radiofree.asia 
radiofree.asia 
radiofree.asia 

Author: Patrick Wintour Diplomatic editor

  • Israel faces legal pressure at UN’s top court over Unrwa ban

    Hearings over bar on cooperation with Palestinian aid agency are test of Israel’s defiance of international law

    Israel will come under sustained legal pressure this week at the UN’s top court when lawyers from more than 40 states will claim the country’s ban on all cooperation with the UN’s Palestinian rights agency Unrwa is a breach of the UN charter.

    The five days of hearings at the international court of justice (ICJ) in The Hague have been given a fresh urgency by Israel’s decision on 2 March to block all aid into Gaza, but the hearing will focus on whether Israel – as a signatory to the UN charter – acted unlawfully in overriding the immunities afforded to a UN body. Israel ended all contact and cooperation with Unrwa operations in Gaza, West Bank and East Jerusalem in November, claiming the agency had been infiltrated by Hamas, an allegation that has been contested.

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    This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.

  • Jailed British-Egyptian dissident may give up both citizenships over failure to be released

    Letters from Alaa Abd el-Fattah reveal despair after hoping David Lammy would secure his release from Cairo jail

    Alaa Abd el-Fattah, the British-Egyptian political dissident held in a Cairo jail for more than five years, has reached such a state of despair over the UK’s inability to secure his release that he has contemplated renouncing both his British and Egyptian citizenship, letters written by him reveal.

    His family have given permission for some of his private letters to be published to show his situation and his concern for his 68-year-old mother, on hunger strike seeking his release.

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    This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.

  • Israel insists it is going ahead with Unrwa ban – what it may mean for Palestinians

    UN agency ordered to vacate HQ by Thursday – just as aid is being increased to Gaza after ceasefire

    Israel has insisted it will not back down over its plan to close down the Gaza operations of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (Unrwa), the UN relief agency for Palestinians, even though critics say the move will jeopardise urgent humanitarian aid efforts.

    Israel has ordered the UN agency to vacate its headquarters in East Jerusalem by Thursday, after the Israeli Knesset passed a law on 28 October banning its operations in Israel and the Palestinian territories. It has not yet said how it will implement a related law ending all Israeli government cooperation with Unwra, which could come into force on the same day and strangle its operations in the West Bank and Gaza.

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  • Alaa Abd el-Fattah: mother on hunger strike takes protest to Westminster

    Laila Soueif to sit outside Foreign Office over Cairo’s extended detention of her British-Egyptian dissident son

    A woman on hunger strike to secure the release of her son, the British-Egyptian dissident Alaa Abd el-Fattah, is to protest outside the Foreign Office each day to remind diplomats of his plight.

    Laila Soueif is on the 77th day of a hunger strike in which she drinks only tea and which has led her to lose 22kg. The start of her daily protest came as more than 100 MPs and peers wrote to the foreign secretary, David Lammy, expressing their alarm about Abd el-Fattah’s continued imprisonment. The letter is the largest intervention by MPs about his fate since Labour came to power.

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    This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.

  • Domestic issues pile pressure on Iran’s president amid foreign policy setbacks

    Tensions over executions and plans for petrol price rise and hijab law add to reversals in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria

    The fall of Bashar al-Assad in Syria, the latest in a string of foreign policy reversals for Iran including the weakening of its allies in Lebanon and Gaza, has coincided with growing domestic frustration over rising executions, planned increases in the price of petrol and a proposed law that imposes heavy fines and loss of access to public services to any woman not wearing the hijab.

    The confluence of events is putting unprecedented pressure on Iran’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, to demonstrate what reforms he has introduced since being elected in June. He is viewed domestically as a consensual figure and faces a conservative parliament, but his supporters are impatient for changes that will lift the economy.

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    This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.

  • British mother of Egyptian political prisoner to press Lammy to take action

    Laila Soueif is to meet the foreign secretary, who in opposition called for the release of Alaa Abd el-Fattah

    The British-born mother of an Egyptian political prisoner who has been on hunger strike for 58 days is preparing to meet the foreign secretary, David Lammy, to urge him to secure her son’s release.

    Laila Soueif’s son Alaa Abd el-Fattah, a British and Egyptian dual citizen who wrote eloquently about the Arab spring and its aftermath, was jailed for five years for “spreading false news”. He was due to be released in September, but has not been freed.

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    This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.

