Country Reports

The body of journalist Wilfred Ojeda was found by police dumped in waste on May 17, 2011. He was beaten, tortured and shot to death. Ojeda was a columnist for the El Clarin newspaper in La Victoria, and an activist for the Democratic Action political party that opposed President Chavez.

Journalist Rachid Nini, editor of Morocco’s El-Massa daily newspaper, will go on trial Tuesday, May 17, after being detained on April 28. Nini published several articles that were critical of Moroccan security forces’ counter-terrorism practices and shed light on government corruption.

The Ugandan Parliament closed out their current session today without debating or adopting pernicious anti-homosexual legislation that has threatened to become part of the legislative agenda for months. Parliament initially pushed back the debate and adoption of the bill after outcry from rights groups, the internet and U.S. leaders. Human rights organizations Avaaz and Allout gathered more than 1.4 million signatures via online petitions and had the internet buzzing with discussion of the bill. The bill could still be considered at the next session when the Ugandan Parliament reconvenes on May 18.

At least 20 people have been killed and seven wounded in Yemen while protesting against President Ali Abdullah Saleh. On Thursday, gunmen fired from the roof of the ruling party’s headquarters in Bayda, killing three demonstrators. On Wednesday, security forces and gunmen fired at demonstrators marching from University Square to government headquarters in Sanaa, killing 12 and wounding 340. In light of the recent violence, the U.S. State Department is calling on Saleh to immediately step down and transfer power with the intervention of the Gulf Cooperation Council.