Authorities in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou are continuing to hold human rights lawyer Yang Maodong, better known as Guo Feixiong, without criminal activists said on 3 October. He was criminally detained on 8 August on charges of “incitement to disturb public order,” after being involved in anti-censorship and anti-corruption protests. “The authorities have made one arrest after the other in recent months, and this is still going on,” said Beijing-based fellow activist and poet Wang Zang, Read the rest of this entry »
Archive for the 'human rights' Category
Chinese Human Rights Defenders: “None of us is safe, and any one of us could be next”
October 4, 2013Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies assesses UN Human Rights Council latest session
October 4, 2013Looking back at the 24th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council which came to an end last Friday, the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies [CIHRS] is disappointed to see how timid the Council becomes when dealing with human rights in the Arab region. Indeed, the people of Syria, Sudan, Bahrain, Egypt, Palestine, and Yemen need all the support they can get to move their countries towards political stability and the rule of law. The Council should be a driving force in confronting cases of human rights violations and making recommendations to address them.
CIHRS notes with regret Read the rest of this entry »
Threats against organisers of human rights film festival over documentary on HRD Azimjan Askarov detained in Kyrgyzstan
October 3, 2013On the morning of 19 September 2013, a group of unidentified women threatened and harassed the organisers of human rights film festival “Bir Duino Kyrgyzstan” (One World Kyrgyzstan) demanding that the documentary about imprisoned human rights defender Azimjan Askarov – produced by Freedom House –should not be projected. The film festival opened in Bishkek on 18 September 2013. The annual film festival is organised by human rights group Bir-Duino Kyrzystan, led by human rights defender Ms Tolekan Ismailova, the director of Human Rights Centre ‘Citizens Against Corruption’.
Azimjan Askarov is a human rights defender who spent 25 years documenting human rights abuses in Kyrgyzstan until his arrest in 2010. He is currently serving a life sentence after an unfair trial during which he was beaten in detention and denied access to his lawyer. The film festival organisers do not share the opinion of some politicians that he film could provoke inter-ethnic clashes
[On 28 September 2012, at previous festival edition, the organisers were banned from screening a documentary on the experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in the Islamic world, after a complaint was lodged by the Prosecutor’s Office, which considered the film to be “extremist, inciting religious hatred and aimed at dishonouring Muslims”. Following this decision, Tolekan Ismailova was targeted with a defamation campaign in the media and the Human Rights Centre ‘Citizens Against Corruption’ received threats. Front Line Defenders issued an urgent appeal on this case on 19 October 2012 http://www.frontlinedefenders.org/node/20249, and an update on 4 December 2012 http://www.frontlinedefenders.org/node/21003%5D
Human rights defenders are not enemies of the state, says national conference in Dhaka
October 3, 2013The Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in Bangladesh, a member of the Law Commission, and several rights activists and academics said on Saturday 28 september that the state should not treat human rights defenders as its enemy. They also expressed concern over the use of several laws against human rights defenders Read the rest of this entry »
Russia: Unprecedented level of harassment against Memorial as “foreign agent”
October 3, 2013The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), reports on 2 October 2013 on the ongoing judicial proceedings against the Anti-Discrimination Centre “Memorial” (ADC Memorial), which has now become the first NGO in Russia facing both administrative and civil proceedings for the same “offence” on the basis of the law on so-called “foreign agents”. Read the rest of this entry »
In run-up to meeting with OSCE observers authorities of Nakhichevan threaten local human rights defenders with physical reprisal
October 2, 2013In the context of reprisals here is a report from Panorama concerning Azerbaijan, admittedly from an Armenian news source: Read the rest of this entry »
Job opportunity in Beirut for Communication Officer, deadline 7 October
October 2, 2013Justice without Frontiers (JWF) a secular, nonprofit, NGO in Lebanon seeks a (part-time) Communication Officer whose key responsibilities are:
● To develop and implement an integrated media strategy
● To document the process of preparation of JWF activities
● Deliver high quality local, national (and in some instances international) media coverage for JWF projects.
● Responsible for delivering accurate, timely and compelling information and stories that illustrate and raise the profile of projects implemented by JWF.
● Write & produce content – for the website and external media outlets such as Facebook sub-pages, e-actions, emails, and web pages.
● Monitor and evaluate media coverage generated and to draw lessons to improve coverage.
● Build and maintain excellent relationships with key media players, journalists and broadcasters in Lebanon and regionally and internationally.
● Develop and regularly maintain a national database of media contacts.
● Coordinate the production of IEC materials related to the project: billboard-posters-pamphlets-newsletter-song&hellipetc
● Review and assist in the development of proposals, progress reports, and final reports as per donor requirements
Among the Qualifications and Competencies:
● A Bachelor’s degree in journalism or related field.
● Knowledge of local, national and international media (including press, internet, print)
● Native Arabic and excellent English skills (writing, reading, and correspondence).
● IT skills (Word, Excel, power point&hellip)
To Apply: submit a cover letter describing your experience what you would bring to the organization, and your salary requirements; along with a CV and contact information for three professional references; and send to: jwficc@yahoo.com; jwf@jwf.org.lb by October 7, 2013.
Kazakhstan: Court upholds psychiatric confinement of human rights lawyer Zinaida Mukhortova
October 1, 2013On 27 September 2013, Karaganda’s regional court of Karaganda confirmed the decision of the Balkhash Court to approve the forced psychiatric confinement of human rights defender and lawyer Zinaida Mukhortova on which this blog reported earlier. Read the rest of this entry »
Euro MPs of the Green group nominate Snowden for Sakharov Prize 2013
October 1, 2013The Sakharov Prize for freedom of thought is given by the European Parliament annually since 1988. Previous recipients include Nelson Mandela and Aung San Suu Kyi. Among the nominees for this year are Malala Yousufzai, the Pakistani girl shot in the head by the Taliban last year,…and – this was to be expected since the controversy broke – the US whistleblower Edward Snowden. He was nominated on Monday by the Green group in the European Parliament. His nomination is in recognition of his “enormous service” to human rights and to the European citizens, the Green group said. The winner of the 50,000-Euro prize will be announced on October 10 and is awarded in Strasbourg on November 20. [On August 30, Snowden received the biennial Whistle Blower Award 2013 in Germany, in recognition of his “bold efforts” to expose the monitoring of communications data by his former employer.}
Euro MPs nominate Snowden for rights prize – Europe – Al Jazeera English.
Related articles
- Snowden shortlisted for EU prize (bbc.co.uk)
- US whistleblower Edward Snowden nominated for Sakharov Prize (eutimes.net)
UN Human Rights Council should not be a bystander on reprisals, say two Hungarian Ambassadors
October 1, 2013In the Monitor of the ISHR of 30 September 2013, Ambassadors András Dékány and Istvan Lakatos of Hungary expresses an important opinion regarding the issue of reprisals against human rights defenders. As it is short here is the full text:
Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards 