Amnesty protests against intimidation of activists

Amnesty International expressed concern on Wednesday at what it described as the increasing intimidation of human rights advocates by Nigerian authorities. It said in a news release that the passports of three rights activists were confiscated last week by security forces at Murtala Mohammed Airport in Lagos. The activists were then interrogated for hours by agents of the State Security Service (SSS - the federal security agency), the human rights watchdog said. "It is ironic that just a few days before the International Human Rights Day [10 December], human rights defenders are targeted and deprived of their basic rights," the organisation said. "The Nigerian government should return all the confiscated passports and cease any further harassment or intimidation of human rights defenders, as well as end a practice which violates the freedom of movement and the freedom of expression of Nigerians," it added. The Amnesty release documented incidents involving the confiscation of passports and harassment of rights activists by the SSS since October. "President Obasanjo should take immediate measures to end disregard for international standards protecting human rights defenders," it said. These standards include the Johannesburg Declaration on Human Rights Defenders in Africa of 1998, and the 1998 UN Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, it added.