Coronavirus Is the "New Terrorism": Daily Brief

Coronavirus is the "new terrorism"; Asia's overcrowded prisons at grave risk of COVID-19 outbreaks; rights risks to older people in coronavirus response; no "social distancing" possible for refugees crammed into camps in Greece; Gulf countries to put a hold on deportations; concerns over South Africa's response; Afghanistan should prosecute head of ISIS-linked group for war crimes; the UN fails to name Russia for bombings in Syria; and is Europe finally seeing some light at the end of the dark pandemic tunnel?
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Around the world, governments are responding to the COVID-19 epidemic. Sometimes those responses are justified... sometimes not. Europe is no exception, with both necessary measures and outright power grabs.

Asia’s overcrowded and unsanitary prisons, jails, and detention centers are at grave risk of COVID-19 outbreaks that threaten the physical and mental health of both detainees and staff and the broader population.

Older people are disproportionately affected by COVID-19 epidemic. They face risks to their rights if governments do not take their specific experiences into account and do not actively combat age discrimination.

More than ever, there is an urgent need to relocate people from refugee camps in Greece in EU countries. A coronavirus outbreak in those camps could have devastating consequences on thousands of people. 

People in immigration detention in Gulf countries pending deportation should be given alternatives to detention amid health risks and global travel restrictions brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Amid this unprecedented global health challenge, the police in South Africa need to engage with the public to gain their trust and enhance their protection, not to further undermine their safety.

Appropriate war crimes charges should be brought against Abdullah Orakzai, also known as Aslam Farooqi, leader of ISIS-linked group, for his alleged role in directing attacks against civilians in Afghanistan.

A United Nations investigation into attacks on humanitarian sites in Syria concluded that the Syrian government or its allies had committed most of them — but failed to name Russia, the most important of those allies, as a perpetrator, reveals The New York Times. 

And finally, some hopefully encouraging news: Europe may be nearing the "end of the beginning" in its fight against COVID-19.

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