0x815

The US, China, Turkey and Brazil are just some of the countries that are putting more and more people behind bars. But in the Netherlands, it's a different story. Some empty prisons there have now been re-purposed as hotels or cultural centers.

[...]

A study conducted by the Universities of Leiden (Netherlands) and Portsmouth (UK)

found that the number of people in prison in the Netherlands fell from 94 per 100,000 citizens to 51 per 100,000 between 2005 and 2016.

Although the downward trend has not continued since, figures from Eurostat

suggest that the imprisonment rate has stabilized at this low level. In 2021 and 2022 it was at 54 per 100,000.

That makes the Netherlands one of the few countries that have seen their prison populations decline. Data platform World Prison Brief (WPB) has identified a similar trend in Germany, Liechtenstein, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Romania, and the Baltic states.

[...]

The number of people receiving custodial sentences from the courts has fallen significantly in the Netherlands. In 2005, Dutch courts imposed prison sentences on some 8,305 convicted criminals. Ten years later, only 4,540 offenders were sent to jail. Studies show that the decrease in custodial sentences was seen across the full spectrum of criminal activities.

Crimes against property saw a 44% decrease in prison sentences, violent crime and sexual crime saw imprisonment rates fall by 39%, and for drug-related crimes the drop was as much as 49%. The number of people sent to jail for failing to pay a court-imposed fine decreased by 38%.

The Netherlands also has an unusually low average length of custodial sentence. The criminologists at the University of Leiden noted in their study that half of all those sent to prison there were released again within one month.

By contrast, according to a report by the University of Lausanne that looked at prisoner rates across the 46 members of the Council of Europe, just 5.2% of inmates spend less than six months in jail, and some 21.3% serve between 12 months and three years.

[...]

Another major factor in the Netherlands is the fall in the number people being held in pre-trial detention. The study shows that 21,029 spent time on remand in Dutch prisons in 2005, with that number falling to 13,350 by 2016 — a decrease of 37%.

In the same period — 2005 to 2016 — the number of crimes registered in the Netherlands fell from 1.35 million to 930,000. Crimes against property fell by 216,000 (-27%) and there were 32,000 fewer violent crimes (-26%).

cross-posted from: https://feddit.org/post/3997391

Saturday's vote will pit an unprecedented alliance of pro-Western opposition forces against the ruling Georgian Dream party, accused by Brussels of shifting towards authoritarianism and derailing EU candidate Tbilisi from its European path.

Tens of thousands of demonstrators, waving EU and Georgian flags and holding banners that read "Georgia chooses the European Union" gathered at Tbilisi's central Freedom Square after marching towards the venue from five different locations

[...]

Pro-Western President Salome Zurabishvili -- at loggerheads with the government -- joined the rally, which she said "shows that Georgia has already won and will reintegrate with Europe".

[...]

Analysts have warned of the risk of turmoil if Georgian Dream attempts to hold onto power regardless of the vote's outcome.

In power since 2012, the party initially pursued a liberal pro-Western policy agenda, but over the last two years has reversed course and been accused of moving closer to Moscow.

Bids for membership of the EU and NATO are enshrined in Georgia's constitution and supported by some 80 percent of the population, according to multiple opinion polls commissioned by groups including the National Democratic Institute and the International Republican Institute.

Die Bürgerjournalistin Zhang Zhan ist aktuell in der Haftanstalt von Pudong in Shanghai inhaftiert. Ihr wird vorgeworfen, "Streit angefangen und Ärger provoziert zu haben".

Sie steht seit ihrer Freilassung aus dem Gefängnis am 13. Mai 2024 wegen ihres fortlaufenden Engagements für die Menschenrechte im Visier der Behörden.

Auch ihre Familie ist mit Einschüchterungsversuchen und Drohungen durch die Behörden konfrontiert, und der Rechtsbeistand, den ihre Familie mit ihrem Fall beauftragen wollte, wurde fast acht Stunden von der Polizei festgehalten.

Saturday's vote will pit an unprecedented alliance of pro-Western opposition forces against the ruling Georgian Dream party, accused by Brussels of shifting towards authoritarianism and derailing EU candidate Tbilisi from its European path.

Tens of thousands of demonstrators, waving EU and Georgian flags and holding banners that read "Georgia chooses the European Union" gathered at Tbilisi's central Freedom Square after marching towards the venue from five different locations

[...]

Pro-Western President Salome Zurabishvili -- at loggerheads with the government -- joined the rally, which she said "shows that Georgia has already won and will reintegrate with Europe".

[...]

Analysts have warned of the risk of turmoil if Georgian Dream attempts to hold onto power regardless of the vote's outcome.

In power since 2012, the party initially pursued a liberal pro-Western policy agenda, but over the last two years has reversed course and been accused of moving closer to Moscow.

Bids for membership of the EU and NATO are enshrined in Georgia's constitution and supported by some 80 percent of the population, according to multiple opinion polls commissioned by groups including the National Democratic Institute and the International Republican Institute.

cross-posted from: https://feddit.org/post/3997245

According to China's National Bureau of Statistics on the 21st, the unemployment rate of young people (16-24 years old) reached 18.8% in August. It's the highest it's been this year. This is attributed to the fact that a large number of students who graduated from school in the first half of this year jumped into the job front.

[...]

Chinese authorities temporarily suspended the release of monthly figures after youth unemployment hit an all-time high of 21.3% in June last year. Since then, new standards have been applied and announced from this year excluding enrolled students from the statistical target. Nevertheless, the youth unemployment rate, which was 14.6% in January this year, is steadily rising.

Last month, the story of 24-year-old Lee became a hot topic on Weibo, a Chinese social network service (SNS). After completing a master's degree in physics at the graduate school, it was known that he got a job as a cleaner at a high school in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province.

[...]

In fact, many young Chinese people are flocking to gig workers (short-time workers). The number of delivery drivers registered on Meituan, a large delivery platform, jumped from 3.98 million in 2019 to 7.45 million last year. The growth of the delivery market slowed due to the end of the "COVID-19 lockdown" policy, but the number of delivery drivers increased.

[...]

Against this backdrop, the Chinese government has recently decided to strengthen its crackdown on slang and newly coined words on the Internet. Some analysts say that they intend to censor terms that criticize the Chinese Communist Party and the government.

cross-posted from: https://feddit.org/post/3997245

According to China's National Bureau of Statistics on the 21st, the unemployment rate of young people (16-24 years old) reached 18.8% in August. It's the highest it's been this year. This is attributed to the fact that a large number of students who graduated from school in the first half of this year jumped into the job front.

[...]

Chinese authorities temporarily suspended the release of monthly figures after youth unemployment hit an all-time high of 21.3% in June last year. Since then, new standards have been applied and announced from this year excluding enrolled students from the statistical target. Nevertheless, the youth unemployment rate, which was 14.6% in January this year, is steadily rising.

Last month, the story of 24-year-old Lee became a hot topic on Weibo, a Chinese social network service (SNS). After completing a master's degree in physics at the graduate school, it was known that he got a job as a cleaner at a high school in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province.

[...]

In fact, many young Chinese people are flocking to gig workers (short-time workers). The number of delivery drivers registered on Meituan, a large delivery platform, jumped from 3.98 million in 2019 to 7.45 million last year. The growth of the delivery market slowed due to the end of the "COVID-19 lockdown" policy, but the number of delivery drivers increased.

[...]

Against this backdrop, the Chinese government has recently decided to strengthen its crackdown on slang and newly coined words on the Internet. Some analysts say that they intend to censor terms that criticize the Chinese Communist Party and the government.

According to China's National Bureau of Statistics on the 21st, the unemployment rate of young people (16-24 years old) reached 18.8% in August. It's the highest it's been this year. This is attributed to the fact that a large number of students who graduated from school in the first half of this year jumped into the job front.

[...]

Chinese authorities temporarily suspended the release of monthly figures after youth unemployment hit an all-time high of 21.3% in June last year. Since then, new standards have been applied and announced from this year excluding enrolled students from the statistical target. Nevertheless, the youth unemployment rate, which was 14.6% in January this year, is steadily rising.

Last month, the story of 24-year-old Lee became a hot topic on Weibo, a Chinese social network service (SNS). After completing a master's degree in physics at the graduate school, it was known that he got a job as a cleaner at a high school in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province.

[...]

In fact, many young Chinese people are flocking to gig workers (short-time workers). The number of delivery drivers registered on Meituan, a large delivery platform, jumped from 3.98 million in 2019 to 7.45 million last year. The growth of the delivery market slowed due to the end of the "COVID-19 lockdown" policy, but the number of delivery drivers increased.

[...]

Against this backdrop, the Chinese government has recently decided to strengthen its crackdown on slang and newly coined words on the Internet. Some analysts say that they intend to censor terms that criticize the Chinese Communist Party and the government.

cross-posted from: https://feddit.org/post/3971767

Foreign nationals and Dutch citizens with a family heritage from at least eight different countries often face intense pressure to show loyalty to foreign governments, carry out espionage activities on their behalf, or to monitor those in their communities, Dutch counterterrorism office NCTV and intelligence service AIVD warns.

The AIVD said it confirmed that Iran, Morocco, Pakistan, Turkey and others specifically attempt to gather intelligence on their diaspora communities in the Netherlands, and there is a strong suspicion that China, Eritrea and Syria does the same.

Further, people in the Netherlands identified as dissidents by Russia, China and Iran have also been secretly monitored by those governments. The report cautioned that people with heritage and connections to the eight countries mentioned, and others not mentioned, can face intimidation, threats of kidnapping and murder, in addition to others spying on them.

“These forms of state interference not only put pressure on the personal freedoms of residents of the Netherlands, but also undermine the democratic legal order in the Netherlands,” the NCTV said. Its report about foreign state interference in diaspora communities noted that that this can attempt to “influence political decisions or sentiment in Dutch society.”

The report noted a wide range of attempts to either monitor or influence foreign residents of the Netherlands, and Dutch citizens with familial ties to other countries. This includes identifying those who might be able to be used to influence those communities, while also observing those who might become supporters of an opposition movement.

[...]

That intelligence can then be used to either repress people and their families, or manipulate them into carrying out economic espionage in the Netherlands. The two agencies again raised warnings about the China Scholarship Council, which helps Chinese students get grants to study abroad in exchange for loyalty pledges, and a promise to obey directives from Chinese embassies and consulates.

The NCTV and AIVD also noted China’s treatment of Uyghurs living in the Netherlands. The ethnic minority has been subjected to years of harassment, unjust imprisonment, and discrimination in China.

Once [Chinese citizens are] in the Netherlands, they can find themselves on the receiving end of phone calls about family members who are “under the control” of Chinese authorities. “This message is usually accompanied by a clear ‘request’ to stop certain activities, such as publishing critical publications, or participating in or organising demonstrations, or to cooperate with the Chinese authorities,” the NCTV and AIVD stated.

It also noted reports about incidents of harassment that Russian scientists and students have had to endure. “The callers claimed to be from the Russian government and asked them where their loyalty lay in the war with Ukraine. The AIVD confirmed the practices after the reported incidents and made a direct connection with the Russian invasion of Ukraine,” the report said.

[...]

The fields of history and archaeology, while fundamentally objective in their pursuit of knowledge about the past, are frequently co-opted to serve nationalistic narratives that legitimise coercive territorial claims. This is evident in China's strategic use of archaeology to assert ancient ownership over regions like Xinjiang and Tibet, which are currently seeking greater autonomy.

]...]

A recent instance of this archaeological manipulation is the discovery of an ancient Buddhist stupa near Kashgar, an oasis city in Xinjiang, which the government has promoted as evidence of the region's historical ties to China.

[...]

Excavation of this site commenced in 2019, leading to the recovery of two earthen pillars, fragments of a Buddha statue, stone tools, and copper coins. The structure's conical shape has earned it the local Uyghur designation 'Mo'er', which translates to 'chimney'.

Estimated to have been constructed approximately 1,700 years ago, the stupa and its accompanying temple are being appropriated by Chinese authorities to claim the region's unique historical narrative.

[...]

According to Chinese historians, the 'Mo'er' was commissioned by Wu Zetian, a 7th-century Empress of the Tang dynasty known for her promotion of Buddhism. Furthermore, Chinese officials and state media assert that artifacts discovered at this site resemble those found in predominantly Han areas of eastern China.

They also contend that portions of the temple exhibit 'Han-Buddhist' architectural styles and that it was visited by the 7th-century monk Xuanzang from central China, who is credited with disseminating Buddhism throughout the Chinese empire.

[...]

Chinese human rights abuses in Xinjiang have garnered significant international scrutiny in recent years.

[...]

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has also engaged in a broader narrative campaign, disseminating myths to justify its claims over Xinjiang.

This has included the destruction of mosques, renaming Uyghur villages, and distorting archaeological findings and historical narratives to erase the distinct identity of the Uyghur people.

Russland greift Europas Staaten permanent mit hybriden Mitteln an, erklärt Sönke Marahrens, Experte für hybride Kriegsführung. Parallel plane der Kreml, diese Vorbereitungen zur Destabilisierung des Westens auch militärisch "abschließen" zu können.

Sönke Marahrens: Russland ist stark gebunden in der Ukraine und arbeitet mit hybriden Mitteln in den europäischen Ländern, um die Unterstützung für die Ukraine an der Front zu verringern.

[...]

Parallel dazu hat Russland ein Interesse, dass Europa nicht stark ist. Deswegen werden derzeit sowohl die Institutionen NATO und EU, aber auch europäische Staaten permanent mit hybriden Maßnahmen angegriffen.

[...]

Russische Operateure probieren in vielen europäischen Staaten sehr unterschiedliche Dinge aus, die individuell auf den jeweiligen Staat zugeschnitten sind: Hybride Maßnahmen, die in Polen wirken, wirken nicht in Deutschland; was in Deutschland wirkt, würde nicht in Finnland wirken.

[...]

Hier geht es darum, den Staat in seiner Handlungsfähigkeit einzuschränken, aber auch das Vertrauen der Bevölkerung in den jeweiligen Staat zu senken.

[...]

[Dazu kommen] Sabotageakte auf kritische Infrastrukturen, Cyberangriffe, Ransomware-Attacken. Damit kann die Wirtschaftskraft von Staaten geschwächt und auch Unsicherheit erzeugt werden.

Die letzte Gruppe ist die Bevölkerung. Da unterstützt Russland in der öffentlichen Debatte einander konträre Positionen. Das führt zu einer Radikalisierung - und irgendwann auch zu aggressiven Vorfällen.

[...]

In Deutschland sehen wir etwa, dass Russland bestimmte Parteien mit Geld unterstützt und Ähnliches, um hier in die politische Meinungsbildung einzugreifen [...] Aber die gefährlichste Art der hybriden Kriegsführung ist Desinformation. Dadurch können Meinungen gebildet und Narrative gesetzt werden. Antisemitismus oder extreme politische Ideen können befeuert werden.

[...]

Wir benötigen [um gegen Desinformation zu arbeiten] eine grundlegende Befähigung, mit Informationen umzugehen, insbesondere in den sozialen Medien. Da gibt es verschiedene Initiativen, Bürger und Bürgerinnen, insbesondere Jugendliche zu informieren und zu befähigen, Falschinformation, Desinformation, aber auch Informationen, die in einem falschen Kontext gesendet werden, als solche zu identifizieren.

[...]

Cybersicherheit etwa ist kein Zustand, den sie erreichen können, sondern eine sich permanent dynamisch verändernde Lage. Was man heute abwehren konnte, wird morgen mit einer anderen Maßnahme erneut probiert. Und darauf muss man sich vorbereiten. Sie müssen sehr viel auf Flexibilität setzen.

[...]

Da ist eine große Herausforderung [unsere physische Infrastruktur zu schützen]. [...] Auch hier geht es darum, sich für Auffälligkeiten zu sensibilisieren. Und in der Politik gibt es zurzeit die Diskussion darüber, was als kritische Infrastruktur definiert wird. Wie schützen wir das? Aber auch: Sollten solche kritischen Infrastrukturen ausfallen, welche Pläne haben wir dann in den Kommunen und in Firmen? Wir sind in Deutschland auf einem positiven Weg, wir haben das Problem erkannt.

Nur haben wir einen Gegner, den unsere ethischen Grenzen nicht interessieren und der in allen Bereichen unterwegs ist, dies schließt selbst die Ermordung von Regimegegnern in unseren Ländern mit ein.

[...]

Der Plan ist [Russlands ist es], hybride Operationen auch mit militärischen Mitteln abschließen zu können, wie sie das nennen. [...] Schauen Sie sich an, wie die baltischen Staaten ihre Verteidigung aufbauen, wo wir ja mit einer Brigade in Litauen unterstützen. Dort versucht Russland, eine Schwachstelle im europäischen System zu finden, um dort Tatsachen zu schaffen, die Europa destabilisieren würden.

[...]

Man hat ja auch schon [physische Infrastruktur] zerstört, vergangenes Jahr, als ein chinesisches Schiff mit dem Anker runter 200 Meilen rückwärts gefahren ist, um zu zeigen: Wir wissen, wo Schwachpunkte sind und wir gucken uns das ganz genau an. Es ist sogenanntes Signalling. Aber natürlich wissen sie damit auch, wo sie später einmal angreifen könnten.

[...]

Russland bezweckt [mit dieser hybriden Kriegsführung], dass in westlichen Staaten der Blick sich weg vom Krieg in der Ukraine nach innen richtet. Dass diese sagen, wir müssen jetzt Ressourcen dafür einsetzen, dass wir unsere kritische Infrastruktur schützen - sodass wir dann weniger Möglichkeiten haben, die wir der Ukraine zur Verfügung stellen können [...] Aber sowas kann auch zurückfeuern [...] Das sieht man in den baltischen Staaten, aber auch in Schweden und Finnland. Als man anfing, Russland als Bedrohung wahrzunehmen, hat die Bevölkerung ja die Regierung unterstützt und gesagt: Wir wollen der NATO beitreten, wir wollen unsere Freiheit behalten - und hat damit das Gegenteil davon getan, was man sich auf der anderen Seite erhofft hat.

cross-posted from: https://feddit.org/post/3971767

Foreign nationals and Dutch citizens with a family heritage from at least eight different countries often face intense pressure to show loyalty to foreign governments, carry out espionage activities on their behalf, or to monitor those in their communities, Dutch counterterrorism office NCTV and intelligence service AIVD warns.

The AIVD said it confirmed that Iran, Morocco, Pakistan, Turkey and others specifically attempt to gather intelligence on their diaspora communities in the Netherlands, and there is a strong suspicion that China, Eritrea and Syria does the same.

Further, people in the Netherlands identified as dissidents by Russia, China and Iran have also been secretly monitored by those governments. The report cautioned that people with heritage and connections to the eight countries mentioned, and others not mentioned, can face intimidation, threats of kidnapping and murder, in addition to others spying on them.

“These forms of state interference not only put pressure on the personal freedoms of residents of the Netherlands, but also undermine the democratic legal order in the Netherlands,” the NCTV said. Its report about foreign state interference in diaspora communities noted that that this can attempt to “influence political decisions or sentiment in Dutch society.”

The report noted a wide range of attempts to either monitor or influence foreign residents of the Netherlands, and Dutch citizens with familial ties to other countries. This includes identifying those who might be able to be used to influence those communities, while also observing those who might become supporters of an opposition movement.

[...]

That intelligence can then be used to either repress people and their families, or manipulate them into carrying out economic espionage in the Netherlands. The two agencies again raised warnings about the China Scholarship Council, which helps Chinese students get grants to study abroad in exchange for loyalty pledges, and a promise to obey directives from Chinese embassies and consulates.

The NCTV and AIVD also noted China’s treatment of Uyghurs living in the Netherlands. The ethnic minority has been subjected to years of harassment, unjust imprisonment, and discrimination in China.

Once [Chinese citizens are] in the Netherlands, they can find themselves on the receiving end of phone calls about family members who are “under the control” of Chinese authorities. “This message is usually accompanied by a clear ‘request’ to stop certain activities, such as publishing critical publications, or participating in or organising demonstrations, or to cooperate with the Chinese authorities,” the NCTV and AIVD stated.

It also noted reports about incidents of harassment that Russian scientists and students have had to endure. “The callers claimed to be from the Russian government and asked them where their loyalty lay in the war with Ukraine. The AIVD confirmed the practices after the reported incidents and made a direct connection with the Russian invasion of Ukraine,” the report said.

[...]

cross-posted from: https://feddit.org/post/3973139

Archived link

In a comprehensive statement delivered during the 57th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, the European Union (EU) reiterated its concerns about the continuous dire human rights situation in several countries around the globe, including regions under Chinese influence, namely Tibet, Xinjiang, and Hong Kong.

Especially for Xinjiang, the EU condemns political re-education camps, mass arbitrary detentions, widespread surveillance, tracking and control measures, systemic and severe restrictions on the exercise of fundamental freedoms, including freedom of religion or belief, as well as the non-transparent use of the death penalty, the use of forced labour and labour transfer schemes, torture, forced abortion and sterilization, birth control and family separation policies, and sexual and gender-based violence, a statement reads.

The human rights situation in Tibet continues to be dire. Indicators of this include obligatory boarding schooling and DNA sampling, as reported by civil society organisations. The EU will closely monitor the preservation of the fundamental freedoms, cultural heritage and identity of Tibetans and calls on China to ensure full bilingual education both in Tibetan and Chinese at all levels of the schooling system. Cases of closure of schools teaching in Tibetan language are a worrying development. The EU also encourages China to allow more visits from the international community, UN Special Procedures Mandate Holders and civil society organisations to Tibet. Human rights defenders, lawyers, journalists, other media workers, academics, writers and intellectuals among others continue to be exposed to harassment, intimidation and surveillance, including at transnational level.

The EU criticizes the sentencing and enforced disappearance including via Residential Surveillance in a Designated Location (RSDL) that could amount to torture and ill-treatment. The EU urges China to introduce a moratorium on the death penalty, adopt rigorous procedures for reviewing capital sentences and reporting death penalty cases. China must also respect the principle of non-refoulement and refrain from extraterritorial activities (including coercion) that are not in line with international law.

The EU also says that in Hong Kong, the repressive use of the China-imposed National Security Law continues to undermine human rights and fundamental freedoms. The broad and vague definition of certain provisions in the new national security legislation adopted in March 2024 and the first arrests under the new legislation add to these concerns. The legislation exacerbates the erosion of fundamental freedoms and political pluralism in the Special Administrative Region. Of particular concern is its extraterritorial application, including the decision to issue arrest warrants for 13 individuals living outside Hong Kong. The sweeping changes in the electoral system have eroded democratic principles and political pluralism.

The EU is following with great concern the national security trials of politicians, media practitioners and pro-democracy advocates, including Jimmy Lai and Chow Hang-tung, and is very concerned about the guilty verdict against them.

The EU urges the Chinese government and the Hong Kong authorities to restore full respect for the rule of law, fundamental freedoms, and democratic principles, and to preserve Hong Kong’s high degree of autonomy under the ‘one country, two systems’ principle, in compliance with Hong Kong’s Basic Law and China’s domestic and international obligations.