Dhaka, April 23 – The Chamber court yesterday stayed till May 13 the High Court proceedings on the rule regarding compensation to Jaha Alam who was wrongly imprisoned for three years in connection with 26 fraud cases. Jute mill worker…
Category: Human rights
Myanmar court rejects final appeal by jailed Reuters journos
The highest court of Myanmar has denied the final appeal of the two Reuters journalists who were imprisoned for their reporting on the ethnic cleansing of Rohingya Muslims, upholding the seven-year prison sentence and dashing the last hope that justice would be…
“Climate of Fear” marks media landscape
UNITED NATIONS, Apr 19 2019 (IPS) – Journalists around the world are increasingly seeing threats of violence, detention, and even death simply for doing their job, a new press index found. In the 2019 World Press Freedom Index, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has found…
8 million new voters expected in BD voter list update by EC
Dhaka, April 22 – The Election Commission (EC) is going to start gathering data to update their voter list targeting about 8 million citizens across the country from Tuesday. According to the EC sources, the commission will collect data on…
HC may hear another case of wrong-imprisonment Tuesday
Dhaka, April 22 – A High Court bench is likely to hold a hearing on Tuesday on a writ petition filed for releasing Md Arman, whose story is identical to Jaha Alam, who languished in jail for three years in…
UN’s empty promises to world’s indigenous peoples
PHOENIX, Arizona, Apr 19 2019 (IPS) – The United Nations, as in so many other areas, gives lip service in support of Indigenous issues while lacking the political will and enforcement power over individual member states to comply with the protection…
You cannot muzzle the media: Press under Nigeria’s Buhari
By Jonathan Rozen New York, Apr 17 2019 (IPS) – When Nigeria’s incumbent president Muhammadu Buhari won re-election this year, he campaigned (as he did in 2015) on an image of good governance and anti-corruption. Billboards in the capital, Abuja,…
Brunei’s new stoning law
This month, the Sultanate of Brunei confirmed plans to impose a new penal code with brutal punishments. These include whipping or death by stoning for extramarital sex and anal sex, among other things, and amputations of limbs for theft. Abortion is also criminalized, and…
507 enforced disappearances in BD in 11 years, 159 not traced
Dhaka, April 18 – A new report from International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) establishes that enforced disappearances in Bangladesh constitute crimes against humanity, and calls on the international community to take all necessary measures to ensure that the government…
Ensure Justice for Murdered Female Student | HRW
(New York) – The Bangladesh government should thoroughly investigate the murder of a madrassa student and fairly prosecute all those responsible, Human Rights Watch said. The murder of Nusrat Jahan Rafi, who was killed after she filed a complaint of attempted rape, should spur…
US: Assange’s possible extradition threatens journalism: HRW
‘Hacking’ Charges Could Expand to Standard Investigative Reporting Practices The extradition of Julian Assange from the United Kingdom to the United States for alleged computer-related crimes could have dangerous implications for journalists in the digital age. London’s Metropolitan Police confirmed…
HRW calls for ensuring justice for Nusrat
Dhaka, Apr 16 (UNB) – Human Rights Watch (HRW) has said the government of Bangladesh should “thoroughly investigate” the murder of madrasa student Nusrat Jahan Rafi and fairly prosecute all those responsible for the incident. “The horrifying murder of a…
Civil society under attack in name of counter terrorism
UNITED NATIONS, Apr 15 2019 (IPS) – Counterterrorism measures are not only affecting extremist groups, but are also impacting a crucial sector for peace and security in the world: civil society. Civil society has long played a crucial role in society,…
Man ‘close’ to Wikileaks co-founder arrested in Ecuador
A man with close ties to Wikileaks co-founder Julian Assange has been arrested while trying to leave Ecuador, the country’s interior ministry says. Interior Minister María Paula Romo did not name the man but said he had been arrested for…
Hard to enforce hartal for ‘lack of democracy’: Fakhrul
Thakurgaon, Apr 12 – BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Friday said it is now difficult to enforce a hartal in the country for ‘lack of democracy’. “Our party is going through a critical time after the election.…
Hard battle ahead for independent Arab media
