Posts Tagged ‘Front Line Defenders’
March 4, 2013
Several NGOs continue to follow closely the development in Bahrain, sadly the subject of may posts in this blog. Here HRF’s and Frontline’s recent statements:
Human Rights First (HRF) says that this week will see a series of high profile court hearings in Bahrain, exposing the authorities continued use of judicial harassment against human rights defenders and activists. On Sunday March 3, Halima Abdulaziz al Sabag is due to hear an appeal verdict. She is a dental assistant and was sentenced to a year in prison after she was convicted for allegedly taking first aid material from the hospital where she worked to treat injured protesters. On Monday March 4, the Bahrain government will continue to press a case against leading human rights defender Said Yousif Al Muhafda of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights for information he tweeted about police using birdshot against protesters. On Tuesday March 5, the appeal of 23 medics is due to return to court. They have all been convicted and sentenced to three months in prison after treating injured protesters in 2011. “This continuing crackdown in the courts tells us more about the reality of what’s happening in Bahrain than the speeches its officials are giving to the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva this week,” said Human Rights First’s Brian Dooley…….. Other prominent human rights leaders, including President of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights Nabeel Rajab, remain in jail. Please contact Brenda Bowser Soder at bowsersoderb@humanrightsfirst.org or 202-370-3323. 
via Bahrain’s Targeting of Civil Society with Judicial Harassment Continues | Human Rights First.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Front Line, HRF, human rights | 2 Comments »
Tags: Abdulhadi Alkhawaja, Bahrain, Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, bahrain government, Brian Dooley, Front Line Defenders, Human right, human rights, Human rights defender, Human Rights Defenders, Human Rights First, illegal detention, judicial harassment, Manama, medical, Middle East, Nabeel Rajab, NGOs, persecution, Said Yousif Al Muhafda, Zainab Al-Khawaja
February 25, 2013
This interesting story starts in February 2011 with a peaceful demonstration against deaths of pregnant women at the Huruma Nursing Home, a hospital serving Huruma, one of the major slums in Nairobi. Two human rights defenders, Ruth Mumbi and Ms Victoria Atieno, were accused of incitement to violence. Their case has dragged on for 2 years with at least 5 adjournments triggered by the absence at the trial of the administrator of Huruma Nursing Home, both a key witness and complainant. During the latest hearing on 21 February 2013, the administrator of Huruma Nursing Home turned up at the Court. However, this was a new administrator who replaced the person who managed the establishment at the time when the protest took place. As the judge raised questions about this change of witness, the administrator responded that the sole purpose of his presence at Makadara Law Courts was to present Huruma Nursing Home’s desire that the case be dismissed! The judge interestingly decided to allow the accused human rights defenders to express their opinion on it. On 26 February 2013 (tomorrow), Ruth Mumbi and Victoria Atieno hope to tell how they were victims of malicious prosecution and file a lawsuit to claim damages. And on top of this a great occasion to alert the public about poor health services!
The case against Ruth Mumbi and Victoria Atieno was referred to in an urgent appeal http://www.frontlinedefenders.org/node/20473 on 30 October 2012. 
Posted in Front Line, human rights, Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
Tags: Advocacy Organizations, Africa, court, demonstration, freedom of assembly, Front Line Defenders, Human right, Human Rights and Liberties, Human rights defender, Human Rights Defenders, malicious prosecution, Nairobi, Nursing home, right to health, slum, women human rights defenders
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/
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
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
January 29, 2013
On 28 January 2013, a number of Brazilian civil society organisations and social movements addressed an open letter to the Coordinator of the National Programme for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (NPPHRD) and the Presidency regarding the security situation for human rights defender Alexandre Anderson de Souza.
Alexandre Anderson de Souza is head of the Associação dos Homens do Mar – AHOMAR (Association of Seamen), an organisation set up to defend the rights of the fisherfolk working in Rio de Janeiro, and particularly those affected by the construction of a gas pipeline for Petrobras. AHOMAR argues that there are reports of environmental permit irregularities in the construction of the pipeline and it will have a negative impact on local flora and fauna as well as on the livelihood of those who fish in those waters in the Guanabara Bay.
Alexandre Anderson de Souza has suffered a number of threats to his life and has been under the NPPHRD since 2009, but the federal government has delegated the responsibility to authorities in the state of Rio de Janeiro, where he and his family live. However, the human rights defender and a number of Brazilian civil society organisations and social movements that support him, have been repeatedly expressing their discontent with the protection offered by the state programme and the conditions in which Alexandre Anderson de Souza, his wife Ms Daize Menezes and their children have been forced to live. As the situation has worsened the human rights defender and his family have had to relocate to different hotels in the city of Rio de Janeiro but the locations were highly insecure. The buildings did not have 24-hour reception personnel and the rooms they were accommodated in had no telephone. The protection programme has been unable to ensure Alexandre and his family’s return to their residence in Magé, and as a result the human rights defender remains unable to resume his work at AHOMAR. Four members of AHOMAR have been killed to date.
Another point of discontent with the state protection programme has been the unsatisfactory level of legal support provided to the human rights defender by the non-governmental organisation (NGO) Projeto Legal (Legal Project). Projeto Legal has signed an agreement with the government of the state of Rio de Janeiro, in the context of the state protection programme, to provide legal support and advice to the human rights defenders included in the programme. After repeated complaints about the NGO’s inaction in several instances, Alexandre Anderson de Souza received information from a reliable source that one of Projeto Legal’s main funders is Petrobras, the same oil company whose actions the human rights defender and his organisation AHOMAR have been trying to hold accountable for environmental damages. The information was confirmed on the websites of both Petrobras and the NGO, but neither they, nor the government of the state of Rio de Janeiro, have clarified the terms of the agreement, raising doubts over the impartiality of the organisation and a conflict of interests.
The open letter signed by several civil society organisation addressed the main concerns of Alexandre Anderson de Souza and other NGOs working with human rights defenders in the country. While welcoming the formal establishment of the state of Rio de Janeiro’s protection programme for human rights defenders through the Decree 44.038 signed on 18 January 2013, the letter asks for Alexandre and his wife Daize, as well as other human rights defenders who are currently under the protection of the state, to have their security ensured by the National Protection Programme until the state protection programme is fully operating and able to fully ensure the safety of human rights defenders in the territory of the state of Rio de Janeiro.
Front Line Defenders is gravely concerned following reports of the vulnerable security situation of human rights defender Alexandre Anderson de Souza and his family, and of other human rights defenders under the protection of the state of Rio de Janeiro. 
http://racismoambiental.net.br/2013/01/carta-aberta-ao-coordenador-nacional-do-programa-de-protecao-aos-defensores-de-direitos-humanos-sr-igo-martini/#more-85964
Posted in Front Line, human rights, Human Rights Defenders | 2 Comments »
Tags: Alexandre Anderson de Souza, Brasil, environmental issues, Front Line, Front Line Defenders, human rights, Human rights defender, Non-governmental organization, Petrobras, protection, threats
January 25, 2013
Front Line Defenders launched today its 2013 Annual Report on human rights defenders, which rather confusingly in fact covers 2012. It highlights developments in the
situation of human rights defenders in 2012 and analyses the situation in each region of the world. It concludes: “The sad reality is that while governments
proclaim their support for human rights and their respect for the work of human rights defenders in international fora, in practice, human rights defenders face a daily struggle for survival.”
In 2012, Front Line Defenders issued 287 urgent appeals on 460 human rights defenders at risk in 69 countries; it provided 267 security grants and trained 358 human rights defenders.
The Report, currently in English, will shortly be available in French, Spanish, Russian, Arabic and Farsi.The Report is available at
http://www.frontlinedefenders.org/node/21376 <http://www.frontlinedefenders.org//node/21376>
Posted in Front Line, Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
Tags: 2013, annual report 2012, Front Line Defenders, human rights, Human Rights and Liberties, Human rights defender, Human Rights Defenders
January 25, 2013
In January 2013, detained human rights defenders and Twerwaneho Listeners Club (TLC) members Messrs Gerald Kankya, Simon Amanyire and Gilbert Kayondo were released on bail following a decision by the Public Prosecutor that no evidence existed of defamatory statements made by the individuals against Uganda’s First Family. However, the human rights defenders immediately faced new charges and are scheduled to report to the Fort Portal Police Station on 30 January 2013 for interrogation. The charges include inciting violence, disseminating harmful propaganda, while other charges relate to funding and the operation of programmes of the organisation. TLC is a non-governmental organisation based in Fort Portal that carries out human rights advocacy and monitoring work, including through radio programmes, with a view to holding public leaders more accountable.
On the afternoon of 22 January 2013, police conducted searches of the offices of TLC and of the residences of Gerald Kankya and Simon Amanyire. Two computers were confiscated from the TLC offices, while during the search of Gerald Kankya’s residence, police barricaded the gate of the residence with their vehicle, blocking Gerald Kankya’s wife from gaining access to her home. While searching Simon Amanyire’s residence, police confiscated a number of documents.
For more information on this case, see Front Line Defenders’ appeal http://www.frontlinedefenders.org/node/21363 issued on 23 January 2013, as well as previous urgent appeals and updates documenting instances of harassment of TLC members.
Posted in human rights | Leave a Comment »
Tags: corruption, Fort Portal, freedom of expression, Front Line, Front Line Defenders, harassment, human rights, Human Rights and Liberties, Human rights defender, Human Rights Defenders, impunity, Non-governmental organization, TLC, Uganda
January 22, 2013
On 12 January 2013 the family of imprisoned human rights defender Gao Zhisheng were permitted a visit to see him ten months after an initial visit on 24 March 2012. A report of this second visit reached Front Line only on 18 January 2013. Gao Zhisheng’s wife, Ms Geng He who is US-based, told Radio Free Asia that her father and brother-in-law saw Gao Zhisheng for 30 minutes on 12 January but were forbidden from asking any “sensitive” questions, including what conditions in prison were like. Gao Zhisheng is being held in China’s remote northwestern Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region. Previous attempts by his family for a second visit had been denied by the authorities. According to Geng He, Gao Zhisheng appeared to be ‘relatively well’ and did not need assistance walking. Gao Zhisheng is a human rights defender and self-taught lawyer, and was named one of China’s top ten lawyers by the Ministry of Justice in 2001. He regularly took on cases involving persecution of religious minorities, including Falun Gong practitioners and those associated with the unofficial ‘house church’ movement.
