First Trials for Syria Atrocities Held in Europe: Daily Brief
First trials for Syria atrocities held in Europe; Las Vegas shooting; 4 years after Lampedusa tragedy; Women in Kenya still dying from unsafe abortions; Voices of an 'Uzbek spring'; Countries speak out on Venezuela humanitarian crisis; Asylum seeker dies in Australia detention center; Another autocratic leader visits the US.
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Good news from Botswana, as the High Court affirms trans people’s right to have the gender they identify with legally recognized. The judgment is a huge victory for transgender people and LGBT advocates in Botswana, who face considerable challenges when their gender identity is not reflected in official papers.
In Azerbaijan, however, police have conducted a violent anti-LGBT campaign, arresting and torturing men presumed to be gay or bisexual, as well as transgender women. The round-ups occur amidst Azerbaijan's vicious crackdown on critics, dissenting voices, and other groups that are alleged to go against "traditional values."
For more than two years, international, regional, and Yemeni human rights groups called on the United Nations to confront abuses in Yemen that have resulted in thousands of civilian deaths, a near famine, and a serious medical emergency. The UN Human Rights Council will now be formally looking into possible war crimes by the Saudi-led coalition and the Houthi-Saleh forces in Yemen. It's good news for victims and a possible step toward justice.
Ethiopia's long and abusive crackdown on dissent is well-documented. But what is less known is the role played by the vast surveillance network of the United States. Shared technology has enabled the Ethiopian government to target people for politically motivated detentions and to even spy on dissenters across borders.
From earlier today: Sweden and Germany are the first two European countries to have prosecuted and convicted people for serious international crimes committed in Syria. Several authorities in Europe have now opened investigations into war crimes and crimes against humanity in Syria, providing a much-needed beacon of hope for victims who have nowhere else to turn.
At least 59 people were killed and hundreds injured on Sunday night in Las Vegas, in what is now the deadliest mass shooting in US history. If the aftermath of the Pulse nightclub and Newtown shootings is to be any guide, what comes next will likely be legislative inaction, with legislators who have the power to regulate access to weaponry continuing to do nothing.