Derechos Humanos / Human Rights

On August 15, 2017, Hong Kong’s Court of Appeal sentenced Nathan Law to eight months in prison for organizing over 200,000 pro-democracy Umbrella Movement demonstrators on a 79-day blockade in the business districts of Hong Kong three years ago. Fellow organizers Joshua Wong and Alex Chow were also tried and sentenced to six and seven months in prison for their roles in the protests. On August 18, 2017, Hong Kong authorities detained Mr. Wong, who is the first to start serving his sentence.

The revised sentences stem from a review of a lower court’s ruling. Under the original July 2016 ruling, Mr. Chow was sentenced to a three-week suspended sentence, and Mr. Law and Mr. Wong received 120 and 80 hours of community service, respectively.

Thousands of people flooded the streets of Hong Kong to protest the revised sentences, which came after the activists had already served their original sentences, and have united under the slogan “We are all Nathan Law, Joshua Wong, and Alex Chow.”

The Umbrella Movement formed in response to China Central Government’s decision on the Hong Kong election. Protesters claimed the decision did not represent the citizens’ will and demand for the “high degree of autonomy” stated in Hong Kong’s basic law. 

PRESS RELEASE
Saturday, August 19, 2017

CUBAN TAKES FOREING AND INTERIOR MINISTRIES TO COURT   

Geiser Leandro Conde Medina is suing the Cuban Ministries of interior and Foreign Affairs in a Demand, and a Special Civil Injunction filed on his behalf by Attorney Rigoberto Gonzalez Vigoa from the Law Inquire Team (Consultoria Juridico) located at Pinar del Rio (East of Cuba). The lawsuit and special civil injunction filed before the People Cuban Supreme Court in Havana City, on Thursday 17th, 2017 is alleging that both Ministries illegally disallowed Mr. Conde Medina to take a flight to Cuba. Regardless, that all his travel documentation were in order to travel in late 2015 to mourn, and participate in his dead brother’s funeral.

“Both State Agencies illegally caused economy, and mental health damages beyond repair to their client.” Affirmed, in their expert opinion, the seven Attorneys representing Mr. Conde Medina in the lawsuit, and the special civil injunction.

 It’s now or never – our best chance to democratize the European Union will be determined in the weeks to come. Nothing like the European Citizens’ Initiative exists anywhere else, and it’s up to us to tell the Commission that citizens everywhere demand a new and improved ECI that works.

A few days ago, we announced that The ECI Rescue Team will be heading to Brussels next week to deliver the signatures and our petition including a list of demands to the Commission. When we introduce our proposals to the Commission, we want it to be absolutely clear that the citizens believe in a strong ECI too!

Please join thousands of supporters and sign our petition to reinforce the importance of the ECI to the Commission.  

The next few weeks will be crucial for the first tool of transnational direct democracy. The future of the European Citizens’ Initiative will be decided by the end of the year, following months of a revision process by the European Commission. 

Dear world citizens,

The environmental movement has made great strides in recent years. We’ve developed new, cleaner energy sources, and lots of people are now taking action to stop the worst of global warming. I've always believed we can turn this thing around, but it's going to take us all pulling together.

Having been through presidential elections, both as a candidate and as a concerned citizen, this last one was the worst yet for the climate. Donald Trump is doing everything he can to undo the progress we’ve made together in recent years, even pulling the U.S. out of the Paris Climate Agreement. We’re seeing extreme weather events every night on the news. Sadly, we only have to look around at what’s happening with damaging flooding caused by global warming induced storms, record breaking temperatures around the globe, wildfires, and the melting ice caps in the Arctic to know this is not theory — this is reality.

But I'm not giving up and neither should you peoples of the world. I've been working hard on my new movie, An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power. In the movie, we share inspiring stories about the renewable energy revolution that’s already under way. I hope everyone who comes to see it will leave knowing that while the stakes have never been higher, the perils of climate change can still be overcome when we combine brain power with people power.