• The Savage Return of ISIS? The Deadliest Attack on Russia in Decades

https://www.atheistrepublic.com/news/savage-return-isis-deadliest-attack-russia-decades

Location: Russia

Russia endured its deadliest terror attack since the 2004 Beslan school siege when four militants from Tajikistan, dressed in camouflage uniforms, brazenly opened fire and detonated explosives at the Crocus City Hall concert venue in Moscow on March 22nd just before a sold-out performance, massacring over 140 people and injuring more than 360. The Islamic State swiftly claimed responsibility for the savage assault, releasing graphic footage that purportedly showed the attackers shooting victims and slitting one person's throat while a militant recited the Takbir, though Russian President Vladimir Putin alleged without evidence that Ukraine had facilitated a "window" for the attackers to escape, an "absurd" accusation that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said was an attempt to divert blame. American intelligence officials tied the strike to the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISIS-K), the terrorist group's Afghan affiliate responsible for the 2021 Kabul airport bombing that killed 170 Afghans and 13 U.S. troops, reigniting fears about the resurgence of Islamic extremism in Russia nearly two decades after the Beslan school massacre where Islamic militants took over 1,000 hostages and killed 334 people.

• Taliban Declares "We Will Stone Women to Death in Public"

https://www.atheistrepublic.com/news/taliban-declares-we-will-stone-women-death-public

Location: Afghanistan

In a chilling declaration confirming the Taliban's return to their notoriously oppressive policies against women, Afghanistan's reclusive Supreme Leader Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada vowed in a voice message aired on state television to reinstitute barbaric punishments like public stonings and floggings, brazenly telling the West "You say it's a violation of women's rights when we stone them to death, but we will soon implement the punishment for adultery. We will flog women in public. We will stone them to death in public." The Taliban leader, who has almost no digital footprint and has never been seen in public aside from old portraits, defiantly stated "These are all against your democracy, but we will continue doing it...We fought against you for 20 years, and we will fight 20 and even more years against you" as he emphasized the need for resilience in opposing women's rights among Taliban soldiers. Akhundzada's harrowing remarks enraged many Afghans, with one woman named Tala lamenting from Kabul "We, the women, are living in prison, and the Taliban are making it smaller for us every passing day" and criticizing how "The money that they receive from the international community as humanitarian aid is just feeding them against women." The Supreme Leader's defiant vows confirm fears of a reversal of human rights in Afghanistan under Taliban rule following the U.S. withdrawal in 2021.

• Arrested for Protesting Hamas: The Iranian Activist Defying Tyranny in the UK

https://www.atheistrepublic.com/news/hamas-terrorist-words-got-iranian-activist-arrested-uk

Location: London

In a deeply concerning incident that has sparked outrage over infringements on free speech, Iranian activist Niyak Ghorbani was subjected to a brutal arrest by London's Metropolitan Police simply for holding a placard reading "Hamas is a terrorist" during a pro-Palestinian protest on March 9th. Disturbing video footage shows the 38-year-old activist, who has lived in the UK for two and a half years after fleeing repression in Iran, being swarmed by an irate mob of protesters who attempted to grab his sign while chanting "Free Palestine" and "shame on you" at him. The confrontation quickly descended into violence, with Ghorbani being shoved by protesters before trying to leave the heated situation. However, multiple Metropolitan officers cornered him, with one officer caught on camera crumpling his "Hamas is terrorist" banner to the cheers of the pro-Palestinian crowd. Despite Ghorbani's insistence that his intent was "to show the British public that the protesters were supporting Hamas and not the Palestinian civilians in Gaza," he was arrested, with the activist alleging to The Jerusalem Post that "the police injured his hands and back" and stating "Instead of apologizing, the police issued a statement full of lies and played with my dignity. It's shameful." The police's official statement claimed Ghorbani was detained for assault to "prevent a breach of peace," but Jonathan Turner, an executive director for pro-Israel lawyers, condemned it as a "brutal" false arrest, arguing "the police appear to have committed criminal offenses of assault and false imprisonment" by wrongfully detaining the peaceful activist while allowing his actual assailants to go free.

• The UK Is Failing Its Dissenters: Stabbing of Iranian Journalist 

Buckle up for another must-watch edition of "Suzie's Rants"! This week, Susanna took the gloves off and came out swinging against the recent stabbing of Iranian journalist Pouria Zeraati right on his London doorstep. With her signature passion, she exposed the chilling history of assassination plots targeting Iranian dissidents in the UK. Susanna didn't hold back, slamming the UK authorities' approach while unleashing her fury over the Islamic Republic's unchecked transnational repression. She calls out the United Kingdom's inaction in protecting dissenters and blasts the futility of appeasing a regime hellbent on totalitarian domination. You won't want to miss this!