Human Rights Abuses

Jammu, India | AFP | The internet is being cut for hours on end in Jammu as authorities try to halt protests that have grown in the Kashmir winter capital since the rape-murder of an eight year old girl opened a new front in India’s Hindu-Muslim divide. With near daily …

Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | As Nigeria prepares to mark the fourth anniversary of the Chibok kidnapping, UNICEF reported on Friday that over 1,000 children have been abducted by jihadists since 2013. “Since 2013, more than 1,000 children have been abducted by Boko Haram in northeastern Nigeria, including 276 girls …

Rabat, Morocco | AFP | Moroccan police on Tuesday announced an investigation into a video showing a teenage girl being pinned down, stripped and assaulted in broad daylight after it stirred a wave of anger. In the footage circulated online an assailant kneels on top of the teen touching and …

London, United Kingdom | AFP | A British firefighter has described discovering the charred remnants of a young French nanny, during the trial of a couple accused of killing her and disposing of the body in a bonfire in their garden. The remains of 21-year-old Sophie Lionnet were discovered by …

London, United Kingdom | AFP | A French couple living in London went on trial Monday accused of murdering their compatriot nanny and burning her body in a bonfire after starving and mistreating her. Sabrina Kouider and Ouissem Medouni had kept 21-year-old Sophie Lionnet as a “prisoner” and violently abused …

Amudat, Uganda | AFP | Thirty cows sealed 12-year-old Joyce’s fate. In exchange she became the third wife to a man as elderly as her father who traded her, never mind she had barely reached puberty. Joyce was sent from her home in western Kenya, across the nearby border to …

Kampala, Uganda |  Rights groups on Friday accused the Ugandan government of inaction over the deadly assault by security forces on a tribal king’s palace six months ago, renewing their call for an independent probe. Human Rights Watch (HRW) Africa Director, Maria Burnett told reporters in Kampala that although the …

Xalapa, Mexico | AFP | Mexican reporter Noe Zavaleta has mourned murdered colleagues and received death threats himself, but he refuses to stop working despite the fear. His is the deadliest country for journalists outside of war zones — but with all the corruption and violence, there is just too much …

United Nations, United States | AFP | The UN Security Council on Monday said it was disturbed by reports of torture and forced disappearances in Burundi but ignored calls from rights groups for sanctions. A French-drafted statement was adopted unanimously after some wrangling with Russia, China and Egypt, which oppose sanctions. …

Banjul, Gambia | AFP | Journalists in The Gambia on Tuesday urged the country’s new leadership to uphold their pledge to respect media freedom after a violent public assault on a reporter by President Adama Barrow’s supporters. Kebba Jeffang, a journalist for Foroyaa newspaper, was hit, scratched and insulted at …