View previous stories
	In defence of the public interest by Ole von Uexkull The Right Livelihood Award Foundation Sweden   25 September 2014   NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden and Guardian editor-in-chief Alan Rusbridger have been jointly given the 2014 Right Livelihood honorary award.   The award, from Swedish charity the Right Livelihood Award Foundation, recognised Snowden’s “courage and skill in revealing the unprecedented extent of state surveillance violating basic democratic processes and constitutional rights”.   Rusbridger’s citation recognised his role in “building a global media organisation dedicated to responsible journalism in the public interest, undaunted by the challenges of exposing corporate and government malpractices”.   The Right Livelihood award was established in 1980 to honour and support those “offering practical and exemplary answers to the most urgent challenges facing us today”, with 153 laureates from 64 countries.   It is presented annually at a ceremony at the Swedish parliament and there are normally four winners.   Three other 2014 laureates will share the award equally: Pakistani human rights lawyer and activist Asma Jahangir; Basil Fernando of the Asian Human Rights Commission; and American environmentalist, author and journalist Bill McKibben.   Bill McKibben is honored "for mobilizing growing popular support in the USA and around the world for strong action to counter the threat of global climate change.”   Asma Jahangir''s work has included three decades of "continuously speaking truth to power" and "relentless campaigning against laws that discriminate against women," despite assaults and threats made against her.   Basil Fernando''s "pivotal" work has spanned three decades. His accomplishments include leading the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), an organizations whose work has advanced human rights, for nearly 20 years.   Ole von Uexkull, executive director of the Right Livelihood Award Foundation, said: “This year’s Right Livelihood laureates are stemming the tide of the most dangerous global trends. With this year’s awards, we want to send a message of urgent warning that these trends – illegal mass surveillance of ordinary citizens, the violation of human and civil rights, violent manifestations of religious fundamentalism, and the decline of the planet’s life-supporting systems – are very much upon us already.   “If they are allowed to continue, and reinforce each other, they have the power to undermine the basis of civilised societies.”   "But the Laureates also demonstrate that the choice is entirely in our hands: by courageous acts of civil disobedience in the public interest, through principled and undeterred journalism, by upholding the rule of law and documenting each violation of it, and by building social movements to resist the destruction of our natural environment, we can turn the tide and build our common future on the principles of freedom, justice, and respect for the Earth," he continued. Visit the related web page
	Iran: Happy dancers sentenced to 91 lashes by AAP, news agencies   Sep 2014   The seven young Iranians filmed dancing in Tehran have been given a suspended sentence of 91 lashes each and prison time.   The group were arrested in May for their part in a YouTube video, which showed three men and three unveiled women dancing on the streets and rooftops of Tehran to the soundtrack of Pharrell Williams song, "Happy".   The clip – viewed more than 1.6 million times – was described as “vulgar” by police, adding that it had "hurt public chastity".   According to independent English-langaue site Iran Wire, six of the group were sentenced to six months in prison and 91 lashes.   One of them was given a sentence of one year in prison and 91 lashes, a story posted overnight stated.   All sentences were suspended and will become null and void after three years, their lawyer Farshid Rofugaran said.   “When it’s a suspended sentence, the verdict is not carried out, but if during this period a similar offense is committed, then the accused is subject to legal punishment and the suspended sentence will then be carried out as well,” he said.   Following their arrest in May, state-run television broadcast what it reported as a video confession from the dancers.   In the edited video, the dancers were filmed from behind saying they were tricked into making the video.   "They told me they are making a feature film and they had a permit for it," one of the six said in the video.   On Twitter, Williams said: "Its beyond sad these kids were arrested for trying to spread happiness."   Aug 2014 (AAP)   Two Sudanese men have died after being detained and flogged 40 times each, a rights group says.   The cases are the latest to highlight the country''s laws governing morality that took effect after the 1989 Islamist-backed coup by President Omar al-Bashir.   Hussein Hadab, 45, and Khamis Koko, 60, were convicted separately on August 3 and 4 after being detained for drinking alcohol and causing a public nuisance, the African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies (ACJPS) said in a statement.   Each was sentenced in the coastal city of Port Sudan to 40 lashes, penalties that were immediately carried out, the group said.   Hadab, who had been detained for three days, collapsed and died after going to a police station to collect his belongings following the whipping, it said.   Koko, initially jailed for one day, was ordered to serve two months more after his flogging, ACJPS said, but the prison refused to admit him "due to his poor health".   He was sent to hospital where he died on August 5.   "Doctors that performed post-mortems on both men indicated that the cause of death was a sudden drop in circulation," ACJPS said, calling for an investigation into what happened.   Conditions of their detention, as well as the flogging, may have contributed to the deaths, the group said.   Activists say Sudanese women are regularly lashed under other Public Order provisions that prohibit "indecent" clothing.   In May, a Sudanese court convicted a pregnant Christian woman, Meriam Yahia Ibrahim Ishag, of apostasy from Islam and sentenced her to hang, according to Islamic sharia law.   An appeals court later overturned the ruling after her case drew worldwide attention. She later left Sudan for the United States.
	View more stories