Protect The Human Main Feed

storyteller

edre — Tue, 15 May 2012 17:47:57 +0100

Short story on the web about oil and destruction in West Africa

'Vomiting and screaming' in destroyed waterboarding tapes (BBC News)

Stuart_in_Cardiff — Wed, 09 May 2012 22:04:51 +0100

Secret CIA video tapes of the waterboarding of Osama Bin Laden's suspected jihadist travel arranger Abu Zubaydah show him vomiting and screaming, the BBC has learned.

The tapes were destroyed by the head of the CIA's Counterterrorism Center, Jose Rodriguez.

In an exclusive interview for Newsnight, Rodriguez has defended the destruction of the tapes and denied waterboarding and other interrogation techniques amount to torture.

Source: 'Vomiting and screaming' in destroyed waterboarding tapes (BBC News)

Solidarity with Abdulhadi Al Khawaja, Bahrain (ONLINE EVENT)

ShabbirLakha — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 14:43:03 +0100

ATTENTION: THIS IS AN URGENT HUMANITARIAN ISSUE.
So if you are not human, please feel free to ignore this event.

Abdulhadi Al Khawaja was arrested last year, beaten and tortured in front of his family, and has been illegally detained without a fair trial to this day. His only crime was supporting the human rights of the people of his country and promoting democracy.

He has now entered the 76th day of his hunger strike and literally on the verge of imminent death. The Bahraini government have made it very clear that they have no intention of releasing him despite pressure from Amnesty International and 15 other international human rights organisations.

Source: Solidarity with Abdulhadi Al Khawaja, Bahrain (ONLINE EVENT)

Emin Milli: I believe tha words can change the world

Emerson — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 13:34:06 +0100

Freedom of expression is also luxury in Azerbaijan. I learned that lesson myself by exercising freedom of expression, doing it openly and publicly, peacefully and with some sense of humor. Surely there was the price to pay. Freedom of expression is not for free in Azerbaijan. It cost me 16 months of imprisonment.

Source: Emin Milli: I believe tha words can change the world

BBC: Daily protests in Bahrain amid human rights

Emerson — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 13:22:51 +0100

With preparations well underway for Sunday's Bahrain Formula One Grand Prix, a leading human rights group has said torture and ill-treatment are continuing in the Gulf kingdom.

Amnesty International says it has evidence of people being kept in prison for participating in peaceful anti-government protests, and that security forces are using excessive and unnecessary force against demonstrators.

Source: BBC: Daily protests in Bahrain amid human rights

Don’t Fear the Tweets, Fear the Tweeters

Emerson — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 16:24:51 +0100

ast week, UN Secretary General Ban delivered the keynote address at the Global Colloquium of University Presidents, in which he made the pointed remark:

“Some dictators in our world are more afraid of tweets than they are of opposing armies.”

Source: Don’t Fear the Tweets, Fear the Tweeters

BBC Radio 4: The Angola 2

Emerson — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 15:01:35 +0100

Tim Franks looks at the case of two prison inmates who have been held in solitary confinement in Louisiana for 40 years - believed to be the longest period of time in US history.

Source: BBC Radio 4: The Angola 2

Angola 2: "Slavery still reigns in US prison"

Emerson — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 11:59:59 +0100

Emmanuel Jal: musician, activist, former child soldier.

Emerson — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 13:09:14 +0000

50 years of Amnesty

Shottery Girls School — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 14:04:51 +0000

UK arms exports revealed

verovero66 — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 12:49:54 +0000

A new web application, developed by Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT), will enable easy public access to a wide range of information on UK arms export licences.

For example, you can now see that the UK's arms exports to Bahrain have continued despite that regime's brutal repression of the Arab Spring uprising.

Source: UK arms exports revealed

Dissent stirs in Azerbaijan

verovero66 — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 12:38:19 +0000

With the Eurovision Song Contest looming, Azerbaijanis are becoming more vocal in their demands for change, says Turgut Gambar

Source: Dissent stirs in Azerbaijan

Unreported rapes: the silent shame

verovero66 — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 12:33:27 +0000

The devastating scale of sexual violence against women in Britain is exposed by new research which indicates that the vast majority of victims do not report perpetrators to the police.

One in 10 women has been raped, and more than a third subjected to sexual assault, according to a major survey, which also highlights just how frightened women are of not being believed.

Source: Unreported rapes: the silent shame

Burma's top standup comic: 'We sacrifice our lives for jokes'

ZigZag — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 12:24:19 +0000

Zarganar spent years in solitary confinement for standup routines that mocked the authorities. Now Burma's best-known comedian is free – and still laughing

Source: Burma's top standup comic: 'We sacrifice our lives for jokes'

Amnesty calls for release of Azerbaijani journalist and youth leader

ZigZag — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 12:16:14 +0000

Anti-government protests organised by the citizens of Azerbaijan took place in March and April 2011, inspired by the widespread demonstrations in the Middle East and North Africa.

Several people were arrested in the aftermath, and while two have since been released, 15 remain in prison. Tural Abbasli, a 29-year-old postgraduate journalism student from Baku and leader of the youth wing of Musavat, one of Azerbaijan's main opposition parties, is one of those currently in jail.

Source: Amnesty calls for release of Azerbaijani journalist and youth leader

Azerbaijani youth activists beaten and detained at peaceful protest

ZigZag — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 11:36:22 +0000

Jabbar Savalan and Dayanat Babayev were beaten as they were arrested along with 14 other protesters and a journalist when police violently dispersed a demonstration in central Baku. Eye-witnesses report Majid Marjanli and Abulfaz Gurbanly were later beaten up while in custody at Yasamal District police station.

Source: Azerbaijani youth activists beaten and detained at peaceful protest

Kate Allen: We Need David Cameron to Secure a Robust Arms Treaty at the UN

Emerson — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 14:41:11 +0000

Syria is a sharp reminder of precisely why we need a strong arms trade treaty

The distressing scenes of ferocious and unrelenting military assaults on the Syrian city of Homs, are a sharp reminder that the world needs to have tougher controls on the arms trade, and urgently. Since protests began in Syria last March, Amnesty International has recorded the names of more than 5,500 people who have been killed, and the death toll rises daily.

With no UN arms embargo in place and with Russia still supplying Syria with weaponry, it is clear that the current rules regulating global arms are weak and ineffective.

Source: Kate Allen: We Need David Cameron to Secure a Robust Arms Treaty at the UN

Finally, the world acts to control the arms trade - World Politics - World - The Independent

Emerson — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 14:58:52 +0000

The global arms trade, which produces two bullets for every person on the planet every year and the weapons that kill 1,500 people each day, is facing the first worldwide effort to control it. An unprecedented treaty that would attempt to restrict arms sales is expected to be drawn up at talks in the United Nations this week.

Source: Finally, the world acts to control the arms trade - World Politics - World - The Independent

A human rights revolution

Emerson — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 10:28:26 +0000

Justice for Ragihar Manoharan

Shottery Girls School — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 14:40:20 +0000