Jewish Ledger
European lawmakers: Palestinian terror groups committing ‘double war crimes’
(May 13, 2021 / JNS) More than 50 European lawmakers expressed solidarity with Israel while condemning Palestinian terror groups for their rocket fire on Israel and using their own populations as human shields.
In a letter spearheaded by the American Jewish Committee and its Transatlantic Friends of Israel Institute, the European lawmakers affirmed their “unwavering and steadfast support for the State of Israel in her hour of need.”
“We express our firm belief that the Jewish state our key democratic ally has, like all sovereign states, not only the right but the duty to defend its citizens against terror and rockets,” read the statement by leading legislators from the European Parliament and European national legislatures, including Austria, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, The Netherlands, Poland,
In a letter, they said: “It’s not only that these terrorists started this latest round of confrontation. Hamas and Islamic Jihad commit the double war crime of murdering Israeli civilians while using their own population as human shields.”
RFA
An investigative journalist arrested and tried after she made a documentary exposing the Hong Kong police force s handling of the July 21, 2019 mob attacks on train passengers in Yuen Long was found guilty of improper searches of an online car license database on Thursday.
Journalist Bao Choy, whose documentary 7/21: Who Owns The Truth? tracked the movements of suspected attackers on the night of the attacks, had pleaded not guilty to two counts of knowingly making a false statement to access number plate ownership records.
Choy, 37, was fined H.K.$6,000 by the judge at West Kowloon Magistrates Court, who said the public interest aspect of her work on the film had been taken into account. The charges carry a maximum sentence of six months imprisonment.
Hong Kong Court Hands Down Hefty Sentences to Pro-Democracy Activists, Drawing International Criticism
Martin Lee, an 82-year-old barrister who has been dubbed the “father of democracy” in Hong Kong, was among a group of activists being sentenced for organizing and participating in an unauthorized assembly in 2019 during the height of the anti-Beijing, pro-democracy movement.
Lee was handed a suspended sentence of 11 months for being part of a protest on Aug. 18, 2019. Three other activists were given suspended sentences: Margaret Ng (12 months), Albert Ho (12 months), and Leung Yiu-chung (8 months). All four were former opposition lawmakers in Hong Kong.
Jimmy Lai, 72, the owner of local paper Apple Daily, was given a 12-month sentence. Lee Cheuk-yan, 64, former lawmaker and chairman of Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, was also given a 12-month sentence.
Jimmy Lai, Martin Lee, Among 10 HK Dissidents to Be Sentenced Over Outlawed Pro-Democracy Protest The government can lock us up behind bars but they cannot lock up our mind
10 Hong Kong dissidents are expected to be sentenced on April 16, including media mogul Jimmy Lai, for taking part in unauthorized assemblies in 2019 during the height of the anti-Beijing, pro-democracy movement.
Lai and six other dissidents attended a mitigation hearing at the West Kowloon court building in the morning, over their roles at a protest on Aug. 18, 2019. The seven dissidents were found guilty in March of unauthorized assembly charges after they were arrested in April last year.