Rights group call for release of Kosovan activist jailed after US criticism

A court in Kosovo has ordered a Muslim woman to be remanded in custody pending trial over a social media post criticizing the US assassination of Iran’s prominent anti-terror commander Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani.

News ID: 448846

Date: 05 February 2020 - 08:41

RNA - For protesters in London the detention of the academic, Ikballe Berisha is part of a wider attack on freedom of speech that has also seen Press TV Uk Youtube account shut down as well as social media accounts deleted by Instagram and its parent company Facebook for posting tributes to Soleimani all in the name of allegedly complying with US sanctions on Iran.

Massoud Shadjareh the chair of the Islamic Human Rights Commission wrote a letter to the Kosovo ambassador in London, expressing his deep concern over the unlawful arrest, detention and mistreatment of Ikballe Berisha Huduti over a social media post.

Kosovo is seen politically as one of the most pro-American countries in the world and its capital, Pristina, there are boulevards named after US presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.

It's staunchly pro-American leadership has also backed the controversial assassination ordered by President Donald Trump.

And for many it came as no surprise that it has detained for over a month an Muslim academic, mother of three for simply posting a social media post.

There is a worry that we are living in unprecedented times where censorship of journalists, academics, media outlets and even ordinary members of the public are intensifying by the day.

In this climate of fear, some are concerned that perhaps one of the biggest victims of US sanctions is the alternative point of view.

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