• Tunisia: Riot Police Fire Birdshot at Protesters
    Dec 1, 2012
    Clashes between police and protesters in the northern city of Siliana on November 27 and 28, 2012, injuring more than 210 people, highlight the urgent need to reform Tunisia’s security forces. The government should ensure that the announced independent commission of inquiry investigates any excessive use of force by the riot police during the protests.
  • Brazil: States Should Act on Killings by Police
    Nov 29, 2012
    A resolution by Brazil’s Human Rights Defense Council outlines crucial steps needed to reduce unlawful killings by police, Human Rights Watch said today. The resolution calls on law enforcement officials at the state level to ensure that all killings by their police forces are properly investigated.
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Police Brutality

  • Mexico: Letter to President Peña Nieto
    Dec 11, 2012

    On behalf of Human Rights Watch, I wish to congratulate you on your inauguration as president. You have assumed leadership of a country whose recent human rights record is appalling. Addressing the abuses committed during the tenure of your predecessor and preventing them in the future will require immediate attention at the highest levels of your administration. I write to urge you to rapidly set out a concrete, detailed plan to address these serious problems.

  • Tunisia: Riot Police Fire Birdshot at Protesters
    Dec 1, 2012
    Clashes between police and protesters in the northern city of Siliana on November 27 and 28, 2012, injuring more than 210 people, highlight the urgent need to reform Tunisia’s security forces. The government should ensure that the announced independent commission of inquiry investigates any excessive use of force by the riot police during the protests.
  • Brazil: States Should Act on Killings by Police
    Nov 29, 2012
    A resolution by Brazil’s Human Rights Defense Council outlines crucial steps needed to reduce unlawful killings by police, Human Rights Watch said today. The resolution calls on law enforcement officials at the state level to ensure that all killings by their police forces are properly investigated.
  • Bahrain: Promises Unkept, Rights Still Violated
    Nov 22, 2012
    Bahraini authorities have failed to carry out the key recommendations of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI), which submitted its recommendations on accountability and other human rights issues a year ago. The commission concluded that security forces and other government authorities had committed serious and systematic human rights violations in connection with the government’s suppression of pro-democracy protests in 2011.
  • Egypt: Protester Killings a Test for Morsy
    Nov 19, 2012
    Families of the 45 protesters killed and the hundreds injured when police responded to protests over military rule with excessive force and brutality from November 19 through 24, 2011, are still waiting for justice a year later.
  • Greece Needs 'Zero Tolerance' Approach to Police Violence
    Oct 17, 2012
    Recent allegations about police abuse of protesters in Greece were saddening but not surprising – and it is vital that the government sends a strong message that it is taking the issue seriously.
  • Peru: Letter to Presidente Ollanta Humala
    Sep 20, 2012
  • Peru: Prevent Unlawful Killings of Protesters
    Sep 20, 2012
    The Peruvian government should act to prevent the unlawful use of lethal force by security forces during crowd-control operations, Human Rights Watch said today in a letter to President Ollanta Humala. Fifteen civilians were killed during protests, allegedly by security forces, in the first year of Humala’s presidency.
  • Bahrain: Act on UN Human Rights Commitments
    Sep 18, 2012
  • UAE: Enforced Disappearance and Torture
    Sep 14, 2012
    United Arab Emirates (UAE) authorities should immediately bring a victim of enforced disappearance, Ahmed al-Suweidi, before judicial authorities and open a thorough and impartial investigation into credible allegations of torture at State Security facilities.
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