Indian court accused of ‘betrayal’ over mosque verdict

Hindu religious leader Dharam Das, an accused in the 1992 attack and demolition of a 16th century mosque, is seen outside a court in Lucknow on Wednesday. (AP)
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Updated 01 October 2020
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Indian court accused of ‘betrayal’ over mosque verdict

  • Senior BJP officials acquitted of conspiracy to destroy historic Muslim place of worship

NEW DELHI: A special court in the northern Indian city of Lucknow on Wednesday acquitted all 32 politicians and senior leaders from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of conspiring to demolish the 16th-century Babri Mosque in 1992, ruling that the move was not “preplanned.”

Muslims described the judgment as “yet another betrayal by the judiciary.”

The BJP under the leadership of then-party president Lal Krishna Advani led a political campaign in the late 1980s and early 1990s to build a temple on the site of the disputed 16th-century mosque in the eastern city of Ayodhya, claiming that it was built by the first Mughal ruler Babar. 

On Dec. 6, 1992, in response to a call by BJP leaders, hundreds of Hindu extremists gathered at the disputed site and demolished the mosque, resulting in religious riots across the country that claimed more than 2,000 lives.

Most of the BJP leaders and its affiliates were blamed for razing the Babri Mosque.

However, on Wednesday, Surendra Kumar Yadav, the judge at the special court, said that the demolition of the 500-year-old mosque was not pre-planned.

“They have been acquitted for lack of evidence,” defense lawyer K.K. Mishra said after the verdict.

Muslims reacted to the verdict with disappointment.

“The judgment pronounced by the special CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) court is wrong. We will appeal in the high court,” Zafaryab Jilani, general secretary of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board, said.

The BJP was elated with the court’s decision.

“It is a moment of happiness for all of us; we chanted ‘Jai Shri Ram’ (Hail Ram) after the court’s verdict. The judgment vindicates my personal and BJP’s belief and commitment toward the Ram Janmabhoomi Movement. Along with millions of my countrymen, I now look forward to the completion of the beautiful Shri Ram Mandir (temple) at Ayodhya,” 92-year-old Advani, one of the accused in the case, said.

Another BJP leader and former party president, Murli Manohar Joshi, who was also among the accused, called the judgment “historic.”

“This proves that no conspiracy was hatched for the incident in Ayodhya. Our program and rallies were not part of any conspiracy,” Joshi, 86, said.

The verdict comes 10 months after the Supreme Court’s controversial judgment giving the disputed land to a Hindu trust and awarding five acres of land to Muslim petitioners to build a structure of their choice at another location in the city.

“It’s a betrayal by the court,” Ayodhya-based Hajji Mahboob, one of the original Muslim petitioners, told Arab News.

“So many BJP leaders have claimed openly that they were involved in demolishing the Babri Mosque. If the court gives this kind of one-sided verdict, I can only say that it is compromised,” he said.

“We know that there cannot be any justice for Muslims in this country because all the decisions given by the courts are wrong,” he added.

Reacting to the verdict, the main opposition Congress party said it was “counter to the Supreme Court judgment.” 

The apex court held that the demolition of the Babri mosque was clearly illegal and an “egregious violation of the rule of law.” 

“But the Special Court exonerated all the accused. It is clear that the decision of the Special Court runs counter to the decision of the Supreme Court,” Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said.

The demolition of the mosque was “a deep-rooted political conspiracy to destroy the country’s communal amity and brotherhood, and to usurp power at any cost,” he added.

According to Hilal Ahamd, of New Delhi-based think tank Center for the Study of Developing Societies, there is a growing belief among Muslims that India is a Hindu country and “they have to adjust themselves accordingly.”

Meanwhile, former chairman of the minority commission Zafar ul Islam Khan said the verdict will encourage the BJP to take the law into its own hands in the belief that the police and judiciary will protect them.

Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, a New Delhi political analyst who has written several books on the Hindu right-wing politics, said: “The demolition of the mosque was a criminal offense and the failure to establish guilt after 28 years is unfortunate.”

He described the verdict as “a betrayal for Muslims and risky for the security of the country if its largest minority keeps getting marginalized like this.”


