The USA is known for having supported many dictatorships around the world, and still continue to do so. One example is that The Intercept has revealed how NSA aids Saudi Arabia. Earlier this year, Saudi Arabia also passed a shocking terrorism law. The world has very small chances to do anything regarding the horrible human rights situation in Saudi Arabia. Dictators know that if they team up with the USA, they are safe (at least as long as the USA does not change their mind).

Alternative news sites have published information about a planned covert operation, including shooting down civilian aircraft, which was not carried out in 1962. Read the article by NewsVoice in Swedish or English (online translation). In other incidents, civilian airliners have actually been shot down.

Earlier this week, the European Court of Human Rights found that Poland was complicit in CIA torture. Read what Dennis J Kucinich and Reprieve write about it.

EDRi is one of the organizations defending civil rights in the information society. Some of the topics, which they recently have published information about, are:

• Flawed Dutch government study on ISDS
• Poland: Secret services escape citizen’s control
• Germany opens investigation on Merkel’s phone tap
• Turkish government to acquire a tool to censor social media?

Read more on EDRi’s website

Today, a police report was filed in Sweden against the top leadership in Eritrea for crimes against humanity. Also, the UN’s Human Rights Council has recently set up a commission of inquiry into human rights abuses in Eritrea. The situation in Eritrea forces many Eritreans to flee to Europe, often in ships that are far from seaworthy. Eritrea is a sad example of how ruthless governments are the root of many of the problems of the world, including the refugee situation and humanitarian disasters. However, we hope that the investigations regarding Eritrea will also reveal if any other governments are involved in the reported atrocities. It in known that dictatorships are sometimes supported by US, European or Chinese allies and may even be puppet regimes.

The mobile phone operator Vonafone recently published a report, where they reveal much of the mass surveillance they are forced by governments to participate in. In many countries, the authorities have direct access to all mobile phones. Some media have been surprisingly quiet about Vodafone’s report, although Vodafone is the first to publish such a global survey. We thank Vodafone for the courage and good leadership they have shown with their openness.

A family with young children is asleep at night. Early in the morning they wake up when masked and armed men enter their apartment, after destroying their door. Family members are brought to interrogation, including a 10-year-old boy separated from his parents, and not even a defence attorney is present.

The story sounds like it happend under military dictatorship. It happened in Sweden 2010 and was one in the row of abuses by Swedish Police and Prosecutors. This is now heavily critisized by the parliamentary ombudsman in Sweden. However, just like in many other similar cases, nobody is held accountable.

For further information in Swedish, read the entire decision by the parliamentary ombudsman or in the newspaper Aftonbladet.

Listen to the Swedish Radio about polio (in Swedish)

Not only has Spain recently taken a step to roll back universal jurisdiction, it may soon also pass a new bill violating human rights. Read the debate article in Swedish or English and sign the petition.

Read Amnesty International’s report on torture