Iran hanged juvenile offender Behnoud Shojaie on October 12, 2009, despite an unequivocal international ban on such executions, and an initial pardon by the victim's family.

The Tunisian government should end the harassment of the human rights activist and journalist Abdallah Zouari immediately.

The UK government should not rely on unreliable "diplomatic assurances" against torture to deport national security suspects to Ethiopia.

Human Rights Watch writes to Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Rt Hon David Miliband, on the consequences of the UK and Ethiopian governments signing the Memorandum of Understanding which would do little to curb acts of torture in Ethiopia.

Egyptian authorities should bring an immediate end to the unlawful killings of migrants and asylum seekers near Egypt's Sinai border with Israel.

Saudi authorities should treat minority Shia Muslims as equal citizens.

The conviction and imprisonment of the Western Sahara human rights defender Naâma Asfari on August 27, 2009, for "showing contempt toward a public agent" shows that Morocco continues to punish peaceful activists who show their support for independence for that region.

British forces did of course invade, occupy and govern part of Iraq and Saddam's torture chambers were shut down. But the evidence has grown that they were replaced with new forms of abuse of detainees, not only by the US but also by the British.