Karina's story

Karina Moskalenko is a prominent lawyer in Russia. She is well known as a lawyer in human rights matters.

She is currently representing the family of murdered journalist, Anna Politkovskaya. The preliminary hearing for the case was initially fixed on 15th October 2008. But she missed that hearing. She did not make it. She was in hospital.

She fell ill after mercury was placed in her car in Strasbourg. She was treated for nausea and headaches. her family members were also taken ill.

Was this a failed attempt at murder - or an act of intimidation?

Source: BBC News Online here

Anna's story

The head of the jounalism union in Russia had described Anna Politkovskaya as the conscience of the country's journalism.

"Her polemical style earned her many critics in Russia but her stories stood out from much of the mainstream Russian media and she pursued them at great personal risk, whether reporting from the war zone or receiving death threats in Moscow".

She worked for a paper called Novaya Gazeta and she is renowned for exposing the human rights abuses committed by Russian troops in Chechnya. Obviously, she wasn't popular in some circles.

There has been many attempts to silence her - including attempts to end her life.

On 7 October 2006, while she was in a lift at her apartment, her was shot point blank 3 times.

The trial of those accused for her murder which was scheduled to start on 15 October 2008 was postponed as there was an attempt on the life of her lawyer who survived but was taken ill.

You can read Anna's orbituary here.

Source: BBC News Online here

Engin's story

Engin Ceber had protested against the shooting of a fellow human activist in Turkey last year by the local police. He was arrested for doing so.

While in prison at Istanbul, he was beaten up severely, allegedly by prison guards. He informed his lawyer and he was taken to hospital where he fell into a coma. Engin passed away on 11th October 2008.

In a rare move, the Turkish government issued an apology and suspended 19 officials.

Let's hope those responsible will be charged and convicted by law.

Source: BBC News Online here

Nie Shubin's story

"Mr and Mrs Nie... are a couple I met last month at their little brick house in a village three hours south of Beijing.

They perched on a couple of old stools in their tiny courtyard. Both are in their mid 50s, but Mr Nie looks much, much older.

He can barely hobble, with the aid of a stick, pain etched on his face with every step.

Ten years ago, Mr Nie drank pesticide to try to kill himself. He was driven by madness and depression brought on by the death of his only son Nie Shubin.

Nie Shubin was barely 20 when he was killed by an executioner's bullet to the back of his head. While in police custody, he had confessed to the murder of a young woman.

"They beat him," Mr Nie tells me, tears now glistening in her eyes. "They beat him until he confessed. They did not care about the truth. They say you are guilty, so you are guilty."

China carries out the death penalty on an industrial scale. As many as 8,000 to 10,000 people are executed here every year.

Mrs Nie got to see her son only once before he went to his death.

"I found out which day he would be in court and fought my way in," she told me.

"The police did not want to let me in, but I pushed and screamed until they let me through."

"Then I saw him. In shackles, he was being led away. 'Shubin,' I called. He turned and saw me. 'Ma,' he shouted, tears flooding down his cheeks."

Mrs Nie rushed towards her son, but the police held her back. There would be no last goodbye.

Ten years after Shubin was executed, another man came forward and admitted he had murdered the young woman. Mrs Nie has appealed to the police to review her son's case. They do not want to know.

The reason I tell you this story is that Mr and Mrs Nie are far from being alone. Across China there are tens, even hundreds of thousands of people with similar stories to tell - stories of brutality and injustice at the hands of those in power."

Reproduced from BBC News Online. You can read the entire article here