Japanese government planning attacks on democratic rights on pretext of pandemic
wsws.org | 2020-03-30
Health experts are warning that Japan could see a wider COVID-19 outbreak, in part due to the complete lack of preparation by the Abe government.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/03/30/japa…

Know Your Rights during COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
National Lawyers Guild | indybay.org | 2020-03-30
While the COVID-19 pandemic necessitates public health measures to reduce the impact of the virus on our communities and health care systems, we must be vigilant and resist authoritarian and violent tendencies.
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/03/28/18831875.php

ACSO Requests $255M in New Funding; COVID-19 Reaches Santa Rita Without Plans in Place
IWOC Oakland | indybay.org | 2020-03-30
Just over a week into the "shelter in place" directive that is now statewide, COVID-19 has reached Santa Rita Jail. The County confirmed on March 26 that a nurse working in one of the jail's housing units has tested positive for the virus. In response, that pod as well as one other in Santa Rita were placed under quarantine on Friday, March 27. The second pod was quarantined allegedly in response to a case of pneumonia or other similar medical condition. All transportation of detainees between the jail and the federal courthouse has been suspended, according to a federal court notice. Community advocates warn tha…
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/03/29/18831919.php

Honk for Justice: COVID-safe Car Rally to End ICE Detention
Sam Tunick | indybay.org | 2020-03-30
We will meet at SP+ Parking (50 Broadway, San Francisco), then depart as a caravan at noon to circle the ICE office and Civic Center Plaza.
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/03/29/18831928.php

'Need Our Help?' Iran's IRGC Mocks US For Now Leading World In COVID-19 Cases
Zero Hedge | iranian.com | 2020-03-30
On the same day the United States leveled yet more sanctions against the Islamic Republic, blacklisting 20 Iran- and Iraq-based companies, officials and individuals for supporting terrorism, leaders in Tehran took to publicly mocking the US for now being the global epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic. As of Friday evening numbers of US confirmed cases …
iranian.com/2020/03/29/need-our-help-irans-irgc-mocks-us-for-now-leading-world-in-covid-19-cases/

Civil rights groups condemn COVID-19 authoritarianism
pip.hinman | greenleft.org.au | 2020-03-30
Democracy Jacob AndrewarthaIssue 1259 Australia civil rights COVID-19March 30, 2020Against expert health and civil rights advice, governments are opting for authoritarian measures they claim will protect u…
greenleft.org.au/content/civil-rights-groups-condemn-covid-19-authoritarianism

As coronavirus infects women in Yarl's Wood, detainees make urgent demands
Eliza Egret | thecanary.co | 2020-03-29
As coronavirus (Covid-19) begins to infect detainees, women trapped in Yarl's Wood immigration detention centre are demanding their immediate release. Many of these women have already fled from dangerous situations, and include people with pre-existing health conditions an…
thecanary.co/trending/2020/03/29/as-coronavirus-infects-women-in-yarls-wood-detainees-make-urgent-demands/

PCHR Condemns Israeli Authorities Discriminatory Treatment of Palestinian Workers Suspected with Coronavirus
PCHR | imemc.org | 2020-03-29
The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights strongly condemns the Israeli occupation authorities' discriminatory and unethical treatment towards Palestinian workers in Israel, by dumping workers suspected with coronavirus symptoms in the West Bank at checkpoints and seam points within the Annexation Wall that separates Israel and the West Bank without providing …
imemc.org/article/pchr-condemns-israeli-authorities-discriminatory-treatment-of-palestinian-workers-suspected-with-coronavirus/

Evo Morales Expresses Solidarity With Venezuela Amid US Attacks
telesurenglish.net | 2020-03-29
Former Bolivian President Evo Morales said that with the most recent attack by the United States government against Venezuela, Washington intends to distract public opinion about the collapse of the country's health services in the face of Covid-19. | RELATED: | Russia Calls to Lift 'Genocidal' Sanctions Against Venezuela | "The US is in a humanitarian crisis. The health services of its main cities are beginning to collapse," stressed the leader of the Movement to Socialism (MAS) o…
telesurenglish.net/news/Evo-Morales-Expresses-Solidarity-With-Venezuela-Amid-US-Attacks-20200329-0004.html

Isareli Settlers Attack Palestinians, Injure One near Hebron
Ali Salam | imemc.org | 2020-03-28
Israeli settlers attacked, on Friday, Palestinian herders and other civilians in the village of Al-Tuwani, south of Hebron in the southern occupied West Bank, according to a local activist. Fo'ad Amour, a local rights activist, told Palestinian WAFA News Agency that illegal colonial settlers, accompanied by attack dogs, assaulted herders …
imemc.org/article/isareli-settlers-attack-palestinians-injure-one-near-hebron/

Russia Calls to Lift 'Genocidal' Sanctions Against Venezuela
telesurenglish.net | 2020-03-28
Russia's Foreing Minister Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova Friday reiterated her country's call to lift the illegal economic sanctions imposed by the United States on Venezuela, which they consider as a "genocide tool" in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic. | RELATED: | Putin Urges G20 to Lift Sanctions on Goods Due to COVID-19 | "We will not tire of repeating our call to immediately cancel arbitrary unilateral sanctions that at the current juncture of the epidemic become almost a weapo…
telesurenglish.net/news/Russia-Calls-to-Lift-Genocidal-Sanctions-Against-Venezuela-20200328-0001.html

How Many Nedas? Iran Sanctions Are Biological Warfare Against Civilians
Richard Eskow | commondreams.org | 2020-03-28
General view of a hospital where health officers, wearing masks and special protective suits, take care of a patient infected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) at a hospital in Tehran, Iran on March 02, 2020. (Photo: Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
commondreams.org/views/2020/03/28/how-many-nedas-iran-sanctions-are-biological-warfare-against-civilians?cd-origin=rss

'Truly a Civil Rights Hero': Rev. Joseph Lowery Dead at 98
Andrea Germanos, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2020-03-28
"We've come too far, marched too long, prayed too hard, wept too bitterly, bled too profusely and died too young, to let anybody turn back the clock on our journey to justice," Lowery said in 2013. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
commondreams.org/news/2020/03/28/truly-civil-rights-hero-rev-joseph-lowery-dead-98?cd-origin=rss

Trump intensifies murderous Iran sanctions during COVID-19 crisis
The Grayzone Project | iranian.com | 2020-03-28
As Iran struggles to contain COVID-19, the US has imposed new sanctions that further weaken the Iranian economy and health system.
iranian.com/2020/03/28/trump-intensifies-murderous-iran-sanctions-during-covid-19-crisis/

Weekend Read: SPLC demands ICE act amid pandemic to save the lives of countless immigrants trapped in its crowded detention centers
splcenter.org | 2020-03-27
As COVID-19 continues to spread around the world, tens of thousands of immigrants, many of whom came to this country seeking asylum, seem to have been forgotten by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

With a Quarter of the World's Population Under US Sanctions, Countries Appeal to UN to Intervene
Alan Macleod | mintpressnews.com | 2020-03-27
Eight countries, representing around one-quarter of all humanity, say that Washington's actions are undermining their response to the COVID–19 pandemic sweeping the planet.
mintpressnews.com/coronavirus-quarter-worlds-population-under-us-sanctions-appeal-to-un/266096/

Protect 'healthcare heroes' from COVID-19, urges UN rights expert
news.un.org | 2020-03-27
States and business leaders must step up efforts to ensure that the selfless doctors, nurses, first-responders and other medical professionals working on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic receive adequate protective equipment, a UN rights expert said on Friday.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/03/1060502

Asylum Seekers Stranded in Mexico Face a New Danger: COVID-19
Ashoka Mukpo | aclu.org | 2020-03-26
Since the Trump administration first unrolled its policy of forcing migrants to wait in Mexico for their asylum hearings, advocates have been warning that the practice places them in danger. Now, the global coronavirus outbreak is putting an exclamation point on those warnings and adding a new, frightening layer of risk into the lives of asylum…
aclu.org/news/immigrants-rights/asylum-seekers-stranded-in-mexico-face-a-new-danger-covid-19

Colombian prisoners ask for medical help and receive bullets
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2020-03-26
The National Prison Movement (Movimiento Nacional Carcelario) and other prisoner rights groups called a demonstration in Colombian prisons on March 21, to protest the lack of protection against the COVID-19 virus and the general lack of decent healthcare in the Colombian prisons. Twelve Colombian prisons answered the call for a 'cacerolazo,' a protest where one bangs on pots and pans to make enough noise so that the protest is heard. | The protest in the prison Carcel Nacional Modelo de Bogotá began at 9 p.m. on March 21. The prisoners were mostly on lockdown in their cells and began banging on their pots and pan…
www.fightbacknews.org/2020/3/26/colombia…

Now Is the Time to Cancel Sanctions on Iran
Brian Cloughley | iranian.com | 2020-03-26
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has often declared that he considers himself to be a devout evangelical Christian, and in November 2019 told the New York Times Magazine that the Bible "informs everything I do." Given that his religious convictions are based on the Bible, he is doubtless familiar with the command from Philippians 2: 4 that everyone should "look not …
iranian.com/2020/03/25/now-is-the-time-to-cancel-sanctions-on-iran/

