Posts Tagged ‘Human rights defender’
January 29, 2019
On 28 January, 2019, the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO), the World Uyghur Congress (WUC) and Norwegian Uyghur Committee (NUK) announced that they have nominated the Chinese human rights defender Ilham Tohti for the Rafto Prize. With the completion of five years of his arrest, the organisations believe his peaceful trajectory in defense of the freedom and fully enjoyment of human rights by the Uyghur population in China is deserving of this prestigious prize. See also: https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/2018/01/15/today-ilham-tohti-completes-his-fourth-year-in-chinese-detention/.
[Ilham Tohti served as a professor of economics at Minzu University in Beijing where he specialized in research focused on Uyghur-Han relations, China’s ethnic policies and East Turkistan. Alongside his scholarship and teaching, Ilham is revered for establishing and maintaining Uyghur Online, a website dedicated to promoting Uyghur human rights and improved relations between Uyghur and Han Chinese people. Professor Tohti criticised oppressive policies against Uyghurs and wrote extensively on constructive approaches to overcome unequal treatment between ethnic groups. Notably, he called for dialogue and reconciliation, using his web platform as the primary vehicle. For his efforts, he was arrested by Chinese authorities on January 15, 2014. Despite the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention finding his detention to be arbitrary in March 2014, Tohti was sentenced to life in prison in September of that year on charges of “separatism” after just a two-day trial. The legal process involving Tohti was met with significant issues throughout. His lawyers were unable to meet him for six months following the initial arrest, his defense team was not provided with complete evidence by the prosecutor, nor were their requested witnesses allowed to testify during the trial. Ilham has been serving his life sentence since December 2014 at Urumqi’s No. 1 Prison. Since then, he has been allowed very few visits from his family. Complicating this has been his continued detention in Urumqi, despite his family living in Beijing – a likely punitive move from Beijing. ChinaChange has noted that Tohti has been held in solitary confinement until at least early 2016 and has been denied the right to communicate with family and friends aside from minimal visits. The WUC gathered 132 scholars and 19 civil society organisations in an open letter to urge the Chinese government to release Ilham Tohti from his arbitrary detention of the five-year anniversary of his arrest in January 2019.]
In 2014 Mr. Tohti was awarded the PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award. On October 11, 2016, Tohti was awarded the Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders. In 2017 he received the Weimar Prize (https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/2017/07/05/uyghur-human-rights-defender-ilham-tohti-wins-also-weimar-human-rights-prize/). He was also nominated for the European Parliament’s Sakharov Prize in 2016. See also: https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/2016/10/15/martin-ennals-award-2016-relive-the-ceremony-in-13-minutes-or-in-full/
The WUC,the UNPO and the NUK encourage scholars and organisations to join in nominating Ilham Tohti. The deadline for nominations is Friday, February 1st. As the situation in East Turkistan continues to deteriorate, with more than one million innocent Uyghurs arbitrarily detained in internment camps and the Uyghur people facing unparalleled repression, Ilham Tohti’s life and work stands as an inspiration to continue the peaceful struggle for peace, understanding
https://unpo.org/article/21350
Posted in awards, human rights, Human Rights Defenders, MEA | 1 Comment »
Tags: China, human rights awards, Human rights defender, Ilham Tohti, MEA laureate 2016, nominations, prison conditions, Rafto Prize, UNPO, Uyghurs, World Uyghur Congress
January 7, 2019
Radio Free Europe (RFE) announced on 4 January 2019 that Faiziniso Vohidova, a Tajik lawyer who defended dissidents for decades, died at the age of 55.
Faiziniso Vohidova was a graduate of Moscow State University and started her career as a lawyer in 1995. She was one of the last lawyers in Tajikistan who provided legal assistance to opposition figures, journalists, and victims of torture. Steve Swerdlow, researcher with Human Rights Watch, called Vohidova’s death “a huge loss for Tajikistan” and described her as a brave “lawyers’ lawyer.”
“[Vohidova] was an amazing combination of fierce intellect, sharp wit [and] principle. [For] duration of Tajikistan’s independence she has been part of that small group of activists and lawyers who have sought to make it live up to the democratic pronouncements written in its Constitution,” Swerdlow wrote on Twitter, adding that she was “unafraid to take on the toughest battles, fight for justice till the end, no matter what the odds.”
Rajabi Mirz, an independent journalist and rights defender in Tajikistan, told RFE/RL that Vohidova was “the last pillar” of those challenging the authorities in Tajikistan. “She was one of the few who cared about Tajikistan’s future,” Mirzo said.
https://www.rferl.org/a/faiziniso-vohidova-tajik-lawyer-who-defended-dissidents-for-decades-dies-at-55/29691242.html
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Tags: death, Faiziniso Vohidova, HRW, Human rights defender, human rights lawyer, in memoriam, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Rajabi Mirz, Steve Swerdlow, Tajikistan
January 2, 2019
Football’s power to fight injustice motivates Craig Foster. The former Socceroos captain who played for Hong Kong’s Ernest Borel in the early ’90s is a broadcaster in Australia and also works for Amnesty International as a human rights and refugee ambassador. He is among the most vocal of activists in calling out human rights transgressions in football and sport and is one of the many prominent figures fighting for the release of Bahrain’s Hakeem al-Araibi, an Australia-based refugee footballer who is in a Thai jail awaiting extradition to his home country where he fears torture and persecution. [For some of my other posts on football and human rights, see: https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/tag/football/]
On Tuesday, 01 January, 2019, 
Nazvi Careem wrote a long piece about Craig Foster’s work and dedication:
And if he ever doubted just how powerful this sport can be, he only needs to recall the heartbreaking words of a young African refugee who had lost everything – fleeing his war-torn homeland after his parents, sibling and other members of his family were killed. “He was involved in a football programme over a period of time. He was very, very quiet and said very little,” said Foster. “He was in a new country and was experiencing psychological difficulties, which is totally understandable. “When he was asked why he liked the programme, he simply said: ‘The only thing that still exists in my life is football. It is the only thing that hasn’t been taken away from me’. And he was crying when he said it.
He [Craig Foster] is among the most vocal of activists in calling out human rights transgressions in football and sport and is one of the many prominent figures fighting for the release of Bahrain’s Hakeem al-Araibi, an Australia-based refugee footballer who is in a Thai jail awaiting extradition to his home country where he fears torture and persecution. (AFC must be held to account if Bahraini refugee player is extradited from Thailand, says ex-Socceroos captain Craig Foster)
…Since retiring as a player in 2002, Foster became involved in social issues related to football, working with disadvantaged, minority and indigenous communities in a variety of programmes. “I’m just finishing my law degree, which has given me some further insight into the challenges of human rights and international refugee law. I feel strongly about these issues and in football, we are at an advantage because we are the most diverse, multicultural community in Australia.
…..Foster, who played for Portsmouth and Crystal Palace in England and also had a stint in Singapore, said he felt an obligation to give something back to the sport. As an ex-player and a broadcaster with the SBS organisation in Australia, Foster is in an ideal position to reach out to the masses. At the same time, he puts his contribution to social issues in perspective, admitting that he is in a position of comfort compared with activists whose lives are on the line in their efforts to effect change.
“Of course, you can’t fight every battle, but there are key ones which take a huge amount time. But the people I have immense respect for are the human rights defenders in their countries….In Australia we have serious human rights issues, with indigenous Australians and also in terms of refugees and arrivals.
(This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: using football to fight injustice)
Posted in AI | 2 Comments »
Tags: AI, Anthony LaPaglia, Australia, Bahrain, Craig Foster, extradition, football, Hakeem al-Araibi, Human rights defender, media, Nazvi Careem, profile, refugees, Socceroos, sports and politics, Thailand, youth
December 10, 2018
Many organizations have bid farewell to Ludmila Alexeeva, the doyenne of Russia’s human rights movement, who died on December 8 in Moscow. Here the In Memoriam by Human Rights Watch:
She will forever be a towering figure for human rights activists everywhere: a clear, moral voice for freedom and dignity. Ludmila gave her energy and her soul to many cases and issues, from the persecution of ordinary people, to civilian carnage in the war in Chechnya, to the Kremlin’s crackdown on civil society that gathered speed as Vladimir Putin’s presidency wore on. She spoke simply, but powerfully. While she was always kind and compassionate, she was not to be trifled with. She refused to sacrifice her dignity to Soviet power and refused to allow the current autocratic Kremlin to dictate terms to her.
In an interview in 2011 with Human Rights Watch, Ludmila described her work as “…Pressing the government to solve the problems at hand. If there is a heavy price to pay for this, then I’ll pay it. It’s more important than lying and obeying out of fear.” In the 1960s Ludmila was part of the Soviet dissident movement. In 1976, she co-founded the Moscow Helsinki Group, and fought for the freedom of imprisoned dissidents. The Soviet government did not long tolerate the Moscow Helsinki Group, arresting and exiling many of its members. In 1977, the Soviet government forced Ludmila into exile, to the United States. In 1993 Ludmila moved back to Russia, and in 1996 became chair of the Moscow Helsinki Group, presiding over the group’s re-invigoration and expansion.
Well into her 80’s Ludmila was unstoppable, observing trials, participating in peaceful public assemblies – even getting detained at one, on New Year’s Eve, while dressed in a snow queen costume. She traveled widely, within Russia and beyond, to promote fundamental freedoms, continuing to inspire new generations of human rights defenders at home. …
She was a formative part of Human Rights Watch’s creation: in 1978, a group of writers, publishers and activists formed to galvanize support in the US and Europe for the Moscow Helsinki Group and Soviet dissidents. That group was Helsinki Watch, which later grew into Human Rights Watch. We send our deepest condolences to Ludmila’s family and colleagues. We will miss you terribly, Ludmila Mikhailovna. Ludmila’s funeral will be held in Moscow on December 11, just after the world marks International Human Rights Day.
Quite remarkable is that according to CryptoCoin Russian President Vladimir Putin also paid tribute, according to his spokesperson, to the work of the late human rights activist Lyudmila Alexeyeva. “The President appreciates the contribution made by Lyudmila Alexeyeva for the development of civil society in Russia,” said Putin’s Confidant, Dmitry Peskov, the Agency Interfax according to. He respects your positions on many issues of the country. Putin had also sent a personal letter of Condolences to the family of Kremlin critic”. [http://www.ccdiscovery.com/vanessa-ponce-de-leon-to-be-crowned-miss-world-2018]
https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/12/09/tribute-ludmila-mikhailovna-alexeeva#
Posted in human rights | 1 Comment »
Tags: Cryptocoin, died, Human rights defender, Human Rights Watch, in memoriam, Ludmila Alexeeva, Moscow Helsinki Group, President Putin, profile, Russia, woman human rights defender
December 7, 2018
Posted in AI, Front Line, Human Rights Defenders | 1 Comment »
Tags: AI, Crimea, Emil Kurbedinov, facebook, Front Line Defenders Award for Human Rights Defenders at Risk, Human rights defender, human rights lawyer, illegal detention, Lev Ponomarev, Russia
December 6, 2018
On 4 December 2018 Jonathan Emmett wrote in a post about something that I had been wondering for weeks: “Are UK authors only prepared to defend the rights of people like themselves?”. Totally correct:
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Posted in awards, Human Rights Defenders, MEA | Leave a Comment »
Tags: Ahmed Mansoor, campaign, Emirates, freedom of expression, Human rights defender, Matthew Hedges, MEA laureate 2015, UAE, UK, writers
November 22, 2018
Abdolfattah Soltani. Photograph: Behrouz Mehri/AFP
“The authorities agreed yesterday to my client’s conditional parole and he was released today,” Soltani’s lawyer Saeed Dehghan said on Wednesday, according to IRNA.
Soltani was jailed in 2011 over charges of “spreading propaganda against the system” and “setting up an illegal opposition group”, Amnesty International said at the time. He was granted conditional release after serving more than half a 10-year term, IRNA said. A previous parole request on 8 July had been denied, according to his lawyer. Soltani was a co-founder of the now outlawed Defenders of Human Rights Centre alongside Nobel peace prize laureate Shirin Ebadi and others. The human rights lawyer’s release could not be immediately confirmed with his family. Soltani was briefly released from prison in August to attend the funeral of his 30-year-old daughter, Homa, who died of a heart attack.
see also: https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/2012/10/10/abdolfattah-soltani-awarded-iba-human-rights-award-lawyers-for-lawyers/
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/nov/21/iranian-human-rights-lawyer-abdolfattah-soltani-released-from-jail
Posted in AI, Human Rights Defenders | 1 Comment »
Tags: Abdolfattah Soltani, AFP, Human rights defender, human rights lawyer, Iran, release, Saeed Dehghan
November 16, 2018
Eva Lewis, founder of the I Project. Photo Credit: Provided by Eva Lewis
Katherine Newman in the Chicago Citizen proudly profiles the young woman from Chicago Eva Lewis who – as only HRD from the USA almost represented “the United States At Human Rights Defenders World Summit” [https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/2018/07/24/announcement-of-the-human-rights-defenders-world-summit-in-paris-october-2018/].
