The Roma community forcibly evicted from Coastei Street has been living in the New Pata Rat area since December 2010. (c) Joshua Gross, Joshua Tree Photography
By Creta Ernest & Fekete Petru members of the Coastei Street community,
Support the call for justice of the Roma community forcibly evicted from Coastei Street by taking action
It’s been over a year 76 families, the majority Roma, were forcibly evicted from the centre of the city of Cluj-Napoca in Romania. Over half of the families were re-housed in new housing units on the outskirts of the city in the New Pata Rat area, close to a garbage dump and a former chemical waste dump, in inadequate housing conditions. The rooms are overcrowded, they do not provide protection from damp and mould and the sanitation facilities are inadequate. 36 families, including the authors of the blog entry, were not provided with any alternative housing. Most of them had to construct improvised homes. They have no access to water, sanitation and electricity. With only a verbal agreement from the municipality and no formal title to the land, they live in a fear of eviction and of losing their homes again. Two young Roma who experienced the eviction shared it with us their story during the recent mission to Cluj-Napoca.
“The forced eviction from Coastei Street nr. 18 started on 15 December 2010. We aim to be as brief as possible in describing the traumatising event which took place from 15 to 17 December 2010. Continue reading ‘Roma community forcibly evicted from Coastei Street share their story’
A protester is gagged during his arrest at a protest in Baku, Azerbaijan. March 12, 2011. (c) IRFS
By Max Tucker, Amnesty International’s Campaigner on South Caucasus and Ukraine,
One year ago, a series of peaceful protests against government repression in Azerbaijan were met with brute force by the authorities. The clampdown that followed resulted in the imprisonment of 17 activists and political figures, 14 of whom are still behind bars today.
Shortly afterwards, on 14 May, Azerbaijan’s entry “Running Scared” won the Eurovision song contest, giving Azerbaijan the right to host the 2012 competition.
This was a doubly ironic event. Continue reading ‘Azerbaijan: Running Scared’
Johan Teterissa in his cell at the Waiheru detention centre in Ambon, Maluku. (c) Amnesty International
By Josef Benedict, Indonesia Campaigner, Amnesty International,
Call on Indonesia’s government to release Johan Teterissa and all other prisoners of conscience in the country.
This year marks five years since Johan Teterissa, a teacher from Maluku, was arrested, beaten, and tortured for leading a peaceful protest where a banned regional flag was raised.
The protest took place on 29 June 2007. The government had organized a ceremony in the city of Ambon, the capital of Maluku province, to mark National Family Day. Among the audience was the Indonesian President.
During the ceremony, Johan led 22 other activists – most of whom were teachers and farmers – onto the field and performed a traditional war dance in front of the President. At the end of the dance the activists unfurled the “Benang Raja” – a banned regional flag. Continue reading ‘Beaten, tortured, and imprisoned after raising a flag’
Stanislav Dmitrievskii campaigns for the right to freedom of assembly and fair elections © Strategy 31, Nizhnii Novgorod
By Friederike Behr, Russia researcher for Amnesty International
Stanislav Dmitrievskii is a veteran human rights defender and political activist from Nizhnii Novgorod, a town East of Moscow.
During recent months he has actively participated in numerous demonstrations for the right to freedom of assembly and for fair elections. And he has been repeatedly detained.
Continue reading ‘Facing intimidation in the fight for human rights in Russia’
A bulldozer parked just metres from the via Sacile camp is a reminder that the construction works will go ahead © Private
By Matteo de Bellis, Europe Campaigner at Amnesty International
“We know we have to leave because of the construction works, but they should give us a place to go, not just leave us in the street.”
Giovanni speaks to me while standing in front of a line of shacks, grouped in an area as small as a seven-a-side football pitch.
Continue reading ‘“We’d like a place to stay” – Milan’s Roma face eviction’
