Stories about Human Rights from April, 2012
Cuba: Diaspora Reacts to Ferrer García's Release
Cuban prisoner of conscience Jose Daniel Ferrer Garcia was released over the weekend. Diaspora bloggers comment on this most recent development.
Russia: Gun Rights Advocates Rally Around Tula Hero
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.
Argentina: The ‘Mothers of Plaza de Mayo’ Turn 35
Lillie Langtry from the blog Memory in Latin America writes about the 35th anniversary of the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo in Argentina: “On Thursday, 30 April 1977, a small group of women met in the Plaza de Mayo with the aim of handing over a letter to then-president Jorge...
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.
India: Five Legal Points The Bloggers Should Know
Apar Gupta discusses about the legal concerns of a blogger and five legal points one should know while blogging in India.
Iran: Cockroaches and New Hijab Crackdown
Iranian bloggers protested against security forces who launched new hijab(veil) crackdown in Tehran. A Balatarin user published a photo of two agents and write they are like cockroaches when the weather becomes hot, they reappear.
Iran: Jailed blogger's open letter to Head of the Judiciary
Jailed blogger and human rights activist,Hossein Ronaghi Maleki,wrote [fa] an open letter to Iranian Head of the Judiciary,Amoli Larijani to protest against his conditions. The blogger says he refuses to be operated in prison and he wants to go to hospital.
China: The Heroine Behind Chen Guangcheng's Escape Arrested
He Peirong, a Chinese activist who helped blind lawyer and civil rights activist Chen Guangcheng escape his house arrest has herself now been detained.
Refugees: Online Media and Technology to the Service of Refugees
Two different organizations are using online media and technology to aid refugees and improve their lives. The first uses online and mobile tools to reunite refugees who have lost track of family members, and the other provides legal information to refugees in Hong Kong through YouTube videos.
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.
Syria: Television “Confession” of Activist Ali Mahmoud Othman
Ali Mahmoud Othman, head of the media office of Baba Amr in Homs, was arrested in March. Now an exclusive interview, which many believe is a forced confession following his torture, is due to be broadcast on Syrian state television.
Liberia: Charles Taylor Guilty Verdict Received With Mixed Reactions
The Sierra Leone Special Court in The Hague has convicted former Liberian President Charles Taylor of war crimes. Taylor was facing 11 charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Liberians have received the guilty verdict with mixed reactions.
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.
Philippines: Demolition of Urban Poor Village Sparks Indignation
At least one person was killed and scores were injured after police forces fired on protesting residents of Silverio Compound in Paranaque City, south of Manila, who were defending their homes from being demolished. The violent demolition has sparked a wave of indignation online.
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 is an introduction to Oplan Bayanihan, the government's counterinsurgency campaign which is being linked by human rights advocates to the...
Ethiopia: Netizens Outraged as Ethiopia Steps Up Internet Censorship
Ethiopian bloggers are outraged and expressing their concern on different social media platforms as the Ethiopian government increasingly engages in blocking and surveillance of selected websites, blogs and Facebook pages.
Bangladesh: Citizen's Voice, A Citizen Watchdog for Public Services
Citizen’s Voice (Nagorikkontho.org) is an online project to empower Bangladeshi citizens by having their voices heard regarding feedback on public services.
Chinese blind lawyer and activist Chen Guangcheng flees house arrest
Chinese blind legal activist Chen Guangcheng has reportedly escaped from his well-guarded house in Dongshigu (Shandong) after more than a year of house arrest. Sources report he entered the US embassy in Beijing. He has put out a video denouncing corruption, exposing abuses and expressing “extreme concern” about the consequences...
Russia: Dombrovsky and Molotov
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.
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.
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 in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
