were among those remembered at a human rights service at the Wesley Methodist Church Hall yesterday.

More than 70 school children, politicians and other concerned people gathered for just under an hour in a sombre mood of quiet, yet urgent, solidarity.

The Human Rights Commission and the Bermuda Chapter of Amnesty International put on yesterday's event to mark the 48th anniversary of the United Nations' International Human Rights Day.

Organiser Ms Lucy Attride-Stirling told the audience that human rights is about children who must be taught the value of protecting these rights so they can grow up and be prepared to carry on the tradition.

This year's theme, she said, focused on human rights defenders who were imprisoned, beaten, tortured or made to disappear because of their religious or political beliefs.

Such was the fate of Nigerian journalists Kunle Abjibade, George Mbah, Chris Anyanwu and Ben Charles Obi.

Anyanwu, 46 was the editor-in-chief of the news journal The Sunday Magazine and Obi was the editor of the Weekend Classique. Ajibade 38, was the editor of The News Magazine while Mbah, 36, was the assistant editor of Tell Magazine.

A Special Military Tribunal sentenced Ajibade and Mbah to 15 years imprisonment after secret trials where they were found guilty of publishing articles about the arrests and secret treason trials of officers in the army.

Anyanwu and Obi met with a similar fate after they were found guilty of writing similar articles.

Conditions in the Nigerian prisons have been poor and Anyanwu reportedly suffers from hypertension while Obi is believed to have suffered from malaria.

Businessman Moshood Abiola 59, has been imprisoned since June, 1994 after winning the 1993 presidential elections.

His wife Kudirat Abiola was killed last June for being outspoken in favour of her husband.

The Nigerian military secret service arrested lawyer and human rights activist Chief Gani Fawehinmi 58, at his home on January 30, 1996 No reason was given for his detention and was held without charge and without proper medical care. Consequently, he became seriously ill but was released on November 20, 1996.

Deputy Premier Jerome Dill said these kinds of atrocities would not happen in Bermuda, but it was important for Bermudians to fight against these ghastly abuses wherever they occur.

Mr. Dill joined Opposition Leader Jennifer Smith, UBP backbencher Grace Bell, Human Rights Commission executive director Kenneth Dill, Mid Ocean News news editor Rebecca Zuill and lawyer Rod Attride-Striling at the church hall yesterday.