A group of UN experts condemned Thammakaset, a Thai poultry producer, for alleged targeting of human rights defenders Thursday. In 2019, Thammakaset allegedly used Thai defamation laws to sue and have prosecuted ten individuals who criticized Thammakaset’s labor practices for human rights abuses. The UN experts called upon Thailand to reform defamation laws based on [...]
Dozens of large and small internet service providers have signed on to a pledge issued by the Federal Communications Commission to keep users connected during the coronavirus pandemic. FCC chairman Ajit Pai reached out to multiple broadband and telephone service companies on Thursday asking them to sign the pledge. The pledge requires companies to: (1) [...]
The US District Court for the District of Columbia issued an injunction late Friday blocking a rule change that would have cut food stamp benefits to nearly 700,000 people. The rule would have affected able-bodied adults without children who receive assistance from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), requiring them to work a minimum of [...]
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) chief Matt Albence said on Wednesday that it would take 140 years at the current deportation rate to remove every immigrant who has illegally entered the US during the past two years. Over 900,000 new cases have been added to ICE’s non-detained docket over the past couple of years. [...]
Pakistan’s National Accountability Bureau (NAB) arrested Mir Shakilur Rehman, the editor-in-chief of the Jang Media Group, on Thursday. The Jang Media Group is one of the largest independent media companies in Pakistan. It owns Urdu-language Geo News, the largest news channel in Pakistan, along with several major newspapers. NAB arrested Rehman for an alleged illegal [...]
A federal judge in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia ordered the release of Chelsea Manning from jail Thursday, explaining that her appearance in court is no longer needed. Last year, Manning had been subpoenaed to testify in a federal case involving Julian Assange, the founder of Wikileaks. Manning refused to [...]
The House passed a COVID-19 emergency package early this morning. The bill’s approval comes after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin spent Friday negotiating the details of the measure. The “Families First Coronavirus Response Act” (H.R. 6201) includes numerous provisions to directly combat the spread of COVID-19. The bill requires testing of the [...]
UN Special Rapporteur Yanghee Lee urged the Myanmar Government Tuesday to embrace human rights and democracy during her last Human Rights Council report in Geneva. In her report Lee called on Myanmar to amend its constitution, change citizenship and land laws, and overturn laws that violate fundamental human rights. “… t is not too late [...]
The US Supreme Court announced that beginning on Thursday, at 4:30 PM, it will close until further notice over concerns for health and safety amidst the COVID-19 outbreak. The Court briefly announced on its website that it will remain open for “official business” but case filing deadlines will not be extended under Rule 30.1. Cases [...]
Zyad el-Elaimy, a leader within the Egyptian Social Democratic Party, despite his strong legal defense was sentenced by the Mokattam Misdemeanor Court on Tuesday. El-Elaimy was sentenced to one year in jail with a fine of 20,000 Egyptian pounds (around $1,200 USA dollars) for violating Egypt’s Assembly Law. More specifically, he was sentenced for “spreading [...]
