Petition Tag - freedom of expression

April 13, 2013--Committee of Human Rights Reporters – According to received reports, student, blogger and cyber activist Pouria Farazmand was detained in Kermanshah on April 7th.

According to CHRR, last Sunday when the student from Kermanshah province went to his university to follow up on matters regarding his graduation, he was handed a summons by the university security. As Farazmand was exiting the university, plain clothed officials who were equipped with walkie-talkies and pistols accosted and detained the student.

Students who witnessed the clash reported that the officials engaged in a brutal confrontation with Pouria Farazmand, beating him up and insulting him as they detained him.

After Pouria Farazmand was violently taken away, one of the security officials, M. Seyedi, appeared in front of the university’s gate and hurled insults while threatening the group of students who had converged at the scene. He lashed denigrating remarks and called the detained student and blogger a “spy” who is associated with “foreign entities.”

Pouria Farazmand is the writer for the blog Azadi Baraye Hamegan (freedom for all) and served on the editorial board of Mosht (fist), a banned student newspaper. Witness students said Farazmand never wrote anything pointing to foreign associations and that he only wrote about internal politics in Iran.

There is still no news of the whereabouts or condition of the student blogger.

During the past months an increasing number of bloggers, Internet activists and citizens taking part in social networks critical of the ruling regime have been arrested in various provinces in the country including Tehran, Alborz, Fars, Kurdistan and Razavi Khorasan.

View petition

Many job positions and companies require or state that a person must not have an unnatural looking hair color. It is however my arguement that this is not in many cases a bona fide occupational job requirement.

An unnatural hair color does not affect ones ability to perform their job, or change their qualifications. One may state that it may make a person unprofessional. However, if they are dressed accordingly, this should not be the case. Further, it is limiting self-expression. which is listed as a fundamental freedom in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

View petition

Recently Arrested Journalist Freed on Bail #IRAN

Reporters Without Borders 13.02.2013

Reporters Without Borders has learned that Ali Dehghan, a journalist with the daily Bahar who was arrested at his home on 30 January in a new crackdown on media personnel, was released on bail on 6 February.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _


Another Iranian journalist jailed amid outrage

Radio Zamaneh Wed, 01/30/2013

Ali Dehghan has become the latest journalist to be swept up in a wave of arrests by Iranian authorities, despite widespread outrage over the past few days both inside and outside Iran.

The Bulletin News website, a site linked to Islamic Republic security bodies, announced that Ali Dehghan, who edits the economy section of Bahar daily, was arrested on a judicial warrant for being “a media element close to a number seditious groups.”

Iranian authorities refer to the 2009 election protesters as “seditious”, and many who challenged the legitimacy of the last presidential elections are now serving stiff sentences in Iranian jails.

Dehghan has a background in working with several reformist newspapers such as Shargh, Etemad and Bahar, and he has also worked for the Iranian Labour News Agency (ILNA).

This is the first time Dehghan has been arrested by Iranian authorities.

He joins the list of more than a dozen other journalists who’ve been arrested since Saturday January 26.

Nearly 200 Iranian journalists from inside and outside Iran have issued a statement calling on the Iranian judiciary to immediately release their colleagues and prove their respect for the rule of law.

The announcement expressed concern about statements from Iran Prosecutor Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, who cited “reliable sources” when he said that a number of journalists are collaborating with “the West and Anti-Revolutionaries.” Such allegations could potentially lead to serious charges and sentencing.

Iranian Nobel Peace laureate Shirin Ebadi has also issued a statement condemning the arrests and maintaining that these state actions are aimed at promoting an atmosphere of intimidation to curb freedom of press.

The intelligence ministry also issued a statement today January 30 saying the detained journalists are "part of a network linked to arrogant powers" and that more arrests may be still in the picture.

Iranian authorities often refer to Western powers as "arrogant powers."

View petition

Ahmad Reza Hashempour, a 40-year-old Ph.D., was arrested in 2007. A lower court had sentenced him to death, and in January 2012 the Supreme Court upheld Hashempour's death sentence on charges of "membership in anti-religion and blasphemous websites."

