Honduras: Ongoing Attacks Foster Climate of Intimidation
(Washington DC) – Six months after President Porfirio Lobo took office, Honduras has made little progress toward addressing the serious human rights abuses since the 2009 coup, Human Rights Watch said today. Threats and attacks against journalists and the political opposition have fostered a climate of intimidation, while impunity for abuses remains the norm.
Iran: Release and Provide Urgent Medical Care to Jailed Activist
(New York) – The Iranian Judiciary should provide urgent medical care to Mohammad Sadigh Kaboudvand and free him from his unfair detention, Human Rights Watch said today. Kaboudvand, a leading advocate of Kurdish rights in Iran, is serving an 11-year sentence on politically motivated charges.
Morocco: Terror Convictions Upheld for 35, Including Political Figures
(New York) - A Moroccan appeals court has confirmed the conviction of 35 defendants, including six political figures, in the so-called "Belliraj" terrorism case, apparently without addressing the procedural irregularities that denied the defendants their right to a fair hearing in the lower court, Human Rights Watch said today.
Belarus frees conscientious objector
Yevgeny Yakovenko, who refuses to carry arms because of his pacifist convictions, was amnestied by a panel of judges.
Amnesty International has welcomed the release of a conscientious objector in Belarus who had been sentenced to one year in prison for “evading military service”.
Yevgeny Yakovenko, who refuses to carry arms because of his pacifist convictions, was amnestied by a panel of judges in the south-eastern city of Gomel on 23 July.
He was released under an amnesty marking the 65th anniversary of the end of the second world war.
He has repeatedly requested that he be allowed to perform an alternative military service.
“Yevgeny Yakovenko’s release is a positive step but there is still no alternative civilian service in Belarus, which means that he may be summoned to perform military service again,” said Heather McGill, Amnesty International’s researcher on Belarus.
“The authorities must ensure that Yevgeny Yakovenko’s right to conscientious objection is observed and that he is not prosecuted again for his beliefs.”
Yevgeny Yakovenko’s release comes after two other conscientious objectors, Ivan Mikhailau and Dzmitry Smyk, were freed in May.
Both men had refused to carry arms on religious grounds and had asked to perform an alternative civilian service.
Yevgeny Yakovenko, a member of opposition party the Belarusian Christian Democracy, was charged with “evading military service” on 20 January 2010.
He was found guilty by the Central District Court in Gomel on 4 June.
On 10 June Amnesty International sent a letter to the Prosecutor General in Belarus, Grigory Alekseevich, calling for Yevgeny Yakovenko’s release.
The Constitution of Belarus allows for the possibility of exemption from military service and for the substitution of military service by an alternative service to be determined by the law.
However, the laws allowing for an alternative civilian service have not yet been passed which means that many young men continue to be prosecuted.
“The Belarusian authorities must absolve all conscientious objectors from military service and provide them with a genuine civilian alternative,” said Heather McGill.
The right to refuse to perform military service for reasons of conscience is inherent in the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Belarus: Further information: Belarusian conscientious objector acquitted (Urgent action, 19 May 2010)
Belarusian conscientious objector jailed (News, 2 February 2010)
Arizona: US Court Blocks Immigration Law’s Worst Aspects
(Washington, DC) – A ruling by a US district court in Arizona on July 28, 2010, will temporarily block enforcement of the most problematic provisions of Arizona’s recent law targeting immigrants, Human Rights Watch said today.
US: End in Sight for Infamous Crack Cocaine Laws
(New York) – Legislation approved by the House on July 28, 2010, will dramatically alter the historically more punitive approach to federal crack cocaine offenders that led to racial disparities in sentencing, Human Rights Watch said today. The bill, which the Senate passed in March, is on its way to President Barack Obama for his signature.
Japan executions of two men condemned
Amnesty International has condemned the executions of two Japanese men in the first death sentences carried out since the country’s new government came to power last year.
Amnesty International has condemned the executions of two Japanese men in the first death sentences carried out since the country’s new government came to power last year.
Convicted killers Ogata Hidenori, 33, and Shinozawa Kazuo, 59, were hanged in the Tokyo Detention Centre on Wednesday, exactly one year after the last executions took place.
“Japan continues to go against the international trend toward abolition and mete out this cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment,” said Donna Guest, Deputy Director of the Asia Pacific Programme.
“A day that should have marked one year without executions has instead seen Japan return to carrying out state-sponsored killings.”
The executions are the first to be approved by Minister of Justice, Keiko Chiba, since she took office under the Democratic Party of Japan in September 2009.
Minister Chiba, who has previously spoken out against executions, announced plans to set up a working group on the death penalty within the Ministry of Justice, following the double hanging.
However, there are concerns among non-governmental organizations in Japan that more executions will take place outside of Tokyo in the coming days. There are currently 107 people on death row in Japan.
“A working group to discuss the death penalty is not enough. There needs to be an open and public debate and an immediate moratorium on executions while the discussion takes place,” said Donna Guest.
Shinozawa Kazuo was convicted of killing six women when he set fire to a jewellery shop in 2000, while Ogata Hidenori was sentenced to death for killing a man and a woman in 2003.
Japan executed seven people in 2009 but no death row inmates had been killed since 28 July 2009.
Executions in Japan are by hanging and are typically carried out in secret. Death row inmates are only notified on the morning of their execution and their families are usually informed only after the execution has taken place.
This means that prisoners live in constant fear of execution. Enduring these conditions for years or even decades has led to depression and mental illness among death row inmates.
Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases as a violation of the right to life. It calls on the government of Japan to immediately commute all death sentences and introduce a formal moratorium on executions as a first step towards abolition of the death penalty.
India: Don’t Repeat Misuse of Counterterrorism Laws
(New York) – The Indian government should revise its draconian 2008 amendments to counterterrorism laws that can lead to serious violations of human rights, Human Rights Watch said in a new report released today. The amendments mirror previous counterterrorism laws that had been allowed to lapse or were repealed because of the abuses committed under them, Human Rights Watch said.
Singapore: Legal Charges Threat to Freedom of Expression
(New York) – Singapore officials should cease using criminal defamation and contempt laws to silence government critics, Human Rights Watch said today.
Iran must end harassment of stoning case lawyer
Amnesty International urges Iran to stop harassing human rights lawyers amid continuing uncertainty over the whereabouts of the defence counsel in a controversial stoning case.
Amnesty International has urged the Iranian authorities to stop harassing human rights lawyers amid continuing uncertainty over the whereabouts of the defence counsel in a recent controversial stoning case and the arrest of two of his relatives.
Mohammad Mostafaei’s whereabouts have been unknown since shortly after he was released from questioning by judicial officials last Saturday.
Late that evening, the Iranian authorities detained his wife and brother-in-law, prompting fears that they are being held to put pressure on Mohammed Mostafaei to turn himself in to the authorities, if he is not already being detained.
The acclaimed lawyer is defending Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, whose case became the subject of an international outcry when it was reported that she was soon to be executed by stoning.
He has also defended many juvenile offenders, political prisoners and others sentenced to stoning. Mostafaei has been a vocal critic of the administration of justice in Iran.
“Mohammad Mostafaei is a thorn in the side of the Iranian authorities and we fear that he is being persecuted in an attempt to stop him carrying out his professional activities as a defence lawyer and in support of human rights,” said Malcolm Smart, Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa director.
Mostafaei was summoned for questioning by judicial officials at Tehran’s Evin prison on Saturday but released after several hours. However he later received a telephone call summoning him back to the prison. It is not known whether he complied with this summons or not.
Mohammad Mostafaei’s wife, Fereshteh Halimi, and her brother, Farhad Halimi, were arrested on Saturday evening. They remain held and have been denied access to their lawyer.
Following his interrogation on Saturday, Mostafaei wrote on his blog that he was questioned mainly about his defence of juvenile offenders. He also wrote on his Facebook account: “It is possible they will arrest me”.
“The Iranian authorities appear intent on silencing anyone who speaks out against stoning or other issues where Iran’s international human rights obligations are clearly being violated,” said Malcolm Smart.
“Mohammad Mostafaei should be allowed to get on with his job as a lawyer rather than face arrest himself for trying to defend victims of human rights abuses.
“If Fereshteh and Farhad Halimi are held solely because they are related to Mohammad Mostafaei, or in order to place pressure on him, they are prisoners of conscience and must be immediately released.”
Fereshteh Halimi and Mohammad Mostafaei have a young daughter who is said to be in the care of her maternal grandmother.
There is a longstanding pattern of harassment and imprisonment of human rights lawyers in Iran. In 2002, Nasser Zarafshan was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment, partly on trumped-up charges of possessing a firearm and alcohol offences.
Abdolfattah Soltani was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment in 2005 for disclosing public documents and “propaganda against the system”. The sentence was overturned on appeal on 2007 but he was arrested again in 2009 and held for two months before being released on bail.
Other lawyers currently held for their human rights work include Mohammad Olyaeifard, who is serving a one-year prison sentence imposed for comments he made criticizing the judiciary after the execution of one of his clients, juvenile offender Behnoud Shojaee.
Other Iranian human rights lawyers such as Nobel Prize winner Shirin Ebadi and Shadi Sadr, recipient of various international human rights awards, now work outside of Iran, fearing to return.
Mohammad Mostafaei was briefly detained following the disputed 2009 presidential election before being released on bail.
Family of stoning case lawyer detained (Urgent Action, 26 July 2010)
