Category: Human Rights

Rıfat Roni has spent more than a decade as an official court interpreter facilitating communication for Kurdish speakers in legal proceedings. This week, he found himself in the dock facing charges. Roni, 59, stood trial on the widely used charge of “membership of an armed  organization” on the basis of his involvement in a civil […]

Amnesty International is urging increased international pressure on China to release human rights defenders imprisoned after attending a social gathering in December 2019. The crackdown, which began in the southeastern city of Xiamen, targeted activists who met to discuss civil society and social issues. Among those detained were prominent human rights lawyer Ding Jiaxi and […]

On December 20, 2024, Michael O’Flaherty, the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe, sent a letter to the President of Italy’s Senate, urging members to reconsider and amend Bill 1236, a proposed legislation concerning public security. The Commissioner expressed grave concerns that, in its current form, the bill could violate fundamental human […]

China has imposed sanctions on two prominent Canadian human rights groups and 20 individuals linked to them, in a move described as retaliation for Canada’s recent sanctions on Chinese officials accused of human rights abuses. The targeted organizations are the Uyghur Rights Advocacy Project (URAP) and the Canada Tibet Committee, both of which have been […]

India has intensified its crackdown on child marriages, particularly in Assam, where nearly 5,000 people have been arrested as part of a broad campaign aimed at ending the practice. In a recent police operation, 416 individuals were detained, including parents, registrars, and other facilitators of underage marriages. Assam’s Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma vowed that […]

OHCHR Spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani described the new directive, which reportedly took effect on Tuesday, as “yet another direct blow” by the de facto authorities against Afghan women and girls. “It is profoundly discriminatory, short-sighted and puts the lives of women and girls at risk in multiple ways.” Afghanistan already suffers from one of the highest […]

Recent reports reveal that the Serbian government has been using spyware to monitor activists, journalists, and critics of President Aleksandar Vučić’s regime. According to a detailed investigation by Amnesty International, the Serbian intelligence agency, BIA (Security Information Agency), has installed spyware on the phones of those involved in protests and political opposition, marking a significant […]

This week, Brazil’s National Data Protection Authority banned the social media platform X, formerly Twitter, from using the personal data of its child users in Brazil to train its artificial intelligence (AI). The data regulator also banned X from sharing children’s personal data with third parties to train generative AI and ordered the company to amend […]

Venezuela’s ongoing political unrest following the disputed July 2023 presidential election has led to continued violence and human rights violations. A recent report from the Venezuelan Prison Observatory, a rights group monitoring detainee conditions, confirmed the third in-custody death of an individual involved in the post-election protests. This tragic incident comes at a time when […]

The European Commission is providing new emergency aid to support communities devastated by Cyclone Chido across Mayotte and Mozambique. Responding to France’s request for assistance, Belgium, Germany, Italy and Sweden have offered shelter and other items via the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. The EU also stands ready to mobilise additional support via its rescEU stockpiles. […]