Anuj Bidve shooting treated as hate crime by police

Anuj Bidve, a student at Lancaster University,
was shot dead in Salford on Boxing Day. Photograph: GMP/PA

Indian student shot dead on Boxing Day may have been victim of a racist hate crime, say detectives

The murder of an Indian student who was shot in the head at point-blank range on Boxing Day is being treated as a suspected racist hate crime, police have revealed. Micro-electronics postgraduate Anuj Bidve, was murdered in the early hours of 26 December as he made his way with nine friends from his hotel in Salford to central Manchester to queue up early for Christmas sales.

Investigators say that although there is no specific evidence of the crime being racially motivated they are responding to those affected by the crime who believe it to be a hate crime.

Five people aged between 16 and 20 remain in police custody on suspicion of murder, including a 17-year-old who handed himself in to police on Tuesday evening, in what police have described as a fast-moving investigation. Police have found no previous link between 23-year-old Bidve and those involved in the killing, believed to be two white males, which took place at 1.35am.

The "straight-A" student from Pune, India who was studying at Lancaster University, had a "very short conversation" with the two males before a gun was drawn and aimed at Bidve's head. The gunman and his associate are thought to have fled to towards the Ordsall estate near the scene of another fatal shooting in September and which has been described by locals as rough. A Home Office pathologist has confirmed that Bidve died after suffering gun trauma to the head.

Police also said they were working with the Indian high commission and other agencies to help fly the victim's family from India to Manchester in the next few days.

Chief Superintendent Kevin Mulligan, divisional commander for Salford, said: "We have not established a clear motive for the senseless murder of Anuj, and there is no definitive evidence pointing to it being racially motivated. However, we are treating this as a hate crime based on the growing perceptions within the community it was motivated by hate.

"What I want to stress is that regardless of the motive, it does not change the way detectives from our major incident team are investigating this murder and from day one we have pursued every possible line of inquiry to identify who is responsible for this despicable crime, including CCTV trawls, detailed forensic and ballistic investigations, witness statements and house-to-house inquiries.

"Thanks to the work of staff across the whole of Greater Manchester police, we have made five arrests and all five remain in custody. I cannot comment for obvious reasons about the progress of the investigation but I would like to again take this opportunity to thank people in our community who have come forward and given us information. "

Police said they were duty bound to investigate crimes as hate crimes if they are reported as such. A police source added that the classification also allowed officers to pursue other avenues and leads which would not otherwise be open to them later on in the investigation.

Mulligan confirmed that no murder weapon has been recovered. "We really need that support to continue and I want to urge anyone who knows something to call us. As yet, we have not recovered the murder weapon and I want to implore people to be brave and come forward if they know the whereabouts of that weapon."

Dr Bharati Kar, the general secretary of the Greater Manchester Bengali and Hindu cultural association, said racism was far less of a problem now that it was two decades ago and that her own children had not reported any racist incidents to her recently. Kar said that she was very pleased that Greater Manchester police were taking the reports that the crime was racially motivated seriously.

"I'll be glad if the actual cause is discovered [along with] the killer," she said.

Speaking to the Manchester Evening News, local resident Susan Wilson, 57, said: "This lovely young man has come here to further his education and people whose lives revolve around violence have killed him. For this to happen in our neighbourhood is devastating and we're all very upset about it. It's like the whole country is looking at Ordsall now because of this. The area doesn't have a great reputation but we want people to know what's happened doesn't represent this area or the people living here."

Guardian

Thanks to the many readers who have sent this in

Race-hate clamper threatened to rape victim's girlfriend

Convicted: Peter Del Grosso has been told to expect a jail sentence

Notorious wheel-clamper Peter Del Grosso is facing jail after being convicted of a race-hate crime.

Del Grosso, of clamping firm Vehicle Management Limited, launched a tirade of racist abuse at a man who had gone to help a friend recover her clamped car. Del Grosso is also set to have his wheel-clamper's licence revoked after Humberside Police made an application to the Security Industry Authority.

A jury took less than 90 minutes to convict Del Grosso of racially aggravated assault after hearing how he also threatened to rape the man's partner.

Detective Constable Paul Gooder, of Hull's public protection unit, said: "Hate crime is something we take very seriously – there is no place for racist abuse. We have a conviction rate of more than 60 per cent and are determined to continue in not tolerating abuse of this nature. We've applied for Del Grosso's licence to be revoked so, hopefully, he will not be able to clamp another person in the city again."

Del Grosso hit the headlines in 2009 after readers inundated the Mail with complaints about Sector Security Ltd clamping at dozens of sites across Hull and the East Riding. Earlier this year, the Mail discovered Del Grosso – by then working with Vehicle Management Ltd – was charging motorists more to release clamped cars ahead of the clamping ban, expected by the end of the year. Grimsby Crown Court heard Del Grosso abused Mohammed Tarhan when he and his partner accompanied her sister to a back-street compound in Hull city centre on Christmas Eve in 2009.

Del Grosso, 48, threatened to rape Mr Tarhan's partner before demanding to see his passport.

Holly Barwell had her car clamped on December 23. She contacted Del Grosso and he told her to meet him in the street to hand over £310 to get her Vauxhall Corsa released. Mr Tarhan and his girlfriend, Emily Barwell, went with Holly and they were taken to the compound at R and M Motors in Dock Street. While Mr Tarhan, who is Turkish, was waiting, Del Grosso began shouting at him.

He called him a "foreigner" and said: "Where's your visa? I want to see your passport."

Mr Tarhan called police and blocked the entrance to the compound to stop Del Grosso fleeing. However, he was forced to move when Del Grosso summoned a forklift truck and threatened to crush his car.

Mr Tarhan said: "I began driving my car out of the yard and he looked at me and was saying something. I wound down my window and asked him what he was saying and he started swearing at me. He told me that he knew where we lived and he would come and give my family and kids a Christmas present. He said, 'I'm going to **** your wife.' He repeated it and I decided to call the police. He said, 'Foreigner, go back to your country.' I was just very angry."

Two months after the incident, Del Grosso tried to intimidate Emily Barwell by driving his car at her in the city centre. He was also believed to have been asking around takeaways in the city to find Mr Tarhan.

The victims were allowed to give evidence behind screens in the court during the five-day trial.

After the jury returned a unanimous guilty verdict, the case was adjourned for sentence until November 17. Judge Robert Moore told Del Grosso the pre-sentence report would have to contain "exceptional" circumstances for him to avoid a custodial sentence.

Del Grosso, who has no previous convictions apart from a technical issue relating to a gun licence, was released on bail until sentencing next month.

A spokeswoman for the Security Industry Authority said: "We are here to uphold the public safety and we issue licences to ensure only fit and proper people work in the industry. We can't have people who are a risk to the public operating."

The spokeswoman told the Mail once an application was made by the police, Del Grosso's licence would be suspended immediately pending a full review. She also said a conviction of racially aggravated assault would lead to the license being pulled.

People whose licences are revoked cannot reapply until after five years, by which point, wheel-clamping will have been outlawed.

This is Hull and East Riding

Law needed to tackle hate speech on Internet

Turkish civil society organizations are demanding a new law regulating hate crimes and hate speech, saying racism and xenophobia are spreading fast on the Internet.

At the beginning of this week, Ankara hosted a meeting of the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI), a body within the Council of Europe (CoE). The meeting brought together national and international experts to discuss the implementation of the ECRI's recommendations to combat discrimination based on race, ethnicity, religion or other characteristics, and one of the main topics was discrimination and racism on the Internet.

Turkey, like most countries of the world, is not free of crimes against minorities and disadvantaged groups. Among these, crimes motivated by a victim's background or identity are defined as hate crimes. The Turkish Penal Code (TCK), however, includes no such category, and civil society organizations are fighting to have it added.

Despite the lack of such a category in the TCK, Parliament ratified a bill this week that introduces new regulations for broadcasting. According to amendments to the Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) law, broadcasts will not be allowed to instigate hate and broadcasts that discriminate on the basis of race, language, gender, class, sect or religion will not be allowed. However, regulations regarding the Internet are not included for the time being.

Yaman Akdeniz, an associate professor at Bilgi University's school of law, told Sunday's Zaman that Turkey has signed the Convention on Cybercrime but not the additional protocol “concerning the criminalization of acts of a racist and xenophobic nature committed through computer systems.”

The additional protocol defines racist and xenophobic material as “any written material, any image or any other representation of ideas or theories, which advocates, promotes or incites hatred, discrimination or violence, against any individual or group of individuals, based on race, color, descent or national or ethnic origin, as well as religion if used as a pretext for any of these factors.”

Even a quick look at the social networking website Facebook is enough to show that there are many groups which spread hatred and even call for the mass killing of certain groups.

The additional protocol asks for its members “to adopt such legislative and other measures as may be necessary to establish [hate crimes] as criminal offences under its domestic law,” but, as Akdeniz, pointed out, this is no easy task. Akdeniz said it is easy to spot criminal material such as child pornography that is posted on the Internet, but not so with hate speech because it includes written material also.

He added that websites such as YouTube and Facebook are trying to implement controls and monitoring mechanisms and that it is possible for users to report discriminatory or racist content, but it is very easy to repost banned material on the digital platform after simply changing the name and/or content just a little.

Akdeniz also underlined that there is a very fine line between hate speech and political discourse, another fact that makes the fight against hate speech and hate crimes very difficult.

In interview with Sunday's Zaman earlier this week, ECRI Chairman Nils Muiznieks said discrimination and hate speech on the Internet is a very important issue they are trying to tackle; however, the general recommendations for fighting hate speech, racism and discrimination are outdated and technologically inadequate.

He said the countries most successful in fighting racism and intolerance on the Internet are those with the best cooperation between NGOs, Internet service providers and authorities; however, the level of cooperation is not at desirable levels everywhere and the fine line between freedom of expression and discrimination is very important.

“You need groups that monitor discrimination on the Internet. You need service providers who are willing to listen and engage in dialogue. And you need authorities to step in and punish the bad guys. It is clear that our own tools used to cope with this are outdated. This is a very rapidly developing field. Until very recently MySpace and Google were not willing to talk to organizations such as the ECRI. But they are now beginning to change a little,” he said.

Öztürk Türkdoğan, chairman of the Human Rights Association (İHD) underlined that there is a serious gap between regulations on hate crimes and hate speech in general but also on the Internet and that the fine line between freedom of expression and hate speech should be drawn very carefully.

“The measure should be the decisions and the case law of the European Court of Human Rights [ECtHR], but the Internet should not be used as a platform for any form of violence,” he told Sunday's Zaman.

Akdeniz also pointed out that the difficulty of tackling the issue should not prevent civil society from fighting against it, saying that some measures can be taken.

“In order to combat hate speech and discrimination, banning entire websites or networks is not the right solution. This is only pretending that some measures have been taken. Closing platforms should not be considered a solution. Racism and discrimination on the Internet is very much related to the level of racism and discrimination within society. To tackle it, we must raise awareness, though this is no easy task. Fighting racism is similar to fighting terrorism, and both need careful handling and a delicate approach,” he said.

Today's Zaman

Thanks to Anon for the heads-up

Hate crime figures published for the first time

Graffiti at a Manchester synagogue - 700 anti-Semitic crimes were reported

Hate crime figures for England, Wales and Northern Ireland have been published for the first time.

In 2009 a total of 52,028 crimes were recorded in which the offence was motivated by prejudice. Victims were targeted because of race, religious belief, sexual orientation, disability or transgender issues. Chief Constable Stephen Otter of police chiefs' body Acpo said: "By publishing this data...we hope to encourage victims and witnesses to come forward."

The vast majority were targeted because of their race - 43,426 (up from 39,300), and the others were classified as sexual orientation - 4,805; religion/faith - 2,083; disability - 1,402 and transgender - 312. An Acpo spokesman said 703 crimes were anti-Semitic.

Mr Otter, Acpo's lead for equality, diversity and human rights, said: "Hate crimes cause a great deal of harm among victims and communities. Publication of the data underlines the commitment of the police service to tackle hate crime, build confidence and encourage victims to come forward so that under-reporting is reduced."

Although data was not collated nationally before 2009, Acpo says it believes there has been a rise in all five types of hate crime.

Professor John Grieve CBE, independent chair of the government's Hate Crime Advisory Group, welcomed the data and said: "It represents a significant step forward in our understanding of the nature and extent of hate crime in England, Wales and Northern Ireland."

Prof Grieve, a former deputy assistant commissioner with the Metropolitan Police who set up a racial and violent crime task force at Scotland Yard, said: "The UK is amongst world leaders in the way that it responds to hate crime, but there is still much work to do. One of the greatest challenges is to reduce the under-reporting of hate crime. We welcome the government's commitment to increase reporting and we will be examining this data in the forthcoming months and years to better understand the extent of crime and to challenge where performance does not meet the high standards that the public rightly demands of the criminal justice agencies."

BBC

Police crackdown on hate crime across London

Raids across London have been carried out by the Metropolitan Police as part of an operation to crackdown on hate crime

A number of officers simultaneously raided properties across the city at about 0000 BST on Tuesday. Seventy-seven people have been arrested for a range of offences including serious assault and harassment. More arrests are expected to be made later. The action comes a day after the International Day Against Homophobia.

The raids are aimed at bringing hate crime offenders to justice. Police are particularly focusing their attentions on homophobic and domestic violence within the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender community. Between March 2009 and April 2010 there were 51,839 domestic violence offences, 9,914 racial offences and 1,336 homophobic offences committed in London. To crack down on such offences the Met has about 230 Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Liaison officers supporting police work.

Det Supt Darren Williams said: "Today's operations represent part of the proactive approach the MPS take to bring those responsible to justice. We know that all hate crime is under reported and this remains a challenge for us. We will continue to work hard to gain the trust and confidence of all communities so that victims feel that they can come forward and tell police. My message to all victims is that if you feel you can't tell the police - tell someone."

BBC

Media and politicians 'fuel rise in hate crimes against Muslims'

Report blames 'Islamophobic, negative and unwarranted portrayals of Muslim London' for increase in attacks in the capital

A rise in the number of hate crimes against Muslims in London is being encouraged by mainstream politicians and sections of the media, a study written by a former Scotland Yard counter-terrorism officer, published yesterday, says.

Attacks ranging from death threats and murder to persistent low-level assaults, such as spitting and name-calling, are in part whipped up by extremists and sections of mainstream society, the study says. The document – from the University of Exeter's European Muslim research centre – was written by Dr Jonathan Githens-Mazer and former special branch detective Dr Robert Lambert.

"The report provides prima facie and empirical evidence to demonstrate that assailants of Muslims are invariably motivated by a negative view of Muslims they have acquired from either mainstream or extremist nationalist reports or commentaries in the media," it says.

Lambert headed Scotland Yard's Muslim contact unit, which helped improve relations between the police and Britain's Islamic communities. The unit won praise from even long-standing critics of the police, and Lambert was awarded an MBE. The study mentions no newspapers or writers by name, but alleges that the book Londonistan, by the Mail writer Melanie Phillips, played a part in triggering hate crimes.

"Islamophobic, negative and unwarranted portrayals of Muslim London as Londonistan and Muslim Londoners as terrorists, sympathisers and subversives in sections of the media appear to provide the motivation for a significant number of anti-Muslim hate crimes," it says.

