Respect for Those Defending Human Rights Needed - Updated!

It just seems as though there always seems to be something more atrocious coming along in the news.  It's been reported that Florence Hartmann, journalist who exposed that war crimes' evidence was withheld.has been jailed.  She was actually convicted of contempt of court for revealing the war crimes tribunal at The Hague withheld evidence of war crimes by Serbs from the Court of Justice.  And get this: she didn't actually reveal the contents of the documents: just the fact they had been withheld.  The story is here.

And now she is in solitary, until at least after the Easter holiday. Here is an even more recent report.  We must pray that when the holiday ends, her situation can be resolved in a satisfactory manner. This is shameful conduct by what it supposed to be a guardian of international justice.  All over the world there seems to be so little regard for real journalism, real respect for human rights and for those fighting for them.

Some folks linked to criticism of the Chinese pres. Xi Jinping have been detained or disappeared:
detained Chinese journalist      and family members disappeared

In Sudan female activists and journalists defending human rights have been abused.  Human Rights Watch has a story and did a detailed report.

Two Turkish journalists are facing a closed door trial for "divulging state secrets," etc.  The move has drawn harsh criticism.  Read the Guardian report, and you can also read two other linked, related stories that may be of interest.

A prominent Bahraini activist has been jailed and allegedly tortured.  I also found this interview with his also courageous wife.

And that is just SOME of what is going on.  And methinks we should be VERY VIGILANT here in the U. S..  Already there has been surveilling and harassment of protesters.  Whistleblowers seem to bet few real protections, and true investigative journalism is rare.  We need to be aware of the potential for abuse and stand together to protect civil liberties, human rights here at home (and elsewhere), the right to dissent and peacefully protest, and our freedoms and rights that are supposedly Constitutional.  We really need to realize how precious they are and work to safeguard them.

UPDATES:

Florence Hartmann has been released!  Wonderful development although she shouldn't have been punished in the first place.

And in another outrage, some activists in Angola have been sentenced to jail for the crime of:  READIING!