2020-04-19: News Headlines

The Canary (2020-04-19). Decision on Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe's temporary release delayed again. thecanary.co Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe faces another "deeply unsettling" couple of days as the wait continues to find out if her temporary release from a prison in Iran has been extended.The British-Iranian mother was temporarily freed from Evin prison in Tehran in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.Zaghari-Ratcliffe's furlough was extended by two weeks in late March, and she was scheduled to return to prison on Saturday 18 April.When her family had not received a decision by Saturday on whether or not her furlough is to be extended, they were told to return to the prosecutors office in Iran on 19 April — but have now bee…

en.mehrnews (2020-04-19). Iran Judiciary may free more prisoners amid outbreak: spox. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Apr. 19 (MNA) — A spokesman with Iran's Judiciary said that special committees will be established across the country to study the prisoners' cases that may lead to freedom of more inmates.

Edward Curtin (2020-04-19). Rotating on Boredom's Spit. globalresearch.ca "And all the news just repeats itself | Like some forgotten dream we've both seen" | — John Prine, Hello in There | Without the ability to forget, we become imprisoned within a collective mental habit that induces us to repeat things that …

yenisafak (2020-04-19). Iran extends prisoner furloughs, closure of holy sites amid coronavirus. yenisafak.com Iran has extended furloughs for prisoners for another month, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Sunday, as the Islamic Republic endeavours to stem the spread of the new coronavirus in its crowded jails. Iran's reported temporary release of 100,000 prisoners since February – including prisoners of conscience and dual and foreign nationals – was welcomed by the United Nations on Friday as a good step, but one that must be expanded."Furloughs of those prisoners, who pose no threat to the society, have been extended until May 20," Rouhani said in a televised cabinet meeting.However, a letter by U.N. human right…

Staff (2020-04-18). Attorney General Barr Refuses to Release 9/11 Documents to Victims' Families. truthout.org Months after President Donald Trump promised to open FBI files to help families of the 9/11 victims in a civil lawsuit against the Saudi government, the Justice Department has doubled down on its claim that the information is a state secret. | In a series of filings just before a midnight court deadline on Monday, the attorney general, William Barr; the acting director of national intelligence, Richard Grenell; and other senior officials insisted to a federal judge in the civil case that furth…

Staff (2020-04-18). As Coronavirus Spreads Through Prisons, States Are Failing Incarcerated People. truthout.org On April 6, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed an

IMEMC & Agencies (2020-04-18). Hamas Offers Israel a Mediated Prisoner Swap Deal. imemc.org Political Leader of the ruling Islamist Hamas party in Gaza, Ismail Haniyya, told the Alaraby Arabic TV channel, on Friday, that his party has four Israeli soldiers in captivity, and that the party is ready to indirectly negotiate over a possible prisoner swap deal with Israel. The leader of Hamas …

IMEMC & Agencies (2020-04-17). Arab Parliaments Call for Immediate Release of Palestinian Prisoners. imemc.org On the eve of Palestinian Prisoners Day, the Cairo-based Arab States' Parliaments Forum, on Thursday, called for the immediate release of all Palestinian prisoners from various Israeli prisons and detention centers, as well as halt of all Israeli violations against the Palestinian people. In a statement, issued by the forum …

Julia Conley, staff writer (2020-04-17). Thousands Join Virtual Rally to Demand World Without Prisons as Coronavirus Spreads in Detention Centers. commondreams.org "In the midst of a global pandemic, prisons are Petri dishes and all sentences are death sentences." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/gettyimages-1209373472_1.jpg …

Alan Macleod (2020-04-17). ICE is Deporting COVID-19 Positive Detainees from Private Immigration Prisons. mintpressnews.com By continuing deportations of quarantined detainees during a pandemic, ICE is greatly increasing the risk of spreading the deadly virus to other countries officials and activists warn,…

ACLU (2020-04-17). What it's Like in ICE Detention During a Pandemic. aclu.org As millions of people in the U.S. shelter in their homes, and millions more who aren't able to stay indoors practice social distancing or other measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19, a crisis is brewing in the facilities where immigrants are detained. Cramped conditions and inadequate access to hygiene or medical care have created what one medical expert called a "tinderbox" for the disease in a letter to Congress., , Many of those in detention are asylum seekers, who came to the U.S. to ask for protection after fleeing violence and persecution in their home countries. Many others were long-time U.S. resi…

