What's New

Resources updated between Monday, April 17, 2017 and Sunday, April 23, 2017

April 23, 2017

Scene of stabbing attack in Tel Aviv, April 23, 2017

Palestinian Terrorist Attack Leaves Four Wounded in Tel Aviv Document

April 21, 2017

Police at the Champs Elysees Avenue after one policeman was killed and another wounded in terror attack

Paris Attack: Isis Claims Responsibility for Shooting That Left One Police Officer Dead Document

April 20, 2017

Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon holds up a picture of a victim of the terrorist Marwan Barghouti, who was described only as a "political leader" by the Palestinian representative during the UN Security Council meeting on April 20, 2017

The UN Security Council held its monthly Israel-bashing session on schedule, despite American Ambassador Nikki Haley's efforts to steer the Council towards the Middle East's most dangerous and threatening countries and situations. The United States serves as the rotating President of the Council during the month of April and therefore presided over the Council's monthly debate on "the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question." The routine is to spend almost the entire meeting criticizing Israel while ignoring Iran, Hezbollah, and dire conflicts such as those in Syria and Yemen.

In advance of the meeting, Haley circulated a "concept note" to members of the Council for the meeting requesting countries to instead examine "[w]ho are the regional players that most benefit from chaos in the region, and what are the connections between terrorist groups and these states". Members of the Security Council, as well as other U.N. member states invited to participate, promptly ignored her entreaty.

Early on the Palestinian representative, Riyad Mansour, began attacking Israel and referred to convicted terrorist Marwan Barghouti as a "political leader." Israeli Ambassador Danny Danon responded soon after, holding up a photograph of one of Barghouti's victims and pointing out Mansour was glorifying a murderer.

Haley attempted to shift the meeting off the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, focusing her remarks on the threats presented by Iran and the terrorist group Hezbollah, while also chastising the Council for its obsessive focus on Israel.

In her words:

"If we are speaking honestly about conflict in the Middle East, we need to start with the chief culprit: Iran and its partner militia, Hizballah. Iran and Hizballah conspire together to destabilize the Middle East, and their actions are expanding. For decades, they have committed terrorist acts across the region. Today, they prop up Bashar al-Assad's brutality, fighting alongside his forces, adding to the killing of thousands of civilians and the misery of millions of refugees. They train deadly militias in Iraq and arm Houthi militants in Yemen."

Following Haley, however, speakers continued the usual pattern of antisemitic Israel-bashing while paying only lip-service to the mass atrocities elsewhere in the Middle East. For instance:

  • Russia chastised the U.S. for attempting to shift the discussion to America's "domestic context" – a classic antisemitic trope that caring about antisemitism, the discriminatory treatment of Israel at the U.N., is some kind of "Jewish issue" and must be the result of Jewish pressure;
  • Venezuela, speaking on behalf of the so-called Non-Aligned Movement (composed of 119 of the UN's member states), accused Israel of systematic human rights violations, including "willful killing and injury of civilians, including peaceful protestors." The accusation took place the day after the Venezuelan government violently cracked down on local protests that resulted in the death of a teenager and a young woman;
  • Syria launched into more classic antisemitism, stating that Zionism is a history of terrorism founded on a "legend of a religious state," that Israel and terrorism are "two sides of the same coin," and called Israel a "racist entity" comparable to 'Daesh' (ISIS);
  • Iran accused Israel of apartheid and war crimes, while defending Syria's Assad from the charge of launching the recent chemical attack; and
  • Morocco and Saudi Arabia expressed outrage at the "Judaization" of Jerusalem.
Non-democratic countries were not the only ones to ignore Haley's plea. For instance:
  • Sweden spent most of his speech on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, condemning Israeli settlements, while only in passing mentioning violence against Israelis, for which he blamed on Israeli settlements; and
  • The representative of the European Union spent the vast majority of his speech focusing on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, before concluding with "a few words on Syria." Upwards of 500,000 dead, chemical weapons used to kill civilians, and systematic torture by the government in Syria, and a missile program in Iran that threatens Europe - and the European Union evidently believes Israel is the biggest threat to MidEast peace.

