US Treasury sanctions 15 individuals across three nations for human rights abuses
The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the US Department of Treasury on Tuesday added 15 individuals across Iran, Syria and Uganda to its Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list on allegations of “serious human rights abuse and repressive acts targeting innocent civilians, political opponents, and peaceful protestors.” Additionally, the OFAC has also designated four [...]
An Iranian appeals court has upheld a one-year prison term for British-Iranian aid worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe on propaganda offenses, according to her lawyer. Zaghari-Ratcliffe is a dual British and Iranian citizen who before her arrest lived in London with her husband Richard Ratcliffe. She previously worked with international development charities through BBC and Thompson Reuters. [...]
Why the US Should Recognize the Taliban as Afghanistan’s Lawful Government
Even though the US State Department is issuing positive statements about the Taliban, it is hard for the US to recognize the Taliban as Afghanistan’s lawful government. The reasons are evident and understandable. First, the Taliban have defeated the US military in a protracted war stretching over twenty years (2001-2021). The hurt in the Pentagon, [...]
How Belarus’ Migrant Controversy Reveals a Weakness in International Law
At the end of May, Alexander Lukashenko, the President of Belarus, announced that his government would no longer prevent migrants from illegally entering Lithuania through Belarus. Throughout July, evidence emerged that Belarus had even taken active measures to encourage the flow of migrants, such as using government vehicles to escort migrants over the border. From [...]
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet on Monday condemned Iran’s execution of activist and journalist Ruhollah Zam on Saturday. Zam was a founder of AmadNews, which became popular during the nationwide protests, and posted articles and social media posts criticizing the Iranian government. Zam was abducted while visiting Iraq by Iranian Revolutionary Guards [...]
The COVID-19 pandemic has taken its toll on developed and developing economies alike. While the major international focus has shifted towards restoring normalcy, a blind eye has been turned to the growing instability in the global political sphere. Whether they be the recent tensions in the Nagorno-Karabakh Region or the fierce simmering between Iran and [...]
The Solomon Islands government announced a plan on Monday to temporarily ban residents from using Facebook. Prime minister Manasseh Sogavare and communication and civil aviation minister Peter Agovaka said the ban intends to curtail “abusive language” and “character assassination” of government officials. In 2019 residents used Facebook to organize protests against Sogavare’s election. Agovaka also cited [...]
Iran sentenced journalist Ruhollah Zam to death on Tuesday for inciting unrest and protests in Iran. Zam ran Amadnews, an anti-government website that had around 1.4 million followers on the messaging app Telegram. On Amadnews, Zam shared protest videos and damaging information about Iranian officials. The website was shut down by the government, but it [...]
Implicit Threats of Violence: The American President's "Trump Card"
“Whoever can conquer the street will one day conquer the state, for every form of power politics and any dictatorship-run state has its roots in the street.” – Joseph Goebbels, Third Reich Minister of Propaganda “I have the support of the police, the support of the military, the support of the Bikers for Trump. I [...]
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein on Wednesday urged Iranian authorities to investigate all deaths and injuries stemming from the recent protests. The mass protests began in late December in Mashhad, Iran's second largest...
