Human Rights | WPN World People News

Rape victims in Jordan say they get punished instead of the attacker.

A five-year prison sentence followed by permanent exile for a Kuwaiti activist over his Twitter comments violated the rights to free expression and movement. A Kuwait first instance court imposed the sentence on Abdullah Fairouz Abdullah Abd al-Kareem, 30, on January 9, 2014. The authorities should drop the charges and not contest al-Kareem’s appeal, which is before an appeals court.

A new decree passed by Libya’s parliament banning satellite television stations critical of the government and the 2011 uprising against Gaddafi violates free speech and Libya’s Provisional Constitutional Declaration. The decree was passed January 22, 2014. The government also slashed scholarship funding for students abroad, along with salaries and bonuses to employees who take part in activities “inimical” to the revolution.

Food aid arriving at an IDP camp in Bangui, Central African Republic.

Americans eat out at fast food or dine-in restaurants four or five times a week. Just one of those meals might contain more than an entire day’s recommended amount of sodium. CDC has strategies for health departments and restaurants to work together to offer healthier choices for consumers who want to lower their sodium intake. The report, “From Menu to Mouth: Opportunities for Sodium Reduction in Restaurants,” is published in the issue of CDC’s journal, Preventing Chronic Disease.

Deep concern over the pressure on civil society organizations and LGBT rights in Russia just two weeks before the Winter Olympicsin Sochi was expressed by many participants at an EP hearing, Wednesday January 23 2014. Earlier Members discussed communication surveillance in Russia, as part of Parliament´s inquiry into the NSA scandal. All communication in Sochi will be “completely transparent to the secret services”, journalist Andrei Soldatov cautioned.

OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Dunja Mijatović, delivering her regular report to the OSCE Permanent Council, Vienna, 28 November 2013.

Didier Burkhalter, OSCE Chairperson-in-Office for 2014 and Head of the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, at a press conference following the Permanent Council in Vienna, 16 January 2014.

Official investigations into the murder of a Rwandan anti-corruption activist appear to have ground to a halt six months later. The case has received surprisingly little public attention, and the victim’s family is still awaiting justice. Human Rights Watch has visited the town of Rubavu where the body was found and interviewed witnesses and the police.

Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions Christof Heyns.