Despite Mass Atrocities in the Middle East by Arab and Muslim nations and non-state actors, UN Security Council Zeroes in on the Jewish state as the Main Threat to Peace Document

Palestinian Representative to the UN Riyad Mansour (File photo)

Palestinian terrorists who murder Americans and Israelis are "martyrs" whose families deserve compensation from the Palestinian Authority - that is, according to the Palestinian Representative to the United Nations, Riyad Mansour. In a press conference following a meeting of the Security Council on "The Middle East, including the Palestinian question" on April 20, 2017, Mansour was asked to explain why the Palestinian Authority paid the family of the terrorist who murdered Taylor Force, an American who was stabbed to death while touring Israel on March 8, 2016. (The "Taylor Force Act", sponsored by Senator Lindsey Graham and under consideration by the Senate, would prohibit U.S. funding of the Palestinian Authority until it stops paying the families of Palestinian terrorists).

Mansour responded as follows:

"Listen, this issue is, that it now is in circulation for discussions. If you look at the families of Palestinian martyrs, that the great number of them are killed by the Israeli forces. That will, for example, rob and scheme. In Al-Khalil, in Hebron, he goes to the mosque and murders 27 Palestinian worshipers and injured dozens of them, and the Palestinian Authority, as a responsible party, helped the families of those who are killed. Who is the terrorist in this case? And there are so many cases. Or the family of the Palestinian individual that was killed in cold blood by Israeli soldier in Hebron after he injured him, and we all saw on television that a bullet went through his head. And helping the family of that individual. Who is the killer and who is the terrorist? I am just telling you that this issue, you cannot cherry pick one case here or one case there, that there are, you know, a large number of Palestinians who are receiving compensation. They are victims of Israeli terrorism or killed by Israeli soldiers."

During the briefing, Mansour also praised Marwan Barghouti, a terrorist responsible for the death of 12 Israelis, as "a national hero."

Palestinian Rep to UN Defends Palestinian Authority Payments to Families of Terrorists Who Kill Americans & Jews Development

Exiled Iranians protest atrocities by Iranian regime (File photo)

The Islamic Republic of Iran arrested more than 30 men who are believed to be gay at a private party last week in the Esfahan province. 

The prominent Canadian NGO Iranian Railroad for Queer Refugees (IRQR) first reported on the violent crackdown, saying the men were between the ages of 16 and 30. "IRQR received several reports in last few days and were able to confirm that police attacked guests and physically beat them. Police detained them all at the Basij (Revolutionary Guard Militia) Station and then transferred them to Esfahan's Dastgerd Prison. A few people managed to escape and we received reports that there were several heterosexual individuals among those arrested," the human rights NGO wrote in its website on Thursday.

Firing their weapons, the Iranian authorities, who raided the party, seized the men in the district of Bahadoran in the Esfahan region.

IRQR added, "After a few days, all the families were informed by Basij that their sons were arrested for sodomy. A special prosecutor has been assigned to their cases and they were charged with sodomy, drinking alcohol, and using psychedelic drugs. It was reported that prisoners will be sent to Esfahan's Medical Jurisprudence department for anal examination in order to provide evidence of homosexual acts to the court."

The Basij is a para-military force used to repress dissidents and played a key role in dismantling the Green movement protests in 2009 against a reportedly fraudulent presidential election. Iran's Islamic legal system prescribes the death penalty for gays. 

Volker Beck, a leading human rights activist and gay MP from the German Green Party, told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday, "Not only the Iranian regime's [desire for Israel's annihilation], but also its persecution and policy of annihilation against homosexuals makes the Iranian regime an enemy of human rights. Such a country cannot be a partner of our community of values."

The IRQR wrote "This unfortunate event has created chaos among the LGBT community in Esfahan, since prisoners were forced to write down full names of all their LGBT friends and acquaintances. IRQR is deeply concerned about this situation since Iran has a well-documented history of persecuting homosexuals."

