(2019-02-07). Lawsuit Dismissed Against American Studies Association Over Israel Boycott. bdsmovement.net 
Lawsuit Dismissed Against American Studies Association Over Israel Boycott: In the NewsUS federal judge dismisses lawsuit seeking to deter academic associations from adopting boycotts for Palestinian rights. | Academic Boycott Right To BoycottFebruary 5, 2019 | By: | | Palestine Legal
(2019-02-07). Marzieh Hashemi: taken captive by Democracy. uwidata.com The unmotivated arrest and custody of Iranian journalist Marzieh Hashemi, an American national working for Press TV, has shown the whole world once again how the paragon of the Free World tramples on reporters' rights. Marzieh Hashemi, the face of the Iranian channel, an African-American with dual citizenship, was detained at an airport in St […]
(2019-02-07). International support grows to free Hakeem Al-Araibi. greenleft.org.au 
The campaign to stop the refoulment of refugee Hakeem al-Araibi from Thailand to Bahrain is growing, with many football authorities taking a stand. | Sports stars, trade unionists, the Bahraini community, human rights organisations and politicians gathered in Melbourne and Sydney on February 1 to demand that Araibi be freed from a Thai prison. | Meanwhile, the Bahraini government has formally lodged a request to extradite Araibi from Thailand to Bahrain to face trumped up charges. If this happens, his life will be in danger. | Araibi is a semi-professional footballer and former member of the Bahraini national foo…
(2019-02-07). Labor must oppose Trump coup in Venezuela. greenleft.org.au 
The Australian Labor Party leadership has failed its first foreign policy test in 2019 by falling in behind the Coalition government's support for the Donald Trump administration's recognition of Juan Guaidó as un-elected "interim President" of Venezuela, in violation of international law. | Labor's support for Trump's regime change push, and its silence on the US's illegal sanctions and threats of military actions against a sovereign nation, should be cause for serious soul searching by Labor party members. | Just a few months ago, pa…
(2019-02-07). Afghanistan: Prosecute Abuse of Women Football Players. hrw.org 
| | Afghanistan women's football. | © Courtesy of Afghanistan women's national football team | (New York) — Afghan authorities should fully investigate and appropriately prosecute the sexual assault claims by 20 members of Afghanistan's national women's football team, Human Rights Watch said today. The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), football's world governing body, should assist and monitor Afghan government prosecutions and promot…
(2019-02-07). Sri Lankan tea plantation workers committee supports call for February 9 demonstration in Detroit. wsws.org "We consider the actions taken by the steering committee as a blow not only for the defense of the fundamental rights of the US auto workers but also on behalf of the international working class as a whole."
(2019-02-07). Spanish state vs Catalonia: putting a political trial on trial. greenleft.org.au 
On February 12, the trial of 12 Catalan politicians and social movement leaders involved in the October 1, 2017 independence referendum is set to begin in the Spanish Supreme Court. | The leaders face sanctions as harsh as 25 year's jail for their alleged offences — rebellion, sedition and embezzlement of public funds. | It is the first of three trials. Other defendants, including former police chief, José Lluís Trapero, will face the National High Court. Those members of the Catalan parliament who allowed discussion and voting on the referendum enabling law will face the High Court of Justice of Catalonia…
(2019-02-06). Sudanese Security Forces Use Tear Gas to Disperse Protesters. telesurenglish.net Hundreds of teachers, lawyers, doctors and pharmacists protested in the streets of Khartoum and other parts of the country Tuesday against President Omar al-Bashir's rule after the death of a teacher who had been detained by security agents. | RELATED: | Sudan: Protests Continue Following Promise to Free Detainees | Sudanese police fired tear gas at prot…
(2019-02-06). "Liar-in-Chief": Rep. Ilhan Omar Slams Trump's SOTU Remarks on Border, Venezuela, Israel & More. democracynow.org 
In his State of the Union address on Tuesday night, President Trump called for bipartisan unity while he attacked Democrats and the Robert Mueller investigation, denounced efforts to expand abortion rights in Virginia and New York, attacked immigrants and reiterated his demand for a border wall—with no mention of the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, which delayed his address by a week. Women in Congress wore all white to the speech in a nod to the movement for women's suffrage. After the address, former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams made history, becoming the first African-Americ…
(2019-02-06). Refugee soccer player faces extradition hearings in Thailand. peoplesworld.org 
BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand's government insisted Monday it cannot free a detained soccer player who has refugee status in Australia until hearings on Bahrain's request for his extradition are completed. Thailand has come under great pressure from Australia's government, sporting bodies and human rights groups to send Hakeem al-Araibi back to Australia. He was arrested …
(2019-02-06). Headlines for February 6, 2019. democracynow.org Trump Attacks Immigrants, Abortion Rights, Democratic Investigations in SOTU, Stacey Abrams Slams Gov't Shutdown, Voter Suppression in SOTU Response, School Apologizes for Racist Yearbook Photos as VA Gov. Northam Resists Resignation, Pope Francis Acknowledges Priests Sexually Abused Nuns, Ex-President of Costa Rica Accused of Sexual Assault, At Least 29 Haitian Migrants Killed in Shipwreck, Taliban Attacks Kill 50 in Afghanistan, CNN: Saudis Gave U.S. Weapons to al-Qaeda, Other Militants in Yemen, CENTCOM Head Was Not Notified of U.S. Troop Withdrawal from Syria, Anti-BDS Lawsuit Against Salaita & American Studi…
(2019-02-06). Brazil: Leftist Lawmaker's Car Vandalized With Death Threats. telesurenglish.net Newly-elected state lawmaker in the Rio de Janeiro state of Brazil Dani Monteiro, who had been an advisor to murdered Rio lawmaker Marielle Franco, Friday had her car vandalized with threats outside of the legislative building where the state assembly meets. | RELATED | Brazil's Vice President Favors Torture, Admires Dictatorships | Monteiro found the threatening message on the back window of her car that was parked in the parking lot of the legislative building on the same day sh…
(2019-02-06). Torture Still Scars Iranians 40 Years After Revolution. truthdig.com As Iran marks the 40th anniversary of its Islamic Revolution, the inmates who suffered torture at the hands of the police still bear marks.
(2019-02-06). US Media Ignore—and Applaud—Economic War on Venezuela. fair.org 
The US media chorus supporting a US overthrow of the Venezuelan government has for years pointed to the country's economic crisis as a justification for regime change, while whitewashing the ways in which the US has strangled the Venezuelan economy (FAIR.org, 3/22/18). A UN rapporteur declares that "sanctions kill" (Independent, 1/26/19)—but few in Western media are listening to his message. | Sister Eugenia…
(2019-02-06). Corporate Titans Target Venezuela. counterpunch.org 
What coup supporters fail to mention, however, is the campaign of harsh economic sanctions imposed by the U.S. and its imperial allies against Venezuela, dating back to the Obama administration. Those sanctions, together with U.S. moves to block loans to Venezuela from the world's leading financial institutions, have wreaked havoc with the Venezuelan economy. More
(2019-02-06). 'Breathtaking and Terrifying': UN Food Relief Agency Partners With CIA-Funded Software Firm Palantir. commondreams.org The CIA-funded California software firm Palantir Technologies and the World Food Program (WFP) have announced a five-year $45 million partnership that data privacy and human rights advocates are describing as "breathtaking and terrifying" as well as "horribly irresponsible and potentially incredibly harmful." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files……
(2019-02-06). The State of the Resistance. truthout.org The Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC), a jail run by the Trump administration in Brooklyn, New York, reportedly lost power about a week ago, leaving the people locked inside — many of whom have yet to be convicted of a crime — without heat and light in their cells as temperatures plummeted amid a polar vortex. | As soon as word got out about conditions inside the jail, family members and activists quickly organized and gathered to protest outside the facility on Friday, demanding that jail officials provide the incarcerated with heat, hot meals and means for contacting their families and attorney…
(2019-02-06). How US sanctions hurt Venezuela's people. greenleft.org.au 
Much media fanfare has been made about US President Donald Trump pledge to deliver US$20 millions worth of humanitarian aid, in the form of food and medicine, into Venezuela via its borders with Colombia and Brazil. | While Trump is using a request from self-proclaimed "interim president" Juan Guaido as a pretext for the move, it is clear that the purpose is to provoke some kind of reaction from the Venezuelan military, who continue to recognise elected president Nicolas Maduro: either they let in the aid, thereby implying allegiance to the coup president; or block its enter, and risk a further escalation in tens…
(2019-02-06). The Power Is Back on at Brooklyn Jail, but a Visiting Federal Judge Found Untreated Gunshot Wound, "Black Blotchy Mold," and Ongoing Crisis. theintercept.com 
A spate of court hearings relating to a federal jail revealed a humanitarian crisis that goes beyond freezing temperatures and a power outage.
(2019-02-06). Brazil: Bill Could Shield Abusive Police. hrw.org 
| | A military police armored vehicle passes by a person killed by police on April 7, 2016 in the Jacarezinho favela. Military police killed tow other people during the same raid. | © 2016 Carlos Cout | (Sà£o Paulo) — A bill unveiled by Jair Bolsonaro ¥s government in Brazil on February 4 could be used to let police officers who kill people in unjustifiable circumstances evade punishment, Human Rights Watch said today. | "The new bill could spur an incr…
(2019-02-06). Accommodating Asylum-Seekers and Migrants with Disabilities. hrw.org 
"If I stayed in Honduras, I was going to die," said José Medrano (not his real name), a 31-year-old man with a physical disability and a wheelchair user I met last week in a shelter for asylum seekers and migrants in Mexico City. He complained of his home country's lack of rehabilitation services and substandard medical treatment. | | | José Medrano (not his real name) a Honduran man with a disability on his way to the US border. | © 2019 Libertad Hernández | José is among hundreds of Central Americans heading to the Unit…
(2019-02-06). Trump's State of Union Stokes Fear With Nationalist Rhetoric. therealnews.com 
The President's State of the Union speech demanded an end to investigations, while demonizing immigrants and Venezuela, and attacking abortion rights. Our panelists Jacqueline Luqman, Eugene Puryear, and Helena Olea discuss the speech
(2019-02-06). Poland: Women's Rights Activists Targeted. hrw.org 
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(2019-02-06). Russia: Jehovah's Witness Convicted. hrw.org 
| | Dennis Christensen (behind the windows) talks with his interpreter at the Zheleznodorzhy District Court in Oryol, January 28, 2019 | © 2019 Human Rights Watch | (Moscow) — A Russian court on February 6, 2019 convicted Dennis Christensen, a Jehovah's Witness adherent and Danish citizen, on extremism charges for practicing his faith, Human Rights Watch said today. The court sentenced Christensen to six years in prison. The conviction is a blatant viol…
(2019-02-06). Rep. Ilhan Omar Slams Trump's Remarks on Border, Venezuela, Israel. truthout.org In his State of the Union address on Tuesday night, President Trump called for bipartisan unity while he attacked Democrats and the Robert Mueller investigation, denounced efforts to expand abortion rights in Virginia and New York, attacked immigrants and reiterated his demand for a border wall — with no mention of the longest government shutdown in US history, which delayed his address by a week. Women in Congress wore all white to the speech in a nod to the movement for women's suffrage. We're joined by Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, the first Somali American elected to the House of Representatives and…
(2019-02-05). Palestinian Professors' Unions Urge Pitzer College to Uphold Faculty Vote to Suspend Study Abroad with Complicit Israeli Institutions. bdsmovement.net 
Palestinian Professors' Unions Urge Pitzer College to Uphold Faculty Vote to Suspend Study Abroad with Complicit Israeli Institutions: Open LetterThe Palestinian Federation of Unions of University Professors and Employees (PFUUPE) urges Pitzer College to stand by an overwhelming majority of its faculty refusing to be complicit in Israel's denial of Palestinian rights and its blatan…
(2019-02-05). Historical marker alongside Alabama highway will honor civil rights martyr William Lewis Moore. splcenter.org Jerry Smith was humming along U.S. Highway 11 in his light-green, 1961 Chevrolet Corvair, when he came upon something unusual.
(2019-02-05). What's the Deal with Sanctions in Venezuela, and Why's It So Hard for Media to Understand? venezuelanalysis.com CEPR's Alexander Campbell looks at US sanctions against Venezuela and how the media ignore their effects.
(2019-02-05). PATRICK LAWRENCE: In Venezuela, US Forgets What Century It Is. consortiumnews.com Destabilizing other nations in gross violation of international law will no longer go unopposed, writes Patrick Lawrence. By Patrick Lawrence Special to Consortium News The Venezuela crisis worsens by the day. Early last week the U.S. sanctioned PdVSA, the state-owned… Read more →
(2019-02-05). Iran: Environmentalists' Flawed Trial. hrw.org 
| | A campaign poster showing environmental activists, Taher Ghadirian, Niloufar Bayani, Amirhossein Khaleghi, Houman Jokar, Sam Rajabi, Sepideh Kashani, Morad Tahbaz and Abdolreza Kouhpayeh, who have been in detention for six months. | © 2018 #anyhopefornature Campaign | (Beirut) — Iran's judicial authorities are violating fair trial standards in the case of eight environmentalists who have been detained for over a year, Human Rights Watch said today.
(2019-02-05). Students and Faculty Plan Walkout Over Johns Hopkins' ICE Contract. therealnews.com 
"ICE is a racist institution that terrorizes black and brown communities and violates the human rights of the families it separates," says one Hopkins professor.
(2019-02-04). The Supreme Court Is Considering Whether the Government Can Dodge the First Amendment by Outsourcing Its Power. aclu.org A case about a video banned from public access cable TV could have important implications for our constitutional rights. | The First Amendment bars the government from censoring speech that it doesn't like. That rule also goes for a private organization that takes on a government role. But when exactly is an organization considered a stand-in for the government? The Supreme Court will soon hear a case to decide. | Before smartphones, the internet, and digital cameras, it wasn't easy to get your videos in front of…
(2019-02-04). NAACP Mourns the Passing of Actor Kristoff St. John. naacp.org Prayers Go Out to Family of 10-Time NAACP Image Award Winner BALTIMORE (February 4, 2019)—The nation's foremost civil rights organization issued the following statement regarding the passing of actor Kristoff St. John, who passed away today at age 52. The NAACP mourns the passing of Kristoff St. John and our condolences and prayers go out […]
(2019-02-04). High School Could Have Been Hell for My Transgender Son. Don't Make It Hell for the Next Kid. aclu.org I had hoped that my son would wait until after high school to come out as transgender. But I realized I'd prefer a thriving son over a dead daughter. | This piece was originally published on USA Today. | When I gave birth to my first baby, the doctor said, "It's a girl!" Before I even knew my child, those words helped me imagine the future. | But the future was different from what I expected. | By the time my c…
(2019-02-04). 'Palestinian Rights Has Become an Incredibly Mainstream Issue' – CounterSpin interview with Josh Ruebner on BDS bans. fair.org 
Janine Jackson interviewed Josh Ruebner about BDS bans for the February 1, 2019, episode of CounterSpin. This is a lightly edited transcript. | Media…
(2019-02-04). Everyday life in besieged Venezuela. mronline.org 
A young author presents intimate snapshots of ordinary life as it is lived by millions of Venezuelans during a grueling crisis fueled by deadly U.S. sanctions and coup efforts. | Source
(2019-02-04). UK, Stand Firm against Data Demands in Death Penalty Cases. hrw.org 
| | WhatsApp and Facebook messenger icons are seen on an iPhone in Manchester , Britain March 27, 2017. | © 2017 Reuters | After heated debate, the United Kingdom has just inched closer to adopting laws that would allow the United States to demand and obtain digital evidence — such as e-mails, texts, and chats — directly from companies that are storing it in…
(2019-02-04). Iraq Fires Back at Trump for Saying US Troops Will Stay to "Watch Iran" theantimedia.com 
(CD) — Baghdad is firing back on Monday with calls to potentially boot U.S. troops out of Iraq in response to President Donald Trump's comments that he wants to keep them there to "watch Iran." Speaking to CBS's "Face the Nation" in an interview that aired Sunday, Trump said he wants the continued military presence because I want to …
(2019-02-04). Cambodia: Acid Attack Survivors Denied Treatment, Justice. hrw.org 
| (Phnom Penh) — Survivors of acid violence in Cambodia are unlawfully denied free medical care and face pressure to accept inadequate settlements, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. The Cambodian government should enforce its laws that require legal, social, and medical support to survivors of acid attacks. | The 48-page report, " 'What Hell Feels Like': Acid Violence in Cambodia," documents the use by private a…
(2019-02-04). Unexpected Dangers for Fleeing Saudi Women. hrw.org 
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(2019-02-03). "I'm Actually Freer Than They Are" hrw.org 
In recent years, Chinese authorities have intensified their efforts against human rights defenders, subjecting them to various kinds of harassment and continuous surveillance, or detaining and prosecuting them on fabricated criminal charges. Human Rights Watch has extensively documented cases from across China. | Human Rights Watch spoke to more than two dozen Chinese human rights defenders, asking them to share stories of the police harassment they had recently experienced. Some said the harassment felt so routine they could not…
(2019-02-03). "I Want to Walk on the Moon While Wearing Hijab": Syrian Women in Turkey Seek to Define Their Independence. theintercept.com 
Syria's revolution may have made it possible for Syrian women to start talking about their rights, but the war has also given these issues new urgency.
(2019-02-02). Philippines: Congress Aims to Lock Up More Children. hrw.org 
| | | | | | In this photo taken last year in Manila, children are detained in a Bahay Pagasa detention center, the same type of facility the Philippine government plans to use under a proposed new law that would lower the age of criminal responsibility. | | © 2018 Carlos Conde/Human Rights Watch | (New York) — Philippine legislators should reject a draft law to lower the age of criminal liability from 15 to 12, Human Rights W…
(2019-02-01). Congress, Don't Give DHS Unrestricted Authority to Build a 'Smart Wall'. aclu.org What Congress must do to ensure that border technology doesn't trample on the rights of border communities. | On Thursday, House Democrats unveiled their proposal for a $55 billion Department of Homeland Security budget. The proposal includes some strong provisions — including no funding for a border wall, no new Border Patrol agents, and a requirement for Immigration and Customs Enforcement to cut its detention of immigrants and phase out the jailing of immigrant families. But there are also a number of troubling elements, ch…
(2019-02-01). Gandhi and American Civil Rights. consortiumnews.com Howard Thurman travelled to India and returned to the U.S. intent on bringing nonviolence to the struggles of African Americans, writes Walter E. Fluker. Howard Thurman's image on Howard University chapel's stained glass window. (Fourandsixty from Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA) By… Read more →
(2019-02-01). ICE Partners Again With a Sheriff It Once Severed Ties With Because of Racial Profiling. aclu.org Sheriff Terry Johnson is known for racial profiling. He just secured $2.8 million in taxpayer funding to do ICE's bidding. | Whether it's Jeff Sessions, Stephen Miller, or Sheriff Joe Arpaio, the Trump administration has a real knack for empowering and absolving people who push discriminatory law enforcement and immigration policy. Now there's another name to add to that list: Sheriff Terry Johnson of Alamance County in North Carolina. Six years after the federal government severed ties with Sheriff Johnson for his office's discriminatory policing of Latinx residents, Uncle Sam and the Alamance County Sheriff's O…
(2019-02-01). UPDATED Venezuela: US Rejects Calls for Dialogue Ahead of Dueling Marches. venezuelanalysis.com Draconian US sanctions and calls for dialogue set the stage for pro- and anti-government marches this weekend.
(2019-02-01). "Do We as a Society Have a Right to Kill?": Chinonye Chukwu's Film "Clemency" Examines Death Penalty. democracynow.org 
As the state of Texas this week carried out the nation's first execution of the year, we look at "Clemency," a new film starring Alfre Woodard that examines the death penalty from the perspective of those who have to carry out executions as well as the condemned. Woodard portrays prison warden Bernadine Williams as she prepares to oversee what would be her 12th execution as warden in the aftermath of one that was horribly botched. As her life seems to unravel, Williams, for the first time, grapples with what it means to be part of a system of state-sanctioned murder, as the execution date for Anthony Woods, playe…
(2019-02-01). Vietnam: Hanoi Misleads UN on Rights Record. hrw.org 
| | Twenty-five political prisoners currently locked up for exercising basic rights. | | © 2018 Private | (Geneva) — Vietnam presented a grossly inaccurate picture of its human rights record at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva on January 22, 2019, Human Rights Wat…
(2019-02-01). Sudan's Game of Catch and Release. hrw.org 
| | Sudanese protesters chant slogans during an anti-government demonstration in the capital Khartoum's twin city of Omdurman on January 31, 2019. | © 2019 Stringer/AFP/Getty Images | Salah Abdalla "Gosh," director of Sudan's National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS), announced the release this week of 186 so-called "protest" detainees, but said nothing about the fate of the hundreds still locked up in the wake of the bloody, and ongoing, crackdown. | Since mid-December, when protests started across the c…