Chinese human rights activist detained
newsx reported yesterday that a Chinese activist and founder of a human rights website has been accused of “subversion of state power”, a charge frequently used against dissidents in China. Liu Feiyue, who founded Civil Rights and Livelihood Watch, was arrested in November at his house in Suizhou province over accusations he had received foreign aid to incite subversion in the country. Liu’s family said the police did not inform them where he was taken to, nor did they hand over any document confirming his arrest although this is a requirement under the Chinese public security system. http://bit.ly/2igDyBF
The cemetery of unknown Mediterranean migrants
Aljazeera publishes an article today on the efforts of a community in Tunisia to provide a dignified burial to thousands of unidentified migrants who have been washed up on the nearby shore. More than 4,400 people have died or gone missing this year while trying to make the deadly crossing, according to the International Organization for Migration’s Missing Migrants Project. Most bodies are never found, but the largest number wash ashore in Libya or Italy and are buried there. http://bit.ly/2hQ4PJR
Pakistan: more than 1,000 bodies said dumped in Balochistan
The BBC reported yesterday that nearly 1,000 dead bodies of political activists and suspected armed separatists have been found in Pakistan’s restive Balochistan province over the past six years. Thousands of people have disappeared without trace in Balochistan since a separatist insurgency gained momentum in 2007. Relatives say most victims had been picked up by security agencies. Activists say the figures, obtained from the human rights ministry by BBC Urdu, point to large-scale extrajudicial killings. http://bbc.in/2iHLWNo
Kuwait receives new information on missing citizens in Iraq
The Kuwait Times reports today that on Wednesday Kuwait’s Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Al-Jarallah said that Iraqi authorities have provided him with new information regarding missing Kuwaiti persons, adding that Baghdad “prioritizes this tragic humanitarian issue”. The citizens have been missing from the time of the Iraqi occupation of Kuwait in 1990/1991. Jarallah did not disclose the new information, which he described as a “glimmer of light at the end of a dark tunnel”. http://bit.ly/2hyI6G9
Items in Daily World News Digest are summaries of published reports relevant to the issue of missing persons, compiled by ICMP staff. These items do not necessarily reflect the position of ICMP.