Category: Human Rights

(Istanbul, December 22, 2022) – Human Rights Watch joined six other human rights and physicians’ groups on December 22, 2022, in seeking the release of a Turkish physician who has been detained since October 26 and stands trial in Istanbul on December 23. The physician, Dr., Sebnem Korur Fincanci, an expert in international forensic medicine, […]

(Kyiv, December 22) – Russian forces forcibly disappeared Iryna Horobtsova, a resident of Kherson, Ukraine, in May 2022, and are understood to have unlawfully transferred her to Russian-occupied Crimea, where they are holding her incommunicado, Human Rights Watch said today. Horobtsova, 37, is an IT expert. Her family says that she was detained on May […]

(Athens) – Greek prosecutors should request the acquittal of humanitarians on trial for search-and-rescue efforts that are protected under international human rights law and Greek law, Human Rights Watch said today. The trial is set to begin on January 10, 2023. The case against two of the defendants, Sarah Mardini and Sean Binder, effectively criminalizes […]

Good news met bad yesterday in Burundi, as the lawyer Tony Germain Nkina continued to be held in prison despite his recent acquittal, meaning his detention is now illegal. Nkina, a lawyer who previously worked for a leading Burundian human rights organization, is one of the last people publicly associated with the country’s once thriving […]

(New Delhi) – The Indian government should amend its proposed data protection law to protect people’s privacy instead of enabling unchecked state surveillance, Human Rights Watch said today. The government has submitted the draft Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, 2022, for public consultation before introducing the measure in parliament and should incorporate feedback from civil […]

(Vilnius, December 22, 2022) – Belarusian parliament passed legislative amendments to a 2002 citizenship law that could be used to target members of the political opposition, activists, and other critics in exile, Human Rights Watch said today. The draft law, if endorsed by the president, would allow the president to strip Belarusians abroad of their […]

(Washington, DC) – Peru’s civilian authorities should conduct prompt, thorough, and independent investigations into at least 21 killings of protesters, allegations of excessive use of force by security forces, and acts of violence by some protesters, Human Rights Watch said today. Then-president Pedro Castillo triggered the current crisis on December 7, 2022 by announcing he […]

Click to expand Image People protest in Zahedan, Iran, on October 28, 2022.  © 2022 Private (Beirut) – Iranian security forces using unlawful lethal force, killed and wounded several dozen protesters in Zahedan on September 30, 2022, killing the most people during the protests on a day being called “Bloody Friday,” Human Rights Watch said […]

(New York) – The United Nations Security Council adopted a resolution on December 21, 2022, denouncing the Myanmar military’s rights violations since the February 1, 2021 coup, Human Rights Watch said today. The landmark resolution, passed with 12 yes votes and 3 abstentions, reflects the Myanmar junta’s growing isolation generated by security force abuses amounting […]

Last week, Russia’s Justice Ministry filed a petition with the Moscow City Court seeking “liquidation” of the Moscow Helsinki Group (MHG), a leading Russian human rights organization. On May 12, I received one of MHG’s annual awards for contributions to human rights and the Russian human rights movement. By then, in the aftermath of Russia’s […]