quote:

Infamous Russian ultra-nationalist and former skin head, Maxim Martsinkevich, known under the nickname “Cleaver” (or “Tesak” in Russian) spearheaded a country wide campaign against LGBT teens using a popular social network VK.com to lure unsuspected victims through personal ads. Mr. Martsinkevich’s numerous and enthusiastic followers started two projects: “Occupy Pedophilyaj” and “Occupy Gerontilyaj”. Allegedly they are trying to identify and report pedophiles using these “movements”. In reality, over 500 online groups have been created inside VK.com social network in order to organize illegal militant groups in every Russian city. Oddly enough their idea of fighting pedophiles targets exclusively male teenagers who respond to the same-sex personal ads and show up for a date. Captured victims are bullied and often tortured while being recorded on video.

These self-proclaimed “crime fighters” perform their actions under the broad day light, often outside and clearly visible to general public that indifferently passes by or even commend them. Video recordings of bullying and tortures are freely distributed on the Internet in order to out LGBT teens to their respective schools, parents and friends. Many victims were driven to suicides, the rest are deeply traumatized. So far Russian police took no action against these “movements” even though Russian criminal code was clearly violated and despite numerous complaints from parents, victims and LGBT activists. Social network VK.com intermittently shuts down selected groups and profiles only to allow them to be re-open on the next day. Currently, the founder of VK.com, Pavel Durov, resides in the US and so far has not released any comments.

We would never know what occurred after the camera went out. Naturally, all his personal details were released to the general public and viewed by millions in Russia. Infamous Russian ultranationalist and former skin head, Maxim Martsinkevich, known under the nickname “Cleaver” (or “Tesak” in Russian) spearheaded a country wide campaign against (primarily male) LGBT teens using a popular social network VK.com to capture, torture and ultimately out unsuspected male teen victims. Over 500 online groups were created. As one can see, they operate under a broad day light. Bystanders either ignore or condone their actions. Police refuse to arrest them even though they are in violation of the existing criminal laws in Russia. Their excuse? They fight pedophiles … but attacking pedophiles’ victims. Certainly, they are selective and lure mostly gay male teens. Being outed in a small Russian city often equal death, torture, suicide. They track suicides publicly online and brag about those deeds.

quote:

These Russian Neo Nazi militant groups have been advised by a top-ranking supremacist to create fake profiles on a popular Russian social network, VK.com, and lure in gay male teenagers in order to torture and humiliate them for being gay.

Over 500 online groups have been created inside VK.com social network in order to organize illegal militant groups in every Russian city.

Their enthusiastic followers have launched two well known projects: “Occupy Pedophilyaj” and “Occupy Gerontilyaj”. Allegedly they are trying to identify and report pedophiles using these “movements”.

...

No arrests have been made and no charges were pressed. Putin’s law enforcement seems to fully condone these actions. Moreover, Dr. Degtyarev’s numerous written complaints to the authorities only resulted in his own persecution and threats directed at him and his 72 years old mother.

...

In the official correspondence from the local District Attorney office and Governor’s office it was explained that Russian authorities do not see any wrongdoings in the video clips or photographs posted by Neo Nazi group “Occupy Pedofilyaj.” Actually, the authorities referred to this group as one of the “civil movements fighting the sins of the society.” Dr. Degtyarev diligently collects every piece of evidence and correspondence and records all phone conversation with direct threats to him and his mother.

Yet, no actions from authorities have resulted so far. Dr. Degtyarev is routinely approached and offended on the street, receives numerous threats via mail, phone, SMS and email.

...

Update: Spectrum Human Rights (SHR) has also highlighted another disturbing case of Neo Nazis torturing and kidnapping another gay victim. SHR notes that the victim in the video is a ‘kid with disabilities.’ It must be noted that these organized Neo Nazi gangs continue to operate within Russia in broad day light and also continue to share videos and pictures online of what they call ‘safaris’ (hunting down gay victims for torture).

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Gay competitors in next year’s Winter Olympics risk arrest by Russian police if they engage in “propaganda” of their homosexuality, Russia’s Sports Minister has confirmed.

In a direct contradiction of assurances from Olympic officials that competitors and spectators attending the Sochi Olympics next February would be exempt from the controversial new law, Vitaly Mutko said competitors who flaunted their sexuality would be punished in accordance with the legislation.

