Author: Human Rights Watch

A new executive order seeking to designate “illicit fentanyl” a “weapon of mass destruction” could open the door to a dangerous expansion of militarized law enforcement and abusive military action. The December 15 order directs the defense secretary and attorney general to “determine whether the threats posed by fentanyl and its impact on the United States” justifies the […]

The International Automobile Federation (Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile, or FIA), the international body governing motor sports, including Formula1, held its annual General Assemblies last week in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.  At the General Assemblies, the federation presented Uzbekistan as the “star of the east,” seemingly without a single reference to Uzbekistan’s deeply problematic human rights record. In recent years, Uzbek […]

Azerbaijani authorities have intensified their long-running crackdown on the opposition Azerbaijan Popular Front Party, building on years of politically motivated prosecutions and intimidation. In recent months, authorities have increasingly targeted the party’s leadership. On December 19, a court sentenced Murad Sultan, a senior party official, to 30 days of administrative detention. This followed the November […]

Two dozen humanitarian workers facing 20 years in prison finally got their day in court on December 4 and 5 on the Greek island of Lesbos after a seven-year wait. We were there. The hearings quickly revealed just how baseless the case against them is. The defendants were associated with a small search and rescue […]

Armenia’s appeals court on November 19 significantly weakened protections against disability-based discrimination and further restricted access to justice for people undergoing disability assessment. The court overturned a progressive ruling by a lower court and held that discrimination “on the basis of disability” can only occur under the law if a person has already been formally recognized […]

(Beirut) –The detention of an Emirati dissident in Syria raises serious concerns that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will pressure Syrian authorities to extradite him, Human Rights Watch said today.  An informed source told Human Rights Watch that Syrian authorities detained Jasem al-Shamsi, 55, at a checkpoint in the Damascus countryside on November 6, 2025, […]

Georgia’s ruling party has introduced new legislation that would dramatically weaken protections for peaceful assembly, further shrinking democratic space and flouting basic human rights standards guaranteed by the country’s constitution and international law. The bill, tabled on December 8, is being reviewed under an expedited procedure without a substantiated justification for bypassing the ordinary legislative timeline. […]

(Washington DC) – Authorities in Ecuador have used secret intelligence reports to freeze the bank accounts of Ecuadorian Indigenous and environmental groups, Human Rights Watch said today. Since September 19, 2025, the Financial and Economic Analysis Unit, the government agency responsible for preventing financial crimes, has ordered the banking regulatory authority to freeze the accounts of […]

The military junta in Burkina Faso has adopted a bill restoring the death penalty nearly a decade after the West African country abolished the heinous practice. The last known judicial execution in Burkina Faso took place in 1988. On December 4, the junta’s council of ministers approved a bill amending the penal code and reintroducing […]

(Beirut) – Syrian transitional authorities have taken positive steps on justice, transparency, and rights but failed to prevent continued violence and atrocities, Human Rights Watch said today on the anniversary of the former government’s fall. As Syrian authorities move the country forward, they should, with international support, credibly address outstanding concerns around security sector reform, accountability, […]