[psych-hr] Human rights defenders from Iran and Zimbabwe receive 2006 Martin Ennals Award

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL PRESS RELEASE 
AI Index: POL 30/047/2006
10 October 2006 

Akbar Ganji, an Iranian investigative journalist turned activist, and
Arnold Tsunga, a lawyer and a radio commentator from Zimbabwe, will
receive the 2006 Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders (MEA)
tomorrow.

Louise Arbour, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, will present the
award at a ceremony at the Bâtiment des Forces Motrices in Geneva
(Switzerland) on Wednesday 11 October 2006, 17h30, within the framework of
the International North South Media Festival.

The Chairman of the Jury of the MEA, Hans Thoolen, described the laureates
as “symbols of the human rights movement in their respective
countries, where standing up for human rights and democracy is a dangerous
activity; they continue to be involved in this struggle despite repressive
measures and harassment”.

Akbar Ganji was detained in 2000 after he wrote articles implicating
several officials in a string of murders of opposition intellectuals and
writers in 1998. Later he was sentenced to imprisonment for
“collecting confidential information harmful to national security
and spreading propaganda against the Islamic system”. He was held
for 6 years in punitive prison conditions in violation of international
human rights standards. He was beaten by his guards and placed in solitary
confinement. After a hunger strike last year and a spell in hospital, he
was conditionally released in March. After a short recovery, he started a
tour in order to introduce Iranian intellectual movements and democratic
circles to leading philosophers, theorists, and human right activists. He
has written extensively in reformist newspapers, many of which were shut
down. While in prison, his writings were smuggled out and widely
distributed, especially on the web. Most notably he wrote a Republican
Manifesto in six chapters in March 2002, laying out his proposal for a
fully-fledged democratic republic for Iran.

Arnold Tsunga is the chairperson of the Zimbabwe Human Rights Association
(ZimRights) and trustee of the radio station Voice of the People (VOP),
and one of the leading human rights lawyers in Zimbabwe. In recognition of
his legal work on human rights and strong reputation in his field he
became the new director of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) in
early 2003. Despite great personal risk, Arnold Tsunga has been
representing individuals arrested under new, repressive legislation,
including individuals who have been physically abused in custody. For
representing these victims of human rights violations and denouncing the
legal system and the human rights situation, he is constantly harassed and
threatened. He was arrested several times and recently released on bail.
His courage and work are internationally recognized: last June he was
requested to speak out on behalf of human rights organizations at the
first session of the new United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva.

Background 

The Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders (MEA) is a unique
collaboration among eleven of the world’s leading human rights
organizations to give protection to human rights defenders worldwide. The
Jury is composed of the following NGOs: Amnesty International, Human
Rights Watch, Human Rights First, International Federation for Human
Rights, World Organization Against Torture, International Service for
Human Rights, Front Line, International Commission of Jurists, Diakonie
Germany, International Alert, Huridocs.

The previous laureates are: Aktham Naisse, Syria (2005); Lida Yusupova,
Russia; Alirio Uribe Muñoz, Colombia; Jacqueline Moudeina, Chad;
Peace Brigades International; Immaculee Birhaheka, DR Congo; Natasha
Kandic, Yugoslavia; Eyad El Sarraj, Palestine; Samuel Ruiz, Mexico;
Clement Nwankwo, Nigeria; Asma Jahangir, Pakistan; Harry Wu, China (1994).

MEA Patrons: Asma Jahangir, Barbara Hendricks, Jose Ramos-Horta, Adama
Dieng, Leandro Despouy, Robert Fulghum and Theo van Boven.

For media contacts and general information on the MEA, please contact Luis
Marreiros, Coordinator Tel. +41.22.8094925.





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