
Forced prison labor in the “Land of the Free”
From fighting wildfires to toiling in the kitchens of some of the country’s most popular food franchises, incarcerated workers perform vital functions across the United States and produce billions of dollars in value for the public and private sectors. Yet they are paid very little (between 13 and 52 cents an hour on average)—if at all— and are excluded from the basic rights and protections afforded to most workers. These exploitative dynamics are rooted in slavery and are particularly extreme in the South, which incarcerates people—primarily Black men—at the highest rates in the world and is more likely than other regions to force incarcerated people to work for nothing at all.

‘They just got my uncle’: Immigration arrests spark fear among farmworkers in Central Valley
Maria Casarez was washing dishes at noon Tuesday in her three-bedroom duplex, tidying up before her four children arrived home from school when her husband’s nephew called. “Acaba de agarrar a mi tío — inmigración,” he said. They just got my uncle, immigration. The two had been talking at a Home Depot parking lot, less than a mile down the road from their home in Bakersfield when Border Patrol agents showed up and began asking questions. Casarez dashed to the scene, where she said she saw a dozen agents. “It was ugly,” she said. They had already taken her husband away.

UN Experts Slam US Bill Sanctioning ICC: “Blatant Violation of Human Rights”
A group of UN human rights experts is urging the U.S. Senate to block a bill that seeks to punish the International Criminal Court (ICC) and people affiliated with it after the body issued arrest warrants for Israeli leaders, condemning the bill as “dangerous” and against international law. “It is shocking to see a country that considers itself a champion of the rule of law trying to stymie the actions of an independent and impartial tribunal set up by the international community, to thwart accountability,” the four experts said in a statement.

Lawyer for Ugandan opposition politician ‘arrested and tortured’
A human rights lawyer involved in a case featuring a prominent Ugandan opposition leader has been tortured after he was arrested and detained without trial, according to colleagues who have visited him. Eron Kiiza was assaulted and arrested by soldiers on 7 January while entering a military courtroom where he was representing Dr Kizza Besigye – a political opponent of President Yoweri Museveni – and his aide Haji Obeid Lutale.