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Cyprus Seven Trial
The Cyprus Seven Trial (also known as the Cyprus Eight Trial) was a Cold War espionage affair uncovered at one of the military bases in Cyprus during 1983 and 1984. The allegations rested upon several servicemen, although seven were sent to trial at the Old Bailey in London. Two were from the Royal Signals, and five from the Royal Air Force, with all being accused of engaging in homosexual activitiesAt the time, homosexuality was not allowed in the UK Armed Forces. and passing state secrets "by the bagful" to the Soviet intelligence network. The treatment of the accused whilst detained before trial was deemed unlawful and after a trial at the Old Bailey in 1985, in which they were acquitted, six of the servicemen were allowed to sue the Ministry of Defence for their mistreatment. At the time, it was the longest spy trial go through the British court system. It was also known as the ''Mata Hari Cyprus Spy Ring'' due to the involvement of a female conspirator despite the allegati ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cold War
The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because there was no large-scale fighting directly between the two superpowers, but they each supported major regional conflicts known as proxy wars. The conflict was based around the ideological and geopolitical struggle for global influence by these two superpowers, following their temporary alliance and victory against Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan in 1945. Aside from the nuclear arsenal development and conventional military deployment, the struggle for dominance was expressed via indirect means such as psychological warfare, propaganda campaigns, espionage, far-reaching embargoes, rivalry at sports events, and technological competitions such as the Space Race. The Western Bloc was led by the United States as well as a number of othe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Caucasus
The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia (country), Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have historically been considered as a natural barrier between Eastern Europe and Western Asia. Mount Elbrus in Russia, Europe's highest mountain, is situated in the Western Caucasus. On the southern side, the Lesser Caucasus includes the Javakheti Plateau and the Armenian highlands, part of which is in Turkey. The Caucasus is divided into the North Caucasus and South Caucasus, although the Western Caucasus also exists as a distinct geographic space within the North Caucasus. The Greater Caucasus mountain range in the north is mostly shared by Russia and Georgia as well as the northernmost parts of Azerbaijan. The Lesser Caucasus mountain range in the south is occupied by several independent states, mostly by Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Ge ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Stocker (judge)
Sir John Dexter Stocker, MC, TD, PC (7 October 1918 – 27 December 1997) was a British judge. He was a Lord Justice of Appeal from 1986 until his retirement in 1992. Born in Wimbledon, the son of a chartered accountant, Stocker was educated at Westminster School and the University of London, where he read Law. During the Second World War, he served with the Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment. He saw action at Dunkirk, El Alamein, and in Italy. He won the Military Cross at the Battle of Monte Cassino. He reached the rank of lieutenant-colonel. Having intended to become a solicitor, he changed his mind and was called to the Bar by the Middle Temple in 1948. Becoming a Queen's Counsel in 1965, Stocker built a large common law practice, specialising in personal injury cases. He was counsel to the Widgery Tribunal. Stocker was appointed to the High Court in 1973, receiving the customary knighthood A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a hea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lebanese People
The Lebanese people ( ar, الشعب اللبناني / ALA-LC: ', ) are the people inhabiting or originating from Lebanon. The term may also include those who had inhabited Mount Lebanon and the Anti-Lebanon Mountains prior to the creation of the modern Lebanese state. The major religious groups among the Lebanese people within Lebanon are Shia Muslims (27%), Sunni Muslims (27%), Maronite Christians (21%), Greek Orthodox Christians (8%), Melkite Christians (5%), Druze (5.2%), Protestant Christians (1%). The largest contingent of Lebanese, however, comprise a diaspora in North America, South America, Europe, Australia and Africa, which is predominantly Maronite Christian. As the relative proportion of the various sects is politically sensitive, Lebanon has not collected official census data on ethnic background since 1932 under the French Mandate. It is therefore difficult to have an exact demographic analysis of Lebanese society. The largest concentration of people of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hungarian People
Hungarians, also known as Magyars ( ; hu, magyarok ), are a nation and ethnic group native to Hungary () and historical Hungarian lands who share a common culture, history, ancestry, and language. The Hungarian language belongs to the Uralic language family. There are an estimated 15 million ethnic Hungarians and their descendants worldwide, of whom 9.6 million live in today's Hungary. About 2–3 million Hungarians live in areas that were part of the Kingdom of Hungary before the Treaty of Trianon in 1920 and are now parts of Hungary's seven neighbouring countries, Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, and Austria. Significant groups of people with Hungarian ancestry live in various other parts of the world, most of them in the United States, Canada, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Chile, Brazil, Australia, and Argentina. Hungarians can be divided into several subgroups according to local linguistic and cultural characteristics; subgroups with disti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aircraftsman
Aircraftman (AC) or aircraftwoman (ACW) is the lowest rank in the British Royal Air Force (RAF) and the air forces of several other Commonwealth countries. In RAF slang, aircraftmen are sometimes called "erks". Aircraftman ranks below leading aircraftman and has a NATO rank code of OR-1. It is now a training rank only and no airmen in productive service hold this rank. Aircraftmen do not wear any rank insignia. The rank was renamed air recruit (AR) in the Royal Air Force in July 2022. History The rank was introduced to the RAF in January 1919, replacing the ranks of "air mechanic", "private" and "clerk" that had been introduced under Air Memorandum No. 1 in March 1918. There were three grades: leading aircraftman (LAC), aircraftman 1st class (AC1) and aircraftman 2nd class. A similar grading existed for junior ratings in the Royal Navy. The rank of senior aircraftman (SAC) was introduced on 1 January 1951. The lowest grade was an AC2; also colloquially known as an "AC plonk". W ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Inhuman Or Degrading Treatment
Cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment (CIDT) is treatment of persons which is contrary to human rights or dignity, but is not classified as torture. It is forbidden by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights, the United Nations Convention against Torture and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Although the distinction between torture and CIDT is maintained from a legal point of view, medical and psychological studies have found that it does not exist from the psychological point of view, and people subjected to CIDT will experience the same consequences as survivors of torture. Based on this research, some practitioners have recommended abolishing the distinction. Inhuman treatment The Equality and Human Rights Commission defines inhuman treatment as: * serious physical assault * psychological interrogation * cruel detention conditions or restraints * physical or psychological abuse in a healthcare s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Turkish People
The Turkish people, or simply the Turks ( tr, Türkler), are the world's largest Turkic ethnic group; they speak various dialects of the Turkish language and form a majority in Turkey and Northern Cyprus. In addition, centuries-old ethnic Turkish communities still live across other former territories of the Ottoman Empire. Article 66 of the Turkish Constitution defines a "Turk" as: "Anyone who is bound to the Turkish state through the bond of citizenship." While the legal use of the term "Turkish" as it pertains to a citizen of Turkey is different from the term's ethnic definition, the majority of the Turkish population (an estimated 70 to 75 percent) are of Turkish ethnicity. The vast majority of Turks are Muslims and follow the Sunni and Alevi faith. The ethnic Turks can therefore be distinguished by a number of cultural and regional variants, but do not function as separate ethnic groups. In particular, the culture of the Anatolian Turks in Asia Minor has underlied and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Official Secrets Act
An Official Secrets Act (OSA) is legislation that provides for the protection of state secrets and official information, mainly related to national security but in unrevised form (based on the UK Official Secrets Act 1911) can include all information held by government bodies. OSAs are currently in-force in over 40 countries (mostly former British colonies) including Bangladesh, Kenya, Pakistan, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Myanmar, Uganda, Malaysia, Singapore and the United Kingdom, and have previously existed in Canada and New Zealand. There were earlier English and British precedents, long before the acts enumerated here. As early as the 16th Century, following Francis Drake's circumnavigation, Queen Elizabeth I declared that all written accounts of Drake's voyages were to become the 'Queen's secrets of the Realm'. In addition, Drake and the other participants of his voyages were sworn to their secrecy on the pain of death; the Queen intended to keep Drake's activities away f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Special Air Service Regiment
The Special Air Service Regiment, officially abbreviated SASR though commonly known as the SAS, is a special forces unit of the Australian Army. Formed in 1957, it was modelled on the British SAS sharing the motto, "Who Dares Wins". The regiment is based at Campbell Barracks, in Swanbourne, a suburb of Perth, Western Australia, and is a direct command unit of the Special Operations Command. It has taken part in operations in Borneo, Vietnam, Somalia, East Timor, Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as many other peacekeeping missions. The SASR also provides a counter-terrorist capability, and has been involved in a number of domestic security operations. Role Tasks and capabilities A direct command unit of Special Operations Command, the SASR "is tasked to provide special-operations capabilities in support of the Australian Defence Force. This includes providing unique capabilities to support sensitive strategic operations, hostage rescue, advisory and training assistance, spec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Duncan Campbell (journalist)
Duncan Campbell (born 1952) is a British freelance investigative journalist, author, and television producer. Since 1975, he has specialised in the subjects of intelligence and security services, defence, policing, civil liberties and, latterly, computer forensics. He was a staff writer at the ''New Statesman'' from 1978 to 1991 and associate editor (Investigations) from 1988 to 1991. He was prosecuted under the Official Secrets Act in the ABC trial in 1978 and made the controversial series ''Secret Society'' for the BBC in 1987 (see Zircon affair). In 1988, he revealed the existence of the ECHELON surveillance program. Early life Born in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1952, Campbell was brought up and educated in Dundee. His mother was a mathematician who worked at Bletchley Park under Alan Turing. As a pupil at the High School of Dundee, an independent school, he first trained in computer programming aged 16, taught computer languages, and undertook programming in scientific compute ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crispin Aubrey
John Nicholas Crispin Aubrey (3 January 1946 – 28 September 2012) was a British journalist. He was one of the defendants in the ABC trial in 1978, named after the initials of the defendants' surnames, in which he and freelance journalist Duncan Campbell were convicted under the Official Secrets Act 1911 for receiving classified information from John Berry, a former signals intelligence (SIGINT) operator. The controversy over the case eventually led to amendments to the law in the Official Secrets Act 1989. Early life and career Aubrey was born in Chipstead, Surrey. His father was an insurance broker, and his mother was an illustrator. He was educated at Leighton Park School, an independent Quaker school in Reading, and studied English at Christ Church, Oxford. He married Susan Jacob in 1968. They had three daughters. He worked as a journalist at the ''Hampshire Chronicle'', before moving to '' Time Out'' in 1974 as an investigative reporter concentrating on environmen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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