Stefan Schaden, a LGBT rights activist and spokesman for the European 'STOP THE BOMB' campaign, wrote to the Post by email, "It is outrageous that the European Union is cozying up to the Iranian regime for trade and ignores the deadly homophobia, the overall disastrous human rights situation, the latest execution and arrest waves, and the regime's promotion of antisemitism and support for terrorism. Iran's Islamist regime with [Hassan] Rouhani as President is anything but 'moderate."'

Schaden said, "While the Islamic State throws gays from rooftops, the Islamic Republic hangs them. Iran's regime forces homosexuals to flee the country, and the EU turns a blind eye - the EU is, however, required in their dealings with third countries to comply with binding guidelines laid down in the Union's 'LGBTI Toolkit' to combat state violence against LGBTI persons. The EU must clearly step up its efforts in this regard and consider more human rights sanctions against the Iranian regime." LGBTI refers to persons who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or intersex. 

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson slammed Iran's regime on Wednesday for its human rights violations. Iran's clerical regime executed a gay adolescent in July, 2016. Iran's UN diplomatic missions in New York and Geneva did not immediately respond to Post press queries.

Shots Fired as Iran Arrests Over 30 Gay Men in Violent Raid Document

Protesters and police clashing, April 19, 2017

Three Killed During Venezuelan Protests Against Government Document

Commissioner-General of UNRWA Pierre Krähenbühl and Palestinian Minister of Education and Higher Education Sabri Saydam

UNRWA Agrees to Violate UN Charter and Keep Teaching Israel Doesn't Exist Article

U.S. Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley (File photo)

Haley Wants Iran, Not Israel, at Core of UN's Middle East Agenda Article

April 19, 2017

The United Nations Economic and Social Council (File photo)

Today the UN held elections for positions on some of its top bodies and the result goes a long way in explaining why the organization does not and cannot keep the promises it made when created more than seven decades ago. Saudi Arabia was elected to protect women, Sudan to protect children, and Russia to prevent crime. The elections took place on April 19, 2017 at UN Headquarters. The selection was done by the 54 UN member states of the UN's Economic and Social Council.

The election results included:

  • The UN Commission on the Status of Women: Saudi Arabia (leading practitioner of gender apartheid)
  • The UN Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice: Afghanistan, China, and Russia (world leaders in the absence of the rule of law and lack of an independent judiciary)
  • The UN Intergovernmental Working Group of Experts on International Standards of Accounting and Reporting: Belarus and Russia (states infamous for a lack of accountability)
  • The Executive Board of the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF): Sudan (whose President is a fugitive charged with crimes against humanity and genocide perpetrated against, among others, the children of Sudan).
  • The UN International Narcotics Control Board: Afghanistan (uncontrolled narcotics capital, world's largest producer of opium found in 90% of heroin worldwide)

UN elects Saudi Arabia to its top women's rights body Article

Venezuelans cowering from the pro-government forces

Two people were shot dead as opponents of President Nicolas Maduro flooded the streets of Caracas and other Venezuelan cities Wednesday, battling security forces in what's been dubbed the "mother of all marches" against the embattled socialist leader.

Tens of thousands of protesters made an unsuccessful attempt to march to downtown Caracas as security forces fired tear gas and rubber bullets into the crowd. Dozens even had to slide down a concrete embankment and into the Guaire River to escape the noxious fumes.

Carlos Romero, just three days away from his 18th birthday, was walking to play soccer with friends when he bumped into pro-government militias stalking a pocket of protesters, family spokesman Melvin Sojo told The Associated Press, based on the accounts of two people who rushed Romero to the hospital after he was hit by gunfire.

"This was supposed to be a happy moment but instead I came home to see my brother die," said Sojo, who grew up in the Romero home and returned Tuesday from Ecuador, where he had been living the past year.

There was no immediate confirmation that the militias shot the boy, and some government officials cast doubt on the account, saying Romero was killed during an attempted assault.

In the western city of San Cristobal, a 23-year-old woman identified as Paola Ramirez was shot dead by similar groups, according to Mayor Patricia Gutierrez, who said the groups circled demonstrators on motorcycles as they were heading home from the demonstration.

The two killings bring to seven the death toll since protests began three weeks ago over the Supreme Court's decision to strip the opposition-controlled congress of its last remaining powers, a move that was later reversed but not before enraging the opposition and causing a storm of international criticism. The charges that Venezuela is moving toward a full-blown dictatorship come against the backdrop of an ever-deepening economic crisis.

As night fell, a few thousand people were still gathered in a plaza in wealthy eastern Caracas as residents in nearby buildings banged pots and pans in a show of support. A group of youths with their faces covered tore down street signs and billboards for makeshift barricades. They then launched rocks and Molotov cocktails against lines of police and national guardsmen who responded with tear gas in cat-and-mouse skirmishes likely to last deep into the night.

The Supreme Court's decision energized Venezuela's fractious opposition, which had been struggling to channel growing disgust with Maduro over widespread food shortages, triple-digit inflation and rampant crime. They've called for another day of protests Thursday.

"We'll see each other tomorrow at the same place and same time because our fight for democracy doesn't end," former presidential candidate Henrique Capriles, who the government last week barred from running for public office, said at an evening press conference to announce the opposition's next steps.

Opponents are now pushing for Maduro's removal through early elections and the release of scores of political prisoners. The government last year abruptly postponed regional elections the opposition was heavily favored to win and cut off a petition drive to force a referendum seeking Maduro's removal before elections late next year.

Maduro, addressing supporters at a larger countermarch, seemed open to some sort of electoral showdown. He said he was "anxious" to see elections take place sometime "soon" and repeated his call for dialogue, saying he had a proposal he wanted to make the opposition.

"Today they attempted to take power by force and we defeated them again," said Maduro.

Opposition marchers included Liliana Machuca, who earns about $20 a month holding two jobs teaching literature. Although she doesn't expect change overnight, she said protesting is the only option the opposition has after what she says are scores of abuses committed by the government.

"This is like a chess game and each side is moving whatever pieces they can," said Machuca, her face covered in a white, sticky substance to protect herself from the noxious effects of tear gas. "We'll see who tires out first."

A short block away, a sea of red-shirted government supporters marched by calmly, some dancing to a salsa band that tried to provide an air of normalcy to the otherwise tense political standoff that has paralyzed Venezuela the past few weeks.

Many were state workers like Leidy Marquez, who was bused in from Tachira state, on the other side of the country, along with co-workers at state-run oil giant PDVSA.

"The opposition is trying to provoke a conflict but they aren't going to achieve their goal," said Marquez, wearing a shirt emblazoned with the eyes of the late Hugo Chavez, a symbol of revolutionary zeal in Venezuela.

The government has responded to the near-daily protests with its own show of force: jailing hundreds of demonstrators, barring Capriles from running for office and standing by as pro-government groups violently attack opposition members of congress.

The president also signed orders on TV late Tuesday activating the "green phase" of enigmatic military plans to defend Venezuela against what he describes as U.S.-backed attempts to sow chaos and overthrow him. He also said authorities in recent hours had rounded up unnamed members of an underground cell of conspirators at Caracas hotels, including some who were allegedly planning to stir up violence at the march.

Maduro didn't provide evidence to back his claim that a coup attempt was underway, and the opposition rejected his comments as a desperate attempt to intimidate Venezuelans from exercising their constitutional right to protest.

"We're convinced the country knows who the true coup mongers are and it's against them we will march," the opposition said in a Tuesday late-night statement.

Foreign governments are also warning about the increasingly bellicose rhetoric and repressive stance of the government.

Maduro this week said he was dramatically expanding civilian militias created by Chavez and giving each member a gun. There's also criticism that the government isn't doing enough to restrain the collectives - motorcycle-driving militants - that have operated like shock troops firing on protesters as security forces stand by.

"We're a peaceful people, but we're also armed," Energy Minister Luis Motta Dominguez told state workers gathering for Wednesday's rally.

The U.S. State Department said those who commit human rights abuses and undermine Venezuela's democratic institutions would be held accountable.

