(Bangkok) – A Thai court on February 20, 2026, sentenced a prominent free speech activist and three others to 32 months in prison for criticizing King Maha Vajiralongkorn under Thailand’s royal insult law, Human Rights Watch said today. The Bangkok Criminal Court found Pimsiri Petchnamrob, 35, guilty of lese majeste (insulting the monarchy) for her […]
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Amicus Brief Challenging Executive Order No. 14,160 HRP Director Professor Gerald L. Neuman, together with Professors Kristin Collins and Rachel Rosenbloom, submitted an amicus brief to the Supreme Court of the United States in a case challenging the legality of President Trump’s Executive Order No. 14,160. In the brief, they argue that the Executive Order, […]
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Preliminary information indicates at least 13 civilians were killed and seven injured in Nangarhar province, including women and children. Further strikes Additional strikes in Paktika province damaged buildings, including a madrassa – or school – and a residential property, though no casualties were reported there. “UNAMA calls on all parties to bring a lasting end to […]
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(Beirut) – The wellbeing of about 8,500 people held in camps housing families of men suspected of Islamic State (ISIS) affiliation in northeast Syria remains uncertain, Human Rights Watch said today. On January 30, 2026, the Syrian government announced that the camps, called al-Hol and Roj, would be imminently closed. After control of al-Hol was transferred […]
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AMMAN/GENEVA — In a sharp rebuke of the Iranian government’s response to recent domestic turmoil, UNICEF has issued an urgent plea for the immediate and unconditional release of all children currently held in state detention. The statement, released on February 19, 2026, highlights the “life-lasting consequences” of incarceration on minors and underscores Iran’s binding obligations […]
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LONDON — The invisible front lines of global journalism have shifted from physical war zones into the pockets of the world’s most prominent reporters. Recent forensic revelations have unmasked a disturbing expansion of Predator spyware, a “mercenary” surveillance tool being strategically deployed by authoritarian regimes and anti-free-press actors to dismantle the anonymity of the fourth […]
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Cameroonian authorities are arbitrarily detaining non-Cameroonian nationals deported from the United States and detaining and abusing journalists who tried to interview them. But US President Donald Trump’s administration doesn’t seem to care. In January and February, under a secret agreement, the US government deported to Cameroon 17 men and women—including asylum seekers and a stateless […]
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A new United Nations report details how criminal groups in Haiti are exploiting the near-total absence of the state, as well as widespread hunger and violence, to recruit children who then face abuse. These criminal groups traffic children by using threats and material incentives to force them into criminal activity, sexual abuse, and sexual slavery. At […]
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In the early morning hours of February 26, 2023, the Summer Love shipwrecked off the coast of Calabria, Italy. At least 94 people, including 35 children, died in what is known as the Cutro shipwreck. According to survivors, the boat was carrying up to 250 people, most from Afghanistan, Syria, and Pakistan. The anniversary comes […]
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US President Donald Trump’s administration today rolled back another air-pollution protection, this time for one of the most toxic substances on earth: mercury. The action reverses then-President Joe Biden’s decision in 2024 to reduce the levels of allowable mercury air emissions for coal-fired power plants, restoring them to their previous levels. Trump had already given dozens […]
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