Search Results for: detainee abuse US

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken Thursday announced that the US State Department had imposed visa restrictions on eight Cuban officials accused of silencing protests through repression, unlawful detentions, and harsh prison sentences. In July 2021, thousands of Cubans took to the streets in anti-government protests, motivated by dissatisfaction with the Cuban government’s handling of the economy, [...]

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Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported Wednesday that thousands of ethnic Tigrayans have been deported from Saudi Arabia and abused by Ethiopian authorities upon their return. Tigray, a northern region of Ethiopia, has been a center of conflict for years. According to the New York Times, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) “dominated” Ethiopian politics for [...]

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An Egyptian court Monday sentenced activist Alaa Abd El Fattah to five years in prison after he was tried on charges of “spreading false news undermining national security.” Alongside Abd El Fattah, the New Cairo Emergency State Security Misdemeanour Court also sentenced human rights lawyer Mohamed El-Baqer and blogger Mohammed Ibrahim “Oxygen” to four years each [...]

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US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken announced Tuesday that the US Department of State will restrict nine Cuban officials’ visas. The nine officials are Ministries of the Interior and the Revolutionary Armed Forces high-ranking members. The restrictions follow Cuba’s interference with peaceful demonstrators last month. The nine officials are accused of attempting “to silence the [...]

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The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) Wednesday expanded authorizations for nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to engage in certain transactions and activities in Syria. The department amended some of its sanctions against the country in an effort to allow continued humanitarian assistance to the Syrian people.  In July, OFAC imposed sanctions on [...]

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Human Rights Watch (HRW) released a statement Monday urging American politicians to use upcoming talks with Vietnam to lobby for the freedom of detained human rights activists. HRW believes that “at least 145 people” are currently being illegally detained in Vietnam. An estimated 31 people were arrested for “expressing opinions online contrary to the government’s [...]

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The Associated Press (AP) has released an investigative report revealing that the Myanmar military has been torturing prisoners in a “methodical and systematic” manner since taking over the government in February. The report is based on interviews with 28 people who were recently released by the military. AP’s investigation covered images, sketches, and letters, as [...]

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This article was co-authored by JURIST South Asia Bureau Chief Ananaya Agrawal and Ishan Bhatnagar, both of whom are students at National Law University, Delhi in India As the world continues to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic, rights discourse in several countries has sparked concerns about the welfare of more marginalized groups who tend to be at once [...]

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