UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet called Tuesday for Iran to release jailed human rights defenders, lawyers and political prisoners, citing COVID-19 concerns. Iran is the country worst-affected by the pandemic in the region, and conditions in prisons create a breeding ground for the virus. The prisons have a history of being overcrowded and [...]
Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Wednesday criticized the treatment of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) individuals in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, as well as the US for the obstacles it places before asylum seekers. The report, Every Day I Live in Fear: Violence and Discrimination Against LGBT People in El Salvador, Guatemala, and [...]
The Arizona Court of Appeals has ruled that Arizona must add an option for listing same-sex parents on birth certificates. This case began with the divorce of the petitioner Kimberly McLaughlin and her ex-wife Suzan Swanson. While they were married McLaughlin gave birth to a child. During divorce proceedings, they argued over whether Swanson was [...]
The US Supreme Court on Thursday declined to act on a request from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to reinstate federal regulations requiring patients seeking abortion-inducing pills to pick up the medication in-person at the hospital or clinic, instead of receiving them by mail or delivery. A federal judge blocked the FDA’s requirements [...]
Six men were charged Thursday with conspiring to kidnap Michigan’s Democratic Governor, Gretchen Whitmer. In early 2020 the FBI became aware of individuals discussing the “violent overthrow of certain government and law-enforcement components.” Both Barry Croft and Adam Fox allegedly agreed to unite others and take violent action against governments they believed were violating the [...]
The Trump administration filed an emergency request with the US Supreme Court on Wednesday in an attempt to conclude the 2020 census count immediately. The request asks the Supreme Court to block an order issued by the US District Court for the Northern District of California that prevents the Census Bureau and the Department of Commerce [...]
The Texas Supreme Court blocked a Texas city Wednesday from mailing unsolicited mail-in-ballots to its residents ahead of the November presidential election. In order to mitigate the detrimental effects of COVID-19, states have been adopting new policies and plans to ensure safe voting. Prior to the primaries in July, Harris County Clerk Chris Hollins publicized his [...]
The Supreme Court of Canada agreed on Wednesday to hear an appeal concerning the rights of Native Americans with US citizenship north of the border. Richard Desautel, the plaintiff in this case, is a US citizen and member of the Lakes tribe of the Colville Confederated Tribes in Washington state. Desautel was charged with hunting [...]
The UN adopted a proposal on Tuesday from the Human Rights Council to postpone the investigations into human rights violations in Libya due to lack of funds. The Human Rights Council established a fact-finding mission in June to identify violations and abuses of human rights “since the beginning of 2016, with a view to prevent [...]
A three-judge panel from the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit blocked an attempt Tuesday by the Arizona Democratic Party to allow voters who did not sign their ballots to correct their mistake for up to five days after the voting has ended. The law currently requires that early voters have their ballots [...]
