Amnesty International called the conviction and sentencing of 19 activists who participated in a peaceful protest in Kazakhstan a “travesty of justice,” in a press release on April14. The protest was intended to raise awareness of human rights abuses in China’s Xinjiang region.

Eleven activists were each sentenced to five years in prison on charges of “inciting interethnic or social discord” under Article 174 of the Criminal Code. Two women were handed suspended sentences because they had young children. Eight others received non-custodial “restrictions of freedom” sentences. All 19 defendants were additionally banned from public or political activities for three years. (Jurist)

A group of UN experts expressed alarm April 15 about a new law aimed at silencing LGBTQ+ voices and proponents of women’s rights in Belarus. The Belarus parliament passed the bill two weeks earlier criminalizing “propaganda” for LGBTQA+ relationships, sex change, child-free lifestyles, and pedophilia, with punishment including fines, community service, or 15 days detention. It was subsequently signed into law by President Aleksander Lukashenko. (Jurist, Jurist)

Amnesty International applauded on April 15 the Italian government’s suspension its decades-long defense agreement with Israel.

Italy’s decision marks a departure from the right-wing government’s traditional supportive relationship with Israel. Opposition parties and Italian civil society voices had pushed for the action. Amnesty International Italy spokesperson Riccardo Noury stated:

Israel continues to act in defiance of international law and human rights: the genocide in the Gaza Strip is ongoing, the expansion of illegal settlements in the West Bank proceeds alongside an unprecedented escalation of violence, and attacks and mass displacement in Lebanon continue. Any military cooperation between the Italian government and Israel risks making Italy complicit in violations of international humanitarian law and crimes under international law.

The defense agreement between Italy and Israel, which was set for a five-year renewal on April 13, fostered the exchange of equipment and technical data for collaboration between their respective defense departments. The agreement stood for just over two decades, with the nations having first ratified it in 2005. (Jurist)

A panel of the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia on April 15 ordered a federal judge to end his contempt investigation concerning the Trump administration’s Venezuelan migrant deportation flights.

In a 2-1 decision, the majority ruled that Chief Judge James Boasberg of the US District Court for the District of Columbia abused his discretion in advancing criminal contempt proceedings.

Boasberg issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) on March 15, 2025, blocking the deportation of Venezuelan migrants under the Alien Enemies Act, holding that it violated due process. Two planes were however already in the air when he ordered them to turn around, and the administration let the flights continue to El Salvador. Boasberg held that Trump officials “deliberately flouted” the command, and opened an investigation to identify who authorized the violating of his order.

The Supreme Court vacated the case one month later. Boasberg nonetheless continued with the contempt inquiry, reasoning that this ruling did not retroactively excuse the administration’s defiance while his TRO was in effect. The DC circuit court halted the contempt case in August, but Boasberg continued investigating.

The new ruling ends the inquiry and disallows further investigation. Judge Neomi Rao wrote:

[F]urther investigation by the district court is an abuse of discretion. Criminal contempt is available only for the violation of an order that is clear and specific. The TRO did not clearly and specifically bar the government from transferring plaintiffs into Salvadoran custody. The TRO therefore cannot support criminal contempt, and the district court clearly abused its discretion by launching this inquest into the decisionmaking of senior Executive Branch officials.

However, Judge J. Michelle Childs dissented:

Now, any litigant can argue, based on their preferred interpretation of a court’s order, that they did not commit contempt before contempt findings are even made.

Lawyers for the deported migrants plan to ask the full DC Circuit to review this decision. (Jurist)

Police have launched an investigation after suspected petrol bombs were thrown at a synagogue in north London. Two attempted arsonists wearing dark clothes and balaclavas threw two bottles, suspected to contain petrol, and a brick at the Finchley Reform Synagogue shortly after midnight on April 15. Neither bottle ignited and no damage was reported. There were no injuries. The Metropolitan Police are treating the attack as an antisemitic hate crime. (The Standard)

The UK Metropolitan Police on April 11 arrested 523 people for supporting Palestine Action, a proscribed organization. Those arrested ranged in age from 18 to 87 years old. (Jurist)

Several thousand protesters gathered at Habima Square in Tel Aviv on April 11 to protest against the war and Netanyahu government, marking the sixth consecutive week of demonstrations since the start of the joint Israeli-US military operation against Iran. Demonstrations also took place in other cities across the country, including Jerusalem and Haifa. The mobilization came one day after Israel’s Supreme Court blocked a government effort to shut down the protests, although it allowed police to impose limits on attendance. These limits were apparently not enforced. (Haaretz, ToI)

In a separate demonstration April 12, ultra-orthodox protesters opposed to military conscription blocked Jerusalem’s Jaffa Road, leading to several arrests. (JP)

Erick Valencia-Salazar, a California man who is said to have co-founded Mexico’s Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG), pleaded guilty on April 8 to a federal narcotics conspiracy charge.

Valencia-Salazar was arrested in Tapalpa, Jalisco, in 2022 for conspiring to send thousands of kilograms of cocaine to the US on behalf of the CJNG. His transfer to the US was part of a collaborative effort with the Mexican government, to ensure the transfer of 29 cartel leaders. His guilty plea carries a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison and a maximum penalty of life in prison.

Known as “El 85,” Valencia-Salazar left the Milenio Cartel to start his own cartel with Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, the drug kingpin later known as “El Mencho.” He supplied AK-47 and AR-15 rifles to the Milenio cartel’s gunmen before becoming responsible for the recruitment of hundreds of CJNG members. The CJNG is now one of Mexico’s most powerful and deadly drug cartels, reportedly responsible for instability on both sides of the border. The cartel was officially designated by the US as a “foreign terrorist organization” in 2025. (Jurist)

The US District Court for the District of Massachusetts on April 8 enjoined the Trump administration’s removal of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Ethiopians in the US, allowing thousands to remain under the designation while the case continues in litigation. (Jurist)