The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) used torture methods beyond waterboarding on suspected terrorists, according to a report published by the Telegraph Sunday. The UK-based news outlet spoke to an unnamed “security source” who alleged that the “CIA brought top al-Qaeda suspects close ‘to the point of death’ by drowning them in water-filled baths during [...]

A group of Thailand human rights activists denounced the country’s state of martial law on Monday, accusing the ruling military junta of imposing a judicial “twilight zone.” The rights group has called for an end to martial law which was instituted on May 20, two days before the coup that ousted the former Thai government [...]

Newly appointed UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein called Monday on the international community to work to end the conflicts in Syria and Iraq. In his first speech before the UN Human Rights Council Al Hussein said that “dedicated efforts are urgently needed to protect religious and ethnic groups, children—who are [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Monday accused militias in Libya of committing war crimes during a battle that has been ongoing since July. Libya Dawn Alliance, led by militias from Misrata, and a coalition of militias from Zintan have been fighting for control over Tripoli’s airport. Thousands of people have fled their homes as the [...]

The League of Arab States approved a resolution on Monday to combat extremist groups like the Islamic State (IS) . The resolution was issued separately from a more comprehensive statement on Arab affairs and assumes a sense of urgency to challenge the militant group. IS has seized large territories in Iraq and Syria, and on [...]

The UN Appeals Tribunal (UNAT) last week overturned a decision in favor of a whistleblower involved with the UN peacekeeping mission in Kosovo. James Wasserstrom, a US diplomat currently serving as an anti-corruption officer at the US embassy in Kabul, accused high-level colleagues of retaliating after he suggested that they had been involved in corruption [...]

Egypt’s top prosecutor on Saturday ordered the arrest of seven men who appeared in a video of what is said to be the country’s first same-sex marriage. The men have been accused of inciting debauchery and spreading a video that violates public morals. In a statement the prosecutor’s office said the images were “humiliating, regrettable, [...]

A judge presiding over the case against radical Jordan cleric Abu Qatada on Sunday stated he was delaying the pending verdict for further examination of the case. According to Judge Ahmed al-QatarnehIt, a decision on the charges against Qatada will now be issued on September 24 . Qatada is facing charges for plotting to attack [...]

Alliance Defending Attorneys (ADF) filed a lawsuit Thursday challenging a city of Pittsburgh ordinance that creates numerous protest-free zones. The ordinance specifically states that one may not “knowingly congregate, patrol, picket or demonstrate in a zone extending 15 feet from any entrance to the hospital or health care facility,” including abortion clinics and other medical [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) announced on Wednesday that the Bangladesh government should abolish a recently enacted policy that restricts the media’s freedom of expression. HRW argues the policy, passed in August, is broad, vague and imprecise and is seemingly designed to repress critical reporting by the media. The policy bans speech that is “anti-state,” “ridicules [...]