During his four-year detention, Ahmad Reza Hashemour spent a long time inside the Revolutionary Guards' solitary cells, where he was physically and psychologically tortured to make television confessions against himself. The Revolutionary Guards Gordab.com website, published an article in April 2009, referring to Ahmad Reza Hashempour as "a sixth suspect in the case of 'Mozelleen 3.'" This refers to a case fabricated against several bloggers by the Organized Crime Surveillance Center of the Revolutionary Guards, which has played an active role in tracking down and arresting outspoken netizens.

Many of the suspects in this case, who were arrested by the Revolutionary Guards and its Gordab.com website, were forced to make television confessions against themselves and to accept the charges leveled against them.

Several individuals implicated in this case released open letters several months after their arrests, speaking up about unbearable torture during their detention period. Another suspect in this case, Vahid Asghari, was also sentenced to death in January 2012, after four years in prison.

To sign the petition for Vahid Asghari, Please see:
http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/free-iranian-blogger-vahid-asghari-sentenced-to-death.html

View petition

The end of Freedom of speech as we know it. The recently passed Cybercrime Law (RA 101750) has undoubtedly struck a nerve of many internet users in the Philippines. This puts to an end to the democracy we should have had in the first place. No more file sharing.. no more constructive criticisms. No freedom.

Petitioner Businessman Louis “Barok” Biraogo said the passage of the law was “attended with grave abuse of discretion because its questioned provisions contravene Sections 3 (1) (on inviolability of privacy of communication) and 4 (on freedom of speech, of expression, of the press, and peaceful assembly), Art. III (Bill of Rights) of the 1987 Constitution.” (stated at the GMA News Online article)

View petition

The fate of Nama Jafari, the editor of the 35anj website, remains unknown more than 10 days after his arrest, according to reports from Iran. Jafari, an Iranian poet and blogger, was arrested by security forces in Tehran on February 14.

Jafari had compiled a series of protest poems and other writings about the post-election protests of 2009 under the title "Gathering at the Solitary Cell." He is also reportedly suffering from cancer and is in need of immediate medical treatment.

The opposition group the Coordination Council for the Green Path of Hope had issued a rally call to Iranians to join a silent march on February 14, marking last year's protests on this day and also one year of house arrest for Iranian opposition leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi, Zahra Rahnavard and Mehdi Karroubi.

Security forces lined the streets of Tehran and other major cities on February 14, trying to prevent people from joining the demonstrations. Despite all efforts, some people managed to join scattered gatherings, and an unknown number of protesters were arrested.

A report indicates that 10 of the detainees from that day have begun a hunger strike to protest their situation in prison.

View petition

ROJ TV is a multilingual Kurdish channel that can watch from Europe and the Middle East. Because of the Turkish Government's anti democratic pressures, ROJ TV can't work in the North Kurdistan. ROJ TV has been active in Copenhag since the foundation.

Danish Prosecutors applicated for banning ROJ TV by the Turkey's pressures that exposed with the Wikileaks . The trial will held on 15 August 2011 in Copenhag. We call al human rights defenders and supporters of the freedom of expression to attend to the petition.

View petition

UPDATE: MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2012

Ailing Incarcerated Journalist Isa Saharkhiz Launches Hunger Strike Following His Transfer Back to Rajai Shahr Prison

Following his transfer from the hospital back to Rajai Shahr prison on Saturday night, imprisoned journalist and political prisoner Isa Saharkhiz launched a hunger strike, including refusing his medication in protest to judicial non compliance with the terms of his case file.

The physicians at Rajai Shahr prison reportedly published a letter on Sunday declaring that as previously stated they are unable to provide the necessary medical care to Saharkhiz at Rajai Shahr, reiterating that given that his life is in danger they cannot accept any responsibility for his life.

Saharkhiz had been receiving medical treatment for the past six months under arrest conditions at a hospital. When the Summit of the Non Aligned Movement commenced in Tehran, Saharkhiz was transferred from the hospital at 10:00 pm on Tuesday, August 28th, to Ward 209 at Evin prison. Protesting this unlawful transfer, Saharkhiz launched a hunger strike on the night he was transferred and began refusing medication a few days later.

Saharkkhiz had previously warned that he would launch a hunger strike in the event that the authorities decide to act against the recommendations of his physicians and transfer him back to the hospital.

Saharkhiz has launched this hunger strike despite the fact that his physicians had banned him from fasting during the month of Ramadan because of his heart and kidney condition. Given the latest reports, his family's concerns for his physical condition and well being have intensified.

Source: Kaleme: http://www.kaleme.com/1391/06/20/klm-112218/

UPDATE: SEPTEMBER 3, 2012: ON HIS SIXTH DAY OF A NEW HUNGER STRIKE, ISSA SAHARKHIZ HAS STOPPED TAKING HIS MEDICATION AS WELL. HIS LIFE IS IN DANGER.

On August 5, 2011 it was reported jailed Iranian journalist Issa Saharkhiz has received an additional two years on top of his three-year prison term.

Iran’s Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) reports that the judiciary issued the sentence based on Saharkhiz's previous journalistic activities.

Shahrkhiz is a prominent government critic and founder of the Society for the Defence of Free Press. He was arrested in July 2009 amid widespread protests over Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s disputed victory in the presidential elections.

Last September, he was sentenced to three years in prison for "insulting the leader and propaganda activities against the regime.” He has also been banned from journalistic and political activities for five years and is forbidden to travel abroad for one year.

As a result of the new sentence, he is now serving a five-year prison term.

Recently, Saharkhiz wrote a letter to the new United Nations Human Rights Rapporteur for Iran, Ahmad Shaheed, urging him to visit Iranian prisons and adding that "what is now going on in Iranian prisons is a crime against humanity and is just as bad as Stalin’s inhumane forced labour camps in Siberia."

Saharkhiz warned that the objective of the Iranian authorities is "to kill the protesting prisoners silently and gradually." Saharkhiz adds that the prison situation is so dire that "other disastrous events" could come at any moment. He urged Special Rapporteur Shaheed to act immediately to inform the public of the prisoners' plight, stressing that any delay will only result in more deaths.

Amnesty International issued a statement in August 2011 calling for immediate action in the case of nine Iranian prisoners suffering from very poor health. The rights group called for their immediate release, including Issa Saharkhiz.

Shahrkhiz is currently in Karaj's Rejai-Shahr Prison, notorious for its deplorable conditions and mistreatment of prisoners, where authorities have denied him sick leave, despite the doctors’ recommendations.

View petition

Journalist, blogger and IRNA reporter Siamak Ghaaderi, age 43, was sentenced to 4 years in prison in January, 2011.Siamak Ghaaderi who was detained on August 8th has been convicted of anti-regime propaganda, acting against national security and disturbing public opinion.

He was detained at his house in August of 2010 and transferred to prison.The security authorities had conditioned his release on the publication of articles in support of the government and the Supreme Leader on his blog (Our IRNA).

He always said there are three things in life that he was passionate about: “News, Journalism and Studying”. And it was his passion that finally drove this journalist to prison.

He is now spending his days in ward 350 of Evin prison, along with several of his colleagues. Siamak Ghaderi is a journalist best known as a government critic. As a senior reporter of IRNA [Islamic Republic News Agency], Siamak had not only been constantly challenging the management policies of this news agency on his weblog entitled “OurIRNA”, but also extended his criticisms to the government's policies, and continued to analyze the strategies of the leaders of the Green Movement after the 2009 presidential elections. It was these criticisms that ultimately led to his dismissal from IRNA despite eighteen years of work, and led to a four-year prison sentence, as well as a monetary fine and sixty lashes.

Charged with “propagating against the state”, “agitating the public” and “distributing fabricated information”, Siamak Ghaaderi spent months in the maximum security ward 209, much of it in solitary confinement and involving countless hours under interrogation. He had also conducted interviews with multiple Iranian homosexuals, immediately after Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s speech at Columbia University where he had famously said: “There are no homosexuals in Iran.” And this only added to the list of his charges. His one year in prison thus far has consisted of ten months in the Sepaah-(IRGIC)-controlled ward 209 and two months in ward 350 of Evin prison.

Siamak’s wife, a high school English teacher in Tehran, who is very distraught these days, says about her husband: “Siamak’s only crime is his love for his job as a journalist. THAT is what he is guilty of and nothing else. My husband has never reported anything but the truth. When he was told in court that he had participated in post-election protests; he responded that it was his duty to do so and that if a reporter doesn’t participate in these protests, then who should be filming or documenting or reporting about them?”

