Posts Tagged ‘Human Rights First’
March 12, 2013
In a case that was followed closely in this blog, a Bahraini human rights defender accused of sending out twitters with ‘false information’, there is finally some good news: a Bahraini court has acquitted Said Yousif Al-Muhafdah of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR – 2012 Final Nominee of the MEA). “It’s a great relief that Said Yousif was acquitted today, bringing an end to three months of judicial harassment. Let’s hope this means the courts are beginning to show a better understanding of what freedom of expression means,” said Human Rights First’s Brian Dooley. Al-Muhafdah was arrested in December 2012 for “spreading false information on Twitter.”
His case is one in a string cases stemming from the Kingdom’s ongoing judicial harassment of human rights defenders. It followed last year’s jailing of Nabeel Rajab, President of the BCHR, and of human rights activist Zainab Al Khawaja in February 2013. “This is a small victory, but unfortunately there are many other cases of judicial harassment that continue to wind their way through Bahrain’s judicial system,” Brian Dooley noted. On March 21, the appeal of 23 medics, each sentenced to three months in prison after treating injured protestors in 2011, will continue. A verdict is expected at a date soon after. Dooley, who has authored four reports about the ongoing crackdown in Bahrain, has been forbidden access to the nation for more than a year. “This is not how a nation that wants to trumpet its human rights record treats monitors” Dooley added.
via Acquittal in Bahrain Twitter Case Comes as Dooley Denied Access Again | Human Rights First.
Posted in HRF, human rights, Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
Tags: acquittal, Bahrain, Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, BCHR, Brian Dooley, HRF, Human right, human rights, human rights activist, Human rights defender, Human Rights First, illegal detention, judicial harassment, MEA 2012 nominee, Middle East, Nabeel Rajab, Said Yousif Al-Muhafdah, trial observation, twitter, Zainab Al-Khawaja
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.
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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 5, 2013
On 25 January 2013, the Investigatory Committee of the Republic of Karelia, Russian Federation, resumed the investigation of the criminal case against human rights defender Maxim Efimov. He is charged with “actions aimed at the incitement of national, racial, or religious enmity, abasement of human dignity, and also propaganda of the exceptionality, superiority, or inferiority of individuals by reason of their attitude to religion, national, or racial affiliation, if these acts have been committed in public or with the use of mass media”, under Part 1 of Article 282 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
Maxim Efimov is Director of the Karelian regional branch of the inter-regional Youth Human Rights Group (YHRG). He is also Chief Editor of the human rights newspaper Chas nol (Hour zero). The above mentioned charges were brought following the publication by Maxim Efimov of an article in early 2012 regarding the Russian Orthodox Church, in which he criticised state sponsorship of the Church.
On 25 January 2013, investigator A A Voronin decided to reopen the investigation against Maxim Efimov and to seek a sixth expert opinion [SIC] on whether the article published by Maxim Efimov contained any illegal statement. The additional expert opinion was ordered on the basis of the alleged insufficient clarify of five previous expert opinions, which all found that the article did not contain any illegal statement. On 1 February 2013, Maxim Efimov sent a letter to the Director of the Investigatory Committee of Russian Federation, A Bastrykin, protesting the reopening of the investigation.
Front Line Defenders reiterates its concern at the risk of criminal prosecution facing Maxim Efimov, and calls on the authorities to immediately and unconditionally drop all charges against him. Front Line Defenders believes that the charges and criminal case brought against Maxim Efimov are solely motivated by his legitimate and peaceful human rights work in the Russian Federation, as is evident by the investigator’s failure to accept the unanimous decision by five previous expert opinions declaring that the article published by Maxim Efimov did not contain any illegal statement.
In May 2012 Human Rights First and other NGOs had already reported on sinister efforts – reminiscent of old Soviet practices – to force activist Maxim Efimov to undergo a psychiatric evaluation in a mental hospital. Ironically, while churchgoers were routinely hospitalized for ‘insanity,” this time it was Efimov’s criticism of the Orthodox Church that triggered his prosecution. Regional human rights group AGORA, whose lawyers represent Efimov, promised to conduct an independent psychiatric evaluation for their client, reminding the government that “the European Court has a clear and unequivocal position in relation to the grounds on which people can be placed in psychiatric hospitals,” which are hardly applicable in this case”. AGORA is preparing to take this case to the Supreme Court of Karelia. http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/2012/05/15/russian-court-to-activist-youre-crazy/
Meanwhile, state pressure on Efimov kept mounting. Two days after an arson attack on the Saint Catherine Cathedral in Petrozavodsk, Efimov was summoned for another round of questioning, and the investigator alleged that the attack was carried out by his supporters—another effort by the government to interfere with his work. Efimov had condemned the attack on the cathedral and sent condolences to congregants and denied any involvement, claiming that his being at the center of this arson investigation is baseless and is yet another example of interference in his daily work as a human rights defender in Karelia.
Posted in Front Line, human rights, Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
Tags: Efimov, freedom from religion, freedom of expression, Front Line (NGO), Human right, Human rights defender, Human Rights First, intolerance, judicial harassment, Karelia, Maxim Efimov, Non-governmental organization, psychiatric abuse, Russia, Russian Orthodox Church, separation of church and state
January 16, 2013
Yvette Alberdingk Thijm, executive director of the US-based NGO Witness, wrote a post in the Huffington Post of 15 January about this fascinating topic on the occasion of Witness’ 20th anniversary. Here are some quotes before making a more critical comment:
“Twenty years ago, WITNESS was created because a world with many cameras — a world “where the eyes of the world are opened to human rights” — did not yet exist, a big bold vision at the time. Today, building on two decades of experience in creating tangible human rights change by exposing the truth through video, we are envisioning the next frontier: a world where video is not only ubiquitous, but has given millions the power to hold human rights abusers accountable, to deliver justice and to transform the human rights landscape.”….”So in 2013 and beyond, we are committed to building “video-for-change” communities, supporting networks of human rights defenders, from communities fighting forced evictions in Brazil to youth in the U.S. campaigning to protect the environment.”
In 2012, Witness launched the Human Rights Channel in partnership with YouTube and Storyful to ensure that important human rights stories are seen and contextualized. “We are committing in 2013 and beyond to take on the systems. The technology companies that run the platforms must create more human rights friendly spaces for all of us. And we decided to focus on the international legal systems to improve the understanding of how to authenticate citizen media to hold perpetrators of abuse accountable. We are working to achieve this vision by partnering and sharing in order to meet the challenge in front of us. We’ll join forces with technology mavens and mobile developers, with courageous human rights defenders worldwide, with brave bloggers, with witnessing citizens, with peer networks and effective organizations.”
—
Witness has indeed greatly advanced the use of images in the struggle for human rights and its future plans are daunting. What is missing – understandably in a piece that celebrates the achievement of a group’s anniversary – is the wider picture of what the human rights movement is doing with images. From the visualization of human rights defenders (the Martin Ennals Award, Front Line Defenders, Rights Livelihood Awards, Tulip Award, Civil Rights Defenders, HRF to mention just some who regularly make film portraits and/or stream their proceedings), the production of films on HRDs (e.g. True Heroes foundation), the systematization of access to images (e.g. by HURIDOCS) and the showing of films by a myriad of human rights film festivals (HRW, AI, Movies that Matter, and some 30 others). This modest blog alone has made some 60 references to the use of film images for human rights, many by Witness and the organizations mentioned above.
I mentioning this not because of ‘fairness’ in the sense that others need to be mentioned also, but because the full scope of the challenges ahead needs to be seen and addressed. Human rights images face the same problems as documentation: (1) information overload; (2) finding the most relevant information (even more daunting for images as searching directly on images is still far away); (3) authenticity and veracity; (4) ensuring quantity and quality of dissemination (what goes ‘viral’ is not necessarily what serves human rights) and (5) protecting of sources and participants (have the persons in the film given informed consent?). And I am sure there are quite a few other important issues.
So when the executive director of Witness states that it excites her “that we, together with so many allies, are taking the challenge for the future head on“, one must hope that it includes all those who can contribute to her vision of a world ” where many, many more citizens and human rights defenders have access to knowledge, skills and tools enabling them to create compelling, trustable videos and to make sure that their video is acted upon and human rights change happens.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/witness/human-rights-2013_b_2475221.html
Follow Witness on Twitter: www.twitter.com/witnessorg see its annual report: annual report
Posted in human rights | 2 Comments »
Tags: 2012, Amnesty International, Civil Rights Defenders, film, film festival, Front Line, human rights, Human Rights Defenders, Human Rights First, Human Rights Watch, HURIDOCS, Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders, MEA, Movies that Matter, Non-governmental organization, True Heroes Foundation, Tulip award, video, Witness (human rights group), YouTube
January 6, 2013
HRF in Washington DC is looking for a Senior Associate responsible for devising, planning, coordinating, and executing strategies for influencing U.S. human rights policy on the range of issues covered by Human Rights First’s Human Rights Defenders HRD program. Deadline 25 January 2013!
via Senior Associate – Human Rights Defenders Program Washington, DC.
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
Tags: HRF, Human Rights Defenders, Human Rights First, job opportunity, USA, vacancy
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
November 29, 2012
On December 4-5, 2012, Human Rights First will convene the inaugural Human Rights Summit: American ideals. Universal values, marking the 64th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
The Summit is designed to bring international civil society activists, U.S. policymakers, military and business leaders together to look at U.S. global leadership on human rights. Human Rights First believes that American leadership is necessary to secure human rights around the world. We hope you will join us as we celebrate progress and address the challenges ahead. Sessions during the two-day Summit will cover human rights issues including the Arab Spring, emerging technologies, immigration reform, and more. Senators Richard Durbin (D – IL) and John McCain (R-AZ), Chairman of the United Civil Front Garry Kasparov, President of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission Dr. Richard Land, and Vice President of Communications and Public Policy at Facebook Elliot Schrage will join us as guest speakers.
Human Rights First also invites you to the screening of the award-winning film THE HOUSE I LIVE IN on Tuesday, December 4, at 7 p.m. The screening will be followed by a discussion with acclaimed filmmaker Eugene Jarecki, who received the Grand Jury Prize at this year’s Sundance Film Festival for this film. This event is free and open to the public
Space is limited. Reserve <http://salsa.wiredforchange.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=kHQZD8AfBaT%2FEULL8Hi1yi%2BQnID0Npd%2F> your spot today!
Register for sessions now! <http://salsa.wiredforchange.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=3twClNNnpynWcNjK3OOtRy%2BQnID0Npd%2F>
Posted in human rights | 1 Comment »
Tags: Arab spring, Eugene Jarecki, Garry Kasparov, human rights, Human Rights Defenders, Human Rights First, John McCain, Richard Land, Sundance Film Festival, THE HOUSE I LIVE IN, United States, Universal Declaration of Human Rights
November 17, 2012
Elisa Massimino, President and CEO of New York based Human Rights First describes the scene as follows:
It was the most striking moment of our annual Human Rights Dinner, one that was shown on TV and across the Internet: Chen Guangcheng, in tears, embracing actor Christian Bale. Last year when Chen was under house arrest in China, authorities rebuffed Bale when he tried to visit the “barefoot lawyer.” The two met for the first time—with a hug—when Bale presented Chen with our Human Rights Award.
What gave this moment its power was Chen’s story: his teaching himself the law so that he could help others; his courage in the face of repeated persecution; his heroic journey from house arrest to the American embassy.
