(2019-01-18). These Parties Are Fighting for the Climate, Human Rights, and Immigrants—and They're Winning. thenation.com These Parties Are Fighting for the Climate, Human Rights, and Immigrants—and They're Winning…
(2019-01-18). Internet Blacked Out in Zimbabwe as UN Urges End to Crackdown. telesurenglish.net Zimbabwe was under an internet blackout on Friday after authorities extended a communications ban to cover emails, while the United Nations urged an end to a security crackdown on civilians triggered by days of deadly protests. | RELATED: | Zimbabwe: 600 Detained After 3-Day National Strike | The government has said three people died during demonstrations that broke out on Monday after President Emmerson Mnangagwa raised fuel prices by 150 percent. Lawyers and activists say the toll was much…
(2019-01-18). South Africa: Shack-dwellers fear illegal evictions. aljazeera.com What rights to South African shack-dwellers have?>
(2019-01-18). Detained American Iranian TV Anchor Marzieh Hashemi to Appear in Court. mintpressnews.com Hashemi was held 48 hours before being allowed to contact her family. She has complained of ill-treatment. Authorities forcibly removed her headscarf and took her away in handcuffs.
(2019-01-18). Detained ex-Interpol chief's wife seeks asylum in France. aljazeera.com Grace Meng has remained in France since her husband Meng Hongwei disappeared in September.
(2019-01-18). A Federal Judge Just Crushed Scott Walker's Lame-Duck Assault on Voting Rights. thenation.com A Federal Judge Just Crushed Scott Walker's Lame-Duck Assault on Voting Rights…
(2019-01-18). San Francisco March: Annual MLK March/Parade Honoring Civil Rights History. indybay.org San Francisco Caltrain Station then march to Yerba Buena Gardens 700 4th Street, San Francisco…
(2019-01-18). An Open Letter to Kate Kendall. indybay.org We were very sorry to hear that you will be participating in an event at Manny's Wednesday night , The State of the LGBT Rights Movement in the US – What are we fighting for?>
(2019-01-18). Trump's Family Separation Affected 'Thousands' More Children Than Previously Known. hrw.org 
| | A Mission Police Dept. officer (L), and a U.S. Border Patrol agent watch over a group of Central American asylum seekers before taking them into custody on June 12, 2018 near McAllen, Texas. | © 2018 John Moore/Getty Images | Trump administration officials were discussing deliberately targeting migrant families by late 2017, a draft policy document leaked to NBC News confir…
(2019-01-18). Morocco: Abandon Attempts to Dissolve Cultural Group. hrw.org 
| | Screenshot from an episode of the online show "1 DàÆner 2 Cons", recorded in Casablanca, Morocco. | © 2018 1D2C / YouTube | (Tunis) — Moroccan authorities should immediately abandon attempts to dissolve the cultural group Racines, over critical comments made by guests on an online talk show it hosted, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International said today. | Racines, a Casablanca-based association, was targeted because its o…
(2019-01-18). Justin Trudeau's Description of BDS: 'A Pack of Lies'. therealnews.com 
Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau repeated his belief that the Boycott, Sanctions, and Divestment (BDS) movement is anti-Semitic. We speak to Ali Abunimah, who says Trudeau has adopted Netanyahu's talking points
(2019-01-18). Instead of Ending Shutdown, McConnell Prioritizes Anti-Choice Bill. truthout.org Freshman members of Congress and others who have been demanding to know the whereabouts of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in recent days got their answer on Thursday, as McConnell held a Senate vote not on whether to reopen the government, but on a bill that would restrict abortion rights for low-income women. | The No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act (S.109) would have permanently restricted federal funds from going to abortion care, codifying the Hyde Amendment so the Senate doesn't have to pass it — as it has since 1976 — in annual appropriations bills.The legislation would have also ba…
(2019-01-18). Google Faces Renewed Protests and Criticism Over China Search Project. theintercept.com Google is facing a new campaign of global protests over its plan to launch a censored version of its search engine in China. | On Friday, a coalition of Chinese, Tibetan, Uighur, and human rights groups organized demonstrations outside Google's offices in the U.S., U.K., Canada, India, Mexico, Chile, Argentina, Sweden, Switzerland, and Denmark. | Google designed the Chinese search engine, code-named Dragonfly, to blacklist information about human rights, democracy, religion, and peaceful protest, in accordance with strict rules on censorship in China that are enforced by the country's authoritarian Communist Part…
(2019-01-18). Millions of Women Already Live in a Post-Roe America: A Journey Through the Anti-Abortion South. theintercept.com 
Across the United States, millions of women live with a legal right to abortion but without meaningful access to exercise that right.
(2019-01-18). Madagascar: Next president must tackle historic rights violations. amnesty.org The next president of Madagascar, Andry Rajoelina, must tackle historic human rights violations, including excessive use of pretrial detention and arbitrary detentions of human rights defenders, Amnesty International said ahead of his inauguration tomorrow. |
(2019-01-18). Ten things you should know about the latest protests in Sudan. amnesty.org Today marks one month since the ongoing protests in Sudan broke out. Here are ten facts you should know about the protests that have engulfed the eastern African country: | 1. This is the largest wave of protests against the economic policies and allegations of human rights violations by the government of President Omar al-Bashir since he came to power in 1989. | 2. There have been more than 300 protests in 15 out of Sudan's 18 states since the protests began. | 3. The protests were sparked by high school students protest in Atbara city, River Nile state, who were challenging the steep rise in the cost of bread.
(2019-01-18). Morocco: Conviction of Hirak El-Rif protest leader Nawal Benaissa upheld. amnesty.org Responding to the news that the appeals court in Al Hoceima has upheld the conviction of Nawal Benaissa, confirming her 10-month suspended prison sentence with a fine, Heba Morayef Amnesty International's Director for the Middle East and North Africa said: | "This verdict is an appalling miscarriage of justice. Nawal Benaissa's only 'crime' was to join peaceful protests to demand the rights of people in the Rif region. The Moroccan authorities are blatantly targeting Nawal Benaissa for her role in the Hirak El-Rif movement and are making an example of her to intimidate others who may wish to speak out. Instead of…
(2019-01-18). Sudan: Security forces continue deadly onslaught on protestors and medical personnel. amnesty.org Sudan's security forces must stop their ongoing deadly onslaught on protesters and medical personnel, Amnesty International said today following the death of a doctor, a man and a child from gunshot wounds inflicted during the 17 January protests in Khartoum's Burri district. | The organization also received reports of further raids of medical facilities by security personnel, who fired teargas inside hospitals and assaulted doctors. |
(2019-01-18). Lebanon: Migrant Domestic Workers Abused, A Scripted Reality. amnesty.org "Stop don't go to Lebanon!". A member of the audience stepped forward to interfere with one of the scenes on stage, in which Nday is seen to be packing her bags to catch a flight to Lebanon. Despite knowing what awaits Nday in the form of multiple human rights violations, I could see that stopping her from seeking her awaited job opportunity in a time where she was in desperate need to make a living, was not a solution. | Amnesty International marked the International Migrants Day on 18 December 2018 with an interactive theatre performance, Chebbak, in collaboration with Wasl; a theatre collective that uses theat…
(2019-01-18). Morocco: Abandon Attempts to Dissolve Cultural Group. amnesty.org Moroccan authorities should immediately abandon attempts to dissolve the cultural group Racines, over critical comments made by guests on an online talk show it hosted, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International said today. | Racines, a Casablanca-based association, was targeted because its office was used as a venue to record an episode of the talk show '1 DàÆner 2 Cons' (One Dinner, Two Fools) on August 5, 2018. Human Rights Watch's Ahmed Benchemsi was one of six guests invited to comment on Moroccan news during the episode tha…
(2019-01-18). Release of Syrian man wrongly convicted of terrorism in Hungary an "overwhelming relief" amnesty.org Ahead of tomorrow's early release of Ahmed H, a Syrian man who was unfairly jailed for "complicity in an act of terror" during clashes with police at the Serbia-Hungary border in September 2015, Eda Seyhan, Amnesty International's Europe Counter Terrorism Campaigner, said: | | "After spending three-and-a-half years behind bars, Ahmed will finally be reunited with his wife and two young daughters. His…
(2019-01-18). EU leaders must fix "broken system" that leaves people adrift at sea. amnesty.org European leaders must urgently act to fix a system which deters states from assisting refugees and migrants in peril at sea, said Amnesty International in an analysis published today. | Cut adrift in the Mediterranean outlines how the outsourcing of European border control to the Libyan authorities, in combination with a system which fails to share responsibility for asylum-seekers fairly across Europe, has created a situation where people are frequently stranded in the Mediterranean. It also sets out steps to ensure situati…
(2019-01-18). Nigeria: Satellite imagery shows charred remains of Rann after Boko Haram attack. amnesty.org New satellite images analyzed by Amnesty International show the horrific aftermath of a Boko Haram attack that devastated in Rann, north-east Nigeria, displacing more than 9,000 people earlier this week. | The satellite images reveal the true extent of the devastating attack which took place on 14 January in the Borno State town, which hosted thousands of civilians internally displaced by the conflict with Boko Haram. According to Amnesty International's analysis, the attack resulted in large areas being burnt in the west and south of Rann, with more than 100 structures destroyed or heavily damaged by fire. | "Am…
(2019-01-18). European leaders are manufacturing a "migration crisis" for political gain. amnesty.org "We have a safe port," a crew member tells dozens of despondent asylum seekers crammed into a cabin aboard the Sea-Watch 3 NGO rescue ship. After almost three weeks of being stranded in the Mediterranean, the news takes a moment to sink in. "We're going in," he explains. "C'est fini." Within seconds the room erupts in unrestrained relief and joy. | This was the end of an ordeal, last week, for 49 women, men and children aboard the Sea-Watch 3 and Professor Albrecht Penck NGO vessels, who were finally disembarked in Malta. | They had been rescued in December after fleeing Libya, but the ships were denied permissio…
(2019-01-18). Cut Adrift in the Med. amnesty.org …
(2019-01-17). Prominent Iranian jailed by FBI: Demand her freedom. fightbacknews.org Minneapolis, MN — A well-known Iranian journalist, Marzieh Hashemi, has been jailed by the FBI. Hashemi is an anchor on Iran's English language Press TV and has interviewed many progressive U.S. activists. According to credible reports, Hashemi was taken into custody at the Saint Louis, Missouri area's Louis Lambert International Airport on January 13. The FBI has since moved her to a detention facility near Washington DC. | There is no indication that Hashemi has been charged with anything. | Hashemi, who was born in the United States but resides in Iran, was on a visit to family members, including a broth…
(2019-01-17). Ukraine: Human Rights Backsliding as Election Looms. hrw.org 
| | Anti-corruption activist Vitaliy Shabunin. | © 2016 Private | (Kyiv) — Attacks on activists and government critics proliferated in Ukraine during 2018, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2019. | The Ukrainian government did little to prevent or punish the attacks or to stem rising violence against minority communities, including Roma and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and…
(2019-01-17). "Monsters Leading America": Thousands More Children Locked Up Than Reported. theantimedia.com 
(CD) — Confirming the fears of human rights groups, the inspector general for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) reported on Thursday that thousands more children were separated from their parents at the southern U.S. border by the Trump administration, long before it first publicly unveiled the family separation policy last spring. "The total …
(2019-01-17). Amnesty International's Troubling Collaboration With US and UK Intelligence. theantimedia.com 
(MPN) — Amnesty International, the eminent human-rights non-governmental organization, is widely known for its advocacy in that realm. It produces reports critical of the Israeli occupation in Palestine and the Saudi-led war on Yemen. But it also publishes a steady flow of indictments against countries that don't play ball with Washington — countries like Iran, China, Venezuela, …
(2019-01-17). The 'Shameful' Answer to #WheresMitch? Not Ending Shutdown, But Voting on Extremist Anti-Choice Bill. commondreams.org Freshman members of Congress and others who have been demanding to know the whereabouts of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in recent days got their answer on Thursday, as McConnell prepared to hold a Senate vote not on whether to reopen the government, but on a bill that would restrict abortion rights for low-income women. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files……
(2019-01-17). Armenia: Human Rights Challenges for New Leadership. hrw.org 
| | People celebrating Armenian Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisyan's resignation after days of protests. Yerevan, Armenia, April 23, 2018. | © 2018 Hayk Baghdasaryan/Photolure | (Berlin) — Armenia's new government has inherited a country plagued with corruption and myriad human rights problems, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2019. As the new leadership embarks on rebuild…
(2019-01-17). World Report 2019: Reversing Autocrats' Attacks on Rights. hrw.org 
| | Anti-government protestors in Venezuela take to the streets for a candlelight vigil in honor of protesters killed in clashes with security forces. | © 2017 Associated Press | (Berlin) — There is a growing global trend to confront the abuses of headline-grabbing autocrats, Human Rights Watch said today in launching its World Report 2019. Within the European Union, at the Unit…
(2019-01-17). Mauritania: Repressive Laws Restrict Peaceful Speech. hrw.org 
| | People wait to cast their vote on September 1, 2018 outside a polling station in Nouakchott for the country's legislative, regional and local elections. | © 2018 Ahmed Ould Mohamed Ould Elhadj/AFP/Getty Images | (Geneva) — Mauritanian authorities used a litany of harsh and overbroad laws on terrorism, cybercrime, apostasy, and criminal defamation to prosecute and jail human rights defenders, activists, bloggers, and politica…
(2019-01-17). UAE: Injustice, Intolerance, Repression. hrw.org 
| | A convoy of UAE military vehicles and personnel travels from Al Hamra Military Base to Zayed Military City, marking the return of the first batch of UAE Armed Forces military personnel from Yemen, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. | © 2015 AP Images | (Beirut) — The United Arab Emirates in 2018 handed down draconian prison sentences to an Emirati activist and a British academic following deeply flawed trials, Human Rig…
(2019-01-17). US: Central Americans Have a Legal Right to Seek Asylum. hrw.org 
| | Honduran migrants rest in the main square of Ciudad Hidalgo, Chiapas state, Mexico, on October 19, 2018. | © 2018 Pedro Pardo/AFP/Getty Images | (Washington, DC) — Central American refugees fleeing for their lives have a right to seek asylum in the United States, Human Rights Watch said today in releasing its World Report 2019. The Trump administration uses fearmongering to…
(2019-01-17). Iran: Unrelenting Repression . hrw.org 
| | Iranian students protest at the University of Tehran during a demonstration driven by anger over economic problems, in the capital Tehran on December 30, 2017. | © 2017 Getty Images | (Beirut) — Iranian authorities carried out arbitrary mass arrests and serious due process violations during 2018 in response to protests across the country over deteriorating economic conditions, perceptions of corruption, and the lack of political and so…
(2019-01-17). Bahrain: Unabated Repression . hrw.org 
| | Demonstrations after the death of a young Bahraini after being shot outside the home of the Shiite leader in Bahrain on March 25, 2017. | © 2017 Sayed Baqer AlKamel/NurPhoto via Getty Images | (Beirut) — Bahrain cracked down on peaceful dissent during 2018, virtually eliminating all opposition, Human Rights Watch said today in releasing its World Report 2019. No independent med…
(2019-01-17). Lebanon: Rights Bills Stalled in Parliament‚Ä®. hrw.org 
| | An election official shows a ballot with colors of political parties participating in the parliamentary election shortly after the polling stations closed in Beirut, Lebanon on May 6, 2018. | © 2018 Bilal Hussein/AP Photo | (Beirut) — Lebanon made legislative progress on the waste management crisis and the status of the disappeared in 2018, but parliament failed to follow through on legislation in other key areas, including women's…
(2019-01-17). Yemen: Civilians Bombed, Shelled, Starved. hrw.org 
| | People are seen near a bus destroyed by an airstrike that killed dozens of children, in a photograph taken on August 12, 2018 in Saada, Yemen. | © 2018 Mohammed Hamoud/Getty Images | (Beirut) — The Saudi-led coalition and the Houthi armed group engaged in a conflict in Yemen which have turned the country's humanitarian crisis into a full-blown catast…
(2019-01-17). Qatar: Partial Reforms Risk Undermining Progress. hrw.org 
| | A picture taken on December 4, 2018, shows workers at the Al-Bayt Stadium in Al-Khor, a city in northeastern Qatar. | © 2018 David Harding/AFP | (Beirut) — Qatar made some important progress on human rights in 2018 but failed to deliver on several key promised reforms, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2019. Among the promises not yet kept is the full repeal of the…
(2019-01-17). Libya: Civilians Under Threat from Militias. hrw.org 
| | Armed forces allied to internationally recognized government fight with armed group in Tripoli, Libya September 22, 2018. | © 2018 Hani Amara/Reuters | (Geneva) — Unaccountable and violent armed groups maintain a stranglehold on Libya, while civilians pay the price in the divided country, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2019. Libyan authorities should prioritize ju…
(2019-01-17). Putin has given Chechnya free rein to persecute LGBTI people. amnesty.org By Natalia Prilutskaya, Russia Researcher at Amnesty International | For the second time in less than two years, a violent homophobic crackdown has left LGBTI people in Chechnya fearing for their lives. Earlier this week the Russian LGBT Network confirmed reports that the Chechen authorities have resumed large-scale arrests of individuals believed to be gay or lesbian, imprisoning and torturing them. | According to the organization's protected sources, around 40 people have been arrested since De…
(2019-01-17). Egypt: Lawyer Detained in Undisclosed Location: Hoda Abdelmoniem. amnesty.org On 15 January 2019, Hoda Abdelmoniem appeared before the prosecution for investigation, and her pre-trial detention was renewed for 15 days. Hoda told her daughter that she is being detained in an undisclosed location. | Hoda's last appearance before the public prosecution was on 21 November 2018, after her 20 days of enforced disappearance. From 2 December 2018 until 14 January 2019, Hoda's lawyer and family could not find her in any prison and did not know about her fate and whereabouts.
