Stories about Human Rights from June, 2009
Palestine: Harsh Treatment By Egyptian Border Authorities
Lebanese activist Natalie Abou Shakra, who has been in the Gaza Strip for seven months, is now being prevented from entering Egypt by the Egyptian authorities. Witnessing the treatment of Palestinians at the border she says: “They have been taught to accept this treatment. But, as activists, it is our...
Egyptian Blogger Wael Abbas: Detained at Cairo Airport
Upon his arrival from Sweden at the Cairo Airport, blogger Wael Abbas tweets the details of his detention at Cairo Airport. The Arabist reported saying: Egyptian mega-blogger Wael Abbas is being detained at Cairo Airport after his passport was confiscated last night. This is the first time this has happened to...
Jamaica: Hangings to Resume
Upon hearing news that the Jamaican government intends to resume hangings, Iriegal is both sad and fearful that the decision is the right one.
The Balkans: Agim Ceku
A Fistful of Euros writes about Agim Ceku and his arrest and release in Bulgaria last week.
Israel: would Israeli grassroots support harm the Iranian uprising?
In the past two weeks Israelis were following the tweets coming out of Iran with excitement, but divided on the issue of participation in the twitter revolution. Carmel Vaisman brings us the debate..
Cuba, U.S.A.: Connecting the Dots
Call it coincidence, but diaspora blogger Uncommon Sense thinks that in light of news that Cuban human rights activists Jorge Luis García Pérez “Antúnez” and his wife were once again arrested, “it might be best to connect the dots”, particularly “in the wake of the NED ceremony, at which Antúnez...
Palestine: Lebanese Activist Stuck At Egypt-Gaza Border
Lebanese activist Natalie Abou Shakra, who reported from Gaza during Israel's attacks in January, is not being allowed to cross out of the Gaza Strip into Egypt.
Russia: “Ingushetia, boom”
A Fistful of Euros writes about the assassination attempt on Yunus-Bek Yevkurov and the situation in Ingushetia and other North Caucasus regions.
Palestine: Rafah Crossing Open For 72 Hours
Laila El-Haddad is hoping she will see her parents soon, as the Rafah Crossing from Gaza into Egypt is temporarily opened: “Of the some 5000 Palestinians registered to cross, only 250 were allowed out of Gaza on the first day (a total of 5 buses), and only 4 buses scheduled...
Iraq: Reflecting on Iran
Assuming my dear readers have not been living in a cave for the past couple of weeks, the developments after the recent Iranian elections need no introduction. Here I present, in their own words, the recent comments of Iraqi bloggers on the subject. So much has been said about the...
Iranian officials ‘crowd-source’ protester identities
Iranian protesters appearing in widely disseminated online photos from the ongoing post-election demonstrations in Iran, are now being targeted on website of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. It shows images of 20 people with red circles drawn around their faces claiming they have been involved in creating "chaos" in Tehran.
Kenya: The plight of gays and lesbians in Kenya
As much as Nairobi is described as one of the more cosmopolitan cities in Africa where a lot of homosexuals find solace, homophobia is widespread. Kenyan bloggers discuss how homosexuals are named and shamed all over the Internet.
Iran: Remembering Omid Reza Mir Sayafi and March 18th
A few months after the death of Blogger Omid Reza Mir Sayafi, who died in an Iranian prison after allegedly insulting religious leaders, the March18.org site has been set up to remember him and to hopefully keep this story from repeating itself. Following, the first video created for the March18 movement.
Russia: Letter to Khodorkovsky
Jeremy Putley posts an open letter to Mikhail Khodorkovsky (who turned 46 on June 26) at A Step At A Time.
Cuba, U.S.A.: Obama & “Antúnez”
Cuban human rights activist Jorge Luis García “Antúnez” said that President Obama's words of support make a big difference for those fighting for Cuban liberty, but diaspora blogger Uncommon Sense is still of the opinion that “Obama should of, and could of, done more to honor the Democracy Award nominees.”
Iran:No word on arrested bloggers
Saminejad writes [fa] about two bloggers, Ali Kalayi and Shiva Nazar Ahari who were arrested and there has been no word regarding their whereabouts. Ali Kalayi is reported to be in ward 209 of Evin prison and is being held in a cell with four other people.
Ukraine: “Lady Ethnographer”
Maria Sonevytsky of My Simferopol Home writes on being a “lady ethnographer” in Ukraine and on xenophobia in Crimea: “Ukraine today is caught between two warring accounts of history, as it is caught between two different attitudes towards otherness, be it gendered, ethnic or raced otherness.”
Cuba, U.S.A.: Missed Opportunity
Havana Times reports that U.S. President Barack Obama released a statement in which he said he hoped that all Cuban political prisoners would be released, but Uncommon Sense thinks that Cuban activists deserved better: “A busy schedule or confusion about the dates, is not enough of an excuse for President...
Cuba: Unanswered Questions
“I am waiting for a clarification about why he hasn’t accepted Obama’s proposal for U.S. telecommunications companies to provide Internet to the Cuban people. I demand, like many around me, a convincing argument for why we are not going to join the OAS…”: Generation Y says that “the list of...
Palestine: Open Letter To President Obama
Members of the Christian Peacemaker Teams in the West Bank have posted an open letter to President Obama: “We ask you to demand that Israel stop its campaign of violence against the Palestinian people.”
Togo Abolishes Death Penalty
Togo's National Assembly voted on Tuesday to end the death penalty for all crimes, making it the 15th member of the African Union to abolish capital punishment.
