On the first anniversary of her sentencing, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) issued a renewed call for Chinese journalist Sophia Huang Xueqin’s immediate release. Huang, whose work helped ignite China’s #MeToo movement, was sentenced to five years in prison on charges of inciting “subversion of state power.” RSF condemned the verdict as arbitrary and politically motivated, [...]
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) called on the California Attorney General Rob Bonta Thursday to put an end to and investigate police violence against journalists covering the recent Los Angeles protests against President Donald Trump’s mass deportation raids. RSF requested Bonta halt the police violence by filing “a civil lawsuit seeking a temporary restraining order against [...]
Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Thursday called for the G7 leaders to denounce and sanction Israeli officials for recent actions in the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip. The call came days ahead of the G7 summit to be held in Kananaskis, Canada. The HRW letter called on leaders to use the summit to [...]
The US-based Human Rights Research Center (HRRC) on Friday called on Hungarian authorities to permit this year’s annual Budapest Pride march to proceed without interference, urging respect for the fundamental right to peaceful assembly. The HRRC’s intervention comes as Budapest police recently denied permission for the upcoming June 28 Pride march, now celebrating its 30th [...]
UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg warned the Security Council on Thursday that Yemen faces economic “free fall” and escalating conflict risks, demanding urgent humanitarian and diplomatic interventions. Amid the Houthi attacks on Israel and retaliatory strikes by Israel on Yemeni infrastructure, Grundberg stressed that fragile frontlines threaten renewed violence, particularly in Marib. Grundberg [...]
United Nations Human Rights chief Volker Türk expressed alarm over escalating violence in Haiti on Friday, as gangs expand territory and continue to commit extrajudicial homicides, kidnappings and rapes. Türk stated: Alarming as they are, numbers cannot express the horrors Haitians are being forced to endure on a daily basis. I am horrified by the [...]
The Investigative Committee of Yaroslavl Oblast initiated a criminal proceeding on Thursday against Russian LGBTQA+ activist Yaroslav Sirotkin on the charges of participation in an “extremist organization,” according to local media. According to the investigation, Sirotkin posted 14 social media posts and videos that included “propaganda of non-traditional sexual relationships” between December 2023 and January [...]
A US federal judge on Friday blocked President Donald Trump’s March 25 executive order (EO) that sought to alter requirements for voting and election procedure. In granting a preliminary injunction, the judge stated that this is not a dispute about whether non-citizens can vote in federal elections, but whether documentary proof of citizenship can be [...]
A US federal judge on Friday refused to order the immediate release of pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil from immigration detention, despite ruling that the initial arrest and continued detention lacked a lawful basis. Judge Michael E. Farbiarz of the US District Court for the District of New Jersey found that US Immigration and Customs Enforcement [...]
The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit blocked a lower court’s decision to return the California National Guard to Governor Gavin Newsom’s control late Thursday. A hearing on the temporary stay, which reversed US District Judge Charles Breyer’s ruling earlier Thursday to remove the California National Guard from federal control, has been scheduled for [...]
