Stories about Human Rights from January, 2010
Serbia, Russia: Author Awarded for Book on Ratko Mladić
A Slice Of Serbian Politics reports on the award given by the Union of Russian Writers to Ljiljana Bulatović for her book “Report to the General”: “Ljiljana was awarded in the ‘Slav Fraternity’ category with the ‘Imperial Culture’ award for, as it is stated, ‘her courage, commitment, and unswerving dedication...
Belarus: LGBT Issues
BelarusDigest quotes from a chapter on Belarus that was included in the Greenwood Encyclopedia of LGBT Issues Worldwide earlier this year.
Iran: Two Bloggers in Danger of Death
Two Iranian bloggers, who are also human rights defendants, are behind bars under serious charges. Mehrdad Rahimi and Kouhyar Goudarzi have been accused of wanting to wage “a war against God,” and charged as being “Mohareb” (enemies of God). Their charges are similar to those against the two men who were executed this week in Tehran.
Iran: A cleric blogger was arrested
According to some Iranian sites and blogs Ali Ashraf Fathi, a Qom based religious student and blogger was arrested [fa] on Friday. He used to write [fa] in his blog Tourjan.
Haiti: Where are the 15 missing children?
In the aftermath of the earthquake, the question of international adoption and its legitimacy has been on many mouths: Both Espas Ayisyen and Haiti Recto Verso weigh in by posting a UNICEF statement [Fr] announcing that 15 children are “missing” from Haitian hospitals and questioning the possibility of abduction.
Sri Lanka: ‘Lanka E news’ Banned
Journalists For Democracy In Sri Lanka blog informs that “the office of the ‘Lanka e news’, a prominent news website operating from Sri Lanka, has been sealed off by the authorities. [..] Two days before the elections, another regular contributor to the website, Prageeth Eknalogoda, went missing.”
Ukraine: Involvement in Afghanistan
Leigh Turner, UK Ambassador to Ukraine, writes about Ukraine's involvement in Afghanistan, now and then.
Russia: CJR Piece on the Media
Robert Amsterdam recommends Adam Federman's article on the Russian media, published in Columbia Journalism Review: “[…] Federman focuses on the remaining mechanisms and political dynamics for freedom of press and the conditions in which genuinely good investigative journalism can still occur in today's harshly repressive media environment in Russia.”
Russia: Opposition Blogger Finally Gets Permission To Leave Country
An opposition blogger Oleg Kozlovsky tells his story [EN] on how his blog helped his to finally receive a passport allowing him to leave Russia. The country's Federal Security Service (FSB) refused to issue a new passport to Kozlovsky but quickly changed its decision after he published a blog post...
Azerbaijan: Democracy is…
Önər Blog [AZ] posts a video [EN] made by the OL! Azerbaijani Youth Movement for the Democracy Video Challenge. OL! has been exemplary in its use of new media in the region and was co-founded by now imprisoned video blogging youth activist Adnan Hajizade.
Africa: On Homophobia in Africa
Responses to Homophobia in Africa by Sokari: “I’m writing this post in response to number of articles on the prevalence of homophobia in Africa and to try and give some perspective and historical context.”
Nigeria: Uzoma Okere wins court case against the army
Nigerian curiosity writes about the case of Uzoma Okere in Nigeria: “Uzoma Okere is the young Nigerian lady whose assault by military officers became a viral video that raised the ire of many.”
Eritrea: Remove current regime quickly
According to Mohammed Hagos, democracy project in Eritrea has to start with the removal of the current regime: “The hurdle preventing the Eritrean people from having their say is the Issayas regime. The path to democracy thus starts with removing the Issayas regime as quickly as possible…”
Egypt: The Right to Speak Up
Egyptian bloggers and activists held a conference on January 22 in defense of their right to speak up after more than 20 Egyptian bloggers were arrested when their train arrived in the village of Naga Hammady where the Coptic massacre took place. Marwa Rakha sums up their reactions to their detention in this post.
Russia: Prosecution Against Opposition Blogger Stopped
The first criminal case against a blogger in Russia with a happy ending unfolded over a long period of time. After two years of investigation and three socio-linguistic assessments, experts didn't find any evidence of "incitement hatred against police and Russian Security Service officers." But the blogger's victory, however, is rather an exception than a rule.
Belarus: Politics and Economy Update
Belarus Digest reports on the ongoing political repressions in Belarus; the governement's plan “to introduce censorship on the Internet about a year before the next presidential election”; the new price of Belarusian entry visa (if issued at the airport) – 180 euro; and Heritage Foundation's Index of Economic Freedom, which...
Russia: Lyudmila Alexeyeva; “Zhivago's Children”
IZO links to a New York Times’ profile of the 82-year-old Russian dissident Lyudmila Alexeyeva (who blogs in Russian at http://lm-alexeeva.livejournal.com/) – and to a review of Vladislav Zubok's Zhivago's Children: The Last Russian Intelligentsia, posted at Languagehat.
Brazil: The National Program for Human Rights – Part 1
Controversy has erupted following the proposal of a legislative reform package that decriminalises abortion and criminalises homophobia, bans religious symbols from public spaces and calls for a truth commission.
Japan: Peace walkers
TenThousandThings from Kurashi reports on a 4-month peace walk from Okinawa to Tokyo calling for the abolition of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction.
Philippines: “Renewable Marriage Bill”
A partylist group in the Philippines wants to introduce a law that would put a ten-year expiration date on marriage contracts. As expected this unique proposal generated an intense reaction in the blogosphere.
Vietnam: Long prison terms for ‘democracy activists’
Four ‘democracy activists’ in Vietnam were sentenced to long prison terms for subversion. The four dissidents are advocating social change through non-violent means.
