• Jordan: End Protester Trials in State Security Courts
    Nov 30, 2012
    Jordanian authorities should stop using state security courts to try civilians, including for participating in peaceful protests. Protests have intensified following an announcement by the government on November 14, 2012, that it would end fuel subsidies.
  • Kyrgyzstan: Investigate, Prosecute Police Abuse
    Nov 14, 2012
    The Kyrgyz authorities should carry out a prompt, thorough, and impartial investigation into the alleged police beatings of people held in a temporary detention facility in southern Kyrgyzstan.
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Prison and Jail Conditions

  • Joint Letter to States on UNGA’s Final Vote on Human Rights in Iran
    Dec 14, 2012
  • 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.

  • Jordan: End Protester Trials in State Security Courts
    Nov 30, 2012
    Jordanian authorities should stop using state security courts to try civilians, including for participating in peaceful protests. Protests have intensified following an announcement by the government on November 14, 2012, that it would end fuel subsidies.
  • Kyrgyzstan: Investigate, Prosecute Police Abuse
    Nov 14, 2012
    The Kyrgyz authorities should carry out a prompt, thorough, and impartial investigation into the alleged police beatings of people held in a temporary detention facility in southern Kyrgyzstan.
  • Iran: Investigate Detained Blogger’s Death
    Nov 9, 2012
    Iranian authorities should investigate the death of a 35-year-old blogger in custody and immediately provide his family with information about the circumstances of his death. Initial reports suggest that he may have died from ill-treatment or torture.
  • Ban Solitary Confinement of Children
    Nov 7, 2012
    Solitary confinement is a bad idea for prisoners of any age. It is costly, does nothing to rehabilitate prisoners and exacerbates mental health problems. All of that is never more evident than when young people are isolated in tiny cells. This practice should be banned.
  • US/California: Continue Effort to Halt Death Penalty
    Nov 7, 2012
    California voters’ failure to abolish the death penalty perpetuates a barbaric practice and places the state out of step with national trends
  • US/California: ‘Three-Strikes’ Vote a Humane Step
    Nov 7, 2012
    Voters’ approval of Proposition 36, which limits the reach of California’s “three-strikes” statute, is an important step toward a more humane sentencing system in the state.
  • Iran: Political Prisoners Denied Visits, Care
    Oct 30, 2012
    Iran’s judiciary and prison authorities should end mistreatment of the prominent rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh, Nobel peace laureate Shirin Ebadi and six human rights organizations said today. Ebadi and the rights groups also called on Iran’s authorities to allow all prisoners access to necessary medical care and family visits to which they are entitled under international human rights law.
  • How Not to Rehabilitate Young Prisoners
    Oct 18, 2012
    Prisons across the country rely too much on solitary confinement for prisoners young and old. It costs too much, does nothing to rehabilitate prisoners and exacerbates mental health problems. All of that is never more evident than when young people are locked away in solitary. It is time to ban the practice.
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