Month: November 2010

Somali terrorists hiding in refugee camps in Yemen

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

No! You are kidding me!

From the UK Telegraph:

Militants from war-torn Somalia are using refugee routes into Yemen as a cover for making contact with an al-Qaeda group responsible for a series of plots against the West.

Yemeni officials have claimed that members of the al-Shabaab terrorist group have been arrested in refugee camps for Somalis. The government fears that refugee camps such as Al-Kharaz, which now houses 18,000 out of an estimated 2-300,000 Somali refugees in Yemen, could become recruiting grounds for radicals.

Yemen: no automatic refugee status!

The Yemeni government says it is to make it harder for refugees to claim asylum as a way to cut the links. It is considering a proposal to remove automatic refugee status to all Somali arrivals and then seek international support for repatriating those not granted asylum. The move is opposed by aid workers, who say there is little evidence to back the claims. The UN, which runs Al-Kharaz and another camp in Aden, said it had received no approach from the government over the change of rules.

Canadian Supreme Court: refugees can be extradited (maybe?)

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

This is a really confusing article entitled, ‘Refugees can be extradited to face crime charges: Supreme Court.’

The Montreal Gazette begins:

OTTAWA — Canadian laws protecting refugees do not preclude the federal justice minister from ordering their extradition when they are wanted for alleged crimes in the countries they fled, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled Thursday.

Sounds simple enough, but the article goes on for many column inches and it sounds like certain refugees who face criminal charges cannot be extradited. 

Near the end, the Gazette says this:

The court also reaffirmed international treaties and domestic law, saying that an undertaking not to return refugees to persecution “is a cornerstone of refugee protection.”

So who knows what they have done, maybe you can figure it out!

Canada: Judge throws out earlier decision in refugee case of white S.African

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

We’ve told you about this case previously here and here.  

Brandon Huntley asked for asylum in Canada claiming he was persecuted because of his white skin color in majority black S. Africa.  Initially he was granted refugee status but now a judge has overturned the earlier decision.

From the Globe and Mail:

The Federal Court has quashed an immigration tribunal decision to grant refugee status to a white South African who claimed he feared racial persecution in his homeland.

Brandon Carl Huntley told the refugee protection panel that he feared he might be killed by black South Africans, and that neither the government nor the police would protect him because of his race.

The tribunal found Mr. Huntley’s fears justified and gave him refugee status in August, 2009.

Immigration Minister Jason Kenney asked for a Federal Court review of the finding.

Mr. Justice James Russell released a scathing ruling on the case Wednesday, saying the decision was badly flawed.

The judge claims there was no international pressure to reverse the ruling, but you know there was because the message being sent was the politically incorrect one.  We all know whites discriminate because of color, but it NEVER goes the other direction, right!

When the refugee decision came down, the South African government expressed outrage and the case raised a furor in that country’s media. The authorities called the decision itself “racist” and “ridiculous” and made diplomatic complaints.

Heaven forbid the“Rainbow Nation” would be the source for a horde of white refugees looking for new homes!

Food stamps used to purchase drugs

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Your tax dollars:

This is another food stamp fraud case that I don’t believe is connected to immigrants but it’s the second story I’ve seen lately (the first is here) about the authorities going after the sellers of the government assistance.

From KMOV-TV in St. Louis, MO*:

Police found 60 Missouri Electronic Benefit Transfer cards, usually used in place of food stamps. Detectives say the accused dealer accepted the government aide in instead of cash. [He knew they were just as good as cash at some local convenience store—ed]

A handful of SecuritE Cards, with child support payments loaded onto them…

[….]

The discovery of government-issued debit cards is kicking off a seperate fraud investigation as authorities begin to track down the people who traded government aide for drugs.

“We have names of the persons the cards were issued to and that information is being turned over to a state agency,” said Wellston Police Chief George Walker.

Fox News has a storyon this too, here.

* St. Louis has just been dubbed the crime capital of the US taking the honors from Camden, NJ here (last year’s winner).

Historic case in Virginia: Somali pirates found guilty

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Germany has a case too!

From  The Virginian Pilot:

In a historic decision Wednesday, a jury in federal court convicted five Somali nationals of piracy in the April 1 attack on the Norfolk-based frigate Nicholas.

They face mandatory terms of life in prison when they are sentenced March 14.

It’s the first time in nearly 200 years that a jury returned a guilty verdict in a piracy case in a U.S. court, a verdict that likely sets up years of appeals.

The Somalis – Mohammed Modin Hasan, Gabul Abdullahi Ali, Abdi Wali Dire, Abdi Mohammed Gurewardher and Abdi Mohammed Umar – all were found guilty of piracy under the law of nations and 13 related counts.

Germany’s modern-day piracy trial underway

From Reuters:

(Reuters) – Ten suspected Somali pirates captured during the hijacking of a German cargo ship in April went on trial in Hamburg Monday, in Germany’s first modern-day piracy trial.

We think we have compiled enough evidence,” said Wilhelm Moellers, spokesman for the Hamburg public prosecutor’s office. “We presented the court with 22 witnesses and a mass of material evidence, including the weapons used by the accused.”

He said the accused included seven adults and three young people who, once their exact age has been determined, could be tried under juvenile law and face lesser prison sentences of 10 years if convicted. The adults face 15-year sentences.

Boy, I guess if you are a Somali pirate and get caught you better hope the Germans catch you and not the Americans!