"The Goal Was to Kill as Many People as Possible": The Persecution of Christians, March 2020

Two days ago, [the Saylani Welfare International Trust] refused to give ration cards to non-Muslims, saying that only Muslims are entitled to them. The reason for this is that Zakat, Islamic alms giving (one of Islam's five pillars), is reserved for Muslims. The Christian man said he begged for food to no avail…. last Saturday, Abid Qadri, a member of Saylani Welfare,… handed out food cards in his area. But, when they got to Christian homes, they just moved on." — Shafique Khokhar, AsiaNews.it, March 30, 2020, Pakistan.

The Kidnap, Rape, and Forced Conversion of Christians

Pakistan: A group of motorcycle-riding Muslim men kidnapped and gang-raped two 12-year-old Christian boys. The children were playing video games at a local arcade when a gang of Muslims approached and lured them to check out and eventually sit on their motorcycles. Once the boys were atop the vehicles, the men rode off to a remote field where "the young boys were beaten till they submitted to the demands of the Muslim men, at which point the 12 year olds were raped," notes the March 23 report:

"After the ordeal Suneel and Harry [the two boys] were threatened not to say anything by the gang as they rode off … leaving the boys behind naked. Suneel and Harry then tearfully and in pain got dressed and walked for 3 hours till home. Suneel managed to stagger home at 3:30 am early the following morning and was received by his father Naeem (40 yrs) who had not slept all night. Naeem and other family members were praying for Suneel and were shocked when they found him crying and trembling with fear."

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/15969/persecution-of-christians-march#.Xq6lsLv5coY.twitter

At least 40 dead, dozens injured in Venezuela prison riot

May 2 (UPI) – At least 40 people died and 75 others were injured Saturday in a riot at the Los Llanos Penitentiary in Venezuela, authorities said.

The prison's director, Carlos Toro, is one of those injured, according to the advocacy organization Venezuelan Prisons Observatory (OVP).

Venezuela's minister of penitentiary services, Iris Varela, confirmed the riot had taken place and told a newspaper the warden was injured with a knife.

Of the 75 wounded, 52 are in the hospital, the advocacy organization said.

https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2020/05/02/At-least-40-dead-dozens-injured-in-Venezuela-prison-riot/8091588463733/?sl=5

No cellphone? Not at address on your ID? Hawaii threatens arrests.

We’ve been puzzling over this press release issued April 24th by the Department of Transportation of the State of Hawaii, entitled, “Improved verification process implemented for airline passenger,” which begins as follows:

The Hawaii Department of Transportation (HDOT) has implemented improved measures to verify incoming passenger information before they leave the airport to help ensure people are abiding by the traveler quarantine order. The enhanced process is underway at the Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (HNL) and will begin statewide in the coming days.

We’ve read through the emergency proclamations by the Governor of Hawaii, and can’t find anything in the quarantine orders purporting to give authority to state officials to “verify passenger information.”

The press release threatens that anyone who arrives without a working cellphone, charged, with service and coverage in the arrival area at the airport, will be arrested:

https://papersplease.org/wp/2020/04/29/no-cellphone-not-at-address-on-your-id-hawaii-threatens-arrests/

Judge Accelerates Process for Unsealing Jeffrey Epstein Docs, Naming Names on ‘Rolling Basis’

A federal judge in New York on Friday amended the protocol the court will follow in releasing a trove of documents concerning deceased pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. This will allow for documents that include the names of non-party individuals to be released on a rolling basis. The documents in question are part of a defamation dispute involving Epstein’s alleged madam Ghislaine Maxwell and alleged victim Virginia Roberts Giuffre.

Though Giuffre’s defamation case against Maxwell ended in 2015, Giuffre’s attorneys have fought a protracted legal battle seeking to unseal documents initially filed under seal that may contain allegations against other public figures from Epstein’s infamous elite social circle.

https://lawandcrime.com/high-profile/judge-accelerates-process-for-unsealing-jeffrey-epstein-docs-naming-names-on-rolling-basis/

City Passes Ominous Ordinance that Could Land People in Jail for Filming the Police

Frequent readers of the Free Thought Project know that filming the cops is not a crime. Despite this being a widely known provision — held up with multiple court precedents — cops continue to violate the First Amendment protected right of citizens to film the police. Now, an entire city is going after people who wish to film police and it is nothing short of tyrannical.

A report from Tuscon.com claims a new ordinance was passed to deter “cop-haters” but in reality tramples the First Amendment. According to the new legislation, ORDINANCE NO. _11746:

A. Police officers or Community Service Officers conducting enforcement activity, investigations, and other police-related activities may restrict 2 individuals from physically entering crime scenes or areas immediately surrounding where such enforcement activity, investigations, and other police-related activities are taking place. Police Officers or Community Service Officers may establish the boundaries of a restricted area by using physical barriers, placing visual markers like caution tape, or expressly communicating that an area is temporarily restricted for police activity.

B. If a Police Officer or Community Service Officer has established a restricted area, it shall be unlawful for any person to enter the restricted area without a Police Officer’s or Community Service Officer’s express permission to enter; or to refuse to comply with a Police Officer’s or Community Service Officer’s request or direction to leave the restricted area.

While section A sounds reasonable: not allowing people to film inside crime scenes, that is already the case, which is why crime scene tape exists. However, it is section B that sounds particularly worrisome. A police officer merely needs to “establish a restricted area” in order to claim a person has violated it before charging them with a crime. Violations of this ordinance are considered a Class 2 misdemeanor punishable by a maximum $750 fine and arrest.

According to the Tuscon.com report:

https://www.activistpost.com/2020/05/city-passes-ominous-ordinance-that-could-land-people-in-jail-for-filming-the-police.html

Venezuelan military stifles militant infiltration attempt from Colombia

BEIRUT, LEBANON (4:40 P.M.) – The Venezuelan Armed Forces announced on Sunday that their troops confronted a group of ‘terrorists’ that attempted to infiltrate their territorial waters from Colombia.

According to the Venezuelan Ministry of Interior, the unknown group attempted to infiltrate into their territory using a gunboat from Colombia.

The Venezuelan military engaged the unknown group in a brief firefight, resulting in the death of some of these militants and the confiscation of their weapons, the Ministry of Interior said.

The Ministry of Interior did not provide any information about the infiltrators, but said these militants were heavily armed and preparing to carry out assassinations and other crimes in the Bolivarian Republic.

They would add that the Venezuelan Armed Forces will continue to investigate this latest infiltration attempt, as they believe some of the others involved are living inside the South American country.

https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/venezuelan-military-stifles-militant-infiltration-attempt-from-colombia/