Human Rights Monitoring Institute announced the annual Human Rights Shame League of the year. Lists of the most infamous actions and comments by politicians, state officials and institutions that are either in direct violation of human rights or run against human rights principles have been announced in an ironic manner since 2004.
Viktor Uspaskich, the leader of the Labor Party, starred as the top Human Rights "Victim". After finding out that law enforcement suspected financial irregularities in the Labor Party, former Party chairman and former Minister of Economics escaped the "repressive" Lithuanian law enforcement for Russia. In the meantime, the faithful companion of V. Uspaskich, MEP Ona Jukneviciene, attempted to rally support for the allegedly haunted Labor Party at the European Parliament by manipulating the annual Human Rights Overview prepared by HRMI. She has been named the Human Rights "Defender" of the year.
An attempt by the Interior Affairs Minister Raimondas Šukys to convince Viktor Uspaskich during their private meeting in Moscow to return to Lithuania and thus to "save the image of the country" has also secured him a position in the notorious league. The Chair of Parliament has been "acknowledged" for his "advice" on how the courts should handle a particular case.
Absurd reactions of the Lithuanian police never fail to amuse: in violation of the right to freedom of peaceful assembly, police ofifcers arrested two youngsters for publicly protesting against the extermination of black bears during Queen Elizabeth's visit to Vilnius but justified the use of Nazi symbols and dress if it’s done “not seriously”.
The title of most shameful institution of 2006 went to the State Security Department after masked officers stopped a car, dragged out the driver, breaking his hand, and took him away and leaving his minor daughter unattended in the unlocked car with scattered documents. Having discovered that the "brave" security officers had arrested the wrong man, a Department representative apoligized for the mistake but did not forget to mention that, in the past, the victim had been convicted of an unrelated crime. Is this supposed to justify their actions?
For the full Human Rights Shame League 2006, see the page devoted to the Human Rights Awareness Month 2006 (in Lithuanian).
© 2012 Human Rights Monitoring Institute