radiofree.asia

Category: Human Rights

  • Israel just killed another journalist in a horrific massacre near Al-Shifa hospital

    WARNING: THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS GRAPHIC VIDEO SOME READERS MAY FIND DISTRESSING

    Israel committed a horrific massacre yesterday, 17 September 2025, targeting forcibly displaced Palestinian civilians near to Al-Shifa Hospital, as they were evacuating Gaza City.

    At least 15 people have been killed, including Palestinian journalist Alaa Al-Sawalhi, a cameraman for Al-Quds Al-Youm channel.

    Women and children were among those killed.

     

    Cameraman and journalist Alaa Al-Sawalhi smiling.

    Israel committing ‘full-fledged’ war crimes in full view

    A press release issued by Hamas on Wednesday evening calls the targeting of these innocent civilians:

    a full-fledged war crime that exposes the brutality of this entity in attacking civilians even at moments of displacement.

    This massacre, along with all the other atrocities that happened yesterday – including the targeting, by Israeli occupation forces, of two Palestinian civilians near the Red Crescent in Tel Al-Air, south of Gaza City – came only one day after a UN commission confirmed that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.

    Between 12am and 9.20pm on 17 September, the total number of Palestinians killed by the occupation was 86.

     

    By Charlie Jaay

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • OSCE review shows Malta is still struggling to adequately protect human rights defenders

    Malta is still struggling to adequately protect human rights defenders, including journalists, according to a new OSCE review published on 2 September 2025.

    While some progress has been noted, the report warns that legal pressure, rhetoric used and a lack of meaningful reforms continue to erode fundamental freedoms. The assessment by the OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) follows a fact-finding mission to Malta in March 2023.

    ODIHR noted “concerning instances of disparaging rhetoric and smearing remarks used by political actors, including politicians and other persons of authority” in relation to activists in various areas and journalists  Those working on corruption, migration, environmental issues, and sexual and reproductive rights were identified as frequent targets. Interviewees described harassment, threats and intimidation, often extending to their families.

    Women activists reported sexist abuse, including being spat on or confronted physically.

    Interviewees told ODIHR that their work was often portrayed as partisan political activity. The assessment also noted attempts to damage reputations, harm employment prospects and label defenders as enemies, traitors or political opponents.

    The report connects this hostile environment to the 2021 public inquiry into journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia’s assassination, which found that state inaction and vilification of journalists fostered a “climate of impunity.” Two years later, ODIHR says many recommendations remain unfulfilled, particularly on media freedom and journalist safety.

    The OSCE heard accounts of online trolling, social media threats, spoofing campaigns, threatening phone calls, and verbal abuse of family members.

    ODIHR also found that Maltese journalists continue to receive threatening letters from local and international law firms, sometimes prompting article removals due to fear of high legal costs.

    Although defamation was decriminalised in 2018, gaps in the law remain, and proposed anti-SLAPP reforms have been criticised as inadequate.

    Freedom of expression and access to information also face obstacles. Journalists spoke of costly and lengthy efforts to secure public records, while whistle-blower protections are seen as weak due to fears of reprisals.

    The report calls for a public review of Malta’s Freedom of Information Act, the release of a government-commissioned evaluation, and new legislative proposals to improve transparency and accountability.

    Civil society activists also described intimidation around protests, including court rulings against authorities for repeatedly removing banners and memorials related to Caruana Galizia.

    ODIHR acknowledged political support for LGBTI rights, with NGOs in this sector receiving strong public backing and engagement from officials. Freedom of assembly was generally upheld, and some NGOs received benefits through tax incentives and secondments. Nonetheless, ODIHR concludes that Malta must urgently rebuild trust and ensure a safer environment for rights defenders.

    Key recommendations include public recognition of their work, stronger police protection protocols, robust anti-SLAPP legislation, improved transparency measures, and genuine consultation on media reforms. “Baseless lawsuits, threats and smear campaigns not only endanger individuals but weaken democracy itself,” the report warns.

    ODIHR said it is ready to support Malta in implementing reforms but emphasised that political commitment is vital.

    https://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2025-09-02/local-news/New-report-highlights-ongoing-risks-for-rights-advocates-in-Malta-6736272807

    https://www.maltatoday.com.mt/news/national/136819/report_flags_unimplemented_recommendations_from_daphne_caruana_galizia_inquiry

    OSCE Warns Malta: Journalists And Rights Defenders Still At Risk

    This post was originally published on Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards.

  • Conscientious Objection Highlighted In Recent United Nations Reports

    These reports reaffirm that conscientious objection is a recognised human right within UN frameworks. Crucially, they link conscientious objection to refugee protection and non-refoulement, underlining that objectors facing persecution must be granted safety.

    For advocates, these references are valuable tools: they can be cited in policy dialogue, asylum cases, and international advocacy to press governments to respect the right to refuse military service, to provide genuine alternatives, and to end the punishment of objectors. By embedding conscientious objection into the broader UN human rights agenda, these reports strengthen the case for protecting COs everywhere, especially in times of war.

    The post Conscientious Objection Highlighted In Recent United Nations Reports appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

    This post was originally published on PopularResistance.Org.

  • Seven International NGOs demand unconditional release of Indian HRD Umar Khalid

    On 12 September, 2025 the seven rights groups described Khalid’s prolonged imprisonment as a “violation of his rights” and an instance of “selective persecution”, asserting that he was arrested on “politically motivated and spurious charges” on 13 September 2020.

    Alongside Amnesty International, the signatories include: CIVICUS, FORUM-ASIA, Front Line Defenders. International Commission of Jurists, International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT).

    The statement expressed deep concern over the invocation of the anti-terror law UAPA (Unlawful Activities Prevention Act) and the repeated denial of bail to Khalid.

    “These repeated bail denials combined with persistent delays, and the continued absence of trial proceedings, amount to a violation of his right to a fair trial, including speedy trial, guaranteed under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which India is a state party, as well as under the Constitution of India,” the statement read.

    The groups further highlighted the unequal application of bail standards, particularly in cases related to the 2020 Delhi riots and anti-CAA protests, saying:

    “We are further concerned about the discriminatory application of bail standards in cases arising from the violence surrounding the CAA protests and more broadly in cases involving the UAPA. While similarly situated accused have been granted bail, Khalid continues to be denied relief. Such unequal treatment violates the principle of equality before the law and sets a deeply troubling precedent.”

    The rights organizations also drew attention to the role of the Delhi Police and political leaders during the 2020 Delhi riots, where Khalid and other Muslim activists were implicated.

    “Independent investigations, including by Amnesty International India, Human Rights Watch and Delhi Minorities Commission, have documented the role of the Delhi Police in human rights violations during the CAA protests and the ensuing violence,” the statement said.
    “Police officers were recorded engaging in beatings, torture and other ill-treatment, and arbitrary arrests, and in some cases standing by as mobs attacked protesters.”

    The statement noted that Indian courts have repeatedly criticized the police investigations, describing them as: “Very poor,” “callous,” and “fraught with multiple flaws,” with documented instances of fabricated cases and manipulated records.

    It further condemned the role of senior political leaders, who were seen delivering inflammatory hate speeches, branding protesters as “traitors” or “anti-nationals”, and openly inciting violence.

    “Despite the existence of video and documentary evidence, no meaningful accountability measures have been taken against implicated political figures or police officials,” the statement added.

    The rights groups emphasized that Khalid’s prolonged detention is not an isolated incident, but part of a larger pattern of repression against those exercising their constitutional rights to freedom of expression and association.

    “Other students and human rights activists, including Gulfisha Fatima, Sharjeel Imam, Khalid Saifi, Shifa-ur-Rehman and Meeran Haider, also remain in detention for their peaceful opposition to the CAA, while police officials and political leaders responsible for incitement or complicity in violence continue to enjoy impunity,” the groups noted.
    “This selective prosecution erodes public trust in the justice system, entrenches impunity for state actors, and criminalises free expression.”

