Top Facebook execs silenced an enemy of Turkey US SYRIAN ALLIES THE KURDS

By Jack Gillum & Justin Elliott, ProPublica

Sheryl Sandberg, chief operating officer for Facebook, testifies before the Senate intelligence committee examining social media companies' responses to foreign influence operations in 2018. File Photo by Pat Benic/UPI | License Photo

Feb. 24 (UPI) -- As Turkey launched a military offensive against Kurdish minorities in neighboring Syria in early 2018, Facebook's top executives faced a political dilemma.

Turkey was demanding the social media giant block Facebook posts from the People's Protection Units, a mostly Kurdish militia group the Turkish government had targeted. Should Facebook ignore the request, as it has done elsewhere, and risk losing access to tens of millions of users in Turkey? Or should it silence the group, known as the YPG, even if doing so added to the perception that the company too often bends to the wishes of authoritarian governments?





It wasn't a particularly close call for the company's leadership, newly disclosed emails show.

"I am fine with this," wrote Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook's No. 2 executive, in a one-sentence message to a team that reviewed the page. Three years later, YPG's photos and updates about the Turkish military's brutal attacks on the Kurdish minority in Syria still can't be viewed by Facebook users inside Turkey.

The conversations, among other internal emails obtained by ProPublica, provide an unusually direct look into how tech giants like Facebook handle censorship requests made by governments that routinely limit what can be said publicly. When the Turkish government attacked the Kurds in the Afrin District of northern Syria, Turkey also arrested hundreds of its own residents for criticizing the operation.

Publicly, Facebook has underscored that it cherishes free speech: "We believe freedom of expression is a fundamental human right, and we work hard to protect and defend these values around the world," the company wrote in a blog post last month about a new Turkish law requiring that social media firms have a legal presence in the country. "More than half of the people in Turkey rely on Facebook to stay in touch with their friends and family, to express their opinions and grow their businesses."

But behind the scenes in 2018, amid Turkey's military campaign, Facebook ultimately sided with the government's demands. Deliberations, the emails show, were centered on keeping the platform operational, not on human rights. "The page caused us a few PR fires in the past," one Facebook manager warned of the YPG material.

The Turkish government's lobbying on Afrin-related content included a call from the chairman of the BTK, Turkey's telecommunications regulator. He reminded Facebook "to be cautious about the material being posted, especially photos of wounded people," wrote Mark Smith, a U.K.-based policy manager, to Joel Kaplan, Facebook's vice president of global public policy. "He also highlighted that the government may ask us to block entire pages and profiles if they become a focal point for sharing illegal content."

(Turkey considers the YPG a terrorist organization, although neither the United States nor Facebook do.) 

FREEDOM FIGHTERS FOR AN AUTONOMOUS KURDISTAN

The company's eventual solution was to "geo-block," or selectively ban users in a geographic area from viewing certain content, should the threats from Turkish officials escalate. Facebook had previously avoided the practice, even though it has become increasingly popular among governments that want to hide posts from within their borders.

Facebook confirmed to ProPublica that it made the decision to restrict the page in Turkey following a legal order from the Turkish government -- and after it became clear that failing to do so would have led to its services in the country being completely shut down. The company said it had been blocked before in Turkey, including a half-dozen times in 2016.

The content that Turkey deemed offensive, according to internal emails, included photos on Facebook-owned Instagram of "wounded YPG fighters, Turkish soldiers and possibly civilians." At the time, the YPG slammed what it understood to be Facebook's censorship of such material. "Silencing the voice of democracy: In light of the Afrin invasion, YPG experience severe cyberattacks." The group has published graphic images, including photos of mortally wounded fighters; "this is the way NATO ally Turkey secures its borders," YPG wrote in one post.

Facebook spokesman Andy Stone provided a written statement in response to questions from ProPublica.

"We strive to preserve voice for the greatest number of people," the statement said. "There are, however, times when we restrict content based on local law even if it does not violate our community standards. In this case, we made the decision based on our policies concerning government requests to restrict content and our international human rights commitments. We disclose the content we restrict in our twice yearly transparency reports and are evaluated by independent experts on our international human rights commitments every two years."

The Turkish Embassy in Washington said it contends the YPG is the "Syrian offshoot" of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, which the U.S. government considers to be a terrorist organization.

Facebook has considered the YPG page politically sensitive since at least 2015, emails show, when officials discovered the page was inaccurately marked as verified with a blue check mark. In turn, "that created negative coverage on Turkish pro-government media," one executive wrote. When Facebook removed the check mark, it in turn "created negative coverage [in] English language media, including on Huffington Post."

In 2018, the review team, which included global policy chief Monika Bickert, laid out the consequences of a ban. The company could set a bad example for future cases and take flak for its decision. "Geo-blocking the YPG is not without risk -- activists outside of Turkey will likely notice our actions, and our decision may draw unwanted attention to our overall geo-blocking policy," said one email in late January.

But this time, the team members said, the parties were embroiled in an armed conflict and Facebook officials worried their platform could be shut down entirely in Turkey. "We are in favor of geo-blocking the YPG content," they wrote, "if the prospects of a full-service blockage are great." They prepared a "reactive" press statement: "We received a valid court order from the authorities in Turkey requiring us to restrict access to certain content. Following careful review, we have complied with the order," it said.

In a nine-page ruling by Ankara's 2nd Criminal Judgeship of Peace, government officials listed YPG's Facebook page among several hundred social media URLs they considered problematic. The court wrote that the sites should be blocked to "protect the right to life or security of life and property, ensure national security, protect public order, prevent crimes or protect public health," according to a copy of the order obtained by ProPublica.

Kaplan, in a Jan. 26, 2018, email to Sandberg and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, confirmed that the company had received a Turkish government order demanding that the page be censored, although it wasn't immediately clear if officials were referring to the Ankara court ruling. Kaplan advised the company to "immediately geo-block the page" should Turkey threaten to block all access to Facebook.

Sandberg, in a reply to Kaplan, Zuckerberg and others, agreed. (She had been at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, touting Facebook's role in assisting victims of natural disasters.)

In a statement to ProPublica, the YPG said censorship by Facebook and other social media platforms "is on an extreme level."

"YPG has actively been using social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram and others since its foundation," the group said. "YPG uses social media to promote its struggle against jihadists and other extremists who attacked and are attacking Syrian Kurdistan and northern Syria. Those platform[s] have a crucial role in building a public presence and easily reaching communities across the world. However, we have faced many challenges on social media during these years."

Cutting off revenue from Turkey could harm Facebook financially, regulatory filings suggest. Facebook includes revenue from Turkey and Russia in the figure it gives for Europe overall and the company reported a 34% increase for the continent in annual revenue per user, according to its 2019 annual report to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Yaman Akdeniz, a founder of the Turkish Freedom of Expression Association, said the YPG block was "not an easy case because Turkey sees the YPG as a terror organization and wants their accounts to be blocked from Turkey. But it just confirms that Facebook doesn't want to challenge these requests, and it was prepared to act."

"Facebook has a transparency problem," he said.

In fact, Facebook doesn't reveal to users that the YPG page is explicitly banned. When ProPublica tried to access YPG's Facebook page using a Turkish VPN -- to simulate browsing the Internet from inside the country -- a notice read: "The link may be broken, or the page may have been removed." The page is still available on Facebook to people who view the site through U.S. Internet providers.

PERMANENT ARMS ECONOMY
U.S., China lead world as military spending increases globally

An aerial photo of the U.S. Department of Defense in Washington, D.C., also known as the Pentagon. Photo by Shutterstock.com

Feb. 25 (UPI) -- Global defense spending reached a new high point in 2020, with the United States spending more than any other country and China pulling in second, according to data released by The International Institute for Strategic Studies this week.

The IISS analyzed numbers from the Military Balance Plus database and found that global defense spending increased in 2020 to reach $1.83 trillion -- a 3.9% increase over 2019 figures.

The United States, which spent $738 billion on defense in 2020, accounted for 40.3% of total global defense spending, the IISS said.

China's defense spending did not increase as sharply in 2020 as it did in 2019, but the country still spent $193.3 billion on defense in 2020 -- $12 billion more than the year before.

Overall global defense spending grew by 3.9%, the report said.

IISS noted that defense spending rose inversely with overall global economic activity, which contracted last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The report also said European defense spending grew by 2% in 2020.

That's a smaller rate of growth than the 4.1% increase from 2019 -- but part of an upward trend, with overall defense spending by NATO members being up 20% from 2014.

FAA orders inspections for 777 engines like one that failed over Denver


Federal investigators examine a United Airlines Boeing 777 in Denver, Colo., after the plane made an emergency landing on its way to Hawaii due to engine failure. Photo courtesy NTSB/Flickr

Feb. 24 (UPI) -- The Federal Aviation Administration has ordered mandatory inspections for fan blades on some Boeing 777s after an engine failed in mid-air on a flight to Hawaii last weekend.

The FAA's order late Tuesday covers Pratt & Whitney engines on 777s in the United Airlines fleet after the carrier had already grounded 24 of the planes.

The engine that failed last weekend spread broken parts into yards and a soccer field on the ground before the plane made an emergency landing near Denver.

A Japan Airlines 777 had a similar engine failure in December that also forced the plane to return for an emergency landing. Japan and South Korea have taken the model out of service.

Boeing on Monday recommended suspending 69 in-service and 59 in-storage 777s powered by Pratt & Whitney 4000-112 engines until the FAA identified inspection protocol.

"The FAA is issuing this [Emergency Airworthiness Directive] because the agency has determined the unsafe condition described previously is likely to exist or develop in other products of the same type design," the FAA said in its order.

Monday, the National Transportation Safety Board said its investigation has found that the engine's inlet and cowling separated and two fan blades broke, one near the root and the other about mid-span.

Chinese officials charged after gold mine accident that killed workers


An official investigation into an accident in January at a Chinese gold mine in Shandong Province concluded that neglect and safety violations led to the explosion that killed at least 10 workers. File photo by Chen Hao/Xinhua/EPA-EFE

Feb. 24 (UPI) -- Senior Chinese officials are being held responsible for an accident at a mine in January that led to the death of at least 10 miners.

Authorities in China's Shandong Province said Wednesday they have charged 45 people with neglect, including a city mayor and a municipal party secretary, that led to the gold mine accident that trapped 22 miners underground for two weeks, Xinhua news agency reported.


Yao Xiuxia, the municipal party secretary of the city of Qixia, and Zhu Tao, Qixia's mayor, have been fired and are under probe for delays in reporting the accident, according to Sixth Tone. An official report said Yao believed the "trapped people would likely be rescued."

On Jan. 10, an explosion at a gold mine in Qixia trapped 22 miners. Two weeks after the incident, 11 workers were rescued, 10 people were found dead and one miner remains missing.

RELATED Reports: China's military training Hong Kong police on marching style

According to the official investigation, detonators, cords and explosives that were bunched together in an underground storage facility set off the explosion, which occurred after an accidental fire in the area.

Total damages are estimated to be about 68.47 million yuan, or about $10.6 million, authorities said.

Authorities said the mining company, Shandong Wucailong Investment Co. Ltd., stored explosives in a manner that violated local laws.

RELATED Hong Kong considers ban on 'insults' to police, authority figures

During mining operations, the company also allowed the use of blowtorches and firearms in hazardous mining zones, authorities said, according to Xinhua. Fifteen 15 mining executives also are being charged with neglect and concealing the accident for 30 hours.

The rescue operation began after a crew noticed a pull on a rope Jan. 17. Survivors trapped underground also sent a note to the rescue team by rope. On Jan. 24, 10 miners from a group of 11 were rescued, and on Jan. 25, rescuers recovered nine bodies.

Trump's approach to South Korea hurt alliance, analysts say


Former U.S. President Donald Trump (L) and South Korean President Moon Jae-in (R) appeared to agree publicly but the two sides struggled to reconcile differences amid Trump’s defense-cost demands.

 File Photo by Jim Lo Scalzo/UPI | License Photo


NEW YORK, Feb. 25 (UPI) -- The Trump administration's policies toward the two Koreas damaged the alliance with Seoul, according to U.S. and South Korean analysts.

The administration of South Korean President Moon Jae-in also falls short on North Korea human rights, and Seoul remains a passive observer amid new U.S. efforts, the South's lawmakers and analysts said during the International Forum on One Korea's Congressional Roundtable and Forum on Wednesday.

Victor Cha, Korea chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and a former candidate for U.S. ambassador to Seoul, said former President Donald Trump's approach to alliances created unprecedented problems in the relationship with Seoul.

"We saw a [U.S.-South Korea] alliance that was not functioning normally," Cha said. "We had a [U.S.] administration that saw the alliance in transactional terms, evaluating alliances as power liabilities, and not power assets."

Outward appearances told a different story. Trump first visited the South in 2017, delivering a speech at Seoul's National Assembly that local officials said improved relations. In 2018, Trump agreed to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un after visits from Moon's aides to the White House. After a historic first summit in Singapore, Trump said Kim was a "great leader" and "friend," while Moon praised the former U.S. president for his "huge contribution" to inter-Korean relations.

According to Cha, the United States and South Korea "looked unified on the surface," but the two sides disagreed for four years on defense burden sharing. The two leaders also had different priorities. South Korea's policy is "largely designed to avoid a war," while Trump was trying to win the Nobel Peace Prize, Cha said.Cancellation of key meetings

Kim Hong-kyun, a former South Korean special representative for Korean Peninsula Peace and Security, said the Biden administration offers a new opportunity to revitalize a shaken alliance. During the Trump years, not once did the former U.S. administration convene a "2+2" meeting of the U.S. secretary of state, secretary of defense and their South Korean counterparts, Kim said. The high-level meetings did take place during the terms of former President Barack Obama and South Korea's Park Geun-hye.

Kim, a veteran South Korean diplomat, also described Moon's approach to U.S. policies in the Indo-Pacific as deficient. Seoul "faced no consequences" for its "lukewarm" response to the Trump administration's coordination with Japan, Australia and India in the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, or the Quad. Under Biden, an experienced policymaker, South Korea "will not have the luxury of sitting on the fence."

"Strategic clarity is needed, not strategic ambiguity," Kim said, referring to Seoul. The United States should invite South Korea to the partnership and make it a "quint," he added.

Moon's policies have been defined by a friendlier approach to North Korea than some of his predecessors, but lawmakers in Seoul are wary of the tactic, which has yielded zero dialogue after 2019.

Cho Tae-yong, a South Korean lawmaker with the main opposition People Power Party, said at the forum on Wednesday it would be "unacceptable" to "only listen to the Kim family," or the North Korean leadership. Earlier in the week in Seoul, Cho had held a discussion on the South's anti-leafleting law that bans activists from launching balloons at the border. The ban was enforced after Kim Yo Jong, the North Korean leader's sister, complained about defectors and their activism.

Biden has yet to publicly address North Korea. A key question between Washington and Seoul is North Korea sanctions. Last week, U.S. federal prosecutors indicted three North Koreans for cybercrimes. Other sanctions against Pyongyang's elite remain in place. Influential voices in Seoul, including Moon's special adviser for foreign affairs Moon Chung-in, are calling for sanctions relief, however.

Kim Hong-kyun said lifting sanctions would not support negotiations with North Korea. Sanctions provide the "only leverage" in talks with Pyongyang, Kim said.

"Sanctions are not for the purpose of pressuring North Korea for no reason," Cha said. "Lifting sanctions is always a possibility once those [violations] causing sanctions are rectified. "

International Forum on One Korea and the Global Peace Foundation are affiliated with the ultimate holding company that owns United Press International.

U.S. conducts airstrikes in Syria targeting 

Iran-backed groups

JUST LIKE TRUMP DID FIRST MONTH 

IN OFFICE


President Joe Biden on Thursday directed the military to conduct an airstrike targeting Iranian-backed groups in Syria. Pool Photo by Doug Mills/UPI | License Photo

Feb. 25 (UPI) -- The U.S. military has conducted airstrikes targeting Iran-backed military groups in eastern Syria on Thursday evening, the Pentagon said, stating it was in response to a deadly rocket attack against U.S. and Coalition forces in Iraq last week.

The assault was directed by President Joe Biden, Defense Department Press Secretary John Kirby said in a statement, making it the first disclosed military operation conducted under the new White House.

