prison – Page 7 – FoRB in Full

Reverend Dr Hkalam Samson, one of Myanmar/Burma’s most senior and internationally renowned Christian pastors.

The continued imprisonment of Reverend Dr Hkalam Samson is proof that no one is safe in Myanmar

Posted on 27/06/2023 by cswpress in Asia, Burma

By Benedict Rogers

When I heard that my friend Reverend Dr Hkalam Samson, one of Myanmar/Burma’s most senior and internationally renowned Christian pastors, had been arrested at Mandalay airport on 5 December as he attempted to travel to Bangkok, several thoughts went through my mind.

On one level I was not surprised, because the current illegal military junta, which seized power in a coup on 1 February 2021, has been even more brutal, ruthless and inhumane than any of the succession of military dictatorships that have ruled Myanmar for most of the past six decades.

On another level, due to his international connections, I thought his arrest might simply lead to a brief detention, for the purposes of interrogation. I half expected him to be released within a matter of days. This is a man, after all, who has met the President of the United States in the White House, a Minister of State in the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, parliamentarians around the world and has attended international fora including the International Ministerial Conference on freedom of religion or belief in Washington, DC in 2019.

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Leaders from the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church at Timkat Festival in Asmara, Eritrea.

The international community must assist in transforming Eritrea’s pathocracy into a genuine democracy

Posted on 27/04/2023 by cswpress in Eritrea, Sub-Saharan Africa

27 April 1993: Eritrea declares official independence from Ethiopia after a referendum which saw a 98.5% turnout with a 99.83% vote in favour.

The vote took place nearly two years after the defeat of Ethiopian forces in Eritrea in May 1991, which brought with it an end to nearly three decades of civil war. The referendum installed the leader of the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front (EPLF, which later became PFDJ – People’s Front for Democracy and Justice) Isaias Afewerki as president, and it was hoped that he would lead the Eritrean people into a just and democratic future – then-US President Bill Clinton even referred to him as a ‘renaissance African leader’.

Sadly, this did not occur. Afewerki remains the only ruler Eritrea has ever known, and under his leadership the nation’s heroic liberation struggle has been resolutely betrayed due to his obsession with absolute power.

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Silenciados por defender a los oprimidos: defendiendo a los presos de conciencia de Vietnam

Posted on 17/04/2023 by cswpress in Asia ES, español, Vietnam ES

El Partido Comunista de Vietnam viola continuamente los derechos civiles y políticos de su pueblo. El derecho a la libertad de expresión, opinión y expresión está estrictamente restringido y reprimido, con poco o ningún espacio para la voz de la sociedad civil. El gobierno vietnamita encarcela regularmente a personas por su trabajo de derechos humanos, esto incluye la denuncia de la corrupción, la oferta de asistencia legal, la organización de protestas pacíficas y el uso de las redes sociales para abogar por cuestiones sociales y denunciar las injusticias sociales.

Muchos defensores y defensoras de los derechos humanos arriesgan su propia seguridad para defender a las víctimas de violaciones de derechos humanos, incluido el derecho a la libertad de religión o de creencias. Quienes hablan con frecuencia se enfrentan al acoso, la intimidación, la vigilancia intrusiva e incluso a el encarcelamiento por parte del gobierno vietnamita.

Seis de estos activistas son Nguyen Van Dai, Le Thu Ha, Nguyen Trung Ton, Nguyen Bac Truyen, Pham Van Troi y Truong Minh Duc. El 5 de abril de 2018, fueron juzgados acusados de “llevar a cabo actividades destinadas a derrocar al gobierno”, y recibieron penas de prisión de entre siete y 15 años.

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Silenced for defending the oppressed – standing up for Vietnam’s prisoners of conscience

Posted on 05/04/2023 by cswpress in Asia, Vietnam

The Communist Party of Vietnam routinely violates the civil and political rights of its people. The right to freedom of expression, opinion and speech is tightly restricted and suppressed, with little or no space for the voice of civil society. The Vietnamese government regularly imprisons individuals for human rights work including exposing corruption, offering legal assistance, organising peaceful protests, and using social media to advocate on social issues and speak out against social injustices.

Many human rights defenders risk their own safety to stand up for victims of human rights violations, including the right to freedom of religion or belief (FoRB). Those who speak out frequently face harassment, intimidation, intrusive monitoring and even imprisonment by the Vietnamese government.

Six such activists are Nguyen Van Dai, Le Thu Ha, Nguyen Trung Ton, Nguyen Bac Truyen, Pham Van Troi and Truong Minh Duc. On 5 April 2018, they stood trial under accusations of ‘carrying out activities aimed at overthrowing the government’, receiving prison sentences of between seven and 15 years.

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Abune Antonios, the legitimate patriarch of the Eritrean Orthodox Church.

Let us honour the memory of Patriarch Antonios by bringing an end to the violations of the Eritrean regime

Posted on 09/02/202313/02/2023 by cswpress in Eritrea, Sub-Saharan Africa

Abune (Father) Antonios, the legitimate patriarch of the Eritrean Orthodox Church, died a year ago today. He was 94 years old, and had spent the last 16 years of his life under house arrest following his repeated objections to unwarranted government interference in church affairs.

In April 2004, the patriarch was appointed with the unanimous endorsement of the Holy Synod of the Church to lead one of only four recognised religious denominations in Eritrea (the others being Catholicism, Evangelical Lutheranism, and Sunni Islam). As a leader of one of the few religious communities not directly outlawed by the Eritrean authorities, one might have expected that he would not face the harassment and pressures the Eritrean regime excels in dispensing.

However, this was not the case. By August 2005 he had been removed by the government from administrative control of the patriarchate, and confined to ceremonial duties. Then in January 2006 he was removed from office in violation of canon law, his advisor Merigeta Yitbarek Berhe was detained, and he was held under de facto house arrest at his official residence. Eventually, in 2007 the patriarch’s personal pontifical insignia and clothing were seized, and he was formally placed under incommunicado house arrest in an undisclosed location in the Eritrean capital, Asmara.

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