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Afghan girl, 10, was preparing for a new life in Canada
before she was killed by the Taliban
Girl's father had worked alongside Canadian Forces in Kandahar
Ellen Mauro · CBC News ·
Posted: Dec 16, 2021 11:06 PM ET
A 10-year-old Afghan girl who was preparing to come to Canada with her family was instead shot dead by the Taliban last week, a death critics say is partly to blame on Ottawa's sluggish efforts to relocate Afghans who worked with the Canadian military.
Nazifa's father had worked for the Canadian Armed Forces in Kandahar, said Kynan Walper, chief operations officer at Aman Lara, a veterans group volunteering to help Afghans who served with the military escape the country.
Walper blamed an inadequate evacuation effort by the Canadian government and delays in immigration processing for the girl's killing.
"I cannot be clear enough — this young girl is dead because of delays in getting people over here," said Walper. He says Nazifa was learning English and was excited about moving to Canada.
The family received visa approvals, under the federal government's special immigration program for Afghans who worked alongside Canada, in mid-October, according to Walper.
But they were stuck in Afghanistan with little help from Ottawa, he said, as they struggled to get Afghan passports so they could travel to a third country, in this case Pakistan, and then onward to Canada.
A rally on Parliament Hill calling on the government to speed up and expand its resettlement program for Afghans who assisted Canada during its mission in Afghanistan. (Ashley Burke/CBC)
Nazifa's father, Bashir, Walper said, is devastated.
Nazifa's death, and its circumstances, were first reported by Global News. The family's last name is being withheld for security reasons.
The family was returning from a wedding on the night of Dec. 10 in Kandahar, the Taliban's heartland, when the shooting happened. The group thought they had been cleared to pass through a checkpoint — but seconds later Taliban fighters opened fire on their vehicle.
An adult woman related to the girl was also killed and "several" others were injured, Walper said.
He said the family fears it may have been targeted because of Bashir's work with the Canadian military — but it's unclear why exactly the shooting began.
Brig.-Gen. David Fraser, then commander of Canadian troops in Afghanistan, speaks with reporters in
Kandahar in this 2006 file photo. He says Ottawa isn't moving fast enough to help Afghan refugees.
(Les Perreaux/The Canadian Press)
The Taliban granted a general amnesty for those who worked with foreign forces. But human rights organizations and Afghan sources have accused Taliban fighters of carrying out targeted retribution killings in the months since taking back Afghanistan.
Alex Cohen, press secretary for Immigration Minister Sean Fraser, called Nazifa's death "tragic and heartbreaking," writing that Canada condemns "this senseless act of violence by the Taliban."
Cohen said thousands of Afghans who have been granted approval to come to Canada remain stuck due to "Taliban interference" and changing documentation requirements in neighbouring countries.
"We have been working to process applications as quickly as possible and get Afghan refugees to Canada as fast as we can," Cohen wrote. "We continue to work with our allies, and an array of other partners, to find new routes for Afghans to leave the country and make their way to Canada."
But retired major-general David Fraser, who commanded NATO troops in Kandahar, says Ottawa is not acting with enough urgency as so many Afghans who helped Canada are left fearing for their lives under Taliban rule.
A view of a street in Panjwaii, in Kandahar province, Afghanistan. (Jared Thomas/CBC)
"Anything is better than what we're doing right now," Fraser said. "This is not building a spaceship. It's not that complex."
Fraser said he knew of Nazifa's family through a contact at the military camp where Bashir worked.
"Could we have saved this family? That's going to be a question that I will wrestle with for the rest of my life."
Ottawa has promised to take in 40,000 Afghan refugees — a process that is set to take up to two years to complete. About 12,000 applications have been approved so far, with 5,700 of those people now in the country.
"We need answers from the federal government as to why this family could not get out of Afghanistan in time," Conservative Party Leader Erin O'Toole wrote in a statement.
He said the new parliamentary committee on Canada's response to the Taliban victory will examine the girl's killing.
Walper acknowledged the crisis poses difficult challenges but said Ottawa needs to do more to solve them. "There are logjams in the process that need to be fixed," Walper said.
"I want this girl's death to not be for nothing," he said. "I want her death to wake people up to what's happening in that country."
Politician sorry for ‘lie down & enjoy’ rape joke
17 Dec, 2021 16:18
Opposition lawmaker K.R. Ramesh Kumar in the southern Indian state of Karnataka had to apologize after he sparked outrage for joking that when “rape is inevitable” it’s better to “lie down and enjoy it.”
Kumar made the sexist remark amid a discussion about chaos in Karnataka’s state assembly by the chamber’s speaker Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri, drawing laughter from some politicians.
Kageri had been seeking to make a serious point about being unable to “control” lawmakers amid the debate about farmers’ troubles, and “streamline” the process within the chamber, saying he was forced to “just let them talk.”
While some supporters of Kumar found the comment amusing, others were insulted by his language. Female lawmakers from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), as well as Kumar’s own Congress Party, decried his comments as “insensitive,” threatening to stage a protest against them.
“When we came to the assembly, we looked up to Ramesh Kumar for his parliamentary acumen. But it looks like he has no respect for women,” BJP politician Poornima Srinivas said. Speaking on Friday, Kumar issued an apology for his rape joke, claiming he “had no intention of insulting women or lowering the prestige of the assembly.”
That's the whole point! You had no idea how insulting and disgusting your words were. Are children supposed to lie down and enjoy losing their virginity to some creep who can't control himself, at the risk of becoming pregnant?
The legislator’s chamber refused requests from female lawmakers to talk about their concerns after Kumar apologized, arguing that the saga was now closed and there's no need “to raise the issue and create a controversy.”
I think you already did that!
Kumar has previously been accused of making sexist remarks. In 2019, he compared himself with a “rape victim” in response to corruption allegations. “I got raped once. But like every rape victim, I am being made to feel like I was raped multiple times,” Kumar said. He apologized a day later following a complaint from a member of his own party.
Rape and sexual assault against women has been a contentious issue in India, with tens of thousands of new cases of rape are still reported throughout the country annually.
16th century Dutch adventurer Jan Huygen van Linschoten, secretary to the Bishop of Goa for 6 years, called Indian men the most lecherous of all men, for he determined that it was very difficult to find a girl of 7 years of age who was still a virgin.
I don't think there has been much improvement, if any, in Indian male culture in the past 500 years.
Two Canadians arrested after Kansas detective’s work discovers
2-year-old, 13-month-old internet sex crime victims
By Sarah Motter
Published: Dec. 17, 2021 at 1:40 PM PST
TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) - Two Canadians have been arrested for sexual crimes against children on the internet after the work of a Wabaunsee County Detective uncovered a 2-year-old victim in Kansas and a 13-month-old victim in Nova Scotia.
Wabaunsee Co. Sheriff Rob Hoskins says in a Facebook post he received a letter from Canadian authorities which praised the hard work and dedication of Detective Eric Kirsch as he brought a child sex predator to justice.
The letter from the Hamilton Police Service in Ontario, Canada, said on April 14, 2021, Detective Kirsch continued an investigation that started when school resource officer Deputy Angie King advised the Wabaunsee Co. Sheriff’s Office of a situation in the Mission Valley school district.
The report by Deputy King stated a female student had been threatened by someone she had met through Snapchat. It said the suspect, who was unknown at the time, coerced her into filming sexually explicit videos of her 2-year-old niece which she was made to send to the suspect.
Detective Kirsch was given the device the student used to talk with the suspect. He began a ruse, an online undercover operation, which continued the conversation with the suspect. This was done to gather evidence of the offenses and help identify who the suspect was in order to hold them responsible for the crimes committed.
Through his efforts and relentless pursuit of the offender, the Hamilton Police Service said Detective Kirsch was able to identify the suspect as Joshua Bryk, 22, of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
With the evidence gathered, the Canadian police service said Kirsch contacted its Internet Child Exploitation Unit to build a relationship with the investigative team and continue the evolving investigation. A partnership was built between Kirsch and Detective Constable Adam Baglieri to arrest, collect evidence and hold Bryk accountable for the crimes he was committing against children.
The letter said a forensic examination of the data and devices seized from Bryk found videos that were reported about the victim in Wabaunsee Co. Bryk was arrested and charged with two counts of possessing child pornography and a single count of accessing child pornography.
With Bryk in custody, Hamilton police said Kirsch continued the investigation and was able to identify another potential child victim, who he believed to live in Lower Sackville, Nova Scotia, Canada. Kirsch and Baglieri then notified the authorities in that Province.
I actually lived in Lower Sackville for several years a long time ago.
Mother charged in sexual assault of her 13 m/o son.
In July 2021, the letter stated an arrest was made in Nova Scotia and a female had been charged with making child pornography, distributing child pornography, sex assault and sexual interference for offenses she committed against her 13-month-hold son, all under the direction of Bryk.
As a result, the police service said Bryk was then charged with another two counts of making child pornography and two counts of arranging a sexual offense against a child.
The letter stated Kirsch’s work directly resulted in two children being rescued from further sexual abuse at the hands of their caregivers and other sexual predators like Bryk.
Hamilton Police Service said the online sexual abuse and exploitation of children has significantly increased in recent years due to access and availability of technology throughout the world. It said these types of crimes are often borderless as internet globalization allows suspects to speak with, groom and offend children in any country.
The Police service also said the arrest of Bryk was relatively quick compared to other crimes of the same nature. While offenders can use technology to their advantage, it said police too can use the same technology to their advantage.
“Detective Eric Kirsch displayed exceptional commitment to his vocation and his community through his diligent efforts and relentless pursuit of offenders,” said Deputy Chief Ryan Diodati of the Hamilton Police Service. “He was very complementing of our service and our personnel, however, I cannot stress enough that his direct efforts alone, led to the rescue of two known child victims and the arrest of a sexual predator who will now be held accountable for the crimes he committed.”
Sheriff Hoskins said he and all residents of Wabaunsee Co. should be thankful of Kirsch’s hard work and dedication to the community.
I certainly am. God bless you Detective Kirsch!
Former BBC producer convicted of possessing child sexual abuse images
Victor Melleney of Kensington, west London, arrives at Kingston Crown Court, London (Steve Parsons/PA)
By PA Reporters
December 17 2021 03:12 PM
A pornography-addicted former BBC producer has been convicted of possessing indecent images of children.
Victor Melleney, who is now retired, was cleared of making indecent photographs of hundreds of children, but found guilty of the alternative charge of possession.
Jurors at Kingston Crown Court also found him not guilty of two further charges – possession of an extreme pornographic image, and possession of a prohibited image.
Melleney, who worked on shows including Question Time and Panorama, was released on bail ahead of his sentencing next month.
Jurors spent nearly two days considering their deliberations before returning their verdicts.
The trial heard how investigators discovered a number of Category A images – the most serious – including of children believed to be as young as four being abused.
But Melleney told the jury he had “absolutely” no sexual interest in “horrible” indecent images of children.
He claimed to have downloaded “an awful lot” of pornographic material since becoming “lonely” after becoming the primary caregiver for his two children in the late 1990s.
The court heard that Melleney – a father to two grown-up daughters – came to the attention of the National Crime Agency (NCA) when they received information that two IP (internet protocol) addresses linked to him had received indecent images of children on various dates in 2018.
When officers carried out searches at the two addresses, in Holland Park and Kensington, both in west London, they recovered hard drives containing indecent images, jurors were told.
He will be sentenced on January 14 at the same court.
Kensington, London
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