Today’s update of human rights events around the world.
EGYPT: Political Dissident, Imprisoned for Years, Is Suddenly Released
Egypt’s most prominent political dissident and a one-time presidential candidate, Ayman Nour, was unexpectedly released from prison on Wednesday after the United States and European governments had pressed for years to have him set free. NY Times
U.S.: Court rejects Uighur freedom
A US federal appeals court has ruled against the release of 17 ethnic Chinese Uighurs into the US from its prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The three-judge panel said that a federal judge in an earlier hearing did not have the authority to decide who can legally enter the US, and that such decisions could only be made by the US executive branch under the president. Al Jazeera
MOROCCO: Rights Activist Detained
Moroccan authorities should disclose immediately the whereabouts of a human rights activist, Chekib el-Khiari, who reported to the Judicial Police in Casablanca on February 17, 2009, in response to a summons and has not been heard from since. Early this morning, plainclothes police searched el-Khiari’s family’s home in the city of Nador and confiscated his computer and some documents, family members said. Human Rights Watch
US: State’s ‘Personhood’ Law Would Hit Birth Control
Pro-choice groups have warned that a law passed by legislators in the US state of North Dakota recognizing the “personhood” of a fetus would not only outlaw abortion but could also bar access to birth control. Common Dreams
BURMA: Junta Declares War on Lawyers, Jails Them
To be a lawyer in military-ruled Burma is to court danger, invite arrest and risk being jailed in the country’s notorious prisons. IPS
SUDAN: Rebels accuse army of attacks
Sudan’s Justice and Equality Movement (Jem) has accused the army of attacks just hours after the rebel group signed a key agreement on Darfur with the government. Al Jazeera
Recent Comments