The Fourth Criminal Court in Damascus, which Syrian outlets have described as designated for “transitional justice” cases, also handed down death sentences to Assad’s younger brother, Maher al-Assad, as well as their maternal cousin Atef Najib. Maher al-Assad commanded the Republican Guard and the army’s Fourth Armored Division. Atef Najib headed the Political Security Branch in Daraa province.

The charges trace back to early 2011, the height of the Arab Spring, which saw waves of pro-democracy protests across the Middle East and North Africa. In March of that year, security forces in the southern city of Daraa detained a group of 15 schoolchildren accused of vandalism over alleged anti-regime graffiti. The children were ultimately released “bruised and bloodied after severe torture in detention,” according to Human Rights Watch, which interviewed dozens of local witnesses and reviewed video footage of the surrounding events.

The children’s treatment in custody set off local protests that quickly spread nationwide. The government responded with live fire on demonstrators, mass arrests, and raids, including on Daraa’s Omari Mosque. The uprising escalated to a civil war that lasted nearly 14 years. UN human rights investigators documented 350,209 conflict-related deaths between March 2011 and March 2021, of which an estimated 306,887 were civilians. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights estimates the total 14-year fatality figure to have been nearly 657,000.

Beyond the Assad family, six other former military and security officials tried as fugitives received death sentences, including Assad’s defense minister Fahd Jassim al-Freij and Louay al-Ali, who Al Jazeera reported was military intelligence chief in Daraa in 2011.

The presiding judge, Fakhr al-Din al-Aryan, said investigations and witness testimony established that Assad participated in the crimes as the highest decision-maker and used state institutions to carry them out, according to the state news agency SANA.

Al-Aryan said Najib’s political security branch stormed the Omari Mosque in Daraa alongside other security agencies and that Najib led the security operation against civilians there at the outset of the 2011 uprising—a campaign his officers referred to as “the trap,” according to SANA. Najib may appeal, according to The Associated Press.

Assad and his brother fled to Russia in December 2024 and received political asylum; Syria’s transitional authorities have asked Moscow to hand them over.

Syrian courts do not publish judgments, and no written decision in the case has been released as of the time of publication.

From JURIST, Aug. 11. Used with permission. Internal links added.

See our last report on the Assad regime’s crimes.

Photo of early Arab Revolution protest in Syria via Fightback

The Law on Strengthening National Solidarity & Social Integration passed with 468 votes in favor, 88 against, and six abstentions. It does not provide a general amnesty or erase criminal convictions, but it allows certain investigations, prosecutions and sentences involving offenses related to the PKK or affiliated Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) to be postponed if authorities first confirm that the organizations have dissolved and surrendered their weapons.

Under the law, eligible offenses carrying a maximum sentence of 15 years or less may have proceedings postponed for five years; offenses carrying longer sentences (including life imprisonment) may be postponed for 10 years. Intentional homicide committed as part of the organization’s activities and several other serious offenses are excluded. If those covered commit no terrorism-related offenses during the postponement period, cases are to be dropped and sentences considered served. However, if an individual commits another terrorist offense during the postponement period, proceedings may resume.

The measures will only become available after Türkiye’s security institutions determine that the PKK/KCK has ended its organizational existence and surrendered its weapons. The National Security Council must then confirm the determination, which are to be published in the Official Gazette.

The legislation received significant parliamentary support, including from the governing AK Party, and the opposition MHP, CHP and pro-Kurdish DEM (successor party to the now disbanded HDP). Opposition to the measure came primarily from the İYİ Party, which argued that the law could undermine constitutional principles and effectively operate as an amnesty.

From JURIST, Aug. 11. Used with permission. Internal links added.

Photo: KurdishStruggle via Wikimedia Commons

Speaking at a press conference hours after the 7.4-magnitude quake struck at 7:34 AM, President Abelardo de la Espriella, who only took office last week, said more than 1,500 residential buildings, 18 health centers, and 52 schools had been damaged. An update on Aug. 11 from the Colombian Association of Capital Cities (Asocapitales) said 153 buildings had collapsed.

The earthquake comes at a tough time for Colombia. The country was already facing its worst humanitarian crisis in years, with rising violence by armed groups making it increasingly difficult for aid organizations to address mounting needs in conflict zones.

In Chocó department, where the earthquake’s epicenter is located, restrictions on humanitarian aid are common. The region is not only one of the poorest in the country but also one of the hardest hit by armed conflict, with more than 21,000 people experiencing “forced confinement”—the highest number in the country, according to Colombia’s Ombudsman’s Office.

Armed groups have sought to increase their control over communities as they fight each other for control over key territories, leaving remote communities even more isolated. The quake has now rendered some of them—including Chocó’s San Juan and Baudó river regions—completely unreachable.

— Lara Loaiza Arias for The New Humanitarian, Aug. 1, excerpt. Internal links added.

Map: OpenStreetMap via The New Humanitarian

According to the UN Food & Agriculture Organization (FAO), the Food Price Index (FPI) averaged 131.1 points in July 2026, representing an increase of one percent in the cost of a basket of staple foods compared to 2025, with millions of people experiencing hunger and food insecurity despite slight improvements in harvests. This situation is attributed to recurrent heatwaves, described as a global human rights emergency; predicted effects of El Niño on this year’s harvests; and growing uncertainty resulting from geopolitical tensions, which have impacted the price of oil and disrupted global supply chains.

The FAO added that increases in price indices included those of cereals, sugar and vegetable oils, while price indices for meat and dairy products declined. The organization detailed that the cereal price index surged by 3.4% from June, reversing the declines seen in 2025. Additionally, global wheat prices rose by 5.8% due to ongoing disruptions to Black Sea exports, which are linked to both the impact of heatwaves on crop yields as well as the war between Ukraine and Russia.

The FAO also noted the the vegetable oil price index reached its highest point since 2022, which is linked to demand from Indonesia’s biodiesel sector and higher crude oil prices.

Furthermore, the UN highlighted that although some progress in reducing hunger levels has been seen in countries such as Malawi, nearly 1.9 million people still live in crisis levels of acute food insecurity, classified as Phase 3 under the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC).

Finally, the experts raised concerns about the future developments of global food prices given the existence of numerous factors that are expected to exacerbate the situation, including inflation, below-average staple production, and forecasts of El Niño effects during the 2026-2027 rainy season.

Many nations worldwide—from Afghanistan to Djibouti to Honduras—are experiencing food insecurity due to two main factors, identified as armed conflict and climate change, placing the lives of millions of people at risk. In June, the UN warned that the rapidly deteriorating health of the ocean poses threats to human health and well-being due to its impacts on biodiversity and food security.

There has been growing concern about the environmental impacts of the daily use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies, given massive energy and water demands by data centers in a world already struggling with water scarcity as well as the environmental consequences of extractive activities.

Despite this year’s adoption of a UN General Assembly resolution confirming member states’ obligations to combat climate change, there have been increasing calls for accountability of all entities involved in environmental crimes.

Hunger in the Global South has already been exacerbated by Trump’s trade tariffs regime, while spikes in the price of oil and grain since the start of the Ukraine war in 2022 have contributed to popular privation and unrest worldwide.

From JURIST, Aug. 8. Used with permission. Internal links added.

See our reports on the global food crisis and the 2024 El Niño.

Photo: officials inspect dry rice fields in Philippines. Credit: Sen. Kiko Pangilinan via Wikimedia Commons

The newly instated sanctions target five Cuban entities and eight individuals, and raise further obstacles to fuel imports, even for humanitarian purposes. The new sanctions have affected several aspects of life in Cuba, with reports of uncollected waste piling up in Havana, growing food insecurity, increasing grid failures, and shortages of food, medicines and basic supplies. The independent experts emphasized: “Food must never be used as an instrument of political pressure.”

Pressure on Cuba has been building throughout US President Donald Trump’s second term. In January, the Trump administration imposed a national emergency allowing disruption of shipments of fuel to Cuba. This was issued on the grounds that Cuba is aligned with “numerous hostile countries, transnational terrorist groups, and malign actors adverse to the United States, including the Government of the Russian Federation, the People’s Republic of China, the Government of Iran, Hamas, and Hezbollah.” In May, Trump also signed several sector-wide restrictions further tightening Cuba’s lifeline to the outside world.

Last month, the US State Department released a report titled “Cuba: The Capital of 21st-Century Communism,” stating that the country poses a “multifaceted” threat for the US. The UN experts observed that the report offers no concrete evidence that Cuba supports terrorism or subversive activity, and expressed concern that only political and ideological considerations appear to justify the imposition of coercive measures.

The UN has previously expressed concern over the growing US use of threats, coercive measures and judicial weaponization against Cuba. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk has warned that the tightening sanctions cause widespread harm, calling for them to be lifted immediately. Türk cautioned that the measures are incompatible with the UN Guiding Principles for Business & Human Rights, asking private companies to avoid compliance with the sanctions.

The seven-decade US embargo of Cuba was discussed at the General Assembly last month, with several member states urging that the differences between the two states cannot be used to justify the collective punishment of the Cuban people.

From JURIST, Aug. 8. Used with permission.

Map: Perry-Castañeda Library

Close to a million Tigrayans have been unable to return to their homes despite the peace deal, and have struggled to recover from the ethnic cleansing and siege campaign carried out by the Ethiopian army and its allies during the 2020-2022 conflict. A return to war would likely involve Eritrea, and could pull in Sudan, merging two of the deadliest conflicts in recent history.

From The New Humanitarian, Aug. 7

Map: Political Geography Now

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Zhang Yi, a prominent pro-democracy activist, was formally placed in detention July 28 on suspicion of “inciting separatism” under China’s new Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity & Progress, which came into effect on the first of the month. The law states its aim as promoting “a strong sense of community” among Chinese people. Article 2 of the law dictates that this must be achieved by “upholding” the Chinese Communist Party’s leadership. Other articles aim to establish homogeneity in respect of culture, religion, language and written script. Critics contend that the legislation serves as a sweeping legal tool to impose forced assimilation and eliminate the distinct cultural identities of minority populations.

Notably, Article 63 establishes that the law extends beyond China’s borders, allowing charges against those even outside of the mainland territory who create “ethnic division” within the People’s Republic. Rights groups have criticized this as another attempt to exercise extraterritorial jurisdiction over diaspora communities, causing them to live in fear of retaliation from the Chinese government.

Zhang Yi was initially detained July 1—the day the Ethnic Unity Law took effect—during a visit to Sera monastery outside Lhasa, the Tibetan capital. There, he showed a Tibetan worshiper a photograph of the Dalai Lama on his phone, in an attempt to non-verbally communicate that he needed a prayer mat. This exchange was overseen by plainclothes police, who arrested him as he left the prayer room.

Prior to the law’s enactment, multiple rights groups warned of its far-reaching implications, stating that it puts activists at risk of persecution. Rights organization also criticized the “broad and undefined” nature of prohibitions on acts that “undermine ethnic unity or create ethnic division,” warning of the potential for arbitrary detentions.

According to rights group Tibet Watch, there have been at several detentions related to expression of cultural or religious identity in Tibet over the past months, including the enforced disappearance of two monks. The group warned of a heightened “pattern of oppression” against Tibetans.

Tibet has been under Chinese rule since 1951, with the ratification of the Seventeen Point Agreement between Lhasa and Beijing. However, many legal scholars and rights groups argue that the agreement was signed by the Lhasa government under duress, and that Tibet legally remains “an independent state” under Chinese occupation.

Rights groups say that China’s ongoing repression of the Tibetan community extends far beyond systematically erasing Tibetan culture from history textbooks and forcing young Tibetan children into state-run residential schools. The government has also sought to extend political control over the community by detaining and hiding the 11th Panchen Lama, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, since 1995—apparently to set a precedent for control the selection of the next Dalai Lama.

The Panchen Lama is the second-highest authority in Tibetan Buddhism. By replacing the indigenously chosen Panchen Lama with a state-vetted proxy, Beijing has sought to permanently subordinate the religion to Communist Party rule, rights advocates say.

From JURIST, Aug. 6. Used with permission. Internal links added.

See our last report on the “Ethnic Unity Law.”

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Five South American countries on Aug. 6 announced completion of a two-week joint law enforcement operation targeting environmental crimes across the Amazon rainforest. The campaign, dubbed Operation Green Shield 2026, resulted in over 800 arrests and the seizure of hundreds of millions of dollars in timber, minerals and livestock.

The campaign was coordinated by the International Initiative of Law Enforcement for Climate (I2LEC), a project led by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) launched in 2023 jointly with the United Nations Office on Drugs & Crime (UNODC) to help countries share intelligence and resources against environmental crimes. A 2024 UNODC resolution formalized new measures to crack down on crimes affecting the environment.

According to the announcement, law enforcement agencies from Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru conducted raids throughout the Amazon Basin from July 15 through July 31. The raids mostly took place in remote areas that have long sheltered illegal mining camps, logging routes, and wildlife trafficking corridors. More than 3,600 officers were deployed in the campaign, resulting in the seizure of 280,000 cubic meters of timber along with several hundred tons of mining materials and livestock connected to unlawful land use.

Criminal prosecutions will now move through the domestic legal system of the country where the arrest occurred. Brazil’s Environmental Crimes Law lists offenses against wildlife, forests and natural resources, establishing both individual and corporate liability. Colombia’s Law 2111 of 2021 established provisions in the country’s penal code for offenses such as illegal deforestation. Peru and Ecuador have established similar provisions, with Ecuador’s lawincluding no statute of limitations for environmental damage claims.

Operation Green Shield is the latest in a string of multilateral police actions in the Amazon rainforest. In early 2026, the European Union, through its EL PAACTO 2.0 program, brought INTERPOL and a Dutch police unit together for “Operation Guyana Shield,” with nearly 200 individuals arrested in a coordinated effort to address illegal gold mining.

However, judicial bodies have frequently clashed with executive branches over resource exploitation, including past federal court interventions that explicitly blocked orders permitting commercial mining exploitation inside protected rainforest reserves.

The Belém Declaration, signed on Aug. 8, 2023, acted as the political foundation for cross-border enforcement by unifying the eight member nations of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO) with the goal of tackling cross-border crime and protecting the rainforest.

From JURIST, Aug. 6. Used with permission.

Photo: WAM

The report, titled “Lifting the Lid: Internal documents expose Shell’s negligent oil operations,” examines company records that appear to confirm the long-standing complaints of residents of the Niger Delta. Amnesty reports that the documents also loan weight to concerns raised by the Nigerian army over neglectful conduct and “complicity” in oil theft that has led to spills. Amnesty is the first group to report on these disclosed documents following legal proceedings in the UK last summer.

Isa Sanusi, director of Amnesty International Nigeria, stated:

Shell has long blamed oil theft and sabotage for pollution in the Niger Delta. But these documents cut through years of denial and raise grave questions about what Shell knew, what it allowed to continue, and whether it then sought to walk away from the costs of its toxic legacy. The scandal was not simply illegal ‘bunkering’ or oil theft. The real scandal is Shell’s pursuit of profit at the expense of people’s rights.

Shell was approached by Amnesty International with the findings, and responded in a statement: “The characterisation and portrayal of Shell in your letter is not one we recognise. Shell is committed to honesty, integrity and respect for people, and to conducting business in an ethical and transparent manner.”

A 2022 UN General Assembly resolution recognized the right to a healthy, clean, and sustainable environment. This right includes such substantive elements as the right to clean air, to safe water, to healthy food, and to non-toxic environments to live and work in.

From JURIST, July 30. Used with permission.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons