· March, 2009

Stories about Human Rights from March, 2009

Guatemala: A Violin in Silence After Murder of Youth

  19 March 2009

The latest victims to violence in Guatemala are a young violinist, Hans Castro and his two companions Andrea Robledo and Edwin Urrea. The murders took place in the outskirts of Guatemala City and bloggers are mourning the loss of Castro, who was a member of the Guatemalan Symphonic Orchestra Conservatory.

Egypt: Waves of Workers’ Strikes

Like in 2008, this year is witnessing waves of strikes and demonstrations by Egyptian workers in various sectors and organizations. Students, pharmacists, lawyers [Ar], railway drivers, media people and, last but not least, Egyptian street cleaners have all been demanding more just rights, protesting against their decreasing incentives or trying to rebel against their poor economic status. Eman AbdElRahman gives us a snap shot of what's happening on the ground and how bloggers are giving those workers a voice in their struggle.

Hong Kong: Ng-hao big-naug or you are dead!

  19 March 2009

On Tuesday, March 18, a local police shot at a Nepali homeless man twice at close range and one of the bullets end up in the head, leading to the man's death. The police report soon after the shooting said that the police officer went to check out the hillside...

Iran: Omid Reza Mir Sayafi, jailed blogger died

Omid Reza Mir Sayafi, who had been sentenced to 30 months prison for insulting Islamic Republic Leaders last month, died in prsion today.Human Rights Activists in Iran site says[fa] the reason for his death has not been announced but he was in very bad psychological condition.

Maldives: Dissident And Anti-Islamic Sites Blocked

  18 March 2009

Several dissident and alleged anti-Islamic websites were filtered recently in Maldives. The Ministry of Islamic Affairs ordered the Telecommunication Authority of Maldives (TAM) to block access to those websites. Maldives Dissent informs: A week after President Anni announced his intention of turning the Maldives into a sanctuary for oppressed writers,...

Bahamas: To the Mothers…

  18 March 2009

Bahamian blogger Womanish Words missed International Women's Day and pays a late but meaningful tribute to the mothers of the world “who are most at risk globally, because of poverty, war and victimization”.

Tunisia: Remembering Tunisia's First Internet Prisoner

Tunisian Zouhair Yahyaoui will always be remembered among Tunisian activists as someone who had sacrificed his life for the struggle for freedom of speech. Four years after his death from a heart attack at the age of 36, after serving time in prison for articles he had published online, bloggers remember him as a role model and cyberactivism pioneer.

Cuba: Six Years After

  17 March 2009

Blog for Cuba maintains that six years after the island's Black Spring, “there has been no easing of the harsh repression of dissent in Cuba.”

Bermuda: Transparency Progress

  17 March 2009

Vexed Bermoothes says that the Attorney General's promise that the Bermudian public will have the opportunity to comment on a draft freedom of information law (which should allow for modifications before it goes to Parliament for debate) is “positive news.”

Trinidad & Tobago: Lack of Clear Vision

  16 March 2009

“Trinidad is so small that we can’t find criminals. We can’t find missing children. We can’t find a functional government or a serious opposition”: Attillah Springer is convinced that we are macoing but not seeing.

China: How to love the country

  16 March 2009

Chinageeks comments on human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng and his family's experience in pursuing social and political reform in China and discusses how to be and what it means to be a patriot in China.

Saudi Arabia: Forty Lashes for a 75-year-old Woman for ‘Mingling’ with Men

A 75-year-old Syrian woman was sentenced to 40 lashes, four months imprisonment and deportation from Saudi Arabia, for having two unrelated men in her house. The two men were also charged with ‘mingling' with an unrelated woman and sentenced to prison and lashes, sparking criticism for the country's judiciary and the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice. Saudi Arabia's bloggers speak up.

Iran: In Defence of the Bahá'í Minority

The Bahá'í minority in Iran has long been under pressure, and it seems the situation has become worse. Iranian authorities recently accused seven leaders of the Bahá'í faith of espionage. The Bahá'í themselves say they are being persecuted because of their religion.