Canada’s Federal Court of Appeal dismissed a prominent challenge to the federal government’s 2020 ban on assault-style firearms on Tuesday. The ruling upheld the legality of the government’s decision to prohibit over 1,500 models of firearms deemed by Ottawa to be “assault-style” and unsuitable for civilian ownership. The challenge was led by the Canadian Coalition [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) raised concerns on Tuesday regarding Syria’s newly ratified constitutional declaration, intended to regulate the nation’s traditional phase. This human rights organization warned that the new constitutional structure perilously concentrates authority in the executive branch, which could threaten the judiciary’s independence and undermine the democratic ideals that many Syrians have persistently championed. At [...]

Amnesty International on Wednesday condemned the extensive use of Paragon Solutions‘ Graphite spyware to target journalists and human rights defenders in Europe, and called for urgent regulatory action to protect civil liberties. The condemnation comes following a recent Citizen Lab investigation report, which revealed a growing spyware crisis in Europe, raising critical questions about privacy, surveillance, [...]

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) called on Friday for the immediate release of investigative journalists Bashdar Bazyani and Sherwan Sherwani, stating that their detention by authorities in Iraqi Kurdistan is on “baseless” grounds, and intended to silence critical reporting. Bazyani, the founder of the newly established digital media outlet Media21, was arrested by Kurdish security forces [...]

Amnesty International stated Wednesday that Lebanon’s recent Shura Council ruling in actor Ziad Itani’s case signifies a pivotal moment in the battle against torture and impunity. Amnesty said the ruling, announced on December 5, 2024, is not only crucial for recognizing the Lebanese government’s accountability for the torture endured by Itani, but also for requiring [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) expressed serious worries about Mexico’s handling of homicide investigations in a new report released Wednesday. HRW’s findings indicate that Mexican officials consistently overlook crucial investigative procedures, leading to an overwhelming number of homicide cases that remain unsolved. The HRW report shows that procedural mistakes are widespread, crime scenes are frequently unpreserved, forensic [...]

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) urged the Taliban to lift its restrictive prohibition on the airing of political and economic programs by local Afghan media outlets on Friday. According to the CPJ, the prohibition includes all live and recorded political and economic conversations, requiring that this type of content obtain prior authorization from Taliban [...]

Türkiye exonerated three individuals convicted in relation to the Gezi Park demonstrations Tuesday, signifying what Amnesty International refers to as the conclusion of a “chronicle of injustice.” This new ruling, issued in a retrial, overturns previous harsh penalties connected to the 2013 demonstrations, which were crucial in highlighting public opposition to the government. A Turkish [...]

Amnesty International on Friday expressed deep concern over the recent amendment to Article 248 of El Salvador’s constitution, warning that the change could drastically undermine human rights protections. Amnesty International Americas director Ana Piquer criticized the new legislative method imposed by the amendment, suggesting it “could undermine human rights in the future and limit people’s [...]

DunixeBerlanas, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons The EU General Court on Wednesday upheld a significant financial penalty against Poland, amounting to approximately €320 million, over its non-compliance with EU laws through its judicial reforms enacted in 2019. The European Commission argued that legislative changes to Poland’s judicial system, specifically those adopted in December 2019, [...]