Iranian singer Shervin Hajipour announced on Monday that a recent amnesty order dismissed his three-year prison sentence. He shared the news on Instagram, stating, “A series of amnesties has been launched and my case was amongst them, all charges have been dropped.” Initially sentenced in March 2023 for “inciting unrest” after his song “Baraye” became the [...]

Non-profit Indigenous advocacy group First Light has released a report finding that the Newfoundland and Labrador government has made limited progress on many of the calls to action set out by the National Center of Truth and Reconciliation (TRC). The report highlights alleged shortcomings in the province’s efforts to fulfill calls to action related to [...]

United Nations special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Russian Federation, Mariana Katzarova, condemned the violence perpetrated by former Russian convicts against women and children upon their return from Ukraine during a press conference on Monday. The Special Rapporteur reported that “an estimated 170,000 convicted, violent criminals” who were recruited to fight [...]

The Ontario Superior Court of Justice on Monday began hearing a constitutional challenge to Ontario’s controversial Bill 7, the More Beds, Better Care Act. The challenge claims that the bill violates the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms citing concerns about age discrimination, personal autonomy, and informed consent. Bill 7 was enacted in September 2022 [...]

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) released 1685 mostly ill inmates from the country’s largest prison on Sunday amid ongoing efforts to reduce overcrowding at the facility. The release from Makala Central Prison was announced by Minister of Justice Constant Mutamba to local media, which reported that the sick inmates were released due to [...]

The Hong Kong High Court on Tuesday rejected a habeas corpus application lodged by Kinson Cheung, who challenged the legality of his continued detention following a successful appeal against his “excessive” sentences, according to local media Witness HK. Cheung’s application for relief under the writ of habeas corpus questioned his ongoing imprisonment despite an appeal that [...]

California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a lawsuit Monday against petroleum giant ExxonMobil alleging the company misled the public about the recyclability of plastic products and plastic pollution. The complaint spanning 147 pages seeks injunctions and civil penalties, including causes of action for public nuisance, water pollution, untrue or misleading advertising, and, allegations of fraudulent [...]

Former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig said in an interview on Monday that he suffered psychological torture during his detention by Chinese authorities. Kovrig and Canadian businessman, Michael Spavor, were arrested in December 2018, shortly after the arrest and detention of Huawei CFO, Meng Wanzhou, at a Vancouver airport by Canadian officials became public. In 2020, The [...]

Amnesty International on Monday called on the US to provide urgent humanitarian aid to more than 8,000 displaced Syrians in the Rukban camp, a remote area in southeast Syria that borders Jordan and Iraq. Rukban became one of the crossing points for Syrian refugees fleeing the Syrian civil war in 2011. However, due to security [...]

Tanzania police on Monday arrested opposition members, including prominent leader Tundu Lissu, and journalists in Dar es Salaam before planned peaceful protests calling on the government to address the abduction of opposition figures in recent months. The opposition had called for citizens to join in the rally, which the Tanzanian government had banned, citing security [...]