    The seven international organizations demand:

    The immediate and unconditional release of Umar Khalid

    The equal application of bail standards

    An end to the discriminatory treatment of human rights defenders

    Accountability for police officers and political leaders implicated in incitement and violence

    The repeal of the UAPA.

    https://www.amnestyusa.org/press-releases/india-umar-khalids-five-year-imprisonment-without-trial-exemplifies-derailment-of-justice/

    https://thehindustangazette.com/latest-news/selective-persecution-seven-international-rights-groups-demand-unconditional-release-of-umar-khalid-39661

    This post was originally published on Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards.

  • The Science Museum just held held a party for climate criminal and genocide-enabler Adani

    On Monday 15 September, the Science Museum in London held a private cocktails and canapés reception for one of its key sponsors, genocide profiteer and prolific human rights violator Adani.

    In the wake of this, campaigners are ramping up calls for a full cultural and educational boycott of the museum for its gross greenwashing for big polluters.

    Adani at the Science Museum: cocktails and canapés for the climate criminal

    The company became the sponsor for the museum’s new ‘Energy Revolution’ gallery. Opening in 2023, this replaced the Shell-sponsored ‘Atmosphere’ gallery.

    The conglomerate is involved in large-scale coal mining. It is one of the foremost companies profiting from the polluting industry driving the climate crisis.

    As India’s biggest coal producer, it has been at the centre of violent displacements of Indigenous Adivasi people from their ancestral lands. It has an extensive record of human rights abuses against the Indigenous population. Alongside this, the company has a chequered history of workers’ rights violations. It has subjected its employees to inhumane conditions which have led to injuries and deaths at its facilities.

    And while the museum sponsorship is through its renewables arm Adani Green Energy, the group is ramping up its production of coal. On 13 September it announced a new agreement for an additional 2,400MW power plant in Bhagalpur.

    Adani is also the operator of Israel’s Haifa port, through which countries are supplying it with the fuel and weapons its using in its genocide. It is a manufacturer of drones in partnership with Israeli weapons company Elbit Systems. Of course, Israel has used these to brutally massacre Palestinians in Gaza.

    Yet, despite ethical issues around the group, the Science Museum has given the Adani name a huge presence within the museum. It has ignored the group’s role in exacerbating global issues of climate crisis and enabling war crimes.

    Once again, the museum’s shameful greenwashing for the coal giant was on full display at this latest schmooze-fest.

    Adani execs: awash with bribery allegations

    Adani held its private reception for investors inside the Science Museum’s ‘Energy Revolution: Adani Green Energy Gallery’. As around 50-60 smartly dressed guests arrived, activists greeted them by unfurling a banner at the museum doorway which read:

    The Science Museum: complicit in human rights buses, fraud, bribery, climate destruction, genocide.

    The cocktails and canapés event coincided with a series of in-person investor meetings hosted by the Adani Group. Between 15 -17 September the ports, coal and green energy arms of the conglomerate came together for these in London.

    The event comes after the museum confirmed earlier this year that it was “monitoring developments” after the US issued arrest warrants for senior Adani executives. This included billionaire Chairman Gautam Adani. The warrants were over their alleged role in a major $265m bribery scheme. Ironically, the bribery allegations revolved around a solar project the company has showcased in its Energy Revolution gallery.

    As the Art Newspaper reported, previous Freedom of Information requests showed that the Science Museum:

    produced an internal due diligence report which identified instances of alleged corruption and fraud, as well as human rights concerns associated with the Adani Group.

    Outrageously however, the Science Museum has obstinately maintained its ties with Adani and hosted this function. This is also despite the clear anti-bribery positions in its own ethics policy, which states that:

    The Science Museum Group will not accept donations, sponsorship or grants where the donor has acted, or believed to have acted, illegally in the acquisition of funds or where there are concerns of fraud, money laundering or other financial crime.

    In bed with BP too

    For the last four years, climate crisis and pro-Palestine campaigners have been holding the museum’s feet under the fire for its problematic sponsorships. The museum also hosts oil and gas company BP among its significant sponsors. This is despite the company’s long atrocious human rights and climate record.

    The fossil fuel major is complicit in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza. In November 2023, Israel awarded a number of Western energy companies, including BP, gas exploration licences in occupied Palestinian waters. Alongside this, BP is the operator and largest shareholder of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline. The pipeline has supplied Israel with 28% of its oil during its genocide.

    Notably, BP worked with the Science Museum to establish its Energy Gallery in 2003. Today, BP sponsors the museums STEM ‘Training Academy’. This trains teachers on how to deliver science education. And until recently, it also hosted the annual awards ceremony of its ‘Ultimate STEM Challenge’ in the museum.

    A full cultural and educational boycott

    In the wake of this new appalling greenwashing event, groups are calling for a full educational, cultural, and academic boycott of the Science Museum.

    Fossil Free Science Museum, Parents for Palestine, Culture Unstained, Education Climate Coalition, and others are spearheading this until it drops Adani as a sponsor.

    As part of this, the Education Climate Coalition is hosting an online webinar on Thursday 18 September.

    As one boycotting school headteacher said:

    discussing with students then agreeing to join this boycott was one of the best educational lessons; our students now have a greater understanding of the importance to uphold moral standards and the power of our collective voice.

    The webinar, designed for educators, will be exploring the following questions:

    • Did you know that the Science Museum’s sponsors, Adani and BP, are both ramping up fossil fuel extraction, are complicit in the genocide in Gaza and guilty of human rights abuses globally?
    • Is the Science Museum compromising itself and its reputation among young people and the educational community by offering these companies a promotional platform?
    • Can educators trust the educational materials made through the Science Museum’s STEM Academy, knowing that they’re funded by fossil fuel companies?
    • If trustees are resigning over this, what message is this sending to our students by maintaining their sponsorship?

    The webinar will feature speakers from the NEU, London Mining Network, Culture Unstained, South Asia Solidarity Group, Ministry for EcoEducation, and DeSmog. The NEU will outline support for any teacher or school joining the boycott.

    Parents pulling up the museum for its problematic partnerships

    It will build on the success of boycott partners like Parents for Palestine, which launched its ‘Press Pause on School Trips’ campaign in May 2025.

    The group has highlighted that school trips are an integral part of a child’s learning and exposure to different ways of seeing the world. But its campaign points out that asking a school to cancel a trip to the Science Museum is not a loss – there are many alternatives. It offers an opportunity for educators to introduce into their classroom topics of climate justice and human rights, including the human impact of fossil fuel production, as well as Palestinian culture, history, and the current genocide.

    Science Museum director Ian Blatchford has claimed that visitors support the Science Museum’s corporate partnerships. Yet in 2021, over 500 teachers pledged to boycott the museum over its support of the billionaire coal producer. And in April, the National Education Union (NEU) – the largest education union – passed the following motion during its conference:

    Support a campaign for schools to boycott the Science Museum Group while they are sponsored by Adani and BP.

    Since it launched its campaign, the group has got 14 schools to agree to boycott the Science Museum. Nearly 500 parents have been involved in the campaign. So far, they have called on 34 schools to cut ties with the greenwashing institution.

    Parents for Palestine member Leila Hoballah said:

    Parents are shocked when they find out about the Science Museum’s partnerships with Adani and BP. This boycott campaign is a practical and easy way to take action. It raises awareness among our school communities and shows that we can have the power to make changes and ensure our kids’ education is not exploited to legitimise dirty profits.

    To join the Science Museum boycott webinar, educators and the public can sign up here.

    Featured image via the Canary

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Wheelchair users demand ‘Hands Off Our Handles’ in new campaign

    A new campaign has launched aimed at non-disabled people who think it’s appropriate to manhandle wheelchair users’ equipment. Journalist and campaigner Melissa Parker, who runs Disability Representation Diary, launched the Hands Off Our Handles campaign in response to the way she had been treated as a wheelchair user, particularly by men who have grabbed her wheelchair and pushed her.

    Hands Off Our Handles

    The campaign came about after Melissa shared her experience of a stranger grabbing her wheelchair in a supermarket and pushing her without saying anything the entire time in an article on Metro.

    She wrote in the article:

    Suddenly, I was aware how vulnerable I was. I was completely at the mercy of this man. And all I could think was ‘what could he do to me? I have to get away

    She detailed in the article that the man did not stop and did not speak to her despite her pleading with him. At this point, she was forced to stop the wheels herself, taking the skin off her fingers in the process. She said the man thankfully just walked off in a huff, but it could’ve been much worse.

    Melissa explained that this is by no means the first time this has happened: men (it’s nearly always men) have grabbed the handles of her chair in many different places and situations:

    In nightclubs – where I have been left shaking in terror as a man I had never met laughed at my reaction to being moved away from friends without my consent. In supermarkets, shopping centres, train stations and even museums I have been moved without permission because I ‘looked like I needed help’. And of course, I’ve been grabbed on the streets too.

    She spoke specifically about the time a man on the street grabbed her wheelchair handles and pushed her for what felt like a mile. Melissa said she, again, never said a word to her despite her protestations – he only stopped when another non-disabled man intervened. She said:

    The notion of fight or flight is all well and good until you remember that neither is wholly possible for me. And I truly thought this man was going to harm me

    Melissa said the biggest problem is that people genuinely think wheelchair users need and should be grateful for “help” like this, despite the fact that many can very clearly get about independently.

    A campaign was born

    After the article was published, Melissa received a lot of messages from other disabled people, especially women, who’d been in a similar situation. That’s why she knew she had to do something.

    The Hands Off Our Handles campaign is being run by Melissa, “and my one good arm,” as she puts it, on Instagram, where she encourages others to share the graphic and their stories. The aim of the campaign is to bring awareness to the fact that this happens on a huge scale and hopefully make people realise that it’s not okay to do so without a wheelchair user’s consent.

    The graphic being used in the campaign states boldly:

    Wheelchair users are tired of being touched, moved, groped assaulted and kidnapped – hands off

    Melissa told the Canary:

    People reached out to me to share their experiences and, honestly, as is my way, I cried and then got angry. Every one of the words on the graphic is a word used by a wheelchair user to describe their experience.

    Hands Off Our Handles: a campaign for ALL disabled people to get behind

    Melissa said she “hasn’t really stopped” since she had the idea for the campaign and contacted every single disabled person and organisation she could think of and received some incredible support. She’s also aware, however, that many disabled people who aren’t wheelchair users but still experience harassment could feel excluded, and that’s the last thing she wants:

    I’ve received feedback that it’s not just people in wheelchairs, and I know that. I am desperate to work with people with other disabilities and other mobility aids. But I think there’s something really beautiful about being able to say, “This is my experience—here’s this article I wrote—this is me trying to do something about it.” I believe some of the best campaigns have come from that close, personal experience.

    She continued:

    This campaign will never exclude and will include every experience and disability. I hope this is just the start. I also hope it inspires others to start their own.

    Disabled women- you don’t have to put up with this

    She said the main reason she started the campaign was because it’s so normalised to touch and move people’s wheelchairs and to assault disabled people in the process:

    I grew up thinking this was all normal—that I shouldn’t complain. There’s one incident that stays with me: a man moving my bra strap when he was pretending to “help me.” My first thought was that no one would believe me. Violence against disabled women is so well-hidden—we [disabled people] all know that, don’t we?

    She hopes that by running this campaign, as well as making non-disabled people this isn’t acceptable, she helps disabled people see that they shouldn’t have to put up with it:

    Any disabled person who has experienced this knows the sickening weight it leaves you with. If I can prevent one disabled child from knowing that feeling, growing up thinking it’s OK, it’ll all be worth it.

    You can support the Hands Off Our Handles campaign by following on Instagram and sharing the graphic.

    Featured image via the Canary

    By Rachel Charlton-Dailey

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Rafto Prize 2025 to Emergency Response Rooms of Sudan (ERR)

    The Rafto Prize 2025 has been awarded to The Emergency Response Rooms of Sudan (ERRs) for their courageous work to preserve the most fundamental human right – the right to life.

    The Emergency Response Rooms of Sudan are grassroot networks that emerged in the wake of the war in Sudan in 2023. They consist of thousands of volunteers who engage in collaborative, community driven efforts to meet urgent humanitarian needs of others, at great personal risk. The ERRs save lives and maintain human dignity in a place of misery and despair.

    After the brutal war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) broke out in April 2023, the Sudanese state collapsed. As a consequence, civilians have an enormous need for humanitarian assistance.In a desperate attempt to save lives, ordinary Sudanese took matters in their own hands and formed self-help groups to offer services supporting basic life, welfare, and human dignity through Emergency Response Rooms (ERRs).

    The ERRs originated in Khartoum and has spread to other conflict areas of Sudan. To mitigate excessive loss of life and human suffering, ERRs provide key services such as health, food, water, body retrieval and burial. They also work on monitoring, documenting, and responding to cases of sexual violence.

    The Rafto Prize 2025 honours the Emergency Response Rooms and the thousands of individuals protecting the right to life and health, who are building hope in Sudan, at tremendous risk to their own lives. The prize is also a recognition of the significance of grassroot mobilization and collective effort in ensuring basic human rights in times of conflict. The need for protection of human rights and humanitarian assistance is becoming greater by the day. In these trying times, we must all stand in solidarity with the people of Sudan.

    For more on the Rafto prize and its many previous laureates: see: https://www.trueheroesfilms.org/thedigest/awards/A5043D5E-68F5-43DF-B84D-C9EF21976B18

    https://www.rafto.no/en/news/the-rafto-prize-2025-to-emergency-response-rooms-of-sudan-err

    https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/sudanese-network-volunteer-aid-groups-wins-norwegian-human-rights-award-2025-09-17/

    This post was originally published on Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards.

  • Israel is escalating its ethnic cleansing of Gaza City

    According to Gaza’s Government Media Office, there has been an escalation in recent days in the forced displacement of residents from Gaza City to the South, due to the Israeli occupation’s crimes, with approximately 190,000 people being compelled to leave their homes, because of the bombing.

    At the same time, more than 15,000 residents returned to their original neighbourhoods in Gaza City by midday Tuesday. These families had moved their belongings to the south for safekeeping, but returned to Gaza city due to the absence of even the most basic means of survival in the South.

    Israel accelerating forced displacement in Gaza City

    The Al-Mawasi area in Khan Younis and Rafah, which currently hosts nearly 800,000 people is falsely referred to as a ‘safe zone’ by the occupation, even though it has been subjected to more than 109 airstrikes and repeated bombardments, leaving over 2000 killed in successive massacres committed by the Israeli army inside Al-Mawasi itself. This ‘safe zone’ has no hospitals, no infrastructure, and no vital services such as food, water, shelter, electricity or education, making survival there virtually impossible.

    The Israeli occupation is planning to cram 1.7 million Palestinians into the designated ‘safe zone’- which is no more than 12% of the total area of the Gaza Strip, under its systematic forced displacement policy which aims to empty Gaza City and the wider northern area of the Strip of Palestinians. This is a violation of international law, and a war crime.

    All states complicit are fully responsible for these crimes

    Most of the 1.3 million residents of Gaza City and the North Gaza Governate have been forcibly displaced to the western parts, while almost 350,000 have been displaced from the eastern neighbourhoods of the city and are now sheltering in the central and western areas.

    The Media Office describes the international silence and failure to uphold legal and moral responsibilities as “disgraceful”, and says it holds all states complicit in genocide fully responsible for the:

    systematic crimes and their resulting international legal consequences.

    Featured image via the Canary

    By Charlie Jaay

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • The climate crisis was behind 16,500 heat deaths in Europe this summer, new study finds

    A groundbreaking scientific study released Wednesday 17 September reveals that the climate crisis caused at least 16,500 heat-related deaths in European cities this summer.

    Across the cities, the climate crisis was behind 4,597 of the estimated heat deaths in Italy, 2,841 in Spain, 1,477 in Germany, 1,444 in France, 1,147 in the UK, 1,064 in Romania, 808 in Greece, 552 in Bulgaria, and 268 in Croatia

    The crisis was most acute in capital cities. There were 835 additional deaths in Rome, 630 in Athens, 409 in Paris, and 387 in Madrid.

