(2021-05-01). Clayton County, Georgia sheriff indicted on federal criminal charges for brutalizing detainees. wsws.org According to federal prosecutors, Sheriff Victor Hill directed his deputies to leave four inmates tightly strapped to a restraining chair for long hours.
(2021-04-30). The Supreme Court Considers a Cheerleader's Off Campus Free Speech Rights. aclu.org This week, the Supreme Court heard arguments in a case that has huge implications for the free speech rights of students. The case involves then 14-year-old Brandi Levy, a cheerleader at Mahanoy Area High School in Pennsylvania, and her post on the social media platform Snapchat. One of her cheerleading coaches saw…
(2021-04-30). Vegan And Other Nonviolence News. indybay.org Smithfield pollution, chicken rights, Supreme Court and other news…
(2021-04-30). Headlines for April 30, 2021. democracynow.org India COVID Cases Continue to Soar as Arundhati Roy Decries "Crime Against Humanity", Deaths Soar in Latin America; Brazil COVID Death Toll Tops 400,000, 44 Ultra-Orthordox Jews Die in Stampede at Religious Site, Abbas Postpones Palestinian Elections, USAID Watchdog Criticizes Trump's Politicization of Aid to Venezuela, Thousands Flee into Thailand as Burmese Junta Launches Airstrikes Near Border, Florida Approves Sweeping Voter Suppression Bill, West Virginia, Florida & Texas Bills Target Trans Youth, Biden Vows to Close Private Detention Centers in Response to Georgia Protesters, Right-Wing Extremists Face New…
(2021-04-30). "A Threshold Crossed": Israel Is Guilty of Apartheid, Human Rights Watch Says for First Time. democracynow.org 
A major new report by Human Rights Watch says for the first time that Israel is committing crimes of apartheid and persecution in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The international human rights group says Israeli authorities dispossessed, confined and forcibly separated Palestinians. "For years, prominent voices have warned that apartheid lurked just around the corner. But it's very clear that that threshold has been crossed," says Omar Shakir, Israel and Palestine director at Human Rights Watch. "It's time for the international community to recognize the reality on the ground for what it is — aparthei…
(2021-04-30). Xinjiang shakedown: US anti-China lobby cashed in on 'forced labor' campaign that cost Uyghur workers their jobs. thegrayzone.com A campaign against supposed forced labor in Xinjiang has forced Uyghur workers out of their jobs while extracting a handsome payout from a US apparel company to Uyghur exile groups lobbying against China. A self-described "worker rights organization" in Washington DC called the Worker Rights Consortium has helped direct a Coalition to End Forced Labour in the Uyghur Region that has successfully pressured US apparel companies to leave the Xinjiang region of China. Claiming to represent "over 100 civil society …
(2021-04-30). Bottom-up Politics: Grassroots Activism Drive Pro-Palestine Shift in the US. counterpunch.org 
At a recent virtual J Street Conference, US Senators, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren broke yet another political taboo when they expressed willingness to leverage US military aid as a way to pressure Israel to respect Palestinian human rights. Sanders believes that the US "must be willing to bring real pressure to bear, including restricting
(2021-04-30). Why Does Washington Keep Punishing Cuba? counterpunch.org 
According to the geopolitical analysis site STRATFOR, sanctions are "a coercive tool to compel a targeted entity to adjust its behaviour" and can be effected in a number of ways and, indeed, applied for very different reasons. An intriguing aspect of sanctions' imposition is that some of these reasons are not intended primarily to alter the target's behaviour
(2021-04-30). 'I have rights too'. workers.org 
By Miley Selena Fletcher The following letter is from a transgender incarcerated worker at SCI Forest in Pennsylvania. When I write for Workers World about the wrongs going on here and the unprofessional abuse of authority by correctional officers or staff, I am called down to a security office. I . . . |
(2021-04-30). Central Syria: Russian Airstrikes Killed More Than 50 Terrorists In Past Month. southfront.org 
File image. | More than 50 terrorists of ISIS had been killed in central Syria over the past month as a result of airstrikes carried out by the Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS), the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported on April 30. | According to the London-based monitoring group, Russian warplanes carried out at least 1,260 airstrikes on ISIS cells in central Syria."SOHR activists documented the death of 59 ISIS members and the injury of 38 others due to over 1,260 Russian airs…
(2021-04-30). Iranian-Affiliated Commander Killed In Drone Strike Near Syrian-Iraqi Border: Monitoring Group. southfront.org 
Photo: U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Brian Ferguson | An Iranian-affiliated commander was killed as a result of a drone strike on the eastern Syrian governorate of Deir Ezzor, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported on April 29. | The strike targeted a house and military vehicle in the town of al-Sayyal, which is located around 20 km to the north of the al-Bukamal border crossing with Iraq."The attack resulted in the death of a commander of a non-Syrian nationality and the injury of five militiamen,…
(2021-04-30). Europe: COVID must spark rethink to prioritize 'human lives' over economic policies. news.un.org The devastating impact of COVID-19 serves as a stark reminder that the European Union must "put human lives" above economic policy considerations, that privilege competition between EU Member States, an independent UN human rights expert said on Friday.
(2021-04-30). How the US is shielding Israel from Apartheid charges and itself from complicity charges. juancole.com ( Middle East Monitor) — The Palestinians mentioned apartheid in connection with Israel long before B'Tselem used the description. Now it is the turn of Human Rights Watch (HRW) to — rightfully, if belatedly — accuse Israel of apartheid in its latest report titled A Threshold Crossed: Israeli Authorities and the Crimes of Apartheid and …
(2021-04-30). Human Rights Watch declares Israel has crossed apartheid threshold. wsws.org HRW draws on years of human rights documentation, case studies and a review of government planning documents, statements by officials and other sources. It documents a catalogue of Israeli abuses committed against the Palestinians.
(2021-04-30). Mumia Abu-Jamal Supporters March in Oakland. indybay.org Remembering that the Black Panther Party started off with police-watching patrols, activists marched and rallied in Oakland on April 24 with their call, "Free Mumia!" Earlier in the week, a group of UN human rights experts expressed serious concerns over his treatment and wellbeing and called on authorities to urgently address the situation.
(2021-04-30). DeSantis Says 'Of Course' He Will Sign Into Law Florida GOP's Massive Attack on Voting Rights. commondreams.org "Simply put, S.B. 90 is undemocratic to its core," said the ACLU of Florida. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
(2021-04-30). Targeting Roe v. Wade, GOP Has Launched 'Unprecedented' Attack on Abortion Rights in 2021. commondreams.org Experts at the Guttmacher Institute warn 2021 is on track to be "the most damaging anti-abortion state legislative session in a decade—and perhaps ever." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
(2021-04-30). Chad: UN rights office profoundly disturbed over violence against protesters. news.un.org The UN rights office, OHCHR, said on Friday that it is deeply disturbed by security forces in Chad's use of live ammunition during recent protests after the death of former President Idriss Déby, on 19 April.
(2021-04-30). Chagos Islanders Sue the Queen £1 Billion for Lost Fishing Rights. globalresearch.ca The Chagossian people have sued the British Crown for lost fishing …
(2021-04-30). Animal Liberation Conference in September. indybay.org The Animal Liberation Conference brings together the most dedicated animal rights activists from around the world and empowers them to take bold, collective action to achieve revolutionary social and political change for animals.
(2021-04-30). Argentina Fines Agrochemical Firms For Environment Law Evasion. telesurenglish.net Argentina on Thursday fined Bayer, Syngenta, Dow, and Dupont US$783 million for not collecting used containers from the country's farmlands. | RELATED: | "This is the largest environmental sanction in Argentina's history," Sustainable Development Agency (OPDS) Director Juan Brardinelli explained, mentioning that 70 companies traded over 13 million plastic containers in Buenos Aires in 2020 | "Only one million of those containers were…
(2021-04-30). The US Plan to Imprison Businesspeople in Other Countries for "Violating" Illegal US Sanctions: The Cases of Alex Saab, Meng Wanzhou, Mun Chol Myong. orinocotribune.com By Stansfield Smith — Apr 27, 2021 | The The US uses sanctions as a tool to overthrow governments that do not kow-tow to it. Sanctions are a weapon of war on civilians. They destroy the economy of a country ("make the economy scream") by causing hyp…
(2021-04-30). US Sanctions Led to Huawei Losing Smartphone Market Share to Rivals, Company Executive Says. sputniknews.com MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Chinese tech giant Huawei lost its smartphone market share to key rivals including Apple and Samsung, under pressure from strident US sanctions, a top company executive said on Friday.
(2021-04-30). Lifting all illegal sanctions key to success of Vienna talks. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Apr. 30 (MNA) — China's State News Agency said that success of JCPOA talks in Vienna strictly hinges on lifting of all unilateral and illegal sanctions imposed by the United States against the Islamic Republic of Iran.
