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NEWS ABOUT: political prisoner

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EU Honors Chinese Dissident, Enraging Beijing

Hu Jia is serving a prison sentence for 'subversion'

(Newser) - A move by the European Parliament to award a major human-rights prize to a Chinese dissident has Beijing outraged on the eve of a summit on the economic crisis, the Telegraph reports. The government denounced as “gross interference in China's domestic affairs” news that the jailed Hu Jia had... More »

Out of the Cyclone, Seeds of Change in Burma

(Newser) - In the wake of the ruling junta's efforts to waylay foreign aid following May's Cyclone Nargis, Burmese citizens—including former political prisoners—created a grass-roots relief effort to help the embattled populace. In doing so, writes George Packer in the New Yorker, they may have created the catalyst for long-awaited... More »

Kremlin Foe Denied Bid for Parole

Oil tycoon, Putin opponent remains in Siberian prison

(AP) - A Russian court has rejected Mikhail Khodorkovsky's request for parole on Friday, ordering the jailed oil tycoon to serve out the remainder of his sentence in a ruling his lawyer called politically motivated. Khodorkovsky, the former head of Yukos oil company and once Russia's richest man, was sentenced to 8... More »

Rowling Casts Spell at Harvard

Fight the monsters, she urges

(Newser) - Harry Potter birth mom JK Rowling yesterday urged Harvard graduates at their commencement to use their imaginations on more than wizards and muggles to envision—and create—a better world. She recalled the rewarding time she spent when she was younger working for prisoners of totalitarian regimes for Amnesty International.... More »

Belarus Expels US Diplomats

Souring relations take a turn for the worse after Washington's criticism, economic sanctions

(Newser) - Belarus ordered most of the staff of the US embassy to leave the country today, a sign of souring relations between the states, the AP reports. The top US diplomat in the former Soviet republic says all but six staffers have been ordered out within 72 hours. More »

Indian 'Spy' Freed After 35 Years

Trader languished in Pakistani prisons after case was forgotten

(Newser) - An Indian prisoner has finally come home after spending 35 years on death row in Pakistan on spying charges, the BBC reports. Trader Kashmir Singh was greeted by his family and hundreds of well-wishers as he crossed the border back into India. "I have got a new life,"... More »

Argentina Baby Snatch Witness Dies in Trial

Possibly killed before could talk about Dirty War disappearances

(Newser) - Days before he was to testify about the Dirty War disappearance of twins born to a political prisoner, a former Argentine army officer has been found dead of a gunshot wound to the head, the BBC reports. Police don't know if Paul Navone committed suicide but human rights groups think... More »

Colombia Prez: Rebels Don't Have Hostage's Love Child

DNA to determine if boy is orphan in custody

(Newser) - Relatives of FARC hostage Clara Rojas yesterday underwent DNA testing to determine whether a boy surrendered to a Bogota orphanage 2 years ago is her 3-year-old son, as Colombian president Alvaro Uribe contends. Uribe yesterday said FARC rebels couldn't release Emmanuel Rojas, along with his mother and another hostage, as... More »

Bush to Urge Cubans to Rise Up

Calls power transition from Fidel to brother unacceptable

(Newser) - President Bush is expected to make a landmark speech on Cuba today, calling the transfer of power from Fidel Castro to his brother Raul unacceptable to the United States. The president will also address the Cuban people, urging them to resist "the force of a dying regime," reports... More »

3,000 Detained in Burma, by Junta's Count

Japan cuts aid, China supports UN diplomat

(Newser) - Burma’s military regime imprisoned roughly 3,000 people in last month’s crackdown on pro-democracy protesters, the state-run newspaper announced today. Over 500 are still in custody, and more are being arrested each day. “Those who should be released will be,” the paper said. Meanwhile international outrage... More »

Freed Scholar Recounts Iran Prison Ordeal

Esfandiari recalls determination not to 'succumb to despair'

(Newser) - It took a daily routine for Haleh Esfandiari to stay level-headed during her 105-day stint in Iran's notorious Evin prison. The Iranian-American scholar paced her room for 3 to 4 hours a day, read, and wrote a book in her head to ward off depression. She was treated respectfully, but... More »

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