Human Rights | WPN World People News

An Egyptian minor offenses court on January 10, 2015, sentenced a student accused of writing Facebook posts that insulted Islam to three years in prison. The sentence, one of several handed down on blasphemy charges in recent years, came amid a coordinated government crackdown on perceived atheists.

A woman works in a small shop in Ghana.

The 30th anniversary of Hun Sen’s rule in Cambodia highlights the need for influential governments and donors to strengthen efforts for human rights and democratic reforms, Human Rights Watch said in a new report on January 13, 2015. January 14, 2015, marks 30 years since Hun Sen took office as prime minister on January 14, 1985.

Tunisian efforts to ensure accountability for unlawful killings committed during the uprising four years ago were blighted by legal and investigative problems and failed to deliver justice for the victims, Human Rights Watch said in a report released Monday.

Kuwait should drop the charges against the former lawmaker, Saleh al-Mulla, over critical tweets he sent before an official visit by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi of Egypt. Kuwait authorities should also cease prosecutions against other peaceful critics.

Syrian refugees remove snow from their shelters at an informal tented settlement in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, during a blizzard.

King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia should overturn the lashing and prison term for a blogger imprisoned for his views and immediately grant him a pardon. Saudi authorities lashed Raif Badawi 50 times on January 9, 2015, in front of a crowded mosque in Jeddah, part of a judicial sentence of 1,000 lashes and 10 years in prison for setting up a liberal website and allegedly insulting religious authorities.

The United States, Uganda, and the Central African Republic should ensure the prompt transfer of a rebel Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) commander to the International Criminal Court (ICC). In 2005, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Dominic Ongwen for crimes against humanity and war crimes.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (seated in second row with his wife Yoo Soon-taek and Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson) attending an advanced screening of “Selma: One Dream Can Change the World.”