• Egypt: Widespread Military Torture of Protesters Arrested in May
    Press release
    May 19, 2012

    Military soldiers beat and tortured protesters they arrested at a demonstration near the Defense Ministry on May 4, 2012, Human Rights Watch said today, after interviews with numerous victims and lawyers. The military also failed to protect the protesters from attacks by armed groups in the early morning hours of May 2, at the same demonstration, which began on April 27 in Cairo’s Abbasiyya neighborhood.

  • Bosnia is Learning Wrong Counterterrorism Lessons
    Commentary
    May 16, 2012
    Continued detention of Imad Al Husin - who has never been charged with a crime - shows Bosnia has taken steps in the wrong direction when it comes to balancing human rights against national security issues.
  • Iraq: Mass Arrests, Incommunicado Detentions
    Press release
    May 15, 2012

    Iraq’s government has been carrying out mass arrests and unlawfully detaining people in the notorious Camp Honor prison facility in Baghdad’s Green Zone, based on numerous interviews with victims, witnesses, family members, and government officials. The government had claimed a year ago that it had closed the prison, where Human Rights Watch had documented rampant torture.

  • Syria: Activists Arrested, Held Despite Pledge to Annan
    Press release
    May 13, 2012

    Syrian security forces are arbitrarily arresting and holding peaceful activists incommunicado, despite the government’s commitment under Kofi Annan’s six point plan to release everyone who has been arbitrarily detained. People being arrested include peaceful protesters and activists involved in organizing, filming, and reporting on protests and humanitarian assistance providers and doctors, Human Rights Watch said after interviewing dozens of activists, witnesses, and family members.

  • UAE: Expanded Crackdown on Islamist Group
    Press release
    May 10, 2012
    United Arab Emirates (UAE) authorities have expanded their crackdown on peaceful political activists with the recent arrests of two more members of a non-violent political association advocating greater adherence to Islamic precepts.
  • Letter to Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta: Repatriate or Resettle Detainees Cleared for Transfer and Implement PRBs
    Letter
    Apr 9, 2012
    Human Rights Watch wrote to Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta urging the administration to redouble its efforts to facilitate the repatriation and or appropriate resettlement of those detainees already cleared for transfer and to implement as soon as possible the Periodic Review Board (PRB) process to facilitate identification of additional detainees for repatriation or resettlement.
  • Syria: Armed Opposition Groups Committing Abuses
    Press release
    Mar 20, 2012

    Armed opposition elements have carried out serious human rights abuses, Human Rights Watch said today in a public letter to the Syrian National Council (SNC) and other leading Syrian opposition groups. Abuses include kidnapping, detention, and torture of security force members, government supporters, and people identified as members of pro-government militias, called shabeeha. Human Rights Watch has also received reports of executions by armed opposition groups of security force members and civilians.

  • Open Letter to the Leaders of the Syrian Opposition
    Letter
    Mar 20, 2012

    We are writing to express our concern about increasing evidence, as described below, of kidnappings, the use of torture, and executions by armed Syrian opposition members and strongly urge you to work to ensure that all opposition members refrain from engaging in these unlawful practices.   

  • Statement at the Human Rights Council on the adoption of the Universal Periodic Review report of Uganda
    Oral statement
    Mar 16, 2012

    The government should urgently take concrete action to address concerns over ongoing impunity and poor legislative proposals. Police and prosecutors should actively investigate the killings of at least 50 people during demonstrations in September 2009 and April 2011.

  • Libya: Militia Should Transfer Journalists to State
    Press release
    Feb 27, 2012

    A Tripoli-based militia from Misrata should immediately transfer to the Libyan government two illegally detained British journalists and the three Libyans who were traveling with them. The men are among thousands of people held illegally by militias in Libya.