Latest news with #paramilitaries
Washington Post
20 hours ago
- Politics
- Washington Post
Outspoken Nicaraguan opposition figure shot to death at his home in Costa Rica
SAN JOSE, Costa Rica — A retired Nicaraguan military officer turned outspoken critic of President Daniel Ortega was shot to death Thursday at his home in Costa Rica, authorities said. Roberto Samcam, 67, had been living in exile since July 2018 when paramilitaries assaulted his home in Nicaragua. Police say a man entered the condominium complex where Samcam lived northeast of the Costa Rican capital of San Jose and went directly to the retired major's home around 7:30 a.m.
The Guardian
6 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
‘Where are the foreigners': does a facile explanation lie behind Ballymena's outbreak of hate?
First came the shouts as the crowd worked its way through narrow terraced streets, proclaiming its mission to rid the town of 'scum'. Then came the shattered glass as rocks exploded through windows. Then the flames, licking up curtains and spreading to sofas, carpets, books and framed pictures until smoke billowed into the summer night. They might have been scenes from another century, another country, but they played out in Northern Ireland this week in the glare of rolling news and social media, which recorded a soundtrack of glee and hate. 'Where are the foreigners?' the mob shouted. The targets were families that were different – different nationality, different ethnicity, different skin tone, different language. The goal was expulsion – or immolation. 'There's someone in that room inside,' said a voice caught on video. 'Aye, but are they local?' responded a comrade. 'If they're local, they need out. If they're not local, let them stay there.' No one died in Ballymena, the County Antrim town that erupted on Monday and flared for the rest of the week, or in other towns with smaller, copycat mayhem, but families fled, dozens of police were injured and Northern Ireland faced stark questions about racism, xenophobia and intolerance. Three decades ago, the Good Friday agreement drew a line under the Troubles. Republican paramilitaries that wanted a united Ireland, and loyalist paramilitaries that wanted the region to remain in the UK, wound down the killing. Peace brought the novelty of immigration and diversity. In the 2001 census just 14,300 people, or 0.8% of the overall population, belonged to a minority ethnic group. By 2021 it was 65,600 people, or 3.4%. Compared with England (18%), or Scotland (11%), Northern Ireland remains very white. Despite this, many residents in Ballymena, a mainly working-class, Protestant town 25 miles north of Belfast, believe foreigners have 'invaded', 'infested' and 'ruined' their community. It was not only the hundreds of young men in hoods and masks who hurled missiles: older residents, during lulls in violence, endorsed the disturbances. 'We want our voices to be heard. If this is the only way, so be it,' said one woman in her 30s, who declined to be named. The Police Federation of Northern Ireland said its members, by drawing the wrath of mobs, had averted a pogrom. The spark was an alleged sexual assault on a teenage girl by two 14-year-old boys, who appeared in court with a Romanian interpreter and were charged with attempted rape. Loyalist groups in other areas took that as their cue to protest. 'It's time to take a stand and stop welcoming these illegal migrant gangs flocking into our town, paedophiles, drug pushers, human traffickers, prostitutes,' said a group in Portadown, exhorting people to march on a hostel. Such hostility has a blunt, facile explanation: some communities do not like outsiders – a broad, evolving category known occasionally in Northern Ireland as 'them 'uns'. Protestant loyalist mobs in Belfast burned Catholics from their homes at the outset of the Troubles in 1969. Ballymena earned notoriety in the 1990s and mid-2000s with sectarian attacks on Catholic schools and churches. Loyalists in nearby towns have been blamed for a sporadic campaign of paint bombs, smashed windows, graffiti and threatening posters targeting non-white residents. Last year at least eight African families – half of them including nurses – were forced to flee an estate in Antrim town. 'There is fundamental racism in some places that, to put it nicely, have a proud sense of social and cultural cohesion,' said Malachi O'Doherty, a commentator and author of How to Fix Northern Ireland. Communities that are accustomed to living on the same estate can bristle when outsiders take houses that might otherwise have gone to friends or relatives, he said. 'Whether it's Catholics or Roma, it's seen as a dilution of that community.' Just 4.9% of Ballymena's population is non-white, according to the 2021 census, and very few of the new arrivals are asylum seekers, yet there is widespread belief in proliferating 'scrounging refugees', and scepticism about official statistics. 