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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: human rights abuse

human rights abuse stories: 22 news summaries

1 - 20 of 22 Stories | 1 2 Next >>

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 Watchdog: 
 Raúl Just as Bad as Fidel 

He shares his brother's disregard for human rights

Nov 18, 09 2:45 PM CST
(Newser) - The perception that Cuba is less repressive under Raúl Castro than Fidel is false, Human Rights Watch says. Dissidents are still harassed by the state, subject to arbitrary detention—532 such cases in the first half of 2009 alone—fired. or denied work. The government also continues to pressure... More »

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human rights • Fidel Castro • Cuba • economic sanctions • Raul Castro • human rights abuse

CIA Kept Prisoners Alive So It Could Torture More

Abuse 'sickening': human-rights lawyer

Oct 28, 09 9:37 PM CDT
(Newser) - Detainees tortured to the brink of death were sometimes given medical treatment to keep them alive so CIA operatives could torture them further, a human-rights lawyer alleges. “The CIA engaged in some horrendous abuses, but they appear to have taken precautions to have actually prevented people from dying—which... More »

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Iraq • CIA • torture • human rights abuse • John Sifton

OPINION

Lay Off Israel, Human Rights Watch: Founder

Group founded to light closed societies has gone astray

Oct 20, 09 9:42 AM CDT
(Newser) - Human Rights Watch has lost its way, writes founder and chairman emeritus Robert L. Bernstein. The once even-handed organization has launched a jeremiad against Israel—a liberal democracy with a “vibrant free press”—while effectively ignoring abuses in closed, autocratic societies in the region it was created to... More »

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Palestine • Israel and Palestinians • watchdog • human rights abuse • Human Rights Watch • autocracies • liberal democracy • HRW • Robert L. Bernstein • closed societies

Yemeni Child Bride, 12,
Dies in Childbirth

Girl forced to marry 24-year-old dies after three days in labor

Sep 15, 09 3:03 AM CDT
(Newser) - A pregnant 12-year-old Yemeni girl has died after three days of excruciating labor that also claimed her baby, a human rights group tells CNN. Fawziya Ammodi's poverty-stricken family forced her to drop out of school last year to marry a 24-year-old man. More than half of Yemeni girls are married... More »

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human rights • children • baby • childbirth • Yemen • human rights abuse • child rape • child brides

 Mexican Army Slammed 
 for Drug War Torture 

US holds up aid until Mexico can 'pass' human rights investigation

Jul 9, 09 3:26 AM CDT
(Newser) - A growing body of evidence points to widespread human rights abuses by the Mexican military in its battle against drug cartels, the Washington Post reports. Human rights groups say the army has responded to the traffickers' brutal tactics with equal brutality, carrying out deadly campaigns of "disappearances," forced... More »

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torture • human rights • Mexico • Mexican drug war • Mexican army • drug cartel • human rights abuse • drug traffickers

(Newser) - Judges in Spain are pressing human rights cases against top officials around the world, prompting threats abroad and criticisms at home, the Washington Post reports. Invoking so-called universal jurisdiction, judges are probing 16 cases, including US approval of torture and Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip. But nervous Spanish lawmakers... More »

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China • Israel • human rights • Spain • human rights abuse • judges

Pelosi Won't Slap China on Human Rights

Long critical of Beijing, speaker will focus on environment in visit

May 24, 09 1:29 PM CDT
(Newser) - Like Hillary Clinton before her, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will sidestep Beijing's human rights record on her weeklong trip to China that began today, reports the Washington Post. Pelosi, who has been a vocal critic of the Tiananmen Square massacre and Chinese policies on Tibet, says the focus of her... More »

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China • climate change • Nancy Pelosi • human rights • Beijing • Tiananmen Square • Tibet • human rights abuse

Brit Families
Can Sue Over Soldier Deaths

Court: Troops protected by human rights law, even on battlefield

May 19, 09 8:22 AM CDT
(Newser) - A British court has ruled that defense heads can be sued for neglecting soldiers’ human rights—meaning decisions made on the battlefield could be subject to litigation, the Times of London reports. The ruling stemmed from an inquest into the heatstroke death of a soldier due to what the coroner... More »

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human rights • lawsuit • soldier • British Army • British military • human rights abuse

Brits Condoned Torture, Aided Extraordinary Renditions: UN

UK a full partner in US terror effort, report says

Mar 13, 09 4:21 PM CDT
(Newser) - Binyam Mohamed, a recently released Gitmo detainee, alleges that he was tortured in Morocco while asked questions on behalf of Britian’s MI5. His story so far has amounted to his word against MI5’s, but a new report supports the former detainee’s claim, the Economist reports. A UN... More »

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CIA • rendition • torture • human rights • Guantanamo Bay • human rights abuse • Britain • Guantanamo prisoners • MI5

Take That Bjork: China Bans Performers Deemed a Threat

Protests, incendiary artists will not be allowed in the country, the new rules say

Jul 18, 08 9:35 AM CDT
(Newser) - Entertainers deemed a threat to China’s sovereignty will not be allowed to perform in the country, the New York Times reports. The Ministry of Culture warned it will conduct background checks and ban those who “advocate obscenity or feudalism and superstition” or "take part in activities that... More »

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China • censorship • 2008 Beijing Olympics • Tibet • human rights abuse • entertainment industry • Bjork • political protest

 US Envoy: 'Tsvangirai Won' 

Diplomat condemns Zimbabwe violence, but hints at 'political solution'

Apr 24, 08 1:49 PM CDT
(Newser) - After more than three weeks in which Robert Mugabe has failed to hand over results from Zimbabwe’s presidential election, a top US diplomat for Africa came out in support of his challenger today, the AP reports. “Morgan Tsvangirai won, and perhaps outright,” Jendayi Frazer said in South... More »

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Zimbabwe • Robert Mugabe • Morgan Tsvangirai • South Africa • human rights abuse • Jendayi Frazer • Zimbabwe elections • South African Development Community • election results

 4 Months to Go:
 Is China Ready for Spotlight? 

Country is proud to host Games but worries abound

Apr 13, 08 4:11 PM CDT
(Newser) - The last-minute drama brewing in the runup to this summer's Olympic Games is of a more global and more personal nature than the infrastructure issues of Olympics past—and Chinese leaders are bristling under the scrutiny, the Chicago Tribune reports. But pride in the country's hosting gig remains strong, even... More »

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China • economic growth • 2008 Beijing Olympics • Tibet • Dalai Lama • human rights abuse • environmental damage • Olympic protests

Olympic Boycott Is a 'Cop-Out': Bush Adviser

Says skipping opening ceremony isn't effective protest against China

Apr 13, 08 1:03 PM CDT
(Newser) - The foreign dignitaries opting to skip the Beijing Olympics' opening ceremony are engaging in a "cop-out," said President Bush's national security adviser today. What's more, claimed Stephen Hadley, they're missing an opportunity to meaningfully pressure China via behind-the-scenes diplomacy—as the US is doing. Bush has said he... More »

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China • human rights • 2008 Beijing Olympics • Tibet • Opening Ceremony • human rights abuse • Stephen Hadley • George W. Bush

 Clinton to Bush: Skip Olympics 

Candidate cites Darfur and Tibet as reasons not to go

Apr 7, 08 7:15 PM CDT
(Newser) - Hillary Clinton urged President Bush today to skip the Beijing Olympics over China's role in the Darfur genocide and violence in Tibet, Politico reports. She joined ranks with Nancy Pelosi in calling for Bush to protest Beijing's human rights record "absent major changes by the Chinese government," Clinton... More »

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China • Nancy Pelosi • Hillary Clinton • Darfur • human rights • 2008 Beijing Olympics • Tibet • human rights abuse • George W. Bush • Olympic boycotts

OPINION

West Must Boycott Olympic Venues 'Stained With Blood'

Oppressed Chinese, Tibetans demand no less, French philosopher says

Mar 27, 08 6:33 PM CDT
(Newser) - The West must take a stand against China's human-rights abuses by boycotting the Summer Olympics, French philosopher Bernard-Henry Levy insists in the New Republic. Otherwise, athletes will compete in “stadiums stained with blood.” China was supposed to cease its worst behavior, but it’s done the opposite: A... More »

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China • Darfur • 2008 Beijing Olympics • Tibet • Burma • human rights abuse • boycott • Bernard-Henri Levy • Olympic boycotts

Gitmo Prisoners Granted Phone Call to Family

They'll get just one a year, along with censored letters

Mar 13, 08 4:15 AM CDT
(Newser) - "Unlawful enemy combatants" detained at the Guantanamo Bay naval base will be allowed to phone their families one a year, Reuters reports. But the military task force in charge of managing the prison has yet to work out the details. As it stands, Gitmo inmates can send and receive... More »

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human rights • US military • enemy combatants • Guantanamo Bay • Red Cross • prisoner of war • human rights abuse • International Committee of the Red Cross • Guantanamo prisoners

 China Off US Rights Blacklist 

State Dept. report drops China from top 10 worst abusers despite poor record

Mar 12, 08 10:26 AM CDT
(Newser) - The State Department has taken China off its list of the world's 10 worst human rights abusers, the New York Times reports. China's human rights record "remained poor," the department's annual report said, with abuses including "extrajudicial killings, torture, and coerced confessions of prisoners." Officials declined... More »

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China • Iran • Russia • North Korea • torture • Zimbabwe • Syria • human rights • Sudan • State Department • Cuba • Amnesty International • 2008 Beijing Olympics • Belarus • Burma • human rights abuse • Eritrea • human rights violations • Uzbekistan

China Will Resume Talks
on Human Rights With US

Beijing trying to improve its image before summer Olympics

Feb 26, 08 6:07 PM CST
(Newser) - China said today it is ready to restart a discussion on human rights with the US that has been suspended since 2004, the Washington Post reports. The move, announced by Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi after a meeting with Condoleezza Rice, comes as China looks to improve its image before the... More »

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China • Steven Spielberg • human rights • Condoleezza Rice • United States • Beijing • 2008 Beijing Olympics • human rights abuse • political freedoms • Yang Jiechi

EU Force Set for Kosovo
on Eve of Independence

2,000 police and judges to help smooth transition

Feb 16, 08 9:39 AM CST
(Newser) - As Kosovo stands poised to declare independence from Serbia, the European Union is preparing to send a civilian police and justice mission to help enforce the rule of law in the fledgling country. The US and most of the EU support Kosovar independence; Serbia and Russia oppose it, but will... More »

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Russia • Serbia • European Union • war crimes • Kosovo • corruption • human rights abuse • Kosovar independence

Indonesia's Suharto
Dies at Age 86

Ruled for 32 years; resigned amid corruption, human rights charges

Jan 27, 08 2:45 AM CST
(Newser) - Former Indonesian president Suharto, a US Cold War ally whose legacy of economic development was marred by charges of human rights abuses and corruption, died today of organ failure at 86, Reuters reports. Suharto ruled for 32 years until being forced out in 1998; his deteriorating health prevented him from... More »

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Indonesia • East Timor • corruption • obituary • Cold War • Suharto • human rights abuse • Papua

1 - 20 of 22 Stories | 1 2 Next >>


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