Rights watch
A round-up of human rights stories from around the world.
UK: Former judge criticises Magdalen President for role in anti-gay litigation | Cherwell
Oxford college president Dinah Rose QC has been criticised for advocating on behalf of the Caymanian government in its struggle against the legalisation of same-sex marriage.
China: Human rights lawyer faces loss of license in Shandong | Radio Free Asia
Authorities are preparing to revoke the license of a rights lawyer who was hired to defend fellow rights lawyer Wang Quanzhang, as the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) continues a nationwide clampdown on the legal profession.
Iraq: State to execute hundreds of innocent detainees, says human rights group | Middle East Monitor
Executions are imminent in Iraq following the president’s approval of the death sentences for hundreds of Sunni prisoners in response to the suicide bombings in the capital Baghdad last week, the Arab Organisation for Human Rights in the UK (AOHR UK) has warned.
Morocco: Historian and rights activist Maati Monjib sentenced to one year in prison | Africanews
Moroccan historian and human rights defender Maati Monjib has been sentenced to one year in prison for “fraud” and “undermining state security” by a Rabat court.
Brazil: Jair Bolsonaro could face charges in The Hague over Amazon rainforest | The Guardian
Indigenous leaders in Brazil and human rights groups are urging the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate the Brazilian president over his dismantling of environmental policies and violations of indigenous rights, which they say amount to ecocide.
Thailand: Senate backs amendment allowing early-stage abortions | CNN
Thai lawmakers have voted in favour of allowing abortion up to 12 weeks of pregnancy while retaining penalties for later terminations, a move that pro-choice activists said fell short of protecting the rights of the mother.
India: British man ‘tortured to sign blank confession’ | BBC News
A Scottish man who has been held in an Indian jail without conviction for three years has told the BBC he was tortured to sign a blank confession.
B’Tselem has been documenting the violations of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories since 1989. Earlier this month, it issued a position paper announcing that it has decided to draw a line.