(2024-02-16). Rule of Law and Raison d'Etat: Julian Assange Must be Released. counterpunch.org 
An Open Letter to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Mr High Commissioner, On 20-21 February, a High Court in London will decide Julian Assange's fate: freedom or death. Two judges will decide whether the Wikileaks founder will still be able to lodge an ultimate appeal, or will end his days in an
(2024-02-16). Petro condemns "institutional rupture" and attacks on Colombian democracy by the right-wing. peoplesdispatch.org The delay in the election of the Attorney General at the center of the ongoing tensions with the right, was highlighted by the United Nations Human Rights office and IACHR…
(2024-02-17). Allegations made against Dutch residents linked to Israeli offenses in Gaza. albawaba.com ALBAWABA – A human rights advocate, representing the 30 March Movement, has filed complaints against several individuals, including five Israelis and ten Dutch citizens, who are accused of involvement in Israeli military actions in Gaza.Lawyer Harun Raza, speaking on behalf of the movement named after the protests on "Land Day" in 1976, has disclosed to reporters from AA the details of the complaints filed against Israeli soldiers and settlers with Dutch citizenship.Raza personally lodged some of the complaints, while others were submitted on behalf of Huda S., a Palestinian woman adversely affected by the crimes…
(2024-02-17). Egypt constructs buffer zone on Gaza border amid concerns. albawaba.com ALBAWABA – The Israel's potential ground operation in Rafah, where over 1.4 million Palestinians reside, Egypt has taken action to build a "buffer zone" along the border.Reports from the Sinai Foundation for Human Rights reveal that Egyptian authorities began constructing a 7-meter-high buffer zone with walls in Sinai on February 12. The aim is to provide shelter for refugees in case of mass migration from Gaza, with completion targeted within 10 days. The work is closely supervised by the Egyptian Armed Forces Engineering Authority and conducted under high security.The Wall Street Journal, quoting Egyptian offic…
(2024-02-16). Uruguayan government signs statement on Venezuela. plenglish.com The local Ministry of Foreign Affairs published the text on social media, expressing concern over the detention of dissident Rocío San Miguel and called for her release and the dismissal of the charges. | San Miguel was arrested when she was about to leave her country. | According to the Government of Caracas, she is being investigated for her participation in destabilizing actions. | The statement also rejected Venezuela's decision to close the Technical Advisory Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. | The Venezuelan Government described the role of this UN agency as inappropriate.
(2024-02-16). Human rights groups slam Rishi Sunak's push to deport migrants to Rwanda. peoplesdispatch.org To prevent legal challenges to the UK deal to relocate illegal immigrants to Rwanda, the Tory government has been pushing the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill…
(2024-02-16). Australian Parliament Calls for U.S. to Drop Case Against WikiLeaks' Assange Ahead of U.K. Court Hearing. democracynow.org 
Imprisoned WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is set to find out next week whether he has exhausted opportunities to avoid extradition to the United States, where he faces life in prison for publishing classified documents exposing U.S. war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan. A two-day hearing before the British High Court of Justice is scheduled to take place in London on Tuesday and Wednesday. He has been held in London's infamous Belmarsh Prison since 2019 awaiting his possible extradition. Jennifer Robinson, an Australian human rights attorney and legal adviser to Assange and WikiLeaks, discusses public and g…
(2024-02-16). It Is Dark Before the Dawn, But Israeli Settler Colonialism Is At an End. socialistproject.ca 
Professor Ilan Pappé spoke at Islamic Human Rights Commission's (IHRC) annual Genocide Memorial Day in London, UK, on 21st January 2024, on the need to understand that the genocide of Palestinians we are currently witnessing, as brutal as it is, is also the demise of the so-called Jewish state. We need to be ready to imagine a new world beyond it. | The idea that Zionism is settler colonialism is not new. Palestinian scholars in the 1960s working in Beirut in the PLO Research Centre had already understood that what they were facing in Palestine was not a classical colonial project. They did not frame Israel as…
(2024-02-17). Tales From The Pages Of COINTELPRO. popularresistance.org "Circulate, to educate, to liberate!" This was the constant intonation of Sam Napier, circulation manager of The Black Panther newspaper. As one Panther leader noted, Sam was "the main reason" why shortly after it began, the paper had "a 200,000 plus copies per week distribution."2 Napier was a beloved member of the party, which is why many were taken by surprise when his body was found in March of 1971, tied to a chair, showing bullet wounds and signs of torture. After they left, perhaps while he was still alive, his killers set the building on fire. | Sam Napier was one of the victims of a concentrated effort t…
(2024-02-16). IDF Let Israeli Civilians Film Torture of Palestinian Detainees. scheerpost.com 
(2024-02-17). Enfrentamiento armado en Colombia dejó cuatro soldados muertos. telesurtv.net La representante del Alto Comisionado de la ONU para los Derechos Humanos en Colombia viajó a la zona del ataque para hacer seguimiento a "la situación de derechos humanos".
