CODEPINK Activist Detained for Over 48 Hours at Canadian Border
CODEPINK Activist Detained for Over 48 Hours at Canadian Border After Being Denied Entry to Canada Two activists from the group CODEPINK taking part in the US Social Forum were detained and prevented from entering Canada on Wednesday when they tried to cross the border from Detroit. Democracy Now!’s Mike Burke spoke with one of them, CODEPINK co-founder Medea Benjamin. [includes rush transcript]
Headscarf Activist Press TV Turkey “Nuray Canan Bezirgan”
Not Liking Atatürk Is A Personal Preference, Not A CrimeBezirgan, a headscarfed woman, who announced that she did not like Atatürk during a TV show, said that the issue is not whether or not to like him, but how much freedom of expression there is. Organization of Human Rights and Solidarity for Oppressed People (Mazlum Der) İstanbul branch organized a press release for Nuray Canan Bezirgan on Tuesday (June 17). Bezirgan is under investigation for saying during the TV show Teke Tek that she would say that she did not like Atatürk, the founder of Turkish Republic. Saying that I do not like is not an insult Answering a question about her immigration to Canada, she said that the issue was not whether to like or not, but how much freedom of expression was there. Upon Bezirgans words during the TV show titled Teke Tek that if she knew she would not get into trouble, then she would say she did not like him, Beyoğlu prosecutor started an investigation under the second article of Law 5816, concerning crimes against Atatürk
DN! US Activist Denied Entry to Canada Ahead of Olympics – Again
Another US Activist Denied Entry to Canada Ahead of Olympics And another US activist has been blocked from entering Canada to cover the Vancouver Winter Olympics. John Weston Osburn of Salt Lake City says he was detained, searched, and denied entry after trying to cross over into Canada. John Weston Osburn: I was kind of expecting to get—I was expecting to get kind of shook down, but I wasnt expecting the type of just—the animosity and just the humiliation. Even though it was only two hours, it was a really unsettling experience, because they made me well aware that I had no rights and that there was no one there to protect me. Osburns ordeal comes days after Canadian border officials blocked Chicago radio journalist Martin Macias from entering the country because he was planning to spend a week documenting anti-Olympic protests.
