An Empty Promise on US Torture: Daily Brief
An empty promise on torture in the US; Russia's assault on internet freedom; Hazaras killed in Pakistan; Philippines attack on the press; Flogging in Aceh, Indonesia; Thai Magazine editor released after 7 years; and the International Criminal Court soon turns 20.
US president Donald Trump's pick to lead the CIA, Gina Haspel, has reportedly been telling US senators in private meetings that she would "never let the CIA restart an interrogation and detention program." It's a promise that falls flat, given her deep involvement in the CIA’s previous torture program.
Russia’ blocking of the messaging service Telegram is unjustified and has worsened the government’s widespread assault on privacy and freedom of expression. Twenty independent human rights groups, including Human Rights Watch, issued a statement on April 30, 2018, condemning the Russian authorities’ actions.
Unidentified assailants killed shopkeepers Jaffar and Muhammad Ali on Saturday in Quetta, Pakistan, apparently because they belonged to the Hazara community. This was the fourth attack this April on the Hazara, a Shia Muslim minority. Past perpetrators have been members of armed militant groups that have waged a bloody onslaught against the Hazara for more than a decade, while Pakistan’s government has failed both to protect the community or hold those responsible to account.
Filipino journalists will spend World Press Freedom Day on May 3 under government attack. New draft regulations issued by the Philippine House of Representatives would allow Congress to ban reporters who “besmirch” the reputation of lawmakers from covering the national legislature.
The authorities in Indonesia’s Aceh province were embarrassed when videos of public floggings went viral around a shocked world. So, they've decided to flog people in private now...
Thai magazine editor and pro-democracy activist Somyot Pruksakasemsuk was released from a Bangkok prison yesterday after serving a seven-year sentence on lese majeste – “insulting the monarchy” – and defamation charges.
Supporters of international justice will soon mark the 20th anniversary of the Rome Statute, the founding treaty of the International Criminal Court...