Archive for the ‘Religious Freedom’ Category
(New York) – The Indonesian government should immediately drop all charges and release Tajul Muluk, a Shia cleric on Madura Island who was sentenced on July 12, 2012, to two years in prison for blasphemy, Human Rights Watch said today.
(Brussels) – The European Union’s (EU) effectiveness to promote rights improvements in Central Asia is hampered by its reticence to articulate clear expectations for reform and follow through with policy consequences when those expectations are not met, Human Rights Watch said today.
(New York) – The Malaysia government should respect the right to free expression and immediately reverse its ban on a book, Allah, Liberty and Love, by Canadian Muslim writer Irshad Manji.
(New York) – Pakistan’s federal and provincial governments should bring to justice those responsible for the May 2010 attacks on Ahmadiyya mosques that killed 94 worshipers, Human Rights Watch said today.
(Washington, DC) – The US Justice Department should immediately investigate the New York City police for alleged religion-based discrimination in their surveillance of Muslim communities, and make its findings public, Human Rights Watch said today in a letter to US Attorney General Eric Holde
(New York) – New York authorities should fully investigate New York City police for violating religious freedom in their surveillance of Muslim “communities of interest,” Human Rights Watch said today.
(Beirut) – Thirty five Ethiopian Christians are awaiting deportation from Saudi Arabia for “illicit mingling,” after police arrested them when they raided a private prayer gathering in Jeddah in mid-December, 2011, Human Rights Watch said today. Of those arrested, 29 were women.
(New York) – The Egyptian military’s intention to control the investigation of the use of force against unarmed Coptic Christian demonstrators during a night of clashes on October 9, 2011, raises fears of a cover-up, Human Rights Watch said today.
(Tunis) – Many parties competing in Tunisia’s election for a constituent assembly on October 23, 2011, believe that basic freedoms should be protected, but they disagree about circumstances under which freedoms could be limited, Human Rights Watch said in a read more
(New York) – Iranian authorities should immediately free pastor Yousef Nadarkhani and drop all charges against him, Human Rights Watch said today. Nadarkhani, who has been charged with apostasy and is in Rasht prison in northern Iran, faces possible execution.
(New York) – Member states of the United Nations should use President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s appearance before the UN General Assembly to highlight the Iranian government’s gross and systematic human rights violations against its own people, Human Rights Watch said today.
(New York) – The US Congress should reject an Obama administration proposal to drop restrictions on assistance to the Uzbek government that are linked to that government’s atrocious human rights record, Human Rights Watch said today.
(Jakarta) – The light sentences imposed on Islamist militants for a deadly attack on a religious minority in Indonesia reflect the authorities’ weak efforts to prosecute the case, Human Rights Watch said today. The verdicts, announced on July 28, 2011, are a setback for religious freedom in Indonesia, Human Rights Watch said.
The tragic attacks in Norway highlight growing intolerance against Muslims, Roma and migrants in Europe. Populist, anti-Muslim, anti-Roma and anti-immigrant parties have enjoyed recent electoral success across Europe. Opinion surveys and political debate manifest rising xenophobia.