The Fines and Fees Justice Center (FFJC): VERMONT – Late last month, Vermont Governor Phil Scott signed H.635, a bill eliminating the Vermont Department of Corrections’ supervisory fees. Supervision fees are recurring fees charged to people on probation or parole. They place unnecessary and unfair financial strain on people working to...

National Homelessness Law Center: On June 28th, 2024, the Supreme Court issued its decision in the most impactful case on homelessness in decades. In Johnson v. Grants Pass, the court ruled that cities and states could arrest, fine, and jail homeless people sleeping outside, even when they have nowhere else to...

Legal experts, business leaders and Pacific advocates are questioning whether a proposed law will improve safety or end up targeting rough sleepers. A proposed law giving police wider powers to move on people in public spaces is facing growing scrutiny, with Pacific advocates and legal experts warning it could punish...

Amnesty International: On 12 June, the four Palestine Action activists known as ‘the Filton 4’ – Charlotte Head, 29; Samuel Corner, 23; Leona Kamio, 30; and Fatema Rajwani, 21 – were told by Judge Mr Justice Johnson they would be sentenced as having a ‘terrorist connection’ following convictions for criminal...

Amnesty International: Georgia is undergoing one of the most serious erosions of human rights since independence, as the ruling party increasingly resorts to authoritarian practices to preserve its grip on power amid growing public discontent over its approach to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and Georgia’s relationship with the European...

Although a taboo subject, same-sex relations had not been a criminal offence in Muslim-majority Niger. General Abdourahamane Tiani, the head of the military government, has pushed an anti-Western agenda since seizing power in July 2023, criticising some Western values. Under Niger's new law, same-sex relations will be punishable by a...

Lawyers for Human Rights: We, the Undersigned Organisations, Individuals, Groups, Movements and Communities welcome President Cyril Ramaphosa’s unequivocal condemnation of xenophobia, and unlawful attempts by private individuals and groups to enforce immigration laws. The President’s affirmation that immigration enforcement is the responsibility of the state, and not private actors, is an important reaffirmation...

For years, there has been a progressive effort to criminalize parody and political humor, a push that hit a low point in 2023 when satirist Douglas Mackey was sentenced to seven months in prison for engaging in “conspiracy against rights” over an Internet meme. Fortunately, a unanimous appellate court overturned...

When South Carolina’s abortion abolitionist bill, the Unborn Child Protection Act (S. 1095), was voted out of committee and onto the full Senate floor in late April—“an unprecedented move toward locking up women who have an abortion,” according to Dana Sussman in Slate—it raised a question: How much influence have abortion abolitionists gained within the broader...

Content warning: This article deals explicitly with issues relating to transgender sexual assault and reports of official guidance which may be expressed in language that readers may find upsetting. In the first of a proposed series of articles looking at the impact of anti-trans changes of legislation or guidance in...

Ghana’s LGBTQ community is living in fear after the country’s parliament approved a sweeping bill that criminalises the promotion of LGBTQ+ activities and identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer, rights groups have warned. The legislation, which was passed on Friday, mandates prison sentences of three to 10 years....

Sir Ian McKellen has joined activists and LGBTQIA+ refugees in London to protest the continued criminalisation of LGBTQIA+ people across much of the Commonwealth. The veteran actor and long time equality advocate launched the “Commonwealth Walk of Shame” on May 30 outside the Nigerian High Commission. The demonstration highlighted the ongoing impact of colonial...

Southern Africa Litigation Centre (SALC): From Harare to Dar es Salaam to Mbabane to Lusaka, governments have learned they no longer need a guilty verdict to silence critics. They need a cell, a charge sheet, and a calendar they control. When the cell will not do, there is the bullet and, for...

Southern Africa Litigation Centre (SALC) and Organisation for Promoting Human Rights : By forcing the poor out of public view, the council is creating a cruel illusion of order for wealthy residents and investors while leaving the underlying causes of suffering unresolved. Kinondoni Municipal Council’s on May 28, 2026, through...

International Commission of Jurists (ICJ): On 22 May 2026, the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ)—together with the Senate Committee on Political Development, Public Participation, Human Rights, Freedoms and Consumer Protection; UNDP Thailand; and GreenNews (Thai Society of Environmental Journalists)—co-hosted a seminar titled “Anti-SLAPPs: Justice Lost—Stop Using Laws to Silence” at...

The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) welcomes the President of the Thai Supreme Court’s Recommendations, published in the Government Gazette on 29 May 2026, on the adjudication of cases filed in bad faith. The Recommendations address the longstanding vagueness of Section 161/1 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, one of Thailand’s...

Hope Behind Bars Africa: In December 2024, Destiny Ekhorutomuen, a TikToker from Edo State, was arrested for allegedly using multiple social media accounts to spread “false and inciting content” against the Nigeria Police Force. He was formally charged with cyberbullying and cyberstalking under the Cybercrimes Act. Bail was set at...

Forty-six organisations and individuals condemn xenophobia and the brutal and unlawful treatment of migrants, including refugees and asylum seekers The Centre for Applied Legal Studies (CALS): We, the undersigned organisations and individuals, express our deep outrage and condemnation at the recent heavy-handed conduct of state officials in addressing the plight...

Amnesty International: Responding to the news that Egyptian activist and writer Ahmed Douma has been convicted and sentenced to one year in prison following an unfair trial, Amnesty International’s Regional Researcher, Mahmoud Shalaby said:   “The renewed unjust imprisonment after an unfair trial of Ahmed Douma is a devastating assault on the right to freedom of expression.  The weaponization of the criminal justice system against Ahmed Douma and other activists lays bare president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s government’s relentless campaign...

Lawyers, politicians and activists have called for the release of one of Sierra Leone’s best-known celebrities, who they said was unjustly imprisoned as part of a government crackdown on free speech and political dissent. Zainab Sheriff, a singer and reality-TV show contestant who became a political opposition figure, was sentenced...

Women Beyond Walls is creating the first open-source global map of civil society groups supporting women who have been arrested, are on trial, are incarcerated, or have been released, as well as their children and families. The map will launch in September 2026. Across the world, organisations doing vital work with criminalised...

Sonke Gender Justice: It's International Sex Workers' Day, and we still call for an end to discrimination, stigma, violence, and the criminalisation of sex work. Sex workers deserve dignity, safety, access to healthcare, labour protections, and the full enjoyment of their human rights. Decriminalising sex work is not only a...

Avocats Sans Frontières (ASF): For several years now, President Kais Saied’s regime has steadily undermined the rule of law: dismissing judges, imprisoning political opponents, intimidating the media, and instrumentalizing the judiciary. The signs of increasing authoritarianism are now multiplying at an alarming pace. A clear pattern is emerging: silencing critical...

Amnesty International: Authorities across Gulf states have arrested more than 1,000 people in a sweeping, war-related crackdown on expression, including for sharing online content or expressing views related to the US-Israeli war with Iran and Iran’s attacks on the Gulf, Amnesty International said today. In Kuwait and Bahrain, authorities have...

We, the undersigned women’s rights organisations, human rights defenders, civil society organisations, and advocates for justice and democratic freedoms in Somalia, express our deep concern regarding the arbitrary detention of Ms. Sadia Moalim Ali, a tuktuk driver, social activist, and outspoken advocate for social justice, who was arrested in Mogadishu...

Belarusian PEN has published a new analytical report summarizing the state of Belarusian culture in the first quarter of 2026. In Belarus, the politically motivated persecution of cultural figures, the criminalization of cultural activities in general, and literary work in particular continue. The release of another group of political prisoners,...

When the Law Becomes a Weapon Hope Behind Bars Africa: Across Nigeria’s civic space, a pattern is emerging that deserves closer attention. Increasingly, legal and quasi-legal processes are being used in ways that extend beyond their intended purpose, creating sustained pressure on individuals engaged in public interest work. These cases...

The Fines and Fees Justice Center (FFJC): NEW YORK – Today, Fines and Fees Justice Center (FFJC) released The Cost We No Longer Pay, a report  detailing the overwhelming amount of financial relief that has been brought back to families and communities through the work of FFJC and its partners, resulting...

Southern Africa Litigation Centre (SALC): When the High Court on 22 July 2022 delivered its landmark ruling on police “sweeping exercises,” it did more than condemn unlawful arrests; it issued a clear directive for reform. The Court recognised that rogue and vagabond laws were being misused to justify arbitrary arrest....

Military-connected social media accounts target activists with disinformation Online slurs precede intimidation and violent attacks against dissidents Meta, TikTok, X and YouTube allow harmful content to spread rapidly Amnesty International: Coordinated disinformation campaigns portraying government critics as “foreign agents” are silencing dissent and fueling intimidation and violence under Indonesian President...

In the aftermath of the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade, there has been increased movement toward criminalization of abortion. The Fifth Circuit Court recently ordered the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to rescind guidance permitting the use of telemedicine for mifepristone, one of the two medications...

The Community Court of Justice, ECOWAS on 15 May 2026 delivered its judgment in Case No ECW/CCJ/APP/05/25 brought by a non governmental organisation alleging violations of rights of awaiting-trial inmates in Nigeria’s correctional facilities. In its judgment, the Court held that the prolonged detention of a substantial number of awaiting-trial...

Geneva – The continued detention of Kuwaiti-American journalist Ahmed Shihab-Eldin since 2 March, while visiting family in Kuwait, constitutes a serious violation of freedom of expression and press freedom. It reflects a troubling escalation in the use of national security laws and vague penal provisions to punish reporting on public affairs,...

