Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards

Just now the Martin Ennals Foundation announced that the three Final Nominees of the 2016 Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders are:  Zone 9 Bloggers
Kality prison which holds many journalists and political prisoners has 8 zones. Zone 9 is a metaphorical expression for Ethiopia as a whole where political freedoms are restricted. They write opinion pieces and feature articles that are focused on constitutionalism, economic, educational and cultural issues in. They document human rights abuses and violations of law by both state and non-state actors. Furthermore, they shed light onto the situation of political prisoners in Ethiopia. Two weeks after creating their blog, it was blocked; and six of the members were arrested and charged with terrorism. Although they have now been released, three are in exile while those still in Ethiopia are banned from travel.

Ilham Tohti
A renowned Uyghur intellectual in China, he has worked for two decades to foster dialogue and understanding between Uyghurs and Chinese. He has rejected separatism and sought reconciliation based on a respect for Uyghur culture. Beginning in 1994, he began to write about problems and abuses in Xinjiang, which led to official surveillance. From 1999 to 2003 he was barred from teaching, after posting information on Uyghurs who had been arrested, killed and “disappeared” during and after protests. Ilham Tohti’s was arrested on January 15, 2014. He was charged with separatism and sentenced to life imprisonment after a two-day trial.

Razan Zaitouneh
A prominent human rights lawyer, activist, and journalist in Syria, Razan has dedicated her life to defending political prisoners, documenting crimes against humanity, and helping others free themselves from oppression. This resulted in a travel ban in 2002. Following the beginning of the conflict in 2011, she founded the Violations Documentation Center (VDC), which documents the death toll and treatment in Syria’s prisons. With the VDC, she compiled lists of those detained, executed, and disappeared. On December 9, 2013, a group of masked gunmen stormed the VDC office in Douma, a city near Damascus and kidnapped Razan along with her husband, Wael Hamada, and two colleagues. Their whereabouts remain unknown.

For more information such as the full press release (English, French, Amharic, Arabic, and Chinese), bios in English, French and the language of the finalist, photos and a short video, see www.martinennalsaward.org 

This entry was posted on April 27, 2016 at 12:00 and is filed under awards, films, human rights, Human Rights Defenders, MEA.

Tags: "Zone 9” bloggers, announcement, China, detention, Ethiopia, final nominees 2016, Human Rights Defenders, Ilham Tohti, Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders, MEA 2016, Razan Zaitouneh, Syria, Uyghur, Violations Documentation Center (VDC), Zeitouneh