CRIMINAL CRYPTO CAPITALI$M

Algerian social media influencers stir controversy over role in scamming case

Students were conned by an agency that used influencers' reach

Posted 15 February 2022 

Nearly half the Algerian population is connected to the internet. Image used under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic.

Several Algerian social media influencers have found themselves legally entangled in a scam after they promoted through their various channels a firm's packages to students wanting to study abroad. The firm, Future Gate, was found to have conned over 75 people into paying hefty amounts for nothing in return.

Algeria's news agency said that the company, which used more than one name to trick a larger number of clients, had promised students it would cover their costs and expenses while pursuing their studies in universities in Ukraine, Turkey, and Russia, in exchange for money they paid in advance, which varied in amount depending on the universities they pursue. However, upon arrival at these destinations, students found that only the fees of one academic term had been paid, and no accommodation had been sorted out for them.

On January 15, the investigative judge at the Dar El Beïda Court ordered the arrest of three main suspects in the case, including the owner of the fake company that had allegedly conned the students, as well as a number of social media influencers. Actor and influencer Farouk Boudjemline, alias Rifka, actress and influencer Numidia Lezoul, and Mohamed Aberkan, otherwise known as Stanley were among those arrested. Sixteen-year-old influencer Ines Abdelli was placed under legal surveillance.

The news agency's report, which announced on January 15 the arrests of those accused in the case, said:

• Translation
 
• Original Quote

They also relied, from inside the country, on some influential faces on social media, to promote this scam.

On February 2, the indictment chamber at Algiers’ Judicial Council rejected a request for the release of several social media influencers who were arrested on charges of fraud and defrauding students. Rifka‘s defence team argued that he too had fallen a victim of the scam along with his peers, and that he had, with other influencers, rushed to expose the truth about the case, and expressed solidarity with the tricked students.

Internet influence

Over 26 million Algerians were connected to the internet, out of a population of nearly 44 million people. That's almost half the population, indicating the importance of internet content and its influence on the Algerian population.

With such strong presence of and reliance on the internet, and as with everywhere around the world, many Algerians have managed to shoot to fame and garner much influence among a wide base of youth as their social media accounts acquired millions of followers.

However, with such popularity came much controversy. Such influencers, who have become promoters of various brands and lifestyles, and the conveyers of gossip, have also come under fire from many who deem them promoters of superficiality and habits that breach Algerian traditions and norms.

Victims or complicit?

The ongoing scam is yet another example of the divided opinions about the role influencers play on social media, and how accountable they should be for the brands and entities they promote.

In response to the arrest of the aforementioned influencers, many social media users used the hashtag  #راحو_غلاط or #wrongly_taken to express their solidarity, calling for accountability to be fully placed on the scamming company, and not influencers who they see as victims of their lies.

One such tweet said:

While another Twitter user wrote:

They too are victims of the fake company, just like the students. Even if I'm against them in their ideology or the shallow content they broadcast, this doesn't mean that I be unjust to them and [support their] arrest them in a different case of belonging to a terrorist group and human trafficking. This is complete lack of justice, whether I'm with or against them. Fair is fair.

Meanwhile, others saw these influencers accountable, arguing that they must face the consequences of what they promote on their channels, including what many saw as superficial content.

One Twitter user wrote:

The detention of Rifka, Stanleyy and Numidia Lezoul in Al-Qaleya prison on charges of money laundry, human trafficking. Death penalty would be too lenient a sentence.

According to local media reports, a police video showed the founder of the scamming company stating the amounts of money he had paid to social media influencers, who he claimed have “blackmailed” him.

 

Written byReda Harbi

Jordanians targeted by Pegasus spyware call for investigation, blame Israel

Jordanians targeted by the hacking software called for action from the government, which has thus far been silent on the matter.

Lyse Mauvais
Jordan - Amman
William Christou
Lebanon
17 February, 2022

Local media claims that over 200 Jordanians were targeted by the Pegasus hacking software, based on an unnamed source 

Jordanian individuals targeted by the Israeli surveillance spyware, Pegasus, called for an investigation into how they were hacked during a conference in Amman on Thursday.

Dima Tahboub, spokesperson for the Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated Islamic Action Front and former MP who was targeted by Pegasus, demanded a complete investigation into the matter.

“The government should open an investigation. It’s important to see the nature and the extent of the hacking – especially because Jordan has a so-called peace treaty with Israel. So how come it’s threatening its citizens?” Tahboub told The New Arab.

The conference was held following a report by local media outlet Ammon, which said up to 200 Jordanians had been targeted by the Pegasus software. The reporting relied on an unnamed source from an “international news agency” which said that officials in the royal court, human rights activists and politicians were targeted in the hacks.

