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A Swiss court’s conviction of the former Gambian Interior Minister Ousman Sonko for crimes against humanity is monumental for Gambian victims of atrocity crimes during the rule of Yahya Jammeh. The verdict is a major achievement for Switzerland’s efforts to hold accountable those responsible for grave crimes committed abroad.

In April 2016, Vietnam experienced one of the worst environmental disasters in its history when Formosa Ha Tinh Steel, a subsidiary of the Taiwan-based Formosa Plastics Group, discharged toxic chemical waste off the coast of Ha Tinh province, killing millions of fish and destroying the livelihoods of fishing communities.

Thai anti-monarchy activist Netiporn “Bung” Sanesangkhom, 28, died in custody in Bangkok today while on a hunger strike she began in January.

Lakshmi remembers when the guns finally fell silent in Sri Lanka, in May 2009. She had been sheltering in a shallow hole in the sand – what passed for a “bunker” for the hundreds of thousands of Tamil civilians huddled on the beach. For weeks they had endured continual bombardment in an area the military had declared a “no fire zone”.

Daily Brief, 14 May, 2024

We, the undersigned organisations, call on the Commission on Deaths and Disappearances (DDCom) in the Maldives, newly elected President Mohamed Muizzu, and the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives to ensure that DDCom’s findings are revealed to the victims’ families and made public before it is set to be dissolved later this month. While we appreciate the decision of the President to extend the dissolution of DDCom until 31 May 2024 at the request of the families of the victims, the truth about the fate of the victims must be provided to over 20 families who have awaited justice through the DDCom. Furthermore, we call on the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives to intervene in this grave matter and ensure the families are provided with the findings of the DDCom investigations.

Three lesbian women have died and one more is in critical condition in Buenos Aires, Argentina, after a man threw a Molotov cocktail into their boarding house room on May 6, setting them all on fire.

Israeli forces have carried out at least eight strikes on aid workers’ convoys and premises in Gaza since October 2023, even though aid groups had provided their coordinates to the Israeli authorities to ensure their protection. Israeli authorities did not issue advance warnings to any of the aid organizations before the strikes.

A Kazakh court has delivered a guilty verdict in the high-profile trial of the country’s former economy minister, Kuandyk Bishimbayev. On May 13, the court found Bishimbayev guilty of the torment and murder with extreme cruelty of his partner Saltanat Nukenova and sentenced him to 24 years in a maximum-security prison.