Category Archives: Human rights

Rahaf al-Qunun: Saudi woman under UN protection as Australia urges asylum claim

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Thai authorities say 18-year-old will not be forced to return with her father to the Middle East, where she claims her family will kill her

An 18-year-old Saudi woman who barricaded herself in a Bangkok airport hotel room to prevent her forcible return to a family she claims will kill her, has been taken under the protection of the UN high commissioner for refugees in Thailand.

The Australian government said on Monday night Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun’s situation was “deeply concerning” and it had lobbied the Thai government and the UNHCR to allow her to formally claim asylum.

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Saudi woman shuts herself in Thai hotel room to avoid deportation

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Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun says she will be killed if forced to return to abusive family

An 18-year-old Saudi woman being detained in Bangkok having fled from her family after renouncing Islam fears she will be killed if she is repatriated, according to a close friend who said the threats to her life are real.

Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun has barricaded herself in her hotel room for fear that Thai immigration officials, who have gathered outside her door, would force her on to a plane to leave the country. Thai immigration officials have confirmed she has been denied entry to the country.

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China thinks it can arbitrarily detain anyone. It is time for change | Michael Caster

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The lack of global outcry over the detention of two Canadians virtually guarantees the next such case

Canada’s foreign minister, Chrystia Freeland, has called China’s detention of Canadian citizens Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor a “worrying precedent” but for many China watchers it is all too familiar.

It reminds us of the detentions of other foreign citizens, such as Canadian Kevin Garratt, Briton Peter Humphrey, Sweden’s Gui Minhai, or Taiwanese Lee Ming-che, and that over the years China has institutionalised arbitrary and secret detention affecting innumerable Chinese citizens, and with little international consequence.

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Mother of student held over Ortega protest in global plea for help

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Family of activist Amaya Eva Coppens, 24, appeal for help to ‘stop the repression’ of Nicaraguan government

The mother of a medical student facing more than 20 years in prison for protesting against the Nicaraguan government is appealing to the international community to put pressure on president Daniel Ortega’s regime.

Amaya Eva Coppens, a Belgian-Nicaraguan dual national, is due to stand trial in the capital Managua after being “abducted” in a raid by more than 30 riot police and paramilitaries on 10 September.

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British MPs seek access to detained Saudi activists amid torture claims

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All-party group and lawyers concerned for eight women allegedly mistreated in Saudi Arabia prison

A cross-party group of British parliamentarians and international lawyers is requesting the right to visit eight female activists detained in Saudi Arabia, following allegations that they have been subjected to ill treatment, including torture.

The lawmakers and advocates, who have convened a detention review panel, intend to produce a detailed document on their findings, following claims that the activists, some of whom were instrumental in securing women the right to drive in Saudi Arabia, have been maltreated in Dhahban prison and denied access to lawyers or relatives.

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From abuse to abortion laws: the world’s 12 hot topics in 2018 | Liz Ford and Sneha Lala

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We cast a look back at the issues that dominated the headlines in the past year, from the devastation in Yemen to the trauma of Rohingya refugees

The year was dominated by allegations of sexual abuse and harassment in the aid sector, and anger at the failure of those in power to believe and support those making them.

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