Tag Archives: rights

  Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | AFP |  Ethiopia’s leader promised Wednesday to release “politicians” from jail and shut down a detention centre where human rights groups allege torture is routine. Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn made the undertaking in comments to reporters in the capital Addis Ababa, although he did not …

Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | Three pro-democracy activists have been released after spending five months in prison in the Democratic Republic of Congo over a protest march against President Joseph Kabila, their organisation said Friday. Jean Mulenda, Jean-Pierre Tshisitshabu and Patrick Mbuya have left Kasapa central prison in the …

Hanoi, Vietnam | AFP | A Vietnamese court has jailed nine people for “attempting to overthrow the state”, official media reported Friday, the latest heavy sentence doled out in a harsh crackdown this year against activists in the one-party state. Communist Vietnam routinely jails its critics, but 2017 has been …

Washington, United States | AFP | Free speech activists and opponents of Donald Trump on Friday welcomed the acquittal of six protesters charged over unrest on the US president’s inauguration day. They were among more than 200 people accused in connection with the January 20 protests, some of whom have …

Washington, United States | AFP | The United States slapped sanctions on Chechen strongman Ramzan Kadyrov on Wednesday, accusing Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s key regional ally of personal involvement in repression, torture and murder. Kadyrov was added to the US Treasury’s blacklist along with Chechen security official Ayub Kataev and …

Activist points out key issues that require urgent action Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Human Rights Day is observed every year on December 10, the day the United Nations General Assembly adopted, in 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights – a milestone document that proclaimed the inalienable rights which …

Washington, United States | AFP | A US court on Monday heard arguments from lawyers for two pregnant teenaged immigrants who are being prevented from having abortions while in custody. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), in a motion filed with the US District Court for the District of Columbia, identified …

Geneva, Switzerland | AFP | The UN’s top expert on torture on Wednesday said reports from sources indicated at least one inmate was still being tortured at the US detention centre in Guantanamo Bay and reiterated his request to visit. Nils Melzer, the UN special rapporteur on torture, said he had …

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP |  Kenyan security forces raped, beat and assaulted civilians during violence in recent elections, Human Rights Watch said Thursday. “There was widespread sexual violence against women and girls, and sexual attacks on men,” HRW said, in a report titled, “They were men in uniform.” The violence, …

Coalition boss decries shrinking space, calls for constructive engagement with state Kampala, Uganda | FLAVIA NASSAKA | Robert Kirenga, the Executive Director National Coalition of Human Rights Defenders Uganda spoke to the Independent’s Flavia Nassaka about his perspective on the international human rights defenders day and general human rights situation in …