Swedish Doctors for Human Rights

Swedish Doctors for Human Rights
Founded 2014
Founder Marcello Ferrada de Noli
Type Medical humanitarian organisation
Location
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
 Professors at the SWEDHR founding board: Marcello Ferrada de Noli, Anders Romelsjö, Marita Troye-Blomberg. MD/PhD & Doctors: Alberto Gutiérrez, Ove B. Johansson, Lena Oske, Armando Popa.
Website SWEDHR

Swedish Doctors for Human Rights (SWEDHR) is a Sweden-based research organization working with health-related issues on torture, war atrocities, and human rights violations.

Organization

Swedish Doctors for Human Rights is a Sweden-based non-profit research Non-governmental organization composed by professors, physicians, researchers and academics within health-related disciplines, known by discoveries on the psychiatric effects of torture on prisoners, and epidemiological comorbidity issues associated with posttraumatic stress disorder and witnessing of war atrocities. Many of their research findings have been published and/or commented in peer-reviewed international medical journals and in Läkartidningen (the Journal of the Swedish Medical Association).[1][2][3][4][lower-alpha 1] In a review article at Clinical Psychology Review, discoveries by the team led by Marcello Ferrada de Noli, SWEDHR’s founder, were recognized as innovative research with clinical applicability,[lower-alpha 2] and Physicians for Human Rights[lower-alpha 3] reproduced several findings by the same team – on the psychiatric effects of torture leading to suicidal behaviour– in the report Leave No Marks.[lower-alpha 4] The organization is also credited with reporting on the impact of war atrocities on the public health of targeted populations and on exposure of governments' human rights breaches including those of Sweden.[lower-alpha 5][lower-alpha 6]

Further, as defined in the organization's Manifest,[11][lower-alpha 7] SWEDHR's aims include the defense of organizations or individuals subjected to prosecution or persecution by governments for exposing war crimes, human rights abuses, or serious infringements to the civil liberties of populations. For example, the SWEDHR's chairman, a qualified nominator [12] for the Nobel Peace Prize Committee in Oslo, formally presented the candidacy of whistleblowers Edward Snowden, Chelsea Manning and WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange to the Nobel Peace Prize 2014.[13] Later in 2014, three professors/doctors on the executive board of SWEDHR publicly demanded that the Swedish authorities provide a legal definition of the stalled prosecutor's case[14] against Julian Assange, the founder of the organization WikiLeaks,[15] preceded by an open letter to the Prosecutor General of Sweden.[16] SWEDHR has also advocated against allegedly human-rights breaches on Swedish cardiologist-surgeon Fikru Maru, imprisoned during 23 months in Ethiopia [17][18] before legal procedures were initiated. The Swedish medical journal Dagens Medicin referred [19] an open plea on the case sent by the organization to the Ethiopian ambassador in Sweden,[20] based on a correspondence on the same issue with the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.[21] SWEDHR has also advocated for the human rights of Valentina Lisitsa, the Ukrainian-born pianist celebrity whose controversial statements denouncing war atrocities in the War in Donbass elicited her banning from performing at the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. [lower-alpha 8] SWEDHR intervened again in a similar attempt of boycotting the performance of Lisitsa in Norrköping, Sweden, in October 2015, a campaign which the organization ascribed to the initiative from associates of the neo-Nazi formations that the pianist had exposed in her speeches.[23] The organization SWEDHR has also denounced the aerial attacks against hospitals run by Médecins Sans Frontières in Afghanistan [24] and Yemen. SWEDHR's statement on the Kunduz hospital attack was also published [25] or referred [26] at Swedish medical journals, and the case originated a current follow up campaign in a SWEDHR site.[27] Swedish Doctors for Human Rights has also raised its concern about potential human rights catastrophes associated with the risk of nuclear conflicts.[28]

Leading members at the organization's board [29] have published a variety of articles or been interviewed in both Swedish and international media on human-rights or geopolitical issues within the sphere of SWEDHR's specific aims.[30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39]

Debate and Controversies

The organization's chairman and vice-chairman, professors Ferrada de Noli and Anders Romelsjö respectively, had a polemic on Twitter with the Swedish Foreign minister Carl Bildt in December 2013.[lower-alpha 9] This controversy became a topic in an examination paper on political communication at Stockholm University.[43] It originated in a question from Ferrada de Noli on the alleged board-connections of Carl Bildt regarding the Security company Booz Allen Hamilton – a NASA contractor and previously an employer of Edward Snowden. Bildt refuted the allegations but engaged in a polemic with the professors, who also debated with him in their respective blogs.[44][45]

Another controversy involved the role of the Swedish section of Amnesty International in the Julian Assange case. While Amnesty International, the mother organization, issued a statement asking the Swedish government for guarantees that Assange would not be extradited to the U.S.,[46] the Swedish section of Amnesty issued another opposed to the suggestion. Leif Elinder, a doctor who also has been affiliated to SWEDHR, presented a proposal at a national conference of the Swedish section of Amnesty in 2014 in Malmö insisting on the same guarantees, but the directive group proposed that delegates vote against it, which they did.[47]

SWEDHR has also rebutted in Sweden's main newspaper Dagens Nyheter stances by the Swedish Minister of Defense Peter Hultqvist over the issue of Sweden's neutrality and non-alignment.[48] The organization argued that instead the enhancing of the geopolitical neutrality of Sweden would benefit the international panorama of human rights through an active role of Sweden in the area, and by searching peace solutions as in the time of the late PM Olof Palme. Later, three members of the SWEDR board engaged in the same newspaper in a similar debate on the possible participation of Swede in NATO with Professor WIlhelm Agrell,[49] however putting forward positions not approved by the board of directors. This caused and internal debate in SWEDHR ending with the resignation of Dr Leif Elinder as board member.

Notes

  1. ↑ M. Ferrada de Noli reported in Läkartidningen his research conclusions on the increasing suicidal deaths among refugees in Sweden, referred to the reported increasing of suicidal behaviour among refugees with experiences of torture or being witnesses to war-atrocities.[5] The same study is commented in the Journal of the Swedish Association of Psychologists [6]
  2. ↑ Clinical Psychology Review published in 2009 a major independent review of the research on PTSD and suicidal behaviour.[7] The review referred to a discovery by Ferrada de Noli et al[1] suggesting that the path to severe suicide attempts in PTSD victims is not mediated by depression – as widely concluded elsewhere – but linked directly to PTSD pathogenesis. "The discovery would lead to modifications in treatment of suicidal behaviour" concluded the analysis in Clinical Psychology Review. The review of this finding corresponds to a study conducted at the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm and comprising refugees subjected to torture, solitary confinement or severe traumata in their countries of origin.
  3. ↑ The most known international NGO within the sphere of Human Rights and Medicine, with headquarters in Cambridge, Mass.
  4. ↑ Leave No Marks includes a full account of the research results contained in the reports on torture, ptsd & suicidal behaviour by Ferrado de Noli et al, in the articles published by Journal of Traumatic Stress 1998, Op. cit.[1][2] The findings cited by the Physicians For Human Rights publication refers to the high statistical correlation between the specific torture methods inflicted on prisoners under interrogation and the specific suicide methods many torture survivors later used to plan or end their suffering.[8]
  5. ↑ While Swedish Doctors For Human Rights claims "totally independence" from government, has pointed out that human-rights NGOs established in Sweden are at least partially financed by the Swedish governmental institutions, or represent official Swedish foreign policies.[9]
  6. ↑ The organization WikiLeaks informed in social media on the exposures done by Swedish Doctors For Human Rights regarding rendition of prisoners by Sweden.[10]
  7. ↑ The Manifest of SWEDHR was publicized in social media by the organization WikiLeaks.[10]
  8. ↑ The Globe and Mail wrote the following in a report on the polemic decision by Toronto Symphony Orchestra about Valentina Lisitsa: "On Tuesday [7 April 2015] the NGO Swedish Doctors for Human Rights posted an appeal on her behalf, saying she was the victim of “an illegitimate repression, including a last event in Canada where she was denied her right to perform.” [22]
