You should read this. It’s a moving and disturbing story about Kamran Rizvi, who has gone from a political prisoner of the dictator General Mohammed Zia-ul-Haq of Pakistan to a human rights adviser to Benazir Bhutto to an impoverished immigrant working at a gas station in America. It includes this story:
Category Archive: Human Rights
May 14 2013
Guatemalan Dictator Convicted of Genocide
After his trial was temporarily suspended, former Guatemalan dictator Gen. Efrain Rios Montt has been convicted of genocide and sentenced to 80 years in prison. But don’t be surprised if this does not last and the current president, who served in the military under Montt, finds some way to void the result.
Apr 24 2013
US-Backed Dictator Escapes Justice
Gen. Efraín Ríos Montt is one of the many brutal Central American dictators the United States helped put in power in the 70s and 80s. He seized control of Guatemala in 1982 in a military coup and then went on a killing spree and instituted extremely repressive policies, especially toward the indigenous population. He was …
Mar 14 2013
Dawkins and the False Dichotomy
On Sunday, Richard Dawkins tweeted the following: Decent, nice, liberal people must stop being so terrified of being thought “Islamophobic” and stand up for decent, nice, liberal values.
Jan 06 2013
UN Calls for End to Female Genital Mutilation
The Center for Inquiry’s blog reports that the United Nations has, for the first time, adopted a resolution calling on all nations to end the disgusting practice of female genital mutilation. The committee report on the advancement of women can be read in its entirety here. Among other things, it says:
Jun 18 2012
Another Man Jailed for Blasphemy
This time in Indonesia, where an atheist has been sentenced to two and a half years in prison for offending the delicate sensibilities of the predominately Muslim population. The International Herald Tribune reports:
Jun 06 2012
Non-Believers’ Rights are Human Rights
Leo Igwe, the invaluable Nigerian skeptic and member of the International Humanist and Ethical Union, has an article about the need for stronger protection for the rights of religious skeptics and atheists around the world. He argues that such rights should be explicitly spelled out in national and international law:
May 16 2012
USCIRF Criticizes Kuwait’s New Blasphemy Bill
The US Commission on International Religious Freedom issued a statement strongly criticizing a bill passed by the Kuwaiti Parliament that would make blasphemy punishable by imprisonment and sometimes death. The Kuwaiti Emir has not yet approved the policy and the USCIRF is urging him not to do so:
May 16 2012
Bush Officials Found Guilty of War Crimes. In Malaysia.
George Bush, Dick Cheney and other Bush administration officials probably won’t be traveling to Malaysia any time soon. They have been found guilty of war crimes by a tribunal in that country, a ruling that can’t be enforced anywhere else but adds to the record of international condemnation for the crimes those men committed.
May 08 2012
More Blasphemy Law Barbarism
Nations where Islam is dominant continue to punish “blasphemy” — i.e. saying anything that might offend the delicate sensibilities of fundamentalist Muslims — in the harshest ways imaginable. Kuwait’s parliament just passed a new law that allows the death penalty for blasphemy. And even those who voted against it did so, in part, because it …
May 01 2012
Pat Robertson’s Dictator Pals
Charles Johnson, the former dictator of Liberia, was found guilty by an international tribunal in The Hague of crimes against humanity, including aiding in child sex trafficking, rape, murder and the use of child soldiers. Americans United points out that Johnson was a business partner of Pat Robertson’s:
Mar 21 2012
ACLU’s Presidential Report Card
The ACLU has put out their presidential report card for all of the major candidates on civil liberties, even including Gary Johnson and Buddy Roemer. The two front runners for the Republican nomination, Romney and Santorum, get straight zeroes across the board. Gingrich gets almost all zeroes, rating two our of four on immigration.
Mar 04 2012
Human Rights Group Wants Restrictions on Tasers
The death toll from the use of tasers by police officers in the United States has reached 500, prompting Amnesty International to call on the government to put strict regulations to avoid such tragedies in the future.
Feb 17 2012
The Religious Right, Sonograms and Conscience Clauses
FTBer Steven Andrew of Zingularity emailed about a very interesting little twist in the debate over abortion and mandatory sonograms. As you no doubt know by now, Virginia is trying to pass a bill that would require invasive sonograms — literally, a piece of medical equipment inserted into a woman’s vagina by order of the …
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