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.
Posts Tagged ‘Human rights defender’
Guatemalan human rights defender Claudia Samayoa threatened
November 21, 2012FIDH MEMBERS IN DETENTION OR HARASSED FOR THEIR HUMAN RIGHTS WORK
November 21, 2012
Check out the steps that led to their detention:
- In BAHRAIN :Nabeel Rajab, FIDH Deputy Secretary General and President of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR)
Abdulhadi AlKhawaja, former President of BCHR
The Bahrain Centre or Human Rights is one the 2012 nominees of the Martin Ennals Award.
- In BELARUS :Ales Bialiatski, President of the Viasna Human Rights Centre and FIDH Vice President
Since his election in 1994, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, has installed an authoritarian regime that represses freedom of expression, assembly and association. The human rights situation in Belarus markedly deteriorated on 19 December 2010 when riot police brutally dispersed demonstrators protesting against the unfair handling of the presidential election. This event marked the beginning of an unprecedented wave of repression, which continues to this day. Prominent human rights defender, Ales Bialiatski was arrested in Minsk on 4 August 2011 and sentenced to four-and-a-half years in prison on trumped up tax evasion charges. He remains in prison to this day.
- In IRAN :Mohammad Ali Dadkhah, founding member of Defenders of Human Rights Centre (DHRC) and human rights lawyer
Abdolfattah Soltani, founding member of DHRC and human rights lawyer
Mohammad Seifzadeh, member of the DHRC and human rights lawyer
Nasrin Sotoudeh, member of DHRC and prominent human rights lawyer known for defending juveniles facing death penalty, prisoners of conscience, human rights activists and child victims of abuse; she is lso a 2012 MEA nominee
- In TURKEY :Muharrem Erbey, IHD Vice Chairperson and former Chairperson of Diyarbakır branch
Arslan Özdemir, Executive, IHD Diyarbakır branch
Şerif Süren, Executive, IHD Aydın branch
Orhan Çiçek, Executive, IHD Aydın branch
Reşit Teymur, Executive, IHD Siirt branch
Abdulkadir Çurğatay, Executive, IHD Mardin branch
Veysi Parıltı, Executive, IHD Mardin branch
Şaziye Önder, representative IHD Doğubeyazıt (Ağrı)
Mensur Işık, former Chairperson, IHD Muş branch
Hikmet Tapancı, Executive, IHD Malatya branch
Ali Tanrıverdi, Chairperson IHD Mersin branch
Osman İşçi, IHD General Headquarters (Ankara) former worker and member of IHD
Hanim Koçygit, Executive, IHD Sakarya branch
Bekir Gürbüz, former Chairperson, IHD Adıyaman branch
FIDH notes in this respect: Despite Turkey’s considerable human rights progress since 2000, those expressing ideas on “sensitive” human rights related issues continue to be targeted and criminalised by the public authorities. So-called “sensitive” questions include the promotion of alternative identities to the Turkish mainstream (e.g. asserting the rights of ethnic and religious minorities, especially Kurds, as well as the rights of sexual minorities). It also encompasses any criticism of the State and its institutions, including institutional functioning, judicial independence, and impunity for human rights violations. Members of NGOs, lawyers, trade unionists, journalists, intellectuals, academics, conscientious objectors, the families of victims of serious human rights violations, and others have been targeted by State policies that consider their expression of their views to be a threat. Fourteen members of the Human Rights Association (IHD), a Turkish FIDH member organisation, are currently being held in preventive detention under an anti-terrorism law that criminalises legitimate expression of opinion.
- In UZBEKISTAN :Zafar Rakhimov, member of the Human Rights Society of Uzbekistan (HRSU) Kashkadarya regional branch
Nasim Isakov, member of the HRSU Djizak regional branch
Yuldosh Rasulov, member of the HRSU Kashkadarya regional branch
Azam Formonov, Head of the Sirdarya regional branch of the HRSU
Gaybullo Jalilov, member of the HRSU Karshi regional branch
Uzbekistan has the highest number of human rights defenders serving lengthy prison sentences in Eastern Europe/Central Asia. These sentences are usually served in penal colonies where the regime is extremely strict. Harsh conditions and ill treatment have caused the health of incarcerated defenders to deteriorate quickly. These inhumane and degrading conditions are currently the reality of several members of FIDH member organisation, the Human Rights Society of Uzbekistan.
Good news from the Gambia: judicial harassment of 2 HRDs ended
November 15, 2012On November 14, 2012 The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), announced and welcomed the vindication of two women human rights defenders in The Gambia following two years of judicial harassment.
On November 12, the Banjul Magistrates’ Court decided to drop all charges against Dr. Isatou Touray and Ms. Amie Bojang-Sissoho, respectively Executive Director and Programme Coordinator of The Gambia Committee on Traditional Practices Affecting the Health of Women and Children (GAMCOTRAP), an organisation working on sexual and reproductive health and rights of women and children. The two women human rights defenders had been prosecuted since October 2010 on charges of “theft” for the alleged embezzlement of 30,000 Euros received in 2009 from “Yolocamba Solidaridad”, a Spanish development NGO.
This landmark decision puts an end to an uninterrupted judicial harassment that had been going on for more than two years, since the police started interrogations of GAMCOTRAP staff in May 2010. Since the opening of their trial, Dr. Isatou Touray and Amie Bojang-Sissoho had been summoned to 66 hearings, which took place in a hostile atmosphere and on completely unlawful grounds. Indeed, the alleged victims had never filed a complaint and the Prosecution failed to present sufficient evidence that they had indeed committed a criminal offence. Furthermore, on January 31, 2011, Ms. Begoña Ballestros Sanchez, Director of Yolocamba Solidaridad, denied accusing anyone associated with GAMCOTRAP of theft and submitting a complaint in relation thereof during a hearing at Banjul Magistrate’s Court. During interrogation, Ms. Isatou Touray had to respond to very precise questions by the Prosecutor covering all aspects of GAMCOTRAP’s activities, staff and resources that are unrelated to the charges. In addition, the Prosecutor also repeatedly made depreciating comments about the work of GAMCOTRAP’s programme to eradicate female genital mutilation.
One can only hope that their acquittal marks a step forward in the respect of the rights of human rights defenders in the Gambia.
Death threats against Indian human rights defender Mr Azimuddin Sarkar
November 13, 2012Front Line Defenders reports on 13 November that since 14 October 2012, the Indian human rights defender Mr. Azimuddin Sarkar and his family have been targeted with threats and intimidation on several occasions, which has been exacerbated by unwillingness on the part of the police to investigate the matter. Azimuddin Sarkar is the District Human Rights Monitor of MASUM, a non-governmental human rights organisation based in Howrah, Kolkata, West Bengal.
On 14 October 2012, a group of 20-25 people, of whom four were identified as locally known thugs, raided the house of Azimuddin Sarkar’s older brother, who was home with his family at the time, in Bardhanpur village, West Bengal state. The thugs reportedly issued threats to Azimuddin Sarkar, saying they would “teach him a lesson” as they threatened the family with weapons and looted the house. An hour after the incident, police appeared on the scene and advised the victims to make a complaint. When the human rights defender’s brother went to the local police station at Raninagar the next day, it is reported that the officer on duty refused to file the complaint, insisting instead to register it only as ‘information received’. A written complaint was sent to the Superintendent of Police at Murshidabad.
On 16 October, Azimuddin Sarkar asked a friend from a non-governmental organisation to make a request to the police to arrest the culprits. The Officer in Charge (OC) at Raninagar station responded that they should leave the matter be, as it was related to MASUM. The OC added that MASUM was not the State Human Rights Commission, and as such “had no right to pressurise the police”. The next day, around 11pm on 17 October, four of the same thugs assembled outside Azimuddin Sarkar’s family home armed with lethal weapons and went on to publicly threaten to kill the human rights defender and his family.
On 19 October, the human rights defender filed a written complaint on the incident with the OC and the Superintendent of police at Murshidabad, supported by multiple eye witnesses. On 5 November, after repeated attempts to call the OC at Raninagar police station, a call from a fellow District Human Rights Monitor at MASUM was returned. All the OC offered regarding police actions on the issue was that he could give no detail of whether any case had been initiated or not. The police have reportedly sent a number of messages to the complainants urging them to withdraw their complaints against the assailants.
Azimuddin Sarkar has been involved in campaigns against the use of torture by the police and Border Security Forces in the area. Currently he is unable to move freely and carry out his work due to the threats. It is believed he is being targeted solely for his legitimate and peaceful human rights activities.
Three Zimbabwean Human Rights Defenders in difficulty
November 12, 2012On 8 November 2012 Amnesty International and other organizations (including Protection International) report on the situation of three Zimbabwean human rights defenders (HRDs), who have been detained without charge since Monday 5 November. On 7 November, they were illegally transferred from Harare to Bulawayo, taking them far from their support networks and raising fears for their safety. They are prisoners of conscience.
Fidelis Mudimu, Zachariah Godi and Tafadzwa Geza are senior staff members of the Counselling Services Unit (CSU) a registered medical clinic which provides medical and counselling services to victims of organized violence and torture. They were arbitrarily arrested by police following a raid on the organisation’s office in Harare on Monday 5 November.
At around 11h30 on Monday 5 November about a dozen police officers arrived at the office of the CSU, without a search warrant. Around two hours later they were joined by a truck-load of anti-riot police who threatened to fire tear gas into the clinic, risking the lives of patients, staff and others in the building. Police later produced a search warrant stating that they were there to recover “offensive and subversive material” which “defaces any house, building, wall, fence, lamp-post, gate or elevator without the consent of the owner or occupier thereof”. Police entered the premises and conducted a search and illegally seized confidential medical records, a computer and documents which were not covered by the search warrant. The three HRDs were then arrested.
On Wednesday 7 November Fidelis Mudimu, Zachariah Godi and Tafadzwa Geza were illegally transferred more than 400km from Harare to Bulawayo, in an open pick up truck without protection from the sun, despite temperatures exceeding 30°C. Harare police handed them over to Bulawayo police in the town of Kwekwe, where they were immediately handcuffed. On arrival in Bulawayo they were immediately placed in detention without being interviewed. It is illegal to detain someone without charge for over 48 hours in Zimbabwe.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
The CSU is a highly respected organisation because of its work to support thousands of survivors of human right violations. Amnesty International believes that the arbitrary arrest, unlawful detention and illegal transfer of the three human rights defender is part of systematic harassment and intimidation of civil society in Zimbabwe as the country is heading for another election in 2013.
This is the second raid on the office of an NGO in Harare in less than three months. In August the office of Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe (GALZ) was raided by police twice and members were arrested and detained.
ATTACK ON HRD OKIYA OMTATAH SHOULD BE INVESTIGATED IMPARTIALLY
November 11, 2012Reports indicate that Mr. Okiya Okoiti Omtatah was attacked in the evening on 8 November 2012 by unknown assailants at Nairobi’s Central Business District. He suffered broken teeth and a deep cut on the head. He was taken to hospital in Nairobi for medical examination. Mr. Omtatah is a known human rights defender who has been at the forefront of condemning human rights violations in Kenya, corruption and abuse of offices by state officials. Mr Omtatah has recently publicly raised concern regarding the Biometric Voter Registration Kits’ procurement process in Kenya.
The Government of Kenya should ensure that thorough and impartial investigations are carried out into the attack on Mr. Omtatah the National Coalition of Human Rights Defenders in Kenya said on 9 November.
This incident has taken place at a period when Human rights defenders in Kenya, including journalists have reported increasing threats, physical attacks and arbitrary arrest in the past few months.
The National Coalition of Human Rights Defenders condemns this incident and ongoing threats and targeting of human rights defenders as they conduct their legitimate work. We call upon the government, particularly the police to assure citizens of safety and protection of all people particularly as the country head towards elections in March 2013.
The National Coalition of HRDs further urges the Government of Kenya to fight impunity by ensuring that impartial, thorough and timely investigations are carried out into this and other incidents, and that the perpetrators are held to account in prosecutions that meet international fair trial standards.
For inquiries, please contact Kamau Ngugi, Coordinator, NCHRD on info@nchrdk.org
Related articles
- Activist Omtatah attacked on Nairobi street (capitalfm.co.ke)
HRD Sayed Yusuf arrested in Bahrain
November 8, 2012Many organizations have called on the Bahraini authorities to immediately release the human rights activist Sayed Yusuf al-Muhafadha and drop all “illegal gathering” charges against him. On October 30, 2012, the government issued an indefinite ban on public protests. Security forces arrested al-Muhafadha, acting vice president of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR), in al-Diraz, west of Manama, on November 2. Al-Muhafadha was taken into custody after he tried to photograph an injured protester at a protest against the ban. Earlier in the day he had tweeted photos of security forces attacking protesters with teargas in the village of Bilad al-Qadeem, the Washington Post reported. The day after he was arrested, the public prosecutor decided to hold him in detention for a week pending investigation on charges of “illegal gathering of more than five people.”
Sayed Yusuf al-Muhafadha is acting vice president of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) and represented them at the MEA ceremony on 2 October in Geneva. For images see the website: http://www.martinennalsaward.org, summary of the 2012 ceremony.
Human rights defender of the month: Sapiyat Magomedova from Dagestan
November 6, 2012The North Caucasian republic of Dagestan is one of the most dangerous places for lawyers today in Russia. In this region Sapiyat Magomedova defends victims of grave human rights violations like enforced disappearances, extra judicial killings and torture. She has taken on cases that many lawyers would reject due to security reasons, and although it is considered almost impossible, she has won several of them. She was chosen by Stockholm-based Civil Rights Defenders as its HRD of the month. Last week I reported that she had received an important award from Sweden.
When asked about everyday life in Dagestan, local human rights lawyer Sapiyat Magomedova answers straight: ”I would not call it life.” The conflict in Dagestan is bridging on civil war. During the last two years Dagestan is considered to be the most violent region in the North Caucasus, followed by Chechnya. Local human rights defenders constantly face harassment, assaults and threats to their life.
In 2010 Sapiyat Magomedova was severely beaten by police officers when visiting one of her clients. When pressing charges, she was herself charged with using violence against state officials and insulting police officers on duty. Sapiyat Magomedova had already in 2009 been subjected to an unfounded criminal case for allegedly offending an Investigator from the Prosecutor’s Office. She believes that the case was a form of retaliation for her standing up to law enforcement agencies and fighting impunity. “The criminal case against me was opened to put pressure on me, to force me to retract my statement against the police officers”, Sapiyat Magomedova later said in an interview.
Sapiyat Magomedova represents victims in very sensitive cases, such as allegations that the police have tortured individuals suspected of involvement with the insurgency, and cases of sexual- and gender based violence. Normally, cases of sexual- and gender based violence go unreported in Dagestan. Sexual violence is a taboo subject in a region where honour killings, bride kidnapping, and child marriage occur. There is an absence of debate on the political level on these issues. Women’s rights are not high on the political agenda and gender based violence and other kind of abuses against women occur on a regular basis.
In 2011, Sapiyat Magomedova defended a 13-year-old girl who had been kidnapped and raped for three days by five young men. Two of the suspected rapists were sons of police officers. After strong pressure on the girl and her family, she succumbed and changed her statement. The case, however, got rather great resonance in society and might lead to inspiring other victims to dare press charges. Sapiyat Magomedova further highlighted the case on one of the first conferences on women’s rights in the region. At the conference she spoke about the problem with impunity in cases of sexual- and gender based violence.
Being a woman, Sapiyat Magomedova must also exert much effort just to be taken seriously in her legal profession. Caucasian women are commonly housewives and that “leaves its mark”, as Sapiyat Magomedova puts it. Woman lawyers have a lot of misconceptions to fight against.
Human rights defenders constantly face harassment and threats to their life in Dagestan. Since 2010, Dagestan is considered to be the most violent region in the North Caucasus, followed by Chechnya. The conflict nearly approach the level of civil war. Russian law enforcement bodies are reluctant to investigate cases of human rights abuses. Even though Russia has been convicted approximately 210 times for violations linked to North Caucasus, by the European Court of Human Rights, not even one perpetrator has been put to justice.
In many cases, violations are committed by those who are supposed to uphold the rule of law, under the pretext of fighting terrorism. In order to keep up statistics in terror crimes, it frequently occurs that law enforcement bodies fabricate evidence against innocent people and extract a confession by using torture. This in turn nurtures the insurgency that has been on the rise in the past years. A decade of failure to stabilize the region and deal with the rampant impunity has created an environment where ordinary people live in fear and have almost nowhere to turn to seek justice.
The Russian government invests enormous sums of money each year to dampen the conflicts throughout the North Caucasus. The number of dead terrorists is used as evidence that the Russian government’s initiative leads to results. Military and security forces, and the Police are being rewarded for each person that can be added to the toll of terrorists. This has led to civilians being accused of joining the separatists. Kidnappings, torture and extrajudicial executions are common.
Read more in Civil Rights Defenders country report: Human rights in Russia
Related articles
- Sapiyat Magomedova, HRD from Dagestan, receives Swedish award (thoolen.wordpress.com)
Barbara Hendricks – a human rights defender of a special kind
November 2, 2012
Barbara Hendricks at MEA ceremony 2003 with late Sergio Vieira de Mello and Alirio Uribe Munoz
The trigger to write about this very special person is that she has just been celebrated as UNHCR’s Goodwill ambassador for 25 years.
“You are really the princess of the humanitarian and human rights world,” High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres said at a special UNHCR staff ceremony in Geneva. “The authority of your voice is a precious instrument for our fight,” he added. “Twenty-five years – it’s a long time and the cause of refugees has been a part of my life since my first mission,” said Hendricks, adding that it had been an honour to work for UNHCR. She praised the refugees who inspire her and the UNHCR staff who help them. “Thank you so much. It has been a fantastic journey and I look forward to continuing for as long as I can.”
What many people do not know is that Barbara Hendricks has not only been a dedicated and outspoken advocate for refugees for the past 25 years, but also been a strong supporter of other causes including human rights, e.g. as a Patron of the Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders or in giving her support to creating the True Heroes Foundation, Films for Human Rights Defenders in 2007.
The American-born Swedish citizen was inspired by the struggle for civil rights in the USA as a child and never let off. The human rights world needs celebrities but even more it needs celebrities with real and long-term commitment. This is what makes Barbara Hendricks a Human Rights Defender in her own name! Thanks.
Ayman Nasser, Palestinian HRD in Israeli detention
October 23, 2012
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The Middle East and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in general may get a lot of media attention but the issue of individual HRDs in Palestine often remains outside the limelight. Here is a recent example:
The Jerusalem based NGO Addameer reports that its staff researcher and longtime prisoner advocate Ayman Nasser was abducted from his home by occupation forces early on October 15. On October 18, he appeared in a military court in Jerusalem where his interrogation period was extended by seven days. Ayman addressed the court directly with the following words: “I believe that every human being has opinions and positions and if it’s not violating the law he can freely think and speak these opinions. I am a human rights defender who supports the Palestinian prisoners and I represent my opinions in the public media. My thoughts are not secret, they are public, and everyone knows them.”
Like many Palestinian prisoners, Ayman is subject to medical neglect – he is currently only receiving two out of the five medications that he requires daily. Addameer reported, “The judge ruled that based on ‘secret evidence’ he would extend Ayman’s interrogation period for another seven days and referred the situation of the medicine to the doctor at Moskobiyyeh detention center.” Moskobiyyeh, where Ayman is now held, is one of the most notorious detention centres in the Israeli occupation system; he was interrogated for 10 hours straight on October 17 and his interrogation has continued with similar intensity since that time.
Ayman spent six years in Israeli prisons, from 1992 to 1997. He has worked at Addameer since 2008, lectures in social work at Al-Quds Open University, and directs the Handala Centre, a cultural centre in Saffa village. On October 21, it was announced that he won a seat on his village’s municipal council in the weekend’s West Bank municipal elections, from his cell in Israeli detention.
Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards 