All articles tagged with #arbitrary detention
Brooklyn Rivera, a longtime Miskito indigenous advocate who helped win limited autonomy for Nicaragua’s northeast coast, died after nearly three years in government detention. The state attributed his death to a bacterial infection following Covid-19, while human rights groups condemned the circumstances as part of a pattern of disappearances and arbitrary detention and urged accountability.
Amnesty International reports a significant increase in Israel's use of administrative detention, arbitrary detention without charge or trial, of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. Testimonies, videos, and images reveal horrifying cases of torture and degrading treatment of Palestinian detainees, including severe beatings, humiliation, and forced singing of Israeli songs. Israeli authorities have failed to investigate incidents of torture and death in custody. The Israeli Prison Service has extended emergency measures that facilitate inhuman and degrading treatment of prisoners, including denying access to lawyers and family visits. The International Committee for the Red Cross confirms that Palestinian prisoners have been denied contact with their families and lawyers since October 7. Amnesty International calls for the immediate reversal of these measures, the release of all arbitrarily detained Palestinians, and impartial investigations into torture allegations.
A UN expert has reported that Israel has imprisoned over 800,000 Palestinians, including tens of thousands of children, in the occupied territory since 1967, with about 1,100 being held without charge or trial. The expert described the occupied Palestinian territory as an outdoor prison, where Palestinians are constantly confined, surveilled, and disciplined. The UN stated that Israel's unlawful imprisonment practices are tantamount to international crimes and called for an urgent investigation by the International Criminal Court. The report also called for an end to the system of apartheid imposed on Palestinians and for governments to hold those responsible for illegal Israeli settlements accountable.
Russian forces summarily executed 77 civilians and arbitrarily detained over 900 civilians, including children and elderly people, during the invasion of Ukraine, according to a UN report. The report also documented widespread torture and ill-treatment of civilian detainees by Russian forces and law enforcement. Ukraine also violated international law by detaining civilians, but on a much smaller scale. The report is the latest evidence of atrocities carried out by Russian forces in Ukraine, including an arrest warrant issued against President Vladimir Putin for suspected war crimes.
A UN report has found that Russian forces carried out widespread and systematic torture of civilians, summarily executing dozens of them, during the conflict in Ukraine. The report also documented 75 cases of arbitrary detention by Ukrainian security forces, with more than half of those detained reporting being tortured or mistreated. The UN experts found no evidence that Russian authorities have investigated allegations of abuse by their own forces and expressed concern over a bill that would exempt perpetrators from criminal liability for crimes committed in occupied parts of Ukraine under some circumstances.
The United Nations has accused Russia of summarily executing 77 civilians who were arbitrarily detained during its invasion of Ukraine, constituting war crimes and gross violations of international human rights law. The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine documented 864 cases of arbitrary detention by Russia, with widespread torture and ill-treatment reported, including sexual violence. The report also highlighted cases of arbitrary detention and enforced disappearances by Ukrainian security forces. The UN called for an immediate halt to these grave human rights violations and for Russia to guarantee non-repetition.
The US State Department expressed disappointment over a Chinese court's decision to uphold the death sentence for American citizen Mark Swidan, who has been detained in China for over a decade on drug-related charges. Swidan's mother has alleged that he has undergone physical and psychological torture while in detention. The United Nations working group has concluded that Swidan's detention is arbitrary and in violation of international law. The US government has repeatedly expressed concerns about Swidan's treatment and called for his immediate release.