8 Aug 2017 | Bahrain, Bahrain News, News and features
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Bahraini human rights defender Nabeel Rajab (Photo: The Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy)
On 7 August, a Bahraini judge postponed a ruling until 11 September in one of the cases against human rights activist and president of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights Nabeel Rajab.
Rajab is facing trial for tweets and retweets about the war in Yemen in 2015, for which he is charged with “disseminating false rumours in time of war” (Article 133 of the Bahraini Criminal Code) and “insulting a neighboring country” (Article 215 of the Bahraini Criminal Code), and for tweeting about torture in Jau prison, which resulted in a charge of “insulting a statutory body” (Article 216 of the Bahraini Criminal Code).
This case, one of four Rajab faces, began in April 2015. The trial has been postponed 14 times since and carries a sentence of up to 15 years. During the trial Rajab’s son, Adam Nabeel Rajab, tweeted that the state lacks evidence against him.
Rajab, who was an Index on Censorship Freedom of Expression Advocacy award-winner in 2012, has faced continuous persecution for his activism in Bahrain. He is currently also charged with “spreading false news and statements and malicious rumours that undermine the prestige of Bahrain and the brotherly countries of the GCC, and an attempt to endanger their relations” for a piece published in Le Monde, and “undermining the prestige of the state” for a piece he wrote in The New York Times about his detention. On 10 July, Rajab was sentenced to two years in prison for charges related to 2015 television interviews with Bahraini, Iranian and Lebanese networks which support the Bahraini opposition. Rajab was unable to appear in court due to his poor health last month, and was sentenced in his absence.
Rajab marked one year in detention on 13 June, and for much of this time has been in solitary confinement and unsanitary conditions, which have contributed to his poor health and hospitalisation[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_basic_grid post_type=”post” max_items=”12″ style=”load-more” items_per_page=”4″ element_width=”6″ grid_id=”vc_gid:1502191511509-ebf34e9e-b840-8″ taxonomies=”716″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
21 Jul 2017 | Bahrain, Middle East and North Africa, News and features
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Index on Censorship welcomes UK foreign secretary Boris Johnson’s interest in human rights. The UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s 2016 Annual Human Rights Report, released on Thursday 20 July, highlights the UK’s work to promote human rights around the world and sets out a list of 30 “Human Rights Priority Countries”, including Bahrain, Iran, Russia and Saudi Arabia.
In the report preface, Johnson writes: “Human rights are not inimical to development and prosperity; the opposite is true. Freedom of speech, freedom of association, freedom to practice whatever religion you want and live your life as you please, provided you do no harm, are the essential features of a dynamic and open society.”
Index agrees wholeheartedly and acknowledges that the report features many valiant efforts, including, for the first time, a section dedicated to modern slavery – a top priority for the UK government.
But the report – issued on “take out the trash” day, the last of the parliamentary sessions before a seven-week recess – does not, as it claims, seem to aspire to the “passionate advocacy” of Charles James Fox, the British Whig statesman and anti-slavery campaigner.
Instead, Johnson offers a watered-down endorsement of human rights and his department’s understanding of advocacy is seriously flawed. To borrow the foreign secretary’s own words, this is “unthinkable for anyone inspired by the example of Charles James Fox”.
Take Bahrain, for example. While the report does go some way to criticising a handful of the country’s human rights violations, this is not done not in nearly strong enough terms, and you’d be forgiven for thinking these violations are blips in an otherwise rosy picture. This is, after all, a country which has only “restricted some civil liberties”.
“There was a mixed picture on human rights in Bahrain in 2016,” the discussion of the Persian Gulf kingdom begins. “Compared with the region, Bahrain remains progressive in women’s rights, political representation, labour rights, religious tolerance and institutional accountability.”
Firstly, this is a faulty comparison. Looking at the region as a whole serves only to make Bahrain look better than it actually is. Bahrain may have 15% representation of women in parliament, as the report highlights, but this cannot be described as progressive. As of 2014, the government of Saudi Arabia, not known for its feminism, was made up of 19.9% women.
In April 2016, a royal decree that increased the rights of women in Bahrain only passed through parliament scrutiny on a technicality. In March of that year, Bahrain detained human rights activist and blogger Zainab al-Khawaja along with her one-year-old son. She was released in May but fled the country out of fear of re-arrest.
While the report does go on to criticise the dissolving of the country’s main Shia opposition party, Al Wefaq, it remains a mystery why the report would first highlight political representation and religious tolerance as positives in Bahrain.
The country certainly does not have enough institutional accountability, and this is not something it should be commended on.
Even the brief mention of Bahraini human rights activist Nabeel Rajab, sentenced to two-years in prison just for speaking to journalists 10 days before the government’s report was released, only refers to Index award-winner as having been arrested. The sheer scale of Rajab’s case is not accounted for.
On 3 February a coalition of 21 groups and individuals, including Index on Censorship, urged Johnson to call for Rajab’s release. In the time since, the US state department has called for Rajab’s release and condemned his sentencing. The UK government so far has only “voiced its concern” in the weakest possible terms, and as yet has not acknowledged Rajab’s sentencing.
When Theresa May became prime minister of the UK, Bahrain was one of the first countries she visited. As new documents reveal, UK contractors visited the country 28 times in 12 months amid Bahrain’s ongoing human rights crackdown. In all, “UK government contractors have spent more than 650 days in Bahrain training prison guards, including officers at the notorious Jau prison where death-row inmates are held and allegedly tortured,” the Middle East Eye reported earlier this month.
The UK government appears to be in no position to heap praise on Bahrain for strengthening the rule of law, justice reform, its independent human rights institutions, prisoners’ rights and improvements at Jau.
Many more issues in the Annual Human Rights Report must be scrutinised when MPs return in September. If the Bahrain section is anything to go by, the report should be found to fall far short of being “passionate” about human rights.
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16 Jun 2017 | Press Releases, Turkey, Turkey Statements
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]19 Haziran’da aralarında gazetecilerin de olduğu 17 sanığın yargılandığı davanın ilk duruşması görülecek. Sanıklar arasında önde gelen yazar ve siyasi yorumculardan Ahmet Altan, Mehmet Altan ve Nazlı Ilıcak da var. Dava, geçen yıl gerçekleşen başarısız darbe girişimine katılmış olmakla suçlanan gazetecilerin yargılandığı davalardan ilki ve mahkemelerin Olağanüstü Hal ortamında ifade özgürlüğü ve adil yargılanma hakkı ile ilgili sayısız davaya nasıl yaklaşacaklarına ışık tutabilir.
Sanıklarla ve Türkiye’deki basın özgürlüğüyle dayanışmayı göstermek için, ARTICLE 19, Uluslararası Af Örgütü, Index on Censorship, Norveç PEN ve Uluslararası PEN temsilcileri duruşmaya gözlemci olarak katılıyor olacak. İngiltere ve Galler Barosu İnsan Hakları Komitesi ve Uluslararası Kıdemli Avukatlar Projesi de duruşmaya gözlemci gönderecekler.
Sanıklara yönelik suçlamalar, Cumhurbaşkanı Erdoğan ve Türk hükümetinin “suçtan zarar görenler” olarak nitelendirildiği 247 sayfalık iddianamede yer alıyor. Sanıklar Ahmet Altan, Mehmet Altan ve Nazlı Ilıcak “Türkiye Büyük Millet Meclisini ortadan kaldırmaya teşebbüs”, “Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Hükümetini ortadan kaldırmaya teşebbüs”, “Anayasal düzeni ortadan kaldırmaya teşebbüs” ve “Silahlı bir terör örgütüne üye olmamakla birlikte örgüt adına suç işlemek” suçlamalarıyla yargılanıyor. Geri kalan sanıklar ayrıca, Türk hükümetinin darbe girişimini düzenlediğini iddia ettiği Gülen hareketine atıfla “terör örgütü üyeliği” ile suçlanıyor.
Davalıların çoğunluğu ya ülke dışında sürgünde ya da neredeyse 10 aydır tutuklu olarak yargılanıyor. Avrupa İnsan Hakları Mahkemesi 14 Haziran’da, Altanlar ve Nazlı Ilıcak’ın da aralarında bulunduğu tutuklu yedi gazetecinin haklarının uzun süreli tutuklulukları nedeniyle ihlal edilip edilmediğini belirlemek amacıyla bir dizi sorunun yanıtını talep eden bir dilekçeyi Türkiye yetkililerine iletti.
Bu davanın siyasi amaçlı olduğuna inanıyoruz ve yetkilileri, uluslararası yasalar altında açık bir şekilde suç teşkil eden fiillerin kanıtını sunmadıkları takdirde tüm suçlamaları düşürmeye ve tutuklu sanıkları derhal ve koşulsuz olarak serbest bırakmaya çağırıyoruz.
ARTICLE 19, savunma avukatlarının talebi üzerine Altan kardeşlere yönelik suçlamaları inceleyen bir uzman görüşü hazırladı ve bunu da duruşmada mahkemeye sunacak. Görüş, Altanlara atfedilen suçlamaların, ifade özgürlüğü hakkının yasal olmayan bir şekilde kısıtlanması anlamına geldiğini savunuyor.
Türkiye’de ifade özgürlüğü hakkında daha ayrıntılı bilgi için, lütfen Mayıs 2017’de BM İnsan Hakları Konseyi’ne sunulan ortak bildiriye bakınız.
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16 Jun 2017 | Digital Freedom, Mapping Media Freedom, News and features
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Protesters in St. Petersburg demonstrated against corruption in Russia (Photo: Andrey Kalikh)
Over the last seven days protests, lawsuits, and self-proclaimed governments have stopped journalists from doing their jobs in countries covered by Index on Censorship’s project Mapping Media Freedom.
