human rights groups - The African Mirror

Feb

2024

Returning sea migrants to Libya is illegal, Italy’s top court says

ITALY'S top appeals court has established that sending sea migrants back to Libya is unlawful, a ruling hailed by charities and human rights groups. The Court of Cassation upheld the conviction of the captain of an Italian towboat, Asso 28, who in 2018 rescued 101 migrants from a rubber dinghy and returned them to Libya. The rescue took place in international waters about 105 km off Libya, the court said. Pregnant women and children were among the migrants, it added. The captain - whose name was blacked out in the ruling for privacy reasons - was sentenced to one year's imprisonment for…

May

2023

By The African Mirror

Malawi rounds up 920 refugees to return them to overcrowded camp

NEWS

AUTHORITIES in Malawi have rounded up 920 refugees who had settled in different communities to move them back to a camp in a district bordering the capital Lilongwe, home affairs ministry spokesperson Patrick Botha said. The operation, which started on May 17, followed a government ultimatum that called for all refugees to return to the Dzaleka refugee camp by April 15, or face enforced relocation. The government has accused refugees of leaving the overcrowded camp without following proper procedures. The round-up operation started in Lilongwe and has been extended to other districts. Botha could not say when the operation, which…

Apr

2023

By MARK TREVELYAN

Russia crosses new lines in crackdown on Putin’s enemies

WORLD

WITH virtually all the Kremlin's opponents already jailed or in exile, and liberal press outlets and human rights groups forced to shut down, it might have appeared that years of repression in Russia had achieved their objective. But in the space of just three weeks, Russia's security services and courts have crossed several new thresholds in their campaign to destroy perceived enemies, spies and traitors. The March 29 arrest of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich sent a chilling warning to the few remaining Western journalists in Russia about the risks of travelling, talking to sources and simply doing their jobs. The…

Dec

2020

By The African Mirror

Kenyan women win damages for sexual violence during 2007-8 poll violence

NEWS

NITA BHALLA FOUR rape survivors have won $35,906 each after Kenya's High Court ruled the government failed to investigate sexual violence cases after a disputed 2007 poll. The landmark ruling came after eight survivors - backed by human rights groups - filed a lawsuit in 2013 seeking accountability from authorities and redress for their suffering. Awarding damages to four women survivors, High Court Judge Weldon Korir said authorities had failed to conduct "independent and effective investigations and prosecutions" of sexual violence during the post-election unrest. The High Court found a "violation of the Kenyan state to investigate and prosecute violations…