UN Tribunal Condemns the Vietnamese Government for Its Arbitrary Detention of Journalist and Lawyer Le Quoc Quan
Last week, a United Nations Rights Tribunal condemned the Vietnamese government for the arbitrary detention of Le Quoc Quan, a prominent lawyer, blogger, and human rights activist who has been imprisoned since December 27, 2012. EFF submitted a petition in March of this year with 11 other advocacy groups calling on...
ASEAN Week Held At Bangkok’s Main Railway Station To Promote ASEAN Community
BANGKOK, Dec 16 (Bernama) -- Thailand is organising an Asean Week this week themed "We are Asean: Asean Community, Asean Citizen," at Hualamphong,Bangkok's main railway station, to promote out the Asean Community (AC) which is set to be established by 2015.
Various activities, including cultural and brass band performances, as...
Malaysia: Isma pledges a million supporters in nationwide anti-Comango crusade
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 16 — Two months after Malaysia was grilled in a peer review, Islamist group Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (Isma) launched today a nationwide campaign against human rights recommendations made by the Coalition of Malaysian NGOs (Comango) involved in the process.
Called ‘Sejuta Ummah Tolak Comango’ (Community of a...
Thailand: Somchai Neelaphaijit – One man, four disappearances
The case of human rights lawyer Somchai Neelaphaijit, whom police officers abducted and forcibly disappeared over nine years ago, took a new twist when the Department of Special Investigation claimed that its file on his case had itself disappeared during anti-government protests last week.
According to Niran Adulayasak, Director of...
Indonesia: Support the ratification of the Rome Statute, generals
The president of the International Criminal Court (ICC), judge Song Sang-hyun of South Korea, visited Jakarta recently and met with the Indonesian foreign minister, the law and human rights minister and two senior officials from the Defense Ministry.
The talk with the defense officials is of great importance as it...
Indonesia: Intimidation of Ahmadis escalates in Singkut, Jambi
According to Padang Legal Aid Institute (LBH Padang) and Ahmad Ilyas from the Indonesian Ahmadi Congregation (JAI), some 250-300 villagers and members of the Indonesian Islamic Student Association (Persatuan Mahasiswa Islam Indonesia, PMII) Sorolangun conducted a ‘protest’ at the office of JAI Singkut at 10:30 a.m. on 4 December...
Suaram: Cops’ professionalism undone by IGP threat
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 17 — Human rights NGO Suaram today raised concerns over a recent warning of impending action against anti-assessment hike protest organisers by the country’s top cop, arguing that such action would go against international and local conventions on freedom of assembly.
Suaram coordinator R. Thevarajan said whatever...
Myanmar Military’s Land Grabs ‘Cast Doubt’ on Commitment to Reform
An Asian rights group has accused Myanmar's military of grabbing land and hiding the seizures under a false veneer of legality, saying the actions cast doubt on the country’s commitment to political reform after decades under military rule.
Citing a slew of land disputes with displaced residents across the country...
ASEAN Calls for Peaceful Solution To Anti-Government Protests in Thailand
BANGKOK, Dec 16 (Bernama) -- Asean member countries have called on all parties concerned to resolve the anti-government protests in Thailand "through dialogue and consultations in a peaceful and democratic manner," Vietnam News Agency (VNA) reported.
A statement posted on the website of Brunei Foreign Affairs Ministry and Trade said...
Bloggers celebrated in Paris, arrested and beaten in Vietnam
Any views expressed in this article are those of the author and not of Thomson Reuters Foundation.
The political police have been arresting and mistreating bloggers in Vietnam in recent days, both before and after an 8 December ceremony in Paris at which the Vietnam Human Rights Network and the...