A young activist, Eva Lewis, who grew up on the south side of Chicago recently traveled to Paris to participate in the Human Rights Defenders World Summit 2018. Lewis spoke on the Americas panel, alongside activists from Latin America, and discussed youth-led movements in the United States as well as the state of black and brown people in the country. “What the Summit aims to do is bring together representatives from each country to talk about the state of human rights defenders and to brainstorm ways that we can elevate our fight for human rights and create a direct action plan that can be implemented to protect human rights defenders internationally,” said Lewis.
Lewis was one representative in a diverse group of 150 human rights defenders from around the world that came to Paris for the three-day Summit. “I was on the Americas panel and I was the only US representative and also the youngest delegate at the Summit and I was the only English speaker on my panel. Everyone on the panel talked about their own fight for human rights and how it pertains to their country and the people that they were there to represent,” said Lewis.
“I set my self up to fulfill a specific agenda which was to bring human rights of black and brown folks in the U.S. to an international platform because we don’t talk about human rights violations against black and brown people in the US as a human rights issue. This was the first time anyone had that conversation at the Summit and I was happy to be able to be the one to present that conversation.”
Nineteen-year-old Lewis is an award-winning student, activist, and artist. She is also known for founding the I Project, a non-profit organization aiming to create equitable communities in Chicago.
“I really liked hearing about how people structure their organizations so what I think I gained the most from the Summit is good information about how to make the infrastructure of my own organization more sustainable. The I Project is relatively new and we’ve only had a fiscal sponsorship for about a year and we are not sustainable at all and I’m comfortable admitting that because the journey is important and part of the process,” said Lewis.
http://thechicagocitizen.com/news/2018/nov/14/young-chicagoan-represents-united-states-human-rig/
Posted in human rights | 1 Comment »
Tags: Chicago, equality, Eva Lewis, Human rights defender, Human Rights Defenders World Summit 2018, I Project, profile, USA, woman human rights defender, youth
November 7, 2018
On 6 November 2018, the African network NGO DefendDefenders published this profile of their ‘Defender of the month’: William Leslie Amanzuru from Uganda:
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Posted in Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
Tags: Africa, climate, DefendDefenders, environmental activists, forrest, Human rights defender, profile, Uganda, William Leslie Amanzuru
October 7, 2018
1 OCTOBER 2018
Front Line Defenders is deeply saddened by the death of human rights defender Vitaly (Vito) Safarov, who passed away on 30 September 2018 in Tbilisi, Georgia.
Vitaly first got involved in human rights work in 2013 when he became a trainer in a multicultural camp for children in Georgia. He then worked for the Georgian NGO “Centre for Participation and Development” as a trainer of youth programs. For the past two years, Vitaly was a part of the Tbilisi Shelter Initiative that provides human rights defenders from across the region with a safe space, rest, medical aid and capacity-building programs. He accompanied defenders from different countries and backgrounds on a daily basis, helping them to adapt during their stay in Tbilisi and to benefit from the Shelter’s programs.
Svetlana Anokhina, journalist from Dagestan, who stayed at the Tbilisi shelter commented: “He took care of me during my three-month stay. When I arrived, I was told: here is Vitaly and he is your case manager. 20 minutes later, he became simply Vito to me. If someone asked what he meant to me and I could not explain, I responded: “Just imagine that you have a younger brother who you would call when you are having Internet connection problems; or if you need to go somewhere but you are too tired; or if you are in a hospital and don’t know who you should turn to; or if you are just feeling bad. Vitaly always responded in such a way to these problems that he would leave you feeling much better”.
Front Line Defenders’ Protection Coordinator and Board member of Tbilisi Shelter, Maria Chichtchenkova said: “At Front Line Defenders we were privileged to collaborate with Vitaly Safarov on many projects for human rights defenders at risk. He was especially involved in our work on digital security. He had a deep commitment to working with and for HRDs of all cultures, being himself of Jewish and Yazidi roots. He had a great sense of humour, which was sometimes quite dark, but he always showed incredible kindness and tenderness to people. One of our colleagues referred to him as “Vito, defender of defenders” and that’s exactly who he was.”
Vitaly Safarov will be missed and remembered by so many people.
Posted in Front Line, human rights, Human Rights Defenders | 1 Comment »
Tags: Front Line (NGO), Georgia, Human rights defender, in memoriam, Svetlana Anokhina, Tbilisi Shelter Initiative, Vitaly Safarov
Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards 