Fight for Democracy in Europe: Daily Brief
The latest news on the power grab in Hungary; leaders around the world take unprecedented measures in the face of COVID-19, but not all of them are justified; urgent need to evacuate refugee camps in Greece; show of solidarity in streets of Barcelona; and an inspiring meeting between artist Ai Weiwei and HRW's executive director Ken Roth.
In case you missed it this week: the European Union is no longer a democracy-only club, as the government of Viktor Orbán has used the coronavirus crisis to seize unlimited power in Hungary. Minorities are already bearing the brunt. The EU will have to fight for democracy now and act swiftly against Orbán and his government. Listen to this discussion with HRW's senior researcher in Budapest, Lydia Gall.
And it is not just the government of Hungary that is misusing the pandemic for its own ends; political leaders around the world are taking unprecedented measures to stop the spreading of COVID-19, in many cases disregarding human rights obligations. Will these governments go back to normal once the crisis is over?
There's an urgent need to move people out of overcrowded and squalid refugee camps on five Greek islands in the Aegean, as the first cases of COVID-19 has been confirmed in one of these camps, in Ritsona.
There are glimpses of hope and solidarity in Barcelona, Spain...
The unsanitary overcrowded prisons in most Latin American and Caribbean countries and Turkey offer prime conditions for outbreaks of COVID-19 that could severely affect the health of detainees.
And how can human creativity be used to adress a global crises? Artist and activist Ai Weiwei met Human Rights Watch's excutive director Ken Roth and Helene Cooper, Pentagon correspondent at The New York Times, to discuss...