Human Rights Watch

The legislation currently under consideration would empower the police to secretly detain government critics or anyone accused of “national security,” “terrorism,” or “bribery” crimes.

An 8 March decision by the executive board to change the controversial award’s name and press UNESCO’s Director General Irina Bokova to implement it was due to be formally adopted in a plenary session.

Many residents of Fukushima prefecture still lack basic information and clear answers about the level of radiation in their food and environment, Human Rights Watch said, releasing a slide show of individuals affected by the Fukushima nuclear plant explosion in advance of the one-year anniversary on 11 March.

An interview with Communications Minister Fernando Alvarado, in the 4 March edition of the official newspaper “El Ciudadano”, flagrantly distorted what happened during a recent meeting he had in Washington, with Human Rights Watch.

Since the parliamentary elections in December, the authorities have used a range of tactics to harass and discredit their critics, even as they have allowed public protests.

Fifty IFEX members and other rights groups call on the Bahrain authorities to release from prison human rights defender Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja, whose life is at risk since beginning a hunger strike on 8 February.

The government revoked the residency permits of about 50 Syrians who participated in a peaceful protest on 10 February, giving them 10 days to leave the country.

Israeli authorities had never produced any evidence to justify banning Shawan Jabarin from travelling, and should follow this belated “exception” by lifting the arbitrary ban entirely, say Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International.

Rahman Gharib, coordinator for the local press freedom group Metro Center to Defend Journalists, was beaten on the head and leg, and arrested by security forces after he took some photographs during protests in Sulaimaniya.

In the lead-up to the March 4, 2012 presidential vote, authorities have harassed a major election-monitoring nongovernmental organization, directly and indirectly interfered with the operation of independent news outlets critical of the government, and harassed and threatened civic activists.

The government should drop its objection to a judicial review of the 2011 ban on the festival, which violated principles of freedom of expression and association, says Human Rights Watch.

The egregious violations of fair trial rights in political cases do not just reflect the poor practices of individual prosecutors and judges, but serious, systemic problems with the country’s criminal justice system, said the organisation.

Amnesty International, ARTICLE 19, CIVICUS, East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project and Human Rights Watch call upon the Supreme Court to protect the rights of all human rights organisations to conduct their legitimate and essential work, including through unrestricted access to their funds.

The glaring injustices of the cases are being made even worse by the denial of bail for apparently political reasons and long periods of pre-trial detention, says Human Rights Watch.

The Saraya Swehli militia, commanded by Faraj Swehli, detained Nicholas Davies-Jones and Gareth Montgomery-Johnson, both British citizens, in Tripoli early on February 21, 2012, along with three Libyans.

Critics oppose President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo’s proposal to rename the award.