift with bruises all over her body.

At least 1,000 women fall victim to honour killings in Pakistan each year

According to estimates by the Honour Based Violence Awareness Network, at least 1,000 women fall victim to honour killings in Pakistan each year.

Every 20 minutes, there is a rape in India

"[Indian] judiciary is interested in regulating women's sexuality and judging them rather than offering them justice," 

Domestic violence is the crime that causes the highest number of deaths in Portugal

Domestic violence is the crime against people that causes the highest number of deaths in Portugal. It is widely known that the vast majority of domestic violence victims are women,