A Belarusian court sentenced Nasta Loika, the founder of the human rights organization Human Constanta, to seven years in a penal colony on Tuesday. The court found Loika guilty of “inciting social hatred.” Viasna, a Belarusian human rights organization, reports that the prosecution in the case alleges that Loika gave a “negative assessment” of illegal [...]

The US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced on Tuesday that it was sanctioning two South Sudanese officials involved in conflict-related sexual violence. The two officials, General James Nando and Governor Alfred Futuyo, were added to OFAC’s specially-designated nationals list for South Sudan, which blocks their access to any US assets and [...]

Estonia’s Parliament, the Riigikogu, passed a bill Monday to allow gender-neutral marriage in the country. The bill was sent to President Alar Karis for approval on Tuesday. Estonia is the first Baltic nation and the first former Soviet Union nation to legalize gender-neutral or same-sex marriage. The bill defines marriage as being between two people [...]

Amnesty International (AI), an international human rights organization, urged Pakistan’s government on Tuesday to cease their harassment and arbitrary arrests of Afghan refugees in Pakistan.  A multitude of Afghans have fled to Pakistan in fear of persecution after the Taliban took over Afghanistan in 2021. They fled to Pakistan with the aim of building new lives [...]

A federal magistrate in Florida ruled in favor of a protective order, forcing former President Donald Trump and his attorneys not to release evidence in the federal criminal case surrounding Trump’s storage and maintenance of classified documents. District Court Southern District of Florida Magistrate Bruce Reinhart ordered: Defendants and Defense Counsel shall not disclose the Discovery Materials [...]

Israel’s nationalist government lodged plans on Sunday to approve the construction of thousands of new buildings in the occupied West Bank, despite growing pressure from the US to halt settlement expansion. The move raised concerns about achieving a lasting resolution in the region, as it hinders peace negotiations between Palestine and Israel. Despite pressure from [...]

A majority of New York City Council members on Monday sent a letter to Mayor Eric Adams urging him to drastically increase funding for legal aid services in the city. 26 of the 51 councillors signed the letter requesting $195 million as a “first step in addressing the economic crisis facing these critical programs.” The [...]

The UN implored Russia on Monday to allow UN aid workers into the area of the Kakhovka Dam collapse. Russia has denied entry to aid workers due to alleged safety concerns, according to a Kremlin spokesperson. The UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Ukraine, Denise Brown, alleged that UN aid workers were denied entry into the Kakhovka [...]

The Afghanistan Independent Bar Association (AIBA) was founded in 2008 with the aim of promoting fair trials, enhancing public trust in the legal profession, fostering collaboration among justice sector stakeholders, fostering the next generation of committed legal professionals, and combating administrative corruption in a country ravaged by war. The Association spurred the rise of a [...]

The Constitutional Court of Moldova ruled Monday that the pro-Russian opposition Shor party is “unconstitutional” and must be disbanded. The party, named for its leader, Ilan Shor, is known for organizing mass protests against Western influence in Moldova and institutions such as the European Union. The decision was announced after several days of proceedings with [...]