police state
China arrests activist for Dalai Lama photo
Amnesty International on Aug. 5 urged Chinese authorities to immediately release a human rights activist who was detained for showing a photograph of the Dalai Lama at a monastery in Tibet, emphasizing that his detention violates fundamental rights to freedom of expression and religion.
Thai rights defenders face online death threats
Human Rights Watch on July 31 called on authorities in Thailand to take urgent measures to address a wave of online death threats and harassment against members of parliament Angkhana Neelaphaijit and Romadon Panjor, as well as human rights activist Anchana Heemmina, after they voiced their disapproval of actions of the Thai military and expressed their support for the Muslim community in the country's Deep South.
Iran: intensified persecution of Bahá'í
UN human rights experts on July 29 raised alarm over reports of torture, enforced disappearances and arbitrary detention of members of Iran's Bahá'í religious minority amid the ongoing US-Iran war.
The UN experts say that approximately 57 Bahá'ís are currently detained or imprisoned in Iran. They report claims of arbitrary and incommunicado detention, physical and psychological abuse, and coerced confessions. Some detainees were reportedly subjected to mock executions to pressure them into making confessions that were subsequently broadcast throughout Iranian state media.
India: emergency powers amid Cockroach protests
Amnesty International condemned the July 15 decision of Delhi's lieutenant governor to invoke Section 3(2) of India's National Security Act (NSA), which effectively grants police the power to hold individuals in administrative detention without procedural guarantees.
AI chatbots shill for repressive regimes
New research from Meta's Oversight Board found commercial large language models (LLMs) from Anthropic, DeepSeek, Google, Meta, OpenAI and xAI are far less likely to criticize repressive leaders and governments. The research calls it "free speech infringements by proxy." Apps and material produced by these generative AI tools could actively reproduce restrictions, including on political criticism. It's unclear why these AI models are doing this—underscoring the need for companies to be transparent and build "human rights due diligence" into the process, before it’s too late. China, Thailand, Cambodia and Saudi Arabia topped the list of countries with the highest refusal rates when LLMs were prompted to create materials criticizing governments.
Egypt: dozens detained over Gen Z online group
Amnesty International on July 21 called on authorities to immediately release dozens of people detained in Egypt over their alleged involvement with Gen Z002, a Discord-based group used to discuss political issues, criticize government policies, and host dialogue about bringing meaningful change to the country.
Mahmoud Khalil sues US officials, pro-Israel groups
Mahmoud Khalil, a prominent Palestinian rights activist, filed a lawsuit July 14 in US federal court in Manhattan alleging a "coordinated" conspiracy between senior Trump administration officials and three private organizations to target him for deportation over his advocacy work. Khalil is a former Columbia University graduate student who became the public face of the Trump administration's crackdown on pro-Palestinian campus activism.
Mexico to seek charges over deaths in ICE custody
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said July 9 that her government plans to seek criminal complaints in the United States over the deaths of Mexican citizens while in immigration custody or during anti-immigration operations.












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