• Gaza: Palestinian Rockets Unlawfully Targeted Israeli Civilians
    Dec 24, 2012
    Press release
    Palestinian armed groups in Gaza violated the laws of war during the November 2012 fighting by launching hundreds of rockets toward population centers in Israel.
  • EU: Provide Protection for Syrian Refugees
    Dec 23, 2012
    Press release
    The European Union and its member states should do more to help the thousands of Syrian asylum seekers trying to reach Europe as the Syrian crisis worsens and winter sets in.
  • Saudi Arabia: Website Editor Facing Death Penalty
    Dec 22, 2012
    Press release
    Saudi authorities should immediately drop all charges against the detained editor of a website created to foster debate about religion and religious figures in Saudi Arabia
  • Syria: Strong Coalition Message Against Targeting Civilians
    Dec 21, 2012
    Press release
    The Syrian National Coalition (SNC) sent a clear signal that targeting civilians violates the laws of war, Human Rights Watch said today. The coalition’s statement on December 19, 2012, condemned attacks on civilians, regardless of their nationality. 
  • Tunisia: Stop Undermining Judicial Decision
    Dec 21, 2012
    Press release
    Tunisia’s justice minister should ensure the immediate release of Sami Fehri, the director of the privately owned Attounissia TV channel. Fehri is being held despite a decision by the highest court in Tunisia on November 28, 2012, to quash his indictment and detention order
  • Libya: Halt Military Trial of Ex-Transition Chief
    Dec 20, 2012
    Press release
    Libyan authorities should immediately cancel the impending trial of the former National Transitional Council chairman Mustafa Abdeljalil in front of a military court.
  • Israel/Gaza: Unlawful Israeli Attacks on Palestinian Media
    Dec 20, 2012
    Press release
    Four Israeli attacks on journalists and media facilities in Gaza during the November 2012 fighting violated the laws of war by targeting civilians and civilian objects that were making no apparent contribution to Palestinian military operations
  • UK: Accountability Still Needed on Libya Case
    Dec 14, 2012
    Press release
    The UK government’s compensation to a Libyan dissident over its complicity in his torture and rendition provides some relief but does not absolve it of the duty to investigate.
  • Iran: Activists Fleeing Assault on Civil Society
    Dec 13, 2012
    Press release
    The space in Iran for civil society has been shrinking since the crackdown following the disputed presidential election in 2009, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Three-and-a-half years after government forces brutally suppressed largely peaceful anti-government demonstrations, hundreds of activists have sought temporary refuge and an uncertain future in neighboring Turkey and Iraqi Kurdistan in the face of harassment and detention at home.
  • Iraq: Protect Palestinians in Iraqi Prisons
    Dec 13, 2012
    Press release
    Iraqi authorities should investigate allegations of torture and unfair trials of Palestinians in Iraqi prisons.A recently concluded conference in Baghdad attended by the Iraqi president, Jalal Talabani, and the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, addressed concerns about Palestinians held in Israeli jails, but did not examine allegations of serious abuses against Palestinians in Iraqi custody.