Tag: Arbitrary Arrest and Detention
Vietnam Sentences Rights Lawyer to 30-Month Prison Term
A court in Vietnam on Wednesday convicted and sentenced prominent dissident Le Quoc Quan to 30 months in prison on tax evasion charges, which were rejected by the outspoken lawyer who said he would not be cowed into silence by the country’s authoritarian leaders.
Quan, a popular blogger and human...
Myanmar releases 56 political prisoners on eve of regional summit
NEW DELHI -- Myanmar on Tuesday released 56 political prisoners, according to local media quoting government officials, part of a pledge to free all political detainees by the end of the year.
The prisoners, including more than a dozen from Myanmar’s northern Kachin state, were released at 11 a.m., Aung...
Myanmar releases political prisoners from rebel group
By Shibani Mahtani and Myo Myo
Myanmar’s president on Tuesday released 56 political prisoners, authorities and activists said, mostly from ethnic rebel armies, in line with the government’s promise to release all prisoners of conscience by the end of this year.
The latest wave of prisoners released – many from the...
Vietnam: Le Quoc Quan did not receive fair trial
The ICJ said the conviction today of Le Quoc Quan, a lawyer and human rights defender in Vietnam, violated international standards governing the right to a fair trial.
Judge Le Thi Hop of the People’s Court of Hanoi convicted and sentenced Le Quoc Quan to 30 months imprisonment with time...
Vietnam Lets Churches Thrive, but Keeps Control
A year ago in this poor hill-tribe village, police rounded up members of a small Catholic sect who were accused of trying to create an independent state. The leaders are in jail, followers who escaped have fled into the jungle and officers patrolling the muddy streets warn people to...
ASEAN leaders vow to eliminate violence against women, children
The ASEAN leaders expressed their commitment Wednesday to stronger and broader approaches to eliminate violence against women and children.
In a declaration adopted at the 23rd ASEAN Summit held here Wednesday, the leaders recognized that such violence affected victims of all ages in different settings.
"Violence against women and violence against...
Lao PDR: Where is Sombath Somphone?
Oct 10, — Today, Thursday, 10 Oct 2013, marks 300 days of the disappearance of Sombath Somphone, one of Lao PDR’s most prominent activists. Sombath is a long-time and good friend. In the late 1970s, he and I were part of a small group of human rights activists and...
Myanmar: Locals protest Latpadaung mine resumption
Nearly 150 local residents from villages around the Latpadaung area held a protest on Friday as mining activities recommenced at a controversial copper mine project in Sagaing division.
Speaking to DVB, some of the demonstrators including Buddhist monks said that gunpowder explosions marked the resumption of the Chinese-backed project which was...
Thailand: Rohingya boat people detained in southern Thailand
BANGKOK (AP) — More than 200 members of the Rohingya minority fleeing Myanmar have been detained in southern Thailand after their boat ran aground, a Thai official said Thursday.
Thai district chief Watcharasak Chulayanon said the 219 men aboard swam ashore after their boat became stuck Wednesday off the coast...
Myanmar: Human Rights Take a Back Seat as Conflict Continues
The human rights situation in Burma is moving too slowly, says Fortify Rights a non-profit human rights organization based in Southeast Asia, with positive political progress being undermined by a festering civil war in the country’s north.
“Positive political changes have come to Burma but the human rights situation is...