TUNIS, Apr 12 2019 (IPS) – Sometimes a peak into the future reminds us just how stuck we are in the past and present. It was the talk of the Middle East’s largest annual media industry gathering: a robot journalist –…
It’s time to bring menstrual awareness to workplaces
Menstruation clearly makes for a substantial part of life, so why is it still taboo in discussions of work environment and work-life balance? In 2018, the Swedish organisation MENSEN—forum för menstruation received funding from the Swedish Gender Equality Agency for a one-year…
US: Assange’s possible extradition threatens journalism
The extradition of Julian Assange from the United Kingdom to the United States for alleged computer-related crimes could have dangerous implications for journalists in the digital age. London’s Metropolitan Police confirmed Assange’s arrest on April 11, 2019 “on behalf of the United States authorities” under an…
WikiLeaks’ Assange hauled from embassy, faces US charge
London, Apr 12 (AP/UNB) — British police on Thursday hauled a bearded and shouting Julian Assange from the Ecuadorian Embassy where he was holed up for nearly seven years, and the U.S. charged the WikiLeaks founder with conspiring with former…
People do not ‘deserve to die’: Why death penalty persists
UNITED NATIONS, Apr 11 2019 (IPS) – While figures have dropped, the “inhuman” use of the death penalty still remains too common worldwide, a human rights group said. In a new report, Amnesty International found that global executions fell by almost one-third last…
WikiLeaks’ Assange arrested at Ecuador embassy in London
London, Apr 11 (AP/UNB) — Police in London say they’ve arrested WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange at the Ecuadorean embassy on a court warrant dating back to 2012. In a statement Thursday, police said Assange has been taken into “custody at…
Once ‘world’s new superpower,’ civil society faces many odds
UNITED NATIONS, Apr 10 2019 (IPS) – A former UN Secretary-General, the late Kofi Annan, once described civil society organizations (CSOs), as “the world’s new superpower” – perhaps ranking behind the US and the former Soviet Union. But that political glory…
Civil society faces smears, laws, noncooperation
BELGRADE, Apr 10 2019 (IPS) – The murder of Brazilian politician and human rights activist Marielle Franco just over a year ago and attacks on other rights activists around the world have galvanised civil society organisations, with the United Nations heightening…
Jaha Alam ordered to appear before HC
Dhaka, Apr 10 (UNB) – The High Court on Wednesday asked Jaha Alam, who languished in jail in place of the real accused in corruption cases, to appear before it on April 17. Justice FRM Nazmul Ahasan and Justice KM…
Rise in cyberlaws spell bad news for SE Asia HR, democracy
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Apr 9 2019 (IPS) – Around the globe, cyberspace has become the new battleground in the fight for the heart and soul of democracy. And Southeast Asia is fast becoming one of the global hotspots where the screws…
NGOs blast US for undermining Int’l Criminal Court
UNITED NATIONS, Apr 8 2019 (IPS) – As it paves a destructive path against international institutions and multilateralism, the Trump administration is slowly but steadily undermining the United Nations and its affiliated agencies. The US has already withdrawn both from the…
US threatens International Criminal Court
(Washington, DC) – The United States decision to impose visa bans on International Criminal Court (ICC) staff will imperil accountability for grave international crimes, Human Rights Watch said today. US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo on March 15, 2019 announced that the bans…
313 more courts, 346 new magistrates to reduce BD case-jam
Dhaka, Apr 5 – The BD government has planned to set up 313 more courts across the country and appoint 346 judicial magistrates, aiming to reduce the plight of justice-seekers and ease the pressure of mounting cases, official sources said.…
Grassroots organising points in fight against repression
JOHANNESBURG, Apr 2 2019 (IPS) – “I never thought it would get so big and I think it is amazing.” The words of a 16-year-old Swedish teenager who skipped school to protest outside her government’s inaction on climate change. Greta Thunberg…
Sri Lanka: Don’t end death penalty moratorium – HRW
The Sri Lankan government should drop plans to resume executions, which would end an unofficial 43-year moratorium in the country, Human Rights Watch said today. On March 31, 2019, President Maithripala Sirisena said that a date had been set to resume carrying out…