Today’s Syrian Refugees Are Yesterday’s Irish

by Zaher Sahloul Four months after I arrived to Chicago in 1989, my colleague at the hospital, Dr. Nancy Nora, invited me to her family’s Thanksgiving dinner. I was homesick in a new country after graduating from medical school in Damascus.… Continue Reading →

Saudi Dissident Gets EU’s Top Human Rights Prize

by Eldar Mamedov On October 29, the European Parliament awarded the EU’s top human rights prize—the Sakharov prize for freedom of expression—to Saudi blogger Raif Badawi. Saudi authorities accused Badawi of blasphemy and sentenced him to 1,000 lashes and 10… Continue Reading →

The Drug War and Human Rights

by Michael LaSusa Adding to mounting public criticism of the “war on drugs,” a scathing new report from a coalition of human rights groups alleges that countries in the Americas have carried out the fight against the drug trade “in… Continue Reading →

Have Human Rights in Iran Deteriorated after the Nuclear Deal?

by Derek Davison The case of the now-convicted Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian, covered in detail by Ali Gharib in this space last week, is only the most glaring example supporting the idea that the human rights situation in Iran… Continue Reading →

World Leaders Yawn at Saudi Human Rights Abuses

by Brian Dooley When the Islamic State beheads captives, it’s nothing less than “an assault on all humanity,” President Obama told the UN last week. Good for you, Mr President, you’re right to be indignant and angry when prisoners have their heads… Continue Reading →