Previously, the most high-profile Jordanian to have been hacked by the software was Hala al-Ahed, a human rights defender and lawyer working for the National Forum for Defending Freedoms. She has demanded answers about who ordered the hack into her phone, but the Jordanian government has yet to comment on the case.

It was revealed in April 2021 that the Jordanian government was in talks to buy the software from the Israeli NSO Group, but it is unclear whether or not these talks ever resulted in a purchase being made.

The Pegasus software is an Israeli surveillance software that can access all the information of a mobile phone, without the user having clicked on anything or downloaded any malicious software.

A series of revelations about the software revealed in July 2021 by a journalistic consortium showed that governments from around the world had purchased the software to spy on human rights activists and political rivals.

The conference speakers said that they believed that the Pegasus hack on Jordanians’ phones was carried out by an external actor. They said that the Jordanian government already “controls all telecommunications” in the country, so there would be no need for it to purchase the Pegasus software.

Tahboub said that she suspected that Israel was behind the hack. She said that following the hack, some of her contacts in Palestine were asked about specific information that no one else knew – leading her to think that Israel used information gained from her phone.

“As a Jordanian citizen I believe that I am entitled to be protected by the constitution. I am asking the government to do this and open an investigation,” Tahboub said.

Some Jordanians who were targeted by Pegasus said that they were not notified about the conference, nor were they invited.

Mustafa Hamarneh, the CEO of the Jordan Media Institute and former member of the Jordanian senate who was targeted by Pegasus, told The New Arab that he also suspects external actors are behind the hack.

He said that it is possible that the Jordanian government could have outsourced their use of the software to foreign governments.

Analysis
In the war for data privacy, crypto may be the last line of defence

In-depth: To defend the public's entitlement to data privacy from powerful governments' mass surveillance efforts, crypto technology may prove a useful tool in re-empowering citizens.

In-depth
Tallha Abdulrazaq
17 February, 2022

With the rapid advancement of technology and the permeation of high-speed internet throughout many people’s lives in the modern world, fears have been increasing about how readily accessible the private data of citizens has become to the states under which they live.

While this ubiquity has created the highly problematic “nothing to hide, nothing to fear” argument, with some showing a lack of concern about government penetration of their personal spaces in exchange for security and convenience, not everyone is convinced governments can be trusted.

This is particularly the case with those who live under repressive and authoritarian regimes.

“All governments have the right to protect their sovereignty and national security, but not through lies and doubts,” Ahmed El-Affendi, a Sudanese data journalist and digital privacy advocate, told The New Arab.

“Technology is the…main tool in the people’s fight for justice,” El-Affendi said. “There’s no nation that can survive or prevail in the fight for basic, ordinary rights and digital privacy without utilising every possible and affordable technology.”

"Decentralisation and crypto technologies have come to the fore as a potential last line of defence for citizens to reclaim the digital privacy landscape"

While those who surrender their privacy for the sake of convenience or the appearance of compliance with the authorities tend to live in developed economies and democracies, their reality is often not shared by billions of others around the world who live under authoritarian police states, from China to the Middle East and beyond.

In such a world where personal freedoms are at constant risk and data can readily be exploited by malevolent actors, decentralisation and crypto technologies have come to the fore as a potential last line of defence for citizens to reclaim the digital privacy landscape.

Mass surveillance and police states

Dystopian stories of Orwellian state control and surveillance are becoming increasingly common in the public debate around privacy.

In China, one of the world’s most powerful economies yet repressive polities, Beijing has instituted a number of policies designed to not only keep an eye on their citizens, but also to ensure they are behaving in a way the communist regime approves of.

Chinese citizens are constantly graded for their “social credit” rating, where good behaviour leads to more “trustworthiness” and therefore continued access to privileges, while behaviour that the ruling Chinese Communist Party deems to be poor, like buying too many video games, will lead to punishments such as throttled internet connections and travel bans.

RELATED

Israel's spyware: Tested in Palestine, sold to the world

In-depth  Sahar Amer

This chilling level of moral policing is made all the more systematic by Beijing’s development of some of the most advanced police state surveillance technologies the world has ever seen, with facial recognition becoming ubiquitous and even leading to persecution of ethno-religious minorities, such as the Uyghur people, who are constantly monitored to ensure they behave as the regime wants them to or else they will be sent to “re-education camps”.

Tom David, Head of Marketing at Exidio, a software company that develops blockchain solutions, told The New Arab that crypto and blockchain technologies were increasingly becoming a valuable tool in the fight for privacy.

“Freedom and privacy are two sides of the same coin. When countries like China remove the public’s right to privacy, they inhibit and even strip them of their freedoms,” David said.

“Suddenly, you cannot criticise the government or raise legitimate concerns. Some charities may even be closed off to your donations because the authorities don’t like them. One solution…is to use decentralised private networks that take advantage of blockchain technology.”

Authoritarian regimes across the region are increasingly adopting spyware, such as Israeli NSO Group's Pegasus technology, for mass surveillance of citizens, threatening data privacy. [Getty]


As a basic definition, blockchain is a shared, immutable ledger that records and tracks transactions, which has led many to criticise the blockchain-centric approach to privacy as it could mean that anyone with access to the ledger will be able to identify which parties were engaged in any given transaction.

But this argument has itself been criticised for raising fear, uncertainty, and doubt, or FUD as it is commonly known in the crypto community.

“Blockchain technology has been continually developing since its inception,” Chris Terry, a board member of the Blockchain Privacy, Security and Adoption Alliance (BPSAA) told The New Arab.

“Things like ring signatures, zk-SNARKs and other developments allow users to maintain their privacy by only allowing themselves and the person they are transacting with to know the details of the transaction,” Terry explained.

"The UAE, China, and others use the justification that they need to secure their citizens from the threat of terror, and crypto technologies will be used by terrorists and organised criminal organisations"

Perhaps seeking to emulate China’s behavioural control prowess, countries such as the United Arab Emirates have also taken to spying on not only their own population using malicious apps, but also foreign journalists and human rights campaigners they deem to be a nuisance in coordination with Israeli surveillance firms, as exposed by the NSO Pegasus scandal.

Further, domestic Emirati companies such as the Abu Dhabi-based DarkMatter have also sprung up in recent years.

DarkMatter bills itself as a cybersecurity firm that intends to help governments and commercial enterprises defend themselves against cyberattacks, yet their public record betrays the reality that they are intertwined with the Emirati security state.

In 2018, it was revealed that 80 percent of their contracts are with the UAE government, while a 2016 investigation into their activities spoke to whistle-blowers that described the organisation as “big brother on steroids”.

The UAE, China, and others use the justification that they need to secure their citizens from the threat of terror, and crypto technologies will be used by terrorists and organised criminal organisations.

RELATED

Bitcoin mining in Iran: Generating jobs, evading sanctions

In-depth  Saber Gul Anbari

“The problem with trying to tie privacy coins to nefarious acts such as terrorism and illegal activities is that it bypasses the fact that the number one currency used for illegal activities and terror is still the US dollar,” the BPSAA’s Terry said.

“The problem with the phrase ‘fighting terrorism’ is that over the past 20 years, the war on terror has been used to justify taking everyone’s privacy away, even though most of the population hasn’t even done anything wrong.”

The case for privacy

China and the UAE are not the only states fighting against the rights of citizens to have private lives. It was not that long ago that Edward Snowden’s infamous NSA leaks exposed the extent of how even powerful democracies such as the United States and the United Kingdom were not above spying on innocent people without any oversight.

In such a global socio-political climate where the individual rights of citizens are degraded more and more under the guise of combatting organised crime or terrorism, the public would be foolish not to exploit the opportunity granted to us by blockchain technologies, David said.

"With governments increasingly monitoring every aspects of citizens' lives, including how, when, and where they spend their money, the case for re-empowering citizens to stop ceding so many of their freedoms to governments has become stronger"

“Snowden’s leaks confirmed that Western governments are also spying on their citizens,” Exidio’s David said.

“If both repressive regimes and democracies that profess ‘freedom’ are both doing this, we can’t trust our privacy to either. We therefore need to use these technologies before there can be any discussion of the trade-off between security and freedom.”

As an indication of how Arab citizens, in particular, are starting to acknowledge this reality, Iraqi dissidents have begun to use blockchain technologies not only to resist oppressive state forces, but to also keep themselves safe while doing so.

By utilising decentralised VPNs, as well as more mainstream tools such as TOR, Iraqi demonstrators are increasingly able to protect themselves and communicate anonymously while keeping up the fight for their rights in a shielded digital space.

RELATED

Is Morocco's cyber espionage the last straw for Algeria?

In-depth Abdelkader Cheref

With governments increasingly monitoring every aspects of citizens’ lives, including how, when, and where they spend their money, the case for re-empowering citizens to stop ceding so many of their freedoms to governments has become stronger.

The worst-case scenario for activists not adopting these technologies in the long-term struggle for personal privacy and freedoms could be disastrous.

“Abortion,” Al-Affendi explained when asked what repercussions activists for basic rights might face. “All of their dreams to achieve justice and decent living in their own countries will be aborted.”

In the war to resist the public’s entitlement to privacy being gradually eroded by powerful governments, it is now arguably more important than ever to take steps to secure rights to privacy. In that war, the public’s best and last line of defence may well be crypto.

Tallha Abdulrazaq is a researcher at the University of Exeter's Strategy and Security Institute and winner of the 2015 Al Jazeera Young Researcher Award. His research focuses on Middle Eastern security and counter-terrorism issues.

Follow him on Twitter: @thewarjournal

Closing the gap: Syrian refugees in Kurdistan deserve better work opportunities

While the KRG has established policies for Syrian refugees in Kurdistan to live and work legally, these provisions have not translated into sustainable livelihoods and economic prosperity, resulting in unrealised potential, writes Caroline Zullo.

On Feb 15, 2022

The Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) is currently home to more than a quarter of a million Syrian refugees fleeing conflict. 

Forced from their homes a decade ago, more than a quarter of a million Syrian refugees currently reside in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) across Duhok, Sulaymaniyah, and Erbil governorates. While two-thirds of Syrian refugees live in KRI urban areas, the other third remain in refugee camps.

Most Syrian refugees in Iraq are of Kurdish origin, with the majority having arrived in 2012 and 2013 at the beginning of the Syrian crisis, and their shared identity as Kurds has contributed to a high degree of social and cultural integration. Commendably, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has established policies for Syrians to live safely and legally in KRI.

One such policy allows Syrian refugees to work once they have received KRI residency. They must first register with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and then obtain security clearance from the KRG security and intelligence agency, the Asayish, to formally obtain a one-year residency permit, which allows access to basic healthcare and education services.

The temporary residency also provides the de facto right to work in Iraq’s nascent private sector as employees or running a small business on their own. The result of these policies has led to Syrians in KRI enjoying the best refugee hosting arrangements in the region.

“The problem for Syrians is that this permissive legal framework has not translated into sustainable livelihoods”

The problem for Syrians is that this permissive legal framework has not translated into sustainable livelihoods. Iraq is in the midst of a weakening economy- from which KRI has little insulation- that has significantly increased unemployment.

The economic legacy of the conflict with the Islamic State group, unstable oil prices, currency devaluation and repeated disagreements over budgetary arrangements with the government of Iraq have left their mark in KRI. This has been magnified by the financial repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic, which resulted in a 21 percent increase in poverty among Syrian refugees.

While the deteriorating economy has affected all segments of KRI, even with generous legal hosting provisions, Syrians are particularly vulnerable. Two of the main factors that Iraqis rely on to secure economic opportunities—public sector jobs and social connections—are unavailable and in scarce supply for Syrians.

Only citizens can hold public sector jobs in Iraq, which come with formalised contracts, job security, and access to social benefits. Jobs in the private sector, particularly in the informal economy accessible to Syrians, come with fewer benefits, no contracts or social protection, and little recourse in the event of a labour dispute.

The economic decline that accompanied the pandemic has further exasperated competition for these jobs and many Syrian refugees report discrimination as a result of their nationality, compounded by a lack of social networks to support them in acquiring a job.

Female Syrian refugees, facing these issues in addition to gender role expectations, face even steeper odds in securing reasonable livelihoods. Syrian women told Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) teams that key issues, such as transportation, physical security, and harassment, prevented them from acquiring and maintaining jobs.

On top of these challenges, few Syrians are aware of their labour rights and even fewer are able to access them. Even for those that know their rights as employees, there are significant gaps in enforcing worker protections and Syrians lack the social connections to ensure they are implemented.

This has created an environment marked by lower salaries, longer hours, and poor conditions. NRC’s recent research, Closing the Gap: From Work Rights to Decent Work for Syrian Refugees in KRI, found that Syrian refugees in Domiz Camp in Duhok reported having to work overtime for jobs below minimum wage because they were desperate for work.

Many do not have employment contracts in the informal economy and have limited options other than leaving their jobs in the face of a violation. Ahlam, a Syrian woman who used to work in a factory told NRC teams on the ground, “I left because I was never paid my salary. I hadn’t signed any contract and there was nothing to prove I worked there.”

The gaps in enforcing worker protections have posed barriers to decent work outcomes. Syrian refugees reported that they often put up with work violations because it might make the difference in maintaining a job and a level of economic independence versus being dependent on cash assistance in a refugee camp.

Even though the legal framework exists, work protections are not being enforced in the private sector, which not only gives rise to unequal economic opportunities, but perhaps more importantly inhibits the contributions of Syrian refugees in economic recovery and their ability to integrate and become self-reliant in the long term.

The majority of Syrians report their intention to stay in KRI in the immediate future. Economic inclusion is thus critical to their ability to provide for themselves—and just as critical to the economy with the unrealised potential and expertise of Syrian refugees.

“Work protections are not being enforced in the private sector, which not only gives rise to unequal economic opportunities, but perhaps more importantly inhibits the contributions of Syrian refugees in economic recovery and their ability to integrate and become self-reliant in the long term”

KRI has commendably provided pathways for refugees to partake in its economy, despite the scarcity of jobs. However, a review of existing legal frameworks related to employment rights and enforcement would allow for clarity on these protections and outline pathways for the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs to address existing gaps.

Meanwhile, international donors and non-governmental organisations must continue to support the capacities of national systems to prioritise accountability in livelihood interventions and decent work policy frameworks.

Employment rights- for Syrians and Iraqis- are critical for sustainable livelihoods and durable solutions, but what is most necessary is the enforcement of these rights alongside the existence of legal frameworks in KRI. Only when work protections are implemented will the gap begin to close between legal and decent work.

Interviews among Syrian refugees in KRI were conducted by the Norwegian Refugee Council in Iraq through livelihoods and legal assistance programming funded by the European Regional Development and Protection Programme for Lebanon, Jordan, and Iraq (RDPP II), which is supported by the Czech Republic, Denmark, the European Union, Ireland, and Switzerland.


Source: The New Arab
By: Caroline Zullo
The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of the Observatory.

CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M 

NOT JUST A METAPHOR

Credit Suisse banker in cocaine-cash trial says murders dismissed by management

02/18/2022 |

BELLINZONA, Switzerland, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Credit Suisse learned of murders and cocaine smuggling allegedly connected to a Bulgarian gang but continued to manage cash that is now the focus of a criminal trial, a banker accused of money laundering told a Swiss court during the case.

In the first criminal trial of a major bank in Switzerland, Credit Suisse and one of its former employees face charges of allowing an alleged Bulgarian cocaine trafficking gang to launder millions of euros, some of it in used banknotes stuffed into suitcases.

The bank and the accused banker deny any wrongdoing. The proceedings, which began on Monday of last week, continued through this week and are scheduled to run until early March.

The indictment centers on relationships that Credit Suisse and its ex-employee had with former Bulgarian wrestler Evelin Banev and multiple associates, two of whom are also charged in the case.

The female banker, who is accused of helping conceal the criminal origins of the money through more than 146 million Swiss francs in transactions, appeared in the Federal Criminal Court in Bellinzona in southern Switzerland along with her managers who gave evidence. The events unfolded between 2004 and 2008.

A Credit Suisse spokesperson said the bank has rejected all allegations and that it was convinced its former employee was innocent.

Credit Suisse disputes the illegal origin of the money, a source familiar with its thinking has told Reuters, saying that Banev and his circle operated legitimate businesses in construction, leasing and hotels.

Banev is not facing charges in Switzerland but was convicted in Italy of drug trafficking in 2017 and in Bulgaria in 2018 for money laundering. He was arrested in September in Ukraine as countries including Bulgaria and Romania sought his arrest.

In Sofia, his attorney said last week that Banev denied any involvement in laundering money from drug trafficking through Credit Suisse.

The former Credit Suisse banker whose identity cannot be reported under Swiss privacy rules said she told her managers of events, including two murders, but that they decided to pursue the business nonetheless.

In an email from June 2005 read out in court last week, a Credit Suisse banker played down press reports linking the murder of one of Banev's associates a month earlier with drug trafficking.

"After the homicide we have decided to continue the business relationships," the banker wrote in the email. "The said (short and imprecise) article linking the murder to Spanish cocaine...has not been confirmed."

Roughly two years later, the victim's mother was also murdered shortly before she was due to give a statement as part of an investigation into Banev, the female banker later told the court, prompting her to raise the matter with her managers.

Banev, whose lawyer declined to comment further on Thursday, was in custody at the time, charged with participating in an organized crime group that aimed to launder money.

"The reaction I received when talking with my hierarchy, the questions were: was the person killed a bank client? No, she was not," the banker told the court.

"Is she in any way linked to bank, do you know her?" she said, recalling the conversation. "I said: 'No, never met her'. And then the reaction was, well then what is your problem?"

The court heard that the banker received bonuses of 122,000 Swiss francs in 2006 and 180,000 francs in both 2007 and 2008.

Taking the stand to give evidence, the banker's managers said this week they could recall little of events at the time and said they had trusted the matter to the bank's legal and compliance department in line with internal rules regarding funds under investigation.

