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The Gambia: Truth Commission Calls for Prosecuting Ex-Officials

Government Should Initiate Procedures to Investigate Yahya Jammeh, Associates

(Banjul) - The Gambian Truth Commission’s call for the prosecution of former officials who committed the worst human rights abuses during the 1994-2017 rule of former president Yahya Jammeh should be followed by…
Yahya Jammeh
News

Evicted from Their Office, Al Jazeera Works from a Front Yard in Tunisia

Authorities Arbitrarily Target Media and Critics

I first met Lotfi Hajji some 15 years ago, after Tunisian authorities under President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali had refused a request by Al Jazeera, the Qatar-funded pan-Arab television station, to accredit the Tunisian journalist as their local…
Al Jazeera correspondent Lotfi Hajji reporting from Tunis after Tunisian authorities evicted the pan-Arab television network from its offices, November 5, 2021. 
News

Tunisia: Attack on Director of LGBT Group

Police Officers Suspected; Investigation Needed

Two police officers apparently brutally attacked the director of a Tunis-based LGBT rights group on October 21, 2021, Human Rights Watch said today. The attack on Badr Baabou took place against a backdrop of mounting abuses targeting LGBT activists by…
Badr Baabou, director of Damj Association for Justice and Equality, following his assault by suspected police officers in Tunisia. © 2021 Badr Baabou
News

Gambia : UN Backs Hybrid Court for Jammeh-Era Crimes

Human Rights Watch has joined 16 other groups in support of the United Nations Working Group on Enforced Disappearances’ call for a hybrid court to prosecute crimes during the presidency of Yahya Jammeh in Gambia and for a new international inquiry of a…
News

Tunisia: President’s Repressive Policies Abrogate Rights

Dozens Placed Under Arbitrary House Arrests

(Tunis) – Arbitrary and politically motivated acts of repression have proliferated in Tunisia since July 25, 2021, when President Kais Saied suspended parliament, Human Rights Watch said today. He also lifted parliamentary immunity, dismissed the head…
Tunisian President Kais Saied raises his fist to bystanders as he walks along the avenue Bourguiba in Tunis, Tunisia, August 1, 2021.
News

Tunisia: President’s Seizure of Powers Threatens Rights

A Dangerous Move Capitalizes on Popular Frustration

(Tunis) – Tunisian President Kais Saied should safeguard the human rights of all Tunisians and reverse any repressive measures taken since announcing July 25 measures that largely concentrate powers in his office, Human Rights Watch said today. On…
Kais Saied during the sworn ceremony in Bardo, Tunis, Tunisia on October 23, 2019.
News

Gambia: Commission Uncovered Ex-President’s Alleged Crimes

Criminally Investigate Yahya Jammeh

(Banjul) – Testimony before a Gambian truth commission linking former president Yahya Jammeh to numerous grave crimes during his 22 years in office should be followed by criminal accountability, Human Rights Watch said today with the…
Former Gambia president Yahya Jammeh leaves for exile in January 2017
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Truth and Justice in The Gambia

(Banjul, May 24, 2021) – Testimony before a Gambian truth commission linking former president Yahya Jammeh to numerous grave crimes during his 22 years in office should be followed by criminal accountability, Human Rights Watch…
News

Middle East/North Africa: End Violent Punishment of Children

Human Rights Watch Introduces Country Index Based on Laws, Policies

(Beirut) – Governments in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) should outlaw the violent discipline of children, Human Rights Watch said today, introducing an index categorizing countries in the region based on their laws and policies. The MENA…
2020 Dadu Shin for Human Rights Watch
News

Tunisia Jails Repatriated Women With Suspected ISIS Ties

Ensure Humane Treatment, Due Process, Medical Care

(Tunis) – Families of women and children with ties to suspected members of the Islamic State group (ISIS) who were recently repatriated to Tunisia say that all of the women are in detention, Human Rights Watch said today. Some have faced abuse, have…
The Palace of Justice in Tunis, Tunisia, on January 29, 2019.
News

Interview with Reed Brody on the Jammeh2Justice campaign

You are nicknamed the ‘Dictator Hunter’ thanks to your past three decades of pursuing dictators for atrocities and seeking justice for their victims. Could you explain to us exactly how that works? ‘Dictator Hunter’ is a great calling-card, but it…
Reed Brody (2d from R) with some of Jammeh's victims in Banjul in May 2021.
News

Gambia: Alleged ‘Death Squad’ Member Arrested in Germany

Major Advance for Victims of Abuses During Yahya Jammeh Rule

(Berlin) – The arrest in Germany on March 16, 2021, of an alleged former Gambian “death squad” member suspected of crimes against humanity is an important step for Gambian victims and international justice, Human Rights Watch said today. “Bai…
Members of the Gambian paramilitary group known as the Junglers. The Junglers have been implicated in serious human rights violations including torture, enforced disappearances, and killings.
News

Gambia: Ex-President Tied to Killing of 59 Migrants

Testimony Linking Yahya Jammeh to 2005 Murders Demands Justice

(Banjul) – Testimony before Gambia’s truth commission implicating then-president Yahya Jammeh in the summary execution in 2005 of about 59 West African migrants should be followed by criminal accountability, Human Rights Watch and TRIAL…
Massacre survivor Martin Kyere testifies before the Gambia truth commission, March 2021. 
News

Tunisia: Harassment, Arbitrary Detention of LGBT Rights Activist

Failure to Address Complaint Against Police

  Update: On March 17, 2021, the Court of Appeal in Tunis ordered Rania Amdouni released. The appeals judge confirmed Amdouni’s conviction but suspended her six-month sentence, and increased the fine from 18 dinars ($6.5) to 218 dinars ($78…
Rania Amdouni, 26, at the office of the Tunisian Association of Democratic Women, on October 27, 2020.
News

Nigerian Victim Calls for Justice at Gambia Truth Commission

Ex-President Jammeh Linked to 2005 Murder of 59 West African Migrants

(Banjul) – A Nigerian man whose brother was among about 59 West African migrants killed in Gambia in 2005 by a paramilitary unit controlled by then-president Yahya Jammeh, told Gambia’s Truth, Reconciliation, and Reparations Commission (TRRC) on March…
Paul Omozemoje Enagameh of Nigeria who was arrested and forcibly disappeared in The Gambia in 2005.
News

Tunisia: Police Arrest, Use Violence Against LGBTI Activists

UN Experts Should Investigate

(Beirut) – Tunisian security forces have repeatedly targeted protesters, including lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) activists at protests, Human Rights Watch said today. The targeting involved arbitrary arrests, physical…
Protesters gather in Habib Bourguiba Avenue in Tunis, Tunisia on February 6, 2021.
News

Tunisia: Police Use Violent Tactics to Quash Protests

1 Dead, Arrests for Facebook Posts and ‘Insulting Police’

(Tunis) – Police in several Tunisian governorates appear to have responded to social justice protests in recent weeks with excessive force at times, leaving one man dead and arresting hundreds, including many minors, Human Rights Watch said today.…
A protester holds up a sign saying “Police Everywhere, Justice Nowhere” during nation-wide protests calling for social justice and government reform on January 23, 2021, Avenue Habib Bourguiba, Tunis, Tunisia.