Read about this and much more in our fourth Newsletter of the year

SWEDEN AND
HATE CRIMES
A NEW PLATFORM
ON CUBA
READ MORE ON PAGE 2
READ MORE ON PAGE 2
REMEMBERING HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER NATALIA ESTEMIROVA
Civil Rights Defenders expresses its continuing concern over
the Russian authorities’ failure to bring Natalia’s murderers to
justice. Unfortunately, Natalia’s fate is not unique as impunity
for human rights violations committed in the North Caucasus is
more the rule than the exception.
Photo: Civil Rights Defenders
“Since Natalia’s murder, the authorities have failed to investigate Chechen police involvement. Instead, they have eagerly
pursued all indications pointing in a different direction from
government involvement. During the official investigation,
authorities repeatedly blamed rebels for Natalia’s killing. However, the “rebels” as the investigators pointed out, are either
Five years ago, prominent human rights defender Natalia
already dead or on the run”, says Roemer Lemaître, Program
Estemirova was murdered as a result of her courageous work
Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia at Civil Rights
in Chechnya. Although the Russian authorities have repeatedly
Defenders.
promised to bring her murderers to justice, there is still a general reluctance to investigate the local authorities’ involvement.
On July 15, 2009 Natalia was abducted from outside her
In honor of Natalia Estemirova’s courageous work, in 2012
Civil Rights Defenders launched the world’s first alarm security
system for human rights defenders at risk - the Natalia Project.
home in Grozny, Chechnya. Her body was found several hours
Today 22 human rights defenders are included in the Natalia
later in neighbouring Ingushetia. She had been shot in the head
security system and can immediately alert the outside world in
and chest. Natalia worked for Memorial, a prominent Russian
the event of an assault. Learn more about Natalia Project on:
human rights organisation and one of Civil Rights Defenders’
http://natalia.civilrightsdefenders.org and become a part of the
key partners.
global security network.
THE NATALIA FAMILY GROWS - FIVE
NEW BEARERS IN EAST AFRICA
is very difficult as their work exposes them daily to consider-
Become a human
rights defender!
able risks. In September, five new bearers from East Africa
It’s simple - all you have to do is to like Natalia Proj-
became part of Natalia Project.
ect on Facebook. After that, if a bearer is kidnapped
The current situation for human rights defenders in East Africa
There are a large number of actors involved in a myriad
or imprisoned, you can immediately react and spread
of human rights abuses: governments, private companies,
information about the incident throughout your net-
religious and political groups. Corruption, political violence, im-
works. You can also support our work by donating 100
punity for police and security services, large gaps in freedom of
SEK. Text: FÖRSVARA to 729 80.
speech and extensive oppression of sexual minorities are some
of the challenges facing the region’s human rights defenders.
Those who advocate for human rights often risk their lives.
PHOTO: CATARINA HARLING
Newsletter no 4, October-December 2014
We defend people’s civil and human rights and
strengthen human rights defenders in Sweden and around the world.
Newsletter no 4, October - December 2014
THE GOVERNMENT MUST PREVENT HATE SPEECH
Counter-demonstrators in Kungsträdgården, Stockholm on August 30.
Photo: Civil Rights Defenders
After several clashes between demonstrators and police
during the Svenskarnas Parti (SvP) campaign in August 2014,
Civil Rights Defenders Executive Director Robert Hårdh and
Legal Director John Stauffer made two statements. Svenskarnas Parti is a nationalist, neo-Nazi political party in Sweden.
When several demonstrators had been injured in Malmö on
August 27, Civil Rights Defenders wrote in Sydsvenskan about
how the government must take responsibility for implementing institutional reforms that permit independent reviews
of police use of force to guarantee the people’s rights to
peacefully exercise their freedom of assembly and freedom
of expression. Human rights must play a central role in the
prosecution-led audit of police interventions in Malmö and
accountability must be demanded when it comes to the use
of violence which took place without the support of the law.
