The Iranian authorities are set to carry out finger amputation sentences against three prisoners as early as April 11, Amnesty International warned Friday. The rights group stated that amputation sentences, amounting to torture, and the denial of legal representation are violations of international law. Iranian authorities have informed the men — Hadi Rostami, Mehdi Sharifian [...]

A coalition of 21 Democratic attorneys general filed a lawsuit on Friday in an attempt to stop a presidential executive order that cuts funding for several federal agencies, including the Institute of Museum and Library Services. The lawsuit states that for these agencies, compliance has “meant gutting every one of their operations—statutorily mandated or not.” [...]

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) urged the European Union (EU) on Friday to consider Serbia’s freedom of press violations for its EU candidacy process. Journalists in Serbia are systemically repressed, facing threats, assaults and arbitrary surveillance, RSF argued. Head of RSF’s European Union-Balkans Desk, Pavol Szalai, said, “Serbian outlets are on the brink of suffocation as [...]

The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) on Friday called for a full, independent investigation into the Israeli military’s killing of fifteen humanitarian aid workers and urged international efforts to locate a missing PRCS paramedic. During a UN briefing, PRCS members pleaded with the international community to challenge the Israeli government’s argument that the organization’s ambulances [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Thursday urged Argentine authorities to investigate security forces’ “excessive” use of force in quelling a protest led by pensioners advocating for greater access to pensions, medical care, and other social safety nets. HRW Americas director Juanita Goebertus stated: “There is strong evidence that members of the security forces responded with [...]

Massachusetts state and local elected officials, including Somerville Mayor Katjana Ballantyne, joined Tufts University on Thursday in calls for the immediate release of doctoral student Rumeysa Ozturk. The university maintains that Ozturk did not violate any Tufts’ policy, while Massachusetts officials have accused the federal government of violating Ozturk’s free speech and due process rights. [...]

UN human rights experts on Friday called on Pakistan to stop displacing Afghans from the cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi, and further urged authorities not to carry out deportations to Afghanistan. The UN experts urged the Pakistani government to continue its role as a neighboring host country for Afghan refugees. The experts stated: “We urge [...]

A US federal judge on Thursday refused to block the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) from denying funding to projects deemed to “promote gender ideology,” saying the agency has temporarily abandoned those prohibitions and is in the midst of re-evaluating them. In a 47-page ruling, Senior US District Judge William E. Smith denied a [...]

Several nongovernmental groups said Friday that the European Union (EU) should defend the International Criminal Court (ICC) from attacks against its mandate in an effort to protect the international legal order. In a joint statement, 58 organizations stated that the EU must uphold international law and prevent attacks that could undermine justice for “victims of [...]

Nicaragua withdrew its application to intervene in the proceedings of South Africa v Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Thursday without citing any reason behind its decision. The initial application was made under Article 36, paragraph 1 and Article 62 of the Statute of the Court. The case, which was related to [...]