arbitrary detention – FoRB in Full

Voces de Cuba: Yoel Suárez

Posted on 10/08/202010/08/2020 by cswpress in Cuba, español, Latin America

El 5 de febrero de 2020, Yoel Suárez fue citado a la estación de policía de Siboney en La Habana donde fue interrogado durante tres horas por un agente de seguridad del estado que le informó que sería declarado ‘regulado.’ La declaración somete al Sr. Suárez a una prohibición indefinida de viajes internacionales, una táctica común de las autoridades cubanas para perjudicar a personas que consideran “políticamente sensibles”.

Como periodista independiente, el Sr. Suárez ha trabajado con medios de comunicación no estatales en Cuba desde 2014 y ha escrito extensamente sobre temas de derechos humanos y libertad de religión o creencias. Como resultado de su trabajo, él y su familia han sido objeto de hostigamiento regular por parte de las autoridades cubanas.

Hoy, hace más de seis meses, el Sr. Suárez continúa bajo la prohibición de viajar, y él y sus familiares han recibido múltiples visitas de agentes de seguridad del estado de Cuba.

LEE MÁS

Voices from Cuba: Yoel Suárez

Posted on 10/08/202010/08/2020 by cswpress in Cuba, Latin America

On 5 February 2020 Yoel Suárez was summoned to Siboney Police Station in Havana where he was interrogated for three hours by a state security agent who informed him that he had been declared ‘regulado.’ The declaration effectively subjects Mr Suárez to an indefinite ban on international travel, and is a common tactic used by the Cuban authorities to target individuals who they deem ‘politically sensitive’.

As an independent journalist, Mr Suárez has worked with non-state media outlets in Cuba since 2014 and has written extensively about human rights and freedom of religion or belief issues. As a result of his work, he and his family have been subjected to regular harassment at the hands of the Cuban authorities.

Today, over six months later, Mr Suárez remains unable to travel, and he and members of his family have received multiple visits from Cuban state security agents.

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“No respect for human dignity”: Remembering China’s 709 Crackdown

Posted on 09/07/202013/07/2020 by cswpress in Asia, China

On 9 July 2015 the Chinese authorities began an extensive crackdown on human rights defenders (HRDs) and their friends and family members. Dubbed the ‘709 Crackdown’ after the date on which it began, the campaign saw over 300 lawyers, activists and their associates detained, interrogated or imprisoned.

Some of those detained have since vanished into China’s prison system. Many others have since been released, and with them have emerged reports of physical and psychological torture, including frequent beatings, sleep deprivation, forced medication, violent threats, and prolonged isolation. One of those released is human rights lawyer Wang Quanzhang, who was finally reunited with his family in April 2020 after serving nearly five years in prison. During his imprisonment, Wang suffered several health issues, losing approximately 30 pounds and showing signs of memory loss.

Five years since the crackdown began, pressure on HRDs in China continues to increase, with some forced to scale back their work on ‘sensitive’ cases or leave the profession entirely. Today we reflect on the crackdown, and its repercussions which continue to be felt across China, in the words of those who lived through it:

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Language matters: What is terrorism?

Posted on 04/05/202003/07/2020 by cswpress in Asia, China, Language Matters

Academic and terrorism researcher David Tucker once wrote: “Above the gates of hell is the warning that all that enter should abandon hope. Less dire but to the same effect is the warning given to those who try to define terrorism.”[1] Today, his words still aptly describe the continuing search by states and international bodies for a definition of terrorism.

A search for consensus

The United Nations (UN) has made several attempts to provide a general definition of terrorism, in contrast to describing specific acts of terrorism. It had a degree of success in the 1990s, with some progress made towards a general definition. In 1994 the non-binding ‘Declaration on Measures to Eliminate International Terrorism,’ endorsed by the UN General Assembly, defined terrorism as “criminal acts intended or calculated to provoke a state of terror in the general public, a group of persons or particular persons for political purposes.”

This was followed by a 1996 General Assembly Resolution 51/210, which established an ad hoc Committee to find a Draft Comprehensive Convention. However, when the Committee presented its report, the proposed definition was met with controversy and disquiet in the ad hoc Committee.

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“No one is immune from the roundups”: Life for Uyghurs in China’s Xinjiang region

Posted on 06/04/202006/04/2020 by cswpress in Asia, China

China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region is currently witnessing an unprecedented human rights crisis in which between one and three million predominantly Muslim Uyghurs, Kazakhs and members of other ethnic minorities have been detained without charge or trial in so-called ‘re-education camps.’ The following blog post is written by an expert on Uyghur culture and sheds light on what life is like for those inside the region.

“Imagine a world where your every movement is watched. Where who you meet, who you visit, and even what you talk about is monitored. Where you can be hauled off a bus mid-journey or dragged out of your car at a checkpoint, where your belongings, your identity, your face, your fingerprints and your irises are scanned several times a day, and where the contents of your phone could send you to prison for the rest of your life.

This is the new reality for more than 10 million Uyghurs (pronounced Weega) in China’s north-west Xinjiang province, since the former governor of Tibet, Chen Quanguo was summoned to take over the helm of, in the eyes of Xi Jinping and the Chinese Communist Party, China’s second most problematic province in 2017.

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