Topic: Human Rights Watch

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What US did to terrorism suspects after 9/11 was torture, report finds

It's 'indisputable' that the US engaged in torture during its post-9/11 war on terrorism, a nonpartisan report by the Constitution Project finds. The group wants federal officials to acknowledge 'a grave error.'
Turkish pianist's Twitter barbs land him conviction for insulting Islam

Fazil Say's case highlights a curtailing of free expression in Turkey that has also put 49 journalists in prison. He was convicted of insulting Islam in a series of mocking tweets.
Egypt's Copts lash out at government's anti-Christian rhetoric

Egypt's Coptic Church unleashed one of its strongest criticisms ever of the government after back-to-back deadly attacks on Copts that the pope insists were incited by harsh anti-Christian rhetoric.
Terrorism & Security Foreign ministers struggle to find common ground on Syrian conflict (+video)

Russia has been unmoving in its opposition to stronger action against the Assad regime, putting it at odds with the rest of the G8, meeting today in London, on how to resolve the Syrian conflict.
Putin and Merkel set for a prickly Russian-German summit?

The Russian and German leaders are set to meet Sunday. But while business between the two nations is good, Germans are concerned over the Kremlin's domestic crackdown.
Report: Uneven justice could hurt stability in Ivory Coast

A recent Human Rights Watch report highlights imbalance in charges against culprits of the 2011 post-election violence. The president's supporters have not faced the kind of punishment opponents have.
When Egypt's satirists poke fun, public prosecutor hits back (+video)

The case of Bassem Youssef, the Egyptian satirist accused of insulting Islam and the president, has exposed what seems to be a series of politically motivated investigations into government critics.
Terrorism & Security Myanmar fire kills 13 Muslim students, adding to Buddhist-Muslim tensions

Police are blaming the blaze in Yangon on an electrical short, but some of Myanmar's Muslims are suspicious following religious violence around the country.
Opinion India won't be 'the world's largest democracy' until it upholds human rights

Twenty-five years ago, India suspended part of its Constitution and launched a brutal campaign against Sikh separatists in its Punjab province. Today, India must provide reparations to the victims and vow to uphold human rights, especially in Kashmir and the northeast states.
Saudi Arabia executes 7 in first-ever firing squad

Saudi Arabia executes 7 men found guilty of theft, looting, and armed robbery. The 7 were executed in the first-ever firing squad execution in the kingdom. Saudi Arabia has executed 23 people so far this year.
Is Ivory Coast zeal to prosecute former bad guys setting up war in West Africa?

Strongman Laurent Gbagbo is gone, facing a war crimes trial. But is the new president ignoring the reconciliation needed for a lasting peace?
150 arrested in Pakistan after burning Christian homes

Christians in Pakistan demonstrated Sunday for better compensation and government intervention after dozens of Christian homes were burned. The fires were in response to a Muslim accusing a Christian man of blasphemy.
Christian homes torched by Pakistani mob

Dozens of Christian homes were torched by a mob of hundreds in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore on Saturday, after a Christian man was accused of blaspheming the Prophet Mohammad.
In Mali fight, Chad proves a powerful partner for France

Chad may be a poor country marred by frequent turmoil, but its forces have fought very effectively against Islamist rebels in northern Mali.
What is Hugo Chávez's legacy in Venezuela? (+video)

President Hugo Chávez so dominated the identity of oil-rich Venezuela during his 14-year tenure that the political current of his supporters bears his name: chavismo.
Terrorism & Security Pressure mounts on Pakistan to secure Shiites after Karachi blast

The bombing of a Shiite mosque in Karachi killed 48 and injured more than 140. Already this year, nearly 250 Shiites have been killed in Pakistan in such attacks.
Ethiopia makes help difficult for world donors advocating civil society, rights

A well-known German foundation decamps from Ethiopia. Other long-time donors find new official agency and law restrictive and confusing.
Bangladesh sentences Islamist party leader to death, riots leave at least 30 dead (+video)

A special tribunal in Bangladesh today sentenced a leader of the Jamaat-e-Islami party to death for crimes during the nation's 1971 war for independence. Party supporters rioted.
Focus Can Kenya's March election avoid killings, catastrophe, of last national vote?

Kenya prized its strategic and symbolic importance as one of Africa's leading democracies. But bloody post-election riots in 2007 has the world now watching.
Surveillance law: US group can't challenge it, Supreme Court rules

A 2008 surveillance law allows the US government to detect and track the messages of would-be foreign terrorists. Critics say it is overly broad, but on Tuesday the Supreme Court blocked a challenge to it.
Terrorism & Security Hyderabad: Indian government warned of impending terrorist attack

The Indian government said that it had received intelligence indicating an attack was in the works, and informed local police in several cities, among them Hyderabad, two days before the bombing.
Is the Muslim Brotherhood seeking to kill Egypt's NGOs?

A restrictive draft law sponsored by a member of the Muslim Brotherhood's party echoes the philosophy of the Mubarak government, which saw independent groups as a threat.
Terrorism & Security Mexico state security officials collaborated in civilian abductions: Human Rights Watch

According to Human Rights Watch, police and soldiers played roles in 'disappearing' nearly 150 people amid Mexico's drug war. Tens of thousands have gone missing over the past six years.
Tunisia wobbles further as PM resigns and credit rating drops

Standard and Poor's downgraded Tunisia's credit rating yesterday for the third time since former leader Ben Ali was ousted.
Short trip to Timbuktu reveals long road ahead for Mali

Returning to his hometown, Issaka Nazoum invoked DeGaulle on the liberation of Paris: 'Timbuktu shattered, Timbuktu martyred, but Timbuktu liberated!' He knows, though, that Mali faces daunting hurdles.