Posts Tagged ‘Tanzania’
August 6, 2019
On 5 August 2019 prosecutors in Tanzania charged freelance journalist Erick Kabendera with money laundering, tax evasion, and assisting an organized crime racket. When he was detained on July 29, the Dar es Salaam police chief said at a press conference that police were investigating Kabendera’s citizenship status.“It seems that for the past week, authorities have been searching for a way to justify their detention of this critical freelance journalist. First, they claimed Erick Kabendera’s citizenship was in question, today they have leveled drastically different charges, which call into question their motive for holding him,” said CPJ Sub-Saharan Africa Representative Muthoki Mumo. “Prosecutors should immediately drop the charges against Kabendera and Tanzania should end its practice of retaliating against critical voices.”.. Under Tanzania’s Criminal Procedure Act, people accused of money laundering do not qualify for bail. Kabendera could remain in detention for the duration of his trial, Jones Sendodo, one of the lawyers representing the journalist, told CPJ. If convicted of assisting a criminal racket, Kabendera could be jailed for up to15 years.
Since his arrest, authorities have searched the journalist’s home at least twice, confiscated his passport and other documents, and questioned his mother, according to media reports. In addition to being interrogated about his citizenship, Kabendera was also questioned on allegations of sedition and cybercrime offences, according to the BBC and other reports. In a statement last week, the Tanzania Human Rights Defenders Coalition said that Kabendera’s rights to due process had been violated, as police moved him from station to station after arrest, denying him access to legal representation and his family. In a video posted to Twitter today, Jebra Kambole, who is also representing Kabendera, said the journalist has not yet been questioned for the crimes on the charge sheet, adding, “It is journalism work that has brought Erick here.” Kabendera will be detained at Segerea prison in Dar es Salaam until August 19, when the next hearing in his case is scheduled, his lawyer, Sendodo, said.
https://cpj.org/2019/08/tanzania-switches-track-charges-kabendera-with-eco.php
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders | 1 Comment »
Tags: CPJ, critical journalists, Erick Kabendera, Muthoki Mumo, Tanzania, Tanzania Human Rights Defenders Coalition
July 22, 2019
Digital activist Maxence Melo. (Daniel Hayduk, AFP, File)
A Tanzanian journalist awarded the International Press Freedom Award on 16 July [see https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/2019/07/17/international-press-freedom-awards-2019/] said he hoped the recognition will “lift the corner of the veil” on the plight of reporters in his homeland reported News24 on 17 July 2019. Maxence Melo, a blogger whose critical writings of President John Magufuli have landed him in hot water.
The CPJ said the co-founder of the Jamii Forums blog in 2006, was a “champion of online freedom of expression” who never flinched, even in the face of Tanzania’s strict internet laws. Melo has been in court more than 80 times, the CPJ said, and is still facing prosecution for refusing to disclose his sources in a story criticising Tanzanian authorities. His work focuses on corruption, tax evasion and human rights violations.
Melo said he hoped the award would turn the spotlight on the exceptional difficulties faced by journalists in Tanzania. “This prize lifts a corner of the veil on what is happening in our country,” said Melo, who is barred from leaving Tanzania’s financial capital and biggest city, Dar es Salaam. “Never before in our country has a government violated press freedom so much.”
“It is of course not good news that my country is making the headlines because of its laws and practices that violate freedoms of the press and expression,” Melo said. “With the announcement of this award, I think the international community will take a greater interest in what is happening in Tanzania, in the difficult environment in which the media and human rights defenders work in Tanzania.” Melo, a father of three, said he had received death threats. “It is obvious that I am afraid, afraid for my personal safety, but also for the safety of my family,” he said.
In 2015, the East African country was 75th in the world in RSF’s press freedom rankings. By 2019, it had slid to 118th.
https://www.news24.com/Africa/News/tanzanian-press-champion-hopes-prize-lifts-veil-on-abuses-20190717
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Tags: anti corruption, blogger, CPJ, critical journalists, freedom of expression, International Press Freedom Awards, Jamii Forums blog, Maxence Melo, Maxence Melo Mubyazi, Tanzania
July 17, 2019
On 16 July 2019, the Committee to Protect Journalists announced that journalists from Brazil, India, Nicaragua, and Tanzania will receive the 2019 International Press Freedom Awards amid the erosion of press freedom in democracies around the globe. The journalists have faced online harassment, legal and physical threats, and imprisonment in their pursuit of the news
CPJ’s 2019 awardees are:
Patrícia Campos Mello, a reporter and columnist at Brazil’s daily Folha de S. Paulo. During the Brazilian presidential election campaign in 2018, Campos Mello was attacked online and doxxed in response to her coverage of supporters of then presidential-candidate Jair Bolsonaro allegedly sponsoring bulk messaging in WhatsApp.
Neha Dixit, a freelance investigative journalist in India who covers human rights. She has faced legal and physical threats, as well as online harassment, after reporting on alleged wrongdoing by right-wing nationalist groups and police.
Lucía Pineda Ubau, news director, and Miguel Mora, founder and editor, of Nicaraguan broadcaster 100% Noticias. The pair was imprisoned in December 2018 in relation to their coverage of political unrest. They were freed on June 11 after six months behind bars, under surveillance and in isolation most of the time.
Maxence Melo Mubyazi, champion of online freedom of expression in Tanzania, who co-founded and is the managing director of Jamii Forums, an online discussion site and source of breaking news. Melo has been charged under the country’s restrictive CyberCrimes Act and, in 2017, appeared in court 81 times.
For more on the International Press Freedom Awards and other media awards, see: http://www.trueheroesfilms.org/thedigest/awards/international-press-freedom-awards-cpj
All of the winners will be honored at CPJ’s annual awards and benefit dinner, which will be chaired by Laurene Powell Jobs and Peter Lattman of the Emerson Collective. The event will be held at the Grand Hyatt New York in New York City on November 21, 2019.
Posted in awards, Human Rights Defenders | 2 Comments »
Tags: awards, Brazil, Committee to Protect Journalists, digest of human rights awards, India, International Press Freedom Awards, journalists, Lucía Pineda Ubau, Maxence Melo Mubyazi, Miguel Mora, Neha Dixit, Nicaragua, Patrícia Campos Mello, Tanzania
January 22, 2019
THRDC national coordinator Mr Onesmo Ole Ngurumo
Speaking in Dar es Salaam, the THRDC national coordinator Mr Onesmo Ole Ngurumo said violation of rights of suspects – held by law enforcers – was becoming a new normal in Tanzania, citing the recent ‘unlawful’ detention of three human rights defenders and two citizens at the Loliondo Police Station. “While in custody, the suspects were badly beaten badly. Besides, though they needed emergency medical care, the police continued to hold them in cells until their fellow inmates start rioting for their rights,” he said “Putting suspects under police custody for more than 24 hours without any legal assistance is a violation of human rights, considering that police don’t have the skills and resources to hold people for such long time,” he said.
https://www.thecitizen.co.tz/News/1840340-4946342-j0nrz/index.html
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Tags: arrest, Human Rights Defenders, illegal detention, Legal and Human Rights Centre (LHRC), national campaign, Onesmo Ole Ngurumo, Tanzania, Tanzania Human Rights Defenders Coalition
December 20, 2018
Secretary-General António Guterres (2nd left) and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet (left) with winners of the UN Prize in the Field of Human Rights at the General Assembly’s commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. UN Photo/Evan Schneider
The “clear and profound” guidelines enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, “have made it the world’s most widely translated document”, the UN Secretary-General told the General Assembly on Tuesday at an event to commemorate the Declaration’s 70th Anniversary, marked 10 December.
Every five years, The United Nations Prize in the Field of Human Rights is awarded to organizations and individuals which embody excellent activism in defending human rights. [see: http://www.trueheroesfilms.org/thedigest/awards/united-nations-prizes-in-the-field-of-human-rights]
The 2018 winners are:
- Rebeca Gyumi of Tanzania, for her work with women and girls. She lead a campaign that prompted the repeal of a Tanzanian law in 2016, which once permitted girls as young as 14 to be married off.
