Human Rights Watch Daily Brief, 1 May 2015

May Day was marked by marches in many countries, but protests in Turkey. The US Congress should swiftly pass the USA Freedom Act to thwart bulk data collection and improve transparency of surveillance in the US, Human Rights Watch said today. The House Judiciary Committee approved the bill yesterday. Protests continue in Burundi today, following the president's announcement last Saturday that he will run for a third term, despite the constitution's two-term limit. Authorities have blocked social media, shut down radio stations, and on Thursday closed a university - where hundreds of students had been planning a protest - citing 'insecurity'. One of the eight men executed by firing squad in Indonesia this week - Rodrigo Gularte, a Brazilian national - didn’t realize that he was about to die until the final minutes before he went before the firing squad, a Catholic priest who had counselled him said. European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini should publicly and privately express concerns about China’s deteriorating human rights environment, Human Rights Watch said in a letter today. Mogherini will visit China May 5-6 for a strategic dialogue. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and its shareholder countries should urge the Azerbaijani government to end its crackdown on activists and independent groups during the bank’s upcoming meeting May 2 to 5. Secretary of State John Kerry's upcoming visit to Kenya "offers important opportunities to address both new and longstanding problems in Kenya’s human rights record," Human Rights Watch and other rights organizations said in a letter.