Posts by Issue

Torture, Police Accountability, Other, Human Rights History, Principles, Concepts, Incarceration and Detention

Posted by Sana R. Gondal on 09/08/2016 - 02:44

In a recently published report by Amnesty International, it has been discovered that at least 17,723 people have died in custody in Syrian prisons since March 2011. This, the article states, is around “300 deaths per month” - not counting the much larger reality of all those people who have been abducted or are “missing”.

Reports of torture in the Saydnaya Military Prison vary from instances of prisoners being kept in cells with dead bodies, or detained in cells where women were raped right next to them by armed guards. Personal accounts of survivors fill the article with details... Read More

Uganda's Military Court Begins Prosecutions for Human Rights Violations in Somalia
Posted by Shruti Venkatraman on 08/10/2016 - 20:03

4th August 2016

Court proceedings pertaining to human rights abuses including sexual exploitation and indiscriminate civilian killings in Somalia have begun in public hearings before Uganda's military court, with media coverage. This is an important step towards increased transparency and helps to put concerns over the fairness of the trial at rest. However, other involved regional actors that were also involved in the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) have taken no steps towards setting up military trials. Hopefully the Ugandan efforts will serve as a positive example for... Read More

A Culture of Violence
Posted by ejbentley on 08/05/2016 - 13:14

The death penalty is arguably wrong on the basis that it goes against a fundamental human rights principle enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), and that is the right to life. The death penalty could also be considered a form of torture, another right [to live a life free from torture] that is enshrined in the UDHR in 1948. Yet across the world, and across the United States, the death penalty is continually used as a form of punishment, and of justice. Countries or states that utilise the death penalty evidently don't consider this to be a violation of rights, or... Read More

Wartime Rape: The Path of Justice for Victims
Posted by ejbentley on 07/31/2016 - 01:51

Rape has been endemic in war for centuries, used as an instrument of torture, humiliation and control against both men and women. Brutalised, these victims often suffer not only personal violation and trauma, but also stigmatisation and rejection from their communities, families and society as a result. Individuals borne from rape similarly suffer in many countries from Europe to Africa. For the first time, the International Criminal Court has indicted an individual Congolese warlord for the widespread rapes that were committed by his soldiers. This was a case where for the first time in... Read More

U.S. Human Rights Report Condemns Abuses Abroad
Posted by Emma Elizabeth Kelsey on 04/14/2016 - 09:02

On Wednesday, the State Department released its annual report of human rights around the globe. The report claims that human rights conditions are worsening in countries such as Russia and China, where repression of dissidents, journalists, protestors, and religious minorities is rising. The State Department also emphasized the critical nature of the human rights situation in the Middle East, pointing to Syria as an example of the consequences of human rights violations.

Anders Behring Breivik constitutes Human Rights violations while making Nazi salute
Posted by Daniel Dolinsky on 03/15/2016 - 08:38

Mass murderer, racist and rightwing extremist Anders Behring Breivik was recently constituting a violation of his human rights as a prisoner after being incarcerated for committing a 77 people killing spree in Norway. Not only, is he responsible for the shameful death of innocent adults and children, in addition, he has got the incredible audacity of suing the state of Norway for impinging clauses of the European convention for human rights. His accusation contains torture and inhumane treatment in prison. To cap it all, he made a Nazi salute while entering the courtroom...

Read... Read More

Man Tased More Than 20 Times in 30 minutes by Police the Night he dies
Posted by Malcolm Lizzappi on 11/13/2015 - 13:29

Photo credit: Gwendolyn Smalls

Picture description: A portrait of Linwood Lambert. He is wearing his work uniform.

"Linwood Lambert, 46, was tased over 20 times in thirty minutes by police the night he died, according to Joe Messa, an attorney for the Lambert family."

"During the incident, Lambert appears subdued on the ground and tells police he used cocaine earlier in the night. As Lambert lies on the ground outside of the hospital, police arrest him for disorderly conduct and destruction of property. Instead... Read More

Mindanao: A Militarized and Plundered Land
Posted by Malcolm Lizzappi on 11/12/2015 - 11:26

This resource is available in Portable Document Format (PDF). To download and view these documents you need PDF viewer software.

This document is a great introduction to indigenous struggle with the government of the Philippines. General themes brought up in the primer are militarized attacks on communities, exploitation of land, destruction of educational facilities, displacement, and summary executions of indigenous leaders.

Second Edition of Captive Genders Released
Posted by Malcolm Lizzappi on 11/03/2015 - 13:47

Photo courtesy: http://captivegenders.net/
Photo description: The cover of the second edition of Captive Genders: Trans Embodiment and the Prison Industrial Complex features a burning car filtered purple.)

"Captive Genders: Trans Embodiment and the Prison Industrial Complex brings together trans, queer and gender nonconforming views on police and prisons. Its pages brim with anger, grief, hope, humor and daring, taking on everything from bathhouse raids to... Read More

Palestinian Teen Jailed Over Facebook Statuses
Posted by Malcolm Lizzappi on 11/02/2015 - 12:13

(Picture description: Portrait of Anes Khatib grinning. Courtesy Photo)

"Two police officers arrested Anes Khatib, 19, from his home in Shefa-’Amr on a Friday evening last month, and took him to the police station in the city. The original reason for the arrest was “a clarification.” Anes has yet to be returned home."

It later became clear that Anes was arrested for publishing a status on Facebook, in which he wrote, among other things, that kind words should be written about the Palestinians who died, and included slogans such as “long life the intifada,” “Jerusalem is Arab... Read More

Pages

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • next ›
  • last »