Tag: crackdown
World News in Brief: COVID risk still high, massive Congo flood displacement, concern over Sri Lanka drugs crackdown
The virus is still circulating globally but relatively few countries are following infections closely, meaning the actual threat due to the coronavirus and its variants could be anything from two to 19 times higher than what is being reported to WHO. The agency’s COVID focal point, Dr Maria Van Kerhove, told journalists in Geneva that…
Read MoreViet Nam: UN rights office condemns crackdown on climate activists
On Thursday, Hoang Thi Minh Hong, an acclaimed climate activist and former World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) employee, was sentenced to three years in prison and fined $4,100 after being convicted for tax evasion. Her trial lasted only three hours, and access to family and defence counsel were limited throughout her detention. Moreover, the…
Read MoreVenezuela continues crackdown on dissenters, UN rights experts warn
Marta Valiñas, Chair of the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Venezuela, presented its latest report to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, which covers the period from January 2020 to August this year. The report, which was published last week, focused on two areas: the various “repression mechanisms” used by the State, and the…
Read MoreTunisia must ‘change course’ amid media crackdown: UN rights chief
“It is troubling to see Tunisia, a country that once held so much hope, regressing and losing the human rights gains of the last decade,” Mr. Türk said, urging the country to “change course”. The UN human rights office (OHCHR) said that over the past three months, the Tunisian authorities have used security and counter-terrorism…
Read MoreRights expert urges India to stop crackdown on Kashmir activists
Her appeal follows the latest arrest of prominent rights defender Khurram Parvez, who has been in detention for more than a year on charges related to conspiracy and terrorism. “Indian authorities appear to be intensifying the long-standing repression of Kashmiri civil society,” Ms. Lawlor said. “The State must respect its human rights obligations and be…
Read MoreTunisia: UN rights chief concerned over crackdown on opposition
Spokesperson Jeremy Laurence said that since Saturday, at least nine people have been reportedly arrested and some detained, on security and graft charges. Among those arrested were two former judges, a lawyer, a prominent businessman, the head of a radio station and the leader of the Islamist Ennahdha political party, according to media reports. Concern…
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