#Hungary's government has declared a “state of danger”, giving prime minister Orbán sweeping powers to rule by decree.
The EU & national capitals have sat by - and sometimes even helped - as a dictatorship emerged in an EU member. hrw.org/news/2022/06/0…
This time, Hungary's dictator is using the war in Ukraine as an excuse for grabbing more power.
The new decree replaces the last "state of emergency" that used the pandemic as an excuse.
The regime will use any justification to destroy democracy and hold power.
This latest move joins the long list of antidemocratic measures Orbán has taken over the past 12 years, including:
➡️ taking over public institutions
➡️ undermining the independence of the judiciary
➡️ stifling the media
➡️ criminalizing civil society organizations
For years, Orbán & his antidemocratic crew have trampled the rights of Hungarians.
And for years, they were supported in this by the European People's Party (until Orbán left the @epp last year), including key leaders @ManfredWeber & @vonderleyen.
First, under the "laws of war", either party is allowed to recruit fighters from abroad and use foreign fighters.
Such fighters should be integrated into the armed forces or militias, subject to command responsibility, required to wear distinguishing uniform, carry arms openly and abide by the laws of war.
They are entitled to prisoner of war (POW) status.
The terror that Russia is unleashing on #Ukraine seems to be slipping from the international news headlines. Editors are apparently getting bored of it.
But Ukrainians are still being terrorised.
And the Kremlin is not bored of slaughtering people yet.
War crimes so commonplace, they are no longer considered "news"...
I've seen this happen in international coverage too many times before - DRC, Darfur, Sri Lanka, Ukraine after Putin's initial invasion...
Some say it is an inevitable aspect of the global news media system.
But it ALWAYS favors the war criminals: taking the spotlight off their atrocities only encourages more atrocities.
⚠️ the bombing of an apartment complex that killed 47 civilians,
⚠️ an attack that killed at least 17 people in a bread line outside a supermarket,
⚠️ two attacks that damaged two hospitals.
Ukrainian forces may have placed civilians at risk in 5 of the 8 attacks by Russian forces we examined, including one where Territorial Defense Forces had established a base at a school. More on that now...
POWs cannot be prosecuted for participating in an armed conflict.
As combatants in an international armed conflict, they are presumed POWs. That is the rule under “the laws of war”.
If Russia contests their status, they must hold status determination hearings to consider evidence that they are not POWs. (see Art. 5 of the Third Geneva Convention)
Afghan women & girls - treated worse than dirt by these thugs - need the world to take action.
For a start, the UN Security Council should focus its travel ban on key Taliban leaders who have been implicated in serious rights violations. hrw.org/news/2022/06/0…
In particular:
1⃣ Abdul-Haq Wassiq, head of the intelligence agency, whose forces have carried out extrajudicial executions and detained and beaten journalists.
2⃣ Shaykh Muhammad Khalid Hanafi, who as head of the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, has imposed many of the most egregious restrictions on women and girls.
100 days of Russia's renewed invasion of #Ukraine.
100 days of war crimes by Russian forces, including…
⚠️ bombing civilians;
⚠️ summary executions;
⚠️ enforced disappearances;
⚠️ arbitrary detentions;
⚠️ sexual violence;
⚠️ torture.
🧵
First, the indiscriminate bombing...
Since 24 February, Russian forces have battered Ukrainian towns and cities with airstrikes and artillery, killing and injuring thousands of civilians.
Russian forces have conducted indiscriminate attacks that have hit residential buildings as well as schools and hospitals across Ukraine, leaving a trail of death and destruction.