The release from prison of prominent Chinese human rights lawyer Chen Guangcheng is a tiny drop in an ocean of repression in China. But a drop is better than nothing at all. Chen is relatively well-known as the blind, self-taught...

That seems true for the Democratic Republic of Congo at the moment. Papers, blogs and broadcasts have been awash with a variety of news stories from the DRC in recent days. And they've not been particularly positive. Over the weekend...

Highlights Beijing Lawyer Tried Again by Railway Courts: This past week, Beijing lawyer Wang Yu (王宇) was tried for a second time for “intentional injury” by the Tianjin Railway Court after spending over a year in detention. Wang, who...

Human Rights House of Iran reports that at present there are more than 600 political prisoners kept in the Iranian prisons. The figure might be higher but information is hard to verify the correct figure. Out of the 600 prisoners: 173...

The latest news on Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani , the woman at risk of stoning in Iran, is far from reassuring. It's being claimed that she’s been lashed – 99 times – because a photograph of her without a chador covering has been...