The statement below was picked up from the Official Government news agency of Sri Lanka on 15 August 2013. I do not know who the professors in question are and therefore we cannot know whether they are human rights defenders, but in view of earlier retaliation by the governmental media in that country against those who testified before the UN mechanisms on human rights and the tone of the message, there is no doubt that those who speak out risk more than disagreement! Read the rest of this entry »
Posts Tagged ‘freedom of expression’
4 Sri Lankan Professors gone to Britain accused of launching ‘anti-Sri Lanka activities’
August 16, 2013Amnesty International USA comments on Bradley Manning verdict
August 1, 2013On 4 June this blog referred to the controversy surrounding the question whether Bradley Manning should be a recognized AI Prisoner of Conscience. So it is fair to report that on 30 July 2013 AI USA came out with a statement saying in essence:
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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 »
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. 
YEMEN- PROTECT HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS AND STOP ATTACKS ON JOURNALISTS.
June 13, 2013
On 10 June 2013 the Gulf Centre for Human Rights Centre (GCHR) issued a report alleging a widespread pattern of attacks on human rights defenders and journalists in Yemen.
Since Yemen has been engaged in a process of transition to full democracy, the security services have intimidated journalists, allowed the judicial system to be used as a means of attack against them, and failed to investigate violence against human rights defenders. The GCHR has documented multiple cases of attacks, some by the state security forces, but with many being perpetrated by non-state actors. The GCHR calls for an end to the harassment.
Prior to the overwhelmingly peaceful revolution in 2011, attacks were commonplace but easily identified as emanating from the oppressive government of former President Saleh, says the GCHR report. The present pattern of attacks is more unpredictable and their source much harder to identify. “This gives rise to the requirement of even greater vigilance by the authorities to investigate, prevent and punish this wrongdoing, yet the authorities in Yemen have failed to act to investigate the widespread pattern of attacks in the transitional period,” comments GCHR Advisory Board member Melanie Gingell, a British lawyer who carried out a mission to Yemen in April.
– Mohamed Al-Absi is a blogger and journalist who specialises in publishing the documents leaked to him from government departments about corrupt practices. He is now on trial on defamation charges and faces many years in jail if convicted. He has exposed corruption at the highest levels over the years and there are now well-founded concerns for his well-being should he be convicted.
– Judge Ahmed Saif Hashid, currently a member of parliament, has fought for social justice in Yemen but was recently the victim of a brutal beating by security forces when he joined a protest of injured people campaigning for their rights outside parliament. There has been no investigation of this attack.
– A Yemen based organisation, Freedom Foundation, has catalogued 109 attacks on journalists by mid-April 2013, including an attempt to bomb the offices of a newspaper, an attempt to assassinate a local journalist in the south of the country, shots fired at the car of a journalist working for the Times newspaper, and threats to cut out the tongue of a local newspaper editor.
– The journalist Abdulelah Haider Shaye remains in prison following his arrest and conviction in relation to an article he wrote exposing the aftermath of an US cluster bomb attack on a suspected Al-Qaeda target, thereby discrediting the previous claim of responsibility for that attack by the government of former President Saleh.
The full report is available online in English and Arabic at: http://www.gc4hr.org/report/view/16
Snowden a human rights defender? – Russia seems to think so
June 13, 2013
(Getty Images)
Yesterday I referred to the difficulty of defining human rights defenders in relation to a Nigerian politician, and here comes another, maybe more difficult one:
As the United States Justice Department prepare charges against Edward Snowden, former federal government contractor who revealed the NSA’s secret surveillance program rights violation, as ABC News reported, Russia said Tuesday 11 June that it would consider a request from him for safe haven and The Guardian reported tuesday that Vladimir Putin’s spokesman says any appeal from whistleblower Edward Snowden for asylum will be looked at ‘according to facts,’
Aleksey Pushkov, chair of the State Duma’s International Affairs Committee, said Snowden is a “human rights activist.” Referring to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, Pushkov said, “In this sense, Snowden — like Assange — is a human-rights activist.”
“I’m willing to sacrifice all that because I can’t in good conscience allow the US government to destroy privacy, internet freedom and basic liberties for people all around the world with this massive surveillance machine they’re secretly building,” Snowden himself told The Guardian.
Russia might aid Snowden human rights activist – National Human Rights | Examiner.com.
Related articles
- Russia considering asylum offer to NSA whistle-blower Edward Snowden – NY Daily News (grindaline.wordpress.com)
Group of NGOs submits 10 Recommendations to European Parliament on Repression in Turkey
June 10, 2013During the last week, Turkish citizens, human rights defenders, trade unions and civil society organisations have come under attack by the Turkish government. What started as a peaceful demonstration has turned into a violent clash with the Turkish police and security services. In the protests, at least 3 people died and more than 2800 people were injured in Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir. Reports indicate that about 3000 people were taken into custody and Read the rest of this entry »
Special Rapporteur ends visit to South Korea and makes recommendations
June 7, 2013At the end of a 10-day fact-finding mission to South Korea UN special rapporteur on human rights Defenders, Margaret Sekaggya, said Friday that South Korea’s 65-year-old national security act posed a “seriously problematic” challenge to freedom of expression. It prohibits the printing, distribution and ownership of any material deemed “anti-state” and outlaws any organisation advocating overthrow of the government.
“I have been acquainted with the national security act which, despite the fact that it has been amended on several occasions, still appears seriously problematic for the exercise of freedom of expression,” Sekaggya said. Read the rest of this entry »
“I have been acquainted with the national security act which, despite the fact that it has been amended on several occasions, still appears seriously problematic for the exercise of freedom of expression,” Sekaggya said. Read the rest of this entry »
State media in Sri Lanka lead attacks on Human Rights Defenders
June 4, 2013According to a statement from the Federation of Media Employees Trade Unions forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) on 4 June there is an ongoing attack in Sri Lanka on Human Rights Defenders, NGOs & opposition politicians through the Independent Television Network (ITN). The statement give concrete and detailed indications to show that ITN – in spite of its name – has continued to follow the government line and started a fresh round of attacks in May this year. Read the rest of this entry »
Malaysian trade union asks: “Do we really want guys like Wahid to be in our Cabinet?”
May 30, 2013
The National Union of Banking Employees NUBE in Malaysia will be filling cases against former Maybank Chief Executive Officer Abdul Wahid Omar at the Jalan Duta Court. Wahid has been appointed as a Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department for Economic Planning. What is interesting is that the trade union takes a proactive stand by saying that someone who has shown blatant disregard for workers rights should not be a minister in the government! Read the rest of this entry »
Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards 