From Iran to Ukraine to Xinjiang in China, Volker Türk will have no shortage of challenges as he steps into one of the United Nations’ most delicate roles.
Tag: Political Prisoners
Bao Tong, 90, Dies; Top Chinese Official Imprisoned After Tiananmen
He helped design China’s political reforms in the 1980s and tried to avert the bloodshed that ended the democracy protests. After prison, he became a critic of the party.
Russia Raises Hopes for Griner’s Release, but U.S. Says It’s Just Talk
The State Department says Russia refuses to negotiate seriously to free the basketball star Brittney Griner, who was sent to a penal colony with a nine-year sentence on a cannabis charge.
Brittney Griner Transferred to Penal Colony Outside Moscow, Lawyers Say
The W.N.B.A. star, who has been detained in Russia since February, is facing nine years in a Russian prison on a drug charge.
Alaa Abd El Fattah, Egyptian Political Prisoner, Had Near-Death Experience, Family Says
Alaa Abd El Fattah, who is being given nutrients intravenously, told his relatives he collapsed in prison but planned to resume his hunger strike again.
Alexei Navalny Says He Has Been Placed in Permanent Solitary Confinement
The Russian opposition leader has been jailed since March 2021 after surviving an assassination attempt that American intelligence agencies blamed on Russian security agents.
Myanmar Frees Former UK Envoy Victoria Bowman and Others in Amnesty
Among those released were Victoria Bowman, the former diplomat, and Sean Turnell, an Australian economic adviser to Myanmar’s imprisoned civilian leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.
Alaa Abd El Fattah Ends Hunger Strike in Egypt, Family Says
During the U.N. climate conference in Egypt, world leaders pressed the Egyptian president to release Alaa Abd El Fattah, who has been on a hunger strike for more than seven months.
Egypt Starts ‘Medical Intervention’ on Prominent Political Prisoner, Family Says
The hunger-striking dissident Alaa Abd El Fattah escalated his protest this week when he stopped drinking water as a U.N. climate conference opened in Egypt. His family fears that he is being force fed.
Brittney Griner Transferred to Russian Penal Colony
The U.S. basketball star, detained for more than eight months so far, is being transferred to an undisclosed prison in Russia, her lawyers said. The United States denounced the move.