All articles tagged with #detainees
A UN inquiry calls for the immediate, safe release of Hussam Abu Safia, the Gaza hospital director held without charge for more than 18 months and reported to have suffered severe abuse; the commission says the detention reflects a broader pattern of violations and urges independent medical care, while Israel denies the allegations.
UN special rapporteurs urged Iran to release Lindsay and Craig Foreman, a British couple sentenced to 10 years on spying charges after proceedings they say violated fair-trial standards. The pair, who deny the accusations, are on hunger strike in Tehran’s Evin prison after consular contact was cut off. The UK Foreign Office says it will pursue all diplomatic avenues to bring them home, following a recent failed appeal and a case now before the Supreme Court.
ICE will stop reporting deaths of detainees that occur within 30 days of release, a DHS policy change amid growing scrutiny over immigrant deaths in federal custody; CNN findings suggest many deaths were preventable, with nearly 50 detainees having died since Trump took office and 2025 on track to be the deadliest year in two decades.
ICE is narrowing its duty to report deaths by removing the requirement to document deaths that occur within 30 days after release from custody, according to an internal memo from acting director David Venturella. The shift comes as detainee deaths in government custody rise and public pressure to improve medical care grows, following 18 reported detainee deaths in the first five months of this year.
An Associated Press investigation finds at least 10 ICE detainees have died by suicide since January 2025, with seven suicides since October, a rate that outpaces detainee population growth and suggests systemic failures across facilities, including delayed or missing mental-health care, language barriers, isolation, and insufficient monitoring. One case highlighted is Brayan Rayo Garzon, who died in a Missouri jail after being isolated for COVID-19 and denied timely mental-health treatment and contact with his mother. The deaths span detention centers run by private contractors and jails, triggering concerns that ICE’s adherence to its own standards is inconsistent and that early screening and intervention are not being reliably applied. DHS officials describe suicides as rare and maintain that detainees receive care, but experts warn the system needs stronger safeguards to prevent preventable deaths.
Protests outside Newark’s Delaney Hall detention center entered a third day with barricades blocking transfers as detainees’ hunger strike persists; clashes with ICE included pepper spray and batons, drawing visits from lawmakers and calls for dignity and due process, amid ongoing questions about conditions and the transfer of detainee Martin Soto.
Israel’s far-right security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir posted a video taunting detainees from a Gaza flotilla, echoing abusive practices long alleged in Israeli jails; the clip drew swift international condemnation and a rebuke from Prime Minister Netanyahu, while rights groups warn it highlights systemic mistreatment of Palestinians and calls for accountability remain largely unmet.
Activists aboard the Global Sumud Flotilla report beatings, tasers, and dog attacks by Israeli forces after their raid on the flotilla attempting to breach the Gaza blockade, recounting shackling, blindfolds, and restricted access to lawyers or diplomats before detention; Israel denies the claims, while foreign leaders condemn the actions and call for accountability.
Hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists detained after Israel intercepted the Global Sumud Flotilla are slated for deportation as international backlash grows over their detention conditions and a taunting video by far-right minister Itamar Ben Gvir; the UK and other allies condemned the conduct and said they are seeking explanations, with detainees from multiple countries expected to be moved to Turkey or elsewhere.
British couple Craig and Lindsay Foreman, jailed in Iran on espionage charges, say their conditions in Evin Prison are life-threatening amid ongoing conflict, alleging a sham trial and calling on the UK to publicly state their innocence, while the Foreign Office says it prioritises their welfare and continues to pursue their case.
New Mexico’s measles outbreak among federal detainees expanded to six with a new case at the Dona Ana County Detention Center in Las Cruces; officials say others may have been exposed at the U.S. District Court on Feb. 24 and have urged vaccination and testing, dispatching vaccination teams to three facilities as the state coordinates isolation and care to curb spread amid rising cases nationwide.
HRANA and partners publish a comprehensive, methodologically cautious record of the first 50 days of Iran’s 2025–2026 nationwide protests, drawing on over 143,000 reports to map geographic spread, state response, and patterns of harm—documenting 7,007 total fatalities (including 236 children), 53,777 arrests, thousands of injuries, and incidents such as forced confessions and summonses—while noting data gaps due to access restrictions and ongoing verification.
Iran is facing a harsh post-protest crackdown with tens of thousands detained and a death toll believed to be around 30,000. Families say detainees are held incommunicado, in overcrowded and unsanitary conditions, with limited or no access to lawyers, and some facing fast-tracked charges that could carry the death penalty (including moharebeh). Rights groups warn of human-rights abuses amid calls for international intervention and scrutiny of the judicial process.
CHRI documents an unprecedented Iran-wide crackdown on January 2026 protests, including shoot-to-kill orders, use of heavy weapons and pellet rounds, mass arrests, violent night raids, and trials conducted without lawyers, with detainees held in unofficial facilities under IRGC supervision. Eyewitnesses describe enforced disappearances, family coercion, and attempts to bury bodies to obscure casualties across cities like Kerman, Khorramabad, Andimeshk, Qorveh, Mahabad, Sanandaj, and Arak, signaling systemic state violence and martial-law-like conditions. The report calls for international accountability, internet access for information, and targeted sanctions against Iranian officials.
More than 200 people arrested in a Maine immigration crackdown are being moved out of state by ICE, leaving families scrambling to locate detainees and lawyers racing to file habeas petitions in the detainees’ custodial jurisdiction. With Maine’s two detention facilities at capacity, transfers to Louisiana and Massachusetts are increasing, intensifying calls for due-process protections and expanded legal aid as immigration advocates warn of looming removals.