The Supreme Court of Russia, in a closed-door decision on Friday, designated the Anti-Corruption Foundation (ACF/FBK) as a “terrorist organization.” The ACF, a US-registered entity, was founded by the late opposition leader Alexeï Navalny as part of his movement against corruption in 2011. On October 22, the Prosecutor General’s Office petitioned the court to designate [...]

Human Rights Watch on Friday condemned the recent sentencing of two former media workers in Kyrgyzstan who were convicted of “public calls for mass unrest,” according to their employer. Joomort Duulatov and Aleksandr Aleksandrov, former camera operators for Kloop, were sentenced to five years in prison.  Duulatov and Aleksandrov, along with six other current and [...]

The Russian Ministry of Justice added Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF) to its list of international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) deemed “undesirable” in the country on Thursday. RSF Director General, Thibaut Bruttin, said in a statement responding to Russia’s actions that the Kremlin’s message was to continue to gag voices that exposed its censorship and [...]

On Thursday, the High Court division of the Bangladesh Supreme Court dismissed the case against photojournalist and social activist Dr. Shahidul Alam, filed in 2018 under the now-repealed Section 57 of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Act. The High Court bench, comprising Justice Mustafa Zaman Islam and Justice Tamanna Rahman Khalidi, quashed the case, following [...]

On Wednesday, a Kyrgyzstan court ordered the liquidation of independent broadcaster Aprel TV, terminating its broadcasting and social media operations. The ruling was born out of a lawsuit filed by Kyrgyz prosecutors, citing “negative and destructive” reporting of the government that could undermine its authority.  The court ruled that Aprel TV’s content fell under the [...]

The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child on Monday released its review of the fifth to seventh periodic reports on Brazil’s state programs under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and its first report under the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. [...]

Human Rights Watch reported on Friday that the fourth UN Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Laos showed little progress over the past five years, and condemned the country’s attacks on dissidents and activists.  HRW criticized the country for not meeting rights obligations in ceasing arbitrary arrests, extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, and partial investigations. Containing 271 [...]

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) on April 4 urged the Caribbean island nation of Dominica to investigate the apparent police attack on a journalist last month during the protests, which erupted in response to the passage of certain legislation. A police officer allegedly verbally abused EmoNews journalist Soana Benjamin and seized her equipment. RSF executives have [...]

UN experts urged the Colombian government on Thursday to protect its civilians and called on the non-state armed groups to cease their attacks against the civilians, after the escalation of the conflict in the Catatumbo region of the Department of Norte de Santander. The experts noted that the conflict, which began on 16th January, has [...]

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) plans to halve the food rations to $6 a month per refugee starting next month. Amnesty International on Thursday called on the international community to step up and support the WFP to avoid a devastating impact on the Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh.  With 95 percent of Rohingya households dependent [...]