Two German scholar activists argue why it is important for German anti-racists to examine contemporary Islamophobia as well as anti-Semitism. Across Europe activists and certain academics are struggling to get across an understanding in their governments and their countries at large that anti-Muslim racism/Islamophobia is now one of the most pernicious forms of contemporary racism
Remembering Sean Rigg – two years on
On Saturday 21 August 2010, sisters Marcia Rigg-Samuel and Samantha Rigg-David were joined by family, friends and members of the public in marking the second anniversary of the death of their brother Sean Rigg, killed during an altercation with police in Brixton on 21 August 2008. A vigil was held outside Brixton police station where
Poland: Anti-Roma mob attack legitimised
In July 2010, an angry crowd launched a terrifying attack on a Roma family in Limanowa, southern Poland. But why were no arrests made? And how come no one has condemned the violence? In October 1990, a crowd set fire to thirty-six Roma homes in the Romanian town of Mihail Kogalniceanu. No one was arrested
Who defends whom?
An anti-racist student organiser discusses, in the light of the upcoming English Defence League (EDL) event in Bradford, what anti-fascists can learn about recent state interventions and particularly the policing of anti-fascist demonstrations. The upcoming English Defence League (EDL) demonstration in Bradford on 28 August had been described as ‘the big one’ by EDL spokesman
Asylum battles: two victories and one setback
The rights of asylum seekers were upheld in two recent court judgments – but those facing deportation on national security grounds were denied justice in a third. In the first case, the charity Medical Justice (MJ) challenged the UK Border Agency (UKBA)’s practice of snatching refused asylum seekers, including children, and removing them from the
Nottingham asylum seeker jumps to his death
Campaigners are desperately trying to raise the necessary funds to send the body of 27-year-old Osman Rasul Mohammed, an Iraqi Kurdish asylum seeker who jumped from the seventh floor of a Nottingham tower block, back home. On Sunday 25 July 2010, according to the Guardian police officers talked to Osman as he was perched by
Racial violence laid bare
Ongoing research by the Institute of Race Relations exposes the reach of racial violence that continues to spread across the county. Following the publication of a briefing paper, Racial Violence: The buried issue in June 2010, the IRR has continued to monitor racist violence in its various guises across the country; the list reproduced below
Stop and … spy?
Are the security services in the UK so desperate to recruit spies and informers that they stop random travellers coming to the UK in order to recruit them? IRR News has heard that a Sri Lankan man, visiting London was stopped as he passed through the Eurostar terminal in St Pancras and asked to spy
Home Office hits international students – again
New rules, to make it harder for international students to come and study in the UK, will become law unless Parliament intervenes. On 22 July, the Home Office published rule changes which make life more difficult for international students. One of the changes says that from now on, graduates from UK universities who wish to
Court rules against unauthorised police surveillance
Last week, at Inner London Crown Court, three activists were cleared of charges of obstructing the police as they attempted to film and photograph those attending two London NoBorders meetings in south London in June 2008. The three campaigners were arrested after protesting at the surveillance being carried out by police officers from the Forward