Patrick deHahn

Reporter studying in New York. I cover international news around the clock, anything from politics, foreign policy, war and conflict, protest, human rights to breaking news. I drink lots of coffee.

I'm a "rising star in journalism," as seen in HuffPo.

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2013-06-04

The right to privacy is often understood as an essential requirement for the realization of the right to freedom of expression. Undue interference with individuals’ privacy can both directly and indirectly limit the free development and exchange of ideas … An infringement upon one right can be both the cause and consequence of an infringement upon the other. […] Communications surveillance should be regarded as a highly intrusive act that potentially interferes with the rights to freedom of expression and privacy and threatens the foundations of a democratic society.

— The United Nations on Internet surveillance and free speech
2013-06-02

Turkey update from reuters: Turkey’s Prime Minister Erdogan accused opposition parties on Sunday of provoking protests across the country.

Erdogan made a defiant call for an end to the fiercest anti-government demonstrations in years on Saturday. He is accused of authoritarianism and abusing privacy and secularism. There were more than 90 separate demonstrations around the country on Friday and Saturday. On Sunday, tens of thousands gathered in Taksim Square.

More than 1,000 people were reported injured in Istanbul and several hundred in Ankara.

[Photo: A man is hit by a jet of water as riot police use a water cannon to disperse demonstrators during a central Ankara protest June 1, 2013. REUTERS/Umit Bektas]

Source: reuters
2013-04-15

Everyone needs to read this.

An op-ed from a hunger striker Guantánamo Bay, sharing details on his case and his force feedings, citing that “the situation is desperate now.”
2013-04-10

How to provoke national unrest with a Facebook photo

Yes, it can be done. See how a Tunisian girl did it on Facebook.
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Investigators found that armed military intelligence officers with cameras booked rooms in a major hotel adjacent to the square on 25 January, the first day of protests, and observed and recorded subsequent events

— Guardian exclusive on Egypt’s governmental investigation of actions by the nation’s army during the 2011 revolution
2013-03-04

Follow BBC News coverage on the elections held in Kenya amid violence
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I'm sure none of the Middle East revolutions aimed for this: "Arab spring" brings new buyers for bulletproof cars
2013-03-03

It must have been really tough for them to do this: Exiled opposition figure Moaz Alkhatib visited Syria on Sunday for the first time since fleeing last year

Source: reuters.com
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From reuters:

American leaders unveiled a statue of Rosa Parks on Wednesday, briefly setting aside political differences to honor the civil rights heroine, who became the first black woman to have a monument inside the U.S. Capitol.

Parks’ refusal to give up her seat on a segregated Alabama bus for a white passenger in 1955 sparked a boycott that galvanized the movement for equal rights for blacks in Montgomery and nationwide.

Black men and women stayed off the buses, walking or arranging other rides to work for more than a year to fight for desegregation.

Read on: U.S. leaders honor civil rights activist Rosa Parks with statue

Source: reuters
2013-02-19

This is not good - regarding press freedom and the current U.S. administration
2013-02-01

‎53% in new Pew poll say the U.S. government poses a threat to their "personal rights and freedoms."
2013-01-29

Things to keep an eye on: Zimbabwe elections

Dewa Mavhinga writes for The Guardian, stating that the country’s upcoming elections in 2013 have a “sense of impending doom.” But, overreaching goal is to hold peaceful, fair and free elections - in the past, that has failed - and they’re aiming to do that this year.
2012-06-15

On Thursday, came a post from Martha from titled simply “Goodbye”: “This morning in maths I got taken out of class by my headteacher and taken to her office. I was told that I could not take any more photos of my school dinners because of a headline in a newspaper today.

“I only write my blog not newspapers and I am sad I am no longer allowed to take photos. I will miss sharing and rating my school dinners and I’ll miss seeing the dinners you send me too. I don’t think I will be able to finish raising enough money for a kitchen for Mary’s Meals either.”

Martha’s father, Dave, added a note of explanation, saying: “Martha’s school have been brilliant and supportive from the beginning and I’d like to thank them all. I contacted Argyll and Bute council when Martha told me what happened at school today and they told me it was their decision to ban Martha’s photography.”

— Girl banned from taking photos of school meals for hit blog - council banning a school girl from blogging? Let the online campaign commence. (via guardian)
(via guardian)

Source:

Everyone needs to read this.

Things to keep an eye on: Zimbabwe elections