Russia: Human Rights Defender Jailed
Human Rights Watch | hrw.org | 2018-12-07
Russian human rights activist Lev Ponomarev at an All-Russian convention on the protection of human rights. | © 2017 Anton Novoderezhkin\TASS via Getty Images | Update: On December 7, the Moscow City Court reduced Ponomarev's sentence to 16 days detention, after hearing an appeal in his case. | (Moscow) — A Russian court has unjustly jailed one of the founders of Russia's human rights movement for a Facebook post about a peaceful protest, Hum…
hrw.org/news/2018/12/07/russia-human-rights-defender-jailed

Poland Denies Entry to Environmental Activists to Attend Climate Talks
Human Rights Watch | hrw.org | 2018-12-07
When I traveled to Poland to attend the United Nations climate conference yesterday, I passed through immigration without any problems. But not all representatives of civil society groups participating in the negotiations have been that lucky. | Women climate change activists demand respect for rights at Paris Agreement signing ceremony outside the United Nations in New York, April 2016. | © 2016 Katharina Rall/Human Rights Watch | Human Rights Watch is aware of at least 13 people whom Polish authorities, over the pas…
hrw.org/news/2018/12/07/poland-denies-entry-environmental-activists-attend-climate-talks

Somali Journalist Critically Hurt in Car Bombing
Human Rights Watch | hrw.org | 2018-12-07
On Tuesday evening, veteran Somali journalist and media rights activist Ismail Sheikh Khalifa was critically wounded when a bomb planted in his car exploded in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu. Ismail was leaving the TV studio where he hosts a weekly show, when the bomb detonated remotely. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack. | Somali journalist and media rights activist Ismail Sheikh Khalifa. | © Radio…
hrw.org/news/2018/12/07/somali-journalist-critically-hurt-car-bombing

Cambodia: Repeal of Abusive Associations Rule
Human Rights Watch | hrw.org | 2018-12-07
Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen arrives to attend the Cambodian People's Party (CPP) congress in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on January 19, 2018. | © 2018 Samrang Pring / Reuters | (New York) — The Cambodian government's revocation of a repressive regulation on nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) should jump-start genuine efforts to repeal all laws that restrict basic rights, Human Rights Watch said today. | On November 27, 2018…
hrw.org/news/2018/12/07/cambodia-repeal-abusive-associations-rule

Mali: Dangerous Upsurge in Abuse by Ethnic Militias
Human Rights Watch | hrw.org | 2018-12-07
Peuhl animal herders waiting to cross the Bani River, near Sofara, central Mali. On August 7, 2018, Dozo militia allegedly detained 11 Peuhl traders as they waited to cross the river to go to Sofara market, and later killed them. | © 2011 Tuul and Bruno Morandi / Alamy Stock Photo | Ethnic militias have killed over 200 civilians and burned dozens of villages in communal violence in central Mali during 2018, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Most victims have been ethnic Peuhl villagers targeted b…
hrw.org/news/2018/12/07/mali-dangerous-upsurge-abuse-ethnic-militias

Family Planning Scholar Arrested on Vague Accusations in Tehran
Human Rights Watch | hrw.org | 2018-12-07
Iran's national flags are seen on a square in Tehran February 10, 2012. | © 2012 Reuters | Two academics with ties to Australian universities are among those arrested or required to go to a police station to face questioning in Iran during a weeks-long crackdown. The Iranian authorities claim those arrested used scientific projects as a cover to infiltrate Iran and create obstacles for the country's plans to increase its birth rate. The accusation is another use by Iranian authorities of the vaguely defined wo…
hrw.org/news/2018/12/07/family-planning-scholar-arrested-vague-accusations-tehran

Why Iraq Is Crucial To U.S. Sanctions On Iran
Irina Slav | iranian.com | 2018-12-07
Iraq, OPEC's second-largest oil producer and one of Iran's largest trade partners might come to enjoy even longer sanction waivers from Washington than the eight countries that scored a 180-day sanction relief last month. The reason: curbing Iran's influence over its neighbor is a long-term goal, not something that could be done with sanctions inside a […] | The post Why Iraq Is Crucial To U.S. Sanctions On Iran appeared first on The Iranian.
iranian.com/2018/12/07/iraq-us-sanctions-iran/