UN rights chief urges quick action by governments to prevent devastating impact of COVID-19 in places of detention
news.un.org | 2020-03-25
COVID-19 has begun to strike in prisons, jails and immigration detention centres, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet warned on Wednesday, as she urged Governments "not to forget hose behind bars" and to protect those working in closed facilities in their overall efforts to contain the pandemic…
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/03/1060252

SPLC and allies seek federal court injunction in system-wide suit to protect people detained by ICE from contracting COVID-19
splcenter.org | 2020-03-25
The SPLC and its allies asked a federal court today to issue a preliminary injunction requiring that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) take immediate steps to protect people in its custody, particularly those who have medical conditions making them more susceptible to serious illness and death from COVID-19.
splcenter.org/news/2020/03/25/splc-and-allies-seek-federal-court-injunction-system-wide-suit-protect-people-detained-ice

Deflection: Pompeo Issues '5 Facts' Claiming Iran Exported COVID-19 To "At Least 5 Countries"
Zero Hedge | iranian.com | 2020-03-25
As even Britain is urging its close US ally to moderate its stance on Iran sanctions as the Mideast country's death toll surges from the coronavirus pandemic, the Washington-Tehran tit-for-tat exchanges and blame game over Covid-19 continues unabated. Yesterday Pompeo issued a new list of five allegations of how Iran's leaders have handled the outbreak. Notably, this featured the …
iranian.com/2020/03/24/deflection-pompeo-issues-5-facts-claiming-iran-exported-covid-19-to-at-least-5-countries/

"Humanitarian Solidarity": Even Under U.S. Sanctions, Cuba Sends Doctor Brigade to Italy and More
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-03-24
As Italy's death toll soars past 6,000, Cuba has sent medical brigades to combat COVID-19. Cuba has also deployed doctors to Venezuela, Nicaragua, Jamaica, Suriname and Grenada. "The arrival of a medical brigade from Cuba to Italy is pretty historic. You have a leading European nation accepting support in the form of a medical team from a small Caribbean island," says our guest, Peter Kornbluh, director of the Cuba Documentation Project at the National Security Archive at George Washington University. "It just goes to the history of Cuba's deep and long-lasting commitment to humanitarian solidarity with other cou…
www.democracynow.org/2020/3/24/cuba_medi…

Defectors Tell of Torture and Forced Sterilization in Militant Iranian Cult
The Intercept | iranian.com | 2020-03-24
Interviews with defectors, including several who held senior positions, offer the most detailed account to date of what life was like inside the MEK. Read the full story here.
iranian.com/2020/03/24/defectors-tell-of-torture-and-forced-sterilization-in-militant-iranian-cult/

Former ICE Director: Release Immigrants from Detention or COVID-19 Will Spread Like Wildfire Inside
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-03-23
Alarm is growing about the safety of more than 37,000 people held in immigrant detention centers and private jails that contract with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, where it is nearly impossible for them to avoid close contact to stop the spread of the coronavirus. Nearly half of those detained by ICE are accused of no crime other than civil immigration violations. Immigrants at three jails in New Jersey are now on hunger strikes over unsanitary conditions that put them at high risk during the pandemic.‚Ä®‚Ä® We hear from a detained person on hunger strike and speak wit…
www.democracynow.org/2020/3/23/ice_dente…

Trump intensifies murderous Iran sanctions during COVID-19 crisis
Aaron Maté | thegrayzone.com | 2020-03-23
As Iran struggles to contain COVID-19, the US has imposed new sanctions that further weaken the Iranian economy and health…
thegrayzone.com/2020/03/23/trump-intensifies-murderous-iran-sanctions-during-covid-19-crisis/

This is No Time to Play Politics with our Democracy
Sonia Gill | aclu.org | 2020-03-23
Update 03/27/2020: Congress passed a $2 trillion stimulus package intended to address the broad impacts of the COVID-19 global pandemic. While it included $400 million for states to expand access to the ballot for eligible voters, as outlined in this blog, more can and must be done to safeguard our democracy. , , To ensure elections proceed and eligible Americans can vote, any federal legislative package addressing the impact of COVID-19 on our elections must include an immediate, substantial infusion of federal funding and federal requirements for no-excuse mail-in absentee voting and early in-person voting.
aclu.org/news/voting-rights/this-is-no-time-to-play-politics-with-our-democracy

How the ACLU Organized to end Racial Profiling on Greyhound Buses
Andrea Flores | aclu.org | 2020-03-20
Two years ago, the ACLU set a clear goal: push Greyhound to refuse Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers access to their buses to conduct warrantless searches. As part of the Trump administration's immigration crackdown, CBP officers were targeting bus passengers around the country, boarding their buses to racially profile, harass, and too often, detain people who they suspected of being undocumented. Of course, you can't tell someone's immigration status by how they look or sound

Expert: US sanctions on Iran, Venezuela during pandemic could be genocidal
Aaron Maté | thegrayzone.com | 2020-03-20
Intensified US sanctions on Iran, Venezuela during the COVID-19 pandemic could amount to genocide, a former UN expert warns. Iran…
thegrayzone.com/2020/03/20/expert-us-sanctions-on-iran-venezuela-during-pandemic-could-be-genocidal/

Grassroots effort sponsored by SPLC protects voting rights for hundreds across South Florida
splcenter.org | 2020-03-20
Clutching a clipboard full of voter registration forms under his arm, Marq Mitchell knocked on the front door of a small, beige, stucco house in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
splcenter.org/news/2020/03/20/grassroots-effort-sponsored-splc-protects-voting-rights-hundreds-across-south-florida

Fight To Vote: Florida man's voting rights restored by Amendment 4
splcenter.org | 2020-03-20
Abdul Yaw Akachi was talking to his neighbors one sunny day in Florida when a voting rights advocate walked up to him.
splcenter.org/news/2020/03/24/fight-vote-florida-mans-voting-rights-restored-amendment-4

We Know Prisons Need COVID-19 Plans, but our Arizona Prison Tour Suggests it's not Happening
Corene Kendrick | aclu.org | 2020-03-19
Earlier this month, the Prison Law Office and the ACLU National Prison Project filed an emergency motion in federal court in Phoenix. The motion asks the judge to order the Arizona Department of Corrections (ADC) to consult with a correctional health care expert to develop a plan to prevent, manage, and treat any COVID-19 outbreaks in the state's 10 prisons. You might think this is an obvious request, but we've spent the last decade observing the Arizona pri…
aclu.org/news/prisoners-rights/we-know-prisons-need-covid-19-plans-our-arizona-prison-tour-suggests-its-not-happening

The Military Should not be Searching Cars or Checking Documents at the Border
Shaw Drake | aclu.org | 2020-03-18
There's an old saying that goes, "When all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail." This adage is especially applicable to the Trump administration's approach toward border policy, which is ever more militarized. On March 6th, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials announced that the Department of Defense would deploy 160 active-duty troops to ports of entry at the border

[Correspondence] COVID-19 battle during the toughest sanctions against Iran
Amirhossein Takian, Azam Raoofi, Sara Kazempour-Ardebili | thelancet.com | 2020-03-18
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has spread rapidly throughout the world. WHO declared the outbreak a global pandemic on March 11, 2020.1 In Iran, the first official announcement of deaths from COVID-19 was made on Feb 19, 2020. As of March 16, 2020, 14‚Äà991 people have been infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, and 853 people have died from COVID-19. 4996 people have recovered.2…
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30668-1/fulltext?rss=yes

SPLC offices, Civil Rights Memorial Center close
splcenter.org | 2020-03-14
Our work continues with fervor and is needed more now than ever.
splcenter.org/news/2020/03/20/splc-offices-civil-rights-memorial-center-close

No, Venezuela does not have a six child per family policy
Joe Emersberger | zcomm.org | 2020-03-13
I respect UK journalist Andrew Buncombe. As I noted for FAIR last year, he was one of the few corporate journalists who reported on a study linking Trump's financial sanctions on Venezuela to thousands of deaths by the end of 2018. Since 2018, Trump has repeatedly intensified the sanctions and threatened Venezuela with military action, Read…
zcomm.org/zblogs/no-venezuela-does-not-have-a-six-child-per-family-policy/

Anti-LGBTQ Hate Group Presents "Make the Family Great Again" Petition to U.S. State Department Commission
Hatewatch Staff | splcenter.org | 2020-03-13
Anti-LGBTQ hate group Ruth Institute presented a "Make the Family Great Again" petition to the State Department at its Commission on Unalienable Rights meeting Feb. 21.
splcenter.org/hatewatch/2020/03/16/anti-lgbtq-hate-group-presents-make-family-great-again-petition-us-state-department

This Law Makes Voting Nearly Impossible for Native Americans in Montana
Alora Thomas-Lundborg | aclu.org | 2020-03-12
Voting has never been easy for Native Americans living on rural reservations in Montana, which are often geographically isolated, with limited access to postal service and transportation. The passage of the Montana Ballot Interference Prevention Act (BIPA) has made these obstacles even greater, severely inhibiting Native Americans' access to the ballot. That's why we're suing. | In a state where the majority of individuals vote | by mail, rural tribal communities often work with get-out-the-vote organizer…
aclu.org/news/voting-rights/this-law-makes-voting-nearly-impossible-for-native-americans-in-montana

[Commentary] Women and girls' health agency: Operationalizing the "Can-Act-Resist" of the women's empowerment process
Anita Raj | thelancet.com | 2020-03-04
This year marks the 25th anniversary of Bejing Declaration and Platform for Action