Threat of ICE Detention Centers Turning Into Death Camps, Groups Rallying to Free Families
Eoin Higgins | indybay.org | 2020-04-01
ICE is making the pandemic more dangerous for everyone.
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/04/01/18832002.php

Innovative COVID-19 Safe Protest in San Francisco
Protest News | indybay.org | 2020-04-01
Boisterous Car Rally Honks for Justice for ICE Detainees…
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/03/31/18831976.php

Iran coronavirus death toll rises to over 3,000
rt.com | 2020-04-01
A total of 3,036 coronavirus patients have died in Iran, with 138 deaths in the past 24 hours, the Health Ministry reported on Wednesday. | The ministry's spokesman, Kianush Jahanpur, said the country now has a total of 47,593 people infected, with 2,987 new cases in the past 24 hours, while 15,473 people have recovered. | Speaking on Wednesday in a televised cabinet meeting, President Hassan Rouhani said that the coronavirus crisis is "a great opportunity for Americans to apologize… and to lift the unjust and unfair sanctions on Iran." | One of the worst hit countries in the region, Iran has urged the inter…
rt.com/news/484665-iran-coronavirus-death-toll-3000/

'Ask the government': Former Celtics star claims NBA season could resume at classified US Air Force site Area 51
rt.com | 2020-04-01
Having held the 2019 Summer League at the University of Nevada, NBA chiefs could find a novel solution to ending the season at a less conventional base in the state

Fire breaks out at Rohingya refugee camp in Bangladesh
yenisafak.com | 2020-04-01
A fire has broken out at a Rohingya refugee camp in Bangladesh's southern Cox's Bazar district on Wednesday, according to local police and Rohingya."Units of local fire brigade rushed to the spot just after they were informed about the fire and they are still working there," said Prodip Kumar Das, officer in charge of a local police station in Cox's Bazar.The cause of the fire is yet to be known. "We will investigate the cause of the fire", Das told Anadolu Agency.Meanwhile, a Rohingya rights worker told Anadolu Agency that they have come to know primarily that the fire might have caused from cooking pan.
yenisafak.com/en/world/fire-breaks-out-at-rohingya-refugee-camp-in-bangladesh-3515645

Huawei Warns Beijing Will Take US Companies Down if Trump Agrees to New Chip Sanctions
sputniknews.com | 2020-04-01
Earlier, US media reported that the Trump administration had put together new restrictions to try to cut Huawei off from the global chip supply industry, with the rule requiring companies using US-made chip-making-technology to get licenses before selling certain chips to the Chinese tech giant.
sputniknews.com/business/202004011078787916-huawei-warns-beijing-will-take-us-companies-down-if-trump-agrees-to-new-chip-sanctions/

Iranian foreign ministry's "SANCTION" graphic beamed tonight on Azadi Tower in Tehran
The Iranian | iranian.com | 2020-04-01
iranian.com/2020/03/31/iranian-foreign-ministrys-sanction-graphic-beamed-tonight-on-azadi-tower-in-tehran/

Amnesty International USA and LIRS launch "Hope Can't Be Quarantined" campaign to help immigrants and asylum-seekers held in detention during the COVID-19 crisis
commondreams.org | 2020-03-31
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commondreams.org/newswire/2020/03/31/amnesty-international-usa-and-lirs-launch-hope-cant-be-quarantined-campaign-help?cd-origin=rss

Twitter Blocks Iranian Leader's Accounts
telesurenglish.net | 2020-03-31
In the early hours onTuesday morning, Twitter blocked the accounts of the Islamic Revolution leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. | RELATED: US Sanctions 20 Iranian, Iraqi Entities Despite Virus Outbreak | According to the Twitter notification, the Iranian supreme leader accounts violate the social network policies. Twitter administration did not give more details of specific reasons for the action. | The profiles in Arab, English, and Persian were censored. Then Persian and English on…
telesurenglish.net/news/twitter-blocks-official-iranian-leader-profiles-20200331-0011.html

