The Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC) released its annual report Monday, finding that, while the number of executions in the US increased last year, the number of new death sentences decreased. The following is an overview of the report’s key findings. Death Sentences Decline, Executions Rise The report drew a contrast between new death sentences [...]

UN experts expressed concern on Monday about legislative and administrative measures taken by the Estonian state against the Estonian Orthodox Christian Church (EOCC), stating that these actions may amount to impermissible restrictions on minority rights and freedom of religion or belief. The warning was issued by a group of UN Special Rapporteurs, who highlighted a series of [...]

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese deemed a mass shooting targeting a Hanukkah celebration in Sydney a “terrorist incident” on Sunday after the attack left 15 dead, as well as one of the shooting’s two perpetrators. The other shooter has been taken into custody, according to New South Wales (NSW) Premier Chris Minns. NSW Police reported [...]

The UN Special Rapporteur on torture, Alice Jill Edwards, on Friday urged Pakistani authorities to take immediate and effective action to address reports of inhumane and undignified detention conditions of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, warning that they could amount to torture and other cruel or degrading treatment. Imran Khan, a cricketer turned politician who [...]

South Korea’s former acting prime minister and president Choi Sang-mok was indicted on Thursday on charges related to the brief imposition of martial law in December 2024 by then-President Yoon Suk Yeol, becoming the latest high-profile figure embroiled in legal troubles over the case. The indictment was formally announced by Special Prosecutor Park Ji-young in [...]

UN Special Rapporteur on minority issues Nicolas Levrat on Friday urged Nepal to effectively implement constitutional and legislative safeguards to end discrimination against minorities, especially singling out Dalits. Speaking in Kathmandu, Levrat acknowledged Nepal’s progressive legal framework but warned that persistent failures in enforcement, accountability and institutional inclusion continue to deny Dalits and other minorities [...]

A UN expert on Friday hailed the forensic analysis of 114 unidentified bodies of people killed during the July 2024 protests in Bangladesh as a “fundamental step” toward achieving “justice and accountability.” UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions Morris Tidball-Binz, who visited Dhaka in July to provide technical advice on forensic investigations [...]

Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker on Friday signed a bill authorizing a strictly regulated form of medical assistance in dying for certain terminally ill adults. The option will be available in September 2026, allowing time for the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) and state healthcare systems to establish safeguards. Senate Bill 1950, known as “Deb’s [...]

US District Judge Paula Xinis in Maryland issued a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) blocking Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from detaining Kilmar Abrego Garcia again, pending further hearings. The TRO came only a few hours after Judge Xinis ordered Abrego Garcia’s release from ICE custody in Pennsylvania. In the TRO, Judge Xinis wrote, “Abrego Garcia [...]

A UN Special Rapporteur on Friday released a report urging the UK government to condemn Myanmar’s upcoming military junta-orchestrated election that appears to be a “sham,” as well as to continue its support of human rights in the area. Tom Andrews, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, stated: “I urge [...]