'What we're reading is completely different from what the government is telling us,' said one resident in his 50s. The riots were welcome and overdue, although, he said, the noise was disturbing his sleep. The current strife has a seasonal aspect: summer is when loyalists – and to a lesser extent republicans – assert their identity by parading with drums and flutes and lighting bonfires, traditions that fuel tension and confrontation. Catholics have joined Protestants in anti-immigrant actions and staged their own protests in Catholic areas, but those eruptions tend to be smaller and less frequent. 'Catholics almost take a sectarian pride in not being racist. 'Oh, we're not like them,'' said O'Doherty. Despite a gritty reputation, Northern Ireland scores better for housing, unemployment and poverty than many parts of England, Wales and Scotland. However, it has some of the worst education attainment rates in the UK and the highest rate of economically inactive people, metrics that hint at the alienation and hopelessness felt in some Catholic and Protestant working-class areas. An education system that largely segregates the two main blocs also tends to silo minority ethnic pupils, said Rebecca Loader, a social science researcher at Queen's University Belfast. 'You have schools that have no diversity and schools with high levels, perhaps just separated by a few miles. Certain classes of people are never meeting. It's not conducive to meeting and learning about the other.' Also, very little in Northern Ireland's curriculum addresses racism, unlike curriculums in Britain, especially Wales, she said. Two factors, neither unique to Northern Ireland, have aggravated the tension. One is politics. Leaders from across the political spectrum have condemned the violence and appealed for calm, as they did last August during a similar flare-up. However, critics say some unionist parties – which represent loyalism – give mixed signals by defending 'legitimate protest' and amplifying immigration myths. Political unity fractured on Thursday after Gordon Lyons, the Democratic Unionist party (DUP) communities minister, complained on social media that he had not been consulted about a leisure centre in Larne hosting families evacuated from Ballymena. A short time later, a mob set the centre on fire. Hilary Benn, the Northern Ireland secretary, called on Lyons to reflect on his comments. Michelle O'Neill, the Sinn Féin first minister, suggested he should resign. Paul Sceeny, an interim manager at the North West Migrants Forum in Derry, said growing international antipathy to immigrants was affecting Northern Ireland. 'People are becoming emboldened to use racist tropes. It's part of a wider pattern,' he said. The other factor is social media. Protest organisers use Facebook, TikTok and other platforms to rally support and broadcast the results. In Ballymena, rioters reportedly requested likes, follows and gifts from viewers while livestreaming the destruction of a house. During the daytime calm this week, while authorities cleared debris from streets and foreign families packed up and left, youths huddled over phones and analysed clips, like actors reviewing a performance, seeking ways to improve before the next show.
Free Malaysia Today
06-06-2025
- Politics
- Free Malaysia Today
Colombia's cycling star ‘Lucho' Herrera quizzed over murder conspiracy
Luis 'Lucho' Herrera has publicly denied belonging to criminal organisations. (EPA Images pic) BOGOTA : Former top cyclist Luis 'Lucho' Herrera appeared before Colombian prosecutors yesterday, to address claims he was involved in the murder of four farmers decades ago. Sixty-four-year-old Herrera voluntarily appeared at the offices of prosecutors in the capital Bogota, AFP reporters witnessed. He was to be questioned about allegations by two former paramilitaries that in 2002 he conspired to kill four of his neighbours in central Colombia. The two ex-paramilitaries – members of one of the bloody far-right death squads that for decades fought Colombia left-wing guerrillas – claim 'Lucho' gave them about US$9,700 to murder four men. They alleged that Herrera claimed the men were rebels who wanted to kidnap him, but were in fact farmers who had refused to sell their land. Lawyer Hernando Benavides said his client Herrera was innocent and a 'victim of events of which he is unaware'. One of the paramilitaries was recently sentenced to more than 22 years in prison over the forced disappearance of the men. A source from the prosecutor's office told AFP that Herrera had been invited to provide his 'free version' of events, and was not obliged to attend as he is not listed as a defendant. Herrera has publicly denied belonging to criminal organisations or purposely causing anyone harm. But he could yet face formal charges. His brother Rafael Herrera was also requested to be present yesterday.
BBC News
05-06-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
David Coleman sentenced over Ballymena knife and hatchet attack
A man has been sentenced to 11 years for a "sustained, brutal attack" on a man who was stabbed in the chest, slashed on the face, hit with a hatchet and dumped in a field in County victim, who was found by binmen outside Broughshane in October 2021, suffered permanent and life-changing injuries including a brain Coleman, 39, whose address was given as HMP Maghaberry, pleaded guilty to kidnapping and grievous bodily harm and was sentenced at Belfast Crown Court on will serve half of his 11-year term in prison and half on licence. Four other men involved in the attack were jailed last said throughout the "nightmarish attack", the victim was kicked and continually forced to wipe up his own blood as his attackers court was told the victim was asked to bag cocaine at Coleman's Ballymena flat before he was accused of stealing was repeatedly punched in the face by Coleman who then took a large knife and stabbed him in the chest before putting it in his Coleman, who was laughing throughout, slashed the blade across the victim's then called someone and asked "where do I get rid of somebody?" The victim was later bundled into the back of a car by other men and dumped in a field on the Lisnamurrican Road near was there that he was assaulted with a hatchet. 'Association with paramilitaries' During sentencing Judge Gordon Kerr KC said the fracture to the victim's skull caused by the hatchet was not caused by Coleman but said he "used a knife in a cruel way" and that the victim was subjected to a "sustained, brutal attack".A Crown barrister previously told the court Coleman encouraged and directed others involved in the also said he had a "long-standing association with paramilitaries".At an earlier hearing, Coleman's barrister said his client had already served more than three years in custody and did not inflict the skull fracture which caused significant and permanent was given a nine-year sentence with a further two years added due to him being considered Kerr said Coleman's record contains violence including links to paramilitary offences and that he is assessed as being a high-risk offender by the Probation Board NI."The most significant matter is that he has a history of dealing in drugs and that this incident arose from that," the judge said."His total indifference to his victim shows a mindsight that he does and will pose a significant risk of causing serious harm." 'Shocking level of violence' Police described the attack as "barbaric and depraved" and said "the level of violence inflicted is shocking"."The defenceless victim was viciously beaten, stabbed in the chest with a knife and sliced on both sides of his face," Det Insp McCoy said. "Throughout the nightmarish attack, he was kicked and continually forced to wipe up the blood. Meanwhile, the defendants laughed."He added: "This man, somehow, survived. His journey, however, has been traumatic and for the first number of weeks he remained in intensive care under sedation. "Injuries included a stab wound to his chest, fracture and detachment of the jaw, injuries to his face and mouth, and a fracture to the base of the skull. He has in fact sustained a permanent brain injury."Today, with the support of colleagues in the Public Prosecution Service, David Coleman has been held accountable for his actions."
Irish Times
02-06-2025
- General
- Irish Times
Death threats against Northern Ireland journalists increasing, says Amnesty
Journalists in Northern Ireland are facing a sustained campaign of violent threats from paramilitaries, making it the most dangerous place in the UK to be a reporter, according to Amnesty International . Death threats – including under-car booby trap bombs – issued to crime journalists have increased in recent years, with repeated home visits by police warning they are at risk. Others have been told they will be shot or stabbed and given 48-hour ultimatums to leave the country. Interviews carried out by Amnesty with 22 journalists uncovered more than 70 incidents of intimidation or attacks in the North since the start of 2019. READ MORE Loyalist and dissident republican paramilitaries as well as organised crime groups are behind most of the incidents. Journalists most at risk have their homes protected by bulletproof windows and doors with alarms linked to police stations. One reporter was visited by police nine times in just under a year to inform her that her life was at risk. A pipe bomb was placed close to her home after a threat. 'Several journalists report that they are receiving more threats in recent years than ever before. It goes beyond threats: they are physically attacked,' according to the Amnesty report entitled Occupational Hazard? Threats and Violence against Journalists in Northern Ireland. The report, published on Tuesday, says frustration with the police response means some journalists have stopped reporting the crimes to the authorities, citing 'time-consuming processes and lack of action or positive outcome'. [ Lyra McKee: A bright star, fallen, sacrificed to bigotry and hatred Opens in new window ] To date, two journalists have been murdered in Northern Ireland. Investigative reporter Martin O'Hagan of the Sunday World was killed close to his Lurgan home by loyalist paramilitaries in 2001 and Lyra McKee died after being struck by a bullet fired at police during rioting in Derry in 2019. Dissident republican group, the New IRA, admitted responsibility. A photographer was shot in the thigh covering a riot in Belfast in 2011. Concerns are raised in the report about a lack of prosecutions. Amnesty is calling on the State to create a 'safe environment where journalists can work freely and report without fear of reprisals'. 'It is currently failing to do so,' said Amnesty International UK's Northern Ireland director, Patrick Corrigan. 'Journalists are being threatened, attacked and even killed for shining a light on paramilitary groups and others who seek to exert control through violence. This creates a climate of fear that many assumed was consigned to history when the Good Friday Agreement was signed,' he said. Yet, he said, there has not been a single prosecution for threats against journalists from paramilitary groups. [ Lyra McKee: Lost Girl of the Troubles Opens in new window ] 'This sense of impunity only emboldens those behind the threats. When journalists are under attack, press freedom is under attack.' Among the report's recommendations is the establishment of a new media safety group, with representatives from the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), Public Prosecution Service, media organisations and the National Union of Journalists to deliver a new journalist safety strategy. The PSNI should also review its procedural response to threats and attacks against journalists and 'conduct investigations capable of leading to successful prosecutions', the report advises. A Police Ombudsman's report examining the original police investigation into O'Hagan's murder is expected to be published this year. Amnesty recommends the UK government should order a public inquiry into the killing if 'serious failings or wrongdoing by the police' is found by the watchdog.
