Human Rights Watch Daily Brief, 6 May 2015

Today's verdict in the trial of the men accused involvement in the killing of a 27-year-old woman in Kabul, Afghanistan has dashed the hopes of many looking for justice for the brutal murder. In its first 12 years, the International Criminal Court (ICC) opened investigations in eight countries, resulting in 22 cases. That's a good start, comes no where near to meeting demand fro justice. As the workload piles up, expectations build higher and abuses continue. The ICC needs help. From earlier today: Police in Greece's capital city are harassing and abusing vulnerable people including the homeless, drug users and sex workers, Human Rights Watch said today. Police stops and arbitrary detentions interferes with people's lives - but also their access to healthcare, food and vital support services. Former inmates of Bahrain's Jaw Prison say security forces fired teargas into prison buildings and systematically beat prisoners as officers tried to quell unrest at the facility back in March. Ethiopia is heading to the polls soon. But don't expect elections to be free or fair. Armenian authorities have released five political opposition activists after a month of pretrial custody - undoubtedly a positive step. But the group still faces an investigation into controversial charges against them. It's no secret that sexual violence is widespread in Somalia. Too often, victims get the blame instead of rapists, and many women and girls live in constant fear of sexual assault. When it comes to banning “killer robots”, the US is going to take some convincing. The US was the first country to publicly cite a long list of concerns about autonomous weapons, but that doesn't mean it supports a preemptive ban on them.