Author: Human Rights Watch

(Jerusalem, August 8, 2024) – Israeli forces stormed a Gaza City home on December 21, 2023, throwing grenades inside and opening fire on a room where a civilian family was sheltering, Human Rights Watch said today. The attack killed seven people, including a pregnant woman, and severely injured two, including a 5-year-old. Witnesses also allege […]

On July 26, a court in Kazakhstan’s capital, Astana, sentenced 31-year-old Alexandr Merkul, a stand-up comedian, to 10-days detention on charges of “petty hooliganism” allegedly for using obscene language during a performance in June. It’s yet another instance of the extent of Kazakh authorities’ crackdown on freedom of expression. Merkul, who pleaded guilty, often touches […]

Bangladesh’s interim government, led by the Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus, should urgently act to protect human rights. Soon after Sheikh Hasina resigned as prime minister and left the country, tens of thousands of Bangladeshis celebrated the end of her repressive rule. In some places, however, celebrations turned violent, with hundreds killed or injured as demonstrators sought […]

The UK has been rocked by far-right riots this week. Racist mobs have targeted mosques and asylum seeker accommodation, Muslims and people of color have been attacked, and police have been injured. In Rotherham, South Yorkshire, asylum seekers were trapped in their accommodation as rioters smashed windows and set the building on fire. The riots […]

(Beirut) – Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries are failing to protect outdoor migrant workers experiencing dangerous, heat-related health risks as global warming-fueled heatwaves envelope the region, Human Rights Watch said today.  Migrant workers in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) interviewed by Human Rights Watch described symptoms of heat-related illness, including fainting […]

Chad’s military is responsible for the deaths in custody of several detainees en route to and at Koro Toro prison following the October 2022 protests over the extension of the transition government. Chadian military officials oversee a prison in which abuse runs rampant and are responsible for the deaths of protesters detained in the wake […]

(London) – Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned on August 5, 2024, and fled the country after weeks of student protests, Human Rights Watch said today. An estimated 300 people have been killed, thousands injured, and more than 10,000 arrested. The army chief general, Waker-Uz-Zaman, said, “I promise you all, we will bring justice” while announcing the prime […]

Houthis are obstructing aid work and access to information, exacerbating a deadly cholera outbreak spreading across the country. The cholera outbreak will continue to take lives so long as Yemeni authorities obstruct aid and authorities and the international community fail to adequately invest in prevention and mitigation measures. Yemeni authorities should remove obstacles to aid […]

The Russian government’s dismantling of civic freedoms since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 is a dramatic escalation of its sustained assault on fundamental rights spanning more than a decade. Hundreds of people have been jailed or imprisoned under new, repressive laws. Discussion about a vast range of issues cannot take place openly, […]

(Bangkok) – Thailand’s Constitutional Court dissolved the opposition Move Forward Party on August 7, 2024, based on politically motivated allegations, seriously damaging the country’s return to genuine democratic rule, Human Rights Watch said today. The nine-judge Constitutional Court unanimously ruled that the Move Forward Party committed treason by advocating reform of Penal Code section 112 […]