The Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal handed down a judgment on Tuesday finding that the Hong Kong government has a duty to provide an “alternative legal framework for recognition of same-sex relationships.” The court also held that the government’s longstanding failure to do so amounts to a violation of the constitutional right to privacy, [...]

Hong Kong District Court judge Ernest Lin Kam-hung handed down a judgment Thursday sentencing Tommy Yuen, a former Cantopop boy band member, to 26 months of imprisonment. Yuen was convicted of “doing acts with seditious intention” and “dealing with property known or believed to represent proceeds of an indictable offence.” Lin found that Yuen made [...]

Hong Kong’s national security police detained and questioned the sister-in-law of Hong Kong fugitive pro-democracy activist Nathan Law-Kwun-Chung on Saturday, according to Hong Kong’s public broadcaster and local media. The wife of Law’s older brother was taken away by the National Security Department of the Hong Kong Police Force after a home raid. Authorities suspected [...]

Bangladesh Law Minister Anisul Huq announced at a press conference on Thursday that the government would allow stakeholders to submit their opinions on a newly released draft version of the Cyber Security Act (CSA) 2023. The announcement comes just days after the draft was preliminarily approved to replace Bangladesh’s Digital Security Act (DSA) by a [...]

Myanmar’s ruling junta announced via state media MRTV on Tuesday a partial pardon of former leader Aung San Suu Kyi. As a result of the pardon, which impacted 5 of her 19 convictions, Suu Kyi’s 33-year prison sentence has been reduced by six years. According to a CNN source, the five impacted convictions include defamation, [...]

Bangladesh opposition supporters protested on Saturday to demand the resignation of Prime Minister and the leader of Awami League Sheikh Hasina. The protests followed a call to action from the Bangladesh National Party (BNP) to its supporters. Conflicts between police and protestors led to violence and arrests. Protestors blocked several entry points to the capital [...]

The police chief of Malaysia’s Senagor state police, Hussein Omar Khan, told Reuters on Tuesday that police in the Malaysian state of Senagor are investigating the disappearance of Myanmar refugee and activist Thuzar Mong and her family. Khan’s comments come two days after Human Rights Watch urged the Malaysian government to look into the July [...]

The Supreme Court of Japan ruled on Tuesday that the restriction of transgender women’s use of female bathrooms is unlawful. This landmark decision overturns a 2021 Tokyo High Court ruling and marks the first time the high court has spoken to sexual minorities’ usage of bathrooms. The five-judge Supreme Court panel found unanimously in favor [...]

Hong Kong’s pro-democracy online radio station Citizen Radio aired their final broadcast on Friday, with the founder expressing hardships under “dangerous” political environment. Tsang Kin-shing, a veteran political activist, wrote in the closing Facebook post of the radio station about their difficulties faced since pro-democracy movements in the city in 2014 and 2019. Under the [...]

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) decided it its third regular plenary meeting on Friday to add Croatia to its “grey list,” along with Cameroon and Vietnam. Countries on the “grey list” are the “jurisdictions under increased monitoring.” The move makes Croatia the only EU member on the list, and the stated reason is the [...]