Istanbul mayor and Turkish opposition leader Ekrem İmamoğlu went on trial Monday, accused of establishing an “İmamoğlu Criminal Organization for Profit” that operated parallel to and was concealed by his official duties. İmamoğlu faces charges including corruption, defrauding public institutions, bribery, extortion, and laundering proceeds of crime. His case is part of a mass trial [...]
On Tuesday, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said that the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) targeted, abused, and killed people with disabilities during their October 26 takeover of the long-besieged city of El Fasher in North Darfur province. The RSF deliberately targeted people with disabilities, often accusing them of being members of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), [...]
Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Tuesday urged international organizations and the Congolese government to ensure that civilians in the eastern city of Uvira are protected from abuse by Wazalendo militias, following the withdrawal of the Rwanda-backed M23 armed group from the city. “Congolese authorities should act quickly to restore security and ensure the protection of [...]
Human Rights Watch (HRW) urged the Thai government on Wednesday to drop charges against Murray Hunter, an Australian journalist accused of defaming the Malaysia Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC). HRW stated that criminal defamation laws are incompatible with Thailand’s obligation to protect the right to free expression, and that the case demonstrates the Thai government’s [...]
United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Resolution 2803 violates Palestine’s right to self-determination, Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese stated on Wednesday, calling it “security-first, capital-driven model of foreign control” that entrenches existing power asymmetries. Albanese, a UN expert appointed as Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, said that the resolution [...]
The UN Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua (UNGHREN) told the UN General Assembly on Thursday that Nicaragua’s government has carried out systematic human-rights violations, some amounting to crimes against humanity. The experts urged Nicaraguan authorities to release people arbitrarily detained and end enforced disappearances. The experts’ findings draw on more than 1,900 interviews [...]
The Law Society of British Columbia (LSBC) opened a trial Tuesday at the British Columbia Supreme Court (BCSC) challenging the 2024 Legal Professions Act (LPA), with petitioners arguing the new legislation threatens the bar’s independence. The Attorney General of British Columbia provided a written submission which called the LSBC’s position “indefensible in our representative democracy,” [...]
On Wednesday, Human Rights Watch (HRW) urged comedians who performed at Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh Comedy Festival to address the nation’s dire human rights situation, and raise awareness of unjustly detained Saudi dissidents, journalists, and rights activists. HRW pressed comedians to “express their support for free speech by urging the release of Saudi activists unjustly imprisoned,” [...]
On Tuesday, Amnesty International condemned Türkiye’s arrest and imprisonment of Enes Hocaoğulları, a LGBTQ+ activist who criticized rights violations committed during mass protests following the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu. Amnesty International called the arrest arbitrary and claimed Hocaoğulları must be “immediately and unconditionally released,” arguing that Hocaoğulları was protected by his right to [...]
UN Secretary-General António Guterres voiced his support on Tuesday for recent American-led efforts to negotiate a peaceful settlement to the Russo-Ukrainian War. Responding to a journalist’s question about Monday’s meeting between President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President Donald Trump, and several European leaders, Stéphane Dujarric, Gueterres’ spokesperson, stressed the importance that “all involved continue to stay actively [...]
