The European Commission sent a “reasoned opinion” to the Polish government Tuesday over the new law lowering the mandatory retirement age of the Polish Supreme Court from 70 to 65. The lowering of the mandatory retirement age is largely seen as a way to pack the Polish judiciary by the Law and Justice Party. The European [...]
UN human rights experts on Monday urged Bangladesh authorities to immediately release photographer Shahidul Alam , who was arrested and charged with spreading propaganda and false information against the government after he reported abuses against student protesters demanding road safety. Alam was arrested earlier this month only hours after a news outlet released an interview with him on [...]
The International Crimes Tribunal of Bangladesh (ICTB) on Monday sentenced five people to death for crimes against humanity during the country’s 1971 war of independence from Pakistan. After lengthy testimony, the three-judge panel unanimously found the men guilty of “abduction, confinement, torture, murder, and rape.” As members of Razakar Bahini, a pro-Pakistan paramilitary force, the court held that the men [...]
The Criminal Court of Appeal of the Republic of Armenia on Monday released former president Robert Kocharian from custody, saying he was unconstitutionally taken into custody in 2008. According to Kocharian’s lawyer, Ruben Sahakyan, the court’s decision hinged on article 140 of Armenia’s Constitution . Specifically, the constitution declares that: “during the term of his or her powers and [...]
Several leaders of the outlawed Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood were sentenced to life in prison on Sunday by the Cairo Criminal Court on charges of incitement to murder and violence. Among the sentenced, include head Mohamed Badie, Mohamed al-Beltagi and Essam al-Erian. Badie and other prominent leaders of the party were previously convicted and sentenced to life [...]
The UN Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) and the UN Human Rights Office released a joint report on Monday advising Somalia to take precautions to ensure that the human rights violations that occurred last year would not have a negative impact on their peace efforts or future elections. According to UNSOM, these violations had a direct [...]
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein warned in an interview with The Guardian on Monday that Trump’s attacks on the press are “very close to incitement to violence.” Zeid fears that the current President’s designation of the press as an “enemy of the people” could have dire consequences: We began to [...]
The Supreme Court of Costa Rica on Thursday found the country’s ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional and discriminatory. This decision follows opinion given just seven months ago by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights that same-sex couples have the same rights to marry as any opposite-sex couple.< The decision is a significant one for Costa [...]
UN Secretary-General António Guterres announced Wednesday that former Chilean president Michelle Bachelet will succeed Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein as the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights . Bachelet completed her second four-year term as the Chilean president earlier this year. Upon her initial election in 2006, she became the first female to assume the Chilean [...]
UN human rights experts urged the government of Nicaragua Thursday to stop repressing voices that are critical of the government after “100 days of unrest in which at least 317 people have been killed and 1,830 injured.” The experts stated that “eports indicate that there has been an increase in targeted repression, criminalisation and alleged arbitrary [...]
