· April, 2012

Stories about Human Rights from April, 2012

Russia: Gun Rights Advocates Rally Around Tula Hero

RuNet Echo

Russian gun ownership laws are long and restrictive. In early April, when a small-scale farmer in Tula used a kitchen knife to kill three armed robbers that threatened him and his family, the incident sparked a new dialogue about gun rights and self-defense in Russia.

30 April 2012

Ukraine: Netizens Discuss Dnipropetrovsk Bombings

There has been a great deal of speculation about the four bombings that rocked the city of Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine, on Friday. The timing of the blasts is key to most of the popular theories emerging online, as Ukraine is undergoing a very eventful period right now.

29 April 2012

India: Protests Against the New IT Rules

In April 2011 the Indian government quietly issued amendments to the IT rules restricting web content that are designated as “disparaging,” “harassing,” “blasphemous” or “hateful.” The Indian netizens are campaigning against it online and are organizing street protests.

28 April 2012

Bahrain: Where is Abdulhadi Alkhawaja?

For some days there has been no news of imprisoned Bahraini human rights activist Abdulhadi Alkhawaja, who has been on hunger strike since February 8. It is feared that Alkhawaja is either being force-fed or is in a critical state.

28 April 2012

Philippines: Counterinsurgency Primer

Karapatan, an alliance working for the promotion and protection of human rights in the Philippines, uploaded a PDF copy of its comic book entitled Oplan Bayanihan for Beginners. The book...

28 April 2012

Russia: Dombrovsky and Molotov

RuNet Echo

The Faculty of Useless Knowledge tells a story of writer Yuri Dombrovsky‘s brief encounter with Vyacheslav Molotov, and shares a link to a documentary [ru] about Dombrovsky's life.

27 April 2012

India: The Hand Drawn Rickshaws in Kolkata

Debolina Raja Gupta notes that although the West Bengal Government In India had decided to take the hand drawn rickshaws off by 2005-2006 they are still plying in Kolkata roads.

26 April 2012

Bangladesh: Voices from the Korail slum

Michelle Chaplin at BRAC Blog posts a video (with subtitles), which shares the initial reactions of some of the people who lost their homes in the recent Korail slum eviction...

26 April 2012