(2020-04-19). Anti-Netanyahu demonstrators in Israel stage unique protest, keeping social distance (PHOTOS, VIDEOS). rt.com 
Israeli demonstrators turned out in droves to protest the government of Benjamin Netanyahu. Mindful of the need for social distancing, they stood two meters apart from each other in a visually spectacular gathering. | Tel Aviv's Rabin Square is often a staging ground for rallies. Tens of thousands flocked to the plaza to protest police restrictions on music festivals last year, while the year before saw gay rights activists turn up to shout down a controversial surrogacy law. | | Protesters assemble in Tel Aviv's Rabin Square, April 19, 2020 © AFP / Jack Guez | Sunday, however, saw a gathering unlike an…
(2020-04-19). Free Bahrain's only female political detainee Zakia Al-Barbouri. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Apr. 19 (MNA) — When the Arab Spring made its way to Bahrain in February 2011, the authority rushed to violently suppress the peaceful protestors.
(2020-04-19). Canadian police detain gunman who left several victims in Nova Scotia. rt.com 
A shooter who left several victims in the town of Portapique, Nova Scotia has been detained by police after an intense manhunt which lasted many hours. | He was reportedly trying to escape in what looked like a law enforcement vehicle, wearing a police uniform. The police specified that the attacker wasn't one of their employees. |
(2020-04-19). Risks and Realities of Extending the UN Arms Embargo on Iran. iranian.com More than a decade ago, the United States and its partners secured UN Security Council support for a series of resolutions imposing increasingly tough sanctions on Iran as part of an effort to pressure Tehran into multilateral talks to curb its nuclear program and block its pathways to nuclear weapons. The United States along with …
(2020-04-18). Bill Gates and the Depopulation Agenda. Robert F. Kennedy Junior Calls for an Investigation. globalresearch.ca Robert F Kennedy Jr, an avid Defender of Children's Rights and anti-vaccination activist, has launched a petition sent to the White House, calling for "Investigations into the 'Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation' for Medical Malpractice & Crimes Against Humanity"
(2020-04-18). WATCH Berlin police forcefully disperse unsanctioned protest against coronavirus lockdown. rt.com 
Hundreds of activists gathered in central Berlin, defying government Covid-19 lockdown measures and arguing the state is heading for "authoritarian rule." The gathering was met with a strong police response. | Some 300 protesters descended on the Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz square in Germany's capital on Saturday for an unauthorized rally against the coronavirus lockdown. The participants did not bother to observe social distancing guidelines and only a handful of them donned protective face masks. | The gathering brought people together with very different political views, as banners at the rally ranged from quit…
(2020-04-18). Caribbean Organizations Unite Against US Attacks, Support Caricom. telesurenglish.net Caribbean Anti-imperialist and Peace Organisations in a Zoom Meeting on the 16th April 2020, supported Caribbean Community (Caricom) called for the Caribbean to remain a zone of peace. | RELATED: | They expressed their opposition to the American military and naval build up off the Venezuelan coast, and the U.S. sanctions against Cuba and Venezuela. | The Caribbean Organizations Further objected to the seizing of medi…
(2020-04-17). Arab Parliaments Call for Immediate Release of Palestinian Prisoners. imemc.org On the eve of Palestinian Prisoners Day, the Cairo-based Arab States' Parliaments Forum, on Thursday, called for the immediate release of all Palestinian prisoners from various Israeli prisons and detention centers, as well as halt of all Israeli violations against the Palestinian people. In a statement, issued by the forum …
(2020-04-17). Thousands Join Virtual Rally to Demand World Without Prisons as Coronavirus Spreads in Detention Centers. commondreams.org "In the midst of a global pandemic, prisons are Petri dishes and all sentences are death sentences." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
(2020-04-17). ICE is Deporting COVID-19 Positive Detainees from Private Immigration Prisons. mintpressnews.com By continuing deportations of quarantined detainees during a pandemic, ICE is greatly increasing the risk of spreading the deadly virus to other countries officials and activists warn,…
(2020-04-17). What it's Like in ICE Detention During a Pandemic. aclu.org 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…
(2020-04-17). UN human rights office calls for compassion following Rohingya deaths at sea. news.un.org The UN human rights office (OHCHR), is calling for compassion for people desperately seeking shelter, after 30 Rohingya refugees from Myanmar died on a boat in the Bay of Bengal that had spent nearly two months at sea.
(2020-04-17). Latam: COVID-19 Puts Imprisoned Environmental Defenders at Risk. telesurenglish.net The Spanish NGO Alliance for Solidarity reported that hundreds of Latin American environmental defenders who remain incarcerated are at high risk due to the pandemic. | RELATED: | On the occasion of the International Day of the Farmer's Struggle on April 17, human rights defenders recalled that, in countries such as El Salvador, Colombia, and Guatemala, there are hundreds of social leaders imprisoned for defending th…
(2020-04-17). US must improve COVID-19 strategy to keep tens of millions from falling into poverty, urges rights expert. news.un.org The United States must take urgent additional steps to prevent tens of millions of middle-class Americans hit by the COVID-19 pandemic from being "plunged into poverty", according to an independent UN human rights expert.
(2020-04-17). PCHR: Weekly Report on Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (09 — 15 April 2020). imemc.org The Palestinian Center for Human Rights Summary of Israeli Violations of Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (09 — 15 April 2020) Israeli occupation forces (IOF) continued to violate Palestinians' human rights and commit crimes against civilians and their properties, conducting raids into Palestinian cities without regard to the …
(2020-04-17). Guatemala: Social Organizations Dennounces Massive Layoffs. telesurenglish.net Guatemalan Civil organizations and lawmakers denounced massive layoffs during the labor stoppage due to COVID-19. The complainants claim that these suspensions occurred without any action or sanctions by the Ministry of Labor. | RELATED: | Labor sector authorities published decree 140-2020 entitled "Electronic procedure for registration, control, and authorization of suspension of employment contracts," which protects contractors in…
(2020-04-17). COVID-19: Rights experts highlight LGBTI discrimination, antisemitism. news.un.org New guidance from the UN human rights office, issued on Friday, sets out key actions to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex (LGBTI) people against discrimination during the COVID-19 pandemic.
(2020-04-16). PCHR Fears Coronavirus Spread in Israeli Prisons and Detention Centers. imemc.org The Palestinian Center For Human Rights (PCHR): Palestinian Prisoners' Day is celebrated every year on the 17th of April, which was endorsed by the Palestinian National Council in 1974 as a national day to pay tribute to Palestinian prisoners and their sacrifices, and to support, advocate and promote their right to …
(2020-04-16). Bolivian coup leader freaks out on The Grayzone for 'fascist' label in complaint to OAS 'human rights' arm. thegrayzone.com The director of far-right Bolivian coup leader Camacho's presidential campaign threw a slander-laced tantrum against The Grayzone in a letter…
(2020-04-16). PLO: On Palestinian Prisoners' Day — Prisoners Between the Threat of COVID-19 and Israel's Arbitrary Policies. imemc.org Palestine Liberation Organization — Negotiations Affairs Department Introduction Since the onset of this more than half-a-century long Israeli occupation, the detention and abuse of Palestinian prisoners have not been limited to factors of a specific nature. Under all circumstances, irrespective of the situation and time, the occupation authorities have permitted …
(2020-04-16). Will The US Launch Another War Against Iraq? iranian.com The US administration views Iraq as an arena for confrontation with Iran, with the aim of subjugating the country to its hegemony and dominance. The US imposes harsh sanctions on Iran and is trying to close the Iraqi market to prevent Tehran from smuggling its oil through Mesopotamia, and to obstruct the sale of gas …
(2020-04-16). Zarif lauds China COVID19 aid to Iran. iranian.com Iranian Foreign Minister in a message on Thursday thanked China for providing medical aid to Iran in time of coronavirus outbreak and slammed US sanctions that hindered Iran's fight against pandemic. "I am very happy to talk to my old friend, Wang Yi, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister again," Zarif said in a Twitter …
(2020-04-15). "I Want an Apology": Black Doctor Who Tests Homeless for Coronavirus Handcuffed by Miami Police. democracynow.org 
We speak with Dr. Armen Henderson, an African-American doctor who was handcuffed and detained outside his home Friday as he was wearing a mask and preparing for a volunteer shift to test homeless people for COVID-19. "I want the officer held accountable. There's no way that you racially profile me and then you arrest me, detain me, during a pandemic, when you have no mask on, where hundreds of police officers throughout Miami-Dade County have tested positive," says Dr. Henderson, who is an internal medicine physician, assistant professor of medicine at the University of Miami and an organizer with Dream Defenders…
(2020-04-15). COVID-19 environmental roll back 'irrational' and irresponsible': rights expert. news.un.org Countries must not use the COVID-19 pandemic as an excuse to weaken environmental protection and enforcement, a UN independent human rights expert said on Wednesday.
(2020-04-14). Colombia: Security Council hears of 'epidemic of violence' against civil society and ex-combatants. news.un.org While political actors in Colombia are uniting to confront COVID-19, they must also work together to fight "the epidemic of violence" against civil society leaders, human rights defenders and former combatants, the head of the UN mission in the country said on Tuesday during a Security Council meeting held by videoconference.
(2020-04-13). Federal Wardens Must Immediately Flatten the Curve in our Nation's Prisons. aclu.org With 10 deaths and more than 500 positive COVID-19 cases in the nation's federal prisons, wardens must "
(2020-04-13). Congressman John Lewis shares message of support for SPLC's work. splcenter.org Congressman John Lewis has been a tireless champion for equal rights and justice for more than six decades.
(2020-04-10). Mike Elk on Frontline Worker Rights, Joe Emersberger on Pandemic Sanctions. fair.org 
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(2020-04-10). Civil Liberties Never Sleep: The ACLU in the Pandemic. aclu.org The COVID-19 pandemic has closed down many businesses, but the work of preserving civil liberties and civil rights continues, as essential as ever. Reports of courts closing down can be misleading. While public trials that require jurors and in-person testimony have been suspended, most courts and lawyers can do their work remotely. The filing of legal briefs continues, and oral arguments and hearings are being held remotely. The work of securing justice continues., , At the ACLU, our most immediate focus has been on civil liberties and civil rights issues arising from the government's response (or lack thereo…
(2020-04-10). Get-out-the-vote effort goes digital for COVID-19 pandemic. splcenter.org 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.
(2020-04-09). I'm Queer and I've Been in Solitary. Ellen Isn't Experiencing What I Did. aclu.org On Monday, I ended a 12-hour day returning emails to incarcerated queer folks, providing direct aid for housing to folks living with HIV & AIDS who have been incarcerated and challenging the state of Nebraska to provide humane conditions for incarcerated individuals and decided to mindlessly scroll on Twitter. , , I found the quote from the show Ellen DeGeneres filmed from her multimillion-dollar, multi-room mansion: "One thing that I've learned from being in quarantine is that people — this is like being in jail, is what it is," she said. "It's mostly because I've be…
(2020-04-08). Nativist Hate Groups Want to Keep People in ICE Detention Despite COVID-19 Threat. splcenter.org Anti-immigrant think tanks are pushing for the U.S. to detain immigrants and asylum seekers throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, even as prisoners stage hunger strikes and other protests in response to what they describe as deteriorating health conditions in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities.
(2020-04-08). Billionaire-backed Human Rights Watch lobbies for lethal US sanctions on leftist governments as Covid crisis rages. thegrayzone.com Regime change-hungry HRW is proudly taking credit for crushing new US sanctions on Nicaragua while pushing to escalate Washington's economic…
(2020-04-04). Stop Tightening the Thumb Screws: A Humanitarian Message. zcomm.org One way to help others survive is to insist that the United States lift sanctions against Iran and instead support acts of practical care…
(2020-04-03). Detained immigrants across Deep South feel like 'sitting ducks' as ICE ignores their safety amid global pandemic. splcenter.org COVID-19 began to infect the nation at rapid speed in March, reaching every corner of the country and taking the lives of more than 6,000 people by April 3. The United Nations has dubbed the coronavirus the "most challenging" crisis the globe has witnessed since World War II.
(2020-04-02). Fighting for immigrant rights during a pandemic. splcenter.org As people across the country are confined to their homes during the COVID-19 pandemic, little attention has been given to a group of people whose health is in danger because they are locked away from the outside world — people in immigrant detention centers.
(2020-03-13). No, Venezuela does not have a six child per family policy. zcomm.org 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,
(2020-02-08). Iraq and Russia Prepare to Boost Military Ties as US Threatens Sanctions. theantimedia.com Iraq and Russia are preparing for deepening military coordination.