#EndCOVIDSanctions Coalition Applauds Members of Congress for Call to Suspend Iran Sanctions
commondreams.org | 2020-03-31
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commondreams.org/newswire/2020/03/31/endcovidsanctions-coalition-applauds-members-congress-call-suspend-iran?cd-origin=rss

Covid-19: Cuba Deserves Relief From US Sanctions
Peter Kornbluh | thenation.com | 2020-03-31
Covid-19: Cuba Deserves Relief From US Sanctions…
thenation.com/article/world/coronavirus-cuba-sanctions-aid/

The US Decries Political Persecution of Nicaraguans But Won't Grant Them Asylum
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-03-31
The second time around, John Martínez-Picado knew what awaited him inside "El Chipote." It had been almost a year but the spiral-shaped prison with its overcrowded underground cells and concrete beds on the floor still haunted him. He hadn't forgotten the suffocating feeling

Peru: Congress Approves Police Protection Law
telesurenglish.net | 2020-03-31
Human rights organizations and the Legal Defense Institute of Peru denounced on Monday the approval of a bill giving police forces legal protection while using armament during operations. | RELATED: | Peru Withdraws Its Candidate for OAS Chief | The Peruvian Congress presented the bill N ∞ 31012 to parliament in September of 2019. The legal body approved the law project on March 16. Congress alleges the bill is valid due to COVID-19 spreading in the Andean nation. | The main reason for the…
telesurenglish.net/news/peru-congress-approves-police-protection-law-20200331-0006.html

How a Human Rights Lawyer Went From Hero to House Arrest
James North | thenation.com | 2020-03-31
How a Human Rights Lawyer Went From Hero to House Arrest…
thenation.com/article/activism/steven-donziger-chevron/

On the Need for Dissent and Debate in These Urgent Times
John Nichols | thenation.com | 2020-03-31
On the Need for Dissent and Debate in These Urgent Times…
thenation.com/article/politics/dissent-debate-massie-aoc/

Government inaction puts staff and inmates in immigration detention at risk
pip.hinman | greenleft.org.au | 2020-03-31
Refugees & migrants Niko LekaIssue 1259 Australia COVID-19 detention NewcastleMarch 31, 2020The federal government is not taking the nece…
greenleft.org.au/content/government-inaction-puts-staff-and-inmates-immigration-detention-risk

Robodebt scam exposed as a rort
pip.hinman | greenleft.org.au | 2020-03-31
Welfare Kerry SmithIssue 1259 Australia Robodebt ACOSS welfare rightsMarch 31, 2020The tide appears to be turning against the federal government's pun…
greenleft.org.au/content/robodebt-scam-exposed-rort

'A Shameful New Low': Amid COVID-19 Crisis, Alberta Govt. Ponies Up $1 Billion for Keystone XL Tar Sands Pipeline
Andrea Germanos, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2020-03-31
"We need billions of public dollars invested directly in vulnerable communities dying from COVID-19, not spent propping up massive oil companies and unneeded projects that would trample Indigenous rights and exacerbate the climate crisis." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
commondreams.org/news/2020/03/31/shameful-new-low-amid-covid-19-crisis-alberta-govt-ponies-1-billion-keystone-xl-tar?cd-origin=rss

'Pandemics Know No Borders': Democrats Call on Trump Admin to Suspend Sanctions on Iran During Coronavirus Outbreak
Eoin Higgins, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2020-03-31
"We need to cancel all economic sanctions during this crisis." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
commondreams.org/news/2020/03/31/pandemics-know-no-borders-democrats-call-trump-admin-suspend-sanctions-iran-during?cd-origin=rss

Amnesty Slams Trump for Classifying Gun Stores as 'Essential Businesses' During Pandemic
Julia Conley, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2020-03-31
Human rights defenders on Tuesday demanded that the Trump administration reverse its decision to designate gun stores as essential businesses during the coronavirus pandemic. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
commondreams.org/news/2020/03/31/amnesty-slams-trump-classifying-gun-stores-essential-businesses-during-pandemic?cd-origin=rss

