One should be grateful for small gains: Front Line Defenders reported that on 11 May 2013, the Gambian government released renowned Muslim cleric and human rights defender, Iman Baba Leigh, to whose arrest I referred earlier. The human rights defender was arrested on 3 December 2012, and was detained incommunicado for five months for declaring the execution of nine death row inmates to be inimical to Islamic teaching. Imam Baba Leigh Read the rest of this entry »
Archive for the 'organisations' Category
AI 2013 report comes with short video
May 29, 2013
Amnesty International’s 2013 report comes with an introductory video which shows governments are using the excuse of ‘internal affairs’ in shameful attempts to block concerted international action to resolve human rights emergencies.
Related articles
- Amnesty International publishes State of the World 2013, which covers 2012 (thoolen.wordpress.com)
Russian NGO KHRC Memorial attacked after being labeled foreign agent
May 28, 2013On 18 May 2013, a meeting of the Komi Human Rights Commission Memorial (KHRC Memorial) was aggressively interrupted by members of the radical nationalist group “Rubezh Severa” (Northern Border). Members of KHRC Memorial had gathered in a local cafeteria in Syktyvkar, the capital of the Komi Republic, Russia, to report on their work and financial situation for the period 2011-13. The meeting was public, and several journalists had been invited. As soon as the meeting began, members of the radical right group entered the room, calling the group foreign agents and waving banners, one of which read “Motherland for Sale, Reasonable Price”. Members of the human rights group managed to force the intruders out of the café and called the police, but not before two leaders, Igor Sazhin and Pavel Andreyev had ketchup thrown at their heads. The police detained the intruders and released them after administrative protocol had been completed. The incident comes just a few weeks after the KHRC Memorial received a warning from the Prosecutor’s Office on 27 April 2013, stating that some of its activities, such as its participation in protest actions were ‘political activity’. As such, the organisation is required to register as a ‘foreign agent‘ under the controversial ‘Foreign Agents’ Law, as it also receives funds from abroad. Front Line Defenders believes the attack is a possible effect of the new ‘Foreign Agents’ Law.
Respected Iranian lawyer in exile, Karim Lahidji, elected President of the FIDH
May 28, 2013
“Free Bialatski!”, “Free Nabil” shouted by FIDH in the streets of Istanbul
May 27, 2013

The participants of the 38th Congress of the International Human Rights Federation (FIDH), which has started on 23 May in Istanbul, organized a procession with the demand to release their colleagues political prisoners Read the rest of this entry »
Vietnam sentences eight human rights defender in appeal
May 27, 2013On 23 May 2013 the appeal trials of Messrs Ho Duc Hoa, Thai Van Dung, Paulus Le Son, Nguyen Xuan Anh, Tran Minh Nhat, Nguyen Dinh Cuong, Ho Van Oanh and Nguyen Van Duyet were heard in a court in the northern city of Vinh, Vietnam. International observers were not allowed access to the hearing and there was a heavy police presence outside the court. Read the rest of this entry »
Arbitrary arrest of human rights defender Kuch Veng in Cambodia
May 27, 2013
via Cambodia: Arbitrary arrest of human rights defender Mr Kuch Veng | Front Line.
NEPAL: Asian Legal Resource Centre addresses plight of human rights defenders
May 24, 2013On 23 May 2013, the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) submitted a detailed statement to the UN concerning the increased pressure on HRDs in Nepal. Here are some highlights:
1. The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) wishes to highlight the continuing need for closer monitoring by the Human Rights Council and the international community of the renewed threats and attacks that human rights defenders working in Nepal have had to face since the beginning of the year. Worries about potential reprisals from the former belligerents have arisen following progress in the investigation and prosecution of cases of human rights violations committed during the conflict. Read the rest of this entry »
Amnesty International says new Greek legislation fuels asylum-seeker abuse
May 24, 2013(Undocumented immigrants in the courtyard of a detention centre near the Evros River in northern Greece – (c) Reuters)
I would be amiss in not reporting the criticism by Amnesty International of my adopted home country: Read the rest of this entry »
Bahrain and human rights: contrasting views
May 23, 2013
Bahrain‘s Human Rights Minister during a visit to Morocco on 22 May stated: “Bahrain Has Presented Itself as a Model in Implementing BICI’s Recommendations”
He said that despite the regretful incidents that happened in 2011, the kingdom of Bahrain has presented itself as a model in its wise dealing with those events, highlighting Bahrain’s bold steps in this regard, including the establishment of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI), led by international eminent judges, the acceptance of the recommendations featuring in BICI’s final report and the political leadership’s commitment to implementing them, out of its belief in the importance of protecting human rights. Read the rest of this entry »
