Europe

cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/6125392

International human rights groups have condemned the re-arrest of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi in Iran, with the Nobel committee calling on Iranian authorities to immediately clarify her whereabouts.

Mohammadi's French lawyer, Chirine Ardakani, said on X that the human rights activist was arrested on Friday after denouncing the suspicious death of lawyer Khosrow Alikordi at his memorial ceremony in the northeastern city of Mashhad.

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Mashhad prosecutor Hasan Hematifar told reporters she [Mohammadi] and Alikordi's brother had made provocative remarks at the event and encouraged those present "to chant 'norm‑breaking' slogans" and disturb the peace, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported.

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The Norwegian Nobel Committee called on Iranian authorities "to immediately clarify Mohammadi’s whereabouts, ensure her safety and integrity, and to release her without conditions."

The European Union also called for Mohammadi's release. "The EU urges Iranian authorities to release Ms Mohammadi, taking also into account her fragile health condition, as well as all those unjustly arrested in the exercise of their freedom of expression," an EU spokesperson said on Saturday.

A video purportedly showing Mohammadi, 53, without the mandatory veil, standing on a car with a microphone and chanting "Long Live Iran" in front of a crowd, has gone viral on social media. Ardakani said Mohammadi was beaten before her arrest.

Reporters Without Borders said four journalists and other participants were also arrested at the memorial for human rights lawyer Alikordi, who was found dead in his office on December 5.

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cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/6124970

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Hong Kong’s High Court ... pronounced publisher and democracy activist Jimmy Lai guilty on trumped-up national security and sedition charges for his work at the now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper.

The verdict delivers yet another blow to Hong Kong’s press freedom and underscores the extent to which the Hong Kong authorities have eroded the city’s rule of law.

Lai was convicted by three handpicked judges, having been denied his constitutionally protected right to a jury trial, for “colluding with foreign forces” and for “conspiracy to publish seditious material.”

“Jimmy Lai is a British citizen. His release should be a condition of Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s planned trip to Beijing in January,” the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation writes in a statement.

Prior the the verdict, Starmer has called the release of Lai, a British citizen, a priority. ...

Several rights groups have called the conviction "a cruel judicial farce" ...

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According to reports, Lai will learn his sentencing on a later date. A mitigation hearing is scheduled for Jan. 12.

Lai has yet to decide on whether to appeal the verdict, according to his lawyer Robert Pang.

THE Palestine Action hunger strike is on track to become the largest since the 1981 Irish republican protest led by Bobby Sands, yet campaigners say it has faced a “mainstream media blackout.”

So far, seven prisoners have refused food — some for as long as four weeks — with more expected to join.

They are among 33 prisoners who are locked away without trial, over alleged involvement in non-violent actions aimed at blockading arms supply to Israel.

The hunger strikers’ demands are clear. They want Israel’s largest weapons company, Elbit Systems, to cease operating in Britain for good.

They want the ban on Palestine Action, currently designated a terror group, to be lifted. And they are demanding immediate bail and a fair trial — basic democratic rights that should already be guaranteed.

cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/6078147

European Union finance ministers agreed on Friday to set a 3 euro ($3.52) customs duty on low-value parcels arriving in the bloc, part of efforts to crack down on cheap Chinese e-commerce imports such as from online retailers Shein and Temu.

The duty will apply from July 1, 2026, and will be in place until a permanent solution is found to eliminate the "de minimis" duties exemption for online purchases below 150 euros, the EU's Council of its 27 governments said in a statement.

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The bloc was due to remove the exemption in 2028 as part of an overhaul of its customs system, but pressure to act faster has grown amid concerns about Chinese goods being dumped in Europe.

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The number of low-value e-commerce packages arriving in the bloc doubled last year to 4.6 billion, over 90% of them from China. Imports this year are set to be even higher.

The EU is also considering a separate handling fee, which the European Commission has proposed should be set at 2 euros per parcel. It is not clear when it would be imposed.

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Austria has passed a law banning headscarves in schools for girls under the age of 14.

The conservative-led coalition of three centrist parties, the ÖVP, the SPÖ and the Neos, says the law is a "clear commitment to gender equality", but critics say it will fuel anti-Muslim feeling in the country and could be unconstitutional.

The measure will apply to girls in both public and private schools.

In 2020, a similar headscarf ban for girls under 10 was struck down by the Constitutional Court, because it specifically targeted Muslims.

cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/6077659

The German Foreign Office said Friday it summoned the Russian ambassador, Sergei Nechayev, over allegations of repeated hybrid attacks on Germany.

The move followed what officials described as mounting evidence of coordinated Russian activity aimed at undermining Germany's internal stability.

"The goal of these Russian cyber and disinformation attacks is clear: It is to divide society, stir up mistrust, provoke rejection, and weaken confidence in democratic institutions," Foreign Office spokesperson Martin Giese said.

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The Foreign Office listed some cases that it said were perpetrated by Moscow.

In one instance, Giese said, a cyberattack against Germany's air traffic control authority in August 2024 could be clearly attributed to the Russian hacker group "Fancy Bear."

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In another case, Berlin claimed it was now certain that Russia attempted to influence the most recent general election. According to Germany, this was done through the propagandist group "Storm 1516,” which creates and spreads online disinformation to further the interests of the Russian government.

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Two days before the early federal election in February, the government said security agencies had identified fake videos alleging ballot manipulation as part of a Russian disinformation effort.

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Russia is accused of various acts of hybrid warfare — actions that fall below the threshold of open military conflict but are designed to weaken states politically. They include:

• Hacking government ministries, parliaments, and defense institutions
• Targeting critical infrastructure such as energy grids, transport systems and air traffic control
• Spreading disinformation during election campaigns
• Amplifying fake stories or manipulated content via social media
• Using bot networks and troll farms to influence voter sentiment
• Targeting specific candidates seen as unfavorable to Moscow
• Acts of sabotage against railways, cables, pipelines, or military logistics
• Surveillance or targeting of infrastructure linked to Ukraine support
• Encouraging or facilitating irregular migration toward EU border

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cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/6075090

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The contribution on low-value postal packages, ⁠set at 2 euros for each shipment, is expected to garner 122.5 million euros next ⁠year and 245 million in both 2027 and 2028, according to parliamentary documents seen by Reuters.

With this move, which is in line with ‍a proposal ‌being discussed at European Union level, Italy targets online platforms ⁠such as Shein ‌and Temu and aims to protect its fashion ‌industry from low-cost foreign imports mostly from China.

EU customs authorities handled around 4.6 billion low-value packages bought online in 2024, 91% of them coming from China and double the ‍2023 figure, latest data shows.

The government also intends to increase Italy's tax weighing on the transfer of shares and ‌other financial ⁠instruments ​to 0.4% from a current 0.2%, in a ⁠move ​that should yield an additional 337 million euros from next year.

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cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/6075015

• The European Union is investigating Chinese security firm Nuctech amid concerns subsidies from Beijing gave it an unfair market advantage over local EU firms.
• The European Commission said handouts could have bolstered Nuctech’s strength in Europe to the detriment of rivals in the market.
• The EU has powers to vet subsidies that can hamper European markets, and could issue fines, orders to suspend tenders, or outright blocks of takeovers by state-funded firms.

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Chinese security firm Nuctech has been hit by a full-scale European Union investigation amid concerns subsidies from Beijing gave it an unfair market advantage over local EU firms.

The European Commission said handouts in the form of “grants, preferential tax measures, and preferential financing” could have bolstered Nuctech’s strength in Europe to the detriment of rivals in the market.

The probe means the company — which specializes in the production and sale of threat detection systems as well as related services — will be under pressure to file commitments to fix any harm to fair competition.

“We want a level playing field on the market for such systems, keeping fair opportunities for competitors, customers such as border authorities,” said EU antitrust chief Teresa Ribera.

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cross-posted from: https://mander.xyz/post/43497910

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EU countries agreed to indefinitely immobilise Russian sovereign assets on Thursday, removing a major obstacle to providing a €210 billion “reparations loan” to Ukraine.

The decision by EU envoys came the day after Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever openly questioned the legality of the European Commission’s proposal to permanently freeze Moscow’s funds based on an emergency provision of the EU treaties.

Use of “Article 122“, formally floated by the Commission last week, is critical to avoid the assets being returned to Russia if sanctions on the Kremlin are lifted, which could leave Belgium on the hook to repay hundreds of billions of euros to Moscow if the loan goes ahead. The vast majority of the assets are based at Euroclear, a Brussels-based clearing house.

Currently, sanctions on the assets must be rolled over unanimously by EU capitals every six months. Hungary’s pro-Moscow leader, Viktor Orbán, has repeatedly threatened to block the extension of the sanctions, but has ultimately always backed down.

One EU diplomat said the vast majority of EU countries supported Thursday’s move. Another said that Hungary and Slovakia – another pro-Moscow member state – will likely vote against the proposal when EU countries formally decide on Friday. Belgium will likely abstain, they added.

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The European Union has handed Ukraine a list of reforms needed to join the bloc

The Swiss winner of the 2024 Eurovision song contest has said they will be returning their award after Israel was cleared to participate in next year's event.

“Even though I’m immensely grateful for the community around this contest and everything this experience has taught me both as a person and artist, today I no longer feel this trophy belongs on my shelf," they said, writing on Instagram.

"But Israel's continued participation, during what the UN's Independent International Commission of Inquiry has concluded to be a genocide, shows a clear conflict between those ideals and the decisions made by the EBU."

cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/6061854

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• Italy's landmark China Truck mafia trial stalled for years
• Missing interpreters, lost files fuel sabotage suspicions
• "Coat hanger wars" spread violence across Europe's fashion hub
• Weak China cooperation hobbles probes, Italian prosecutors say

A landmark trial in Italy of Chinese crime gangs has suffered so many mishaps - from the disappearance of documents to the resignation of interpreters - that a senior prosecutor suspects it's being sabotaged to protect the criminals' grip on Europe's fashion industry.

