Human Rights Action update, June 20-26

Miriam, human rights defender, 1947-2012

We can start off with a bit of good news. 
SUDAN:

Meriam Ibrahim holding her daughter Maya, who was born in prison. Her husband Daniel Wani sits to her right holding their son Martin Photograph: theguardian.com

A Christian woman on death row in a Sudanese prison has been released on the orders of a court in Khartoum following an international outcry over her sentence and treatment.

Meriam Ibrahim, 27, had been sentenced to 100 lashes for adultery and to be hanged for apostasy after refusing to renounce her faith. Her case led to an international campaign, drawing in political and religious leaders, celebrities and human rights organisations. As you can see, there is value to our outcries.

Now to the bad stuff:

TAJIKSTAN PHD STUDENT ARRESTED, HELD INCOMMUNICADO
Tajikistani national Alexander Sodiqov, who is a resident in Canada, was arrested on 16 June in eastern Tajikistan while conducting academic research. There are fears for his safety and concerns that he may face torture or other ill-treatment. Please act on his behalf.

CUBA: JOURNALIST THREATENED AND ATTACKED
 Roberto de Jesús Guerra Pérez, director of the independent news agency Hablemos Press has been receiving threatening telephone calls and was assaulted on the streets of Havana, the capital. He believes these are attempts by the Cuban authorities to dissuade him from continuing his activities as a journalist. Please register your protest over this violation of freedom of the press.

SWAZILAND: STRIKE SUPPRESSION 
Striking Swaziland sugar workers need your support! This is a click and send, so please devote a second or two.

Human Rights Action Update June 13-19

Miriam, human rights defender, 1947-2012

We can start off with a bit of good news. 
Paraguay:

The Sawhoyamaxa community fought for many years to recover their ancestral lands.

© Amnesty International

Celebrations as law will return ancestral land to indigenous community after two decades of destitution Cheers!

Now to the bad stuff:

Mexico 
Human rights defender Jorge Arzave Orihuela has received a further threatening phone call at his home in Lomas de San Francisco Tepojaco, Mexico State. He and his family are in danger. Please let your protest be known to the Mexican authorities.

HONDURAS 
Members of COFADEH, a prominent Honduran human rights organization based in Tegucigalpa, the capital, have reported being the subject of surveillance and attacks in recent weeks. The Honduran authorities must fully comply with an IACHR order to implement effective measures to protect members of COFADEH and their families. Please act.

CHINA
Prominent human rights lawyer Pu Zhiqiang has been in detention since 6 May after attending a meeting to discuss the anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown. His assistant and niece, Qu Zhenhong, has also been detained. Four other activists detained after attending the meeting were released on bail on 5 June. Please act on their behalf.

Human Rights Action update June 6-12

Miriam, human rights defender, 1947-2012

We can start off with a bit of good news. It has been confirmed that Dhondup Wangchen has been released! He completed his six year sentence and is now at the home
of his sister  Kotse (Chinese Keque) in Qinghai province. Dhondup Wangchen’s case is known internationally.

Dhondup Wangchen, the Tibetan filmmaker, after six years in prison, thanks his family, friends and supporters for their tireless efforts and hopes to see them soon.

He has been awarded by various international organizations such as Committee to Protect Journalists for his courageous work making the documentary “Leaving Fear Behind” and his case was the focal point of many campaigns of international human rights groups such as Amnesty International and Reporters without Borders. Government representatives around the world have brought up his case in their talks with their Chinese counterparts. Cheers!

Now to the bad stuff:
COLOMBIA 
Human rights defenders Ingrid Vergara and Jeison Pava, as well as members of the Verbel family in northern Colombia, received death threats on 3 and 7 June. The two defenders have been accompanying the Verbel family in their fight for justice since the killing of Eder Verbal Rocha by paramilitaries in March 2011. Please act on their behalf.

SLOVAKIA
Anzor Chentiev, an ethnic Chechen asylum-seeker in Slovakia, is facing imminent extradition to Russia. If returned to Russia, he will be at risk of torture and an unfair trial. Please join the appeal against his extradition.

SOUTH KOREA 
The government in South Korea is supporting the repression of workers by the industrial giant Samsung.  Please join the protest against authoritarianism and maybe think twice before buying a Samsung product. We should also consider the bloody sources of the metals used in manufacturing, which are completely analogous to the infamous blood diamonds of the past.  Even Fairphone has a dark side.



















TURKEY

Workers have been fired for joining a union.
 



























This is a click and send, so please give it a few seconds.

Human rights action update May 30-June 5

Miriam, human rights defender, 1947-2012

ALGERIA 
Workers are denied the right to organize in unions.  According to a recent Human Rights Watch report, "Workers in Algeria are stymied at every turn when they try to form independent unions and act collectively. The government punishes peaceful protesters and strikers, including with retaliatory suspensions or dismissals from public service jobs, and arbitrarily arrests and prosecutes union activists on politically motivated charges." Please join the protest.


RUSSIAN FEDERATION
Asylum seekers are at risk of torture and forced repatriation.  There are grave concerns for two abducted asylum seekers, as it is feared that they have been forcibly returned to Uzbekistan and are at risk of torture and other ill-treatment. Dilshodbek Nazarov, 42, and, Davronbek Mamazhonov, 38, were abducted in Kaliningrad, Russia, on 26 and 27 May 2014 respectively. On the 26 May, Dilshodbek Nazarov called his lawyer on his mobile phone telling her that he was being forced into a car and taken to an airport.  Please act on their behalf.

THAILAND: THREATS TO THE LIVES OF VILLAGE LEADERS
There are allegations that professional gunmen have been hired to attack and possibly assassinate six men and two women associated with the Khon Rak Ban Koed group in Wangsaphung District, north-eastern Thailand.  The village of 700 residents has been opposing the opening of a gold mine in its vicinity. Please act, despite the unstable situation in Thailand.

 ZAMBIA: Further information:
Zambian court postpones ruling on gay case. Two men have been accused and tried on charges of having gay sex. Please protest this human rights violation.