Tag: trial

Thousands of Eritreans of all faiths and none are detained without charge or trial in Eritrea. Join us as we protest for change.

Posted on by cswpress in Eritrea, Sub-Saharan Africa

Germano Nati Gojo, an Eritrean politician, was arrested at his home by security agents as he listened to the radio on his veranda. One agent stood outside the gate. The other entered and said: “Sir, we need you on a work-related issue”. Saying nothing, Germano Nati Gojo stood up, went to change his clothes and left with them. His two younger children, then aged 16 and 12, witnessed this. The family has not seen or heard from him in 17 years, despite inquiring.

His eldest son, Yona Germano Nati, addressed the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva in March 2018.  He spoke of how his father had joined the struggle for independence of Eritrea in 1976, shared the story of his father’s enforced disappearance in September 2001, and described their poignant last meeting prior to the arrest, during which his father expressed his readiness to be jailed alongside his pro-reform colleagues who are now known collectively as the G 15.

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Li Heping’s Release – A Moment to Celebrate or a Continuing Case of Concern?

Posted on by cswpress in Asia, China

Li Heping’s reunion with his family on 9 May 2017 was a moment for celebration; the celebration of an innocent man’s reunion with his long-suffering family and the celebration of the end of a period of torture, interrogation and imprisonment. But the joy of Li Heping’s reunion with his family is tempered by continuing concerns for his safety, and the injustice of his situation.

Li Heping reunited with wife
Wang Qiaoling and her daughter
embrace Li Heping

Who is Li Heping?

Li Heping is one of China’s most experienced and high profile human rights lawyers. He began working on sensitive cases around 2002 and is well known for defending the human rights of religious minorities, including Christians and Falun Gong practitioners, as well as activists and victims of torture.

His work on these cases led to a confrontation with the state. A Chinese security agent reportedly once told him that, in the eyes of Beijing, Li had become “more dangerous than Bin Laden”. In September 2007, Li was abducted, stripped and tortured by security forces. He then had his lawyers’ license revoked in 2009, and continued to be consistently monitored.

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Ahok’s Case: Indonesia’s Pluralism is still in Peril

Posted on by cswpress in Asia, Indonesia

UPDATE: In May 2017, Ahok was sentenced to two years imprisonment on blasphemy charges. Click here to read more. 

UPDATE 2: Ahok was released in January 2019.

Three years ago today, Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) published one of its most important reports in recent times: Indonesia: Pluralism in Peril – The rise of religious intolerance across the archipelago. The report accomplished three things: it illustrated that religious intolerance in Indonesia is now a nationwide phenomenon, contrary to popular myth, and is not confined to particular parts of the archipelago; it demonstrated that it affects everyone, of all religions – Christian churches are closed down or attacked, Ahmadiyya Muslim mosques and homes burned, Shi’as displaced, Buddhist temples targeted and Confucianists vulnerable, as well as pluralistic-minded Sunnis, and atheists; and it proved that the last President of Indonesia, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, was responsible for giving the radical Islamists the green light and fuelling the erosion in the values of the ‘Pancasila’, Indonesia’s state philosophy that protects freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) for all six recognised religions.

Three years on, what has changed?

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Iran: How the Judicial System is used to Target Religious and Ethnic Minorities

Posted on by cswpress in Iran, Middle East & North Africa

Five Iranian Christians were arrested by Iranian Intelligence (VEVAK) Officers on 26 August while picnicking with their wives in a private garden in Firouzkooh, an area 90 miles east of Tehran. They were not holding a religious service. They were simply enjoying a picnic. Now they are detained in Evin Prison in Tehran.

Since President Rouhani came to office in August 2013 there has been an increase in the number of religious minorities imprisoned on account of their faith. The rise in harassment, arrests and restrictions on freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) are a major concern for non-Muslims, converts to Christianity, members of the Baha’i faith and minority Muslim groups.

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Uncertainty for Religious Minorities as Nepal Celebrates First Anniversary of its Constitution.

Posted on by cswpress in Asia, Nepal

Notes to Editors: The eight Christians in Charikot, eastern Nepal were acquitted of all charges on 6 December 2016. 

“For the last two years we have been unsure about how long the doors will be open for us to practise our faith freely. We were not expecting this level of harassment”. Tanka Subedi, Christian leader and human rights defender, Kathmandu, Nepal

On 21 September, eight Christians in Charikot, eastern Nepal will attend their next (and possibly final) court hearing – one day after Nepal marks the first anniversary of the promulgation of its long awaited constitution. They all face charges of attempting to convert children to Christianity through the distribution of a comic book which explains the story of Jesus.

Bimal Shahi, Prakash Pradhan and Shakti Pakhrin of the Charikot group spent together 9 days in jail accused of illegal conversation because of the distribution of a small pamphlet "The Great story" with the story of Jesus explained for children
Bimal Shahi, Prakash Pradhan and Shakti Pakhrin from Charikot holding copies of “The Great Story”comic book. Photo Credit: Giulio Paletta/CSW 2016, Nepal

The arrests took place in June 2016, following two trauma counselling sessions organised by Teach Nepal, a Kathmandu-based non-governmental organisation (NGO). The sessions sought to address the psychological needs of children affected by the earthquakes that hit Nepal in April 2015 and were held on 8 and 9 June in two schools in Charikot: Modern Nepal School and Mount Valley Academy. When they finished, the organisers distributed a small gift pack to the children, which included a handkerchief and a 23-page comic book entitled The Great Story.

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