Wahhabi Authorities Discriminate Against Ismaili Citizens
The Saudi government should end its systematic discrimination against its Ismaili religious minority, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Human Rights Watch called upon the government to set up a national institution empowered to recommend remedies for discriminatory policies and responding to individual claims.
The 90-page report, The [...]

Tags: Saudi Arabia

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Government Should Ensure Laws Guarantee Rights for Security Suspects
France should urgently carry out recommendations from a top United Nations human rights body critical of its approach to counterterrorism, Human Rights Watch said today in a letter to the French government.
In a report issued following an in-depth review in July 2008, the UN Human Rights Committee [...]

Tags: France, UN

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Allegations of Execution, Torture in South Ossetia
Russia should immediately investigate allegations of extrajudicial execution, torture, and other abuse of Georgian military and civilian detainees by Ossetian forces during the recent conflict in Georgia.
In interviews with former Georgian military detainees, Human Rights Watch has documented at least one extrajudicial execution of a Georgian soldier in detention, [...]

Tags: Georgia, Russia

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The Venezuelan government’s expulsion of two Human Rights Watch staff underscores the Chávez administration’s increasing intolerance of dissenting views, Human Rights Watch said today. The government expelled José Miguel Vivanco, Americas director at Human Rights Watch, and Americas deputy director Daniel Wilkinson on September 18, 2008, hours after they held a news conference in Caracas [...]

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In what is believed to be the first suit against a government religious authority in China, the chief organizer of the Qiuyu Blessings Church—a Christian house church in Chengdu city—is suing the Shuangliu County Bureau of People’s Religious Affairs for illegally shutting down a religious gathering held by the church on May 2, 2008.
“This is [...]

Tags: China

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Political Discrimination and Weakened Institutions Define Presidency
In its efforts to counter political opposition and consolidate power, the government of President Hugo Chávez has weakened democratic institutions and human rights guarantees in Venezuela, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today.
The 230-page report, A Decade Under Chávez: Political Intolerance and Lost Opportunities for Advancing Human [...]

Tags: Venezuela

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Executions Increase Almost 300 Percent, Persecution of Rights Defenders Intensifies
Under the administration of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, basic human rights protection in Iran has deteriorated to new lows, Human Rights Watch and the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said in a briefing paper released today.
The new paper, “Iran Rights Crisis Escalates: Faces and Cases [...]

Tags: Iran, UN

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The protest made by Prof. Yash Ghai in his written statement to the 9th Session of the UN Human Rights Council is an eye-opener. He speaks of the failure of the Cambodian government to cooperate with his mandate, and instead rudely insult him. His comments demonstrate the very serious decline in the cooperation of a [...]

Tags: Cambodia, UN

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The authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina must guarantee a climate free of intimidation for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, as they prepare for the first “Sarajevo Queer Festival”, Amnesty International said today. This festival of art and culture, which includes exhibitions, performances, public discussions and films, is planned to take place between 24 and [...]

Tags: Bosnia and Herzegovina, LGBT

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Impartial Inquiry Needed to Ensure Accountability
Bolivia should conduct a prompt, thorough and impartial investigation of the killing of at least 15 civilians in a confrontation in Pando department, Human Rights Watch said today.
The governing party and the opposition offer conflicting accounts of the confrontation on the night of September 11, 2008. The central government says [...]

Tags: Bolivia

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