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Opinion: Can Rouhani change course?
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After his return to the presidency in 2012, Putin faced large demonstrations of popular opposition in Moscow, and to strengthen his position he has been cultivating anti-Americanism as an element ofRussian nationalism.
Russia slashes long-term growth forecast
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Is John Kerry Too 'European' for American Diplomacy?
Huffington Post Trying to resolve conflicts in the Middle East, launching another set of Arab-Israeli subtitle diplomacy, investing time and energy on dealing with Iran, or schmoozing with the Russians, seem like parts of an outline for a plot of a movie from the ... |
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Brazil's Plan to Isolate Its Internet Is a Terrible Idea
Motherboard (blog) Brazil found itself in the company of Russia, China, Pakistan, and Iran as one of the most spied-upon countries in the world. In fact, this has less to do with the quality ... Anti-Americanism is rarely far from the surface in Latin America. Whereas ... |
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“There is no escape from the reach of the law, no matter where drug kingpins operate their poisonoustrade,” said U.S. Attorney Lynch. “Juan Juarez Orosco may have operated an international drug trafficking network that stretched across the ...
Headline Title:
Russia must track down masked assailants after insidious homophobic attack
04 November 2013
The Russian authorities must promptly find and bring to justice all those responsible for a violent homophobic attack in St Petersburg that has left two people injured, including one who has been left blind in one eye, Amnesty International said.
According to local activists in St Petersburg, on Sunday night two masked men brandishing air guns and baseball bats attacked the office of LaSky, a non-governmental organization that provides support to gay people living with HIV.
“This latest insidious attack is sadly characteristic of a widespread atmosphere of homophobia in Russia today. If nothing is done to combat the hate, the ground is fertile for further violence,” said Denis Krivosheev, Europe and Central Asia Deputy Director at Amnesty International.
“The Russian authorities must seek out, investigate and prosecute all those responsible for these violent attacks. Russian President Putin has publicly said the country would welcome lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) activists at the upcoming Sochi Winter Olympics, but such pledges ring hollow in the face of these ongoing hate crimes.”
The St Petersburg Public Prosecutor has reportedly opened an investigation into “hooliganism” after the attack.
“This was a serious violent assault that has caused severe injuries and could have resulted in death. Those responsible must face serious consequences to the full extent of the law,” said Denis Krivosheev.
The attack on LaSky happened during a so-called “coffee party” – a weekly gathering of young LGBTI and heterosexual people aimed at establishing tolerance and understanding. About 25-30 people were present at the Sunday gathering.
The violent attack has sent shockwaves through the LGBTI community, both in St Petersburg and around Russia.
Anastasia Smirnova of the Russian LGBT Network has told media that police arrived at the scene of the attack but quickly left, because “they did not see any evidence of the crime”.
But Amnesty International today confirmed with a local LGBTI activist that two people have been injured, including one who has lost sight in one eye as a result. The activist, who asked not to be named, said the attack has contributed to the climate of stress and fear amongst the city’s LGBTI community.
Earlier this year, a vaguely worded federal law went into effect in Russia that institutionalizes discrimination against LGBTI individuals and a wide range of organizations that promote LGBTI rights in Russia.
The law restricts the rights to freedom of expression and assembly of LGBTI individuals, and has provoked a wave of violence by vigilante groups across the country.
“The Russian authorities must repeal this homophobic legislation without delay,” said Denis Krivosheev.
According to local activists in St Petersburg, on Sunday night two masked men brandishing air guns and baseball bats attacked the office of LaSky, a non-governmental organization that provides support to gay people living with HIV.
“This latest insidious attack is sadly characteristic of a widespread atmosphere of homophobia in Russia today. If nothing is done to combat the hate, the ground is fertile for further violence,” said Denis Krivosheev, Europe and Central Asia Deputy Director at Amnesty International.
“The Russian authorities must seek out, investigate and prosecute all those responsible for these violent attacks. Russian President Putin has publicly said the country would welcome lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) activists at the upcoming Sochi Winter Olympics, but such pledges ring hollow in the face of these ongoing hate crimes.”
The St Petersburg Public Prosecutor has reportedly opened an investigation into “hooliganism” after the attack.
“This was a serious violent assault that has caused severe injuries and could have resulted in death. Those responsible must face serious consequences to the full extent of the law,” said Denis Krivosheev.
The attack on LaSky happened during a so-called “coffee party” – a weekly gathering of young LGBTI and heterosexual people aimed at establishing tolerance and understanding. About 25-30 people were present at the Sunday gathering.
The violent attack has sent shockwaves through the LGBTI community, both in St Petersburg and around Russia.
Anastasia Smirnova of the Russian LGBT Network has told media that police arrived at the scene of the attack but quickly left, because “they did not see any evidence of the crime”.
