China’s official news agency says human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng has been sent back to prison for three years after a Beijing court ruled he had violated the terms of his probation. A brief report from the Xinhua news agency Friday was the first word of Gao’s whereabouts or status since he emerged briefly from […]
World Marks Human Rights Day
Posted December 10th, 2011 at 10:15 am (UTC-5)
World powers are marking Human Rights Day with calls for an end to repression across the globe. The annual event, which is taking place on Saturday, is based on the United Nations’ more than 60-year-old Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The document states all people are entitled to fundamental human rights and freedoms. It also […]
China Defends Imprisonment of Nobel Winner
Posted December 9th, 2011 at 4:55 am (UTC-5)
China is rejecting international calls to release imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiabao. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei said Friday that the dissident writer “broke Chinese laws and should be punished as a consequence by law.” On Thursday, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch issued statements calling for Liu’s release, almost a year […]
Rights Activists Urge China to Release Nobel Laureate
Posted December 8th, 2011 at 11:55 pm (UTC-5)
International rights groups have called on China to release imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo almost a year after he received the award. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch issued statements Thursday noting that Liu has remained in prison since he received the prize in absentia on December 10, while his wife Liu Xia […]
Rights Group: Number of Jailed Journalists at 15-Year High
Posted December 8th, 2011 at 10:10 am (UTC-5)
A media rights group says the number of journalists jailed worldwide is at a 15-year high, with Iran, Eritrea and China leading the list. The Committee to Protect Journalists report released Thursday says 179 writers, editors and photojournalists were jailed worldwide as of December 1 compared to 34 detentions at the same time last year. […]
UN Rights Monitor Seeks Faster Progress in Cambodia
Posted November 24th, 2011 at 5:15 am (UTC-5)
A United Nations expert says Cambodia is making progress in respecting the human rights of its citizens but much more work remains to be done. U.N. Special Rapporteur Surya Subedi also called in an interview for the Cambodian government to avoid interference in the work of an international tribunal that is prosecuting former leaders of […]
UN Panel Cites Rights Abuses in Burma, Iran, North Korea
Posted November 21st, 2011 at 6:50 pm (UTC-5)
A United Nations human rights committee has condemned rights abuses in Burma, Iran and North Korea. The committee said it still has concerns about what are called “systematic” human rights violations in Burma despite some moves toward reform there. It welcomed recent talks between Burma’s government and democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi as well […]
HRW Calls on ASEAN to Set Conditions for Burma
Posted November 17th, 2011 at 5:30 am (UTC-5)
Human Rights Watch says the Association of Southeast Asian Nations needs to set clear benchmarks for Burma before it assumes chairmanship of the 10-member regional grouping in 2014. The U.S.-based human rights group says those benchmarks should include the immediate release of all political prisoners, the repeal of laws used to suppress peaceful dissent, an […]
Britain Demands Release of Burma’s Political Prisoners
Posted November 15th, 2011 at 5:35 pm (UTC-5)
A senior British official has called for the release of all political prisoners in Burma during the first day of his visit to the country. Andrew Mitchell, Britain’s international development secretary, met with President Thein Sein and other leaders Tuesday in Burma’s administrative capital Naypyitaw. He welcomed the government’s talks with opposition leader Aung San […]
Rights Groups Challenge Burmese Claim on Political Prisoners
Posted November 15th, 2011 at 1:20 pm (UTC-5)
Human rights groups are expressing skepticism over claims by Burma’s new human rights commission that as few as 300 of the nation’s suspected 2,000 political prisoners are still incarcerated. A Thailand-based rights group told VOA’s Burmese service it is aware of more than 1,600 political prisoners still in jail in Burma. Amnesty International researcher Benjamin […]
