The angry summer: Political landscape jolted by threats, insults, armed men at protestsNEW YORK — The images are striking: One congressman’s office defaced by a swastika, other congressmen heckled at public meetings, videos and placards likening Barack Obama to Hitler, private citizens with guns joining anti-Obama protests. Women’s rights activists irked by Afghan president enacting controversial marriage lawKABUL — Women’s rights activists alleged Monday that Afghan President Hamid Karzai has used a constitutional loophole to enact a law that allows minority Shiite Muslim husbands to refuse food and money to their wives if they deny them sex. Thousands of Thaksin’s supporters gather to seek royal pardon for fugitive former Thai PMBANGKOK — Thousands of supporters of deposed Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra rallied in central Bangkok on Monday and then marched to the royal palace, seeking a pardon for the fugitive leader. Iraqi journalists take to streets, protest political pressure by governmentBAGHDAD — Journalists took to the streets Friday in the Iraqi capital to protest what they say is political pressure to silence the media. Activists, actors, athletes among those receiving nation’s highest civilian honor from ObamaWASHINGTON — President Barack Obama awarded the nation’s highest civilian honor to 16 “agents of change” on Wednesday, highlighting their accomplishments as examples of the heights a person can reach and the difference they can make in the lives of others. Chechen activist, husband found shot dead in trunk of their car a day after being kidnappedSHALAZHI, Russia — The bullet-riddled bodies of a Chechen activist and her husband were found in the trunk of their car Tuesday, the latest in a string of high-profile killings in Chechnya under its Kremlin-backed leader. Russian rights group Memorial: kidnapped Chechen activist, husband found deadMOSCOW — The head of a Chechen aid group and her husband have been found shot dead in the trunk of their car a day after being kidnapped, police and an official of the Russian human rights group Memorial said Tuesday. Group: Cuban political prisoners rise slightly, bucking big decline during Raul Castro’s ruleHAVANA —Political prisoners held in Cuba increased by one to 206 in the past six months, the first time the number has not dropped sharply since Raul Castro took over running the communist country three years ago. Report: Chechnya’s Moscow-backed president says slain rights activist ‘had no conscience’MOSCOW —The Kremlin-backed leader of Chechnya said in a radio interview that a human rights activist whose bullet-ridden body was found in a neighboring province last month “never had any honor, dignity or conscience.” In Iranian prisons, isolation, threats break detainees into confessions, dissidents sayBEIRUT — A prisoner forced to confess tries to speak with his eyes — to tell those watching that he’s admitting to crimes he never committed because he’s been broken by days alone in a cell and interrogators’ threats to his family and loved ones. Drug company Novartis: Activists steal ashes of CEO’s mother, torch his hunting lodgeBERN, Switzerland — Drug maker Novartis AG said Tuesday that animal rights activists have stolen the ashes of its CEO’s mother and set fire to his Austrian hunting lodge. Anger, sadness as 34 radio stations forced off air in Venezuela; critics see attack on dissentCARACAS, Venezuela — Radio hosts hung their heads as their FM station was forced off the airwaves along with 33 other broadcasters targeted by President Hugo Chavez’s government in what critics say is a campaign to muzzle his foes. On eve of debate, GOP’s McCain opposes Sotomayor, who wins support of moderate Democrat NelsonWASHINGTON — Republican Sen. John McCain, his party’s failed 2008 presidential contender, announced Monday he’d join the vast majority of the GOP to vote against Judge Sonia Sotomayor, who’s on track to be confirmed this week as the first Hispanic justice. Conservative leader joins criticism against mass trial for Iran opposition figuresTEHRAN, Iran — Criticism of Iran’s mass prosecution of political activists widened Sunday with the main conservative challenger to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad demanding authorities also seek punishment for those accused of killing protesters. Indian rights activist blast ritual where babies are dropped from roof and caught in sheetsNEW DELHI — Rights activists lashed out at local officials who allowed hundreds of infants to be dropped from the roof of a mosque in western India in the belief that the fall — which ends when the babies are caught in a bedsheet — would ensure good health and prosperity for their families. Immigration rights activists press ahead with lobbying plans to reinvigorate reform effortsCHICAGO — Activists disappointed that the Obama administration has not given immigration top billing are trying to yank the issue off the back burner by pressing ahead with lobbying and legislation plans they hope will reinvigorate reform efforts. In Iran’s election crackdown, human rights activists fear arrest at any timeBEIRUT, Lebanon — Iran’s human rights activists say they live in dread of the midnight knock on the door or the car that pulls up next to them on the street, fearing that at any moment they might be arrested in the government’s post-election clampdown. Gay-rights activists: Struggle continues for basic rights; marriage equality is secondaryCLAYTON, Mo. — Gay marriage and gays in the military may dominate the headlines, but activists in many states say their fight is much more fundamental: basic rights and protections against discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodation. Rights activists say Venezuela govt punishing protesters, union leadersCARACAS, Venezuela — Venezuelan rights activists said Wednesday that President Hugo Chavez’s government is using the courts to stifle protests. Bob Barker, longtime animal rights activist, asks Cherokees to end NC bear pit attractionsASHEVILLE, N.C. — Former game show host and longtime animal rights activist Bob Barker has made a personal appeal to the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in North Carolina to stop exhibiting bears in pit-like enclosures at three local zoos. Cover heads, hide the mannequins; Hamas rulers launch campaign to make Gaza more IslamicGAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Police order a lingerie shop to hide its scantily clad mannequins. A judge warns female lawyers to wear head scarves in court. Beach patrols break up groups of singles and make men wear shirts. Dozens attend vigil for slain Russian rights activist; small crowd underscores challengesMOSCOW — Several dozen people attended a somber vigil in Moscow on Thursday for slain human rights activist Natalya Estemirova, who was abducted last week outside her home in Chechnya and found dead later the same day. Russian human rights activist found dead after going missing, colleague suspects murderMOSCOW — A Russian human rights activist has been found dead in a sand pit weeks after he went missing, according to police and a colleague who said Wednesday that he suspects the prisoners’ rights advocate was murdered. Slain Russian activist’s challenges put her on collision course with Chechnya’s strongmanGROZNY, Russia — Natalya Estemirova’s last meeting with Chechnya’s strongman president did not go well: She faced Ramzan Kadyrov and his lieutenants alone, summoned for a chilling dressing down in which he boasted of having “blood from my hands to my elbows.” White House says it’s ‘disturbed and saddened’ by killing of Russian human rights activistWASHINGTON — The White House says it’s “disturbed and saddened” by the kidnapping and killing of a Russian human rights activist. Mourners weep for slain Russian rights activist; some blame Putin, Chechen leaderGROZNY, Russia — Weeping mourners escorted the body of Natalya Estemirova through Chechnya’s capital on Thursday, honoring the activist whose brazen kidnapping and execution-style killing shocked Russia’s beleaguered human rights community and prompted international outrage. Top Russian rights advocate blames Putin and Chechnya’s strongman for slaying of activistMOSCOW — One of Russia’s most respected rights activists says Vladimir Putin and Chechnya’s strongman leader are responsible for the brazen murder of a human rights researcher. Russian president says he is convinced rights activist’s killers will be found, punishedMUNICH — Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Thursday he is confident that the killer of a prominent human rights activist will be found and punished, while Germany’s leader voiced dismay at the slaying and prodded Moscow to ensure it is investigated. Lawyers, activists and reporters against the govt are being killed in Russia mysteriously
Russian rights activist found shot to death after being abducted in ChechnyaMOSCOW — A well-known Russian rights activist was found slain execution-style on Wednesday, hours after being kidnapped in Chechnya — the latest in a series of brazen murders targeting critics of the Kremlin’s violent policies in the war-torn North Caucasus. |
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Some recent high-profile slayings of activists, reporters and lawyers who have challenged Russian authorities in recent years. There have been no convictions in any of the following killings.
