=== The Body / Attleboro Cult
1. Sect members `misguided'
2. Trial move sought

=== Aum Shinrikyo
3. Red Army may launch terrorist attack to free Shigenobu: NPA

=== Falun Gong
4. Chinese ambassador to US condemns Falun Gong
5. China confirms sentencing of U.S.-based sect member
6. Sect calls on Macau to allow anniversary rally
7. Hundreds attend funeral of Falun Gong member

=== Scientology
8. L.A. Daybook (Raul Lopeze case)
9. March on Psychiatry prohibited
10. Do angels have proper wings? (Scientology buying front groups)
11. State wants $43M from man held in fraud
12. Federal Welfare Court overturns judgment on Scientologists as employment agents
13. No special surveillance for Scientology or sects

=== Buddhism
14. Alston urged to raise fate of Panchen Lama
15. Escaping Chinese, Tibetans Join Leader in India

=== Islam
16. Turkey's Top Court to Decide Fate of Islamic Party
17. Malaysia to Prosecute Net Surfers Who Insult Islam
18. Reno Blocks Palestinian's Release in Florida

=== Mungiki
19. Mungiki leader incited followers, police say

» Part 2

=== Catholicism
20. 'Rebel' Priest Shakes Malawi's Largest Church
21. Religion Runs Deep in China

=== Mormonism
22. Church Settles Copyright Suit
23. Purchase of Salt Lake Tribune Tangled in Claim of Complicity With Mormons
24. Mormon Research

=== Jehovah's Witnesses
25. Mom faced 'moral dilemma'

=== Paganism / Witchcraft
26. Witch doctors hold sway over tribal land

=== Hate Groups / Hate Crimes
27. Aryan Nations Leader Owes$66,000 in Taxes, Idaho Says
28. A Berlin Wall in cyberspace
29. Haider's Vatican audience sparks uproar
30. Vatican tries to soothe anger at visit

» Part 3

=== Other News
31. Rival Surigao cults clash; 11 dead
32. Priest Stabbed While Investigating Sect
33. Spanish priest stabbed by suspected Satanists
34. Killed girl was 'possessed by the devil'
35. Green's Wife Retracts Her Abuse Story
36. Nuwaubian sues Putnam sheriff under open records law
37. Dec. 31 Deadline Spells End For Many Religious Groups (Russia)
38. Hungary's small churches, opposition, protest new religious law
39. Freedom of Religion bill passed, for now (Israel)
40. Indian protesters seek trial swear-in using pipe
41. Former dean sues college religious and gender bias
41a. Health inspection investigates Victory Outreach drug rehabilitation program

=== Death Penalty
42. The Texan way of death

=== Noted
43. A calling to the darker forces (Vampirism)
44. Religious E-tailers Spread Faith on the Web

=== The Comedian Around The Corner
45. Rabbi reaches past religious differences to lift the spirits - as a stand-up comedian



=== The Body / Attleboro Cult

1. Sect members `misguided'
The Sun Chronicle, Dec. 13, 2000
http://www.thesunchronicle.com/
[Story no longer online? Read this]
ATTLEBORO -- Defense lawyers Tuesday depicted members of an Attleboro religious sect charged in the death of their son as `` misguided'' by their faith, but not guilty of murder.

However, their pleas to either release or lower bail for the couple and a third member charged as an accessory were rejected by a judge in New Bedford Superior Court who ordered them back to jail.

Sect leader Jacques Robidoux, 27, and his wife Karen, 25, did not feed their son Samuel solid food because of their belief in the `` misguided notion'' from a `` forecast from God'' that their son should only be given breast milk, said Taunton defense lawyer Francis O'Boy.
(...)

The defense lawyers said the couple had no malicious intent to kill their child. O'Boy conceded the couple may have been negligent and reckless but were not guilty of murder.

O'Boy said withholding food from Samuel and sudden trips the group made to Maine without food or supplies were evidence about how the couple were misguided by their faith.

`` Certainly, the evidence is this case is the misguided notion that God would provide,'' said O'Boy.

Jubinville revealed that Karen Robidoux was told that by authorities that she would not be charged if she would agree to testify against her husband, which she refused to do.

`` Her religion prevents her from arguing with her husband. She could disagree, but she could not argue,'' said Jubinville.

Jubinville said his client did everything she could, under the circumstances, to help her child, and even gave him small amounts of food when others were not present.

Jacques Robidoux is charged with first-degree murder and Karen with second-degree murder. Both have pleaded innocent.
(...)

A third member of the religious sect, Michelle Robidoux Mingo, 35, has pleaded innocent to being an accessory before the fact of assault and battery on a child.

Authorities say Mingo, who is heavy set, was jealous of Karen Robidoux's slim appearance and came up with a `` vision'' from God to have her only breast feed Samuel by drinking an almond milk concoction.
(...)

Other members of the sect, including Jacques Robidoux's father and founder of the sect, Roland Robidoux, attended the hearing.

Also with the group was David Corneau, whose cooperation led to the recovery of Samuel Robidoux's body from a grave in Maine and charges against his fellow sect members.

Corneau, who obtained an immunity deal for him and his wife, even filed an affidavit in support of the release of Jacques Robidoux, whom he said he did not fear, according to O'Boy.
[...more...]   [Need the full story? Read this]


2. Trial move sought
The Sun Chronicle, Dec. 13, 2000
http://www.thesunchronicle.com/
[Story no longer online? Read this]
ATTLEBORO -- A lawyer representing Attleboro religious sect leader Jacques Robidoux said Tuesday that he might ask for a change of venue because his client may not be able to get a fair trial `` anywhere in eastern Massachusetts.''

Taunton defense lawyer Francis O'Boy complained about leaks to the media in the case and said pre-trial publicity may prevent a fair trial for his client unless the venue is changed.

The case has received national attention, including a cover article in People magazine.
(...)

O'Boy said Bristol County District Attorney Paul Walsh Jr. `` overcharged'' the couple. He argued that they should only have been charged with involuntary manslaughter because they did not intent to kill their son, O'Boy said.

O'Boy conceded during a bail hearing in New Bedford Superior Court that what the couple did was negligent and reckless, but did not rise to malicious intent as required for murder.
[...more...]   [Need the full story? Read this]


=== Aum Shinrikyo

3. Red Army may launch terrorist attack to free Shigenobu: NPA
Kyodo (Japan), Dec. 7, 2000
http://home.kyodo.co.jp/
[Story no longer online? Read this]
TOKYO Dec. 7 Kyodo - Members of the radical leftist group Japanese Red Army may launch a terrorist attack to liberate arrested leader Fusako Shigenobu, the National Police Agency (NPA) warned in a report released Thursday.
(...)

Meanwhile, the report also said the AUM Shinrikyo cult still poses a threat to society, which is reflected in its members' behaviors. Cult members abducted a son of AUM founder Shoko Asahara after declaring in January it would never again break the law, police said.
(...)

The NPA said it ''has a strong interest'' in AUM because it believes the sect is aiming to expand its activities at home and abroad via the Internet.
[...more...]   [Need the full story? Read this]


=== Falun Gong

4. Chinese ambassador to US condemns Falun Gong
BBC Monitoring/Xinhua, Dec. 15, 2000
http://beta.yellowbrix.com/
[Story no longer online? Read this]
Text of report by official Chinese news agency Xinhua (New China News Agency)
Washington, 13 December: At a forum to expose ''Falun Gong'' held on the evening of 13 December at China's embassy in the United States, representatives of overseas Chinese from academic circles and friendly Americans in the Washington, DC, area exposed in depth the great dangers of the ''Falun Gong'' cult.

Some 100 overseas Chinese, scholars, representatives of Chinese students studying in the United States, and friendly Americans, braving cold wind, arrived in the Chinese embassy in the United States, and together with the embassy officials, systematically criticized the anti-social, anti-government, anti-humanity, and anti- religious nature of ''Falun Gong'' and proved with facts that it is a cult, pure and simple.
(...)

They pointed out that ''Falun Gong'' has degenerated into a political organization that serves for the anti-China forces, that devotes to the defamation of China's image, and that challenges the Chinese government, adding that it poses great destructiveness both to China's social stability and to the image of the Chinese in the United States.

In his speech, Chinese Ambassador Li Zhaoxing pointed out that ''Falun Gong'' colludes with such anti-China forces as ''Taiwan independence advocates'', ''Tibet independence advocates'', and ''democratic movement activists'' serve as pawns and political tools of international anti-China forces to interfere in China's internal affairs, conspires to undermine the situation of stability and unity in China and China's excellent international image, and that ''Falun Gong'' had degenerated into a reactionary political organization.
[...more...]   [Need the full story? Read this]


5. China confirms sentencing of U.S.-based sect member
AP, Dec. 14, 2000
http://www.cnn.com/
[Story no longer online? Read this]
BEIJING, China (AP) -- China confirmed Thursday that a U.S. resident who helped publicize Beijing's crackdown on the Falun Gong sect has been sentenced to three years in jail for spying.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue suggested there was little chance of early release or deportation to the United States for Teng Chunyan, who was sentenced Tuesday for ''spying and leaking state secrets.''
(...)

Teng had been expected to receive a minimum of 10 years in prison. Her relatively light sentence followed protests on her behalf from the U.S. Embassy in Beijing and the U.S. State Department.

Zhang, the Chinese spokeswoman, denied any connection between the U.S. interventions and the length of Teng's sentence. Asked if Teng might be deported before completing her sentence, Zhang said Beijing usually reserves such actions for foreigners, suggesting that as a Chinese citizen Teng was ineligible.

''China is a country ruled by law. The handling of such cases has always been in accordance with the law,'' Zhang said.
[...more...]   [Need the full story? Read this]


6. Sect calls on Macau to allow anniversary rally
Source: South China Morning Post (Hong Kong), Dec. 15, 2000
http://beta.yellowbrix.com/
[Story no longer online? Read this]
Hong Kong and overseas Falun Gong practitioners have urged Macau to allow them to hold a rally during celebrations to mark the first anniversary of the handover next week.

The plea - in a letter to Chief Executive Edmund Ho Hau-wah - comes after three of the spiritual movement's members were refused entry to the former Portuguese enclave earlier this month.
(...)

The letter said: ''Newspapers in Hong Kong and Macau have reported that Falun Gong students will be refused entry into Macau as they will disrupt law and order. Is there any truth in this and what are the reasons for such action? Who will we disturb by just handing in a letter to the Chinese leaders peacefully?''

President Jiang Zemin and other top mainland officials are believed to be on the guest list for the anniversary celebrations.

Last year, nearly 40 Falun Gong practitioners were held by Macau police after staging a rally just hours before the handover on December 19. Several members were sent back by Macau authorities or stopped at the ferry terminal in Hong Kong.
[...more...]   [Need the full story? Read this]


7. Hundreds attend funeral of Falun Gong member
AP, Dec. 14, 2000
http://seattlep-i.nwsource.com/
[Story no longer online? Read this]
BEIJING -- In a display of support for a follower of the banned Falun Gong movement, hundreds of mourners attended the heavily policed funeral yesterday of an adherent who died after suffering neck injuries allegedly inflicted by police.

Despite the official view that Falun Gong is a socially menacing cult, hundreds of Zhao Xin's friends and relatives gathered at a cemetery. The crowd included five busloads of people from the university where she taught.

The 32-year-old lecturer died Monday, six months after she and 20 other Falun Gong followers were arrested for practicing their slow-motion exercises in a Beijing park, an act prohibited since the government banned the group in July 1999.

As many as three dozen uniformed and plainclothes police kept watch at the cemetery but did not turn mourners away. Foreign reporters were ordered away and trailed by officers, apparently to deter mourners from granting interviews.
[...more...]   [Need the full story? Read this]


=== Scientology

8. L.A. Daybook
Associated Press News, Dec. 12, 2000
http://beta.yellowbrix.com/
[Story no longer online? Read this]
8:30 a.m., CIVIC CENTER -- A hearing will be set in a lawsuit filed against the Church of Scientology. Raul Lopez and his mother, Alicia Lopez, claim the church took advantage of him because he is mentally disabled. His mother alleges church officials bilked her son out of thousands of dollars in ``donations'' to the church. County Courthouse, Dept. 52, 111 N. Hill St. Contact: Court clerk, (213) 974-5677.
[...entire relevant section...]

* Legal papers
Raul Lopez vs. Church of Scientology Mission of Buenaventura

Bottom-line, from alt.religion.scientology:

From: barb <bwarr1@home.com>
Newsgroups: alt.religion.scientology
Subject: Re: ''bilked her son out of thousands of dollars''
Date: Wed, 13 Dec 2000 07:45:40 -0800
Message-ID: <3A3799A4.F8B73253@home.com>
(...)

