FoRB in Full

“It is hard to fight your whole life”: An interview with María Antonieta Colunga Olivera

Posted on 27/05/202107/06/2021 by cswpress in Cuba, Latin America

María Antonieta Colunga Olivera is a journalist, the mother of Caleb and the wife of Yoel Suárez, also a journalist and FoRB activist whom she met when she worked as an editor and journalist for the Cuban magazine El Caimán Barbudo.

Now she works as a communicator in the national office of Cáritas Cuba, a humanitarian aid institution of the Catholic Church. Her husband has written extensively on human rights and freedom of religion or belief, and as a result of his work, he has been subjected to regular harassment by the Cuban authorities.

CSW spoke with María Antonieta to hear her testimony and highlight her experience.

“The longest hours of my life”

María Antonieta’s husband Yoel was summoned to the Siboney Police Station in Havana for the first time on 5 February 2020. There, he was interrogated for three hours by a state security agent, and informed he’d been subjected to an indefinite travel ban.

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“Es difícil luchar toda la vida”: Una entrevista con María Antonieta Colunga Olivera

Posted on 27/05/2021 by cswpress in Cuba ES, español, Latin America ES

María Antonieta Colunga Olivera es periodista, la madre de Caleb y la esposa de Yoel Suárez, también periodista y activista por la defensa de la libertad religiosa. Ambos se conocieron cuando ella trabajaba como editora y periodista para la revista cubana El Caimán Barbudo.

Ahora trabaja como comunicadora en la oficina nacional de Cáritas Cuba, una institución de ayuda humanitaria de la iglesia católica. Su esposo ha escrito ampliamente sobre los derechos humanos y la libertad de religión o creencia, y como resultado de su trabajo, ha sido objeto de hostigamiento regular por parte de las autoridades cubanas.

CSW platicó con María Antonieta para escuchar su testimonio y destacar su experiencia.

“Las horas más largas de mi vida”

El marido de María Antonieta fue citado a la estación de policía de Siboney en La Habana por la primera vez en el 5 de febrero de 2020. Allí, fue interrogado durante tres horas por un agente de seguridad del estado que le informó que sería prohibido de viajar del país.

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Arrests, torture, violence and oppression, and yet there is still hope for Myanmar/Burma

Posted on 17/05/202122/06/2021 by cswpress in Asia, Burma

By Benedict Rogers

Last week, people in Myanmar/Burma marked 100 days since the military coup with yet more protests. For over three months since General Min Aung Hlaing seized power on 1 February, overthrowing the democratically-elected civilian government, people have courageously taken to the streets throughout the country. Almost 5,000 have been arrested, just under 4,000 are currently in jail, and almost 800 have been killed, yet still the demonstrations continue.

Myanmar now stands on the brink of a humanitarian disaster. The economy has collapsed, and a Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) by public sector workers has led to thousands losing their homes and salaries. Many are facing extreme poverty and starvation.

For those detained by the military, torture is “almost ‘automatic’” according to survivors and eyewitnesses in evidence documented by the Chin Human Rights Organisation (CHRO). “Systematic torture practices are used by Burmese soldiers to extract information or forced confessions from people arrested for exercising their right to peaceful protest or other anti-junta activities,” CHRO report.

According to one former detainee, “Once inside the interrogation center, we are made to kneel down, hands tied behind our backs, blindfolded and forced to lie on our belly on the ground. That’s when the interrogation and beatings begin. Depending on how quickly the soldiers obtain the information they want, detainees are caned with up to 40 lashes, some detainees are made to dig holes in the ground to make them think that they are about to be killed and they are digging their own grave.”

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Seek the truth at all costs: A call for the release of Zhang Zhan on the first anniversary of her detention

Posted on 14/05/202122/06/2021 by cswpress in Asia, China

“We should seek the truth and seek it at all costs. Truth has always been the most expensive thing in the world. It is our life.”

These are the words of the brave Chinese citizen journalist and former lawyer Zhang Zhan. For her, seeking the truth meant travelling to China’s Wuhan in February 2020, right at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic. There, she published videos and articles reporting on the crisis to both Twitter and YouTube, both of which are blocked in China.

Zhang’s reporting, and particularly her questioning of whether the Chinese authorities’ response to the pandemic had infringed on human rights unsurprisingly provoked the ire of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). On 14 May 2020, a year ago today, she was seized by Shanghai police in her hotel room in Wuhan and taken to a detention centre in Shanghai.

She subsequently spent seven months in detention, during which time concerns were repeatedly raised over her health and wellbeing – particularly as she remained on hunger strike in protest of her treatment.

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Cherchez la vérité à tout prix : Un appel à la libération de Zhang Zhan à l’occasion du premier anniversaire de sa détention

Posted on 14/05/2021 by cswpress in Asia FR, China FR, français

« Nous devons chercher la vérité et la rechercher à tout prix. La vérité a toujours été la chose la plus précieuse au monde. Elle est/représente/symbolise toute notre vie ».

Ces mots ont été prononcés par la courageuse « journaliste citoyenne » chinoise et ancienne avocate, Zhang Zhan. Pour elle, être à la recherche de la vérité signifiait se rendre à Wuhan, en Chine, en février 2020, au tout début de la pandémie de COVID-19. Une fois sur place, elle a mis en ligne sur Twitter et YouTube – tous deux bloqués en Chine – des vidéos et des articles relatifs à la crise.

Les reportages de Mme Zhang, et en particulier ses interrogations sur la question de savoir si la réponse des autorités chinoises à la pandémie avait porté atteinte aux droits humains, ont, sans surprise, provoqué l’ire du Parti communiste chinois (PCC). Le 14 mai 2020, il y a un an, jour pour jour, elle est arrêtée par la police de Shanghai dans sa chambre d’hôtel à Wuhan et emmenée dans un centre de détention à Shanghai.

Elle a ensuite passé sept mois en détention, période au cours de laquelle sa santé et son bien-être ont suscité des inquiétudes à plusieurs reprises, d’autant plus qu’elle poursuivait une grève de la faim pour protester contre ses conditions de détention.

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