    People aged 65 and over made up 85% of the excess deaths. It highlighted how hotter summers will become increasingly deadly for Europe’s ageing population.

    Across the continent, scientists found the climate crisis was responsible for 68% of the 24,400 estimated heat deaths. Crucially, this was the result of it pushing temperatures up to 3.6°c higher.

    Climate crisis causing surge in heat deaths across Europe

    Imperial College London, the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, the University of Bern, the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute and the University of Copenhagen conducted the research.

    It underlines how preventable many of these deaths were. Crucially, it underscored how far governments are from delivering the urgent climate action needed to protect people.

    This summer, extreme climate impacts battered Europe. Wildfires scorched over a million hectares across Spain and Portugal, devastating rural communities. Nordic countries endured unprecedented heatwaves, with temperatures climbing above 30°c even inside the Arctic Circle. Meanwhile, droughts disrupted harvests from Italy to the UK, pushing food prices higher and threatening livelihoods. Scientists warn these events are no longer rare anomalies but the new reality of a continent heating faster than the global average.

    The report comes after EU countries failed to agree Friday on the bloc’s 2040 climate target. It is delaying a decision until an October summit of EU leaders and leaving the bloc’s planned Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to the Paris Agreement in limbo. NDCs are countries’ plans to deliver their emissions reductions vital to meeting the 1.5°c and 2°c under the Paris Agreement. Each party signatory to the agreement must update these every five years.

    Laying bare the deadly reality of climate inaction

    European Director at 350.org Kate Blagojevic said:

    These shocking figures lay bare the deadly reality of the climate crisis in Europe. Ordinary people are paying with their lives, while billionaires, polluters, and the politicians shielding them continue with business as usual. This cannot go on. European leaders are stalling on setting a new, ambitious 2040 climate commitment — but delay costs lives. Governments need to act with urgency, starting with taxing the super-rich and fossil fuel companies to fund climate action, protect communities, and build a livable future.

    Dr Garyfallos Konstantinoudis, lecturer at the Grantham Institute on climate change and the environment at Imperial College London, said:

    Heatwaves are silent killers. The vast majority of heat deaths happen in homes and hospitals, where people with existing health conditions are pushed to their limit, but heat is rarely mentioned on death certificates.

    Despite being the deadliest type of extreme weather, heat has long been underestimated as a public health risk. For example, even this summer in Europe, people are still working outdoors in temperatures above 40°C.

    No one would expect someone to risk their life working in torrential rain or hurricane winds, but dangerous heat is still treated too casually.

    Dr Pierrre Masselot, research fellow at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, who also conducted the analysis, said:

    This summer was another stark reminder of the necessity to take climate change seriously.

    It is important to adapt our cities and societies as a whole to a warming world. But ultimately, adaptation will not compensate for extreme heating in Europe.

    The best way to save thousands of lives from heat remains a drastic cut in greenhouse gas emission.

    The findings add urgency to the upcoming Draw the Line global weekend of action (19–21 September). More than 90 demonstrations will take place across Europe. This includes flagship marches in London, Berlin, and Paris. The protests will unite communities in demanding an end to fossil fuels, a tax on extreme wealth, and investment in people, not polluters.

    Feature image via Youtube/DW News

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Israel just bombed a children’s hospital in Gaza three times in one night

    The Gaza Ministry of Health reported last night, 16 September 2025, Israel bombed the upper floors of Al-Rantisi Children’s Hospital in Gaza City three times, each strike occurring within a few minutes of each other.

    Israel bombs Al-Rantisi Children’s Hospital three times in one night

    80 patients, across different departments, were receiving treatment at the time, including four in the pediatric intensive care unit and eight in the neonatal intensive care unit.

    The bombing forced 40 children and their families to flee the building under fire, but 40 patients, including the 12 intensive care patients, along with 30 doctors, nurses and medical staff remained in the hospital.

    Al-Rantisi specializes in the treatment of children, including babies, with cancer, kidney diseases, as well as disorders impacting the respiratory and digestive organs. It is Gaza’s only specialized children’s hospital.

    The Palestine Children’s Relief Fund (PCRF), which claims it was the Pediatric Cancer Department which was attacked last night, wrote on social media:

    As we write (17 Sep, 1:00 am Gaza time), we continue to hear terrifying reports that the Israeli military is launching continued strikes and targeted drone attacks on the hospital’s infrastructure and its patients.

    The Oncology department was initially established by PCRF in 2019, to provide local life-saving treatment for children with cancer who couldn’t access care elsewhere.

    Not the first time Israel has targeted it

    Al-Rantisi Children’s Hospital was also targeted by the Israeli occupation in November 2023, but PCRF managed to repair the building. Now they must rebuild again.

    The Ministry of Health said:

    We call on the world and the United Nations to take immediate action to provide protection for medical staff and patients inside hospitals, and to stop the repeated attacks on health facilities.

    It is the collective responsibility of states and global actors to protect health facilities, patients and medical personnel from such attacks, and to hold the occupation to account. Medical personnel and hospitals are specifically protected under international humanitarian law but, according to the Gaza Government Media Office, between 7 October 2023 and 6 September 2025, Israel has:

    • Bombed, destroyed, or put out of service 38 hospitals.
    • Bombed, destroyed, or put out of service 96 healthcare centers.
    • Made 788 attacks on healthcare services, facilities, vehicles, personnel, and supply chains.
    •  Martyred 1670 medical personnel.
    • Targeted 197 ambulances, and 61 Civil Defense vehicles.

    Featured image via the Canary

    By Charlie Jaay

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • ‘Push back – or they’ll eat you alive’: James Cromwell on life as Hollywood’s biggest troublemaker

    He marched against the Vietnam war, supported the Black Panthers, has protested over animal rights, ended up in prison after a climate sit-in – and starred in Babe, LA Confidential and Succession. He explains how he became the ultimate activist-actor

    Amid the hustle of midtown Manhattan on Wednesday 11 May 2022, James Cromwell walked into Starbucks, glued his hand to a counter and complained about the surcharges on vegan milks. “When will you stop raking in huge profits while customers, animals and the environment suffer?” Cromwell boomed as fellow activists streamed the protest online.

    But the insouciant patrons of Starbucks paid little heed. Perhaps they didn’t realise they were in the company of the tallest person ever nominated for an acting Oscar, deliverer of one of the best speeches in Succession, and the only actor to utter the words “star trek” in a Star Trek production. Police arrived to shut down the store.

    Continue reading…

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

  • ‘Push back – or they’ll eat you alive’: James Cromwell on life as Hollywood’s biggest troublemaker

    He marched against the Vietnam war, supported the Black Panthers, has protested over animal rights, ended up in prison after a climate sit-in – and starred in Babe, LA Confidential and Succession. He explains how he became the ultimate activist-actor

    Amid the hustle of midtown Manhattan on Wednesday 11 May 2022, James Cromwell walked into Starbucks, glued his hand to a counter and complained about the surcharges on vegan milks. “When will you stop raking in huge profits while customers, animals and the environment suffer?” Cromwell boomed as fellow activists streamed the protest online.

    But the insouciant patrons of Starbucks paid little heed. Perhaps they didn’t realise they were in the company of the tallest person ever nominated for an acting Oscar, deliverer of one of the best speeches in Succession, and the only actor to utter the words “star trek” in a Star Trek production. Police arrived to shut down the store.

    Continue reading…

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

  • In the Aftermath of Israel’s Assault, Feminists in Iran Chart a Path Forward

    As we mark the third anniversary of Jina (Mahsa) Amini’s death in Iran and the uprising that sparked the global Woman, Life, Freedom movement, the voices that courageously challenged authoritarianism at home find themselves navigating an increasingly complex geopolitical landscape. In response to the June 2025 war between Israel and Iran, mainstream media outlets — both Persian-language and…

    Source

    This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.

  • The History of Writers Defending Human Rights in the USSR, e.g. the poet Lina Kostenko

    On 14 September 2025 Ilya V Ganpantsura wrote in Countercurrents:

    In the USSR, writers often became defenders of human rights. They were people of various ages and backgrounds, yet their works exposed injustice and reflected personal courage to speak the truth — for which many paid with exile and labor camps. Why did the authorities fear writers so much? And why should they be honored today?

    One such figure was the Soviet-Ukrainian writer and poet Lina Kostenko, who, through her works and personal stance, inspired resistance, standing proudly for freedom and against the oppressive system, despite multiple attempts to push her out of cultural and literary life. Her novel Notes of a Ukrainian Madman, written in the 1970s, was long banned and circulated only through underground self-publishing (samizdat). Through this work, Kostenko protested the totalitarian regime and shed light on the lives of those who could not live in good conscience under Soviet rule. The novel symbolized the fight for the right to be oneself.

    Lina Kostenko was part of the “Sixtiers” (Shistdesyatnyky) movement, a generation that opposed Soviet propaganda stereotypes, aimed to restore historical memory, protect national culture, and resist ideological control in Ukraine. As a writer and poet, Kostenko not only used her works to critique the totalitarian regime but also supported the core values of the movement: personal freedom, the right to cultural expression, and the condemnation of repression.

    “We are warriors. Not idlers. Not slackers.
    And our cause is righteous and holy.
    For while others fight for whatever,
    We fight for independence.
    That’s why it’s so hard for us.”
    “A human seemingly cannot fly…
    But has wings.
    Has wings!”

    Her contribution to the cultural revival of Ukraine and the preservation of free speech values is immeasurable. Today, Lina Kostenko still resides in Ukraine. In 1987, she was awarded the Shevchenko National Prize for her novel Marusia Churai.

    One of Lina Kostenko’s close friends and fellow Sixtiers was the poet, translator, and dissident Vasyl Stus. They actively supported each other in their fight against censorship during the most difficult times of repression.

    Stus openly criticized the Soviet regime for human rights violations, which led to his repeated persecution. In 1972, he was arrested and sentenced for “anti-Soviet agitation and propaganda.” Despite the harsh conditions of his imprisonment, he continued to write, and his works were distributed through samizdat, inspiring many to resist oppression.

    After five years in a Mordovian labor camp and two years in exile in the Magadan region, Stus returned to Kyiv in September 1979. There, he resumed his human rights activities, supporting “prisoners of conscience” with the help of Western organizations. In 1978, he was made an honorary member of the English PEN Club. However, in early 1980, he was arrested again. Vasyl Stus died in a maximum-security labor camp in 1985. His life and works became symbols of the relentless struggle for freedom and human dignity under totalitarianism.

    The stories of Lina Kostenko and Vasyl Stus remind us that words can be powerful weapons in the fight for truth and dignity. Their courage, dedication to the ideals of freedom, and love for Ukrainian culture prove that even under the harshest conditions, there is always room for bravery and resistance. Today, as issues of freedom of speech and cultural identity remain pressing, their legacy continues to inspire us to remember that truth is a value worth fighting for.

    https://countercurrents.org/2025/09/the-historical-tragedy-of-writers-defending-human-rights-in-the-ussr/

    This post was originally published on Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards.

  • Three Precepts Muslims Should Remember

    Priyantha Kumara was a Sri Lankan export manager in a factory in Sialkot, Pakistan who was falsely accused of insulting Islam. He was beaten to death and his body was set on fire on December 3, 2021. IMAGE/Lankan

    Muslims should remember three precepts:

    •     Allah is a concept – it cannot be destroyed.
    •     Muhammad is with his Allah*, so is beyond any harm.
    •     Quran is reprintable and can be replaced when haters burn Quran.

    *A Quranic scripture with consoling words for bereaving believers at time of death is:

             “Indeed, we belong to Allah, and indeed, to Him we will return.”

    • The post Three Precepts Muslims Should Remember first appeared on Dissident Voice.

    This post was originally published on Dissident Voice.

  • Brian Dooley awarded the University of Oslo’s Human Rights Award 2025

    Brian J. Dooley is an Irish human rights activist and author. He is Senior Advisor at Washington DC–based NGO Human Rights First. In October 2023 he was made an Honorary Professor of Practice at the Mitchell Institute, Queen’s University Belfast. He is a visiting scholar at University College, London (UCL). He is a prominent human rights voice on Twitter (@dooley_dooley).

    From April 2020 to March 2023 he was Senior Advisor to Mary Lawlor, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders. He is as an advisory board member of the Gulf Centre for Human Rights, and was a visiting scholar at John Jay College, City University of New York from 2022 to 2023, and at Fordham University Law School in New York from 2019 to 2020.

    He receives the award for having dedicated his career to advocating human rights and bringing greater global attention to less visible issues. Congratulations with a big DISCLAIMER : I am a good friend and admirer of Brian [see posts: https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/tag/brian-dooley/] and he has represented Human Rights First on the MEA Jury for years.

    For more on the University of Oslo Human Rights Award and its laureates see: https://www.trueheroesfilms.org/thedigest/awards/41A114AE-182E-4EB3-8823-4A5AA6EEEF28

    Dooley has written numerous reports on human rights defenders and human rights issues based on research in countries including Bahrain, Egypt, China (Hong Kong), Hungary, Kenya, Lebanon, Northern Ireland, Palestine, Ukraine, the USA (Guantanamo), and the United Arab Emirates.  His efforts have played a crucial role in exposing human rights violations, and he has actively supported justice in conflict areas, including Ukraine and Northern Ireland.

    Commenting on the Award, Brian Dooley said: “This is such a great honour for me, and I’m very grateful to the University of Oslo for recognising my work.  I’ve been very lucky over decades that my work with Amnesty International, with The Gulf Centre for Human Rights, with Mary Lawlor – the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders – and with Human Rights First has enabled me to meet and work with Human Rights Defenders working in some of the most difficult places in the world.  Too often great work by local activists in wars or revolutions, or those living under oppression, goes unseen and unreported.  This award helps bring attention to this work, and to those who do it.”

    Brian will receive his Award during the Oslo Peace Days this coming December.

    https://www.qub.ac.uk/Research/GRI/mitchell-institute/news/15092025-ProfessorBrianDooleyAward.html

    https://www.uio.no/english/about/news-and-events/news/2025/uios-human-rights-award-2025.html

    This post was originally published on Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards.

  • The ECHR is flawed, but be warned: it would be unwise to entrust human rights to an ‘elective dictatorship’ |

    Brexit removed many checks and balances from the UK government. That’s why leaving the European convention on human rights would be a huge risk

    ‘Humbug”, and “a half-baked scheme to be administered by an unknown court”. Nigel Farage or Robert Jenrick attacking the European convention on human rights (ECHR)? No – Herbert Morrison, leader of the Commons, and William Jowitt, lord chancellor in Clement Attlee’s postwar Labour government, respectively, both arguing that Britain should not accede to the convention.

    Labour was suspicious, fearing that it would prevent nationalisation. It did not. Today, Conservatives and Reform UK fear that it will frustrate immigration control. It need not.

    Vernon Bogdanor is a professor of government at King’s College London. His books include The New British Constitution and Beyond Brexit: Towards a British Constitution

    Continue reading…

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

  • Only 9% of companies assessed by Forrest 500 committed to not tolerate attacks on defenders

    On 8 September 2025, a report “Defending forests shouldn’t cost lives: Forest 500 assesses corporate zero tolerance policies,” links world’s top banks to social & environmental harms from mining

    … Global Canopy’s annual Forest 500 assessment looks at six human rights criteria closely associated with preventing deforestation. Three indicators are interconnected with deforestation as violations of these rights frequently happen around the point of forest loss. They are: Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC); zero tolerance for threats and violence against forest, land and human rights defenders; and customary rights to land, resources and territory.

    Among them, zero tolerance is least likely to be addressed by companies: only 9% of the 500 companies assessed have a public commitment in place for at least one forest risk commodity. By comparison, 37% of companies have committed to FPIC, and 24% have commitments to respect the customary rights of IPLCs to land, resources and territory.

