A Terrible Turn in Kazakhstan: Daily Brief

The authorities in Kazakhstan have apparently doubled down on violence to address popular discontent, with new reports of dozens of people killed in a police operation in Almaty. The events took another terrible turn today, as Kazakhstan's president, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, told troops to fire without warning. Yesterday, the authorities called in Russian troops to try to quash the protests. The UN and civil society groups, including Human Rights Watch, have called for restraint and for the police and security forces to respect their international obligations and use as little force as possible against protesters.

There's potential for better protection of human rights online in the EU draft digital regulation that will be voted at the end of the month at the European Parliament. Stronger safeguards need to be set up to prevent expanding government censorship online, to ban surveillance-based targeted advertising, and to reinforce effective human rights due diligence, as well as independence for oversight and enforcement. 

Tennis star Novak Djokovic remains in immigration detention in Melbourne, Australia, and is facing deportation after his entry to the country was denied on Wednesday. He has been sent to an immigration hotel, where refugees and asylum seekers have long complained of poor conditions, and where some have been detained for years. This is an opportunity for everyone to see and denounce Australia's immigration detention policies as inhumane, deeply cruel, and illegal under international law.

Authorities in the United Arab Emirates are retaliating against rights defender Ahmed Mansour, after he denounced in regional media his unfair trial and mistreatment in prison. It's time for other governments to stop contributing to UAE's whitewashing efforts and demand the release of rights defenders in the country. 

The former Tunisian Minister of Justice, Nourredine Bhiri, was arrested on December 31 in front of his home in Tunis, without an arrest warrant and arbitrarily detained without his lawyers being able to talk to him. This arrest and detention, bypassing judicial process, highlights the growing threats to human rights in Tunisia since the President Saied's seizure of power in July 2021.