Posts Tagged ‘freedom of expression’
July 3, 2016
A Turkish court on Thursday 30 June 2016 released a prominent press freedom advocate and leading human rights defender, two of three activists put under pre-trial arrest on June 20 for participating in a solidarity campaign with a pro-Kurdish daily newspaper. [see: https://thoolen.wordpress.com/2016/06/23/turkey-outcry-over-detention-of-human-rights-defenders-is-even-russia-too-much/]
Sebnem Korur Fincanci, president of the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey, and Erol Onderoglu, Turkey’s representative to Reporters Without Borders, are to remain free pending trial on charges of “propaganda for terror organization PKK,” or the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, according to the state-run Anadolu Agency. The first hearing is scheduled for November 8. A different court is handling the case against writer and journalist Ahmet Nesin and there has been no decision yet on the possibility of his release pending trial, according to Anadolu.
The three had participated in a solidarity campaign taking turns as co-editors in support of Ozgur Gundem, a pro-Kurdish publication subject to multiple investigations and lawsuits.
Source: Human rights and media activist released in Turkey – Watertown Public Opinion: Europe
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders, RSF | 1 Comment »
Tags: Ahmet Nesin, Erol Önderoglu, freedom of expression, Human Rights Defenders, Human Rights Foundation of Turkey, Journalist, Kurdish cause, Ozgur Gundem, release, Reporters without Borders, Turkey, Şebnem Korur Fincancı
June 10, 2016
The Deutsche Welle (DW) Freedom of Speech Award 2016 goes to Turkish ‘Hürriyet’ journalist Sedat Ergin. The DW prize is awarded annually to journalists who stand out in their fight for human righ
ts and free speech. The award ceremony will on 13 June 2016 at the Global Media Forum in Bonn, Germany. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in awards, human rights, Human Rights Defenders | 1 Comment »
Tags: awards, defamation, Deutsche Welle, DW Freedom of Speech Award, Erdogan, freedom of expression, Global Media Forum in Bonn, Hürriyet, human rights award, Journalist, Peter Limburg, Raif Badawi, Sedat Ergin, Turkey
May 19, 2016
Back home the backlash has started and he has asked for support:
– Malaysian ministers threaten him anew;
– a government-backed NGO is going to protest at Kofi Annan’s office.
The award was presented by ex-UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan, and the winners were given a chance to exhibit their artworks at Lac Léman in Geneva. Zunar’s cartoons covers issues such as corruption, freedom of expression, conspiracy against opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, and the new National Security law.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in awards, Human Rights Defenders | 2 Comments »
Tags: Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, artist, Cartooning for Peace Award, Cartooning for Peace Prize, cartoons, freedom of expression, harassment, Kofi Annan, Malaysia, political intimidation, reprisals, Zunar
May 18, 2016
A group of 10 NGOs has called on the authorities to immediately release human rights defender and professor of economics Dr Nasser Bin Ghaith, who remains in detention in an unknown location in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for his social media posts and human rights activities.
Nasser Bin Ghaith has been denied proper access to his lawyer or family since his arrest in August 2015, and reportedly subject to torture in custody. The continued detention and charges violate his human rights, including his right to free expression. On 18 August 2015, security officers in civilian clothes arrested Dr Bin Ghaith in Abu Dhabi and searched his home and confiscated personal items including electronic memory sticks. He was held incommunicado until finally being brought to the State Security Chamber of the Federal Supreme Court in Abu Dhabi on 4 April 2016, when he told the court he had been tortured and beaten in detention and deprived of sleep for up to a week. On 2 May 2016, a second hearing took place to examine charges against Dr Bin Ghaith relating to his online postings. He stated that he is still being held in secret detention, a fact he had previously brought to the judge’s attention during his hearing on 4 April. The judge refused to listen to his complaints for a second time. Neither his family nor his lawyer knows where he is being detained, and his lawyer’s request to visit him has been denied repeatedly.
Dr Bin Ghaith is one of a group of men known as the “UAE5” who were imprisoned in 2011 and tried for “publicly insulting” UAE officials. That trial also breached international human rights law and was widely criticised by human rights groups, including signatories of this letter.
A further charge brought against Dr Bin Ghaith of allegedly “posting false information about UAE leaders and their policies, offensively criticizing the construction of a Hindu temple in Abu Dhabi, and instigating the people of the UAE against their leaders and government” was related to a statement he made on Twitter intending to promote tolerance.
The court ordered the case to be adjourned until 23 May when the defence’s arguments will be heard.
Source: UAE: Free human rights defender Dr Nasser Bin Ghaith – Index on Censorship | Index on Censorship
for other posts on the UAE: https://thoolen.wordpress.com/tag/united-arab-emirates/
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders, Index on Censorship | 2 Comments »
Tags: blogger, fair trial, freedom of expression, Human Rights Defenders, illegal detention, Index on Censorship, Nasser Bin Ghaith, NGOs, UAE, UAE5, United Arab Emirates
May 13, 2016
Uyghur human rights defender and democracy activist Dolksun Isa is disappointed with India’s cancellation of his visa after issuing it. In an interview to Tehelka Correspondent Riyaz Wani on 12 May 2016, Isa says he is a strictly non-violent campaigner for Uyghur rights and China‘s attempt to label him a terrorist is to delegitimize the human rights work that he does to support the Uyghur community. Very much in one with the work of MEA 2016 nominee Ilham Tohti [https://thoolen.wordpress.com/2016/04/27/breaking-news-final-nominees-2016-martin-ennals-award-tohti-zone-9-bloggers-razan-zaitouneh-annoucement/] Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
Tags: China, Dolksun Isa, freedom of expression, Human rights defender, Ilham Tohti, India, MEA nominees 2016, minority rights, non-violence, stigmatization, Tehelka, Uyghur, visa denial
May 4, 2016
Today – in order to celebrate the World Press Freedom Day on the 3rd of May – it was announced that the 2016 International Editorial Cartoons Prize is awarded to the Kenyan caricaturist, Gado, and the Malaysian cartoonist, Lunar. Some of their cartoons are shown below:
“Gado and Zunar remind us how fragile this liberty remains in Africa and in Asia as well as in other regions of the world. Through their commitment towards open and transparent societies, Gado and Zunar, who have received threats in their countries of origin and can no longer practice their profession, confront us with our responsibility to preserve freedom of expression and act in order to support the combat of those who cannot express themselves through their art”, declared Mr Kofi Annan, he Honorary President of the Swiss Foundation.
The cartoonist Patrick Chappatte, jury member, added: “For having had the courage to draw the king naked, Gado and Zunar are faced with a power machine that seeks to silence them. What this Prize seeks to do is just the opposite: to amplify their voices, which are those of democracy and justice.”
This prize, awarded every two years in Geneva, rewards a cartoonist for his/her courage, talent and commitment to the values of peace, tolerance as well as for his/her fight for freedom of expression. The event goes with an exhibition presented along the quai Wilson in Geneva until June 4th, 2016. For more information, click here!
For 2014 event see: https://thoolen.wordpress.com/2014/05/05/cartooning-for-peace-award-handed-over-by-kofi-annan-in-geneva/
For the biographies: Gado and Zunar.
Source: Cartoonists Gado (Kenya) and Zunar (Malaysia), recipients of the 2016 Cartooning for Peace Prize – Cartooning for Peace
Posted in awards, human rights, Human Rights Defenders | 2 Comments »
Tags: Cartooning for Peace, Cartooning for Peace Award, cartoons, City of Geneva, exhibit, freedom of expression, Gado, human rights award, images, Kenya, Kofi Annan, Malaysia, Patrick Chappatte, World Press Freedom Day (3 May), Zunar
March 29, 2016
When writing about human rights awards, I often talk about better-known international awards [https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/oxford-university-press/human-rights-awards-for-the-protection-of-human-rights-defenders-qqq8FI0qeN]. However, there are quite a few local ones that can play an important role in shaping the work of human rights defenders. Here the case of Moldova where the “Promoting Human Rights in Moldova” competition was established by the United Nations in 2004. The prizes are awarded annually to journalists or human rights defenders who have made a genuine contribution to the promotion and protection of human rights in Moldova. The prizes were awarded by the Association for Independent Press in Moldova, with the financial support of Civil Rights Defenders in Sweden.
Radio Free Europe reported proudly on 23 March 2016 that their journalists working with RFE/RL’s Moldova Service were recognized for excellence in audio and video reporting on local community and human rights issues. Reporters Mihaela Gherasim and Eugenia Pogor took first and third place in the television program category, with programs on HIV and LGBTI questions.
Source: RFERL Moldova Service Reporters Win Accolades
Posted in awards, Civil Rights Defenders (NGO), human rights, Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
Tags: Association for Independent Press in Moldova, Civil Rights Defenders, freedom of expression, hiv aids, human rights awards, human rights education, journalists, LGBTI, Moldova, national award, Radio Free Europe
March 29, 2016
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders, Human Rights Foundation | Leave a Comment »
Tags: Angola, Angola 15, civil society activists, freedom of expression, freedom of information, Gene Sharp, Human Rights Defenders, Human Rights Foundation, Ikonoklasta, Luaty Beirão, Nicki Minaj, non-violence, prison sentence, youth
March 20, 2016
All the attention is on Turkey as the country where refugees will have to be processed. The more the question of fair trial becomes important. The following does not bode well:
In the early morning of 16 March 2016, police raided the houses of 9 lawyers in Istanbul, Turkey. After the search, lawyers Ramazan Demir, İrfan Arasan, Ayşe Acinikli, Hüseyin Boğatekin, Şefik Çelik, Adem Çalışçı, Ayşe Başar, Tamer Doğan and Mustafa Rüzgar were taken into custody. They are all members of the Libertarian Lawyers Association ÖHD). There has not been given any justification for these arrests and searches. The case file on the arrests is confidential. Allegedly the lawyers are arrested on suspicion of having ties with a terrorist organization. All the lawyers that were arrested represent the 46 lawyers who were arrested in 2011 on suspicion of “working for, or belonging to, a terrorist organization”. A hearing in the trial against these lawyers took place only one day after the arrests (!), on 17 March 2016. The arrest of their lawyers means that they are deprived from their legal defense.
Lawyers for Lawyers and Fair Trial Watch are extremely worried about the state of the rule of law in Turkey, which is quickly deteriorating. They sent a letter to the Turkish authorities in which they urge them to:
– Immediately release lawyers and drop the criminal investigation;
– Abstain from identifying lawyers with their clients or their clients’ causes;
– Put an end to all forms of harassment against lawyers in Turkey;
– Guarantee in all circumstances that all lawyers in Turkey are able to carry out their legitimate activities without fear of reprisals, intimidation, threats and free of all restrictions.
For more information see: http://www.advocatenvooradvocaten.nl/11446/turkey-police-raid-on-and-arrest-of-9-lawyers
“The rise of authoritarianism in Turkey is blatant. Erdogan’s government crackdown on independent journalists is a step towards exerting dictatorial control over Turkey’s media,” said HRF president Thor Halvorssen.
https://humanrightsfoundation.org/news/hrf-to-turkey-free-journalists-can-duendar-and-erdem-guel-00516?utm_content=&utm_source=VerticalResponse&utm_medium=Email&utm_term=here&utm_campaign=HRF%20to%20Turkey%3A%20Free%20Journalists%20Can%20Dündar%20and%20Erdem%20Gülcontent
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders, Human Rights Foundation | 3 Comments »
Tags: arbitrary arrest, Can Dündar, Erdem Gül, fair trial, Fair Trial Watch, freedom of expression, Human Rights Foundation, human rights lawyers, Independence of Lawyers, journalists, L4L, Lawyers for Lawyers, Libertarian Lawyers Association (NGO Turkey), Turkey
March 16, 2016
Further to my post of today about human rights defenders in the area of economic, social and cultural rights, here the profile of such a defender, Allo Awol from Ethiopia.
Allo is a voice for human rights defenders in Ethiopia; a voice for those on the ground who resist oppressive Government policies and struggle to bring about progressive change and transformation in the face of adversity. ‘Under current circumstances, being outside Ethiopia presents both an opportunity and a responsibility to speak out against the Government’s authoritarian policies, particularly the increasing abuse of the constitutional order, the judicial system, discourses around development and counter-terrorism. I speak for the victims of human rights violations in Ethiopia, the victims of the State.’..
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Council, Human Rights Defenders, ISHR | Leave a Comment »
Tags: "Zone 9” bloggers, Allo Awol, bloggers, economic social and cultural rights, ESC rights, Ethiopia, freedom of expression, human rights mechanisms, independence of the judiciary, ISHR, minorities
Source: Vice News
Source: Vedat Arik/AP
Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards 