News

12/1/2010

Seven leaders of Iran's Baha'i minority went on trial in Tehran Tuesday accused of spying for Israel, a charge their supporters say is motivated by religious discrimination. The seven -- two women and five men -- are also accused of spreading propaganda against the Islamic republic and committing religious offenses, charges that can carry the death penalty.

11/1/2010

Sudan: A year of campaigning and a beat for peace with Sudan365

Thousands of activists gathered at events in 15 countries on Saturday 9 January in a global coordinated effort, calling on world leaders to take urgent steps to prevent a return to severe and widespread conflict in Sudan. Sudan365 (www.sudan365.org), a year of campaigning for Sudan, has been organised by a coalition of groups including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Save Darfur Coalition, FIDH, Refugees International, Darfur Consortium and Arab Coalition for Darfur.

11/1/2010

Update: Iran: Detained Mothers Shuffled Between Emergency Rooms and Detention Center

Authorities transferred nine of the 33 detained members of the Mourning Mothers to emergency rooms following their detention yesterday, and later took them to Vozara Detention Center in Tehran, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said today.

The nine mothers suffer from various illnesses and were taken back to Vozara Detention Center from Sajjad and Firuzgar hospitals in Tehran.

10/1/2010

Fiji: Grave threats and false charges against human rights lawyer

STATEMENT by P. Imrana Jalal, Human Rights Lawyer, on fabricated FICAC charges. Suva, Fiji Islands, 8 January 2010: On 1 January 2010 I was served by Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption (FICAC) officers with seven charges alleging breaches of the law. I categorically deny these charges and will mount a robust defence against them. I am a human rights lawyer with a long record of public opposition to all unlawful, undemocratic regimes and my stance against Fiji’s 2006 military takeover is public knowledge. FICAC was established to investigate and prosecute corruption but instead has been used to also persecute persons not supportive of the military regime. The charges levelled against me at this time constitute part of this second strand of activities. FICAC has initiated various actions against myself and my husband in order to harass and intimidate us. I will continue vigorously to resist and challenge these efforts and to uphold the principles of democracy and the rule of law for all Fijians.

10/1/2010

Dubai: British woman arrested after reporting rape

A British woman who made a rape complaint in Dubai has been arrested for having illegal sex with her fiance, according to reports. The woman, a 23-year-old from London, said she was raped by a waiter in a luxury hotel after celebrating her engagement to her 44-year-old boyfriend, also from London. But when she reported the alleged rape to police in the Middle Eastern state she and her boyfriend were arrested for having sex outside marriage and illegal drinking outside licensed premises.

9/1/2010

Iran: 30 Members of Mourning Mothers Detained

Security forces attacked and detained 30 members of Mourning Mothers in Laleh Park and surrounding streets in Tehran today at around 4 p.m. local time, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran reported. Mourning Mothers is a group of mothers whose children have been killed in recent events. More than a hundred police and plain clothes agents attacked today’s gathering and transferred the detainees to the Vozara Detention Center in Tehran.

8/1/2010

Iran: Three Iranian journalists sentenced

Bahman Ahmadi Amou'i and Saeed Laylaz have been sentenced to prison terms, Bahman Ahmadi Amou'i also to flogging. Keyvan Samimi Behbehani remains in solitary confinement. All three men are prisoners of conscience. Bahman Ahmadi Amou'i, an editor at the business daily paper Sarmayeh which was closed by the authorities on 2 November, was sentenced to seven years and four months’ imprisonment and 32 lashes on 4 January 2010 by a Revolutionary Court in Tehran. The sentence includes five years for "colluding with intent to harm national security;" one year for "propaganda against the system;" one year and 32 lashes for "disrupting public security" and four months for "insulting the president." His lawyer is lodging an appeal within the required 20 days and will request his release on bail until the appeal is heard. He is held in Section 350 of Evin Prison.

8/1/2010

Egypt: Tension rises after violence at Coptic funeral

Service for Christians killed in sectarian clashes draws 5,000 protesters: Thousands clashed with police during a funeral procession yesterday for the seven people killed in an attack on churchgoers leaving a midnight Mass for Coptic Christians. The protesters pelted cars with stones. Earlier, they smashed ambulances at the hospital in frustration over delays in turning over the bodies for burial. A security official said police fired tear gas to disperse the crowd. The riots follow an attack the previous night, in which three gunmen in a car sprayed automatic gunfire into a crowd leaving a church in the town of Nag Hammadi, about 40 miles from the ancient ruins of Luxor. The lead attacker was identified as a Muslim.

8/1/2010

International: A Look back at the 2009 Parliament of the World’s Religions

In December 2009, Melbourne, Australia hosted the Parliament of the World’s Religions, a global dialogue of faiths. Sister Joan Chittister, longtime champion of peace, human rights and gender equality attended the Parliament and spoke with AWID to share her perspectives on what the Parliament proceedings mean for women.

8/1/2010

Malaysia: Kuala Lumpur church torched

A city church in the leafy Desa Melawati suburb was set on fire at midnight as police warned angry Muslim groups not to protest a controversial ruling allowing Catholic weekly Herald to use “Allah” in its national language section. The attack on the Metro Tabernacle A/G, an Assemblies of God church in Jalan 4/4C Desa Melawati, completely gutted its administrative office on the ground floor. There were no reported injuries in the midnight attack. Police have yet to identify the attackers and no one has claimed responsibility for the attack which could be related to anger over the Dec 31 court ruling. The judgment has been suspended pending government appeal.