''Scientology at its finest! A guy with severe permanent injuries and 2
million dollars in settlements encounters a cult at a swap meet. They
convince him that they can help him recover from his injuries through a
very expensive regimen of courses. Mind you, he is an illegal PC due to
his medical history, so no auditing. He'll never go OT.

He starts taking the courses, pumping money into the scieno machine,
with no improvement. Worse, they seem to have stamped 'Chump' on his
forehead in ink only Scientologists can see! He's approached by
individual Scientologists who are well aware of his impaired mental
function, these most ethical people proceed to involve him in scam after
scam, soaking him for between $700,000 and $1 million. Jailhouse phones,
New Era Technologies (went bankrupt right after he invested) and an
ostrich farm scam!
[...more...]

9. March on Psychiatry prohibited
Tages-Anzeiger (Switzerland), Dec. 14, 2000
Translation: CISAR
http://cisar.org/001214d.htm
[Story no longer online? Read this]
Embrach. - The municipal council has not granted approval for the Swiss Citizen's Commission on Human Rights (CCHR Switzerland) - an organization founded by the Scientology Church - to hold an anti-psychiatry rally. According to municipal president Albert Berbier, leaflets distributed by CCHR Switzerland contain false and libelous statements about consumption of medication, drug abuse and medical treatment in the Hard clinic. Fifty to a hundred sympathizers were to have taken part in a ''silent march for the victims of psychiatry.'' The Scientologists plan on gathering in Embrach on Saturday despite the decision.
[...entire item...]

* The Scientology organization, while claiming to promote ethical behavior, often defies authorities. The CCHR is one of many Scientology front groups. Both organizations increasingly act like hate groups.

10. Do angels have proper wings?
Suedostschweiz Presse (Switzerland), Dec. 15, 2000
Translation: CISAR [which warns: ''Scientology buying front groups'']
http://cisar.org/001215a.htm
[Story no longer online? Read this]
(...) Georg Otto Schmid warns of charlatans and so-called false prophets: behind some organizations, like Auro-Soma which originally started out as a serious institution, lurks more and more the Scientology Church (Dianetics). He stressed that Scientologists had recently bought up several institutions. Dealing with spirituality as such could also be dangerous, said Schmid. If subjects get too involved with the spiritual, they can lose orientation to reality. ''It happens that families and children in particular are neglected because of this disorientation.''
[...more...]   [Need the full story? Read this]


11. State wants $43M from man held in fraud
The Tucson Citizen, Dec. 13, 2000
http://beta.yellowbrix.com/
[Story no longer online? Read this]
PHOENIX - An Arizona businessman who was indicted in one of the biggest-dollar fraud cases ever prosecuted by the Arizona Attorney General's Office has been ordered to turn over nearly $43 million allegedly earned through fraudulent investment schemes.
(...)

Five different government agencies investigated Cook's plan, which promised investors that their money would be placed in a European Bank Trading Program. They allege he used the money to buy luxury items like cars, airplanes, a house and other real estate properties. Cook also donated $1.8 million to the Church of Scientology.
[...more...]   [Need the full story? Read this]


12. Federal Welfare Court overturns judgment on Scientologists as employment agents
RT (Germany), Dec. 14, 2000
Translation: CISAR
http://cisar.org/001214c.htm
[Story no longer online? Read this]
Kassel - The Federal Labor Agency may not disregard membership in the Scientology organization in licensing a commercial employment agency (AZ: B 11/7 AL 30/99 R), according to the Federal Welfare Court. In making this decision on Thursday, the Federal Welfare Court contradicted Rheinland-Pfalz State Welfare Court. That court had decided that legal commercial untrustworthiness could not be derived solely from membership in Scientology.

The actual case was about the complaint of a 44-year-old masseuse who had obtained a permit to be an au-pair placement agent in 1994 from the Federal Labor Agency. The permit was revoked one year later after the federal agency learned that the woman was a Scientology member. The revocation was supported, among other things, by a corresponding instruction from the Labor Ministry. In the legal dispute that followed the masseuse indeed commented that she had a ''proselytizing mission,'' but that she only carried that out in her private life. She rejected the concerns of the federal agency as unjustified, that personal data from au-pair personnel could be misused for recruitment purposes or that the personnel would be assigned to and put under the influence of Scientology families.

The state welfare court required the Federal Labor Agency to issue the permit. The Federal Welfare Court has now overturned this decision and referred the case back to the state welfare court for review.
[...entire item...]


13. No special surveillance for Scientology or sects
Report from the Federal Office of Police (Switzerland), Dec. 15, 2000
Translation: CISAR
http://cisar.org/001215b.htm
[Story no longer online? Read this]
Bern - As has been the case, the Scientology Church and other sects will not be put under preventive surveillance by state security organs. While the groups were controversial, it was said that they did not pose a threat to domestic security.

That conclusion was reached in the report ''Scientology and Sects in Switzerland'' by the Federal Office of Police. It was further said that the structure and activities of Scientology and sects had hardly changed since 1998. According to developments, the situation was going to be re-evaluated. Contact with security agencies of other European countries would remain open.
[...entire item...]

* The publisher of Religion News Report agrees with the German government's view of Scientology:

''The German government considers the Scientology organization a commercial
enterprise with a history of taking advantage of vulnerable individuals and
an extreme dislike of any criticism. The government is also concerned that
the organization's totalitarian structure and methods may pose a risk to
Germany's democratic society. Several kinds of evidence have influenced this
view of Scientology, including the organization's activities in the United
States.''

=== Buddhism

14. Alston urged to raise fate of Panchen Lama
Sydney Morning Herald (Australia), Dec. 15, 2000
http://www.smh.com.au/
[Story no longer online? Read this]
Beijing: In a bid to embarrass the visiting Minister for Communications, Senator Alston, two Australian protesters staged a demonstration in Beijing yesterday to highlight the fate of Tibet's Panchen Lama, considered to be the world's youngest political prisoner.

Two members of the Australia Tibet Council (ATC) unfurled a banner in front of the Australian Embassy in Beijing. It bore the slogan: ''Senator Alston: Where is the Panchen Lama?'' and featured a photograph of the missing boy.

Soldiers on guard outside the embassy appeared unsure how to deal with the peaceful demonstration, but within minutes had summoned reinforcements. Several police also arrived. Apart from jostling reporters and photographers, the soldiers and police took no action.

The protest by the ATC vice-president, Ms Alex Butler, and campaign worker Mr Paul Bourke, was the first to be held by the group inside China.
[...more...]   [Need the full story? Read this]


15. Escaping Chinese, Tibetans Join Leader in India
The Washington Post, Dec. 15, 2000
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
[Story no longer online? Read this]
(...) More than 40 years after Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, fled and set up a Tibetan government in exile here, Tibetans stream in steadily, voting with their feet against Chinese rule.

Thupden and his family are still recovering from their ordeal, and the children are covered with sores, but they say what they left behind was far worse. Thupden said he spent six years in prison for arguing with the Chinese police against their occupation of Tibet and was beaten so badly he partially lost his hearing. After his release, he said, police harassed him by levying huge taxes on his farm animals and fining him each year for having had a third child--a violation of China's population control policies.
(...)

Thupden arrived as several thousand exiled Tibetans gathered in Dharmsala last week to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Dalai Lama's leadership. At daybreak, maroon-robed Buddhist monks filled the steep, narrow alleys that wind up to the main Buddhist temple at daybreak. The temple's broad courtyard, lined with red and yellow prayer wheels, resonated with drumbeats and horns as thousands of Tibetan families waited patiently for a glimpse of their leader.

The Dalai Lama, 65, revered by Tibetans as the 14th reincarnation of the Buddha of Compassion, sat with folded hands under a large gold-plated Buddha, swaying to the guttural chants. From Dharmsala, he leads an international campaign against Chinese control of Tibet.

''The more faith people show in me, the more morally responsible I feel,'' the Dalai Lama told journalists at the celebration. ''At the age of 65 today, if my existence here seems to give some basis for hope for those inside Tibet, I am grateful.''

The Thupden family's recent flight was not as sensational as the Dalai Lama's escape 40 years ago from occupying Chinese troops, nor that of another leading Buddhist monk, the 14-year-old Karmapa Lama, who fled last year. But it was typical of thousands of Tibetans who continue to flee religious and political persecution at the hands of China every year.

About 2,900 Tibetans have arrived in India this year, and more than 35,000 since 1990, according to Tibetan officials here. Unlike those who fled decades ago and who are officially recognized as refugees, the new arrivals live in India illegally and invisibly.
(...)

More than half of the new refugees are Buddhist monks and nuns who have been expelled from monasteries for demonstrating against China, or in some cases for keeping the Dalai Lama's picture.
(...)

According to the Tibetan Center for Human Rights and Democracy here, China holds about 600 Tibetan political prisoners, most of whom have been tried without legal representation.

''Anything that can define Tibetans as a distinct race is viewed as a direct threat to the unity of China and the Communist Party leadership,'' said Lobsang Nyandak, an official of the center. He said Tibetan prisoners are tortured with electric batons and dogs, and that some nuns had been sexually abused.

The Chinese Embassy in New Delhi denied such allegations and said there are no detention centers in China. Lu Ping, a spokesman, said the world enjoys ''demonizing China'' and that the Dalai Lama's crusade has painted a false portrait of Tibetans' lives in China. He said he knew nothing about the thousands of refugees who flee to India each year.

In Dharmsala, the Tibetan Health Department offers a counseling program for torture survivors that includes both Western and Buddhist therapy. Refugees are urged to talk about their experiences to come to terms with them, and also to understand, in Buddhist terms, how their karma has caused them suffering.

''Many refugees bring with them deep psychological wounds,'' said Kalsang Phuntsok, who works at the program. ''The common symptoms are nightmares, fear of the police, loss of memory, sleeplessness and a weak heart.'' He said the refugees are encouraged to ''have compassion for their tormentors, and [understand] that their suffering is for the good of the Tibetan cause.''

Soon after Thupden's ordeal ended with his arrival here, the yak herder was finally able to meet the Dalai Lama. He pressed the leader's hands to his forehead and began to cry. ''I couldn't say anything, I couldn't remember any words. My whole body was shaking,'' he recalled. ''I felt a sudden peace. I was free.''
[...more...]   [Need the full story? Read this]


=== Islam

16. Turkey's Top Court to Decide Fate of Islamic Party
Washington Post, Dec. 14, 2000
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
[Story no longer online? Read this]
ISTANBUL, Dec. 13 -- Turkey's highest court began deliberations this week on the state's final offensive to outlaw the country's main Islamic party and expel its members from parliament, which could force the government's collapse and trigger new elections.

Prosecutors launched the case against the Virtue Party, Turkey's largest opposition party with 103 members in parliament, in May 1999, saying the organization was an illegal reincarnation of the Welfare Party, an Islamic political group that had been banned 16 months earlier. Both parties have been accused of violating Turkey's secular democracy by advocating a greater role for religion in public life.

This week the legal battle against Virtue entered its final stage, during which the 11 judges on Turkey's high court, known as the Constitutional Court, consider evidence and debate the law. A verdict is not expected until next year.

The court battle highlights a fundamental rift in Turkish society, which is 99 percent Muslim. Many people here, wanting to express their Islamic faith more freely, have supported Virtue and Welfare in local and national elections, saying they best reflect their religious values and desire for change. But Turkey's military and the country's Westernized political elite refuse to allow any challenge to the constitutionally enshrined concept of secularism, believing that mixing politics and religion could lead to Turkey's unraveling.

A verdict outlawing the Virtue Party undoubtedly would rile Turkey's European neighbors, which have demanded improvement in human rights and political freedoms before considering Turkey's application for membership in the European Union. The United States, Turkey's staunch NATO ally, and Europe sharply rebuked Turkey when its courts outlawed the Welfare Party in January 1998. Fifteen parties have been vanquished by Turkish authorities since 1983.
[...more...]   [Need the full story? Read this]


17. Malaysia to Prosecute Net Surfers Who Insult Islam
Reuters, Dec. 12, 2000
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/
[Story no longer online? Read this]
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (Reuters) - Malaysia said Tuesday it will prosecute Muslim Net surfers who insult Islam via the Internet.

Legal action will be taken under Syariah criminal law, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Abdul Hamid Othman told parliament, the national news agency Bernama reported.

He said individuals had ridiculed the Prophet Mohammad and the holy book, the Koran, by posting their own religious interpretations on the Internet in order to create animosity between Muslims.

Syariah or Islamic law applies only to Muslims and covers family and religious matters. The country's civil law, which applies to all, is based on the British legal system.

Insulting the Koran and the Prophet's teachings are punishable with fines of up to 5,000 ringgit ($1,316) or three years prison under Malaysia's Syariah law.

The government of Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has long said that the main opposition Parti se-Islam Malaysia (PAS) party spreads twisted interpretations of Islam in order to turn Muslims against the government. PAS has denied the accusation.

The country manager for computer network giant Cisco Systems, Shaifubahrim Saleh, said the government's legal threat should not be linked to the Internet censorship issue.
(...)

Malaysian officials have repeatedly claimed the country will not censor Internet content. That promise was reaffirmed by a deputy minister last weekend after a survey found the word ``sex'' was the term most used by Malaysians for Internet searches.
[...more...]   [Need the full story? Read this]


18. Reno Blocks Palestinian's Release in Florida
Reuters, Dec. 12, 2000
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/
[Story no longer online? Read this]
BRADENTON, Fla. (Reuters) - U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno blocked on Tuesday the release of a Palestinian man who has been jailed in Florida for more than three years on secret evidence alleging he is a terrorist, immigration officials said.

Mazen Al-Najjar's wife, three children, relatives and friends had gone to the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) detention center in Bradenton on Tuesday morning with an $8,000 check and were waiting to post his bail when Reno issued the order blocking his release.

No charges have ever been filed against Al-Najjar.

Immigration Judge R. Kevin McHugh had ordered Al-Najjar's release on Dec. 6, but an INS appeal board issued a stay the same day. The panel lifted its stay on Monday and Al-Najjar's release was set for Tuesday. Reno's order remains in effect at least until Friday.
(...)

In addition to the secret evidence, the INS has cited Al-Najjar's membership in the World and Islamic Studies Enterprise, a Tampa think tank. Another member of that group became head of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad in 1995.

Al-Najjar has denied having any involvement with terrorists and his case has been championed by civil rights groups.
(...)

Even if Al-Najjar is freed, he and wife face deportation hearings but they said they have no country to go to.
[...more...]   [Need the full story? Read this]

* USA: Amnesty International seeks ban on secret evidence
Amnesty International, July 24, 2000 (Press Release)
Amnesty International is calling today on the USA Government to urgently
review the case of Mazen Al-Najjar -- detained in the USA for more than three
years without charge on the basis of secret evidence purportedly linking him
to a terrorist organization.
[...more...]
Amnesty International Fair Trials Manual

=== Mungiki

19. Mungiki leader incited followers, police say
The Nation (Kenya), Dec. 14, 2000
http://www.nationaudio.com/
[Story no longer online? Read this]
The unregistered Mungiki sect leader Ndura Waruinge was arrested for inciting his followers, police said yesterday.

Central Police Station boss Sammy Maritim said Mr Waruinge was being sought for urging his adherents to strip women in Kayole, Nairobi, last October.

But Mungiki leaders demanded his immediate release before they announce the next course of action.
(...)

However, Mr Waruinge, who is being held at Machakos Police Station, denied publicly that his members participated in the stripping, saying those were hooligans planted by the government.

Police Commissioner Philemon Abong'o has said Mungiki activities were illegal.

Mr Waruinge might also be charged with allegedly inciting his members to disrupt proceedings at a Machakos Court. The 26 members, now serving a three months jail-term each, invaded the court during a case involving Embakasi MP David
Mwenje.
(...)

Mr Thuita warned that holding Mr Waruinge would tantamount to declaring war to the sect.

Elsewhere, police said four of Rangwe MP Shem Ochuodho's aides were arrested for being in possession of crude weapons.
(...)

In Nakuru, three top officials of the sect condemned the arrest national co-ordinator and the four aides.

They included the sect's founder, Mr Mohamed Maina Njenga, Organising Secretary Mr Hassan Njoroge Kamunya and the sect's Laikipia district co-ordinator, Mr Kimani Kagogo.

The three who addressed the Nation in Nakuru town said the arrest was unjustified and added that the the sect will resist all attempts by the government to deny Kenyans their freedom.

The sect officials further condemned the disruption by the police of a rally which Muungano wa Mageuzi intended to hold at Nairobi's Kamukunji grounds on the same day.

They said members of the sect had also turned up in large numbers to attend the rally in exercise of their freedom of assembly and association.

The sect officials said no law barred Kenyans from holding public meetings on national days to '' take a stock of their gains over the years and chart the way forward''.
[...more...]   [Need the full story? Read this]




» Part 2