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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]We, the undersigned members of the Civic Solidarity Platform (CSP), a coalition of human rights NGOs from Europe, the former Soviet Union region and North America, and other non-governmental organisations decry the mass detentions of peaceful demonstrators, journalists and human rights defenders, as well as the use of violence and abusive treatment targeting them in Belarus on 25-26 March 2017. These events were the culmination of a series of repressive measures taken by the authorities of the country since the beginning of March to stifle the public expression of grievances. Given the severity of this human rights crisis of unprecedented scale since December 2010, it is crucial that the international community takes resolute action to push for an end to the crackdown in Belarus and justice for those targeted by it.
We condemn the gross violations of the right to peaceful assembly, freedom of expression, freedom from arbitrary detention, and the right to fair trial in Belarus in connection with the recent peaceful protests, and call on the international community to use all available means to put pressure on the Belarusian authorities to immediately end these violations.
Such measures by the authorities should include:
immediately releasing those currently behind bars because of their involvement in the peaceful protests or their efforts to monitor them;
dropping charges against all those prosecuted on these grounds;
carrying out prompt, thorough and impartial investigations into all allegations of arbitrary detention, ill-treatment and other violations of the rights of protesters, passers-by, journalists, human rights defenders and political activists in connection with the protests; and
bringing those responsible for violations to justice.
We call in particular for the following concrete actions by international community in response to the current crackdown in Belarus:
To the OSCE:
The OSCE participating States should initiate and support the renewal of the Moscow Mechanism in relation to Belarus and the appointment of a new rapporteur for this process, in view of the fact that the current developments mirror those on the grounds of which this mechanism was invoked in 2011;
The OSCE Chairmanship should appoint a Special Representative on Belarus, whose mandate should include investigating the recent violations;
The Office of Democratic Institutions and Human Rights should monitor the trials of those facing charges because of their participation in the recent peaceful protests, or their efforts to monitor and report on them;
The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly should reconsider holding its annual session in Minsk in July 2017 and identify another host country and city for this event.
To the Council of Europe:
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe should replace its current rapporteur on the situation in Belarus, ensuring that the individual holding this position forcefully speaks out against human rights violations in the country.
To the UN:
Members of the Human Rights Council should extend the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Belarus, continue urging the Belarusian authorities to allow the Special Rapporteur to visit the country, and adopt a strong resolution on the human rights situation in Belarus at the next session of the Council;
High Commissioner on Human Rights should publicly condemn the crackdown in Belarus and engage in direct contact with the Belarusian authorities on this matter.
To international financial institutions:
International financial institutions should apply strong human rights conditionality in the implementation of their programs in Belarus and refrain from allocating funding to government projects until the human rights situation in the country has substantially improved. Specifically, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development should reinstate its calibrated strategy on Belarus.
To the EU:
The EU member states and institutions should apply stronger and more consistent human rights conditionality to the development of its relations with Belarus and consider the prospects of reinstating sanctions similar to those applied in 2011-12 for widespread human rights violations.
To the USA:
The US government should consider reinstating the sanctions against Belarus that it suspended in 2015-16.
Background information, based on reports from the ground:
In the afternoon of 25 March 2017, people took to the streets in the Belarusian capital of Minsk for planned peaceful protests on the occasion of the Day of Freedom, which commemorates the Belarusian declaration of independence in 1918. There was as a heavy police and security presence in the city, the downtown area where protests were due to be held was cordoned off, and traffic was blocked on the main Independence Avenue. Local and international human rights monitors representing the CSP member organisations documented the use of heavy-handed tactics by the law enforcement and security authorities to prevent the peaceful protests, for which authorities had not given advance permission as required by Belarusian law and in violation of international standards. At least 700 people were detained on 25 March, including elderly and passers-by. As can be seen on available photos and footage, police forcefully rounded up and beat protesters with batons, although these made no resistance. More than 30 journalists and photographers from both Belarusian and international media outlets were detained; cameras and other equipment of some of them were damaged by police. Toward the evening, police started releasing detainees from the detention facilities, in many cases without charge. However, others remain in detention, and dozens of individuals are expected to stand trial starting Monday 27 March on charges relating to their participation in the peaceful protests.
The following episode requires particular attention: At 12.45 pm local time on 25 March, about an hour before the start of the planned peaceful protest, anti-riot police raided the offices of the Human Rights Center Viasna and detained a total of 57 Belarusian and foreign human rights defenders and volunteers as well as journalists. Human rights defenders and volunteers had gathered there for a training on monitoring the protests and were planning to go to the streets of Minsk for observation of the assemblies. Among them were representatives of Viasna, the Belarusian Helsinki Committee, the Belarusian Documentation Center, Frontline Defenders, International Partnership for Human Rights and other organisations. The police shouted at all present, intimidated them, and ordered to lie down on the floor face down. 57 people were detained without any charges, packed in the buses and brought to the Pervomaisky district police station, where their belongings were searched and their personal information recorded. The detainees were held there for two and a half hours and were released afterwards without charges. One of the detained needed medical treatment because of injuries sustained when being beaten by police. The raid of the offices of Viasna and the detention of the monitors were clearly aimed at intimidating and preventing them from observing the peaceful assembly and documenting possible violations.
The crackdown continued on 26 March, with dozens of people being detained by police as they gathered at October Square in Minsk at noon to express solidarity with those detained the day before. Among the detained on 26 March were at least one human rights defender, one civil society activist and one journalist. Representatives of national and international human rights NGOs, including members of the CSP, continue to document violations perpetrated in connection with the events of the last few days.
The detentions on 25-26 March followed the earlier detention of about 300 people, including opposition members, journalists and human rights defenders in the last few weeks. These detentions have taken place against the background of a wave of peaceful demonstrations that were carried out across Belarus since mid-February 2017 to protest against so-called “social parasites” law which imposes a special tax on those who have worked for less than six months during the year without registering as unemployed. The legislation, which has affected hundreds of thousands of people in the economically struggling country, has caused widespread dismay. On 9 March, President Lukashenko suspended the implementation of the law but refused to withdraw it, resulting in further protests. Many of those detained have been fined or arrested for up to 15 days on administrative charges related to their participation in the peaceful protests. Over two dozen people are facing criminal charges on trumped-up charges of preparation to mass riots.
Signed by the following CSP members:
Analytical Center for Inter-Ethnic Cooperation and Consultations (Georgia)
Article 19 (United Kingdom)
Association UMDPL (Ukraine)
Bir Duino (Kyrgyzstan)
Bulgarian Helsinki Committee
Center for Civil Liberties (Ukraine)
Centre for the Development of Democracy and Human Rights (Russia)
Committee against Torture (Russia)
Crude Accountability (USA)
Freedom Files (Russia/Poland)
German-Russian Exchange – DRA (Germany)
Helsinki Association of Armenia
Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly – Vanadzor (Armenia)
Helsinki Committee of Armenia
Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia
Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights (Poland)
Human Rights Center of Azerbaijan
Human Rights First (USA)
Human Rights House Foundation (Norway)
Human Rights Information Center (Ukraine)
Human Rights Monitoring Institute (Lithuania)
The institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety (Azerbaijan/Georgia/Switzerland)
Index on Censorship (United Kingdom)
Institute Respublica (Ukraine)
International Partnership for Human Rights (Belgium)
Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and Rule of Law
The Kosova Rehabilitation Center for Torture Victims
Macedonian Helsinki Committee
Moscow Helsinki Group (Russia)
The Netherlands Helsinki Committee
Norwegian Helsinki Committee
Office of Civil Freedoms (Tajikistan)
Promo-LEX (Moldova)
Protection of Rights without Borders (Armenia)
Public Association “Dignity” (Kazakhstan)
Public Alternative Foundation (Ukraine)
Public Foundation Golos Svobody (Kyrgyzstan)
Public Verdict Foundation (Russia)
Regional Center for Strategic Studies (Azerbaijan/ Georgia)
Serbian Helsinki Committee for Human Rights
SOLIDARUS e.V. (Germany)
The Swiss Helsinki Committee
Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union
Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom
World Organisation against Torture (OMCT)
Other organisations who have joined the statement:
Belarus Free Theatre
Libereco – Partnership for Human Rights (Switzerland)
Aliaksandr Barazenka, a camerperson for Belsat TV was sentenced to 15 days detention after filming Freedom Day protests in Minsk. (Photo: Siarhei Balai, BelaPAN)
“I am a journalist!” This is a phrase that is officially regarded as obscene by the authorities of Belarus today.
Aliaksandr Barazenka, a cameraman for Belsat TV, a Poland-based Belarusian language media outlet, was sentenced to 15 days arrest in Minsk on Monday 27 March. He was detained while filming a live stream from a peaceful protest in the centre of the Belarusian capital on 25 March. Witnesses say Barazenka was with a camera and other journalistic equipment that made it obvious he was not a protester. To prove it to the riot police, who had begun detaining people on the street, Aliaksandr kept shouting: “I am a journalist! I am a journalist!”
Police officers testified in court on Monday that Barazenka was swearing in public, “waved his hands and showed disrespect to public order”.
The Belarusian Association of Journalists reported that more than 50 journalists were detained in the country during protests on 25 and 26 March 2017. Most of the journalists were released after short detentions, but at least six journalists and bloggers have been sentenced to administrative arrests of 10 to 15 days. Thirty-six journalists were detained on Freedom Day, 25 March.
The demonstrations erupted after the implementation of Presidential Decree No.3, which fines people (about 150-200 GBP annually) who are unable to prove an official workplace or income. Calling these individuals “social parasites”, authorities said they have to pay a share of state social expenditure.
A large number of Belarusians consider this attitude disrespectful. Coupled with economic problems that are felt by ordinary people the decree sparked protests across the country bringing thousands of people into the streets of Belarusian cities.
President Lukashenka, who has been in power since 1994, ordered law enforcement to end the protests. Police responded with heavy-handed tactis that included reported assaults on demonstrators. Hundreds of people were detained just before or during the events of 25 March, celebrated unofficially by the country’s political opposition as Freedom Day, which commemorates the founding of the first independent Belarusian state in 1918.
The detainees are now are being prosecuted, fined and sentenced to administrative arrests. Fifty-seven human rights activists were detained in an office of Viasna Human Rights Centre, an organization lead by the Nobel Prize and Index Award nominee and a former political prisoner Alies Bialiatski.
“The authorities fail to preserve a social contract with the population of the country. Now the regime tries to prevent a social protest to get political claims, and try to frighten the society like they used to do before”, says Uladzimir Matskevich, a philosopher and a leader of the Agency of Humanitarian Technologies, an independent Belarusain think tank. “There is a need for united response from the civil society; we need to come up with a real and united opposition force in Belarus”.
Protesters were blocked by police as they attempted to reach the protest on Saturday 25 March 2017. (Photo: Siarhei Balai, BelaPAN) More images can be seen on the BelaPAN site.
Counter-terrorism police in the southern province detained Mayda on 23 July 2016. He has been in detention for 247 days.
Zaman was among the more than 100 newspapers, broadcasters, news agencies, and magazines the Turkish government ordered closed using emergency powers assumed after the failed coup.
This month, Mayda’s mother, Memnune Mayda, wrote to Index on Censorship.
Dear ladies and gentlemen,
I hope you’re well.
I am the mother of imprisoned sports journalist Özkan Mayda from Antalya in Turkey. You have published articles on Turkey’s imprisoned journalists.
My son said to me: “Mother, please write a thank you e-mail.” So thank you for your support and solidarity with Turkish journalists. Thank you for not having left us alone. Europe and the world should know that we want solidarity and support. We believe that something will change here but solidarity and support are very important to journalists in Turkey.
I lived in the city of Aachen in Germany from 1975-1984. I had to come back because my family made a decision to return. Then I got married and here I stayed. I have only one child. My husband is retired and I do not work.
I will briefly tell you about my son. Özkan was born on 22 April 1985 in Erzincan, Turkey. As a photojournalist he was Zaman newspaper’s Antalya region sports correspondent and also did page layout.
Zaman was taken over by the state on 13 April 2016. Özkan lost his job and was left unemployed.
A week after the 15 July coup attempt, he was taken into custody. My son has been detained since 23 July 2016. They have accused my son of treason.
Would a mother and father raise a single child to be a traitor? Our only child is definitely not a traitor. We have two lawyers, but they can’t do anything.
We are tired now. We are exhausted. We are weak. We are afraid and we are very worried.
My son Özkan has been detained for 247 days.
Let us all together, let us free them from prison.
Best regards,
Memnune Mayda[/vc_column_text][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]
Turkey Uncensored is an Index on Censorship project to publish a series of articles from censored Turkish writers, artists and translators.
Breaking the Silence, an Israeli organisation consisting of Israeli veteran combatants, aims to collect and share testimonies about the realities of military operations in the Occupied Territories. Since 2004, the group has collected over 1,000 (mainly anonymous) statements from Israelis who have served their military duty in the West Bank and Gaza.
In 2014, Breaking the Silence published 111 testimonies from over 60 soldiers who served in Operation Protective Edge in Gaza. The organisation reached out to soldiers directly after the cessation of bombing in Gaza and published a book of its findings in May 2015. For publishing these frank accounts Breaking the Silence has come under repeated attack from the Israeli government.
A Breaking the Silence guided tour of Hebron and the South Hebron Hills
In 2016 pressure on the organisation became particularly pointed and personal, with state-sponsored legal challenges, denunciations from the Israeli cabinet, physical attacks on staff members and damages to property. Led by Israeli politicians including the prime minister, and defence minister, there have been persistent attempts to force the organisation to identify a soldier whose anonymous testimony was part of a publication raising suspicions of war crimes in Gaza. Losing the case would set a precedent that would make it almost impossible for Breaking the Silence to operate in the future. The government has also recently enacted a law that would ban the organisation’s widely acclaimed high school education programme.
Following the attacks on the organisation, hundreds of soldiers began to break their own silence in a spontaneous outpouring of support for the group. The soldiers, who are non-Breaking the Silence testifiers, posted pictures on social media of their army service. This included testimonies from soldiers who served in the First and Second Intifadas and even the Lebanon War. Public figures, musicians, artists, and hundreds of individuals, were involved in this wave of support.
Israel Defence Forces soldier manning a checkpoint
In March 2017, Israel’s state prosecutor asked a court to dismiss its previous request to force Breaking the Silence to provide details that were liable to expose the identity of a soldier whose testimony raised suspicions of war crimes.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row full_width=”stretch_row_content” equal_height=”yes” el_class=”text_white” css=”.vc_custom_1490258749071{background-color: #cb3000 !important;}”][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_custom_heading text=”Support the Index Fellowship.” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:28|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.indexoncensorship.org%2Fnewsite02may%2Fsupport-the-freedom-of-expression-awards%2F|||”][vc_column_text]
Encrypted communication tools are used by investigative journalists and reporters under fire, as well as businesses and governments, to have safe conversations and to report on difficult and often dangerous situations.
Attempts by the UK government to create a backdoor into these services would potentially put lives at risk by making the systems far less safe. It would certainly curtail reporting from dangerous regions.
Belarusian police detain Belarus Free Theatre’s Siarhai Kvachonok on Saturday March 25 2017 during protests against Presidential Decree No 3, which imposes a tax on unemployed people. (Photo: Tut.by)
Index on Censorship condemns the continued crackdown on protesters in Europe’s last dictatorship.
Belarusian authorities detained about 400 people over the weekend as Freedom Day demonstrations against the country’s Presidential Decree No. 3, which imposes a tax on the unemployed. Protesters were met by riot police and many were reportedly assaulted.
“This is in clear violation of the right to freedom of expression and freedom of assembly. Index demands all detainees be immediately and unconditionally released and all charges be dropped,” Melody Patry, head of advocacy at Index on Censorship, said.
Among the detainees were international and domestic journalists, human rights defenders, and actors and playwrights working for the UK-based Belarus Free Theatre.
BFT staffer, Siarhai Kvachonok was sentenced to 10 days detention on Monday March 27 for his participation in the protest. Among his charges: “Using strong language, shouting and hooliganism”. Yana Rusakevich, another BFT member, was located in a hospital with a concussion on Sunday. On Saturday, BFT manager Svetlana Sugako was filmed being arrested by the BBC.
Artistic Director Natalia Kaliada of the BFT told The Guardian: “It’s a strategy of arrests and clearing the streets and blocking the internet that they think will spook people, but people are very angry. All these arrests and splitting up the crowds might make things a little quieter in Minsk, but now these protests are happening all over Belarus. This is the worst crackdown over the last seven years, but it would have been the biggest protest. People don’t care, they want an end to this dictator. They say ‘basta’ – enough.”[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row equal_height=”yes” el_class=”text_white” css=”.vc_custom_1490626863780{background-color: #dd3333 !important;background-position: center !important;background-repeat: no-repeat !important;background-size: cover !important;}”][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_custom_heading text=”Belarus: Mass detentions of journalists at Freedom Day protests” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:28|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fmappingmediafreedom.org%2F%23%2F3877|||”][vc_column_text]Mass detentions of journalists took place in three Belarusian cities during Freedom Day marches, according to the Belorussian Association of Journalists. Over 35 foreign and domestic journalists were detained. Read the full report on Mapping Media Freedom[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″ css=”.vc_custom_1490627099721{background-image: url(https://www.indexoncensorship.org/newsite02may/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/MMF_report_2016_cover.jpg?id=85855) !important;background-position: center !important;background-repeat: no-repeat !important;background-size: cover !important;}”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_basic_grid post_type=”post” max_items=”4″ element_width=”6″ grid_id=”vc_gid:1490626915933-142b19eb-1c90-10″ taxonomies=”172, 7379, 301″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
International freedom of speech campaigners have penned an appeal to Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev to guarantee the safety of jailed journalist Zhanbolat Mamay and to ensure an impartial investigation into his case. Read the full article
Hungary’s high tide of populism was beaten back briefly in October 2016 when prime minister Viktor Orban’s referendum on closing the door on refugees was ruled invalid after just 44% of the population bothered to show up and vote.
The country’s Two-tailed Dog Party don’t take credit for the result, but were certainly part of the mass soft power endeavour that defeated the referendum, and they used a tact rarely seen in Hungarian politics today: humour.
They urged voters to “Vote invalidly!” by answering both yes and no. “A stupid answer to a stupid question.”
What officially became known as the Two-tailed Dog Party in 2006 has been around since 2000, when it was a group of street artists fronted by Gergely Kovács. In their current form they parody political discourse in Hungary with artistic stunts and creative campaigns.
The Two-tailed Dog is a vital alternative voice following the rise of Orban and is now a registered political party ready to contest in 2018’s parliamentary elections. They can no longer be written off as a joke.
When the prime minister started plastering Hungary with anti-immigrant posters with slogans like “If you come to Hungary, you may not take jobs away from Hungarians,” and “If you come to Hungary, you must respect our culture,” the Two-tailed Dog responded with a billboard campaign of their own: “If you are Hungary’s prime minister, you have to obey our laws,”; “Come to Hungary by all means, we’re already working in London.”
The lampooning was largely crowdfunded, and volunteers from around the country were on hand to erect 500 outdoor billboards and over 100,000 smaller posters.
When Orban introduced the national consultation on immigration and terrorism in 2015, as part of a series of xenophobic measures to repel tens of thousands of migrants and refugees, and plastered cities with anti-immigrant billboards, the Two-tailed Dog launched mock questionnaires and even more billboards and posters.
Relentlessly attempting to reinvigorate public debate and draw attention to under-covered taboo topics, the party’s recent efforts also include painting broken pavement to draw attention to a lack of public funding.
“It would be important for people to be able to discuss things again and for the atmosphere in the country to finally improve and change back to normal,” Kovács says.
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row full_width=”stretch_row_content” equal_height=”yes” el_class=”text_white” css=”.vc_custom_1490258749071{background-color: #cb3000 !important;}”][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_custom_heading text=”Support the Index Fellowship.” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:28|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.indexoncensorship.org%2Fnewsite02may%2Fsupport-the-freedom-of-expression-awards%2F|||”][vc_column_text]
We, 48 undersigned organizations from 24 countries, strongly condemn the continuing wave of detentions and harassment of peaceful protesters, journalists, human rights defenders, civil society activists, anarchists and opposition party members in Belarus.
Most of the detentions and harassment are linked to participation in peaceful protests demanding the cancellation of Presidential Decree No. 3, the so-called “social parasite” legislation, which imposes a tax on unemployed people in Belarus. Decree No. 3 obligates citizens to work a specific number of days or pay a special duty to the State under threat of arrest. This is contrary to Art. 41 of the Belarusian Constitution and violates international human rights law.
According to reports from Belarusian and international human rights organizations, as of 22 March 2017 more than 250 people have been detained since 3 March 2017, including at least 31 journalists. At least 110 people have been sentenced to 3-15 days of administrative arrest. Many of them remain in detention, while others have been subject to different forms of harassment.
We strongly condemn the fact that several detentions of peaceful protesters at different places across Belarus have been carried out with the excessive use of force by Belarusian security officers.
Several Belarusian organizations have announced a demonstration that will take place in Minsk and in other cities in Belarus on 25 March 2017. We are deeply concerned about the physical and psychological integrity of the participants of these protest marches.
As the president of Belarus we urge you:
to respect the right to peaceful assembly and expression
to ensure that there are no obstructions to the exercising of these rights in Belarus, including in relation to the planned demonstration on 25 March 2017 in Minsk and in other cities across the country
to guarantee in all circumstances the physical and psychological integrity of all peaceful protesters at the demonstration on 25 March 2017 in Minsk as well as at all other peaceful demonstrations across Belarus
to refrain from the use of excessive force by security officers on 25 March 2017 in Minsk as well as at all other peaceful demonstrations across Belarus
to ensure that journalists are able to fully exercise their professional duties, including during peaceful demonstrations
to immediately and unconditionally release all protesters, journalists, human rights defenders, civil society activists and opposition members who have been detained in connection with the current wave of demonstrations solely for peacefully exercising their right to freedom of assembly and expression
to refrain from preventively detaining journalists, human rights defenders, civil society activists, anarchists and opposition activists
to immediately stop the persecution, harassment and intimidation of those who exercise their right to freedom of assembly, expression and association and ensure these rights to all Belarusian citizens
to abolish Presidential Decree No. 3 since it violates international human rights law
Signatories:
Albanian Helsinki Committee
Analytical Center for Interethnic Cooperation and Consultations (Georgia)
Article 19 (UK)
Association UMDPL (Ukraine)
Bir Duino (Kyrgyzstan)
Bulgarian Helsinki Committee
Center for Civil Liberties (Ukraine)
Center for the Development of Democracy and Human Rights (Russia)
Charity foundation “East-SOS” (Ukraine)
Civic Belarus (Czech Republic)
CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation, Johannesburg
Committee to Protect Journalists (USA)
Crude Accountability (USA)
FIDH, Paris
Freedom Files (Russia/Poland)
German-Russian Exchange (Germany)
Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia
Helsinki Committee of Armenia
Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights (Poland)
Human Rights Center “Postup” (Ukraine)
Human Rights Center (Azerbaijan)
Human Rights Information Center (Ukraine)
Human Rights Monitoring Institute (Lithuania)
Humanrights.ch (Switzerland)
Index on Censorship (UK)
Institute Respublica (Ukraine)
International Partnership for Human Rights (Belgium)
IRFS (Azerbaijan)
JEF Europe: Young European Federalists, Brussels
Kazakhstan Interantional Bureau for Human Rights and the Rule of Law
Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group (Ukraine)
KRF Public Alternative (Ukraine)
Libereco – Partnership for Human Rights (Switzerland/Germany)
Macedonian Helsinki Committee
Memorial International, Moscow
Menschenrechte in Belarus e.V. (Germany)
Moscow Helsinki Group (Russia)
NESEHNUTI – Independent Social Ecological Movement (Czech Republic)
Norwegian Helsinki Committee
Ostgruppen – Swedish Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights
Promo LEX (Moldova)
Protection of Rights without Borders NGO (Armenia)
V začetku meseca je na čelo Slovenskega centra Pen stopila Ifigenija Simonović. Članica Pena je že od leta 2006, za seboj ima tudi dva mandata sekretarke. V Penu si želi več mladih in politično nevtralnih posameznikov. Ne želi biti predsednica Pena zgolj zato, ker je ženska, in verjame, da nas literatura dela bolj sočutne do drugih in drugačnih. Read the full article
Bahrain’s decision to file charges against Ebrahim Sharif underscores the country’s tactical use of judicial harassment to suppress freedom of speech.
