Ahmad Rahami, the suspect in last week's bombings in New York and New Jersey, was charged (PDF) in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York Sept. 20. The charges include: Use of Weapons of Mass Destruction, Bombing a Place of Public Use, Destruction of Property by Means of Fire or Explosive, and Use of a Destructive Device During and in Furtherance of a Crime of Violence. Rahami is also facing similar charges (PDF) in the US District Court for the District of New Jersey. The Sept. 17 bombings injured 29 in New York; no one was injured in the New Jersey attack. Rahami was arrested two days later after sustaining injuries during a shootout with police in in Linden, NJ. The suspect also faces charges of attempted murder of a law enforcement officer stemming from the shootout.

With the Rio de Janeiro Olympics over, the world media are moving on—but the city's poor favela dwellers are left to contend with a wave of murderous police terror. This was launched a year ago as part of an effort to pacify and sanitize the sprawling megalopolis for the Games. Amnesty International reports that over 100 people have been killed by police in Rio de Janeiro state so far this year—the big majority young Black men. A total of 307 were killed by police in the state in 2015. At least eight people in Rio were actually killed by police during the Games—to little media coverage. The clean-up operation was, of course, disguised as a crackdown on drugs and crime. The inevitable rationale was provided by the narco economy in the favelas—informal urban settlements virtually abandoned by the government for anything other than militarized law enforcement.

Venezuela's opposition Table for Democratic Unity (MUD) claimed success in its massive Sept. 1 mobilization dubbed the "Toma de Caracas" (Taking of Caracas) to demand the recall of President Nicolás Maduro—despite pre-emptive arrests of leaders. Protest organzers put the total of marchers at up to 2 million, while government estimates were as low as 30,000. Official media and protest leaders are at odds as to whether there was violence at the march, with the MUD denying charges that protesters attacked police. Rights group Foro Penal reported 119 people were detained nationwide in a bid to head off the mobilization. Arrests have continiued since the march, and three local mayors are among those detained by the Bolivarian National Intellgence Service (SEBIN). An arrest order has been issued for opposition leader Lester Toledo of the Popular Will (VP) party in Zulia state for allegedly "financing terrorism." Maduro announced that he will consider stripping all Venezuelan politicians of immunity in order to permit prosecutions of suspected coup-plotters.

The National Assembly of Pakistan on Aug. 11 approved the controversial Electronic Crimes Bill 2015 (PDF). The law has received negative attention in the past from human rights activists for the role it could play in hindering the free speech and privacy of Pakistani citizens. Particularly, activists warn about the broad and vague language contained in the Act which gives officials unqualified discretion to block and remove information. The bill was designed to help the Pakistan government combat terrorism and other cyber crimes.

The Baltimore Police Department (BPD) has engaged in tactics that violate the First and Fourth Amendments and numerous anti-discrimination laws, according to a report released by the US Department of Justice (DoJ) on Aug. 10. The report is centered on the use of excessive force and illegal stops, seizures and searches, especially within the African American community. Most at fault for the systemic discrimination, the DoJ said, are "deficient policies, training and accountability systems," including the "zero-tolerance" street enforcement. A variety of statistics were used to highlight the problem within the Baltimore force, including a finding that African Americans accounted for over 80% of all BPD vehicle stops, despite white individuals being found with contraband twice as often.

Military officials in Thailand on July 26 charged three human rights defenders with criminal defamation and violations of the Computer Crimes Act because of a report they published detailing acts of torture. The defenders, Pornpen Khongkachonkiet, Anchana Heemmina and Somchai Homlaor, face up to five years in prison if convicted. The report, "Torture and ill treatment in the Deep South Documented in 2014-2015", details 54 incidents of torture and rights abuses in South Thailand, and the activists hoped that it would encourage victims to share their experiences. Several rights groups have protested the arrests in a joint report (PDF), calling them a "reprisal against civil society groups seeking to bring to the authorities' attention the continued abuse of power and ill-treatment of detainees in Thailand." The report urges the government to drop all charges against the rights defenders and ensure that retaliation is not allowed, as well as making general human rights recommendations.

Armenian security forces on July 31 stormed a police station that had been seized by opposition militants in the capital Yerevan, amid growing protests in the city. Authorities said some 20 militants were arrested and several injured. Gunmen calling themselves the Daredevils of Sassoun seized the police station and took hostages on July 17, and protesters subsequently took to the streets in their support. Security forces have responded with stun grenades and tear-gas leaving scores injured. Militants and protesters alike are demanding release of Jirair Sefilian, leader of the opposition Founding Parliament movement. 

Maryam al-Khawaja, co-director of the Gulf Center for Human Rights (GCHR) and a leading rights defender in Bahrain—now exiled from her homeland—spoke in New York City July 30, at a small gathering organized by the MENA Solidarity Network. It was hosted at Moustache Pitza Middle Eastern restaurant in the East Village. Al-Khawaja spoke about the ongoing protests and extreme repression in her country—and how the Arab regimes are exploiting sectarianism to pit the regional revolutions against each other.