His story is ongoing. We gave him the award—and he accepted it—to highlight the need to help public interest lawyers and other persecuted Chinese citizens. They include his nephew, Chen Kegui, who—after defending himself and his family when government thugs broke into their home—was charged with a crime and imprisoned. “This award,” Chen said in his speech, “for me and for my colleagues, is an example of the waves building and gathering power. Together, we are the rising tide of kindness, decency and respect for the rule of law.”
While the dinner is an occasion for us to honor activists and others who have contributed to the struggle for human rights, it is also a chance for our organization to renew our commitment to challenging the United States to live up to its ideals. As Chen said, “My hope is that all of us, as we go forward, will make human rights a priority.”
I think it shows the power of awards
Posted in human rights | 1 Comment »
Tags: Bale, Chen, Chen Guangcheng, China, Christian Bale, Elisa Massimino, House arrest, human rights, Human Rights First, United States
November 8, 2012
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Human Rights First (HRF), a New York based international NGO and member on the Jury of the Martin Ennals Award, reacted with speed to Obama’s reelection and issued a statement of what it thinks is ready for bi-partisan action on human rights:
1. Champion Women’s Rights. A record number of women will serve in the U.S. Senate in January. And Republicans and Democrats—men and women—agree on the importance of protecting women’s rights around the world. The Obama administration and Congress should work together to make sure that women’s rights are enshrined in the Egyptian constitution and that women in the region who stood side by side with men in demanding their freedom are fully represented in public life, including in elected legislatures, and not forced out of the public square.
2. Support Freedom. Last night, President Obama said, “We can never forget that as we speak people in distant nations are risking their lives right now just for a chance to argue about the issues that matter.” The United States should stand with those people. That means pressing our allies—like Bahrain—to stop cracking down on dissent. It means working effectively with the international community to bring an end to the human rights crisis in Syria. And it means supporting activists in repressive societies like Russia, China, and Cuba.
3. Protect Freedom of Religion. As the recent furor over the anti-Islam film showed, the second Obama administration will have to navigate difficult issues at the intersection of religion and foreign policy. In his second term, the President should push back against efforts to impose an international standard outlawing “defamation of religions,” which would be used, like national blasphemy laws in countries like Pakistan, to persecute religious minorities and restrict freedom of speech, and which would fuel sectarian violence and empower extremists.
4. Protect Gay and Lesbian People from Violence. Voters in Maryland, Maine, and Washington voted to legalize same-sex marriage-the first time gay marriage won at the ballot box. Wisconsin elected the first openly gay U.S. Senator. But while the tide of public opinion on gay rights has rapidly turned here, around the world, gay and lesbian people face discrimination and violence. In his second term, President Obama should build on the work of his first to provide protection for gay and lesbian people, including those forced to flee for their safety.
5. Provide Safe Haven for Refugees. Washington may finally be poised to tackle comprehensive immigration reform. While this issue has been politically challenging, there is broad bipartisan support for keeping America’s promise to be a refuge for those fleeing oppression. For starters, that means reforming the policies that land those seeking freedom in jail.
6. Close Guantanamo. Before it became a political football, national security experts and elected officials from both parties agreed that Guantanamo needed to close. President George W. Bush said he wanted to close it. Senator John McCain campaigned on it. And on his second full day in office, President Obama, flanked by retired Admirals and Generals, promised to do it. He doubled down on the Daily Show right before the election. Now it’s time to get it done. This is a legacy issue.
http://actions.humanrightsfirst.org/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=6824
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
Tags: Barack Obama, freedom of religion, Guantanamo, HRF, human rights, Human Rights First, human rights of women, LGBT, Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders, Obama, refugees, United States
September 27, 2012
On 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.
Posted in human rights | Leave a Comment »
Tags: award, Bahrain, Brian Dooley, Human Rights Defenders, Human Rights First, Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders, Nabeel Rajab, twitter, Zainab Al-Khawaja
