domenica 30 settembre 2012

SRI LANKA - Britain's shameful complicity in Sri Lanka's torture.

When it first emerged that Britain had knowingly allowed terrorist suspects to be illegally rendered to third party states to be tortured in the early half of the last decade the story made national headlines. How could Britain, a supposedly liberal democracy and bastion of human rights, deliberately allow someone to be transported towards regimes they knew would abuse them?

Sadly we’re still doing it to this day. The only people that dispute the allegation that torture is rampant in Sri Lanka is the country’s notoriously bullish government who - after the defeat of the Tamil Tiger insurgency in 2009 – feel both impervious and above international law.
 
 

venerdì 28 settembre 2012

APPELLO INDIA - Fermare la Vedanta - Le politiche non possono mascherare le pratiche!


Sullo sfondo la raffineria della Vedanta Alumina Ltd. vicino al villaggio di Lanjigarh village, sulle colline di Niyamgiri a Orissa, India, 2008©Sanjit Das


La Vedanta, azienda estrattiva del Regno Unito, sta tentando di 'mascherare' le critiche sullo scarso rispetto dei diritti umani fatte da Amnesty International dopo che l'azienda ha pubblicato il suo ultimo rapporto intitolato "La prospettiva della Vedanta".

L'azienda ha organizzato la propria Assemblea generale annuale il 28 agosto scorso a Londra; Amnesty International ritiene che il rapporto sia un tentativo di placare i timori degli investitori sulle controverse operazioni che l'azienda sta portando avanti in India.

Amnesty International si rivolge al presidente della Vedanta, Anil Agarwal chiedendo all'azienda di assumersi le proprie responsabilità per aver ignorato le conseguenze delle attività estrattive sui diritti umani delle comunità dell'Orissa.

Firma l'appello alla Vedanta per chiedere che l'impatto negativo che le attività della raffineria di Lanjiagarth, nell'Orissa, stanno avendo sull'ambiente, sulla salute e sui diritti umani, sia affrontato con urgenza.

http://www.amnesty.it/fermare_vedanta_india_diritti_umani

giovedì 27 settembre 2012

MALDIVES - Nasheed case proceedings against laws and norms: Nasheed’s legal team.

Former President Mohamed Nasheed’s legal team has expressed concern that Nasheed is not being given the opportunity to have a fair trial.
At a press briefing held on Wednesday they detailed concerns about the procedural and legal matters around the case against Nasheed, stating much of the proceedings were against both the constitution and the laws of the Maldives.
Nasheed has been currently placed under island arrest, with regard to a case concerning his arrest of Criminal Court Chief Judge Abdulla Mohamed last year.

INDIA - Kudankulam protests: Police action unjustified, says report.

Chennai: Tamil Nadu police has been slammed by a fact-finding team that probed the handling of protests against the Kudankulam nuclear plant, specially calling its 'descration' of a church "dangerous and deplorable". The police has rejected the findings.

The team, led by former High Court judge Justice Kolse Patil has said that the use of force against the peaceful protesters was unjustified. Police had lathi-charged the protesters who wanted work on the nuclear plant to be stopped. The team also found that police, while trying to control the agitation, looted and damaged private and public property. The fact-finding team was formed after demands from the Chennai Solidarity Team for Kudankulam and Teachers Against Nuclear Energy.

In the most damning finding, the team said that the desecration of a church by the police was a "dangerous and deplorable act". There were allegations that police officers had barged into the St Lourde's church looking for protesters there. The Archbishop of Madras-Mylapore had alleged that the policemen "insulted religious symbols".


Kudankulam protests: Police action unjustified, says report 


Children take part in a graveyard protest against the Kudankulam N-plant at Idinthakarai in Tirunelveli on Wednesday. Image courtesy: PTI



Justice Kolse Patil's team also said that charging the protesters with sedition and waging war against the state was irrational and that police action had created "fear psychosis" in the area.

Tamil Nadu Police though said that they had acted "responsibly" and had been attacked by villagers.

A protest against fuel loading in the nuclear power plant that had been going on for several days in Kudankulam was broken up by police after the Madras High Court gave its green signal to operationalise the plant. Police who had cordoned off the area around the plant had been taken by surprise after the protesters approached the plant by walking along the beach, leading to a stand-off. The protests are still continuing.

Pakistan: Unauthorised Amnesty International activities.

Index: ASA 33/015/2012
25 September 2012

Amnesty International has become aware of the misuse of its name and logo in Pakistan. We are
aware of a number of individuals and organisations operating under various names which might
appear to be associated with Amnesty International, including ‘Amnesty Pakistan’ and ‘AI Pakistan’.
At least one such organisation is collecting membership fees from individuals.
These activities are not authorized by Amnesty International and none of these organisations
represent Amnesty International in Pakistan any way. Whilst Amnesty International has a very active
Pakistan team that visits the country several times each year, it does not have an office in Pakistan
or permanent base in Pakistan, nor does it have representatives authorised to speak on its behalf
residing in Pakistan.
If you are in doubt about the identity or authority of an Amnesty International delegate, or would like
further information about Amnesty International’s work on the human rights situation in Pakistan,
please contact the International Secretariat via our website http://www.amnesty.org/en/contact or
call +44-20-74135500.
Amnesty International acknowledges and appreciates the desire for people in Pakistan and
elsewhere to take part in its human rights movement. Pakistan residents wishing to join Amnesty
International are invited to register as international members through the organisation’s website
http://www.amnesty.org/en/join. This is at present the sole route to membership within Pakistan and
many other countries and is free of charge. International members in Pakistan are not authorised to
speak on behalf of or in the name of Amnesty International.
For the last 50 years, Amnesty international has worked for the promotion, protection and respect of
human rights throughout the world. Its actions are impartial and independent of any government,
political ideology, economic interest or religion.

http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/ASA33/015/2012/en/cbc36659-2e5d-4fe9-9265-57bd3a34919a/asa330152012en.pdf

lunedì 24 settembre 2012

INDIA - Urgent Action: Anti-nuclear protestors arrested

The police in Tamil Nadu have responded to peaceful protests against the commissioning of the nuclear power station with force. Of the more than 1,000 protestors, 53 face sedition charges and imminent arrest (including the key leaders of the movement Dr S.P. Udayakumar and M. Pushparayan). If convicted of these charges, they could face life imprisonment. More than 25 protestors including four boys (under 18 years of age) have been arrested and charged with offences including sedition and rioting.

URGENT ACTION:   http://amnestyindia.tumblr.com/post/32185602654/urgent-action-anti-nuclear-protestors-arrested-in

venerdì 21 settembre 2012

Afghanistan, 100 frustate a una 16enne per una "relazione illecita"

(21 settembre 2012)

La condanna a 100 frustate, eseguita personalmente da un religioso locale il 16 settembre nella provincia di Ghazni nei confronti di una ragazza di 16 anni colpevole di una "relazione illecita", dimostra ancora una volta, nel modo più abominevole, quanto sia precaria la situazione delle donne e delle ragazze in Afghanistan.