Well, did he? Bolton says he knew of Huawei exec's arrest 'in advance,' contradicts own spokesman
RT | rt.com | 2018-12-07
The saga into the arrest of a top Huawei executive continues, with John Bolton saying he knew the woman was going to be detained ahead of time. However, the national security adviser's own spokesman says he didn't have a clue. | …
rt.com/usa/445894-bolton-huawei-knew-arrest-notice/

Japanese police detain Zengakuren activists for nearly three weeks
WSWS | wsws.org | 2018-12-07
The police measures used against this student group are part of a broader attack on basic democratic rights.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2018/12/07/zeng…

Canada arrests top Chinese executive for "sanctions busting"
WSWS | wsws.org | 2018-12-07
The arrest and impending extradition to the US of Meng Wanzhou is a diplomatic and geopolitical provocation that has effectively blown up the US-China trade-war "truce" after less than a week.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2018/12/07/huaw…

Americans Endorsed Voting Rights in 2018, but Some State Lawmakers Want to Sabotage These Victories
ACLU | aclu.org | 2018-12-06
State legislators are ignoring their voters' wishes and engaging in new tactics to suppress the vote. | The 2018 election ushered in a wave of voting rights victories. Voters in Florida, Michigan, Maryland, and Nevada all made it easier to register and vote, showing that voters reject voter suppression efforts and
aclu.org/blog/voting-rights/americans-endorsed-voting-rights-2018-some-state-lawmakers-want-sabotage-these

Re-education Camps, Infiltration, Surveillance: China Criticized over Persecution of Uyghur Muslims
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2018-12-06
The United Nations and human rights groups have accused China's government of setting up massive anti-Muslim "re-education" camps in the northwest Xinjiang province to disappear, jail and brainwash Uyghur Muslims. Some estimates put the population in the camps at up to 2 million. After months of denials, China acknowledged their existence in October, saying they are part of efforts to counter extremism. But Uyghurs say it's a form of collective punishment–and that they live under a high-tech surveillance state designed to eradicate Islam. We speak to Rushan Abbas, a Uyghur-American activist based in Washing…
www.democracynow.org/2018/12/6/re_educat…

How George H.W. Bush and Other Conservatives Undermined his Americans with Disabilities Act Legacy
Mike Ervin | progressive.org | 2018-12-06
Bush deserves credit for what he did to make the ADA happen. But federal civil rights laws are just empty symbolic gestures unless the executive branch vigorously enforces them and judges take them seriously.
progressive.org/dispatches/how-george-h-w-bush-undermined-his-americans-disabilities-act-181206/

Rattling the Bars: Stopping Corporate Exploitation in Prisons (Pt 2/2)
Shared by Hezvo Mpunga | therealnews.com | 2018-12-06
Eddie Conway talks with Bianca Tylek, founder of the Corrections Accountability Corporation about thousands of corporations funding private prisons and immigration detention centers and what citizens can do about it | The post Rattling the Bars: Stopping Corporate Exploitation in Prisons (Pt 2/2) appeared first on The Real News Network.
therealnews.com/stories/rattling-the-bars-stopping-corporate-exploitation-in-prisons-pt-2-2

Canada Arrests CFO of Chinese Telecom Giant for Violating US Sanctions on Iran
Middle East Eye | theantimedia.com | 2018-12-06
(MEE) — Canada arrested China's Huawei Technology's chief financial officer for allegedly violating US sanctions on Iran, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday. Meng Wanzhou faces possible extradition to the US, WSJ added. A Canadian justice department spokesperson said she was arrested on 1 December. A Huawei spokesman said the arrest happened as Meng was transferring …

Canada Arrests CFO of Chinese Telecom Giant for Violating US Sanctions on Iran

Argentina: Modify Resolution on Use of Force
Human Rights Watch | hrw.org | 2018-12-06
A member of Argentine National Gendarmerie aims his gun to demonstrators during a protest against government-proposed pension reforms as protesters march to Argentine National Congress in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on December 14, 2017. | © 2017 Mariano Sanchez/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images | (Washington, D.C.) — A new government resolution in Argentina to regulate the use of firearms by security agents runs counter to basic human rights standards and could enc…
hrw.org/news/2018/12/06/argentina-modify-resolution-use-force

