The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal is currently hearing a case, Lidkea v. Correctional Service Canada, regarding the rights of deaf people in federal prison. The complainant, Timothy Lidkea, a deaf Métis inmate, filed a complaint against Correctional Service Canada, the respondent, claiming that he had experienced seclusion due to a lack of accommodations within the [...]

The US Supreme Court on Wednesday considered whether the murder conviction of Richard Glossip, a death row inmate in Oklahoma, should be set aside due to a witness having given false testimony in court and state prosecutors having failed to disclose key information about the witness. In 1997, a hotel maintenance worker named Justin Sneed [...]

The Viasna Human Rights Centre in Belarus reported on Monday that the prison term of Yuras Zyankovich, a Belarusian American lawyer, has been extended by two years, bringing his sentence to a total of 13 and a half years, amid Belarus’ ongoing suppression of political opposition. Zyankovich was detained and arrested in Moscow on April [...]

Three former Memphis police officers involved in the 2023 death of Tyre Nichols received a mixed verdict on Thursday. Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley and Justin Smith faced charges of excessive force, failure to intervene, and obstruction of justice. Haley was found guilty on all counts, while Smith and Bean were acquitted of civil rights violations [...]

Fulton Superior Judge Robert McBurney of the Georgia Fifth Superior Court District Atlanta Circuit ruled on Monday that the ban on abortions six weeks into pregnancy is unconstitutional. Judge McBurney overturned Georgia’s 2019 Living Infants Fairness and Equality (LIFE) Act, which was passed in April of 2019 and barred abortions past six weeks. Exceptions existed [...]

Amnesty International has condemned the Libyan Arab Armed Forces (LAAF) in a Tuesday report for authorizing the Internal Security Agency (ISA) to increase crackdown on dissidents. Amnesty International interviewed detainees, including family, lawyers, and activists, and stated that the suppression of political rivals and activists has resulted in human rights abuses and two suspicious deaths [...]

The US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday affirmed a lower court’s decision to allow two transgender girls to play sports in an all-girls team despite Arizona legislation barring their participation. The plaintiffs, Kate and Megan Doe, two transgender minors, challenged Arizona’s Senate Bill 1165 (Save Women’s Sports Act), which bans transgender girls and [...]

The Zamoskvoretsky District Court in Moscow on Tuesday extended the detention of Laurent Vinatier, advisor to Geneva-based Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue’s Eurasia team.  Vinatier was found to be in breach of Article 330.1.3 of the Russian Criminal Code (Evasion of Obligations Under Russia’s Foreign Agent Legislation) and is to be imprisoned until February 21, 2025. [...]

CasteFiles, a Hindu-American advocacy and educational group, filed a civil rights complaint against New Jersey’s Rutgers University and Professor Audrey Truschke, the group announced Tuesday. CasteFiles claimed that the university does not protect students from discrimination as required by Title VI of the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964. Rutgers University had been advised to add [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit on Monday stayed a lower court decision to block Florida laws that ban gender-affirming care for transgender minors and restrict such healthcare for transgender adults. The decision allows for Florida to enforce SB 254 (Treatments for Sex Reassignment), which bans hormone replacement therapy for minors and [...]