  9. ↑ The background human-rights aspects being Edward Snowden's exposures on governmental electronic control versus civil liberties, and the campaign Swedish asylum for Snowden, later recapitulated in several posts on social media.[40][41][42]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Ferrada-Noli M, Asberg M, Ormstad K, Lundin T, Sundbom E; Asberg; Ormstad; Lundin; Sundbom (January 1998). "Suicidal behavior after severe trauma. Part 1: PTSD diagnoses, psychiatric comorbidity, and assessments of suicidal behavior". Journal of Traumatic Stress 11 (1): 103–12. doi:10.1023/A:1024461216994. PMID 9479679.
  2. 1 2 Ferrada-Noli M, Asberg M, Ormstad K; Asberg; Ormstad (January 1998). "Suicidal behavior after severe trauma. Part 2: The association between methods of torture and of suicidal ideation in post-traumatic stress disorder". Journal of Traumatic Stress 11 (1): 113–24. doi:10.1023/A:1024413301064. PMID 9479680.
  3. ↑ Ferrada-Noli, Marcello; Sundbom, Elisabet (1996). "Cultural bias in suicidal behaviour among refugees with post-traumatic stress disorder". Nordic Journal of Psychiatry 50 (3): 185. doi:10.3109/08039489609081407.
  4. ↑ Ferrada-Noli M (October 2001). "Traumatic stress and suicidal behavior of refugees—epidemiological findings". Läkartidningen 98 (44): 4888–90. PMID 11729803.
  5. ↑ Ferrada de Noli, Marcello (9 January 2014). "Självmord bland invandrare ökar" [Increase of suicide among immigrants]. www.lakartidningen.se. Läkartidningen. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
  6. ↑ "Research News" (PDF). www.psykologforbundet.se. Psykologtidning. 2014. p. 6. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
  7. ↑ Panagioti M, Gooding P, Tarrier N; Gooding; Tarrier (August 2009). "Post-traumatic stress disorder and suicidal behavior: A narrative review". Clinical Psychology Review 29 (6): 471–82. doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2009.05.001. PMID 19539412.
  8. ↑ "Leave No Marks" (PDF). https://s3.amazonaws.com/. Retrieved 1 March 2015. External link in |website= (help)
  9. ↑ "SWEDHR" Check |url= value (help). www.swedhr.org. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
  10. 1 2 "Swedish Doctors for Human Rights". www.twitter.com. WikiLeaks. 20 February 2015.
  11. ↑ "Swedish Doctors For Human Rights' Manifest". SWEDHR. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
  12. ↑ Varghese, Johnlee (9 February 2014). "Edward Snowden Wins Eight 'Qualified' Public Nobel Peace Nominations". www.ibtimes.co.in. International Business Times. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
  13. ↑ "Professor vill nominera Snowden till fredspris" [Professor wants to nominate Snowden for peace prize]. Ystads-Allehanda. 19 July 2013. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
  14. ↑ Ferrada de Noli, Marcello (2013). "Operation Stalling". Sweden Versus Assange. Human Rights Issues (PDF). Sweden: Libertarian Books. pp. 99–105. ISBN 978-91-981615-1-9.
  15. ↑ Olofsson, Mats (31 October 2014). "En politisk lösning i fallet Assange – regeringsgarantier mot en utlämning" [A political solution in the case against Assange - government guarantees against extradition]. Västerbottens-Kuriren. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
  16. ↑ Ferrada de Noli, Marcello (2014). "Open Letter to the Prosecutor General of Sweden". Sweden Versus Assange. Human Rights Issues (PDF). Sweden: Libertarian Books. p. 106. ISBN 978-91-981615-1-9. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
  17. ↑ Radio Sweden: "Family of imprisoned surgeon urges Foreign Office to do more". 15 June 2014
  18. ↑ Radio Sweden: "Foreign ministry criticized in case of jailed Swedish doctor". 8 Feb 2015
  19. ↑ Eriksson Kjellberg, Charlotta (13 March 2014). "Öppet läkarstöd till Fikru Maru" [Open doctors' support to Fikru Maru]. www.dagensmedicin.se. Dagens Medicin. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  20. ↑ "Open Letter by Swedish Doctors for Human Rights to the Ethiopian Ambassador in Sweden on the case of Dr Fikru Maru". Stockholm, 12 March 2015
  21. ↑ Correspondence posted in "Swedish Dr Maru". www.swedhr.org. SWEDHR. Retrieved 14 March 2015.. Retrieved 14 March 2015
  22. ↑ Robert Everett-Green (8 April 2015). "TSO tightens security for this week’s Roy Thomson Hall concerts". The Globe and Mail, Canada . Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  23. ↑ M Ferrada de Noli, "Facts and libel in the international campaign VS Human Rights advocate Valentina Lisitsa. Analysis", SWEDHR Research & Reports. Vol 2., N° 30, 4 October 2015
  24. ↑ Statement by Swedish Doctors for Human Rights on the aerial bombing of Doctors Without Borders hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan, SWEDHR Research & Reports. Vol 2., N° 30, 4 October 2015
  25. ↑ (Swedish) ”En skarp protest mot detta oförlåtliga dödande”, Dagens Medicin 6 October 2015
  26. ↑ Läkartidningen, "Läkare utan gränser kräver utredning efter sjukhusbombning", 5 October 2015
  27. ↑ SWEDHR on the aerial bombing of the Doctors Without Borders hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan
  28. ↑ Swedish Doctors for Human Rights (several authors) "Severe tensions between Nato, Russia and Ukraine could lead to a greater war". NewsVoice, Sweden, 27 Mar, 2015
  29. ↑ "SWEDHR Board". www.swedhr.org. SWEDHR. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
  30. ↑ Armando Popa, "Case Assange – Deutsche Welle interviews SWEDHR chairman Prof. Marcello Ferrada de Noli", SWEDHR Research & Reports. Vol 2., N° 28, 10 September 2015
  31. ↑ Sputnik News, "UN Vote on MH17 Tribunal Resolution Staged to Implicate Russia" (Exclusive interview with the chairman of Swedish Doctors for Human Rights), 30 Aug 2015
  32. ↑ Elinder, Leif (1 September 2012). "Kasta prestigen över bord i fallet Assange" [Abandon all prestige in the case against Assange]. www.gp.se. Göteborgs-Posten. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
  33. ↑ Elinder, Leif (2 August 2013). "Ge Edward Snowden asyl i Sverige" [Grant Edward Snowden asylum in Sweden]. Göteborgs-Posten. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
  34. ↑ Elinder, Leif (21 October 2014). "Vad hade USA gjort om grannar gått i pakt med Ryssland?" [What would USA have done if neighbors had joined up with Russia?]. www.dn.se. Dagens Nyheter. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
  35. ↑ Greenwald, Glenn; Romelsjö, Anders (11 June 2014). "Storebror ser dig – Edward Snowden och den globala övervakningsstaten" [Big Brother sees you - Edward Snowden and the global surveillance state]. Jinge.se. News100. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
  36. ↑ Romelsjö, Anders. "En politisk lösning i fallet Assange... (republication)" [A political solotion in the case against Assange... (republication)]. www.ib.se. FIB/Kulturfront.
  37. ↑ Video "Interview in RT Channel on "Human Rights Crisis in Ukraine" to Ferrada de Noli by Naisa Naoual, Program On the Now. Ystad, Sweden" Check |url= value (help). www.vimeo.com. Libertarian Books. 4 May 2014. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
  38. ↑ Video "MSM blacks Assange as US seeks Manning link (Interview with Marcello Ferrada de Noli in RT Channel, on the risks of extradition of Julian from Sweden to the USA" Check |url= value (help). Stockholm: YouTube. 27 March 2012. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
  39. ↑ "Transcripts of the RT interview". www.professorsblogg.com. 27 March 2012. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
  40. ↑ "Ge Snowden asyl i Sverige?". www.jinge.se.
  41. ↑ "A Swedish asylum for Snowden in the context of the case Assange". www.professorsblogg.com.
  42. ↑ "Swedish official reaction to Alternative Nobel Prize given to Edward Snowden: Carl Bildt outs awarding organization from Foreign-Office premises". www.professorsblogg.com.
  43. ↑ Isabel Drewert & Matilda Strömbom, "Carl Bildt and Twitter. A study about the Swedish Foreign Minister's activity on Twitter". Stockholm University, Department of Media Studies.
  44. ↑ "The Alleged Board-Member affiliations of Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt in the background of the case Snowden" The Professors' Blog – Human Rights For All, 15 December 2013
  45. ↑ "Snowdens företag och det militärindustriella komplexet".Jinge.se, 21 December 2013
  46. ↑ Amnesty International, "Sweden should issue assurance it won’t extradite Assange to USA", 27 September 2012
  47. ↑ "Swedish Section of Amnesty International voted to reject human-right actions on cases Assange, Snowden and tortured Palestinian children". Interview with Leif Elinder, The Professors' Blog, 11 May 2014
  48. ↑ "Sweden risks being a primary target – In a military conflict of NATO VS. Russia" . Original in Swedish ”Sverige riskerar bli förstahandsmål”
  49. ↑ "Många experter delar inte Agrells slutsatser"

External links

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