- Asma Jahangir of Pakistan, a human rights lawyer – whose daughter, Munizae, received the award on her behalf. Mrs. Jahangir, who passed away in February of this year, fought against religious extremism and for the rights of oppressed minorities.
- Joênia Wapixana (known also as Joenia Batista de Carvalho) of Brazil, who advocates on behalf of indigenous communities.
- Front-Line Defenders, an Irish organization which works on the protection of human rights defenders.
All were announced on 25 October [https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/2018/10/26/laureates-of-10th-edition-of-un-human-rights-prizes-just-announced/], and celebrated at the ceremonial event on 18 December.
The SG emphasized that “their work, and that of other human rights defenders around the world, is essential for our collective efforts to sustain peace and ensure inclusive sustainable development and respect for human rights for all.”
https://news.un.org/en/story/2018/12/1028901
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Tags: 70th anniversary UDHR, António Guterres, Asma Jahangir, Brasil, Front Line (NGO), Human Rights Day, Joênia Wapixana, Pakistan, Rebeca Gyumi, Tanzania, UN human rights prizes, United Nations Prizes in the field of human rights
October 26, 2018
On Friday 26 October 2018 the President of the UN General Assembly announced – in a rather summary and informal tweet:
“Today I announced the 2018 winners of the Human Rights Prize. I am proud to recognise the contributions of individuals & organizations that promote & protect human rights Joênia Wapichana Your work is an inspiration to us all “.
This is the tenth time that these awards were since the prize was established in 1968, coinciding this year with the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the 20th anniversary of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders. For more on this award: http://trueheroesfilms.org/thedigest/awards/united-nations-prizes-in-the-field-of-human-rights
It is probably for that reason that one of the winners is the outstanding Ireland based NGO Front Line Defenders (regularly quoted in the blog, see e.g. https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/tag/front-line-ngo/). The Director Andrew Anderson promptly replies with: “Profoundly honoured that @FrontLineHRD has been named as one of 4 winners of the UN Human Rights Prize. We dedicate this to the courageous & dedicated human rights defenders we work to support.”
Three other winners of the prize are
——–
https://www.newstalk.com/Irish-organisation-wins-United-Nations-Human-Rights-Prize
https://www.girlsnotbrides.org/high-court-tanzania-child-marriage/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joênia_Wapixana
Posted in awards, Human Rights Defenders, UN | 2 Comments »
Tags: Asma Jahangir, Brazil, digest of human rights awards, Front Line (NGO), Front Line Defenders, human rights awards, Ireland, Joênia Batista de Carvalho, Joênia Wapichana, Pakistan, Rebeca Gyumi, Tanzania, UN General Assembly, UN human rights prizes, Wapixana
May 11, 2016
has announced that the finalists for its 2016 award are human rights defenders from Azerbaijan, Burma/Myanmar, Colombia, Honduras, Palestine, and Tanzania. For more information on the annual Front Line Defenders Award for Human Rights Defenders at Risk: http://www.brandsaviors.com/thedigest/award/front-line-defenders-award.
The 6 finalists for 2016 are Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in awards, Front Line, human rights, Human Rights Defenders | 1 Comment »
Tags: Ana Mirian Romero, Azerbaijan, Burma, Colombia, digest of human rights awards, Front Line Defenders Award for Human Rights Defenders at Risk, Guo Feixiong, Honduras, human rights award, Ingrid Vergara Chavez, Khalid Bagirov, Maanda Ngoitiko, Mohammed Khatib, Myanmar, Palestine, Phyoe Phyoe Aung, Tanzania
April 19, 2016
Six environmental activists from around the world received the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize at a ceremony in San Francisco on 18 April 2016. This prize does not always go to human rights defenders in the traditional sense of the word, but several well-known ones are among the recipients such as the recently killed Berta Carceres [https://thoolen.wordpress.com/2016/03/07/exceptional-response-from-ngo-world-on-killing-of-berta-caceres/]. This year’s winners are: Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in awards, human rights, Human Rights Defenders | 1 Comment »
Tags: Berta Carceres, Cambodia, Destiny Watford, digest of human rights awards, Edward Loure, environmental activists, Goldman Environmental Award, Goldman Environmental Prize, human rights award, Human Rights Defenders, land rights defender, Leng Ouch, Luis Jorge Rivera-Herrera, Maxima Acuna, Peru, Puerto Rico, Slovakia, Tanzania, USA, Zuzana Caputova
November 23, 2015
With International Women Human Rights Defenders Day coming up (29 November) I will pay special attention to questions that concern them. Here a case of police harassment from Front Line concerning Tanzania: Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Front Line, human rights, Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
Tags: arbitrary arrest, elections, freedom of association, Front Line (NGO), Human Rights Defenders, Imelda Urio, International Women Human Rights Defenders Day, judicial harassment, Legal and Human Rights Centre, police behavior, Tanzania, Tanzanian Civil Society Election Consortium, woman human rights defender
April 9, 2014
“Like other people, journalists have personal interest in the rights that allow them to live in freedom and to be free from fear or oppression…” said Onesmo Olengurumwa, National Coordinator of Tanzania Human Rights Defenders – Coalition (THRD-C). He was speaking recently in Dar es Salaam at a 3-day seminar for journalists meant to train them in Security Management and Risk Assessment. Similar trainings will be conducted periodically to ensure journalists are equipped with the knowledge on how to best respond and tackle volatile and potentially dangerous situations. “Media owners, editors, journalists, human rights NGOs, community and the government should take security and protection issues for journalists much more seriously,” said Olengurumwa. He also reminded journalists that their personal behaviour, lifestyle and how they approach their work may place them at risk. “Investing on security management and protection for journalists should be undertaken by all media owners,”
![Journalists, CSOs, Human Rights and CBOs representatives posing for a group photo during the two-day training on Human rights in NBGS. [Gurtong| Abraham Agoth]](https://i0.wp.com/www.gurtong.net/Portals/0/GlobalResources/EN/images/Editorial2/journalists%20and%20Human%20Rights%20Defenders.jpg)
group photo of training on Human rights in NBGS. [Gurtong| Abraham Agoth]
On 28 March 2014 Abraham Agoth in “Oye! News from Africa” reported that Journalists and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) has completed a Human Rights Defenders training course organised by the Human Rights Protection and Civil Affairs Departments of the United Nations Mission in
South Sudan (UNMISS). Speaking at the closing ceremony, the acting UNMISS state coordinator, Numa Shams urged the participants to apply what they learnt during the training in their daily work so that human rights abuses are minimized. “
We hope this work will be incorporated into your daily activities of monitoring human right in your respective working locations and within your communities,” he said. “
I have seen your participation and commitments in this training. It clearly shows that you have learnt something and are eager to learn more,” said Mary Makelele, the director general in the state ministry of Information, “
My appeal to everyone is that; do not take these skills for granted but instead use them to educate others.” During the training, it was generally observed that human rights have been mostly violated due to negligence and ignorance.
Journalists, CSOs Complete Human Rights Defenders Training | Oye Times.
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders | 1 Comment »
Tags: Abraham Agoth, Africa, civil society organisations, freedom of information, human rights, human rights abuses, Human Rights Defenders, journalists, media, Oye! News from Africa, security, South Sudan, Tanzania, Tanzania Human Rights Defenders Coalition, training, UNMISS
![Journalists, CSOs, Human Rights and CBOs representatives posing for a group photo during the two-day training on Human rights in NBGS. [Gurtong| Abraham Agoth]](http://www.gurtong.net/Portals/0/GlobalResources/EN/images/Editorial2/journalists%20and%20Human%20Rights%20Defenders.jpg)
Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards 