Number of Jailed Journalists in 2012 Sets Global Record | CPJ Special Report

Imprisonment of journalists worldwide reached a record high in 2012, driven in part by the widespread use of charges of terrorism and other anti-state offenses against critical reporters and editors, the Committee to Protect Journalists has found. In its annual census of imprisoned journalists, CPJ identified 232 individuals behind bars on December 1, an increase of 53 over its 2011 tally.

Large-scale imprisonments in Turkey, Iran, and China helped lift the global tally to its highest point since CPJ began conducting worldwide surveys in 1990, surpassing the previous record of 185 in 1996. The three nations, the world’s worst jailers of the press, each made extensive use of vague anti-state laws to silence dissenting political views, including those expressed by ethnic minorities. Worldwide, anti-state charges such as terrorism, treason, and subversion were the most common allegations brought against journalists in 2012. At least 132 journalists were being held around the world on such charges, CPJ’s census found.

Eritrea and Syria also ranked among the world’s worst, each jailing numerous journalists without charge or due process and holding them in secret prisons without access to lawyers or family members. Worldwide, 63 journalists are being held without any publicly disclosed charge.

Vietnam, Azerbaijan, Ethiopia, Uzbekistan, and Saudi Arabia rounded out the 10 worst jailers. In two of those nations, Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan, the authorities used retaliatory charges such as hooliganism and drug possession to jail critical reporters and editors. In 19 cases worldwide, governments used a variety of charges unrelated to journalism to silence critical journalists. In the cases included in this census, CPJ determined that the charges were fabricated.

In Turkey, the world’s worst jailer with 49 journalists behind bars, the authorities held dozens of Kurdish reporters and editors on terror-related charges and a number of other journalists on charges of involvement in anti-government plots. In 2012, CPJ conducted an extensive review of imprisonments in Turkey, confirming journalism-related reasons in numerous cases previously unlisted on the organization’s annual surveys and raising the country’s total significantly. CPJ found that broadly worded anti-terror and penal code statutes have allowed Turkish authorities to conflate the coverage of banned groups and the investigation of sensitive topics with outright terrorism or other anti-state activity.

These statutes “make no distinction between journalists exercising freedom of expression and [individuals] aiding terrorism,” said Mehmet Ali Birand, a top editor with the Istanbul-based station Kanal D. Calling the use of anti-state laws against journalists a “national disease,” Birand said “the government does not differentiate between these two major things: freedom of expression and terrorism.” Among the imprisoned is Tayip Temel, editor-in-chief of Azadiya Welat, the nation’s sole Kurdish-language daily, who faced more than 20 years in prison on charges of being a member of a banned Kurdish organization. As evidence, the government has cited Temel’s published work, along with his wiretapped telephone conversations with colleagues and news sources.

Excerpt, read: Number of Jailed Journalists Sets Global Record | CPJ (Special Report)

Related: Database of Jailed Journalists

 

Human Rights Abuses Around the World | Videos

ERITREA

The Eritrean authorities must immediately and unconditionally release 11 prominent politicians, including three former cabinet ministers, who have been held incommunicado without charge for 10 years.

Among the 11 prisoners is Aster Fissehatsion, a veteran of the 30-year long war of independence with Ethiopia and a former prominent member of the Eritrean Peoples Liberation Front (EPLF). The group also includes her husband, former vice-president and foreign minister Mahmoud Ahmed Sheriffo, as well as Haile Woldetensae, and Petros Solomon, both of whom are also former foreign ministers.

Appeals from their families that the prisoners be formally charged and tried or else released, and criticizing their secret incommunicado detention, have been dismissed repeatedly by the Eritrean authorities. In the months following the arrest of G15 members, dozens of other journalists, government critics and supporters of the dissidents were also detained in a sweeping crackdown on freedom of expression.

Widespread human rights violations are routine in Eritrea. President Isaias Afewerki and the ruling PFDJ, the only permitted political party, exert complete control over the state without a hint of elections which have been indefinitely delayed. There is no independent judiciary.

The government severely restricts freedom of expression and freedom of religion. No opposition parties, independent journalism or civil society organizations, or unregistered faith groups are allowed. The authorities use arbitrary arrests, detentions and torture to stifle opposition, holding thousands of political prisoners in dire conditions, many in secret detention.

IRAN

Amnesty International’s Drewery Dyke talks to Fakhteh Zamani, Association for Defense of Azerbaijani Political Prisoners in Iran.

The Azerbaijani minority in Iran, have been prevented from exercising their right to freedom of expression and assembly by participating in largely peaceful demonstrations over the environmental situation of Lake Oroumieh. Up to scores of others may have been arbitrarily arrested, and we have received unconfirmed reports that at least two demonstrators may have been killed.

Amnesty International calls on the Iranian authorities to ensure that all those who have been arrested are granted immediate access to their families and lawyers of their choice, that they are given an opportunity to challenge their detention, and that any held solely for the peaceful exercise of their rights to freedom of expression, association or assembly are released. We also urge the authorities to establish an independent review of the policing and overall administration of justice regarding the rallies relating to Lake Oroumieh and for law enforcement officials to be held accountable for any violations, including any unlawful killings for which state officials may have been responsible.

SYRIA

At least 88 people are believed to have died in detention in Syria during five months of bloody repression of pro-reform protests, a new Amnesty International report reveals.

Deadly detention: Deaths in custody amid popular protest in Syria documents reported deaths in custody between April and mid-August in the wake of sweeping arrests.

The 88 deaths represented a significant escalation in the number of deaths following arrest in Syria. In recent years Amnesty International has typically recorded around five deaths in custody per year in Syria.

Check out details of all 88 cases at Eyes on Syria.

EGYPT

More than 12 million people live in Egypt’s sprawling informal settlements (slums). Over the years, the authorities have treated these people with contempt, subjected them to unlawful forced evictions and threatened them with arbitrary arrest under repressive emergency legislation if they dared to protest.

The dramatic political changes that have happened since 25 January 2011 offer the new Egyptian authorities an historic opportunity to genuinely consult slum-dwellers about their housing, and to work with them to create a brighter and safer future.

SOUTH AFRICA

The fruits and wine that come from the Western Cape of South Africa are enjoyed by consumers around the world and generate billions of rand for South Africa’s economy, yet the farm workers who help produce these goods are denied basic human rights. The government of South Africa should take immediate steps to improve the working and housing conditions of the farmers who help produce its renowned wines and fruit.

NEPAL

Nepal’s ten year internal conflict resulted in over 1,300 unresolved cases of disappearances by state forces and the Maoists. To date not one person has been prosecuted for these grave human rights abuses.

This short film uses the story of five young men from Janakpur, Nepal, taken by members of the army and police in October 2003 to illustrate the political opposition to holding individuals responsible for such crimes to account from both sides of the conflict, through interviews with the brother of one of the disappeared, the lawyer working on the case, and the Maoist Home Minister.

 

Ratko Mladić Arrested for Bosnian War Crimes | WikiNews

Mladic was indicted 15 years ago for genocide in the Srebrenica massacre of 8,000 Muslim men and the 43-month siege of Sarajevo. (Photo: Pascal Guyot/AFP/Getty Images)

Ratko Mladić, otherwise known as “The Butcher of Bosnia,” has been arrested after being sought for over a decade. The 69-year-old former Serbian general and war crimes suspect was arrested on May 26 by Serbian special police in Lazarevo, Serbia. Mladić was accused of war crimes shortly after the 1992–1995 Bosnian War. He was wanted for genocide and crimes against humanity, including the orchestration of a massacre of over 8000 Muslim Bosniak men and boys in Srebrenica.

The arrest has prompted protests from Serbian nationalists, who herald Mladić as a national hero and patriot. However, the international reaction to Mladić’s capture is more positive. French President Nicolas Sarkozy praised Serbia’s actions, saying it is another step for Serbia on the path to joining the European Union. Swedish foreign minister Carl Bildt gave similar praise, saying that the Serbia’s prospects of joining the EU are “brighter than ever.”

Serbia’s war crimes court ruled that Mladić is fit for trial, despite claims from family and supporters to the contrary. Ratko Mladić’s son Darko claims that his father is too weak to face extradition to The Hague for trial. Mladić could face extradition within a matter of days.

Reprint: Ratko Mladić Arrested for Bosnian War Crimes | WikiNews

 

Houston Police Brutally Beat Unarmed Teen

An explosive videotape that appears to show a group of Houston police officers beating a black teen burglary suspect last March has led to the firing and indictment of those officers, and a flaring controversy.

A surveillance camera caught the end of a police chase of 15-year-old Chad Holley, who had allegedly burglarizing a home. Holley goes right to the ground, face-down, hands over his head, as if to surrender.

But then, reports CBS News correspondent Seth Doane, one officer appears to stomp on Holley’s head, while others kick him. One cop seems to land five kicks. Then, another officer punches him again, and again. As he’s picked up, there’s another kick.

“They just started kicking me from there, and I blanked out,” Holley says.

Houston activist Quanell X released the videotape of an alleged 2010 beating of teen by Houston police, Thursday, Feb. 3, 2011, in Houston. Photo: facebook

The video wasn’t supposed to be seen yet by the public, but was leaked by community activist Quanell X of the New Black Panthers Party this week.

He told “Early Show on Saturday Morning” co-anchor Russ Mitchell he was “shocked” when he first saw the tape

“I was appalled,” he said. “I was absolutely angry at what they were doing, these police officers, to this young man who was on the ground. You could clearly see he surrendered, he gave up, and the beating he took was absolutely unnecessary. It was shameful.”

“We hear these stories all the time in our community, all the time,” local NAACP President D.Z. Cofield told reporters. “We just happen to have one that was caught on tape.”

A federal judge had barred the release of the video before a trial scheduled this summer, but then came the leak.

