Human rights

This handout picture released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency on Aug. 18, 2026, shows Judge Fakhr al-Din al-Aryan (C) during the sentencing of Wassim al-Assad.

In first, Lebanon to hand over former Syrian general to Sharaa government

The decision comes as Syria's new authorities move to prosecute former regime figures over alleged crimes committed during the country's civil war.

Bashar Al Assad

Syrian court sentences Bashar al-Assad, brother to death for war crimes

Ousted President Bashar al-Assad and his younger brother Maher al-Assad were both sentenced to death in absentia for war crimes along with several other defendants.

This photograph shows a banner featuring photos of Iranian protesters allegedly killed by the regime during a demonstration at the Ergife Palace Hotel to condemn the silence of Western governments in the face of the growing wave of Iranian political executions, in Rome, on July 16, 2026.

Iran hangs 2 over alleged Mossad ties as executions mount: What to know

Rights groups have warned that Iran may step up executions with the resumption of the war in the region.

FADEL itani / AFP via Getty Images

'Obliterated entire families': Amnesty calls for investigating Israeli strikes in Lebanon as war crimes

Amnesty International has accused Israel of committing war crimes in Lebanon by wiping out entire families and killing children.

Latest News

Iran’s hard-line judicial chief Mohseni Ejei gets second term: What to know

Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejei

Explainer

Israel's Armenian genocide recognition marks new front against Turkey

Members of the Jerusalem Armenian community hold placards as they march during commemorations for the 94th anniversary of mass killings of their kin under the Ottoman Empire, Jerusalem's Old City, April 24, 2009.

Culture

FIFA rejects Egypt, Iran objections, allows Pride flags at World Cup match

A fan waves a Pride flag before the game between the Seattle Sounders and the Portland Timbers at Lumen Field on June 3, 2023, in Seattle, Washington.

Syria opens trial of Wassim al-Assad, cousin of ousted president: What we know

Defendant Wassim al-Assad appears before the Fourth Criminal Court during the opening session of his trial in Damascus on June 24, 2026.

TikTok girl's detention brings Egyptian human rights into spotlight

TikTok girl's detention brings Egyptian human rights into spotlight

The continued detention of Haneen Hossam, a TikTok influencer, on a new charge of "human trafficking" has raised concern among rights advocates, bringing Egypt's human rights under scrutiny once again.

Israeli human rights activist Adi Dagan listens to an Israeli soldier as she waits for troops to allow Palestinian schoolchildren home through a gate in the security fence March 2, 2004, at the village of Jubara near the West Bank town of Tulkarem. The 300 Israeli women volunteers of the Machsom Watch group have appointed themselves to the task of monitoring the Israeli army, which operates about 65 manned and hundreds of unmanned checkpoints in the West Bank.

Human Rights Watch accuses Israel of 'apartheid'

The leading international human rights watchdog cited Israel's treatment of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza vis-a-vis Jewish Israelis. The Israeli government dismissed the report.

BEN STANSALL/AFP via Getty Images

Iran sentences British-Iranian aid worker to another year in jail

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe had just competed her five-year sentence when she was summoned to court on a new propaganda charge.

April 23, 2021 torchlight procession in Yerevan

Biden calls Erdogan ahead of expected Armenian genocide labeling

The White House readout of the call between the two leaders did not mention the Armenian genocide.

Catholicos Garegin II, the head of the Armenian Apostolic Church, attends a ceremony commemorating the 105th anniversary of the massacre of 1.5 million of Armenians by Ottoman forces in 1915, at the Tsitsernakaberd memorial in Yerevan on April 24, 2020.

Turkish talk of reconciliation angers Armenians on 106th anniversary of genocide

Turkey has warned the United States that President Joe Biden's expected characterization of the mass killings of the Ottoman Armenians in 1915 as a genocide will derail Turkish-Armenian reconciliation and further damage US-Turkish ties. Armenians say there is no reconciliation process to speak of.

Mohammad Nourizad

Khamenei critic faces 'imminent death' in Iran prison

Relentless pleas from international rights groups and members of the Iranian civil society for the release of outspoken journalist Mohammad Nourizad continue to remain unheeded by Iranian authorities.

anti-death penalty exhibit Trafalgar Square

Iran, Egypt lead Middle East in executions in 2020

Iran, Egypt, Iraq and Saudi Arabia accounted for 88% of executions last year outside of world leader China, according to Amnesty International.

Sheikha Latifa Al Maktoum

UN experts urge UAE to release princess who claims she's hostage

UN human rights consultants have expressed alarm over videos alleging the 35-year-old princess is being held against her will.

Israeli Arab politician, leader of the United Arab List Mansour Abbas (R) attends consultations with Israeli President Reuven Rivlin (L) on who might form the next coalition government, at the president's residence in Jerusalem, on April 5, 2021.

Survey: Increasing number of Israelis would support Arab party joining government

The survey by the Israeli human rights group also concluded that most Israelis and Palestinians believe the International Criminal Court's probe into alleged Israeli crimes will not affect policy.

Khaled Dawoud

Egypt releases journalist Khaled Dawoud from prison

Khaled Dawoud was arrested as part of a sweeping crackdown on anti-government protesters in 2019.

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (L) meets with European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell (R) in the capital, Tehran, on Feb. 3, 2020.

EU blacklist of Iran commanders strikes a nerve in Tehran

Tehran said the European Union cannot preach human rights and announced a halt in cooperation with the bloc on fighting terrorism and narcotics after the latter sanctioned Iranian commanders over human rights violations.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (L) and EU Council President Charles Michel (R) arrive for a joint news conference after talks with Turkey's president in Ankara on April 6, 2021.

EU-Turkey partnership: Anything but honest

The latest visit by top European Union officials to Ankara has shown that the European Union has effectively turned its back to its avowed core principles and values vis-a-vis Erdogan.