Stories about Human Rights from March, 2009
Guatemala: A Violin in Silence After Murder of Youth
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.
Cuba: Six Years After “Black Spring”
March 18-20 marks the sixth anniversary of the Cuban Black Spring. Cuban bloggers remember...
Iran: Omid Reza Mir Sayafi talked about New Year
Omid Reza Mir Sayafi,Iranian blogger and journalist who died in prison yesterday, talked about Iranian new year in his blog,Rooz Negar, 3 years ago. He invited [fa] people to lay flowers on the tomb of Iranian war martyrs.
Omid Reza Mir Sayafi, Iranian blogger Dies in Prison
Omid Reza Mir Sayafi, a 29-year old Iranian blogger and journalist died in Evin Prison in Tehran on March 18. In December, he was sentenced to two and half years in prison for allegedly insulting religious leaders, and engaging in propaganda against the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Hong Kong: Ng-hao big-naug or you are dead!
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
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…
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”.
China: A Visit to Chen Guangcheng's Family
ESWN translated Wang Keqin's report on his attempt to visit human rights activist Chen Guangcheng's family, and how Wang had been chased out of the village.
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
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
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.”
Ukraine: Boy Dies of Cancer As Bank Wouldn’t Give Money Back
Ukrainiana writes about a 12-year-old boy who died of cancer at a Donetsk hospital, while his family tried to find money to be able to afford treatment abroad: “Oleksiy's aunt had Hr. 32,000 (approximately $4,000) on deposit at Pryvatbank. She wanted to use her savings to save Oleksiy. Prvyatbank wouldn’t...
Czech Republic, Slovakia: 2nd Republic of Czechoslovakia
The Reference Frame writes about the 70th anniversary of the disintegration of the Second Republic of Czechoslovakia.
Trinidad & Tobago: Lack of Clear Vision
“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.
Cuba: Reported Arrests
Blog for Cuba and Uncommon Sense both blog about dissident arrests on the island.
China: How to love the country
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.
Lebanon: Demonstrating for Migrant Workers rights
“I worked for three years and never received my salary” and “The Mister Beats Madame Everyday” are some of the slogans raised during a demonstration to support migrant workers in Lebanon on the occasion of International Women’s Day.