Best of Dispatches: Top News Posts This Week

Listening for the truth in Ukraine killings; Mental health and the death penalty in Texas; and spying on the Senate  - these were among the most popular posts to Dispatches, our daily forum for breaking human rights news and commentary. You can find all our Dispatches here.

Dispatches: Leaked Call, But Where's the Truth in Ukraine?

Rachel Denber
The Russian-government-funded television network RT (formerly Russia Today) has reported a “leaked” phone call between EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Catherine Ashton and Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Paet that is getting a lot of attention, but all it really does is underscore how little we actually know about what happened during the clashes and shootings in Kiev on February 19 and 20...

Dispatches: US Court Considers 'Bright Line' Between Life and Death

Jeanne Jeong
For Freddie Lee Hall, a difference of one IQ point could be the difference between life and death...

Dispatches: Look Who's Watching the CIA's Watchdog

Laura Pitter
The US Senate Intelligence Committee is supposed to act as a watchdog over the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). But recent media reports indicate it may be the other way around...

Dispatches: In Turmoil, But Ukraine Still Considered "Safe"

Bill Frelick
It would appear obvious to anyone paying the least bit of attention to the turmoil in Ukraine that it’s not the safest place to be right now...

Dispatches: Unsurprisingly, Typhoid Strikes Zimbabwe

Jane Cohen
An outbreak of deadly typhoid fever, often caused by contaminated water, has reportedly struck the suburb of Mabvuku, outside of Zimbabwe’s capital, Harare. I was distressed to hear this, though not surprised...