COVID-19 State of Emergency: Powers and Restrictions Under Palestinian and International Law
PCHR | imemc.org | 2020-03-30
The Palestinian Center For Human Rights (PCHR): Introduction: On 05 March 2020, the Palestinian President issued a decree declaring a 30-day state of emergency to combat the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) in Palestine.
imemc.org/article/covid-19-state-of-emergency-powers-and-restrictions-under-palestinian-and-international-law/

Prominent organizations and individuals urge Gov. Pritzker to free Gerald Reed
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2020-03-30
Chicago, IL – Two dozen prominent organizations and individuals have urged Gov. J. B. Pritzker in a letter to use "the powers of [his] office to provide long overdue justice to Gerald Reed." Reed's deteriorating health puts him at extreme risk due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He has heart failure, and late last year while awaiting a new trial at Cook County jail he had a heart attack. | Reed was wrongfully convicted 29 years ago based on a confession extracted through torture by subordinates of Chicago Police Commander Jon Burge. His conviction was vacated on December 18, 2019 by Judge Thomas V. Gainer, who ordered…
www.fightbacknews.org/2020/3/30/prominen…

Israel's Shin Bet Slaps PLC Member with Administrative Detention
Ali Salam | imemc.org | 2020-03-30
The Shin Bet, Israel's intelligence agency, on Sunday, decided to renew the detention of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) member and Hamas leader, Hasan Yousuf, for four months, under administrative detention. Sheikh Hasan Yousuf, 65, was scheduled for release on March 31, 2020, and just two days before his release, …
imemc.org/article/israels-shin-bet-slaps-plc-member-with-administrative-detention/

PCHR Calls upon International Community to Assist Healthcare System in Gaza Strip to Fight Coronavirus
PCHR | imemc.org | 2020-03-30
The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) is closely monitoring the health conditions in the Gaza Strip, and the healthcare system's preparedness to combat the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) and its possible outbreak. PCHR confirms that the healthcare system will not be able to deal with patients infected with the coronavirus …
imemc.org/article/pchr-calls-upon-international-community-to-assist-healthcare-system-in-gaza-strip-to-fight-coronavirus/

COVID-19 stoking xenophobia, hate and exclusion, minority rights expert warns
news.un.org | 2020-03-30
Combatting the COVID-19 pandemic must also include stamping out what one independent human rights expert has called the "darker sides" of the disease: verbal and physical attacks against Chinese and other minority communities, and excluding them from access to healthcare.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/03/1060602

Release inmates in Yemen to avert nationwide coronavirus outbreak, experts urge
news.un.org | 2020-03-30
An international panel of human rights experts called today for the immediate release of political prisoners and detainees in war-ravaged Yemen to help avert a nationwide outbreak of COVID-19.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/03/1060642

'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/

In a 10-Day Span, ICE Flew This Iranian Detainee Across the Country Nine Times
ProPublica | iranian.com | 2020-03-30
Less than two weeks ago, the Trump administration urged Americans to avoid nonessential travel to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Major airlines slashed their routes. All the while, Sirous Asgari took nine different flights around the country. None of them was by choice. Asgari bounced around on chartered jets from Louisiana to Texas to …
iranian.com/2020/03/30/in-a-10-day-span-ice-flew-this-iranian-detainee-across-the-country-nine-times/

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

[Obituary] Aron Goldhirsch
Andrew Green | thelancet.com | 2020-03-28
Medical oncologist specialising in breast cancer. Born on April 25, 1946, in Landsberg am Lech, Germany, he died on Feb 26, 2020, in Lugano, Switzerland, aged 73 years.
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30642-5/fulltext?rss=yes

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
splcenter.org/news/2020/03/30/weekend-read-splc-demands-ice-act-amid-pandemic-save-lives-countless-immigrants-trapped-its

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

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

"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…

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

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

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/

[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