Hegseth orders Army to cut costs by merging some commands and slashing jobs

Updated 11 sec ago
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Hegseth orders Army to cut costs by merging some commands and slashing jobs

WASHINGTON: The Army is planning a sweeping transformation that will merge or close headquarters, dump outdated vehicles and aircraft, slash as many as 1,000 headquarters staff in the Pentagon and shift personnel to units in the field, according to a new memo and US officials familiar with the changes.
In a memo released Thursday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered the transformation to “build a leaner, more lethal force.” Discussions about the changes have been going on for weeks, including decisions to combine a number of Army commands.
Col. Dave Butler, an Army spokesman, said the potential savings over five years would be nearly $40 billion.
US officials said as many as 40 general officer slots could be cut as a result of the restructuring. They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss personnel issues.
The changes come as the Pentagon is under pressure to slash spending and personnel as part of the broader federal government cuts pushed by President Donald Trump’s administration and ally Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.
In his memo, Hegseth said the Army must eliminate wasteful spending and prioritize improvements to air and missile defense, long-range fires, cyber, electronic warfare and counter-space capabilities.
Specifically, he said the Army must merge Army Futures Command and Training and Doctrine Command into one entity and merge Forces Command, Army North and Army South into a single headquarters “focused on homeland defense and partnership with our Western Hemisphere allies.”
In addition, he called for the Army to consolidate units, including Joint Munitions Command and Sustainment Command, as well as operations at various depots and arsenals.
Officials said that while the mergers will result in fewer staff positions, there won’t be a decrease in the Army’s overall size. Instead, soldiers would be shifted to other posts.
On the chopping block would be legacy weapons and equipment programs, such as the Humvee and some helicopter formations, along with a number of armor and aviation units across the active duty forces, National Guard and Reserve. The units were not identified.
A key issue, however, will be Congress.
For years, lawmakers have rejected Army and Pentagon efforts to kill a wide range of programs, often because they are located in members’ home districts.
Defense Department and service leaders learned long ago to spread headquarters, depots, troops and installations across the country to maximize congressional support. But those efforts also have stymied later moves to chop programs.
It’s unclear whether the House and Senate will allow all of the cuts or simply add money back to the budget to keep some intact.


US Supreme Court asked to strip protected status from Venezuelans

Updated 02 May 2025
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US Supreme Court asked to strip protected status from Venezuelans

WASHINGTON: The Trump administration asked the US Supreme Court on Thursday to back its bid to end the temporary protected status (TPS) shielding more than 350,000 Venezuelans from deportation.
A federal judge in California put a temporary stay in March on plans by Homeland Security chief Kristi Noem to end deportation protections for the Venezuelan nationals.
US District Judge Edward Chen said the plan to end TPS “smacks of racism” and mischaracterizes Venezuelans as criminals.
“Acting on the basis of a negative group stereotype and generalizing such stereotype to the entire group is the classic example of racism,” Chen wrote.
Solicitor General John Sauer filed an emergency application with the conservative-majority Supreme Court on Thursday asking it to stay the judge’s order.
“So long as the order is in effect, the secretary must permit hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan nationals to remain in the country, notwithstanding her reasoned determination that doing so is ‘contrary to the national interest,’” Sauer said.
In addition, “the district court’s decision undermines the executive branch’s inherent powers as to immigration and foreign affairs,” he added.
Former president Joe Biden extended TPS for another 18 months just days before Donald Trump returned to the White House in January.
The United States grants TPS to foreign citizens who cannot safely return home because of war, natural disasters or other “extraordinary” conditions.
Trump campaigned for the White House promising to deport millions of undocumented migrants.
A number of his executive orders around immigration have encountered pushback from judges across the country.
A federal judge in Texas ruled on Thursday that Trump’s use of an obscure wartime law to summarily deport alleged Venezuelan gang members was “unlawful.”
District Judge Fernando Rodriguez, a Trump appointee, blocked any deportations from his southern Texas district of alleged members of the Tren de Aragua (TdA) gang using the 1798 Alien Enemies Act (AEA).
Trump invoked the little-known AEA, which was last used to round up Japanese-American citizens during World War II, on March 15 and flew two planeloads of alleged TdA members to El Salvador’s notorious maximum security CECOT prison.
The Supreme Court and several district courts have temporarily halted removals under the AEA citing a lack of due process, but Rodriguez was the first federal judge to find that its use is unlawful.


US names new top diplomat in Ukraine

Updated 02 May 2025
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US names new top diplomat in Ukraine

  • Julie Davis, a Russian speaker who has spent much of her career in the former Soviet Union, will be charge d’affaires in Kyiv

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump’s administration on Thursday named a career diplomat as its top envoy in Ukraine, putting another seasoned hand in charge after turbulence in the wartime relationship.
The State Department said that Julie Davis, a Russian speaker who has spent much of her career in the former Soviet Union, will be charge d’affaires in Kyiv, the top embassy position pending the nomination and Senate confirmation of an ambassador.
Ambassador Bridget Brink, also a career diplomat, stepped down last month. She had spent been stationed in Kyiv for three years, a grueling posting during Russia’s invasion.
She was also caught in an increasingly awkward situation after robustly supporting Ukraine under former president Joe Biden and then representing Trump as he dressed down Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in an Oval Office meeting.
The appointment of Davis was announced a day after Ukraine and the United States signed a minerals deal, seen by Kyiv as a new way to ensure a US commitment even after Trump opposes military assistance and presses a war settlement that many Ukrainians see as favorable to Russia.
“Ambassador Davis is the president and secretary’s choice,” State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce told reporters, after calling the minerals deal a “significant milestone.”
“President Trump envisioned this partnership between the American people and the Ukrainian people to show both sides’ commitment to lasting peace and prosperity in Ukraine,” Bruce said.
Davis serves as the US ambassador to Cyprus, a position she will continue concurrently with her new role in Kyiv.


Ex-FBI informant who made up bribery story about the Bidens will stay in prison, judge rules

Updated 02 May 2025
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Ex-FBI informant who made up bribery story about the Bidens will stay in prison, judge rules

  • Alexander Smirnov's phony story was used by Republican lawmakers in a move to impeach Democratic president Joe Biden
  • Smirnov later pleaded pleaded guilty in court to tax evasion and lying to the FBI about the phony bribery scheme

LAS VEGAS: A federal judge has denied the US government’s request to release from prison a former FBI informant who made up a story about President Joe Biden and his son Hunter accepting bribes that later became central to Republicans’ impeachment effort.
The decision, issued Wednesday by US District Judge Otis Wright in Los Angeles, comes weeks after a new prosecutor reassigned to Alexander Smirnov’s case jointly filed a motion with his attorneys asking for his release while he appeals his conviction. In the motion, the US government had said it would review its “theory of the case.”
Wright said in his written order that Smirnov is still flight risk, even if prosecutors say they will review his case.
“The fact remains that Smirnov has been convicted and sentenced to seventy-two months in prison, providing ample incentive to flee,” he said.
Smirnov, 44, was sentenced in January after pleading guilty to tax evasion and lying to the FBI about the phony bribery scheme, which was described by the previous prosecutors assigned to the case as an effort to influence the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.
His attorneys, David Chesnoff and Richard Schonfeld, told The Associated Press in a text that they will appeal the judge’s decision and “continue to advocate for Mr. Smirnov’s release.” The US Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles declined to comment.
Smirnov had been originally prosecuted by former Justice Department special counsel David Weiss, who resigned in January days before President Donald Trump returned to the White House for his second term.
Smirnov has been in custody since February 2024. He was arrested at the Las Vegas airport after returning to the US from overseas.
Smirnov, a dual US and Israeli citizen, falsely claimed to his FBI handler that around 2015, executives from the Ukrainian energy company Burisma had paid then-Vice President Biden and his son $5 million each.
The explosive claim in 2020 came after Smirnov expressed “bias” about Biden as a presidential candidate, according to prosecutors at the time. In reality, investigators found Smirnov had only routine business dealings with Burisma starting in 2017 — after Biden’s term as vice president.
Authorities said Smirnov’s false claim “set off a firestorm in Congress” when it resurfaced years later as part of the House impeachment inquiry into Biden, who won the presidency over Trump in 2020. The Biden administration dismissed the impeachment effort as a “stunt.”
Weiss also brought gun and tax charges against Hunter Biden, who was supposed to be sentenced in December after being convicted at a trial in the gun case and pleading guilty to tax charges. But he was pardoned by his father, who said he believed “raw politics has infected this process and it led to a miscarriage of justice.”
 


Jordanian who attacked US businesses over Israel support sentenced

Updated 01 May 2025
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Jordanian who attacked US businesses over Israel support sentenced

  • Hashem Hnaihen, 44, targeted businesses in the Orlando area beginning in June of last year

WASHINGTON: A Jordanian man who vandalized businesses in Florida for their perceived support of Israel was sentenced to six years in prison on Thursday for threatening to blow up an energy facility, the US Justice Department said.
Hashem Younis Hashem Hnaihen, 44, targeted businesses in the Orlando area beginning in June of last year, causing more than $450,000 in damages, according to court documents.
“Wearing a mask, under the cover of night, Hnaihen smashed the glass front doors of businesses and left behind ‘Warning Letters,’” the Justice Department said in a statement.
The letters were addressed to the president of the United States and laid out a series of political demands, it said.
They culminated in a threat to “destroy or explode everything here in whole America. Especially the companies and factories that support the racist state of Israel.”
In one of his attacks, Hnaihen broke into a solar power generation facility in Wedgefield, Florida, and spent hours destroying solar panel arrays, the Justice Department said.
He was arrested on July 11 after another “warning letter” threatening to “destroy or explode everything” was discovered at an industrial propane gas distribution depot in Orlando, it said.