killed

Front Line is deeply concerned by the assassination of a respected doctor and human rights defender, Dr. Adeeb Ibraheem Al-Jalabi.He was reportedly assasinated by elements linked to al-Qaeda shortly after leaving his clinic in Mosul City on 12 May 2007.  

Najim Abd-Jasem's, the founder and leader of the General Federation of Iraqi Workers (GFIW) was abducted in Baghdad and his body, with evident signs of torture, was found three days later, on March 30, 2007. Since the 1980’s, Najim Abd-Jasem's has actively promoted the rights of workers and faced routine persecution on account of this work. He was fired from his job during Saddam Hussein’s regime for having opposed the government’s official union. A law, decree 150 was passed by the Iraqi administration under Sadaam Hussein and remains in force. The law bans trade unions in the public sector. Najim Abd-Jasem was extremely active in the new trade union movement that followed the collapse of Saddam Hussein's regime. Najim Abd-Jasem's was elected to the position of the General Secretary of the Mechanics Workers Union in 2003. Human rights defenders in Iraq, face huge risks to their lives and security as they carry out their work in an extremely dangerous situation.  

A gunman riding a motorcycle killed human rights defender, Siche Bustamente-Gandinao as she was retuning home with her husband and daughter on 10 March 2007 in Misamis Oriental.

Siche Bustamente-Gandinao is a member of Misamis Oriental Farmers Association (MOFA) and of opposition party Bayan Muna. During Philip Alston's - the U.N. Special Representative on Extrajudicial Killings - visit to the Philippines in February 2007, Siche Bustamente-Gandinao submitted a written testimony detailing the recent killing of her father-in-law, Dalmacio Gandinao, Chairman of MOFA and Coordinator of the Misamis Oriental Bayan Muna, in front of her and other family members by a group of seven gunmen.  

Hy Vuthy, presidente del Sindicato Libre de Trabajadores del Reino de Camboya (Free Trade Union of Workers of the Kingdom of Cambodia – FTUWKC) fue muerto de un disparo por dos atacantes no identificados, al regresar a su hogar, el 24 de febrero del 2007.

El asesinato de Hy Vuthy es el más reciente de una serie de actos intimidatorios contra miembros FTUWKC en las fábricas de indumentaria Suntex y Bright Sky, en Phnom Penh. Se trata del cuarto miembro de la FTUWKC que es muerto en relación con su trabajo en el sindicato. Chea Vichea y Ros Sovannareth, ex presidentes del FTUWKC, fueron muertos en ataques similares en el año 2004. Según se informa, la viuda de Hy Vuthy ha sido víctima de intimidaciones desde el asesinato de su esposo. La misma noche en que mataron a Vuthy, su domicilio fue rodeado por hombres no identificados que montaban motocicletas, y que arrojaron piedras contra su casa. El 25 de febrero un grupo de motociclistas volvió a rodear el domicilio.  

A group of journalists and human rights defenders launched a hunger strike on 20 October in protest “against the government’s undeclared war on the free press”, since 9 November representatives of all the leading independent media in Azerbaijan are taking part.

“This hunger strike is drastic method of protest that shows how difficult the situation has become for Azerbiajan's independent media,” the press freedom organization said. “We are worried that the state of health of several of the hunger strikers, including Sakit Zahidov's brother Ganimat, the editor of the opposition daily Azadlig, who was adamant in his refusal when asked to stop by the Union of Journalists.”

Sakit Zahidov is a recent victim of the governments crackdown on press freedoms, a prominent independent journalist, he was sentenced on 4 October to three years in prison for “possession of drugs for personal consumption” ensuing a trail described as 'chaotic'. Zahidov has insisted that the police planted the heroin and that the charges are politically motivated. A court will hear his appeal on 1 December. Sakit joined in solidarity with the hunger strikers on 23 November.