The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled on Wednesday that Texas legislation aimed at restricting or banning “sexually explicit” books in public school libraries likely violates the Constitution, affirming a lower court’s injunction against it. The law under scrutiny, known as the Restricting Explicit and Adult-Designated Educational Resources (READER) Act, compels vendors [...]

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, urged Comoros authorities on Wednesday to ensure the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly as Comoros witnessed protests against Sunday’s presidential election. After the incumbent president Azali Assoumani won a fourth term, Comoros’s main opposition party, Juwa, called on people to protest and for [...]

Russian LGBTQ+ rights organization SOS Crisis Group reported on Wednesday that Rizvan Dadaev, a Chechen who was detained due to his sexual orientation, managed to escape from Russia with assistance from the organization after being tortured. LGBTQ+ people have a history of persecution in Russia and its Chechnya region. Dadaev, a resident of Chechnya’s capital [...]

Thailand activist and lawyer Arnon Nampa received his second conviction and four more years of imprisonment Wednesday for a case of royal defamation related to social media posts from 2021. Defamation of Thai royalty is a punishable offence under the Thai Criminal Code, referred to as the lese-majeste law.  According to a report by Nampa’s volunteer [...]

The European Parliament adopted a resolution on Wednesday, expressing concerns over Slovakia’s proposed criminal code reforms and the dissolution of the Special Prosecutor’s Office. The European Parliament is worried the moves potentially endanger the rule of law in Slovakia. Slovakia Prime Minister Robert Fico introduced reforms in December. The reforms relaxed penalties for corruption and [...]

Singapore’s former Transport Minister S Iswaran pleaded not guilty Thursday to 27 corruption charges, which include allegations of receiving items from billionaire Ong Beng Seng, the tycoon recognized for bringing Formula 1 (F1) to Singapore. Chee Hong Tat has been appointed as the new Transport Minister, succeeding Iswaran. Chee Hong Tat previously served as the [...]

Amnesty International found that it is now riskier to flee persecution in the North Caucasus region of Russia due to the ongoing war in Ukraine and stigmatization in Europe. In a report published on Thursday, Amnesty International urged European governments should stop transferring at-risk individuals to Russia to protect their human rights. The Thursday report [...]

The Supreme Court of India issued a restraining order on Wednesday against T. Raja Singh, a political leader and Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) affiliated with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), as well as the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti organization, prohibiting them from engaging in incitement to violence or hate speech during their proposed rallies. [...]

The Supreme Court heard oral arguments on Wednesday in two cases involving a requirement for herring fisheries to pay for the observers the government used to monitor overfishing. At the heart of the two cases was a debate over the court’s current deference to executive branch agencies in interpreting ambiguous language in federal laws.  The [...]

Canada announced on Tuesday its plan to protect Canada’s research over national security considerations. The government intends to stop funding research in the sensitive technology research area that involve institutions connected to foreign military, national defence or state security entities that could pose a risk to Canada’s national security. In implementing the policy, Canadian Minister [...]