Posts Tagged ‘release’
January 26, 2016
After more than 20 days of detention and a public confession that sounded forced, Swedish human defender Peter Dahlin has been expelled from China, and is on his way home. The Chinese foreign ministry and Swedish embassy in Beijing confirmed Peter Dahlin, 35, had been released from detention and expelled from the country on Monday 15 January 2016.
[What Dahlin actually admitted to in his televised confession, and what a voice-over in Chinese said he had admitted to, were two very different things, as Quartz reported earlier. Discrepancies included his alleged “funding” of Chinese activists (Dahlin said “support” in his confession, which was in English), and an accusation that he had embezzled money from foreign NGOs, which Dahlin never admitted to.] https://thoolen.wordpress.com/2016/01/21/confessions-abound-on-chinese-television-first-gui-minhai-and-now-peter-dahlin/
Another Swedish citizen, Hong Kong-based bookseller Gui Minhai, remains in custody in Beijing after his suspected abduction from Thailand by Chinese authorities. Swedish officials are “very concerned about the detained Swedish citizen Gui Minhai. Our efforts to bring clarity to his situation and be granted the opportunity to visit him continue with unabated intensity,” the Swedish embassy said in its statement.
Source: Human rights activist Peter Dahlin has been expelled from China, and is headed home to Sweden – Quartz
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
Tags: China, crackdown, expulsion, foreign funding, Gui Minhai, Human Rights Defenders, NGOs, Peter Dahlin, Quartz, release, Sweden
January 20, 2016
And while we are on groups of UN human rights experts, also on 19 January three Rapporteurs welcomed Iran’s release of four Iranian-Americans in an apparent prisoner swap with the United States, and called on Tehran to pave the way for the freeing of all remaining unlawfully detained prisoners. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders, UN | Leave a Comment »
Tags: Ahmed Shaheed, Amir Hekmati, David Kaye, death penalty, freedom of expression, Heiner Bielefeldt, Iran, Jason Rezaian, release, Saeed Abedini, UN Special Rapporteurs, United Nations, USA
December 29, 2015
Posted in awards, HRW, human rights, Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
Tags: Association for Human Rights in Central Asia, Elena Urlaeva, Erk opposition, HRW, ill treatment, MEA Laureate 2008, Murod Juraev, Mutabar Tadjibayeva, NGOs, political prisoner, prison sentence, release, Shukhrat Rustamov, Steve Swerdlow, Tji Haksoon Justice and Peace award, Uzbekistan
December 10, 2015
Many NGOs have welcomed as a good Human Rights Day present the announcement of the freeing of Leyla Yunus in Azerbaijan. Here the views of the Deputy Director, Europe and Central Asia Division of Human Rights Watch, Rachel Denber:
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in awards, HRW, human rights, Human Rights Defenders | 1 Comment »
Tags: Arif Yunus, Azerbaijian, HRW, human rights awards, Human Rights Defenders, international human rights day, Leyla Yunus, Oxi Day, release, Theodor Haecker Prize, woman human rights defender
July 2, 2015
As many international NGOs (e.g.: Human Rights First, Front Line, the Human Rights Foundation, ISHR and several trade unions) have already welcomed the release of two human rights defenders in Swaziland, it is perhaps interesting to give the local take on it through an article in the Swaziland Observer of 2 July 2015 at hand of Noxolo Nkabinde: “Bheki, Thulani sacrifice not in vain – SCCCO”.
The Swaziland Coalition of Concerned Civic Organisations (SCCCO) says the sacrifices made by Nation Magazine Editor Bheki Makhubu and human rights lawyer Thulani Maseko were not in vain..“When they wrote those articles, Bheki and Thulani could not have imagined the events that were to follow. They, as concerned members of the public and as human rights defenders, were simply articulating the sentiments of a nation, frustrated and rapidly losing faith in the justice system. As we continue to stand with them, we believe the pain they and their families have gone through is another building-block towards freedom – their sacrifice has not been in vain,” SCCCO said in their statement. They added that their charge, arrest, conviction and imprisonment were never justified and believed they were vindicated.
Interestingly the NGO gives big credits to the judiciary “We commend the judges of the Supreme Court for this ruling. We welcome this, amongst their first acts in office, as a sign that perhaps our judiciary is turning a corner towards the better path of justice. The past few years have increasingly eroded our confidence in the judiciary – the impeachment proceedings of the former chief justice exposed but a fragment of the rot that had set in the judiciary. But as we all know, that situation has been created and nurtured over time, and it’s predilection for injustice has its roots in an environment that is hostile to free speech, in particular the speech that dissents with the status quo. And so our rejoicing is bitter-sweet: this is not about the individuals who previously occupied and abused judicial office; nor is it about their heinous conduct during this and other cases – the problem of the judiciary, just as with the other structures of governance, is systemic, and our new judges and their successors will remain vulnerable to outside influence as long as the structural flaws are not addressed.”
This was also an opportunity to restore both the dignity of and confidence in the judiciary. It could also serve as an opportunity to develop and grow the country’s jurisprudence in a way that promotes a culture of human rights and good democratic governance.
The SCCCO anticipates an era of respect for the rule of law under the new Supreme Court Judges Qinisile Mabuza and Mbutfo Mamba: “We note in the appointments the presence of judges such as Qinisile Mabuza and Mbutfo Mamba who have a proven track record of fairness and we look forward to an era where such judges are not punished for being principled…We call on all the judicial officers, even as they have taken the judicial oath/affirmation of office, to also recall the following constitutional provisions: Whereas all the branches of government are the Guardians of the Constitution, it is necessary that the Courts be the ultimate Interpreters of the Constitution”.
The article adds with a sad note that in the meantime the Swaziland Office of the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) has been closed due to lack of funding.
See background in: https://thoolen.wordpress.com/2014/03/19/swaziland-should-immediately-release-two-human-rights-defenders-arrested-on-17-march/
Observer.
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders | 1 Comment »
Tags: Bheki Makhubu, freedom of expression, Human Rights Defenders, human rights lawyer, independence of the judiciary, Journalist, Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA), Nation Magazine, NGOs, release, Supreme Court, Swaziland, Swaziland Coalition of Concerned Civic Organisations (SCCCO)
April 17, 2015
Having just posted about Sandra Kodouda’s disappearance for 4 days [https://thoolen.wordpress.com/2015/04/17/human-rights-defender-sandra-kodouda-remains-missing-four-days-after-abduction-in-sudan/ ] I am happy to report that yesterday (16 April 2015), the Sudanese human rights defender was returned home after reportedly being held in custody by the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) although they had denied they held her. She suffered a dislocated shoulder and other injuries during her detention.
Posted in Front Line, Human Rights Defenders | 1 Comment »
Tags: disappearance, Forced disappearance, Front Line (NGO), National Intelligence and Security Service, NISS, release, Sandra Kodouda, Sudan, woman human rights defender
February 17, 2015
Mchangama is one of the leaders of the “Madji Na Mwendje” (power and water) movement, formed by the FCC and other civil society organizations to protest the government’s inability to resolve the frequent power blackouts and water shortages plaguing the island. The movement called on all Comorian civil society groups to engage in a three-day general strike scheduled for February 9-11. The Sunday before the strike was set to start, Mchangama was summoned to appear at the police station of Moroni where he was immediately arrested and is currently being held.
“Civil society leaders like Mchangama are a threat to competitive authoritarian regimes because of their ability to channel people’s frustration at corrupt and incompetent governments. By arresting him, the government seeks to quash a legitimate demand from hundreds of thousands of Comorians living below the poverty line. He must be released immediately,” said Thor Halvorssen, president of the Human Rights Foundation. “We have seen similar instances of repressing freedom of expression in the region. In Burundi, Pierre Claver Mbonimpa was arrested for criticizing the ruling party during a radio interview; and in Swaziland Thulani Maseko and Bhaki Makubu were both arrested for questioning the independence of the judicial system. These are all legitimate concerns in any democratic society. It is these abusive governments that are at fault here, not the people,” said Halvorssen.
