Tech billionaire Elon Musk speaks live via a video transmission during the election campaign launch rally of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) political party as AfD supporters wave German flags on January 25, 2025 in Halle, Germany.
(Photo by Sean Gilbert/Getty Images)
BillionaireElon Muskmade virtual appearance at a Saturday campaign event for the far-rightAlternative for Germany party—known by the initials AfD—ahead of a snap federal election in Germany next month. The campaign appearance comes less than a week after Musk wasaccusedof performing a Nazi salute twice on stage at a post-inauguration celebration for U.S. President Donal Trump.
"A nazi speaking at a nazi rally. It's really not deeper than that," wrote the independent journalist Marisa Kabas on Saturday.
Musk has endorsed the AfD, known for it's strong anti-immigrant stance, and earlier this month hosted AfD co-leader Alice Weidel—who was also at Saturday's campaign event—for an interview on his platform X. Members of the AfD have been accused of downplaying the crimes of Nazi Germany and using Nazi slogans.
Musk told onlookers at the event, which took place in Halle, that he thinks AfD is the best hope for Germany and said that it's good to be proud of German culture, according to Reuters andThe Guardian.
"It's good to be proud of German culture, German values, and not to lose that in some sort of multiculturalism that dilutes everything," Musk said, according to Reuters, addressing the crowd via a live video.
"Children should not be guilty of the sins of their parents, let alone their great grandparents," Musk also said, which, per Reuters, apparently referred to Germany's Nazi past.
Musk's "Nazi-like salutes" earlier this week drew sharp rebuke from some, but not all. The Anti-Defamation League, an organization whose mission is to combat antisemitism, called the move "an awkward gesture" and "not a Nazi salute."
For his part, Musk wrote on X that the reaction was an example of Democratic "dirty tricks." He also said that "the 'everyone is Hitler' attack is sooo tired."
Washington Post columnist Karen Attiah, reacting to the news of Musk's appearance at the rally, wrote that "all the people who were shrugging and equivocating over Elon and whether he was aligning with Nazi, far-right forces should be launched into the sun. May they never be taken seriously again."
According to the word of Allah (God) and the history of the world, since the grafting of the Caucasian race 6,000 years ago, they have caused more bloodshed than any people known to the black nation. Born murderers, their very nature is to murder. The Bible and Holy Qur’an Sharrieff are full of teachings of this bloody race of devils. They shed the life blood of all life, even their own, and are scientists at deceiving the black people.
They deceived the very people of Paradise (Bible, Gen. 3:13). They killed their own brother (Gen. 4:8). The innocent earth’s blood (Gen. 4:10) revealed it to its Maker (thy brother’ blood crieth unto me from the ground). The very earth, the soil of America, soaked with the innocent blood of the so-called Negroes shed by this race of devils, now crieth out to its Maker for her burden of carrying the innocent blood of the righteous slain upon her. Let us take a look at the devil’s creation from the teaching of the Holy Qur’an.
“And when your Lord said to the angels, I am going to place in the earth one who shall rule, the angels said: “What will Thou place in it such as shall make mischief in it and shed blood, we celebrate Thy praise and extol Thy holiness” (Holy Qur’an Sharrieff 2:30).
This devil race has and still is doing just that–making mischief and shedding blood of the black nation whom they were grafted from. Your Lord said to the angels, “Surely I am going to create a mortal of the essence of black mud fashioned in shape” (Holy Qur’an Sharrieff, 15:28).
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The essence of black mud (the black nation) mentioned is only symbolic, which actually means the sperm of the black nation, and they refused to recognize the black nation as their equal though they were made from and by a black scientist (named Yakub). They can never see their way in submitting to Allah and the religion Islam and His prophets.
The slave-master’s every cry is to beat–beat–kill–kill–the so-called Negroes. Maybe the day has arrived that Allah will return to the devils–that which they have been so anxious to pour on the poor innocent so-called Negroes. Allah will give you your own blood to drink like water and your arms and allies will not help you against him (Rev. 16:6).
The heads and bodies of the so-called Negroes are used to test the clubs and guns of the devils, and yet the poor, foolish, so-called Negroes admire the devils regardless to how they are treated.
America is now under Divine Plagues. One will come after the other until she is destroyed. Allah has said it.
Black people in America have had a sordid relationship with land and property ownership due to historic and ongoing housing discrimination. A new study reveals yet another policy that authors say contributed to Black property and wealth erosion: heirs’ property policy.
“We are on a mission to help build Black wealth through real estate. But we realized when we’re building wealth, we’re telling people to buy land, we’re telling people to buy properties, telling people to become homeowners and invest in real estate.
At the same time of getting people to get into real estate, we need to also protect those that are already in it and look at how we’re losing wealth with real estate,” Dr. Courtney Johnson Rose, president of the National Association of Real Estate Brokers, Inc. (NAREB), which sponsored the study, said to The Final Call.
According to its website, NAREB was founded in 1947 as an equal opportunity and civil rights advocacy organization for Black real estate professionals, consumers, and communities in America.
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“Heirs’ property is one of the number one reasons why we’re losing wealth in the Black community. Our effort in studying heirs’ property is to be able to understand the issue,” she added. “Our report also has suggestions on things that we can do to help assist and provide more assistance and resources to families that are having heirs’ property issues.”
The paper released Jan. 14 titled: “Heirs’ Property in the United States: Its Destabilizing Structure and Contribution to Black Property and Wealth Erosion,” written by James H. Carr and Michela Zonta, walks readers through the history of housing discrimination and criticizes heirs’ property policies that left Black families reeling from the loss of land.
It goes into the racial wealth gap, the skyrocketing of Black land ownership after the Emancipation Proclamation, successes in Black land ownership despite Jim Crow laws and other discriminatory practices, Black land and farmland loss and recommendations to eliminate further loss of land.
The research highlighted five “aspects of Black property ownership and wealth accumulation in the United States that are neither well-known nor fully acknowledged by federal legislators or the American public in general.”
Three of these aspects included:
• Blacks owned millions of acres more land a century ago than they hold today;
• The largest share of property owned by Blacks was farmland throughout the South, some of which is today among the most expensive property in the U.S.;
• The combination of a lack of access to legal advice and institutions, discriminatory actions by federal, state, and local governmental entities, and legally condoned violence and hate crimes by White supremacists against Blacks, has resulted in the exploitative and frequently illegal taking of 90 percent of land that was held by Blacks in 1910;
“We had accumulated so much wealth in terms of land post-emancipation. The majority of that has been lost. That was the thing that was just kind of most heartbreaking,” Dr. Johnson said.
The authors define heirs’ property as “a type of ownership where multiple generations inherit a family-owned property, typically without a clear legal arrangement proving ownership and defining each person’s share.”
When a landowner passes away without leaving a will or clear directives, their assets enter probate court. “The court values them, pays outstanding taxes, settles debts secured by the property, and designates heirs,” the paper says.
Most Black people, more than 70 percent, according to CNBC, do not have a will. As a result, more than half of Black-owned land in the country is classified as heirs’ property, the paper says.
This leaves the land vulnerable to fractured ownership, conflicts over the property, foreclosure or forced auction and locks the property out of refinance options and federal, state or local tax breaks.
If heirs are in conflict over whether or not to sell the property, courts can order the sale to happen, which often attracts “wealthy developers who prey on unaware heirs.”
Black heirs often did not have the resources to prevent their land from being sold off at public auction, usually at prices well below market value, leading to loss of wealth and property.”
“We see it happening every day, even in urban cities where grandmother dies, and nobody has the deed to the house. There’s no will, and that property goes into probate or tax sales or things of that nature. So, we’re seeing it just pop up all over our community,” Dr. Johnson said.
Black families could also end up spending a significant amount of money in legal fees to determine land ownership. The paper explains how limited access to the legal system impacted Black landowners’ ability to retain their land, as Black attorneys were in short supply, Black landowners could not afford legal representation, and during the Jim Crow era, Black communities did not trust White courts.
Today, Black families still struggle with land and property ownership.
“We struggle to get into homes due to historical racism and discrimination, and we struggle sometimes to maintain those homes and those properties because it was so difficult for us to get it,” Dr. Johnson said.
She mentioned how vulnerable Black families may feel when owning property, due to not having financial reserves to assist with taxes, maintenance and environmental issues.
The Honorable Elijah Muhammad, Eternal Leader of the Nation of Islam, encouraged Black land ownership and advised Black people to do for self or suffer the consequences. His National Representative, the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, has been urging Black people to go into agriculture.
“The Honorable Elijah Muhammad said, ‘As long as we are consumers and employees, our future is in the hand of somebody else.’ But if we are going to be producers, you cannot become a producer of what you need to extend your life without land,”
The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan said in a message delivered on November 9, 2011, at Prairie View A&M University in Prairie View, Texas. “We have to own land. Elijah Muhammad said we need at least 100 million acres to make a start.”
For Melody Muhammad of Edith Family Farms, Black people need to want property. She recalled a situation where property was sold without alerting all the heirs.
Ms. Muhammad resides in the Philadelphia area but has seven acres of land in North Carolina she purchased several years ago. She is an urban agriculture consultant and attained a Certification in Urban Agriculture from Will Allen of Growing Power, and a master gardener certification from Penn State University.
“Some people who have heir property, they don’t have to fight over it because they already have money, like Caucasians. Some of them don’t have to fight over stuff because they got their cars, they got their houses, they got the basic things they already need, so they don’t have to fight over money,”
She said to The Final Call. “If we had heir property right now, some of us would be like, ‘Look, I want to sell it so I can go ahead and have some money to do what I want to do with it.’”
“After all this injustice and the things that our ancestors have lost as a result of us going into debt and sharecropping and all of those things, now we are at a time where some of us are striving to get and purchase the land.
And then some of us have gotten, I want to say, comfortable with this world’s life that we almost forget about the land and don’t even want to go back to the land,” she said. “We could say we have this, we have that, but if we don’t have the land to grow our own food, then how are we going to be healthy?”
Referencing the Honorable Elijah Muhammad on the importance of Black unity, Melody Muhammad wants to see more families getting together with land to live on.
“Moving forward, we start purchasing little spots here or there, and have communities,” she said. But to go into land ownership, Black people first have to work on their credit, budget and be willing to sacrifice, she added.
“We need to really focus on budgeting. And that’s where I think some of us fall short, is when you see these things going on, and you know it’s not in your budget. And you know that you want to get some land and you want to do some stuff, but you gotta make sacrifices. You gotta give up something to do it,” she said.
The National Association of Real Estate Brokers launched a “Building Black Wealth Tour” to help educate and provide resources. The organization has designated April 12, 2025, as their 2nd annual “Building Black Wealth Day,” where seminars and sessions will occur simultaneously in 100 cities on homeownership, property investment and other wealth-building topics.
One of the tour’s sessions will go into heirs’ property and “what to do with Big Momma’s house.”
Melody Muhammad believes as time goes on, more Black people will start uniting and owning land.
“When we realize the importance of what’s happening today, I believe we will educate some of the young people, and they can enjoy some of the space on the land,” she said. “We can start to get the children to want to be in those spaces, because they’ll be safe spaces.”
She placed focus on the family unit, first.
“Start buying property as a family, first,” she said. “More husbands and wives do things together then start working with other families and build communities.”
“I can see us going back to having generational wealth,” she concluded.
Hospitalized preterm infants had a 170% higher incidence of apnea within 48 hours of receiving their routine 2-month vaccinations compared to unvaccinated babies, according to a new study. The authors said the study supports current vaccine recommendations, but some scientists disagreed and raised concerns about SIDS.
by Nabil Muhammad, Ph.D. The Defender
This article was originally published by The Defender—Children’s Health De fense’s News & Views Website on January 9, 2025.
Hospitalized preterm infants had a 170% higher incidence of apnea within 48 hours of receiving their routine 2-month vaccinations compared to unvaccinated babies, according to the data in a new study.
The study, published Jan. 6 in JAMA Pediatrics, defined apnea “as a respiration pause greater than 20 seconds or a respiration pause greater than 15 seconds with associated bradycardia” — or low heart rate of less than 80 beats per minute.
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Noting that preterm infants receive their routine vaccinations at the same time as full-term infants, the study sought to determine whether routine 2-month vaccinations resulted in an increased risk of apnea.
The authors concluded, “The similar number and duration of apneic events and lack of serious adverse events suggest that current vaccination recommendations for hospitalized preterm infants are appropriate.”
However, Karl Jablonowski, Ph.D., senior research scientist at Children’s Health Defense, said the authors arrived at their conclusion “by ignoring the risks” evident in their own data.
“A premature infant experiencing apnea will likely have a longer neonatal intensive care unit stay, further exposing them to hospital-acquired infection,” Jablonowski said. “This is on top of the other risk factors for apnea like death, respiratory failure, long-term lung problems and failure to thrive.”
In a Substack post, cardiologist Dr. Peter McCullough suggested that “it is conceivable” that with seven vaccines at age 2 months and 16 vaccines at 12-15 months, “combination vaccination could be associated with significant unmonitored apneas, febrile seizures, or both resulting in sudden infant death syndrome [SIDS] at home.”
Biologist Christina Parks, Ph.D., an expert in how vaccines affect the immune system, told The Defender the study confirms “what previous studies on premature infants have shown — that vaccination induces cardiorespiratory stress that manifests as the slowing of heart rate (bradycardia) and respiration as well as the cessation of breathing (apnea) for brief periods of time.”
Parks said the fact that “the known risks have not been implicated as potential causes of SIDS is inexcusable at this point.”
Study suggests ‘one-size-fits-all approach to vaccination’ not appropriate for preterm infants
Research scientist and author James Lyons-Weiler, Ph.D., told The Defender the study “is a wake-up call” that highlights how routine vaccinations, particularly in preterm infants, may carry overlooked risks.
“The increased incidence of apnea in vaccinated preterm infants suggests that the one-size-fits-all approach to vaccination may not be appropriate for such a vulnerable population,” Lyons-Weiler said. “It underscores the need to consider individual physiological differences— especially in those with underdeveloped systems—and tailor vaccination practices accordingly.”
Lyons-Weiler said the study’s authors appear to prioritize the broader public health benefits of vaccination over the individual risks demonstrated in the study. He said:
“They assume that the short-term apnea risks are outweighed by the long-term protection against infectious diseases. However, this conclusion overlooks critical questions about long-term outcomes for these infants, particularly if apnea episodes have lingering neurological consequences. They did not, however, really think this through. What is a pre-term infant’s life worth?”
Parks noted that the study did not present an analysis of what the potential causes of the increased incidence of apnea in vaccinated infants might be. “The complete lack of interest in the mechanisms by which vaccination is increasing cardiorespiratory distress in infants is also somewhat shocking.”
Jablonowski noted that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s childhood immunization schedule has expanded since the study was conducted, from 2018 to 2021.
“Had this study been performed today, with the rapidly expanding CDC immunization schedule, the infants would have received Prevnar 20 instead of Prevnar 13—so, seven additional antigens for pneumococcal, the rotavirus vaccine—up to five more antigens, and a monoclonal antibody for RSV,” Jablonowski said.
Four vaccinated infants had suspected cases of sepsis
Jablonowski also highlighted a less-emphasized outcome of the study: Four vaccinated infants had suspected cases of sepsis—a condition where the body responds improperly to an infection. By comparison, only one unvaccinated infant has a suspected case of sepsis.
Jablonowski said:
“The most startling finding of this study was not its primary or secondary outcomes, but an exploratory outcome concerning sepsis.
“No one versed in vaccine adverse reactions would be surprised that four vaccinated infants— compared to one unvaccinated infant—presented with fever. Everyone should be surprised that four vaccinated infants—compared to one unvaccinated infant—had blood cultures or were administered antibiotics over a concern for sepsis.
“Did the onslaught of the study’s five vaccines, covering 19 antigens, simultaneously administered, mimic sepsis symptoms or degrade the immune systems so severely to allow a pathogen to gain a foothold?”
Previous studies have confirmed the risk of infant sepsis after vaccination, Parks said.
“Traditionally, doctors assumed that infant sepsis was due to bacterial infection and treated with antibiotics even when no bacterial infection could be identified. However, these previous studies demonstrated that it was actually vaccination that led to this potentially life-threatening hyper-inflammatory state,” Parks said.
According to French independent scientist Hélène Banoun, Ph.D., the study confirms a French medical thesis published in 2013. That study examined 144 preterm babies, finding that 68% of newborns experienced significant cardiorespiratory events after vaccination.
“Taken together, all of these studies show that vaccination causes extreme, and possibly life-threatening, stress to the infant body and the tinier the body, the less resources it has to withstand that stress,” Parks said.
Aluminum-containing vaccines may pose a particular risk to preterm infants
Lyons-Weiler said that the study’s results also provide an indication of the risk involved with administering multiple vaccines at the same time or within a short period — particularly in babies and young children.
“Preterm infants already have underdeveloped immune and neurological systems, and the cumulative aluminum burden from multiple vaccines could exacerbate risks like apnea,” he said. “This study suggests that combination vaccination in such populations needs to be carefully reevaluated.”
He also noted that some vaccines routinely administered to infants contain aluminum. He analyzed the potential risks of administering such vaccines to babies on his Substack.
“Aluminum adjuvants are known to trigger immune activation and inflammation, which could impact respiratory and neurological stability in preterm infants,” Lyons-Weiler said. “Unfortunately, the study did not explore specific mechanisms, such as aluminum adjuvants, that might explain the observed increase in apnea. This is a significant oversight.”
Aluminum salts “are potent immune activators and could trigger systemic inflammation, disrupting respiratory control,” Lyons-Weiler said. He said infant vaccination could also spur cytokine production, “which may interfere with the immature neurological pathways responsible for regulating breathing.”
“Simultaneous administration of multiple vaccines increases the immune activation burden and cumulative aluminum exposure, compounding risks,” Lyons-Weiler said.
Writing on Substack, Lyons-Weiler called for vaccines that do not contain aluminum to be prioritized. He also called for the delayed vaccination of infants “not at immediate risk of Hepatitis B infection, or who have respiratory or cardiac episodes following vaccination” and proposed weight-based dosing “to account for the smaller body mass and underdeveloped renal function of preterm infants.”
“Delaying non-essential vaccinations until greater physiological maturity may provide a safer path forward,” Lyons-Weiler wrote.
This article was originally published by The Defender—Children Health Defense News & Views Website under Creative Commons license CC BYNC-ND 4.0.
Experts raise questions about SIDS after study shows vaccinating preterm babies greatly increases risk of apnea
Hospitalized preterm infants had a 170% higher incidence of apnea within 48 hours of receiving their routine 2-month vaccinations compared to unvaccinated babies, according to a new study. The authors said the study supports current vaccine recommendations, but some scientists disagreed and raised concerns about SIDS.
Palestinian farmers plant the first olive tree ahead of the replant of a 10 dunam, 2.5 acres, of land with 250 olive trees, part of the joint Freedom Farm project of the Palestinian Farmers Union and the Treedom for Palestine 2025 in memory of President Jimmy Carter, in the West Bank city of Tulkarem Monday, Jan. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Nabil)
TULKAREM, West Bank—Palestinian activists and residents planted a grove of 250 olive trees in a northern West Bank town on Jan. 13 in memory of the late U.S. President Jimmy Carter, describing him as a staunch supporter of the Palestinian cause.
The former president’s legacy is “rooted” among Palestinians and across the globe, said Abbas Melhem, executive manager of the Palestinian Farmers Union. Mr. Carter was one of the few world leaders who “stood firmly supporting the struggle of the Palestinians for independence and for freedom,” he said.
Under clear winter skies, Palestinian kids helped a handful of adults place the trees into newly dug holes. Melhem said the 10-dunam (2.5-acre) grove in the city of Tulkarem, titled “Freedom Farm,” would be fenced in to protect it from wildlife or extremist Jewish settlers, who have attacked Palestinian olive trees in the past.
Mr. Carter, who died last month at the age of 100, brokered the Camp David peace accords between Israel and Egypt in 1978.
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In his later years, Carter was highly critical of Israel’s military rule over the Palestinians, saying conditions in the occupied West Bank amounted to apartheid. Israel captured the West Bank in the 1967 Mideast war, and the Palestinians want it to form the main part of their future state.
“I think planting olive trees that live at least 100 years old like him is a very suitable way to honor his life and his legacy,” said George Zeidan, the Carter Center’s Director in Israel and Palestine. (AP)
Prime Minister Mohammed S. Al-Sudani met on Jan. 8 with the speaker of the Iranian Islamic Consultative Assembly, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, at the Iranian Parliament building. Photo: Iraqi Prime Minister Media Office/Facebook
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani visited Iran on January 8 where the two countries discussed strengthening regional unity to resist all forms of external interference while increasing their mutual cooperation and communication.
During his meeting with the Iraqi delegation, Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian proposed the creation of a “joint economic zone” between the two countries, emphasizing that Iraq is “an important neighbor and strategic partner for Iran.”
Al-Sudani’s visit to Iran comes months after Pezeshkian visited Baghdad in September during his first diplomatic trip after assuming office.
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The Iraqi Prime Minister also met Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, who reportedly expressed concern about the U.S. solidifying its military presence in Iraq. Khamenei emphasized that such actions should not be accepted and reiterated Iran’s call for the complete withdrawal of all foreign troops from the region.
Iran has long raised the issue of the presence of foreign troops in the region and called for their complete withdrawal. It considers the presence of U.S. forces in Iraq illegal and a threat to regional peace and security.
U.S. forces first entered Iraq during the 2003 invasion. The forces prolonged their occupation of the country and then further extended it following threats from ISIS. However, after the official defeat of ISIS in 2017, popular mobilizations against the foreign troops in the country increased pressure on the U.S. and other countries to withdraw their forces, reducing their numbers drastically.
The Iraqi parliament adopted a resolution in 2020 that forced the U.S. to withdraw most of its forces. The resolution came after the assassination of senior Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani and PMF leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis by the U.S. in a drone attack in Baghdad on January 3.
In December 2021, the U.S. announced the end of its combat mission in the country, claiming that its remaining forces, around 2,500 troops, were only there for training purposes.
Iran just marked the fifth anniversary of Soleimani’s assassination. Recognizing his contributions in resistance against imperialist forces and terrorist groups such as ISIS. President Pezeshkian said that Soleimani “stood up to defend the oppressed in every corner of the world.
Including in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Afghanistan, regardless of people’s religion, personal taste and views” and called him a symbol of honor for the Iranian nation.
Khamenei has praised Soleimani’s role in helping Iraq fight ISIS in the past. On January 8, he also acknowledged the development and security efforts undertaken by the Iraqi government since then, saying,
“the more prosperous and secure Iraq is, the better it will be for the benefit of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” and praised the unity among various sects in Iraq as a sign of stability and peace, Press TV reported.
However, Khamenei also asked al-Sudani to strengthen the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), known as Hashd al-Shaabi. He called it “a significant pillar of national resilience” and praised its role in the resistance.
PMF is a militia now attached to the Iraqi army. It played a significant role in the defeat of ISIS in 2017 and has opposed the presence of foreign troops in the country by carrying out repeated attacks on their bases. It is one of the central parts of the Axis of Resistance in Iraq and has also carried out attacks against Israel in solidarity with the Palestinian people.
Al-Sudani acknowledged PMF’s role in Iraqi politics, calling it one of the important components of power in the country along with the people and religious authorities.
The Iraqi prime minister agreed with Iran’s concerns about instability in Syria and the wars in Gaza and Lebanon. He emphasized that greater unity among the countries in the region and an end to all kinds of external interference is necessary for a sustainable peace.
This photo shows an immigration detention center where Uyghur detainees are held in Bangkok, Thailand, Jan. 11. Photo: AP Photo
BANGKOK—A group of Uyghur men who were detained in Thailand over a decade ago say that the Thai government is preparing to deport them to China, alarming activists and family members who say the men are at risk of abuse and torture if they are sent back.
In a letter obtained by The Associated Press, 43 Uyghur men held in Bangkok made a public appeal to halt what they called an imminent threat of deportation.
“We could be imprisoned, and we might even lose our lives,” the letter said. “We urgently appeal to all international organizations and countries concerned with human rights to intervene immediately to save us from this tragic fate before it is too late.”
The Uyghurs are a Turkic, majority Muslim ethnicity native to China’s far west Xinjiang region. After decades of conflict with Beijing over discrimination and suppression of their cultural identity, the Chinese government launched a brutal crackdown on the Uyghurs that some Western governments deem as genocide.
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Hundreds of thousands of Uyghurs, possibly a million or more, were swept into camps and prisons, with former detainees reporting abuse, disease, and in some cases, death.
Over 300 Uyghurs fleeing China were detained in 2014 by Thai authorities near the Malaysian border. In 2015, Thailand deported 109 detainees to China against their will, prompting an international outcry.
Photo: Google Maps
Another group of 173 Uyghurs, mostly women and children, were sent to Turkey, leaving 53 Uyghurs stuck in Thai immigration detention and seeking asylum. Since then, five have died in detention, including two children.
Of the 48 still detained by Thai authorities, five are serving prison terms after a failed escape attempt. It is unclear whether they face the same fate as those in immigration detention.
Advocates and relatives describe harsh conditions in immigration detention. They say the men are fed poorly, kept in overcrowded concrete cells with few toilets, denied sanitary goods like toothbrushes or razors, and are forbidden contact with relatives, lawyers, and international organizations.
The Thai government’s treatment of the detainees may constitute a violation of international law, according to a February 2024 letter sent to the Thai government by United Nations human rights experts.
The immigration police said they have been trying to take care of the detainees as best as they could.
Recordings and chat records obtained exclusively by the AP show that on Jan. 8, the Uyghur detainees were asked to sign voluntary deportation papers by Thai immigration officials.
The move panicked detainees, as similar documents were presented to the Uyghurs deported to China in 2015. The detainees refused to sign.
In this photo provided on condition of anonymity, Uyghur detainees who say they are facing deportation back to China where they fear persecution sit in a immigra-tion detention center in Bangkok, Thailand, in February 2024. Photo: AP Photo
Three people, including a Thai lawmaker and two others in touch with Thai authorities, told the AP there have been recent discussions within the government about deporting the Uyghurs to China, though the people had not yet seen or heard of any formal directive to do so.
Two of the people said that Thai officials pushing for the deportations are choosing to do so now because this year is the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Thailand and China, and because of the perception that backlash from Washington will be muted as the U.S. prepares for a presidential transition in less than two weeks.
The people spoke on condition of anonymity in order to describe sensitive internal discussions. The Thai and Chinese foreign ministries did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Beijing says the Uyghurs are jihadists, but has not presented evidence. Uyghur activists and rights groups say the men are innocent and expressed alarm over their possible deportation, saying they face persecution, imprisonment, and possible death back in China.
“There’s no evidence that the 43 Uyghurs have committed any crime,” said Peter Irwin, Associate Director for Research and Advocacy at the Uyghur Human Rights Project. “The group has a clear right not to be deported and they’re acting within international law by fleeing China.”
On January 18 morning, the detention center where the Uyghurs are being held was quiet. A guard told a visiting AP journalist the center was closed until January 20.
Two people with direct knowledge of the matter told the AP that all of the Uyghurs detained in Thailand submitted asylum applications to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, which the AP verified by reviewing copies of the letters. The U.N. agency acknowledged receipt of the applications but has been barred from visiting the Uyghurs by the Thai government to this day, the people said.
The discussions of possible deportation had also reached the UN.
“We heard the unconfirmed reports as well and promptly checked with the authorities who have assured us to the contrary,” said Babar Baloch, a spokesperson for UNHCR. “We continue to remind the authorities of their obligations on non-refoulement and to advocate for alternatives to detention.”
The principle of non-refoulement, under international law, states that no one should be returned to a country where they may face torture.
Relatives of three of the Uyghurs detained told the AP that they were worried about the safety of their loved ones.
“We are all in the same situation—constant worry and fear,” said Bilal Ablet, whose elder brother is detained in Thailand. “World governments all know about this, but I think they’re pretending not to see or hear anything because they’re afraid of Chinese pressure.”
Ablet added that Thai officials told his brother no other government was willing to accept the Uyghurs, though an April 2023 letter authored by the chairwoman of the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand first leaked to the New York Times Magazine and independently seen by the AP said there are “countries that are ready to take these detainees to settle down.”
Abdullah Muhammad, a Uyghur living in Turkey, said his father Muhammad Ahun is one of the men detained in Thailand. Muhammad says though his father crossed into Thailand illegally, he was innocent of any other crime and had already paid fines and spent over a decade in detention.
“I don’t understand what this is for. Why?” Muhammad said. “We have nothing to do with terrorism and we have not committed any terrorism.” (AP)
From left: Bashirou Seck, Brother Jehron Muhammad and Dr. Mujahid Nyahuma pose for photo. Photo courtesy of Albert Muhammad
This week we focus on a recent, January 5, Zoom discussion from Senegal with Bachirou Seck, CEO of a Dakar-based firm. He also serves as Chief Advisor to the Office of Special Envoy of the Republic of Sierra Leone Ambassador Waleed Shamsid-Deen.
The discussion also included Philadelphia-based Dr. Mujahid Nyahuma, adjunct professor at Rowan University and co-director of Global Africans. Nyahuma is a member of the Delaware African Affairs Commission.
The wide-ranging discussion with Africa Watch included acknowledgment of the Nation of Islam’s historical impact via its weekly news organs Muhammad Speaks (1961-1975) and, more recently, The Final Call on coverage of liberation struggles around the globe and their reporting on geo-political and geo-economics, with a special emphasis on Africa and Africans in the diaspora.
Also included in the discussion was an update on Senegal’s new administration, including its new parliament and its youthful president, the 44-year-old Bassirou Dismay Faye.
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The discussion opened with Mr. Seck, from his home in Dakar, thanking The Final Call for being featured in a previous edition of the weekly Africa Watch column for telling his “African story.” (See The Final Call, Vol. 44 No. 11)
“To be able to have the opportunity to just have my story told in The Final Call was something that was really groundbreaking here in Senegal, and even in the U.S. because I shared it with people in the United States and they were really, really impressed, and they were really, really satisfied and happy because this is a story that needs to be told,” said Mr. Seck, a graduate of Cheikh Anta Diop University.
“I think this is a long time coming—call it a dream come true. To be able to have our story told by our own people, to just write our own narrative.
In addition, this interview was put into that package that is definitely instrumental in highlighting people who are working to bridge the gap (between Africans and Africans in the diaspora) and helping people come back to the continent,” he added.
During the conversation, Dr. Nyahuma discussed the global impact of Muhammad Speaks “which predated the internet,” this columnist pointed out. “I’d like to add to that, the Muhammad Speaks was also the liberation newspaper for the national liberation struggle in Africa.
Everyone was reading Muhammad Speaks in terms of being up to date, (on) what was happening in Mozambique, (in) Angola, Guinea (and) Southern Africa,” said Dr. Nyahuma.
“In addition to that, what was happening in terms of liberation movements that were taking place in other parts of the world. And I think that you fit it really adequately that we did not have internet.”
Mr. Seck also commented on the top of the front cover that appeared on each Muhammad Speaks, which included a graphic of two Black men grasping each other’s hands, stretched out across a partial map of the world. “It’s really important.
I think from that time it was like a lot of efforts being made through the connection. Now it’s happening. We’re no longer stretching our arms but we are definitely shaking hands, and we should really report it.”
“Thanks to the work of people like Rev. Dr. Leon Sullivan and his biannual African African-American Summits and the work on the continent by the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan and others … like religious leaders from Senegal who travel very often to the U.S. to build this connection, has been instrumental in building that bridge,” he continued.
Mr. Seck also shared that Muhammad Speaks was a platform then and today, The Final Call is a platform “to raise awareness of our people, especially in America on international geopolitics. And I think this is one of the reasons why Malcolm X was killed. To me because he was able to internationalize the struggle.”
Concerning recent developments in the West African country of Senegal, Seck explained that the country is writing a new page in the African mission.
“After 64 years of those so-called independents (former administrations) awarded to France to its former corporate interest, this is the very first time that we elect a government based on a project that really wants to break up or renegotiate our relationship with France,” he said.
“A project that is fostering sovereignty over all aspects of the life of our nation, including education, including the management of our natural resources, including our international relations. We are no longer under the yoke of France.”
President Faye, who won more than 50 percent of the vote in the first round of the March 2024 elections, and his Prime Minister, Ousmane Sonko, recently took control of parliament in snap parliamentary elections held in November.
During President Faye’s December 31 address to the nation, he said, “As of now, I have instructed the Minister of the Armed Forces to propose a new doctrine of cooperation in defense and, involving, among other consequences, the end of all foreign military presences in Senegal, starting in 2025.”
The Senegalese diaspora sends over $2.9 billion in remittances annually to Senegal, representing about 12 percent of the country’s GDP, according to ecofinagency.com. “This amount surpasses both foreign direct investments and public development aid,” the website states. PM Sonko has proposed a diaspora bank to enhance investments and lower transfer costs.
According to Seck, with the government now controlling parliament, “the Faye administration is encouraging Senegalese nationals and the diaspora to come and take over the business of running the country.”
During Faye’s speech, he announced the launch of a new program allowing every Senegalese to apply for public positions in competition or to propose projects and investment opportunities. He also mentioned the introduction of four bills on transparency and good governance, which will be submitted to the National Assembly.