“No one is forbidding a sportsperson with non-traditional sexual orientation from coming to Sochi, but if they go onto the street and start propagandising it, then of course they will be held accountable,” Mr Mutko told Russian agency R-Sport during a visit to Barcelona.

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ATHENS, Greece -- An extreme-right political party in Greece played a Nazi anthem during a charity event Wednesday that authorities had attempted to ban.

A Greek version of the Horst Wessel song – known as "keep the banner flying" in Greek – was played on loud speakers outside the central Athens offices of the Golden Dawn party, where members handed out bags of food and clothing.

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The rise of the Golden Dawn and its campaign against groups it perceives to be anti-Greek — leftists, immigrants, gays and lesbians — has encouraged nationalist and far-right sympathisers to spread their ideologies through existing and new media outlets both online and off.

...

Far-right publications have rejected voices considered to undermine “the purity of the Greek race and the glory of the nation.” And such publications also find “any distortion of religious beliefs” or support for the rights of immigrants to be unacceptable.

Indymedia Athens, for example, is a local collective of grassroots activists that heavily criticises Golden Dawn’s practises and nationalist ideas. For publishing calls for pro-immigrant rallies, and condemning racist attacks against immigrants, far-right voices have labelled the group as a “cesspit” and its members “snitches” and “employees of billionaire George Soros.”

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The New York-based group timed its statement to coincide with the one-year anniversary of the “epic-scale” crackdown on August 4.

“Since the start of the operation, tens of thousands of people presumed to be undocumented migrants have been subjected to abusive stops and searches on the streets, and hours-long detention at police stations,” HRW said.

The roundup has been code-named Xenios Zeus after the king of the ancient Greek gods in his role as protector of guests.

According to the police, over 5,400 people had been arrested by the end of July “for unlawful residence and other immigration-related infractions.”

The detainees are locked up in special camps called “hospitality centres” until they can be repatriated.

Migrant groups charge that detainees have been subjected to further abuse by police inside the camps, and are denied proper healthcare.

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In the Athens neighbourhood where he lives -- an area full of empty, graffiti-covered shops with "for rent" and "for sale" signs on the windows -- it has become increasingly dangerous to be a dark-skinned foreigner.

"There are zones where we no longer have the right to go, or where we can only go in groups."

He was on his own when he was assaulted. The attack was swift and silent, unaccompanied by racist taunts or demands.

"Four people got hold of me on the street, one of them hit me with some object on the head. I fell down and they hit me. When they finished, they left."

...

"I saw a young Pakistani being beaten right in front of me, by two giants, who ran through the whole bus to get to him and then kicked him violently out on the street. I did not interfere because I was scared," a mortified retired Frenchman, who has been living in Athens for a year, told AFP.

...

"In my understanding, they (perpetrators) try not to kill, but to make visible injuries, so as to spread the fear to the communities," said Doctor Nikitas Kanakis, secretary general of the Greek branch of the non-governmental group Doctors of the World.

...

Dendias said the rise of Golden Dawn and its xenophobic and racist doctrine was linked to a surge in undocumented migrants arriving in Greece, which he said were "are a huge burden to our society."

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An explosion which left nails and debris strewn outside a mosque was "an act of terrorism", police have said.

The blast happened on a disused railway line near Binfield Street in Tipton in the West Midlands at about 13:00 BST.

A nearby shopkeeper said: "I did tell the police there to evacuate the area, please for god's sake - there were nails all over the place."

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They gathered at a local bar since morning, and shouted expletive slogans about Islam, Allah and Muslims.

This protest is particularly contentious with EDL supporters being bussed in from around the country; to come to Birmingham where 1 in 5 of the city’s one million population is Muslim; in the middle of Ramadan and as mosques across the country are attacked.

Just moments after this was filmed, the scene erupted into chaos; with bottles and batons flying. Some were badly injured. Over a dozen arrested. One police man suffered a head wound.

Over 1000 officers stopped a counter demo getting anywhere near the EDL rally.

quote:

Instead, three guys come to our table. They are all very drunk.

One, who leans on the table and slurs his speech, asks what we think of the EDL.

We say they are idiots; a view shared by many.

The men ask why, claiming to be from the group.

I tell them I've known and heard about violence at their rallies and the way they treat journalists who report on them.

A quick online search for "EDL attack journalists" yields some proof.

Then a friend mentions I'm a journalist.

At this point the men begin to get louder and lairy.

"You're just another lefty journo," they say. "All you do is call us scum and thugs. All we're trying to do is protect this country."

We shrug and walk off to finish our drinks.

The man who went on to punch me and my friend calls me a "snob for looking down his nose at me".

quote:

Vans with giant billboards featuring the slogan "go home or face arrest" will be driven around London this week in an attempt to persuade illegal immigrants to leave the country.

The Home Office pilot scheme will also see the message also displayed in leaflets, posters and messages in local newspapers.

Over the next week, two vans will be driven around Hounslow, Barking & Dagenham, Ealing, Barnet, Brent and Redbridge and will show residents how many illegal migrants have recently been arrested in their area.

Immigration Minister Mark Harper said: "We are making it more difficult for people to live and work in the UK illegally. Every single day our enforcement officers are arresting, detaining and removing people with no right to be in the UK."

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"From June 29 to July 21, we will have incredible international visibility to show our fight against Taubira law and gender theory. The idea is certainly not to disturb the race, but to show our colors on French and foreign direct each step.

Bring flags, hoodies, polo shirts, whistles ... to make us seen and heard."

quote:

"The group has mounted after March 24, when we heard about Manuel Valls breakers and overflows," said Fabian, one of the founders of Hommen reminiscent FranceTV info hidden in number and only give his nickname. "We realized that despite 1.4 million people in the streets [300 000 according to the police], we would have no answer other than that of violence, that Francois Hollande had nothing to do with democracy" , he insists.

...

"We will fight until the Taubira law is nothing more than a bad memory for France," explains Fabien, who does not want the text to be repealed but "abolished". Under their logo, the words "protect kids" among their slogans "radically towards children." Persuaded to speak for the "silent majority out of the shadows", they denounced "the minority led by the LGBT [Federation of lesbians, gays, bi and trans France]" that would impose its diktat. This leads them to see everywhere "attempts to silence them."

They are certain to "be on the side of morality - Christian -. not to be on the side of right and justice. This is a 'reactionary movement' in the proper sense of the term," wrote Rue89, citing political analyst Erwan Lecoeur.

Baroti posted:

You left out Hungary and the growth of Jobbik there. Unless something has changed since the last time I checked.

quote:

Such violence often occurs where local and national politicians speak openly of the need to deal with “gypsies,” and appear to condone violent excesses as “understandable.” Perhaps the most notorious example was Italy in 2008. Following arson attacks on Roma camps, then Minister of Interior Roberto Maroni was quoted as having stated, “That is what happens when gypsies steal babies, or when Romanians commit sexual violence,” and Umberto Bossi’s reported response to the outbreaks of mob violence was that “people do what the state can’t manage.”

General China posted:

I disagree, the UK could go fascist. The media is becoming increasingly right wing and anti immigration. The anti-muslim thing might have flared down a bit recently in the media, but I'm not sure how much of that was to do with public opinion and how much the government has advised the press.

The right wing extremists in the UK suffer from an image problem. The image they have is exactly what the vast majority of people in the UK never want to see. All it takes is an influential minority and things might change.

There is nothing national, geographical or racial about fascism.

John Nance Garner posted:

So, I know Uzbekistan isn't exactly Europe, but political dissidents have been boiled to death as recently as c. 2002 or so. Not to mention that all elections are completely unfair and the current President has been in power since 1999, with the Executive having near-complete power over the Legislative.

crowfeathers posted:

as well as the annexation of Hungary.

ThirdPartyView posted:

Isn't Belarus in a similar position with Alexander Lukashenko?

Obdicut posted:

Babylon the Bright posted:

Does anyone have any info about antisemitism in the current fascist resurgence? Obviously they've been pretty closely linked historically, but it seems like the scapegoat of the week is either Muslim or gay these days. Has there been any significant Jew bashing or anti-Jewish rhetoric?

weavernaut posted:

I'll admit that it's been two years since I was last anywhere near the British Isles (I'm an Irish citizen) but the situation didn't seem as bad back then. poo poo.

General China posted:

Can we take this admission to remember when Éamon de Valera sent his sympathy over Hitlers death.

Blackbird Fly posted:

That quote from Maroni reminds of blood libel and other forms of antisemitism. Why does anti-Roma hate still run so deep in Europe compared to antisemitism?

Blackbird Fly posted:

That quote from Maroni reminds of blood libel and other forms of antisemitism. Why does anti-Roma hate still run so deep in Europe compared to antisemitism?

Chamale posted:

The Nazis killed more Roma than Jews (per capita) and there were no strong Roma voices to speak out against continued discrimination afterwards.

Brannock posted:

I'm also told there are "twitchings" in the Romanian political scene - does anyone know more regarding this?

crowfeathers posted:

In Romania, there has been an increase in support for The New Right, a group which is affiliated with and works with Golden Dawn, and which literally uses 1920s Romanian Fascist iconography in its propaganda. They call for the persecution of immigrants, LGBTQ citizens, and communists, as well as the annexation of Hungary. Unlike Golden Dawn, however, they have been refused registration as a political party and as such are limited to rallies and physical violence against anyone they dislike. Which is, I suppose, technically a better situation.

quote:

The organization's leader has his own rock group, Brigada de Asalt (The Assault Brigade), which specializes in ultranationalist and far right Romanian legionnaire-oriented songs.

KazigluBey posted:

An interesting note in Eastern European countries is that the Orthodox Church does much to prop-up and legitimize these groups socially, as their views tend to align in a lot of ways. The Orthodox Church is certainly mounting far greater resistence to progressive movements than the churches of Western Europe, with concerted attempts to maintain socially conservative paradigms.

Might dig up some actual articles after I get some sleep.

Blackbird Fly posted:

Do the Romanian nationalists attack Székler people?

crowfeathers posted:

I have not been back to Romania for some years, but I understand that generally Szekler tend to be thought of in the same terms as other native people of Hungarian ancestry, even though that is of course not really accurate on a cultural level. And any far-right organization in Romania is going to be anti-Hungarian as a matter of course.

DongsMcMurphy posted:

It always strikes me as sickening and ironic that some of the inhabitants of countries that fought tooth-and-nail against the Axis are now saying "hey this fascism thing has always worked historically hyuk hyuk" and deliberately using imagery that evokes the Nazis in their iconography. Case in point, Golden Dawn:



They're not even trying to hide this poo poo. Is a generation or two of kids not paying attention to history all it takes for these motherfuckers to dupe Europe again?

Brannock posted:

Any omissions were gaps in my personal knowledge. Can you or someone else tell us more about Jobbik?

DongsMcMurphy posted:

It always strikes me as sickening and ironic that some of the inhabitants of countries that fought tooth-and-nail against the Axis are now saying "hey this fascism thing has always worked historically hyuk hyuk" and deliberately using imagery that evokes the Nazis in their iconography. Case in point, Golden Dawn:



They're not even trying to hide this poo poo. Is a generation or two of kids not paying attention to history all it takes for these motherfuckers to dupe Europe again?

Obdicut posted:

What's your source for this? What I have has 'only' 300,000 of 700,000 Roma and Sinti being killed in the war, while 2/3rd of Jews were.

DongsMcMurphy posted:

It always strikes me as sickening and ironic that some of the inhabitants of countries that fought tooth-and-nail against the Axis are now saying "hey this fascism thing has always worked historically hyuk hyuk" and deliberately using imagery that evokes the Nazis in their iconography. Case in point, Golden Dawn:



They're not even trying to hide this poo poo. Is a generation or two of kids not paying attention to history all it takes for these motherfuckers to dupe Europe again?

weavernaut posted:

For what it's worth, my German partner seems completely untroubled by the rise of fascist groups in Europe, but Germany is probably the safest place to be in Europe, if you want to avoid fascist gangs.

weavernaut posted:

I'm very upset about the situation in Russia, since it means I cannot go back there without literally putting my life in danger. I'm not sure what I'm going to do about my citizenship, now, I have to formally renounce it in Russia if I want to give it up.

Gorelab posted:

Do the Hungarian and Romanian far rights basically see each other the same way? It kinda feels like it at times.

General China posted:

The Catholic Church aint doing so well on historical dictators during the 20th century either. Its got all the western european ones- Hitler, Mussolini and Franco. Its also got all the South American ones too.

Obdicut posted:

What's your source for this? What I have has 'only' 300,000 of 700,000 Roma and Sinti being killed in the war, while 2/3rd of Jews were.

General China posted:

The Catholic Church aint doing so well on historical dictators during the 20th century either. Its got all the western european ones- Hitler, Mussolini and Franco. Its also got all the South American ones too.