human-rights

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Iran - Evin is still Middle East's biggest prison for journalists after Emadoldin Baghi's release - 15.10.2008
Reporters Without Borders is relieved that Emadoldin Baghi, a journalist and human rights activist with serious health problems, has been released from Tehran's Evin prison. He nonetheless faces possible re-imprisonment in two other cases currently before the courts. His release reduces the number of journalists detained in Iran to nine, six of whom are in Evin.
Source : Reporters Without Borders | 15-Oct-2008 19:22

Palestinian Territories - Hamas government reinforces control over Gaza Strip media - 15.10.2008
Reporters Without Borders is concerned about a new system of accreditation that Ismael Haniyeh's government has announced for all telecommunications companies, Internet service providers, broadcast media and news agencies based in the Gaza Strip.?This decisions seems above all to be motivated by Hamas' desire to control the press,? Reporters Without Borders said.
Source : Reporters Without Borders | 15-Oct-2008 13:26

UN Urged to End Executions of Juvenile Offenders
Groups from 82 Countries Seek Urgent Reforms As UN member states begin three days of debate on the rights of the child, more than 300 nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) from 82 countries called on the UN General Assembly to take urgent action to end executions for crimes committed by children, Human Rights Watch said today.
Source : Human Rights Watch | 14-Oct-2008 07:00

Iran - Cyber-journalist arrested in Qom for posting dissident ayatollah's sermon online - 13.10.2008
Reporters Without Borders condemns theologian and online journalist Mojtaba Lotfi's arrest on 8 October for a posting a sermon by Ayatollah Hussein Ali Montazeri - a well-known opponent of the Islamic revolution's Supreme Guide Ayatollah Ali Khamenei - online.
Source : Reporters Without Borders | 13-Oct-2008 19:25

Iraq - Young journalist gunned down on Kirkuk street - 11.10.2008

Source : Reporters Without Borders | 11-Oct-2008 19:20

Libya Frees Political Prisoner
Idris Boufayed Is Promised Travel for Medical Treatment Libya freed Dr. Idris Boufayed from detention on October 8, almost 20 months after security agents arrested him for planning a peaceful demonstration, Human Rights Watch said today. Boufayed, who suffers from advanced lung cancer, was released from detention in a hospital and promised that he would be allowed to travel abroad for medical care.
Source : Human Rights Watch | 10-Oct-2008 07:00

Palestinian Territories - Conditional release for cameraman working for Hamas TV on West Bank - 9.10.2008

Source : Reporters Without Borders | 09-Oct-2008 19:03

Libya: Prisoner of Conscience Idriss Boufayed Released
Amnesty International welcomes the release by the Libyan authorities of Libyan Prisoner of Conscience Idriss Boufayed on 8 October 2008, but stresses that it must be unconditional and that he should be allowed to travel abroad for medical treatment if he wishes
Source : Amnesty International | 09-Oct-2008 07:00

Iraq: New evidence further undermines the right to fair trial
Iraq: New evidence further undermines the right to fair trial
Source : Amnesty International | 09-Oct-2008 07:00

Syria - Banned in Syria, pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat is latest media to fall victim to tension between Arab regimes - 8.10.2008
Reporters Without Borders condemns Syria's ban on distribution of the pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat since 29 September. ?The Arab media often depend on good diplomatic relations between the countries that finance them and the countries where they operate,? Reporters Without Borders said.
Source : Reporters Without Borders | 08-Oct-2008 19:23

Jordan: Torture in Prisons Routine and Widespread
Reforms Fail to Tackle Abuse, Impunity Persists Jordan should end routine and widespread torture in its prisons, Human Rights Watch said in a new report released today. Human Rights Watch called on the government to overhaul mechanisms for investigating, disciplining and prosecuting abusers, and in particular to transfer prosecutor?s investigations into prison abuse from police to civilian prosecutors.
Source : Human Rights Watch | 08-Oct-2008 07:00

Egypt - Newspaper editor spared prison by presidential pardon - 7.10.2008
President Hosni Mubarak yesterday pardoned Ibrahim Issa, the editor of the opposition weekly Al-Dustour, who was sentenced to two months in prison. ?This decision puts an end to an iniquitous judicial procedure that lasted more than a year. Mubarak cannot continue avoiding the need for legislative reform to decriminalize press offences,?Reporters Without Borders said.
Source : Reporters Without Borders | 07-Oct-2008 19:26

Yemen - Foreign journalist's fixer wrongly held in custody - 6.10.2008

Source : Reporters Without Borders | 07-Oct-2008 13:02

United States: Bush Signs Law on Child Soldiers
Measure to Prosecute Recruiters Abroad Puts Commanders on Notice Under a new law signed today by US President George W. Bush, leaders of military forces and armed groups who have recruited child soldiers may be arrested and prosecuted in the United States, Human Rights Watch said today. The law could apply to leaders of dozens of forces that have recruited and used child soldiers in over 20 armed conflicts.
Source : Human Rights Watch | 03-Oct-2008 07:00

Saudi Arabia: Free Political Prisoners
Many Criminals Granted Amnesty, but Activists Remain in Prison The Saudi government should free unlawfully detained political activists, including Professor Matrook al-Faleh, one of Saudi Arabia?s leading advocates of reform, Human Rights Watch said today. Although Saudi prison officials said that they had amnestied 1,000 convicted criminals during Ramadan in September, dozens of political activists remain behind bars or are subject to arbitrary travel bans.
Source : Human Rights Watch | 03-Oct-2008 07:00

Egypt - Editor gets two months in prison, amid no sign of progress in civil liberties three years after Mubarak's reelection - 30.09.2008
Reporters Without Borders strongly condemns the two-month prison sentence which a Cairo appeals court passed on Ibrahim Issa, the editor of the opposition weekly Al-Dustour. This is supposed to be Mubarak's last term as president, but there has no let-up in the repressive policies he has been pursuing since he took over as president in 1981, the press freedom organisation said.
Source : Reporters Without Borders | 30-Sep-2008 19:10

Israel - Authorities remain silent about imprisonment of Syrian journalist Ata Farahat - 29.09.2008

Source : Reporters Without Borders | 29-Sep-2008 19:17

Tunisia - Human rights activist Tarek Soussi released provisionally - 26.09.2008

Source : Reporters Without Borders | 26-Sep-2008 19:22

Yemen - Journalist serving six-year sentence released by presidential directive - 25.09.2008

Source : Reporters Without Borders | 25-Sep-2008 19:23

Palestinian Territories - Palestinian TV stations suffer in power struggle between rival factions - 24.09.2008
Reporters Without Borders condemns the continuing press censorship in the Gaza Strip and West Bank, which has not spared the Palestinian broadcast media, and calls for the release of Ossayd Amarneh, a cameraman employed by Al-Aqsa TV, who was arrested in the West Bank city of Bethlehem on 21 September.
Source : Reporters Without Borders | 24-Sep-2008 19:13

Iran - More and more minority journalists being jailed - 24.09.2008
Four Azeri journalists have been held without charge for more than 10 days while an Azeri journalist and blogger was sentenced to six months in prison on 20 September for her online articles. ?These Azeris join the list of ethnic minority journalists held in Iran's prisons for criticising social inequality and demanding equal treatment within Iranian society,? the organisation said.
Source : Reporters Without Borders | 24-Sep-2008 13:24

Tunisia - Plain-clothes police threaten independent journalist Slim Boukhdir - 23.09.2008
Reporters Without Borders is very concerned about independent journalist Slim Boukhdir following his arrest in the southern city of Sfax on the night of 20 September by four plain-clothes policemen, who threatened him because of his articles and then dumped him 10 km outside the city. It was the first serious incident since his release from prison two months ago.
Source : Reporters Without Borders | 23-Sep-2008 19:16

Saudi Arabia: Shia Minority Treated as Second-Class Citizens
Wahhabi Authorities Discriminate Against Ismaili Citizens The Saudi government should end its systematic discrimination against its Ismaili religious minority, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Human Rights Watch called upon the government to set up a national institution empowered to recommend remedies for discriminatory policies and responding to individual claims.
Source : Human Rights Watch | 22-Sep-2008 07:00

Morocco - Appeal court overturns blogger's conviction - 18.09.2008
Reporters Without Borders hails today's decision by an Agadir appeal court to quash blogger Mohamed Erraji's conviction on the grounds of procedural irregularities. Erraji was sentenced on 8 September to two years in prison and a fine of 5,000 dirhams (430 euros) for ?disrespect for the king? in article for the Moroccan news website Hespress (http://hespress.com).
Source : Reporters Without Borders | 18-Sep-2008 19:14

UN: Hold Ahmadinejad Accountable for Iran Rights Crisis
Executions Increase Almost 300 Percent, Persecution of Rights Defenders Intensifies Under the administration of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, basic human rights protection in Iran has deteriorated to new lows, Human Rights Watch and the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said in a briefing paper released today.
Source : Human Rights Watch | 18-Sep-2008 07:00

Iraq - ?We won't let armed groups do as they please,? interior minister tells Reporters Without Borders - 16.09.2008
Iraqi interior minister Jawad Al-Bolani has assured Reporters Without Borders that the murders of four employees of independent TV station Al-Sharqiya in the northern city of Mosul on 13 September will not go unpunished. The police announced the arrest of four suspects the day after the murders.
Source : Reporters Without Borders | 16-Sep-2008 19:24

Saudi Arabia - Religious leaders condemned for fatwas declared against journalists - 16.09.2008

Source : Reporters Without Borders | 16-Sep-2008 19:09

Syria - Reporters Without Borders team and French TV journalist ?will never get a visa,? minister reportedly says after they are refused entry at border - 15.09.2008
A Reporters Without Borders delegation led by its secretary-general, Robert Ménard, together with well-known French TV journalist Patrick Poivre d'Arvor and photographer François Daburon were denied entry to Syria at a Lebanese border crossing on 13 September.
Source : Reporters Without Borders | 15-Sep-2008 19:21

Saudi Arabia: Lift Travel Ban on Saudi Rights Lawyer
Human Rights Watch Gives Award to Abd al-Rahman al-Lahim The Saudi government should immediately lift a travel ban on Saudi human rights lawyer Abd al-Rahman al-Lahim, a winner of the 2008 Human Rights Defender award, Human Rights Watch said today. Human Rights Watch also announced four other winners of the 2008 award, courageous individuals working for justice and human rights from Uzbekistan, Burma, Sri Lanka, and Democratic Republic of Congo.
Source : Human Rights Watch | 15-Sep-2008 07:00

Five Activists Win Human Rights Watch Awards
Honored for Courage in Exposing Abuse and Seeking Justice Five brave and selfless advocates of human rights from Burma, Congo, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka and Uzbekistan have been awarded the prestigious 2008 Human Rights Defender Awards, Human Rights Watch said today. All five have been persecuted and threatened for their work. One winner, Saudi lawyer Abd al-Rahman al-Lahim, is, which Human Rights Watch urges the Saudi government lift so that he may receive his award in person in London.
Source : Human Rights Watch | 15-Sep-2008 07:00

Iraq - Four-member TV crew kidnapped and killed in Mosul - 14.09.2008
?We condemn the abduction and murder of the three Al-Sharqiya journalists and their driver and we call for a thorough investigation into the circumstances,? Reporters Without Borders said. ?The comments by Al-Sharqiya's news director make such an investigation all the more urgent.?
Source : Reporters Without Borders | 14-Sep-2008 19:14

Tunisia - Human rights activist held since giving interview to Al-Jazeera two weeks ago - 9.09.2008

Source : Reporters Without Borders | 09-Sep-2008 19:13

Morocco - Blogger gets two years in prison for online article critical of king - 9.09.2008
Reporters Without Borders condemns the two-year prison sentence and fine of 5,000 dirhams (430 euros) which a court in the southern city of Agadir passed yesterday on blogger Mohamed Erraji for an article criticising King Mohammed that he wrote for the Moroccan news website Hespress (hespress.com).
Source : Reporters Without Borders | 09-Sep-2008 18:58

UN: Five Countries Responsible for All Executions of Juvenile Offenders Since 2005
Iran, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Pakistan, and Yemen Executed 32 for Crimes Committed as Children Ending executions for crimes committed by children in just five countries would result in universal implementation of the prohibition on the juvenile death penalty, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Governments should use next week?s United Nations General Assembly session opening to commit to urgently needed reforms to protect the rights of children in conflict with the law.
Source : Human Rights Watch | 08-Sep-2008 07:00

Tunisia: Rice Should Press for Rights Improvements
End Harassment, Detentions of Rights Defenders US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice should urge the Tunisian government to end its harassment and imprisonment of human rights activists when she visits the country on Saturday, September 6, Human Rights Watch said today. She is scheduled to meet with President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, who has held office since 1987.
Source : Human Rights Watch | 05-Sep-2008 07:00

US: Rice Should Press Algeria on Fate of Returned Guantanamo Detainees
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice should press the Algerian government on the well-being and status of Guantanamo detainees returned to Algeria when she travels to Algiers on September 6. Four Guantanamo detainees from Algeria have been returned in the last two months, and Rice is expected to discuss future Guantanamo returns during her visit.
Source : Human Rights Watch | 05-Sep-2008 07:00

Morocco - Newspaper editor's trial for disrespecting king adjourned indefinitely - 4.09.2008

Source : Reporters Without Borders | 04-Sep-2008 19:01

Iran - Supreme court quashes death sentence against Adnan Hassanpour : Reporters Without Borders calls for his release and dismissal of the case - 4.09.2008

Source : Reporters Without Borders | 04-Sep-2008 18:46

Egypt - Government offensive against freedom of expression in TV broadcasting - 4.09.2008
Reporters Without Borders condemns growing Egyptian government control over the media, especially the broadcast media. Egypt already has a repressive press law and a state of emergency law that has been in effect since 1981. Now, in November, parliament is due to examine a new broadcasting bill that is causing concern.
Source : Reporters Without Borders | 04-Sep-2008 18:31

Iran - Six-month prison sentences for four cyber-feminists - 4.09.2008

Source : Reporters Without Borders | 04-Sep-2008 13:11

Iraq - Call for release of Reuters photographer as arrests of journalists increase - 3.09.2008

Source : Reporters Without Borders | 04-Sep-2008 01:04

Saudi Arabia / France - European satellite operator Eutelsat drops Saudi opposition TV station - 2.09.2008

Source : Reporters Without Borders | 02-Sep-2008 19:29

Middle East/North Africa: Treat Domestic Workers Fairly This Ramadan
Employers Should Reflect on Responsibilities to Respect Rights of Domestic Workers At the beginning of Ramadan, a month of reflection and fasting, employers of domestic workers in the Middle East and North Africa should take special care to consider the rights of domestic workers, who work extra hours to aid with the month-long gatherings of their employers, Human Rights Watch said today.
Source : Human Rights Watch | 02-Sep-2008 07:00

US/Libya: Rice Should Press Tripoli to Improve Rights
Torture and Political Prisoners Deep Concerns During her historic visit to Libya this week, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice should press the Libyan government and leader Mu`ammar al-Qadhafi to release political prisoners, abolish laws that imprison peaceful critics, and end the use of torture, Human Rights Watch said today.
Source : Human Rights Watch | 02-Sep-2008 07:00

Syria - Concerned about ailing political prisoner deprived of treatment, Reporters Without Borders urges Sarkozy to raise human rights during Damascus visit - 1.09.2008
Reporters Without Borders has written to French President Nicolas Sarkozy asking him to raise the issue of Syria's political prisoners when he meets Syrian President Bashar el-Assad during a visit to Damascus this week. The press freedom organisation is particularly worried about the health of Ali Abdallah (logo), an independent journalist held since 17 December 2007.
Source : Reporters Without Borders | 01-Sep-2008 19:21

Iraq - Murder attempt against a Kurdish journalist leaves his sister dead in hail of gunfire - 1.09.2008

Source : Reporters Without Borders | 01-Sep-2008 19:06