Posts Tagged ‘MEA’
June 19, 2012
Several human rights organizations, including AI, called on Iranian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Abdolfattaf Soltani, a prominent lawyer and founding member of the Center for Human Rights Defenders (CHRD), an organization co-founded by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi
Abdolfattah Soltani was originally sentenced by Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court to 18 years’ imprisonment to be served in the remote city of Borazjan, some 620 miles south-west of Tehran, which will make it hard for his family to visit him. Soltani was also banned from practicing law for 20 years.
His lawyer and family were informed of the initial sentence March 4. On June 4, his family was informed that Branch 54 of the Appeal Court of Tehran had reduced his sentence to 13 years’ imprisonment and overturned the ban on practicing law for 20 years; the court confirmed that his imprisonment sentence is to be served in the city of Borazjan.
Arrested on September 10, 2011 on charges including “spreading propaganda against the system,” “setting up an illegal opposition group [the CHRD],” and “gathering and colluding with intent to harm national security,” Soltani also faced charges of “accepting an illegal prize and illegal earnings” relating to his acceptance of the Nuremberg International Human Rights Award in 2009.
On at least two occasions since his imprisonment, Soltani was pressured to “confess” on camera, including “confessing” that the center had received funding from foreign sources to encourage a “soft revolution” in Iran – which Soltani denies.
Since the CHRD was forcibly closed in December 2008, Iranian authorities carried out a campaign of prosecution and harsh sentencing against anyone with actual or perceived links to the center. Its members have continued to carry out their work in support of human rights but have faced repeated harassment, intimidation, arrest and imprisonment. Several are currently serving prison sentences in Tehran’s Evin Prison, including Narges Mohammadi (six-year sentence), Mohammad Seyfzadeh (a two-year prison sentence), Mohammad Ali Dadkhah (nine years’ imprisonment – currently at liberty, though he may be called to serve his sentence at any time) and MEA 2012 nominee Nasrin Sotoudeh (6-year jail term).
Iran: Immediately Release Imprisoned Human Rights Defenders | Amnesty International USA.
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders, nominees | Leave a Comment »
Tags: Abdolfattah Soltani, Amnesty International, HRDs, Iran, MEA, Nasrin Sotoudeh
June 11, 2012
Asma Jahangir MEA Laureate
The Friday Times of June 8, 2012 carries an interesting article in which Raza Rumi talks to Ali Dayan Hasan, the Pakistan Director at Human Rights Watch. The response to the question: “But critics would argue that Asma Jahangir is a politicised figure and she has offered no proof to substantiate her allegations…” is so good and clear it is worth quoting in full: “Let me be blunt. Asma Jahangir is no ordinary person. She is an activist of 30 years with a demonstrable record of unflinching integrity. Not only is she a figure viewed with admiration in Pakistan, she is seen as an icon by many in the international human rights movement. During these decades, she has been a consistent critic of the military and intelligence agencies but has never made such an allegation. But when she speaks the world hears respectfully and with attention. It is for the government of Pakistan to fully investigate the matter and unearth the truth of the matter. And I want to be absolutely clear: the intelligence apparatus must understand that if any harm comes to Asma Jahangir, the response from the international community will be severe.”. Asma was the second person to win the Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders in 1995!.
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders, MEA | Leave a Comment »
Tags: Asma Jahangir, human rights, Jahangir, MEA, Pakistan, threats
May 31, 2012
On 28 May 2012 there was finally some light at the end of the tunnel. Nabeel Rajab was released on bail and Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja ended his hunger strike. Another HRD Zainab Al-Khawaja was also freed. I reported several times on these cases related to the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR), the 2012 nominee of the Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders.
Throughout Al-Khawaja’s hunger strike he was able to draw international attention to the on-going human rights violations that are taking place in Bahrain. The hunger strike brought attention to the plight of human rights defenders and political activists who are in detention or have been subjected to human rights violations by the authorities. Despite the primary demand of his hunger strike of “freedom or death” not being met, he has achieved one of his main goals by attracting global attention and focus on the human rights situation in the country. In a statement the human rights defender thanked his family for their support and expressed his gratitude to all those who had shown solidarity with him both inside and outside Bahrain. He will now begin a special diet in order for his body to recover from the 110-day hunger strike.
That Nabeel Rajab was released on bail is of course excellent but we should not forget that he should never have been arrested (on the 5th of May) to start with. He was charged with ‘insulting the statuary bodies” the so-called “Twitter Defamation case”, “participating in illegal assembly and calling others to join” through social networking sites. (See GCHR appeal dated 05-05- 2012 (http://gc4hr.org/news/view/138)
He was released on bail of 300 Bahraini Dinars (appr. $796). However, a travel ban remains in place and the trials will continue (a hearing on the “illegal assembly” case is scheduled for 17 June while another session for the “twitter case” is scheduled for 24 June).