While Front Line Defenders welcomes this recent visit by the family of Gao Zhisheng, it reiterates its continued call on the Chinese authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Gao Zhisheng as it believes he is being detained solely as a result of his legitimate and peaceful human rights activities.
For more information on Gao Zhisheng’s case, see http://www.frontlinedefenders.org/node/17876
Posted in Front Line, human rights | 1 Comment »
Tags: China, Falun Gong, family visit, Front Line Defenders, Gao Zhisheng, Human rights defender, prison, Radio Free Asia, Xinjiang
January 21, 2013
On 12 January 2013, human rights defender Mr Vitaly Ponomarev received several anonymous death threats through electronic mail. Vitaly Ponomarev is the head of the Central Asia programme of Human Rights Centre (HRC) Memorial, which was founded in 1999 and has a major focus on documenting human rights violations in Central Asian states, particularly Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan, in close cooperation with local human right defenders.
The messages received on 12 January, in Russian and Uzbek languages and originating from an IP address in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, threatened Vitaly Ponomarev with death if he moved to the south of Kyrgyzstan, and also issued death threats against his family members living in Moscow. HRC Memorial has lodged a complaint to the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation and requested an investigation to be launched into the threats. The messages follow
the publication on web site of Memorial on 27 December 2012, of a report containing information about reported torture by Uzbekistan’s security services against Uzbek citizens on the territory of the Russian Federation.
Front Line Defenders believes that the death threats issued against Vitaly Ponomarev are directly linked to his work.
Posted in Front Line, human rights, Human Rights Defenders | 4 Comments »
Tags: Central Asia, death threats, Front Line Defenders, Frontline, human rights, Human rights defender, Russia, Uzbekistan, Vitaly Ponomarev
January 16, 2013
One does near much about Oman and the impression could be that it is doing relatively well (the position of women is acknowledged to be good; there is a governmental Human Rights Commission and limited democracy) but after reports in 2012 by AI, HRW and Freedom House amongst others, Frontline now, 14 January 2013, reports the arbitrary arrest of human rights defender and blogger Said Jaddad by the Special Division of Muscat Police Station, where he is currently being detained. Said Jaddad’s work includes the documenting of human rights violations as well as writing critical blog posts about human rights violations in Oman.
On 14 January, Said Jaddad received a call from the Special Division of Muscat Police Station, requesting that he present himself to the Station. No legal basis was provided for this request. Upon his arrival, the HRD was detained. He has been denied visitation rights and access to a lawyer, while no formal charges have yet been presented. Furthermore, Said Jaddad, who reportedly suffers from heart problems, has not been provided with medical attention. He has previously been subjected to interrogation by police, on each occasion he was requested to sign an undertaking to cease working in the field of human rights, which he rejected. In February 2011, the human rights defender was threatened if he did not cease his contact with international non-governmental organisations. Said Jaddad has also been officially banned from publishing in the Omani media, including in newspapers, such as Al Zaman and Ru’aya.
Front Line Defenders expresses serious concern at the arbitrary detention of Said Jaddad, and at his physical and psychological integrity, in particular given his reported medical condition. Front Line Defenders believes Said Jaddad’s detention to be solely motivated by his human rights work and views this act as part of an ongoing crackdown on human rights defenders in Oman, including continued acts of judicial harassment. For further information on this situation, please see Front Line Defenders’ appeal dated 15 June 2012 http://www.frontlinedefenders.org/node/18650 .
Posted in Front Line | Leave a Comment »
Tags: Amnesty International, Arab spring, arbitrary arrest, blogger, detention, Freedom House, Front Line Defenders, Frontline, human rights, Human rights defender, Human Rights Watch, Non-governmental organization, Oman, Said Jaddad
January 7, 2013
Last minute announcement: ‘Lives on the Line’, narrated by Martin Sheen, is to be aired tomorrow on Tuesday, 8th of January on Irish channel RTE1. Written and directed by Nuala Cunningham and narrated by Martin Sheen, this documentary, ‘Lives on the Line’, follows Mary Lawlor, founder of Front Line Defenders, an Irish-based international organisation dedicated to offering practical support to human rights defenders at risk throughout the world, as she goes to Guatemala to visit a number of human rights defenders who are risking their lives every day for their work. One such individual, Dr Yuri Melini, survived an assassination attempt on his life in 2008 but continues to fight for the protection of the environment and the rights of indigenous Mayan communities in Guatemala.
via Documentary On Human Rights Defenders To Air On RTÉ One | The Irish Film & Television Network.
Posted in films, human rights, Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
Tags: documentary, Front Line Defenders, Human Rights Defenders, Irish television, Martin Sheen, Mary Lawlor, urgent, video
Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards 