War in Ukraine, Sudan, and remembering Shireen Abu Akleh
Terrell J. Starr opens up this week’s episode of Black Diplomas with his thoughts on Great Britain’s likely shipment of long range missiles to Ukraine, weapons Kyiv have long requested. He also talks about the disinformation fog that will precede the upcoming Ukrainian offensive. From there he talks with Sudanese human rights scholar Mutasim Ali about the violence in Sudan. Terrell concludes the show with Palestinian human rights lawyer Diana Buttu and independent journalist Sharif Abdel Kouddous about the one-year anniversary of Shireen Abu Akleh’s killing and why Israel is an apartheid state.
Music: “Dreams” by Ink Prod.
Mutasim A. Ali
Mutasim A. Ali is a legal advisor at the Raoul Wallenberg Center for Human Rights specialized in targeted human rights sanctions. Mr. Ali has a distinguished career in human rights activism both in Sudan and outside Sudan. His current practice focuses on international criminal law, international human rights and humanitarian law, transitional justice, and targeted human rights and anti-corruption sanctions. Previously, Mr. Ali served as a legal counsel at Project Expedite Justice, Civitas Maxima, as well as some counseling for the International Criminal Court.
Currently, Mr. Ali is Doctor of Juridical Science Candidate at American University’s Washington College of Law. His research focuses on the interlinkage between peace and constitution-making processes.
Diana Buttu
Diana Buttu is a lawyer and activist based in Palestine. Her commentary and writings have appeared in the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Boston Globe, The Nation, and The Guardian, with appearances on CNN, MSNBC, Al Jazeera and other networks. She also hosts a podcast titled “This is Palestine”.
Sharif Abdel Kouddous
Sharif Abdel Kouddous is an independent print and television journalist based in New York and Cairo. He has covered Palestine numerous times over the past decade for The Nation, Democracy Now!, and other outlets, and he is the correspondent on the Fault Lines film “The Killing of Shireen Abu Akleh” on Al Jazeera English which received a George Polk Award. Sharif is also a producer of the Palestine Festival of Literature.