· March, 2008

Stories about Human Rights from March, 2008

Bulgaria: Against Internet “Bugging”

  31 March 2008

This year, the Bulgarian government has issued a decree, which, among other things, allows the security services to gather from each internet user the data about who they have written to, who is on their contact lists, what instant communication agents they are equipped with, when they used them and the precise manner of using them. The majority of internet users in Bulgaria interpreted it as an encroachment on their civil liberties. Yavor Mihaylov reports on Bulgarian bloggers' attempts to resist the government's initiative.

Brazil: March for the end of the Gaza Strip

  31 March 2008

“It is said that each Palestinian expelled from their land – and not just since 1948, when it the state of Israel was created – keep a key which they always carry with them. This is not the key for their car, office or a shed lost somewhere between Jordan,...

Pakistan: Women and Honour

  31 March 2008

Five Rupees on the case of a woman who is trying to escape being killed for her family's honour – bringing to light issues of women's status in a society and the idea of lost honour.

Cuba: Can You Hear me Now?

  31 March 2008

News that Cubans will now be allowed to buy cell phones has been met with differing reactions by Cuban bloggers…El Cafe Cubano: “Cubans on average earn about $20 a month and cell phones in Cuba are selling for $260 and above. Do the math…”; Uncommon Sense: “I do not begrude...

China: Zeng Jinyan

  31 March 2008

Zeng Jinyan is back to internet communication [zh] after three months house arrest. As for Hu Jia, he will be on trial again in April 7.

Egypt: Human Rights Defenders Harassed

Or Does it Explode… links to a report submitted by the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies to the United Nations Human Rights Council which says there has been “huge harassments of human rights organisations and defenders have been increasingly subject to abusive and suppressive actions by government actors… in...

Belarus: Freedom Day Protest

  30 March 2008

On Tuesday, March 25, police broke up an opposition rally in the capital of Belarus, beating protesters with truncheons and detaining dozens of people. Veronica Khokhlova translates two bloggers' first-hand accounts and a foreign political analyst's view on the Belarusian opposition's strategy.

Japan: Richard Gear ditched by Nissan?

  29 March 2008

A news report [ja] (summary in English) that Nissan has decided to back out of a contract for a TV commercial with Richard Gear due to the actor's support of the Dalai Lama has triggered hundreds of comments in posting forums [ja] and responses from bloggers. While some wonder whether...

Egypt: American Navy's Friendly Fire

Egyptian bloggers lament to the loss of one of their countrymen who was killed in an incident involving the American Navy in the Suez Canal. They are also wondering where their sovereignty as a state has gone and whether the slain man's family will ever see justice.

Iran:Police brutality in photos

The Iranian police launched a huge operation to “elevate security in society” last year. The police arrested, tortured and humilated many people who were called “thugs”. Jomhour has published several photos of this operation.

Russia: Xenophobia in Moscow

  27 March 2008

Moscow Through Brown Eyes posts a short update on hate crime in Moscow; Window on Eurasia writes about a graffiti campaign launched by the Movement Against Illegal Immigration (DPNI) in Moscow “in order to call attention to the strength of the group and to intimidate its opponents, migrant workers and...

Bangladesh: Remembering a genocide

  27 March 2008

The 3rd World View and Mash write about an online initiative called the Bangladesh Genocide Archive – an attempt to document various testimonies, memories and articles of the events of 1971.

Barbados: Archaic Laws

  27 March 2008

Barbados Free Press has heard of a woman “who was recently raped by her estranged husband – and our police say they are unable to lay charges because our laws are reflect a time when wives were owned by their husbands.”