ACLU (2020-04-17). A Tale of Two Countries: Racially Targeted Arrests in the Era of Marijuana Reform. aclu.org

Marijuana Laws and COVID-19: Marijuana arrests clog the criminal legal system with people who should not be there. This puts even more people in harm's way as COVID-19 threatens to devastate jails and prisons, where the virus can spread rapidly. Officials must respond by reducing both arrests and the incarcerated population. For decades…

Anne M. Peterson (2020-04-17). Women's sports a likely coronavirus casualty. peoplesworld.org (AP)—Linked to the rising call for gender equity worldwide, women's sports were enjoying unprecedented attention and support before the coronavirus pandemic. The World Cup in France put a spotlight on women's soccer, culminating with the United States lifting the trophy to chants of "Equal Pay!" — a nod to the team's gender discrimination lawsuit against …

The Canary (2020-04-17). UK could have the highest death rate in Europe because government was 'too slow', doctor warns. thecanary.co Britain will face "further waves" of coronavirus and will probably have the highest death rate in Europe because the government was "too slow" to act, a leading physician has warned.Professor Anthony Costello, of University College London's Institute for Global Health, told a committee of MPs that the "harsh reality" is that "we were too slow with a number of things"."If we're going to suppress the chain of transmission of this virus in the next stage we all hope that the national lockdown and social distancing will bring about a large suppression of the epidemic so far — but we're going to face further wave…

commondreams (2020-04-17). Marc Lamont Hill, Ahed Tamimi, Mariame Kaba and Others Lead Virtual Rally to Free All Prisoners from Rikers Island to Palestine. commondreams.org ______________________________…

Fight Back (2020-04-17). NYC death rates from COVID-19 reveal class division and national oppression. fightbacknews.org New York, NY – As of April 6, the rates of death from COVID-19 are twice as high for Latinos and Black residents of New York City as they are for white residents. According to the Bureau of Communicable Disease Surveillance System, the rate of death from COVID-19 is 22.8 people per 100,000 among the Latino community, 19.8 per 100,000 people among the Black community, and only 10.2 per 100,000 white people. These numbers are based on 63% of confirmed cases in New York City. | This stark divide in death rates is outrageous yet unsurprising. Many factors underlie these numbers, including differences in access to hea…

teleSUR (2020-04-17). Myanmar Releases 25,000 Prisoners Amid COVID-19 Fears. telesurenglish.net Myanmar will free almost 25,000 prisoners in an amnesty to mark the traditional New Year — its most significant mass pardon in recent years due to COVID-19. | RELATED: | More than a quarter of the country's prison population is being released, the president's office announced on Friday after calls grew to ease pressure on overcrowded jails out of fear of the spread of the virus, while fears are gripping the country.

teleSUR (2020-04-17). Latam: COVID-19 Puts Imprisoned Environmental Defenders at Risk. telesurenglish.net The Spanish NGO Alliance for Solidarity reported that hundreds of Latin American environmental defenders who remain incarcerated are at high risk due to the pandemic. | RELATED: | On the occasion of the International Day of the Farmer's Struggle on April 17, human rights defenders recalled that, in countries such as El Salvador, Colombia, and Guatemala, there are hundreds of social leaders imprisoned for defending th…

IMEMC & Agencies (2020-04-17). Palestinian President: "No Peace Deal with Israel, unless Prisoners Released" imemc.org On the occasion of Palestinian Prisoners' Day, on Friday, the President of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, asserted that Palestinians will not sign a final peace deal with Israel, unless Israel clears all it's prisons of Palestinian prisoners, which he called heroes and fighters for freedom. In a statement he …

news.un (2020-04-17). COVID-19: Rights experts highlight LGBTI discrimination, antisemitism. news.un.org New guidance from the UN human rights office, issued on Friday, sets out key actions to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex (LGBTI) people against discrimination during the COVID-19 pandemic.

PCHR (2020-04-16). PCHR Fears Coronavirus Spread in Israeli Prisons and Detention Centers. imemc.org The Palestinian Center For Human Rights (PCHR): Palestinian Prisoners' Day is celebrated every year on the 17th of April, which was endorsed by the Palestinian National Council in 1974 as a national day to pay tribute to Palestinian prisoners and their sacrifices, and to support, advocate and promote their right to …

IMEMC & Agencies (2020-04-16). PLO: On Palestinian Prisoners' Day — Prisoners Between the Threat of COVID-19 and Israel's Arbitrary Policies. imemc.org Palestine Liberation Organization — Negotiations Affairs Department Introduction Since the onset of this more than half-a-century long Israeli occupation, the detention and abuse of Palestinian prisoners have not been limited to factors of a specific nature. Under all circumstances, irrespective of the situation and time, the occupation authorities have permitted …

RT (2020-04-16). 'Lock your doors': Manhunt underway in Wisconsin for two violent escaped inmates who fled MAX-SECURITY prison. rt.com A major manhunt is underway in Portage, Wisconsin after two inmates — each convicted of violent felonies — escaped from the maximum-security Columbia Correctional Institution. Nearby residents have been urged to lock their doors. | Portage Police Department has warned the public to stay alert following a jailbreak by convicts James Newman, 37, and Thomas Deering, 46, on Thursday morning. It's not clear exactly how the pair made their escape. | www.facebook.com/PortagePD/posts/4021919677848630 | With the majority of the American population already on lockdown due to Covid-19, police are reit…

splcenter (2020-04-15). CROWN Act movement seeks to protect Black people from racial discrimination based on hairstyles. splcenter.org Jordan Winder did not apply to the high school of his choice, because the dreadlocks he's been growing nearly half his life are not allowed there.

ACLU (2020-04-14). Isolation, Before and During a Pandemic. aclu.org As many Americans round out the end of their first month of social distancing, it's clear that the toll of "stay at home" orders during the COVID-19 pandemic is much more than economic. The anxiety and fear that wash over us each day that we spend alone, away from friends, coworkers, and family, inflict their own kind of emotional damage. , , The cost of social isolation is a worthy cost in this case — staying home can quite literally save lives. But for some people, the advent of social isolation came long before the coronavirus. At the ACLU, we work with many communities who deal with the long-term im…

Cecillia Wang (2020-04-14). Let's Stop the Scapegoating During a Global Pandemic. aclu.org Just like tens of millions of people sheltering in place in the U.S., I'm adjusting to the new realities and worries of day-to-day life during the COVID-19 pandemic. But on top of worrying about my elderly family members, U.S. hospitals' shortage of basic medical equipment, or where I can find toilet paper and eggs, I have another fear. Like other Americans of East Asian descent (including citizens and non-citizens), I worry that I might be attacked on the street or in a store because of my race., , There are so many news reports that spur my concerns. For example, on March 14, a man in Midland, Texas, attacke…

Kanya Bennett (2020-04-13). Federal Wardens Must Immediately Flatten the Curve in our Nation's Prisons. aclu.org With 10 deaths and more than 500 positive COVID-19 cases in the nation's federal prisons, wardens must "

Staff (2020-04-13). Headlines for April 13, 2020. democracynow.org U.S. Leads in Coronavirus Death Toll, as Trump Eyes Easing Restrictions in Weeks, Trump Moves to Slash Pay for Essential Migrant Farmworkers | , USPS Says It Will Become Insolvent Without Gov't Help, But Trump Refuses to Bail It Out | , 200+ Prisoners Released in Philadelphia After Weeks of Protest Calling for Decarceration, Protests Call Out Mounting COVID-19 Cases at Immigrant Prisons in Arizona, California | , Mounting COVID-19 Clusters Reported at Meat Processing Plants | , Almost 600 Sailors On Board USS Theodore Roosevelt Test Positive for COVID-19 | , Judge Blocks Alabama Coronavirus Abortion Ban; Texas Pr…

David Cole (2020-04-10). Civil Liberties Never Sleep: The ACLU in the Pandemic. aclu.org The COVID-19 pandemic has closed down many businesses, but the work of preserving civil liberties and civil rights continues, as essential as ever. Reports of courts closing down can be misleading. While public trials that require jurors and in-person testimony have been suspended, most courts and lawyers can do their work remotely. The filing of legal briefs continues, and oral arguments and hearings are being held remotely. The work of securing justice continues., , At the ACLU, our most immediate focus has been on civil liberties and civil rights issues arising from the government's response (or lack thereo…

