The Governor of Jakarta, Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama, an open Christian, has been named by police as a suspect in a blasphemy investigation . The announcement follows increasing protests calling for the governor’s arrest as he has been accused of disrespecting the Koran on his campaign trail . If convicted, Purnama could receive up to [...]
Egyptian legislators on Monday approved a bill regulating the work of non-government organizations (NGOs), a move that many human rights organizations believe will severely curtail their ability to work within the region. The 89-article bill requires that NGOs achieve compliance under the law within six months or face strict penalties. Some of the modifications include [...]
US authorities are using excessive force against protesters in North Dakota who are trying to halt a proposed oil pipeline project, according to a UN human rights expert on Tuesday. According to Maina Kiai, the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association, about 400 people have been detained in [...]
Russia’s Supreme Court overturned the conviction of Alexei Navalny on Wednesday. Navalny runs the Anti-Corruption Foundation, which investigates the Russian government. In a verdict condemned by the EU and US, Navalny was convicted of embezzlement of timber from the Kirovles State Timber Company in 2013 and sentenced to five years in prison. In February, the [...]
In an 11-2 vote on Tuesday the District of Columbia Council approved a “Death with Dignity” bill that would allow terminally ill patients to end their own lives with a physician’s help. Under the bill, a patient that is terminally ill, a resident of DC, at least 18 years old and still capable of rendering [...]
The number of homicides in Florida has increased “significantly” since the passing of the so-called Stand Your Ground law , according to a report from the Journal of the American Medical Association released Monday. In the report , researchers found that implementation of the law, officially known to as Florida Statute 776.013, is associated with [...]
Egyptian political activist Sanaa Seif was released from prison on Tuesday. Seif was released after serving six months for “insulating a member of the prosecution.” Seif and dozens of other protesters were arrested shortly before a protest in April against President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi for handing over two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia. Seif [...]
The National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty (NLCHP) released a report on Tuesday finding an increased criminalization of homelessness in cities across the US despite a lack of housing options. Such criminalization includes local ordinances that ban sleeping in vehicles, panhandling and camping on the streets. The report specifically targeted four cities—Denver, Honolulu, Dallas, [...]
The city of Cleveland on Wednesday submitted a revised use-of-force policy to a federal judge on Wednesday. Judge Solomon Oliver Jr. of the US District Court for the Northern District of Ohio is overseeing an agreement by the city to reform the police department. The agreement between the city and the US Department of Justice [...]
The Russian Foreign Ministry released a statement Wednesday expressing the government’s decision to withdraw its signature from the Rome Statute, effectively leaving the International Criminal Court (ICC) . In its statement, the government expressed disdain over the ICC’s current investigation into possible crimes committed by Russian forces in South Ossetia in 2008. The statement also [...]
