Prominent UAE activist Alaa al-Siddiq dies in UK car crash
This report was first published in www.aljazeera.com and has been posted here without any alterations or editing. To read the original report, CLICK HERE
Alaa al-Siddiq, a prominent dissident Emirati rights activist and critic, has died in a car crash near London.
Alaa was the executive director of the United Kingdom-based ALQST, a non-profit organisation that advocates for greater freedoms and human rights in the UAE and the wider Gulf region.
“With deep sadness, ALQST mourns the sudden death of its loved and respected Executive Director Alaa Al-Siddiq on Saturday 19 June 2021,” the group said in a tweet. “May she rest in power.”
Her father, Mohammad al-Siddiq, is also a prominent activist who has been held in detention by Emirati authorities since 2013.
“Today, the able Emirati researcher and honest sister, professor Alaa al-Siddiq, left this world, while her father, Mohammad al-Siddiq languishes in the notorious prisons of the [United Arab] Emirates,” wrote Saudi activist Abdullah al-Awda.
According to Doha News, Alaa and her husband sought asylum in Qatar in 2012, where they had been living with their relatives.
The activist’s presence in Qatar, and Doha’s stance towards political activists at a time when the UAE was cracking down on voices of dissent, led to a rift between the two neighbours.
The news of Alaa'a ( @alaa_q ) passing is devastating!
— Abrara (@Abrara_Rageh) June 20, 2021
Alaa is a Human Rights Defender & the daughter of a political prisoner detained in UAE since 2013.
Foul play or not (time will tell). Alaa lived and died for justice.
Justice will prevail.
Allah yer7amha ? pic.twitter.com/cD4ijMHCgC
اليوم رحلت عن هذه الدنيا الباحثة الإماراتية القديرة والأخت الصادقة المدافعة عن العدالة الأستاذة #آلاء_الصديق @alaa_q بينما يقبع والدها محمد الصديق في سجون الإمارات سيئة السمعة.
— د. عبدالله العودة (@aalodah) June 20, 2021
أسأل الله أن يتقبلها في الصالحين وأن يرزق أهلها وذويها ومحبيها الصبر والسلوان، وأن يفرّج عن والدها pic.twitter.com/yAdrscdkq8
Devastating news.
— Fatima Said (@fatimazsaid) June 20, 2021
Alaa Al-Siddiq, Director of @ALQST_En, died yesterday.
She spent most of her life fighting for the release of her father from UAE prisons & for rights of prisoners across the world. She never got to see her father be freed. Inna lilahi wa inna ilayhi rajiun. pic.twitter.com/e8n8HXuIRU
In 2018, Qatar’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani said a dispute had taken place between Qatar and the UAE in 2015 concerning a political dissident’s wife.
Abu Dhabi had sent an envoy to Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani to ask that the woman in question be handed over to Emirati authorities, a request that was turned down by the Qatari ruler.
Though kept secret, Abdullah al-Athbah, the editor in chief of Qatar’s al-Arab newspaper, later said it was Alaa who the Emiratis sought to repatriate.
Unspeakable loss. @alaa_q, an avid researcher and freedom fighter, passed away today in London. She dedicated her life to challenging the Emirati regime and fighting for the freedom of innocent prisoners. #آلاء_الصديق https://t.co/ZoU0WvSLZv
— Hussein Cheaito | حسين شعيتو ?️? (@husseinch96) June 20, 2021
A heartbreaking news.. Alaa Al-Siddiq, a veteran WHRD, who defended tirelessly the right of prisoners of conscience in her home country UAE, the Gulf & the region, passed away today in a car crash in London... #آلاء_الصديق #آلاء_الصديق https://t.co/JSxJHzIJYX
— Yasmine J. Hajar (@yasmine_hajar) June 20, 2021
Courtesy: www.aljazeera.com
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BJP dreaming to win polls with money power: West Bengal BJP MLA after bypoll loss
Kolkata, Nov 23: As the ruling Trinamool Congress swept the by-elections in six assembly seats in West Bengal, Kurseong's party MLA Bishnu Prasad Sharma attacked the state leadership, saying the party dreams of winning polls with money power and that it sidelines legislators and gives "unnecessary importance and responsibilities" to MPs.
The TMC retained five of the six seats it had previously won during the 2021 polls, while wresting the key Madarihat seat from the saffron camp in north Bengal’s Alipurduar district.
In a Facebook post, Sharma alleged, "The BJP runs a membership drive in West Bengal over the phone from a Kolkata office, while party leaders turn a blind eye to factionalism within the party. The party sidelines MLAs and gives unnecessary importance and responsibilities to MPs. It dreams of winning elections relying on money power. Despite having no shortage of political issues in the state, it centers its politics solely around religion."
"The BJP accuses opponents of corruption while carrying Adani and Ambani on its shoulders. It tries to undermine the rights of the indigenous population by luring Bangladeshi Hindus with promises of CAA. It halts MGNREGA funds and indulges in such tactics, hoping to win elections in the state," he alleged.
On the other hand, the BJP MLA lauded TMC saying, that the ruling party in the state, armed with 26 different "pro-poor schemes" such as Kanyashree Prakalpa, Gitanjali Housing Scheme, Krishak Bandhu Scheme, Nijo Griha Nijo Bhumi, Rupashree Prakalpa, Shishu Sathi Scheme, and Student Credit Card, quietly works at the grassroots level.
"Now, you decide who will win the elections. I have never seen a culture of self-criticism within the BJP; otherwise, this outcome wouldn't have occurred," he added.
Since the 2021 assembly elections, the TMC has won every by-election, except the Sagardighi bypoll in March 2023, which was won by a Congress candidate who later switched to the TMC.
With this victory, TMC's tally in the 294-member state assembly rose to 216, further consolidating its position. The BJP's tally, on the other hand, dropped to 69, from 77 in 2021.
