Chilean police repress a peaceful protest in Santiago, detain 30
Peoples Dispatch | peoplesdispatch.org | 2020-04-29
On April 27, the Chilean national police force, the Carabineros, violently repressed a peaceful protest at the Dignity Plaza in the capital Santiago. The protest was called for by several social organizations against the Carabineros on their 93rd anniversary and against the right-wing government led by President Sebastián Piñera. | Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, dozens of Chileans, wearing face masks and maintaining social distance, gathered at the iconic Dignity Plaza, to express their rejection of the Carabineros, on their 93rd anniversary. The protesters expressed their repudiation of the police force by banging…
peoplesdispatch.org/2020/04/29/chilean-police-repress-a-peaceful-protest-in-santiago-detain-30/
Small vendors hard hit by government ordered demolitions in Zimbabwe
Pavan Kulkarni | peoplesdispatch.org | 2020-04-29
Human rights organizations allege that the Zimbabwe government is taking advantage of the lockdown powers to go on a demolition spree, displacing small vendors en masse…
peoplesdispatch.org/2020/04/29/small-vendors-hard-hit-by-government-ordered-demolitions-in-zimbabwe/
UN genocide prevention chief looking into Colombia's mass killing of rights defenders
Adriaan Alsema | colombiareports.com | 2020-04-29
The United Nations' genocide prevention chief wants to visit Colombia while looking into the ongoing mass killing of human rights defenders, community leaders and demobilized guerrillas. The UN's Special Adviser…
colombiareports.com/un-genocide-prevention-chief-looking-into-colombias-mass-killing-of-rights-defenders/
Parents fear for their children's safety as coronavirus hits juvenile jails
Margie Mason, Robin McDowell | peoplesworld.org | 2020-04-28
Nicole Hingle wasn't surprised when the call came. Frustrations had been building inside juvenile detention centers nationwide as the number of coronavirus cases continued to climb. Now, her 17-year-old son Jace was on the phone telling her around 40 kids had rioted at his facility in Louisiana–the same state where more than a dozen youths …
peoplesworld.org/article/parents-fear-for-their-childrens-safety-as-coronavirus-hits-juvenile-jails/
Minnesotans protest Trump's threats on Iran
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2020-04-28
St. Paul, MN – Over 30 cars occupied the parking lot of Minnesota Senator Tina Smith, April 26, to call on her to denounce President Trump's attacks and sanctions on Iran. Trump has escalated the threats against Iran by announcing on Twitter, April 22, that he told the Navy "to shoot down and destroy any and all Iranian gunboats if they harass our ships at sea." Unlike Minnesota's Representative Ilhan Omar, Senator Smith has remained silent while Trump again threatened Iran with further acts of war. | The safe-distance car protest was the first Twin Cities anti-war action during the coronavirus pandemic. It was o…
www.fightbacknews.org/2020/4/28/minnesot…
During Coronvrius: Cuba to the rescue, but don't tell the American people
Medea Benjamin | mronline.org | 2020-04-28
Anti-Cuba zealots in the Trump administration have been enticing Cuban doctors working overseas to defect, paying journalists to write negative stories, slapping sanctions on Cubans in charge of the program, and strong-arming countries to expel Cuban doctors.
mronline.org/2020/04/28/during-coronvrius-cuba-to-the-rescue-but-dont-tell-the-american-people/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=during-coronvrius-cuba-to-the-rescue-but-dont-tell-the-american-people
Spike in gender-based violence during quarantine in Latin America and the Caribbean
Tanya Wadhwa | peoplesdispatch.org | 2020-04-28
Feminists and women's rights activists across the region say that women are at greater risk and urge the governments to step up measures to address all forms of gender-based violence…
peoplesdispatch.org/2020/04/28/spike-in-gender-based-violence-during-quarantine-in-latin-america-and-the-caribbean/
Is Trump Using the U.S. Military for Regime Change in Venezuela?
Barbara Boland | globalresearch.ca | 2020-04-28
U.S. policy towards Venezuela has been a head-spinning series of contradictions lately, with no end in sight. From placing a bounty on the heads of President Nicolas Maduro and a dozen current and former Venezuelan officials, to upping sanctions and …
globalresearch.ca/trump-using-u-s-military-regime-change-venezuela/5711130
Sudan: Coronavirus could be tipping point for 'untold suffering', Bachelet urges sanctions relief
news.un.org | 2020-04-28
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Government and people of Sudan could experience "untold suffering" unless donors act fast to shore up a country still in transition, the top UN human rights official warned on Tuesday.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/04/1062782
The Luxury to Fear COVID-19
Norbert Ross | counterpunch.org | 2020-04-28
El Salvador is showing very different faces. While some people herald its young president for his forceful actions as the savior of the country and even an example for Latin America, others denounce him for his disregard for Salvadorian law, the blatant violations of human rights committed under his regime, and his seeming aspirations as a populist, authoritarian leader. Rather than thinking of this as "the truth lies somewhere in between," it is important to explore how the government has reacted to the COVID-19 crisis, and how these actions have affected the sectors of the society that are usually ignored [mdas…
counterpunch.org/2020/04/28/the-luxury-to-fear-covid-19/
'Did Biden's lawyer write this?' WaPo receives 'Noble' for 'embarrassing' attempt to obfuscate sexual assault claim in headline
rt.com | 2020-04-28
The Washington Post was lambasted on social media after running a bizarrely tortured headline that took great pains to avoid direct mention of sexual assault allegations dogging Joe Biden, the presumptive 2020 Democratic nominee. | "Developments in allegations against Biden amplify efforts to question his behavior," read…
rt.com/usa/487075-washington-post-biden-headline/
Chaos and Fear in Latin America's Prisons as COVID-19 Spreads
telesurenglish.net | 2020-04-28
As the coronavirus pandemic is starting to spread across Latin America's massively overcrowded prisons, putting the lives of tens of thousands at risk, riots have been reported in almost all the region's countries as inmates say their fundamental rights to safety and protection are being violated. | RELATED: | Cuban News Agency Reporter Arrested in Chile for 'No Reason' | A riot was reported Monday in the Castro Castro prison in Peru's capital, Lima, resulting in a fire and the d…
telesurenglish.net/news/Terror-in-Latin-Americas-Prisons-as-COVID-19-Spreads–20200428-0020.html
To Understand COVID in Prisons, Listen to Incarcerated People
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-04-28
The last few years I have written many articles attempting to diagnose the deep malaise within the U.S. criminal legal system
Mexico evacuates migrant centers due to COVID-19 pandemic
Peoples Dispatch | peoplesdispatch.org | 2020-04-27
The National Migration Institute (INM) of Mexico, on April 26, announced that it evacuated nearly all its 65 migrant centers and shelters across the country in an attempt to contain the spread of the COVID-19. In an official statement, the INM said that "based on the health recommendations of Mexican authorities and national and international organizations on the protection of human rights," it implemented "the departure of some migrants, who, for different reasons, have not had their legal situation resolved." | In the statement, the INM reported that since March 21, in order to comply with health and safety gui…
peoplesdispatch.org/2020/04/27/mexico-evacuates-migrant-centers-due-to-covid-19-pandemic/
PCHR Condemns Restrictions on Freedom of Journalistic Work in Gaza
PCHR | imemc.org | 2020-04-27
At approximately 12: 30 on Saturday, 25 April 2020, Palestinian police in Gaza city arrested a Palestine TV Satellite's press crew while recording an interview in Jabalia refugee camp, claiming that they did not have the necessary authorization for photographing and conducting interviews. The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) condemns …
imemc.org/article/pchr-condemns-restrictions-on-freedom-of-journalistic-work-in-gaza/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=pchr-condemns-restrictions-on-freedom-of-journalistic-work-in-gaza
"Unconscionable": Planned Parenthood Pres. Condemns States Using Pandemic to Limit Abortion Access
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-04-27
As much of the U.S. remains on lockdown, abortion rights are under attack nationwide. We get an update on the fight for abortion access with Alexis McGill Johnson, acting president and CEO of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America. "Our bodies have literally been deemed essential," she says, "and yet the control of our bodies and the right to control our own bodies has not."
www.democracynow.org/2020/4/27/coronavir…
'Toxic lockdown culture' of repressive coronavirus measures hits most vulnerable
news.un.org | 2020-04-27
Disturbing details have emerged from dozens of countries that a "toxic lockdown culture" against the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted drastically on society's most vulnerable members, the UN human rights Office (OHCHR) said on Monday. The development follows UN Secretary-General António Guterres's call last week for States not to use the COVID crisis as a pretext for repressive measures, in which he urged Governments to recognize that the threat was the "virus, not people".
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/04/1062632
FRSO online event: COVID-19 pandemic striking Black and brown communities
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2020-04-27
New York City, NY
Family Receives Body of Deceased Palestinian Prisoner
Ali Salam | imemc.org | 2020-04-27
The Palestinian Authority's Detainees Affairs Commission announced on Sunday that Israeli authorities are set to release the corpse of the Palestinian detainee, Nour Barghouthi to his family late on Sunday evening, the Palestinian WAFA News Agency reported. After serving 4 years in Israel's Naqab prison, Barghouthi, 23, died on Wednesday, …
imemc.org/article/family-receives-body-of-deceased-palestinian-prisoner/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=family-receives-body-of-deceased-palestinian-prisoner
They Were Willing to Make the Ultimate Sacrifice for the U.S., but Trump Won't Let Them Become Americans
Scarlet Kim | aclu.org | 2020-04-24
Ange Samma, a 22-year-old green card holder from Burkina Faso, came to the United States seven years ago, when he was still a teenager. After studying electrical engineering at community college, he decided to enlist in the U.S. Army in 2018. He wanted to give back to his adopted country and also hoped joining the military would help him achieve his goal of becoming an electrical engineer. , , Ange currently serves on active duty as a soldier in South Korea. But despite serving this country on a U.S. military base in a foreign country, he still hasn't been able to obtain citizenship through his military servic…
aclu.org/news/immigrants-rights/they-were-willing-to-make-the-ultimate-sacrifice-for-the-u-s-but-trump-wont-let-them-become-americans
"We Don't Have the Capacity to Treat": Palestinian-Canadian Doctor Says Israel Must Lift Gaza Siege
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-04-24
As fears continue to grow about what a rampant outbreak of the coronavirus might do to the occupied Palestinian territory, already crippled by years of Israeli sanctions, we get an update from Dr. Tarek Loubani, Palestinian-Canadian doctor and emergency physician who volunteers in the Gaza Strip and returned from a trip there last month. "Testing is severely limited," he says. "There have been fewer tests in Gaza so far throughout the entire pandemic than there were in South Korea yesterday."
www.democracynow.org/2020/4/24/tarek_lou…
'No time to blame the messenger' warns UN rights chief, amidst media clampdowns surrounding COVID-19
news.un.org | 2020-04-24
The coronavirus pandemic has spawned new threats to press freedom in some countries, according to the UN human rights chief, who declared on Friday that "credible, accurate reporting is a lifeline for all of us".
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/04/1062522
Florida voting rights trial to be argued online
splcenter.org | 2020-04-24
splcenter.org/news/2020/04/25/florida-voting-rights-trial-be-argued-online
Stir Crazy! Episode #21: Don't Bleach Me Bro!
Staff | therealnews.com | 2020-04-24
On today's show: TRNN Managing Editor Marc Steiner, TRNN Executive Political Editor Don Rojas, and special guest Sahar Aziz, director of the Center for Security, Race and Rights. Hosted by Kim Brown.
therealnews.com/stories/stir-crazy-episode-21-dont-bleach-me-bro
We're Going to Court on April 27 to Strike Down This Poll Tax for Good
Daniel Tilley | aclu.org | 2020-04-24
On April 27, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), ACLU of Florida, and our litigation partners will go to trial in U.S. District Court against the state of Florida to win the ability to vote for hundreds of thousands of eligible state voters now being denied that basic right. | In November 2018, more than 64 percent of Florida voters approved Amendment 4, returning the right to vote to Floridians convicted of felonies who completed their sentence and supervision. The only persons excluded are those convicted of homicide or sexual crimes. | Immediately, the Florida Legislature set out to undermine voters'…
aclu.org/news/voting-rights/were-going-to-court-on-april-27-to-strike-down-this-poll-tax-for-good
Death Trap Jail: Pepper-Sprayed, Otay Mesa Detainees Demand Release as COVID-19 Spreads Inside
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-04-21
We look at the mounting number of COVID-19 cases inside immigration jails across the country and one of the largest outbreaks at the Otay Mesa Detention Center near San Diego, run by private prison company CoreCivic. Prisoners were told to sign contracts, written only in English, in exchange for receiving face masks. When some refused to sign, guards pepper-sprayed them. This comes as activists say hundreds imprisoned in detention centers in California are on hunger strike. We get an update from Ruth Mendez, community activist and volunteer with Otay Mesa Detention Resistance.
www.democracynow.org/2020/4/21/otay_mesa…
NYC Immigrant Communities Fight Hunger, Exploitation & Invisibility Through Mutual Aid
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-04-21
We look at how the coronavirus pandemic is impacting undocumented people here in New York City, where the coronavirus has hit immigrant communities the hardest, even as the numbers of daily deaths statewide has declined in recent days. As reports of widespread poverty and hunger continue in the immigrant communities, people are also organizing and helping each other through mutual aid despite extraordinarily difficult circumstances. We are joined by Juan Carlos Ruiz, Lutheran pastor at Good Shepherd Church in Brooklyn and co-founder of the national New Sanctuary Movement and the New Sanctuary Coalition here in Ne…
www.democracynow.org/2020/4/21/migrants_…
Netflix to Stream Remastered Versions of Kiarostami's Films
Iran Front Page | iranian.com | 2020-04-27
The world's leading provider of online entertainment service Netflix is going to offer the remastered versions of a number of movies directed by late Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami. Netflix has signed a deal with mk2 Films, a French company that has acquired all rights to dozens of movies from Iranian filmmaker Kiarostami. Every year, mk2 …
iranian.com/2020/04/26/netflix-to-stream-remastered-versions-of-kiarostamis-films/
US blocking Iran media outlet stark infringement of freedom of expression: Foreign Ministry
Press TV | iranian.com | 2020-04-26
Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs says a recent decision by the administration of US President Donald Trump to block the domains of Iranian news outlets is in "stark infringement" of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and freedom of expression. In a Twitter post on Sunday, the Iranian ministry "strongly" condemned the US Treasury Department's …
iranian.com/2020/04/26/us-blocking-iran-media-outlet-stark-infringement-of-freedom-of-expression-foreign-ministry/
Iran Sanctions and Sickness
Vira Ameli | iranian.com | 2020-04-26
In the current global pandemic, Iran occupies a unique position. One of the first countries to experience the outbreak of covid-19, it is simultaneously the target of an economic blockade that goes back not years, but decades. How Iran has fared under this dual onslaught is determined by the interaction between its singular place in the geopolitical …
iranian.com/2020/04/26/iran-sanctions-and-sickness/
Human Rights Watch cabildea por sanciones letales contra Nicaragua y Venezuela, mientras arrecia la crisis de Covid-19
Ben Norton | thegrayzone.com | 2020-04-20
Human Rights Watch está orgullosamente asumiendo el crédito por sanciones devastadoras contra Nicaragua, mientras busca escalar la guerra económica en…
thegrayzone.com/2020/04/20/human-rights-watch-sanciones-nicaragua-venezuela/
'The US Reaction to Pressure to Ease Sanctions Was to Double Down' – CounterSpin interview with Joe Emersberger on sanctions under Covid-19
Janine Jackson | fair.org | 2020-04-20
"If there were an opposition movement in countries like Canada and the United States and Europe, the demand wouldn't just be, 'You gotta stop this'; the demand would actually be, 'Hey, we've got to prosecute the people involved with this. This is killing people. This is a crime. People should be facing legal consequences for this.'"
fair.org/home/the-us-reaction-to-pressure-to-ease-sanctions-was-to-double-down/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-us-reaction-to-pressure-to-ease-sanctions-was-to-double-down
What it's Like in ICE Detention During a Pandemic
aclu.org | 2020-04-17
As millions of people in the U.S. shelter in their homes, and millions more who aren't able to stay indoors practice social distancing or other measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19, a crisis is brewing in the facilities where immigrants are detained. Cramped conditions and inadequate access to hygiene or medical care have created what one medical expert called a "tinderbox" for the disease in a letter to Congress., , Many of those in detention are asylum seekers, who came to the U.S. to ask for protection after fleeing violence and persecution in their home countries. Many others were long-time U.S. resi…
aclu.org/news/civil-liberties/what-its-like-in-ice-detention-during-a-pandemic
Solidarity needed; non-citizen 'essential workers' under increased attack
Ana Santoyo | liberationnews.org | 2020-04-17
Immigrant detainees fight back against unsafe conditions in ICE centers.
liberationnews.org/solidarity-needed-non-citizen-essential-workers-under-increased-attack/
Bolivian coup leader freaks out on The Grayzone for 'fascist' label in complaint to OAS 'human rights' arm
Ben Norton | thegrayzone.com | 2020-04-16
The director of far-right Bolivian coup leader Camacho's presidential campaign threw a slander-laced tantrum against The Grayzone in a letter…
thegrayzone.com/2020/04/16/bolivia-coup-the-grayzone-cidh-camacho-maclean/
Venezuelan Crude Production Falls amid Coronavirus Crisis
Ricardo Vaz | venezuelanalysis.com | 2020-04-16
The Caribbean country has seen worsening gasoline shortages as the US ramps up secondary sanctions.
venezuelanalysis.com/news/14847
Congressman John Lewis shares message of support for SPLC's work
splcenter.org | 2020-04-13
Congressman John Lewis has been a tireless champion for equal rights and justice for more than six decades.
splcenter.org/news/2020/04/14/congressman-john-lewis-shares-message-support-splcs-work
Venezuela Extends COVID-19 Quarantine as Pope Criticizes Sanctions
Paul Dobson | venezuelanalysis.com | 2020-04-13
This is the first time the Pontiff has spoken out against the measures.
venezuelanalysis.com/news/14842
Mike Elk on Frontline Worker Rights, Joe Emersberger on Pandemic Sanctions
CounterSpin | fair.org | 2020-04-10
Media…
fair.org/home/mike-elk-on-frontline-worker-rights-joe-emersberger-on-pandemic-sanctions/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=mike-elk-on-frontline-worker-rights-joe-emersberger-on-pandemic-sanctions
Get-out-the-vote effort goes digital for COVID-19 pandemic
splcenter.org | 2020-04-10
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Alexis Carr was able to knock on doors in Montgomery, Alabama, register people to vote, instruct them on voting rights and encourage them to cast their ballots on Election Day.
splcenter.org/news/2020/04/11/get-out-vote-effort-goes-digital-covid-19-pandemic
Senate Bill Challenges Online Encryption, Constitutional Rights to Speech and Privacy
VINS | projectcensored.org | 2020-04-06
A Senate bill, the EARN IT Act of 2020, introduced by Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) in March 2020, appears to revise regulations aimed at preventing online sexual…
projectcensored.org/senate-bill-challenges-online-encryption-constitutional-rights-to-speech-and-privacy/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=senate-bill-challenges-online-encryption-constitutional-rights-to-speech-and-privacy
Stop Tightening the Thumb Screws: A Humanitarian Message
Kathy Kelly | zcomm.org | 2020-04-04
One way to help others survive is to insist that the United States lift sanctions against Iran and instead support acts of practical care…
zcomm.org/zmagazine/stop-tightening-the-thumb-screws-a-humanitarian-message/
Venezuela Blasts US 'Transition' Plan as 'Tutelage'
Lucas Koerner | venezuelanalysis.com | 2020-03-31
Washington has threatened to "increase" crippling sanctions until Caracas accepts the deal.
venezuelanalysis.com/news/14830
Rosneft Dodges US Sanctions by Transferring Venezuela Operations to Russian State Firm
Paul Dobson | venezuelanalysis.com | 2020-03-30
Moscow insists that its support for the Venezuelan government and role in its oil industry will remain unchanged.
venezuelanalysis.com/news/14829