Best of Dispatches: Top News Posts This Week

Laws-of-War violations mark Ukraine's Independence Day; Remembering colleague James Foley; and the importance of German Chancellor Angela Merkel's recent visit to Ukraine - 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: Marking Ukrainian Independence Day with a Laws-of-War Violation

Ole Solvang
Armed men with bayonet-equipped automatic rifles parade several dozen captured soldiers, their hands tied behind their backs, through the streets among crowds shouting “fascists” and other insults. Behind the parade, three cleaning trucks “cleanse” the streets where the detainees just walked...

Dispatches: Remembering Jim Foley

Peter Bouckaert
My dear friend Jim Foley, the American journalist brutally executed by the Islamic State this week, was one of the kindest and most caring people I’ve ever worked with...

Dispatches: Merkel Shouldn't Let Ukrainian Abuses Slide

Wenzel Michalski
German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s trip to Ukraine this coming Saturday will be seen as an important sign of support for President Petro Poroshenko...

Dispatches: Better Accountability Needed for Police Abuses in the US

Alba Morales
“They think they’re above the law,” replied 53-year-old Diane, who was out marching on West Florissant Avenue in Ferguson, Missouri last Monday afternoon, when I asked her about police-community relations...

Dispatches: In Ferguson, a Police Failure to Communicate

Alba Morales

Law enforcement in Ferguson, Missouri, hasrepeatedly blamed outside instigators for violent acts that have led police to use teargas, rubber bullets, and pain-inducing sound cannons against protesters. Last night was no exception...