Project Manager Hannah Machlin explains why incidents in Russia and Albania are particularly alarming.
“It’s appalling that around 1500 individuals were arrested — including journalists — at the anti-corruption rallies across Russia on Monday,” Machlin said.
Despite showing their press credentials, five journalists were detained including Index’s Mapping Media Freedom correspondent, Andrey Kalikh.
Machlin said, “Our previous reports and our monitoring of wave of anti-corruption rallies indicate that the trend of arresting journalists for doing their job will not abate.”
Machlin said the situation in Albania is also worrying because “a judge, who is in a position of influence, is now attempting to silence journalists who were investigating criminal investigations into him and his family.” She explained, “investigative reporters are consistently targeted when uncovering corruption of state officials and we must call on government institutions to allow journalists to freely report.”
Russia: Five journalists detained including one Mapping Media Freedom correspondent
12 June, 2017 – An anti-corruption rallies proved to be a dangerous place for journalists on 12 June. The rallies were called by opposition figure Alexei Nalvalny in a long-term attempt to overthrow Vladimir Putin.
At a rally in Moscow, reporter Ignacio Ortega for a Spanish news agency, EFE, in Moscow was arrested while reporting on the event. After identifying himself with his press card at the station, he was released.
Photographer David Frenkel, contributor to Kommersant and Mediazona, and Ksenia Morozova, a journalist for Sobaka.ru a local website, were both detained despite showing their press cards while covering the anti-corruption rally in St. Petersburg. Frenkel was soon released but Morozova was held overnight before a trial for “public order disturbance.”
Reporter Andrey Poznaykov of Echo of Moscow radio station went to a café for a break where he was detained by policemen even after showing his press card. In his blog, he said he was detained for covering the anti-corruption rally in Moscow. Poznaykov was released shortly after being taken to a police van.
Mapping Media Freedom correspondent, Andrey Kaikh, was detained at an anti-corruption rally in St. Petersburg. From a police bus he wrote he was amongst 40 others at a peaceful demonstration. So far, about 300 protesters have been detained in St. Petersburg. Kaikh was fined 150 Euros and released him at the end of the day on 13 June.
Albania: Four journalists and two media outlets sued by judge for reporting
9 June, 2017 – A court of appeals judge in Tirana sued four journalists and two media outlets for their coverage of his criminal investigations and his family’s declared assets. Judge Gjin Gjoni says the reporting causing reputational damage and pain.
The charges were filed against Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) along with their journalist Besar Likmeta and Aleksandra Bogdani and Shqiptarja newspaper, along with their journalists Adriatic Doci and Elton Qyno.
The judge and his wife are asking for 7 million Lek (54, 000 EUR) in compensation from Balkan Investigative Reporting Network, BIRN in Tirana and two of their journalists; They are asking for 4 million Lek (30,000 EUR) from Shqiptarja newspaper and two from their journalists.
BIRN Albania, Adriatik Doci and the Union of Albanian Journalists have all spoken out about the lawsuit.
Ukraine: Journalist disappears in self-proclaimed DPR territory
2 June, 2017 – Ukrainian blogger and writer Stanyslav Aseev disappeared in territory controlled by the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic. Aseev was reportedly detained by militants of the self-proclaimed DPR.
Aseev uses the alias Stanislav Vasin and contributes to a number of news outlets including Radio Liberty Donbas Realities project, Ukrayinska Pravda, Ukrainian week, Dzerkalo Tyzhnya. He also runs a prominent blog via Facebook.
Radio Liberty Donbass realities project editor-in-chief Tetyana Jakubowicz said their contact with Aseev had been lost on 2 June. That day Aseev’s latest report from territories held by separatists for Radio Liberty.
The journalist’s mother said his flat was broken into and noticed several of his belongings were missing including his laptop.
Fiona Frazer, the Head of the United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, said that the mission was searching for Aseev, Radio Liberty reported.
“We are trying to understand exactly what was happening to him. We are still trying to gain access there to understand where he is “, Frazer said. She added that, as in other cases, “when militants detain people, responsibility for this is placed on those who control the territory”.
France: Labour minister files complaint over Libération article
9 June, 2017 – New French labour minister Muriel Pénicaud filed a complaint against an unknown person for theft, breach of professional confidentiality and possession of confidential information following the publication of an article in the Libération newspaper about the government’s labour reform projects, Libération reported.
“They were mad with anger,” a source at the Labour Ministry told Libération, about the reaction to the story. “They reacted with such violence that they terrorised all of the affected department.”
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Mapping Media Freedom
Click on the bubbles to view reports or double-click to zoom in on specific regions. The full site can be accessed at https://mappingmediafreedom.org/[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row full_width=”stretch_row_content_no_spaces” content_placement=”middle”][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”91122″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://www.indexoncensorship.org/2017/05/stand-up-for-satire/”][/vc_column][/vc_row]
