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A woman in Vietnam.

Unregistered and unrecognised: the plight of Vietnam’s Duong Van Minh community

Posted on by cswpress in Asia, Vietnam

One year ago today, on 12 December 2021, hundreds of persons in medical protective suits and plainclothes, and police, some armed with shields and batons, disrupted the funeral of Duong Van Minh, the ethnic Hmong founder of an eponymous religious community in Northern Vietnam.

The authorities claimed they were there to force people to take COVID-19 tests, despite no infection having been reported in the area.

Police in Tuyen Quang province arrested and beat at least 36 people as they attempted to attend the funeral. Seven more were arrested a day later, on 13 December, when they went to protest the police action. On 15 December, police announced over loudspeakers that five more people had to surrender. These five were subsequently arrested and accused of assaulting officials.

In total, at least 48 people were arrested.

Continue reading “Unregistered and unrecognised: the plight of Vietnam’s Duong Van Minh community” →
Indian human rights activist John Dayal.

‘Freedom of expression and the courage to express oneself go hand in hand’ – an interview with John Dayal

Posted on by cswpress in Asia, India

Indian human rights activist, senior journalist and former president of the All India Catholic Union John Dayal is this year’s winner of the prestigious annual Louis Careno Award for Excellence in Journalism, awarded to an individual or institution for their outstanding contribution to the press by the Indian Catholic Press Association (ICPA). Dayal has spent over four decades as a champion of minority rights and the right to freedom of religion or belief in India and is a household name within the Indian Christian community.

The award will be conferred by the ICPA on 10 December, Human Rights Day, which follows International Human Rights Defenders Day, during the 27th National Convention of Christian Journalists in Chennai. The ICPA described Dayal as “a prophet of our times who is among India’s foremost voices against human rights violations, particularly on the persecution of religious minorities.”

Last month, CSW spoke to Dayal about his early years as a journalist, the state of freedom of religion and belief in India today, role of the press and more.

Continue reading “‘Freedom of expression and the courage to express oneself go hand in hand’ – an interview with John Dayal” →
A Dalit manual scavenger in Nasik, Maharashtra, India.

La intolerancia hacia los cristianos en muchas comunidades tribales de la India no termina aun ni con en la muerte

Posted on by cswpress in Asia ES, español, India ES

A la familia de Janki Sori no se le dio mucho tiempo para llorar. Después de haberla enterrado en su propia tierra el 1 de noviembre, solo pasaron dos días antes de que su cuerpo fuera exhumado contra los deseos de su familia por miembros de un grupo tribal conocido como Sarv Adivasi Samaj, la razón, fue debido a su conversión al cristianismo.

Sori, que tenía 35 años cuando murió, vivía en la aldea de Antagarh, en el estado indio de Chhattisgarh, donde la mayoría de la comunidad son animistas que adoran la naturaleza y los espíritus, al tiempo que obtienen cierta influencia del hinduismo.

Los que exhumaron su cuerpo afirmaron que su aldea pertenece solo a aquellos que siguen su religión y, después de enterrar a la Sra.  Sori en una aldea diferente el 4 de noviembre, el grupo afirmó que continuarían atacando a los conversos al cristianismo de la misma manera hasta que se “reconviertan” a la religión o a su ascendencia y cultura.

Continue reading “La intolerancia hacia los cristianos en muchas comunidades tribales de la India no termina aun ni con en la muerte” →
A member of the Anti-Balaka armed militia poses as he displays his weapon in the town of Bocaranga Central African Republic.

La Justicia por fin llego a la República Centroafricana, pero el trabajo del gobierno aún no ha terminado

Posted on by cswpress in Central African Republic ES, español, Sub-Saharan Africa ES

A finales de octubre, el Tribunal Penal Especial de la República Centroafricana (RCA), con respaldo internacional, emitió un veredicto en el primer juicio completo de la sala. El caso fue presentado contra tres líderes del grupo armado Retour, Réclamation et Réhabilitation (3R), que fueron declarados culpables de crímenes de guerra y crímenes de lesa humanidad.

Issa Sallet Adoum (alias Bozizé) fue condenado a cadena perpetua, y sus coacusados, Mahamat Tahir y Yaouba Ousman, recibieron 20 años de prisión cada uno.

Los tres fueron acusados de orquestar ataques contra las aldeas noroccidentales de Koundjili y Lomouna el 21 de mayo de 2019, en los quemurieron al menos 46 civiles desarmados y decenas más resultaron heridos. Se dice que los hombres atacaron a la población civil que no apoyaba a el 3R, atando y disparando a civiles antes de proceder  a someter a las  mujeres y niñas de las aldeas a violaciones masivas y  violencia sexual.

Continue reading “La Justicia por fin llego a la República Centroafricana, pero el trabajo del gobierno aún no ha terminado” →
A member of the Anti-Balaka armed militia poses as he displays his weapon in the town of Bocaranga Central African Republic.

Justice at last in the Central African Republic, but the government’s work is not finished yet

Posted on by cswpress in Central African Republic, Sub-Saharan Africa

In late October the internationally-backed Special Criminal Court in the Central African Republic (CAR) released a verdict in the chamber’s first full trial. The case was brought against three leaders of the armed group Retour, Réclamation et Réhabilitation (3R), who were found guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Issa Sallet Adoum (alias Bozizé) was sentenced to life imprisonment, and his co-defendants, Mahamat Tahir and Yaouba Ousman, each received 20-year prison sentences.

All three were accused of orchestrating attacks on the northwestern villages of Koundjili and Lomouna on 21 May 2019 in which at least 46 unarmed civilians were killed and dozens more were injured. The men are said to have targeted civilian populations that did not support 3R, tying up and shooting civilians before proceeding to subject women and girls in the villages to mass rape and sexual violence.

Continue reading “Justice at last in the Central African Republic, but the government’s work is not finished yet” →