Posts Tagged ‘journalists’
March 6, 2013
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, Vice President Nicolas Maduro (right) and National assembly president Diosdado Cabello (left), on December 8, 2012. © 2012 Reuters
While all attention understandably is on the death of the Venezuelan President Hugo Chaves, indigenous rights defender Mr Sabino Romero Izarra was shot and killed while travelling on a road in the Sierra de Perijá, Zulia State on 3 March 2013. His wife survived but sustained injuries as a result of the attack. Sabino Romero Izarra was a prominent defender of the rights of the indigenous Yukpa community, including peacefully campaigning and mobilising against the expansion of large-scale mining developments on indigenous lands. Prior to his killing the human rights defender was continuously subject to acts of harassment, threats and criminalisation, as a result of his work to promote and protect land and indigenous rights in Venezuela.
As a result of his work, Sabino Romero Izarra was continuously threatened, harassed and judicially persecuted. In 2012, the 109 year-old father of Sabino Romero Izarra, Mr José Manuel Romero, was killed as a result of being severely beaten. To date, no-one has been brought to justice for this killing, believed to have been perpetrated by the owner of a local ranch. In 2009, following the occupation of a ranch in Chaktapa, Zulia State, by two communities, including that of Sabino Romero Izarra, the human rights defender was detained for 18 months, accused of being responsible for the killing of three indigenous persons during the occupation. On 14 October 2009, during a national radio programme, Deputy Minister for the Environment Sergio Rodriguez reportedly accused Sabino Romero Izarra of stealing cattle, burning the houses of Yukpa families and using the land title struggle “for his own benefit”. In addition, the human rights defender received a number of death threats, while his home was reportedly raided on a number of occasions by army officers. 
Front Line (http://www.frontlinedefenders.org/) believes to be motivated by his legitimate and peaceful work as a land and indigenous rights defender and leader.
In the meantime New York based Human Rights Watch (HRW) on 5 March issued a general report on “Venezuela: Chávez’s Authoritarian Legacy” Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in books, Front Line, HRW, human rights, Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
Tags: censorship, Front Line Defenders, HRW, hugo chaves, Hugo Chávez, human rights, Human Rights Defenders, Human Rights Watch, Indigenous People, journalists, killing, land disputes, president hugo chavez, protection, Sabino Romero Izarra, Venezuela, venezuelan president hugo chavez, Yukpa people
March 5, 2013
In IPP Media of 5 March 2013 appears a lengthy piece by correspondent GERALD KITABU who interviewed the head of the NGO ‘Tanzania Human Rights Defenders Coalition’ (THRD-Coalition) Mr ONESMO OLENGURUMWA on the protection of human rights defenders in Tanzania. It interesting to see such an article which demonstrates the depth of the Human Rights Defenders issue at the local level. Here follow a few quotes:
QUESTION: Who is a human right defender?
ANSWER: A human rights defender is any individual, groups and organs of society seeking to promote and protect universally recognized human rights and freedom. Human rights defenders include lawyers, judges, journalists, whistle blowers, bloggers, students, religious leaders, trade unionists and any other person working to combat human rights abuses in a peaceful manner.
Q: What is the current situation of human rights defenders in Tanzania?
A: Our organization has recorded a number of security incidents towards human rights defenders. Despite being change agents, these activists are continuously harassed, detained, interrogated, imprisoned, tortured and even at times paying the ultimate price when they are killed for what they do. A good example is the last year’s killing of Iringa based Channel Ten journalist Daudi Mwangosi, the barbaric and brutal torture of Dr. Stephen Ulimboka, the death of Issa Gumba, the suspicious death of women human right defender in Mara Eustace Nyarugenda who was the director of Action Based Foundation, continuing constant threats towards other journalists like Cosmas Makongo, Josephat Isango, Charless Misango, the indefinite ban of Mwanahalisi and the arbitrary arrest of human rights defenders. These are just few incidents that paints a bad picture on the map of Tanzania when it comes to observing human rights….
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
Tags: Human right, human rights, human rights abuses, Human Rights and Liberties, Human rights defender, Human Rights Defenders, impunity, IPP media, journalists, Non-governmental organization, Non-state actor, ONESMO OLENGURUMWA, protection, Tanzania, THRD-Coalition, UN Declaration
February 20, 2013
On 17 February 2013 I wrote about the case of Eynulla Fatullayev, editor of the website Haqqin.az, a former AI prisoner of conscience and winner of press freedom awards (see also quote at the end of this post) who seems to have taken a more apologetic stand with regard to violations in his home country Azerbaijan. Just a few days before – 11 February – the NGO Civil Rights Defenders had published a piece under the title: ‘New crackdown on human rights activities in Azerbaijan’. There seems to be no stand taken by Fatullayev (at least not in English).
Avaz Zeynalli, chief editor of Khural newspaper, charged for tax evasion and corruption.
The Azeri government is putting new pressure on the country’s already repressed civil society. NGOs that receive even minor funds can be severely punished, according to a new draft law. The draft follows a series of repressions of media workers and civil activists. According to the proposed amendments NGOs receiving donation over the equivalent of 190 euro without a proper agreement, face up to 3500 euro and confiscation of property. This increases the authorities’ control over NGOs. The violations have grown in the beginning of 2013. Media workers that have been covering demonstrations and riots have been arrested, questions and in some cases beaten. At the same time the homes of journalists and civil activists have been searched, detained, subjected to gas attacks, put under surveillance and in other ways obstructed in their work. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in human rights | Leave a Comment »
Tags: Azerbaijan, Civil Rights Defenders, Civil society, detention, Eynulla Fatullayev, Fatullayev, Freedom (Azerbaijan), freedom of expression, freedom of the press, International Press Institute, IPI, journalists, judicial harassment, NGOs, Unesco
February 7, 2013
With in mind that 13 February will be World Radio Day I report via Front Line that on 5 February 2013, human rights defender, Abdiasis Abdinur Ibrahim, also known as Koronto, was sentenced to one year in prison following an attempt to investigate the case of a woman who claimed to have been raped by state security forces. Abdiasis Abdinur Ibrahim is a radio journalist working for two private radio stations, Radio Dalsan and Radio Ergo, both broadcasting from Mogadishu.
The trial of Abdiasis Abdinur Ibrahim opened on 2 February 2013, approximately three weeks following his arrest and detention by police officers of the local Central Investigation Department (CID). During the hearing, the prosecution alleged that Abdiasis Abdinur Ibrahim fabricated the reported rape in a news story and intended, by so doing, to insult a state institution. The human rights defender was tried under Islamic Sharia law. Abdiasis Abdinur Ibrahim was also accused of entering a house without consent from the owner. The human rights defender had reportedly gone to the house of the reported rape victim to conduct an interview with her. In closing the case on the morning of 5 February, the prosecution accused Abdiasis Abdinur Ibrahim of distributing false information to various media outlets causing prejudice to the public trust of Somali security forces. On the same day, the court handed down its decision, convicting the journalist to one year in prison. Journalists and human rights defenders who observed the trial report gross due process irregularities as the trial was dominated by the prosecution and the accused journalist was not afforded sufficient opportunity to defend himself. Abdiasis Abdinur Ibrahim’s lawyer has announced his intention to appeal the conviction.
On 15 January, the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) had released a public statement requesting that Abdiasis Abdinur Ibrahim be immediately and unconditionally released and expressing concern over reports that some members of the police were putting pressure on the reported rape victim to retract her story.
Posted in Front Line, human rights, Human Rights Defenders | 1 Comment »
Tags: Abdiasis Abdinur Ibrahim, Criminal Investigation Department, freedom of expression, freedom of information, Front Line (NGO), journalists, Koronto, Mogadishu, rape, Sharia, Somali, Somalia, Trial, Unesco, World Radio Day 2012
February 5, 2013
Having just today reported on the new human rights defenders network created in the Arab world, I would be amiss not to draw attention to the developments of an already existing network in Africa. On 4 February 2013 the Pan-African Human Rights Defenders Network (PAHRD-Net) officially launched from Kampala, Uganda, a 3-year programme totalling 1.8 million Euros to promote a safe legal and working environment for human rights defenders (HRDs) across Africa.
“The tireless and innovative work done at the sub-regional level to protect human rights defenders will now have a dedicated venue at the Pan-African level for mutual support and reinforcement,” said Hassan Shire Sheikh, Chairperson of PAHRD-Net and Executive Director of the East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project (EHAHRDP). Today’s launch is the result of a process started in 1998 in Johannesburg (All-Africa Human Rights Defenders Conference) and renewed in 2009 at the follow-up meeting in Kampala.
PAHRD-Net brings together the five sub-regional human rights defenders networks in Africa (the Central African HRD Network, the East and Horn of Africa HRD Network, the North Africa HRD Network represented through the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, the Southern Africa HRD Network hosted by the International Commission for Jurists, and the West African HRD Network) to meet the protection needs of human rights defenders and especially to address the needs of the five groups of most-at-risk: journalists fighting to end impunity and corruption, women human rights defenders, defenders working on issues of sexual orientation and gender identity, HRDs working under oppressive regimes or in armed/post-conflict areas, and HRDs engaging with the resource extraction industries.
Human rights defenders are individuals working alone or through organizations under the goal of promoting respect for universal human rights norms. Frequently HRDs come into conflict with the entrenched local power structures of state and non-state actors through their activism. This conflict can put in jeopardy the security of the HRD and their work and family networks. HRDs are often the victims of harassment, threats, assault, injury, and death across Africa, and many are forced into exile, a move which may effectively end their advocacy for human rights. The consolidation and growth of protection mechanisms within the sub-regions will improve the responses available to mitigate these threats and develop HRDs’ ability to manage their own security effectively.
The European Commission supports the new programme under its global fund for Democracy and Human Rights, which is to underpin the implementation of the European Union Guidelines on Human Rights Defenders
For further information please contact:
Hassan Shire Sheikh – Chairperson, Pan African Human Rights Defenders Network executive@defenddefenders.org
Joseph Bikanda – Coordinator, Pan African Human Rights Defenders Network: Tel +256-312-202133, +256-312-265825, or panafrica@defenddefenders.org
Rachel Nicholson – Advocacy Officer, East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project: Tel +256-312-265-824, +256-778-921274, or advocacy@defenddefenders.org
Posted in human rights | 2 Comments »
Tags: Africa, EU Guidelines on Human Rights Defenders, European Commission, Hassan Shire Sheikh, Human right, human rights, Human Rights and Liberties, Human rights defender, Human Rights Defenders, impunity, Johannesburg, journalists, Kampala, PAHRD-Net, Pan-African Human Rights Defenders Network, protection, resource extraction, women human rights defenders
January 17, 2013
Via Brussels-based Protection International we have learned that the appeal court in the central city of Gitega, Burundi, imposed a heavy three-year jail sentence on the journalist Hassan Ruvakuki instead of overturning his conviction. The court changed the charge on which Ruvakuki is convicted to “participation in an association formed with the aim of attacking persons and property.” In June, a lower court sentenced him to life imprisonment on a charge of terrorism. Reporters Without Borders regards today’s decision as a sign that certain Burundian officials were determined to punish Ruvakuki at all costs. Several sources in Gitega reported that the appeal court had been under heavy pressure from the state security apparatus not to acquit him. Ruvakuki was accused of complicity with a rebel group when all he did was his duty as a journalist to anticipate the news. Shortly before his arrest, he went to neighbouring Tanzania to cover a Burundian rebel group that was being formed there.
