Stories about Human Rights from August, 2007
Russia: Down's Syndrome Association
Maaskva: Nashimi Glazami translates the first part of an interview with Marina Tsarkova, one of the co-founders of Russia's Down's Syndrome Association.
Belarus: Students and KGB
TOL's Belarus translates a blog entry written by a Belarusian student who was summoned to the KGB and questioned on his studies and life in Lithuania.
Guatemala: Children Caught in the Middle of Adoption Debate
Guatemala has been considered a country, where children are adopted "relatively easy." As a result, the Central American nation has the highest per-capita adoption rate in the world. The Guatemalan Congress recently ratified the Hague Convention, which will place stricter controls on the adoption process. However, a case of involving an adoption house in Antigua has reignited the debate regarding the fate of children in the country. National bloggers and foreigners, who have experience with adoptions weigh in on the matter.
Bahamas, Haiti: Illegal Immmigration
Rick Lowe, writing at WeblogBahamas.com, features an article by the late Dr. Julian Simon to make a point about what should be done regarding the Bahamas’ illegal immigration issue.
Iran:Expulsion of Afghan refugees
Hooghoghe Bashar (means human rights) blog says[Fa] that mass expulsion of Afghan refugees is not a solution for Iranian high unemployment.The blog explains that Afghans always did very difficult jobs and were underpaid.According to this blog many educated Iranians are jobless and they are not going to replace Afghans.
The Balkans: Youth Activism
Balkanizer believes that in the Balkans, “it is the youth that should be at the vanguard of social revival and instead they are the most passive part of the society.”
Iran:One year prison for a Doctor
Hesam Firouzi,medical Doctor and human right activist, writes[Fa] “I was condemned to one year prison.”He was accused of “impeding national security”.One of his charges was informing media about bad conditions of political prisoners.He was behind bars for 18 days in January 2007.Global Voices has already published one part of his...
Libya, Bulgaria: Torture of the Tripoli Six
The Balkan Yankee awaits the world's reaction to Libya's acknowledgment of torture of the recently-released Bulgarian medics.
Sri Lanka: Cops and Privacy
Indi.ca on cops visiting at early morning hours and privacy.
The US Accuses Oman of Trafficking in Persons
Sama Oman wonders about what gives the US the right to accuse Oman of trafficking in persons.
Kuwait: Blogger Bashar Al-Sayegh Arrested
Kuwait yesterday joined the ranks of countries with jailed bloggers, following the arrest of Bashar Al-Sayegh. How did bloggers in Kuwait and around the region react? Here's a quick review.
Egypt: Update on Police Torture Death
Egyptian Zeinobia updates us on the case of a 12-year-old boy, allegedly tortured by police to death.
Iran: We haven’t tortured them yet !
Khorshidkhanoum writes that Said Mortazavi, Tehran’s Chief Prosecutor, called the families of Ehsan Mansouri, Ahmad Ghasaban, and Majid Tavakolli, the three imprisoned Amir Kabir University students, and told them angrily and authoritatively: “We warned you several times not to speak anywhere, not to interview, not to distribute the news about...
Iran:Award winner writer in trouble
Khabgard reminds[Fa] us that Yaghoub Yadali, an award winner writer, is going to be judged in court because of his novel “The behavior of unrest”. This story was published two years ago with permission of Iranian authorities and won a couple of awards.It seems some people complained against some sentences...
Syria: On Lebanon and Motorcycles
Just as the heat is cooling from an inter-Arab spat involving Jordanians and Iraqis, we move on to the Syrian blogosphere where bloggers are fanning the flames of a Palestinian-Lebanese virtual stand-off. Read Yazan's Badran round up to learn more.
Palestine: Boycotting Israel, Excluding Handala and More
This week in the Palestinian blogosphere, bloggers tackled serious issues such as the academical boycott of Israel, checkpoints and Edward Said’s mural in San Francisco as well as lighter topics such as a Palestinian swimmer participating in a regional competition in Beit Sahour and other personal stories.
Mauritania criminalizes slavery
Mauritania has made slavery a criminal offense, but Vive la Francophonie wonders if slavery can be abolished by laws alone (Fr). “Slavery is a mental attitude as old as humanity…The problem of slavery is in large part psychological,” Francophonie writes. “Mauritania, like the rest of the world, should fight against...
Russia: Neo-Nazi Execution Video
One of the most discussed topics in the Russian blogosphere last week was a graphic video of what appeared to be the execution of two ethnically non-Russian men by masked figures claiming to be members of a Russian neo-Nazi group. Anton Nossik, a representative of the company that oversees LiveJournal's Russian segment, blogs about the Russian authorities' irrational reaction to the video.
Georgia: IDPs
Steady State says that in Georgia, Internally Displaced People from the Abkhazia war are now being evicted from their temporary shelters. At the same time, the Caucasian country spends record sums on its military.
Uganda:Let us live in peace
Black Looks posts a press release from Sexual Minorities Uganda: “n a landmark case, we, Ugandan lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people assembled at the High Court of Uganda two months ago to reinforce our right to privacy, dignity, and property. There were no charges against us. We...
Russia: Russian Politics Syllabus
J. Otto Pohl is teaching in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, now, and has posted his Russian Politics Syllabus.