(2024-02-16). 12 children among Chiefs Super Bowl rally shooting victims. albawaba.com A celebration turned tragic on Wednesday when a shooting near the Kansas City Chiefs' Super Bowl parade left one person dead and at least 21 others injured, including 12 children.The incident occurred west of Union Station, outside near the garage, as fans were leaving the rally.According to Kansas City police, three suspects have been detained for investigation and one firearm has been recovered. The motive for the shooting remains unclear, while they speculate a dispute as the cause of the shooting.This is the moment bystanders jumped in to tackle an armed man, who was running away from the scene of the Kansas…
(2024-02-16). Unveiling the mental health crisis at Al-Hol camp in Syria. newarab.com 
Displaced Syrians living in the Described as a "massive outdoor prison", the Al-Hol camp sits in northeast Syria, close to the border of Iraq. Some 40,000 people have been detained in the camp since 2018 following displacement during fighting between the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and Islamic State (IS…
(2024-02-17). Dozens detained in Russia as Navalny's family seek body. newarab.com 
Police detained dozens of Russians paying tribute to opposition leader Alexei Navalny on Saturday, as his spokeswoman accused authorities of stalling the release of his body to relatives. | The 47-year-old Kremlin critic His death, which the West has blamed on the Kremlin, deprives Russia's opposition of its figurehead just a month before elections poised…
(2024-02-17). Israel pounds Gaza, makes arrests at Nasser Hospital. newarab.com 
Israeli forces carried out arrests in Gaza's largest functioning hospital, health officials and the military said on Saturday, as airstrikes hit across the enclave and rain battered Israeli forces raided the "Occupation forces detained a large number of medical staff members inside Nasser Medical Comple…
(2024-02-16). Egypt currency crisis: Nigerian migrants fear detention. newarab.com 
(2024-02-16). Haldwani Violence: Result of escalating communal tensions in Uttarakhand, reveals fact-finding report" muslimmirror.com By Muslim Mirror A fact-finding team, comprising members of the Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR), Karawan-e-Mohabbat, and civil rights activist Zahid Qadri, visited Haldwani on February 14, 2024, to investigate the recent violence that erupted in the region. The team's preliminary findings, based on extensive discussions with members of civil society, journalists, writers, …
(2024-02-16). Sri Lankan president calls on parliamentary opposition to assist his government impose IMF austerity. wsws.org Wickremesinghe's appeals to opposition parties is a call for unity to suppress the growing opposition of workers, youth and rural poor against his government's increasingly vicious attacks on social and democratic rights.
(2024-02-17). Writers oppose PEN America's right-wing stance on Gaza genocide. wsws.org As a part of the wave of protests against the genocide of Palestinians, writers in the US have begun to oppose the writers' civil rights organization, PEN America, for its equivocation and silence on the Israeli crimes.
(2024-02-16). Greece Becomes the 37th Nation to Legalize Same-Sex Marriage. truthout.org Greece on Thursday became the first Christian Orthodox, 16th European Union, and 37th overall nation to legalize same-sex marriage, a move one rights group called "a huge step forward for LGBTQ+ people" in the Balkan country. Members of the Hellenic Parliament from across most of the political spectrum came together in a rare moment of consensus, defying opposition from the country's influential… |
(2024-02-17). oPt: Bureau of Committee on Palestinian People's Rights Warns against Israeli Military Offensive into Rafah. reliefweb.int Country: occupied Palestinian territory | Source: UN General Assembly | GA/PAL/1461 | The following statement was issued today by the Bureau of the General Assembly's Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People: | The Bureau of the UN General Assembly's Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People strongly condemns the threats of an Israeli invasion into the city of Rafah, the last refuge of about 1.5 million forcibly displaced Palestinians in the Gaza Strip who are staring death in the face without access to food, medical care and safe shelter…
(2024-02-16). Drastic erosion of women's rights in Afghanistan continues. reliefweb.int
(2024-02-16). Ariel Adelman on Disability Civil Rights. fair.org 
CounterSpin240216.mp3 CEPR ( This week on CounterSpin: There's an announcement on the New York City subway where a voice chirps: "Attention, everyone! There are 150 accessible subway stations!" One can imagine an alternate world where we'd hear, "Only 150 of New York City's 472 subway stations are accessible, and that's a problem!" | But people with disabilities are meant to be grateful, excited even, for whatever access or accommodation is made available for them to participate in d…
(2024-02-16). Countdown To Day X: US Suggests Assange Has No First Amendment Rights. thedissenter.org 
Editor's Note: Ahead of a major appeal hearing before the British High Court of Justice on February 20 and 21, the "
(2024-02-16). Petition to Biden, Blinken: Stop enabling genocide in Gaza and attacking Yemen, Iraq and Syria! workers.org 
The SanctionsKill Campaign is asking people to sign this petition to President Joe Biden's administration and Secretary of State Antony Blinken. The SanctionsKill Campaign accuses the Biden administration of being an accomplice to crimes against humanity by aiding genocide in Gaza. This is in violation of the International Court of . . . |
(2024-02-16). Israel spied on US to thwart settler sanctions: report. newarab.com 
(2024-02-16). US anti-boycott act raises free speech concerns. newarab.com 
This week, an anti-boycott act passed by a voice vote in US Congress is raising concerns among followers of the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, as well as free speech advocates over the potential for restrictions on political expression. |
(2024-02-16). US sanctions on Israeli settlers are 'not enough'. newarab.com 
An Israeli construction firm and an Israeli settlement local government body are facing potential US sanctions after it signed a contract with one of four In early February, US President Joe Biden signed an executive order
(2024-02-16). Why the US Is Reimposing Sanctions on Venezuela. dissidentvoice.org Even the US business magazine Forbes expressed surprise at the reimposition of US sanctions on Venezuela's gold sales and its threat to do the same with oil. The oil sanctions especially, if reinstated, would precipitate higher gas prices and further debilitate the Venezuelan economy, forcing more people to leave the country out of economic necessity. …
(2024-02-16). Israeli Peace Activist Calls For Sanctions, No-Fly Zone On Israel. mintpressnews.com Israel's latest refusal to accept the Palestinian offer for a cease-fire and prisoner exchange demonstrates again that it only wants to continue the killing. Furthermore, the latest cold-blooded assault on Palestinians in Rafah — most of whom are displaced, having had to escape their homes in other parts of the Gaza Strip, presents an urgent need for the international community to intervene. The purpose of the intervention is to force Israel to comply with terms that will make it impossible for it to continue the killing. An absolute guarantee for the safety and security of Palestinians must be put in place…
(2024-02-16). Western "sanctions" on settlers are an empty gesture. electronicintifada.net "Unprecedented surge" in Jewish colonization of Palestinian land in West Bank.
(2024-02-17). Tucker Carlson mocks US amid visiting Russia's affordable, clean Moscow grocery store. albawaba.com Tucker Carlson, the former Fox News host and outspoken defender of Vladimir Putin, has sparked controversy with his latest video from Moscow, where he is reportedly preparing to interview the Russian president.In the video, Carlson claims that he was "radicalized" by visiting a grocery store in Moscow and finding low prices and abundant food, despite the US sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine."We've been told sanctions on Russia have had a devastating effect on its economy. We visited a grocery store in Moscow and found a very different situation," Carlson says in the video, which he posted on his X…
(2024-02-17). Palestine demands global sanctions against Israel for genocide. plenglish.com Addis Ababa, Feb 17 (Prensa Latina) The Palestinian Prime Minister, Mohammad Shtayyeh, called here for sanctions against Israel for systematically violating international laws and thus force it to stop its aggression against the Gaza Strip.
(2024-02-17). Nicaragua: Holding Countries Accountable Without War Or Sanctions. popularresistance.org I was 13 years old the day I got braces on my teeth and the United States bombed Baghdad, launching the "first" Iraq war. | "Today, Wednesday the 16th of January 1991, we had just gotten out of the dentist's office and Mom told me the news," I wrote in my journal. "She started saying, 'Oh my God!' and I was silent, wanting to cry and throw up." | My 8th grade class organized a "speak out" in the school library. The students sat cross-legged on the carpet and took turns struggling to express our feelings through the tangle of meaningless phrases we'd heard adults around us using. One of my classmates stood up to s…
(2024-02-17). No One Uninvolved — The Grayzone live. youtube.com 
Max Blumenthal and Aaron Mate discuss the untimely death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, the US-Israeli assault on multilateral institutions seeking to prevent famine in Gaza, the renewal of US starvation sanctions on Syria, and the looming catastrophe in Rafah.
(2024-02-16). Tucker Carlson mocks US amid visiting Russia's affordable, clean Moscow grocery store. albawaba.com Tucker Carlson, the former Fox News host and outspoken defender of Vladimir Putin, has sparked controversy with his latest video from Moscow, where he is reportedly preparing to interview the Russian president.In the video, Carlson claims that he was "radicalized" by visiting a grocery store in Moscow and finding low prices and abundant food, despite the US sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine."We've been told sanctions on Russia have had a devastating effect on its economy. We visited a grocery store in Moscow and found a very different situation," Carlson says in the video, which he posted on his X…
(2024-02-16). Will Maryland Become Next State to Pass a Transgender Sanctuary Law? truthout.org On Thursday, Maryland's Senate Finance Committee heard Senate Bill 119, a bill that would make Maryland a sanctuary state for transgender individuals and providers fleeing other states. The bill would add gender-affirming care to a law passed last year that shields abortion patients and providers from out-of-state prosecution and investigations. Many more individuals testified in favor of the bill… |