The UK Court of Appeal Friday handed down a judgment allowing victims of Brazil’s biggest environmental disaster on record to pursue their claims in a British court. The claimants number over 200,000, making the case the largest group claim in the country’s legal history. In November 2015, the Fundão tailings dam in the Brazilian state of Minas [...]
The UN Human Rights Council (HRC) Friday adopted a resolution affirming its commitment to equal rights for women in Afghanistan, calling for representative participation in an organized dialogue on the issue at the next HRC session and directing the Taliban to establish institutions to protect the rights of women and victims of sexual and gender-based violence. [...]
A US District Court for the District of Minnesota judge Thursday sentenced Derek Chauvin to 21 years in federal prison for violating George Floyd and a minor’s civil rights. According to the plea agreement, Chauvin willfully deprived George Floyd of his constitutional right “to be free from the use of unreasonable force by a police officer.” Chauvin also [...]
The US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit Thursday ruled that the state of Maine cannot restrict who can gather signatures in ballot initiatives for state elections, in a voting case that turned to focus on freedom of political speech. The court ruled that a Maine law limiting those eligible to gather signatures for [...]
A man from Kansas City, Missouri, Thursday pled guilty to committing a hate crime. According to his plea agreement, Malachi Robinson shot a teenager eight times because of the teen’s sexual orientation. Robinson met the teen, identified as M.S., at the Kansas City public library where the two had a brief interaction. During the interaction, [...]
The European Parliament Thursday voted 324-155 to adopt a resolution making the right to an abortion a fundamental human right. The proposed statement would add the words “veryone has a right to safe and legal abortion” to Article VII of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, adopted in 2009. Parliament also urged [...]
South Australia’s Termination of Pregnancy Act 2021 went into effect Thursday, modernizing the state’s termination of pregnancy laws and increasing access to abortion for women in outside of Adelaide. The Termination of Pregnancy Act 2021 passed the state’s parliament more than a year ago on 11 March 2021. The law and the associated Termination of [...]
Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) star Brittney Griner pleaded guilty Thursday to drug trafficking in Khimki Russia amid accusations that she was wrongfully detained in the country. According to Russian state news agency TASS, Griner admitted her guilt but stated there was no intent to smuggle the drugs into the country. Griner is accused of [...]
Human Rights Watch (HRW) and FairSquare Wednesday released a report detailing Egypt’s use of travel bans and asset freezes to persecute prominent activists. HRW says that these activists include “rights lawyers, journalists, feminists, and researchers.” Since November 2015 HRW has documented “scores” of travel bans that President Abdelfattah al-Sisi’s government systematically imposed to prevent its [...]
The Law Commission of England and Wales Thursday released new recommendations for reforming the criminal code surrounding the taking and sharing of non-consensual sexual images. In England and Wales only “upskirting” and voyeurism are criminalized, but other offenses such as “deepfakes” (putting someone’s face on an existing pornographic video), “downblousing,” and “nudifiying” images (adding someone [...]
