Stephen Rapp, an American lawyer and diplomat, has been a leading figure in international criminal law and human rights. He was appointed as the US Ambassador at Large for War Crimes Issues in 2009, overseeing investigations and prosecutions of war criminals worldwide. Rapp’s commitment to justice and ending impunity was evident during his tenure, supporting [...]
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US Justice Department charges four Russia soldiers with war crimes in Ukraine
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) formally unsealed war crime charges against four Russian soldiers on Wednesday. The soldiers charged with three war crimes each—unlawful confinement, torture and inhuman treatment—and one count of conspiracy to commit war crimes. The defendants face a maximum penalty of life in prison. None are currently in custody. In [...]
Amnesty International sounds alarm over El Salvador human rights amid gang crackdown
Amnesty International released an 85-page report on Monday, outlining the deterioration of human rights in El Salvador over the 21 months that the country has been in a state of emergency to combat gang violence. The human rights organization says that El Salvador’s emergency measures have violated human rights by perpetrating massive arbitrary detentions, torture [...]
UN Human Rights Office condemns Iran's execution of 17-year-old and 22-year-old
The UN Human Rights Office released a statement on Tuesday condemning Iran’s execution of 17-year-old Hamidreza Azari and 22-year-old Milad Zohrevand on November 24. The office urged Iran to impose a moratorium on death penalty cases and to cease “using criminal procedures to punish political activists and others for exercising their rights to freedom of [...]
Peru constitutional court affirms ex-president pardon despite international court ruling
The Peru constitutional court moved Wednesday to affirm a 2017 pardon granting the release of ex-President Alberto Fujimori despite an Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) ruling that required the release be blocked. Fujimori was convicted in 2009 and sentenced to the maximum term of 25 years for various war crimes and corruption during his [...]
Afghanistan arrests four local employees of Germany government aid agency
The German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development confirmed to German public broadcaster Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR) last week that four local Afghan employees of the German government aid organization Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) office in Afghanistan have been arrested by the Taliban-backed Afghan government. According to a confidential EU security report obtained by WDR [...]
BBC Persian: Iran secretly executes Milad Zohrevand for connection with 2022 protests
According to BBC Persian, Iranian authorities secretly executed 21-year-old Milad Zohrevand on Thursday for his involvement in anti-government protests last year. The Hengaw Organization for Human Rights reports that Zohrevand is one of eight protesters that Iran has executed. BBC Persian reported that the prosecutor of Hamadan announced the execution of a prisoner in a [...]
Russia adds lawyers for dissident Alexei Navalny to ‘extremists’ list
Russia’s Federal Service for Financial Monitoring added on Thursday three lawyers representing jailed opposition politician Alexei Navalny to its list of “terrorists and extremists.” Under Russian law, individuals on the “terrorist and extremist” list face frozen bank accounts and suspended services. This development comes on the heels of the October 13 arrest of the three [...]
Ally of Russia dissident Alexei Navalny jailed for 'extremism'
Ksenia Fadeyeva, an ally of imprisoned opposition figure Alexei Navalny, was jailed Monday while on trial for extremism in the Russian city of Tomsk. According to Andrei Fateyev, an associate of Fadeyeva’s, she had been on house arrest but the state prosecutor demanded that she be sent into immediate custody. Since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, [...]
Türkiye enforced disappearance victims vigil proceeds after Constitutional Court strikes down ban
A group of Turkish mothers whose children were forcibly disappeared in the 1980s and 90s held a public vigil in Istanbul without police interference Saturday. This marks the first time the “Saturday Mothers” group has been allowed to proceed with such an event since police dispersed one of their demonstrations in 2018. The group’s vigils [...]