"The whole process is with legal and compliance," one of the banker's former managers told the court. "The relationship manager is asked not to inform colleagues, when legal and compliance considers it important to inform different hierarchy, then they do it." (Additional reporting by Tsvetelia Tsolova in Sofia; writing by John O'Donnell; Editing by Kirsten Donovan and Jane Merriman)

Australian state sets minimum pay for Amazon contractors in landmark step

02/18/2022 

SYDNEY, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Australia's New South Wales state ordered employers of freelance delivery drivers such as Amazon.com Inc to pay a minimum rate, a decision hailed by a union as making it the world's first jurisdiction to compel the retailer to follow laws on such payments.

The measure, to be phased in over three years from March 1, requires companies which hire drivers with their own small vehicles to pay a minimum of A$37.80 ($27.20) per hour in Australia's most populous state.

That makes the state, the headquarters of Amazon's operations in Australia, the first place where the retail giant must pay wages to contractors that are set by law, the Transport Workers' Union (TWU) said.

"Gig behemoths are on notice: this is what happens when workers call out these dangerous bottom feeders and fight together for a fair day's pay," said the union's national secretary, Michael Kaine.

"For too long the likes of Amazon have been able to exploit independent contractor loopholes to sidestep rights and rip workers off fair rates of pay," he added in a statement.

An Amazon spokesperson said the company was "pleased to continue offering Amazon Flex delivery partners competitive pay as well as the flexibility to work when it suits them."

Flex drivers with a sedan in New South Wales already earned more, on average, than the enforceable rate that would take effect from March 1, the spokesperson added.

The minimum wage ruling applies to all companies which hire casual delivery drivers with cars weighing less than two tonnes, according to the New South Wales Industrial Relations Commission ruling, which was reviewed by Reuters. Amazon is the dominant employer of small car drivers with thousands of contractors in the state, the union says.

Shares of the $1.6-trillion company have nearly doubled in value over the past two years, as the COVID-19 pandemic prompted a rush to online shopping.

But it has faced scrutiny over perceptions that it takes a hands-off approach to front-line worker safety and labor laws in the countries where it operates.

Last year, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission ordered Amazon to pay $61.7 million to reimburse Flex drivers for tips it was accused of stealing.

Since Flex launched in Australia in 2020, drivers, who use their own vehicles to deliver by deadline packages picked up from Amazon distribution centers, have received varying amounts set by the company as they are not technically employees.

Friday's ruling by the New South Wales Industrial Relations Commission confirms that it is possible for all workers to have access to enforceable rights and protections, regardless of employment status, the TWU said.

"Having regard to the parties' submissions and evidence, I am satisfied that the variations proposed...would result in fair and reasonable conditions for the contract carriers to whom they apply," wrote commissioner Damian Sloan in the ruling.

($1=A$1.3897) (Reporting by Byron Kaye; Editing by Clarence Fernandez, Robert Birsel)

© Reuters 2022

Kurdish MP sings Kurdish song in parliament to protest arrest of musicians

The musicians arrested in Istanbul were beaten during their detention, Mezopotamya said.


Feb 02 2022 

Meral Danış Beştaş, the deputy chairwoman of Turkey’s pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), sang a Kurdish song in parliament on Monday to protest the arrest of a group of Kurdish musicians in Istanbul this week and bans on Kurdish music.

Danış Beştaş sang the song entitled ‘Yara Mina Bedewe’ (My Beautiful Wound’), during a news conference at the parliament. The Birgün newspaper was among local media publishing a video of her performance and statement.

“Our language is our existence. Our language is our future. We will always protect our mother language," she said. “You cannot ban any of the ancient languages, you cannot ban the Kurdish language.”

On Saturday, Turkish police detained four street musicians performing the same Kurdish song in Istanbul’s historic Istiklal Avenue, the famous street running off Taksim Square, the Mezopotamya news agency reported.

"I own this square, I own everywhere, I’m the one in charge here and you’re not allowed to make this music,” a policemen told the musicians, according to a video distributed on social media, Mezopotamya said.

Kurdish songs and live performances have faced periodical and ad-hoc bans in Turkey over the past few decades during a war between the Turkish military and the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which seeks autonomy for Turkey’s Kurds. In October 2020, the governor of Istanbul banned the Kurdish theatrical play "Beru" shortly before its first performance. It had been performed for three years both in Turkey and abroad.

Danış Beştaş criticised a decree issued by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Jan. 28 barring media from broadcasting content deemed "against the national and spiritual values of society". She characterised the decree as a "circular of censorship” that was against the nation’s Constitution.

"Erdoğan sees himself above the Constitution,” she said, according to news website Bianet. “Even according to a coup Constitution, the president cannot issue a decree about fundamental rights.

"Where did this police officer derive this power? From the one at the Palace. The system of bans starts there. They think they can continue to govern by banning everything they don't want in the country,” Danış Beştaş said.

The musicians arrested in Istanbul were beaten during their detention, Mezopotamya said.

POLITICAL PRISONER

Jailed Kurdish politician ‘criminally responsible’ despite dementia


Ahval
Feb 17 2022 

Kurdish politician Aysel Tuğluk, who has been diagnosed with dementia while behind bars in Turkey since 2016, can still be held criminally responsible, the Turkish Forensic Science Institute (ATK) found in a report this week.

Last month, over 40 national and international human rights organisations and bar associations called on the United Nations to press for Tuğluk’s release, saying the Turkish authorities were “failing to act in accordance with the law and international standards’’.

Lawyers of Tuğluk, a former co-chair and deputy for the pro-Kurdish People’s Democratic Party (HDP), the second-largest opposition group in Turkey’s parliament, have submitted several appeals for her release on health grounds after she was diagnosed with dementia and early-stage Alzheimer’s in March 2021.

Following the most recent appeal, Tuğluk was transferred to the ATK for consultations for a maximum duration of 15 days. Three days later, the ATK completed its assessment and issued a 25-page report. She was returned to the Kandıra Prison in İzmit on Feb. 5.

In the first 15 pages of the report, the ATK detailed accusations against Tuğluk instead of medical findings, local media including the Mezopotamya news agency reported on Wednesday. In the remaining pages, Tuğluk’s previous consultations and medical reports were included.

The forensic institute diagnosed Tuğluk with mild cognitive impairment and said she could remain in prison in her condition.

“No medical findings or documents were encountered to signify that (Tuğluk) had any mental disorder to the extent that would affect her criminal responsibility in the period pertaining to the criminal acts,” the ATK said in its report, according to Mezopotamya. “(Tuğluk) has full criminal responsibility in our opinion and assessment.”

The politician was arrested in December 2016 shortly following the detention of other co-chairs and several deputies of the HDP. Tuğluk faced terrorism charges for speeches she made in her capacity of co-chair of the Democratic Society Congress (DTK), a majority-Kurdish grassroots organisation. She was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Tuğluk’s family believes her condition was triggered by traumatic events since her arrest, including events surrounding the death of her mother in 2017. Far-right groups attacked the funeral and her family was forced to unearth the mother’s body to be buried elsewhere.

Tuğluk has been suffering from memory loss and anomic aphasia, according to a report issued by a public hospital in the northwestern İzmit province on March 8, 2021. The veteran Kurdish politician was also having problems completing her daily routines, it said. Tuğluk scored 11 points in a dementia test where 25 points indicated normal cognitive capacity and below 10 points indicated severe dementia.

In a follow up report by a public research hospital on March 24, Tuğluk was diagnosed with blood pressure issues. The second report included a note by her doctors advising care due to drug interactions with her dementia medication.

Another report issued in April detailed Tuğluk’s cognitive decline, saying she had significant deterioration in her learning and memory function, while retaining most of her recorded memory.

On June 8, a primary care physician at the prison infirmary entered a diagnosis of early onset Alzheimer into the national healthcare tracking system

In July, the research hospital issued another report saying Tuğluk’s condition was chronic and degenerative, that she was unfit to see out her daily routine independently, and that she could not receive the care she needed in prison.

However, the ATK said in a report dated September 2021 that Tuğluk had “attempted to make herself look worse than she was”.

“Psychopathology to the extent to require a delay to execution of sentencing was not detected,” the ATK said. Tuğluk’s spatial orientation was sufficient while her temporal orientation was “partially sufficient”, it said.

A public hospital examined Tuğluk in December last year and found further deterioration in her condition, according to a report it published.

Tuğluk had lost significant details of her personal life, her recorded memory had been affected, her ability to make calculations was diminished and her speech patterns had started to show deteriorations in content and flow, the hospital said.

HDP MPs accuse Turkey of exacerbating ISIS threat against Yazidis in Sinjar

"Turkey is the country from which ISIS gets and gathers strength and logistics the most" 


Feb 17 2022 
http://ahval.co/en-136787

Members of parliament for the pro-Kurdish Democratic Peoples’ Party (HDP) have accused Turkey of exacerbating the threats faced by the Yazidi minority in northern Iraq’s Sinjar province, Bianet reported on Thursday.

A delegation of HDP MPs visited Sinjar earlier this month following an escalation in Turkish airstrikes in the region. On Feb 2., Turkish fighter jets and drones struck positions throughout Sinjar, which local media reports described as the most extensive bombardment since 2017.

Turkey has repeatedly targeted members of the Sinjar Resistance Units (YBŞ), accusing the local Yazidi militia of close ties to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). The PKK has been partner to an internal conflict with the Turkish state since the 1980s and is listed as a terrorist organisation by the European Union and the United States.

Sinjar, the traditional homeland of the Yazidis, a religious and ethnic minority some of whom consider themselves Kurdish, came under siege by the Islamic State (ISIS) in August 2014, leaving thousands trapped for months.

The siege was eventually broken the following December by Kurdish forces including PKK fighters. ISIS crimes against the Yazidis have since been designated by the United Nations as a genocide.

Speaking to the press after the delegation to Sinjar, HDP MP Murat Çepni said: “The most striking fact that we encountered there was that Turkey's fight against ISIS is a big lie and that the international community falls short in the face of this critical matter," according to Bianet.

"Turkey is the country from which ISIS gets and gathers strength and logistics the most," he said.

“On the one side, Yazidi try to live under ISIS threat; on the other side, they are subjected to Turkey's bombardments,” he added.

The MPs called for a ban on military aircraft and drones from operating over Sinjar and requested more international support for the region.

Renewed ISIS attacks had been so far met with silence, the MPs said.

TWENTY YEARS OF TYRANNY 

Unhappiness doubled in Turkey during AKP era, according to official statistics


Ahval
Feb 17 2022 

The rate of unhappiness in Turkey has more than doubled under nearly two decades of Justice and Development Party (AKP) government, according to official statistics published on Thursday.

A survey by state-run Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) showed 16.6 percent of people in the country reported being unhappy in 2021.

The figure is up from 9.3 percent in 2003, when TÜİK began collecting the data, a year after the AKP came to power.

The overall rate of happiness also declined in the same time period. In 2021, 49.3 percent of people said they were generally happy, down from 59.6 percent in 2003.

Unhappiness has been steadily growing in Turkey since 2016, coinciding with the failed military coup against the AKP government earlier in the year.

A subsequent government-led purge saw hundreds of thousands of people jailed, removed from their jobs, or otherwise persecuted over alleged links to religious cleric Fethullah Gülen, whose followers are widely believed to have led the coup attempt.

The crackdown quickly went on to include other government opponents, including figures such as Kurdish political leader Selahattin Demirtaş and liberal philanthropist Osman Kavala, both of whom remain in prison.

It has also been a turbulent period for the Turkish economy, which is currently experiencing its second currency crisis since 2018. The Turkish lira lost 44 percent of its value against the dollar last year amid President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s insistence that the central bank keep interest rates low.

Meanwhile, Inflation surged to nearly 50 percent in January, putting households under growing financial pressure.

Over 70 pct of Turkey's Generation Z favours living abroad - survey

Last Updated On: Feb 16 2022 

http://ahval.co/en-136672

Over 70 percent of Turkey’s population aged 18-25 said they would prefer to live abroad if given the opportunity, according to a new survey by German political foundation Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS).

Of the participants in the survey, based on in-person interviews with over 3,200 youth in 28 Turkish provinces between May-September 2021, 62.8 percent said they failed to see a "good future" for the country, while 35.2 percent said they were “completely hopeless” about Turkey.

The survey arrives amid an economic crisis in Turkey, which has forced citizens to grapple with the country’s highest inflation rate in almost two-decades. Turkey is struggling with a volatile lira, which lost 44 percent of its value last year, making it by far the worst performer in emerging markets.

Meanwhile, the country’s youth unemployment rate rose by 1.7 percentage points in January to 22.3 percent, according to official data.

Over 82.9 percent of respondents said that they believed wealth and income were not distributed equally in Turkey while 87.3 percent said the country’s unemployment rate of 11.2 according to official records was too high.

Of those surveyed, 25.8 designated themselves as having “unhappy’’ lives, while 55.2 percent of respondents said they were “neither happy nor unhappy” with their lives.

Speaking on Turkey’s government, 62.5 percent respondents said they were unhappy with how Turkey was being ruled, while 5.9 percent said that they were happy with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s government.

Erdoğan has been in power for almost two decades, making him the only leader of Turkey the respondents have witnessed to date.

When asked who they would vote for if a general elections were held between May and September of this year, the main opposition Republican People’s Party received the lion’s share of support with 23.9 percent, followed by 4.9 percent for opposition centre-right Good Party, 4.7 percent for the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party and 4.4 percent for AKP’s far-right ally, the Nationalist Movement Party.

Meanwhile, 44.7 percent of those surveyed did not answer the election question, citing that they were either “undecided,” “would not cast a vote,” or “did not want to answer the question.’’

The 18-25 demographic, known as Generation Z, comprises seven million of Turkey’s population, whose majority will experience their first election as voters in the next polls scheduled for 2023.