(2021-04-29). Award-Winning Journalist Julian Assange Languishes In A British Super Max Prison At The Behest Of The Biden Regime. southfront.org 
Written by Dr. Leon Tressell. The United States and its NATO allies have weaponised the issue of human rights; using…
(2021-04-29). Vegan And Other Nonviolence News. indybay.org Smithfield pollution, chicken rights, Supreme Court and other news…
(2021-04-29). SCOTUS Should Clarify Tinker in Favor of Free Speech, Not School Control. counterpunch.org In 1969, the US Supreme Court held, in Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District, that students don't "shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate." Schools may only prohibit, censor, or punish student speech which would "materially and substantially interfere with the requirements of appropriate discipline in
(2021-04-29). World Police: Washington Seeks to Imprison Foreign Businesspeople for Violating Illegal U.S. Sanctions. strategic-culture.org 
In violation of international law, the US is seeking to extradite and imprison foreign businesspeople for circumventing its unilateral sanctions. Washington's targets include Venezuelan national Alex Saab, North Korean Mun Chol Myong, and Chinese Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou. | By Stansfield SMITH | The United States uses economic sanctions as a weapon against states that choose a development path independent of US global domination. Sanctions can take the form of blocking a nation's financial and trade transactions, not allowing financial institutions to process them. The US can also freeze the assets of ano…
(2021-04-29). The Moral Imperative to Eliminate the Historic Stain of Family Separation. aclu.org In 2018, the ACLU brought a successful lawsuit, Last fall, we reported that hundreds of these families had still not been located, triggering a promise by President-elect Joe Biden to create a task force to address family separation — a promise that materiali…
(2021-04-29). Biden Must Be Bolder on Immigration. The Lives of Millions Depend on It. aclu.org One hundred days ago, President Joe Biden took the helm of a decimated immigration system, which candidate Biden had promised to restore. The lives and safety of millions of people, and the lawfulness and moral standing of our country, depend on the president's ability to deliver on that promise. But 100 days later, his record is decidedly mixed. | The Trump administration exploited and abused executive powers in our immigration laws to an unprecedented degree, aiming to harm Black and Brown communities. He deliberately destroyed the United States' ability to effectively process asylum claims and admit people…
(2021-04-29). Immigrant Youth Tell Biden It's Time to 'Go Bold, Go Big, Go Now' on a Pathway to Citizenship. latinorebels.com We're turning up the pressure even more to tell President Biden and Democrats that we need citizenship now. Now is the time to go big and go bold for our communities by stopping all detentions and deportations and providing a broad pathway to citizenship for millions of people in the infrastructure package," said Luz Chavez, Maryland Youth Organizer at United We Dream and a DACA recipient.
(2021-04-29). Halt Israel's Genocidal Policies is Quds Day Message. orinocotribune.com By Iqbal Jassat — Apr 18, 2021 | As global solidarity movements in support of Palestine's freedom struggle begin preparations for the annual Quds Day commemoration, America's new administration, under president Joe Biden, remains stuck in the mud. | Each year during the month of Ramadan, the last Friday is dedicated to raising awareness on the illegal dispossession, occupation and ongoing atrocities perpetrated by the apartheid regime. Quds Day, as it was called for by the leader of Iran's Islamic Revolution Imam Khomeini, has galvanized civil rights movements across the world to support and sustain action p…
(2021-04-29). Immigration removal and an Article 2 inquest. ukhumanrightsblog.com 
R (Lawal) v Secretary of State for the Home Department (2021), Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber), Unreported, JR/626/2020 (V) — read judgment The death of an immigration detainee, as with all prisoners, is rightly subject to legal scrutiny. This is because detainees are completely under the state's control. Article 2 ECHR requires that the …
(2021-04-29). China Urges Australian Politicians to 'Shake Off the Cold War Mentality'. sputniknews.com Australia-China relations have been growing tense since Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison urged Beijing last year to allow an independent probe into the origins of COVID-19. This prompted a response from Beijing, leading to reciprocal economic sanctions.
(2021-04-29). Impuestos a la riqueza: Un comienzo necesario. globalizacion.ca La extrema desigualdad en América Latina y el Caribe es un obstáculo para un sistema democrático capaz de garantizar derechos a toda la población. La riqueza acumulada en unas cuantas familias les permite influir para aprovechar las políticas públicas, obstaculizando…
(2021-04-29). Russia's FSB Detained 16 Neo-Nazi MKU Supporters Who Plotted Explosions, Armed Attacks. sputniknews.com MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) announced on Thursday that it detained 16 supporters of Ukrainian radical organization MKU, who plotted explosions and armed attacks, in nine cities across Russia.
(2021-04-29). Sri Lankan government detains Muslim parliamentarian and bans burqa. wsws.org The Rajapakse government and its racist allies are whipping up anti-Muslim sentiment to divert attention from the deepening crisis of Sri Lankan capitalism.
(2021-04-29). Police Killing Black Americans Amounts To Crimes Against Humanity. popularresistance.org The systematic killing and maiming of unarmed African Americans by police amount to crimes against humanity that should be investigated and prosecuted under international law, an inquiry into US police brutality by leading human rights lawyers from around the globe has found. | A week after the former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was convicted of murder in George Floyd's death, the unabated epidemic of police killings of Black men and women in the US has now attracted scorching international attention. | In a devastating report running to 188 pages, human rights experts from 11 countries hold the US a…
(2021-04-29). Chilean President Sebastian Pinera Indicted Before the ICC. telesurenglish.net Former Spanish judge Baltasar Garzón, the Chilean Human Rights Commission (CHDH), the American Association of Jurists (AAJ) and the Centro di Ricerca ed Elaborazione per la Democrazia (CRED), on Thursday requested the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate, indict and initiate a trial against Chilean President Sebastian Piñera. | According to a brief sent to the ICC Prosecutor General, lawyer Fatou Bensouda, prosecuting Piñera and his civilian, military and police collaborators becomes imperative for "crimes against humanity" that have been "committed in a widespread and systematic manner" since Oct…
(2021-04-29). Venezuelan Foreign Minister Unmasks HRW Report on Colombian Paramilitary Violence in Apure. orinocotribune.com Venezuelan Foreign Affairs Minister Jorge Arreaza responded to José Manuel Vivanco, head of the Americas division of Human Rights Watch, and qualified Vivanco's human rights report on Apure as a biased hit-job that supports the war of false accusations against Venezuela. | This document is typical of the infamous organization Human Rights Watch (HRW), based in New York City, which has been accused of acting as an agent for destabilization at the service of Washington. In 2010 financier George Soros gave $100 million to HRW. | Arreaza confronted the alleged activist: "You are nothing more than an agent," said Arre…
(2021-04-29). Mumia Abu-Jamal Supporters March in Oakland. indybay.org Remembering that the Black Panther Party started off with police-watching patrols, activists marched and rallied in Oakland on April 24 with their call, "Free Mumia!" Earlier in the week, a group of UN human rights experts expressed serious concerns over his treatment and wellbeing and called on authorities to urgently address the situation.
(2021-04-29). Advocates Welcome DOJ Hate Crimes Charges In Ahmaud Arbery Killing. popularresistance.org Racial justice advocates welcomed Wednesday's announcement by the U.S. Department of Justice that three men imprisoned in Georgia on murder and other charges in connection with the death of unarmed Black man Ahmaud Arbery last February also have been charged with federal hate crimes and attempted kidnapping. | According to a DOJ statement, Travis McMichael, his father Gregory McMichael, and William 'Roddie' Bryan "were each charged with one count of interference with rights and with one count of attempted kidnapping." | "Travis and Gregory McMichael were also charged with one count each of using, carrying, and br…
(2021-04-29). New Zealand, Australia show divided stances toward China. ecns.cn New Zealand, one of the Five Eyes Alliance countries, has distanced itself from Australia, another partner of the group, to blacken China on its human-rights record, according to a recent Bloomberg report.
(2021-04-29). 100 days of strike: Texprint workers in Italy demand rights and dignity. peoplesdispatch.org The workers of textile printing company Texprint srl. in Prato, Italy, have been on strike since January 18 demanding the reduction of their exploitative 12-hour daily work shifts to a maximum of eight hours per day…
(2021-04-29). Animal Liberation Conference in September. indybay.org The Animal Liberation Conference brings together the most dedicated animal rights activists from around the world and empowers them to take bold, collective action to achieve revolutionary social and political change for animals.
(2021-04-29). 'We Kill People with Sanctions': An Interview with Denis Halliday. progressive.org The former assistant secretary general of the United Nations addresses why the United States—along with the Security Council—is still the main roadblock to a less destructive world.
(2021-04-29). EU Parliament Drafts New Sanctions on Russia Over Ukraine. telesurenglish.net The resolution, which recommends cutting Russia off from SWIFT, halting the purchase of Russian energy, and other tough measures, was introduced by a group of Eastern European lawmakers in the European Parliament. Aside from the claim that Russia might be preparing to "invade Ukraine," the resolution blames Moscow for a whole range of other crimes.
(2021-04-29). Nuclear talks between Iran, P4+1 continue in Vienna. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Apr. 29 (MNA) — Nuclear talks between Iran and P4 + 1 continue in Austrian capital Vienna with the continuation of meetings of expert working groups in the three areas of sanctions, nuclear and executive arrangements.
(2021-04-29). Report: Biden Considering Major Rollback of Iran Sanctions to Revive Deal. news.antiwar.com According to a report from The Associated Press, Iran is willing to return to the nuclear limits set by the JCPOA if the US lifts all sanctions that have been imposed since 2018 when the US withdrew from the agreement. But because the Biden administration refuses…
(2021-04-29). Report: Biden Considering Major Rollback of Iran Sanctions to Revive Deal. news.antiwar.com According to a report from The Associated Press, Iran is willing to return to the nuclear limits set by the JCPOA if the US lifts sanctions that have been imposed since 2018 when the US withdrew from the agreement. But because the Biden administration refuses to do so, the U…
