Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported Tuesday that Iranian authorities have intensified a “brutal” crackdown on nationwide protests, urging them to halt the unlawful use of force and release those arbitrarily detained. According to HRW, the government has used lethal force to suppress the unrest, deploying military-grade weapons as well as metal pellets fired from shotguns, [...]

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) called on leaders of the armed rebel coalition controlling Bukavu in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to fully account for the abduction and torture of journalist Honneur-David Safari, and to prevent any further attacks on reporters.  The RSF shared the following about Safari’s release and urged an end to [...]

Turkish police detained 357 people on Tuesday in large-scale, coordinated operations targeting the Islamic State group, according to the country’s Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya. Authorities carried out raids across 21 provinces following a deadly clash between police and ISIS militants in Yalova, a small northwestern city, amid heightened security ahead of New Year’s celebrations. Three [...]

The High Court in Putrajaya convicted former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak on Friday in a case arising from the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal. The court found Najib Razak guilty on four counts of abuse of power and 21 counts of money laundering. The prosecution accused Najib of channeling more than US$700 million in [...]

The UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders on Tuesday urged Togo authorities to release Togolese-Irish citizen and human rights defender Abdoul Aziz Goma from prison on the seventh anniversary of his arrest. Special Rapporteur Mary Lawlor noted that the Togolese Criminal Procedure Code allows for conditional release of prisoners who have [...]