View petition

July 29, 2011--Blogger Bahnam Darvishan was sentenced to three years in prison by the Revolutionary Court in Qazvin. He was arrested on November 21, 2010 by IRGC security forces and has been banned from having any visitors for the last eight months.

According to a report by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), a number of plain clothes officers raided Bahnam Darvishan’s family house on November 21, 2010 and confiscated his personal belongings such as subsidy checks, books, notes and CDs. He was arrested and locked up in a solitary confinement in IRGC Intelligence Agency’s detention center. Following his family’s repeated pleas and appeals, he was allowed to call his family last week. During this brief phone call, Bahnam Darvishan informed his family that he was suffering from a respiratory disease acquired in prison.

Iranian judicial officers have told Bahnam Darvishan’s family that he has been charged with propaganda against the regime and connections with the opposition groups abroad. Citing articles 498 and 500 from Islamic Criminal Law, the Qazvin Province Revolutionary Court, Branch 2, sentenced Bahnam Darvishan to three years in prison.

After Bahnam Darvishan’s incarceration, Iranian intelligence agents also attempted to arrest two of his colleagues. On November 21, 2010, Ali Shafi was detained, and a computer and several CDs were seized from his house. Ali Shafi’s whereabouts and current condition are not known.

Families of Bahnam Darvishan and Ali Shafi have been placed under tremendous pressure in order to prevent them from disseminating any news of these prisoners.

View petition

Mostafa Akhavan, a student pilot at Tehran Aviation University and a member of the National Trust Party, was sentenced to a year in prison by the Revolutionary Court, Branch 15.

According to a report by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), Judge Abolqasem Salvati presiding over the Revolutionary Court, Branch 15, has sentenced Mostafa Akhavan to one year in prison on charges of acting against national security, propaganda against the regime through activities in Facebook, publication of news related to the Green Movement, membership in Facebook, issuing calls for illegal gatherings, conducting interviews with overseas media and sending email messages and articles to websites and networks opposing the regime.

Mostafa Akhavan’s sentence issued on June 15, 2011 has been suspended for a period of five years since he has no prior convictions.

View petition

UPDATE OCTOBER 8, 2012-- IRANIAN JOURNALIST SAAM MAHMOODI SARABI HAS BEEN SENTENCED TO 8 YEARS IN PRISON, PLUS A 10-YEAR BAN ON JOURNALISM!

Saam Mahmoudi Sarabi, an Iranian journalist, has been sentenced to eight years in jail and a 10-year ban from media activities in Iran.

Nedaye Sabz Azadi’s website reports that the sentenced journalist’s lawyer has reported that his client was charged with “assembly and collusion against national security, propaganda against the regime, publishing falsehood and insulting the leader.”

Mahmoudi Sarabi’s sentence has been approved by the appellate court and forwarded to Evin Prison.

Mahmoudi Sarabi was arrested in March of 2011 and released after more than eight months in jail.

The authorities previously had held him in jail for 44 days for writing a poem about the alleged confessions of political prisoners following the 2009 elections protests and for writing an open letter to MirHosein Mousavi, one of the leaders of the opposition.

After the controversial election of 2009, the crackdown on Iranian journalists and reporters has been ratcheted up by the Islamic Republic, and opposition groups report that in the past two years 108 reporters have been arrested, and while some have been released, many still remain behind bars.

EARLIER BACKGROUND:
Iranian journalist Saam Mahmoodi Sarabi continues to be held in legal limbo at Evin Prison, even as his arrest warrant is renewed after two months.

“While they had told us that they would process his file this month, he remains in an undetermined state in Ward 350 of Evin Prison,” his family told the Jaras website. “The security forces also prevent his lawyers from visiting him or even contacting the investigator in his case.”

According to his mother, Alieh Jangi, Mahmoodi was arrested for writing poetry and an open letter to opposition leader MirHosein Mousavi, which the investigator has deemed to be “propaganda against the regime, activity against national security and insulting the leadership.”

Mahmoodi, a staff member of Shargh newspaper, was arrested last March.

View petition

Fariborz Raisdana, an Iranian economist who criticized government-subsidy cuts by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s administration, has been sentenced to one year in prison.

According to Aftab news, the charges against Fariborz Raisdana range from “membership in Writers’ Association, preparing press releases for seditionists, issuing announcements against the regime and propaganda for leftist and Marxist groups, interviews with the BBC and VOA, and accusing the Islamic Republic of prisoner abuse.”

The Iranian government implemented the so-called “targeting of subsidies” law last year, causing Iranians to pay higher prices for energy and food staples. The government gave cash benefits to households to help them adjust to the higher costs of everyday needs. The plan was criticized by many experts, including Raisdana, who predicted rising inflation and hardship for the working class.

Raisdana was arrested last December after he spoke against the subsidy changes with the BBC. He was released on bail after a month. This is not the first time Fariborz Raisdana has been in prison, as he has been imprisoned before for questioning the political system in Iran, nevertheless he has continued to call for reforms within Iran.

In June 2012 the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran reported the following:

Prominent economic analyst Fariborz Raisdana, who has been in prison for over a month, is facing a deterioration of his health condition. His wife, Azadeh Forghani, told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran that poor prison treatment and conditions threaten his physical state.

“Due to his age and his different illnesses, the prison environment is deteriorating his health and I am very concerned for him. He has diabetes, high blood pressure, digestive track and prostate problems. He must take his medicine regularly and follow a strict diet. Prison nutrition and hygiene conditions are not suitable at all. Even the prison store does not offer fruits and vegetables for prisoners to buy themselves. Away from his family and his only child who is 4, Fariborz has a very hard time,” Azadeh Forghani told the Campaign.

On May 21, 2012, security forces arrested Fariborz Raisdana, economic analyst, former university professor and member of the Iranian Writers’ Association, and transferred him to Evin Prison’s General Ward 350 to start serving his one-year prison term.

“When I visited with him on Monday, June 25, I realized he has not been given some of his pills, nor his glasses. But he had received his books and clothes. How can he read without his glasses?” said Forghani.

Raisdana was first arrested on December 19, 2010 at his home after he gave an interview to BBC Persian television about President Ahmadinejad’s “Targeted Subsidies Plan,” calling it “a neo-liberal policy.” He was released a month later, but at his trial on May 28, 2011, Judge Moghisseh of Branch 28 of Tehran’s Revolutionary Court sentenced Raisdana to one year in prison on charges of “propagating against the regime through membership in the Iranian Writers’ Association, signing certain political statements, and giving foreign media interviews that were critical of the Islamic Republic government’s performance.”

Fariborz Raisdana, a prominent economic analyst, had been banned from his permanent university teaching job due to his critical lectures and writings, and was only teaching as a visiting professor in universities. Prior to his May 21 arrest, security forces had threatened Raisdana to keep silent.

Raisdana’s wife told the Campaign that the Iranian Judiciary has not returned the bail posted for his 2010 release yet, and that no reasons have been given for the refusal.

“When Fariboz sees a man like Abdolfattah Soltani, his cellmate, who has been sentenced to 18 years in prison, or Saeed Madani, or the young people who are in prison for ambiguous reasons, his mental state is affected; all this could lead to a prisoner’s depression,” added Azadeh Forghani. “Thank God Fariborz knows how to keep up his spirits. Now he teaches a class in prison yard, analyzing Iran’s economy, and it no longer matters to him whether they would shut down his class or not! He is already in prison.”

View petition

Syrian blogger Amina Arraf, who blogs under the name Amina Abdullah and whose blog A Gay Girl in Damascus has readers all over the world, has been missing since Monday night, June 6. She was seized by three armed men suspected of being security agents, and bundled into a waiting car.

Amina's blog "A Gay Girl in Damascus" has readers all over the world. Abdallah, who has used her blog to challenge taboos in the conservative country where homosexuality is illegal but unofficially tolerated, had feared she would be abducted.

Abdallah, 35, had previously written about how her father prevented security agents from arresting her for being an Islamic extremist and a foreign agent.

Amina's father has been desperately trying to find out where she is and who has taken her, but there are at least 18 different police formations in Syria as well as multiple different party militias and gangs -- since Amina's family does not know who took her, they do not know who to ask to get her back. They fear she is being deported or has been imprisoned, or could even have been killed.

Press freedoms watchdog Reporters Without Borders says Syrian security officials have arrested numerous bloggers and journalists as part of a widespread crackdown on challenges to President Bashar al-Assad's grip on power.

View petition

Sakhi Rigi, a blogger and a member of Mir-Hossein Mousavi’s Campaign Staff, has been sentenced to twenty years in prison by the Revolutionary Court in Zahedan [Sistan and Baluchistan Province].

According to a report by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), Sakhi Rigi has been exiled to the city of Ahvaz [in Khuzestan Province] to serve his sentence in Karon Prison. Sakhi Rigi is a civil rights activist who was arrested during presidential elections in 2009. On June 18, 2009, while he was driving his car, Sakhi Rigi was stopped on Zahedan University St. by the security forces and subsequently detained.

While he was in the custody of Iran’s Intelligence Agency in Zahedan, Sakhi Rigi endured seven months in solitary confinement and was charged with acting against national security and propaganda against the regime. Three months ago, Sakhi Rigi was transferred to Karon Prison to begin serving his twenty year term.

Sakhi Rigi is a 31 year old college student who was studying software development before being arrested and had only two terms left before graduating. It is not clear what other charges have been filed against him to justify issuing such a heavy sentence for this college student. However, it has been said that his blog postings were considered a crime and a threat to national security.

View petition

We the undersigned, call upon the Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg to accord Nadia Eweida a hearing in the Grand Chamber and to rule in the plainest terms in that chamber that it is unacceptable for Christians in the United Kingdom to be- by reason of the prevailing culture of quote political correctness unquote - consistently discriminated against and victimised by being denied fundamental human rights granted to adherents of other religions - and hence, of course, that Nadia Eweida must have the legal right to wear her Cross visibly in her work place.

Nadia Eweida has exhausted all legal avenues in the United Kingdom (the Employment Tribunal/Employment Appeal Tribunal/High Court of Appeal/ Supreme Court) for securing her legal right to wear her Cross visibly in the work place in circumstances in which adherents of other faiths are permitted to wear visible marks of their respective religions.

Although Nadia Eweida is back at work, wearing her Cross visibly, this is due solely to the public outcry, as well as that of scores of MP’s, religious leaders and massive media support and coverage both national and international, provoked by her employer’s original stance.

Her employer and indeed any company is still legally entitled to prohibit any of its Christian employees from wearing a Cross visibly in the work place.

The importance of this case is highlighted by the astonishing volume and scale of this outcry, which reflects the fundamental importance to the human heart of the right that is here in question.

http://www.yourlocalguardian.co.uk/news/local/richmondnews/5005597.MP__disappointed__by_cross_case_ruling/

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,224378,00.html

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/religion/7547406/Shami-Chakrabarti-judges-fuelling-fears-over-Christians-unfair-treatment.html

View petition

We the undersigned, call upon the Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg to accord Nadia Eweida a hearing in the Grand Chamber and to rule in the plainest terms in that chamber that it is unacceptable for Christians in the United Kingdom to be- by reason of the prevailing culture of quote political correctness unquote - consistently discriminated against and victimised by being denied fundamental human rights granted to adherence of other religions - and hence, of course, that Nadia Eweida must have the legal right to wear her Cross visibly in her work place.

Nadia Eweida has exhausted all legal avenues in the United Kingdom (the Employment Tribunal/Employment Appeal Tribunal/High Court of Appeal/ Supreme Court) for securing her legal right to wear her Cross visibly in the work place in circumstances in which adherence of other faiths are permitted to wear visible marks of their respective religions.

Although Nadia Eweida is back at work, wearing her Cross visibly, this is due solely to the public outcry, as well as that of scores of MP’s, religious leaders and massive media support and coverage both national and international, provoked by her employer’s original stance .

Her employer and indeed any company is still legally entitled to prohibit any of its Christian employees from wearing a Cross visibly in the work place.

The importance of this case is highlighted by the astonishing volume and scale of this outcry, which reflects the fundamental importance to the human heart of the right that is here in question.

http://www.yourlocalguardian.co.uk/news/local/richmondnews/5005597.MP__disappointed__by_cross_case_ruling/

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,224378,00.html

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/religion/7547406/Shami-Chakrabarti-judges-fuelling-fears-over-Christians-unfair-treatment.html

View petition

The Canadian-Iranian blogger Hossein Derakhshan is currently serving a 19-and-a-half year prison sentence in Iran for exercising his right to freedom of expression.

PEN Canada urges the government of Canada to secure Hossein Derakhshan's immediate and unconditional release.

View petition

Omid Habibinia's Facebook is disabled since last May after having some discussion with a pro-regime activist, we belive pro-regime users under fake names (such as..irani) misused facbook report and caused to disabled 4 year old Omid Habibinia's facebook who deleted all videos, photos, groups and contacts.

View petition

Hossein Ronaghi-Maleki (Babak Khorramdin) Iranian blogger, human rights activists and one the members of Iran Proxy, was arrested on December 13, 2009, but under pressure exerted by intelligence agents, his family and his friends had been forced to keep the news of his arrest secret.

Throughout his detention, Ronaghi-Maleki has been subjected to excruciating physical and psychological torture techniques by his interrogators who want him to participate in televised confessions.He has gone on hunger strike to protest the harsh conditions of his detention and unlawful actions of the intelligence and judicial authorities. On May 24 he was placed in solitary confinement in Tehran’s Evin Priosn, 3 days after he started a hunger strike.

On Thursday 05/24/2012, Jailed Iranian blogger Hossein Ronaghi Maleki has once again begun a hunger strike to protest his dire situation at Evin Prison. The Human Rights Activists News Agency reports that the Ronaghi Maleki is suffering from a failed kidney and is being refused medical attention so he has begun a hunger strike to draw attention to his situation.

Doctors have said that the jailed blogger’s left kidney has completely failed and his right kidney is on the verge of total shutdown. Therefore, he is in need of urgent surgery.

HRANA reports that Ronaghi Maleki’s medical problems are being superficially treated in prison with injections of morphine and other painkillers, which are compounding his condition with problematic side effects.

HRANA reports that the Revolutionary Guards’ intelligence department has forbidden prison authorities from giving Ronaghi Maleki the sick leave recommended by several doctors. Ronaghi Maleki was arrested during the crackdown on the 2009 election protests and sentenced to 15 years in jail for his critical blogging on government actions.

View petition

სახალხო დამცველის მოხსენებებში არაერთხელ აღინიშნა, რომ სამართალდამცავი ორგანოების მხრიდან კვლავაც არ კეთდება ჯეროვანი რეაგირება ქვეყანაში განხორციელებულ შეუწყნარებლობის ფაქტებზე. კერძოდ, სახალხო დამცველის მიერ გამოვლენილ შემთხვევათა უმეტესობაში გამოძიება ერიდება რელიგიური შეუწყნარებლობის მოტივაციით ჩადენილი დანაშაულის მაკვალიფიცირებელი ნორმის გამოყენებას და ამჯობინებს, საქმე ხულიგნობის მუხლით აღძრას.

ვფიქრობთ, რომ სახელმწიფოს მხრიდან ასეთი ტიპის დანაშაულებზე სრულყოფილი და ადეკვატური გამოძიების ჩატარების ნების ნაკლებობა გახდა იმის ერთ–ერთი მიზეზი, რამაც მიგვიყვანა არსებულ მდგომარეობამდე. მიგვაჩნია, რომ მსგავს ტენდენციას უარყოფითი გალენა აქვს ქართული სახელმწიფოს დემოკრატიულ განვითარებასა და აგრეთვე, მის ევროინტეგრაციაზე.

ასევე, დაუშვებლად მიგვაჩნია საპატრიარქოს მითითებითა და ზეწოლით რაიმე სახის საკანონმდებლო ცვლილებების გატარება, ცენზურის დაწესება და გამოხატვის თავისუფლების ნებისმიერი სახით შეზღუდვა.

კონსტიტუციის მიხედვით, საქართველოში სახელმწიფოსა და ეკლესიის საქმიანობისა და გავლენის სფეროები მკაფიოდ უნდა იყოს გამიჯნული, შესაბამისად, ვითხოვთ ადეკვატური პოლიტიკის გატარებას, რომელიც კანონის უზენაესობასა და კონსტიტუციით უზრუნველყოფილი ადამიანის უფლებების დაცვას დაეფუძნება.

View petition

EU Directive on Equal Treatment
The Harassment Provision

For more information please watch this video http://www.ccfon.org/mediacentre.php?avid=266&avap=1
or go to
www.ccfon.org

Please contact your MP, MEP & the UK Equality Minister
The latter is The Rt. Hon Harriet Harman, QC,
House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA
email : harmanh@parliament.uk

Details to locate your MP & MEP are on www.ccfon.org

View petition

Freedom of expression is an inalienable right for all individuals in all countries, at all times especially in matters of civic and political expression.

There is a public debate underway concerning a concert to be held in Cuba on September 20, 2009 organized by the Colombian musician Juanes as the latest in a series of concerts around the world with the theme peace without borders.

Although the concert is described as apolitical and directed at the Cuban people there are concerns that it will be politicized by the Cuban dictatorship.

Both Juanes and his critics have a right to exercise their freedom of expression.

Nevertheless, individuals have crossed that line and demonstrated their contempt for fundamental human rights. Two clear examples first on August 14th on 35th Ave. and SW 8th Street where a black shirt representing Juanes was doused with a flammable liquid and set on fire by a demonstrator who stated to the press: “This is what we are going to do with him burn him for being a communist, a traitor, a terrorist, and for licking Fidel Castro’s boots.” Secondly, A day later on Twitter Juanes received the following message: "I hate what you are saying but you will die for defending your right to say it."

These are not examples of free speech but verbal assaults: the threat to carry out physical harm against an individual. This is intolerable in a free society.

This is the kind of language used by Cuban government agents to intimidate members of the opposition in Cuba and reflects a country that today has 21 imprisoned journalists recognized by the Committee to Protect Journalists and 58 activists recognized by Amnesty International as prisoners of conscience rotting in prisons; where a man cries out in front of a camera that he is hungry and is sentenced to two years in prison. These are the kind of threats that are all too common in Cuba.

They are unacceptable in a free society.

View petition

Since 2001, the United States government has refused to grant visas to scores of foreign writers, scholars, artists, and activists on the basis of their ideas, political views, and associations. Individuals currently excluded from the U.S. include Swiss-born Muslim scholar Tariq Ramadan, who was not allowed to enter the country to assume a tenured teaching position at the University of Notre Dame; Basque historian and PEN member Iñaki Egaña, who was denied entry when he tried to come to the U.S. for research on a Basque author who was a target of MacCarthyism, and Haluk Gerger, a Turkish journalist and sociologist who PEN defended and the U.S. State Department supported in the 1990s when he was jailed repeatedly for his writings on Turkey’s Kurdish minority.

Prevalent during the Cold War, ideological exclusion kept such writers as Gabriel García Marquez, Mahmoud Darwish, Pablo Neruda, and Doris Lessing out of the United States for many years. PEN believes excluding international colleagues on the basis of their ideas and opinions violates the First Amendment rights of Americans to hear these views and engage with the speakers. Ideological exclusion does not make us safer; instead, it impoverishes cultural exchange and academic and political debate, and sends a message that our country is more interested in silencing than engaging its critics.

Stand with PEN in urging the Obama administration to end ideological exclusion and allow a full and free exchange of information and ideas.

View petition

[English translation below]

View petition

Our school uniform is truly rubbish. It is a bottle green jumper (that we have to wear in winter whether we want to or not), a yellow and green tie (ew), black trousers or skirt, white shirt, and plain black shoes.

They are so strict on shoes that shoe shopping is even more of a nightmare for me, because I have very narrow feet, a half size, plus I don't wear real leather, so with all these extra unnecessary rules, it's an impossible task!

For some reason, the administration seems to think if we look "smart", we'll work better. This isn't true. If we're clever, we're clever. If we're not, we're not.

Another common excuse is that we won't get bullied for not having the latest trends. No one in my tutor group are that shallow. Actually we get bullied more for doing well at school. So are they saying we should all flunk so we don't get picked on? Or should we just ignore the bullies and carry on, in both cases? Duh.

And how are we supposed to make political statements with such a harsh dress code? If we can't just dress all in black and write "Greenpeace Rules 4Eva" on our T-Shirts, we'll be driven to do more drastic things, like shooting out windows with a BB gun. Not that I would ever do this, being ethically opposed to guns, but hey, it was an example. I'm sure other people have and will be driven to do things like this simply from having no other way to express themselves.

Please sign to show LLS how we feel about their oppressive dress code! Thanks!

View petition