Best of Dispatches: Top News Posts This Week

Saudi women can register to vote and stand in an upcoming election - it's a start; free speech is under attack in Bangladesh; and in a disappointing move, the US stands in its own way of closing Gitmo - these were among the most popular posts to Dispatches, our daily forum for breaking human rights news and commentary.

Dispatches: Saudi Women Registering to Vote is a Start

Adam Coogle
Saudi Arabia took a significant step forward this week by allowing women for the first time to both register to vote and to run for office in the municipal elections due to take place in December...

Dispatches: Bangladesh's Machete Attacks on Free Speech

Meenakshi Ganguly
Free speech in Bangladesh is under attack as never before, held hostage between angry, machete-wielding radicals on one hand and a government, quick to take offence, on the other...

Dispatches: Obama Administration Getting in its Own Way of Closing Gitmo

Laura Pitter
In a deeply disappointing decision, the Obama administration chose on Friday to oppose a legal request for a court ordered-release brought by a Guantanamo detainee, whose lawyers and doctors say is on the verge of death...

Dispatches: Unending Impunity in the Philippines

Carlos Conde
One was a peasant leader. Another was a newspaper publisher. Both were shot and killed by men on motorcycles on the same day, underscoring a continuing legacy of violence and impunity in the Philippines...

Dispatches: Will Shocking Stories Force the UN to Act?

Sarah TaylorA 12-year-old girl is reported to be the latest victim of sexual abuse by the very people dispatched to protect her: United Nations peacekeepers...