Stories about Human Rights from June, 2012
Trinidad & Tobago: Open Letter
The members of CatchAFyah Caribbean Feminist Network signed an open letter to Senator Verna St. Rose Greaves, Minister of Gender, Youth and Child Development in Trinidad & Tobago, praising her for her “commitment to the rights of marginalised groups…”, particularly abused children, women and the LGBTQ community.
Saudi Arabia: “Release Our Detainees or Put Them on Trial!”
The families of Saudi political detainees held a protest inside two shopping centres in the capital Riyadh, calling upon the government to release their relatives or put them on trial last night. Hundreds of people are held in Saudi Arabia without charges or trial.
Azerbaijan: Sacha Baron Cohen's The Dictator Withdrawn
Uncut, an Index on Censorship blog, says that Sacha Baron Cohen's The Dictator has been withdrawn from a cinema in Baku, the capital of oil-rich Azerbaijan, for ‘technical reasons.’ The blog draws comparisons between the lifestyle and rule of the fictional Admiral General Aladeen and Azerbaijan's president, Ilham Aliyev.
Armenia: U.S. Honors Human Rights Advocates
Unzipped comments on the award of three prizes recognizing human rights advocates in Armenia. The award ceremony, attended by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, honored Artur Sakunts, whose office was recently attacked by nationalists, Tsovinar Nazarian, who campaigns against hazing in the military, and Epress, an online publication. The...
Jailed Iranian Blogger Begins Dry Hunger Strike
The painful story of Iranian bloggers has a new face these days: Hossein Ronaghi Maleki, a jailed blogger who is serving a 15-year sentence in prison. Hossein has been on hunger strike since May, and has now stopped drinking water as well.
China: Tiananmen Political Prisoner Li Wangyang Found Dead
Li Wangyang, a Chinese political prisoner who spent most of his life in detention, was found dead on the morning of Wednesday 6 June, after being interviewed by overseas media about the June 4 (Tiananmen Square) Massacre of 1989 and the life of political prisoners in China. His death has provoked suspicions of foul play.
Pakistan: Suspected Honor Killing of Five Girls for Celebrating with Boys
Five girls are reported to have been killed in Kohistan, Pakistan, for dancing and listening to music in the presence of boys at a marriage celebration after being convicted by a jirga tribal court.
Bahrain: Twitter User Investigated for Tweet
Bahraini Twitter user Mohammed Hasan (@Safybh) says he was called for questioning by the Bahrain Intelligence Agency yesterday (June 5). “After my tweet appeared on @ajstream I received an order to go to the #Bahrain intelligence agency today #AJStream,” he reports on Twitter. Al Jazeera Stream is a programme on...
Bangladesh: Journalists Advised to Stay Away From Police
The year 2012 has particularly been a bad year for Bangladeshi journalists. A number of them were subjected to police brutality while on duty, violently assaulted and even murdered by miscreants. The netizens have joined the journalists in protest.
Bahrain: Activist Nabeel Rajab Arrested Over Tweets
“My father [Human Rights Defender] Nabeel Rajab is arrested again #Bahrain @NABEELRAJAB,” tweets Adam Nabeel Rajab from Bahrain. The activist is being detained for seven days pending investigation over comments he published on Twitter.
Yemen: The Sheikh, Women and the NYT
Yemeni netizens are enraged by Sheikh Hamid Al-Ahmar, a member of Al Islah’s political leadership, who allegedly made an offensive statement regarding Yemeni revolutionary women to the New York Times. On Twitter, the battle rages as the Sheikh denies he made the comments and the newspaper is yet to show proof of what it says he said.
Tajikistan: Lawyers Use Blogs to Provide Legal Advice
Internet users in Tajikistan can now get free legal consultation online. A Tajik NGO has trained [ru] a group of lawyers in running personal blogs through which they provide legal advice to anyone in the country.
Honduras: Human Rights Delegation Blogs Findings
The Honduras Human Rights Delegation of May 2012 is “a delegation of academics, human rights and labor activists, Canadian and U.S. citizens, many with extensive experience in Honduras, organized by U.S. and Canadian-based human rights groups Rights Action and Alliance for Global Justice.” The delegation visited Honduras from May 19-28,...
Macedonia: One Year Since the Murder of Martin Neshkovski
It has been one year since the murder of Martin Neshkovski by Prime Minister's bodyguard during the post-election celebration on June 6, 2011. The authorities’ attempts to cover up the murder sparked the 2011 protests against police brutality. To commemorate [mk], activists lit candles on the crime scene in the...
Brazil: Magazine Gives Homeless People a Chance
Ocas Magazine, handed out on the streets of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro since 2002, is one such publication that contains information that sets it apart from the mainstream press in Brazil. But it goes even further than that. It also provides a new start and work opportunities for the homeless and people who are at social risk.
Saudi Arabia: Moral Courage to Speak Up
Saudi blogger Eman Al Najfan shares her thoughts on Manal Al Sharif, a women's rights activist, in this post. “[I]n Saudi, there are many women and men who oppose how women are treated in Saudi, but rarely do you find someone who’s willing to come out in public and state...
Ukraine: A Roma Camp Burned Down in Kyiv
On its Facebook page, the Human Rights Information Center posted a photo report [uk] on the demolition of a Roma camp in Kyiv, which was home to some 70 people, most of them children, until May 31, when 15 men showed up and burned the camp down, ordering the residents...
Afghanistan: Girls Poisoned for Attending School
Although a ban on education for girls and women in Afghanistan was lifted after the fall of the Taliban in 2001, female students continue being targeted by fundamentalists for attending school. In a recent string of attacks in the northeastern Afghan province of Takhar, hundreds of girls were poisoned at their schools.
Ethiopia: The Role of Journalists Under Dictatorships
A video showing Ethiopian Prime Minster Meles Zenawi being heckled at the 2012 G8 Food Security Symposium has sparked a debate about the role of journalists in authoritarian regimes. Ethiopian activist and journalist Abebe Gellaw is seen in the video shouting “Freedom, Freedom, Meles Zenawi is a dictator, you are committing crime against humanity.”
Mauritania: Students Sacked because of Activism
The story of the expulsion of students from Nouakchott University due to their activism has resurfaced, this time following a decision by the disciplinary council at the Medicine Faculty to sack a group of students who held a voluntary week to clean the faculty. That decision was met with disappointment by their colleagues, who considered it as a threat to all medicine students and an offense to them. Ahmed Jeddou reviews the situation, in this post originally written in Arabic.
Iran: A Blogger's Life in Danger
Hossein Ronaghi Maleki,jailed blogger,has started his hunger strike since last Saturday.His health conditions are in dire situation and he was moved for two hours to a hospital [fa].Another political prisoner started[fa] hunger strike to support him.