Kirby said facilities located at an unnamed border control point used by Kait'ib Hezbollah and Kait'ib Sayyid al-Shuhada, among other Iran-backed groups, were destroyed in the attack.

"These strikes were authorized in response to recent attacks against American and Coalition personnel in Iraq, and to ongoing threats to those personnel," Kirby said. "The operation sends an unambiguous message: President Biden will act to protect American and Coalition personnel."
The move was also pursued with "aims to de-escalate the overall situation in both eastern Syria and Iraq," he said.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said the department is confident in the result.

"We know what we hit. We're confident that the target was being used by the same Shia militia that conducted the strikes," he said, referring to a Feb. 15 rocket barrage on a U.S. base at the Erbil airport complex in northern Iraq.

More than a dozen rockets last week were fired at the base near the southeastern Syrian border, killing a contractor and injuring eight others. Four American contractors and a U.S. service member were among those injured in the shelling.

The little-known group Awliya al-Dam, or the Guardians of the Blood, claimed credit for the attack but U.S. officials had repeatedly stated they were working on attribution though vowing to hold those responsible to account and that Iran is responsible for the acts of its proxies.

Austin told reporters while returning to Washington, D.C., from a California trip that he had recommended the airstrike to Biden, stating Iraq investigations into the Feb. 15 attack "was very helpful to us in refining the target."

State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters during a regular press briefing earlier this week that Iranian-made and -supplied rockets have been used in many such attacks but wouldn't say if rockets from Tehran were involved in the Erbil attack, stating they will await the conclusions of Iraq's investigation before attributing blame.

Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, told reporters on Wednesday that the United States will respond but reserves the right do so in a time and manner of its choosing.

"We will respond in a way that's calculated, on our timetable and using a mix of tools seen and unseen," she said. "What we will not do -- and what we've seen in the past -- is lash out and risk an escalation that plays into the hands of Iran by further destabilizing Iraq."

Michael McCaul, the lead Republican of the House foreign affairs committee, commended the Biden administration for following through on the attack.

"Responses like this are a necessary deterrent and remind Iran, its proxies and our adversaries around the world that attacks on U.S. interests will not be tolerated," he said in a statement.

Marco Rubio, R-Fla., described it as "targeted, proportional and necessary."

The extend of the damage or the number of casualties from the Thursday airstrike were unknown.

German court convicts exiled fugitive of Syria regime in landmark ruling

Demonstrators protest against the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Al-drbaseh, Northern Syria, on February 14, 2012. 

UPI Photo/File | License Photo

Feb. 24 (UPI) -- A Syrian man accused of aiding in the torture of dozens of people early during the country's civil war was found guilty in a historic verdict on Wednesday and sent to prison.

The man, Eyad al-Gharib, was convicted and sentenced by a regional court in Koblenz in Germany. The court gave him four and a half years in prison.

The verdict is the first of its kind for a court outside of Syria related to accusations of crimes against humanity against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.

Al-Gharib, 44, was a member of Assad's General Intelligence Directorate and prosecutors said he facilitated the tortures of at least 30 Syrian dissidents, beginning in 2011. He ultimately fled to Germany, where he was arrested in 2019.

The crimes against al-Gharib occurred early in Syria's civil war when Assad began to crack down on dissident demonstrations.

Authorities were able to try al-Gharib by using a legal provision that allowed them jurisdiction to prosecute serious crimes involving defendants physically inside Germany.

Another landmark verdict in the case is expected this year for Anwar Raslan, a member of Assad's government who's accused directly in the deaths of dozens of people and the tortures of thousands more.

END US SANCTIONS ON INTERNATIONAL AID

Report: U.N. food aid to North Korea stalling under restrictions


International food assistance to North Korea may not be reaching women and children amid the pandemic, according to a South Korean press report Tuesday. 

File Photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI | License Photo


Feb. 23 (UPI) -- Food aid for North Korean children and pregnant women is being delayed due to an ongoing border closure, according to a South Korean press report.

Newsis reported Tuesday that a source at Seoul's unification ministry said the food assistance from the United Nations' World Food Program is not reaching North Korea's most vulnerable population amid the coronavirus pandemic.