But Amnesty International today confirmed with a local LGBTI activist that two people have been injured, including one who has lost sight in one eye as a result. The activist, who asked not to be named, said the attack has contributed to the climate of stress and fear amongst the city’s LGBTI community.
Earlier this year, a vaguely worded federal law went into effect in Russia that institutionalizes discrimination against LGBTI individuals and a wide range of organizations that promote LGBTI rights in Russia.
The law restricts the rights to freedom of expression and assembly of LGBTI individuals, and has provoked a wave of violence by vigilante groups across the country.
“The Russian authorities must repeal this homophobic legislation without delay,” said Denis Krivosheev.
The Russian authorities must promptly find and bring to justice all those responsible for a violent homophobic attack in St Petersburg that has left two people injured, including one who has been left blind in one eye, Amnesty International said.
Media Node:
Story Location:
Russia
59° 56' 52.458" N, 30° 20' 9.5964" E
Read the whole story
· · · ·
Headline Title:
Azerbaijan: Journalist and writer jailed as ruthless crackdown continues
13 November 2013
The Azerbaijani authorities must halt their crackdown on freedom of expression, Amnesty International urged today as a journalist and a writer who criticized the government were jailed on trumped-up charges.
"Azerbaijan's ruthless and relentless attack on any dissenting voices in the media continues apace with these shameful convictions and jail sentences, which appear to be based on offences fabricated by the prosecution," said John Dalhuisen of Amnesty International.
Rashad Ramazanov, a writer and blogger who spoke out against the authorities in his posts on Facebook and YouTube, was sentenced to nine years in prison on dubious drug charges.
Also today, pro-opposition newspaper editor Sardar Alibeyli was handed a four-year prison sentence on charges of "hooliganism".
"Rashad Ramazanov and Sardar Alibeyli are prisoners of conscience, jailed solely for exercising their right to freedom of expression, and they must be immediately and unconditionally released," said John Dalhuisen.
Today's jail sentences come amid a continuing and widespread crackdown on government critics in Azerbaijan, including media workers, NGOs and human rights activists.
Amnesty International believes that there are at least 18 prisoners of conscience in the country, many of them jailed for speaking out against the authorities in the media.
Rashad Ramazanov was arrested on 9 May 2013 and taken to the Organized Crime Unit of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, where officials claimed to have found 9.05 grams of heroin in his trouser pocket. He denied the charges and insisted that the drugs had been planted on him.
The writer's family and lawyer were not notified of his whereabouts for four days and, when his lawyer was finally allowed to meet him on 17 May, he saw that Rashad had serious and extensive bruises on his head.
Rashad Ramazanov told his lawyers that he had been severely beaten several times while he was held in custody by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Police have denied the claims. There has been no official investigation into them.
His wife, Konul Ismayilova, told Amnesty International that he had been beaten to punish him for his criticism of President Ilham Aliyev and his family, and in order to force him to confess.
"By law, Rashad Ramazanov should have been transferred to an Investigative Detention Centre within 24 hours of the court decision ordering him to serve three months of pre-trial detention, but he was inexplicably kept at the Ministry of Internal Affairs for 11 days," said John Dalhuisen.
Requests for Rashad Ramazanov to undergo medical examination were ignored by investigators, while the only witnesses in his trial were the officials who detained him.
“We have nothing to apologise for, and though we are suffering, we are not guilty of anything,” Konul Ismayilova told Amnesty International.
Sardar Alibeyli, the editor of newspaper Nota Bene and its accompanying news site PS Nota, was detained on 31 July 2013 after a man claimed that he had beaten him and struck his face with a stone.
The man accusing Sardar Alibeyli subsequently changed his account, but this was ignored by the court.
None of the defence witnesses were permitted to give evidence during his trial, while Sardar Alibeyli, who denies the charges, said he did not recognize the man who accused him.
The journalist's arrest came after his newspaper had been highly critical of the government and provided a platform for other government critics, including political exiles.
"With this wave of arrests and convictions, Azerbaijan's government is sending a clear and ominous message that dissent will not be tolerated," said John Dalhuisen.
In the months before and after the 9 October presidential election, there has been an increasingly repressive media environment and a continuing crackdown on civil society and political activists in Azerbaijan.
The prosecution of journalists has been accompanied by increasing pressure against opposition and independent newspapers.
Mounting compensation claims, freezing of bank accounts and bans on the sale of critical newspapers in kiosks in the underground system has resulted in two of the most popular opposition newspapers, Azadliq and Yeni Musavat, to halt publication of their daily issues in the past week.
“Ilham Aliyev’s recent re-election appears to have done nothing to reduce the Azerbaijani authorities’ enthusiasm for persecution and censorship. These new cases and the squeeze on the two leading opposition newspapers sadly confirms the Aliyev regime’s determination not just to beat – but to silence – all political opposition,” said John Dalhuisen.
"Azerbaijan's ruthless and relentless attack on any dissenting voices in the media continues apace with these shameful convictions and jail sentences, which appear to be based on offences fabricated by the prosecution," said John Dalhuisen of Amnesty International.
Rashad Ramazanov, a writer and blogger who spoke out against the authorities in his posts on Facebook and YouTube, was sentenced to nine years in prison on dubious drug charges.
Also today, pro-opposition newspaper editor Sardar Alibeyli was handed a four-year prison sentence on charges of "hooliganism".
"Rashad Ramazanov and Sardar Alibeyli are prisoners of conscience, jailed solely for exercising their right to freedom of expression, and they must be immediately and unconditionally released," said John Dalhuisen.
Today's jail sentences come amid a continuing and widespread crackdown on government critics in Azerbaijan, including media workers, NGOs and human rights activists.
Amnesty International believes that there are at least 18 prisoners of conscience in the country, many of them jailed for speaking out against the authorities in the media.
Rashad Ramazanov was arrested on 9 May 2013 and taken to the Organized Crime Unit of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, where officials claimed to have found 9.05 grams of heroin in his trouser pocket. He denied the charges and insisted that the drugs had been planted on him.
The writer's family and lawyer were not notified of his whereabouts for four days and, when his lawyer was finally allowed to meet him on 17 May, he saw that Rashad had serious and extensive bruises on his head.
Rashad Ramazanov told his lawyers that he had been severely beaten several times while he was held in custody by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Police have denied the claims. There has been no official investigation into them.
His wife, Konul Ismayilova, told Amnesty International that he had been beaten to punish him for his criticism of President Ilham Aliyev and his family, and in order to force him to confess.
"By law, Rashad Ramazanov should have been transferred to an Investigative Detention Centre within 24 hours of the court decision ordering him to serve three months of pre-trial detention, but he was inexplicably kept at the Ministry of Internal Affairs for 11 days," said John Dalhuisen.
Requests for Rashad Ramazanov to undergo medical examination were ignored by investigators, while the only witnesses in his trial were the officials who detained him.
“We have nothing to apologise for, and though we are suffering, we are not guilty of anything,” Konul Ismayilova told Amnesty International.
Sardar Alibeyli, the editor of newspaper Nota Bene and its accompanying news site PS Nota, was detained on 31 July 2013 after a man claimed that he had beaten him and struck his face with a stone.
The man accusing Sardar Alibeyli subsequently changed his account, but this was ignored by the court.
None of the defence witnesses were permitted to give evidence during his trial, while Sardar Alibeyli, who denies the charges, said he did not recognize the man who accused him.
The journalist's arrest came after his newspaper had been highly critical of the government and provided a platform for other government critics, including political exiles.
"With this wave of arrests and convictions, Azerbaijan's government is sending a clear and ominous message that dissent will not be tolerated," said John Dalhuisen.
In the months before and after the 9 October presidential election, there has been an increasingly repressive media environment and a continuing crackdown on civil society and political activists in Azerbaijan.
The prosecution of journalists has been accompanied by increasing pressure against opposition and independent newspapers.
Mounting compensation claims, freezing of bank accounts and bans on the sale of critical newspapers in kiosks in the underground system has resulted in two of the most popular opposition newspapers, Azadliq and Yeni Musavat, to halt publication of their daily issues in the past week.
“Ilham Aliyev’s recent re-election appears to have done nothing to reduce the Azerbaijani authorities’ enthusiasm for persecution and censorship. These new cases and the squeeze on the two leading opposition newspapers sadly confirms the Aliyev regime’s determination not just to beat – but to silence – all political opposition,” said John Dalhuisen.
Azerbaijani authorities urged to halt crackdown on freedom of expression as journalist and writer who criticized the government are jailed on trumped-up charges.
Media Node:
Twitter Tag:
azerbaijan
Story Location:
United Kingdom
46° 3' 30.4632" N, 47° 55' 20.5068" E
See map: Google Maps
Read the whole story
· · · · · · ·
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Putin: Foreign rivals trying to weaken Russia
Aljazeera.com A day after a suicide bombing in Russia's Volgograd region, President Vladimir Putin accused foreign rivals of using radical Islam to weaken the country. "Some political forces use Islam, the radical currents within it ... to weaken our state and ... Foreign rivals use radical Islam to weaken Russia: PutinReuters Russia not interested in tensions between West and Muslim world - PutinThe Voice of Russia Putin proposes restoring Russia's Islamic theologian schoolRussia Beyond The Headlines all 13 news articles » |
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