Murdered human rights defender Natalia Estemirova: Four years later her killers are still free

There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest. - Elie Wiesel

Murdered on July 15, 2009 for her work as a human rights defender

 Never met Natalia Estemirova and thanks to some unknown thugs I never will. She was a human rights defender in Russia defending the rights of the people of Chechnya. Four years ago today, on July 15, 2009 she was abducted at around 8:30am local time. Natalia was dragged into a white car (VAZ-2107) and driven off in an unknown direction. According to witnesses, Natalia Estemirova managed to shout out that she was being abducted.  

 

According to staff members of Memorial, she was on the way to a business trip to the Stavropol region of Russia. Her colleagues started to worry when she didn't arrive at the scheduled meetings. The same day at approximately 5.20 pm, Natalia Estemirova was found dead near Nazran in Ingushetia with evidence of two shots to the head.

Speaking in Germany on July 16, 2009 as her funeral was being held in Chechnya, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev promised a thorough investigation and pledged those responsible would be caught, reported the BBC at the time also observing that Medvedev said it was "obvious" to him that her murder was linked to her professional work. Forty days after her murder friends gathered in the Caucasus to remember Natalia.  

Four years later and her killers still remain at large. The government has now claimed in 2013 that it has ascertained the motive and that the murder probe was never suspended. "Investigators believe the crime was committed in connection with Estemirova's professional activity and with the view of unsettling the situation in Ingushetia and Chechnya."

Today protests are being held around the world in her memory and in France, the Paris based group ACAT, Amnesty International, Comité Tchétchénie, Le Convoi Syndical, l’Union des Electeurs russes, FIDH, Reporters Without Borders, and Russie-Libértes have called for a joint protest at “Place Igor Stravinsky (Beauborg)" in Paris at 6:30pm.

 

Two years ago Amnesty International announced that little progress had been made and 2939 messages were sent to Russian authorities calling on them to effectively investigate the murder of this human rights activist. In the urgent action, Amnesty International briefly outlined Natalia's work:

Natalia Estemirova was one of the leading researchers in the Grozny office of the Russian human rights organization Memorial. Since 2000 she had exposed numerous human rights violations committed during the second Chechen conflict and documented extrajudicial executions, enforced disappearances, torture and other human rights violations committed by law-enforcement agencies and government officials in post-conflict Chechnya. She was fighting injustice and refused to leave the Republic despite the criticism and frequent threats she received from Chechen officials.

There is a link of solidarity between Natalia Estemirova and Cuban exile activists and that is the Russian human rights organization Memorial. Back in 1997, a member of the student group Free Cuba Foundation visited Russia and met with members of Memorial who joined the campaign to obtain the freedom of a Cuban political prisoner, a member of the Cuban Committee for Human Rights. Thanks to international solidarity he was freed a short time after the campaign began. This act of solidarity with an imprisoned human rights defender was in keeping with Natalia Estemirova's core beliefs expressed in testimony she gave in September 2003 at Steps to Protection: The Second Dublin Platform for Human Rights Defenders, organized by the Irish nonprofit Frontline where she wrote about Zura Bitieva, a human rights defender who had been murdered along with her family. Natalia's testimony is reproduced below:

Chechnya I would like to tell you about a woman of whose life and death, I believe, the people must know.
Her name was Zura Bitieva. She lived in a small Chechen village. During ‘95-‘96, when the Russian army occupied Chechnya, she was actively involved in anti-war protests. She was not afraid of the fatal consequences. In 1999, the Russian army again invaded Chechnya, and in February 2000 she and her son Idris, were taken into the Chernokozov prison by a Russian soldier. Conditions of this prison were appalling in their brutality. Torture, killing, assault and human degradation were all part of this institution.

Zura was a small, aged and very sick woman. But her soul and the strength of her spirit, withstood the threats and beating of her captors. She defended other inmates in prison, with this strength. Zura went on hunger strike. She was released in a very ill condition. Her friends helped her go to Turkey. But once her health was slightly better, she went back to Chechnya, and began collecting evidence of crimes committed by the Russian soldiers and militia against the peaceful citizens of Chechnya. This evidence she submitted to UN and organizations for human rights. In the middle of a spring night 2003, her house was broken into by camouflaged and masked men. These men were part of the Russian forces. They killed her, her son Idris, her husband and her brother. Her one year-old grandson was gagged and left in a puddle of blood. Only her other son, escaped death by hiding in time.

Half a year passed, and the crime has still not been investigated.

Exactly two years before this event, Islamic fundamentalists in conjunction with the Russian forces, mortally wounded human rights defender Viktor Popkov. Still, the killers have not been brought to justice, even though this is quite possible.

In spring this year, men in camouflage and masks kidnapped a defender Imran Ezhiev. The press raised a storm, and after a few days Imran was dropped and left on a dirt road. To this day, he does not know where he had been, as he was gagged and cuffed. But he does know that his kidnappers were part of the Russian forces. He was saved by the press outcry.

I suggest that whenever a human rights defender is suffering, we should hold massive press gatherings to free the defender and lead proper investigations into their arrests. I also think that the Frontline website should have current and detailed information and news of human rights defenders – to be discussed by participants of this conference.

We owe it to Natalia and to human rights defenders in Russia and around the world that her killers be brought to justice. Other journalists continue to be killed with impunity in Russia. On July 9, 2013  Akhmednabi Akhmednabiev, a journalist whose work was critical of local authorities was shot and killed in Degestan. We maybe powerless to prevent these injustices but we must never stop denouncing them.

This is why in the Cuban context, 19 years after the "13 de Marzo" tugboat massacre and 17 years after the Brothers to the Rescue shoot down there are still protests and vigils demanding justice.  This is also why we must remember and protest these murders in Russia and say a prayer today for Natalia Estemirova and why on July 22 we will be doing the same for Oswaldo Payá and Harold Cepero.

A toast to freedom on World Press Freedom Day

Fifty years ago, on May 28, 1961 Amnesty International was formed because two Portuguese students were imprisoned for seven years for raising a toast to freedom. Today, in Cuba men and women are locked away for speaking up for freedom and marching for it. Journalists are harassed, detained and imprisoned for attempting to exercise their fundamental right to free speech, one of them is Luis Felipe Rojas.Others are found in the ‘Hablemos Press’ Information Centre. In honor of them, on World Press Freedom Day this video is dedicated to them: A Toast to Freedom.
 

"Blocking search engines, charging the earth for internet, torturing activists to get their Facebook and Twitter passwords, passing laws that control what people can (and can’t) talk about online. These are just some of the ways in which nations from China to Iran, Cuba to Azerbaijan are preventing journalists, bloggers and activists from speaking out about human rights abuses." - Amnesty International, May 1, 2012 in World Press Freedom Day: Repression in the digital era

Below are some of the latest reports from Amnesty International on the situation in Cuba:

2 May 2012

Cuba: “The authorities attack us because we talk about the issues people face”

For Cuban journalist and blogger Luis Felipe Rojas, posting an entry on his blog Crossing the Wire Fences or even sending an email is a daunting task. Every time he wants to access the internet, he has to leave his house in the early hours of the morning and travel 200 kilometres from his hometown of Holguín, in eastern Cuba, to the closest cybercafé. If he is lucky, and he is not stopped at a police checkpoint on the way, he will get to a computer in about three hours. Once there, Luis Felipe has to show ID to buy an access card and pay six US dollars to use the internet for sixty minutes – that is almost a third of a monthly local salary.

 Some days he finds websites containing information considered critical of the government are blocked or messages have disappeared from his inbox. Internet access is so highly controlled in Cuba that critics of the government have come up with creative ways to ensure their stories get out. Sometimes that involves converting articles into digital images and sending them via SMS to a contact outside of Cuba, to type and post on Luis Felipe's blog. He also uses text messages for posting on Twitter but the lack of internet access means that he cannot see what others say to (or about) him.

Luis Felipe is part of a growing group of journalists and government critics who are finding new ways to by-pass state control in order to disseminate information about human rights abuses taking place in Cuba. According to a recent report by Amnesty International, independent journalists and bloggers have faced increased threats and intimidation when publishing information critical to the authorities.



The ‘Hablemos Press’ Information Centre, an unofficial news agency monitoring human rights abuses across Cuba, recently reported that from March 2011 to March 2012 inclusively, more than 75 independent journalists have been detained, some, like Caridad Caballero Batista up to 20 times. “After the mass release of prisoners of conscience in 2011, we have seen authorities sharpening their strategy to silence dissent by harassing government critics and independent journalists with short term detentions and public acts of repudiation,” said Gerardo Ducos, Cuba expert with Amnesty International.

 On 25 March, Luis Felipe was detained in a local police station for five days in order to prevent him from travelling to attend an open-air mass celebrated by Pope Benedict XVI. “The authorities attack us because we talk about the issues people face - that not everybody has enough food, that public services do not always work, that there are problems with the health service,” Luis Felipe said to Amesty International. “I have been scared many times. Scared of going to the street, of being beaten up, of being locked up for a long time and not seeing my children. But fear does not stop me. I do not think a tweet from me is going to save anybody from prison but it does save them from impunity.”

http://www.amnesty.org/en/news/cuba-authorities-attack-us-because-we-talk-about-issues-people-face-2012-05-02

CUBA: PRISONER FREED, IF GIVES UP POLITICAL ACTIVISM: JOSÉ DANIEL FERRER GARCÍA

Further information on UA: 99/12
Index: AMR 25/016/2012

Cuba
Date: 1 May 2012

URGENT ACTION

PRISONER FREED, IF GIVES UP POLITICAL ACTIVISM

Prisoner of conscience José Daniel Ferrer García has been released, on condition that he gives up his political activism: he has been told that if he does so, his trial on trumped- up charges will not go ahead.

Prisoner of conscience José Daniel Ferrer García was released from prison on 29 April: he had been detained for 27 days, and charged with “public disorder” (desórdenes públicos). Amnesty International believes the charges are intended to prevent him from carrying out peaceful activities as coordinator of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (Union Patriótica de Cuba, UNPACU), an umbrella group of organizations advocating for peaceful political change. He has asked for his thanks to be passed to the members of the UA network who took action on his behalf.

The Cuban authorities have told him that charges will be dropped if he agrees to stop his activism and ensures that other members of UNPACU do likewise. José Daniel Ferrer García had been released in March 2011 after serving eight years of a 25-year sentence for taking part in a campaign for a national referendum on democratic reforms in Cuba.

The authorities have now threatened that he will be sent back to prison to serve the remainder of his sentence if he does not comply. Amnesty International has called on the Cuban authorities to withdraw unconditionally any charges against José Daniel Ferrer García relating to the peaceful exercise of his right to freedom of expression, and to allow him and fellow members of UNPACU to carry out their activities free from harassment and the threat of detention.

Amnesty International will be monitoring his situation closely, and will take further action as appropriate. No further action is requested at this time from the UA network. Many thanks to all who sent appeals.

This is the second update of UA 99/12.
Further information: http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/AMR25/012/2012
Name: José Daniel Ferrer García
Gender m/f: m Further information on UA: 99/12
Index: AMR 25/016/2012
Issue Date: 1 May 2012

http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/AMR25/016/2012/en/3005b079-e861-43bf-b1bb-e2ca8375916c/amr250162012en.html

CUBA: FURTHER INFORMATION: GOVERNMENT CRITIC RELEASED TO AWAIT TRIAL

 Further information on UA: 100/12 Index: AMR 25/017/2012 Cuba

Date: 1 May 2012

URGENT ACTION GOVERNMENT CRITIC RELEASED TO AWAIT TRIAL

Government critic Andrés Carrión Álvarez has been released from prison , to await trial on trumped up charges. Andrés Carrión Álvarez was released from prison on 13 April to await trial on a charge of “public disorder” (desórdenes públicos) for shouting “freedom” and “down with communism” before an open air mass given by Pope Benedict XVI on 26 March.

Three days later, on 16 April, he was rearrested along with Anyer Antonio Blanco Rodríguez, a fellow member of the umbrella group of dissident organizations Patriotic Union of Cuba (Union Patriótica de Cuba, UNPACU) as they were talking in a park in the centre of the city of Santiago de Cuba. Andrés Carrión Álvarez was charged with another count of “public disorder” before being released five hours later.