Furthermore, human rights defender Zainab Alkhawaja @angryarabiya was released on 29th May 2012, after more than 1 month imprisonment. She is still facing trials in 2 cases. One of the hearing sessions on the case of “illegal assembly, assaulting a police officer and inciting hatred against the regime is scheduled on June 24th, while the case of “obstructing traffic” is scheduled for November 1st 2012.
While the BCHR welcomes the ending of Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja’s hunger strike and the release of both Nabeel Rajab on bail and Zainab Al-Khawaja, it expresses serious concern for the on-going trials of the released activists, the on-going violations of human rights by Bahraini authorities and the continued detention of human rights defenders including Abdulhadi Alkhawaja on fabricated charges.
Posted in Human Rights Defenders, MEA | Leave a Comment »
Tags: Abdulhadi Alkhawaja, Bahrain, Bahrain Center for Human Rights, hungerstrike, Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders, MEA, Nabeel Rajab
May 24, 2012
We have just learned that the Venerable Luon Savath been released and is now at the office of the NGO LICADHO. But not sure that this is the end of the story and will keep you posted.
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders, MEA | Leave a Comment »
Tags: Cambodia, detention, human rights, LICADHO, Luon Savath, Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders, MEA, release
May 24, 2012
The 2012 nominee of the Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders, the ‘multimedia’ monk Luon Savath, was this morning ‘arrested’. In fact, senior members of the monastic community were involved in detaining him after he took photos of protesting Boeung Kak lake villagers outside Phnom Penh municipal court. As can be seen on http://youtu.be/0sG6iLwj95o, some monks, police and unidentified plain-clothed men forced him into a Land Cruiser and ushered him away from the scene as more than 60 protesters, flanked by about 100 police, called for the release of 13 Boeung Kak women who where being questioned inside. The Venerable Loun Savath was already banned from all pagodas in Phnom Penh last year by Supreme Patriarch Nun Nget. It seems that the Venerable Loun Savath was driven to Pagoda Botum, where police and officials from the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Cults and Religion barricaded him inside, sealing off entries so even pagoda boys could not enter. According to Buddhist internal rules, a committee of monks needs to meet and express whatever they think he has done wrong, then the monk in question is supposed to be able to respond to committee. Afterwards, the committee can decide to ‘advise’ him of ‘misconduct’ or ask ‘permission’ to defrock. With unusual and uncommon speed this has happened all within the same day! Luon Savath was able to make one call and then his mobile phone was cut off and no one has been able to reach him since. There is serious reason to worry and the international community should be mobilized.
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012052456374/National-news/activist-monk-loun-savath-detained.html
To stay up to date check with Twitter @witnessryan.
Posted in human rights | 1 Comment »
Tags: Asia, Buddhism, Cambodia, defrocking, detention, freedom of expression, Luon Savath, Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders, MEA, monk, Phnom Penh, unlawful arrest
May 17, 2012
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Amnesty International shows its ‘new’ broadened mandate with this short video on forced evictions in Africa. In 4 languages on YouTube: video by AI on forced evictions in Africa. It highlights the kind of human rights violations that the 2012 nominee of the MEA in Cambodia is dealing with: see short film on the multimedia monk on http://www.martinennalsaward.org
Posted in AI, Amnesty international, films, human rights | Leave a Comment »
Tags: Africa, Amnesty International, Cambodia, Eviction, human rights, Luon Sovath, MEA
May 8, 2012
On May 7, 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), reports and protests the arbitrary arrest and judicial harassment of Mr. Nabeel Rajab, President of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR) and FIDH Deputy Secretary General. The Centre was announced only two weeks ago as one of the nominees of the Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders (for a short film on their work see http://www.martinennalsaward.org)
On May 5, 2012, Mr. Nabeel Rajab was arrested by plain clothes police officers upon arrival at Manama airport from Lebanon and transferred to Al Hawra police station. The police officers who proceeded to the arrest stated that they were following orders by the Public Prosecutor, however neither Mr. Rajab nor his lawyers were then informed of the reasons for his arrest.
Mr. Rajab had returned to Bahrain in order to attend a hearing for charges of “participating in an illegal assembly” and “calling others to join”, relating to a protest organised on March 31, 2012 in Manama to denounce the detention of human rights defender Abdulhadi Al Khawaja, former BCHR President and former MENA Director at Front Line.On May 6, Mr. Rajab was accordingly taken to court, where he denied the charges against him. The trial was postponed to May 22, 2012.
Later the same day, Mr. Rajab was presented before the Public Prosecutor, who informed him of the reasons for his arrest. According to Mr. Rajab’s lawyers, charges of “insulting the statutory bodies”, pursuant to Article 216 of the Penal Code, which carry an imprisonment for a term of up to three years and a fine, are pressed against him in relation to tweets he posted deemed “insulting” to the Ministry of Interior. Mr. Rajab replied that he was the author of tweets posted through his account and that he did not recognise the jurisdiction of the Court and the Prosecution due to their lack of independence from the Executive. The Public Prosecutor remanded Mr. Rajab to detention for seven days.
The Observatory firmly denounces the arbitrary detention as well as the judicial harassment of Mr. Nabeel Rajab, which seem to merely aim at sanctioning his legitimate human rights activities. It recalls that according to international standards pre-trial detention should only be used where other measures of restraint are not possible.
The Observatory recalls that these events occur within the context of an intensified crackdown against activists, including human rights defenders, who have supported or are alleged to have supported the protest movement which started in Bahrain in February 2011.
Bahrain: Arbitrary arrest and judicial harassment … – FIDH.
Posted in FIDH, Front Line, Human Rights Defenders, OMCT | Leave a Comment »
Tags: Abdulhadi Al Khawaja, Bahrain, detention, FIDH, Human rights defender, independence of the judiciary, International Federation for Human Rights, lawyers, MEA, Nabeel Rajab, Observatory for the Protection of HRDs, OMCT, World Organisation Against Torture
April 30, 2012
The streaming of the press conference in Geneva on 24 April has some technical problems but now there is a nice and short summary of it on the website http://www.martinennalsaward.org. Also the 3 mini portraits on the 3 nominees are available on that site.
Posted in films, Human Rights Defenders, MEA, nominees | Leave a Comment »
Tags: Calmy Rey, Geneva, Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders, MEA, MEF, press conference, Sandrine Salerno, Thoolen, video, Vimeo
April 24, 2012
Today the nominees of the Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders 2012 are announced in Geneva. The ann0uncement was made by the new Chair of the Martin Ennals Foundation, Mrs Micheline Calmy Rey, until last year the President of and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Switzerland. Each nominee deserves its own post! One of the 3 nominees is the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR).
BCHR is a nongovernmental organization that conducts research, documents human rights abuses, provides information to international NGOs and the diplomatic community in Bahrain and advocates locally and internationally. Several of its leaders have been arrested wihout cause. BCHR has continued its human rights activities despite a hostile environment, in particular the numerous threats issued by the Government, warning that further ‘legal’ action will be taken against the members should they continue their activities. Through its website (www.bahrainrights.org) BCHR struggles to promote democracy and human rights in accordance with international norms, encourages and supports individuals and groups to be proactive in the protection of their own and others’ rights. BCHR has emerged as a model NGO in the region on how to continue to operate and leverage national and international advocacy despite a repressive national context. It is only the second time in the 20-year history of the MEA that an organisation is one of the nominees.
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders, MEA, nominees | Leave a Comment »
Tags: 2012 nominee, arab awakening, Bahrain, Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, BCHR, Geneva, human rights, Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders, MEA, Micheline Calmy Rey
April 24, 2012
Today the nominees of the Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders 2012 are announced in Geneva. The ann0uncement was made by the new Chair of the Martin Ennals Foundation, Mrs Micheline Calmy Rey, until last year the President of and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Switzerland. Each nominee deserves its own post! One of the 3 nominees is Nasrin Sotoudeh from Iran.
Nasrin Sotoudeh is a human rights lawyer and a member of the now closed Defenders of Human Rights Centre (DHRC); she was imprisoned for “spreading propaganda against the State”, “collusion and gathering with the aim of acting against national security” and “membership in an illegal organisation”. She worked for Shirin Ebadi‘s law firm, and represented imprisoned opposition activists following the June 2009 presidential elections. In this regard, she represented Shirin Ebadi after she left Iran and her assets were confiscated. On September 4, 2010, Nasrin Sotoudeh was arrested, and later sentenced to 6-year of prison and a 10-year ban on practising as lawyer. She remains detained in Evin prison and on several occasions subjected to solitary confinement. Unlike fur common criminals her family visits and furlongs are limited. Despite real danger for her security and liberty, Nasrin Sotoudeh has relentlessly defended those most vulnerable. As started by Iranian Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi “Ms. Sotoudeh is one of the last remaining courageous human rights lawyers who has accepted all risks for defending the victims of human rights violations in Iran”. After Akbar Ganji (2006) and Baghi (2009) this is the third human rights defender from Iran chosen by the Jury in the last seven years. The Government will surely portray this as a bias, but the rest of the world will understand that Iran is one of the worst when it comes to respect HRDs.
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders, MEA | 3 Comments »
Tags: Akbar Ganji, Baghi, Evin Prison, human rights, Human Rights Defenders, Iran, Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders, MEA, Micheline Calmy Rey, Nasrin Sotoudeh, nominee 2012, Shirin Ebadi
Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards 