Stories about Human Rights from January, 2011
Russia: “Anonymous Bomb” and “Random Scapegoats” of Domodedovo
In the aftermath of the Jan. 24 suicide bombing at Moscow's Domodedovo Airport, which killed at least 35 people and left over 100 wounded, some Russophone bloggers are once again discussing the ominous patterns that grow more and more obvious with each new major terror attack in Russia.
Iran: A blogger's life in danger
Hrana, human rights activists news agency, reports [fa] that Hossein Maleki Ronaghi ‘s life is in danger and he needs urgent medical care. Hossein Maleki Ronaghi has been sentenced to 15 years in prison. Hussein Rongah Melki (also known as “Babak Khoramdin”) was one of the key cyberactivists behind Iran...
Mexico: Indigenous Rights Advocate, Bishop Samuel Ruiz, Dies
On January 24th, Bishop Samuel Ruiz Garcia passed away at the age of 86. He was known for his work as an advocate of the rights of the indigenous Mayan people in the state of Chiapas.
Guyana: End of Relationship, Not End of Life
The Guyana Groove is concerned about “the extremely high rate” of domestic violence, especially “in those cases in which one or both of the partners left the relationship.”
South Korea's Most Retweeted Story: Newspaper Ad Against Unfair Layoff
South Korea's Hongik University laid off its maintenance workers who formed a labor union. This has sparked mass online protest, prompting citizens to buy a newspaper ad proposing the Dean to have frank talks. South Korea's citizen media, WikiTree announced[ko] it the most retweeted article (around 2000 times) in its...
Egypt: The January 25 Demonstrations in Photographs
A picture is worth a thousand tweets, especially when Twitter is blocked in Egypt in order to halt the transfer of information about the ongoing demonstrations in Egypt today.
Cuba: Marta's Victory
Crossing the Barbed Wire blogs about the experience of Marta Diaz Rondon, who was reportedly imprisoned and beaten by “men who claim to be patriots and protectors of Cuba’s security.”
Cuba: Old Age in Cuba
“Hands shaking with Parkinson’s offer sugary snacks at bus stops, wrinkled faces offer razor blades for only five pesos”: Generation Y says that the system the elderly helped to build “cannot provide them with a dignified old age.”
Tunisia: Keeping a Tab on Dissidents
Mauritanian blogger Nasser Weddady translates a document which shows how the former Ben Ali regime of Tunisia kept a tab on its dissidents abroad.
Kenya: Sue: The Kenyan prostitute building a brand online
The Kenyan Blogosphere has just recently been graced by not your usual blogger and not your usual genre: a street prostitute building her brand online by sharing her experience and opinions.
Brazil/Tunisia: Cartoons on the Tunisian Revolution
Provos Brasil [pt] shares a series of cartoons by the Brazilian cartoonist Carlos Latuff on the Tunisian Revolution, in two blog posts: The Fall of the Dictatorship in Tunisia and Cleaning Tunisia.
Brazil: Neo-Colonialism in Africa
Leonardo Sakamoto refutes [pt] the statement of the foreign affairs adviser to the Brazilian presidency, Marco Aurelio Garcia, that “A neo-colonial relationship is only established if neo-colonizer and colonized are in agreement.” For him, it is necessary to examine the complicity of local elites and the situation of colonized countries...
Brazil: Micro Grants for Transparency Hackers
Esfera [Sphere, pt] has launched the second round of micro grants for transparency hackers in Brazil. Find out what they are looking for and apply until February 5.
Brazil: Belo Monte Dam returns to the spotlight
The Brazilian government expressed its wish to start building the controversial Belo Monte hydroelectric dam in 2011. Immediately, a virtual mobilization against the project broke out. In spite of the intense flow of information on the Internet and other media, clarifications on the socio-environmental impacts of Belo Monte are still to be provided by the government.
Mexico: The Passing of Indigenous Rights Supporter Bishop Samuel Ruiz
Bishop Samuel Ruiz passed away this morning. Tim Johnson explains: “Ruiz […] started the Fray Bartolome de las Casas Human Rights Center out of his diocese, and played an instrumental role in keeping the Zapatista uprising that erupted in 1994 from flaring into broader violence. Ruiz’s work on behalf of...
Cuba: Obama Eases Several Embargo Restrictions
US President Barack Obama signed into law a series of small legislative reforms to the US embargo on Cuba. Many in the US-Cuba blogging community hailed this as a small but significant step in improving relations between the two countries, while others have criticized the reform.
Brazil: Chief of Police assaults man on a wheelchair
A physically disabled lawyer was assaulted and threatened with a gun by a chief of police in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, after having complained that the officer had left his car in a reserved parking lot for the disabled, reports [pt] Renato Rovai.
Uzbekistan: Uzbek president's visit to Brussels condemned by civil society
Uzbekistan’s President Islam Karimov is meeting with European Union officials in Brussels on a visit that human rights are describing as a secretive affair, neweurasia’s Mirsulzhan writes. He also posts an open letter of the civil society activists to the EU.
Morocco: Social Protests Continue
Moroccan blog Alwandida (Ar) zooms in on ‘social’ protests in Morocco. Here, he posts a video showing a woman speaking out against housing problems.
Kuwait: MPs Expose More Police Torture
Desert Girl on Kuwait draws our attention to police torture in this post. “My heart goes out to the families of the victims. Imagine being a mother and reading about how this happened to your child? In their own country,” she writes.
Egypt: Will January 25 be the Day of the Egyptian Intifada?
What is going to happen in Egypt on January 25? People are calling for demonstrations and sit-ins everywhere. Who is going to participate, and where? What are their demands? Isn't it possible that some people are against the whole thing? We just need to pay the Egyptian blogosphere a quick visit to find out answers for all our questions.
