Human Rights

Rights Group: Iran Executed 142 People in May

WASHINGTON (VOA) — Iran carried out 142 executions in May, marking the highest number of people put to death in one month in the country since 2015, a rights group said Thursday. More than half of the executions were for drug-related crimes and the rest were given for...

Indian scholars, activists criticize school hijab ban ruling

NEW DELHI (AP) — A recent court ruling upholding a ban on Muslim students wearing head coverings in schools has sparked criticism from constitutional scholars and rights activists who say that judicial overreach threatens religious freedoms in officially...

Iranian women and Selena Gomez express support for girls arrested in viral dancing video

Five Iranian girls who were arrested for a video of them dancing have publicly apologised, as Iranian women have shared support for the group by posting their own dancing videos. The five teenagers shared a TikTok on 8 March of them dancing to the Selena Gomez and...

Belarus jails senior staff at independent news site in crackdown on Lukashenko critics

Belarus has handed long jail terms to senior staff at the country’s largest independent news site, which was forced to close after historic demonstrations against strongman Alexander Lukashenko over two years ago. The verdicts are the latest in a crackdown on...