Ebrahim Sharif, the former secretary-general of the secular opposition group National Democratic Action Society (Wa’ad), was charged with “inciting racial hatred against the regime” under article 165 of Bahrain’s penal code. The alleged offenses stem from tweets Sharif posted.
“As we have seen in Bahrain’s treatment of human rights activist Nabeel Rajab, the charges against Ebrahim Sharif target freedom of expression in an attempt to stifle even the mildest criticism,” Melody Patry, head of advocacy, Index on Censorship said.
In the charges the public prosecution office quoted one of Sharif’s tweets: “The ministry of justice threatens to dissolve the remaining opposition societies because they ‘lost the fundamentals of political activity.’ What remains of the decor of the democratic state?”
The prosecution alleges that the use of the word “decor” implies that there is no democracy in Bahrain, a crime according to them.
The prosecution is also citing three other Twitter conversations: an exchange in which Sharif reminded the Tunisian interior minister, who had demanded respect for Bahraini sovereignty, that Tunisia’s ousted president Ben Ali had expressed the same sentiment to repress the opposition during the Arab spring; a series of tweets about protester Abdulla Alzjooz, who Sharif referred to as a “martyr”; and a retweet of an Amnesty International poster commemorating the 6th anniversary of the arrests of leaders of the 14th February movement, with which Sharif included a message of respect.
The Bahrain Institute of Rights and Democracy reported that it is currently unclear whether the case will be transferred to the courts, or if the government has imposed a travel ban on the political leader, who was previously imprisoned from 2011 to 2015, and then again from 2015 to 2016 on similar charges stemming from his involvement in the pro-democracy movement and speeches he delivered. He could now face up to three more years in prison.
The charges against Sharif came on the same day a Bahraini court heard opened dissolution proceedings against Wa’ad. he Bahraini government is accusing Wa’ad of inciting violence and filed for the group’s dissolution earlier in March, though it provided no evidence of its allegations. Wa’ad’s lawyers requested time to respond to the charges, and the next court date is set for 17 April 2017.
Angolan rapper Luaty Beirão, also known by his stage name Ikonoklasta, has been instrumental in showing the world the hidden face of the country’s president José Eduardo dos Santos, who has ruled oil-rich Angola since 1979. Beirão’s politically-charged music is popular among many Angolans. “I sing against the Angolan regime to spread the word to people of my country,” Beirão says.
For his activism Beirão has been beaten, had drugs planted on him and, in June 2015, was arrested alongside 14 other people planning to attend a meeting to discuss a book on non-violent resistance. He was convicted of rebellion against dos Santos, criminal association and falsifying documents. In all, 17 activists were found guilty. Amnesty International they had been sentenced by a “kangaroo court”.
During his year-long sentence – three months of which were on house arrest – Beirão spent 36 days on hunger strike.
Since his release, he has continued to perform, remain active and challenge the regime. He tried to stage a massive concert in November 2016 but the authorities refused to grant him a license. He published a book about his captivity, I Was Freer Then, about which he says: “I would rather be in jail than in a state of fake freedom where I have to self-censor.”
Angolan activists, including @LuatyBeirao, attacked by police dogs during protest which called on minister & MP/VP candidate, to step down. pic.twitter.com/5bKSPP6J8g
On 24 February 2017, during a protest for greater transparency around elections, Beirão was bitten at least three times by two different police dogs. “In one of the occasions it was pretty bad,” he told Index on Censorship. “A lot of people were badly injured that day. A few were temporarily detained and released after a few hours – you know, the usual.”
See the full shortlist for Index on Censorship’s Freedom of Expression Awards 2017 here.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row full_width=”stretch_row_content” equal_height=”yes” el_class=”text_white” css=”.vc_custom_1490258749071{background-color: #cb3000 !important;}”][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_custom_heading text=”Support the Index Fellowship.” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:28|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.indexoncensorship.org%2Fnewsite02may%2Fsupport-the-freedom-of-expression-awards%2F|||”][vc_column_text]
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