UN Special Rapporteur on human rights defenders Mary Lawlor on Monday called on the Chinese authorities to uphold the rights of human rights defenders who have been imprisoned. Lawlor said she was “disturbed” by the allegations that seven imprisoned human rights defenders in China were subject to torture, refused medical aid, and denied access to [...]

US District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer in New York rejected on Monday a request by President Donald Trump’s administration to unseal grand jury materials from the Ghislaine Maxwell sex trafficking case. The court took grand jury secrecy into great consideration, stating: This factor weighs heavily against unsealing. Granting the Government’s motion would bloat the “special [...]

From defending detainees held at the US naval base in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba—many of whom were subjected to secret detention and torture by US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officials—to confronting American politicians over drone strikes that killed civilians in Pakistan, Alka Pradhan has built her career challenging the legal framework created after former US President [...]

Five Al Jazeera staff correspondents are reported to have been killed late Sunday in a targeted Israeli strike on a press tent outside Gaza City’s al-Shifa Hospital. The reported strike killed journalists Anas al-Sharif and Mohammed Qreiqeh, and camera operators Ibrahim Zaher, Mohammed Noufal, and Moamen Aliwa. A freelance journalist, Mohammad al-Khaldi, was also killed, [...]

A Ugandan judge on Friday denied bail to opposition figure Kizza Besigye, jailed for nearly nine months on treason charges, ruling that the constitutionally mandated 180-day remand had not reached term. Justice Emmanuel Baguma held that the High Court recognized the remand period to be February 21, 202—the date Besigye and businessman Obeid Lutale were [...]

President Donald Trump issued an executive order Monday placing Washington DC’s police force under federal control, invoking emergency powers that face potential constitutional challenges over scope, duration and procedural safeguards. The order cites Section 740 of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, which grants the president authority over local police during “special conditions of [...]

The UN Security Council voiced concerns on Sunday regarding the violence and attacks against civilians in Syria’s Sweida region. The Security Council adopted a presidential statement, document S/PRST/2025/6, asserting that the Council “strongly condemns the violence perpetrated against civilians…and calls on all parties to adhere to the ceasefire arrangement and to ensure the protection of [...]

The UK Ministry of Justice announced on Sunday that foreign nationals will face immediate deportation following conviction in court.  The action is part of the Labor Government’s “Plan for Change” and is intended to deter foreign nationals from committing crimes in the United Kingdom. Although the corresponding legislation has not been made public, the statement [...]

The Portuguese Constitutional Court on Friday declared portions of a newly enacted bill amending the country’s immigration rules unconstitutional. In the judgment, the Constitutional Court stressed that the bill’s limitation of the right to family reunification violates Article 36 of the Portuguese Constitution, which grants the right to form a family and prohibits separating children [...]

On Thursday, the High Court division of the Bangladesh Supreme Court dismissed the case against photojournalist and social activist Dr. Shahidul Alam, filed in 2018 under the now-repealed Section 57 of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Act. The High Court bench, comprising Justice Mustafa Zaman Islam and Justice Tamanna Rahman Khalidi, quashed the case, following [...]