2016 – Page 4 – Global Bersih

UN expert deplores harsh sentencing of Tajikistan opposition leaders and warns of radicalization

9th June 2016 Nalina Nair

UN expert deplores harsh sentencing of Tajikistan opposition leaders and warns of radicalization Russian | Tajik GENEVA (7 June 2016) – The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of opinion and expression, David Kaye, today expressed his dismay at the lengthy sentences imposed on 2 June 2016 on the leadership of the Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan (IRPT). The deputy party heads, Saidumar Husaini and Muhammad Hayit were sentenced to life imprisonment. According to reports, eleven other high-ranking officials were sentenced to jail terms ranging from 2…

Press briefing notes on Flogging in Iran, unfair restrictions on NGO access to the UN and executions in Gaza

9th June 2016 Nalina Nair

Press briefing notes on Flogging in Iran, unfair restrictions on NGO access to the UN and executions in Gaza Spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: Rupert ColvilleLocation: GenevaDate: 31 May 2016 (1) Flogging in Iran We condemn the outrageous flogging of up to 35 young men and women in Iran last week, after they were caught holding a graduation party together in Qazvin, north of Tehran. According to State media, the students were arrested on Thursday, interrogated and sentenced by the Prosecutor’s Office to 99 lashes each and then…

Ukraine: after two years of conflict, situation in east remains “grim” – UN report

9th June 2016 Nalina Nair

Ukraine: after two years of conflict, situation in east remains “grim” – UN report French | Russian | Ukrainian GENEVA/KYIV (3 June 2016) – A new report by the UN Human Rights Office shows that, after two years of conflict, the situation in eastern Ukraine remains volatile and continues to have a severe impact on human rights, especially for those living near the contact line and in territories controlled by armed groups. According to the latest report on Ukraine by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights*,…

Iran: Most recent backlash against Baha’is exposes authorities’ extreme intolerance for religious minority group

9th June 2016 Nalina Nair

Iran: Most recent backlash against Baha’is exposes authorities’ extreme intolerance for religious minority group GENEVA (8 June 2016) – Two United Nations human rights experts today said that the current wave of incitement of hatred of the Baha’i community reflected in speeches made by religious, judiciary and political officials in the Islamic Republic of Iran “has exposed the Iranian authorities’ extreme intolerance for adherents of the religious minority group.” “Verbal attacks by state officials against an already vulnerable community like the Baha’is are extremely troubling not only because they directly…

Civilians fleeing Fallujah “facing double jeopardy” – Zeid

9th June 2016 Nalina Nair

Civilians fleeing Fallujah “facing double jeopardy” – Zeid Arabic | French GENEVA (7 June 2016) – UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein on Tuesday urged the Iraqi Government to take immediate measures to ensure that all people fleeing the ISIL-occupied city of Fallujah are treated in strict accordance with international human rights and international humanitarian laws. “There are extremely distressing, credible reports that some people who survive the terrifying experience of escaping from ISIL, then face severe physical abuse once they reach the other side,” the…

MALAYSIA NOW – May 2016

7th June 2016 Nalina Nair

NEWS Sarawak State Election The Sarawak state election was held on 7 May 2016. The National Front (BN) won 72 (more than two-thirds) of the 82 state seats, with 87.8 percent of the House. The United Bumiputera Heritage Party (PBB) and the Sarawak Peoples’ Party won all seats that they contested for. PBB is led by Sarawak Chief Minister Adenan Satem. The opposition suffered a crushing defeat. The Democratic Action Party (DAP) lost five out of twelve urban seats it had previously held. It also saw defeat in all the…

MALAYSIA FEDERAL COURT REFUSES TO HEAR EVIDENCE OF CONSPIRACY IN POLITICAL LEADER ANWAR IBRAHIM’S APPEAL OF HIS WRONGFUL CONVICTION

25th May 2016 admin

PRESS RELEASE May 23, 2016 MALAYSIA FEDERAL COURT REFUSES TO HEAR EVIDENCE OF CONSPIRACY IN POLITICAL LEADER ANWAR IBRAHIM’S APPEAL OF HIS WRONGFUL CONVICTION Legal team publishes major report detailing history of Malaysia government’s persecution of Anwar Ibrahim Washington D.C. – A Malaysia Federal Court has rejected new evidence only available after the February 2015 conviction of political leader Anwar Ibrahim for sodomy, which would have proven the government’s history of fabricating evidence against him. In May 2015, Malaysia’s former national Criminal Investigation Department chief testified under…

WHY we need to continue the struggle?

20th May 2016 KSL

by Charlotte Chin, Marburg, Germany When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes a duty – Thomas Jefferson The Bersih 4.0 demonstration was an overnight rally which took place on 29 and 30 August in Kuala Lumpur (spread across five locations: Sogo, Pasar Seni KL, Dataran Maybank, Brickfields and Masjid Negara), Kuching (Padang Merdeka) and Kota Kinabalu (Tanjung Lipat). GlobaBersih organised Bersih demonstrations in many cities across the world. The rally was organized by “The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections” or simply Bersih (a Malay word meaning clean). A coalition of…

MALAYSIA NOW – April 2016

16th May 2016 Nalina Nair

NEWS Bersih 2.0 Awarded the 2016 Gwangju Prize for Human Rights The May 18 Memorial Foundation has awarded Bersih 2.0 the 2016 Gwangju Prize for Human Rights for Bersih’s efforts to bring electoral reform to Malaysia. It also noted Global Bersih’s efforts in uniting Malaysians all over the world and that in June 2016, Global Bersih will make an oral presentation on the state of democracy in Malaysia to United Nations (UN) mandate holders during the UN Universal Periodic Review in Geneva. The May 18 Memorial Foundation is…

Global Bersih condemns the ban against Opposition, NGO leaders and Activists from mainland Malaysia from entering Sarawak

16th May 2016 Nalina Nair

International electoral ‘rules of the game’ calls for a level playing field during any type of elections. A legal framework that limits access to the process and undermines the means to engage in a fair contest, or lacks some minimum rules conducting the conduct of all players in the process, is basically deemed as a tool to favour the re-election of dominant parties and politicians, and to exclude others. These destabilizing electoral process factors are now being adopted by the Sarawak Chief Minister Adenan Satem. As the polling day…