(New York) – The Vietnam government intensified its repression of activists and dissidents during 2011, and cracked down harshly on freedom of expression, association, and assembly, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2012.
The release of an Egyptian blogger and prisoner of conscience whose trial was flagrantly unfair comes months too late, Amnesty International said today.
“The end of Maikel Nabil’s cruel ordeal at the hands of the military council is a cause for real celebration,” said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Deputy Director.
“Yet 10 months of Maikal’s life have been wasted. He should never have been arrested in the first place. His criminal record must now be expunged and he must be compensated for his ordeal.”
“Throughout his trial the Egyptian authorities have behaved with a total lack of respect for his rights. At times they seemed to toy with his life, allowing his health to deterioriate so badly that many feared for his life.”
“The SCAF should have freed Maikel Nabil long ago. It is shameful that they apparently have only done so now to try to avoid criticism on the anniversary of Jan 25,” she added.
After the blogger’s arrest at his home in Cairo on 28 March, a military court sentenced him on 10 April to three years in prison over his criticism of the Egyptian military’s use of force against protesters in Tahrir Square and his objection to military service.
After he went on hunger strike in August, surviving only on liquids, his weight plummeted and prison authorities denied him the medication he needs to treat a heart condition.
Throughout his trials the military court refused to release Maikel Nabil Sanad even temporarily to receive medical treatment.
In December he was convicted to two years imprisonment in a retrial. On 21 January the SCAF announced that he would be pardoned, along with up to 2000 other prisoners convicted by military tribunals.
In August, the SCAF admitted that some 12,000 civilians across the country had been tried by military courts following grossly unfair trials. At least 13 have been sentenced to death.
Amnesty International said that military trials violate fundamental requirements of due process and fair trials.
“It is shocking that more civilians have been tried before military courts under the SCAF in one year than under Mubarak’s entire 30-year rule,” said Hassiba Hadj-Sahraoui.
Egyptian blogger Maikel Nabil has been released after ten months in prison for criticizing the military’s use of force.
29° 6′ 31.1652″ N, 28° 7′ 30″ E
(New York) – Aging men and women are the most rapidly growing group in US prisons, and prison officials are hard-pressed to provide them appropriate housing and medical care, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today.
Governments’ failure to regulate business effectively is having a devastating impact on the rights of society’s most vulnerable people, Amnesty International warned today, ahead of this week’s World Economic Forum in Davos.
“The economic crisis, and how governments have chosen to address it, poses a clear and unambiguous risk to the rights of people in many countries,” said Amnesty International Secretary General Salil Shetty.
“Davos cannot afford to be a congratulatory club for the rich and powerful. We must use this opportunity to challenge the orthodoxy of the policies being pursued and ensure governments meet their responsibilities.”
Corporate malpractice has been allowed to flourish by government policies of deregulation and limited oversight. In the pursuit of profit, financial institutions have been given a free pass to create systems that expose the most vulnerable groups to exploitation as corporate greed takes precedent over accountability and transparency.
“Most governments do not see the connection between financial systems, economic policy and human rights. But wherever you go today you can see people who have lost their jobs, their homes and are struggling even to afford food, you cannot fail to see the devastating impact on people’s basic rights,” said Salil Shetty.
“Rather than ensuring their policies protect human rights, governments are retreating to old approaches and cosy relationships that will lock in long term inequalities for generations. This is a man-made crisis and the solutions being offered by leaders risk repeating the gross failures of the past.”
Governments are legally bound to consider how the policies and programmes they implement affect human rights. In reality, many governments do not conduct even rudimentary assessments of the potential impact of their economic policies on rights.
An estimated 50 million people globally have fallen into poverty because of the current crisis, with 64 million more thought to be at risk at the end of 2011.
Governments are consistently failing to regulate the corporate sector, trusting in their false promises of self-regulation, creating a toxic environment that is showing signs of boiling over as people take to the streets demanding an end to corruption, corporate greed and injustice.
“Time and again, the failure of businesses to self-regulate has resulted in shocking accounts of abuses, unethical behaviour and corruption. If the current crisis illustrates nothing else, it shows how badly things can go if left without effective oversight,” said Salil Shetty.
Protests, demonstrations and social unrest have been used by vast swathes of communities across the world to highlight their discontentment with governments and businesses but the response to protests has been mixed. In numerous cases the focus has been more about ending protests by whatever means, rather than addressing the legitimate underlying issues.
“In country after country, government actions are leaving ordinary people bearing the brunt of the fallout from the crisis,” said Salil Shetty. “But people are uniting in protest, demanding more accountable governments – ones that effectively regulate businesses, respect human rights, and provide access to justice when rights have been abused.”
To reclaim their legitimacy as leaders, Amnesty International is calling on governments to ensure that their responses to the protests respect human rights and address the underlying issues being raised by protesters.
“Business and political leaders need to recognize the need for a new approach that is fair and inclusive,” said Salil Shetty. “Instead of entrenching the divide between rich and poor, they need to adopt growth plans that address this divide. They must place people’s rights at the heart of any solutions. Otherwise, the recent social unrest unfolding in countries across the world could only be the beginning.”
The economic crisis, and how governments have chosen to address it, poses a clear and unambiguous risk to rights.
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(New York) – The Vietnam government intensified its repression of activists and dissidents during 2011, and cracked down harshly on freedom of expression, association, and assembly, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2012.
(New York) – The Egyptian military’s announcement on January 24, 2012, that it will lift the state of emergency except in cases of “thuggery” is an invitation to continued abuse, Alkarama and Human Rights Watch said today. The two rights groups said that the government should use the regular penal code and civilian criminal courts to address alleged criminal activity.
Egypt’s military rulers must protect protesters and uphold the right to peaceful assembly, Amnesty International said today ahead of planned nationwide protests marking the first anniversary of the uprising that ended President Hosni Mubarak’s rule.
The Egyptian Interior Minister said in a press conference on Monday that there will be no security presence near Tahrir Square and other locations where demonstrations are planned to commemorate the ‘25 January Revolution’ on Wednesday. Some media added that the security forces are prepared to use live ammunition on protesters if public institutions are attacked.
“Rather than abandoning the sites of planned demonstrations, the security forces must act responsibly by ensuring that everyone can safely exercise their right to peaceful expression and assembly,” said Hassiba Hadj-Sahraoui, Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Deputy Director.
“In a polarized environment where protesters have been portrayed by some state media and the authorities as trouble makers and as counter-protests are planned on the day, the position of the authorities risks amounting to a dereliction of their duty”.
The Interior Minister warned that individuals impersonating uniformed police officers and soldiers may attend protests with the intent of trying to provoke confrontations between protesters and security forces.
The Minister did not say what the authorities plan to do to protect the protesters or prevent any potential clashes.
“Warning that there is a risk to protesters from impostors disguised as members of the police and military and not taking action to address the threat is unacceptable. Such behaviour will not restore the faith of Egyptians in long discredited interior ministry and casts a shadow on the new police code of ethics,” said Hassiba Hadj-Sahraoui.
A year after it came to power the Egyptian authorities have still not made public the rules issued to the security forces on the use of force despite repeated requests from Amnesty International and other organizations
“Instead of ordering the security forces to stop using excessive force, it has praised their actions and continued to blame the protesters and “hidden elements” conspiring against Egypt’s stability,” said Hassiba Hadj-Sahraoui.
“As protesters will also be paying tribute to the people killed and injured in demonstrations in Egypt, the scenes of last year’s violence must not be repeated. Protesters must be allowed to exercise their right to protest peacefully, without fear of attack.”
Since the “25 January Revolution”, security forces, including soldiers, military police and the Central Security Forces, have routinely been deployed to suppress demonstrations.
They have used tear gas, batons, rubber bullets and live ammunition, including shotgun shells, to forcibly disperse protesters, and on several occasions have driven armoured vehicles into packed crowds to scatter and injure them.
Today’s announcement that the 30 year old state of emergency will be lifted tomorrow is not likely to change the situation on the ground as emergency legislation will continue to apply in cases of “thuggery”, a vaguely defined offence routinely used to decry protesters.
Despite repeated pledges by the SCAF to protect protesters, at least 90 people have been killed and thousands more injured during protests where security forces have used excessive force.
In mid-December, the security forces’ heavy-handed attempt to clear out a sit-in next to the Ministerial Cabinet building left 17 dead – many from gunshots.
In November, the security forces used tear gas and fired shotgun pellets and live rounds during five days of clashes near the Interior Ministry building in Cairo after the army and the Central Security Forces dispersed protesters and families of the victims of the “25 January Revolution” from Tahrir Square. More than 50 people died and more than 3,000 were injured.
In October, the security forces attacked protesters demonstrating against religious discrimination around the Maspero state television building in Cairo. Twenty-eight people were killed – many crushed by armoured vehicles driven at high speeds into the crowds.
During the crackdowns on demonstrations women protesters have been singled out for abuse, and many have reported being molested and threatened with sexual assault while in detention.
Footage of women being brutally beaten and stripped by the security forces published on the internet after protests in December sparked international outrage and further protests by women’s groups in Egypt.
Last March, Amnesty International documented how a number of women protesters were subjected to forced “virginity tests” by army forces. In December, an administrative court in Cairo ruled that the practice was illegal and should be stopped immediately.
The violence has taken a heavy toll on the lives of ordinary Egyptians. They include people like Ahmed Harara, who lost sight in one eye due to an injury sustained in the uprising in January and the other eye in November after the security forces fired shotgun shells at a sit-in.
Investigations ordered by the military into the violence have effectively whitewashed over the security forces’ actions. Only three military officers have so far been charged with manslaughter and brought to justice in relation to the killing of 14 protesters in Maspero in October.
Military rulers urged to uphold the right to peaceful assembly during protests marking the first anniversary of the Egyptian uprising.
Egypt: Parties pledge to end state of emergency, many stop short of committing to women’s rights (News, 24 January 2012)
Egypt’s women must be allowed to protest in peace (News, 23 December 2011)
Arms suppliers urged to halt transfers to the Egyptian army (News, 20 December 2011)
Egypt urged to release blogger sentenced by military court (News, 14 December 2011)
Egypt: Military rulers have ‘crushed’ hopes of 25 January protesters (News, 22 November 2011)
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(New York) – Malaysia fell far short during 2011 in meeting Prime Minister Najib Razak’s pledges to “uphold civil liberties” and build a “functional and inclusive democracy,” Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2012.
Amnesty International has called on the Brazilian authorities to urgently address the needs of some 1,600 families made homeless by a forced eviction in a settlement in São Paulo state, Brazil.
The eviction, which has been ongoing since Sunday, was carried out without prior warning, while negotiations were still under way and without provision of alternative housing.
Violent clashes between police and residents continued into Monday after a state judge ordered almost 2,000 police officers into the Pinheirinho settlement on the outskirts of São José dos Campos. Police authorities say the eviction will finish tomorrow.
“This eviction violates a raft of international standards,” said Atila Roque, the director of Amnesty International, Brazil.
“The operation was carried out in a deeply inappropriate manner: early in the morning on a Sunday and without any adequate warning. It was pushed through even though negotiations with authorities to find a peaceful way out were ongoing,” he said.
Police descended on the area without warning at 6am on Sunday in riot gear, backed up by armoured cars and helicopters and using tear gas and rubber bullets. The authorities cut electricity, gas and telephone lines and cordoned off the area, restricting access to homes.
Some 30 people have been arrested after some residents of the eight-year-old settlement resisted the eviction with barricades, burning cars and throwing rocks and sticks.
The eviction order went against a previous agreement to suspend the eviction while a peaceful solution was sought, including the possibility that the federal government could buy the land and legalise the residents’ land titles.
A number of residents have gone to stay with relatives, while others – around 350 families – have been housed in a gymnasium with inadequate sanitation. Some have been allowed back into the evicted area to collect belongings before houses are demolished.
The Pinheirinho settlement was formed in 2004, when groups of homeless people occupied abandoned land belonging to a bankrupt investment firm.
Churches, football pitches, libraries and shops have sprung up in the area and local residents have been trying to legalize the situation through a state government programme called Cidade Legal, but without success.
The residents association are now appealing to the Superior Federal Court (STF) for the eviction order to be overturned.
“What is happening in Pinheirinho is part of an unfortunate pattern of forced evictions in Brazil: as the country booms, tens of thousands of poor families are being removed to make way for infrastructure and private development projects, without receiving adequate protection and alternative housing,” said Atila Roque.
“The Brazilian authorities must immediately address the needs of the thousands of people who now have been left homeless. They must actively engage with the residents to find a long-term solution that suits their needs – not temporary spaces in shelters which split up families,” he added.
Despite considerable investment by the federal government, Brazil struggles with a huge housing deficit and millions of people across the country live in irregular settlements.
Under international law, including the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural rights (ICESCR), Brazil is prohibited from carrying out forced evictions, and must protect people from forced evictions.
This work forms part of Amnesty International’s Demand Dignity campaign, which focuses on human rights violations that drive and deepen poverty. Under the campaign, Amnesty International is focusing on human rights violations against people living in informal settlements and slums.
Brazilian police have forcefully evicted almost 6,000 people without warning from a slum outside Sao Paulo.
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(Johannesburg) – Elections held throughout sub-Saharan Africa in 2011 signaled a growing formal commitment to democratic rule, but Africa’s leaders deployed violence and curtailed rights during election periods and beyond to hold on to power, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2012.
(New York) – Nepal’s political and peace processes remained stalled in 2011, resulting in instability, weak governance, and a lack of progress on accountability for human rights violations, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2012.