Since 13 July 2013, five ethnic Azerbaijani human rights defenders detained in Tabriz prison have taken part in an ongoing hunger strike in protest at their conviction following an unfair trial. Mahmud Fezli, Latif Haseni, Ayat Mehrali Baglou, Behboud Gholizadeh and Shahram Radmehr are members of the organisation Yeni Gamoh, Read the rest of this entry »
Archive for the 'Front Line' Category
Ethnic Azerbaijani human rights defenders in detention in Iran resort to hunger strike after unfair trial
August 5, 2013Helping the police in Kenya can cost you dearly – human rights defender John Abok experienced it
June 30, 2013On 27 June 2013, human rights defender John Abok was arrested and held in police custody over allegations of impersonation. Read the rest of this entry »
SAVE THE DATE: MEA 2013 CEREMONY ON 8 OCTOBER IN GENEVA
June 29, 2013The City of Geneva and the Martin Ennals Foundation announce the 2013 edition of Martin Ennals Award, which will take place on Tuesday 8 October 2013 at 18h00 at the Uni-Dufour, Geneva. The Laureate will be announced Read the rest of this entry »
Human Rights award winner Biram Abeid returns triumphantly to Mauritania
June 28, 2013
(Picture courtesy of IRA Mauritania)
For those who are sceptical of human rights awards and their impact, the following report should give some food for thought: “Following a month-long trip across Europe,
The EU should toughen its stand on Bahrain on 30 June say 6 big NGOs
June 27, 2013A JOINT STATEMENT by the following 6 international NGOs: Front Line Defenders, Gulf Center for Human Rights (GCHR), Human Rights Watch (HRW), International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), International Partnership for Human Rights (IPHR), World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) urge the EU to call for the release of human rights defenders and peaceful protest leaders in Read the rest of this entry »
Two Women human rights defenders in Saudi Arabia sentenced to imprisonment and travel bans
June 21, 2013On 15 June 2013, women human rights defenders Wajeha Al-Huwaider and Fawzia Al-Oyouni were sentenced to ten months imprisonment to be followed by a two-year travel ban
Read the rest of this entry »
Bangladesh: detention of ill-treated human rights defender Mahmudur Rahman extended and charges confirmed
June 14, 2013On 12 June 2013, the pre-trial detention of human rights defender Mahmudur Rahman in Bangladesh was extended for three days by Metropolitan Magistrate Mohammad Harunur Rashid, who confirmed the charges of inciting violence. The human rights defender was arrested on 11 April 2013, and was subjected to severe torture whilst in custody. 
Colombian Human rights defender informed of plan to kill him and his wife
June 11, 2013On 3 June 2013, an email was sent to Colonel Julián González, Chief of Police for Sucre, Colombia, informing him of a plan to kill human rights defender Juan David Díaz Chamorro, his wife Malena Martínez, and one other person closely linked to the family. Several other human rights defenders were copied in the email. Juan David Díaz Chamorro is the leader of the Sucre branch of the Movimiento Nacional de Víctimas de Crímenes de Estado – MOVICE (National Movement of Victims of State Crimes) and the son of Eudaldo Díaz, assassinated Mayor of El Roble, Sucre. Read the rest of this entry »
Kazakhstan: 5 year prison sentence of human rights defender Roza Tuletaeva upheld
June 10, 2013
Roza TuletaevaOn 28 May 2013, the Supreme Court of Kazakhstan upheld the five-year prison sentence of human rights defender Roza Tuletaeva, Read the rest of this entry »
Tiananmen remembrance doesn’t stop in spite of Government’s efforts
June 5, 2013Twenty-four years after the bloodshed of Tiananmen, China’s Communist Party is exercising its traditional response to the unwelcome anniversary: detaining and silencing dissidents and blocking bereaved families who hope to observe the day with mourning from the graveyards; mobilizing extra police officers to ensure that no protests break out around Tiananmen Square; and scrubbing Chinese Internet sites of any references and images that refer to or even hint at the upheavals of 1989.
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)
On 4 June the police in China blocked the gate of a cemetery housing victims of the Tiananmen crackdown on its 24th anniversary. More than a dozen security officials deployed outside the stone gate at the Wanan graveyard near the hills of western Beijing, which mothers of the victims visit each year, and told AFP journalists to leave the area. Read the rest of this entry »
Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards 