Stories of Human Abuse and Human being in wretched plight all around the World

      Legal analysis  -----------------------<>--------------------------- Asia Pacific: Free expression and law in 2011 In this statement, ARTICLE 19 highlights the major legal developments, in particular laws and regulations, relating to freedom of expression and the right to information throughout Asia in 2011. Trends 2011 saw both positive and negative trends in Asia Pacific.  On the positive side: The Indian government indicated its intention to decriminalise defamation Cambodia and Mongolia adopted Right to Information legislation Malaysia and Vietnam all took steps towards legislation which increased media freedom within their respective countries. However, these laws do not properly reflect international standards on freedom of expression. On the negative side: Public debate and freedom of media continue...

Blogger faces charges of blasphemy, apostasy after Mohammed tweets Saudi blogger Hamza Kashgari may face the death penalty for tweets he sent out about the Prophet Mohammed A Saudi blogger whose tweets about the Prophet Mohammed were deemed blasphemous and tantamount to apostasy has been deported from Malaysia back to Saudi Arabia, where he is certain to face trial and possibly the death penalty, report Malaysia's Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ), the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI), Human Rights Watch and other IFEX members. Hamza Kashgari, 23, fled Saudi Arabia on 6 February in hopes of finding political asylum after his tweets sparked an official publishing ban and order for his arrest, as well as a Twitter lynch mob that called for his death, report the members. Kashgari was on his way to another country - reportedly New Zealand - when security officials arrested him at Kuala Lumpur airport on 9 February, his lawyer, Muhamma...

Investigative journalist and family murdered A freelance journalist who had investigated illegal mining activity, his wife and their two children were found brutally murdered in their home in India's Madhya Pradesh state on 18 February, report the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the International Press Institute (IPI). According to IPI, Chandrika Rai, his wife, Durga, and their children, Jalaj (19) and Nisha (17) had been killed with a sharp object and each left in a separate room of the house. The bodies were discovered by the journalist's brother, who became suspicious after noticing that the family's front door had been locked from the outside. In a letter addressed to Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the Indian Editors Guild said it suspected that the gruesome crime was linked to Rai's work as a journalist. Rai had been investigating illegal coal-mining activity in the state's central Umaria district an...

Faxjam for freedom of expression Johan Teterissa is a teacher from Maluku, Indonesia who is currently serving a 15 year prison sentence after he took part in a peaceful protest. He has been imprisoned solely for peacefully exercising his right to freedom of expression. Last week, we spoke with Johan and he asked us to share this message with you: “I urge Amnesty International to continue campaigning for the freedom of all political prisoners from Maluku...we should not have been charged in the first place... many of the prisoners are still suffering from the torture and some have even died... the police should be investigated for what they did... our families should also be given reparations as they are now suffering financially without us... I thank Amnesty International for its support.“ ...