Authorities Use Intimidation, Violence to Suppress Online Advocacy
Egyptian authorities should immediately investigate and prosecute those security officials responsible for beating Ahmed Maher Ibrahim, Human Rights Watch said today. Maher, a 27-year-old civil engineer, used the social-networking site Facebook to support calls for a general strike on May 4, 2008, President Hosni Mubarak’s 80th birthday....
India, ASEAN Also Need to Push Generals to Accept International Help
China, India, Thailand and other members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) should work to convince Burma’s government to lift restrictions on international assistance so aid can reach survivors of Cyclone Nargis, Human Rights Watch said today....
Karuna Case Could Have Been Landmark for International Justice
The British government’s failure to file criminal charges against a former Tamil Tiger leader for grave human rights abuses in Sri Lanka is a tragic missed opportunity to bring a notorious rights abuser to justice, Human Rights Watch said today....
Labor Court Fails 55 South Asian Professionals, Prevents Them From Leaving
Saudi Arabia’s Labor Court should act immediately to address workers’ complaints against the Nukhba House of Medical Services company, including unpaid wages and restrictions on returning home, Human Rights Watch said today....
Germany’s Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier should press Russia to immediately end impunity for human rights violations in Chechnya and cease harassment of and restrictions on civil society in Russia, Human Rights Watch said today. Steinmeier will travel to Russia on May 12 to meet with government and nongovernmental organization representatives....
Let International Aid in for Cyclone Survivors
The Burmese government should postpone the constitutional referendum scheduled for May 10, 2008 and focus on relieving the horrendous human suffering from Cyclone Nargis, Human Rights Watch said today. Human Rights Watch urged the Burmese government to stop blocking aid efforts and lift restrictions on international aid agencies so they can respond immediately to help survivors....
Navy Sailors Accused of Deliberately Sinking Boat
The Moroccan government should immediately investigate allegations that its naval forces sank a boat in the Mediterranean in which at least 28 migrants drowned, Human Rights Watch said today....
Buddhists Remain Behind Bars While Vietnam Hosts UN Buddhist Celebration
As Vietnam prepares to host the United Nations Day of Visak next week, one of the most sacred days for Buddhists, the government should cease the persecution, harassment and imprisonment of Buddhists and other independent religious groups, Human Rights Watch said today. More than 400 people remain behind bars in Vietnam for their peaceful religious or political activities....
Police Investigation Ignores Evidence, Intimidates Witnesses
King Abdullah should order an independent investigation into the events surrounding the deaths on April 14 of three prisoners at al-Muwaqqar prison east of Amman, Human Rights Watch said today. Despite ample evidence of misconduct, and potentially criminal acts by prison officials, police authorities told Human Rights Watch that their investigation into the incident will vindicate the prison officials, setting out that they acted correctly....
Prosecutor Prematurely Closes Investigation Without Hearing All Testimony
Citing “lack of evidence,” Moroccan authorities closed an investigation into police abuse allegations made by two human rights defenders whose testimony the prosecutor refused to solicit, Human Rights Watch said today....
The Zimbabwe government’s politically motivated arrest of prominent human rights lawyer Harrison Nkomo raises fears of a broader crackdown on government critics, Human Rights Watch said today....
Don’t Reward Failed Promises to Improve Rights
Sri Lanka’s worsening human rights record and failed promises for improvement undermine its claim for a place on the UN Human Rights Council, a coalition of more than 20 national and international nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) said in a letter released today....
Two National Reports Detail Racial Disparity in Arrests and Imprisonment
Ostensibly color-blind, the US “war on drugs” disproportionately targets urban minority neighborhoods, Human Rights Watch and The Sentencing Project said in two reports released today. Although whites commit more drug offenses, African Americans are arrested and imprisoned on drug charges at much higher rates, the reports find....
Two National Reports Detail Racial Disparity in Arrests and Imprisonment
In a 67-page report, “Targeting Blacks: Drug Law Enforcement and Race in the United States,” Human Rights Watch documents with detailed new statistics persistent racial disparities among drug offenders sent to prison in 34 states. All of these states send black drug offenders to prison at much higher rates than whites. Although whites commit more drug offenses, African Americans are arrested and imprisoned on drug charges at much higher rates, the report finds....
Official Dismissals Premature
Additional information has emerged that bolsters allegations of abductions and cross-border transfers from Kosovo to Albania after the 1998-1999 Kosovo war, Human Rights Watch said today. The Kosovar and Albanian governments should open independent and transparent investigations to help resolve the fate of approximately 400 Serbs who went missing after the war....
Presidential runoff elections in Zimbabwe cannot be credible unless conditions are met for free and fair elections, Human Rights Watch said today....
Military-Only Investigations Into Civilian Deaths Inadequate
The Israeli government should go beyond a military “field investigation” and conduct an impartial and thorough probe into the tank shelling that killed a Reuters cameraman and three other civilians in Gaza on April 16, Human Rights Watch said today....
Investigation Division Ignores Gold Smuggling and Arms Trading in Congo
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon should urgently address the failings of the investigating arm of the United Nations and ensure that UN peacekeepers responsible for abuses are held to account, Human Rights Watch said today....
Governments Should not Endorse Vote on New Constitution
Burma’s May 10 referendum on a new constitution is a sham process aimed at entrenching the military, Human Rights Watch said in a new report released today....
Prime Minister Fukuda Should Highlight Rights Issues in Bilateral Relations
Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda should make human rights issues a priority in his historic meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao in Japan next week, Human Rights Watch said in a letter today....
Nepal’s government should rescind orders authorizing security forces to use lethal force to suppress protests associated with the Olympic torch’s relay up Mount Everest, Human Rights Watch said in a letter to Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala today. The torch is scheduled to be carried to the Mount Everest summit on the Chinese side of the border in early May....
Climate of Impunity Contributes to Illegal Detention, Beatings and Torture
The Burundian government should take immediate steps to end the climate of impunity that facilitates illegal detention, mistreatment and torture of individuals by the police, Human Rights Watch said in a new report released today....
Labor Day Campaign Challenges Employers to ‘Put Yourself in Her Shoes’
Lebanese employers, placement agencies, and the Lebanese authorities should improve the treatment of domestic workers by ensuring fair contracts, timely payment of wages, and a weekly day’s leave, Human Rights Watch said today, on the eve of Labor Day. Human Rights Watch is launching a campaign to highlight the often invisible abuses that many women who are domestic workers suffer in Lebanon....
Sentenced in Secret After Party Urges ‘Quick Hearings’
The trials of 30 Tibetans accused of participating in violent protests on March 14 in Lhasa were not open and public, as claimed by the Chinese government, and did not meet minimum international standards of due process, Human Rights Watch said today....
Chhattisgarh Government Should Not Use Naxalite Issue to Silence Critics
Criminal charges against award-winning human rights defender Dr. Binayak Sen raise serous concerns that he will not get a fair trial in Raipur district court in Chhattisgarh state when hearings begin on April 30, Human Rights Watch said today....
EU Members Should Not Backtrack on Their Commitment to Justice
The European Union’s (EU) signing of the Stabilization Association Agreement (SAA) with Serbia today despite Belgrade’s failure to arrest accused war criminal Ratko Mladic is a setback to those seeking justice for genocide in Srebrenica, Human Rights Watch said today. EU member states should refuse to allow Serbia to take additional steps toward EU membership without full cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), including the surrender of Mladic....
International Court Unseals Arrest Warrant Against Bosco Ntaganda
Congolese officials and UN peacekeepers should take swift action to enforce the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) arrest warrant against a rebel leader accused of forcibly conscripting child soldiers and of other abuses, Human Rights Watch said today....
Legal Profession Becomes ‘More Dangerous Day by Day’
Chinese lawyers who take cases seen by the government as politically sensitive or potentially embarrassing face severe abuses ranging from harassment to disbarment and physical assaults, Human Rights Watch said in a new report released today....
US-Led Force Holds Thousands Without Due Process
The United Nations Security Council should address serious concerns about the detention practices of the US-led Multi-National Force-Iraq (MNF) in its debate on Iraq, Human Rights Watch said in a letter to council members. The United States invokes Security Council resolutions to justify holding thousands of Iraqis for indefinite periods, without judicial review, and under military processes that do not meet international standards....
Security Forces Raid Opposition Headquarters
President Robert Mugabe’s ZANU-PF party and state security forces have sharply intensified a campaign of organized terror and torture against opposition activists and ordinary Zimbabweans, Human Rights Watch said today. Armed riot police raided the Harare headquarters of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) on April 25, 2008 and arbitrarily arrested scores of people, including women and children seeking refuge there....