 Anyer Antonio Blanco Rodríguez was held for five days, and then released without charge. As part of the conditions of his release, Andrés Carrión Álvarez must report to a police station once a week, is not allowed to leave his home municipality of Santiago de Cuba without prior authorization and must not to associate with anyone deemed by the authorities to be a government critic.

No date has been set for his trial. Amnesty International has called on the Cuban authorities to withdraw unconditionally any charges against Andrés Carrión Álvarez arising from his peaceful exercise of his right to freedom of expression, and cease the harassment he is facing.

Andrés Carrión Álvarez has asked us to pass on his thanks to all those who took action on his behalf. Amnesty International will be monitoring his situation closely, and will take further action as appropriate.

No further action is requested at this time from the UA network. Many thanks to all who sent appeals.

This is the first update of UA 100/12.

Further information: http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/AMR25/013/2012 Name: Andrés Carrión Álvarez Gender m/f: m Further information on UA: 100/12 Index: AMR 25/017/2012 Issue Date: 1 May 2012

http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/AMR25/017/2012/en/65760677-8c03-4414-94f5-def0e0f0defd/amr250172012en.html

Cuba urged to respect press freedom as repression of journalists intensifies

30 April 2010

Amnesty International today called on the Cuban authorities to end harassment of independent journalists following a month in which several reporters were arbitrarily detained and intimidated for criticizing the government.

“Journalists who try to work independently of the state-owned media outlets in Cuba are being targeted with repressive tactics and spurious criminal charges - and this clampdown on freedom of expression appears to be intensifying,” said Susan Lee, Amnesty International's Americas Director, ahead of World Press Freedom Day on 3 May.

Journalist Calixto Ramón Martínez Arias remains in detention after being arrested on 23 April by security officials who broke into the house where he was covering a memorial service for a prisoner of conscience. Orlando Zapata Tamayo had died two months earlier after several weeks on hunger strike in protest against the plight of prisoners of conscience in Cuba.

Another journalist described the campaign of intimidation waged against him as “psychological torture”. Yosvani Anzardo Hernández, the director of an online independent newspaper, was detained on 24 April and questioned for over six hours over anti-government graffiti found in the city of Holguin.

Meanwhile, news agency director Carlos Serpa Maceira was subjected to intimidation and harassment by the Cuban authorities when he tried to cover the weekly march by the activist group Damas de Blanco (Ladies in White) on three consecutive weekends in April.

Members of the Damas de Blanco have been repeatedly harassed and intimidated by government supporters, and their weekly demonstrations were forcibly broken by police on at least two occasions.

"Criminal charges, or other forms of harassment and intimidation, must not be brought against independent journalists, human rights advocates or political dissidents as a result of their legitimate exercise of freedom of expression," said Susan Lee.

There are currently 55 prisoners of conscience detained in Cuba, most of them serving long sentences for criticizing the Cuban government and advocating basic human rights. Among them are several independent journalists.

Several articles of the Cuban Constitution and Penal Code are so vague that the authorities have been able to use them in a way that infringes freedom of expression. The Cuban State also maintains a total control of broadcast media and the press, while access to the internet is heavily restricted.

"As a result of these restrictions on freedom of expression, Cubans are unable to share independent information without facing direct repression from the authorities," said Susan Lee.

"Restrictions on access to the internet should be lifted and censorship of websites containing information and views contrary to government policies must be eliminated."

Amnesty International has urged the Cuban authorities to review all legal provisions that unlawfully limit freedom of expression and to release all prisoners of conscience immediately and unconditionally.

http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/cuba-urged-respect-press-freedom-repression-journalists-intensifies-2010-04-30

Dania Virgen García : A victim of a politically motivated prosecution

"Things in Cuba are not well at all, but I am going to continue this struggle to the death or until whatever they want happens; I will continue to support the Ladies in White, even if they continue to beat us, because what they want is for us to be afraid and we are not going to allow that to happen." -Dania Virgen García (blogger, independent journalist sentenced to 20 months in prison)

Taken from her blog http://daniavirgengarcia.blogspot.com/

According to The Miami Herald she was arrested, tried, and sentenced to 20 months in prison in less than two days.

Reporters Without Borders offers its own analysis regarding her arrest:

The crackdown on independent journalists is intensifying, with three cases of journalists being jailed, arrested or summoned in the past few days. The journalist who has been jailed is Dania Virgen García of Primavera Digital and CubaNet, who was given a 20-month sentence on 23 April. Her case brings the number of journalists imprisoned in Cuba to 25.

Arrested at her home in the Havana suburb of San Miguel del Padrón on 22 April, García was tried and convicted in less than 48 hours and was taken to the women’s prison known as the “Manto Negro” (Black Veil) because of its bad reputation. The regime’s haste to “pass justice” appears to have been due to the municipal elections held on 25 April

The charges on which García, 41, was convicted have yet to be confirmed, but she supported and participated in the marches staged by the Ladies in White, a group formed by the mothers, wives and sisters of political prisoners whose activities have been suppressed by the authorities in recent days.

IAPA rejects sudden judgment against blogger Diana Virgen García in Cuba

Condemns prison sentence, arrest of a second journalist and calls for end to repression

Miami (April 26, 2010)—The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) today denounced the conviction in Cuba of an independent blogger and the arrest of another journalist in separate incidents last week and called for the immediate release of all imprisoned journalists and an end to repression by the government.

On April 22nd Cuba’s political police arrested independent journalist and blogger Diana Virgen García (http://daniavirgengarcia.blogspot.com) whose blog, launched in January, reports on the violence and repression against other independent reporters on the Caribbean island. García is also a human rights activist who openly supports the Ladies in White movement, a group that the government has suppressed and prevented from demonstrating on several occasions.

García was taken to court the day after her arrest and sentenced to one year and eight months in prison on charges that had not yet been made known. The president of the Center for Human Rights and Democracy Brigade 2506, Segundo Miranda, brought the fact to light, while Cuba’s official press – the newspapers Granma and Juventud Rebelde – did not report on it.

IAPA President Alejandro Aguirre, editor of the Miami, Florida, Spanish-language newspaper Diario Las Américas, declared, “We continue seeing the same story of restriction of freedom of expression in Cuba,” adding, “while we wait for word on the fate of the famous blogger Yoani Sánchez, who was harassed on a number of occasions, other women and men are being persecuted by a government that threatens, restricts, censors, tries and convicts offhandedly.”

With the imprisonment of García, the only woman to date, there are 26 journalists behind bars in Cuba. Many are in poor health, a fact which has set off protests calling for their release; independent reporter Guillermo Fariñas, who has been on hunger strike for several weeks, is among those held prisoner.

Arrested in Holguín on the morning of April 24 was Yosvani Anzardo Hernández, editor of the independent newspaper Candonga. His wife, Lourdes María Yen Rodríguez, reported that two State Security officers came to their home in the town of San Germán and arrested her husband. The family does not know the motive for his arrest. In September 2009 Hernández spent 15 days in jail after his home was raided and his electronic equipment seized.

The chairman of the IAPA’s Committee on Freedom of the Press and Information, Robert Rivard, editor of the San Antonio Express-News, Texas, repeated the organization’s call for the unconditional release of imprisoned journalists, in particular those who for humanitarian reasons should have their rights respected.

The IAPA lists the following 26 imprisoned journalists: Convicted in 2003 Ricardo González Alfonso, Víctor Rolando Arroyo, Normando Hernández González, Julio César Gálvez, Adolfo Fernández Sainz, Omar Rodríguez Saludes, Héctor Maseda Gutiérrez, Mijaíl Barzaga Lugo, Pedro Argüelles Morán, Pablo Pacheco Ávila, Alfredo Pulido López, Fabio Prieto Llorente, Iván Hernández Carrillo, José Luis Garía Paneque, Juan Carlos Herrera, Miguel Galván Gutiérrez, José Ubaldo Izquierdo, Omar Ruiz Hernández, Léster Luis González Pentón and Alfredo Felipe Fuentes; in 2006 Alberto Gil Triay and Raymundo Perdigón Brito; in 2007 Ramón Velázquez Toranso and Oscar Sánchez Madan; in 2009 Alberto Santiago Du Bouchet and in 2010 Dania Virgen García.

The IAPA is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the defense and promotion of freedom of the press and of expression in the Americas. It is made up of more than 1,300 print publications from throughout the Western Hemisphere. For more information please go to http://www.sipiapa.org

http://www.sipiapa.com/v4/index.php?page=cont_comunicados&seccion=detalles&id=4366&idioma=us


La SIP rechaza juicio sumarísimo contra bloguera en Cuba

Protesta por su encarcelamiento, la detención de otro periodista y pide el cese de la represión

Miami (26 de abril de 2010).- La Sociedad Interamericana de Prensa (SIP) expresó su rechazo por la condena en Cuba de una bloguera independiente y el arresto de otro periodista, en sucesos ocurridos la semana pasada, exigiendo asimismo la liberación inmediata de los periodistas encarcelados y el cese de la represión.

El 22 de abril la policía política de Cuba detuvo a la periodista independiente y bloguera Dania Virgen García (http://daniavirgengarcia.blogspot.com) en cuyo blog, iniciado en enero, informa sobre hechos de violencia y represión que afecta a otros periodistas independientes en el país. La periodista también es activista de derechos humanos, apoyando abiertamente al movimiento de las Damas de Blanco, agrupación que el gobierno ha reprimido e impedido manifestarse en varias oportunidades.

García fue juzgada al día siguiente de su arresto y condenada a un año y ocho meses de prisión por causas que no fueron todavía debidamente informadas. El presidente del Centro de Derechos Humanos y Democracia Brigada 2506, Segundo Miranda, alertó sobre este hecho, aunque la prensa oficial de Cuba, Granma y Juventud Rebelde, no informaron sobre el tema.

El presidente de la SIP, Alejandro Aguirre, subdirector del Diario Las Américas, con sede en Miami, dijo que “seguimos observando la misma historia de restricción a la libertad de expresión en Cuba”, lamentando que “mientras estamos pendientes de la suerte de la famosa bloguera Yoani Sánchez, quien fue hostigada en varias oportunidades, otras mujeres y hombres están siendo perseguidos por un gobierno que amenaza, reprime, censura, juzga y condena sin miramiento alguno”.

Con el encarcelamiento de la periodista García, la única mujer, son 26 los comunicadores presos en Cuba. Muchos de ellos presentan cuadros delicados de salud, lo que ha provocado protestas a favor de su liberación, entre ellas la del comunicador independiente Guillermo Fariñas, quien mantiene una huelga de hambre desde hace varias semanas.

El 24 de abril en la mañana fue detenido en Holguín, Yosvani Anzardo Hernández, director del periódico independiente Candonga. Su esposa, Lourdes María Yen Rodríguez, relató que dos agentes de la Seguridad del Estado se presentaron en su domicilio en el municipio de San Germán y detuvieron a Hernández. La familia desconoce los motivos del arresto. En septiembre de 2009 Hernández estuvo 15 días encarcelado después de que fue allanada su residencia y se le decomisara equipo electrónico.

Por su parte, el presidente de la Comisión de Libertad de Prensa e Información, Robert Rivard, director editorial del periódico San Antonio Express-News, de Texas, reiteró el pedido de la organización para que sean liberados de manera incondicional los periodistas encarcelados, en especial aquellos que por razones humanitarias se les debería respetar sus derechos.

La SIP mantiene la siguiente lista de 26 periodistas encarcelados: Fueron condenados en 2003 Ricardo González Alfonso, Víctor Rolando Arroyo, Normando Hernández González, Julio César Gálvez, Adolfo Fernández Sainz, Omar Rodríguez Saludes, Héctor Maseda Gutiérrez, Mijaíl Barzaga Lugo, Pedro Argüelles Morán, Pablo Pacheco Ávila, Alfredo Pulido López, Fabio Prieto Llorente, Iván Hernández Carrillo, José Luis Garía Paneque, Juan Carlos Herrera, Miguel Galván Gutiérrez, José Ubaldo Izquierdo, Omar Ruiz Hernández, Léster Luis González Pentón y Alfredo Felipe Fuentes; en 2006 Alberto Gil Triay y Raymundo Perdigón Brito; en 2007 Ramón Velázquez Toranso y Oscar Sánchez Madan; en 2009 Alberto Santiago Du Bouchet y en 2010 Dania Virgen García.

La SIP es una entidad sin fines de lucro dedicada a la defensa y promoción de la libertad de prensa y de expresión en las Américas. Está compuesta por más de 1.300 publicaciones del hemisferio occidental; y tiene sede en Miami, Estados Unidos. Para mayor información, por favor, visite http://www.sipiapa.org

http://www.sipiapa.org/v4/index.php?page=cont_comunicados&seccion=detalles&idioma=sp&id=4366

The Egyptian regime's offensive against bloggers: A call for solidarity

I received the following message from an Egyptian pro-democracy activist friend of mine asking for help. As I did a little background research discovered that Egypt was tenth in the Committee to Protect Journalist's list of ten worse countries to be a blogger. Looking at the pictures and names I recognize two friends among the activists detained in Egypt: Ahmed Badawy and Esraa Abel Fatah.


The Egyptian police arrested 30 bloggers, activists and journalists during their visit to Nagaa Hammadi to offer condolences to the families of the recent events that happened there as soon as they arrived at the Nagaa Hammadi station. They have also been beaten and verbally abused most of them are my friends

I need the help of all of my free friends all over the world to to condemn the Egyptian government's actions.

1-Esraa Abel Fatah
2– Wael Abaas
3- Basem Samir
4- Basem Fathy Mohamed
5- Ahmed Badawy
6– Shiref Abdel Aziz
7- Marian Nagy Hana
8- Mostafa Al Nagar
9- Roya Ghareeb
10- Naser Fathy
11- Khaled Mahmoud
12-Talat Al Sawy
13- Nadia AL Zany " from France'
14- Amira Al Tahawy
15-Salma Akl
16- Ahmed Mahmoud
17- Ismail Sayed Omar
18- Mona Foaad Ahmad
19- Ahmad Fathy Mohamed
20- Bola Abdo
21-Hosam Saber Aly
22- Hamada Abdel Fatah
23-Gamal Farid
24-Mohamed Khalaf
25- Alhoseny Ahmed
26-Mohamed Hamdy Hassan
27-Mohamed Abdallah Mohamed
28- Hashmat Mohamed
29- Tarek Sabry Abdallah
30- Shahinaz Mohamed

The following is text that I have added:

Please get in touch with the Egyptian authorities and demand the release of these journalists, bloggers, and activists

President of the Republic, Muhammad Hosni Mubarak, Fax: +202 390 1998, E-mail: webmaster@presidency.gov.eg;

Egyptian Public Prosecutor, Counsellor Abdel Meguid Mahmoud Abdel Meguid, Dar al Qadha al-'Ali, Ramses Street, Cairo, Egypt, Fax: + 20 2 2577 4716;

Minister of Interior, Minister Habib Ibrahim El Adly, 25 Al-Sheikh Rihan Street, Bab al-Louk, Cairo, Egypt, Fax: +20 22 796 0682 Email: center@iscmi.gov.eg or moi@idsc.gov.eg;

National Council for Human Rights, Ambassador Mokhless Kotb, Secretary General, 1113 Corniche El Nil, Midane Al Tahrir, Specialized National Councils Building – 11th floor, NDP Building, Cairo, Egypt, Fax: +2022 574 7497, Email: nchr@nchr.org.eg.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Human Rights and International Humanitarian and Social Affairs, Mr. Wael Abu al-Magd, Corniche al-Nil, Cairo, Egypt, Fax: +20 22 574 9713

Permanent Mission of Egypt to the United Nations in Geneva, H.E. Mr. Hisham Badr, Avenue Blanc 49, 1202 Geneva, Fax: +41 22 738 44 15, Email: mission.egypt@ties.itu.int

Deputy Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs for Human Rights

Wael Abu al-Magd

Human Rights and International Humanitarian and Social Affairs

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Corniche al-Nil, Cairo, Egypt

Fax: +20 22 574 9713

Also send copies of your letter to diplomatic representatives of Egypt accredited to your country.