Boats from Gaza aid flotilla gathering in Marmaris, Turkey

08.05.2026, 14:17 DPA

A Gaza aid flotilla called the Global Sumud Flotilla plans to regroup in the Turkish port of Marmaris in the coming days, according to the organizers. 

Several boats have already arrived in the harbour town’s bay, and further boats from Greece and Italy are on their way there, the activists said on Friday.

Data from an online tracker provided by the organizers also showed on Thursday that the boats were heading towards Marmaris.

It is unclear when the activists intend to set sail again from Marmaris towards the Gaza Strip with aid supplies. The organizers said that further information on the "next phase" of the campaign would be provided on May 12.

Last week, the Israeli navy intercepted more than 20 ships from the Global Sumud Flotilla in international waters west of Crete and arrested 175 people.

Greece took in most of them and helped them return to their countries of origin.

Two activists were taken to Israel by the Israeli navy and detained there.

Several EU states have expressed doubts about whether the interception in international waters was compatible with legal norms. 

Israel insists that the action taken against the activists was in accordance with international law.

• Activists' press release
• Activists' tracker showing the boats' movements towards Marmaris

(c) 2026 dpa Deutsche Presse Agentur GmbH

Israeli court rejects appeal by detained Gaza aid flotilla activists

An Israeli court on Wednesday rejected an appeal by two foreign nationals, one Spanish and one Brazilian, challenging their detention in Israel. The two men were seized in international waters last week while participating in a humanitarian aid flotilla seeking to break Israel’s blockade of the Gaza Strip. The ruling means an earlier decision extending their detention remains in place.


Issued on: 06/05/2026 - 
By: FRANCE 24

Brazilian national Thiago Avila were among dozens of activists aboard a flotilla intercepted in international waters off the coast of Greece. © Ilia Yefimovich, AFP

An Israeli court rejected on Wednesday an appeal filed by two foreign activists contesting their detention by authorities, their lawyer told journalists.

Spanish national of Palestinian origin Saif Abu Keshek and Brazilian Thiago Avila were among dozens of activists aboard a flotilla intercepted in international waters off the coast of Greece on Thursday.

The two were seized by Israeli forces and brought to Israel for questioning, while the others were taken to the Greek island of Crete and released.

On Tuesday, an Israeli court extended the detention of Abu Keshek and Avila until Sunday to allow police more time to interrogate them, according to their lawyers.

The pair's legal team then filed an appeal at the Beersheva district court against the detention.

But their appeal was rejected.

"Today, the district court of Beersheva denied our appeal and basically accepted all of the arguments that the state or the police have represented before the court and kept the previous decision," Hadeel Abu Salih said, referring to the earlier court's ruling.

The two activists had appeared in the district court, their feet shackled, an AFP journalist reported.

Abu Keshek looked exhausted and sat with his hands clasped in his lap, while Avila seemed calm, said the journalist.

Israeli rights group Adalah, which is representing the pair, has called their detention illegal.

"As we said from the first day, we're talking about an illegal arrest that took place in international waters where the activists were kidnapped by the Israeli navy without any authority," Abu Salih said after the hearing on Wednesday.

"It's so concerning that also the legal system is giving a free hand for the Israeli forces to continue with this illegal arrest in a way that would give it also legitimacy to do it again and again and kidnap international nationals."
'Stopped drinking'

Adalah has also accused the authorities of subjecting the men to continuous abuse in detention.

"Saif basically told us that he stopped drinking water in addition to the hunger strike he started on Thursday morning," Abu Salih said.

"They are also telling us that they keep interrogating them for most of the time, most of the day, and the questions keep going around the same context, which is the humanitarian mission context."

Adalah had earlier said that the two men were being held in "total isolation, subjected to 24/7 high-intensity lighting in their cells and kept blindfolded whenever they were moved, including during medical examinations".

Israeli authorities have rejected the allegations but have filed no charges against the men.

Adalah said authorities have accused the pair of several offences, including "assisting the enemy during wartime" and "membership in and providing services to a terrorist organisation".

Israel's foreign ministry says both men were affiliated with the Popular Conference for Palestinians Abroad (PCPA), a group accused by Washington of "clandestinely acting on behalf of" Palestinian militant group Hamas.

Spain, Brazil and the United Nations have called for their swift release.

"It is not a crime to show solidarity and attempt to bring humanitarian aid to the Palestinian population in Gaza, who are in dire need of it," UN rights office spokesman Thameen Al-Kheetan said in a statement.

The flotilla had set sail from France, Spain and Italy with the aim of breaking Israel's blockade of Gaza and delivering humanitarian aid to the war-ravaged Palestinian territory.

Israel controls all entry points into Gaza, which has been under an Israeli blockade since 2007.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)

Can artificial intelligence help Nollywood tell African stories differently without losing its soul?

Issued on: 08/05/2026 

08:18 min  From the show

Artificial intelligence is no longer just a Silicon Valley debate: it’s becoming part of Africa’s creative revolution. In Nigeria, filmmakers and digital artists are experimenting with AI tools to create films, archive disappearing oral histories and imagine new African futures. Obinna Okere-keocha, founder of Naija Artificial Intelligence Film Festival, and filmmaker Malik Afegbua, use AI to preserve fading oral traditions by creating digital archives.

OUR GUESTS

Obinna OKEREKOCHA
Malik AFEGBUAAI artist
 BY: 

Clarisse FORTUNÉ
Elisa AMIRI

French prosecutors seek charges against Musk and X over Grok content


French prosecutors said Wednesday that they have opened an investigation into Elon Musk and social media platform X over the distribution of child sexual abuse images, deepfakes, disinformation and alleged complicity in denying crimes against humanity linked to the platform’s artificial intelligence system, Grok.


Issued on: 08/05/2026 -
By: FRANCE 24

File photo of Elon Musk attending the finals for the NCAA wrestling championship taken March 22, 2025, in Philadelphia. © Matt Rourk, AP

French prosecutors are seeking charges against Elon Musk and his social platform X over child sexual abuse images on the platform, deepfakes, disinformation and complicity in denying crimes against humanity by the platform's artificial intelligence system, Grok.

The Paris public prosecutor's office said Wednesday it has opened an investigation into X on charges including complicity in possessing and distributing child sexual abuse images and unlawfully collecting personal data. It's also investigating charges of disseminating non-consensual images or other content and denial of crimes against humanity.

X and its parent company SpaceX did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment Thursday.

The investigation comes less than three weeks after Musk and Linda Yaccarino – the former CEO of X – were summoned for “voluntary interviews" to discuss the allegations. They did not show up, but French authorities said this wouldn't hinder the investigation.




Musk was summoned after a search took place in February at the French premises of X as part of an investigation opened in January 2025 by the cybercrime unit of the Paris prosecutor’s office. Musk and Yaccarino have been invited in their capacities as managers of X at the time of the events investigated. Yaccarino was CEO from May 2023 until July 2025.

French authorities opened their investigation after reports from a French lawmaker alleging that biased algorithms on X likely distorted the functioning of an automated data processing system. It expanded after the AI system, Grok, generated posts that allegedly denied the Holocaust, a crime in France, and spread sexually explicit deepfakes.

It’s looking into alleged “complicity” in possessing and spreading sexual abuse images of minors, sexually explicit deepfakes, denial of crimes against humanity and manipulation of an automated data processing system as part of an organised group, among other charges.
Why is French cybercrime unit investigating Elon Musk's X?

© France 24
05:00

Grok, which was built by xAI and is available through X, sparked global outrage this year after it pumped out a torrent of sexualised non-consensual deepfake images in response to requests from X users.

Grok also wrote in a widely shared post in French that gas chambers at the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp were designed for “disinfection with Zyklon B against typhus” rather than for mass murder – language long associated with Holocaust denial.

In later posts on X, the chatbot reversed itself and acknowledged that its earlier reply was wrong, saying it had been deleted, and pointed to historical evidence that Zyklon B was used to kill more than 1 million people in Auschwitz gas chambers.

In March, the Paris prosecutor’s office alerted the US Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission, suggesting “that the controversy surrounding sexually explicit deepfakes generated by Grok may have been deliberately orchestrated to artificially boost the value of the companies X and xAI – potentially constituting criminal offences,” prosecutors said.

(FRANCE 24 with AP)

Musk to pay $1.5 million to settle Twitter takeover case

05.05.2026, DPA

Photo: Patrick Pleul/dpa Pool/dpa

Tech billionaire Elon Musk is set to end a lawsuit by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over his share purchases during his takeover of Twitter with a payment of $1.5 million.

Musk and the SEC agreed on the amount in a settlement disclosed on Monday that will be submitted to the assigned judge for approval. The penalty is only a fraction of the $150 million the SEC alleged Musk saved by violating disclosure rules.

In the lawsuit, filed in early 2025, the SEC accused Musk of failing to disclose in time that his stake in Twitter had crossed the 5% threshold while he was buying shares in the online platform in 2022. That allowed him to buy more shares at lower prices, the regulator said.

The SEC analyzed Musk's purchases and concluded that the delayed mandatory disclosure had saved him more than $150 million. Shareholders who sold him their shares during that period suffered financial harm, according to the regulator.

The SEC had initially sought to force Musk to repay that amount and pay an additional penalty. According to Musk's lawyers, the agency had demanded $200 million in an earlier settlement offer.

Musk failed in February in an attempt to have the lawsuit dismissed. His lawyers had argued that the SEC had applied the law selectively and that the lawsuit violated his right to free speech. Judge Sparkle Sooknanan, however, saw no reason to dismiss the case.

The tech billionaire began buying Twitter shares on the market in early 2022. In its lawsuit, the SEC said his stake reached 5% on March 14, 2022.

Under US rules, Musk should have made that public within 10 calendar days. But he only disclosed on April 4 - 11 days too late - that he already held 9%. Twitter's share price then jumped by 27%, the SEC noted.

Musk spent around $44 billion on the purchase of Twitter, which was completed in October 2022. He sold shares in Tesla, the electric carmaker he leads, to finance most of the deal. Musk also took out loans of around $12 billion.

• SEC complaint
• Decision on motion to dismiss
• Court document on settlement

(c) 2026 dpa Deutsche Presse Agentur GmbH

Mexico: A mother exhumes her son’s bones, seven years after his disappearance

More than 133,000 officially missing persons in Mexico

Ceci Flores discovered her son’s remains during a search in northern Mexico in late March. He had disappeared in 2019. Flores is a well-known figure in Mexico, where she leads a collective of mothers looking for their missing loved ones, often victims of cartels. Collectives like hers aim to fill the gap left by the authorities’ inaction.

Issued on: 08/05/2026 
The FRANCE 24 Observers/
Chloé LAUVERGNIER

This mother found her son’s remains in the state of Sonora, Mexico, on March 24, 2026. © Facebook / Madres Buscadoras de Sonora


"No mother deserves to find not her son, but his bones – to only be able to hold his bones in her arms.” In a video posted on March 24, Ceci Flores says she is sure that the bones she is holding belong to her son, Marco Antonio. The video is filmed in a deserted, arid landscape near Hermosillo in the northwestern Mexican state of Sonora, where Marco Antonio disappeared in May 2019, after being kidnapped by an armed group.

Ceci Flores posted this video on March 24, 2026. © Facebook / Madres Buscadoras de Sonora

A few days after her video was posted, a DNA test confirmed what Flores’ instinct had already told her: that the bones did indeed belong to her son. For her part, she had known since she discovered the bones next to clothing that matched the outfit Marco Antonio was wearing when he disappeared.

"[...] The remains discovered in recent days belong to my son [...]. The DNA test confirmed what I was so afraid of [...]", Ceci Flores wrote on March 31, 2026.

Flores says that searches were conducted in the area where his remains were discovered based on information provided by one of the people responsible for his disappearance, who was interviewed by the authorities.

More than 133,000 officially missing persons in Mexico

Mexico is plagued by disappearances. According to a national registry established in 2019, more than 133,000 people are officially “missing or unaccounted for.” The number is likely much higher, as not all disappearances are reported - sometimes because of fear or lack of faith in the authorities.

Criminal gangs are responsible for a large portion of these disappearances. But some public officials also bear both direct and indirect responsibility for some disappearances, according to a recent report by the UN. One of the most well-known cases involving the authorities is the abduction and subsequent disappearance of 43 students from the Ayotzinapa Rural Teachers College in Guerrero state in 2014.

"In the case of my son, Marco Antonio, it’s a cartel that was responsible for his disappearance. He had a shop where he sold drinks, food, etc, but also drugs, except he wasn’t working for the cartel,” Flores says.

However, all types of people are disappearing, not just those with links to the cartel or carrying out illegal activities. The disappeared include men, women and even children.
‘Mothers wouldn’t have to carry out the searches themselves if the authorities were doing their jobs’

Flores may have just discovered the remains of her son, Marco Antonio, but she is still searching for another one of her sons, Alejandro, who disappeared in 2015. Another son was also abducted in 2019 at the same time as Marco Antonio, but, thankfully, he was discovered alive a few days later.

It was that terrible year when Flores founded a collective she calls "Madres Buscadoras de Sonora" ("The searching mothers of Sonora"), which brings together mothers looking for their missing loved ones.


"I created it because of my sons’ disappearances. Mothers wouldn’t have to carry out the searches themselves if the authorities were doing their jobs. They have the technology, the tools and the resources to do it. It is because of the authorities’ inaction that we have to create collectives to search for missing people, to investigate their disappearances and to find them.”

We carry out searches using picks, shovels and sensors. We are looking both for those who have died as well as those who are still alive: we visit detention centres, we walk the streets… we’ve already found more than 3,000 people alive and more than 2,700 who have died [Editor’s note: our team was unable to independently verify these numbers.]

When I found Marco Antonio’s remains, it was very painful because I knew that I wouldn’t see him again, not to mention that we only found some of his bones.

"[...] We go forward alone, while the people who should be looking for them hide behind paperwork and protocols [...]", Flores wrote in mid-April 2026.

‘We are shining a light on something that shouldn’t be happening’

According to a report by Amnesty International, there are more than 200 collectives of families searching for missing loved ones in Mexico - and 90% of the members are women. The report highlighted the dangers and difficulties faced by these women, including assassinations, further disappearances, attacks, threats and stigmatisation. Between February 2011 and May 2025, at least 30 family members of the missing were assassinated.

The most recent case involves Cecilia García Ramblas. She was a member of a collective in Salamanca in the Guanajuato state. She was kidnapped in mid-March, and her body was found a few days later.

Flores is aware of the risks:


"I receive threats every day, telling me to stop searching. The problem is that we report on all of the remains that we find, which makes both the cartels and the authorities look bad, because we are shining a light on something that shouldn’t be happening.

I can’t confirm that they are the ones threatening me, but the threats are daily. People have pointed guns at me and the other mothers. Some [of the other mothers] have disappeared or been executed. We’d like more protection from the authorities, especially when we are carrying out searches.”

These are the remains discovered by Ceci Flores and her collective in Sonora state in April 2025. © X / @MadresBuscan


Despite the risks, Flores isn’t going to give up anytime soon:


"The love for our missing loved ones makes us forget the fear. I want to keep speaking about our reality, so that people know that we exist and to raise awareness about our missing loved ones. They aren’t statistics or numbers, but people who deserve to be looked for, no matter what their pasts.”

She also believes that more needs to be done for the many children whose parents have disappeared. "Many become orphans and need help from society,” she says.

This article has been translated from the original in French by Brenna Daldorph.

Could Iran use 'kamikaze dolphins' against the US in the Strait of Hormuz?


Issued on: 06/05/2026 - 

04:23 min From the show

As US-Iran tensions escalate around the Strait of Hormuz, a journalist at a Pentagon briefing this week asked top US officials an out-of-the ordinary question: whether Tehran could deploy "kamikaze dolphins" against US warships. The idea isn't as far-fetched as it seems, as multiple countries have a history of using marine mammals for military purposes.

The question stems from a Wall Street Journal report published last week. Citing Iranian officials, it said Iran could use "previously unused weapons to attack US warships, from submarines to mine-carrying dolphins".

Though Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth denied that Iran had these in their possession, he refused to "confirm or deny" whether the US does, and Tehran was quick to troll Washington online, with its embassy in Hyderabad posting an AI-generated "dolphin bomber" on its official X account.
A long history of military marine mammals

Military marine mammals - especially bottlenose dolphins - have been around for decades, with the Soviet Union in particular known for its dolphin training programme.

There have been reports of evidence that North Korea possesses a naval marine mammal programme as far back as 2015, as well as reports that the Russian Navy deployed trained dolphins in both 2018 to aid in the Syrian civil war, and its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Rumours have floated for over two decades that Iran has "kamikaze dolphins" in its arsenal, after a Russian dolphin trainer claimed to have sold a group of Soviet "killer dolphins" to Tehran in 2000. But it's not known if they are still alive.

The US also has a "Marine Mammal Program", training dolphins and sea lions to detect and recover objects underwater, including mines.

Vedika Bahl goes through whether "kamikaze dolphins" are a myth or a military reality.

New Trump counterterrorism strategy brands Europe an 'incubator' for terrorism

The Trump administration on Wednesday unveiled a new counterterrorism strategy, accusing Europe of fostering terrorism through mass migration, while also expanding US domestic focus to include what it called “violent left-wing extremists” and “radically pro-transgender” groups.


Issued on: 07/05/2026 - 
By: FRANCE 24

US President Donald Trump's administration accused Europe of being an "incubator" for terrorism fueled by mass migration, in a new counterterrorism strategy unveiled on Wednesday.

The strategy also focuses on rooting out "violent left-wing extremists", including "radically pro-transgender" groups, as Trump's administration steps up its political attacks on opponents.

It further places drug cartels in the Americas at the centre of counterterrorism efforts.

But some of its strongest language is reserved for Europe, home to numerous US allies who will be alarmed to see their continent in the Trump administration's crosshairs once again.


"It is clear to all that well-organised hostile groups exploit open borders and related globalist ideals. The more these alien cultures grow, and the longer current European policies persist, the more terrorism is guaranteed," the strategy said.

"As the birthplace of Western culture and values, Europe must act now and halt its willful decline," said the strategy, led by counterterrorism coordinator Sebastian Gorka, who has been accused of links to far-right groups.

The fresh criticism of Europe comes just months after Trump's new national security strategy said the continent faced "civilizational erasure" due to immigration.

Trump has also recently lashed out at European NATO allies for failing to help with his war on Iran.

Left-wing groups are a major preoccupation for the Republican president's administration, with the strategy targeting what it calls "violent Left-Wing Extremists, including Anarchists and Anti-Fascists".

It says US counterrorism efforts will "prioritise the rapid identification and neutralisation of violent secular political groups whose ideology is anti-American, radically pro-transgender, and anarchist".

It specifically cited the alleged killer of Trump ally and conservative influencer Charlie Kirk "by a radical who espoused extreme transgender ideologies."

Since his return to power last year, Trump has demonised any recognition of gender diversity and transgender people.

He regularly boasts about how his administration has banned transwomen from women's sports and shortly after his inauguration signed an executive order proclaiming that there are only two genders.

FRANCE 24 with AFP

Hantavirus on the rise in Argentina, where MV Hondius cruise ship set sail

Experts say that a surge of hantavirus cases in Argentina, where the MV Hondius cruise ship set sail, is in part due to climate change. The World Health Organization ranks the South American country as having the highest incidence of the rodent-borne disease.


Issued on: 07/05/2026 - 

By: FRANCE 24

A person in a hazmat suit is escorted to an ambulance from a medical aircraft allegedly carrying some of the passengers from the cruise ship MV Hondius believed to be infected with hantavirus, at Schiphol airport near Amsterdam on May 6, 2026. © Lina Selg, AFP

Officials and experts in Argentina are scrambling to determine if their country is the source of a deadly hantavirus outbreak that has gripped an Atlantic cruise.

The health emergency aboard the ship that's moored across the ocean comes as Argentina sees a surge of hantavirus cases that many local public health researchers attribute to the recently accelerating effects of climate change. Argentina, where the cruise to Antarctica departed, is consistently ranked by the World Health Organization (WHO) as having the highest incidence of the rare, rodent-borne disease in Latin America.

Higher temperatures expand the virus’ range because, in part, as it gets warmer and ecosystems change, rodents that carry the hantavirus can thrive in more places, experts say. People typically contract the virus from exposure to rodent droppings, urine or saliva.
Argentina probes link to deadly hantavirus outbreak on Atlantic cruise


“Argentina has become more tropical because of climate change, and that has brought disruptions, like dengue and yellow fever, but also new tropical plants that produce seeds for mice to proliferate,” said Hugo Pizzi, a prominent Argentine infectious disease specialist. “There is no doubt that as time goes by, the hantavirus is spreading more and more.”


The Argentine Health Ministry on Tuesday reported 101 hantavirus infections since June 2025, roughly double the caseload recorded over the same period the previous year.

A hantavirus found in South America, called the Andes virus, can cause a severe and often fatal lung disease called hantavirus pulmonary syndrome. The disease led to death in nearly a third of cases in the last year, Argentina’s Health Ministry said, up from an average mortality rate of 15 in the five years before that.

Hantavirus usually spreads by inhaling contaminated rodent droppings and can spread person-to-person, though that is rare, according to the WHO, whose top epidemic expert said the risk to the public is low. The Andes strain only hantavirus known to spread from human to human.

Authorities said passengers on the MV Hondius ship tested positive for the Andes virus. Argentina on Wednesday said it was sending genetic material from the Andes virus and testing equipment to help Spain, Senegal, South Africa, the Netherlands and the UK detect it.

Argentine officials say they’re trying to pin down where infected passengers travelled in the country before boarding the Dutch-flagged cruise liner in Ushuaia, a city in southern Argentina known as the end of the world. Once they know the itineraries, they plan to trace contacts, isolate close contacts and actively monitor to prevent further spread.
'Unconscionable to keep them on cruise ship': WHO's Gostin on hantavirus outbreak




The UN health agency, or WHO, says that the first death on board, a 70-year-old Dutch man, happened on April 11. His 69-year-old wife, also Dutch, died on April 26. The third passenger, a German woman, died on May 2.

The virus can incubate for between one and eight weeks. That makes it hard to know whether the passengers contracted the virus before leaving Argentina for Antarctica on April 1; during a scheduled stop to a remote South Atlantic island; or aboard the ship.

The province of Tierra del Fuego, where the vessel docked for weeks before departing, has never seen a case of hantavirus. Before boarding, the Dutch couple went sightseeing in Ushuaia, and travelled elsewhere in Argentina and Chile, WHO said.

The Argentine government’s leading hypothesis is that the couple contracted the virus during a bird-watching outing in Ushuaia, according to two investigators who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to brief the media, with the investigation ongoing. Authorities are also tracing the Dutch tourists' footsteps through the forested hillsides of Patagonia in southern Argentina where some infections are clustered.

Because early symptoms resemble the fever and chills of a flu, “tourists might think they just have a cold and not take it seriously. That makes it particularly dangerous,” Raul Gonzalez Ittig, genetics professor at the National University of Cordoba and a researcher at state science body CONICET, said.

Argentina in recent years endured a historic drought. But it also had bouts of unexpectedly intense rainfall, part of a broader pattern of wild weather that scientists attribute to climate change.

Some of this variability has created conditions that have allowed hantavirus to flourish, experts say. Dry spells drive animals out of their usual habitats in search of food and water. Huge amounts of rain lead to vegetation growth, scattering seeds that attract leaf-munching rodents.

“When precipitation increases, food availability increases, rodent populations grow, and if there are infected rodents, the chance of transmission between rodents – and eventually to humans – also increases,” Ittig said.

What is hantavirus and how does it spread?

Infection generally occurs through the inhalation of dust and aerosols contaminated by the excretions of infected rodents. © FRANCE 24
04:30



Although hantavirus cases once were limited to the southern reaches of Patagonia, now 83 percent of cases are found in Argentina’s far north, according to the Health Ministry.

The ministry issued an alert in January about several fatal outbreaks, including in the most populous province of Buenos Aires.

With rural hospitals under-equipped, residents had no clue what hit them.

Daisy Morinigo and David Delgado said they initially thought their 14-year-old son had the flu when he came down with a fever and body aches. Doctors who first saw Rodrigo in the town of San Andres de Giles sent him home with ibuprofen and orders to rest.

But the feisty fourth grader's breathing worsened. On January 1, they rushed Rodrigo to intensive care. He died just two hours after a hantavirus test came back positive.

"I wouldn’t wish this pain on anyone in the world,” Delgado said.

(FRANCE 24 with AP)

Christians decry persecution in India's heartland

N Hannan in Shahjahanpur

DW

With Christians in India increasingly targeted by Hindu vigilantes, victims say police often side with the attackers.

In Uttar Pradesh, over a hundred pastors were detained (and eventually released) over claims linked with the state's anti-conversion laws

 (file photo)Image: Prabhat Kumar Verma/ZUMA/IMAGO

On a humid Sunday afternoon in July last year, a small gathering of Christians inside a modest home in India's Uttar Pradesh state was interrupted by a mob.

"At least 50 to 60 people associated with a Hindu right-wing organization came when people were receiving a religious message," said Jaynendra (name changed), the pastor leading the prayer.

What followed, he said, was chaos. The mob "created a ruckus and closed the prayer hall," Jaynendra said.

The gathering, held inside his home in the Shahjahanpur district, was not unusual. Like many Christians in northern India, Jaynendra hosts what is known as a house church, a quiet form of worship common among small and impoverished Christian communities. But in recent years, such gatherings have increasingly drawn the attention of Hindu right-wing vigilante groups who accuse Christians of carrying out forced conversions.

India's Christians make up just over 2% of the country's population, compared to around 79% for Hindus and over 14% for Muslims, according to the 2011 census.

Data compiled by rights groups indicates a disproportionate rise in violence against Christians over the past decade. In 2025 alone, local monitoring groups documented nearly 900 incidents across multiple Indian states, including physical assaults, disruptions to church services, and threats targeting worshippers, as per a report by Christian Solidarity International, a global Christian rights organization based in Switzerland.

New laws in India fuel attacks on Christians  03:07

Pastor arrested after attack on home church

Jaynendra's account is one among many that suggest a recurring pattern. Mobs descend on prayer meetings, raise allegations of forced conversion, and then the police are called. Often, victims say, it is the worshippers rather than the violent mob who are detained.

Following the attack in Uttar Pradesh, the police "took around 10 to 11 people to the police station and detained them," Jaynendra said. "They kept my family and others the whole day." Among those detained, he said, was a 13-year-old girl.

"The police questioned them and found out that they had no money or pressure to attend the gathering. Everyone came here to pray with their own will," he said. "But still they kept them."

The pastor himself was later arrested. He spent more than four months in jail under charges related to Uttar Pradesh's anti-conversion law. The law is a controversial state legislation that criminalizes religious conversions deemed to be carried out through force, fraud, or inducement. Critics say the law is often weaponized to target minority communities. Courts in the region have also noted a similar "disturbing trend" in false claims.

"There was no evidence against me," he said. "But there was a lot of pressure." DW did not receive a response from Uttar Pradesh police, despite several requests for comment.

This photo, taken in 2024, shows the grave of a Christian who died when mobs rampaged through parts of India's eastern state of Odisha after the murder of a Hindu priestImage: DIBYANGSHU SARKAR/AFP

'They started beating people'

Across northern and central India, similar stories are emerging. In Madhya Pradesh's Chhindwara district, Vinay Patil (name changed) described an attack on his congregation during a Sunday service earlier this year.

"About 35 to 40 people came," he said. "They were young boys. They started talking in abusive language and said that 'you are doing forced conversions here.'" Some of the attackers, he said, were intoxicated. Many carried sticks.

"They started beating people. Women, children, everyone," he said. "Someone's shoulder was fractured. Someone's head was bleeding." By the time police arrived, the attackers had fled. But instead of pursuing them, Patil said, officers detained the victims and accused them of carrying out "forceful conversions."

"The police picked us up and took us away," he said. "Our people had made videos. It was visible that they were beating. After that, the police did not take any action."

Patil said that fear has become part of daily life. "Today a Christian, especially a pastor, cannot even sit at another person's house," he said. "We have to think before stepping out. Even going to someone's birthday can become a problem."

Violence rising under Modi's BJP

Rights advocates say such incidents are no longer isolated. Michael Williams of the United Christian Forum said the organization recorded 134 incidents of anti-Christian violence in 2014, the year India elected Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to power, compared to around 900 in 2025.

"What you can see now, which we could not see earlier, is that the people who are doing these crimes have no fear on their faces," he said. "They are stopping in broad daylight, in public spaces, with no fear. This is a growing trend."

Williams and others link the rise in violence to the political climate following the ascent of the BJP in 2014. The party, which promotes a Hindu nationalist ideology, governs in several states where anti-conversion laws have been enacted.

These laws, intended to prevent forced or fraudulent conversions, have been criticized by rights groups for their vague definitions and potential for misuse.

One of the Easter traditions practiced in India's city of Guwahati is the reenactment of Jesus' crucifixion

Image: Anupam Nath/AP Photo/picture alliance

Attackers act with 'sense of impunity'

Jaynendra was charged under one such law about forced conversions. "They applied the same charge twice," he said, denying the allegation. "We do not have money to pay our own rent. How can we give money to someone to convert them?"

The Indian Constitution guarantees freedom of religion, including the right to practice, profess, and propagate one's faith. But activists argue that this right is not being protected.

"People are walking inside a church and breaking things," Williams said. "They have no right to take any law into their own hands."

John Dayal, a veteran human rights activist, said the violence follows a consistent pattern that dates back decades but has intensified in recent years. "The actors involved have consistently stayed the same," he said. "But when the BJP is in control, there is a sense of impunity."

Dayal said the widespread use of cellphones has also changed the nature of these attacks. "Almost all crimes are committed on camera now," he said. "The filming is part of the crime. It is to show power, to get support."

Videos of such incidents have circulated widely on social media, sometimes sparking outrage but rarely leading to swift accountability, victims say.
'The police took their side'

In many cases, police response has come under scrutiny. "There is this peculiar thing that people are attacked and the cases are registered against the victims," Dayal said. Patil echoed that sentiment.

"The mob that had come, their associates came to the police station and talked to the officer," he said. "Our people were thrown out. The police took their side."

AC Michael, another leader of the United Christian Forum, said the lack of action has emboldened perpetrators. "They have no fear of law because they have protection behind them,” he said. "In so many places, no action has been taken."

"Last year, we had close to 900 incidents. That means there are more than two incidents of attacks against Christians every day."

India: Hindu nationalists force religious conversions  04:04

More than 100 pastors in Uttar Pradesh arrested, then acquitted

Back in Shahjahanpur, Jaynendra said tensions in his area were not always so high. "There were small problems over time, but not so big," he said. Now, he said, the message to his community is clear: "There is no freedom for you here. India is only for Hindus."

Government officials have repeatedly said that India remains committed to protecting all religions. They have also defended anti-conversion laws as necessary to prevent exploitation.

But critics argue that the laws have created an environment where accusations alone can trigger violence. "Even serving one cup of tea and two biscuits can be called allurement in some places," AC Michael said. "How can someone convert for that?"

He added that in many cases, those accused of forced conversion are eventually acquitted due to lack of evidence: "More than 100 pastors were arrested in Uttar Pradesh. All of them have been acquitted."

Still, the process itself can be punishing. Jaynendra spent months in jail awaiting bail. "My wife also went to jail on July 25 and was released in October," he said. "I was released on December 13." The case against him is still ongoing.
Christian children stay out of schools

For many, the impact extends beyond legal battles. Patil said fear of violence is now interfering with the education of Christan children.

"My own children are so terrorized that they have not gone to school for 15 days," he said. "Some people were beaten and forced out of their houses. They had to leave their villages."

Despite the risks, both men say they intend to continue their work. "Our job is to spread the message," Patil said. "It is on the people to decide whether they want to listen."

For Jaynendra, the experience has been transformative but not deterring. "The atmosphere has changed a lot," he said. "I have been living here since birth. This is the first time I had to go to jail."

The reporting for the story was supported by a grant from the HRRF Journalism Grant Program.

Edited by Darko Janjevic

LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment: Hinduism Is Fascism

Dharavi, India's largest slum, braces for major redevelopment plan

Issued on: 07/05/2026

FRANCE24
05:57 min

Located in the heart of the Indian metropolis of Mumbai, Dharavi is one of the world's most densely populated slums; home to nearly 1 million people. Made famous by the film "Slumdog Millionaire", Dharavi is set to be transformed by a major redevelopment plan that will build skyscrapers, sanitation systems, parks, schools and hospitals. But this massive project requires the relocation of part of its population and is causing concern among the thousands of residents who have lived and worked in Dharavi for several generations. FRANCE 24's Khansa Juned, Nabeel Ahmed and Alban Alvarez report.

BY:

Khansa JUNED

Nabel AHMED

Alban ALVAREZ

ANALYSIS


How India's pharmaceutical pipeline is fueling West Africa's opioid crisis


Sierra Leone, Togo, Ghana, Nigeria and several more countries in West Africa are in the midst of an overlooked opioid crisis that's crippling the population and devastating families. The drugs that are fueling this crisis aren't made in makeshift labs, but imported by the millions from India's pharmaceutical industry.


Issued on: 06/05/2026 
FRANCE24
By: Diya GUPTA

A young man smokes Kush, a derivative of cannabis mixed with synthetic drugs like fentanyl and tramadol and chemicals like formaldehyde, at a hideout in Freetown, Sierra Leone, April 29, 2024 © Misper Apawu, AP


For more than a decade, a sizable chunk of West Africa – including Ghana, Sierra Leone, Senegal, Nigeria and Ivory coast – has been gripped by an opioid-abuse epidemic that has devastated families, killed thousands and strained an already overburdened healthcare system. Once primarily a transit zone for the trade of illicit drugs that linked Latin America to Europe, West Africa has become one of the primary consumers of these painkillers.

Broadly, about 30% of West Africa’s population has been found to use tramadol and codeine, making these prescription opioids among the most widely abused substances in the region. Another notoriously dangerous opioid mix is ‘Kush’ – a synthetic drug which commonly contains cannabinoids and synthetic opioids like nitazenes, which can at times be even more powerful than fentanyl. The state of drug abuse has been so devastating that in 2024 leaders of both Sierra Leone and Liberia, in an unprecedented decision, declared national emergencies over drug use. Ghana’s Food and Drugs Authority also said last year that the abuse of the opioid tapentadol, known on the street as “Red”, was on the rise.

The root of addiction in these countries is no different than anywhere else: poverty, unemployment and weak governance have created a vulnerable youth who turn to substance abuse during trying times.

Illicit pills have been in circulation outside formal markets in several countries in the region since the surge in drug use began about a decade ago. But unlike the crisis in the US, where Purdue Pharma’s now infamous OxyContin pills were manufactured and distributed, several investigations have revealed that the crisis plaguing West Africa has its roots in India.

India has exported more than 1,400 consignments of tapentadol, worth almost USD $130 million, to several countries in the region, including Ghana, Sierra Leone, Benin, Senegal and Nigeria.

Porous borders and lax regulation

India, the world's largest producer of generic medicines and self-styled "pharmacy of the world", has been in the spotlight several times for flooding West Africa with illicit opioids.

A BBC investigation released in February last year took a deep look at one Indian company, Aveo Pharmaceuticals, based in Mumbai, which manufactured a drug they called "Tafrodol" – a particularly addictive and deadly combination of tapentadol, an opioid painkiller, and carisoprodol, a muscle relaxant. It isn’t legal anywhere in the world, including India or Ghana (the main point of shipment deliveries). Yet it was exported in vast quantities by Aveo Pharmaceuticals using regulatory loopholes.

In response to the investigation, Indian authorities seized Aveo’s stock and halted production. The disruption in the supply chain was expected to reduce the export of opioids by Indian pharmaceutical companies.

But new investigation published by investigative agency Bellingcat and independent Indian news platform Newslaundry revealed that, in fact, exports of other opioids like tapentadol have sharply increased.

02:26

Indian companies shipped more than 320 million tapentadol pills to West Africa. The value of tapentadol sent to the region has risen from about $27 million between 2020 to 2022 to almost $130 million from 2023 to 2025.

More than 80 percent of the total value of the potent drug was exported to Sierra Leone or Ghana. Both countries have sizable ports and sit in the middle of a wider trafficking route where these illicit substances – which are often hidden in cargo or courier parcels – can be transported to neighbouring regions.

The drugs were in high-strength 200mg doses or more – an amount that isn’t even approved in India. Ghana’s Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) categorically stated that they had not issued any permits for the import of tapentadol in any strength to any country in the neighbouring region.

The trade suggests serious gaps in export oversight, enforcement and cross-border drug controls.

Dinesh Thakur, public health activist and co-author of "Truth Pill: The Myth of Drug Regulation in India", says the problem lies in regulatory gaps and a lack of transparency between countries.

“There are two aspects to this issue. First, in the country of manufacture, how does a manufacturer make and export these opioids without any regulatory oversight? Current law in India is that if a particular formulation is not sold in the Indian market, the Indian regulator, CDSCO, has no role in its manufacture and export," he says. "For opioids especially, which fall under Schedule H (prescription only), approval from the Narcotics Bureau is necessary for export; however, how well this process functions is anyone's guess." Thakur adds that on the other side, the importing country will also have to execute their own rules to check for specific batches of drugs.

Nelson Aghogho Evaborhene, a Nigerian PhD fellow at Roskilde University, Denmark, says the spike in opioid use began about a decade ago and its circulation has been challenging to control.

“There are supposed to be border controls to look at drugs that are coming into the country. But most times we see is that this can be bypassed and products can be smuggled through different routes. In like West Africa, the borders are very porous – sometimes it’s just a bridge or a fence. They’re not really manned.”

Evaborhene says Nigeria’s National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control has tried hard to curb the problem, but it needs the support of customs and neighbouring countries.


He also says that many countries in the region lack robust systems to collect comprehensive data on drug use patterns: “Countries are trying to document but it’s not done at the scale it needs to be. A lot of people will not come to the hospitals and some primary, even secondary healthcare spaces have not transitioned to electronic systems. So it is difficult."

'The pharmaceutical giant of the world'

More than 60 Indian suppliers have made a tidy profit exporting tapentadol to West Africa since 2023. Out of those, three companies – Syncom Formulations, Puizer Pharmaceuticals and Twin Impex – have dominated the market.

According to a detailed investigation into India’s West African opioid economy, only two firms were granted approval to manufacture tapentadol for export but neither was in the 60 exporters released. This marks a serious lapse in India’s regulatory structure.

"Raw materials and API manufacture is China's forte. But to convert those into formulation (pills) requires skills in medicinal and process chemistry which are largely available in India," says Thakur, adding that as far as he is aware, India's pharmaceutical industry has not taken appropriate responsibility and action on the matter.

Evaborhene says that the reckless import puts vulnerable communities most at risk, especially in countries facing socioeconomic hardship: "Sierra Leone is an important case. It’s a relatively small country of less than 10 million people and everybody's cramped in Freetown, so whatever is going on there, it easily spread."

India ranks third globally by production volume (pills and units) for generics, supplying roughly 20% of global generics and over 60% of vaccines by volume. The country excels in affordable, high-volume generics, but lags behind in high-value branded drugs and research and development. These investigations into the opioid exports and previous scandals have brought the quality and legality of some of those medicines, particularly exports to Africa, into question.

Evaborhene says that both India and West African nations have to come together to curb the opioid use. "We need to adopt better transnational policies and joint strategies to manage the issues. That could mean better border control, since the trafficking has a particular route, better regulations and more accountability."