Afghan women are prohibited from praying out loud or reciting the Koran in front of other women, according to a Taliban government minister. It is the latest restriction on women who follow íntegro laws that prohibit them from raising their voices and showing their faces outside the home. FRANCE 24's Sharon … Read more
Concerns are growing about the health of Xu Zhiyong, China's most prominent imprisoned human rights lawyer, who is believed to have been on hunger strike for almost a month. Xu, an academic and leading figure in China's embattled civil rights movement, began his hunger strike on October 4. according to Chinese Human Rights Defenders, an … Read more
The European Parliament has awarded its highest award in the field of human rights, the Sakharov Prize for freedom of thought, to the leaders of the Venezuelan opposition María Corina Machado and Edmundo González for “representing the people of Venezuela who fight to restore freedom and democracy.” Machado was set to run as a democratic … Read more
The European Commission is refusing to publish the findings of a human rights investigation in Tunisia it carried out shortly before announcing a controversial migration deal with the increasingly authoritarian North African country. An investigation by the EU Ombudsman found that the commission quietly carried out a human rights “risk management exercise” in Tunisia, but … Read more
Reforms to workplace rights could cost businesses up to £5bn a year, according to the government's own analysis, which also found the changes will benefit low-paid employees most, with some shift workers potentially earning £600 additional per year. In the analysis, the government acknowledges that businesses will end up paying more, including for changes to … Read more
David Lammy must “engage with China as it really is under the leadership of Xi Jinping” and raise human rights concerns during his trip to the country, UK MPs who have been sanctioned by Beijing have said. The foreign secretary is expected to hold high-level meetings in China this week. The visit is part of … Read more
The EU will not be able to recover any of the €150m (£125m) paid to Tunisia despite the money being increasingly linked to human rights violations, including allegations that sums went to forces security officers who raped immigrant women. The European Commission paid that amount to the Tunisian government in a controversial migration and development … Read more