· June, 2010

Stories about Human Rights from June, 2010

Cuba: Spotlight on Fariñas

  29 June 2010

“In the wake of the death of political prisoner Orlando Zapata Tamayo, Cuban independent journalist Guillermo Fariñas started a hunger strike to demand the release of some two dozen seriously ill political prisoners”: As his condition worsens, Uncommon Sense applauds his bravery.

Rwanda: Worrying signs in Kigali

  27 June 2010

Worrying signs in Kigali: “Jean-Leonard Rugambage, the editor of the Umuvugizi newspaper in Kigali, was gunned down in front of his home on Thursday. A man came up to his car as he was driving into his gate and shot him in the head and chest, killing him immediately.”

Brazil: Standing Against Mining in Gandarela

  27 June 2010

Local communities and netcitizens who care for the biodiverse Serra da Gandarela in Minas Gerais, Brazil, are taking a stand against Vale S.A. - a major mining multinational whose record is not one of the best at the eyes of environmental groups.

Worldwide: The oil spills that don't make the news

  26 June 2010

The tragic oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has the world's attention on the devastation that badly managed oil extraction can bring. However, in some places around the world, people live with toxic spills such as these and through videos people try to bring the world's attention to their plight.

Russia: Charges Against Alexanyan Dropped

Robert Amsterdam reports that “Russian prosecutors have finally dropped their case against Yukos lawyer Vasily Aleksanyan”: “But I don't really see this as a sign of clemency or change, or a sudden recognition of judicial independence. Russia just admitted that it held an innocent individual for two years for no...

India:

  24 June 2010

Dheera Sujan at South Asia Wired highlights the works of an organization named ‘I Hear Foundation’, which is “working with hearing impaired kids and their parents to help diagnose, treat, and then help the children assimilate into a hearing world”.

Cambodia: “Development evictions”

  24 June 2010

Cambodia ranks first among Asian countries in the number of ‘development’ evictions or the act of demolishing urban poor settlements in the name of ‘development.’