(2019-01-17). Egipto: Detención arbitraria ampliada. amnesty.org El 8 de enero de 2019, el Tribunal Penal de El Cairo prorrogó la detención de Islam Khalil otros 45 días. Islam Khalil, ex víctima de desaparición forzada, se halla sometido a detención preventiva por cargos falsos desde el 10 de marzo de 2018. Se le niega el acceso a la atención médica necesaria. Se cree que los cargos, de los que Islam Khalil sostiene que es inocente, se presentaron contra él como represalia por su activismo político. Los otros cuatro acusados que se enfrentaban a los mismos cargos negaron conocer a Islam Khalil y fueron puestos en libertad condicional el 4 de septiembre.
(2019-01-17). Egypt: Arbitrary Detention Extended: Islam Khalil. amnesty.org On 8 January 2019, the Cairo Criminal Court renewed Islam Khalil's detention for a further 45 days. Islam Khalil was a victim of an enforced disappearance and has been held in pre-trial detention on trumped-up charges since 10 March 2018. He is being denied access to necessary health care. The charges, of which Islam Khalil maintains his innocence, are believed to have been brought against him in retaliation for his political activism. The four other co-defendants who were facing the same charges denied knowing Islam Khalil and were released on probation on 4 September.
(2019-01-17). Egipto: Abogada detenida en lugar no revelado. amnesty.org El 15 de enero de 2019, Hoda Abdelmoniem compareció ante la Fiscalía para ser investigada y su detención en espera de juicio se amplió en 15 días. Hoda ha informado a su hija de que se halla detenida en un lugar no revelado. | Hoda compareció por última vez ante el fiscal el 21 de noviembre de 2018, tras haber sido sometida a 20 días de desaparición forzada. El abogado y la familia de Hoda perdieron su pista entre el 2 de diciembre de 2018 y el 14 de enero de 2019; durante este tiempo, no podían dar con ella en ninguna prisión y desconocían su suerte y su paradero.
(2019-01-16). I'm Out of a Job Because My Boss Didn't Think I Look Like a Woman. aclu.org 
A former Chili's employee speaks out after being forced to quit for not dressing more "gender appropriate." | I didn't look the part, so I was forced to quit. | Chili's, where I worked for nearly two years, was starting a new management training program and my superiors encouraged me to apply. It was a great opportunity, and I was excited about the prospect of a promotion. | I was planning to buy a home for the first time, and the pay increase would have helped a lot. I'm a single mother, so what I earn matters. I'm also a lesbian, a part of my identity that influences how I dress. | I'd started working at a Phoe…
(2019-01-16). The WFTU stands on the side of the Los Angeles teachers. fightbacknews.org Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU). | The World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU), representing 95 million workers in 130 countries across the globe, sends its internationalist and militant greetings to the teachers of Los Angeles who took the streets and organized a huge strike in order to defend their labor rights. | During their mobilizations more than 30,000 teachers signed in on picket lines across Los Angeles, more than 900 schools sites also participated while more than 10,000 parents, students and working people showed their soli…
(2019-01-16). Chili's Denied Meagan Hunter a Promotion Because She Needed to 'Dress More Gender Appropriate'. aclu.org 
The ACLU is taking action against Chili's, which discriminated against a server for not fitting her boss' idea of what a woman should look like. | Meagan Hunter loved her job as a server at Chili's Grill & Bar in Phoenix, Arizona — and she excelled at it. She was thrilled when her supervisors suggested that she apply for a new training program to become a manager. | In order to learn more about the opportunity, she attended a seminar on Chili's Certified Shift Leader program. She wore a men's button-up shirt, fitted slacks, and boat shoes — an outfit similar to what male managers at Chili's wear. So s…
(2019-01-16). Judge Blocks Trump Plan to Add Citizenship Question to Census, Citing "Smorgasbord" of Broken Rules. democracynow.org 
A federal judge in New York City has ruled against the Trump administration's decision to put a citizenship question on the census. In a lengthy opinion, U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman wrote that in deciding to add a citizenship question to the census, U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross violated a "veritable smorgasbord" of federal rules and "alternately ignored, cherry-picked, or badly misconstrued the evidence in the record before him." Ross announced the citizenship question in March, touting it as a way to enforce the Voting Rights Act and protect minorities against voter discrimination. Voting rights acti…