· February, 2009

Stories about Human Rights from February, 2009

Guadeloupe: Police “Blunder”?

Amidst the confusion of the month-long social conflict in Guadeloupe, two nights of violence took place on February 17th and 18th. Apart from acts of arson in shops and numerous...

26 February 2009

Malaysia: Operation Valentine

Malaysian police arrested 26 unmarried Muslim couples in hotel rooms during Operation Valentine to curb premarital sex. The crime of “khalwat,” or “close proximity” forbids unmarried Muslims to meet behind...

25 February 2009

Egypt: Philip Rizk's Four Days in Detention

A day after publishing “Egypt: More activists and bloggers arrested” on Global Voices Online, news of Philip Rizk's detention spread like wildfire around the world - and the blogger and activist was finally released. Lasto Adri visits Rizk's blog, where he writes about his ordeal and that of another blogger Diaa Gad, who was arrested on the same day and still remains behind bars today.

25 February 2009

China: A hard place to defend

Angry Chinese blogger explains why it is difficult to defend China human rights condition by referring to the visit petition of 62 year old Zhong Ruihua.

25 February 2009

Fiji: Samoan PM criticisizes Fiji's government

Bloggers in Fiji and around the Pacific are remarking on recent comments by Samoa’s Prime Minister harshly criticizing Fiji’s military government. Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi said in an interview that he believes Fiji’s self appointed Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama has no intention of relinquishing power. He also called on the people of Fiji to reclaim its government

25 February 2009

Egyptians on the verge of insanity

Stuck between a rock and a hard place, Egyptians are struggling to maintain their sanity, faith, and stability. Marwa Rakha presents the following selection from Egyptian blogs which discuss dreams, suicide, unemployment and the gruesome murder of a woman and her children - at the hands of her husband.

25 February 2009

Cuba: One Year Later

Blog for Cuba says that one year after Cuba signed the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Personal Rights, “human rights...

24 February 2009

Iran: Students protesting against martyrs re-burial are jailed

Up to 70 students from the Amir Kabir University in Tehran were arrested today, Tuesday 24th of February, while protesting against the re-burial of five anonymous Iran-Iraq War martyrs in the grounds of the university. See videos of the protest and the first reactions on the blogosphere.

24 February 2009

Kenya: Police harassment of activists

Kenyan Pundit reacts to reports about police harassment of activists, “The report is disturbing to say the very least, not just because it shows you just how paranoid and oppressive...

24 February 2009

Sudan: Mourning a Great Novelist and Musings on the ICC

After a long absence, a number of fascinating Sudanese bloggers, return to the blogosphere to rant, share their thoughts on recent events and vent. They're included in this roundup along with the usual suspects. After a frustrated rant about Khartoum International Airport's unhygienic condition, Sudanese Optimist mourned the passing of the respected and well-known Sudanese novelist, Al-Tayeb Saleh.

24 February 2009

Blog Plagiarism hits Egyptian Bloggers

Is there such a thing as blog plagiarism? Egyptian bloggers argue both sides of the fence on Facebook and on their blogs after a newspaper started quoting bloggers - without their permission, reports Marwa Rakha.

23 February 2009

Thailand: Australian gets royal pardon

Australian Harry Nicolaides has been granted a royal pardon after spending almost six months in a Thai prison on lese majeste charges. New Mandala posted a statement from Harry's brother....

23 February 2009