The case, launched after two Chinese men were hacked to death with machetes in 2010, is aimed at dismantling an illicit network accused of controlling the logistics of the continent's multi-billion-euro garments sector from the city of Prato in Tuscany.

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"The suspicion is that there is interference from the Chinese community and Chinese authorities in this matter," said Luca Tescaroli, a veteran of Italy's war against the mafia who is now Prato's chief prosecutor and leading the charge against Chinese crime gangs.

The Chinese embassy in Rome did not reply to emails requesting comment on Tescaroli's remarks.

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When the latest court interpreter failed to show up to a hearing at the end of September, a quick check revealed she had returned to China and her transcripts were "incomprehensible and unusable", Tescaroli said.

The translator was the second to walk off the job and no other Chinese interpreter in Tuscany has agreed to take over. Tescaroli has opened an investigation into the possibility that someone is looking to sink the trial.

The violence prosecutors hoped to curb has only intensified as the trial flounders, with the battle for control of coat hanger production and fast-fashion freight spawning a string of bomb and arson attacks in Italy, France and Spain.

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The Prato prosecutor and his colleagues are pressing the judges in the so-called China Truck trial to define the Chinese gangs legally as mafia groups – a designation that would unlock sweeping powers, asset seizures and stiffer sentence.

However, in Italy that label is difficult to secure, even more so if the organisations are rooted abroad, making them harder to penetrate than home-grown crime groups such as Sicily's Cosa Nostra.

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Wedged in the hills northwest of Florence, Prato is billed as Europe's largest textile manufacturing hub, hosting more than 7,000 textile and garment companies that register some 2.3 billion euros ($2.68 billion) in official annual exports. Over 4,400 of firms are Chinese owned, local authorities say.

Almost a quarter of its residents are foreigners, the largest ratio in Italy, but the percentage is likely much higher as many newcomers are illegal immigrants without work permits.

Prato's streets are lined with Chinese-owned workshops, warehouses, and businesses that have transformed the city into a global fast-fashion production centre, and a flashpoint for violence linked to criminal networks.

The China Truck investigation closed in 2018 with prosecutors alleging that the 58 suspects had formed "a criminal association equipped with very significant financial means ... with support and resources abroad".

Seven years on, not a single defendant or witness has been called to testify.

Meanwhile, the alleged mastermind Zhang Naizhong, described by investigators as a "boss of bosses", slipped back to China in 2018 after he was released from pre-trail custody and prosecutors doubt he will ever return to Italy.

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Chinese businesses in the textile district have long operated within what investigators call the "Prato system", marked by corruption and irregular practices, including labour and safety abuses as well as tax and customs fraud.

These companies can appear and disappear overnight, engaging in a cat-and-mouse game with authorities to dodge taxes and avoid having to give workers proper contracts, according to Arturo Gambassi, a representative from the Sudd Cobas union, which defends workers' rights in the textile sector.

"In all the firms where we have initiated labour disputes, we saw that their business name had changed in the previous two years," he told Reuters.

Police say fabrics are often smuggled in from China to avoid customs duties, while profits are sent back through illicit money-transfer channels, with up to 4 million euros shipped out of Rome's Fiumicino airport each week, according to prosecutors and police.

To maintain their competitive edge, the industry depends on cheap, round-the-clock labour, largely from China and Pakistan, with workers facing a backlash if they seek legal contracts.

On November 17, more than 15 Chinese citizens assaulted a union demonstration in Prato. Plain clothes police who were observing the protest were also attacked, with two officers needing hospital treatment, a police statement said.

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Without the mafia designation or Chinese cooperation, Tescaroli's case in the China Truck trial relies on the fragile scaffolding of Italian procedure, and the willingness of translators to show up.

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cross-posted from: https://mander.xyz/post/43437607

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Czech developers have unveiled a new Narwhal cruise missile intended for transfer to Ukraine to strike targets inside Russia. The developer, LPP, is already testing the weapon, with combat validation planned as the final stage. Initial use is expected in January–February 2026, with industrial production slated to begin in March, the outlet Aktualne reports.

Experts say Narwhal is designed for a range of up to 680 km, enough to hit targets deep behind the front lines, including Moscow or the Engels strategic air base. The missile can fly up to 750 km/h and carry a 120 kg warhead. That’s more than the Iran-Russia “Shahed” (50–90 kg), making Narwhal more effective against a broader set of targets.

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A clear message in support of Israel’s participation in Eurovision was delivered by France’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Europe, Jean-Noël Barrot, who firmly rejected any possibility of a boycott. At the same time, he revealed that France not only voted in favour of Israel remaining in the contest but also played a decisive role in preventing such a boycott, as he characteristically stated.

The French minister expressed his satisfaction that Eurovision “did not succumb to pressure,” stressing France’s role in stopping a potential boycott targeting Israel. At the same time, he expressed deep regret over the decisions of certain European broadcasters who chose a different course.

Barrot condemned what he described as “obscurantism” promoted by those calling for boycotts in cultural venues and universities, questioning whether “we will reach the point of banning the books of David Grossman, the films of Amos Gitaï, or concerts by artists such as Avishai Cohen and Daniel Barenboïm.”