North Korea admits goods across its 880-mile border with China, but in the wake of COVID-19 ,the regime shut its borders. Trade dropped significantly with China in 2020, or by about 80%, according to Seoul's Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency.

On Tuesday, Newsis' ministry source said WFP food assistance must take place in accordance with international standards. U.N. officials need access to the country for monitoring purposes, but North Korean restrictions against foreign officers is preventing aid from being tracked, the South Korean source said.

Report of hindrances to food assistance comes after the WFP released a revision to its North Korea Strategic Plan.

"WFP will opportunistically use windows in which food imports are allowed to replenish and optimize in-country stocks and mitigate against import delays," the report read. "However, there is a significant residual risk that, should food imports not be possible, operations will cease in 2021."

The WFP report also said physical monitoring access "remain curtailed" indefinitely due to North Korean measures against the coronavirus.

RELATED Report: North Korea's trade with China declined 80% in 2020 

While a significant number of North Korean children and women are at risk of malnutrition, the Kim Jong Un regime has not stopped using cyberattacks to steal millions of dollars to expand its weapons facilities. NO EVIDENCE OF THAT

Bloomberg reported Sunday that a Nigerian social media celebrity with millions of followers on Instagram has been extradited from Dubai and faces charges in the United States.

Ramon Olorunwa Abbas, who frequently posed before private jets and luxury vehicles, is accused of laundering funds on behalf of North Korean hackers who stole more than $1.3 billion of cash and cryptocurrency, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Abbas was arrested in July, according to the report.

                                             POSTMODERN BANK ROBBER

U.N. expert: Iran committed multiple human rights violations in plane shootdown

Among the victims of the flight, 138 had ties to Canada 

as either citizens or permanent residents 

FROM YEG & TO

Iran's military shot down an Ukraine International Airlines flight in Tehran on Jan. 8, 2020, killing 176 people on board. Photo by Abedin Taherkenareh/EPA-EFE

Feb. 23 (UPI) -- A U.N.-appointed independent investigator has accused Iran in a condemning letter of committing numerous human rights violations before, during and after its military shot down a Ukrainian airliner early last year, killing 176 people on board.

Released to the public on Tuesday, the damning 45-page letter delivered to Iran in December by Agnes Callamard -- the U.N. special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary execution -- details the conclusions of her 6-month investigation into the shoot down, accusing Iran of numerous violations that leave unanswered the question of whether the civilian flight was intentionally targeted.

"I have found no concrete evidence that the targeting of that particular plane was intentional and premeditated. However, the inconsistencies in the official explanation and the reckless nature of the mistakes have led many including myself to question whether the downing of PS752 was intentional," she said during a virtual press conference about her findings.

The letter to Iran sought clarification on several issues but she said she has yet to receive a response.

Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752 from Tehran to Kiev was shot down shortly after takeoff by an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps air defense missile unit on Jan. 8, 2020, amid heightened tensions between the Middle Eastern country and the United States, which had days earlier assassinated in Iraq Qassem Soleimani, the then-head of the IRGC.

Iran for three days after the incident blamed the downed flight on an on board fire before admitting it had been shot down by two missiles launched from a military air defense unit that was placed near the civilian airport.

Tehran in July released a report that blamed the downed plane on "a chain of events initiated by a human error" that included a misalignment of the air defense unit and its operator being unable to communicate with their commanding officer for a matter of seconds before firing at the target they allegedly believed was a missile.

During the virtual press conference, Callamard said the inconsistencies of Iran's official explanation seem "designed to create a maximum of confusion and a minimum of clarity."

"As for the admitted mistakes, these indicate a reckless if not criminal disregard for standard procedures and the principles of precaution, which should have been implemented to the fullest given the circumstances and the location of the unit," she said.

Callamard detailed numerous contradictions and inconsistencies with Iran's explanation, stating Tehran has yet to identify why the missile unit was miscalibrated, why the miscalibration had not been detected and how it led to the plane's targeting.

She also said Iran has failed to explain why this civilian plane was targeted and not others departing and arriving at the civilian airport as well as why a second missile was launched 30 seconds after the first one given that once struck the plane's path and profile would not match the behavior of "a streaking incoming cruise missile."

There is also the inconsistency of Iran claiming the unit had only 10 seconds to decide whether to fire at the target though Callamard's investigation revealed it had at least a 45-second window if not longer to determine that it was a plane.

"Indeed, on the basis of the information received, one may even question whether the order or implicit encouragement by the chain of command [was given] to the crew on the ground to apply lethal force without going through standard procedures and precautionary steps," she said.

Callamard said Iran's failure to thoroughly and adequately investigate the shoot down amounted to a failure to respect the right to life and that there is evidence suggesting it destroyed and failed to protect evidence as it bulldozed the location, which was open to looters.

Tehran also violated the rights of the victims' families, she said, stating that they were subjected to harassment, threat and physical assault by Iranian authorities not only in Iran but in Canada, where many of the victims had ties to.

"The authorities allegedly also denied families access to the crash site and failed to return the entirety of the passengers' belongings to them with the result that many families are left without the smallest mementoes of those who lost their lives," she said, adding that authorities also threatened to withhold the victims' remains from families if they did not publicly declare support for the government.

"Many families were reportedly also denied private funerals. Victims were declared 'martyrs' who died for their country," the letter states. "... It is suggested that the labeling of those who died as 'martyrs' for Iran was forced upon them without their consent."

The letter comes months after Canada's special advisor to Prime Minister Justice Trudeau raised concerns in December over Iran's investigation into the disaster, stating that Tehran's probe "raises obvious concerns about credibility, conflicts of interests and a lack of transparency and accountability."

Among the victims of the flight, 138 had ties to Canada as either citizens or permanent residents though citizens of Iran, Afghanistan, Britain, Ukraine, and Sweden were also on board.

Ex-USA Gymnastics coach Geddert found dead; charged with human trafficking

HERE IS WHERE YOU FIND THE REAL ABUSERS, 

NOT PIZZAGATE

Former U.S. Olympics gymnastics coach John Geddert was found dead on Thursday after being charged with 24 crimes including human trafficking and criminal sexual conduct related to abuse of his students. File Photo by Kimimasa Mayama/EPA-EFE

Feb. 25 (UPI) -- Former U.S. Olympics gymnastics coach John Geddert died by suicide Thursday after being charged with 24 crimes stemming from alleged sexual, physical and emotional abuse against gymnasts in his care, prosecutors said.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel issued a statement confirming that authorities found Geddert's body late Thursday afternoon after the charges against him were announced.

"This is a tragic end to a tragic story for everyone involved," she said.

Geddert, 63, was charged with 20 felony counts of human trafficking for allegedly subjecting his athletes to forced labor or services "under extreme conditions that contributed to them suffering injuries and harm." He was also charged with individual felony counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, second-degree criminal sexual conduct and continuing a criminal enterprise.

RELATED Pentagon commission on sexual assault to be announced by end of week

The attorney general's office said Geddert "sold his reputation as an Olympic-level coach" and promised to turn students at his gym Twistars into "word-class athletes" and secure them college scholarships but subjected them to "an environment of continued abuse" under the guise of coaching.

"These allegations focus around multiple acts of verbal, physical and sexual abuse perpetrated by the defendant against multiple young women," Nessel said. "I am grateful for these survivors coming forward to cooperate with our investigation and for bravely sharing their stories."

He also faced one charge of lying to a peace officer during a violent crime investigation for false or misleading statements to authorities investigating former Team USA gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar who was sentenced to up to 175 years in prison for sexually assaulting hundreds of girls.

Nassar worked as Geddert's team physician and in-house medical expert at Twistars for 20 years and was the sole medical doctor whose advice he would accept, the attorney general's office said.

The charges filed against Geddert carried sentences ranging from four years to life in prison.

The attorney general's office said the charges against Geddert were unrelated to its ongoing investigation into Michigan State University, which led to charges against Nassar, adding that the investigation remains inconclusive.
RELATED 'Comfort woman' calls for case to be brought to international court



"When this department set out more than three years ago on this investigation, the Trustees stated, 'only a review by our office can resolve the questions in a way that the victims, their families, and the public will deem satisfactory and that will help all those affected by Nassar's horrible crimes to heal," Nessel said. "Yet, if the board does not consent, my office will be forced to close its investigation without a conclusion and you will have shut the door on the pursuit of justice."