”A rights-based investigation is important for those affected
and to ensure the citizens’ trust in the government and its
agencies, with police at the top. It is also important that the
Parliamentary Ombudsman (JO) initiates a review of the police
authority’s actions in Malmö. The JO should pay particular
attention to the fact that the police force can deter people
from demonstrating due to such violence and therefore pose a
serious threat to the public’s right to peacefully express their
opinions”, Hårdh and Stauffer wrote.
On August 30, just before the upcoming demonstration
of Svenskarnas Parti in Stockholm, Robert Hårdh and John
Stauffer wrote in the Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet about how it is the police’s responsibility to take action
against hateful racist expressions.
”If we continue to let racist organisations operate in our
midst, there must be real protection against racist expression.
When SvP demonstrates in Stockholm, it is a clear example
of the increasing racist activities in our society. In the wake
of that, the number of reports of hate crimes is at a high level
in Sweden. What is also worrying is that only three percent of
cases are prosecuted. The party’s Nazi and anti-democratic
rhetoric is clear and outrage is great over the fact that they
spread their message on our streets, a message that often
borders on hate speech”.
Civil Rights Defenders is not alone in criticising the Swedish
authorities. The UN also expresses serious concern about the
developments and the fact that rhetoric that offends and
threatens ethnic minorities is increasingly used in the media,
on the Internet and amongst politicians.
PRESSURING THE EU ABOUT CUBA’S NEW PLATFORM
The EU and Cuba recently
completed the second
contract negotiation on
political dialogue and assistance. To ensure that the
agreement will lead to human rights improvements in
Cuba, Civil Rights Defenders, along with the Cuban campaign Por Otra Cuba, have developed a platform for how negotiations should be conducted and
what should be included in the contract.
In early 2014, negotiations between the EU and Cuba took
place to conclude a bilateral agreement on political dialogue
and assistance. Cuba is currently the only country in Latin
America with which the EU does not have a bilateral agreement. The reason comes down to the Cuban state’s total lack of
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respect for human rights.
In 2008, when the Cuban government signed the Convention
on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention on Economic,
Social and Cultural Rights, the act represented the first step
towards change. But since then, no improvement in the human
rights landscape has taken place.
The EU should set requirements for progress so that Cuba
must initiate efforts to ratify and implement the conventions
for there to be any agreement. During the negotiations, the EU
must have an open dialogue with Cuban civil society and the
political opposition for the final agreement to have any legitimacy with the people. During the negotiations, it also emerged
that the EU intends to enter a trade agreement with Cuba. The
platform states that no trade agreement should be concluded
before Cuba has ratified and implemented the above mentioned human rights conventions.
Newsletter no 4, October - December 2014
LGBTQ RIGHTS IN FOCUS
NEW COLLEAGUE
Karin Fritz
In the 2014 Pride Parade, Civil Rights Defenders participated for the first time under their
own banner. Photo: Civil Rights Defenders
While Civil Rights Defenders had previously supported several initiatives during
Stockholm Pride, August 2 marked the organisation’s first year of participating
at the Pride Parade under its own flag. During the nearly three-hour march, over
a 100 people joined Civil Rights Defenders from different parts of the world,
united by human rights. Thanks to everyone who participated in the parade!
During Pride Week, Civil Rights Defenders along the Foundation Expo organised a seminar entitled “Minorities within
Minorities” and asked the ques-tion –
What is it like to be Sami, Muslim or have
a disability while being LGBTQ?
The seminar attracted approximately
120 participants, and it became clear
that one of the organisations’ most important tasks is to listen and provide
After left Ardeshir Bibakabadi (Homan), Tove
Fahlgren and Tobias Poggats (Queering Sápmi),
a platform so that minorities are given
Christine Bylund (Featured Activist).
a voice.
With a BA in Economics specialising in Accounting from the University of Uppsala,
Karin Fritz is the latest addition to our organisation. She previously worked as an Accountant and Financial Manager and comes
from Selecta AB where she worked as the
Accounting Manager.
Karin says she ‘’looks forward to contributing to a finance department that delivers
the same high quality as we do in our other
activities’’.
Per Anger Prize
Winner 2014
Civil Rights Defenders also supported Pride in:
• Vietnam, where the event was celebrated for a third successive year. The
theme for this year’s festival was “Together” and the Pride celebrations took
place over five days on the streets of Hanoi. Many events were held including
an LGBTQ bicycle rally during the festival under the Vietpride banner.
• Russia, which saw Queer Fest at the end of September, one of the largest
LGBTQ events in the country. Despite bomb threats, attacks and landlords
who cancelled event venues at the last minute, the event was a success.
• Serbia, where this year’s weeklong event was considered a success as the
Belgrade Pride March, which had been banned on four previous occasions
over the past five years, was finally approved by the authorities. Around 1,000
people gathered on September 28 to walk through the city.
Rita Mahato, a representative of the human
rights organisation Women’s Rehabilitation
Centre (WOREC), was recently announced
as the Per Anger prize winner. Operating in
southeast Nepal, she received the prize for
her tenacious campaigning against sexual violence against women in patriarchal, violent
and socially deprived areas of the country.
Despite serious threats to her and her family,
she continues to fight tirelessly for women’s
rights in Nepal.
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B
PORTO
BETALT
Two human rights defenders in
need of our support
Photo: Civil Rights Defenders
The journalist, human rights defender and Natalia Project bearer Rasul Jafarov spent his 30th birthday behind bars. Along
with several other human rights peers, he sits in custody
awaiting trial in Azerbaijan on charges of tax evasion, illegal
commercial activity and abuse of power.
Civil Rights Defenders Executive Director Robert Hårdh said:
”Although Azerbaijan holds the Chairmanship of the Council of
Europe, the authorities’ criminal actions against civil society
clearly demonstrates the continuing authoritarian rule of the
Aliyev regime. A regime that violates all human rights, which
the Council stands for”.
Civil Rights Defenders urges the authorities in Azerbaijan to
accelerate the unconditional release of Rasul Jafarov, Intigam
Aliyev, Leyla Yunus and Arif Yunusovs and to immediately fulfil
its obligations under the various human rights conventions
and international instruments ratified by the country.
The prominent human rights defender Maryam Al-Khawaja
was arrested at the airport in Manama, Bahrain on August 30,
when she returned to her homeland to visit her sick father in
prison. She was denied entry at the airport, arrested and told
that her Bahraini citizenship had been revoked. Maryam was
accused by the authorities of being violent towards a police
officer and charged with insulting the king in social media.
On September 18, she was released from custody but all
accusations against her remain, and authorities have revoked
her right to leave the country.
Despite the positive news that Maryam is released, Civil
Rights Defenders is concerned that the regime in Bahrain has
subjected her to travel restrictions.
Maryam’s arrest received widespread international attention and along with 154 international organisations, Civil
Rights Defenders signed an open letter addressed to Bahrain’s
King Hamad in late September, urging him to immediately
release Maryam and drop all charges against her.
KEEP TRACK OF THE AUTUMN SEMINAR PROGRAM
Several seminars will be arranged by Civil Rights Defenders
throughout the autumn and winter of 2014, usually on the last
Wednesday of each month.
The morning seminar series “One Hour of Human Rights”,
organised at the Head Office in Stockholm, kicked off with a
visit by Thai human rights activist Arthit Suriyawongkul who
spoke about freedom of expression and Internet freedom after
the military coup in May.
All sessions will be recorded and broadcasted live via Bambuser. Keep track of upcoming seminars by visiting:
http://www.civilrightsdefenders.org
CONTACT US
Tel: +46 (0)8 - 545 277 30
Fax: +46 (0)8 - 545 277 50
[email protected]
www.civilrightsdefenders.org
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Arthit Suriyawongkul speaks about restricted Internet freedom in Thailand. Photo: Civil Rights Defenders
Our newsletter is issued four times a year and is available in
electronic format at www.civilrightsdefenders.org
Editor-in-Chief: Hampus Stenberg
Copyright © 2014 Civil Rights Defenders
Stockholm, Sweden.