EU rules are needed to better protect and support whistleblowers and their role in revealing serious breaches of the public interest, such as corruption, miscarriages of justice, tax avoidance, lack of protection for food safety or the environment and attacks on social, human or workers’ rights, say MEPs during Strasbourg Plenary debate. The issue came…
Category: Human Rights
Russia to reduce fee to ECHR
Russia can freeze its membership in the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), and reduce its contributions said deputy head of the State Duma committee for International affairs Alexei Chepa. https://twitter.com/RT_com/status/922450987478118401 Izvestia newspaper, citing several high-ranking sources in the State Duma, said that Russia is considering suspending its participation in the ECHR and reducing contributions…
Sakharov Prize top nominees 2017
The finalists for this year’s Sakharov Prize have been announced. The laureate will be selected on 26 October by the President and the political group leaders. Aura Lolita Chavez Ixcaquic, the Democratic Opposition in Venezuela, and the Swedish- Eritrean journalist Dawit Isaak have been named as this year’s finalists for Parliament’s Sakharov Prize for Freedom…
Council of Europe urges to investigate Spanish police violence
The Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe, Nils Muiznieks, urged Spanish home affairs minister, José Ignacio Zoido, to investigate Spain’s police actions during the October 1 referendum. In a letter sent on October 4 to the Spanish home affairs minister, Muiznieks called for an “independent and effective” investigation into Spain’s police violence which aimed…
Europarliament split on #Catalonia independence
Anna van Densky, Strasbourg. The hearing on #Catalonia, October 4, could not be qualified as ‘debate’ in a proper sense of this word: the leaders of the European Parliament political groups, and 1st vice-president of the European Commission, articulated their positions vis-à-vis dramatic events, without an opportunity to debate it with fellow MEPs. However even…
#Catalonia MEP Anderson: where is #EU?..
The mayor of Barcelona Ada Colau Ballano informed about 460 injured after Spanish riot police stormed polling stations in an attempt to physically prevent Catalonia’s independence referendum taking place. Spanish national newspaper El Pais reports about 465 injured. In spite of the riot police efforts many Catalans managed to cast their ballots in the poll, declared ‘illegal’ by Madrid, there…
MEP demands truth over Rocchelli assassination
Eleonora Forenza, MEP, (European United Left) expressed her concern over lack of movement in the investigation by Ukrainian authorities of the assassination of an Italian photojournalist Andrea (Andy) Rocchelli (30) near #Slavyansk three years ago. The question addressed to the Kiev’s officials was raised during the European Parliament hearing on Violation of human rights, restriction of freedom of…
Women allowed to drive in Saudi Arabia
Women in Saudi Arabia will soon have the right to drive, according to a royal decree issued by the country’s King Salman. Royal order in Saudi Arabia to allow women to drive for the first time. https://t.co/mK2momDwQt — The Associated Press (@AP) September 26, 2017 The kingdom has long been the only country in the…
Abductions of politicians in Turkey continue
Amnesty International insists there were “credible grounds” eight people, including politicians, had forcibly disappeared after criticising the Government, Director of European and Central Asia program Human Rights Watch Hugh Williamson said. Human Rights Watch: RT mephamd: #Torture is now widespread in #Turkey, including beatings, rape and threats of rap… pic.twitter.com/lnRLcWR39C — Human Dev Project (@humandevproject)…
A released Russian activist escapes in Prague
A Russian activist Ivan Nepomnyashchy (Nepomnyashchikh), convicted for 2.5 years in framework of ‘Bolotnaya’ trials and released from the colony in late August, left Russia, according to Russian media. On September 7 Ivan flew to Prague, and later plans to move to the USA to study. https://twitter.com/GraniTweet/status/905892667967631361 An engineer and activist, Ivan (33), is one of…
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