In response to this incomprehensible verdict, Reporters Without Borders is launching a petition for the release of Ruvakuki, who was working for Bonesha FM, a local radio station, and the Swahili service of Radio France Internationale at the time of his arrest in November 2011. To Sign the petition control/click here.
More information about the Ruvakuki case: http://en.rsf.org/burundi.html
http://www.rfi.fr/afrique/20130115-burundi-journaliste-hassan-ruvakuki-manifestation-swahili-bonesha
Posted in Protection International | Leave a Comment »
Tags: Burundi, freedom of information, Hassan Ruvakuki, journalists, prison, Protection International, radio, Radio France Internationale, Reporters without Borders, Sentence (law)
January 16, 2013
There have been increased threats on human rights defenders and journalists in the last 6 months. Kenyan Human Rights Commission (KHRC) Director Atsango Chesoni says among those who have been threatened are Maina Kiai, Hassan Omar, Ndungu Wainaina and Makau Mutua. She says the threats are directed at those who have spoken out on issues such as the ICC and integrity.
via INCREASING THREATS ON HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS AND JOURNALISTS | The Star.
Posted in Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
Tags: corruption, Hassan Omar, Human Rights Defenders, ICC, impunity, journalists, Kenya, Kenyan Human Rights Commission, Maina Kiai, Makau Mutua, Ndungu Wainaina, the Star
January 15, 2013
On 12 January 2013 the Gulf Centre for Human Rights expressed its concern at the campaign of defamation, threats, and harassment against journalist and human rights defender Samia Al-Agbry. In addition complaint was lodged against her at the Department of Public Prosecution in the city of Damt. The complainant accused Samia Al-Agbry of allegedly insulting religion in an apparently orchestrated ‘multi-tools’ smear campaign against her.
On 31 December 2012, Samia Al-Agbry gave a speech at a peaceful gathering in which she said something to the effect that the reason for the elimination of the dreams of people in Yemen to build a civil state is some corrupt individuals who holed up behind religion, military and tribes. The GCHR thinks it is clear that some persons – for political purposes – have twisted her speech in order to target and stop her human rights activities.
It believes that this fierce campaign against Samia Al-Agbry is part of an ongoing trend of harassment of human rights defenders working in Yemen to stop them from continuing their work in defense of human rights.
http://gc4hr.org/news/view/318
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Tags: Advocacy Organizations, GCHR, Gulf Centre for Human Rights, harassment, human rights, Human Rights and Liberties, Human rights defender, journalists, Samia Al-Agbry, Yemen
January 14, 2013
From the MacArthur Foundation in the USA comes this short, welcome announcement:
Insecurity in Mexico has resulted in mounting pressures against activists and journalists in Mexico, causing some to flee or cease their work for fear of retaliation. In the fall of 2012, Mexico inaugurated a new government initiative to protect human rights defenders and journalists through transparent protection measures. The initiative’s governing body, composed of government officials and civil society representatives, will receive and analyze reports of threats to advocates and journalists, decide which cases are to be granted protection, and oversee effective implementation of its resolutions, which will be mandatory for government agencies. The initiative was supported by MacArthur grantees Red Nacional de Organismos Civiles de Derechos Humanos “Todos los Derechos para Todos” and the Instituto Mexicano de Derechos Humanos y Democracia; leaders of these organizations will serve on an Advisory Council responsible for ensuring the initiative’s protection measures are comprehensive, context-specific, and gender-sensitive.
via Mexico Launches Initiative to Protect Journalists and Human Rights Defenders — MacArthur Foundation.
Posted in human rights | Leave a Comment »
Tags: activism, Human Rights Defenders, journalists, MacArthur Foundation, Mexico, protection
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
Front Line (http://www.frontlinedefenders.org/) believes to be motivated by his legitimate and peaceful work as a land and indigenous rights defender and leader.
Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards 