Rights advocates denounce ‘systemic abuse’ in Israeli prisons


By AFP
March 16, 2024

Since war broke out in Gaza conditions for Palestinian detainees have deteriorated dramatically, say rights groups

- Copyright AFP/File YURI CORTEZ

Nina LARSON

In the shadow of the war raging in Gaza, record numbers of Palestinian detainees are filling Israeli prisons, where they face “systemic abuse” and torture, rights advocates warn, calling for international action.

Members of several Israeli NGOs travelled to Geneva this week to raise concerns before the United Nations about a major “crisis” inside the country’s prisons.

“We are extremely, extremely concerned,” said Tal Steiner, the executive director of the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel (PCATI).

“What we’re looking at is a crisis,” she told AFP.

She said nine people had allegedly died behind bars since October 7, according to Israeli sources.

And “there are almost 10,000 Palestinians in Israeli custody right now… a 200-percent increase from any normal year”.

While the UN and others have long raised concerns about conditions for Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons, Steiner said the situation had worsened dramatically since war erupted in Gaza.

The conflict began on October 7 after an unprecedented attack by Hamas resulting in about 1,160 deaths inside Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count based on official figures.

The militants also seized about 250 Israeli and foreign hostages. Israel believes about 130 of them remain in Gaza, including 32 believed to have died.

Israel’s offensive inside Gaza has since killed more than 31,500 people, mainly women and children, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.



– ‘Widespread and systemic’ –



“During the military onslaught on Gaza, there’s been a crisis within Israeli detention facilities and prisons that has been really left ignored,” said Miriam Azem of the Adalah legal centre. The centre is dedicated to protecting the rights of Israel’s Palestinian citizens.

Her organisation had managed to document “19 clear cases” of torture within the Israeli prison system just since October 7, including sexual violence, she told AFP.

“We’re seeing really widespread and systemic use of many, many tools in order to inflict torture and ill-treatment on Palestinians.”

This crisis, she said, “requires the immediate intervention of the international community”.

Steiner agreed, warning that this was “an ongoing crisis.

“People are (suffering) in detention right now… An urgent intervention is very much needed.”

The Israeli Prison Service told AFP: “All prisoners are detained according to the law.”

The service was “not aware of the claims”, against it, a spokesperson said, but stressed that any complaints filed by detainees “will be fully examined and addressed by official authorities”.

The NGOs also voiced alarm at reported conditions inside the military camps holding those detained inside Gaza.

At least 27 Palestinians have reportedly died in such camps since October, Steiner said, adding that this was “unprecedented and extremely severe”.

There was no access to the camps, nor had her organisation, or foreign journalists, been permitted to enter Gaza to speak with those released, she said.

But reports relying on testimony from former camp inmates suggest that detainees are often held “in open-air cages”, where “they are handcuffed and blindfolded 24 hours a day”.

Prisoners reportedly had to sleep on the floor of the cages in the cold, were beaten, and deprived of medical care, she added.



– Unlawful combatants –



The Israeli army said detainees are questioned in the facilities operating since the October 7 attack and those “found to be unrelated to terrorist activity are released back to the Gaza Strip”.

Some of the detainees who died had injuries or complex medical conditions, it added, saying each death was investigated by the Military Advocate General’s Corps.

“At the end of the investigations, their findings will be forwarded to the Military Prosecution’s Office,” the army said.

While there are no official numbers, NGOs estimate that around 1,000 people are currently detained in the camps.

Another 600 people from Gaza arrested on Israeli soil on October 7 are being held in the Israeli prison system.

Steiner pointed out that all those detained in Gaza, including children and reportedly even an 82-year-old woman, were being held under Israel’s unlawful combatants law. That law denies protections typically granted to detainees and prisoners of war.

“The law in its current form is unconstitutional,” she said.

Steiner and Azem, both Israeli nationals, said defending Palestinians’ rights in Israel had become increasingly difficult since October 7, and that they had faced threats and verbal abuse.

“It’s not an easy place to be,” Steiner said.

The trauma caused by Hamas’s attack and the frantic concern over the fate of the hostages is understandable, she said, but “that does not give you an excuse to torture”.

“This is not just the question of us versus them. This is us versus us,” Steiner said.

“If Israel can prove that it holds even the worst of its enemies in humane conditions, that will be a triumph.”

CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY 
Israeli army launches operation at Gaza's Al-Shifa hospital

Gaza Strip (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) – The Israeli army launched Monday an operation around Gaza's largest hospital, Al-Shifa, with witnesses reporting air strikes on the devastated neighbourhood where it is located.


Issued on: 18/03/2024 - 06:13Modified: 18/03/2024 - 06:11
4 min

A donkey-pulled cart passes the rubble of Al-Faruq Mosque, destroyed during Israeli bombardment in Rafah, the southern Gaza Strip, where Israel says it will send in ground troops 

© SAID KHATIB / AFP

Israeli soldiers "are currently conducting a precise operation in the area of the Shifa hospital", a statement from the military said.

"The operation is based on intelligence information indicating the use of the hospital by senior Hamas terrorists".

Witnesses in Gaza City told AFP they saw tanks surround the hospital site.

Tens of thousands of Palestinians displaced by the war have sought shelter in the complex, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza.

The Israeli army had also carried out a November operation in Al-Shifa, sparking an international outcry.

Israel has repeatedly accused Hamas of running military operations from hospitals and other medical centres, claims the militant group denies.

The Hamas government media office in Gaza condemned the operation, saying that "the storming of the Al-Shifa medical complex with tanks, drones, and weapons, and shooting inside it, is a war crime".

The health ministry in the besieged Hamas-run territory said it had received calls from people near the hospital site who claimed there were dozens of casualties.

"No one could transport them to the hospital due to the intensity of gunfire and artillery shelling," the ministry said.

The Israeli army has carried out multiple operations in and around medical facilities across the Gaza Strip since the start of the war.

The war began when Hamas launched an unprecedented attack from Gaza on October 7 that resulted in about 1,160 deaths in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official figures.

Palestinian militants seized about 250 Israeli and foreign hostages during the October 7 attack, but dozens were released during a week-long truce in November.

Israel believes about 130 remain in Gaza, including 33 -- eight soldiers and 25 civilians -- who are presumed dead.

Vowing to destroy Hamas, Israel has carried out a relentless bombardment and ground offensive that the health ministry in the Palestinian territory says have killed at least 31,645 people, most of them women and children.

According to the Israeli military, troops "were instructed on the importance of operating cautiously, as well as on the measures to be taken to avoid harm to the patients, civilians, medical staff, and medical equipment" at Al-Shifa.

The statement also said Arabic speakers had been deployed in order to "facilitate dialogue with the patients remaining in the hospital".

It added: "There is no obligation for the patients and medical staff to evacuate."

Following its November 15 operation on Al-Shifa, the Israeli military said it had found weapons and other military equipment hidden in the site -- claims Hamas has denied.

It also claimed it had found a 55-metre tunnel in the basement and shared footage that it said proved hostages had been held there, which Hamas also denied.

According to the UN, 155 health facilities in the Gaza Strip have been damaged since the war began.
'Where should they go?'

The Hamas-run health ministry said early Monday that dozens of people had been killed across the Gaza Strip overnight.

Over the weekend, 12 members of the same family were killed when their house was hit in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza.

Palestinian girl Leen Thabit, retrieving a white dress from under the rubble of their flattened house, cried as she told AFP her cousin was killed in the strike.

"She's dead. Only her dress is left," Thabit said.

For several weeks, the focus of the war had been on southern Gaza, where around 1.5 million people who have fled the rest of the devastated territory have sought refuge since the start of the war.

Allies of Israel, including the United States, have warned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government against launching a full-scale operation in Rafah near the Egyptian border.

Rafah is the only urban centre in Gaza where Israeli ground troops have yet to enter.

Visiting German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told reporters that if such an offensive resulted in "a large number of casualties" it "would make any peaceful development in the region very difficult".

Israel has insisted, however, that its war aim of eliminating Hamas cannot be achieved without operating across the territory.

On Sunday, Netanyahu vowed civilians crammed into the south of the strip would be able to leave before troops enter in pursuit of Hamas militants.

The office of Netanyahu had on Friday said he approved the military's plan for an operation in Rafah as well as "the evacuation of the population".

"Our goal in eliminating the remaining terrorist battalions in Rafah goes hand-in-hand with enabling the civilian population to leave Rafah," Netanyahu said at a press appearance alongside Scholz.

"It's not something that we will do while keeping the population locked in place."

As others have done, Scholz raised the question:

"Where should they go?"

'Out of harm's way'

The United States, which provides Israel with billions of dollars in military assistance, has said it wants a "clear and implementable plan" to ensure civilians are "out of harm's way".

Gaza is facing the threat of famine, according to the UN, and many residents of the territory have faced displacement multiple times in recent months.

There has been no indication yet of where those crammed into Rafah could go, and any suggestion of Palestinian dispersal outside the Palestinian Territories is highly contentious in the Arab world.

A Hamas proposal for a truce calls for an Israeli withdrawal from "all cities and populated areas" in Gaza during a six-week truce and for more humanitarian aid, according to an official from the group.

International envoys were planning to meet in Qatar soon to revive stalled talks for a ceasefire and hostage release deal.

Israel plans to attend the talks, and a cabinet meeting meant to decide the delegation’s mandate took place on Sunday night, Netanyahu's office said, though the outcome was not immediately known.

© 2024 AFP

Smoke and explosions rise inside the Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel, Sunday, Sunday, March 17, 2024. 

© Ariel Schalit, AP

Israeli military tells Gazans to evacuate Al-Shifa hospital

Israel's military on Monday called on Gazans to evacuate the area in and around the territory's largest hospital as battles raged at the complex crowded with patients and displaced people.

"In order to maintain your security, you must immediately evacuate the area," army spokesman Avichay Adraee said on the social media platform X, instructing "all those present" to head west and then south to a "humanitarian area". 

26 minutes ago

The pain and money behind the Afghan game of buzkashi

Mazar-i-Sharif (Afghanistan) (AFP) – Afghan rider Sarwar Pahlawan blinked away pain from the fresh stitches between his eyes as his buzkashi team chased victory in a tournament for an ancient sport still steeped in risk but now offering modern-day rewards.

 18/03/2024 

Two teams of buzkashi riders vie for victory in the finals of the rough-and-tumble Afghan sport

 © Atif ARYAN / AFP

Played for centuries in Afghanistan's northern steppes, the national sport at the heart of Afghan identity has evolved from a rough, rural pastime to a professionalised phenomenon flush with cash.

"The game has changed completely," the horseman, soon to turn 40, told AFP after returning home victorious from the tournament final in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif earlier this month.

After 20 years as a buzkashi rider, or "chapandaz", Sarwar welcomes the changes to the game, which is played across Central Asia and features elements akin to polo and rugby.

"They used to pay us with rice, oil, a carpet or a cow," he said, but today the chapandaz have professional contracts.

Top buzkashi rider Sarwar Pahlawan says the sport has 'changed completely' now that big money is flowing into it 

© Atif ARYAN / AFP

The best players can now earn $10,000 per year, with winning teammates sharing $35,000, three camels and a car offered by sponsors after clinching the title.

Traditionally, buzkashi is played with the headless body of a goat.

Today, more often a 30-kilogramme (66-pound) leather sack stands in for the carcass that riders try to pull from a fray of horses and drop in a "circle of justice" traced on the ground after doing a lap of the arena at full gallop with competitors in hot pursuit.

Training has changed too as the national league's top teams have evolved.

Robust horsemen no longer hang from trees or split wood to build muscle -- they lift weights in gyms.

"Before, when we returned from a tournament, cold water was poured on our shoulders, now we have hammams (bath houses) and saunas," said Sarwar, known as "the lion" for his strength.

Being one of the league's best players has also filled Sarwar's coffers.

"I didn't even have a bike, and now I have a car. I had almost no sheep and now I have many. I had no house, and now I have two."

But he says he remains "a simple man". Between tournaments, he cultivates his land and raises his sheep.

Fresh investment

Oil tycoon Saeed Karim, who splits his time between Mazar-i-Sharif, Dubai and Istanbul, is the biggest financier of the new buzkashi.

Horseman Sarwar Pahlawan (C) of the Yama Petroleum Team holds up the Buzkashi League trophy after their victory in the tournament final 

© Atif ARYAN / AFP

The Afghan businessman set up the winning team that bears his company's name, Yama Petroleum, five months ago.

Karim acquired the two best chapandaz in the country, including Sarwar, and around 40 competition horses, which can cost up to $100,000 each.

"In this team, we invested around a million dollars in horses, riders, stables and other equipment," he told AFP.

"I just want to serve my people," he said. "When my team wins, it's an honour for me."

It can cost around $300,000 a year to take care of the team's stallions, fed on barley, dates, carrots and fish oil, as well as 15 riders and 20 grooms.

For the comfort of his men -- who commonly suffer broken ribs, fingers and legs -- Karim had a four-hectare ranch built for recuperation and stabling horses.

Oil tycoon Saeed Karim (front 2L) is the biggest financier of the new buzkashi league and head of the Yama Petroleum team © Atif ARYAN / AFP

While Karim's homeland in northern Afghanistan remains the centre of buzkashi in the country, the sport has made recent inroads in the south -- the birthplace of the Taliban authorities, who banned the sport between 1996 and 2001 but have allowed it since returning to power in 2021.

"Buzkashi is this nation's passion," the president of the Buzkashi Federation, Ghulam Sarwar Jalal, told AFP.

"The Taliban know that it makes people happy, that's why they authorise it."

They also collect taxes from the professional league, started in 2020, which includes 13 teams from 10 provinces.

Likewise, some order has been brought into the brutal contests, and yellow or red cards rain down in the event of a foul.

More money, more fans

But above all, the influx of money has transformed buzkashi.

Traditionally, buzkashi is played with the headless body of a goat, now it is more often a 30-kilogramme (66-pound) leather sack 

© Atif ARYAN / AFP

"More fans come because they know there are more good horses and good teams have been added to the field," said Karim.

Ten thousand men filled the Mazar-i-Sharif stadium for the final, braving Taser shocks or blows from club-wielding Taliban authorities tasked with holding back the crowds.

The spectators -- devoid of women, who are kept away by both cultural stigma and government restrictions -- said they feel safer attending matches, as security has improved since the Taliban ousted the Western-backed government and ended their two-decade insurgency.

"People can now come without fear," said Mohammad Yama Razaqyar.

"Businessmen's investment is effective for the game. The arrangements are surprisingly good for the matches," added Razaqyar, who works for a tournament sponsor.

Federation president Jalal said since the return of the Taliban, the sport has grown -- from between 100 to 200 riders to at least 500 nationwide -- "because younger people are taking an interest".

"This year, 20 entrepreneurs contacted us," he said, adding he expects $4-5 million to be invested in new teams.

"We want to make it a sport as colourful as football or cricket," Jalal said.

"The more commercial it is, the more international it will become."

© 2024 AFP

Putin: The autocrat eyeing a new world order

By AFP
March 16, 2024

Putin has built up a system of domestic repression and confrontation with the West - Copyright POOL/AFP Gavriil GRIGOROV

Russian President Vladimir Putin has over the past two decades built up a system of domestic repression and confrontation with the West that is almost certain to guarantee a fifth term in office on Sunday.

Ever since the previously little-known KGB agent became president on New Year’s Eve 1999, he has consolidated power by bringing oligarchs to heel, banning any real opposition and turning Russia into an authoritarian state.

His most prolific critic, Alexei Navalny, died in an Arctic prison colony last month in mysterious circumstances. Other opponents are serving lengthy jail sentences or have fled into exile.

Abroad, 71-year-old Putin has spearheaded efforts to challenge the dominance of the West.

His grip on power tightened further after he invaded Ukraine in February 2022, with public dissent against the war effectively silenced through court proceedings and imprisonment.

His rule risks being defined by the war in Ukraine, which has cost many thousands of lives and sparked unprecedented Western sanctions that have created major tensions in the Russian economy.

There were large anti-war protests in the days after he ordered troops into Ukraine in the early hours of February 24, 2022. They were quickly quashed.

– Quashed mutiny –

But there were more demonstrations months later when the government was forced to announce a partial mobilisation, after Russia failed to topple Ukraine’s government in the opening offensive of the war.

The most serious challenge to Putin’s long rule came in June 2023, when Yevgeny Prigozhin, a long-time ally and head of the Wagner mercenary group, announced a mutiny to unseat Russia’s military leadership.

The bloody uprising threatened to tarnish Putin’s self-created image of a strategic genius — uncomfortable for a ruler who likes to compare himself to Peter the Great, the reform-minded emperor who expanded Russia’s borders.

But in recent months, Putin has demonstrated his lasting power.

Domestic opposition has been largely silent, the economy is growing again, the Russian military has gained ground in east Ukraine in recent weeks, and he has resumed foreign travel.

Putin started out as an intelligence officer before embarking on a political career in the mayor’s office in his native Saint Petersburg in 1991, as the Soviet Union was falling apart.

Boris Yeltsin, Russia’s first president, appointed him as head of the FSB security service in 1998 and as prime minister the following year.

– Early reform hopes –

It was a carefully planned strategy, culminating in his nomination as acting president when Yeltsin resigned.

Putin won his first presidential election in March 2000 and a second term in 2004.

His rise initially spurred hopes that Russia would reform and become a predictable, democratic partner to the West on the global stage.

Putin gained popularity by promising stability to a country still reeling from a decade of humiliation and economic chaos following the Soviet collapse.

After two stints as president, Putin switched back to being prime minister in 2008 to circumvent a constitutional ban on holding more than two consecutive terms as head of state.

But he kept the reins of power firmly in hand and returned to the presidency in 2012 despite pro-democracy protests in Moscow, winning a fourth term in 2018.

He jailed his loudest rival, Alexei Navalny, in 2021 and kept him in prison for three years until his death under opaque circumstances in February 2024.

The clampdown on opposition movements ramped up after the launch of hostilities in Ukraine.

Thousands of Russians were handed long prison sentences using newly reinforced censorship laws.

– ‘New Iron Curtain’ –

The West imposed sanctions that effectively cut off Russia from the global banking system, adding to the Russian leadership’s siege mentality.

In October 2023, Putin accused Europe of creating a “new Iron Curtain” and said Russia was building “a new world” that would not be based on Western hegemony.

He has also increasingly pushed a domestic agenda of nationalism and social conservatism, including most recently laws against Russia’s LGBTQ community.

Persona non grata among Western leaders after the invasion of Ukraine, the Russian strongman has sought to pivot east, wooing India and China with increased energy exports.

After shrinking in 2022, the Russian economy began to grow again last year despite high inflation, a weakening of the ruble and a drastic increase in defence spending.

The war failed in its initial aims to topple Ukraine’s government and Russia was forced into a series of humiliating setbacks by the determined defence of the much smaller Ukrainian army.

– Growing confidence –

But, with the conflict now in its third year, Putin has been speaking with increased confidence about Russia’s prospects on the battlefield — a topic he avoided for many months.

Russian forces have successfully held off a much-hyped Ukrainian counter-offensive and there are increasing doubts about whether Kyiv can hold the front lines in the face of delays to much-needed Western military supplies.

Wrangling in Washington in recent months has held up $60 billion in military aid for Ukraine, prompting alarmed warnings from the US administration.

In February, Russian forces captured the former Ukrainian stronghold of Avdiivka, handing Moscow its first major territorial gain in more than a year of fighting for the town.

The Kremlin chief struck a defiant tone in his state of the nation address almost two weeks later, vowing his troops would fight until the end.

“They will not back down, will not fail and will not betray,” Putin said.

Putin vows Russia cannot be 'intimidated' in election day victory speech

Vladimir Putin said Russia would not be "intimidated" as he hailed an election victory that paves the way for the former spy to become the longest-serving Russian leader in more than 200 years.


Issued on: 18/03/2024 - 

Russian President Vladimir Putin gestures while speaking on a visit to his campaign headquarters after a presidential election in Moscow, Russia on March 18, 2024. 

All of the 71-year-old's major opponents are dead, in prison or exiled, and he has overseen an unrelenting crackdown on anybody who publicly opposes his rule or his military offensive in Ukraine.

"I want to thank all of you and all citizens of the country for your support and this trust," Putin told a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Moscow early Monday, hours after polls closed.

"No matter who or how much they want to intimidate us, no matter who or how much they want to suppress us, our will, our consciousness -- no one has ever succeeded in anything like this in history. It has not worked now and will not work in the future. Never," he added.

With more than 99 percent of voting stations having submitted results, Putin had secured 87 percent of all votes cast, official election data showed, according to state news agency RIA.

It is a record victory in a presidential election where he faced no genuine competition.

The three-day election was marked by a surge in deadly Ukrainian bombardments, incursions into Russian territory by pro-Kyiv sabotage groups and vandalism at polling stations.

The Kremlin had cast the election as a moment for Russians to throw their weight behind the full-scale military operation in Ukraine, where voting was also being staged in Russian-controlled territories.

'Drunk from power'

Putin singled out Russian troops fighting in Ukraine for special thanks in his post-election speech in Moscow.

And he was unrelenting in claiming his forces had a major advantage on the battlefield, even after a week that saw Ukraine mount some of its most significant aerial attacks on Russia and in which pro-Ukrainian militias launched armed raids on Russian border villages.

"The initiative belongs entirely to the Russian armed forces. In some areas, our guys are just mowing them -- the enemy -- down," he said.

Kyiv and its allies slammed the vote as a sham. President Volodymyr Zelensky lashed out at Putin as a "dictator" who was "drunk from power".

"There is no evil he will not commit to prolong his personal power," Zelensky said.

Russia's presidential election: Three Putin challengers but little suspense

As early as Friday, the first day of voting, EU chief Charles Michel had sarcastically congratulated Putin on his "landslide victory".

Britain's foreign minister David Cameron added his voice to the protests, saying "this is not what free and fair elections look like", while the United States criticised the holding of the vote in Ukrainian territories occupied by Moscow.

The leaders of Venezuela, Nicaragua, Cuba and Bolivia congratulated Putin on his re-election.

If he completes another full Kremlin term, Putin will have stayed in power longer than any Russian leader since Catherine the Great in the 18th century.

Allies of the late Alexei Navalny -- Putin's most prominent rival, who died in an Arctic prison last month -- had tried to spoil his inevitable victory, urging voters to flood polling stations at noon and spoil their ballots.

His wife, Yulia Navalnaya, was greeted by supporters with flowers and applause in Berlin. After voting at the Russian embassy, she said she had written her late husband's name on her ballot.

'Mr. Navalny'

Some voters in Moscow answered the opposition's call, telling AFP they had come to honour Navalny's memory and show their defiance in the only legal way possible.

"I came to show that there are many of us, that we exist, that we are not some insignificant minority," said 19-year-old student Artem Minasyan at a polling station in central Moscow.

Putin said the protest had had no impact and that those who spoiled their ballots would "have to be dealt with".

In his first public comments on Navalny's death last month, Putin called his passing a "sad event".

Using his name in public for the first time in years during a televised news conference, Putin said: "As for Mr. Navalny. Yes, he passed away. This is always a sad event."

Putin said a colleague had proposed swapping Navalny several days before he died for "some people" currently held in prisons in Western countries.

"The person who was talking to me hadn't finished his sentence and I said 'I agree'".

Former Russian leader Dmitry Medvedev also congratulated Putin on his "splendid victory" long before the final results were due to be announced.

And state-run television praised how Russians had rallied with "colossal support for the president" as well as the "unbelievable consolidation" of the country behind its leader.
'Not alone'

At Navalny's grave in a Moscow cemetery, AFP reporters saw spoiled ballot papers with the opposition leader's name scrawled across them on a pile of flowers.

"We live in a country where we will go to jail if we speak our mind. So when I come to moments like this and see a lot of people, I realise that we are not alone," said 33-year-old Regina.

There were repeated acts of protest in the first days of polling, with a spate of arrests of Russians accused of pouring dye into ballot boxes or arson attacks.

Any public dissent in Russia has been harshly punished since the start of Moscow's offensive in Ukraine on February 24, 2022 and there were multiple warnings from the authorities against election protests.

The OVD-Info police monitoring group announced that at least 80 people had been detained across nearly 20 cities in Russia for protest actions linked to the elections.

(AFP)

Supporting Putin: Into the minds of Russian voters

Euronews
Sat, 16 March 2024 


It is always difficult for Russian voters to express their opinion publicly, for fear of punishment for speaking their mind.

But a Czech TV station asked Russians to give their opinion on the presidential election, expected to end this Sunday, with a triumphant re-election for President Vladimir Putin.

Young people interviewed are often quite complimentary about the head of the Kremlin. Here are two examples:

Pavel Kipriyanov, freelance actor: "If we talk in general about the path chosen by my country and my government, well, I understand it perfectly, I accept it, except for certain things that may not suit me. But generally speaking, I'm happy with the direction my country is taking and I think it's great."

Milena Shikina, student, wife of Pavel: "Well, it seems to me that it's been since the collapse of the Soviet Union in the 90s, when the country wasn't in the best of shape and was in fairly serious decline. And then Putin came along and the way our country lives today. I think it's a good result."

Many factors can explain this behaviour, says Russian sociologist Lev Gudkov. But when it comes to young people, Gudkov believes "they have lost their understanding of the Soviet era. They have no experience of it and have nothing to compare it with. They have been brought up, you might say, under Putin, and they know nothing else."

It's not as simple as a generational gap. Of the thousands of voters who have decided to leave Russia over the last two years, many have been young men, determined to escape the regime and conscription to fight in Ukraine. But, proportionally, many were unable to leave, while others chose not to leave their homeland. So why vote for Vladimir Putin in spite of everything?

Milena's father, for his part, is an outspoken opponent of the Moscow regime. But Artur Shikin, a building contractor, had to flee Russia and take refuge in Georgia. His opinion is clear-cut. "There are 150 million people, can't they oppose it? It's like with Stalin: people said that Stalin was responsible for everything. But at the same time, one third of the population imprisoned another third of the population and kept them in prisons, all that was done by people."

As for older voters, Gudkov also has an explanation. "Under Putin," he explains, "the idea of the future has disappeared. People have no image of the future and, as a result, there are no guidelines for development. That's what propoganda is saying: preserve the present".

One thing is almost certain: recent surveys have shown that the majority of Russian citizens are loyal to Putin, with support at around 70% compared with 20% for the opposition - although these figures are hard to verify.

Two-thirds of this same population wholeheartedly accept the information put out by state television and the pro-Kremlin media. But is it out of conviction or abnegation?

Cattle headcount software used to determine numbers present in political demonstrations


ByDr. Tim Sandle
March 16, 2024

The crowd braved low temperatures in the Belgian capital to the sound of drums and other musical entertainment - Copyright AFP John MACDOUGALL
\
One of the areas of regular dispute relates to estimating the number of people present at a demonstration. Often the figures of march organisers, the police, and the media differ. Can innovative technologies help with this?

Or, perhaps, in the current US political climate, can software challenge the over-sated claims of political figures like Donald Trump when it comes to assessing’ the level of support at rallies?

The answer appears to be ‘yes’ and this involves drawing on an unlikely resource. University of São Paulo has utilized cattle headcount software, such as the type of technology often found on farms, in order to determine the number of people present in political demonstrations: cattle counting software – the type of technology that enables farmers to track down their cattle (albeit that drone technology has added an extra dimension to this process in recent years).

As traditional methods tend to overestimate the number of people present at events, the development highlights the importance of adopting data-driven approaches and advanced technologies for more informed and effective decision-making.

This can become part of the complex interplay between social dynamics, media influence, and individual behaviour.

This approach has led to discussions about the accuracy and reliability of traditional crowd-counting methods and the potential impact of these technologies on political campaigns and conflict situations.

Researcher Pablo Ortellado revealed that the software was trained with a database produced from crowd photos from the University of Xangai in China, showing crowds in various situations.

Based on machine learning, researchers meticulously marked the heads in a quadrant of the images, and the software created a counting and recognition pattern. Before adopting such a methodology, crowd-counting error margins were at 30 percent, but this number dropped to 12 percent after the new method was introduced.

Hence such technology can aid the assessment of mass event analysis. This can have implications in various sectors, from public security to voter behaviour analysis in political campaigns.

The generally accepted definition of a mass-gathering event relates to a group of more than 1000 persons gathered at a specific location for a specific period.

For example, with political campaigns and conflict scenarios, accuracy in crowd counting can have a significant impact, such as understanding a candidate’s true reach and support in political campaigns can influence campaign strategies and political decision-making.

Controversial 'Civil War' movie prompts debate over US schism

Los Angeles (AFP) – A major film that imagines a second civil war in the near-future United States has highlighted fears about the divided state of the nation ahead of November's presidential election.


Issued on: 18/03/2024 -

'Civil War' director Alex Garland deliberately leaves the specific origins and politics of the conflict vague in his film 

© LISA O'CONNOR / AFP/File

"Civil War," which premiered at the SXSW Festival this week and hits theaters April 12, pictures a three-term US president in Washington DC battling secessionist forces from California and Texas.

The movie stars Kirsten Dunst as a journalist travelling through a broken, dystopian nation. The FBI has been disbanded, and military drone strikes launched on US citizens.

In early reviews, The Atlantic noted an "uncomfortable resonance in these politically polarized times." Rolling Stone said "you might accidentally mistake" the film's futuristic premise for the present.

So, just how plausible is the film's scenario?

The presumptive Republican presidential nominee, Donald Trump, was recently criticized for seemingly joking he would be a "dictator" on "day one" if he wins a second term as president. He faces charges of conspiring to overturn the results of the 2020 election, which he lost to Democrat Joe Biden.

Biden has accused his predecessor of embracing "political violence."

A survey by the Brookings Institution and the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) last year showed 23 percent of Americans agree "true American patriots may have to resort to violence in order to save our country."

But William Howell, a University of Chicago political science professor, said while there is cause for concern about rising political violence, "talk about 21st-century muskets being fired at one another isn't very helpful."

Political elites and Congress are more divided than ever, but polarization among the public is "overstated," said Howell.

Survey responses to vaguely worded questions do not necessarily speak to on-the-ground realities about how people will actually behave, he added.

"I don't think we're on the brink of a civil war," said Howell.

"It's more diffuse than that... a hollowing out of the state, a sabotage of administrative agencies, the disaffection of the larger public."

"All that can be true, and it also not be the case that we're about to line up as we did in 1861, and en masse begin slaughtering one another."
'Horrific'

On the other hand, author Stephen Marche believes "the United States is a textbook case of a country headed for civil war" -- just not in the way depicted by the movie.

Marche's book, "The Next Civil War: Dispatches from the American Future," uses political science models to suggest five scenarios that could plausibly trigger widespread internecine conflict.

These include anti-government militias clashing with federal forces, or a president being assassinated.

Political violence "becomes acceptable, and in a certain sense, inevitable, because people don't feel that their government is legitimate, and that therefore violence is the only response," said Marche.

"I would say that to a certain extent, that has already happened in America."

Cautioning that he has not yet seen the movie, Marche says a conflict fought along geographical lines like the North-South civil war of the 1860s is unlikely.

More likely than state-on-state violence would be a "massive, splintering chaos," reminiscent of the late 20th-century "Troubles" in Northern Ireland.

In Marche's book, retired US Army colonel Peter Mansoor says a new conflict "would not be like the first civil war, with armies maneuvering on the battlefield."

"I think it would very much be a free-for-all, neighbor-on-neighbor, based on beliefs and skin colors and religion. And it would be horrific."
'Fault lines'

In the film, director Alex Garland deliberately leaves the specific origins and politics of the conflict vague. He has said the movie is intended to be "a conversation" about polarization and populism.

It offers little exposition, and focuses on the horrific daily reality for American citizens and journalists.

"We don't need it explained -- we know exactly why it might happen, we know exactly what the fault lines and the pressures are," Garland told the audience at Thursday's premiere in Texas.

The movie's "three-term president" appears to invoke the fears held by many Americans that Trump -- if re-elected -- could ignore the US Constitution's two-term maximum, and refuse to step down after four years.

"It's hard to think otherwise, if you just take him at his word -- and I think we would be mistaken not to," said Howell.

If that scenario was reached, said Marche, talk of a civil war may already be redundant.

"If there's a three-term president, America has already ended," he said. "There's no United States anymore."

© 2024 AFP

Monsters, asteroids, vampires: AI conspiracies flood TikTok

Washington (AFP) – From vampires and wendigos to killer asteroids, TikTok users are pumping out outlandish end-of-the-world conspiracy theories, researchers say, in yet another misinformation trend on a platform whose fate in the United States hangs in the balance.


Issued on: 18/03/2024 -

© GREG BAKER / AFP


In the trend reported by the nonprofit Media Matters, TikTok users seek to monetize viral videos that make unfounded claims about the US government secretly capturing or preserving mythical monsters that include -– wait for it –- King Kong.

It is the latest illustration of misinformation swirling on the platform -- a stubborn issue that has been largely absent in recent policy debates as US lawmakers mull banning the Chinese-owned app on grounds of national security.

Often accompanied by spooky background music, the videos -- many of which garner millions of views -- feature imperious AI-generated voices, sometimes mimicking celebrities.

"We are all probably going to die in the next few years. Did you hear about this?" said a voice impersonating podcaster Joe Rogan in one viral video.

"There's this asteroid that is on a collision course with Earth," the voice claims, citing information leaked by a government official who stumbled upon a folder titled "keep secret from the public."

At least one account peddling that video appeared to be deactivated after AFP reached TikTok for comment.

'Highly engaging'

Conspiracy theory videos, often posted by anonymous accounts, typically had the tell-tale signs of AI-generated images such as extra fingers and distortions, said TikTok misinformation researcher Abbie Richards.

Peddling such theories can be financially rewarding, Richards said, with TikTok's "Creativity Program" designed to pay creators for content generated on the platform.

It has spawned what she called a cottage industry of conspiracy theory videos powered by artificial intelligence tools including text-to-speech applications that are widely –- and freely –- available online.

A TikTok spokeswoman insisted that "conspiracy theories are not eligible to earn money or be recommended" in user feeds.

"Harmful misinformation is prohibited, with our safety teams removing 95 percent of it proactively before it's reported," she told AFP.

Still, tutorials on platforms such as YouTube show users how to create "viral conspiracy theory videos" and profit off TikTok's Creativity Program.

One such tutorial openly instructed users to start by making up "something outrageous" such as "scientists just got caught hiding a saber-toothed tiger."

"Financially incentivizing content that is both highly engaging and cheap to manufacture creates an environment for conspiracy theories to thrive," Richards wrote in the Media Matters report.

Threat of AI

Such concerns, driven by rapid advancements in AI, are particularly high in a year of major elections around the world.

Last week, the European Union wielded its powerful Digital Services Act (DSA) to press several platforms including TikTok on the risks of AI -– including from deepfakes -- for upcoming elections in the 27-nation bloc.

In the United States, where the app has some 170 million users -- roughly half the country's population -- lawmakers last week overwhelmingly backed a bill to ban TikTok unless Chinese parent company ByteDance divested itself within six months.

The bill, which still needs to pass the more cautious upper house of the US Congress, risks riling young voters in a key election year.

US policymakers have repeatedly expressed concerns about TikTok's alleged ties to the Chinese government, user data safety and its apparent impact on national security.

According to a report from the US Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the Chinese government is using TikTok to expand its global influence operations to promote pro-Beijing narratives and undermine American democracy, including through disinformation.

"Disinformation should be part of the debate about TikTok," Aynne Kokas, a media studies professor at the University of Virginia, told AFP.

Many experts, however, as well as young users who rely on the app as their primary source of news, oppose banning TikTok, saying it's unfair to single out the platform.

"There's lots of misinformation on TikTok, just as there is on other social media platforms. Some of that misinformation is dangerous," Jameel Jaffer, director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, told AFP.

"(But) investing the government with the authority to suppress misinformation -- or to ban Americans from accessing platforms that host misinformation -- is not a sensible response to this problem. Nor would it be a constitutional one," he added.

© 2024 AFP

Should governments ban TikTok? Can they?

The Conversation
March 14, 2024 

An advertisement for TikTok is displayed at Union Station in Washington on April 3, 2023 © Stefani Reynolds / AFP

The U.S. House of Representatives voted 352-65 on March 13, 2024, to require TikTok’s parent company, China-based ByteDance, to sell the app or face a nationwide ban on TikTok. President Joe Biden said on March 8 that he would sign the legislation if it reached his desk.

The popular video social media app had 149 million users in the U.S. as of January 2024. Many of them contacted Congress to protest the possibility of a ban.

The bill’s fate in the Senate is unclear. It’s also unclear whether any resulting legislation would survive a court challenge.

On May 17, 2023, Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte signed legislation banning TikTok in the state, the first total ban by a U.S. state government. The law would impose fines of US$10,000 per day on any app store that offers TikTok and on the app-maker itself if it operates in the state. Individual users would not be subject to penalties. The law was scheduled to go into effect Jan. 1, 2024, but a federal judge blocked it pending a trial to determine whether the state overstepped its authority and whether the law violates the First Amendment.

The federal government, along with many state and foreign governments and some companies, has already banned TikTok on work-provided phones. This type of ban can be effective for protecting data related to government work.

But a full national ban of the app is another matter, which raises a number of questions: What data privacy risk does TikTok pose? What could the Chinese government do with data collected by the app? Is its content recommendation algorithm dangerous? Is it legal for a government to impose a total ban on the app? And is it even possible to ban an app?

Governments around the world have been banning TikTok on government-issued phones.

Vacuuming up data

As a cybersecurity researcher, I’ve noted that every few years, a newly popular mobile app raises issues of security, privacy and data access.

Apps collect data for several reasons. Sometimes the data is used to improve the app for users. However, most apps collect data that the companies use in part to fund their operations. This revenue typically comes from targeting users with ads based on the data they collect. The questions this use of data raises are: Does the app need all this data? What does it do with the data? And how does it protect the data from others?

So what makes TikTok different from the likes of Pokemon-GO, Facebook or even your phone itself? TikTok’s privacy policy, which few people read, is a good place to start. Overall, the company is not particularly transparent about its practices. The document is too long to list here all the data it collects, which should be a warning.

There are a few items of interest in TikTok’s privacy policy besides the information you give them when you create an account – name, age, username, password, language, email, phone number, social media account information and profile image – that are concerning. This information includes location data, data from your clipboard, contact information, website tracking, plus all data you post and messages you send through the app. The company claims that current versions of the app do not collect GPS information from U.S. users.

If most apps collect data, why are governments worried about TikTok? First, they worry about the Chinese government accessing data from TikTok’s 150 million users in the U.S. There is also a concern about the algorithms used by TikTok to show content.

Data in the Chinese government’s hands

If the data does end up in the hands of the Chinese government, the question is how could it use the data to its benefit. The government could share it with other companies in China to help them profit, which is no different than U.S. companies sharing marketing data. The Chinese government is known for playing the long game, and data is power, so if it is collecting data, it could take years to learn how it benefits China.

One potential threat is the Chinese government using the data to spy on people, particularly people who have access to valuable information. The Justice Department is investigating TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, for using the app to monitor U.S. journalists. The Chinese government has an extensive history of hacking U.S. government agencies and corporations, and much of that hacking has been facilitated by social engineering – the practice of using data about people to trick them into revealing more information.

The second issue that the U.S. government has raised is algorithm bias or algorithm manipulation. TikTok and most social media apps have algorithms designed to learn a user’s interests and then try to adjust the content so the user will continue to use the app. TikTok has not shared its algorithm, so it’s not clear how the app chooses a user’s content.

The algorithm could be biased in a way that influences a population to believe certain things. There are numerous allegations that TiKTok’s algorithm is biased and can reinforce negative thoughts among younger users, and be used to affect public opinion. It could be that the algorithm’s manipulative behavior is unintentional, but there is concern that the Chinese government has been using or could use the algorithm to influence people.

TikTok’s algorithm for serving you videos has also become a source of concern.

Can a government ban an app?

The pending Montana law aims to use fines to coerce companies into enforcing its ban. It’s not clear if companies will comply, and it’s unlikely that this would deter users from finding workarounds.

Meanwhile, if the federal government comes to the conclusion that TikTok should be banned, is it even possible to ban it for all of its 149 million existing U.S. users? Any such ban would likely start with blocking the distribution of the app through Apple’s and Google’s app stores. This might keep many users off the platform, but there are other ways to download and install apps for people who are determined to use them.

A more drastic method would be to force Apple and Google to change their phones to prevent TikTok from running. While I’m not a lawyer, I think this effort would fail due to legal challenges, which include First Amendment concerns. The bottom line is that an absolute ban will be tough to enforce.

There are also questions about how effective a ban would be even if it were possible. By some estimates, the Chinese government has already collected personal information on at least 80% of the U.S. population via various means. So a ban might limit the damage going forward to some degree, but the Chinese government has already collected a significant amount of data. The Chinese government – along with anyone else with money – also has access to the large market for personal data, which fuels calls for stronger data privacy rules.

Are you at risk?

So as an average user, should you worry? Again, it is unclear what data ByteDance is collecting and if it can harm an individual. I believe the most significant risks are to people in power, whether it is political power or within a company. Their data and information could be used to gain access to other data or potentially compromise the organizations they are associated with.

The aspect of TikTok I find most concerning is the algorithm that decides what videos users see and how it can affect vulnerable groups, particularly young people. Independent of a ban, families should have conversations about TikTok and other social media platforms and how they can be detrimental to mental health. These conversations should focus on how to determine if the app is leading you down an unhealthy path.

This is an updated version of an article originally published on March 23, 2023, and updated on May 18, 2023.

TikTok creators warn of economic impact if app sees ban, call it a vital space for the marginalized

Content creator Jensen Savannah, left, and her fiance and brand manager Jorge Millares, produce a client video at El Puro Cuban Restaurant, Thursday, March 14, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C. 

(AP Photo/Erik Verduzco) 

By Associated Press - Saturday, March 16, 2024


Alex Pearlman shut the door on dreams of a standup comedy career almost a decade ago, pivoting from the stage to an office cubicle where he worked a customer service job.

Then he started posting random jokes and commentary about pop culture and politics on TikTok. Just over 2.5 million followers later, he quit his nine-to-five and recently booked his first nationwide tour.


Pearlman is among the many TikTok creators across the U.S. outraged over a bipartisan bill passed by the House of Representatives on Wednesday that would lead to a nationwide ban of the popular video app if its China-based owner, ByteDance, doesn’t sell its stake. The bill still needs to go through the Senate, where its prospects are unclear.


Content creators say a ban would hurt countless people and businesses that rely on TikTok for a significant portion of their income, while also arguing TikTok has become an unrivaled platform for dialogue and community.

Pearlman, who lives outside Philadelphia, said TikTok has transformed his life, allowing him to live a dream, provide for his family and spend the first three months of his newborn son’s life at home. His customer service job only offered paternity leave equivalent to three weeks off, with two weeks paid.


“I don’t take a day for granted on this app, because it’s been so shocking,” said Pearlman, 39. “In reality, TikTok has been the driver of American social media for the last four years. Something will step into that place if TikTok vanishes tomorrow. Whether or not that will be better or worse, Congress has no way of knowing.”

PHOTOS: TikTok creators warn of economic impact if app sees ban, call it a vital space for the marginalized

TikTok, which launched in 2016, has skyrocketed in popularity, growing faster than Instagram, YouTube or Facebook. The push to remove the app from Chinese authority follows concerns from lawmakers, law enforcement and intelligence officials about the insecurity of user data, potential suppression of content unfavorable to the Chinese government and the possibility that the platform could boost pro-Beijing propaganda, all of which TikTok denies.


To date, the U.S. government hasn’t provided any evidence showing TikTok shared U.S. user data with Chinese authorities.

The move comes as the pandemic saw huge growth in digital marketing as people were stuck at home consuming - and creating - content at levels not seen before.

Jensen Savannah, a 29-year-old from Charlotte, began making TikToks of her travels around the Carolinas during the pandemic. Now a full-time influencer, she has tripled her income since leaving her telecommunications sales job.

“’Social media Influencer’ is almost to be looked at as the new print and the new form of radio and TV advertising,” she said. “It’s going to bring your dollar much farther than it is in traditional marketing.”

Some creators describe it as a digital equalizer of sorts, providing a platform for people of color and other marginalized groups to get opportunities and exposure.

“I’ve always had Twitter, I’ve had Facebook, I’ve had Instagram. But TikTok was the first one where, if you want to find somebody who looks like yourself and represents you in any type of way, you can find it,” said Joshua Dairen, a Black, 30-year-old content creator in Auburn, Alabama. Dairen makes videos about his state’s ghost stories, urban legends and history.

Growing up, he loved researching everything paranormal, but he didn’t see a lot of Black representation in the field. Exposure on TikTok has led to jobs writing freelance pieces and contributing to documentaries about paranormal occurrences and unsolved mysteries. The app also gave Dairen the flexibility and confidence to open his own coffee shop, where he gets visits at least once a day from fans of his work.

He thinks banning TikTok sets “a dangerous precedent about how much power our highest levels of government can wield.”

The state of AI infrastructure at scale: Exposing GPU utilization challenges


ByDr. Tim Sandle
March 15, 2024

Generative AI apps like ChatGPT are raising concerns about the impact of artificial intelligence on a range of issues including disinformation as well as copyright over images, sound and text 

- © AFP Julio Cesar AGUILAR

The AI Infrastructure Alliance, MLOps co ClearML and chip firm FuriosaAI have teamed up as so to assess what business executives think about artificial intelligence. The output is a new report titled “The State of AI Infrastructure at Scale 2024: Unveiling Future Landscapes, Key Insights, and Business Benchmarks”. The tome includes responses from AI/ML and technology leaders across North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific, addressing issues and obstacles to scale-up.

Many executives reported that having and using Open Source technology is important for their organization. With most focused on customizing Open Source models. PyTorch is their framework of choice. PyTorch is a machine learning library used for applications such as computer vision and natural language processing.

This assessment has revealed that the biggest challenge is in scaling AI is compute limitations (an issue of both availability and cost). The next top challenge was infrastructure issues.

Central concerns are with:How executives are building their AI infrastructure.
The critical benchmarks and key challenges they face.

How they rank priorities when evaluating AI infrastructure solutions against their business use cases.

More specifically in relation to the compute concerns, latency was top-ranked at, followed by power consumption. To address this, the majority of executives plan to use more cloud compute and many will buy more GPU machines on-premises in 2024 (a graphics processing unit – GPU – is an electronic circuit that can perform mathematical calculations at high speed. Computing tasks like graphics rendering, machine learning, and video editing require the application of similar mathematical operations on a large dataset).

On the issue of latency, over half of respondents plan to use language models (like LLama), followed by embedding models (BERT and family) in their commercial deployments. Mitigating compute challenges will be essential in their plans.

One challenge is the global limitations in GPU supplies. A global chip shortage, triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, severely hampered the production of GPUs. The pandemic disrupted the global supply chain, causing delays in chip production and delivery. To counter GPU scarcity, most businesses are looking for or are interested in cost-effective alternatives to GPUs.

The main challenges for operating GPUs is with job scheduling and management. This is especially with coordinating tasks and workflows within the AI/ML technology stack; something that is necessary in order to optimize GPU and compute resource allocation.

For those who already operate cloud compute systems, the main concerns are around wastage and idle costs. In addition there are misgivings about the cost of overall compute power consumption.

U$A

How genetic therapies transformed the lives of sickle cell patients

Washington (AFP) – Their stories are divided into before and after.

Issued on: 18/03/2024 

Physician-scientist John Tisdale of the National Institutes of Health, which ran a clinical trial for sickle cell disease treatment 

© Brendan Smialowski / AFP

First, those long years of pain which flooded every moment -- school, relationships, work.

And then -- after agonizing treatments -- what felt like the miracle of life after sickle cell disease (SCD).

Two Americans whose lives were turned around by newly approved treatments tell AFP they want others to benefit too.

But the eye-watering cost -- up to $3.1 million per course of treatment -- could limit access for other patients.

'Like coming to life'

Tesha Samuels was born in 1982 -- just before the invention of prenatal screening for SCD, an inherited red blood cell disorder.

SCD affects around 100,000 people in the United States and some 20 million worldwide.

Most people with the condition are Black. Scientists say this is because the sickle cell trait evolved to protect people exposed to malaria, so the risk of SCD is higher.

Doctors prepare a patient for blood work during her clinical trail in Washington, DC in February 2024

 © Brendan Smialowski / AFP

Those with the disease have abnormal hemoglobin -- the molecule that carries oxygen -- making their red cells hard and C-shaped like sickles.

Complications include anemia, bouts of extreme pain, organ damage and early death.

Tesha was diagnosed aged two and recalls a childhood in and out of hospital.

At seven, she suffered a life-threatening case of anemia and then aged 13 she had a stroke which led to monthly blood infusions.

Tesha said "the stigma of a Black child going to the hospital saying they're in pain" made her wait until things got unbearable.

As a young adult, Tesha saw the disease take the life of a dear friend named Mohammed, a fellow "sickle cell warrior" who would often end up in the same hospital as her.

She began studying at the prestigious Howard University hoping to become a doctor but her health forced her to drop out. She then tried community college but, once more, SCD meant couldn't finish.

"You downgrade your dreams based on your capacity in sickle cell," said Tesha.

As a newlywed in her twenties, she was dismayed at needing an intravenous medicine drip for eight hours every night to manage her condition.

Viral vector treatment has been trialed as a way to treat sickle cell disease 

© Valentin RAKOVSKY, Jean-Michel CORNU / AFP

But in 2018 her life turned a corner when she became one of the first ever people to receive an experimental gene therapy.

The procedure -- now marketed as Lyfgenia -- uses a modified virus to deliver a functional version of the hemoglobin-producing gene. .

First, doctors draw out stem cells from the bone marrow before modifying them in a lab. Then comes the hardest part -- chemotherapy to clear the way for the return of the treated cells.

In addition to losing all her hair, chemotherapy saw Tesha have a 16-hour nosebleed which left her in intensive care.

Her recovery was further complicated as her blood platelets, which are essential for blood clotting, took months to bounce back.

But when they did, her energy levels soared.

"It's almost like coming to life," Tesha said. "Here's this new life ahead of you. What do I want to do with it?"

Tesha went back to school to complete her degree.

A patient receives an echocardiogram in a followup visit during her clinical trail at the National Institutes of Health 

© Brendan Smialowski / AFP

She also started her own advocacy group, Journey to ExSCellence, to spread word of the treatment among the Black community.

"It looks like the cure, but we like to call this 'transformative,'" said physician-scientist John Tisdale of the National Institutes of Health, which ran the trial Tesha took part in.

Tisdale emphasized that each patient needed monitoring for 15 years to complete the study.

Childhood struggle

Jimi Olaghere's first memory of sickle cell goes back to when he was eight-years-old, playing soccer with other kids in his native Nigeria and needing to stop every five minutes for rest and water.

"I asked my mom, why am I different?" he remembers.

His parents sent him to live with his aunt in New Jersey where there was better health care but his childhood remained a struggle.

Jimi, 38, was unable to complete college and found his disease was too heavy a burden to place on most romantic partners, until he found his wife who was willing to embrace the challenge.

The disease also took a terrible toll.

His gallbladder was removed, he had a heart attack and lung clots. At his worst, he recalls spending 80 percent of his time in bed.

Moving to the warmer climate of Atlanta brought some relief, as it does for many with SCD.

Then, in 2019, he heard about a CRISPR gene therapy clinical trial. He applied to be tested for eligibility and received a "magical" voicemail telling him he was in.

Cell lines are prepared in a laboratory at the National Institutes of Health in Washington, DC 

© Brendan Smialowski / AFP

Thanks to the CRISPR-modified stem cell therapy he received, now marketed as Casgevy, Jimi is "basically living the dream now."

He has three children, thanks to IVF, and runs several small businesses.

Like Tesha, Jimi has raised his voice to advocate for others, particularly in Africa, where access to such treatment seems a far-off dream.

Tisdale, of the NIH, said the next step was reducing the physical burden of the treatment and making it cheaper.

It remains unclear how much private insurers will pay to offset the procedure's enormous costs.

But Medicaid, a US government-backed insurance program, has said it will pay for the therapies starting next year.

© 2024 AFP