Three United Nations independent human rights experts express serious concern at the “obstructive, intimidating and stigmatizing effects” brought about by the implementation in the Russian Federation of the law on ‘non-commercial organizations’. “Our fears seem to have been confirmed,” said the Special Rapporteur on the rights to peaceful assembly and of association, Maina Kiai.
The International Partnership Group for Azerbaijan strongly condemns a series of repressive legislative amendments that Azerbaijan’s National Assembly adopted on 14 May 2013. “The amendments seek to ban criticism and increase the cost of dissent,” the undersigned organisations said. A report recently published by Civil Rights Defenders shows that repression of civil society has reached new lows.
A year ago Swedish TV viewers’ attention was directed towards Azerbaijan; and wile the Eurovision Song Contest was held in Baku, the regime’s human rights violations continued in the backyard. Today, the lights have gone out but the repression of civil society has reached new lows. On 14 May, Civil Rights Defenders will release a report on the situation of human rights defenders in Azerbaijan. Listen to Vugar Goyajev’s presentation of the findings of the report.
One year after Eurovision in Baku, the persecution of dissidents in Azerbaijan escalates. The abuse goes on without much criticism from the outside world. On May 14, Civil Rights Defenders publishes the report, “No sweet songs for human rights defenders’ showing that repression of civil society has reached new lows.
During the summer of 2013 (1 June to 31 August), we are seeking an intern to the Department for support to human rights defenders at risk and the Department for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, in Stockholm. As an intern you will help administrating the programs, gather information for statements and news to the website. Email your resume and a brief description of yourself no later than 5 May.
In a letter to the President of Kazakhstan, Civil Rights Defenders and several other human rights organisations express serious concerns about Vadim Kuramshin’s life. Vadim Kuramshin is a prominent lawyer and human rights defender, sentenced to 12 years in prison, who is to be transferred to penal colony EC 164/4, a prison infamous for human rights violations.
Civil Rights Defenders is seriously concerned about the repeated harassment of Stepan Popovsky in connection to his human rights work. We urge the President of the de facto administration of Transnistria, Mr. Yevgeny Shevchuk, to ensure that the accusations against Stepan Popovsky are impartially investigated.
Civil Rights Defenders and Front Line Defenders are concerned for the safety of human rights defenders in Transnistria, the internationally unrecognised separatist republic of Moldova. The two organisations urge the Transnistrian administration to do their outmost to protect and ensure that threats or attacks against human rights defenders are publicly condemned and investigated.
On 21 December 2012, Brussels is hosting a EU-Russia summit. After receiving the Nobel Peace Prize last week, the European Union has a special responsibility for focusing on human rights in its talks with Russia, says Civil Rights Defenders, along with a number of leading human rights defenders.
On the night between 3 and 4 November, Stanislav Dimitrievski’s family was exposed to an attack in their home. Masked and heavily armed men crushed the windows, encased with lead, with a special hammer. They also squirted glue into the lock on the apartment door to prevent the family from escaping. This is yet another reminder of the horrific situation for human rights defenders in Russia.
This year’s Per Anger-prize winner, Sapiyat Magomedov, is a human rights lawyer from Dagestan. In a context where the perpetrators seldom or never are brought to justice, she represents cases where people have been raped, tortured or murdered. In an opinion piece, published in Swedish newspaper SvD, Civil Rights Defenders and the Living History Forum presents Sapiyat Magomedova.
The human rights lawyer Sapiyat Magomedova has been awarded the Swedish Government’s Per Anger Prize. In the violent Dagestan, she defends victims of grave human rights violations. She has taken on cases that many lawyers would reject due to security reasons. And she has won legal cases in a context where it is almost impossible to do so. For people in the region she has become a symbol of courage.
On 1 October, the journalist and human rights defender Mam Sonando was sentenced to a 20-year prison term on spurious charges. The verdict followed a three-day trial last month, which failed to present any credible evidence in support of the allegations against him. The Court sentenced another 13 suspects in the case. Three of them were tried in absentia and received between 15 and 30 years in prison.
The information that the Belarusian human rights defender Ales Bialiatski was placed in solitary confinement turned out to be false. It is difficult to verify information from closed countries such as Belarus, since human rights defenders take a risk already by contacting somebody abroad. Civil Rights Defenders always try to double-check information like this, but sometimes that is not enough.
In recent months, several journalists have been arrested and harassed because of their work in Belarus. Lukashenka’s purpose is clear – to silence critical voices before the parliamentary elections on 23 September. View the seminar with Julia Slutskaya, Head of the Solidarity with Belarus Information Office in Warsaw, through our Bambuser channel.
On 4 August the Belarusian human rights defender Ales Bialiatski has been in prison for one year. Civil Rights Defenders have no doubt that he was jailed for his human rights work, with the the aim also to intimidate other critics into silence. Civil Rights Defenders continues to demand the immediate release of Ales Bialiatski.
Igor Kalyapin, chairman of Civil Rights Defender’s partner CAT, has been accused of disclosing state secrets. It is the third time that criminal proceedings are instigated against him. “It is obvious that the Russian authorities in Chechnya have a lot to hide when they attack human rights defenders that investigate serous human rights abuses in the republic”, said Joanna Kurosz at Civil Rights Defenders.
Late evening on March 24 the Russian-Chechen Friendship Society was attacked by two unknown persons who tried to set their office in Nizhny Novgorod on fire. Overall the situation for human rights defenders in the city has aggravated since the Duma elections in December 2011.
A year has passed since the Presidental election in Belarus and a wave of persecutions of human rights defenders, independent media actors and political opponents, has followed in its tracks. On the January 25, Anna Gerasimova, Director of the Belarusian Human Rights House in Vilnius, will visit us to talk about the current human rights situation in Belarus.
![[:en] Ales Bialiatski behind bars in november 2011 (Photo: Euroradio) [:sv] Ales Bialiatski i fängelse, november 2011 (Foto: Euroradio)](http://www.civilrightsdefenders.org/files/behind_bars-300x185.jpg)
“I have a feeling that this trial was necessary in order to check whether we have been doing the right thing during all these 15 years”, said human rights defenders Ales Bialiatski the day after he was sentenced to four and a half years in prison on November 24, 2011. Harassment of human rights defenders is more of a rule rather than an exception in Belarus.
On December 15th the founder of the Dagestani independent newspaper Chernovik, Gadzhimurad Kamalov, was shot to death by a masked gunman. The murder represents yet another serious blow to independent journalism and freedom of speech in the violent republic of Dagestan.
Welcome to a crash course in digital self-defense and a conversation about the cat and mouse game going on in many countries, between authorities and advocates for free speech.
Ales Bialiatski, Chariman of the human rights organisation Viasna, was sentenced for tax evasion to four and a half years in prison and confiscation of property. An unacceptable verdict according to Civil Rights Defenders.
Representatives from human rights organisations, including Civil Rights Defenders, have been denied visa for travel to Belarus and cannot attend the trial of Ales Bialiatski. The fact that Belarus is closing the borders for international observers reinforces our concern that Ales Bialiatski will not get a fair and just trial.
Our colleagues in the North Caucasus risk their lives to defend the rights of others. One of our most important tasks is to improve their security situation, as well as the security of other human rights defenders around the world.
Human rights defenders in the North Caucasus live in constant danger. In 2009 Natalia Estemirova was murdered because of her work. Her collegue Oleg Orlov risked prison because he accused the Chechnyan President Ramzan Kadyrov of being responsible for her murder. Kadyrov had threathened Estemirova earlier. Through our Emergency fund will we be able to offer support in specifically vulnerable and urgent situations.
![[:en]View video Human rights defenders at risk[:sv]Se video Människorättsförsvarare i fara](http://www.civilrightsdefenders.org/files/human_rights_defenders_at_risk-300x185.jpg)
Upholding the respect for human rights is the responsibility of governments. But many fail to do so. In this video you will meet some of the world’s bravest people who takes great risks in the defense of our rights and learn more about human rights.
Civil Rights Defenders in a coalition of international human rights organisations, are deeply concerned about the arrest of Ales Bialiatski on allegations of large-scale tax evasion. We sent a petition to the Belarusian prosecutor’s office asking to release Ales pending the investigation against him.
On 4 August 2011, Ales Bialiatski, Chair of the Human Rights Center Viasna in Belarus, was detained in Minsk. We call upon the Belarusian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Ales Bialiatski and to stop the criminal persecution of human rights defenders, journalists, lawyers and activists in Belarus.
Ales Bialiatski, chair of the human rights organisation Viasna, was arrested today. Very little is known at the moment about where he is held and the reasons for his arrest.
Civil Rights Defenders is concerned about the threats against Olga Sadovskaya at the Committee Against Torture in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia. In a letter sent to Swedish and European policymakers we ask them to raise the threats against human rights defenders in all discussions with Russia.
Civil Rights Defenders and several other human rights organizations condemn the prosecution of Belgzim Kamberi, Chairman of the Human Rights Board in Bujanovac in Serbia, and urge the prosecutor to shut down the case.
Russia’s Prime Minister Vladimir Putin will visit Stockholm on April 27. In connection to his visit we urge Sweden’s Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt to discuss with him the difficult situation that human rights defenders in Russia are facing. During the 2009 EU summit Reinfeldt raised this issue with President Medvedev and there is cause for [...]
Russia’s Prime Minister Vladimir Putin will visit Stockholm on April 27. We urge Sweden’s Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt to discuss with him the difficult situation that human rights defenders in Russia are facing. During the 2009 EU summit Reinfeldt raised this issue with President Medvedev and there is cause for a follow-up.
Civil Rights Defenders is concerned about the continued harrassment and intimidation of human rights defenders in Russia. Igor Kalyapin, head of our Russian partner organisation Committee Against Torture, along with nearly forty others, were arbitrarily arrested on March 31, 2011.
Russian authorities need to investigate a case of disappearance and torture in Chechnya and punish those responsible, Human Rights Watch, Front Line, the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), and Civil Rights Defenders said today.
Civil Rights Defenders is deeply concerned about the recent attacks on Branko Zivkovic, human rights defender and journalist in Serbia. We urge the responsible authorities in Serbia to use all mechanisms available to adequately protect human rights defenders.
Civil Rights Defenders, together with other NGOs, demand that the situation of the human rights defenders in Central Asia becomes a priority issue at the upcoming OSCE Summit in Astana.
Joanna Kurosz, programme director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia at Civil Rights Defenders, will participate as moderator in the Conference of Human Rights Defenders in Belarus and the Baltic States. Around 70 Belarusian Human Rights Defenders will attend the conference together with 80 other participants from the Baltic countries, Western Balkans, Caucasus, Eastern Europe, [...]
On June 25 two human rights defenders in Montenegro where brought in for interrogation by the Police without legal basis for the action. Civil Rights Defenders believe that the action represents pressure against those who express critical opinions about the fight against corruption and organised crime in Montenegro. Read our letter to the Prime Minister [...]
During 2009 the human rights situation in North Caucasus worsened significantly and in order to maintain presence on the ground, a group of human rights NGOs decided to organize mobile visits to the region, especially Chechnya, monitoring and reporting on human rights violations. Human rights defenders will be offered training in security awareness when going on missions to North Caucasus.
Nine people from our partner organisation, Youth Initiative for Human Rights, were arrested by the police while protesting against the content of the Srebrenica Declaration. They were detained for several hours without getting information of what they were suspected of.
Civil Rights Defenders and three other human rights organisations urge Belarus dictator Alexander Lukashenka to stop harassment of those defending human rights in Belarus.
In January 2010 the human rights organization Viasna and the Belarusian Helsinki Committee launched the campaign “Human rights defenders against death penalty.” The campaign aims to disseminate objective information and in the long term work for abolition of the death penalty.
The Russian authorities should investigate the arbitrary detention of three human rights advocates in Chechnya and hold those responsible accountable, Amnesty International, Civil Rights Defenders, Front Line, and Human Rights Watch said today.
People in Chechnya must not be left without access to justice. In a joint statement with several other human rights organisations we underline our obligation to continue to act against human rights violations in the North Caucasus and to ensure that perpetrators are brought to justice.
Thirty years ago the Iranian Revolution brought Ayatolla Khomeini to power in Iran. Since then human rights defenders have been fighting for equality and respect for human rights, often with their own lives at stake. Parvin Ardalan, journalist and human rights defender from Iran, visits Civil Rights Defenders to talk about human rights in Iran. [...]
In the beginning of 2008 a wave of violence was spread across Kenya. The election results from December 2007 were questioned and lead to massive riots. More than 1 000 people lost their lives and close to 600 000 were displaced. “Getting Justice: Kenya’s deadly game of wait and see” is a documentary about [...]
Despite an extremely vulnerable security situation in the North Caucasus, there are courageous people who dare to stand up for the rights of others – without a thought of their own safety. Read about the situation in North Caucasus in: Human rights at risk in North Caucasus
Human rights activist Brahim Dahane from Western Sahara is the winner of the Per Anger Prize 2009, in recognition of having demonstrated unwavering personal courage, and risked his life in the struggle for human rights. Brahim Dahane is currently incarcerated.
Maksharip Aushev, former opposition leader and former owner of dissident website Ingushetia.ru, was killed today in Kabardino-Balkaria.
Belarus continues to punish the country’s human rights defenders. On July 16, the Belarusian human rights defender and lawyer Leanid Svetsik was sentenced to a huge fine. Svetsik has for several years been working with legal aid to human rights activists in the city of Vitebsk, who had received letters with threats from members of the Nazi-organization Russian National Unity.
The famous award-winning human rights defender Natalia Estemirova was kidnapped this morning in the vicinity of her residence in Chechnya’s capital Grozny. She was forced into a white car and driven away by unknown persons. Natalia Estemirova is a leading activist in the Russian human rights organization Memorial, which is a partner of the Swedish [...]
Representatives of three independent media and the organisation MANS pleaded in an open letter to the European Commission and the Governments of the EU countries to react on the public statements against media and NGOs made by Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic.
Today the EU launches its Eastern partnership aiming at creating closer bonds between the EU and six countries in east, among these the dictatorship Belarus. The project is launched at the EU summit in Prague where representatives of the Belarusian president Aljaksandr Lukasjenka will participate. At the same time it is exactly ten years since [...]
The Belarusian authorities refuse to register the human rights organisation Nasja Viasna. This shows clearly that the Belarusian regime has failed an important test of their will to democratize the country, says Robert Hårdh, Secretary General of the Swedish Helsinki Committee. We believe that this is a matter of discrimination for political reasons. We are [...]
Natasha Jevtic Esbjörnson
Phone: +46 76 576 27 62
His burnt body was returned to the family in a plastic bag. The European Court has found Russia responsible for human rights violations in the North Caucasus, in more than one hundred cases, as a result of our work.
(Photo: Joanna Kurosz)
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