Stockholm-based Civil Rights Defenders has chosen an Albanian disabilities specialist as its HRD of the month, see:
Civil Rights Defenders – Human rights defender of the month – Blerta Cani Drenofci.
Posts Tagged ‘Human Rights Defenders’
Albanian Blerta Cani Drenofci Human rights defender of the month
October 2, 2012Ceremony of the Martin Ennals Award to follow on the internet (2 October, 18h00)
September 27, 2012
Every day all over the world, unsung heroes are risking their lives to call attention to injustice and to fight for human rights. On Tuesday October 2nd, one of them will honored with the Martin Ennals Award. The Martin Ennals Award is chosen by a Jury of ten leading Human Rights organizations including: Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Human Rights First and others (see www.martinennalsaward.org). Thus, this prize represents the expression of the whole Human Rights movement.
The winner will be selected from three nominees, who personalize wider issues in their home countries and allow these issues to be represented through individual cases:
- Venerable Sovath Luon: sometimes referred to as the “Multimedia Monk”. He challenges the widespread eviction of poor people from land they have long held but without title, often due to the destruction of records during the Khmer Rouge period.
- Nasrin Sotoudeh, an Iranian Lawyer serving a 6 year prison sentence in Iran for “… the offences of “acting against the national security”, “propaganda against the regime” and “membership of Human Rights Defenders Centre” – an organisation presided over by the Nobel peace laureate Shirin Ebadi.
- Bahrain Center for Human Rights: Currently high on the world media agenda. Two of the main founders: Abdulhadi al-Khawaja and Nabeel Rajab are serving jail sentences. Zainab al-Khawaja was arrested for demonstrating against the government, while other members are regularly arrested and abused.
The ceremony is hosted by the City of Geneva in Victoria Hall. Short films commissioned by the Martin Ennals Foundation. Those who cannot attend in person may want to follow it on the internet (www.martinennalsaward.org) starting at 18h00 Geneva time.
Bahraini Defender Sentenced to Prison for Tearing Picture of King
September 27, 2012On 26 September Human Rights First (HRF) reports that a Bahraini court sentenced Zainab Al-Khawaja to two months in prison for publicly tearing a picture of Bahraini King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa. It notes that the ruling confirms Bahrain’s reputation as a volatile place without due respect for the rule of law.
“The Bahraini regime seems locked into a spiral of imprisoning human rights leaders and it is unable to tolerate freedom of expression. This is not the reform the king promised” said Human Rights First’s Brian Dooley ”
Zainab Al-Khawaja, a well-known activist, is the daughter of prominent Bahraini human rights defender Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja, who is currently serving a life sentence in prison after being arrested, tortured and given an unfair trial in a military court for taking part in the pro-democracy protest. Throughout the uprising in Bahrain, Zainab Al-Khawaja has worked to bring to light abuses committed by the Bahraini regime. Through her blog and twitter account, @angryarabiya, Zainab has urged to world to show its support for the Bahraini people.
“In 18 months, Bahrain has rocketed from obscurity to international fame as a place where doctors were tortured and human rights activists are jailed for peaceful dissent. Zainab’s sentence reinforces this image of a regime addicted to targeting its human rights defenders, and only able to respond to dissent with repression,” Dooley concluded.
Zainab Al-Khawaja’s verdict comes just one day before another prominent human rights leader, Nabeel Rajab, is scheduled to hear the verdict in his appeal of a three-year prison sentence for his part in what the government calls “illegal gatherings.” Rajab is president of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR), an organization selected by Human Rights First to receive the 2012 Roger N. Baldwin Medal of Liberty and also one the three nominees for the Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders 2012 which will be decided on 2 October in Geneva.
U.N. delegation heads to Tunisia to see situation of HRDs first hand
September 27, 2012On 26 September UPI reports from Geneva that a U.N. rights delegation announced plans to assess the role human rights defenders have played in Tunisia since the country’s Jasmine Revolution in 2010.
Margaret Sekaggya, U.N. special envoy on human rights organizations, leads a delegation to Tunisia for a trip that concludes Oct. 5, a first since the country’s revolution.
“Human rights defenders have played an essential part in the call for democracy, justice and human rights across the region,” she said in a statement. “We are intrigued and excited to observe the working conditions of defenders of all generations in the country that in many ways triggered the Arab Spring.”
EU needs Digital Freedom Strategy says MEP Schaake
September 24, 2012Dutch MEP for D66, Marietje Schaake wrote a short but good piece in New Europe about the need for a overall EU strategy with regard to ‘digital freedom’. Concerning HRDs she has the following to say: “Generally speaking, the fight for control and power by authoritarian regimes involves a growing ICT component. While training human rights defenders, journalists and dissidents should improve their safety online it also creates a new set of sensitivities and a potentially dangerous dependency on the accuracy and quality of the guidance. Human rights defenders deserve EU support and in any case should not be targeted with tools and technologies developed and exported from within the EU.”
via The need for an EU Digital Freedom Strategy | New Europe.
And the Women in Zimbabwe need all the support they can get…..
September 18, 2012The Press statement below was issued by the Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) and shows the need for the continued attention and support from the UN as well as NGOs:
AT noon on 12th September 300 members of Women of Zimbabwe Arise
(WOZA) were prevented from conducting a peaceful protest to The
Chronicle in Bulawayo. Three small groups that managed to arrive at
the Chronicle but were quickly dispersed by Riot Police with raised
baton sticks. In 5 parts of the Central business district Riot Police
were standing in groups of 4 carrying baton sticks and obviously ready
to stop the protests as they began.
A block away, WOZA national coordinator, Jenni Williams was standing
alone when 4 police officers surrounded her. One of these police
officers had arrested Williams on 21 September 2011 while shopping in
an Electrical shop. On that day, 30 minutes previously he had also
arrested Magodonga Mahlangu. Both activists were then charged with
Kidnap and Theft, charges that are still being prosecuted in 2012.
On the 12 September, he once again refused to give his name but asked,
“Jennifer what are you planning here?” To which Williams replied,
“What are you doing here beating people?” The other police officers
then started to lecture Williams on the need for WOZA to notify police
before any protest. A legal argument ensured. One the officers then
announced that the Officer Commanding of Bulawayo, Central Assistant
chief Inspector Rangwani wanted to see Williams. The police officers
then escort her to the station on foot.
As they began to walk, Magodonga Mahlangu arrived and asked Williams
what was happening. It was at this point that a further legal argument
ensued. Williams advised Mahlangu that it seemed she was under arrest.
The officers said she was not but then refused to allow her to go and
reschedule the meeting with the chief Inspector.
As the two arrived at the police station, eight members entered the
station in solidarity bringing the number ‘arrested’ to 10. They were
taken to the chief inspector Rangwani’s office and they were told he
would be arriving shortly. Lawyers were deployed to represent the
activists but were denied access. A two and a half hour circus then
ensued with the activists being told they were being charged but some
officers refusing to charge them, mentioning the letter of complaint
filed the week before. The arresting officers then stage-managed the
separation of Williams and Mahlangu from the other 8. The 8 and other
activists outside were rounded up by a Riot squad and force marched to
the bus terminus.
The WOZA leaders who were now back in the OC Rangwani office were
still unable to access their lawyers. Finally two senior officers
seated themselves in the OC chair and surprisingly asked the two if
they had wanted a meeting with the OC. Williams then asked the
whereabouts of OC Rangwani, the officers admitted he was on leave. The
WOZA leaders then stood up and said, ‘as we are told we are not
formally under arrest we are now leaving and will be submitting a
further letter of complaint.” Williams then left her phone number for
a meeting to be scheduled and the two activists walked out of the
police station.
WOZA wish to draw attention to the disparate police response between
the police at Parliament in Harare and the Bulawayo police. On 12
September it was obvious that the WOZA leaders were arrested to
prevent their exercising their right to protest. This right is
provided by constitutional law buttressed by Supreme Court ruling of
2010 after legal action taken by Williams and Mahlangu. ‘Once again
police in Bulawayo have acted overzealously and acted to discriminate
against WOZA members from Bulawayo which is regional and tribal
discrimination.
See the complaint against the police at
http://wozazimbabwe.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/WOZA-complain-of-police-harrasment-ZRP-Jomic.pdf
Western Sahara in the limelight – mission report
September 12, 2012In this 3 September report on Western Sahara (one of the few in recent years on this part of the world) the dire situation of Human Rights Defenders is described. The problems the delegation had on the ground are also worth noting as the human rights situation in Morocco itself has in fact considerably improved over the years.
Persecution of Cambodian human rights defenders: video and discussion
September 4, 2012As reported earlier in this blog, in relation to the arrest and release of MEA 2012 Nominee the Venerable Luon Sovath, there was an excellent video produced: “Flowers of Freedom: the Campaign to Free the 15.”
Now – on 29 August 2012 – there was a follow up conversation between:
– Ee Sarom at Sahmakum Teang Tnaut (STT), a housing rights NGO, who was one of several civil society leaders supporting the community’s mobilisation for the release of the activists, and
– Brittis Edman, who is Programme Director for Southeast Asia at Civil Rights Defenders. The event took place on 29 August 2012.
Civil Rights Defenders – Video: Persecution of Cambodian human rights defenders.
UN Secretary General says the right thing in Tehran
September 4, 2012
Ban Ki-moon (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
On Thursday 30 August, the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, who was in Tehran for the Non-Aligned Movement called on Iran to release its political prisoners and human rights defenders. This rather exceptional appeal to release “opposition leaders, human rights defenders, journalists and social activists,” was made in a speech to an Iranian diplomatic college last Thursday. Ban stressed that allowing the Iranian people’s voice to be heard was especially important ahead of the country’s 2013 presidential election, when a successor to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is to be chosen. “Restricting freedom of expression and suppressing social activism will only set back development and plant the seeds of instability,” he added. His comments went without official response from Tehran.
Related articles
- UN chief hits host Iran over human rights (dailystar.com.lb)
Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards 