· February, 2007

Stories about Human Rights from February, 2007

Slovenia: The Erased

  28 February 2007

The Glory of Carniola reports on a rather surreal bureaucratic mishap: “This week marks the 15th anniversary of a now infamous moment in Slovenian history: the removal of 18,000 people from Slovenia’s permanent registry of citizens.”

The Balkans: Bloggers Discuss the ICJ Verdict

  28 February 2007

On Monday, after nearly ten months of deliberation, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) declared that the 1995 Srebrenica Massacre was an act of genocide, but that the pattern of the atrocities committed by Bosnian Serbs during the 1992-1995 war (which claimed more than 100,000 lives) was “too broad” to...

Egypt: Nawal Al Saadawi Show

  28 February 2007

Egyptian blogger Zeinobia accuses Egyptian feminist and writer Dr Nawal Al Saadawi of coming up with an annual gimmick to ensure her name remains in the news. “(I)n 2004 she wanted to be a president ,in 2006 she came and her daughter with the new idea that people to be...

Madagascar: Expulsions in France questioned

  28 February 2007

(courtesy of sarkostique) Stemming from ongoing racial tensions and amplified by the riots of last summer, fear of immigrants led the French ministry of homeland security to crack down on illegal immigration. Immigrants of Malagasy origins were also affected by the new emphasis on expelling any immigrants without proper accreditation....

Japan: addressing racism

  28 February 2007

Debito blogs the transcript of Press Conference with United Nations Special Rapporteur Doudou Diene and Debito Arudou (himself) at Foreign Correspondents Club of Japan. The press conference addressed racism issues in Japan

Poland: On “The Lives of Others”

  27 February 2007

Traveling Life writes this about the foreign film that got this year's Oscar: “Anyway, Lives of Others did make me appreciate a little more the hate felt by many towards the proponents and tools of the old systems. Even I can remember my mother being taken in for questioning to...

Meet Sami Ben Gharbia, Global Voices’ new Advocacy Director

  27 February 2007

Global Voices is delighted to announce the appointment of Sami Ben Gharbia as Advocacy Director, and the attentive reader will already have noticed his posts on anti-censorship and free-speech issues. Sami pictured next to a free-speech campaign slogan Sami is an experienced human rights campaigner, a Tunisian who has lived...

Sri Lanka: Saddam and the Sri Lankans

  27 February 2007

True Sri Lankan on what appears to be a lot of silence regarding the execution of Sri Lankans. “When Saddam Hussein was hanged there were massive protests in Sri Lanka organised by certain sections of the muslim community but a few days ago 4 Sri Lankans were beheaded and then...

Tunisia, France: How To Wash the Dirty Laundry At Home

  27 February 2007

Mouwaten Tounsi deplores (Fr) that ex-Tunisian diplomat Khaled Ben Saïd is being judged in France for torture. He would have liked Ben Saïd judged in Tunisia. He proposes a reconciliation-based justice. The process would focus on indemnification of torture victims by the government rather than on prosecution of officials who...

Egypt: Has Sadawi Escaped?

  27 February 2007

Egyptian blogger Sandmonkey is wondering about whether writer and feminist Nawal Al Saadawi is ever returning to Egypt here. “There are rumors floating around that Nawal el Seadawy, the prominent egyptian femenist, had escaped Egypt to Belgium and then the US after she was charged with dsidain for religions. She...

Egypt: Kareem Case Appeal Date Set

  27 February 2007

An appeal hearing has been set for convicted Egyptian blogger Kareem Nabil Sulaiman, who has been sentenced to four years in prison, according to his support website Free Kareem. The appeal court hearing will be on March 12.

Mexico: Unsentenced Prisoners

  26 February 2007

Mark in Mexico cites a study by the Open Source Institute and the Centro de Investigación para el Desarrollo (CIDAC) which found that 42% (90,000 inmates) of those in prison in Mexico have never been sentenced.

Maldives: Torture Techniques in Paradise

  26 February 2007

The blog Groundsix notes some of the torture techniques used on detainees and prisoners in the Maldives. Putting in stocks: The victim is restrained with his or her ankles and wrists locked in tiny holes in a block of wood. The victim remains bent and does not have the use...

Zimbabwe: Mugabe in 1980

  26 February 2007

Kubatana blogs posts Robert Mugabe's inspiring speech, which was delivered in 1980: Yesterday The Herald published a compilation of speeches made by Robert Mugabe during his extended stay in power. Mugabe’s address to the nation on the eve of Zimbabwe’s independence was included under the title “An enduring legacy of...