Human Rights | WPN World People News

A Chinese court has upheld what some see as a politically motivated prison sentence against the brother-in-law of imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo.

Special Rapporteur Richard Falk.

Ecuador should revoke a presidential decree that grants far-reaching powers to the government to oversee and dissolve nongovernmental organizations, Human Rights Watch said.

Bangladeshi authorities should immediately release prominent rights activist Adilur Rahman Khan, who was arrested without warrant at his Dhaka home late on August 10, 2013, Human Rights Watch said. Bangladesh’s donors should press the government to release Khan and end the harassment of human rights defenders and other critics of the government.

The Sri Lankan government should stop issuing misleading information and promptly create an independent and transparent inquiry into the deaths of protesters at Weliweriya on August 1, 2013, Human Rights Watch said. At least three people were killed and several injured after security forces fired live ammunition at protesters who were demanding access to clean drinking water.

Upholding trafficked people’s legal rights in court was a theme of an international seminar for judges in Israel in August 2013, where the OSCE Special Representative took part.

Militants who carried out a series of bomb attacks in Iraq on July 29, 2013, deliberately killing more than 60 people committed crimes against humanity, Human Rights Watch said. Crimes against humanity are some of the most serious crimes under international law.

Moscow police have detained thousands of suspected irregular migrants since late July 2013, for alleged violation of migration and employment regulations. Hundreds are in custody, including in a makeshift tent camp in inhuman conditions. Russia should immediately halt these arbitrary detentions and the degrading treatment of migrants.