Human Rights Watch (HRW) called for the release of imprisoned Uyghur activist Valijon Kalonov on Monday, who has been forcibly detained in a Uzbekistan psychiatric hospital since 2021. Kalonov was initially detained on charges of using social media in a way that threatens public safety, and publicly insulting the President of Uzbekistan. During his trial, [...]

Amnesty International condemned Monday President Donald Trump’s executive order that significantly reduced funding for US-backed media outlets, including Radio Free Asia (RFA). The organization said that the reduced funding effectively amounted to a closure and the surrender of “a tried-and-tested tool of soft US power.” The statement highlighted RFA’s instrumental role in providing a free [...]

The US Supreme Court heard oral arguments Monday for a Wisconsin Catholic charity requesting a religious exemption from an unemployment insurance tax. Catholic Charities Bureau, the petitioners, argued that Wisconsin law disfavored Catholic Charities because the organization served and hired non-Catholics and did not proselytize, meaning that they did not engage in typical religious activities. Justice [...]

US District Judge J. Paul Oetken granted on Friday a restraining order temporarily blocking the United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM) from carrying out President Donald Trump’s directive to terminate Voice of America (VOA) employees, cancel employee work contracts, and to close USAGM offices. Following the decision, RSF announced in a press release that [...]

Hidden behind the United States’ largest produce supply is a crisis in farmworker housing, one that not only endangers workers but also poses a risk to consumers far beyond the fields. California grows more than a third of America’s vegetables and most of the country’s fruits and nuts. Thousands of farmworkers power this agricultural machine, [...]

Amnesty International urged Turkish authorities on Friday to immediately halt the extradition of Syrian refugee Mohamad Alkayali and release him from detention, warning of severe human rights risks if he is deported to Saudi Arabia.  Amnesty’s press release stated: “Mohamad Alkayali suffers from a severe cervical herniated disc and chronic pain, which requires surgery. His [...]

Amnesty International urged the Argentinian government on Friday to guarantee adequate living standards and pensions for elderly people following the government’s refusal to extend the pension moratorium that expired last week. Amnesty noted in its press release that the government’s failure to act would directly harm older people and violate their rights under international law, [...]

Amnesty International voiced its support on Friday for a report issued by the UN Intergovernmental Working Group on the Effective Implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action (DDPA), stating that it “fully supports” a more detailed draft UN declaration seeking to address the “respect, protection and fulfilment” of human rights for people of [...]

Amnesty International urged the Mexican Senate on Friday to renew the Citizen Council of the National Search System, which has been vacant since May 2024. Amnesty International stated that: the Council’s inability to operate effectively hinders the right of people searching for victims of disappearance to participate in decision-making and overseeing the government’s plans and [...]