Syrian opposition activists arrested on international Human Rights Day

Dozens of opposition activists – including the brother of political prisoner Anwar Bunni – were arrested in Syria on international Human Rights Day, according to human rights groups, Agence France-Presse reported Tuesday.

Approximately 30 people who signed the 2005 Damascus Declaration, which called for “radical change,” were targeted in the crackdown, the groups said, adding that the activists also took part in a protest on December 1.

Akram Bunni, who was elected as secretary of the National Declaration of Damascus Council on December 1, was one of the activists visited by security officials on Monday. His brother, Anwar Bunni, was sentenced to five years in jail earlier this year after signing the declaration on relations between Lebanon and Syria.

“It is a flagrant violation of international treaties on human rights,” said the Syrian Human Rights League, adding that they condemned the actions which coincided with international Human Rights Day on Monday.

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Arrests of U.S. citizens in Viet Nam confirmed by U.S. officials

American officials confirmed reports that Viet Nam has detained four U.S. citizens, Agence France-Presse reported Tuesday.

The statements were made after the officials gained their first consular access to two of the detainees.

Police arrested six pro-democracy activists in Ho Chi Minh City on November 17, two of whom were U.S. citizens. The activists are members of the California-based Viet Tan party, which the Vietnamese government considers a terrorist organization.

Two more Vietnamese-Americans were arrested on November 23 at the city’s airport, according to reports by state-controlled media that labeled the detainees “terrorists.” They were reportedly found carrying a handgun and bullets. Viet Tan has denied any link with these individuals.

Viet Tan has charged that Viet Nam, having arrested peaceful activists, “had to fabricate a link with two individuals who allegedly smuggled a firearm into Vietnam in order to paint Viet Tan as a terrorist organization.”

Speaking about the arrests during a visit to Hanoi Tuesday, U.S. senior diplomat Stephen Mull said: “We do hope that people are not charged with terrorism just for expressing their opinions peacefully.”

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Another 'one millions signatures' campaign activist arrested in Iran

Women’s rights activist Jelve Javaheri, a member of the One Million Signatures Campaign, was arrested in Iran on Saturday, Payvand News reported Monday.

After spending several hours in interrogation, Javaheri was charged with “inciting public opinion, propaganda against the state, and publication of false information” through the Campaign’s news site, Change for Equality. She has been transferred to Evin Prison, where fellow One Million Signatures Campaign activist Maryam Hosseinkhah has been detained for two weeks.

Javaheri is the fourth campaign activist arrested since October.

The Women’s Learning Partnership for Rights, Development and Peace (WLP) posted a human rights alert Monday condemning the Iranian government’s repression of civil society. WLP is offering support to Iranian women’s rights activists by urging interested parties to write letters to leading Iranian officials protesting the recent arrests.

For the Payvand article, click here.
For the Women’s Learning Partnership news alert, click here.

Vietnamese dissidents remain defiant after receiving reduced jail term

Two pro-democracy activists received a reduction in their jail terms, although the convictions against them of spreading propaganda, which falls under article 88 of the criminal code, were upheld in an appeals court, Agence France-Presse reported today.

In an unusually charged appeal hearing, human rights lawyer Nguyen Van Dai, 38, had his sentence cut from five years to four, while his colleague Le Thi Cong Nhan’s sentence was decreased from four years to three. The activists, however, continued to reject the charges against them as they left the court room.

“I reject both trials because they never would have brought a fair and objective sentence for me,” said Dai, flanked by two police officers. “The reason for my struggle is the lack of democracy and human rights in Vietnam.”

Nhan also challenged the court saying, “Even if I had been freed today, it would have been like being moved from a small to a big prison.”

“I would continue to express my opinion,” she added.

Defense lawyer Dang Trong Dung said that citizens have the right to freedom of expression, and that “it is necessary to reconsider article 88. It is necessary to redefine the notion of propaganda.”

The activists were arrested in March and sentenced in May for their Internet writings, interviews with foreign media, and meetings held with students to discuss democracy.

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Rice called on to help secure release of U.S. activist arrested in Viet Nam

U.S. Representatives Neil Abercrombie (D-HI), Loretta Sanchez Grove (D-CA), and Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) have sent a letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice asking her to help gain the release of two U.S. political activists arrested in Viet Nam, The Honolulu Advertiser reported on November 23.

The U.S. based pro-democracy group Viet Tan stated that Vietnamese police had detained six activists over the weekend, including two U.S. citizens, a French citizen and a Thai citizen.

“We are disappointed to hear that the government of Vietnam has arrested United States citizens in Vietnam for reportedly having a peaceful discussion,” the letter read.

“Not only do we ask you to work to return these United States citizens to the United States, but we ask you to convey to the government of Vietnam that the arbitrary detention of United States citizens is unacceptable.”

Reporters Without Borders also condemned the arrest of the activists, stating: “We call for their immediate release since they were only engaged in peacefully promoting freedom of expression.”

The U.S. Embassy confirmed the arrest of a U.S. citizen, and has requested an interview with him. An investigation into the reason for his detention is also being made.

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Women's rights activist arrested in Iran

Maryam Hosseikhah was arrested November 18 under charges of “acting against Iran’s national security,” and publishing false information on the Women’s Cultural Center and the One Million Signatures Campaign websites, Radio Free Europe/ Radio Liberty reported Monday.

“Maryam and some of her friends were writing on these websites,” Hosseikhah’s husband Shahab Mirzayi said. “The issues are not political, they're social issues – they’re engaged in bringing equality for men and women. They want to take a draft law to the parliament. What they’re doing is legal and transparent. Unfortunately they’re facing these actions – it’s not clear why they’re being treated like this.”

Iran has increased pressure on women’s rights activists and members of the One Million Signatures Campaign. Two members of the campaign, Ronak Safarzadeh and Hana Abdi, were arrested in September and October, while activist Delaram Ali recently had her prison sentence suspended for participating in a protest.

Human rights groups have called on Iran to stop pressuring these activists.

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Iranian female activist's sentence upheld in appeals court

An Iranian appeals court upheld the sentence for young female activist Delaram Ali, who was arrested for participating in a women’s rights protest last year, Agence France-Presse reported Monday.

Ali was originally sentenced to 28 months in prison, and 10 lashes, but her lawyer – who has not been officially informed of the verdict – said: “We have understood that a jail sentence of two years and four months has been upheld and the flogging has been dropped.”

Five other women who organized the protest were given shorter sentences earlier this year.

Police who were accused of beating up the women when they broke up the protest were cleared of charges last month.

Speaking on the “unfair” verdict, Nobel peace laureate and human rights lawyer Shirin Ebadi said: “Delaram was beaten at this gathering and broke her arm. We pressed charges against the police, but in the end the police were acquitted and Delaram was sentenced to jail.”

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Iran says Dutch-Iranian activist has not received death sentence

Maxine Verhagen, the Dutch foreign affairs minister, has received word from Iranian authorities and the ambassador in the Netherlands that no death sentence has been passed for Dutch-Iranian activist Abdullah Al-Mansouri, DutchNews reported Tuesday.

Al-Mansouri has been awarded for his human rights work by Queen Beatrix, and received refugee status in the Netherlands in 1989. He was arrested while visiting Syria last year and then extradited to Iran.

Al-Mansouri’s son, Adnan Al-Mansouri, reported Monday that his father would be executed in 48 hours. In response to the statements made by Iranian authorities, he said: “It’s clear that Iran is afraid of losing face. That’s why they’re now saying this.”

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Anti-death penalty activist arrested in Iran

Iranian activist Emaddedin Baghi, head of the Committee for the Defense of Prisoners’ Rights, was arrested on Sunday, Agence France-Presse reported the same day.

“He is charged with spreading propaganda against the regime and publishing secret government documents,” said his lawyer Saleh Nikbakht. Nikbakht added that, according to the charges, Baghi obtained secret information from prisoners detained in security prisons and then disseminated the information during seminars held by his rights group.

For the past few months, Baghi has been publicly protesting the recent wave of hangings, many of which occur in public. He also wrote an open letter in September to the heads of reformist parties about their lack of action on this issue.

Much of Baghi’s work has been dealing with cases in the western Khuzestan Province, which has a large Arab population and has seen a wave of executions since deadly bomb attacks occurred in 2005 and 2006.

Baghi, a former journalist, was imprisoned between 2000 and 2003 for writings in several pro-reform newspapers. He also has a case under appeal from earlier this year regarding his activities.

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Vietnamese labor activist forced to flee to Cambodia

Dao Van Thuy, a member of the Vietnamese Independent Union, has been forced to take refuge in Cambodia, according to the Committee to Protect Vietnamese Workers.

Following a statement which criticized the government’s labor policies, Thuy received threats of incarceration and was fired from his position. Thuy sharply criticized the Vietnamese Communist Party for neglecting its responsibility to help the country’s workers. He noted that “state-owned enterprises’ exploitation of workers is much worse that at foreign-owned ones.”

In light of the ongoing crackdown against human rights and democracy activists, Thuy is currently in Cambodia seeking asylum status with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

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For more information on UNHCR, click here.

Iranian Supreme Leader open to reinterpretation of women’s rights

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s Supreme Leader, has suggested a possible reinterpretation of Islamic law to allow for more women’s rights, The Associated Press reported Thursday.

While the Ayatollah was stern in his stance such a move would not be based on Western conviction, he emphasized the importance of the changing context of Islamic law in modern society.

“Some issues about women, which exist in religious jurisprudence, are not the final say. It is possible to interpret new points through research by a skillful jurist,” Khamenei said.

In Iran, women must have the permission of a male guardian before working or traveling. Women are also banned from becoming judges and have half the importance in court testimonies compared to men.

The apparent change in the Ayatollah’s message follows heavy criticisms on the detainment of several women activists who protested against the country’s oppressive laws, such as the equal distribution of inheritances, the equal weight of testimonies in court and the elimination of polygamy in Iran.

Women in Iran have more rights than many of their counterparts in other countries in the region. However, while women can drive and vote, as well as run for public office, gender discrimination is firmly entrenched.

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Well-known Arab poet passes away

Nazik al-Malaika, a well-known poet in the Arab world, has died at the age of 83, the New York Times reported Wednesday.

While Malaika suffered from Parkinson’s disease for years, she died of natural causes last week, according to Nizar Marjan, the Iraqi consul to Egypt. Malaika broke away from tradition in her poetry, causing artists to gravitate to her writings. Her use of classical language and modern themes were an inspiration to many in the Arab world. Below is an example of her captivating style matched with the tense issue of honor killings in “To Wash Disgrace”:

Oh mother, a rattle, tears and darkness

Blood gushed out, and the stabbed body trembled.

“Oh mother!” Heard only by the executioner

Tomorrow the dawn will come and roses will wake up

Youth and enchanted hopes will ask for her

The meadows and the flowers will answer:

She left to wash the disgrace.

The brutal executioner returns

And meets people

“Disgrace!” He wipes his knife

“We’ve torn it apart.”

And returned virtuous with a white reputation.

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Viet Nam releases activist

Le Quoc Quan, a Vietnamese lawyer and activist, was released from prison prior to President Nguyen Minh Triet’s visit to the U.S., The Associated Press reported on June 16. Quan had been arrested with several other democracy activists as part of a government crackdown on dissidents.

Quan was doing research on civil society in democratizing countries when he was incarcerated by Vietnamese authorities in early March.

Prior to Triet’s trip, a Vietnamese official had said that three dissidents would be released soon, but did not give specific names. As previously covered, Nguyen Vu Binh was released on June 9 as the first of the three dissidents. Binh had been detained for five years and was well known as one of Viet Nam’s first “cyber dissidents.”

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Protesters demand an end to oppression in Viet Nam

Protests have followed the trail of Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh Triet during his hisc U.S. visit and meeting with President Bush, the Union-Tribune reported Sunday.

Around 2,000 protesters stood outside Triet’s hotel in California on Saturday to show their support for the victims of human rights violations during Viet Nam’s ongoing democracy crackdown. “In Vietnam, anybody who is against him ends up in jail,” said Loc Nguyen, a political refugee at the protest.

The protest came the day after Triet’s meeting at the White House on Friday. While the topics included increased trade relations with Viet Nam, Bush seemed to allude to the crackdown when he stressed the importance of democracy and free expression in his public remarks.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Triet said that Viet Nam does not need improvements in human rights protection. “It's not a question of improving or not. Vietnam has its own legal framework, and those who violate the law will be handled,” he said.

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Iranian reformers speak out against crackdown

As tensions increase in reformist circles, the Iranian government continues its policy against dissent and peaceful protest, The Associated Press reported Saturday.

During a December visit to Amir Kabir University by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, reformers protested the conservative policies currently in place in Iran. While the president cited the protests as proof of Iranians’ ability to protest “with an absolute, total freedom,” the reality is that Ahmadinejad is authorizing a harsh crackdown to preserve the power of his regime.

Since May, eight Amir Kabir reform-minded students have been arrested as part of Iran’s ongoing efforts to jail dissidents and those who partake in so-called un-Islamic acts. Since 2005, Ahmadinejad has cut away at the reforms implemented by his predecessor, Mohammad Khatami.

“The new government has increased pressures on the nation - students, laborers, intellectuals,” said Ebrahim Yazdi, a former Iranian foreign minister and the current leader of the Freedom Movement of Iran. “When laborers stage protests rallies, the government, instead of talking to them, takes them to jail. Women are jailed just for collecting signatures in support of women's rights.”

This spring witnessed the harshest enforcement of the Islamic dress code, as well as the banning of various traditions such as the smoking of water-pipes in teashops. The government seems to be intensifying its crackdown with the recent imprisonment of four Iranian-Americans for allegedly seeking to destabilize the current regime.

One result of this crackdown is the diminished number of books published in Iran each year. The number has dropped by half in the past five years. Moreover, bans on meetings and a rise in government-sanctioned executions all seem to paint a picture of an Iranian regime intent on tightening its grip on society as a way of maintaining power.

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Threats against women continue after Taliban

Shukria Barakzai, a female member of Afghanistan’s parliament, continues to receive death threats amid the power struggle between the Taliban and the Afghan government, BBC News reported today.

The threats seem to stem from Barakzai’s support for women’s rights and her continued criticisms of Afghan warlords and Pakistan. The letters are sent by the Afghan government notifying Barakzai and 6 other MPs of threats made against them. While the MPs are notified of their targeted status, the government offers no additional security measures to allow the members to continue their legislative responsibilities without constant fear of being murdered.

“That is all that the government does – send a letter by mail once every month saying my life is under threat. There isn't talk of even providing security,” Barakzai said. “I am going crazy. My friends are telling me to leave the country. My husband is worried. After all, I am also a mother and a wife.”

Although six years have passed since the overthrow of the Taliban, women continue to live in an environment of fear and coercion despite constitutionally recognized rights. With 91 female MPs in Afghanistan, the ability of women to participate in the political realm is a huge step for the Afghan people. Society at large, however, has not so quickly broken with traditions of gender inequality.

Forced marriages, honor killings and rape continue to plague Afghan women. Last year, over 1,500 cases of atrocities against women were documented by Afghanistan’s Independent Human Rights Commission. Tribal councils continue to decide the fate of women in rural areas and almost always rule against them.

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Banned rallies yield arrests in Iran

Iranian judges have sentenced two journalists for their coverage of banned protests in 2005, Reuters reported on Sunday.

In Sanandaj, Jalal Ghavami and Saeed Saedi were sentenced to three years and two and a half years, respectively, for their attendance at two illegal rallies in 2005. The court ruled that the two journalists were “acting against the system and national security by participating in illegal gatherings… (and) propaganda activity against the system,” according to Iran’s ISNA news agency.

The lawyer for the two journalists reaffirmed that their attendance was due to their profession rather than their political affiliation. “My clients attended the gatherings as reporters and just for reporting,” he said.

In May, the same court sentenced a woman activist to six years in prison for attending the same protests. The rally was organized for the purpose of protesting the killing of a Kurdish man, an incident that increased tensions in Iranian Kurdistan.

Amnesty International last year called for Ghavami and Saedi’s release. “If imprisoned, Amnesty International believes both men would be prisoners of conscience, imprisoned solely for peacefully exercising their rights to freedom of expression, assembly and movement,” the group said.

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Dissident released by Viet Nam prior to president’s U.S. visit

A well known pro-democracy advocate and critic of the Vietnamese government has been released from Nam Ha prison and granted presidential amnesty, The Associated Press reported today. Nguyen Vu Binh, a prominent “cyber dissident” charged with spying, was in 2003 sentenced to seven years in prison for his online democracy activism.

The Bush administration has recently expressed displeasure over the ongoing crackdown on dissidents in Viet Nam and pushed for dialogue as President Nguyen Minh Triet plans for his June 22 U.S. visit. In Viet Nam, it is illegal to even advocate for the establishment of a multiparty system. Gordon D. Johndroe, a National Security Council spokesman, characterized the government crackdown as “out of keeping with Vietnam’s desire to prosper, modernize and take a more prominent role in world affairs.”

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White House to maintain concern over Viet Nam crackdown

White House to maintain concern over Viet Nam crackdown

During the planned late June visit by Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh Triet, President Bush is expected to personally confront the issue of jailed dissidents amidst the crackdown on democracy in Viet Nam, Reuters reported today.

“The United States and Vietnam have seen enormous progress in their relationship over the past several years,” said White House Deputy Press Secretary Dana Perino. She added, “President Bush will also express his deep concern over the recent increase of arrests and detentions of peaceful democracy activists in Vietnam, and note that such actions will inevitably limit the growth of bilateral ties.”

With the removal of Viet Nam from country of particular concern designation under a U.S. religious rights blacklist in 2006 and the accession into the WTO, Hanoi has continued to deny allegations of a crackdown from international human rights organizations.

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Vietnamese President to visit U.S. as criticism of democracy crackdown continues

President Nguyen Minh Triet is set to meet with President Bush in Washington on June 22 as the White House continues to condemn Viet Nam’s crackdown on pro-democracy activists. Formal invitations have been sent to Triet, essentially confirming the first official visit by a Vietnamese head of state since 1975, Reuters reported Monday.

While the recent admission to the World Trade Organization (WTO) has put Viet Nam on the map as an economic power, the ongoing crackdown leaves Washington in somewhat of a predicament between strengthening relations and criticizing violations of fundamental rights.

Triet’s visit is said to be out of reciprocity for a November visit by President Bush to the country. Issues to be discussed could include trade, education and disease eradication.

“I believe there is a recognition on both sides that individual events should not be an obstacle to continued dialogue aimed at strengthening ties,” said Tom Vallely, head of the Vietnam program at the Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

As the democracy crackdown continues, the U.S. and European Union have condemned the recent sentencing of at least seven activists and are calling for the release of such pro-democracy dissidents.

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For information on the WTO accession of Viet Nam, click here.