The Human Rights Law Centre (HRLC) released a report today urging Australia’s political parties to stop eroding the foundations of Australia’s democracy. The report goes on to say that the foundation of democracy includes an active civil society, a free press, informed and diverse public debate, protest rights and the checks and balances provided by [...]
Apple Inc. on Monday asked the US government to create a panel of experts to discuss issues of security versus privacy , stemming from the emergence of a legal conflict between law enforcement and the company last week. News quickly broke through an online “Message to Our Customers” on Apple’s website that Apple intended to [...]
The Greek Parliament approved a bill on Saturday which provides health insurance and municipality jobs to poor Greek citizens affected by the country’s recent austerity measures. Last October, the Syriza-controlled government passed more burdensome tax laws and a more cost-efficient pension program in order to satisfy foreign creditor requirements under a new bailout program. When [...]
Ohio Governor John Kasich signed a bill into law on Sunday that prohibits state contracts with organizations that promote or perform abortions. Although not specifically named in the bill, the legislation will prevent about $1.3 million in state funding from going to Planned Parenthood . The organization has voiced its disapproval of the bill, saying [...]
A Cairo-based rehabilitation center for torture victims filed an application to the court on Sunday to postpone its pending closure. Last Wednesday, Egyptian police officers advised the Nadeem Center for the Rehabilitation of Victims of Violence that they will shut down the center on Monday due to unspecified health ministry violations. Aida Seif el-Dawla, the [...]
An Iranian appeals court sentenced filmmaker Keywan Karimi to one year in prison for “insulting sanctities” on Monday, reducing his initial sentence of six years. The sentence resulted from Karimi’s film focusing on political graffiti in Iran since the 1979 Revolution. Iran has recently cracked down on freedom of expression, harshly punishing journalists and poets. [...]
Amnesty International (AI) on Friday reported that Turkey has denied entry to many injured Syrian refugees attempting to cross its borders. The refugees are fleeing after bombing in the northern Aleppo countryside over the last two weeks. According to AI, Turkish authorities have even shot and injured those attempting to cross the border unofficially in [...]
Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Sunday criticized Omani courts for jailing two online activists over posts they wrote on social media websites. In one of the cases, former diplomat Hassan al-Basham was sentenced to three years in prison earlier this month for insulting God and the country’s leader, Sultan Qaboos bin Said al Said, on [...]
The Nigerian army on Saturday set up a human rights office at its headquarters in the capital city of Abuja in order to continue training officers about respecting rights of citizens. This comes in light of the country’s ongoing battle against the insurgent Islamic group Boko Haram , as well as other terrorist groups. The [...]
A former member of the Black Panthers was released from prison on Friday after having spent a record 43 years in solitary confinement. Albert Woodfox had been detained in solitary confinement since 1972 after being charged and convicted of fatally stabbing a prison guard. Authorities first moved Woodfox to isolation in the Louisiana State Penitentiary [...]
