Kuwait Urged to Release Blogger Who Criticized Prime Minister

 





Amnesty International has urged the Kuwaiti authorities to release a blogger who was sentenced to one year in prison this week, on charges relating to an article he wrote on his blog criticizing the country's Prime Minister.

A criminal court in the capital, Kuwait City, sentenced the journalist and lawyer Muhammad 'Abd al-Qader al-Jasem on Monday after he was convicted of criminal defamation in a case filed against him by the Prime Minister, Shaikh Nasser al-Mohammad al-Sabah.

The sentence began immediately and Muhammad 'Abd al-Qader al-Jasem is held at Kuwait Central Prison.

The case is believed to be one of six that the government has reportedly filed against the journalist and one of four brought by the Prime Minister in the last year.

"Amnesty International believes that Muhammad 'Abd al-Qader al-Jasem has been convicted and sentenced solely for non-violently exercising his right to freedom of expression and is therefore a prisoner of conscience," said Philip Luther, Amnesty International's Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa.

"The authorities should release him immediately and unconditionally and, more broadly, cease their apparent attempts to stop him from airing his views on the government and Kuwait's ruling family."

The article which led to Muhammad 'Abd al-Qader al-Jasem's imprisonment was entitled "Nasser XVII" and published on his news blog, Mizan, in 2009. In it, he criticized the Kuwaiti Prime Minister, arguing that he had allowed Iranian intelligence to interfere in Kuwaiti politics.

In another recent case, Muhammad 'Abd al-Qader al-Jasem was arrested on 11 May and charged with harming national interests and undermining the status of Kuwait's Amir or head of state by way of vague statements he was alleged to have made in his blog.

He was released following a court appearance on 28 June. His bail was set at 2,000 Kuwaiti dinars (about US$6,850).

Muhammad 'Abd al-Qader al-Jasem launched his blog, Mizan, in 2005 and has used it as a means to air his opinions and analysis of the Kuwaiti government and the ruling al-Sabah family.

He was previously the editor-in-chief of the Al-Watan Daily newspaper and later the founding editor-in-chief of the Arabic editions of the magazines Newsweek and Foreign Policy.

Protecting Children Being Forced To Beg

BY:
Human Rights

In response to a Human Rights Watch investigation, Senegalese authorities have begun enforcing a law prohibiting anyone from forcing a child to beg. Since we released our report on widespread abuses taking place at Quranic boys’ schools, ten teachers who forced children to beg have been convicted.  

In late 2009 Human Rights Watch researchers documented the system of exploitation in which boys who attend Quranic schools are forced to beg all day, seven days a week on Senegal’s streets to meet quotas for food and money set by their teachers. The teachers, known as marabouts, often live in relative affluence because they keep everything the boys receive from begging. Should the boys fail to meet the quotas, they may be severely beaten by the marabouts. 

Malick L., a 13-year-old boy, showed Human Rights Watch the scars from the beatings he had suffered at the hand of his marabout more than a year before. He recounted his experience, which was typical of many other boys we interviewed.  

“When I could not bring the quota, the marabout beat me,” Malick told us. “Even if I lacked 5 CFA ($0.01), he beat me… he hit me over and over, generally on the back but at times he missed and hit my head.” 

Human Rights Watch conducted almost 300 interviews with current and former Quranic school boys, families who sent their children to Quranic schools, marabouts, Islamic scholars and government and humanitarian officials. We released our findings in April at a press conference in Dakar with an Islamic scholar and a local Senegalese NGO. We used the publicity generated by the press conference to reach out to donor governments and urge them to push the Senegalese government to prosecute abusive marabouts and to set and enforce standards for these schools. 

The next day, during a press conference with Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade, then Canadian Governor General Michaëlle Jean echoed our findings, declaring that these abuses amount to a form of “modern slavery.” Her comments ran in major media outlets including the BBC, CBC, and the Guardian, among others.  

The US government quickly took interest in the issue recognizing the abuses we documented as one of the worst forms of child labor. The US government was also interested in the fact that many Quranic school boys are trafficked from Guinea-Bissau, another country highlighted in our report. Having criticized Senegal’s policies on human trafficking for years, the United States was a key ally in our efforts to influence the Senegalese government to protect these boys. Armed with our report, US officials cautioned that the United States would cut off all bilateral aid if the Senegalese government did not enforce its own laws against forced begging and take steps to end the trafficking of the boys. 

Because marabouts hold immense social and political sway in their local communities, the Senegalese government had turned a blind eye to the plight of an estimated 50,000 Quranic school boys, the vast majority of whom are under age 12 and many are as young as four. But now, as a result of the media attention and pressure from the US government that we helped to generate, Senegalese authorities have begun to enforce a law prohibiting anyone from forcing a child to beg. The law has been on the books since 2005 but was never enforced.  

Now, with the newly stringent enforcement of the law, Malick L. and others like him may no longer be forced to beg. As we maintain pressure on the Senegalese government to continue to bring abusive marabouts to justice, we are also pushing it to publish standards on who can open and run Quranic schools, which are currently completely unregulated. We are leading a coalition of Senegalese and international NGOs going forward to ensure that students will no longer be exploited by abusive teachers.

Bendung Emosi Ketika Berdebat

Kita pastinya pernah menghadapi situasi bertikam lidah bersama pasangan atau rakan sekerja. Berdebat atau berbincang mengenai sesuatu perkara memang amat disarankan tetapi tidak semua orang dapat melakukan perdebatan dalam suasana tenang dan santai. Jika tidak dibendung, ia boleh mendatangkan rasa tidak puas hati antara kedua-dua pihak.

Ikuti tips ini untuk mengelakkan perkara ketidakpuashatian berlaku:

1.    Beri kesempatan kepada pihak satu lagi untuk berbicara atau menyampaikan alasannya

       mengapa dia berpendapat sedemikian rupa.

2.   Hindari sikap 'defensif'. Pastikan kita tidak terlalu menekan dan kemukakan bukti yang

      mengukuhkan pandangan kita.

3.   Pastikan perdebatan mempunyai komunikasi dua hala agar ia menjadi efektif.

4.   Terima pandangan dan pendapat sekiranya kita tidak mempunyai alasan yang kukuh.

Dua Jahanam



MD RASUL BIN HARON
Wadah Pajak Song(Cikgu Rasul)
mrasulharon@yahoo.com

Akhbar Harian Metro yang diterbitkan pada hari ini, 26 November 2010 memaparkan kebinatangan dua jahanam yang sanggup memperkosa seorang ibu muda di Kampung Melayu Subang, Selangor. Demi menyelamatkan anak perempuannya, ibu muda ini terpaksa merelakan dirinya diperkosa oleh penjenayah yang menceroboh rumahnya, pagi kelmarin. Lebih menjijikkan, tragedi hitam itu dilakukan di depan anaknya dan dirakam oleh rakan jahanam itu menggunakan telefon bimbit.

Dalam kejadian kira-kira jam 4.30 pagi kelmarin, ibu muda berusia 34 tahun yang diikat tangannya diberi opsyen oleh penjahanam itu untuk menentukan siapa yang akan dirogol sama ada dia atau anak gadisnya.Dalam keadaan terdesak, ibu muda itu tidak ada pilihan melainkan membiarkan dirinya dirogol oleh salah seorang daripada dua jahanam yang berusia 20-an. Seorang lagi bertindak menjadi perakam aksi merogol rakan seprofesyennya.

Kemudian mengebas pula barang kemas dan wang tunai yang nilai keseluruhan dianggarkan RM 2000. Tertanya kita, dua jahanam itu lahir daripada mana? Apakah tidak ada nilai manusia langsung dalam hati kecil mereka? Tidak terfikirkah oleh dua jahanam itu, mereka lahir daripada seorang ibu. Tidak teringatkah mereka bahawa mungkin dua jahanam itu punyai kakak. Mungkin miliki adik perempuan. Kehidupan mereka turut dikelilingi oleh kaum wanita yang mempunyai ikatan darah dengan mereka. Kenapa sanggup melakukan perbuatan yang tidak dapat diterima oleh semua pihak? Kalau lapar duit, ambil sahaja. Adakah RM 2000 cukup untuk membahagiakan anda wahai dua jahanam? Tidak rasa berdosakah memperkosa seorang ibu muda yang memepertahankan anak gadisnya?  Itulah sebab guru-guru dan ibu bapa selalu menasihatkan anak-anak untuk berperibadi mulia. Dahulu dua jahanam tidak mahu ke sekolah, apabila melihat kawan-kawan lain beroleh kejayaan dan mempunyai pendapatan lumayan, dua jahanam pun teringin untuk menikmatinya. Apa lagi rompaklah hasil usaha orang lain. Rakam pula aksi memperkosa ibu muda yang juga merupakan hamba Allah. Dua jahanam juga adalah hamba Allah. Kenapa sanggup menzalimi sesama manusia. Carilah kerja halal. Gunakan semangat berani itu dengan mencari pekerjaan yang sesuai.

Kasihanilah wanita. Menurut statistik Polis Diraja Malaysia(PDRM), setiap hari dianggarkan 10 wanita di negara ini menjadi mangsa pelbagai bentuk keganasan sama ada dari segi fizikal, seksual mahupun mental. Di seluruh dunia pula, dianggarkan seorang daripada setiap tiga wanita pernah mengalami atau berhadapan dengan apa-apa bentuk keganasan seumur hidupnya.

Sempena Hari Antarabangsa bagi Menangani Keganasan terhadap Wanita 2010, Kementerian Pembangunan Wanita, Keluarga dan Masyarakat melancarkan kempen 'Say NO-UNite to End Violence Against Women' dalam usaha membanteras masalah itu. Dua jahanam dijemput menyertai kempen tersebut. Marilah kita bersatu padu menghapuskan keganasan terhadap wanita.