The South African Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU) condemns the Draft Prevention of Illegal Eviction from and Unlawful Occupation of Land Amendment Bill, 2026 as a dangerous, regressive and unconstitutional attack on the working class and the poor. This Bill must be rejected in its entirety; it is not a housing...

National Homelessness Law Center The Louisiana House Judiciary Committee voted 12-4 on April 9 to advance a controversial bill that could force homeless individuals into unpaid labor.  House Bill 211, authored by Rep. Debbie Villio (R-Kenner), would prohibit unauthorized camping on public property, defined as “the intentional use of any tent, shelter, or bedding constructed or...

After years of campaigning, England and Wales have officially decriminalised abortion for women in a “landmark moment” as part of proposed changes to the Crime and Policing Bill. The government has now formally done away with the ancient Offences Against the Person Act from 1861 and the Infant Life (Preservation) Act of 1929,...

There is something deeply unsettling about the way harm can become normalised when it is bureaucratised. When it is written into policy, absorbed into infrastructure, and managed through daily routine, it stops looking like violence, even as it continues to shape every aspect of a person’s life. That is what...

To our community, We are devastated to be writing to you instead of gathering together as planned and we know we’re not alone. The frustration and disappointment stemming from the loss of RightsCon 2026 is felt deeply by all of us, especially our partners in the region who worked tirelessly...

National Homelessness Law Center: Last night, the U.S. Department of Justice launched the next wave of an unprecedented attack on the Southern Poverty Law Center.   The National Homelessness Law Center stands in solidarity with the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) in their work to combat white supremacy, hate, and all...

International Commission of Jurists (ICJ): The ICJ condemns the continued deprivation of liberty of Serbian lawyer Cedomir Stojkovic and the criminal proceedings against him on charges of incitement to violent overthrow of the constitutional order and disclosure of official secrets, which appear to constitute reprisals for the exercise of his...

Amnesty International: Responding to the draconian sentences issued against young activists prosecuted for their actual or perceived affiliation with the Russian youth democratic movement Vesna (Spring), Marie Struthers, Amnesty International’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia Director, said: “Today’s verdict reveals how the Russian judicial system continues to rubber-stamp politically motivated reprisals. The...

Amnesty International: Reacting to the news that the Russian authorities have arbitrarily designated prominent human rights group Memorial as “extremist” and banned its activities in the country, Denis Krivosheev, Amnesty International’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia Deputy Regional Director, said: “For close to 40 years, Memorial’s tireless commitment to documenting...

Punjab Assembly’s legal reforms committee moves to scrap Section 55(1)(b) of the CrPC, calling it a law that “criminalises poverty,” while debate grows over other colonial-era provisions still in force. A high-level committee of the Punjab Assembly has declared that a controversial colonial-era legal provision effectively criminalises poverty and must...

Amnesty International: Across the United States, immigration agents are carrying out widespread human rights violations with impunity, including extrajudicial executions, mass detentions  and deportations. Fear grips  communities as masked agents have escalated their operations into unchecked violence. Demand US authorities end militarized immigration enforcement! What’s the problem? A pattern of death and impunity is escalating in militarized immigration operations across...

Amnesty International: The prosecution of Amnesty International Türkiye’s former Chair Kerem Dikmen and ten other members of the executive and supervisory boards of Genç LGBTI+ (Young LGBTI+) Association, is part of an orchestrated strategy of harassment of LGBTI+ organizations and their supporters, Amnesty International said ahead of a hearing which starts tomorrow.   In December, a court ruled to dissolve the Izmir-based Genç LGBTI+ Association on the grounds of ‘obscenity’ for five illustrations posted on their social media accounts between 2019 and 2022, based on an audit report in 2024. In October...

In recent weeks, reports of arrests and imprisonment of poor and homeless people in Lagos State, alongside the brutal assault of homeless children in Cross River State, have surfaced yet again. The justification is familiar: they are a nuisance, they constitute a threat to public order, they disturb the peace....

Five months on from opposition protests banned by the authorities that saw hundreds of people arrested, including pregnant women, some are still being held even though they had no involvement in the protests, while others have been convicted in unfair trials, Amnesty International said today. Amnesty International: In October 2025,...

Chair, Excellencies, colleagues, My name is Faizat Badmus-Busari, Regional Programme Manager at the Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa – SIHA Network. SIHA is a regional feminist network working with over 250 women’s rights organizations across the Horn of Africa. I would like to share one concrete...

SANTA ANA, Calif. — In Department 49 of the Central Justice Center, Commissioner Joseph Dane sentenced several individuals to serve time for unlawful camping. Across the United States, laws targeting homelessness — including sleeping outside, storing belongings in public spaces and camping — are enforced through citations, fines and jail...

Women Beyond Walls: On 18 March, we co-hosted an official UN side event with Penal Reform International, Pathfinders for Peaceful, Just and Inclusive Societies, and partners — bringing together Member States, UN agencies, civil society, and leaders with lived experience. We were honoured to welcome Mary Robinson as keynote speaker,...