Tag Archives: human rights

Georgia to introduce law that punishes blasphemy

FEB. 2 2016, TBILISI (The Conway Bulletin)– Georgia took a major step towards introducing a law that will fine people for insulting religion after Parliament’s committee for human rights said that it supported a bill that criminalises blasphemy.

The bill has divided the country, pitting conservative religious groups who say the law is needed to dampen an increase in hate speech against liberal groups who argue the bill will limit free speech.

The parliamentary human rights committee decided that a law was needed to protect all religions from abuse.

Eka Beselia, head of the committee, said that many European countries already have a similar law.

On the streets of Tbilisi, young Georgians generally thought that the law was unnecessary. Otar Babukhadia, 23, a student said: “I think it’s just a popularity contest for the upcoming elections. It won’t affect anything, it’s just a formality.”

The Orthodox Church, a powerful institution in Georgia, issued a statement which said that it was not behind the proposed new law but that it did support fining people for insulting religion.

“Although there are frequent cases of insults and use of hate speech against the Church and its leader, the adoption of such a bill has not been our initiative – neither now nor previously,” it said.

The ruling Georgian Dream is close to the Orthodox Church and Salome Minesashvili, a political scientist at the Georgian Institute of Politics in Tbilisi, said that by introducing this law, which will protect the Church from criticism, the party aims to shore up support ahead of a parliamentary election in October.

“When democracy-linked values clash with traditions, Georgians expect the government to prioritise traditions at the expense of freedom.” she said.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 266, published on Feb. 5 2016)

Rights groups criticise Kazakhstan & Azerbaijan

JAN. 27 2016, ALMATY/Kazakhstan (The Conway Bulletin) — Human rights abuses, crackdowns on freedom of speech and endemic corruption still blight Central Asia and the South Caucasus, western watchdogs said in a series of annual reports.

According to New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) civil liberties worsened in Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan last year as an economic crisis battered the region.

“Central Asian governments are becoming increasingly intolerant of dissent, criticism, and human rights scrutiny – an alarming trend,” said Hugh Williamson, Europe and Central Asia director at HRW.

Specifically, Mr Williamson said that Kazakhstan had used courts to silence opposition figures and that Azerbaijan’s crackdown on journalists and rights advocates was “unprecedented.”

Freedom House, another US- based civil rights lobby group, also criticised governments in Central

Asia and the South Caucasus for their record on freedom of speech.

“The [November parliamentary in Azerbaijan] elections followed another year of intense suppression of civil society and independent media,” Robert Ruby, Freedom House’s director of communication, said.

Corruption watchdog Transparency International projected a slightly more positive outlook for the region but, while Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan all improved their rankings in its global index, absolute scores in the region were mostly unchanged or down from 2014.

Transparency International’s director for Europe and Central Asia, Anne Koch said little had improved.

“While a handful of countries in Europe and Central Asia have improved, the general picture across this vast region is one of stagnation,” she said in the report.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 265, published on Jan. 29 2016)

Tajik police shaves 13000 beards

JAN. 19 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – In 2015, officials in Tajikistan shaved off beards on nearly 13,000 men, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported quoting a police press conference. The police described the purge as a war against excessive Islamic influences in the country. Tajikistan has said constantly over the past few years that Islamic radicals pose a real threat to its security. Rights activists have said this is simply another way of imposing control.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 264, published on Jan. 22 2016)

Azerbaijani lawyer to defend journalist

JAN. 21 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Khadija Ismayilova, a high-profile imprisoned Azerbaijani journalist, said that she had appointed Amal Clooney, the wife of Hollywood star George Clooney, as her lawyer ahead of a hearing in the European Court of Human Rights linked to her conviction this year on economic-related charges. Ismayilova is looking to challenge her conviction through the European Court. Europe and the West have accused Azerbaijan of cracking down on free speech.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 264, published on Jan. 22 2016)

Azerbaijani court jails journalist

DEC. 28 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – A court in Azerbaijan sentenced journalist Rauf Mirkadirov to six years in prison for spying for Armenia. Mirkadirov denies the charges. His supporters said that the jail sentence is more evidence of Azerbaijan’s crackdown on dissent and free speech. Azerbaijan has jailed several journalists over the past few years.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 262, published on Jan. 8 2016)

Sweden jails Uzbek hitman

DEC. 15 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – A Swedish court sentenced Yury Zhukovsky, an Uzbek national, to 18 years in prison for the attempted murder of dissident Obid-kori Nazarov in February 2012, in a case that intensified attention on Uzbekistan’s human rights record.

The prosecutor in the trial accused the Uzbek government of ordering the murder of Mr Nazarov who had fled Uzbekistan to Sweden in 2006. He had been a popular cleric who preached against the government.

The judge, though, said that it was not possible to rule on who may have ordered the murder.

Zhukovsky was caught on CCTV camera in a shop in the remote northern town of Stromsund hours before Mr Nazarov was shot in the head with a revolver. Mr Nazarov survived the attempted murder but has been left with brain damage.

Human rights groups have criticised Uzbekistan record. They have said that the government pursues its enemies abroad.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 261, published on Dec. 20 2015)

US and EU probes Azerbaijan’s human rights

DEC. 15 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – The US and Europe piled more pressure on Azerbaijan over its human rights record. New Jersey representative Chris Smith introduced a bill in the US Congress that would ban Azerbaijani officials from receiving US visas. The Council of Europe also said it would check whether Azerbaijan is compliant with the European Convention on Human Rights.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 261, published on Dec. 20 2015)

Uzbek President criticises police

DEC. 7 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Uzbek president Islam Karimov criticised Uzbekistan’s police force as shoddy, Eurasianet.org reported. Human rights groups have long criticised police in Uzbekistan for using torture on inmates but Mr Karimov has never previously criticised them. Mr Karimov said there had been complaints about the police.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 260, published on Dec. 11 2015)

Azerbaijan releases rights activist Yunus

DEC. 9 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Azerbaijan appeared to bow to international pressure and release a frail- looking Leyla Yunus, one of the country’s most high-profile human rights activists, from prison where she had been serving an 8-1⁄2 year sentence for fraud and tax evasion.

She will re-join her husband, Arif who was sent to prison at the same time but was released earlier on health grounds, in their Baku home.

The West has accused the authorities in Baku of cracking-down on dissents over the past few years.

Human rights activists welcomed the release of Leyla Yunus, although she is not allowed to leave Baku and her fraud and tax evasion conviction still stands.

They also said, though, that other so-called political prisoners needed to be released. This includes journalist Khadija Ismayilova who was sent to prison earlier this year.

Ismayilova was a relatively well- known RFE/RL journalist in Azerbaijan who had reported on top level corruption in Azerbaijan.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 260, published on Dec. 11 2015)

HRW accuses Kyrgyzstan of banning country chief

DEC. 2 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) accused the authorities in Kyrgyzstan of banning their Bishkek office director from entering the country and crushing free speech.

The accusation will hurt Kyrgyzstan’s international reputation as a place for Westerners to visit and for Western companies to do business. Direct foreign investment and tourism are important to Kyrgyzstan’s economy.

Mihra Rittmann, the HRW Kyrgyzstan director, said she had been refused entry at Manas airport. In June the Kyrgyz authorities had rescinded her work permit.

“Kyrgyzstan’s decision to ban me is highly disappointing on a personal as well as a professional level,” Ms Rittmann told the Bulletin from Berlin where HRW has its European headquarters.

“We are keen to clarify the grounds for the ban and to resolve the situation such that I can return to Bishkek and continue Human Rights Watch’s work in country.”

Kyrgyzstan has not commented.

According to Ms Rittmann, she saw a note at the airport which described her as a “persona non- grata”.

Over the past few years, Kyrgyzstan has shifted from a relatively pro-Western stance to a more pro-Russia outlook. As the US quit its air base outside Bishkek last year, Russia was increasing its involvement in Kyrgyzstan by boosting aid money, pulling the country into its Eurasian Economic Union trade bloc and strengthening its military commitments.

HRW in Kyrgyzstan, led by Ms Rittmann, has also been documenting what it has described as a decline in human rights and free speech, from attacks on ethnic Uzbeks and homosexuals to a new law, similar to a Russian law, that makes it harder for NGOs to accept funding from overseas.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 259, published on Dec. 4 2015)