  • Iran claims German-Iranian dissident died before he could be executed

    Top Iranian officials previously referred to an execution when reacting to Jamshid Sharmahd’s death on 28 October

    Iran has claimed that an Iranian-German duel national who had been sentenced to death died last week before his execution could be carried out.

    “Jamshid Sharmahd was sentenced to death, his execution was imminent, but he died before it could be carried out,” the judiciary spokesman Asghar Jahangir told reporters without elaborating. It is understood Tehran claims he suffered a stroke.

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    This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.

  • Berlin summons Iran ambassador over execution of German-Iranian

    Daughter of Jamshid Sharmahd says family let down by US and German governments’ failure to save him

    Germany has recalled its ambassador to Tehran and summoned the Iranian charge d’affaires in Berlin in protest over the execution of a German-Iranian dual national, Jamshid Sharmahd, accused of terrorism by Iran.

    His daughter, Gazelle Sharmahd, who had pressed the German and US governments hard to save him, said she and her brother felt let down by the failure of both governments to do more. Sharmahd was executed on Monday.

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    This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.

  • Fresh scrutiny of free speech in Saudi Arabia after brothers’ convictions over tweets

    Crown prince criticised ‘bad laws’ for Mohammed al-Ghamdi’s death sentence months before second conviction

    Fresh questions have been raised about the suppression of free speech in Saudi Arabia after the brother of a man facing the death penalty for tweeting to 10 followers was handed a 20-year sentence for largely innocuous tweets.

    The Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, had said Mohammed al-Ghamdi was a victim of “bad laws” after being sentenced to death, yet the crown prince permitted the same laws to be used to sentence Ghamdi’s younger brother, Asaad al-Ghamdi.

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    This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.

  • Fresh scrutiny of free speech in Saudi Arabia after brothers’ convictions over tweets

    Crown prince criticised ‘bad laws’ for Mohammed al-Ghamdi’s death sentence months before second conviction

    Fresh questions have been raised about the suppression of free speech in Saudi Arabia after the brother of a man facing the death penalty for tweeting to 10 followers was handed a 20-year sentence for largely innocuous tweets.

    The Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, had said Mohammed al-Ghamdi was a victim of “bad laws” after being sentenced to death, yet the crown prince permitted the same laws to be used to sentence Ghamdi’s younger brother, Asaad al-Ghamdi.

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    This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.

  • No signal from helicopter that crashed killing Iran’s president, Turkish minister says

    Initial investigation by rescue group finds ageing aircraft either did not have transponder fitted or had it turned off

    The helicopter that crashed killing the Iranian president, Ebrahim Raisi, and the foreign minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, either did not have a transponder fitted or had it turned off, according to an initial investigation by the Turkish rescue group that found the wreckage.

    The Turkish transport minister, Abdulkadir Uraloğlu, told reporters that on hearing news of the crash, Turkish authorities had checked for a signal from the helicopter’s transponder that broadcasts height and location information. “But unfortunately, [we think] most likely the transponder system was turned off or that the helicopter did not have one,” he said.

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    This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.

  • Red Cross and Foreign Office to discuss plan to visit Palestinians in Israeli detention

    ICRC is denied access to prisoners in what is said to be breach of Geneva conventions but critics say UK plan may weaken rule of law

    Red Cross officials are to hold talks with the UK over a Foreign Office plan to visit Palestinian detainees held by Israel. Critics say this bypasses a duty on Israel under the Geneva conventions to give the Red Cross access to detainees.

    Israel has suspended the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) from access to Palestinian detainees since the Hamas attack on 7 October, and says it will not rescind the policy until Hamas grants access to Israeli hostages.

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    This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.

  • Bahrain’s king takes activists by surprise with pardon for at least 1,500 prisoners

    Released detainees include some jailed for political reasons and is UK ally’s biggest amnesty since Arab spring

    Bahrain has unconditionally released more than 1,500 prisoners, including political detainees, in the biggest royal pardon since the 2011 Arab spring uprising.

    The amnesty followed years of campaigning inside the country and by international human rights groups but came as a complete surprise to activists.

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    This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.

  • Majority of voters in UK back banning arms sales to Israel, poll finds

    Exclusive: YouGov survey indicates loss of support among people in Britain for Israel’s war in Gaza

    A majority of voters in Britain back a ban on arms sales to Israel, according to a YouGov poll.

    One of the first up-to-date assessments of whether Israel is losing public support in key allied states, the research also suggests most people believe the Israeli government is violating human rights in Gaza.

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    This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.

  • MPs and peers sign letter urging UK government to ban arms sales to Israel

    Ministers under growing pressure to act amid signs Israel intends to ignore UN ceasefire resolution

    Parliamentary pressure is building on the UK government to ban arms sales to Israel, amid signs that Israel intends to ignore the UN security council resolution passed this week calling on all sides to commit to a ceasefire.

    A letter signed by more than 130 parliamentarians to the foreign secretary, David Cameron, highlights action taken by other countries, most recently Canada, which last week announced it would halt all arms exports to Israel.

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    This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.

  • What did the US’s vetoed Gaza ceasefire resolution say?

    Draft resolution put before UN represents important tonal – but not substantive – shift for White House

    After months of vetoing other UN security council resolutions in an effort to defend Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, the US has in recent weeks gone on to the diplomatic front foot in New York, drafting and tabling its own resolution that was put to a vote on Friday before being vetoed by Russia and China.

    The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, said the resolution would send “a strong signal”. But what was that signal precisely?

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    This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.

  • Foreign Office lawyers ‘unable to conclude if Israeli bombing was lawful’

    Documents reveal humanitarian law investigation was far more intensive than David Cameron suggested

    UK Foreign Office legal advisers were unable to conclude that Israel was in compliance with international humanitarian law (IHL) in its bombardment of Gaza, court documents reveal.

    After reviewing specific potential breaches of IHL cited in a report by Amnesty International, the Foreign Office initially concluded it had “serious concerns” about breaches.

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    This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.

  • Campaigners aim to lower support for China on UN human rights council

    Parliamentarians from 15 countries urge reduction in vote to signal disapproval of country’s crackdown on Uyghur population

    An effort is under way to drive down the Chinese vote at the UN human rights council this week in an attempt to show continuing worldwide disapproval of its human rights record.

    The elections on to the world’s premier human rights body take place by secret ballot on Tuesday with China guaranteed a seat in one of the uncontested seats from its region, but human rights campaigners are working to lower the level of Chinese support to show pressure on the country is not dissipating.

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    This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.

  • Iranian intellectual calls on opposition to unite as he is again sent to prison

    Majid Tavakoli, taken from his family in handcuffs, urges dissidents to ‘frankly analyse’ why opposition to the regime has successively failed

    One of Iran’s foremost public intellectuals and critics of the Iranian regime was taken to prison in handcuffs on Saturday to start serving a five-year sentence.

    Majid Tavakoli, who has a three-year-old child, was found guilty of spreading propaganda against the state. His dispatch to jail had been deferred for three weeks, but security officials came to take him away on Saturday, the day after another jailed Iranian human rights activist, Narges Mohammadi, was given the Nobel peace prize.

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    This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.

  • UK decides not to call for release of Briton held in India on terror charges

    Public demand for Jagtar Singh Johal to be set free is ‘not in his best interests’, says Asia minister

    The UK government has decided not to call for the release of a British man held in an Indian jail for five years, saying it would not be in his best interests.

    There have been repeated calls for Britain to do more to secure the release of Jagtar Singh Johal, who claims to have been tortured and forced to make a confession. He faces terrorism charges and the first stages of his trial have just started after repeated delays caused by disputes over evidence.

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    This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.

  • UK solar could be ‘dumping ground’ for products of Chinese forced labour, ministers warned

    Energy bill amendment requires large solar energy projects to prove supply chain free of slave labour

    The UK risks becoming a dumping ground for the products of forced labour from Xinjiang province in China if it rejects reforms by members of the foreign affairs select committee with cross-party support, ministers have been warned.

    An amendment to the energy bill, due to be debated on Tuesday, would require solar energy companies to prove their supply chains are free of slave labour.

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    This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.

  • UN says Russian forces have tortured and executed civilians in Ukraine

    Report details widespread and systematic torture with summary executions of more than 70 people

    Russian forces have carried out widespread and systematic torture of civilians detained in connection with their attack on Ukraine, summarily executing more than 70 of them, the UN human rights office said on Tuesday.

    It interviewed hundreds of victims and witnesses for a report detailing more than 900 cases of civilians, including children and elderly people, being arbitrarily detained in the conflict, most of them by Russia. The vast majority of those interviewed said they were tortured and in some cases subjected to sexual violence during detention by Russian forces, the head of the UN human rights office in Ukraine said.

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    This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.

  • ‘Loss for Iran’s wildlife’: woman jailed in Tehran calls for environmentalists’ release

    Aras Amiri, a former British Council employee, was held in Evin prison with seven members of the Persian Wildlife Heritage Foundation

    Aras Amiri has kept a low profile since she was released from Iranian detention two years ago, avoiding interview requests after returning to the UK. But now, the former British Council employee, who spent three years in Tehran’s notorious Evin prison, wants to speak. An injustice has compelled her: the detention of seven friends and environmentalists she left behind.

    Kept in solitary confinement for 69 days, Amiri was allowed to return to Britain after serving just under a third of a 10-year prison sentence. In the women’s ward, she not only met fellow British-Iranian Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, but Niloufar Bayani and Sepideh Kashani, two of the seven members of the Persian Wildlife Heritage Foundation in jail since 2018. Of the nine originally jailed, one has been released after serving his two-year sentence and another, the founder of the group, Kavous Seyed Emami, died in his prison cell only two weeks after his arrest. The authorities called it suicide, but produced no autopsy.

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    This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.

  • Iran executes three men accused over anti-government protests

    Human rights groups condemn executions following demonstrations that swept country last year

    Iran has executed three men it said were implicated in the deaths of three members of the security forces during anti-government protests, drawing condemnation from rights groups and the EU and risking further international isolation.

    Saleh Mirhashemi, Majid Kazemi and Saeed Yaqoubi were killed on Friday morning, the Tasnim agency reported. Crowds had gathered outside the prison where they were being held on Thursday night as rumours of their imminent executions grew.

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    This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.

  • US calls conditions in Rwanda’s detention centres harsh to life-threatening

    Ally’s criticism will be hard to dismiss as UK tries to push through £120m migrant scheme

    Britain’s closest ally, the US, has criticised Rwanda’s dire human rights record, describing conditions in the country’s detention centres as harsh to life-threatening.

    The British home secretary, Suella Braverman, took a group of journalists on a trip last week to reveal details of her £120m scheme to send all migrants arriving in the UK through irregular means to Rwanda whether they claim asylum or not. The legality of the scheme is due to be tested shortly in the UK court of appeal.

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  • Iran rights violations amount to crime against humanity, says UN expert

    Remarks by Javaid Rehman come as EU and UK impose fresh sanctions on Iranian individuals

    A UN human rights expert has said the scale and gravity of Iran’s violations of human rights amount to a crime against humanity.

    The remarks on Monday by the UN rapporteur on Iran, Javaid Rehman, came as the EU and the UK imposed a fresh round of sanctions on Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) officers, judicial officials and clerics, but held back from proscribing the IRGC.

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    This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.

  • UK aid to India does little for human rights and democracy, watchdog finds

    Programme spent £2.7bn between 2016 and 2021 but is fragmented and lacks a clear rationale, report says

    Britain’s aid programme to India is fragmented, lacks a clear rationale and does little to counter the negative trends in human rights and democracy in the country, the government’s aid watchdog has found.

    The findings are likely to be used by those who claim the UK government risks using its aid programme to deepen its relationship with India, including seeking free trade deals, rather than attempting to reduce poverty, which is the statutory purpose of UK aid.

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  • Campaign calls for gender apartheid to be crime under international law

    Prominent Afghans and Iranians say current laws do not capture the systematic suppression of women

    A prominent group of Afghan and Iranian women are backing a campaign calling for gender apartheid to be recognised as a crime under international law.

    The campaign, launched on International Women’s Day, reflects a belief that the current laws covering discrimination against women do not capture the systematic nature of the policies imposed in Afghanistan and Iran to downgrade the status of women in society.

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  • US ranking on abuse of power index hurt by inequality and violence

    Country came near median of 163 countries on Index of Impunity, higher than Hungary and Singapore

    The US scores surprisingly badly in a new ranking system charting abuses of power by nation states, launched by a group co-chaired by former UK foreign secretary David Miliband.

    The US comes close to the median of 163 countries ranked in the Index of Impunity, reflecting a poor record on discrimination, inequality and access to democracy. The country’s arms exports and record of violence are an even bigger negative factor.

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    This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.

  • Film-maker Jafar Panahi begins hunger strike in Iranian prison

    Panahi says he will not eat until he is released, after lawyer successfully challenged his detention

    One of Iran’s most illustrious film-makers, Jafar Panahi, is on hunger strike in protest at his continued detention in Tehran’s Evin prison, his wife has said.

    The Cannes film festival award-winner and director of The White Balloon, The Circle and No Bears took the step after plans for his release were dashed, even though his lawyer had successfully challenged his detention.

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    This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.