radiofree.asia

Author: Ruth Michaelson

  • ‘I watched every video to see my father’s face’: the woman who became the voice of Syria’s missing on why she isn’t giving up hope

    Assad’s notorious prisons may have been opened, but Wafa Mustafa and thousands of others feel abandoned in their struggle to find loved ones

    When insurgents threw open the doors of Aleppo central prison in northern Syria as they overran the city in December, Wafa Mustafa, 34, watched videos of the scenes from exile in Germany in disbelief. Shocked detainees could be seen running into the night as a decades-long dictatorship built on a network of prisons and torture chambers crumbled.

    Mustafa began praying that the insurgents would reach the detention centres in Damascus, where she believed her father, Ali, was being held by the feared intelligence services. He was kidnapped from their home in the Syrian capital more than a decade ago and she has not seen or heard from him since.

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    This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.

  • Syrian activist whose suffering became symbol of Assad brutality found dead in Sednaya prison

    Mazen al-Hamada had escaped to tell the world about regime’s torture before returning to Damascus

    When he spoke to lawmakers and in lecture theatres around the world, Mazen al-Hamada’s face told the story of brutal torture by Bashar al-Assad’s regime. The discovery of the Syrian activist’s body inside the notorious Sednaya prison on the outskirts of Damascus brought the news that he never lived to see its downfall.

    Hamada’s sunken eyes and haunted face, his tears as he described the depth of horrors he experienced, made him a symbol of the crimes the Assad regime committed against those who spoke out against it.

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    This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.

  • One toilet for 500 people: death and disease await Palestinians in Rafah

    Overcrowding crisis in southern Gaza only set to worsen in coming days as Israeli forces push deeper into Khan Younis

    Haneen Harara wakes up each morning in the southern Gazan city of Rafah thinking about the long queues and crowds that stand between her and the survival basics of food, water and medical care.

    The film-maker and employee at a Dutch charity considers herself lucky that she and 15 members of her family reached the city on Gaza’s border with Egypt in time to find a house at which to stay. Many others have found shelter from the winter cold in tents that fill with water every time it rains.

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    This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.

  • Leading critic of Egyptian state jailed for six months

    Free speech advocate Hisham Kassem sentenced for defaming former minister Kamal Abu Eita

    A court in Cairo has sentenced a former newspaper publisher, free speech advocate and rights activist to six months in prison in a trial observers say constitutes an attack on a leading critic of the Egyptian state.

    Hisham Kassem, the former publisher of Al Masry Al Youm newspaper, received six months in detention and a fine of 20,000 EGP (approximately £523) for slandering and defaming Kamal Abu Eita. Abu Eita is a former minister and current member of Egypt’s presidential pardon committee, tasked with granting clemency towards some of the tens of thousands of detainees in the Egyptian prison system.

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  • Bahraini human rights defender denied travel to kingdom to visit jailed father

    Maryam al-Khawaja fears her father, the political prisoner Abdulhadi al-Khawajar, will die soon after being denied medical treatment

    A leading Bahraini human rights defender and the heads of two global rights groups have been prevented from boarding a flight to Manama, where they intended to try to get access to her father, one of Bahrain’s most prominent political prisoners.

    “We were told they were not allowed to board us. Despite my being a Bahraini citizen, I was told I have to speak to Bahraini immigration … effectively we’re being denied boarding by British Airways on behalf of the Bahraini government,” said Maryam al-Khawaja, flanked by the head of Amnesty International, Agnès Callamard, and the acting head of Front Line Defenders, Olive Moore, in the departure area of Heathrow airport.

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  • Lebanon LGBTQ+ activists say attacks are distraction from country’s problems

    Community reports shift from uneasy tolerance to being scapegoated for socioeconomic crisis

    When the Christian extremists of Soldiers of God menaced a bar in Beirut’s nightlife district during a drag show, their members had a chilling message for patrons: “We have warned you a hundred times … this is just the beginning.”

    The group, whose members sometimes carry weapons, have repeatedly threatened places associated with Lebanon’s LGBTQ+ community, accusing them of “promoting homosexuality” amid an increase in homophobic rhetoric from the country’s politicians.

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    This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.

  • At least 500 Bahraini prisoners on hunger strike over conditions

    Detainees at Jau prison that mainly houses prisoners of conscience began refusing food on 7 August

    At least 500 prisoners are on hunger strike inside a Bahraini prison primarily used to detain prisoners of conscience, refusing food in protest at their detention conditions.

    Detainees began refusing food on 7 August, and increasing numbers have joined since.

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    This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.

  • Revealed: Saudi Arabia’s $6bn spend on ‘sportswashing’

    Exclusive: Billions deployed since early 2021 in a move critics say is an attempt to distract from human rights record

    Saudi Arabia has spent at least $6.3bn (£4.9bn) in sports deals since early 2021, more than quadruple the previous amount spent over a six-year period, in what critics have labelled an effort to distract from its human rights record.

    Saudi Arabia has deployed billions from its Public Investment Fund over the last two-and-a-half years according to analysis by the Guardian, spending on sports at a scale that has completely changed professional golf and transformed the international transfer market for football.

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    This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.

  • Daughter of Danish-Bahraini rights activist offers to take his place in prison

    Maryam al-Khawaja says she fears her father Abdulhadi’s health is deteriorating and condemns Denmark for inaction

    Human rights activist Abdulhadi al-Khawaja’s health has suffered so much inside a Bahraini prison that his daughter Maryam has offered to trade places with him. She fears that without urgent action, her father will slowly die behind bars without being able to see his family.

    “I don’t know how much longer my dad has. I spend every day dreading each time the phone rings, as it might be someone calling me to let me know my dad is no longer around,” said Maryam. “I know he has serious health issues and the authorities are using [lack of] access to proper treatment as a method of punishment. I don’t want to wait around for my dad to be released to us in a coffin. I can’t do that.”

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    This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.

  • UAE poised to deport activist who called for protests during Cop27 in Egypt

    Sherif Osman, an Egyptian-American citizen, was detained in Dubai where he was visiting family

    The United Arab Emirates is preparing to deport an Egyptian-American citizen detained in Dubai who called for protests during the Cop27 climate conference in Egypt, sparking fears about the treatment of civil society during next year’s Cop28 in the Emirates.

    Sherif Osman, a former Egyptian army officer who has lived in the United States for decades, was detained at a restaurant in Dubai, where he had travelled with his fiancee to see family.

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  • Cop27 backfires for Egypt as signs of repression mar attempt to bolster image

    Harassment of climate summit delegates and holding pen for protesters mar country’s attempt to polish international reputation

    An empty pen designed to contain protesters in the middle of the desert, harassment and surveillance of Cop27 delegates (including evidence that the official conference app could spy on them), food and water shortages, and widespread problems with accommodation have all served to undermine the Egyptian government’s attempts to use the climate talk to bolster its international image.

    Belgian politician Séverine de Laveleye said she was briefly detained by Egyptian security forces while entering the conference centre simply for carrying badges depicting some of Egypt’s 65,000 political prisoners, including British-Egyptian democracy activist Alaa Abd el-Fattah. “It’s clear that human rights aren’t even respected at the heart of the Cop,” she said. “Sisi’s Egypt is one of repression.”

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    This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.

  • The Egyptian human rights activists unable to attend Cop27

    Conference in Sharm el-Sheikh follows decade-long crackdown on civil society in Egypt

    “Honestly, what I want is to be in Sharm el-Sheikh and just scream,” said Amr Magdi of Human Rights Watch. Like dozens of other prominent human rights defenders, researchers and environmentalists, Magdi has been unable to attend Cop27 as he is exiled from Egypt because of his work.

    “I just want to tell everyone about the injustice happening in Egypt. I can’t do it personally and I’m trying to do it with my work. I’m even helping others who are able to travel there to do this,” he said.

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    This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.

  • World leaders at Cop27 urged to press Egypt over prisoner Alaa Abd el-Fattah

    Global spotlight on host country has heightened scrutiny of human rights record, with Biden due to meet Sisi

    As Egyptian officials strive to control the narrative and isolate the case of the detained British Egyptian activist Alaa Abd el-Fattah, pressure is mounting on world leaders at Cop27 to acknowledge Egypt’s poor human rights record and raise his case.

    The Egyptian authorities have engaged in a sweeping public relations campaign to try to discredit Abd el-Fattah, including a digital campaign depicting him as a threat to national security.

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  • Alaa Abd el-Fattah’s family fear he may be being force-fed in Egyptian prison

    Sister says they need ‘proof of life’ amid concern for activist’s wellbeing and worries UK government not doing enough

    The family of jailed British-Egyptian hunger-striker Alaa Abd el-Fattah have voiced fears that Egyptian officials may be torturing him behind closed doors through force-feeding.

    On the sidelines of the Cop27 climate conference in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egyptian president Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, reportedly told French president, Emmanuel Macron, that he was “committed” to ensuring the democracy activist’s health “is preserved,” and that “the next few weeks and months will bring results”.

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  • Political prisoner Alaa Abd El-Fattah will escalate hunger strike during Cop27

    British-Egyptian activist says he will cease drinking, raising fears he may die while officials attend summit

    A British-Egyptian pro-democracy activist has said he will escalate his hunger strike inside a desert prison, raising concerns he could die while British officials attend the Cop27 climate conference in Sharm el-Sheikh.

    Alaa Abd El-Fattah, a figurehead of Egypt’s 2011 uprising and one of the Middle East’s best-known political prisoners, has spent most of the past decade behind bars. Shortly after gaining British citizenship while in detention last year, he was sentenced to a further five years in a high-security prison on charges of “spreading false news” for sharing a social media post about torture.

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    This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.

  • British-Egyptian hunger striker Alaa Abd El-Fattah says he may die in prison

    Jailed activist-blogger may escalate six-month hunger strike as supporters say UK is failing to pressure its Cop27 partner

    The British-Egyptian activist Alaa Abd El-Fattah has warned his family he may die in prison, as he reaches six months on hunger strike in the run-up to the Cop27 climate conference in Sharm El Sheikh.

    “I don’t want to upset you, but I don’t believe there’s any chance of individual salvation,” he told his mother during her visit to Wadi al-Natrun prison. He passed on a list of demands, including the release of those detained by the Egyptian security forces and thousands held without charge in pre-trial detention.

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    This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.

  • Fears that Egypt may use Cop27 to whitewash human rights abuses

    Naomi Klein and Caroline Lucas among signatories to letter voicing concerns over country’s hosting of climate summit

    A hundred days before the Cop27 summit is due to start in Sharm el-Sheikh, a group of environmentalists and activists have expressed alarm over Egypt’s ability to host the event successfully because of its poor record on human rights, as thousands of prisoners of conscience remain behind bars.

    “We are deeply concerned that [a successful conference] will not be possible due to the repressive actions of the Egyptian government,” they said. “Indeed, it seems more likely at this point that the conference will be used to whitewash human rights abuses in the country.”

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  • Family of activist jailed in Egypt urge Liz Truss to pressure counterpart

    Family of Alaa Abd El Fattah join wife of Karim Ennarah, under travel ban, in demanding more action from foreign secretary

    The family of a British national jailed in Egypt and the British wife of an Egyptian rights defender under a travel ban are demanding that Liz Truss do more to pressure her Egyptian counterpart when they meet this week.

    The foreign secretary is expected to meet Egypt’s foreign minister, Sameh Shoukry, in London after telling parliament in June that she would seek a meeting with him and raise the case of detained British-Egyptian activist Alaa Abd El Fattah. “We’re working very hard to secure his release,” she said.

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    This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.

  • Egyptians seen in jail ‘torture’ videos charged with spreading fake news

    Public prosecutors’ claim that detainees inflicted injuries on themselves with a coin is ‘laughable’, says Human Rights Watch

    Detainees seen in videos allegedly showing torture in a Cairo police station inflicted their injuries on themselves, according to Egyptian authorities, who have charged the prisoners with spreading “fake news”.

    Up to 13 people detained in El-Salam First police station for unknown petty crimes made multiple videos that they say show the abuse they suffered at the hands of police officers and security forces.

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    This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.

  • ‘Illegal’ extradition of Bahraini dissident from Serbia calls Interpol’s role into question

    Abuse of the policing body’s ‘red notice’ system is blamed as an activist is forced to return to life in prison in the Gulf state

    Marko Štambuk arrived at Belgrade district prison on a Monday morning in late January, only to be told his client was no longer inside. “Immediately I knew something had happened,” he said.

    Štambuk, a lawyer, had spent the previous Friday frantically obtaining an injunction from the European court of human rights (ECHR) demanding Serbian authorities halt the extradition of his client, Ahmed Jaafar Mohamed Ali, a Bahraini dissident. This banned the Serbian authorities from extraditing Ali until late February, and warned them that doing so would constitute a rare breach of the European convention on human rights.

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    This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.

  • Serbia extradites Bahraini dissident in cooperation with Interpol

    Move comes despite European court of human rights injunction saying that it should be postponed

    Serbian authorities have extradited a Bahraini dissident in cooperation with Interpol despite an injunction by the European court of human rights, in the first test for the international policing organisation under the presidency of a top Emirati security official.

    Authorities in Belgrade approved the extradition of Ahmed Jaafar Mohamed Ali to Bahrain earlier this week. Days earlier the ECHR had issued an injunction saying the extradition should be postponed until after 25 February to allow Serbian authorities time to provide more information to the court, which was responding to a request by the Belgrade Centre for Human Rights to consider Ali’s case.

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    This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.

  • ‘We’re next’: Prisoner’s secret filming appears to show torture in Cairo police station

    Human rights groups claim the violent abuse of detainees is widespread in Egypt and perpetrators are seldom punished

    A video obtained by the Guardian appearing to show Egyptian police torturing detainees in a Cairo police station confirms the extent to which officers appear able to inflict violence on civilians with near total impunity, according to human rights groups.

    The video, covertly recorded by a detainee through a cell door, appears to show two inmates hung in stress positions. The detainees are naked from the waist up and suspended from a metal grate by their arms, which are fastened behind their backs.

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    This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.

  • ‘He is responsible for torture’: nominee for Interpol chief accused by detained Britons

    An academic and a football fan who were held in the United Arab Emirates claim Ahmed Naser Al-Raisi oversaw physical abuse

    Two British men formerly detained in United Arab Emirates are campaigning to prevent a senior Emirati official from becoming the next president of Interpol, accusing him of personal involvement in their arrests and torture.

    Academic Matthew Hedges, who was imprisoned in the UAE for seven months, and football fan Ali Issa Ahmad, detained while on holiday in Dubai for wearing a Qatar football shirt, accuse Major General Ahmed Naser Al-Raisi of overseeing their detention and physical abuse.

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    This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.

  • Egypt accused of widespread state-sanctioned killings of dissidents

    Analysis of alleged anti-terrorist shootouts reveals security forces routinely suppressing opposition, claims Human Rights Watch

    Egyptian security forces engaged in an extended campaign of extrajudicial killings of detainees, routinely masked as shootouts with alleged terrorists, according to a new report by Human Rights Watch.

    The report details what it alleges are a pattern of extrajudicial assassinations between 2015 and last year, a period in which the Egyptian interior ministry said publicly that 755 people were killed in alleged exchanges of fire with security forces, while naming just 141.

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    This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.

  • ‘History’s on our side’: Turkish women fighting femicide

    As Turkey quits the Istanbul convention, Gülsüm Kav’s group We Will Stop Femicide is helping keep women alive amid a rise in gender-based violence

    “History is on our side,” says Gülsüm Kav. She leans in and speaks intensely. She has a lot to say: Kav helped create Turkey’s We Will Stop Femicide (WWSF) group, and has become one of the country’s leading feminist activists even as the political environment has grown more hostile.

    Amid protests, Turkey withdrew from the Istanbul convention, the landmark international treaty to prevent violence against women and promote equality, on Thursday. The Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has long attacked women’s rights and gender equality, suggesting that feminists “reject the concept of motherhood”, speaking out against abortion and even caesarean sections, and claiming that gender equality is “against nature”.

    Related: Protests as Turkey pulls out of treaty to protect women

    These woman are fundamentally changing what it means to be a woman in Turkey and yet male violence is suppressing it

    Related: Murder in Turkey sparks outrage over rising violence against women

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    This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.

  • ‘Weak’ US let Saudis jail more dissidents, says rights group

    Lack of US sanctions on crown prince led to harsher sentences for critics of regime, Grant Liberty reports

    The Biden administration’s failure to impose sanctions on Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, has led to a increase in severe sentences for political prisoners in the kingdom, the Guardian can reveal.

    The UK-based human rights organisation Grant Liberty found that twice as many harsh sentences had been meted out to Saudi prisoners of conscience in April than in the first three months of this year combined. It followed the Biden administration’s decision on 26 February to publish an intelligence report that showed the crown prince, “approved an operation in Istanbul, Turkey, to capture or kill Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi”.

    Related: Biden defends move not to punish Saudi crown prince over Khashoggi killing

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    This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.