Archive for the 'Human Rights Defenders' Category
February 7, 2013
With in mind that 13 February will be World Radio Day I report via Front Line that on 5 February 2013, human rights defender, Abdiasis Abdinur Ibrahim, also known as Koronto, was sentenced to one year in prison following an attempt to investigate the case of a woman who claimed to have been raped by state security forces. Abdiasis Abdinur Ibrahim is a radio journalist working for two private radio stations, Radio Dalsan and Radio Ergo, both broadcasting from Mogadishu.
The trial of Abdiasis Abdinur Ibrahim opened on 2 February 2013, approximately three weeks following his arrest and detention by police officers of the local Central Investigation Department (CID). During the hearing, the prosecution alleged that Abdiasis Abdinur Ibrahim fabricated the reported rape in a news story and intended, by so doing, to insult a state institution. The human rights defender was tried under Islamic Sharia law. Abdiasis Abdinur Ibrahim was also accused of entering a house without consent from the owner. The human rights defender had reportedly gone to the house of the reported rape victim to conduct an interview with her. In closing the case on the morning of 5 February, the prosecution accused Abdiasis Abdinur Ibrahim of distributing false information to various media outlets causing prejudice to the public trust of Somali security forces. On the same day, the court handed down its decision, convicting the journalist to one year in prison. Journalists and human rights defenders who observed the trial report gross due process irregularities as the trial was dominated by the prosecution and the accused journalist was not afforded sufficient opportunity to defend himself. Abdiasis Abdinur Ibrahim’s lawyer has announced his intention to appeal the conviction.
On 15 January, the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) had released a public statement requesting that Abdiasis Abdinur Ibrahim be immediately and unconditionally released and expressing concern over reports that some members of the police were putting pressure on the reported rape victim to retract her story.
Posted in Front Line, human rights, Human Rights Defenders | 1 Comment »
Tags: Abdiasis Abdinur Ibrahim, Criminal Investigation Department, freedom of expression, freedom of information, Front Line (NGO), journalists, Koronto, Mogadishu, rape, Sharia, Somali, Somalia, Trial, Unesco, World Radio Day 2012
February 6, 2013
In a long but interesting blog post in the Huffington News of 4 February 2013 Malik Siraj Akbar, takes issue with Pakistan’s reaction to criticism on it human rights record by organisations such as Amnesty International (AI) and Human Rights Watch (HRW). “A pack of lies” is Pakistan army’s favorite defensive phrase whenever it is blamed for committing human rights abuses or covertly sponsoring Islamic extremist organizations. On December 13, 2012, the Pakistan army described an Amnesty International report, The Hands of Cruelty, as “a pack of lies”. On February 2nd, the Pakistan army once again used its favorite ‘a pack of lies” phrase to reject the Human Right Watch World Report 2013. The army says the report is “propaganda driven and totally biased” which is “yet another attempt to malign Pakistan and its institutions through fabricated and unverified reports, completely favouring an anti-Pakistan agenda.”
The author then goes on to explain the powerful position of the army and why it reacts so vehemently. The part that is of special interest for the protection of human rights defenders follows:
“ThePakistan military does not solely suffice with rebuttals. It oftentimes turns unimaginably nasty against those who question its authority. In this case, the H.R.W.’s Pakistan Director Ali Dayan Hasan, a widely respected human rights defender, has become the focus of a malicious and misleading campaign in the national media. The military has unleashed a media trial of Mr. Hasan with the help of Pakistan’s largest media group, the Jang, questioning his integrity and even patriotism to the extent that it now raises genuine concerns about his personal safety and that of his family.
The News International, an English language newspaper published by the Jang media group, has become a tool in the hands of the military in the extremely dangerous campaign against Mr. Hasan. Last year, the newspaper bullied the human rights activist so much that it even published his U.S., Pakistan and London U.K. telephone numbers. This was a clear violation of journalistic standards but the newspaper apparently did so in order to encourage Islamic fundamentalists to directly threaten him on the phone numbers printed in the newspaper.
Ahmed Noorani, a young, angry and highly opinionated journalist, has been bullying Mr. Hasan and his organization for more than one year in his dispatches which, whenever attacking the H.R.W., hardly undergo the routine process of fact-checking, language correction and copy editing which is essential to sift opinion from reporting.
On February 24, 2014, the Citizens for Free and Responsible Media, a group of professional Pakistani journalists, sent a letter to the publisher and top editors of the News International, to express “our dismay at the unethical and false reporting in your paper … that is not only inaccurate and based on lies, but also endangers the life and safety of a Pakistani citizen.” One year later, the newspaper still continues to publish unsubstantiated personal attacks against Mr. Hasan which seem to be caused by the reporter’s personal dislike for the H.R.W.’s Pakistan head.
The Pakistani military and sections of the media must stop harassing Mr. Hasan. Such childish and unprofessional behavior does not help Pakistan’s democracy. Reports issued by H.R.W. and other international think-tanks and human rights groups are professional analyses of different countries. It is absolutely irresponsible and unethical to respond to such criticism with personal attacks on individual professionals affiliated with these organizations. It amounts to shooting the messenger. In a countries like Pakistan Mr. Hasan is a rare breed of bravery and hope for millions of citizens who want their rights to be respected and protected by their government. Human rights activists and journalists in Pakistan risk their lives on a daily basis to speak up for the citizens’ democratic rights and Pakistan’s largest media outlet should appreciate courageous Pakistan rights activists, such as Mr. Hasan, instead of endangering their lives.”
from:
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Tags: AI, Ali Dayan Hasan, Amnesty International, harassment, Hasan, HRW, human rights, Human Rights Defenders, Human Rights Watch, media framing, military, News International, Pakistan, Pakistani Armed Forces, protection, universality
February 5, 2013
On 25 January 2013, the Investigatory Committee of the Republic of Karelia, Russian Federation, resumed the investigation of the criminal case against human rights defender Maxim Efimov. He is charged with “actions aimed at the incitement of national, racial, or religious enmity, abasement of human dignity, and also propaganda of the exceptionality, superiority, or inferiority of individuals by reason of their attitude to religion, national, or racial affiliation, if these acts have been committed in public or with the use of mass media”, under Part 1 of Article 282 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
Maxim Efimov is Director of the Karelian regional branch of the inter-regional Youth Human Rights Group (YHRG). He is also Chief Editor of the human rights newspaper Chas nol (Hour zero). The above mentioned charges were brought following the publication by Maxim Efimov of an article in early 2012 regarding the Russian Orthodox Church, in which he criticised state sponsorship of the Church.
On 25 January 2013, investigator A A Voronin decided to reopen the investigation against Maxim Efimov and to seek a sixth expert opinion [SIC] on whether the article published by Maxim Efimov contained any illegal statement. The additional expert opinion was ordered on the basis of the alleged insufficient clarify of five previous expert opinions, which all found that the article did not contain any illegal statement. On 1 February 2013, Maxim Efimov sent a letter to the Director of the Investigatory Committee of Russian Federation, A Bastrykin, protesting the reopening of the investigation.
Front Line Defenders reiterates its concern at the risk of criminal prosecution facing Maxim Efimov, and calls on the authorities to immediately and unconditionally drop all charges against him. Front Line Defenders believes that the charges and criminal case brought against Maxim Efimov are solely motivated by his legitimate and peaceful human rights work in the Russian Federation, as is evident by the investigator’s failure to accept the unanimous decision by five previous expert opinions declaring that the article published by Maxim Efimov did not contain any illegal statement.
In May 2012 Human Rights First and other NGOs had already reported on sinister efforts – reminiscent of old Soviet practices – to force activist Maxim Efimov to undergo a psychiatric evaluation in a mental hospital. Ironically, while churchgoers were routinely hospitalized for ‘insanity,” this time it was Efimov’s criticism of the Orthodox Church that triggered his prosecution. Regional human rights group AGORA, whose lawyers represent Efimov, promised to conduct an independent psychiatric evaluation for their client, reminding the government that “the European Court has a clear and unequivocal position in relation to the grounds on which people can be placed in psychiatric hospitals,” which are hardly applicable in this case”. AGORA is preparing to take this case to the Supreme Court of Karelia. http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/2012/05/15/russian-court-to-activist-youre-crazy/
Meanwhile, state pressure on Efimov kept mounting. Two days after an arson attack on the Saint Catherine Cathedral in Petrozavodsk, Efimov was summoned for another round of questioning, and the investigator alleged that the attack was carried out by his supporters—another effort by the government to interfere with his work. Efimov had condemned the attack on the cathedral and sent condolences to congregants and denied any involvement, claiming that his being at the center of this arson investigation is baseless and is yet another example of interference in his daily work as a human rights defender in Karelia.
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Tags: Efimov, freedom from religion, freedom of expression, Front Line (NGO), Human right, Human rights defender, Human Rights First, intolerance, judicial harassment, Karelia, Maxim Efimov, Non-governmental organization, psychiatric abuse, Russia, Russian Orthodox Church, separation of church and state
February 5, 2013
Friday, 1 February 2013 Diego Martinez, national executive secretary, and Jeison Pava of the Permanent Committee for Human Rights (CPDH), have suffered threats in the last weeks. On 16th January, an anonymous call was made to the CPDH head office in Bogota, asking after Mr. Pava, his timetable and when he would be coming and going from the office. On the receptionist’s refusal to relay this information, the caller insulted her and said “We need that head” referring to Mr. Pava. On 28th January, Mr. Martinez’ bodyguard was detained by units of the National Police. Mr. Martinez informed the police officers that this would leave him without security, however the police officers continued their operation. The police then also asked Mr. Martinez to come with them, despite having committed no crime, but he refused. One of the police officers refused to identify himself, and when Mr. Martinez went to lodge a complaint at the police station, they point-blank refused to receive his report. The same police unit has since returned to the CPDH headquarters, threatening Mr. Martinez against denouncing the crime.
On 4th July 2012, Martinez and Pava were described as military targets. Other members of the CPDH human rights organization have also been threatened in recent months, including Harry Caicedo, director of the CPDH branch in Charco, Narino, whose house was shot at in the night on 13th January, following an arson attack months before. CPDH has been requesting security measures since August 2010 and in May 2012 was granted “precautionary measures” by the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights. In December 2012 the government finally provided the requested security. CPDH has expressed concern that, only one month on, in Mr. Martinez’ case, state forces removed the protection they are obligated to provide.
via Justice for Colombia news: Threats and hostilities against CPDH human rights defenders.
Posted in Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
Tags: attacks, Colombia, Diego Martinez, Human Rights Defenders, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Jeison Pava, Justice for Colombia, Permanent Committee for Human Rights, Police, precautionary measures, protection, threats
February 4, 2013
The pressure on human rights defenders in Zimbabwe is building in the run up to the referendum. Here is in short what happened to the leaders of two civil society organisations:
On 31 January 2013, approximately one hundred persons attended the community meeting organised by ZOYP (Zimbabwe Organization For Youth In Politics) and CCDZ (Centre for Conflict Development in Zimbabwe) in the Mbizo Youth Centre in Kwekwe to discuss developments in the drafting of the country’s new Constitution, including the bill of rights, before the draft is put to a referendum. During the meeting, which had been sanctioned by local police under the Public Order and Security Act, an armed group of hundreds of youths, reportedly affiliated to the ruling party ZANU PF and who identify themselves as “Al Shabab”, violently disrupted the meeting and threatened the participants. [ The youths were reportedly transported to the venue by bus by ZANU PF Chairman of Mbizo, and were dressed in overalls with President Mugabe’s face at the back. The youths carried heavy sticks and sang ZANU PF slogans and songs about President Mugabe, stating that whoever tries to question the President “will die like a dog”.] Human rights newsletters, cameras and other materials were stolen. Police did not intervene to ensure the safety of participants, who fled the meeting in fear of their lives. Organisers of the meeting, Nkosilathi Moyo and Jasper Maposa were targeted and threatened with death by the youths, who told them that their human rights activism was an attempt to “change the regime” and that the ZANU PF-led government will eliminate them if they continued to organise similar meetings in Kwekwe.
Following threats from the youths to follow them home and fearing for their safety, Nkosilathi Moyo and Jasper Maposa (heads of ZOYP and CCDZ respectively) went into hiding and have not been able to return to their regular activities. They subsequently submitted a complaint to police. To date, no investigation has been initiated by police.
On 2 February 2013, Mr Nkosilathi Moyo and Mr Jasper Maposa, were subjected to threats to drop the charges. Around 11am, Nkosilathi Moyo received a phone call from an unidentified number threatening him and Jasper Maposa to drop the charges at the police. Later in the same day, around 3pm, Jasper Maposa received another call from an unidentified number, renewing earlier threats and saying he was “fighting a losing battle.”
By the way, Al Shabab in early January 2013 has already stated that no civil society organisation or human rights defender would be allowed to operate in Kwekwe as they were “agents of regime change”. ZOYP has been subjected to previous acts of intimidation and harassment. One such example is a human rights defenders’ youth meeting, which was organised by ZOYP and held in Kwekwe Theatre on 16 November 2011. Although the meeting had been permitted by police, police and ZANU PF youths reportedly disrupted the meeting and presented ZOYP Director Nkosilathi Moyo with a trumped-up charge of defaming the state. Nkosilathi Moyo was subsequently sentenced to six months in prison. Furthermore, the offices of the organisation were raided in July 2011 and computers stolen. During the incident, Nkosilathi Moyo and Jasper Maposa were beaten and went into hiding. On 11 July 2011, a meeting organised with former US Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Mr Charles Ray, and young human rights defenders in Kwekwe was violently disrupted by Al Shabab, with the US envoy and ZOYP members fleeing for their lives.
Front Line Defenders is concerned by the threatening phone calls against Nkosilathi Moyo and Jasper Maposa and expresses grave concern at the failure of police to intervene and fulfil its duties to provide protection to the meeting’s participants.
Posted in Front Line, human rights, Human Rights Defenders | 2 Comments »
Tags: Centre for Conflict Development in Zimbabwe, civil society organisations, death threats, elections, freedom of assembly, freedom of association, Front Line (NGO), Human Rights Defenders, Jasper Maposa, Kwekwe, Nkosilathi Moyo, politics, protection, Public Order and Security Act, referendum, violence, ZANU PF, Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe Organization For Youth In Politics
February 3, 2013
Human rights defenders from Iran, Cambodia, Kenya, Uzbekistan, Colombia and Mauritania are finalists for the 2013 Front Line Award for Human Rights Defenders at Risk. The jury is made up of members of the Irish and the European Parliament as well as Front Line Defenders board member Noeline Blackwell.
The winner of the 2013 Front Line Award for Human Rights Defenders will be announced at a ceremony in Dublin later in the year.
Finalists for Front Line Award for Human Rights Defenders at Risk 2013 are:
Mam Sonando – Cambodia – has devoted his life to helping the poor and disenfranchised of Cambodia, fighting for their rights while also following the non-violent precepts of his Buddhist faith. He is a journalist and the Director of one of only three independent radio stations in Cambodia where the state has almost complete monopoly over the media, and crackdowns on free speech have led to widespread self-censorship. He is also founder and president of a national organisation called the Association of Democrats, which actively promotes democracy and human rights. He was arrested In early July 2012 and despite there being absolutely no evidence to link him with the so-called secessionist movement, he was found guilty on 1 October 2012 of instigating insurrection and incitement to take up arms against the state and sentenced to 20 years imprisonment.
Mansoureh Behkish – Iran – is a women’s rights activist and co-founder of Mothers of Khavaran and Mothers of Laleh Park. As a supporter of non-violent resistance and a HRD she has spent the past three decades empowering survivors and victims of human rights abuses. In particular she seeks to help the mothers, sisters and wives of the thousands imprisoned or executed by the Islamic Republic authorities, to seek justice through legal and humanitarian channels.As a result of her work as a HRD, she herself has faced continuous harassment, confiscation of her passport and violation of her right to travel and three terms of imprisonment.
David Rabelo Crespo – Colombia – has worked for 35 years in the defence of human rights. In the early years, he worked mainly in defence of social, economic and cultural rights, and later worked for worker’s rights, promoting social and union mobilisation. In more recent years, he has worked to defend the lives of others although in doing so he has put his own life at risk. Between 1998 and 2004 he was director of the Municipal Peace Council, a body devised to protect the lives of the local people who, with the arrival of the paramilitaries were at risk from the upsurge in assassinations of social and community leaders, and a series of massacres carried out with impunity. David Rabelo Crespo has devoted his life to promoting respect for human rights and international humanitarian standards in the Magdalena Medio region of Colombia, and even though he is now imprisoned he continues to work to protect the rights of political prisoners in Colombian prisons.
Bahtiyor Hamraev – Uzbekistan – has been a dedicated campaigner for human rights in Uzbekistan for the last 15 years. He has been head of the Djizak regional branch of the Human Rights Society of Uzbekistan (HRSU) and has documented human rights violations in this region. In recent years he has become the main contact with families of imprisoned human rights defenders, helping to spread the information about their conditions in detention, the torture and ill-treatment and helping to provide the families with legal aid and financial assistance. The price he has had to pay has sometimes been far too high, but despite all of these difficulties, he has continued to work, refused to leave the country and tried to make a difference in one of the worst human rights situations in the region. Sadly, Hamraev is suffering from terminal cancer, yet he continues to send information about human rights violations and to assist families of imprisoned human rights defenders.
Biram Dah Ould Abeid – Mauritania – has been threatened, defamed and harassed because of his work for human rights and against slavery in Mauritania. He has been arrested and ill-treated on several occasions and in April 2012 he was “disappeared” for several weeks into a secret, high-security government facility, without being able to contact to his family and without any legal assistance. It is believed he would have been killed but for the international outcry. He was released in September 2012 but has chosen to continue his work inside Mauritania.
Ruth Mumbi – Kenya – is a passionate community mobiliser, and is the founder and current National Coordinator of Bunge la Wamama, a women’s chapter of Bunge la Mwananchi a movement that conducts strong advocacy and campaigning on issues of social justice and accountability in different parts of Kenya. She was born and still lives in Kiamaiko, a Nairobi slum and she began her involvement in community mobilisation initiatives in the late 1990s, when she was barely 16 years of age.
For further information please contact Jim Loughran, Head of Communications, Front Line Defenders
Tel +353 (0)1 212 37 50
Mobile +353 (0)87 9377586
Email: jimloughran@frontlinedefenders.org
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Tags: awards, Cambodia, Colombia, Front Line, Human right, Human rights defender, Human Rights Defenders, Iran, Kenya, Mauritania, nominees 2013, Uzbekistan
February 2, 2013
Radhia Nasraoui, human rights defender and lawyer, is awarded the 2012 Olof Palme Prize, for her untiring work against torture and impunity for more than three decades. As a concerned and patriotic citizen, she has under severe pressure defended human rights in Tunisia and challenged authorities under the motto “We must use our voices. Not saying anything makes us accomplices of the oppression”.
Waleed Sami Abu al-Khair receives the 2012 Olof Palme Prize for his strong, self-sacrificing and sustained struggle to promote respect for human and civil rights for both men and women in Saudi Arabia. Together with like-minded citizens and colleagues, Waleed Sam Abu AlKhair does so with the noble goal of contributing to a just and modern society in his country and region.
THE OLOF PALME PRIZE, the Swedish labor movement’s most prestigious award since 1987 when the Olof Palme Fund’s Board decided to establish an annual prize for a particularly significant achievement in the spirit of Olof Palme. The prize consists of USD 75 000.
Posted in Human Rights Defenders | 1 Comment »
Tags: Advocacy Organizations, Human right, human rights advocates, Human Rights and Liberties, Human rights defender, labour movement, Middle East, Olof Palme, Radhia Nasraoui, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, Tunisia, Waleed Sami Abu al-Khair
February 2, 2013
Under the title “Urgent Appeals, theory and practice“, the NGO ‘Asian Human Rights Commission‘ reflects on the need and increasing practicality (especially thanks to IT) of conducting urgent appeals. The AHRC Urgent Appeals system was created to give a voice to those affected by human rights violations and it now concludes that “Patterns start to emerge as violations are documented across the continent, allowing us to take a more authoritative, systemic response, and to pinpoint the systems within each country that are breaking down. This way we are able to discover and explain why and how violations take place, and how they can most effectively be addressed. On this path, larger audiences have opened up to us and become involved: international NGOs and think tanks, national human rights commissions and United Nations bodies. The program and its coordinators have become a well-used tool for the international media and for human rights education programs. All this helps pave the way for radical reforms to improve, protect and to promote human rights in the region”.
for the full text of the reflection go to: http://www.humanrights.asia/news/urgent-appeals
To illustrate the point the AHRC comes at the same time with a call for action against what it calls a “witch hunt” by the Indian authorities against human rights defender Madhuri Krishnaswami of the Jagrat Dalit Adivasi Sangthan. In the most recent attack, the District Magistrate has written a letter to the Divisional Commissioner that found its way to Chief Secretary accusing the organisation to have links with Maoists and have demanded an inquiry into the issue. The attack is not a stray one but comes high on heels of an externment notice served on her by the same district administration in May, 2012 and subsequent attack on a JADS rally by the local goon with the administration looking away. Interestingly, the charge has been refuted by the police with the Inspector General of Police, categorically denying the presence of any Maoists activities in the reason.[The administration, evidently, is working on the behest of deeply entrenched vested interests whose corruption Madhuri and the organisation have continuously been exposing. The current attack, too, is an attempt to divert attention from the massive scam in the implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act in the area tipped to be worth more than 150 crore INR.]
At the same time the AHCR expresses great concern over the abduction of 4 human rights defenders in Pakistan by (probably) members of an outlawed religious organization. The unknown armed persons abducted six workers of a NGO including, two lady workers. However, after some time they threw the two women out of the vehicle. It is feared that the abducted workers would be assassinated as has happened in the past. Many health workers and human rights defenders have been killed after their abduction by such ‘religious groups’. The NGO, ‘HAND’, works under the UN programme. The abducted persons and female workers who were working in the Noor Mohammad Village Goth, Mauripur, Karachi, where they have been distributing medicines and rations to the residents for some time. The male abductees were Engineer Amjad Ali Siyal, Mohammad Ashfaq, dispenser, Khurram Ahmad Abbas, dispenser and driver Humayun Ahmad, driver. The released women, Miss. Shakila and Miss. Rashida told police that the kidnappers had taken the four abducted workers in a car towards Balochistan. The police claim that they were abducted by one of the banned Muslim extremist groups who are opposed to the polio vaccination programme and this incident due to the campaign against NGO volunteers. It is believed that the abductors are convinced that they are working for the interests of America or the West.
Posted in AHRC, human rights, Human Rights Defenders | 1 Comment »
Tags: AHRC, Asian Human Rights Commission, dalits, HAND, human rights, Human Rights and Liberties, Human Rights Defenders, India, Madhuri Krishnaswami, NGO, Non-governmental organization, Pakistan, United Nations, urgent action, urgent appeals
February 1, 2013
Two NGOs, Stockholm-based Civil Rights Defenders and Dublin-based Front Line Defenders, have expressed concern for the safety of two human rights defenders in the Transnistria, the internationally unrecognised separatist republic of Moldova. Stepan Popovsky andVladimir Maimust are the subject of judicial harassment and threats by the local administration.
On 9 January 2013, Stepan Popovsky, a private lawyer and chairperson of the Republican Social Movement for the Protection of Property and Social Rights of Peasants, held a meeting where he provided legal support to local peasants. The meeting was interrupted by police officers accusing him of trespassing on a private area, although the Criminal Code of Transnistria does not define trespassing as a criminal offense. One week after the incident, Stepan Popovsky was informed that a criminal case had been initiated against him. He responded with a letter of complaint to the local Minister of Internal Affairs. Since then, Stepan Popovsky has been repeatedly threatened by Transnistrian region’s law enforcement officers while performing his profession as a lawyer. A few months earlier, Stepan Popovsky was the subject of a defamatory media campaign that presented him as a foreign spy earning millions of dollars by buying local real estate.
The human rights lawyer Vladimir Maimust is also under pressure from the Transnistrian authorities. He is the lawyer of a person who was detained by the Transnistrian authorities on 23 June 2012 and who later died from suffocation in jail on 21 November 2012. Vladimir Maimust filed a complaint to the local Investigation Committee and to the Transnistrian leader Yevgeny Shevchuk, in which he accused the investigator of abuse of power and negligence that led to the death of his client. Vladimir Maimust was later threatened by KGB agents “to be included in the list of persons whose activity on the territory of the republic has to be undermined” and that criminal charges can be brought against him. During a working visit to the Investigation Committee on 11 January 2013, the human rights lawyer was beaten and injured by four men in police uniform who also tried to slip an unknown package into his pocket, accusing him of being drunk although medical expertise later confirmed that there was no sign of alcohol consumption. A criminal case has been recently opened against Vladimir Maimust for conspiracy. If found guilty, he may face up to 12 years in prison.
Civil Rights Defenders and Front Line Defenders believe that the threats and the fabricated criminal cases against Stepan Popovsky and Vladimir Maimust are directly related to their human rights work. The organisations urge the representatives of the Transnistrian administration to launch an immediate and impartial investigation into the threats against the human rights defenders, to protect them from any further threats or attacks, and to ensure that all human rights defenders in the region can carry out their legitimate human rights activities without fear of reprisals and free of all restrictions, including judicial harassment.
http://www.frontlinedefenders.org/node/21494
http://www.civilrightsdefenders.org/news/statements/threats-against-human-rights-defenders-must-be-condemned-and-investigated/
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Tags: Civil Rights Defenders, Front Line Defenders, harassment, human rights, Human Rights and Liberties, Human Rights Defenders, KGB, lawyers, Moldova, Stepan Popovsky, threats, Transnistria, Vladimir Maimust
The trial of Abdiasis Abdinur Ibrahim opened on 2 February 2013, approximately three weeks following his arrest and detention by police officers of the local Central Investigation Department (CID). During the hearing, the prosecution alleged that Abdiasis Abdinur Ibrahim fabricated the reported rape in a news story and intended, by so doing, to insult a state institution. The human rights defender was tried under Islamic Sharia law. Abdiasis Abdinur Ibrahim was also accused of entering a house without consent from the owner. The human rights defender had reportedly gone to the house of the reported rape victim to conduct an interview with her. In closing the case on the morning of 5 February, the prosecution accused Abdiasis Abdinur Ibrahim of distributing false information to various media outlets causing prejudice to the public trust of Somali security forces. On the same day, the court handed down its decision, convicting the journalist to one year in prison. Journalists and human rights defenders who observed the trial report gross due process irregularities as the trial was dominated by the prosecution and the accused journalist was not afforded sufficient opportunity to defend himself. Abdiasis Abdinur Ibrahim’s lawyer has announced his intention to appeal the conviction.
Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards 