Author: Human Rights Watch

A care facility in Kanchanaburi, Thailand made headlines in early October when photos of conditions in the facility went viral, including images allegedly depicting metal cages that confine residents to their beds. Further investigation by the country’s Department of Health Service Support uncovered unsanitary conditions and overcrowding, as well as evidence that the facility had been treating residents […]

Cambodia’s Supreme Court on October 14 denied opposition activist Voeung Samnang’s request to serve his two sentences concurrently, meaning he will spend 11 years in prison. Samnang had been convicted on charges of “plotting an attack on the state” and received sentences of five and six years. The case illustrates the Cambodian government’s increased use […]

Police carried out a dawn raid on the widely watched, independent news channel Halk TV on October 14, signaling its takeover by a government-appointed administrator who promptly ordered the station to end its live broadcast. Halk TV is close to the main political opposition New Party (Yeni Parti). Its journalists have reported on the imprisonment […]

During its October 6 review by the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), Kazakhstan pledged new legislation to make domestic violence a standalone crime – a timely commitment. Now the government should turn words into action. On September 23, Zhazira Adauova, a mother of two, died after her ex-husband stabbed […]

Images from ongoing student protests in France of heavily armed riot police using tear gas, stun grenades, batons, rubber bullets, and rough restraint techniques on children have sparked national and international concern. High schoolers across France have taken to the streets since September 21 frustrated with the government’s continued under-investment in their education, which has resulted in a […]

(Beirut) – The Libyan Arab Armed Forces (LAAF), which controls eastern and southern Libya, has executed at least 31 people since late August 2026 following grossly unfair military trials, Human Rights Watch said today. These are the first known executions in Libya since 2010, with at least 50 more people in Gernada military prison at imminent risk […]

A United Nations Human Rights Council resolution on October 7 calling for concrete action against systemic racism should have been an opportunity for governments to demonstrate their commitment to racial justice. Instead, the United Kingdom called for a vote, breaking from last year’s consensus on the annually tabled resolution. Citing concerns about the applicability of […]

France has confirmed that it has opened a “technical dialogue” with the Taliban authorities regarding forced returns to Afghanistan. The announcement marks a dangerous shift in policy that places Afghans in France at risk of persecution, torture and other grave abuses in contravention of France’s international human rights obligations. The “technical dialogue” follows in the wake […]

(Bangkok) – The Vietnamese authorities should immediately release three activists associated with the overseas Viet Tan organization who went missing in Cambodia, and drop all charges against them, Human Rights Watch said today. The authorities should also grant Norwegian and Australian consular officials and family members immediate access to the detained men. The Vietnamese police claim that […]

(Beirut) – A Saudi court has sentenced a Sri Lankan migrant worker to death over a Facebook comment that was deemed blasphemous, Human Rights Watch said today. Saudi authorities should reverse the judgment and release him immediately. The Saudi Court of Appeal in the Eastern Region handed down the death sentence to Anojan Sivarasa, 24, […]