Chief US District Judge Laura Taylor Swain found New York City in contempt Wednesday for failing to reduce violence and brutality in the Rikers Island jail complex. Judge Swain said the city was placing detainees and jail staff in “unconstitutional danger” by not complying with court orders nine years after the city acknowledged the unconstitutional [...]

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) published a report on Tuesday highlighting the worsening condition of press freedom in Afghanistan, with journalists encountering increasing limitations, arbitrary detentions, and a widespread atmosphere of fear and self-censorship, since the Taliban seized power in August 2021. Under Taliban control, Afghan journalists face numerous dangers, such as [...]

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine on Wednesday signed a bill into law that restricts transgender students from using bathrooms that correspond with their gender identity. Senate Bill (SB) 104 requires public school buildings and facilities to “designate each student restroom, locker room, changing room, or shower room” to be for “the exclusive use by students of [...]

Google and Meta Platforms appealed to the Australian Government on Tuesday through written submissions to delay a bill imposing a social media ban for children under 16 years old. In their submissions, both Google and Meta contended the bill should be delayed until the Government’s Age Assurance Trial results are obtained. The Age Assurance Technology [...]

The Scottish Parliament passed the Prisoners (Early Release) (Scotland) Bill on Tuesday to reduce short-term prisoners’ time served from 50 percent to 40 percent of their sentence. The legislation, introduced on November 18, aims to alleviate pressure on the prison system, with changes expected to take effect in February 2025. The bill applies to prisoners [...]

The chief prosecutor at the International Criminal Court (ICC) filed an application on Wednesday for an arrest warrant against Myanmar’s military chief, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, over alleged crimes against humanity committed against the Rohingya minority. ICC Prosecutor Karim A.A. Khan KC announced the move, citing “reasonable grounds to believe” that Min Aung Hlaing [...]

Istanbul police detained dozens of protesters on Monday during demonstrations calling for stronger protections against violence targeting women in Türkiye. The protest, held on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, saw police blocking access to İstiklal Avenue by closing surrounding streets to prevent the gathering. The We Will Stop Femicides Platform, [...]

The United Kingdom Supreme Court began hearing a legal challenge centered on the definition of “woman” on Tuesday, marking the latest development in a long-running dispute between a women’s rights campaign group and the Scottish government. The case follows a decision in November last year when the appellant, For Women Scotland Limited, lost its Inner [...]

Rabia Shuja holds an LLM in International Human Rights Law from Griffith College, Dublin and is Chief Correspondent for JURIST in Pakistan. She reports from Islamabad.  On Wednesday, Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)  party announced that it was calling off its protest in light of what it described as the government’s plan to turn the [...]

Abu Bakar Khan and Noor Ul Huda are JURIST staff correspondents in Pakistan and recent graduates of Punjab University Law College. They filed this dispatch from Lahore. On November 13, Imran Khan, the incarcerated ex-prime minister of Pakistan and the party leader of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), issued a “final call” for nationwide protests scheduled for [...]