    … Only 47 Forest 500 companies have commitments for zero tolerance. Companies in the palm oil (18%) and cocoa (14%) supply chains are more likely to have commitments. Commitments are scarce in the beef (10%), soy (11%) and timber (6%) sectors, although these industries are linked to abuses in Latin America. According to BHRRC, 40% of attacks against human rights defenders over the last decade took place in Latin America, with Brazil recording the highest number of killings worldwide.

    … Only six of the Forest 500 companies publish evidence of due diligence and progress reporting on eradicating violence and threats f

    The report focuses on financing for companies mining critical minerals used in the global energy transition, including lithium, nickel, graphite and cobalt. Nearly 70% of these transition mineral mines overlap with Indigenous lands and roughly an equal amount is in regions of high biodiversity.

    “Our findings shed light on the central role that financial institutions play in enabling this new wave of destruction as companies rush to expand mining operations as rapidly as possible,” Steph Dowlen, forests and finance campaigner for the Rainforest Action Network, told Mongabay by email. “While this extraction for raw minerals falls under a ‘green’, ‘clean’ or ‘renewable’ banner, it’s still extraction and the mining sector remains high-risk, dominated by companies with egregious track records on rights, the environment and corporate accountability.”

    The report assessed environmental, social and governance policy scores of 30 major financial institutions and found an average score of only 22%. Vanguard and CITIC scored the lowest, each with just 3%. The assessment found that many financial institutions lacked policies to prevent financing issues, including pollution, Indigenous rights abuses or deforestation.

    Of all institutions assessed, 80% lacked policies on human rights defenders and none had safeguards for Indigenous peoples living in voluntary isolation. Many institutions (60%) lacked grievance mechanisms, which allow communities that have been negatively impacted by mining activities to seek justice. Also, 60% of institutions had no policies on tax transparency, which is key to preventing companies from shifting profits abroad and ensuring that mining revenues remain in the resource-rich countries.

    “Due to the significant overlap with transition minerals and Indigenous Territories, and high-biodiversity areas, there is an immediate need for governments, financial institutions and mining companies to stop and listen,” Dowlen said. “Indigenous Peoples and local communities have been raising the alarm for a long time but continue to face disproportionate harm as well as violence and intimidation for defending their rights and their lands.”

    BlackRock and JPMorgan Chase declined to comment on the report. None of the other institutions mentioned in this piece responded to Mongabay’s emails.

    Report links world’s top banks to social & environmental harms from mining

    https://www.business-humanrights.org/en/latest-news/forest-500-report-finds-only-9-of-companies-assessed-have-a-public-commitment-to-not-tolerate-attacks-on-defenders/

    This post was originally published on Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards.

  • Tomorrow (16/9/25) in Geneva: Packed with Courage – stories of human rights defenders banned from travelling

    Listen to the stories of four human rights defenders who have been banned from travelling by their own governments simply for trying to cooperate with the United Nations. Can you guess which suitcase belongs to whom?

    Location: Geneva, Switzerland Date: 16 September 2025, 10:00AM – 5:00PM CEST

    Some States use travel bans as reprisals against human rights defenders who cooperate with the United Nations. These acts of retaliation are designed to isolate, intimidate, and silence them.  

    A travel ban may be less visible than a prison cell, but its impact is deeply damaging. It restricts defenders from attending UN meetings, carrying out their work, reuniting with family or seeking international protection.   

    Travel bans take many forms, including cancelling or confiscating passports, detaining defenders attempting to exit a country, denying defenders the right to leave or enter back into their own countries, and placing defenders on terrorist lists.   

    Through this exhibition, we unpack the stories of four human rights defenders who have been barred from entering or leaving in their own countries under arbitrary travel bans. These are not just about State reprisals against activists, they are stories of people whose lives have been disrupted, whose voices have been silenced, and whose basic freedoms have been trampled. They are also stories of resilience and perseverance in seeking positive social change.

    Their voices defend human rights. Travel bans silence them: #EndReprisals!

    Their voices defend human rights. Travel bans silence them: #EndReprisals!

    https://ishr.ch/events/packed-with-courage-stories-of-human-rights-defenders-banned-from-travelling

    This post was originally published on Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards.

  • MI5 concedes it ‘unlawfully’ obtained data from former BBC journalist

    Revelation relating to then Northern Ireland home affairs correspondent, Vincent Kearney, a ‘matter of grave concern’

    MI5 has conceded it “unlawfully” obtained the communications data of a former BBC journalist, in what was claimed to be an unprecedented admission from the security services.

    The BBC said it was a “matter of grave concern” that the agency had obtained communications data from the mobile phone of Vincent Kearney, a former BBC Northern Ireland home affairs correspondent.

    Continue reading…

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

  • Cuban prisoners forced to work making cigars and charcoal for export to Europe, report claims

    Madrid-based NGO estimates at least 60,000 inmates subject to forced labour with little or no pay in Cuban jails

    Prisoners in Cuba are forced to work producing the country’s world-famous cigars and marabu charcoal sold to European consumers, according to a new report.

    The Madrid-based NGO Prisoners Defenders estimates that at least 60,000 people are being forced to work with little or no pay, under threats, in exhausting conditions and without adequate equipment, with reports of violence including the sexual abuse of female detainees.

    Continue reading…

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

  • Pressure Mounts on Indian Government over “Genocidal” Great Nicobar Mega-project

    Shompen people in riverShompen band traversing a river on Great Nicobar Island. © Anthropological Survey of India

    Calls are growing for the Indian government to scrap its controversial Great Nicobar project after it suffered a series of setbacks in recent weeks

    They include:

    • The Tribal Affairs Ministry has demanded answers from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands’ authorities after it emerged that they had wrongly claimed the project had the consent of the Indigenous peoples of the islands, whose lands are set to be devastated by it. This has been confirmed by the Great Nicobar Tribal Council.

    • The main opposition party, the Indian National Congress, has come out strongly against the project, with both Opposition Leader Rahul Gandhi and Congress Parliamentary Chair Sonia Gandhi raising serious concerns about its impact on the mostly uncontacted Shompen and the Nicobarese peoples.

    • The estimated cost of the project has risen dramatically – the latest government estimates say it will now cost more than US $10 billion, compared to the 2020 figure of just over $1 billion.

    • A series of earthquakes in the region have underlined the warnings of seismologists and geologists that building a huge infrastructure project in one of the world’s most active seismic zones is a recipe for disaster.

    Last year 39 international genocide experts wrote to the Indian President, describing the mega-project as a “death sentence for the Shompen, tantamount to the international crime of genocide”. They called for the scheme to be immediately abandoned.

    Survival International’s Director Caroline Pearce said: “With every passing week it’s becoming clearer that this project is a disaster waiting to happen – from every perspective. It’s a scandalous violation of international human rights law; it will be disastrous for the Shompen and Nicobarese people whose lives are at stake and whose livelihoods will be destroyed; its price tag is now astronomical; and it all stands every chance of coming crashing down when the next major earthquake strikes, as it inevitably will. The government must now abide by its own laws and scrap this ill-conceived project.”

    Editors’ note:

    • The Indian government plans to transform Great Nicobar Island into the ‘Hong Kong of India’. The Great Nicobar project involves the creation of a mega-port; a city; an international airport; a power station; a military base; an industrial park; and tourism zones, spread over more than 244 square km of land, including 130 square km of rainforest.
    • Experts estimate that 10 million trees will be destroyed in the mega project’s creation.
    • The government claims it will offset the rainforest loss by planting trees in the scrublands of North India. Crocodiles and thousands of coral colonies would be translocated to other parts of the island.
    • The mega-project will take up around a third of the island – half of it within the official Tribal Reserve.
    • The project would create a massive population explosion. Currently an estimated 8,000 people live there. The government plans to settle up to 650,000 people under the scheme, a population the size of Las Vegas. In addition to the inherent problems of a sudden population rise, it would drastically increase the Shompen’s exposure to outside diseases for which they have no immunity, and which could wipe them out.
    • The government plans to encourage 1 million tourists and others to visit the island every year.
    • For more information on the Great Nicobar project and its effects on the Shompen and Nicobarese, see Survival’s 2025 report.
    The post Pressure Mounts on Indian Government over “Genocidal” Great Nicobar Mega-project first appeared on Dissident Voice.

    This post was originally published on Dissident Voice.

  • Shocking evidence emerges of Palestinian prisoner’s horrific abuse in Israeli detention

    Detainee Mahmoud Hassan Mohammed Al-Wardian, 48, remains in the intensive care unit at the Arab Society Hospital in Bethlehem, Southern occupied West Bank, after spending just over three weeks being interrogated by the Israeli occupation. He had no health problems prior to his arrest. According to the Ramallah-based Palestinian Prisoner’s Society (PPS), Wardian was subjected to an “assassination attempt in Israeli interrogation cells”.

    Mahmoud Hassan Mohammed Al-Wardian

    Mahmoud Hassan Mohammed Al-Wardian was arrested by the IOF on August 18 2025, alongside his father and several other residents of Bethlehem, as part of the occupation’s ongoing mass arrest campaign in the West Bank. After being arrested, he was transferred to the Ofer interrogation centre, where Israeli intelligence issued an order prohibiting him from meeting with a lawyer throughout his detention period, which was extended four times so as to continue his interrogation.

    Wardian’s condition was critical when he was transferred from Ofer prison to the Israeli occupation’s Hadassah Medical Centre, on 25 August. By the time he arrived he was unconscious, so was admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU).

    Wardian was released, and transferred to the Arab Society Hospital’s ICU, on 11 September, because of critical condition, where he remains today. Medical reports from the hospital claim Wardian is suffering from brain damage due to severe deprivation of oxygen, as well as fractures to his ribs, wounds and bruises, including around his neck.

    Israel violating international law through systematic torture of Palestinian prisoners

    In a statement released on 14 September, the PPS said of Mahmoud Hassan Mohammed Al-Wardian:

    The occupation committed a compounded crime against Al-Wardian, starting from the moment of his arrest, through his transfer for interrogation, his denial of legal counsel, the repeated extensions of his detention under the pretext of ongoing interrogation, culminating in his torture and attempted assassination.

    The PPS went on to say:

    We hold the occupation authorities fully responsible for the crime committed against Al-Wardian, which constitutes another episode in a long series of heinous crimes carried out by the occupation for decades.

    Mahmoud Hassan Mohammed Al-Wardian has been a frequent target of repeated arrests over the past years, most of which were under administrative detention, meaning there was no trial or charge, and detention could continue indefinitely.

    According to the PPS, since the start of this genocide:

    no prisoner or detainee has been spared from torture, which has become systematic.

    It said that crimes committed are now reaching “a level beyond description”.

    The PPS continued that:

    What is happening is part of an ongoing process of ethnic cleansing and erasure, and the treatment of prisoners is a direct extension of the genocide. The continued international silence regarding these crimes is an affront to all humanity. The consequences of this genocide will reach everyone who has used impotence as an excuse to shirk their responsibilities.

    Israel’s treatment of Palestinian prisoners flagrantly violates international law, including the 1984 Convention Against Torture and the 1949 Geneva Conventions, which forbid torture and require the protection of detainees. The International Criminal Court (ICC) defines the widespread, systematic use of torture as a crime against humanity – an accusation that aligns with Israel’s policies, especially since it has uniquely attempted to legalise such practices within its own legal framework, for decades.

    More than 11,000 Palestinian political prisoners are currently locked up in Israeli occupation jails.

    Featured image via the Canary

    By Charlie Jaay

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • War criminals exhibiting at DSEI arms fair reported to the Met police

    Campaign Against the Arms Trade (CAAT) has reported a number of individuals who attended Defence and Security Equipment International (DSEI) arms fair to the the War Crimes Unit at the Metropolitan Police Counter Terrorism Command (SO15). It informed the force of their criminal liability for atrocity crimes Israeli forces are currently carrying out in Gaza.

    DSEI war criminals reported to the Met

    Last week at the UK’s biennial arms fair, 51 Israeli companies were present. These included Israel’s three largest arms companies – Elbit Systems, Rafael, and Israel Aerospace Industries. The companies were attending despite the UK government refusing to invite an official Israeli government delegation.

    Under Section 52(1) of the Act, it is an offence against the law of England and Wales to engage in “conduct ancillary” to a war crime or a crime against humanity. Under Section 55, an “ancillary offence” includes aiding, abetting, counselling, or procuring the principal offence.

    The July 2025 report of the UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories named two exhibiting companies, Elbit Systems and Israeli state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries, as central to Israel’s genocide in Gaza.

    Arms companies facilitating and profiting from genocide

    A spokesperson for CAAT said:

    These are the arms companies arming the IDF. These are the arms companies facilitating and profiting from Israel bombing hospitals, killing journalists and creating a man-made famine. UK law is clear – these individuals should be investigated for crimes against humanity, not invited to profit from the unspeakable devastation they have caused in Gaza.

    Featured image via the Canary

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Human rights commissioner blasts Queensland government’s ‘hostile’ approach to First Nations people

    Scott McDougall uses speech at parliament to warn the LNP is ‘walking us backwards’ on reconciliation as he prepares to exit role

    Queensland’s human rights commissioner has blasted the state government’s “hostile”, “assimilationist” approach to First Nations people in a speech at Parliament House.

    Scott McDougall, Queensland’s first-ever human rights commissioner, has consistently criticised both sides of politics over a range of issues, particularly the state’s youth law and order crackdown. His seven-year term in the role comes to an end next month.

    Continue reading…

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

  • Display Of ‘Humiliation’: Israeli Army Detains Over 1,000 Palestinians

    Israeli forces arrested at least 1,000 Palestinians in a single day on Thursday during a wide-ranging raid on Tulkarem in the northern West Bank, Abdullah Kamil, the governor of the Tulkarem area, told local media. The raid came following a roadside bomb attack on an armored Israeli military vehicle earlier in the day, taking place near a checkpoint outside the city. The attack wounded two Israeli soldiers, according to the Israeli army radio.

    Kamil added that Israeli forces imposed a total closure on Tulkarem and conducted a campaign of home searches across the city, describing it as a “systematic policy.”

    The explosion that targeted the armored vehicle as it exited Checkpoint 104, west of Tulkarem, was the first armed Palestinian action in the northern West Bank since the Israeli army forcibly expelled the residents of the refugee camps of Tulkarem and Jenin from their homes earlier this year.

    The post Display Of ‘Humiliation’: Israeli Army Detains Over 1,000 Palestinians appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

    This post was originally published on PopularResistance.Org.

  • Trinidad And Tobago Fishermen Fear Being Targeted By US Empire’s Strikes

    The Tobago Fishermen’s Association has expressed deep concern over the “deafening” official silence from Chief Secretary Farley Augustine regarding the recent violent actions of the US empire in the Caribbean Sea.

    The recent attack on a small boat allegedly carrying drugs has generated fear among coastal communities. Fishermen now worry that future operations could mistake them for criminals, creating an atmosphere of fear and mistrust. They are demanding clear responses and safety guarantees.

    President of the All Tobago Fisherfolk Association, Curtis Douglas, confirmed this Monday, September 8, that fishermen found debris believed to be from the destroyed boat washed into Trinidadian waters.

    The post Trinidad And Tobago Fishermen Fear Being Targeted By US Empire’s Strikes appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

    This post was originally published on PopularResistance.Org.

  • 15K Gaza Students Have Been Killed. Survivors Are Denied Their Education.

    To live in Gaza means nothing is guaranteed — neither your wealth, your buildings, your career, nor even your legacy. Only your mind and its principles endure. Growing up in a war-battered reality compelled us to cling to education, just as my father, a retired mathematics teacher, always told me: “I have not invested in entrepreneurs, but in one lasting, fruitful, and ever-present project — your…

    Source

    This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.

  • Trump Announces He Will Send National Guard to Occupy Memphis

    President Donald Trump announced during an appearance on “Fox & Friends” that he is planning to send military troops to Memphis, Tennessee. During his appearance on September 12, Trump said his administration would deploy the National Guard “and anybody else we need” to the Tennessee city. Trump did not provide a timeline for the deployment. “By the way, we’ll bring in the military too…

    Source

    This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.

  • IOF soldiers can openly boast about their war crimes on social media

    Since the beginning of the genocide in Gaza, there has been no end to evidence on social media from Israeli occupation forces (IOF) soldiers openly boasting of their crimes, and feeling emboldened by the world’s silence.

    Intent to commit genocide is usually difficult to prove, but not in the case of “the most documented genocide in history”. Palestinian human rights organisations such as Al- Haq even have a registry of hundreds of Israeli genocidal statements on Gaza – many of them made before 7 October 2023.

    IOF celebrating war crimes on social media

    Equipped by the world’s silence over the genocide in Gaza, the IOF have been openly celebrating their war crimes on social media:

    Sali Israel Hazut is one of these soldiers. He lives in Tel Aviv, and describes himself on Facebook as self-employed in “earthworks, excavation and demolition”. Hazut is also an IOF soldier, who has been bragging on TikTok and Facebook about his many war crimes in Gaza. Plenty of photos, videos, and reels serve as evidence of his participation in the genocide.

    According to his posts, by 9 October 2023, Hazut was in Gaza City. Accompanying a horrendous video of dying and injured Palestinians in the aftermath of a bomb blast, he wrote:

    Whoever enters the mud should take into account that he will get dirty. Let the IDF mow.

    Multiple videos show Hazut in close proximity to dead bodies. Videos dated 7 October 2024 show him in his JCB truck, while soldiers take a closer look at bodies left on a dirt track. Although it is unclear how the occupation murdered these people, Hazut can be heard laughing and joking with other criminals at the scene:

    In the second video, a star of David can be seen, drawn onto the plastic which is wrapped around one of the bodies:

    The bodies are then loaded into the bucket of Hazut’s bulldozer and are then dumped on the ground, while a gathering crowd, taking photos on their phone, can be seen in the shadows.

    Videos of genocide

    Those of Hazut’s videos which are not of dead bodies show destruction of either civilian infrastructure or buildings which, most likely, had been Palestinian homes, or even schools and hospitals, before the IOF began their genocidal actions on the civilian population of Gaza:

    @salipower5

    ♬ original sound – סאלי פאוור5

    Hazut has also posted a video of a fuel truck being destroyed – amid a severe fuel crisis in Gaza, where fuel is not only needed to keep hospital patients in Gaza alive-especially premature infants and children, but is also essential to produce, treat and distribute water to more than two million Palestinians. Without fuel Palestinians die. On TikTok, Hazut has put some of these videos to music:

    In November 2023, a week after controversial ‘Israeli journalist’, Zvi Yehezkeli advocated mass violence against the Palestinians, by saying hundreds of thousands of them should be killed in order to achieve the objective of destroying Hamas, Hazut wrote on social media, under a video of Yehezkeli:

    One of the people I personally really admire.

    Last month, Yehezkeli also called for the killing of all journalists in the Strip.

    Evidence of war crimes in horrifying abundance

    Social media posts from those serving in the IOF, such as Sali Israel Hazut, serve as powerful evidence because soldiers are documenting on camera what international law prohibits – the targeting of civilians and destruction of civilian infrastructure.

    Many thousands of foreigners come to Israel and join the IOF, to help it with its mission of ethnically cleansing Palestine of all non Jews, not caring about the daily violations of international law taking place, not just in Gaza where the military is responsible for a genocide, but also in the West Bank, where the main job of soldiers is to guard illegal settlements, and protect illegal settlers. It is therefore a fact that those serving in the IOF are complicit in war crimes against Palestinians, and pressure is mounting to hold them to account.

    Although many dual nationals serve in the occupation’s military, anyone from any country in the world can volunteer with the IOF, although they need to be within the required age bracket, and priority is given to those with at least one Jewish grandparent. Foreign fighters joining the IOF include those from the US, Britain, France, Italy, Australia, Ukraine, Russia, Germany, India, and South Africa, among others.

    Shortly after 7 October 2023, it was reported that over 100 British nationals and British-Israeli dual nationals went to fight with the IOF, and attempts are underway to hold them to account. 10 British nationals – including both dual British-Israeli citizens and volunteers with solely British nationality – currently stand accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity for actions in Gaza.

    British nationals accused of war crimes in Gaza

    In April, a detailed 240-page dossier was submitted to the Met’s War Crimes Unit, known as SO15, on behalf of the Gaza-based Palestinian Centre for Human Rights and the UK Public Interest Law Centre. The allegations against these individuals include deliberately targeting and killing civilians and aid workers, coordinated attacks on hospitals and protected sites, forced displacement of people, and other serious violations. The dossier covers events from October 2023 to May 2024 and presents eyewitness testimonies and various types of evidence.

    According to Paul Heron, founder of PILC, and the organisation’s consultant solicitor, the list of alleged criminals was much longer, but was narrowed down to 10 suspects who served in Gaza, and were reported to SO15, purely based on the evidence.

    Heron said:

    These were the ones we thought we had the most evidence on to provide. The police have come back with further questions, so we are now engaging our researchers to do another deep dive on some of the questions being asked, and hope to provide a supplementary report by the end of the year. We would then hope that if there is enough evidence on the 10 that, should they be in the UK or intend to return to the UK, they may be arrested and charged by the Met police.

    Heron hopes there is no political interference, and the police assigned to the case will have enough resources to dig deep and amass further compelling evidence to prosecute these war criminals.

    Holding the perpetrators of genocide to account

    The submission of this report to SO15 is part of a growing worldwide movement to try and hold these perpetrators of genocide to account. In July, French publication Le Monde reported that several hundred French dual nationals had gone to Gaza to fight with the IOF. A complaint has been filed against two of these French-Israeli soldiers, accusing them of war crimes. Around the world, arrest warrants have been mounting up against these criminals, largely due to the work of the Belgium-based Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF), which was founded in 2024 and is trying to bring IOF soldiers to justice, primarily through legal actions at the international level.

    HRF has filed a complaint with the International Criminal Court (ICC) against more than 1,000 Israeli soldiers accused of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide in Gaza, backed by over 8,000 pieces of evidence such as videos, audio recordings, forensic reports, and social media documentation. These soldiers have been individually identified and are accused of participating in systematic attacks on civilians during the Gaza conflict.

    The foundation uses soldiers’ own social media posts and videos, where many soldiers openly display or confess to their actions, as crucial evidence to hold them accountable and pursues cases in multiple countries, by filing complaints against soldiers who travel or reside abroad. While some accused soldiers manage to flee before arrest, these cases set legal precedents for international accountability.

    The threat of legal consequences has now led to the occupation implementing new restrictions which ban soldiers from posting certain incriminating content. Israeli news publication Ynet has even published a guide for soldiers on how to ‘avoid arrest’ when travelling abroad.

    UK government refuses to prosecute British war criminals: totally complicit

    The Foreign Enlistment Act 1870 prohibits British nationals from enlisting in a foreign army. During the Israeli occupation’s 2014 war on Gaza known as Operation Protective Edge, which killed more than 2250 Palestinians in 50 days, a petition was presented to the UK government calling on British citizens, who served in the IOF and were deployed to the occupied territories, to be prosecuted.

    But the British government responded by saying the act doesn’t apply to Israel, as it only stops British citizens from engaging in a war with another foreign army and the UK does not recognise Palestine as an independent state.

    Many of these foreign fighters who are joining the IOF and going to Gaza, are involved in combat operations where widespread allegations of war crimes have been reported. These fighters have, until now, enjoyed total impunity. Hopefully this is about to change. As for Hazut, if he is a full Israeli citizen, the only chances of him being arrested and put on trial for war crimes would be either if a warrant was issued for his arrest from the ICC, or a third country carries out an extrajudicial arrest, and tries him from there for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

    Our government is totally complicit in the ongoing genocide, as it not only continues to send weapons to, and trade with the Israeli regime, but also trains Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) personnel in Britain. The very fact that the government has squirmed out of holding heinous IOF soldiers to account can only be testament to their commitment to Israel’s genocide.

    Featured image via the Canary

    By Charlie Jaay

    This post was originally published on Canary.