Turkey: Seek UN Inquiry on Khashoggi
Human Rights Watch | hrw.org | 2018-12-06

| (New York) — Turkey should formally submit a request to the UN…
hrw.org/news/2018/12/06/turkey-seek-un-inquiry-khashoggi

Yemen: Talks Should Address Rights Concerns
Human Rights Watch | hrw.org | 2018-12-06
Imports sit destroyed in a damaged warehouse at the port in Hodeida city, Yemen. | © November 2016 Kristine Beckerle / Human Rights Watch | Participants to the Yemen talks in Sweden should prioritize key human rights issues, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and Mwatana Organization for Human Rights said today. The issues should include removing impediments to the free flow of humanitarian aid and vital commercial goods such…
hrw.org/news/2018/12/06/yemen-talks-should-address-rights-concerns

Gender violence awareness and murders are both on the rise
pip.hinman | greenleft.org.au | 2018-12-06
As part of #16daysofactivism, a global campaign to highlight gender-based violence, Domestic Violence NSW (DV NSW) hosted a panel of journalists and rights advocates to address the difficulties in reporting sexual assault and domestic and family violence on November 29. | Jenna Price from the University of Technology in Sydney and co-creator of Destroy the Joint's "Counting Dead Women" project spoke alongside artist, advocate and survivor of family violence Amani Haydar, author and journalist Jess Hill, journalist and advocate against gender-based violence N…
greenleft.org.au/content/gender-violence-awareness-and-murders-are-both-rise

This State Agency Is Refusing to Help a Trans Woman Who Says She Was Assaulted by Police
ACLU | aclu.org | 2018-12-05
New York's Division of Human Rights says it cannot investigate alleged police and corrections abuses because they are not public accommodations. | DeAnna LeTray of Watertown, New York, was arrested in September 2017 during a domestic dispute with her daughter's boyfriend, who she says pointed a gun at her. | LeTray, who is trans, says the Watertown police officers who arrested her mocked her gender expression and questioned her gender identity. Then, at the police station, LeTray says police ripped her hair off her head and, once she got to the jail, she was stripped naked and sexually assaulted. | LeTray filed…
aclu.org/blog/criminal-law-reform/reforming-police-practices/state-agency-refusing-help-trans-woman-who-says

How False Testimony and a Massive U.S. Propaganda Machine Bolstered George H.W. Bush's War on Iraq
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2018-12-05
As the media memorializes George H.W. Bush, we look at the lasting impact of his 1991 invasion of Iraq and the propaganda campaign that encouraged it. Although the Gulf War technically ended in February of 1991, the U.S. war on Iraq would continue for decades, first in the form of devastating sanctions and then in the 2003 invasion launched by George W. Bush. Thousands of U.S. troops and contractors remain in Iraq. A largely forgotten aspect of Bush Sr.'s war on Iraq is the vast domestic propaganda effort before the invasion began. We look at the way U.S. media facilitated the war on Iraq with journalist John "Ri…
www.democracynow.org/2018/12/5/how_false…

Why I Ended the Horror of Long-Term Solitary in Colorado's Prisons
ACLU | aclu.org | 2018-12-05
Long-term isolation has disastrous physical and mental health effects that can amount to torture. The practice must be abandoned across the nation. | In Colorado, long-term solitary confinement used to be a tool that was regularly used in corrections. The problem is that it was not corrective at all. It was indiscriminate punishment that too often amounted to torture and did not make anyone safer. | The practice was pervasive because it was considered reasonable and effective. It was neither. In practice, long-term isolation punished people in a way that not only lacked humanity but sense. And when a program lack…
aclu.org/blog/prisoners-rights/solitary-confinement/why-i-ended-horror-long-term-solitary-colorados-prisons

