Stories about Human Rights from April, 2019
Jailed Emirati activist Ahmed Mansoor's life is at risk, after six weeks on hunger strike
Mansoor was awarded the Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders in 2015. He has been jailed multiple times since 2011.
Netizen Report: Saudi Arabian authorities arrest three bloggers and execute 37 prisoners, several of them protesters
Saudi Arabia's assault on free speech continues, Careem might be sharing your number with drivers, and the internet is still shutdown in Chad.
Tanzanian authorities detain and deport Ugandan human rights leader
Human Rights Watch says Tanzania has witnessed "a marked decline in respect for free expression, association and assembly" under the current government.
Malaysian activist under police probe after LGBT speech at the United Nations
"The police investigation into Numan’s statement merely serves to highlight the harassment, bullying and discrimination faced by LGBT persons in Malaysia."
Government actions in Sri Lanka Easter bombings raise the question: Is social media helping or hurting?
The swift decision to block certain social media platforms suggests that in the eyes of the Sri Lankan government, these services can make an already bad situation worse.
A series of bomb attacks on churches and hotels spark terror in Sri Lanka
Hundreds were killed and injured in a series of planned explosions in Sri Lanka. A twelve-hour islandwide curfew was declared by the government while social media sites were restricted.
Netizen Report: If protecting your privacy is ‘part of a conspiracy,’ then we’re all in big trouble
Digital privacy tools draw suspicion in the US and Ecuador, India tackles Tiktok, and a Chinese man learns that facial recognition works -- even while you’re sleeping.
‘Culture of killing and impunity’: Coffee shop shooting in the Philippines leaves two dead
"The full details remain unclear, but what does remain clear is that this culture of killing and impunity has emboldened murderers to openly boast of their weapons and shoot people."
Sex abuse and harassment cases prompt protests at Turkey's university campuses
"He forced himself on me...He hit my head three or four times on the floor. I passed out. When I opened my eyes, it was 1.30 AM."
After a year of protests Nicaraguans don't want just Ortega's departure — they want a new beginning
"[We need to] eradicate authoritarianism, sexism, personal autocracy and other ills that have penetrated the political culture of the country"
China's Censored Histories: Commemorating the 30th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre
The crackdown on internet freedom in early June has become an iconic source of panic for the Communist Party of China.
Russian state media scolds independent outlets for ‘neutral’ word choice in counter-terror operation reports
RT’s Russian-language website attacked other media outlets for using the word “killed” instead of “liquidated” or “neutralized.”
‘The army didn't kill anyone,’ says Bolsonaro after soldiers fire 80 times at family car in Brazil, killing one
"The army is of the people, and you can't accuse the people of murder," said Brazil's president six days after the incident that has shocked the country.
Jailed UAE activist Ahmed Mansoor continues hunger strike
Mansoor is serving ten years in jail after a court convicted him of publishing false information and rumours on social media.
‘I invented the term Afroczech': An interview with Czech-Nigerian author Obonete Ubam
Obonete Ubam is a Czech-Nigerian author who describes how he came to embrace his African heritage in a newly published book that became a media sensation in the Czech Republic.
“Our languages are not dying, they are being killed”
“Your language is worthless,” they were told repeatedly. “To be a Mexican citizen, you must speak the national language, Spanish. Stop speaking your language.”
Argentina's Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo find 129th child who went missing during 1970s dictatorship
The newfound daughter had been in touch with the Abuelas since 2013, but only agreed to take a DNA test in 2019. She is yet to meet her biological father and elder brother.
Free by day, jailed by night: Egyptian activists speak out against conditional release
Activists, who have recently been released from prison, only enjoy freedom from 6am to 6pm.
Women are leading the protests in Sudan
“Women are front, left and center of the revolution. When people started protesting, they were like, ‘Women should stay at home.’ But we were like — no.”
Expelled Chinese diamond mining firm quietly returns to Zimbabwe
"How can a company mine diamonds from 2010 to 2015 and fail to produce audited financial statements, a basic integrity requirement?"
Philippine military and police execute 14 labor advocates and farmers in crackdown
More than 200 peasant leaders have been killed since Duterte came to power in 2016.
