#nazir afzal

[listen-to-the-inner-walrus]

Okay, so if you've been anywhere online recently, you may have come across Elon Musk bringing up the issue of grooming gangs that happened over a decade ago in the UK.

And as you can guess, it's a lot of misinformation, and I partly wanted to fact check it in a post out of anger but the other part didn't want to give the "Musk Manufactured News Agenda" oxygen.

However, I just came out of an online town hall on Zeteo (I'd really recommend subscribing to them) with Medhi Hasan and Nazir Afzal - who led the prosecutions for the grooming gangs and continues prosecuting people for this to this day - and I made some notes and I might as well share them:

For all Elon, his ilk and now the Tories calls for a national inquiry on this, we've already had one and several local enquiries as well. The inquiry done for Rotherham was completed in 2013, and the inquiry done on child sex abuse nationwide was completed in 2022.

Not only were the Tories in power when those inquiries were completed, the Tories also decided to implement none of the recommendations made in these reports.

Liz Truss is sat on Twitter talking about how shameful it is that the government are not doing anything, but that second report was completed before she lost to the lettuce.

Boris Johnson called these inquiries a waste of money.

Afzal gave evidence 14 years ago to the government and asked for research to be completed on why men in Muslim and/or Pakistani communities were committing these crimes and no research was completed.

As is, however, 88% of sex offending is committed by white men according to Afzal.

Also, data about ethnicities has not been consistently collected by police. This is once again something Afzal made recommendations on 10 years ago that has not been implemented.

Overall, we've had inquiries on this and the Tories did nothing with the results of them.

Neither Afzal nor David Greenwood (the solicitor for many of the victims) believe another inquiry is needed. They feel it is time to act on the past inquiries.

Hasan did ask Afzal about David Greenwood reporting seeing evidence of police collusion with the grooming gangs. Though Afzal didn't confirm that and rather blamed the failings on incompetence, he did say that if any inquiry is needed, it would be a police inquiry to investigate these claims.

On another note, Keir Starmer did not block prosecution of Jimmy Savile. Alison Levitt's 2013 report exonerates him.

Further, Afzal talked about how he and Keir Starmer had to change policy when it came to CSA and implemented many changes.

Afzal made it very clear that Keir Starmer has not done any of the things he's been accused of, especially not some kind of collusion with the gangs.

Afzal himself has had the same accusations levelled at him. About a decade ago, his home was attacked by the far right who believed him being a British-Pakistani Muslim on the side of prosecution meant that he was there to protect the perpetrators. It was only safe for his children to go to school in taxis.

At one point, Afzal said something along the lines of "These people are as far from Islam as you can imagine." in regards to the perpetrators.

The idea that this was brown men targeting white girls was put to bed by Afzal and Hasan during it. While brown girls are 3 times less likely to come forward, there were many brown victims.

Also talking about coming forward, in speaking with victims, Afzal found that many of the victims were not believed due to classism. Working class girls were routinely not believed by police or local prosecutors.

Elon has spoke a lot recently about Tommy Robinson, aka Stephen Christopher Yaxley-Lennon, and how he should be freed. Jordan Peterson called him a political prisoner and Elon's father compared him to Nelson Mandela. Afzal rightfully pointed out that Stephen nearly ruined two different trials for this with his antics that were considered jury intimidation. The only person who benefited from Stephen's action was him and his bottom line.

Afzal spoke a lot about the victims and how no one is speaking about them or caring about them. He mentioned how focussing on the race of the perpetrators only undermines the victims. I think it's a very important point.

Further, Afzal has spent a lot of this week speaking to the victims of these grooming gangs who have been finding themselves triggered by Elon's antics. Many of them feel like the recovery they've made so far has been pulled out from under them. These people have PTSD and Elon has triggered them as he acts with callous disregard.

TL/DR: We've had national inquiries on this topic and it's the Tories who have decided not to act on them, we do not need more and what Elon is doing is hurting the victims of the crimes he claims to care about.

[dadsinsuits]

Nazir Afzal

[mounadiloun]

Elon Musk et les gangs pédophiles en Angleterre

Elon Musk, le patron de Tesla, de X et surtout membre  de l’équipe appointée par Donald Trump depuis son élection à la présidence des Etats Unis se livre en ce moment à une ataque en règle contre le gouvernement britannique, appelant même à la démission du premier ministre travailliste Keir Starmer. Donald Trump et Elon Musk Ce qui motive officiellement la vindicte de Musk serait le laxisme des…

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

By: Rakib Ehsan

Published: Dec 2, 2023

With a wave of anti-Semitism sweeping Britain – and London in particular – you might expect local authorities to jump at the chance to show some solidarity with their Jewish communities.

If so, you’d be wrong. Havering Borough Council is a case in point. On Thursday, it announced it was to cancel this year’s Hanukkah celebrations. The council claimed that erecting and lighting the large menorah outside Havering Town Hall could ‘inflame community tensions’ and lead to vandalism and disruption. (It had already paid for the specially designed menorah.)

On Friday, in the face of a considerable backlash, Havering announced a u-turn. It has been reported that the council had an ‘urgent meeting’ with Jewish community leaders and has since decided that the menorah-lighting event could indeed go ahead later this month.

But this volte-face will do little to erase the damage done by the original, spectacularly ill-judged decision. Indeed, Havering’s initial move to cancel the event has been roundly condemned by those of all faiths and none.

Nazir Afzal, the first Muslim chancellor of Manchester University, pointed out that the celebration of the Jewish festival has nothing at all to do with the war in Gaza. Dr Krish Kandiah, the director of the pro-refugee Sanctuary Foundation, pledged to stand ‘with the Jewish community in Havering’. Hope Not Hate founder Nick Lowles also intervened, saying that the council’s original decision was wrong ‘on every level’.

Muhammad Manwar Ali, an experienced figure in the counter-extremism field, was blunter still. He described the plan to cancel the event as ‘absolutely awful’ and a form of ‘shameless appeasement’. He’s not wrong. Havering seemed more concerned with appeasing anti-Semites than with supporting the local Jewish community.

Havering seemed to think that by cancelling Hanukkah celebrations community tensions would be eased. This is absurd. It would have made them worse. Not only was Havering threatening to cancel a religious celebration that has long brought joy and happiness to the capital; it was also pandering to nasty extremist factions.

Failing to stand in solidarity with British Jews sends a dangerous message. Regardless of your opinion on the conflict in Gaza, Jewish people are not agents of the Israeli government – they simply want to celebrate their religious holiday in peace. Havering was effectively threatening to suppress one religious minority at the presumed behest of another. All because it assumed that the visible display of Jewishness would upset – and potentially anger – the local Muslim community. Which is also incredibly insulting to Muslims.

Havering has not only failed its Jewish residents – it has also undermined religious freedom more generally. This kind of decision, although it has been reversed, still sets a sinister precedent. It suggests that the feelings of some minority groups should take priority over the rights of others.

If we want to build a truly harmonious and diverse society, we cannot capitulate to bigots who may take offence to harmless religious rituals. Now more than ever, we must rise above tribal identity politics in Britain. We need to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with British Jews and send the clear message that anti-Semitism and hatred will not win.

==

Imagine the cries of "Islamophobia" if, for example, Ramadan activities were cancelled. Imagine the protests and the violence that would have unfolded.

Now, notice how they were not even asked to cancel Hanukkah, they just voluntarily did so to placate the perceived offence of one group over another.

Not only were the Jews supposed to just quietly accept this, but it tells you the privileged position Islam occupies, even when nobody actively seeks to exercise that privilege.

[alephsblog]

Le accuse di Musk hanno creato l’impressione che le bande dello stupro, prevalentemente di origine pakistana, a Rochdale e Rotherham fossero state lasciate impunite e i casi insabbiati. Non è così. Ed è qui che occorre fare chiarezza su una serie di vicende avvenute in periodi diversi, senza mettere tutto in un calderone. E soprattutto è importante capire la cronologia, chi operò gli insabbiamenti e quando, e a che punto la verità è saltata fuori. Perché no, non l’ha tirata fuori Elon adesso. Per Rochdale e Rotherham ci sono già stati processi e condanne, tanto che basta che cliccate sui link e scoprirete che se fossero veramente stati insabbiati fino ad oggi non ci sarebbero addirittura le pagine su wikipedia con il dettaglio degli eventi, delle inchieste, dei processi, dei rapporti e delle condanne.

Perché è importante la cronologia? Perché i casi furono sì occultati o investigati male, ma responsabili degli insabbiamenti erano polizia, medici, talvolta membri dell’autorità locale appartenenti agli stessi gruppi familiari degli indagati. Il paradosso dell’accusa di Musk è che fu proprio Keir Starmer, come Direttore della Pubblica Accusa (Dpp) tra il 2008 e il 2013, a scoperchiare il bubbone, rivedere le procedure, riaprire i fascicoli e portare alle prime condanne nel 2012 che diedero avvio a successive inchieste e successivi arresti anche dopo che ebbe lasciato l’incarico. Ad oggi, è il procuratore britannico con la più alta percentuale di condanne per abusi su minori, con circa 6 mila arresti l’anno e una media di condanne del 75%.

Durante il suo mandato, Starmer introdusse una serie di riforme mirate a migliorare la gestione dei casi di abuso su minori. Nel 2013, emanò nuove linee guida che rappresentarono un cambiamento radicale nell’approccio alla giustizia penale, concentrandosi sulla credibilità delle accuse piuttosto che sulla capacità delle vittime di testimoniare. Starmer sfidò miti e stereotipi, dichiarando la fine dell’era della “vittima modello” e promuovendo una comprensione più complessa dei comportamenti delle vittime. Potenziò la formazione dei pubblici ministeri e delle forze dell’ordine, sensibilizzandoli sulle dinamiche di coercizione e manipolazione che spesso impediscono alle vittime di denunciare, specialmente in contesti culturali dove prevalgono concetti di “onore” e “vergogna”. Dopo casi come quello di Rochdale, Starmer ordinò una revisione nazionale sulla gestione dei casi di sfruttamento minorile da parte della Procura della Corona, identificando le lacune sistemiche e implementando misure correttive. Grazie a queste riforme, le accuse di abuso su minori registrarono un aumento significativo, passando da 4 nel 2010-2011 a oltre 7.200 tra il 2011 e il 2017, con un picco durante il suo mandato.

Il lavoro fu svolto accanto a Nazir Afzal, nominato da come Capo Procuratore della Corona per il Nord Ovest dell’Inghilterra, il quale ebbe un ruolo cruciale nel perseguire i crimini, mentre Starmer guidava iniziative per introdurre cambiamenti sistemici nella gestione dei casi. Al tempo, Azfal viveva sotto scorta, a causa delle continue minacce di morte e intimidazione sia da parte della comunità pakistana che da gruppi di estrema destra. In breve, un uomo scomodo tanto alle gang dello stupro quanto alle frange nazionaliste.

Secondo Afzal le maggiori problematiche rilevate durante la gestione con Starmer in merito a come venivano svolte le indagini sulla violenza sui minori da parte della polizia furono l’inadeguatezza delle risposte, mancanza di coordinamento, paura di accuse di razzismo, stereotipi sulle vittime, politiche inefficaci e mancata assistenza.

Che Starmer fu l’uomo che per primo affrontò il problema, cambiò le regole e assicurò delle condanne lo conferma anche Andrew Norfolk, il reporter del Times che per primo pubblicò l’inchiesta giornalistica sulle grooming gangs.

[leprivatebanker]

Using night courts to charge rioters will add to UK justice backlog, warns prosecutor

Nazir Afzal says judges may need to be called out of retirement and defence solicitors paid upfront

[tsmom1219]

Microorganism-mediated biodegradation for effective management and/or removal of micro-plastics from the environment: A comprehensive review

Zahid, H., Afzal, N., Arif, M. M., Zahid, M., Nawab, S., Qasim, M. M., Alvi, F. N., Nazir, S., Perveen, I., Abbas, N., Saleem, Y., Mazhar, S., Nawaz, S., Faridi, T. A., Awan, H. M. A., Syed, Q., & Abidi, S. H. I. (2024). Microorganism-mediated biodegradation for effective management and/or removal of micro-plastics from the environment: A comprehensive review. Archives of Microbiology, 206(4),…

[voiceofbangus]

Ward member among dozens join AIP in Haran Chogal Langate

Shakir bhat

Langate February 12: In a major boost to Awami Ithad Party in Langate Haran Chogal as dozens of workers joined Awami Ithad Party.

In a statement to the press, the joining was arranged by the party cadre in which over three dozen workers of NC & PC joined AIP in presence of DDC Mawer,Bock President ,BDC Langate & BDC Mawar.

Speaking on the occasion, BDC Langate Showkat Hussan Pandith, welcomed them into the party and hoped that they will work for the benifit of party and people.BDC Tahir Aftab highlighted the contributions of Er Rashid & AIP in every field of life.

Meeting was also attended by Iqbal Supernaghama,Advocate Irfan Aziz,Farooq Ahmed Dar,Sarpanch Ayaz Ahmad,Mashoq Ahmad

Those prominent who joined the party are Ward member Shabir Ahmed, Abdul Rashid Najar,Ghulam Hasan Shiekh,Bashir Ahmad Shiekh,Nazir Ahmad Gojri,Khazir Mohammad Shiekh,Shabir Ahmad Wani, Asif Nazir Gojri, Mohammad Afzal Shiekh, Azad Ahmad Shiekh,Showkat Ahmad Wani, Mohammad Ashraf Shiekh,Nasir Ahmad, Mohammad Sultan Shiekh, Aijaz Ahmad Wani, Ghulam Rasool Najar, Mohammad Maqbool Najar,Ghulam Mohiuddin Najar,Bilal Ahmad Najar and Manzoor Ahmad Dar

[tweetingukpolitics]

[camillasgirl]

Lot's known about King Charles's interest in green issues, less about Queen Consort Camilla's passion for tackling violence against women and girls. With little fanfare, she has been educating herself and working with NGOs to ensure awareness is raised and action taken. A true champion.

Nazir Afzal, a former Chief Crown Prosecutor 10.09.2022

[arcticdementor]

(link)

[ingek73]

[cathnews]

Bishops of England and Wales name former prosecutor to head safeguarding agency

Bishops of England and Wales name former prosecutor to head safeguarding agency

The Catholic Bishops of England and Wales have appointed a former Chief Crown Prosecutor as the Chair of the Catholic Safeguarding Standards Agency (CSSA). Nazir Afzal, a practicing Muslim, served as the Chief Crown Prosecutor for North West England from 2011-2015 and chief executive of the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners from 2016-2017. Afzal has prosecuted numerous high profile…