Posts Tagged ‘Front Line’
January 11, 2013
One month after being physically assaulted, human rights defender and journalist António Capalandanda continues to be subjected to threats and acts of surveillance and intimidation. António Capalandanda is a journalist at on-line news and radio site Voz da América (Voice of America) in Angola. His work has focused on human rights and political violence in the country, as well as investigation of corruption cases involving public officials.
On various occasions in early January 2013, António Capalandanda was reportedly followed by unidentified men in a vehicle, who parked close to his residence and followed him as soon as he left for work. During the same period the email of António Capalandanda was hacked by unknown individuals according to his email service provider, which registers the time and Internet Protocol (IP) address when his account is accessed.
On 7 December, 2012, two unidentified men on a motorbike assaulted the journalist and stole his camera, a voice recorder and two notepads. One of the men also attempted to take his backpack, unsuccessfully. On the same day, António Capalandanda filed a complaint at Huambo Provincial Police Directorate for Criminal Investigation. The officer who registered the case stated that this type of assault was unusual in the region and added that it seemed the human rights defender was being subjected to surveillance.
António Capalandanda has previously received a number of death threats from individuals identified as state security agents and has been offered to work for the Government in return for the ceasing of his journalism work. The human rights defender’s family members and friends have also been reportedly subjected to acts of harassment.
On 5 December 2012, two days prior to the abovementioned assault, António Capalandanda was approached by a man who identified himself as an agent of the state security services, and issued death threats against the journalist.
Front Line Defenders expresses serious concern at the continued acts of threats, surveillance and intimidation directed at António Capalandanda, as well as his family members and persons close to him, and believes that these acts are motivated by the legitimate and peaceful activities of António Capalandanda as an investigative journalist and human rights defender in Angola. 
Posted in human rights | Leave a Comment »
Tags: Angola, António Capalandanda, Front Line, Government, harassment, human rights, Human Rights and Liberties, Human rights defender, journalists, threats
December 20, 2012
Today, 20 December, Front Line Defenders 
reports that on 15 December 2012, human rights defender Mr Sombath Somphone disappeared after last being seen driving away from his office. Since then, his whereabouts have been unknown, although sources have reported having seen video footage of the human rights defender in the custody of the police. Sombath Somphone is the founder and executive director of the Participatory Development Training Centre (PADETC), which trains young people in order to promote sustainable development. For his community development work he was awarded one of Asia’s most prestigious civil awards, the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership, in 2005.
Sombath Somphone left the offices of PADETC in Vientiane at around 5pm on 15 December. When he failed to come home that night, his wife searched for him in the city’s hospitals before eventually reporting him missing with the police. On 18 December, an official from the government press office reportedly commented on the phone that there was not yet enough evidence to draw any conclusions about the case. Family members of Sombath Somphone have lodged a complaint with the police who deny all knowledge of the case.
An anonymous colleague of the human rights defender has, however, reported that on 17 December, relatives of Sombath Somphone were shown CCTV footage of his car being stopped by police officers around 6pm in the vicinity of Vatnak village in Sisattanak district, Vientiane The footage then reportedly showed the human rights defender being led to the Sisattanak district police station in Vientiane, and some time later showed Sombath Somphone being led out of the office and taken away in a white pick-up truck.
On 20 December, the Laos Foreign Ministry came up with the statement stating “the authorities are not in a position to say exactly what has actually happened, why Sombath Somphone has gone missing, or who might have been involved in the incident”. The Ministry alleges that it might be possible that the human rights defender was kidnapped due to personal or business conflict.
Sombath Somphone founded PADETC in 1996, and since the organisation has become a prominent player in Lao civil society. The organisation works in numerous fields to promote sustainable development through the education of young people in particular. Although the organisation’s work is not political in nature, it is alleged that Sombath Somphone may have been targeted by government authorities due to his opposition to state development projects with harmful social or environmental consequences. Front Line Defenders is concerned by the allegations of enforced disappearance of Sombath Somphone, in the light of the important work he has carried out defending human rights in Laos and promoting sustainable development through developing the capacities and leadership skills of young people.
Posted in human rights | 1 Comment »
Tags: Asia, disappearances, Front Line, Front Line Defenders, human rights, Human rights defender, Lao, Sombath Somphone, Vientiane
December 18, 2012
Several NGOs on the Jury of the MEA (including Front Line Defenders and Human Rights First) have reported on the arrest and detention of Mr Sayed Yousif Al-Muhafdha, a human rights defender who spoke on behalf of Bahrain Centre for Human Rights at the MEA 2012 ceremony in Geneva on 2 October.
On 18 December 2012, the Public Prosecution Office ordered human rights defender Mr Sayed Yousif Al-Muhafdha to be detained for a period of seven days following his arrest the previous day after he attended a protest in Manama. He was arrested on charges of spreading false information over Twitter. He is currently being held in Hooth Al-Jaff prison in the Governorate of Muharraq.
The arrest took place on the eve of a visit to Bahrain by a delegation of Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) with a focus on human rights issues. This is the second time Sayed Yousif Al-Muhafdha has been arrested in the last two months. The previous occasion was on 2 November 2012 in the village of Diraz, where he was arrested on charges of rioting and participating in an illegal gathering. The charges related to a protest that took place in the village that day and in which the human rights defender denied having participated. He was released without charge on 14 November 2012.
http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/2012/12/17/prominent-bahraini-human-rights-defender-among-dozens-arrested-today-in-manama/
https://www.frontlinedefenders.org/node/20797
Bahrain: Free Human Rights Defender, Says HRW (eurasiareview.com)
Posted in human rights | 1 Comment »
Tags: Bahrain, Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, Front Line, Front Line Defenders, human rights, Human rights defender, Human Rights First, Manama, Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders, MEA, members of the european parliament
December 17, 2012
On December 9, Front Line Defenders held a one-off production called Voices from the Front Line. The event, which took place at Vicar Street Theatre in Dublin, celebrated the inspirational courage of 11 human rights defenders from around the world through an evening of stories and song. Among the performers were leading actors and musicians Martin Sheen, Andrea Corr, Robert Sheehan, Amy Huberman, Paul Brady, Hazel O’Connor, Cara O’ Sullivan, Liam Ó’ Maonlaí and Finbar Furey.
The show was attended by over 800 people and streamed live on Irish broadcaster RTE’s youtube channel. Through telling the stories of human rights defenders in their own words, the evening sought to raise public awareness of who human rights defenders are and the many risks they face. The selected human rights defenders provided an illustrative sample of the thousands more that Front Line Defenders works to protect and support on a daily basis.
• To watch Voices from the Front Line: http://youtu.be/mQ4hzaiHlLk
Posted in films, Human Rights Defenders | 1 Comment »
Tags: celebrities, Dublin, Front Line, Front Line Defenders, Human rights defender, Human Rights Defenders, Martin Sheen, media, streaming
December 13, 2012
Front Line Defenders reports that on On 7 December 2012, human rights defender Ms Saida Kurbanova was sentenced to 15 days of administrative detention for ‘hooliganism’, after being attacked by two women who alleged that the human rights defender had been the one to attack them. Saida Kurbanova is the head of the branch of the non-governmental Human Rights Society of Uzbekistan (HRSU). It is reported that following the arrest, the hard disk of Saida Kurbanova’s computer was confiscated.
Since her arrest, Saida Kurbanova has been detained in the temporary detention facility at Pakhtakor police station. On 10 December 2012 a representative of Pakhtakor police station reportedly refused to pass on a food parcel and warm clothes to Saida Kurbanova which her family had brought her. In addition, her release on 21 December 2012 is reportedly subject to her paying for the 15 days spent in the temporary detention facility!
Front Line Defenders is concerned about the use of orchestrated attacks on human rights defenders as a means to accuse them of having instigated the incident, and consequently charging them fines or sentencing them to administrative detention. Front Line Defenders believes that Saida Kurbanova’s sentencing is linked to her human rights activities and fears for her physical and psychological integrity and security while in detention.
Appeals@frontlinedefenders.org
Posted in Front Line, Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
Tags: detention, Front Line, harassment, human rights, Human Rights and Liberties, Human rights defender, Saida Kurbanova, Uzbekistan, woman human rights defender
December 6, 2012
The Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) was founded with a commitment to human rights as one of its three key pillars. Sadly, says Dublin-based Front Line Defenders, OSCE member states have not been living up to those ideals and human rights defenders face imprisonment, threats, harassment, defamation and restrictive legislation in countries across the region. “It is time the OSCE backed up fine declarations with effective action,” said
Mary Lawlor, Executive Director of Front Line Defenders, “too often it has been the prisoner of consensus and failed to respond when human rights defenders have been jailed, attacked or killed.”Front Line Defenders will undertake a silent vigil outside the OSCE Ministerial Council in Dublin on Thursday 6th December highlighting
ten cases of human rights defenders from the region:
Vidadi Iskenderov is in prison in
Azerbaijan
Ales Bialiatski is in prison in Belarus
Natalya Estemirova was murdered in Chechnya, Russia in July 2009
Agnes Gereb is under house arrest and facing a prison sentence in Hungary
Roza Tuletaeva is in prison in Kazakhstan
Azimjan Askarov is in prison in Kyrgyzstan
Pat Finucane was murdered in Northern Ireland in February 1989
Osman Isci is in prison in Turkey
Sviatoslav Sheremet was attacked and badly beaten in Ukraine in May 2012
Dilmurod Sayid is in prison in Uzbekistan
Posted in Front Line, Human Rights Defenders | 2 Comments »
Tags: Dublin, Front Line, Front Line Defenders, human rights, Human Rights and Liberties, Human rights defender, Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, OSCE
November 30, 2012
Today Front Line Defenders reports the case of arbitrary arrest of human rights defender Mr Sanjeewa Samarasinghe in Sri Lanka.
On 27 November 2012, human rights defender Mr Sanjeewa Samarasinghe was taken into custody by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and questioned for 13 hours without a reason given or a lawyer present, before being released. Sanjeewa Samarasinghe is a journalist and the chairman of the State Media Workers’ Association, which defends press freedom and the rights of media workers in Sri Lanka. The human rights defender was taken to the CID office in Colombo 1 with a friend present, although his friend was told to leave the interrogation after 15 minutes. The defender asked the police officers to wait for his lawyer to arrive before questioning him, but this request was ignored and the police proceeded to question him in the absence of his lawyer. The defender’s lawyer was not permitted to enter the CID premises for the entire duration of the interrogation. It is reported that Sanjeewa Samarasinghe was subsequently questioned throughout the night for a period of 13 hours until he was eventually released around 9.30am the following morning on 28 November. Although no reason was given for the arrest, he was reportedly asked during the questioning whether he had been supplying information on human rights violations in Sri Lanka to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.
Sanjeewa Samarasinghe works as a journalist and leads the State Media Workers’ Association, which works on issues related to media freedom, the right to freedom of expression, and which holds conferences, campaigns, and demonstrations on the rights of media workers.
It would seem another case of backlash against those HRDs who testify in the UN on which I reported previously and which has been condemned in the strongest terms by the United Nations.
Posted in Front Line, Human Rights Defenders | 1 Comment »
Tags: Colombo, Criminal Investigation Department, Front Line, Geneva, human rights, Human Rights Defenders, ill treatment, illegal detention, Sri Lanka, United Nations Human Rights Council
November 21, 2012
From Front Line Defenders comes the following case: During the week of 12 November 2012, human rights defender Ms Claudia Virginia Samayoa received warnings of an attack being prepared against her, in the latest incident in an ongoing series of threats and defamatory statements targeting her and several other human rights defenders. Claudia Samayoa is the coordinator of the
Unidad de Protección de Defensoras y Defensores de Derechos Humanos Guatemala – UDEFEGUA (Human Rights Defenders Protection Unit in Guatemala), who supports the work of human rights defenders in preventing and responding to security risks, through monitoring, verification and advocacy work.On 5 November 2012, she filed a complaint with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights denouncing a statement, then in circulation, in which she and several others were threatened and accused of involvement in terrorist activities and fuelling anti-business hostility. The statement, which is believed to have been delivered at a press conference on 15 October 2012, had reportedly been circulated and forwarded for several days before it came to Claudia Samayoa’s attention on 19 October 2012. The statement originates from the
Fundación Contra el Terrorismo (Foundation Against Terrorism), and mentions Claudia Samayoa by name as someone with anti-business and terrorist sympathies. It claims she expressed this by financing “destabilizing organisations” and partaking in a conspiracy with two other civil society figures, who are accused of being ex-guerrillas who took part in the torture and kidnapping of the Foundation Against Terrorism’s director in 1982.
The document goes on to link the human rights defender to a number of recent violent clashes between the military and local populations in which members of the military were injured, and implies that Claudia Samayoa and others were responsible for these events through “incitement”. The last part of the document is a direct call on state authorities and the armed forces alike to ensure that all those it deems complicit in “political trials” against the military be held responsible and forced to pay for having attempted to change history. During the week of 12 November 2012, both Claudia Samayoa and a member of the Human Rights office of the Archbishop of Guatemala received warnings of an attack being prepared on their lives. Threats have been issued against UDEFEGUA in the past and on one occasion in February 2010, Claudia Samayoa’s car was tampered with in an attempt to cause an accident. Front Line Defenders issued an urgent appeal on the threats against the organisation on 10 March 2010 . As a result of the threats, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights considered it necessary to provide Claudia Samayoa and other members of UDEFEGUA with protection measures.
Posted in human rights | Leave a Comment »
Tags: Claudia Samayoa, Front Line, Guatemala, human rights, Human rights defender, terrorism, UDEFEGUA, woman human rights defender
August 16, 2012
Today, 16 August, Nabeel Rajab, President of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR) which is one the 3 nominees of the Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders 2012, was sentenced to three years imprisonment on charges of illegal assembly
Posted in Front Line, Human Rights Defenders, MEA | 1 Comment »
Tags: Bahrain, Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, Front Line, human rights, Human rights defender, MEA, Nabeel Rajab, prison
Nabeel Rajab with one of many tear gas cannisters fired into his house
Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards 