human rights

People who do not “look Spanish” can be stopped by police as often as four times a day, according to report by Amnesty International.

A French woman faces the prospect of two years in prison and a fine of up to £27,000 after rejecting a court ruling ordering her to undertake a 15-day "citizenship service".

Indonesian sharia police are "morally rehabilitating" more than 60 young punk rock fans, who were holding a charity concert in Aceh province on Sumatra Island.

Malaysia has welcomed Sultan Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah as its new king in a pompous nationally televised ceremony attended by hundreds of dignitaries.

Razan Ghazzawi, an outspoken critic of the Assad regime, was detained by Syrian authorities on her way to a conference on media freedom in Amman.

A long-serving human rights activist has become President of Tunisia in the first democratic election since the country's revolution in January.

Syria is holding local elections despite continuing clashes between protesters and the regime of President Bashar al Assad.

The protests are viewed internationally as a test of Putin's patience to bear with peaceful demonstrations and people's right to register dissent about government policies.

The problem is not with the religions themselves but with some of their followers who make intolerant interpretations of their faiths, Tawakul Karman has said.

Joseph Kabila Kabange has been re-elected President of the Democratic Republic of Congo with 48 per cent of votes, according to the electoral commission. The main opposition candidate, Etienne Tshisekedi, achieved 32 per cent of votes.

For the second time this week, Congo's authorities have postponed announcing the results of the country's presidential election amid rising tension in the central African state.

A U.S. citizen has been sentenced to two and a half years in a Thai prison after translating a banned biography of the country's King online.

Human Rights Watch has called on Yemen's government to ban child marriages, claiming it threatens girls' access to education, harms their health and keeps them second-class citizens.

Prosecutors in Philadelphia announced Wednesday they had decided to stop efforts to execute Mumia Abu-Jamal, who has been on death row after being convicted of killing a police officer 30 years ago.

More than 20,000 children are putting their lives at risk by working in gold mines in Mali, according to a report by Human Rights Watch.

Slut Walk co-founder Sonya JF Barnett and comedian Shabana Rehman are among the people who agreed to pose nude for a calendar in support of Aliaa Magda Elmahdy, the Egyptian blogger who triggered controversy across the Arab World last month for posting nude pictures of herself on Twitter to protest against Islamic sexism in her country.

The results of Democratic Republic of Congo's presidential election have been delayed amid fears that new violence could erupt in the country.

The head of the Syrian National Council has warned Iran and Hezbollah that their continued support of President Bashar al Assad will jeopardise their relationship with Damascus once the government is overthrown.

Hollywood actress Hilary Swank has said she regrets her controversial decision to accept a six-figure sum to appear at the 35th birthday celebrations of Chechnya's autocratic dictator, Ramzan Kadyrov.

The United Nation's has called on the Vietnamese government to close down rehabilitation centres for drug users and sex workers, calling them "counter-productive."

Cherie Blair demanded more representation for women in the Parliament and boardrooms, sanctioned by law to ensure gender equality in the country.

The case of a Tunisian actress who posed semi-nude for a local magazine has underlined a growing trend in the Arab world for activists to use their bodies as part of a political or social protest.

While this year will be remembered as the year of the hacktivist, it was in South America that cyber activists sprang up to protest against human rights violations, corruption and restrictions on internet freedoms.

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange can appeal to the Supreme Court to overturn his extradition to Sweden, where he is wanted for questioning over alleged sex crimes, a High Court judge ruled on Monday

The number of women prisoners, sentenced for crimes such as ‘fleeing home’ or ‘extra marital affairs’, has increased from 350 to 600 over the last two years, a new U.N. report has said.

Yates, who resigned from his post in the Met Office in July following his alleged role in the News of the World phone-hacking investigation, has been asked to overhaul the police service to ensure its procedure meets international human rights standards, reported the Daily Telegraph.

The Ikwro research, carried out between July and November, reveals the collective figures for the first time in the UK as gathered by 39 police forces for honour-based violence.

The Bush family is continuing its health awareness African trip despite Amnesty's international calls for the former President's arrest over human rights violations.

A South African human rights organization has announced its intention to file a law suit against Qatar and its broadcaster Al-Jazeera after a journalist was deported from the Gulf state because he was HIV positive.

Aung San Suu Kyi, has insisted that Burma's advances towards democracy are real and that trusting the government's promises is a risk worthwhile taking, ahead of Chatham House Prize win on Thursday.