Stories about Protest from July, 2021
How a swimming pool became Puerto Rico's symbol of climate change and corruption
Critics of a swimming pool that was destroyed during hurricane Maria in 2017 say that it is being rebuilt against Puerto Rico's own environmental regulations.
Iranian state comes down hard on protests over ‘Thirsty Khuzestan’
Three years ago, protests broke out in Iran's richest province of Khuzestan against water shortages. Like today's, these were also met with force, as protesters blame government corruption and mismanagement.
Hong Kong hands down first guilty sentence on terrorism and inciting secession charges under national security law
The special High Court's judgement was based on 'all the relevant circumstances' and the undisputed understanding that the slogan was 'capable of' inciting others to commit secession.
The French government’s U-turn on regional languages
A new law passed in May 2021 has reignited the debate around France's regional languages
The “ticket to happy life” politics of Indian marriages in the context of dowry-related violence
The recent death of 24-year-old medical student Vismaya Nair in the Indian state of Kerala has sparked widespread outrage and renewed discussions over dowries and domestic violence in India.
Street art protest in Kazakhstan becomes routine
Since Nazarbayev’s resignation in 2019, new protest movements in Kazakhstan have chosen street art as their preferred tactic. In this case, the target is a public utility hut in Almaty.
‘Courage is accumulative,’ said director of Hong Kong protest documentary at 2021 Cannes Festival
"This is a paradox, only if I stay in Hong Kong I can enjoy freedom, a freedom to overcome fear."
State escalates attacks on media freedom and civil society in Belarus
Since the start of July, dozens of civil society organisations and independent media outlets in Belarus have faced law enforcement raids, searches and staff detentions.
The year of the ‘orange handkerchief’ for State-Church separation in Argentina
With the slogan "Church and State: Different Matters," this campaign fights for the establishment of a secular Argentine State that does not allocate public funds for the Catholic Church.
Government-appointed rector removed from office in an overnight decree
After six months of protests, government-appointed rector Melih Bulu was removed from office in a late-night presidential decree that was announced in the official gazette.
From Cuba, with VPN
“I realized what was happening and immediately thought that in a few minutes the internet service in Cuba, or at least in San Antonio de los Baños, would be interrupted.”
Georgia mourns the death of a journalist
Known among his TV Pirveli colleagues as Lekso, journalist and cameraman Aleksandre Lashkarava, 37, was found dead in his apartment on July 11 in Tbilisi.
A decade after the first siege, Assad's regime besieges Daraa, the cradle of the Syrian Revolution
Calls for solidarity and global pressure to end the blockade have risen worldwide, amidst silence from key regional and international players.
EU flag torn down from Georgian Parliament in second day of far-right street violence
Several thousand people including queer rights activists and supporters as well as opposition leaders gathered outside the parliament building in Tbilisi to protest violence against LGBTQI+ Pride organizers.
Malaysian artists and activists face probe over a short film depicting police brutality
"These ongoing harassments against activists, journalists, and artists attempt to silence our voice and deflect the public pressure on the prevalent cases of custodial death in the past few months."
Environmentalists stage protest in front of Azerbaijan's Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources
Environmentalists staged a protest in front of the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources in Baku, citing deforestation and the long term lease of forest lands to private holders.
Will President Moïse's assassination bring stability or unleash even more chaos in Haiti?
Moïse's killing comes just five months after the speech in which he claimed his political invincibility, making him the first sitting president to be assassinated in Haiti’s modern political history.
Tbilisi Pride march canceled amid violent attacks
March for Dignity, a Pride March organized in Tbilisi was cancelled by the organizers amid violence and attacks against the organizers of the event and journalists.
Groups call for the release of Mother Nature environmental activists in Cambodia
"The work that activists undertake should be praised rather than hampered, and their voices should be listened to rather than silenced."
Women protest across the country as Turkey officially withdraws from the Istanbul Convention
Thousands of women marched across largest cities in Turkey on July 1, against Turkey's official withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention.
A young activist’s fight for gender equality and democracy in Thailand
"I think everyone should be a feminist, because if it’s a true democracy, the people should be supreme, and every person should be equal, no matter their gender or class."