Posted on 02 May 2010
Tags: afghanistan, Ambassador-At-, Ambassadors-At-, Ankara, authoritarian governments, Bangladesh, Belarus, Burma, Cairo, china, Christian Post, cuba, egypt, freedom, freedom in the world, God, government, human rights groups, india, Indonesia, international religious freedom, iran, iraq, issue, Kazakhstan, Laos, Myanmar, nigeria, north korea, obama, pakistan, President Obama, report, russia, Saudi Arabia, Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, somalia, sri lanka, Turkey, Turkmenistan, U.S. Commision, USCIRF, Venezuela, Vietnam
The U.S. Commision on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) noted in its recent 2010 annual report that President Obama has fallen short of doing what he can to lobby for the protection of religious freedom in the world.
The report noted that until now, President Obama has failed to appoint an Ambassador-At-Large for International Religious Freedom, a request that was made to him last month in a petition signed by lawmakers, scholars and human rights groups.
The same petition requested that the position be given equal level to other Ambassadors-At-Large who report directly to the Secretary of State, according to The Christian Post. Read more... (661 words, 2 images, estimated 2:39 mins reading time)
Posted on 06 August 2009
Tags: bill clinton, christianity, euna lee, Kim Jong-Il, laura ling, north korea, religious persecution
The following is submitted by Jerry Dykstra, Media Relations Director, Open Doors USA:
Today U.S. journalists Euna Lee and Laura Ling returned home to their friends and family in an emotional reunion after North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il issued a special pardon. Their return came after former U.S. President Bill Clinton made an unannounced visit to Pyongyang to help secure their release.
Ling and Lee had been found guilty of allegedly entering North Korea illegally across the Chinese border in March and later sentenced to 12 years of hard labor. They reportedly were being held at a "guest house" during their confinement. Read more... (967 words, 2 images, estimated 3:52 mins reading time)
Posted on 23 June 2009
Tags: euna lee, journalists, laura ling, north korea, political prisoners
(www.lavozcolorado.com) North Korea sentenced two U.S. journalists to 12 years imprisonment with hard labor on Monday, June 8th. The Central Court in Pyongyang convicted Laura Ling and Euna Lee of an unspecified “grave crime” against the nation. There are no appeals in the North Korean judicial system.
“These two foreign journalists were subjected to the failures and shortcomings of the North Korean judicial system: no access to lawyers, no due process, no transparency,” said Roseann Rife, Amnesty International’s Asia-Pacific Deputy Director. “The North Korean judicial and penal systems are more instruments of suppression than of justice.” Read more... (139 words, 2 images, estimated 33 secs reading time)