"We are concerned that the government of Maduro is violating its own constitution and is not allowing the opposition to have their voices heard, nor allowing them to organize in ways that expresses the views of the Venezuelan people," Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told reporters Wednesday.

2 killed amid massive anti-government marches in Venezuela Document

Scene of Palestinian car-ramming terrorist attack

A 60-year-old Israeli lightly injured his head in a vehicular terror attack at a bus stop the Gush Etzion junction on Wednesday evening.

Security forces at the scene fatally shot the Palestinian driver who had rammed a grey-four door hatchback into the back of a bus. 

A photo of the car showed a glass window shattered from the impact and a knife in the car's coffee holder. The IDF confirmed that a knife had been found in the vehicle.

Magen David paramedic Shmuel Daniel said upon arrival he saw the victim on the ground "conscious" but "confused."  Witnesses described how he had been hit as he stood behind the bus, Daniel said.

Magen David Adom transported both the Israeli civilian and the terrorist to the Sha'are Medical Center emergency room.

The hospital spokeswoman said that doctors were unable to save the driver's life and pronounced him dead shortly after his arrival. 

According to Ma'an News Agency the driver was Suhaib Moussa Mashour Mashahra, 21, from the village of al-Sawahira outside of Jerusalem.

The Gush Etzion spokesperson said the incident marks the second such attack at the junction in the last month.

It follows two fatal attacks in April. One in which a British tourist was stabbed to death on the Jerusalem Light Rail Hannah Bladon.  In the second Sgt. Elchai Teharlev was killed in a car ramming attack while guarding a bus stop outside of the Ofra settlement.

The Gush Etzion junction has been a site of frequent attacks since the wave of terror started in September 2015. 

Gush Etzion Regional Council head said that the attack was one more attempt by terrorist to subdue Israeli, but "they should understand that this just strengthens us."

He called on the government to respond by authorizing more building in Judea and Samaria so that the terrorists would know that there was a price for such actions.

According to the Foreign Ministry, since September 13, 2015, Palestinian assailants have carried out 1754 stabbing attacks and 113 attempted stabbings; 143 shootings; 58 vehicular (ramming) attacks; and one vehicular (bus) bombing.

Forty-eight people were killed in these attack and 713 were injured, including 4 Palestinians.

One more Palestinian vehicular terror attack - rams car into bus, injuring One Israeli Document

U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley at the Security Council (File photo)

This month the United States holds the rotating presidency of the Security Council and took the opportunity on April 18, 2017 to convene an unusual meeting on the topic of human rights. The Security Council usually shies away from talking about human rights under the premise that the Human Rights Council is doing a fine job and their mandate to protect peace and security is only tangentially related to protecting human rights. Despite earlier indications that agreement to hold the meeting was conditioned on there being no finger pointing - a conversation about human rights violations with no human rights violators - U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley called out Syria, Burundi, North Korea, Burma, Iran, and Cuba in her statement, and a few other countries named a few perpetrators: the United Kingdom named Syria and South Sudan, France called out Syria, and Ukraine named Russia.

Haley also took the opportunity to take a swipe at the U.N.'s long and dismal record on human rights, pointing to the infamous "Zionism is Racism" resolution.

In Amb. Haley's words:

"Thirty years ago, my predecessor, Daniel Patrick Moynihan, made the case that human rights have a special place in foreign policy. It had been just two years since the General Assembly passed its outrageous resolution equating Zionism with racism. Moynihan thought tolerance and compassion could use a win at the UN, and as usual, he was right...Consider North Korea. Systematic human rights violations help underwrite the country's nuclear and ballistic missile programs. The government forces many of its citizens, including political prisoners, to work in life-threatening conditions in coal mines and other dangerous industries to finance the regime's military...Now consider Syria. In 2011, a group of 12 to 15 year-old teenage boys spray-painted a message on the wall of their school: "The people want the fall of the regime." For this, the Syrian regime arrested them. These children were brutally beaten, had their fingernails ripped out by grown men in government prisons, and tortured before they were returned to their parents. The outrage spawned more protests and more crackdowns, and the cycle repeated until the situation turned into a full-fledged war. And not just any war, but a war that has caused hundreds of thousands of deaths and millions of refugees...We've seen numerous instances where the Burundian government services use torture to crack down on protesters...We continue to watch Burma, where the security forces have allegedly conducted episodes of violence and repression against ethnic Rohingya, who already face widespread ethnic and religious discrimination from governmental authorities and popular social movements...The next international crisis could very well come from places in which human rights are widely disregarded. Perhaps it will be North Korea or Iran or Cuba..."

UN Security Council talks about human rights Development

Naim Mehmeti, whose daughter died from lead poisoning before she was five

Roma Sickened in U.N. Camps Are Still Waiting for Redress Article

The monastery attacked by ISIS, April 19, 2017

ISIS-Claimed Attack Near Sinai Monastery Kills One, Injures Four Document

April 18, 2017

Police apprehend participants of a rally held by gay activists in Russia (File photo)

Novaya Gazeta is no stranger to hostility and controversy. The crusading Russian newspaper is known for powerful investigations - and in Russia, this sort of work can provoke an angry reaction. The paper's star reporter Anna Politkovskaya was shot dead in her apartment building in 2006. Exactly who ordered her murder has never been confirmed.

Even so, the wave of threats now being made against the paper and its reporters comes as a shock even to those who work there. This week, the newspaper put out a statement that warned religious leaders in the Russian republic of Chechnya were attempting to incite people to "massacre journalists" after a meeting in a Grozny mosque on April 3.

Shortly after the statement was published, Novaya Gazeta's website went down in a suspected distributed denial-of-service attack.

This backlash had been sparked by an April 1 story from reporter Elena Milashina and her colleague Irina Gordienko. In March, Milashina had discovered evidence that gay men were being detained, tortured and even killed in an anti-homosexual purge in Chechnya.

After spending weeks checking the story with her sources, Milashina says they could confirm that hundreds of people had been detained; at least three are now thought to have died.

Despite corroborating evidence from nongovernmental organizations and Western publications, Chechen authorities have dismissed the allegations out of hand - not because the violence is wrong, but because they say gays do not exist in Chechnya.

So far, the Kremlin has shown little willingness to investigate further. But the reports of this anti-gay purge have sparked widespread international concern, with the U.S. State Department and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights calling on Moscow to put an end to any persecution.

WorldViews spoke to Milashina via phone on Friday. The Russian reporter was speaking from an undisclosed location, having fled her home in Moscow because of threats. She described how the threats had affected the lives of her and her colleagues - and how she hoped that international attention could force Moscow to take action.

WorldViews: Could you describe the reaction you've had from Chechen authorities since you published the story at the start of April?

Elena Milashina: Well, the reaction was very panicked and hysterical, but at the same time very threatening. We've covered Chechnya for many years at Novaya Gazeta - many years, decades. We started to cover it in 1994. This was the first time our history, however, that they used religion. Fifteen-thousand people got together in the main mosque of Chechnya and announced a jihad against the staff of Novaya Gazeta.

Not just me, but all the people working at the newspaper are now in danger, because this was a clear jihad message. We will persecute you for tarnishing the honor of the Chechen nation, this nasty thing that you said. There are gays among Chechen people? We will persecute you until the last person at Novaya Gazeta dies. It's unbelievable. It reminds us of the situation with Charlie Hebdo.

WV: What sort of precautions are you taking now?

EM: After the second article was published, I had to be very careful while moving between home and work in Moscow. I finished all the important things that I had to do and left Moscow for a while.

Now I think I will leave the country for a while, too. It doesn't matter that Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced clearly that journalists are under the Kremlin's protection and that no one can kill them for their professional duty. The threat still exists.

So, I will just live for a while in another country. Still working on Chechnya - I can come from this country to the region. I have a lot of sources, and I have a lot of information. I will continue my work.

I know that some security measures are taking place. We've started being more careful and paying attention if someone follows a journalist or if there is someone strange around Novaya Gazeta, things like that. We already had the experience of the murder of Anna Politkovskaya. We are experienced with people murdering our colleagues, so we know a little more now about how killers operate. We will pay attention to those things. Sad to say, but we will.

WV: You've reported a lot about Chechnya in the past, and you've written a lot of stories that have angered authorities. Is this the same sort of reaction you've seen, or is it bigger?

EM: It's the biggest reaction than we've had in all these years. It's very disturbing, because we've never had this in the years we've reported on Chechnya.

WV: Why do you think the reaction is so strong this time?

EM: I have an idea. It's because we are talking about the extrajudicial murder of people, extrajudicial detaining of people. And it's not just one or two persons, it's hundreds of people. This is new, but it's happening in Chechnya and has been happening in Chechnya for the past two years. I personally have information that waves of repression on the Chechen people are becoming more and more open. And more and more aggressive.

That's the main thing we uncovered. It's not that there are gays among Chechen people. It's that there are a lot of people who are under repression, being detained, tortured and killed.

It's not just me that's noticed it. This situation is seen by all the federal security structures that collect information on Chechnya. I know that in their reports that they predict that if things continue like that, there could be a revolt in Chechnya, because the population of Chechnya is in an awful situation. It can't last for long.

WV: Do you think Moscow will step in to do something about this situation?

EM: One day they will have to. And that's why we are working. People in Chechnya are dying. Because they are gays, because they are suspected of sympathies with ISIS, because they are suspected of using drugs, because of many reasons.

At the Novaya Gazeta, it's our position that we have to write about those crimes and put them in front of our society, in front of the powers. Today or tomorrow, the Kremlin will have to deal with the situation. I'm very sure of this. We will continue to apply this pressure.

Right now what I'm seeing is that - for probably the first time - the Kremlin said very clearly that journalists who write about Chechnya and Novaya Gazeta in particular should not be the aim of any attacks or threats. If you don't like it, go to the courts, but don't dare to take any other measures aimed at the press.

If the Chechens threatening us don't listen to this, it means they won't listen to the Kremlin at all.

WV: Your story has sparked a lot of international attention. Do you think this pressure can help?

I think this pressure comes from real fear. This situation reminds the Western world of the same situation that was in Nazi Germany, where people were killed just because of their race and religion. It's a huge crime, and it's happening right now in Russia - part of Europe!

At first, people are scared of the information. They can't believe it. A lot of people asked me if it was true or a joke, because we published the first story on April 1. That reaction I could understand, because its very hard to imagine it's real. But it is clearly real, and I think that's why people are raising their voice now.

I think the pressure is just beginning. We already have around 100 people who we have helped escaped from Chechnya due to this. I don't know how many people are still there, being detained and tortured.

The Russian government should be pushed more. They haven't done anything. They haven't started the investigation; instead they say they are waiting for the names of victims. But they know very well that people in Chechnya are scared to death, and they won't tell their names unless the government offers them protection. The international pressure needs to be really hard on the federal government to start the investigation. We know facts but we can't talk for them. If the Russian government will offer protection, people will talk.

She broke the story of Chechnya's anti-gay purge. Now, she says she has to flee Russia. Document

U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley shakes hands with U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres (File photo)

While U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley has pushed for change at the U.N., human rights violators like Russia, China, and others have fought back to escape scrutiny of their human rights records. The U.N. Security Council is set to hold a meeting on April 18, 2017 organized and led by the United States - which currently holds the rotating presidency of the Council for the month of April - entitled the "Maintenance of international peace and security: human rights and prevention of armed conflict." However, in order to even hold the meeting, Haley apparently had to promise the meeting wouldn't point fingers at anyone. Innovation at the U.N. apparently means a conversation about human rights violations with no human rights violators.

Report: "US Ambassador Nikki Haley was determined to hold a Security Council meeting on the importance of human rights to international peace and security and it will happen on Tuesday -- but only after the US addressed objections from Russia, China and other council members. Haley told reporters at the start of the US presidency of the UN's most powerful body in early April that she wanted a meeting that didn't "point fingers at anyone" but looked at underlying human rights issues that lead to conflict and unrest."

UN Security Council to hold "human rights" meeting promising not to name names Article