Issue One: November 16, 2004
Welcome to the inaugural newsletter of the Defender Alert Network. This
newsletter, which you will receive four times a year, will update you on the
work and situation of activists whom you have supported through our Defender
Alerts. Above all, this insider's look at the international human rights
community will tell you about the impact your actions have had
on the situations of the brave men and women persecuted for their work in support
of human rights.
Events increasingly remind us that we ignore injustice and repression in any
part of the world at our peril. Human rights defenders work to promote
and protect the basic human rights that we all need. They may be students
collecting signatures for a campus petition or lawyers fighting against repressive
legislation; some are journalists uncovering government abuses, while others
are ordinary women demanding access to basic needs like health care and education. They
all play a pivotal role in achieving justice and respect for human rights. At
the forefront of these most pressing and urgent issues, human rights defenders
are often targeted, threatened, imprisoned or murdered.
With your help, we work to protect and strengthen local human
rights defenders, so that the basic human rights that they promote may also be
protected and strengthened. I hope you will continue to support Human Rights
First and human rights defenders through your participation in the Defender Alert
Network and will encourage your friends to join us, too. Together,
we can provide human rights defenders with the support they need to make them
stronger as they stand up against repression and for human dignity.
With best wishes,
Neil Hicks
Director of International Programs
P.S. We want to hear from you! Please send us your feedback about the
newsletter. Let us know what you'd like to hear from us. Email your
suggestions to defenders@humanrightsfirst.org.
 Zimbabwe: Rights Crisis Worsens as Elections
Near
Attempts to silence human rights defenders have increased in Zimbabwe as the
March 2005 parliamentary elections approach. A new law will soon impose
strict registration requirements on journalists and further deter reporting on
the escalating human rights crisis. Dozens of women were arrested while
marching in protest of the NGO Bill currently before Parliament, which, if passed,
would give the government broad new powers to close independent human rights
and humanitarian organizations. Church leaders have also condemned the
bill, saying that it would eliminate thousands of jobs and prevent critical humanitarian
assistance to the poor. Click Here to Take Action»
More on Human Rights Defenders in Zimbabwe.
 Cuba: European Union Should Continue Visits
to Cuban Defenders
Human Rights First urged the European Union to demonstrate its commitment
to human rights in Cuba by continuing its visible support of human rights defenders
and applying pressure on the Cuban government to release the 68 dissidents that
remain imprisoned from the March 2003 clampdown. Seven of the 75 Cuban
dissidents were conditionally released for health reasons this year. In
recent months, however, imprisoned human rights defenders like brothers Luis
Enrique and Jose Daniel Ferrer are reported to have been subjected to physical
abuse by prison officers, underscoring the importance of sustained international
pressure. Click Here to Take Action»
More on Human Rights Defenders in Cuba.
 Southeast Asia: Counterterrorism and Human
Rights
Following the events of September 11, 2001, and the Bali bombing of 2002,
Southeast Asian governments began to step up security measures designed to combat
terrorism. The effects have ranged from effective police investigations to dangerously
broad new laws and military operations that are reversing hard-won advances in
human rights and threatening delicate transitions to democracy. As civilian
and military officials use the threat of terrorism as a pretext to crack down
on government critics, human rights defenders are increasingly facing a barrage
of threats, from libel suits to physical attacks and disappearances. More on Indonesia»
More on Human Rights Defenders
and Counterterrorism.
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Guatemala: Investigations
into the break-ins at two human rights organizations are progressing slowly. Human
rights defenders in Guatemala continue to be targets of threats and intimidation. More»
Indonesia: The defamation
law suit filed against human rights defender Hendardi for his criticism of the
government is still pending. The plaintiff, then-intelligence chief Hendropriyono
received an honorary promotion in rank before leaving office with the outgoing
administration. Click Here to Take Action»
Northern Ireland: The
government call for new legislation will further delay an inquiry into the 1989
murder of Belfast human rights lawyer Patrick Finucane. More»
Russia: A Russian court ruled
that the Chechen National Salvation Committee's press releases about government
human rights abuses did not violate an overly broad Russian counterterrorism
law. The human rights organization is continuing its work. More»
Sudan: Massive human rights
violations continue to occur in western Sudan's Darfur region. Human rights
lawyers Mr. Salih Mahmoud Osman and Mr. Al Bashir were released from detention. More»
Thailand: Prominent human
rights lawyer Somchai Neelaphaijit's disappearance remains unresolved. The
trial of five police officers indicted on lesser charges with relation to the
case is set to open in August 2005. Click Here to Take Action»
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