• How to Close Guantanamo
    Commentary
    May 2, 2013

    President Barack Obama finally broke his long silence on Tuesday on the need to close Guantanamo. Echoing comments he made four years ago -- when, on his second day in office he promised to close the facility within a year -- he said "Guantanamo is not necessary to keep America safe. It is expensive. It is inefficient.... It needs to be closed." Welcome words, but it's unlikely they will brighten the day of the 100 men currently on hunger strike at the facility.

  • Letter to the Kuwaiti Ministry of Interior Concerning the Alleged Assault of Sulaiman Binjassim
    Letter
    May 1, 2013
    I write to seek urgent clarification regarding steps that the Kuwaiti authorities have taken or are taking to investigate and bring to justice any special forces officers who allegedly inflicted a severe physical assault on human rights activist Sulaiman Binjassim after they apprehended him close to a demonstration in the al-Andalus area on April 17, 2013.
  • US: Fulfill Promises to Close Guantanamo
    Press release
    Apr 30, 2013
    US President Barack Obama should move swiftly to fulfill newly repeated promises to end indefinite detention without trial at the US military prison at Guantanamo Bay.
  • Bahrain: F1 Ignores Rights Abuses Ahead of Race
    Press release
    Apr 17, 2013
    International racing bodies responsible for scheduling the Bahrain Formula 1 Grand Prix from April 19 to 21, 2013, have taken no steps to address human rights abuses that appear to be directly linked to the event.
  • US: Bipartisan Study Shows Need to Investigate Torture
    Press release
    Apr 16, 2013
    A bipartisan study finding “indisputable” evidence of torture for which the highest United States officials bear responsibility should spur the US government to thoroughly investigate detainee abuse since September 11, 2001, and provide redress to victims.
  • Joint letter to President Obama on closing Guantanamo
    Letter
    Apr 11, 2013
    If ever there were a moment to act upon the promise you made over four years ago to shutter the prison, it is now.
  • US: Address Guantanamo Hunger Strike, End Indefinite Detention
    Letter
    Mar 29, 2013
    The current hunger strike highlights the problem of ongoing detention without charge at Guantanamo.
  • Jordan: Students Accused of ‘Devil Worship’
    Press release
    Mar 26, 2013
    Jordanian authorities should immediately charge or release five Al al-Bayt university students detained since March 12, 2013, after other students alleged they had desecrated a Quran and engaged in “devil worship” . The students, who deny the accusations and have neither been charged nor taken before a judge, were assaulted by a crowd of other students, and their attackers should be brought to justice, Human Rights Watch said.
  • 10 years on, Iraq ignores promised reforms in human rights
    Commentary
    Mar 19, 2013
    On the 10th anniversary of the fall of Saddam Hussein, violence and political crisis plague Iraq. The government blames its problems on regional interference, the unceasing threat of terrorism and the specter of Saddam Hussein’s Baathism. Implicit in their thinking is the idea that rights violations are justified by the state’s responsibility to prevent terrorism.
  • Saudi Arabia: Disclose Whereabouts of Jordanian Activist
    Press release
    Mar 8, 2013
    Saudi authorities should immediately disclose the whereabouts and condition of the Jordanian activist Khaled al-Natour, and free him or charge him with a recognizable criminal offense.
  • US: NY Trial Right for Bin Laden In-Law
    Press release
    Mar 8, 2013
    The Obama administration’s decision to try an alleged al Qaeda figure in federal court rather than before a military commission at Guantanamo best serves the interests of justice. Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, a son-in-law of Osama bin Laden who had been an al Qaeda spokesman, was indicted on a criminal charge of conspiracy to kill United States citizens. He appeared in US District Court in Manhattan on March 8, 2013, and pleaded not guilty.
  • UAE: Ensure Fair Trial of 94 Political Activists
    Press release
    Mar 3, 2013
    The trial of 94 Emirati citizens accused of crimes against national security on March 4, 2013, raises serious fair trial concerns, including limited access to lawyers and withholding of key documents concerning the charges and evidence against them. The detainees include two prominent human rights lawyers, Mohammed al-Roken and Mohammed al-Mansoori, as well as judges, teachers, and student leaders, at least 10 of whom are women. Several defendents have alleged that they were subjected to ill-treatment in detention.
  • Israel: End Abusive Detention Practices
    Press release
    Feb 24, 2013
    Israel should immediately charge or release Palestinians detained without charge or trial for prolonged periods and stop denying them and their lawyers access to evidence of their alleged crimes.
  • UAE: Backsliding on Human Rights
    Press release
    Jan 31, 2013
    The Human Rights situation in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) deteriorated rapidly during 2012, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2013.
  • US: Injustices Filling the Prisons
    Press release
    Jan 31, 2013

    The enormous prison population in the United States partly reflects harsh sentencing practices contrary to international law, Human Rights Watch said in the US chapter of its World Report 2013.

  • US: Zero Dark Torture
    Commentary
    Jan 11, 2013
    Viewers and critics have been shocked by Zero Dark Thirty's depiction of enhanced interrogation techniques. But, if anything, the film goes way too easy on the CIA.
  • US: Zero Dark Thirty and the Truth About Torture
    Press release
    Jan 11, 2013
    The movie Zero Dark Thirty, which depicts the hunt for Osama bin Laden, wrongly suggests that torture was an ugly but useful tactic in the fight against terrorism.
  • US: Human Rights Watch Submission to the UN Human Rights Committee
    Written statement
    Jan 4, 2013
    Human Rights Watch submitted this statement to inform the Human Rights Committee’s understanding of the US government’s compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).
  • US: Defense Bill Signing Backtracks on Guantanamo
    Press release
    Jan 3, 2013
    US President Barack Obama’s refusal to veto a defense spending bill restricting detainee transfers from Guantanamo undercuts his pledge to close the prison. Obama signed the 2013 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), even though his advisers had said they would recommend a veto if it contained detainee transfer restrictions.