Human Rights Watch Daily Brief, 4 December 2014

A US grand jury decided not to induct a New York police officer with the death of Eric Garner, an unarmed African American, setting off a wave of peaceful protests. Roughly two weeks ago another grand jury failed to indict a white police officer in the shooting death of Michael Brown. In both instances, it’s hard to assess the grand jury decisions without more information. But it's understandable that many view the verdicts as one more example of racial discrimination in the criminal justice system in which police killings of people – particularly, limited data suggests, young black men – are all too frequent and hardly ever prosecuted.
Russia’s human rights climate has deteriorated dramatically over the past decade – with the sharpest decline happening after President Vladimir Putin returned to the Kremlin in 2012, said Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch, at a press conference in Moscow. Critics of the president and his administration’s abusive policies have borne the brunt of the government’s crackdown.
Africa– or at least half of it – stood with victims of North Korea’s brutal regime by supporting a momentous UN resolution calling for justice in North Korea. The governments who didn’t back the resolution should stand on the right side of history and vote ‘yes’ when the resolution is considered again.
Authorities in Tunisia have sentenced a police union leader to two years in prison for defaming the army on a TV talk show – violating his freedom of speech. Instead of throwing him in jail,Tunisian authorities should instead investigate his claims.
A draft terror law in Egypt,currently being considered by the Presidency, would apply a “terrorist” label to any entity that it deems to threaten security or “national unity.” Critics ofthe law fear that it will be used widely to silence civil society memberscritical of the Egyptian government.
Keeping with Egypt, President Al-Sisi has announced that he will issue a decree that would criminalize insulting the country’s uprisings of January 2011, which ended the rule of former President Hosni Mubarak, and June 2013, which ousted President Mohamed Morsi.
A new video released by civil society activists Girls Not Brides shows the risks young girls in Zambia endure by being forced into child marriage, including death, disability, and an end to their education.