Eritrean rights advocates on Wednesday sued the EU and asked it to halt 80 million euros (US$86.5 million) in aid to the east African nation, saying that the money funded a scheme built on forced labor.
The Netherlands-based foundation Human Rights for Eritreans (FHRE) filed a lawsuit in the Amsterdam District Court, accusing the EU of financing a major road renovation project that relies on forced labor and of failing to carry out due diligence.
Some of the laborers belong to the national service, condemned to forced labor and slavery by the UN and the European Parliament, lawyers backing the suit said.
The Netherlands is host to a large number of Eritrean migrants and pays toward the project as a member of the EU.
The EU last year said that it would monitor the work to ensure that laborers were paid and treated well.
Eritrean Minister of Information Yemane Ghebremeskel questioned the credibility of the FHRE, saying that the suit was typical of its “demonization campaigns.”
“The accusations emanate from a very small, but vocal group, mostly foreigners who have an agenda of ‘regime change’ against Eritrea,” he told reporters.
Eritrea signed a peace deal with Ethiopia in 2018, raising expectations that a longstanding system of universal conscription would be scaled back, but Human Rights Watch last year said that no changes had been made to a “system of repression.”
The Dutch law firm backing the lawsuit — Kennedy Van der Laan (KVDL) — said that it is seeking a court ruling that the roads project is unlawful and that the EU should cease supporting it.
“The EU has normalized and given an acceptable face to a practice which has been universally condemned by the international community and is a clear violation of the most fundamental human rights norms,” the firm said.
KVDL attorney Emiel Jurjens said that the FHRE raised the issue in April last year with the EU, which rejected its criticism before announcing further funding for the project in December.
A feud has broken out between the top leaders of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party on whether to maintain close ties with Russia. The AfD leader Alice Weidel this week slammed planned visits to Russia by some party lawmakers, while coleader Tino Chrupalla voiced a defense of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The unusual split comes at a time when mainstream politicians have accused the anti-immigration AfD of acting as stooges for the Kremlin and even spying for Russia. The row has also erupted in a year in which the AfD is flying high, often polling above the record 20 percent it
Ecuadorans are today to vote on whether to allow the return of foreign military bases and the drafting of a new constitution that could give the country’s president more power. Voters are to decide on the presence of foreign military bases, which have been banned on Ecuadoran soil since 2008. A “yes” vote would likely bring the return of the US military to the Manta air base on the Pacific coast — once a hub for US anti-drug operations. Other questions concern ending public funding for political parties, reducing the number of lawmakers and creating an elected body that would
The latest batch from convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s e-mails illustrates the extraordinary scope of his contacts with powerful people, ranging from a top Trump adviser to Britain’s ex-prince Andrew. The US House of Representatives is expected to vote this week on trying to force release of evidence gathered on Epstein by law enforcement over the years — including the identities of the men suspected of participating in his alleged sex trafficking ring. However, a slew of e-mails released this week have already opened new windows to the extent of Epstein’s network. These include multiple references to US President Donald
CHARGES: The former president, who maintains his innocence, was sentenced to 27 years and three months in prison for a failed coup bid, as well as an assassination plot Far-right former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro is running out of options to avoid prison, after judges on Friday rejected his appeal against a 27-year sentence for a botched coup bid. Bolsonaro lost the 2022 elections and was convicted in September for his efforts to prevent Brazlian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva from taking power after the polls. Prosecutors said the scheme — which included plans to assassinate Lula and a top Brazilian Supreme Court judge — failed only due to a lack of support from military top brass. A panel of Supreme Court judges weighing Bolsonaro’s appeal all voted to uphold
RSS