For more information contact: Jamie Hancock at jamie[at]thehrf.org or see the original piece:
HRF to the Comoros: Release Activist Mohamed Mchangama and Drop Incitement Charges Against Him | News | The Human Rights Foundation.
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders, Human Rights Foundation | Leave a Comment »
Tags: arbitrary arrest, civil society activists, Comoros, Federation of Comorian Consumers (FCC), freedom of expression, freedom to demonstrate, Human Rights Foundation, illegal detention, Mohamed Said Abdallah Mchangama, Pierre Claver Mbonimpa, release
January 28, 2015
The following, reported by Front Line on 28 January is a good illustration of what human rights defenders in China face: a bit of good news (re-appearance) mixed with continued repression:
On 28 January 2015 human rights defender Mr Huang Kaiping returned to his home in Beijing, following a period of over three months’ enforced disappearance. Huang Kaiping is director of the Transition Institute, an independent think tank in Beijing that focuses on economic and political liberalisation. The Transition Institute was founded in 2007 to carry out research into tax reform, business regulation and the development of civil society in China. The Institute was forced to close by the Chinese authorities earlier this year, as they stepped up their campaign of harassment against a number of civil society organisations in China. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Front Line, human rights, Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
Tags: China, disappearance, freedom of association, freedom of expression, Guo Yushan, Huang Kaiping, Human rights defender, Human Rights Defenders, illegal detention, Kou Yanding, release, Transition Institute
September 30, 2014
Yesterday, 29 September 2014, human rights defender Pierre Claver Mbonimpa was conditionally released from prison on grounds of ill health in Burundi. [He was arrested on 16 Mat this year: https://thoolen.wordpress.com/2014/05/16/alert-mea-laureate-2007-pierre-claver-mbonimpa-arrested-in-burundi/]
Pierre Claver Mbonimpa is the President of the Burundi Association for the Promotion of Human Rights and of Detained Persons (Association Burundaise pour la Promotion des Droits Humains et des Personnes Détenues – APRODH), one of the most active human rights organisations in Burundi. For several years, the human rights defender has documented torture and the poor conditions of detention in prisons, and has campaigned against extra-judicial killings in the country. Pierre Claver Mbonimpa was the MEA Laureate in 2007.
MEA Laureate Mbonimpa, Burundi
Only two weeks ago the High Court of Bujumbura had still rejected a request by his defense lawyers for his provisional release due to serious illness. However, the court had ordered the establishment of a medical commission to assess the health of the human rights defender (see http://www.frontlinedefenders.org/node/27199> . As conditions of his release, Pierre Claver Mbonimpa is not permitted to travel beyond the borders of Bujumbura city, nor is he permitted to be in the proximity of the airport, train station or ports without judicial authorisation. Moreover, the human rights defender must appear before the judge when required.
On 18 September the European Parliament adopted a resolution which condemned Mbonimpa’s detention and deemed it “representative of the mounting risks facing human rights defenders” in Burundi. The resolution also called on the EU High Representative and the 28 EU Member States to ensure “a clear and principled EU policy vis a vis Burundi that addresses the on-going serious human rights violations” in the country. http://www.hrw.org/news/2014/09/19/dispatches-european-parliament-stands-mbonimpa-burundi
To read more about the case of Pierre Claver Mbonimpa: http://www.frontlinedefenders.org/PierreClaverMbonimpa
Posted in Front Line, HRW, human rights, Human Rights Defenders | 1 Comment »
Tags: APRODH, Burundi, European Parliament, Front Line (NGO), Human rights defender, Human Rights Defenders, illegal detention, Mbonimpa, MEA, MEA Laureate 2007, medical, Pierre Claver Mbonimpa, release
June 6, 2014
A court in Uzbekistan ordered the release of a human rights defender on medical grounds on 31 May 2014. The Uzbek government should now meaningfully investigate credible allegations that Abdurasul Khudoynazarov was tortured and denied appropriate medical care in prison, and allow him to resume his human rights work.
via Uzbekistan: Critically Ill Activist Freed | Eurasia Review.
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
Tags: Abdurasul Khudoynazarov, Eurasia Review, free, Human rights defender, medical, prison sentence, release, torture, Uzbekistan
Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards 