Posts Tagged ‘freedom of assembly’
August 2nd, 2011
A draft law published in
Belarus on Friday
prohibits the “joint mass presence of citizens in a public place that has been chosen beforehand, including an outdoor space, and at a scheduled time for the purpose of a form of action or inaction that has been planned beforehand and is a form of public expression of the public or political sentiments or protest.” The draft adds that anyone proven to be taking part in such a gathering would be subject to 15 days of administrative arrest. The Belarusian government is continuing to develop various
methods of stifling
protest in the country. Demonstrators have been equally creative in finding ways to rally against President Lukashenko and the country’s economic crisis. In July,
clapping protests swept the nation, forcing the concurrent Independence Day military parade to be held in silence to avoid disruption.
July 28th, 2010
On 27 July, a
Selangor court imprisoned a man for a week and fined 11 others after they protested against the construction of a Hindu temple with a severed cow’s head. All 12 pleaded guilty to the charge of “illegal assembly” and were fined 1000 ringgit (£202) whilst two men were also
convicted of sedition and fined a further 3,000 ringgit (£606) for stamping and spitting on the cow’s skull. The rally took place in August 2009, in response to a proposal to build a Hindu temple in a Muslim neighbourhood. An alternative site was eventually chosen for the place of worship.
August 10th, 2009
Iran’s police chief, Ismail Ahmadi Moghaddam, has acknowledged that protesters detained in post-election unrest were tortured in custody, but says the deaths of detainees were caused by illness, not torture. The police commander has fired the head of a detention facility that was ordered closed last month. Three guards at the Kahrizak prison have also been detained on charges of mistreating prisoners. Read more
here
August 8th, 2008
Freedom of assembly is under threat in Kyrgystan after President Kurmanbek Bakiev signed an amended law on the rights of citizens on 6 August. The amendment makes it mandatory to register public gatherings twelve days in advance, and prohibits demonstrations over a period of several hours.
(more…)
