The European Union has called for an investigation into the death of Khaled Said, 28, at the hands of Egyptian police, who pulled him out of an Internet cafe.
The police insist that Said choked to death on a bag of narcotics he swallowed when he saw them.
Witnesses, however, say that police beat him to death outside the cafe in Alexandria.
Prosecutors insist that two autopsies confirm the police account but the Europeans are calling for an independent examination. They note critical differences in the findings in the two prior examinations: “In view of these discrepancies, EU Heads of Mission welcome the declared readiness of the Egyptian authorities to conduct a judicial inquiry into this death and look forward to the inquiry being conducted impartially, transparently and swiftly in a way that will credibly resolve the discrepancies.”
This is revelatory as well. From the ACLU who now has a collection of violations, (link in the article). “WASHINGTON – June 29 – Political surveillance and harassment by U.S. law enforcement agencies are on the rise with incidents reported in at least 33 states since 9/11, according to a review published today by the American Civil Liberties Union. The ACLU also announced the launch of a new “Spyfiles” web hub on domestic political surveillance, which will serve as a comprehensive resource on domestic spying.
Political spying – rampant during the Cold War under the FBI’s COINTELPRO, the CIA’s Operation Chaos and other programs – has experienced a steady resurgence in the years following 9/11 as state and local law enforcement are being urged by federal law enforcement agencies to participate in counterterrorism practices.
“In our country, under our Constitution, the authorities aren’t allowed to spy on you unless they have specific and individual suspicion that you are doing something illegal,” said Michael German, ACLU Policy Counsel and former FBI Special Agent. “Unfortunately, law enforcement in our country seems to be reverting to certain old, bad behaviors when it comes to political surveillance. Our review of these practices has found that Americans have been put under surveillance or harassed by the police just for deciding to organize, march, protest, espouse unusual viewpoints and engage in normal, innocuous behaviors such as writing notes or taking photographs in public.”
Blouise,
I thought the part about the economy was particularly poignant also. There’s a lot in that interview and I’m glad you liked it.
tomdarch,
TEAM AMERICA, WE’RE NUMBER ONE!!!! It was a surprising conviction.
Not to be outdone… USA! USA! USA! Our police can do nasty, stupid things too! We can deter dangerous, bedridden elderly ladies from “taking an aggressive posture” in their beds!
“Oklahoma police tase an 86-year-old bedridden grandmother”
(actually: asphyxiate, tase, cut up, arrest and then have sent to a mental ward after the arrest, because she must be crazy and this must all be her fault…)
“According to officer Duran’s official report, Mrs Vernon had taken an ‘aggressive posture’ in her hospital bed. In order to ensure ‘officer safety’, one of his men ‘stepped on her oxygen hose until she began to suffer oxygen deprivation’.
Another of the officers then shot her with a taser, but the connection wasn’t solid. A second fired his taser, ‘striking her to the left of the midline of her upper chest, and applied high voltage, causing burns to her chest, extreme pain’, and unconsciousness. Lona was then handcuffed with sufficient ruthlessness to tear the soft flesh of her forearms, causing her to bleed. After her wounds were treated at a local hospital, Lona was confined for six days in the psychiatric ward at the insistence of the El Reno Police Department.”
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1289780/Dont-taze-granny-American-police-accused-using-Taser-86-year-old-bed-ridden-grandmother.html
yeah, it requires an overseas semi-tabloid to report on US police misconduct.
(I have to say that I am still pleasantly stunned that Jon Burge, Chicago Cop/Torturer, was actually convicted of anything. Not the crimes/civil rights abuses that he actually committed, of course, but convicted of perjury. Still, it’s something.)
Jill
This is a very important video, a discussion of journalism:
http://www.democracynow.org/2010/6/29/john_pilger_there_is_a_war
=================================================================
Thank you, thank you …. that was more than just important.
Pilger’s defense of Hastings is right on target: “Hastings has proved, thank God, that journalists still exist. … “he represents the (opinions) of the majority of the American people” … “I call on young jouralists to be inspired by the Rolling Stone’s reporting …”
Pilger’s attack on the “established” media noting especially the ” … sneering barrage against truth from the NY Times …” explaining how “deeply embarrassed” the established media is by the Hastings’ (former Baghdad correspondent for Newsweek) Rolling Stone article for it exposes their own lack of truth telling.
I found the final few minutes discussion about other important stories the mainstream media is refusing to report very interesting.
Once again, thank you, Jill.
Woosty’s still a Cat
Dems ‘…they’re also are tree hugging, homo-loving, gun-hating, criminal-coddling, anti-war mongering, bleeding hearts who, strangely enough, like to kill the unborn and ass-kick bloggers.’
~ and Republicans tend towards tree hating, homo-killing, gun-worshiping, criminal-creating, anti-war fearing, robo- hearts who, strangely enough, like to torture and exploit the unborn and ass-kick anything that remotely feels or looks a tad different.
damn,
what
a
choice…
================================================================
Yeah … I choose democrats … but then I’m a tad simple minded.
This is a very important video, a discussion of journalism:
http://www.democracynow.org/2010/6/29/john_pilger_there_is_a_war
Dems ‘…they’re also are tree hugging, homo-loving, gun-hating, criminal-coddling, anti-war mongering, bleeding hearts who, strangely enough, like to kill the unborn and ass-kick bloggers.’
~ and Republicans tend towards tree hating, homo-killing, gun-worshiping, criminal-creating, anti-war fearing, robo- hearts who, strangely enough, like to torture and exploit the unborn and ass-kick anything that remotely feels or looks a tad different.
damn,
what
a
choice…
We’re they upset because they didn’t get intel from him before he was murdered? “LONDON – Britain, France and Germany use foreign intelligence obtained through torture in the fight against terrorism, a new report from Human Rights Watch said Tuesday.
The use by three heavyweight European powers of information from secret services in countries that routinely rely on torture was damaging the reputation of the entire European Union, said the rights group.”
Why not just co-opt him like we do in the US? Invite them to parties, throw some money and threats their way, and you don’t have to worry about the press exposing your lies anymore. Works fine and it’s a lot less messy.
‘Tootie 1, June 29, 2010 at 10:35 am
Woosty: dems like ass-kicking.’
OOooooooohhh……….mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmnope.
masochists like ass-kicking. the Dems I know, dey like reason…unfortunately it’s harder to find.
What does the “internet” have to do with the story? Wouldn’t any cafe do for those type cops?
Woosty: dems like ass-kicking.
Doesn’t R&D in this instance stand for Research and Development with your taxpayer dollars?
Nice to see some things are constant. Like Tootles inability to think beyond partisanship and other “black and white/binary” structures – R & D, Left and Right, Hetero and Homosexual, Fundie Christians and “Heathens”.
Actually, that’s a run on sentence.
I could have stopped at the word “think”.
By the way all of this story is crazy.
I suppose Blackwater/Xe is jealous or maybe this type of tactic would be beneath them.
Then again, maybe they did the autopsy’s. One confirming the other.
Then again, I read a story yesterday as to why the US will not indict them. If they do then all of the contracts that they have with Blackwater/Xe would have to be canceled. Which means that they would no longer have the personal piggy bank of the CIA.
I read with interest of the lobby efforts of christian fundamentalist to Cheney to get Erik Prince a multitude of contracts.
“Oh wow. Democrats are envious.”
I don’t get this, ‘splain?
mespo: You must be a democrat?
Tootie:
Ever thought about Cairo in the summertime?
Off topic, but here’s an interesting article about the John Adams Project and its efforts to locate CIA torturers in an effort to defend Gitmo prisoners. It’s entitled ” Spy vs. … Lawyer .”
http://motherjones.com/politics/2010/07/john-sifton-guantanamo-aclu
Oh wow. Democrats are envious.