News on the topic: human rights defenders
14.07.2017 Liu Xiaobo: A man who spoke truth to power
While history will not judge Beijing kindly—after all, the only other Nobel Peace laureate who died in custody was Carl von Ossietzki in 1938 Nazi Germany—foreign governments also bear a share of responsibility.
11.07.2017 Observatory calls on immediate release of Turkish human rights defenders
The Observatory has been informed by reliable sources about the arbitrary arrest and detention of eight human rights defenders in Turkey.
11.07.2017 Bahrain: Nabeel Rajab sentenced to two years in prison
According to the information received, on July 10, 2017, Manama’s Lower Criminal Court handed down a two years’ prison sentence against Mr. Nabeel Rajab. Mr. Rajab, who is at the hospital since April 8, 2017 (see background information), was sentenced in absentia.
05.07.2017 Key Notes from Civil Society Parallel Forum in Minsk
At the Civil Society Parallel Forum on July 4 in Minsk, international and Belarusian human rights defenders held a briefing with the participation of Miklós Haraszti, the UN Special Rapporteur on Belarus whose mandate is not recognized by the Belarus Foreign Affairs Ministry.
29.06.2017 Position of Belarusian Human Rights Organizations as Regards Overall Human Rights Situation in Belarus
We, representatives of the Belarusian human rights community, hereby express our joint position as regards the human rights situation in Belarus before the session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and the next round of the EU-Belarus Dialogue on Human Rights.
13.06.2017 UN Member and Observer States should call on Bahraini authorities to free human rights defender Nabeel Rajab
We, the undersigned, express our deep concern over the continued detention of prominent Bahraini human rights defender Nabeel Rajab, on the first anniversary of his arrest. We urge you to call for his immediate release and for all charges against him to be dropped.
03.06.2017 Observatory condemns re-arrest and arbitrary detention of Pavel Levinau
The Observatory has been informed by reliable sources about the re-arrest and arbitrary detention of Mr. Pavel Levinau, human rights defender and board member of the Belarusian Helsinki Committee.
31.05.2017 Human rights activist Pavel Levinau jailed for 15 days
Human rights defender Pavel Levinau was detained yesterday evening by police officers in Viciebsk. The activist will serve 15 days of administrative detention.
30.05.2017 “See you on the streets”: Kiai completes term as Rapporteur
Maina Kiai completed his term as United Nations Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association on April 30, after serving in the position for six years. His successor, Ms. Annalisa Ciampi of Italy, took up her functions as Special Rapporteur on May 1.
18.05.2017 Brave: Amnesty International laucnhes new campaign to protect human rights defenders worldwide
281 people were killed in 2016 for defending human rights, up from 156 in 2015.
10.05.2017 Viasna still views Ministry of Justice’s decision on registration as predictable
The relevance of the issue is due to the preparation of an alternative report to the United Nations Human Rights Committee currently done by a coalition of human rights organizations. The HRC experts included a request for clarification of the situation with the refusal to register the Human Rights Center "Viasna" in the list of issues to be addressed in the framework of Belarus’ reporting to the Committee.
26.04.2017 Human rights defender Tatsiana Reviaka fined 460 rubles
The Court of Minsk’s Centraĺny district completed today hearing the administrative charges against human rights activist Tatsiana Reviaka.
26.04.2017 BAHRAIN: Appeal to release Nabeel Rajab and Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja and concern over their deteriorating health
Joint appeal signed by 63 organisations around the world to release human rights defenders Nabeel Rajab and Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja who both require adequate medical care
18.04.2017 Human rights defender Pavel Levinau sentenced to 15 days in jail
Human rights activist Pavel Levinau has been sentenced in absentia to 15 days of administrative detention on charges of involvement in illegal demonstrations on 25 and 26 March in Viciebsk, press service of the Belarusian Association of Journalists said.
05.04.2017 Human Rights Watch: Keep up pressure on Belarus to release detainees and respect fundamental freedoms
“Belarusian authorities led a shocking, all-out assault on peaceful assembly around the Freedom Day protests,” said Yulia Gorbunova, Belarus researcher at Human Rights Watch. “They should immediately release everyone who was detained in connection with the protests and investigate allegations of police mistreatment.”