Houston Mayor Annise Parker, who’d supported the judge’s decision keeping the video under wraps, told a news conference, “I resent any implication that we were trying to hide the tape. We investigated. We turned that investigation over to the district attorney, we backed the district attorney, and we fired the officers.”,

Four officers have been indicted, charged with “official oppression,” a misdemeanor, not a felony. If convicted, each faces up to a year in jail and a $4,000 fine.

Mitchell remarked to X, “Defense attorneys and Houston police say it will be tough for the defendants to get a fair trial now that this tape is out there, and they are blaming you specifically for putting this tape out there.”

“I believe the people have a constitutional right to see the videotape,” X replied. “These are public servants in uniform, caught in the public, and this was caught on tape. And to say to the people that you could not see what they’re doing in uniform, in the public, is a disgrace and disrespectful to the citizens of Harris County, who have the intelligence and the ability to sit on a jury, look at the facts, put the pretrial publicity to the side and weigh the real information in this case.

“The videotape speaks for itself. There’s not much science to it. So to say that a jury can’t make a clear determination of what they’re seeing and weigh the facts in this case here in Harris County is an insult to the citizens and the people of Harris County.”

Excerpt, read more:  Controversy Rages Over Houston Cop Beating Tape| CBS

 

Rock and Repression in Cuba | Amnesty International

Cuba’s repressive legal system has created a climate of fear among journalists, dissidents and activists, putting them at risk of arbitrary arrest and harassment by the authorities.

The Amnesty International report Restrictions on Freedom of Expression in Cuba highlights provisions in the legal system and government practices that restrict information provided to the media and which have been used to detain and prosecute hundreds of critics of the government. Cuban rock musicians, bloggers and activists demand a change to the country’s repressive laws.

 

Cuban Dissident Orlando Zapata Tamayo Dies

Cuban political prisoner Orlando Zapata Tamayo was imprisoned in 2003 for disrespecting authority, disorderly conduct and other political crimes.

Orlando Zapata Tamayo, a Cuban political dissent imprisoned for disrespecting authority, died after a lengthy hunger strike at a clinic at Havana’s Combinado del Este prison.

Zapata Tamayo, 42, was arrested along with 74 others in 2003 for contempt and disrespect of authority. The year of his arrest, Amnesty International called him “prisoner of conscience.” He was originally sentenced to three years, said Elizardo Sanchez, head of the Havana-based Cuban Commission on Human Rights and National Reconciliation. His sentenced was extended to 25 years, primarily because he continued to speak out against Fidel Castro while in prison. Zapata Tamayo went on a hunger strike on December 3, 2009 after accusing the prison guards of repeatedly beating him. He refused to wear a prison uniform, demanded a separate cell from the common prisoners and requested that his family be allowed to bring him food. His hunger strike lasted eleven weeks.

His family told reporters and human rights groups last week that the prison doctors said he was gravely ill. Word of Mr Zapata Tamayo’s death was first reported on Cuban exile radio stations in southern Florida, which broadcast an interview with his mother, Reina Luisa Tamayo.”The death of my son has been a premeditated murder,” Reina Luisa told the newspaper in a telephone interview.  News of his death drew a strong reaction among South Florida leaders who evoked messages of sympathy for his family.

“It is sad to note that this tragic death of Zapata Tamayo at the hands of the brutal Castro regime comes on the day before another anniversary of four other victims of the Castro dictatorship, the unarmed pilots of Brothers to the Rescue,” said Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen said in a statement. “I offer my heartfelt condolences to Zapata Tamayo’s mother, his family and fellow prisoners of conscience. His life and sacrifice will never be forgotten. Let us take his sad and untimely death and renew our commitment to assure that the Cuba of the future is rid of the failed ideology which killed this brave man.”

Rep. Kendrick Meek, a Democrat who represents the 17th Congressional District, issued the following statement: “My thoughts and prayers are with Orlando’s mother, Reina Luisa Tamayo, and his family at this most difficult time. The Cuban government’s stunning lack of respect for human rights was highlighted by Orlando as much in his life as in his death. He stood for freedom in the face of indignity and joins those who have put their lives on the line for the reality of a free Cuba. His stand was an act of conviction – a call for freedom in the face of oppression.”

Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart, a Republican who represents the 21st Congressional District, offered his sympathies to his family. “Like Pedro Luis Boitel, the martyrdom of Orlando Zapata Tamayo is now part of Cuba’s most glorious history. His murder by the tyrant Fidel Castro and his cowardly jailers will never be forgotten, nor will it be subject to any future statutes of limitations,” Diaz-Balart wrote. “Orlando Zapata Tamayo’s sacrifice will not be in vain, and he will be forever remembered with infinite honor by the Cuban Republic.”

U.S. Democrat Sen. Bill Nelson, of Florida, said in his own statement that ”freedom-loving people everywhere should hold the Cuban regime responsible for the fate of Orlando Zapata Tamayo.”

The last time an opponent of the communist government died in Cuba during a hunger strike was 1972 with poet and activist Pedro Luis Boitel.