In a heartbreaking blow to Afghan hopes for peace, several U.S. soldiers are under investigation for murdering at least three Afghan civilians last year as part of a rogue “kill team” that was allegedly formed when a staff sergeant who had served in Iraq in 2004 joined the platoon stationed in Kandahar province. [Washington Post]
The French Senate has approved a ban on the use of full-face veils in public, subject to a fine of 150 Euros ; the legislation will now be reviewed by the Constitutional Council [Impunity Watch; BBC]
On Thursday, the U.S. state of Virginia will execute Teresa Lewis, following her conviction for the 2002 deaths of her husband and stepson; she will be the first woman to be executed in the state in 98 years and is reported to have “severe learning difficulties”. [Guardian]
Polish police have detained exiled Chechen leader Akhmed Zakayev, who was granted asylum in the United Kingdom in 2003, but Polish authorities have not determined whether he will be extradited to Russia, where he is sought on charges of armed revellion, murder and kidnapping. [BBC; RNW]
Italy and Libya’s joint agreement to intercept would-be migrants at sea has led to several incidents where Libyan patrols have fired upon Italian boats in the mistaken belief that they were carrying migrants. [Impunity Watch; Human Rights Watch]
Ecuador and Colombia have met to discuss theplight of the approximately 135,000 displaced Colombians living in Ecuador, due to ongoing violence [Impunity Watch; ADN]
Leading Russian gay rights activist, Nikolai Alekseyev, has been released after being held by Russian authorities for two days while they allegedly pressured him to withdraw a complaint before the European Court of Human Rights. [Radio Free Europe]
A U.S. citizen has been released from Iranian custody after inadvertently crossing Iranian border from Iraq while hiking; meanwhile, while Amnesty calls attention to 30,000 held in Iran without trial and prominent Iranian human rights activist Shiva Nazar Ahari has been sentenced to six years’ imprisonment. [Guardian; NYT; Amnesty]
The PhilippineNational Police will support the installation of a human rights desk in every police station, following torture accusations levied against the police. [Manila Bulletin]
In Kyrgyzstan, human rights reporter Azimjon Askarov has been sentenced to life imprisonment on charges the Committee to Protect Journalists says are completely unfounded. [CPJ]
Peruvian President Alan Garcia approved a repeal of recent Legislative Decree 1097, amidst fears that the law would provide amnesty for security forces members accused of human rights violations. [Peruvian Times] The repeal was viewed favorably by the IACHR, which had criticized the decree. [IACHR]
Citing “the lack of the right to legitimate defence in Rwanda today”, a French court has rejected Rwanda’s request to extradite Eugene Rwamucyo, a doctor wanted for his alleged involvement in the Rwandan genocide. [RNW]
Hamas and UN Relief & Works Agency clash over human rights curriculum in schools. [NPR]
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders has released its annual report, Steadfast in Protest, provides a region-by-region analysis of government protection (or repression) of the media and civil society (note that the Table of Contents is at the end of the 500-plus page report). The report is choc-full of individual examples of human rights defenders who were subjected to harassment or prosecution, and instances of dissent which were stifled – particularly during elections – in 2009. [FIDH]
Human Rights Watch calls for the establishment of an international Commission of Inquiry for Burma, to investigate past abuses by the military and armed groups. [HRW]
The U.S. Senate is poised to vote on legislation, which has been approved by the House of Representatives, and which would repeal the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy towards gay and lesbian members of the military. [ACLU]
Kashmiri separatists protest curfew laws and Indian occupation in bloody battles with Indian troops, in which at least three protesters have lost their lives, while Human Rights Watch calls for the repeal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, which protects members of the Indian military from prosecution and grants broad powers to use force and conduct warrantless arrests. [BBC; HRW]
UN Special Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing warns of the high rate of forced evictions in Kazakhstan. [OHCHR]
The IACHR has presented a case to the Inter-American Court involving Chilean courts’ denial of parental custody rights to a lesbian mother because of her sexual orientation. Karen Atala’s petition is the first to be decided by the Commission relating to discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. [IACHR]
UN expert calls on Sudanese authorities to investigate the September 2nd killing of dozens of civilians in North Darfur. [OHCHR]
A Reprieve investigator reports that the FBI has been deeply involved in the questioning and detention of individuals connected to the World Cup bombings in Kampala this year, the investigation of which has included the arbitrary detention of two Kenyan human rights defenders arrested in Uganda last week. They had been working on behalf of three Kenyans subjected to extraordinary rendition and charged in Uganda for their alleged role in the Kampala World Cup bombings. [Huffington Post]
Organizations call for the immediate release of 19-year-old blogger being held incommunicado in Syria for nine months now. [AFP; HRW]
Attacks against journalists threaten lives and freedom of expression in Mexico. [Impunity Watch]
The Costa Rican Supreme Court has ruled that the high crime rate in the country cannot justify arbitrary police checkpoints on public roads, which may be established only when there is substantiated evidence or actual notice of a crime having been committed. [CEJIL]
18 protesters were injured, and one killed, in a confrontation between Peruvian police and protesters opposed to a dam and agricultural irrigation system which residents of Espinar fear would leave them without water. [Reuters; AlertNet]
In Thailand, planning for anti-government protests is underway as the fourth anniversary of the military coup approaches. [Democracy Now]
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