Human Rights Watch Daily Brief, 16 January 2015

France may be a country of free expression, but for whom? A wave of cases opened by the French judiciary over the past several days against people for allegedly “glorifying terrorism” shows the contradictions in France’s approach to free speech around opinions that offend, shock, or disturb. The International Criminal Court today announced that it is opening up an inquiry into possible war crimes committed in Gaza. The results of the inquiry will determine whether the Court will conduct a full investigation. Palestine’s joining of the ICC earlier this month has been considered a welcomed step toward justice. Well,by most… Staying with the ICC, Dominic Ongwen, former commander in the brutal rebel group Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), is now in the custody and will face charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in The Hague for his part in the LRA’s campaign in Uganda.
Dramatic evidence presented at the trial in Chad of 21 former security agents confirms that torture was systematic during the Hissène Habré dictatorship, from 1982 to 1990. Habre’s one-party rule, from 1982 to 1990, was marked by widespread atrocities, including the targeting of certain ethnic groups. Catch up on the biggest news stories with Human Rights Watch’s most read Dispatches and our Top Tweets of the week.
From earlier today: It's Friday again, which means Saudi blogger Raif Badawi was set to receive another 50 lashes in the authorities' weekly application of his 1000-lash sentence - which comes with ten years imprisonment, as well - for running the website, Free Saudi Liberals. Yet as this Brief was about to be published, it seems the flogging was postponed "on medical grounds." The surprise news comes after very strong condemnation from the global public this week and appeals from some top-level officials, like UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein. However, many western political leaders haven't seemed to share that sentiment, instead backing their ally, oil provider and arms buyer by refusing to condemn the act.