Arbitrary Detention
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This Week’s Spotlight on Human Rights
Tags Share Trump Administration Ends Legal Protections for Half-Million Haitians Who Now Face Deportations The Department of Homeland Security said Friday that it is terminating legal protections for hundreds of thousands of Haitians, setting them up for potential deportation. DHS said that conditions in Haiti have improved and Haitians no longer meet the conditions for the…
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El Salvador: Alto a la Criminalización de Personas Defensoras de Derechos Humanos y al Desmantelamiento del Estado de Derecho
Tags Share Las organizaciones firmantes expresamos nuestra profunda preocupación ante el creciente uso del derecho penal sin las garantías del debido proceso, el acoso, estigmatización y la persecución que ejercen las autoridades salvadoreñas contra personas defensoras de derechos humanos, líderes comunitarios, activistas ambientales, profesores universitarios abogados, periodistas y otras voces críticas hacia el poder. Destacados…
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El Salvador: Stop the Criminalization of Human Rights Defenders and the Dismantling of the Rule of Law
Tags Share We, the undersigned organizations, express our deep concern over the increasing use of criminal law without due process guarantees, the harassment, the stigmatization, and the persecution by Salvadoran authorities against human rights defenders, community leaders, environmental activists, university professors, lawyers, journalists, and other voices critical of the government. Prominent journalists, activists, and lawyers,…
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Ninety U.S. civil society groups express “deep concern” to FIFA about immigration policies ahead of 2026 World Cup
Tags Share Ninety U.S.-based civil society groups have warned FIFA that it risks becoming a “public relations tool to whitewash the reputation of an increasingly authoritarian government”, in a joint letter that calls on FIFA to publicly urge the US government to reverse immigration policies and practices introduced by the Trump administration. The letter describes…
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Translation of Letter from Reza Khandan to Iranian Judiciary
Tags Share On June 17, 2025, Reza Khandan and other inmates in Evin Prison wrote to the Iranian judiciary calling for their release. Khandan, a prominent human rights advocate, and his wife, the renowned human rights lawyer and women’s rights activist Nasrin Sotoudeh, have long been targeted by Iranian authorities. Khandan has faced repeated arrests and…
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Human Rights Groups Urge UN to Intervene on Behalf of Migrants Detained in Notorious Salvadoran Prison
Tags Share Washington, D.C., June 18, 2025 – Last week, Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, Boston University School of Law International Human Rights Clinic, the Center for Gender & Refugee Studies, and the Global Strategic Litigation Council for Refugee Rights submitted a report to the United Nations highlighting egregious human rights violations for hundreds of…
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Bangladesh: Extend the Mandate of the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances to Ensure Truth and Accountability
Tags Share We, the undersigned international human rights organizations, urge the Interim Government of Bangladesh to extend the mandate of the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances until at least December 31, 2025. While the Commission’s mandate is set to expire on June 30, victims and their families deserve adequate time for the Commission to…
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This Week’s Spotlight on Human Rights
Tags Share Masked ICE Agents Detain 9-Month-Pregnant U.S Citizen in L.A. Crackdown A U.S. citizen in her ninth month of pregnancy was hospitalized with sharp stomach pains after being arrested — and later released — by ICE agents who accused her of obstructing the arrest of her undocumented husband. ICE has been conducting large-scale raids and arrests…
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BBC: Who has been arrested by ICE under Trump?
Tags Share In a recent piece by the BBC, reporters investigate who has been arrested by ICE under the Trump administration, revealing a dramatic escalation in detentions that targeted not only undocumented individuals with criminal records, but also long-term residents with deep community ties and no criminal history. Many foreign nationals with green cards or…
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US brokers secret torture deal with El Salvador: report to UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants
On February 3, 2025, President Nayib Bukele publicly announced that El Salvador had offered to detain “criminals” sent from the US, including both migrant deportees and US citizens, in exchange for a fee.
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Devdiscourse: Coalition Challenges US-El Salvador Detainee Deal in Court
Tags Share A coalition of immigrant rights groups including Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights has filed a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s agreement to house detainees in an El Salvadorian prison. The suit argues that the deal violates the U.S. Constitution by preventing detainees from accessing U.S. courts and due process. Concerns are raised over…
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NBC Boston: Lawmakers denounce deplorable conditions at ICE facility where Milford teen was held
Tags Share In a recent piece by NBC Boston, lawmakers are speaking out against the deplorable conditions at a New Hampshire ICE facility where Milford teenager Marcelo Gomez Da Silva was detained. The report details allegations of inadequate medical care, unsanitary living conditions, and psychological trauma inflicted on detainees, raising serious concerns about human rights…
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