Oppression, opposition grapple in Kenya
Courts order TV signals restored after protesters stage fake inauguration
Protesters hold a Kenyan state insignia at a mock swearing-in for opposition leader Raila Odinga in Nairobi. Associated Press/Photo by Ben Curtis
KENYA: The Supreme Court ordered the government to restore transmission of three television stations taken off the air to prevent coverage of protests. Kenyan police fired tear gas on Tuesday to disperse thousands of opposition supporters gathering in central Nairobi for a “swearing-in” of opposition leader Raila Odinga, who lost a tightly contested election last August to President Uhuru Kenyatta and boycotted a redo in October. The U.S. State Department issued a statement saying it is “gravely concerned” about Odinga’s “self-inauguration” but also called on the government to restore television stations taken off the air.
IRAN: Police arrested Friday at least 29 people involved in protests over laws requiring women to wear hijab, or head coverings, as anti-government street action continues.
Aiding protests are Iranian-American efforts to mobilize technology. Hafez (which means “Guardian”) is the latest Android app from one California nongovernmental organization designed to record and report incidents apart from regime internet monitoring and censorship. Officials have sentenced to prison and seized the assets of an Iranian-American couple who are Zoroastrians, a religious minority in the Islamic Republic. Karan Vafadari, an American citizen jailed since 2016, was sentenced to 27 years in prison (plus a $243,000 fine and 124 lashes), and his wife, Afarin Neyssari, a permanent U.S. resident, has been sentenced to 16 years—both for attempting to overthrow the republic using their efforts to endow art galleries and a hospital in Tehran.HONG KONG disqualified pro-independence candidates from running in upcoming legislative elections—a seemingly unthinkable sign of Beijing’s manipulation in the former British colony.
SYRIA: The Trump administration is strangely silent as U.S.-backed Kurdish rebels fight Turkish forces advancing inside northwestern Syria—opening a rift within NATO that’s potentially catastrophic.
GREAT BRITAIN: The House of Lords is scheduled to take up a measure granting protection for healthcare workers with conscientious objections after a report found that doctors and nurses are often punished for objecting to abortion procedures.
ISIS: The propaganda machine of Islamic State (ISIS) has dropped its online activity significantly since its defeat in Iraq and Syria last year, but the terror group continues to support a prayer app designed for children and other activities.
WEEKEND LONG READ: Mosul residents found dramatic ways to carry on life under ISIS, hosting parties with the music turned low and lights off, and finding a way, The Guardian reported, to get a young cancer patient his favorite birthday cake:
“One day she found one of the few cake shops still open in the city, and asked for a cake in the shape of Sponge Bob, a favourite character of a young patient with terminal cancer. The owner apologised: He was banned from baking any cakes with figures drawn on them. But as a compromise he gave her a square-shaped yellow cake.”
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