President Trump Is Accelerating the Militarization of the Southwest Border
ACLU | aclu.org | 2018-12-05
Under President Trump, the slide toward a fully militarized border between the U.S. and Mexico is happening rapidly to the detriment of civil rights. | For decades, the ACLU has fought back against the militarization of domestic law enforcement agencies and the use of the military in our communities. Nowhere is this militarization more pronounced than on the border between the U.S. and Mexico — and President Trump is only making it worse. | The creation of the Department of Homeland Security after 9/11 accelerated the government's operations on the U.S.-Mexico border. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP…
aclu.org/blog/immigrants-rights/president-trump-accelerating-militarization-southwest-border

Venezuela's Maduro Seeks 'Golden Finish' to 2018 with International Offensive as Russia & Turkey Blast US Sanctions
Paul Dobson | venezuelanalysis.com | 2018-12-05
Economic, financial, political, military, and counter-terrorism ties were strengthened between Caracas and both countries.
venezuelanalysis.com/news/14175

Does the Second Amendment Protect Only White Gun Owners?
ACLU | aclu.org | 2018-12-05
Recent police killings of Black men for possessing guns they were legally carrying shows the racial double standards of "the good guy with a gun." | The most common refrain from gun rights supporters in the wake of mass shootings or other gun violence is that the best response to a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun. Yet in recent weeks, we have seen two Black men, a group already disproportionately victimized by police use of lethal force, shot and killed by police while protecting those around them w…
aclu.org/blog/racial-justice/race-and-criminal-justice/does-second-amendment-protect-only-white-gun-owners

Humanitarians Released on Bail in Greece
Human Rights Watch | hrw.org | 2018-12-05
Sean Binder, a search-and-rescue volunteer who helped migrants and asylum seekers at sea, has been detained in Greece on unfounded charges. © Private, 2018 | Four humanitarian activists who had been imprisoned on baseless charges in Greece were released on bail today by an investigative judge. The authorities should now drop the ridiculous charges against them. | Among those bailed is 23-year-old Syrian refugee Sarah Mardini. Mardini traveled by boat from Turkey to Greece in 2015. When the engine failed, she and he…
hrw.org/news/2018/12/05/humanitarians-released-bail-greece

Malaysia: Keep Moratorium on Abusive Laws
Human Rights Watch | hrw.org | 2018-12-05
Riot police members stand guard at the Seafield temple on November 27, 2018 in Subang Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia. | © 2018 Chris Jung/NurPhoto via Getty Images | (Bangkok) — The Malaysian government should reconsider its decision to lift the moratorium on laws previously used to repress dissent, Human Rights Watch said today. The government announced on November 30,…
hrw.org/news/2018/12/05/malaysia-keep-moratorium-abusive-laws

Inter-American Commission on Human Rights: U.S. Owes Reparations to Panama over Bush's Invasion
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2018-12-04
Last month, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights called on Washington to pay reparations to Panama over George H.W. Bush's illegal invasion there in 1989. We speak with international human rights attorney José Luis Morín, who has been working since 1990 to secure reparations for Panama. He is a professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and chairperson of the Latin American and Latina/o Studies Department.
www.democracynow.org/2018/12/4/inter_ame…

The Effects of the Muslim Ban One Year Later
ACLU | aclu.org | 2018-12-04
We've had one year of the Muslim ban. Congress must ensure it's the last. | Exactly one year ago today, the Supreme Court allowed the full implementation of Trump's Muslim ban. It would be months still before it heard oral arguments in Hawaii v. Trump and issued its ruling on June 26, allowing the ban to remain in place. But on Dec. 4, 2017, America began to ban millions of Muslims from the United States, even if they have family members, jobs, academic spots, or other compelling connections here, and even if they would otherwise be fully…
aclu.org/blog/immigrants-rights/effects-muslim-ban-one-year-later

Rattling the Bars: Stopping Corporate Exploitation in Prisons (Pt. 1/2)
Shared by Hezvo Mpunga | therealnews.com | 2018-12-04
Eddie Conway talks with Bianca Tylek, founder of the Corrections Accountability Corporation about thousands of corporations funding private prisons and immigration detention centers and what citizens can do about it | The post Rattling the Bars: Stopping Corporate Exploitation in Prisons (Pt. 1/2) appeared first on The Real News Network.
therealnews.com/stories/rattling-the-bars-stopping-corporate-exploitation-in-prisons-pt-1-2

