Search Results for: Convention Against Torture

On Tuesday, May 21, the Serbian National Assembly passed the Criminal Code amendment which introduced significant changes into the criminal justice system, out of which the most controversial one is the sentence to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole (LWOP). The LWOP is now prescribed as a possible sentence for some of the most [...]

The Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons and the Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society released a report Monday calling for a UN investigation into torture in the Indian states of Jammu and Kashmir perpetuated by the Indian State. The report creates a comprehensive understanding of the patterns, targets and impacts of torture by tracing [...]

The Canadian government has introduced a bill in Parliament which expands the basis upon which people seeking refuge can be denied access to a hearing of their claim. This proposal has been widely condemned by refugee advocates as putting at risk refugees who need Canada’s protection, simply because they have been entered into another country’s [...]

A delegation of the UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (SPT) arrived in Sri Lanka on Tuesday for an 11-day visit. The SPT will examine the treatment meted out to people deprived of their liberty in the Indian Ocean island nation and the safeguards in place for their protection from torture. It will hold meetings [...]

Amnesty International on Wednesday called on Brunei to halt plans to introduce “vicious” new punishments such as death by stoning for same-sex acts and amputation for robbery, set to take effect next week. Amnesty has previously expressed concerns over changes to the Penal Code when they were proposed in 2014 and is currently calling on [...]

UN human rights experts on Tuesday urged Brazil to comply with its international legal obligations to curtail torture. The UN experts expressed concern regarding São Paulo Governor João Doria’s veto of anti-torture legislation in January. São Paulo law N° 1257 would have established a State Committee for Preventing and Combating Torture and also included several controversial provisions regulating police [...]

The European Court of Human Rights found Thursday that there had been numerous violations of human rights under the European Convention on Human Rights during the Amanda Knox investigation, ordering Italy to provide financial damages. Knox was accused of the 2007 murder of her British roommate, Meredith Kercher, while studying abroad in Italy. The charges [...]

The UN Committee against Torture posted a letter online, bearing Tuesday’s date, that calls on Saudi Arabia to release over a dozen imprisoned activists and cites credible claims of improper treatment, sexual assault and torture. The UN group charged with overseeing compliance with the Convention Against Torture claims that seven activists have been held without official [...]

A judge for the US District Court for the Northern District of California on Monday temporarily blocked a Trump administration rule to deny asylum to migrants who illegally cross the southern border into the US, saying the policy likely violates federal law on asylum eligibility. On November 9, the Department of Homeland Security and Department [...]

In the wake of the world outrage at the viciousness of reporters’/journalists’ assassination (killing), lawmakers and human rights activists have said “enough.” Under the United States federal law, the Treasury Department is “empowered to prohibit entry into the U.S. and freeze assets of people considered responsible for corruption and human rights violations … effectively blocking [...]