In his foreword, the rightwing journalist Peter Oborne writes: "The constant assault on Muslims from certain politicians, and above all in the mainstream media, has created an atmosphere where hate crimes, ranging from casual abuse to arson and even murder, are bound to occur and are even in a sense encouraged by mainstream society."

The report is based on interviews with witnesses to and victims of hate crimes, as well as police officers and former members of extremist organisations such as the British National Party. The report cites interviews with rightwing extremists to try to prove a link between what is published in the mainstream media and the anti-Muslim views held by extremists.

It says: "An experienced BNP activist in London explains that he believes that most BNP supporters simply followed the lead set by their favourite tabloid commentators that they read every day. When these commentators singled out Muslims as threats to security and social cohesion, he says that it was perfectly natural for BNP supporters to adopt the same thinking."

The report says the extreme right are directing their violence more against Muslims than black or Asian Britons.

"Interviewees with long experience of extremist nationalist street violence in London are unequivocal in their assessment that Muslim Londoners are now a prime target for serious violence and intimidation in the way that Londoners from minority ethnic communities once were," it says.

"Similarly, interviewees with experience of London street gangs that have no connection or affinity with extremist nationalist politics are adamant that Muslims have become prime targets for serious attacks. In addition, well-informed interviewees are clear that the main perpetrators of low-level anti-Muslim hate crimes are not gangs but rather simply individuals from a wide range of backgrounds who feel licensed to abuse, assault and intimidate Muslims in terms that mirror elements of mainstream media and political comment that became commonplace during the last decade."

The report says the attacks come in part from street gangs targeting Muslims as punishment for members who have embraced Islam and left gang culture.

"Often, they know someone who has left their scene and become a devout Muslim," the document, which also drew on interviews with youth workers dealing with gangs, says. "That is like a defection. And whether they do or don't, they say they know this or that terrorist who used to be a great person till he joined the Muslims."

The report also says gang members believe Muslims values "oppose everything these kids aspire to. Flash cars, nightclubs, expensive clothes, jewellery, drugs, alcohol, casual sex, glamour, dancing, music ...".

The study says the majority of hate crimes involve low-level incidents and are not reported to police. Most officers are committed to tackling anti-Muslim hate crimes seriously, but are undermined by a few colleagues who are not. But the study warns: "Anti-Muslim hate crimes have not been afforded the same priority attention [that] government and police have invested in racist hate crimes."

The report is dedicated to Yasir Abdelmouttalib, a PhD student who was left brain-damaged after a gang of youths attacked him in London, striking him over the head with a stick, as he made his way to a mosque while wearing Islamic clothing.

It cites other cases of rightwing extremists preparing hate campaigns and of serious attacks on Muslims in Britain.

These included: "Neil Lewington, a violent extremist nationalist convicted in July 2009 of a bomb plot; Terence Gavan, a violent extremist nationalist convicted in January 2010 of manufacturing nail bombs and other explosives, firearms and weapons; a gang attack in November 2009 on Muslim students at City University; the murder in September 2009 of Muslim pensioner, Ikram Syed ul-Haq; a serious assault in August 2007 on the Imam at London Central Mosque; and an arson attack in June 2009 on Greenwich Islamic Centre."

The study focuses on anti-Muslim violence in London, with its authors saying they will produce one covering the whole of the UK by this summer.

Guardian

Homophobia: the forgotten hate crime

New report says that the abuse and violence suffered by lesbians and gay men is on the rise

Michael Causer's only crime was to be openly gay. For this the trainee hairdresser was dragged from his bed last July and viciously beaten. His piercings were forcibly removed with a knife, according to some witnesses. He died nine days later in hospital from brain injuries.

Tomorrow James O'Connor, 19, will be sentenced after admitting the murder of the 18-year-old in Liverpool, in a case which, campaigners say, illustrates a rising and little-reported tide of homophobia in Britain.

New research to be published next week reveals widespread anecdotal evidence that gay and lesbian people experience severe daily harassment and abuse which they do not report to the police. The survey shows that, although society's attitude towards gay and lesbian people appears to be more tolerant, bubbling beneath the surface, and often unreported, is a stream of abuse and harassment.

Earlier this month, Gerald Edwards, 59, was stabbed to death in the home in Bromley, Kent, that he shared with his partner, Chris Bevan, who was seriously injured in what police believe was a homophobic attack.

Next week's report, published by the charity Galop, the Gay and Lesbian Anti-Violence and Policing Group and the Metropolitan Police, found that homophobic hate crime is seriously under-reported, partly because of out-of-date contact numbers and addresses, but also because of fears of reprisals and a belief that the police don't take them seriously.

But those incidents that are reported to lesbian and gay groups can take place in daylight, often feature casual violence and verbal abuse, and frequently take the form of persistent bullying from neighbours. Researchers found that nearly half of all victims reporting to lesbian and gay organisations knew their aggressor.

Over a quarter of all incidents involved physical violence. Figures from the Met show that in the last year reported homophobic hate crime in London has risen by more than 5 per cent, from 1,008 to 1,062 incidents. London's gay and lesbian population is thought to stand at around 750,000.

National figures on homophobic incidents are not collected by the Home Office, however. A survey by Stonewall, the gay rights charity, published last year found that one in five gay people had been the victim of a hate crime in the last three years.

Stonewall also published a report earlier this month which revealed a "deeply alarming" amount of homophobia in schools. The report is the largest survey of both primary and secondary schoolteachers on the issue of homophobic bullying.

Called The Teachers' Report, it showed that around 150,000 pupils are affected by anti-gay bullying. Not only are children who are thought to be gay victims of name-calling and abuse, but pupils are picked out because they are boys who work hard or girls who play sport or because they have gay parents.

Nine in 10 secondary school teachers and two in five primary school teachers said pupils experience homophobic bullying, even if they are not gay.

Deborah Gold, chief executive of Galop, said: "Homophobic and transphobic crime is certainly not going down. Whether it's going up or whether there's increased reporting is hard to say. But it is as significant a problem as it always has been.

"On the face of it there's increased acceptance [of gay people], but when you look at homophobic bullying in schools or the abuse people face when they are leaving their homes from neighbours or kids shouting at them, it's a significant problem."

IoS

Cops delighted with rise in race crimes

Racially-motivated crimes in the North have tripled over the last eight years we reveal today . . . yet both the police and ethnic communities are delighted. They say the increase proves there are better relations between the authorities and minority groups, who are now more prepared to complain to cops when targeted.

A Sunday Sun probe found there were 2936 race-hate crimes recorded to March 2006 — the most recent figures available — compared with 954 in 1999. . . a massive 207 per cent increase.

Hari Shukla, of the Newcastle Council of Faith, a multi-faith organisation that promotes understanding between religions, said: “In the past people were reluctant to report these crimes because they feared there would be repercussions. But now the police are actively encouraging people to report these incidents and the communities are also keen to help challenge this type of behaviour. Community leaders and groups are also actively encouraging reporting of such matters as we believe the police are our best friends in the fight against racism.

“There will always be a problem because of groups such as the BNP. But the North East is, in my opinion, better than other UK regions because of the hard work all our communities have done in the past 30 years to promote understanding between different faiths and cultures.”

The figures — supplied by the Ministry of Justice — reveal Cumbria Constabulary recorded the highest rise over the period from 45 incidents to 324 — an astonishing 620pc increase.

Chief Superintendent Ian Cardwell, head of Cumbria Constabulary’s hate crime unit, said: “We take all hate crimes and hate incidents very seriously and have established dedicated officers in each policing area. Consequently, people feel more confident in reporting such crimes and incidents to us, and this is one of the main reasons for the increase.”

Durham Police saw a 380pc increase from 75 to 360. PC Chris Watkins, of its Diversity Unit, commented: “Like many forces Durham has made a real commitment in the last few years to tackling racially-motivated hate crimes. Reporting procedures have been constantly improved through in-house training and the creation of a dedicated Diversity Unit, which includes specialist hate crime officers.”

Meanwhile in Cleveland the number rose from 147 to 545 . . . a 270.7pc increase. Inspector Simon Edwards from the Diversity Unit at Cleveland Police said: “The rise is a result of a number of initiatives, both locally and nationally, to raise the awareness and importance of reporting racially-motivated crime. Scrutiny of the figures actually reveal that significant rises appear to be in the harassment categories and in the criminal damage category. These offences invariably involve verbal abuse or perhaps minor damage not previously reported. This points towards a rise in awareness and better reporting and recording of crime rather than an increase in crime committed.”

Sunday Sun

Attack on hate-crime expert linked to neo-Nazi activist trial (Russia)

New information is bolstering claims that a recent attack in St. Petersburg against one of Russia's leading hate-crimes experts was aimed at coercing her to change her testimony in a high-profile trial. Valentina Uzunova, 59, who frequently testifies as an expert witness in cases relating to hate crimes and xenophobic activity, was attacked on June 19 by a masked woman at roughly 6 p.m. as she was leaving the family home of a colleague who was murdered three years ago. According to a report in the St. Petersburg Times, Uzunova's assailant repeatedly struck her on the head before stealing several court documents relating to the trial of Vladislav Nikolsky, at which Uzunova was set to testify the following day. Nikolsky is charged with distributing extremist literature and forming a nationalist organization. Testimony from human rights workers like Uzunova is often the key factor in securing convictions under Russia's hate crimes statutes. Using violence to dissuade them from testifying could have a chilling effect on an integral barrier against anti-Semitic and neo-Nazi violence in Russia. Most cases of anti-Semitic violence are not prosecuted under the stringent statutes for which stricter penalties are mandated, but rather are treated as "hooliganism." By most expert accounts, incidents of anti-Semitic and racially motivated violence have continued to rise steadily in recent years. In May, at the fifth round of Russia-EU Human Rights Consultations in Berlin, the Moscow-based nonprofit SOVA Center presented bleak data on the matter. The center monitors hate crimes and advocates for stronger legislation and awareness of xenophobia in Russia.

According to SOVA, Russia experienced a 30 percent increase in attacks this winter over the preceding year. Between January and April, 172 attacks occurred, resulting in 23 fatalities. "Over the reviewed period we have observed an increase of racist and neo-Nazi violence which, unfortunately, the law enforcement agencies have not been able to stem, especially in the main centers of violence, such as Moscow and St. Petersburg," according to the report. Uzunova, of the group For a Russia Without Racism, was attacked following a visit to the family of Nikolai Girenko on the third anniversary of his slaying. Girenko, an expert on ethnic minorities, was shot to death through his apartment door. As in many cases involving activists, no one has been charged in his murder. Alexander Vinnikov, a senior official at the St. Petersburg Union of Scientists and a co-worker of Uzunova's, told the St. Petersburg Times the Nikolsky investigation was nearing completion. "Uzunova had enough evidence in her hands for the judge to convict Nikolsky during the next hearing," Vinnikov said. The attack on Uzunova has angered the human rights community over a perceived lack of police protection. Uzunova had requested police protection after receiving repeated threats, including a recent anonymous nighttime call in which the caller threatened to kill Uzunova and her family if she did not help to clear a defendant now facing extremism charges in court.

Police rejected her request, citing a lack of credible evidence. They found the public telephone from which the call was made, but could not establish the caller's identity. For her colleagues and religious officials in the city, though, there is no question that the attack was coordinated by extremists. Yuri Tabak, an expert on anti-Semitic and xenophobic literature at the Moscow Bureau for Human Rights, spoke with JTA about what he views as a recent sharp increase in violent activity. Tabak, who does not testify in open court, believes that while the police would like to do more to protect activists, they are hampered by a lack of resources. "The level of xenophobic attacks and xenophobia is rising very quickly and definitively," he said. "Our police are not so efficient and they don't want to do much. It's not because exactly they don't want to do anything, but they have no resources, not enough money or qualified people to do it." Menachem Mendel Pevzner, the chief Chabad rabbi in St. Petersburg, insisted during a conversation with JTA that the attack was related to Uzunova's work. "The fact that certain people are not happy with the work these people were doing is quite obvious," Pevzner said. "The fact that it's hurting people is also obvious." The climate of violence in St. Petersburg, the rabbi said, was much calmer now than during the lawlessness directly following the collapse of the Soviet Union. But, he added, while the police have the best of intentions, they often don't take issues of anti-Semitic and interethnic violence as seriously as they should. "Although they're trying to do the best they can," Pevzner said, "they're not accepting that they have to be more on top of the situation."

Human-rights activists as well those in so-called "anti-fascist" organizations in Russia frequently are the targets of violence, as in the case of Timur Kacharava, a student activist murdered by skinheads in St. Petersburg in 2005. In most cases the authorities turn a blind eye. "It does not help that only human rights groups are aware of the issues; ordinary people do not get the picture at all," said Natalya Yevdokimova, an adviser to Sergei Mironov, the chairman of the Council of Federation, the upper chamber of the Federal Assembly - the parliament of the Russian Federation. "The circumstances of and around these crimes, which are often classified as robberies, hooliganism or homicide, remain obscure to them."

ICARE

Hatewatch: for the week of March 28th 2007

Gay man’s murder spurs campaign to update laws
Detroit Free Press
March 21, 2007
Prompted by the beating death of 72-year-old Andrew Athos, state and federal lawmakers introduced legislation to expand the definition of hate crimes to include attacks on gays and lesbians.
Read more

Fort Bragg skinhead killer dies in prison
The Fayetteville Observer
March 22, 2007
James Burmeister, 31, one of two racist skinheads convicted in 1997 of randomly murdering a black couple while serving in the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division, died of natural causes in prison, ten years into a life sentence.
Read more

National Vanguard organizes 'White Pride' rally
East Valley Tribune
March 21, 2007
Several members of the neo-Nazi group National Vanguard's Arizona chapter held "White Pride Worldwide" banners at a busy intersection in observance of a United Nations-designated "Harmony Day."
Read more

White supremacists arrested for murder
Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
March 24, 2007
Two members of the Riverside Skins allegedly shot to death a drug dealer they feared would become an informant.
Read more

Neo-Nazi march cost city $32,000
Columbia Tribune
March 20, 2007
City agencies spent more than $32,000 on security for a 45-minute march by two-dozen members of the National Socialist Movement near the University of Missouri-Columbia on March 10.
Read more

SPLC

Hatewatch: for the week of March 21st 2007

Navy officer under investigation for extremist activities
Navy Times
March 19, 2007
Lt. Cmdr. John Sharpe Jr. was relieved of duty after an Intelligence Project investigation uncovered evidence of his writing anti-Semitic dispatches and attending white supremacist gatherings.
Read more...

Klan group rallies in support of racist parties
The Toronto Star
March 18, 2007
Two dozen members of The Traditional Christian Knights of the Ku Klux Klan demonstrated in support of Tarleton State students who held a Martin Luther King Jr. Day party where attendees ate fried chicken, drank malt liquor, and dressed as Aunt Jemima.
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Lawmakers: homeless need hate crime protection
Miami Herald
March 15, 2007
The Florida legislature is considering legislation to classify attacks on homeless people as hate crimes.
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Anti-Semitic acts up 86 percent in Illinois
Chicago Tribune
March 16, 2007
While anti-Semitic incidents declined nationwide, in Illinois they leaped from 30 in 2005 to 56 last year, according to a report from the Anti-Defamation League.
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