Central European University Forced to Leave Hungary
Human Rights Watch | hrw.org | 2018-12-04
People in Budapest protest a draft law targeting Central European University, Hungary, April 4, 2017. | © Lydia Gall/Human Rights Watch | It was no surprise when the Central European University announced Monday that it's being forced out of Hungary and will move to Vienna. The increasingly authoritarian Hungarian government has spent the last year and a half making it difficult — if not impossible — for the…
hrw.org/news/2018/12/04/central-european-university-forced-leave-hungary

More US Child Workers Die in Agriculture Than in Any Other Industry
Human Rights Watch | hrw.org | 2018-12-04
"Sofia," a 17-year-old tobacco worker, in a tobacco field in North Carolina. She started working at 13, and she said her mother was the only one who taught her how to protect herself in the fields: "None of my bosses or contractors or crew leaders have ever told us anything about pesticides and how we can protect ourselves from them….When I worked with my mom, she would take care of me, and she would like always make sure I was okay….Our bosses don't give us anything except for our checks. That's it." | © 2015…
hrw.org/news/2018/12/04/more-us-child-workers-die-agriculture-any-other-industry

Duterte Using Marijuana Is No Joke
Human Rights Watch | hrw.org | 2018-12-04
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte gestures during the change of command ceremony of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines April 18, 2018. | © 2018 Reuters | President Rodrigo Duterte said this week that he uses marijuana to stay awake, especially during foreign travel. Will anti-drug agents dare to raid Malacañang, the presidential palace, now that its occ…
hrw.org/news/2018/12/04/duterte-using-marijuana-no-joke

Remembering George H.W. Bush's Inaction on AIDS at Home While Detaining HIV+ Haitians at Guantánamo
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2018-12-03
George H.W. Bush died on the eve of World AIDS Day, an irony not lost on many HIV/AIDS activists who remember the 41st president of the United States for his lack of action in the 1990s as the HIV/AIDS crisis raged on. Bush said little about the crisis during his years as vice president under Ronald Reagan, who didn't even mention AIDS until the penultimate year of his presidency. Despite promises to do more after he was elected president, George H.W. Bush refused to address and fund programs around HIV/AIDS education and prevention, as well as drug treatment. We speak with Steven Thrasher, journalist and doctora…
www.democracynow.org/2018/12/3/rememberi…

There's No Real Difference Between Border Walls and Border Fences
ACLU | aclu.org | 2018-12-03
Democrats, led by Sen. Chuck Schumer, are playing word games when it comes to funding Trump's border wall. | Sometime between now and Dec. 21*, when the current appropriation for the Department of Homeland Security will expire, Congress needs to provide the agency with another's year's funds. A single word has become a sticking point for the politicians who will vote on that funding: "wall," as in President Trump's border wall. | Trump and his Republican allies are demanding billions of dollars for walls along the U.S.-Mexico border. Democrats, wanting to be seen as opposing Trump, say that they won't vote for b…
aclu.org/blog/immigrants-rights/theres-no-real-difference-between-border-walls-and-border-fences

SPLC brings first lawsuit challenging Florida sheriffs' latest collaboration agreements to detain people for ICE
splcenter | splcenter.org | 2018-12-03
The SPLC sued Monroe County Sheriff Rick Ramsay today for illegally holding a U.S. citizen in the county jail on a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) hold.
splcenter.org/news/2018/12/03/splc-brings-first-lawsuit-challenging-florida-sheriffs%25E2%2580%2599-latest-collaboration-agreements

Wave of red as West Bengal farmers march for rights
stuart_m | greenleft.org.au | 2018-11-30
Organised under the banners of All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) and All India Agricultural Workers' Union (AIAWU) of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), thousands of farmers began marching from Singur towards Kolkata, the capital city of West Bengal, on November 27. | The march culminated in front of Governor Raj Bhavan's house the next day to demand cultivable lands be returned to the farmers. | In 2006, the creation of a car plant in Singur made the lands uncultivable. The plant was later…
greenleft.org.au/content/wave-red-west-bengal-farmers-march-rights