Amnesty International on Friday welcomed the acquittal of 45 Saturday Mothers members, ending their seven-year-long legal ordeal. The protesters had faced trial for participating in their 700th peaceful vigil, which was banned and violently dispersed by police in August 2018. Dinushika Dissanayake, Amnesty International’s deputy regional director for Europe, called the prosecution “baseless” and stated [...]

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) called on Friday for the immediate release of investigative journalists Bashdar Bazyani and Sherwan Sherwani, stating that their detention by authorities in Iraqi Kurdistan is on “baseless” grounds, and intended to silence critical reporting. Bazyani, the founder of the newly established digital media outlet Media21, was arrested by Kurdish security forces [...]

The International Bar Association (IBA) raised alarm on Friday regarding US President Donald Trump’s latest actions, including pardons issued to approximately 1,500 individuals who were either convicted or charged in the 2021 attack on the US Capitol, pardons issued to 14 militia organization members, and a “blanket pardon” for many others. Trump had also followed [...]

Twenty-four organizations highlighted the critical link between fossil fuels and climate harm in a joint submission to the UN on Friday, emphasizing the obligations and responsibilities of states and corporations under the polluter-pays principle and the right to remedy for those affected by the climate crisis. The organizations, which included Amnesty International, the Center for [...]

Amnesty International on Friday called former Philippines President Rodrigo Rua Duterte’s appearance before the International Criminal Court (ICC) a “symbolic moment” for the families of those killed during his administration’s “war on drugs.” Amnesty International’s Southeast Asia researcher Rachel Chhoa-Howard stated: Rodrigo Duterte’s appearance at the International Criminal Court is a sight families of the [...]

The Belgian Prosecutor’s Office conducted 21 searches in the Brussels Capital, along with several regions in Flanders and Portugal on Thursday. The Brussels Examining Magistrate initiated an investigation into corruption allegations within the European Parliament and the Chinese technological company Huawei. According to the statement, the prosecutor’s office alleged that up to 15 former and [...]

The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) decided on Friday that the standard of proof required in major disciplinary offense proceedings for inmates would be raised from a “balance of probabilities” to “beyond a reasonable doubt.” This decision comes n John Howard Society of Saskatchewan v. Saskatchewan (Attorney General), in which it was successfully argued that [...]

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR)  ruled on Thursday that Ukraine violated the European Convention on Human Rights by failing to prevent and investigate violence during the Odesa’s pro-European Maidan protests in 2014. In late April 2014, Ukrainian authorities obtained intelligence showing signs of possible incitement to violence and mass riots at the “For [...]

Siddhi Joshi and Ananya Kohli contributed to this report.  South Sudanese authorities arrested 22 political and military personnel in violation of human rights obligations in mid-February, according to a Thursday statement by Human Rights Watch (HRW). The group called on South Sudanese authorities to cease arbitrary detentions of opposition leaders, reveal their whereabouts and ensure that [...]

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) plans to halve the food rations to $6 a month per refugee starting next month. Amnesty International on Thursday called on the international community to step up and support the WFP to avoid a devastating impact on the Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh.  With 95 percent of Rohingya households dependent [...]