Six years after Iranian-German dissident Jamshid Sharmahd vanished during a trip to the United Arab Emirates, many questions surrounding his abduction, imprisonment and death in the custody of the Islamic Republic remain unresolved.
Social media platform X says it is challenging block of jailed Istanbul mayor's account Submitted by Alex MacDonald on Wed, 08/05/2026 - 11:51 Scepticism greets site's announcement that it is challenging ban on Ekrem Imamoglu's presidential candidacy account, considering it has already blocked hundreds of opposition accounts in Turkey Supporters hold up their mobiles during a protest marking one year since the detention of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu in Istanbul on 18 March (AFP/Yasin Akgul) Off An announcement by X that it is challenging a request to ban imprisoned Mayor of Istanbul Ekrem Imamoglu's presidential candidacy account in Turkey has been met with scepticism by digital campaigners. The account, created to support Imamoglu's candidacy for the next presidential election, was first blocked in Turkey late last month following a government request. In a post on X on Wednesday, the company said Turkish laws "force" them to comply with the order last week, at risk of Turkey's Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK) "throttling" the site's access in the country.
On 12 June, a group of 17 people – among them Turks, Afghans and Iranians – were forcibly removed from the United States and flown to Bangui, in the Central African Republic (CAR), a country where they have no ties and whose language they do not speak. According to Third Country Deportation Watch, all but […] The post African states must refuse to be complicit with the USA’s policy of ‘third country removals’ appeared first on Amnesty International .
Volker Türk says 56 people have been executed on national security-related charges, including 27 in cases linked to January's protests.
Schoolchildren in Iran are getting hooked on nas, a cheap smokeless tobacco sold openly within steps of their classrooms, an official warned on Tuesday, as social media users asked why a product this addictive is hawked to children in plain sight.
UK charity regulator to investigate donations to illegal Israeli settlements Submitted by Areeb Ullah on Wed, 08/05/2026 - 12:31 Charity Commission probes eight charities to determine how funds sent to illegal Israeli settlements were used A Jewish settler carries roof tiles after a house was demolished at an outpost near the settlement of Negohot in the occupied West Bank (Reuters) Off The UK's charity regulator has launched an investigation into several British charities donating funds to illegal Israeli settlements in Palestine . The Charity Commission said the probe will look into how funds were used in illegal settlements, the purpose of these funds and whether they fit charitable purposes. Stephen Roake, assistant director of high-risk compliance at the Charity Commission, confirmed that the charity regulator would begin investigating eight unnamed charities.
The UN rights chief expressed alarm on Wednesday over the sharp increase in executions and death sentences in Iran since the US-Israeli bombing campaign began in late February, warning that capital punishment is being used to intimidate the population and suppress dissent.
Ceuta migrant disaster death toll rises to 141, Morocco's deadliest in recent history Submitted by Elis Gjevori on Wed, 08/05/2026 - 11:50 Families demand answers over Rabat’s decision to allow tens of thousands of people to enter Spanish enclave Relatives and friends wait by a fence topped with barbed wire for the return of people who had previously crossed into Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta, at Morocco's Bab Sebta border crossing on the outskirts of Fnideq, on 2 August 2026 (Abdel Majid Bziouat/AFP) Off At least 141 people died after Moroccan authorities opened the border gates into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, triggering what appears to be Morocco’s deadliest migration disaster in recent history. Migrant rights organisation Caminando Fronteras said hospitals in northern Morocco had received 63 bodies recovered from Moroccan waters by Tuesday. The Moroccan government has not officially confirmed this.
Iran has executed at least 56 people on national security-related charges since March 19, including 27 in cases linked to protests earlier this year, UN human rights chief Volker Türk said on Wednesday.
Far-right leader defends Muslim student subject to social media hate campaign Submitted by Imran Mulla on Wed, 08/05/2026 - 10:27 Aisha Khan-Aziz faced a storm of abuse by prominent UK and US commentators after remarks at an Oxford Union debate with Tommy Robinson were taken out of context Tommy Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, speaks at the Oxford Union on 17 June (Screengrab/X) Off Far-right leader Tommy Robinson , real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, has defended and apologised to a Muslim student at Oxford University after she faced a barrage of abuse and anger from prominent right-wing personalities in Britain and the US , over a video clip from an Oxford Union debate which was taken out of context. The debate at the prestigious debating society, held on 17 June, was on the motion "This House believes the West is right to be suspicious of Islam". Robinson, an anti-Islam activist whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, was debating on the motion's proposition team, which lost the debate.
Iran executed at least 56 people since March, UN says UN human rights chief Volker Turk said Iran has executed at least 56 people since 19 March, including 27 in cases linked to protests at the start of the year. Turk added in a statement that there has been a rise in executions and death sentences since March, and urged authorities to halt all executions and move towards abolishing the death penalty.
Responding to the arrest of a Han Chinese man in Lhasa, Tibet – the human rights activist Zhang Yi – Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director Sarah Brooks said: “The arrest of Zhang Yi after he showed a photograph of the Dalai Lama while visiting a monastery is a chilling reminder of how far the Chinese […] The post China: Activist arrested over photo of Dalai Lama in Tibet must be released appeared first on Amnesty International .
New posts 13:38 UN 'Alarmed' By Rise In Executions And Death Sentences In Iran UN Human Rights Chief Volker Turk expressed alarm over Iran's surge in executions and death sentences since March, urging the authorities to immediately halt all executions and move toward the abolition of the death penalty.
Angered by a wave of early-morning executions of protesters and political prisoners, some Iranian social media users have directed their anger at Islam and the morning call to prayer, prompting an IRGC-linked campaign demanding their prosecution.
Egyptian authorities say the alleged scam involved fabricated scenes in court as part of a plot to defraud people.
"Take care of my sons. " Those were the final words of Hayatullah, an Afghan migrant who used his phone to record what would become the last moments of his life in the scorching desert as he tried to reach Iran.
Twenty years after 17 aid workers from the French humanitarian association Action contre la Faim (ACF) were killed in Muttur, eastern Sri Lanka, the authorities must finally deliver truth, justice and reparations, Amnesty International said today. On 4 August 2006, 17 Sri Lankan employees of ACF – 16 Tamils and one Muslim – were found shot dead at close range at the […] The post Sri Lanka: Justice for ACF massacre cannot wait after two decades of impunity appeared first on Amnesty International .
Israel detained 630 Palestinians in occupied West Bank in July, prisoners' society says The Palestinians Prisoners' Society (PPS) said on Tuesday that Israeli forces have detained 630 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, including Jerusalem, during July. This brings the total number of detention cases to more than 25,000, including women and children, since 2023. The organisation said the detention campaigns have been accompanied by field interrogations, violent raids on homes, systematic destruction of property, and assaults against detainees and their families.
'Coherent to describe Zionism as racist': UK tribunal upholds protection for anti-Zionist beliefs Submitted by Areeb Ullah on Tue, 08/04/2026 - 14:26 Court says Zionism could also be described as imperialistic as University of Bristol loses appeal over professor's dismissal Pro-Palestinian protesters march through central London during a demonstration, 7 May 2024 (Middle East Eye) Off A UK Appeals Tribunal has said that it is coherent to describe Zionism as a racist ideology, as it "promotes the establishment of a state for only one race of people", adding that it could also be described as "colonial and imperialistic". "It is coherent to describe as 'racist' an ideology [Zionism] that promotes the establishment of a state [in this case, Israel ] for only one race of people [Jewish] in a territory that formerly contained a large number of people of a different race [Palestinians]," the court said in a judgement handed down on Tuesday. "Such an ideology, which supports the migration of members of the first group into the territory with the support of an imperial power to dislodge an indigenous population, could also coherently be described as colonial and imperialistic.
Israeli forces issue demolition orders, bulldoze farmland, attack water systems in occupied West Bank Wafa news reported on Tuesday that Israeli forces issued demolition orders for three tourist facilities in the village of Arraneh, east of Jenin in the occupied West Bank, citing local officials. Israeli forces also bulldozed agricultural land and destroyed part of the drinking water network in the village of Beit Iskaria, south of Bethlehem, in an effort to expand the Gush Etzion settlement bloc by relocating its main entrance gate into Palestinian land, local authorities told Wafa. Local sources told Wafa that Israeli settlers attacked a water transmission pipeline east of Tubas on Tuesday, targeting it for the eighth time since the start of July.
