The enforced abductions and disappearances of Iraqi men that have occurred for decades – whether under the regime of Saddam Hussein, during the dark days of the so-called Islamic State’s reign of terror or following anti-government protests in 2019 – continue to haunt the relatives of the [...]Read the full article
The al-Sisi regime is without a doubt one of the most repressive in the world. Its severe reprisals against those who criticise it even in the slightest have driven thousands of dissidents into exile. But even halfway across the world, many are unable to escape the long arm of the [...]Read the full article
Enis Coşkun:On 14 May, the people of Turkey will elect their president and members of parliament. A hundred years after the foundation of a secular state under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal, these elections are crucial to the country’s [...]Read the full article
Kais Saied was elected president in 2019 with more than 70 per cent of the vote. While some warned of the dangers of his brand of populism at the time, no one anticipated a descent into autocracy with racist overtones. Most recently, Saied has targeted opposition politicians and trade [...]Read the full article
Some 30,000 women are currently in prison in Egypt for failing to pay off small loans. NGOs are fighting for a relaxation of the law on debt.Read the full article
Since the controversial elections in August 2020 and the subsequent protest movement, and even more so since the beginning of Russia’s attack on Ukraine, the whole of civil society in Belarus has come under threat from the government of Alexander [...]Read the full article
The announcement that Morocco allegedly bribed prominent figures in the European Parliament to defend its interests in Brussels has led to increased scrutiny of human rights violations in Morocco. The resulting picture is not a flattering [...]Read the full article
According to the organisations working to protect migrants, the closed camp is like a “prison” and is detrimental to their mental health. Initiatives have emerged on the island to help take the asylum seekers’ minds off these difficulties and give them fresh hope in their search for a new [...]Read the full article
In September, California governor Gavin Newsom signed ground-breaking new legislation allowing people who have committed a crime to apply to have their records expunged. A first of its kind in the United States, the law comes as a relief to hundreds of thousands of former inmates who struggle [...]Read the full article
“The Egyptian authorities are sending a clear message to Egyptian NGOs that what happens in Egypt must be kept hidden from the rest of the world. NGOs from all over the world can go there but Egyptian NGOs are not welcome.”Read the full article
The economic situation has grown worse with the pandemic and the restrictions on women’s rights have been tightened since Ebrahim Raisi became president in 2021. Poorer and with very limited opportunities, Iran’s women are calling for equal rights, and their demands and grievances are resonating [...]Read the full article
According to Human Rights Watch, “Syria is not safe for refugee return”. In June, Muhammad Fawzi Akkad became the first Syrian refugee to win a case against Turkey when the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Turkish authorities had unlawfully deported [...]Read the full article
Under the previous Argentinian administration, trade unionists were the target of illegal spying attempts, orchestrated court cases and death threats.Read the full article
Macy Leung :The very systems that have made Hong Kong an open society, a remarkable success story and a free place distinctly different from repressed China, have all but disintegrated.Read the full article
“The dismissal of employees belonging to the Muslim Brotherhood is just the tip of the iceberg. This law targets any public employee who opposes the regime, regardless of their affiliation.”Read the full article
On 7 November, Nicaraguans will elect a president. They will do so amid a wave of repression, with a presidential couple seeking re-election and controlling all the powers of the state. Daniel Ortega has already accumulated 25 years in power, more than any dictator from the country’s [...]Read the full article
“The trade union sector is now living in unprecedented fear. When the national security law arrived, political groups were the primary target. In July and August, it became clear that trade unions are also a main target.”Read the full article
Women have been at the forefront of protests against the coup that deposed Myanmar’s civilian government led by the iconic Aung San Suu Kyi. The role they will play and the space they will occupy going forward, whether under military rule or a restored democracy, remains to be [...]Read the full article
Since 2018, most of the murders of journalists no longer occur in countries where there is armed conflict. Now they happen in nominally peaceful nations. Neither criticism from those in power nor populist speeches assassinate journalists directly. However, they do worsen the environment for the [...]Read the full article
Tens of thousands of Uyghurs have fled China in recent years since Beijing began its policy of subjugation and assimilation of the minority group. Around 60,000 of them have found relative safety in Turkey, but pressure from China has made their future [...]Read the full article
Spearheading the demonstrations that have rocked the Belarusian regime since the re-election of Alexander Lukashenko, the country’s youth have become unexpected players on the political stage. Whether for or against the leader, they have been stirred into action, and are set to be the [...]Read the full article
“In Turkey, being accused of belonging to a terrorist organisation is a common accusation made against those working to defend human rights or on other political matters. The government doesn’t want us to defend such cases, it’s their way of preventing us from doing our [...]Read the full article
“One of the characteristics of this type of music lies in the subject matter is deals with, often linked to the poverty, violence and policy brutality that occur in their neighbourhoods.”Read the full article
The inmates of prisons across the Americas are fearful. They are terrified of the coronavirus and see just how slow the authorities are to make decisions that could protect them from the disease.Read the full article
After a few months of vacillating in response to the Hirak protest movement, Algerian authorities have been steadily retightening their grip on public spaces, the media and civil society organisations, targeting grassroots activists, trade unionists and [...]Read the full article
“HKCTU plays an important role and we are part of the movement, so in supporting the young protesters we are also supporting ourselves,” says Carol Ng, chairperson of the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions (HKCTU).Read the full article
“Activists can hold financial institutions accountable for investing in human rights abuses, and those who profit from misery can be hit where it hurts – in the wallet.”Read the full article
“Our hands are clean. We haven’t committed any crime. Our ‘crime’ was to report the truth and to put the media at the disposal of the people and their needs. And the price has been jail, censorship and exile, as witnessed by the 80 or so journalists currently in [...]Read the full article
The Egyptian army is using drones, cameras and new technologies to prevent riots and terrorist attacks in the stadiums. But some groups of supporters known for their political chants are also being targeted by exclusionary measures.Read the full article
“Suddenly, demonstrations were banned, and there were serious violations of freedom of expression. Thousands of people have been sent to prison for messages they published on social media, accused of belonging to or spreading propaganda for terrorist [...]Read the full article
Martine Kaluszynski:In France, after several attacks and the increase in the number of prisoners who follow radical Islam, striking prison guards are denouncing their working conditions, which they consider outdated and, above all, dangerous.Read the full article
The surge in drug use and deaths due to overdose, as well as the proliferation of drug trafficking and human rights violations all point to the failure of the UN’s drug control policies, according to specialists and human rights [...]Read the full article
The LGBTQI community in Tunisia, although still facing imprisonment, beatings and insults, is organising and slowly making headway with the cause of sexual minorities.Read the full article
Over the years, Zanu-PF has repeatedly undermined any attempts by trade unions to advocate for workers, doing everything from under-resourcing the Ministry of Labour to using state security agents to brutally suppress the work of trade [...]Read the full article
“Meek Mill’s case is about more than one man and one bad judge. It’s representative of a much larger pattern of black and brown people whose first unjust interaction with police results in being at the mercy of the courts and parole officers for [...]Read the full article
“Kazakhstan has a very poor record upholding the principle of non-refoulement and Sayragul’s case is a welcome departure from that record.”Read the full article
Everyone in Phnom Penh remembers the last general elections. The excitement, the mass rallies, the protests, the promises of change and the frenetic activity on social media. Perhaps that is why the silence now, in the run-up to 29 July elections, feels all the more [...]Read the full article
In March, the United Nations published a report based on the testimonies of 454 survivors and witnesses of the gender-based violence perpetrated largely by the Assad regime and, to a lesser extent, by opposition groups and IS. The challenge now lies in providing psychological support for the [...]Read the full article
“Iran likes to portray itself as a theocratic democracy, run according to Islamic principles. In reality, it is a kleptocracy, where the people in power use their authority to steal from working people.”Read the full article
The Honduras marked by resistance, suffering and poverty has taken to the streets. The discontent has given rise to 71 mass demonstrations and 31 officially recorded deaths. The other Honduras, the institutionalised ruling elite, took office on 27 January. The differences between the two camps [...]Read the full article
“In my entire career of 43 years I have never seen more atrocity than I have seen in the incarcerated situations of Manus Island and Nauru.”Read the full article
Ebony Riddell Bamber:PEN International is part of a coalition of organisations that believe that Ramón Esono Ebalé is being unjustly detained in relation to his activism and work, in violation of his right to freedom of expression.Read the full article