More than 100 march
as rights group slams junta over recruiting child soldiers
BBC Oct 31, 07 8:52 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Picking up their quashed demands, more than 100 Burmese monks marched in defiance of the military junta today in the first marches since the government crackdown on pro-democracy protests late last month. "This is very significant... we are very encouraged to see the monks taking up action," one Burmese human rights watcher told the BBC.
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New Republic wants sportsmen to condemn Olympic hosts
New Republic Oct 18, 07 1:15 PM CDT
(Newser)
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US athletes have a moral imperative to take a stand at the Beijing Olympics, the New Republic ’s editors assert: The American delegation should follow Lee Bollinger’s example of “spectacular rudeness” next summer, condemning the Chinese for their brutal human rights record. It’s unethical to be hosted by a country that tortures political activists, they argue, and be silent.
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China is ignoring rights abuses for economic interests, Time says
Time Oct 15, 07 3:25 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Diminished US influence is allowing human rights violators in Darfur and Burma to get away with murder, Harvard expert Samantha Power writes in Time . America is speaking up louder than ever, but Uncle Sam’s diplomatic nadir makes for “a void in global human rights leadership.” China has most influence over both pariahs, importing Sudanese oil and exporting weapons to Burma.
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She meets with human rights activists in Russia, offers support
Reuters Oct 13, 07 2:36 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Condoleezza Rice criticized the "concentration of power" in the Kremlin today and pledged support to human rights activists, the BBC reported. In Russia for already-tense talks on a proposed missile defense shield, Rice also questioned the independence of the judiciary. One rights leader, however, said the stain of Guantanamo Bay and Abu-Ghraib brings accusations of the pot calling the kettle black.
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Indicted helped Chilean dictator to launder $27M into US accounts
BBC Oct 4, 07 2:19 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Arrest warrants for embezzlement were issued today in Chile for associates of former dictator Augusto Pinochet, including his widow and five children, the BBC reports. The warrants allege that the accused helped Pinochet hide $27 million of state money in US bank accounts. The former dictator died in 2006 while awaiting trial for human-rights abuses committed under his regime.
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Warned junta against quelling protests, met Suu Kyi this morning
BBC Oct 2, 07 9:32 AM CDT
(Newser)
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UN envoy Ibrahim Gambari left Burma today after meeting with a top general and a second meeting with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, released from house arrest for the talks. Gambari, who was attempting to open dialog between the military junta and dissidents whose protests were brutally suppressed last week, had cooled his heels for four days before Gen. Than Shwe agreed to see him, the BBC reports.
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Prez announces new sanctions, visa ban at UN
New York Times Sep 25, 07 1:40 PM CDT
(Newser)
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President Bush told the UN General Assembly today that the US will tighten economic sanctions on Burma and impose a travel ban on its military junta leaders. The US has long maintained an embargo against the country, which is now in its eighth day of anti-junta protests. “The people’s desire to freedom is unmistakable,” Bush said.
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Archbishop's supporters suspect regime is behind adultery lawsuit
Los Angeles Times Sep 12, 07 3:18 PM CDT
(Newser)
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An archbishop and prominent critic of Robert Mugabe's regime has resigned his Catholic Church leadership position after being accused of having an affair with a married woman. Pius Ncube remains a bishop, and his supporters say they see the authoritarian Zimbabwean regime behind the scandal, which Ncube calls "a state-driven, vicious attack," the LA Times reports.
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Bush accepts Olympics invitation; talks recalls, environment with Hu
New York Times Sep 6, 07 3:18 PM CDT
(Newser)
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President Bush accepted an invitation today from China’s president to attend next summer’s Olympics, a gesture that will likely anger human rights activists but may increase pressure on Beijing, the Times reports. In a 90-minute meeting in the eve of the APEC summit, Hu Jintao and Bush also discussed climate change and recalls of Chinese-made toys.
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Lawsuit accuses net giant of complicity in torture, human rights abuses
San Francisco Chronicle Aug 28, 07 1:05 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Yahoo asked a US federal court yesterday to dismiss a human rights lawsuit accusing the company of abetting the Chinese government. Two imprisoned Chinese journalists accuse the Web giant of passing along information about users that led to the arrest, imprisonment, and sometimes torture of writers and dissidents, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
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Will citizens temper Japan's courts, where 99.9% are found guilty?
Bloomberg Aug 25, 07 8:38 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Japan will give citizens the gavel in an effort to counteract its judicial system’s prejudice for presuming guilt. Six citizens and three trained jurists will sit on criminal cases, and the majority will rule, Bloomberg reports. The new system follows a clamor of criticism about forced confessions, inhumane treatment of death row inmates and Japan’s 99.9% conviction rate.
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Bin-Laden go-between among dozens released before trial
Times (UK) Aug 23, 07 4:16 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Dozens of Pakistani terror suspects have been released from jail without trial following orders from the nation's supreme court that they be freed. The bold move by the judiciary against President Musharraf's tenuous rule is bound to elicit protests from the US and Britain. The most notorious prisoner released is Al-Qaeda suspect Mohammed Naeem Noor Khan.
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Group votes to list interrogation techniques it won't help with
San Francisco Chronicle Aug 20, 07 8:38 AM CDT
(Newser)
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The American Psychological Association has voted not to ban members from assisting with interrogations at Guantanamo and other military prisons, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Instead, the group approved a measure listing specific procedures members won't help with, including sleep deprivation and water-boarding. "If we remove psychologists from these facilities, people are going to die," said an Army psychologist.
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