Inner Asia
Anti-terror ‘security state’ in Xinjiang
The Uighur people of China's Xinjiang province are coming under unprecedented surveillance and militarization amid official fears of terrorism in the far-western region.
Tag: police state
Europe
Russian high court deals blow to anti-protest law
Russia's Supreme Court annulled the prison sentence of gay activist Ildar Dadin, the first person to be convicted under a sweeping new anti-protest law.
North America
Amnesty blasts global ‘politics of demonization’
Politicians wielding a dehumanizing rhetoric are creating a more divided and dangerous world, warns Amnesty International in its new annual report.
Greater Middle East
Turkey: investigate arrests of opposition leaders
The People's Democratic Party of Turkey called on the European Court of Human Rights to investigate the unlawful imprisonment of the party's co-chairs.
East Asia
China targeting human rights defenders
A new report finds that human rights defenders in China are being criminalized as "national security" threats, and increasingly face detention and torture.
Southeast Asia
Philippines: Duterte blinks in deadly drug war?
The Philippines' ultra-hardline President Rodrigo Duterte pledged to dismantle his deadly anti-drug units after police kidnapped and killed a South Korean executive.
Southeast Asia
Philippines strongman threatens martial law
The Philippines' ultra-hardline President Rodrigo Duterte now threatens to actually impose martial law across the country if the drug problem becomes "very virulent."
North America
Court issues stay on Trump immigration order
A Brooklyn federal judge blocked Trump's order barring immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries, as activists occupied JFK and several other US airports.
North America
Human Rights Watch: Trump portends ‘tyranny’
In its yearly report, Human Rights Watch warns that the rise of populist leaders "poses a dangerous threat to basic rights"—particularly naming Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin.
Watching the Shadows
Obama’s final year: a CounterVortex scorecard
With a Trump despotism looming, CounterVortex offers its final assessment of Barack Obama's record in addressing the oppressive legacy of the Global War on Terrorism.
Southeast Asia
Duterte boasts of personally killing drug suspects
The Philippines' ultra-hardline President Rodrigo Duterte—facing international outrage for his bloody anti-drug crackdown—boasted that he has "personally" killed suspects.
Palestine
Israel: protest vigil for detained Palestinian MK
Dozens demonstrated outside an Israeli courthouse in support of a Palestinian member of the Knesset, Basal Ghattas, after the court extended his detention another day.