Human Rights Watch Daily Brief, 14 April 2015

An Iranian publication close the government recently published an attack piece about Jason Rezaian, a Washington Post journalist imprisoned in Iran. The article claimed to link the journalists to the CIA, yet included no hard evidence. One year ago today, more than 200 girls were abducted in Chibok, Nigeria, by the militant Islamic group Boko Haram. At least 219 remain missing and the few who have managed to escape have brought with them horror stories of mistreatment, rape, and forced labor at the hands of their captors. Evidence suggests that Syria's President Assad again unleashed chlorine gas during a sustained attack, killing six -- mere days after the UN Security Council condemned its use. The use of chemical weapons by the Syrian government violates international law. President Obama is in Iraq today to meet with Prime Minister Hayder al-Abadi. The abuses committed by Iraqi security forces and pro-government Shia militias should be first on the agenda. A coalition of NGOs has written a letter urging the Community of Portuguese Language Countries, which accepted Equatorial Guinea as a member in July, to investigate ongoing serious human rights violations in its newest member state. These abuses include torture, harassment, and an almost total lack of freedom of expression. Saudi Arabia has carried out its 60th execution of 2015, this time an Indonesian woman convicted of murder. From earlier today: Today marks one year since more than 200 girls were abducted in Chibok, Nigeria, by the militant Islamic group Boko Haram. One year on, at least 219 girls remain missing and only a small handful have managed to escape - all with terrible tales of mistreatment, forced labour and rape at the hands of their captors.