La sentenza, emessa dalle autorità religiose locali, è un oltraggiosa sfida alle norme internazionali e alle stesse leggi dell'Afghanistan. La Camera bassa del parlamento ha annunciato l'avvio di un'inchiesta sulla vicenda: uno sviluppo positivo, secondo Amnesty International, che però dev'essere seguito da azioni concrete per porre fine all'endemica impunità per i reati contro le donne in tutto il paese.

Amnesty International ha sollecitato il governo afgano a dare immediata attuazione alla legge del 2009 sull'eliminazione della violenza contro le donne, che punisce i matrimoni forzati, lo stupro e altre violazioni dei diritti umani nei confronti delle donne.

Il caso della minorenne frustata 100 volte mette anche in evidenza la pervasività del sistema di giustizia parallela tuttora operante in alcune province afgane.

http://www.amnesty.it/news/afghanistan-100-frustate-a-una-16enne-per-una-relazione-illecita 

http://www.amnesty.org/en/news/afghanistan-100-lashes-teen-shows-why-climate-violence-against-women-must-be-tackled-2012-09-20

giovedì 20 settembre 2012

Democracy and the Maldives.

THE Maldives stand on a knife edge. At stake is its hard-won liberal democracy, forged from the ruins of a brutal, 30-year dictatorship — a period that was synonymous with serious human rights abuses, including extrajudicial killings and torture.

MORE: http://dawn.com/2012/09/20/democracy-and-the-maldives/

mercoledì 19 settembre 2012

Pakistan blocks YouTube over anti-Islam video.

Raja Pervez Ashraf, Pakistan's prime minister, has ordered YouTube to be blocked after the site "refused to heed to the advice of the government of Pakistan to remove blasphemous film from its site", a statement from his office said.
Attempts to access YouTube on Monday met with a message saying the website had been classed as containing "indecent material" and was blocked on the orders of the Pakistan Telecom Authority.
Authorities in Bangladesh have also blocked the video-sharing site indefinitely to prevent citizens from watching the video that mocks the Prophet and Islam.
Protests against the anti-Islam video continued on Monday, several of them violent, in various countries across the Muslim world.
Protests were also reported from Indonesia, Afghanistan, the Philippines, Yemen and Lebanon.
In Kabul and Jakarta, protests turned violent for the first time since the furore over the film mocking Islam first broke out last week. Hundreds of angry men clashed with police, hurled stones and shouted "Death to America".

Thousands of followers of Lebanon's powerful Hezbollah group rallied against the anti-Islam film that has provoked a week of unrest in Muslim countries worldwide, as Hassan Nasrallah delivered his first major public address in four years.
Most of the men tied headbands around their foreheads in green and yellow - the colours of Hezbollah - with the words "at your service God's prophet" written on them.
Meanwhile, more than 1,000 Tunisian security forces briefly surrounded a mosque in the capital on Monday where a Salafi leader wanted by police over clashes at the US embassy last week was meeting hundreds of followers.
The Reuters news agency reported that Saif-Allah Ben Hassine managed to escape the mosque, however.
And Libya's interior minister has sacked Benghazi security chiefs after last week's deadly attack on the US consulate in
the eastern city.
Police in Azerbaijan detained about 30 Muslim activists on Monday while preventing a protest from breaking out near the US embassy.

martedì 18 settembre 2012

Sedicenne frustata in Afghanistan, aveva un fidanzatino - di Monica Ricci Sargentini

In molte parti del mondo islamico le donne continuano a subire vessazioni e torture (nella foto alcune ragazze in una casa rifugio).  Il sette settembre scorso vi avevamo raccontato la storia di una sedicenne maldiviana condannata a 100 frustate per aver fatto l’amore. La stessa sorte è toccata qualche giorno dopo a una sua coetanea Sabera, una  ragazzina afghana. Questa volta però la punizione corporale è stata subito eseguita. Gli anziani del villaggio, nella provincia di Ghazni, nel sud del Paese, hanno ricoperto Sabera con un lenzuolo bianco e poi l’hanno  frustata  a sangue davanti alla sua famiglia. La sua colpa? Aver stabilito un “legame” con un ragazzo giovane come lei. Non si sa nemmeno se fosse una relazione vera e propria. In Afghanistan è considerato un atto da punire il solo e semplice fatto di porsi al di fuori del controllo della famiglia, anche se non si hanno contatti fisici. Insomma magari i due avevano solo parlato e stretto un’amicizia. Fatto sta che la ragazza ora sta male.  ”Mi hanno riferito – ha detto la responsabile provinciale del dipartimento delle Donne Shukuria Wali – che adesso Sabera è in cattive condizioni di salute”. Il fidanzatino, invece, è stato condannato a pare una multa pari a 1.600 dollari.
L’episodio risale al 9 settembre e non è avvenuto in un’area dominata dai talebani, bensì in  una zona sotto il controllo del governo dove vivono gli hazara, un’etnia che solitamente ha un atteggiamento un po’ più liberale sui diritti delle donne. Per questo il governatore del distretto, Zafar Sharif, ha deciso di aprire un’inchiesta sull’accaduto e di inviare una delegazione sul posto.
Ogni mese vengono registrati in Afghanistan crimini odiosi contro le donne, soprattutto nelle zone rurali rette dalla tradizione, malgrado una presenza decennale da parte delle potenze straniere. Secondo un sondaggio condotto dall’Ong Oxfam l’87% delle afghane afferma di avere subito violenze fisiche, sessuali o psicologiche, oppure di essere state obbligate a sposarsi. Il governo è accusato di duplicità cioè di sposare la causa delle donne a parole per avere gli aiuti internazionali ma di tollerare nei fatti le richieste delle frange più estremiste della popolazione. Lo scorso marzo Karzai ha appoggiato un pronunciamento del Consiglio degli Ulema, la più alta autorità religiosa che definiva “l’uomo fondamentale e la donna secondaria”.
Chi si batte per i diritti delle donne in Aghanistan rischia la vita. Come è successo lo scorso luglio ad Hanifa Safi, direttrice del ministero per gli Affari femminili della provincia orientale di Laghman, saltata su una bomba a Mehtarlam. L’ultima vittima di una lunga serie come abbiamo raccontato in questo post. Sempre a luglio il mondo è rimasto scioccato a guardare il video dell’esecuzione di una ragazza di 22 anni, abbattuta a colpi di fucile davanti alla folla in un piccolo villaggio nella provincia di Parwan, cento chilometri a nord di Kabul. Dall’Afghanistan per le donne non arrivano buone notizie. Purtroppo.
 

lunedì 17 settembre 2012

Bangladesh: Discriminatory Family Laws Fuel Female Poverty.

  • The members of Bangladesh Mahila Parishad, a leading women’s rights organization, attend a rally to mark International Women's day in Dhaka, Bangladesh on Saturday, March 8, 2008. The banner reads "International Women's Day rally. Gender equality needs equal rights to property and resource."
    Bangladesh’s discriminatory personal laws on marriage, separation, and divorce trap many women and girls in abusive marriages or drive them into poverty when marriages fall apart. In many cases these laws contribute to homelessness, hunger, and ill-health for divorced or separated women and their children. The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the World Food Programme (WFP) have recorded significantly higher levels of food insecurity and poverty among female-headed Bangladeshi households.

    http://www.hrw.org/topic/womens-rights

domenica 16 settembre 2012

INDIA - Victory: Vedanta to close Orissa refinery .

13 September 2012

The Dongria Kondh have fought a David and Goliath battle against Vedanta
The Dongria Kondh have fought a David and Goliath battle against Vedanta
© Lewis Davids/Survival
 
Supporters of India’s Dongria Kondh tribe are celebrating after controversial British mining company Vedanta Resources declared it will close its bauxite refinery in the state of Orissa, this December.
The news is a major breakthrough for the tribe, who have fought a David and Goliath battle against Vedanta’s plans to extract bauxite from their land.
Dongria leader, Lodu Sikaka, said today, ‘We will be happy if the company leaves. If the refinery is there, they will keep trying to take our mountain, if not today, then tomorrow, or two years, 10 years from now.’
The Lanjigarh refinery sits at the base of the Dongria Kondh’s Niyamgiri Hills, which are home to the 8,000-strong tribe, and the seat of their god Niyam Raja. The company has spent more than one billion US dollars expanding the site without securing all the required clearances, as well as knowing it was unable to source enough bauxite to run the refinery at capacity.
Vedanta has now blamed the closure on a ‘depleting stock position of bauxite’. But, there are concerns the company’s announcement is intended to pressure the government into allowing it to mine the Niyamgiri Hills. The issue has returned to India’s Supreme Court, but the case is currently adjourned.
Opposition to Vedanta’s push to mine the mountains has embroiled the company in a near decade-long dispute, and forced the Lanjigarh refinery to be run with bauxite from different mines across India. A Vedanta spokesman claimed this has cost the company half a billion dollars.
Survival International’s Director Stephen Corry said today, ‘When we started our campaign for the Dongria Kondh, we were repeatedly told it was a hopeless case and the mine would be built. It hasn’t been. The infrastructure is rusting away and now Vedanta says it will shelve its refinery. This is a fantastic vindication of the tribal people’s determination to keep the lands which are rightfully theirs, and the pressure brought to bear by thousands of their and our supporters around the world. Public pressure is the only thing which can save tribal peoples in the long-term, and it works.’

http://www.survivalinternational.org/news/8670

GOOD NEWS: ADPAN NEWSLETTER NO. 3/2012 July July-August 2012.

INDIA
 
Indian President defends record death row pardons India’s first female President Prathiba Patil has been criticised in the media for granting clemency to 35 death row inmates during her 5 year term. On 25 June, the office of President Patil issued a statement: “The President is discharging a constitutional obligation and not doling out generosity” and “she took well considered decisions”. Presidential spokesperson Archana Datta also said “By the exercise of the power of pardon, the President does not amend, modify or substitute the judicial decisions. On receiving clemency, the death sentence gets commuted to imprisonment for the remainder of their natural lives”. India has not executed anyone since 2004.
 
26/07/2012 Gulf Times, NY Daily News
http://www.gulftimes.
com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=515918&version=1&template_id=40&parent_id=22
http://india.nydailynews.com/newsarticle/4fe99777b1e35d5904000018/indian-president-defendsrecorddeath-row-pardons
 
After six years on death row, spared for being a juvenile
On 6 July, a court in Maharashtra passed an order declaring Ankush Maruti Shindeto have been a juvenile at the time of his alleged offence. Shinde has spent the last 9 years on death row. His counsel had failed to point out that he was less than 18 years of age in the Trial, High and Supreme Courts. Human Rights Advocate Vijay Hiremath took on Shinde’s case, and appealed based on school records stating Shinde’s date of birth. The maximum sentence for juveniles is three years imprisonment. Shinde is still imprisoned at Nagpur Central Prison.
 
20/08/2012 Times of India, The Hindu
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/after-six-years-on-death-row-spared-for0-being-ajuvenile/
articleshow/15577973.cms
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article3804480.ece

PAKISTAN

PPP stops execution of death penalty in Sindh
On 25 July, Sindh Law and Prisons Minister Ayaz Soomro announced that there would be no executions in Sindh Province until the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) complete its term in March 2013. Soomro also stated that the Sindh province had suggested to President Asif Ali Zardari that the death penalty should be replaced with life imprisonment. This announcement followed a recent European Union visit to Islamabad by Jean Lambert calling for reform of the death penalty.
 
26/07/2012 The Tribune
http://tribune.com.pk/story/412956/ppp-stops-execution-of-death-penalty-in-sindh
 
Presidency considers commuting death sentence to life imprisonment
Former Federal Minister for Human Rights Ansar Burney has repeatedly petitioned President Zardarai to commute all death sentences to life imprisonment noting that a large number of prisoners were either innocent or had spent several decades on death row. Most recently in July, Burney issued a notice requesting that the Ministry of Law, the Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Interior, the Prime Minister’s Secretariat and the Chief Secretaries of all provinces give their view on the petitions and the possibility of commuting all death sentences. There are currently over 7500 prisoners on death row in Pakistan.
 
12/08/2012 Tribune, One Pakistan
http://tribune.com.pk/story/421141/presidency-considers-commuting-death-sentences-to-life-imprisonment/
http://pakistan.onepakistan.com/news/city/islamabad/117068-ansar-burney-again-urges-president-tocommute-
all-death-sentences-into-life.html

mercoledì 12 settembre 2012

MALDIVES - ‘I cried… during your speech’ by Hilath Rasheed


From Hilath's blog:

Yesterday, on my 37th birthday, I was Guest Speaker at a side event on Maldives at the 21st session of the United Nations Human Rights Council taking place from 10 to 28 September in Geneva Switzerland.
My topic was rising Islamic extremism in Maldives and how it is threatening human rights in Maldives.
Delegates and diplomats later met me and said that my speech “was great” and that they didn’t know before that Maldives was in such deeply troubled waters.
“Thank you for coming here and telling us. I cried while listening to you during your speech,” a Kashmir delegate said to me.
“Now I keep quiet about my Muslim identity because everywhere you travel around the world, Muslims are now seen in a bad light after the September 11 attacks on the United States,” she said.
“It’s time we save Islam from extremism,” said another delegate.
A Canadian delegate today told me that “freedom of religion and LGBT rights are the top two issues currently of concern to Canada” and that she’s “really happy Maldives is trying to come to terms with it.” 

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 12th, 2012 at 7:00 pm.

lunedì 10 settembre 2012

INDIA - Cartoonist Arrested for “Sedition”.

http://blog.amnestyusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Aseem_Trivedi.jpg  
Aseem Trivedi, a cartoonist for prominent anti-internet censorship and anti-corruption groups, was arrested on charges of “sedition” for his caricatures of various government institutions in India. The arrest comes on top of a ham-handed but chilling crackdown on social media and freedom of expression in India in the weeks following violence between tribals and Muslims in the northeastern Indian state of Assam.



India: Police must not use excessive force against protesters in Tamil Nadu.

Police in India must ensure they do not use excessive force against individuals protesting the Kudankulam nuclear power plant in Tamil Nadu, Amnesty International said today.
It was this morning that police confronted protesters who had gathered close to the site of the power plant, firing tear gas shells and beating protesters with lathis (batons). In response, it is reported that protestors threw sand and stones at the police.
“The Indian authorities should exercise restraint and ensure that the police response does not amount to excessive use of force”, said Ananth Guruswamy, Amnesty International India’s Country Director.
Protests against the Kudankulam plant in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu first began in March this year, and have been based in the village of Idinthakarai. Demonstrations have intensified over the past two days with fuelling of the plant set to start on 11 September.
Protestors are demanding that the fuelling is stopped and that a police-imposed curfew on local villages be lifted.
Reports suggest that three women protestors have been arrested by the police, one of whom has been arrested on charges of sedition. The two leaders of the protest movement have currently been taken to a undisclosed location, after villagers reportedly formed a human shield around them when police tried to arrest them.
Protests are still ongoing, and Amnesty International has received information that police has entered Idinthakarai, with violence reported from both police and protesters.
“We ask the police to release those individuals who have been arrested on apparently false charges and simply for exercising their right to peaceful political protest,” said Ananth Guruswamy. “Any reports of the excessive use of force by the police must be promptly investigated”.
Amnesty International reminds state authorities that any use of force by the police must be in compliance with international standards for the protection of the right to life and security of person, including the UN Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials and the UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials.
Police may resort to force only if other means are ineffective, and must only use such force as is proportionate to legitimate objectives.

Pakistan: 14enne accusata di blasfemia rilasciata ma rimane a rischio.

La decisione, presa il 7 settembre da un giudice pachistano, di rilasciare su cauzione Rimsha Masih, una cristiana di 14 anni accusata di blasfemia, è un segnale incoraggiante ma la ragazza, la sua famiglia e la sua comunità rischiano ancora di subire persecuzioni.

Rimsha e sua madre erano state arrestate il 16 agosto dopo che una folla inferocita aveva circondato la loro abitazione nella capitale Islamabad, sostenendo che la ragazza aveva dato fuoco ad alcune pagine di un testo sacro, reato punibile con la pena di morte. In seguito, un imam locale è stato arrestato per essersi inventato l'accusa. Nel frattempo, centinaia di cristiani avevano dovuto lasciare il loro quartiere temendo episodi di violenza. La famiglia di Rimsha continua a rimanere nascosta.

In passato, persone accusate di blasfemia sono state assassinate da privati, anche se non erano neanche state incriminate da un giudice. Le intimidazioni nei confronti di cristiani, sciiti, ahmadi, indù e di appartenenti ad altre minoranze religiose sono quasi quotidiane.

Casi del genere, sottolinea Amnesty International, continueranno a verificarsi fino a quando le autorità pachistane non riformeranno le leggi contro la blasfemia per scongiurare che siano usate per risolvere dispute private o consentire ai cittadini di farsi giustizia da soli.

Amnesty International ha apprezzato la vasta eco che il caso di Rimsha ha avuto in Pakistan, con espressioni di disapprovazione nei confronti della sua incriminazione giunte anche da leader religiosi che in passato si erano scagliati contro le minoranze religiose, chiedendo una rigorosa applicazione delle leggi contro la blasfemia e della pena di morte. 


_____________________________________________

Today’s decision by a Pakistan court to grant bail to Rimsha Masih, a 14-year old Christian girl accused of blasphemy, is an encouraging step, but the Pakistan government must urgently reform its blasphemy laws to prevent similar cases in the future.
Rimsha and her mother were first arrested by police on 16 August after an angry mob had gathered outside their house in Islamabad, accusing her of burning pages of the Quran, a crime punishable by death under Pakistan’s blasphemy laws. The case took another turn last week when police arrested a local cleric, accused of planting the burned Quran pages on Rimsha. This morning, a judge set a bail of 1 million Pakistani rupees (about £6,200) for Rimsha.
Although Amnesty International welcomes the judge’s decision, serious challenges remain. Rimsha, her family, and her Christian community in Islamabad remain under serious danger despite her being granted bail and even if she is eventually found innocent.
In the recent past individuals accused of blasphemy have been killed by members of the public, often in incidents where the victim has not been formally charged by the authorities. Hundreds of Christians have fled Rimsha’s neighbourhood in Islamabad since she was accused, fearing violence. Her family remains in hiding.
The Rimsha Masih case highlights the profound danger to communal harmony and rule of law caused by Pakistan’s blasphemy laws. Such cases will continue to occur, especially against vulnerable religious minorities, unless the Pakistan government urgently reforms the blasphemy laws to ensure they cannot be used maliciously to settle disputes or enable private citizens to take matters into their own hands.
Amnesty International calls on Pakistan authorities to also ensure that all perpetrators of attacks on religious minorities, including those who incite the community to do so, are brought to justice in trials that meet international fair trial standards, without recourse to the death penalty.
Amnesty International welcomes the condemnation of the charges brought against Rimsha Masih by a wide cross-section of Pakistan society, including even from religious leaders who have in the past vilified religious minorities and advocated strict application of the blasphemy laws, including the imposition of the death penalty.
But more important are legal, policy and social reforms to address the general climate of vilification on the basis of religion that has lead to almost daily intimidation and deadly attacks on Christian, Shi’a, Ahmedi, Hindu and other minority communities across the country.
The Pakistan authorities must take concrete steps to show that no one can commit abuses and attempt to excuse them as the defence of their religion. 


domenica 9 settembre 2012

Afghanistan, il presidente propone un sospetto torturatore a capo dei servizi segreti - di Riccardo Noury

Le persone e la dignita Corriere della Sera Amnesty International

asadullah_khalid-Aghanistan 
In un paese dilaniato dalle bombe, il 2 settembre il presidente dell’Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai, ha proposto al parlamento la nomina di Asadullah Khalid a capo della Direzione nazionale per la sicurezza, i servizi segreti del paese.
Khalid è stato governatore della provincia di Ghazni tra il 2001 e il 2005 e della provincia di Kandahar dal 2005 al 2008. Ed è in questi due ruoli che Khalid è accusato del coinvolgimento diretto o indiretto in crimini di diritto internazionale, tra cui torture e uccisioni illegali.
Khalid, un fedelissimo del presidente Karzai, non è mai stato chiamato a rispondere del suo operato. Diamogli la presunzione d’innocenza e chiamiamolo “sospetto torturatore”.
Leggete intanto cosa dice di lui Richard Colvin, primo segretario dell’Ambasciata del Canada negli Stati Uniti, nel corso di un’audizione del Comitato speciale sulla missione in Afghanistan del parlamento canadese nel 2009:
“Dal maggio o giugno 2006 si sapeva che era un pessimo soggetto nel campo dei diritti umani. Si sapeva che aveva una prigione sotterranea, nella sua ex provincia di Ghazni, dove era solito imprigionare le persone per ottenere denaro e alcune di loro sparivano. Si sapeva che gestiva attività legate agli stupefacenti. Aveva una banda di criminali che uccideva per suo conto. Poi, a Kandahar, scoprimmo che aveva costruito un’altra prigione sotterranea, sotto la sua abitazione. Si sapeva che torturava personalmente i detenuti in quella prigione sotterranea”.
Come governatore di Kandahar, Khalid era responsabile anche della Brigata 888, responsabile dell’arresto e della tortura di persone sospettate di avere legami coi talebani o con altri gruppi armati. Le torture avevano luogo sotto casa di Khalid, nella prigione sotterranea descritta da Colvin.
Nel 2007 Amnesty International ha pubblicato un rapporto sulle torture praticate all’interno del centro di detenzione della Direzione nazionale per la sicurezza a Kandahar. Come governatore della provincia, Khalid aveva la completa supervisione su tutti i dipartimenti provinciali, compresi i servizi di sicurezza.
Khalid sarebbe anche coinvolto nell’attentato dell’aprile 2007 contro un veicolo delle Nazioni Unite, sempre a Kandahar, in cui persero la vita cinque operatori.
In definitiva, ci sono tutti gli elementi perché il parlamento afgano ci pensi due volte prima di procedere alla nomina di Khalid. E sarebbe bene che anche i partner internazionali dell’Afghanistan si occupassero della questione (e magari anche di altre, come i continui attacchi dei gruppi armati contro i civili).
Alla dichiarazione finale della Conferenza dei donatori di Tokyo, due mesi fa, il  presidente Karzai ha incassato la promessa di 16 miliardi di dollari di aiuti per i prossimi quattro anni e si è impegnato a costruire uno stato dalle solide fondamenta, basato “sullo stato di diritto, sull’indipendenza del potere giudiziario e sul buon governo”.
Mettere i servizi segreti in mano ad Asadullah Ahmid non pare andare in questa direzione.
 

venerdì 7 settembre 2012

Maldive, cento frustate a una sedicenne per aver fatto l’amore - di Monica Ricci Sargentini

Cento frustate per una sedicenne. È questa la pena decisa da un tribunale delle Maldive per punire una ragazzina che ha confessato di aver avuto un rapporto sessuale con un uomo di 29 anni. La sentenza è stata emessa nello sperduto atollo di Raa, 200 chilometri a nord di Malè, ed è stata fortemente contestata dalle organizzazioni dei diritti umani. A denunciare la giovane, il cui nome non è stato reso noto, sono stati i genitori che hanno anche ottenuto la condanna del suo amante a dieci anni di carcere per rapporto sessuale illegale con una minorenne. La sharia vieta relazioni amorose al di fuori del matrimonio prima della maggiore età.
Ora la ragazzina avrà due anni di tempo per decidere se ricevere o no la punizione corporale. Ma in caso di rifiuto dovrà passare otto mesi agli arresti domiciliari. “Nella maggior parte dei casi — ha detto un responsabile del tribunale alla France Presse sotto garanzia dell’anonimato — le colpevoli accettano i colpi di frusta come penitenza per il peccato commesso”.
Nonostante l’eco internazionale l’episodio non è di certo isolato. Sono tantissime le giovani che ogni anno vengono frustate  dai capivillaggio per aver infranto le regole imposte dal Corano. Una pratica che è stata condannata più volte dalle Nazioni Unite. Meno di un anno fa l’Alto commissario dell’Onu per i diritti umani Navi Pillay aveva intimato al governo di mettere fine alle punizioni corporali sulle donne che avevano rapporti sessuali al di fuori del matrimonio. Stessa richiesta anche da parte di Human Rights Watch: “Le Maldive — ha detto Aruna Kashyap, ricercatrice in Asia per l’organizzazione — dovrebbero immediatamente abolire queste leggi discriminatorie che prevedono punizioni disumane e degradanti”. Secondo il Centro asiatico per i diritti umani “la sentenza è uno dei tanti modi in cui il governo cerca di ottenere l’appoggio degli islamici conservatori. Nelle Maldive i tribunali non sono indipendenti ma condizionati dal potere politico”.
L’episodio non fa che confermare il potere crescente delle forze più conservatrici dopo che, lo scorso febbraio, il primo presidente democraticamente eletto nel 2008 è stato costretto alle dimissioni dalla polizia e dall’esercito anche a causa delle pressioni dei gruppi islamici più integralisti legati all’ex dittatore Gayoon. Per molti Nasheed, strenuo difensore della democrazia e fervente ecologista, era in fin dei conti un anti-islamico. Dopo la sua caduta i musulmani radicali hanno imposto regole sempre più rigide che prevedono, tra l’altro, mutilazioni genitali obbligatorie per le bambine e la fustigazione delle ragazzine che fanno sesso prima dei 18 anni. E questo non stupisce in un Paese dove per chiedere la cittadinanza bisogna essere musulmani ed è proibito praticare qualsiasi religione al di fuori dell’Islam. Ma non è tutto: nei giorni scorsi Amnesty International in un rapporto dal titolo «L’altro lato del paradiso: crisi dei diritti umani alle Maldive» ha documentato le gravi violazioni perpetrate dalla polizia dopo il colpo di Stato. Tra queste si annoverano: torture, pestaggi, detenzioni arbitrarie, attacchi agli oppositori feriti in ospedale.
Ma il turismo non si tocca, in nome del dio denaro. Così negli atolli vacanzieri gli stranieri continuano a bere alcol e a prendere il sole in costumi succinti, ignari, o forse consapevolmente indifferenti, di quello che succede a pochi chilometri di distanza.
 
 

MALDIVES - Home Minister condemns “one-sided” Amnesty report.

Home Minister Mohamed Jameel Ahmed has criticised Amnesty International for failing to seek comment from the government when compiling its recent report, “The Other side of Paradise: A Human Rights Crisis in the Maldives”, local media has reported.
“They had not sought any comments from the Maldives government. I’m extremely disappointed that a group advocating for fairness and equal treatment had released a report based on just one side of the story,” Jameel told Haveeru.
“An international group of the caliber of Amnesty should have heard the other side as well. But they had failed to obtain our comments,” Jameel is quoted as saying.
Minivan News was awaiting a response from Amnesty at the time of press.
When talking with Haveeru, Jameel did not appear to dispute the content of the statements that were included in the report.
Jameel was also not responding to calls from Minivan News at time of press.
The Amnesty report recounts sustained and pre-meditated beatings of protesters with a variety of weapons.
Some of those interviewed reported people being attacked in their hospital beds, whilst others recalled torture and further degradation whilst in detention.
Amnesty also detailed a number of incidents of police brutality on February 8, including attacks on Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MPs Eva Abdulla and Mariya Didi.
“The overall objective of these violent attacks has been to silence peaceful government critics and stifle public debate about the current political situation,” said the report, compiled by Amnesty researcher Abbas Faiz.
“Based on Amnesty International’s interviews with survivors of these violent attacks, it appears that many were targeted by security forces because they were MDP ministers, parliamentarians or supporters,” it read.
Whilst Amnesty stated that several of its human rights recommendations were reflected in the Commission of National Inquiry’s (CNI) report, which was released on August 30, Jameel argued that the CNI had highlighted misdemeanors of protesters which did not make it into the Amnesty report.
“CNI (Commission of National Inquiry) report had clearly highlighted the actions of demonstrators during protests in the Maldives. The foreign observers had labelled the actions of demonstrators as cowboy tactics,” Jameel told Haveeru.
In their closing observations, Professor John Packer and Sir Bruce Robertson had appeared critical of the anti-government protesters.
“Some would want to call an example of the rights of freedom of expression and assembly. In reality it is rather more bully boy tactics involving actual and threatened intimidation by a violent mob,” reported Packer and Robertson.
Jameel continued: “The demonstrators undermine the peace and stability, carry out attacks while being inebriated, carry out attacks with sharp objects and damage private property. Even internationally such actions are regarded as violence. However, the Amnesty report has ignored all such things. It is extremely one sided and unjust,” said Jameel.
The CNI report’s major findings were that February’s transfer of power was constitutional and that, rather than amounting to a coup, the events preceding former President Mohamed Nasheed’s resignation were of his own making.
The report did conclude that acts of police brutality had been committed in February and urged further investigation by relevant authorities.
Following the release of the report, Jameel explained that the government would leave these investigations to the Police Integrity Commission (PIC).
Widespread doubts persist, however, as to the strength of independent institutions in the country with the Chair of the PIC publicly expressing her doubts over the ability of the PIC to handle the pressure of these investigations.
This issue was reflected in Amnesty’s findings: “Government officials have frequently shrugged off their own responsibility to address human rights violations, saying it is the purview of the Human Rights Commission (HRCM) and the PIC.”
“However, both bodies have yet to conclude their investigations into all of the most serious human rights violations does not absolve the government of its responsibility to exercise due diligence in guaranteeing the rule of law and protecting human rights,” it continued.
Amnesty’s recommendations also included de-politicisation of the police, reform of the judiciary and enhanced training of security forces to meet with international standards of conduct.
Nasheed’s MDP have been fiercely critical of the CNI’s methods following the resignation of their commission member, Ahmed ‘Gahaa’ Saeed, on the eve of the report’s publication.
Jameel’s comments echo those of Police Commissioner Abdulla Riyaz who, in April, told Minivan News of his own scepticism of Amnesty’s methods
“I don’t see that there has been any investigations done, none of our officers was questioned, interviewed – neither by them nor by the Police Integrity Commission (PIC), nor by the Human Rights Commission (HRCM). I don’t think that’s fair,” said Riyaz.

Maldive: violenta repressione contro l'opposizione.

(7 settembre 2012)

© REUTERS/Dinuka Liyanawatte
© REUTERS/Dinuka Liyanawatte
Le forze di sicurezza maldiviane hanno commesso ripetute e gravi violazioni dei diritti umani a partire dal 7 febbraio 2012, giorno in cui nell'arcipelago dell'Oceano Indiano si è avuto il passaggio di potere a favore di un nuovo presidente. È quanto emerge da un nuovo rapporto di Amnesty International.

In contrasto con l'immagine di paradiso turistico di cui il paese gode, il rapporto documenta attacchi mirati contro sostenitori dell'opposizione così come contro persone che assistevano in strada alle loro manifestazioni di protesta.

"La polizia ha colpito i manifestanti coi manganelli e si è resa responsabile di detenzioni arbitrarie, attacchi contro i feriti in ospedale e torture. Non si tratta di casi isolati" - ha dichiarato Abbas Faiz, ricercatore di Amnesty International responsabile sulle Maldive.  "Se queste violazioni dei diritti umani non finiscono e non ne vengono individuati i responsabili, ogni tentativo di riconciliazione politica rimarrà privo di senso".

Il rapporto "L'altra faccia del paradiso - La crisi dei diritti umani nelle isole Maldive" è basato su interviste a numerosi maldiviani sulle violenze verificatesi nei giorni intorno al 7 febbraio; molte di queste interviste sono state realizzate durante la visita di Amnesty International nel paese, per tre settimane tra febbraio e marzo. Tra gli intervistati ci sono vittime di violazioni dei diritti umani, loro familiari, avvocati, attivisti, medici, funzionari delle forze di sicurezza ed esponenti politici; tra questi ultimi, l'ex presidente Mohamed Nasheed e l'attuale presidente Mohamed Waheed.

La parlamentare Mariya Ahmed Didi ha descritto il brutale trattamento da lei subito a febbraio da parte delle forze di polizia, dopo essere stata arrestata durante una manifestazione dell'opposizione: "Poliziotti e militari mi hanno aperto con la forza le palpebre. Hanno scelto l'occhio che era stato ferito il giorno prima e hanno spruzzato lo spray; poi hanno fatto lo stesso con l'altro occhio... A un certo punto, mentre mi picchiavano, uno di loro ha urlato: 'Non è ancora morta?'".

Il rapporto di Amnesty International documenta come la polizia e soldati abbiano fatto uso eccessivo della forza contro manifestanti pacifici, colpendoli con i manganelli sulla testa, spruzzando spray urticante direttamente negli occhi e sferrando calci.

Le forze di sicurezza hanno palesemente preso di mira queste persone per la loro appartenenza politica; tra le vittime figurano ministri, parlamentari e sostenitori del Partito democratico maldiviano.

Centinaia di persone sono state arrestate e molte di esse sono state ferite dalla polizia. I metodi usati includono l'uso di manganelli e di spray urticante, il divieto di bere acqua e la reclusione in gabbie per cani. La polizia ha anche rintracciato in ospedale i manifestanti feriti per poterli picchiare di nuovo.

Il rapporto di Amnesty International evidenzia come le autorità maldiviane non siano riuscite a portare davanti alla giustizia i responsabili di tali violazioni.

"Finora si registra il completo fallimento nel perseguire poliziotti e ufficiali dell'esercito coinvolti in queste violazioni dei diritti umani" - ha sottolineato Faiz. "Gravi lacune nel sistema giudiziario maldiviano - tra cui l'assenza di leggi in grado di assicurare l'uguaglianza di tutti davanti alla giustizia e la nomina di giudici privi di una specifica formazione senza un serio esame delle loro qualifiche - hanno condotto a un sistema che facilita l'impunità e appare piegarsi alle pressioni politiche".

Amnesty International sollecita le autorità maldiviane ad assicurare indagini immediate, indipendenti e imparziali sulle denunce di violenze da parte delle forze dell'ordine e a garantire risarcimenti alle vittime.

A tutte le forze di sicurezza devono essere date istruzioni di non attaccare i manifestanti e devono ricevere adeguata formazione affinché rispettino il diritto internazionale e gli standard relativi ai diritti umani. Il sistema giudiziario penale deve essere riformato per garantire indipendenza e imparzialità.

La comunità internazionale, che da tempo ha concentrato i suoi sforzi nel tentativo di risolvere le tensioni politiche nelle Maldive, non può ignorare la crisi dei diritti umani nel paese. Secondo Amnesty International, è necessario sollecitare le autorità maldiviane affinché assicurino la fine immediata delle violazioni dei diritti umani, forniscano giustizia alle vittime e garantiscano la loro cooperazione per un'adeguata formazione del personale di polizia e per la riforma della giustizia.

Molti dei rilievi e delle raccomandazioni sui diritti umani di Amnesty International sono condivisi dal rapporto del 30 agosto della Commissione nazionale d'inchiesta sui fatti relativi al passaggio di potere del 7 febbraio. Tale rapporto, tra le altre cose, conclude affermando che "in relazione alle denunce di violenza da parte della polizia e di atti di intimidazione, è necessario che le indagini avanzino in tempi rapidi e che i responsabili delle violenze siano chiamati a rendere conto del loro operato".

http://www.amnesty.it/news/maldive-violenta-repressione-contro-opposizione

http://www.amnesty.org/en/news/maldives-report-exposes-violent-repression-opposition-supporters-2012-09-04

giovedì 6 settembre 2012

MALDIVES - Journalist describes how he was arrested for photographing riot police.

Reporters Without Borders, which condemns the many arbitrary arrests of journalists in recent months, got Minivan News website reporter Ahmed Naish to describe how police arrested him during a protest by the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party on 30 August and held him for 24 hours.
The media freedom NGO reminds the authorities that arbitrary arrest violates article 46 of the Maldivian constitution, which says: "Everyone has the right not to be arbitrarily detained, arrested or imprisoned except as provided by law by the People’s Majlis [parliament] in accordance with the article 16 of this constitution”.
Reporters Without Borders deplores the repeated obstruction of media personnel in the course of their work and urges the government to put a stop to arrests designed to intimidate journalists and encourage self-censorship.
The media and netizens played an important role during the Nasheed administration’s ouster in February, photographing and filming aspects of the accompanying crackdown that embarrassed authorities. Some journalists told Reporters Without Borders this was the reason for the current increase in arrests of professional and citizen journalists.
Riot police known as Special Operations (SO) stopped Naish at 5:30 p.m. on 30 August in the Malé district of Sosun Magu as he was photographing them arresting a young demonstrator. They asked him for his press pass, which he did not have on him at the time, and, after refusing to accept his business card as identification, handcuffed him and led him away.
“My hands were tied behind my back with a clip and the SO officer who did so kept tightening it," Naish said in his account. "Another officer kept pinching my arms and hitting my ankles with his boot, telling me to walk faster.”
More people were arrested, including two who had been taking photographs or videos of the police. They were bundled into a vehicle and taken to police headquarters and then transferred to a detention centre on Dhoonidhoo, an island just to the north of the capital.
"They took my personal belongings (...) I was then photographed and taken before an investigating officer (IO) who informed me that I was arrested for obstructing police duty and causing public disorder. I refused to sign the arrest form because, in addition to stating a false reason for the arrest, the place of arrest noted in the form was incorrect."
After being placed in a large cell with other people arrested during the demonstration, Naish asked to see a doctor because his wrists were swollen. The doctor sprayed his wrists and gave him a painkiller. He was then allowed to speak to two lawyers and described to them the circumstances of his arrest.
"I talked to seven people who were arrested similarly for taking photographs. However all were accused of obstructing police duty, disobeying orders and causing loss of public order."
At around 2 a.m., he was moved to a large cell where 25 other people were already being held. He was finally released without charge the next afternoon, after being held for about 24 hours.
"I found out later than government-aligned private broadcaster Villa Television showed footage of my arrest, which would have confirmed that the police lied about the place of arrest. It would also show that I was not jeopardizing public order."
Naish added that a journalist with Mini Radio 97FM, Ali Nahyk, was arrested on 31 August for similar reasons.
Maldives is ranked 73rd out of 179 countries in the 2011-2012 Reporters Without Borders press freedom index, which was compiled before February’s turmoil, when President Mohamed Nasheed was forced to resign and Vice-President Mohammed Waheed took over. The media situation has worsened dramatically since then.

mercoledì 5 settembre 2012

Maldives: Report exposes violent repression of opposition supporters.



The other side of paradise - A human rights crisis in the Maldives

To many, the Maldives are a paradise on earth – an archipelago of islands lying like a jewelled necklace in the Indian Ocean. Tourists arrive in their droves – at least two for every Maldivian in the country – escaping to the islands’ unspoilt beaches and temperate waters. 
But a campaign of violent repression this year has shattered this idyllic image, exposing a human rights crisis that has
gripped the country since President Mohamed Nasheed’s ousting in February 2012.
Just hours before his disputed resignation on 7 February, the police and military unleashed targeted attacks on Nasheed’s supporters. Protests were violently crushed – with the apparent approval of the incoming government. This campaign of violence effectively silenced government critics and any public debate about Nasheed’s ouster. Public spaces, once open to peaceful expressions of social or political dissent, became places of terror.
While these human rights violations unfolded, the new government initially received tacit support from some members of the international community including the UN, the USA and India.
When Amnesty International and media reports revealed the police and military attacks on Maldivian citizens, the
international community modified its approach.
The new authorities claimed that the transfer of state power on 7 February was to uphold constitutional rights. However, security forces have become increasingly politicized and unaccountable for the violence they have been using against opposition protesters – flouting constitutional protections.
Amnesty International has spoken with scores of Maldivians about the violence around 7 February, including during a three-week visit to the country in February and early March 2012. Among them are survivors of human rights violations and their families, lawyers, journalists, activists, medical professionals, security officials and
senior politicians, including former President Nasheed and current President Mohamed Waheed. During many of these conversations, survivors told us that security forces used unnecessary force, and arbitrarily arrested and tortured them with impunity.
The picture they paint is completely at odds with the tranquility of the waters and scenic islands of this elegant archipelago. 

THE NEW AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL REPORT:  http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/ASA29/005/2012/en

__________________________________________________________

L’altra faccia del paradiso - La crisi dei diritti umani nelle isole Maldive.

Per molti le isole Maldive, splendido arcipelago dell’Oceano Indiano, sono un paradiso sulla terra. Ma proprio quest’anno una campagna di violenta repressione ha distrutto questa immagine idillica, mettendo in evidenza la crisi dei diritti umani nel paese da quando nel febbraio del 2012 è stato rimosso il Presidente Mohamed Nasheed.
Il 7 febbraio, poche ore prima delle sue dimissioni, polizia ed esercito scatenarono attacchi mirati contro i sostenitori di Nasheed. Le proteste furono violentemente represse, con l’apparente approvazione del governo subentrante. Questa campagna di violenza mise a tacere le critiche e ogni discussione sulla rimozione di Nasheed; gli spazi pubblici, prima aperti alla pacifica espressione del dissenso politico e sociale, divennero luoghi di terrore.
Ciò nonostante, il nuovo governo ottenne sulle prime il tacito appoggio della comunità internazionale. Solo quando Amnesty International e i mass media evidenziarono gli abusi subiti dai cittadini maldiviani, l’approccio della comunità internazionale è cambiato.

Le nuove autorità di governo affermano che il passaggio di potere del 7 febbraio 2012 sia avvenuto nel rispetto dei diritti costituzionali. Di fatto, le forze di sicurezza appaiono sempre più politicizzate e non perseguibili per le violenze contro i manifestanti dell’opposizione.
Amnesty International ha raccolto le dichiarazioni di molti maldiviani coinvolti nelle violenze del 7 febbraio e ha visitato il paese nel mese di marzo, incontrando l’ex presidente Nasheed e l’attuale presidente Waheed. Molti hanno parlato di uso eccessivo della forza, di arresti arbitrari e torture.

Da oggi Amnesty International rende disponibile un rapporto sulla situazione dei diritti umani nelle isole Maldive per far conoscere gli abusi perpetrati nel paese e presentare alle autorità locali rimostranze e raccomandazioni.

IL NUOVO RAPPORTO DI AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL: http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/ASA29/005/2012/en
 

martedì 4 settembre 2012

MALDIVES - Girl, 16, sentenced to 100 lashes for having sex with an older man.

A Maldivian court has ordered 100 lashes and eight months' house arrest for a 16-year-old girl convicted of having sex with an older man, a report said Monday.
She 'confessed' to having sex with the 29-year-old after her family pressed charges.
The man was found guilty of having sex with a minor and sentenced on Sunday to 10 years in jail, the private Minivan News reported.

lunedì 3 settembre 2012

INDIA - Teenager detained without trial is released.

Saleem Beigh was released from police custody on 18 August 2012. He had been detained without trial in Jammu & Kashmir, northern India.
Saleem Beigh was released from police custody in Jammu & Kashmir on 18 August 2012 and is currently at home with his family.
Following a grenade attack on a local police station on 19 May 2012, the police in the town of Sopore, Jammu & Kashmir picked Saleem Beigh up and took him to an interrogation centre. Saleem Beigh’s family claim he was only 17 years old at this time. He was detained there for 12 days, and later moved to a police station, where he was kept in police custody for 15 days. On 2 June 2012, the police announced that Saleem Beigh was arrested for his alleged involvement in the grenade attack, but did not provide any information or documentation to his family. After meeting Saleem Beigh in police custody, his family claimed that he was tortured at the interrogation camp and police station.
Saleem Beigh’s family filed a bail petition on his behalf, and the Additional Sessions Judge, Baramulla, Jammu and Kashmir, ordered that Saleem Beigh be released on bail on 2 August 2012. However, the police did not release Saleem at this point. Instead, he was transferred to police custody and kept in illegal detention for another 16 days.
He was finally released on 18 August 2012.
Media in Jammu and Kashmir highlighted the Saleem Beigh’s case by publicizing Amnesty International’s urgent action appeal. For example:
http://www.kashmirdispatch.com/headlines/18078694-amnesty-seeks-release-of-arrested-kashmir-teen.htm;
http://www.greaterkashmir.com/news/2012/Jul/18/ai-seeks-release-of-sopore-youth-39.asp;
Thank you to everyone who sent in appeals. No further action is required from the UA network. 

domenica 2 settembre 2012

PAKISTAN - Arrestato l'imam che accusava la bimba cristiana di blasfemia.

ISLAMABAD - Colpo di scena in Pakistan al processo contro la bimba cristiana 1 accusata di aver 'bruciato' pagine del Corano. La polizia ha infatti arrestato l'accusatore, l'imam Khalid Jadoon, con l'accusa di aver manipolato le prove contro Rimsha Maseeh.

A rivelare il fatto è stato un testimone oculare, Hafiz Muhammad Zubair. Lo riferisce la stampa locale. Zubair ha riferito che si trovava nella moschea per osservare l'Aitekaf (un periodo di ritiro) quando è venuto a conoscenza dell'episodio, specificando che Amaad, il principale accusatore di Rimsha, ha consegnato le pagine bruciate con i versi del Corano all'imam della moschea Khalid Jadoon, che però ne ha aggiunte altre.

Zubair ha fatto il nome di altri due fedeli presenti al momento dell'accordo tra Ammad e l'imam. Per Jadoon sembra mettersi male: Geo Tv riferisce che lo studioso Tahir Ashrafu ha chiesto al consiglio degli Ulema di stabilire quale punizione dovrà essere inflitta all'imam. Un giudice ha per ora disposto che il religioso resti per 15 giorni nel carcere di Adiala a Rawalpindi in cui dal 16 agosto è rinchiusa la bambina cristiana.

La bambina, che avrebbe 11 anni e secondo alcune fonti sarebbe affetta da sindrome di Down, era stata arrestata quando un gruppo di vicini l'aveva accerchiata accusandola di aver bruciato frammenti del libro sacro dell'islam. Subito dopo il presidente pakistano Asif Ali Zardari aveva

diffuso un comunicato chiedendo di avviare un'indagine sull'accaduto. Il caso ha costretto centinaia di cristiani del quartiere dove vive la ragazzina a lasciare le proprie case per evitare rappresaglie.

L'accusa di blasfemia in Pakistan è molto grave. L'anno scorso due uomini politici che avevano proposto di abrogare la legge che punisce il reato sono stati uccisi. A luglio, invece, un uomo accusato di comportamenti blasfemi è stato trascinato da una stazione di polizia nel centro del Paese, picchiato a morte e il suo corpo è stato dato alle fiamme.

http://www.repubblica.it/esteri/2012/09/01/news/arrestato_l_imam_che_accusava_la_bimba_cristiana_di_blasfemia-41829639/?ref=HREC2-1