Staff (2020-04-10). Headlines for April 10, 2020. democracynow.org COVID-19 Patients Dying Every Minute in the United States, Epicenter of the Pandemic, 17 Million U.S. Workers File Unemployment Claims in Just Three Weeks, New York City Workers Dig Mass Graves Amid Surge of COVID-19 Deaths, President Trump Pushes to Reopen U.S. Economy Despite Severe Shortage of Tests, California Nursing Home with COVID-19 Cases Evacuated After Workers' No-Show, Kansas Governor Sues to Halt Church Congregations Ahead of Easter, Chicago Prisoners Post Signs in Jail Windows: "Help, No Supply" and "We're Dying", NYC Cathedral Won't Partner with Christian Fundamentalist Field Hospital Group over LGB…

Jay Stanley (2020-04-09). ACLU Lawsuit Over Baltimore Spy Planes Sets Up Historic Surveillance Battle. aclu.org Imagine a day in the future when everyone, from the moment they step outside their home, has to live with the knowledge that their every movement is being recorded by powerful cameras circling in the skies above. Not just where they work, shop, eat and drink, and whose homes they visit, but details about their political, religious, sexual, and medical lives — all captured and stored in databases without a warrant and available to law enforcement upon request., , That day is here., , The city of Baltimore is about to deploy a new program that, if allowed to move forward, would do just that. It would be t…

Dominique Morgan (2020-04-09). I'm Queer and I've Been in Solitary. Ellen Isn't Experiencing What I Did. aclu.org On Monday, I ended a 12-hour day returning emails to incarcerated queer folks, providing direct aid for housing to folks living with HIV & AIDS who have been incarcerated and challenging the state of Nebraska to provide humane conditions for incarcerated individuals and decided to mindlessly scroll on Twitter. , , I found the quote from the show Ellen DeGeneres filmed from her multimillion-dollar, multi-room mansion: "One thing that I've learned from being in quarantine is that people — this is like being in jail, is what it is," she said. "It's mostly because I've be…

splcenter (2020-04-08). Nativist Hate Groups Want to Keep People in ICE Detention Despite COVID-19 Threat. splcenter.org Anti-immigrant think tanks are pushing for the U.S. to detain immigrants and asylum seekers throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, even as prisoners stage hunger strikes and other protests in response to what they describe as deteriorating health conditions in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities.

ReNika Moore (2020-04-08). If COVID-19 Doesn't Discriminate, Then Why Are Black People Dying at Higher Rates? aclu.org COVID-19 is ravaging many parts of the United States, but nowhere more than in Black communities. Early data from the

Katrina Huber (2020-04-02). Fighting for immigrant rights during a pandemic. splcenter.org As people across the country are confined to their homes during the COVID-19 pandemic, little attention has been given to a group of people whose health is in danger because they are locked away from the outside world — people in immigrant detention centers.

Kathryn Casteel and Will Tucker (2020-04-02). Alabama prisons hold more than 1,100 older people at greater COVID-19 risk. splcenter.org More than 1,100 people age 65 or older are locked away in Alabama prisons, putting a group already highly susceptible to the deadly COVID-19 virus at an even greater risk, according to an SPLC analysis of the state's prison system.

Willems RJ, van Dijk K, Ket JF, et al. (2020-04-01). Evaluation of Association Between Gastric Acid Suppression and Risk of Intestinal Colonization With MDROs. jamanetwork.com This systematic review and meta-analysis examines the association of use of gastric acid suppressants with the risk of colonization with multidrug-resistant microorganisms (MDROs).

splcenter (2020-03-30). The Rev. Dr. Joseph E. Lowery played key role in launching SPLC's legal battle against Ku Klux Klan. splcenter.org The Rev. Dr. Joseph E. Lowery, who died on Friday at 98 years old, was a longtime friend of the Southern Poverty Law Center and played a leading role in the SPLC's first lawsuit against the Ku Klux Klan in 1980.

CounterSpin (2020-02-28). Carol Anderson on Voter Suppression. fair.org Media…

Tyler Durden (2020-02-04). Biden Threatens Lawsuit to Halt Release of Real Iowa Caucus Results. theantimedia.com American democracy—ain't it grand?>

Last Process: 40 Citations: 2020-04-20 02:45 GMT (22:45 EST)

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