Alabama’s Shameful Abortion Ban: Daily Brief
Alabama's shameful abortion ban; a year on, Saudi Arabia keeps women activists in jail; protestors killed in Sudan; choose human rights in EU elections; Bahrainis sentences two to death; Iranian labor activists detained; Cameroon's president to begin talks to end violence.
The US state of Alabama has introduced a law that would effectively bans abortion -- even for rape victims. It is unclear if Alabama's governor will sign this cruel, restrictive, and backward bill into law. Abortion will remain legal in Alabama because of the landmark Supreme Court case, Roe v. Wade. But this hasn't stopped several US states from passing anti-abortion laws.
Saudi Arabia's claims it is reforming, but over the past year authorities have been persecuting the country's leading women's rights activists, jailing them, smearing them, allegedly torturing them, and leveling absurd charges against them.
Peaceful protestors have been reportedly killed in Sudan’s ongoing crisis. The killings allegedly took place after a partial leadership agreement was reached between the ruling military council and the opposition.
As elections for the European Parliament draw closer, voters should prioritize human rights at the poles.
Bahrain recently reinstated the death penalty, and now the highest court has sentenced two men to death.
At least 8 labor rights activists are in detention in Iran, after their arrest during a May Day protest this year. They are among 35 people detained during a demonstration in front of Iran’s parliament that was organized by 20 independent local labor rights organizations.
Families whose relatives disappeared in the custody of the Islamic State (ISIS), while the group controlled parts of Syria, are struggling to learn what happened to their relatives. The international coalition against ISIS should make information-sharing with families a priority.
And finally, a ray of hope from Cameroon where President Paul Biya is preparing to hold talks to end the violence in the English-speaking parts of the country. The violence has claimed thousands of lives, forcing half a million to flee their homes, and left many kidnapped or in detention.