Democratic rights
Vigils in New Zealand demand freedom for Julian Assange
By our reporters, 6 July 2020
The Socialist Equality Group’s Tom Peters spoke at one of the Wellington vigils, which was part of global protests held to mark the jailed WikiLeaks founder’s birthday.
Zimbabwe nurses strike as economic crisis brings threat of second coup and military dictatorship
By Stephan McCoy, 4 July 2020
Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government is preparing to confront mounting opposition in the working class through dictatorial forms of rule and the abrogation of democratic rights—even as it is threatened by the possibility of a coup.
Lockdown in Leicester amid surge in infections throughout UK
By Robert Stevens, 1 July 2020
Outbreaks at food factories, garment plants and schools attest to the criminality of Johnson government as it ditches a national lockdown.
Germany: Police powers stepped up after “Stuttgart’s Night of Violence”
By Jan Ritter, 30 June 2020
The violence does not emanate from the population, but from the police against the population—especially against workers and young people.
US Supreme Court upholds abortion access, eliminates executive watchdog and opens federal death chambers
By John Burton, 30 June 2020
On Monday, the US Supreme Court issued a significant ruling protecting the right to abortion, but also strengthened the unitary executive and cleared the way for the first federal executions in 17 years.
US Supreme Court rejects environmental groups’ appeal to halt border wall construction
By Jacob Crosse, 30 June 2020
The appeal was rejected without comment by the justices.
Australian court backs secret trial on East Timor bugging exposure
By Mike Head, 30 June 2020
The closed-door proceedings seek to protect the entire network of spy agencies involved in the escalating US confrontation with China.
Hands off the Sri Lankan Trotskyists
SEP demands military stops harassing its election candidates in Jaffna
By the Socialist Equality Party (Sri Lanka), 30 June 2020
The SEP has been targeted because it fights for the unity of the working class across ethnic lines on a socialist program.
Republicans introduce Senate bill to abolish strong encryption on consumer devices
By Kevin Reed, 29 June 2020
Three Republican Senators introduced a draft bill that would force tech companies to decrypt private consumer data on-demand for law enforcement.
US Supreme Court rules recent asylum seekers have no right to habeas corpus or due process
By Eric London, 26 June 2020
As in Dred Scott v. Sandford, the Supreme Court made the most sweeping anti-democratic ruling possible.
In letter to the Lancet, doctors condemn torture of Assange and demand his release
By Oscar Grenfell, 26 June 2020
The doctors note that since they last wrote to the prestigious medical journal in February, the abuse of the WikiLeaks founder’s rights has only intensified.
Five cruise ships detained by UK revealing atrocious conditions of seafarers
By Paul Bond, 26 June 2020
Globally there have been numerous suicides reported among crew members stranded at sea.
US indictment of Assange based on testimony of FBI assets, convicted child molester
By Oscar Grenfell, 25 June 2020
The indictment paints a picture of US operatives pouring through decade-old tabloid gossip and dredging up the most unsavoury creatures of their own intelligence agencies to fling mud at Assange.
NSSP leader contests Sri Lankan elections on United National Party slate
By Vilani Peiris—leader of the SEP slate for Colombo district, 25 June 2020
The NSSP’s decision to contest with the UNP is a further expression of the right-wing political degeneration of this middle-class formation and other pseudo-left groups internationally.
Tennessee legislature passes anti-abortion “heartbeat” bill
By Warren Duzak, 24 June 2020
The Republican-backed bill would require doctors to refuse to provide abortions if a fetal heartbeat is detectable.
Germany seeks to tighten European asylum law
By Martin Kreickenbaum, 23 June 2020
The core elements are the internment of refugees at the EU’s external borders and the implementation of fast-track asylum procedures.
Julian Assange’s fiancé calls on the Australian government to secure his freedom
By Oscar Grenfell, 22 June 2020
The “60 Minutes” program was the first substantive examination of Assange’s plight by the Australian media since the coronavirus pandemic began.
Socialist Equality Party challenges undemocratic ballot access laws in Michigan
By Joseph Kishore and Norissa Santa Cruz—SEP candidates for president and vice president, 20 June 2020
The lawsuit is part of the SEP’s fight against an undemocratic electoral system that is designed to prevent any opposition to the two parties of the ruling class, the Democrats and Republicans.
Johnson government mounts offensive against mass opposition to police violence and racism
By Thomas Scripps, 20 June 2020
Home Secretary Priti Patel is linked with a Facebook group providing a platform for the far-right thugs who attacked Black Lives Matter protesters.
Quebec film distributors censor Roman Polanski’s J’accuse
By Louis Girard, 20 June 2020
Yielding to the anti-democratic #MeToo campaign, distributors in Quebec refused to buy the rights to Polanski’s remarkable film about the Dreyfus Affair.
CIA acknowledges its trove of cyber warfare tools was exposed by WikiLeaks in 2017
By Kevin Reed, 19 June 2020
Portions of an internal CIA report on the 2017 exposure have been released by Oregon Senator Ron Wyden, member of the Senate Intelligence Committee.
Trump rolls back prohibitions on discrimination against transgender patients
By Alex Johnson, 18 June 2020
The announcement endangers the safety of an already vulnerable demographic.
Germany’s Social Democrats, Greens and Left Party organise police violence against peaceful demonstrators
By Gregor Link, 15 June 2020
The police attacks are part of an effort to criminalise anti-capitalist tendencies.
Maquiladora workers demand release of labor lawyer arrested in Matamoros, Mexico
By Andrea Lobo, 15 June 2020
Despite our sharp political differences with Susan Prieto, the World Socialist Web Site unequivocally opposes the arrest of the labor lawyer and demands her immediate release.
Detroit literacy case ends with no legal precedent for the right to an education
By J. Cooper, 15 June 2020
The US Sixth District Court of Appeals allowed the settlement of the “right to read” case in Detroit to stand while vacating the legal precedent.
Journalists expose CIA spying on Assange and demand his freedom
By Oscar Grenfell, 15 June 2020
The event revealed further details about the illegal surveillance and disinformation campaign waged against the WikiLeaks founder by the CIA and the Trump administration.
As nationwide protests continue
Trump steps up provocations and threats of military force
By Jacob Crosse, 13 June 2020
In a Fox News interview Thursday night, Trump labeled Seattle protesters “terrorists” and threatened to call out the military.
Massive police display of force against Australian protests
By Mike Head, 13 June 2020
A wall of police manned barriers around Sydney Town Hall, preventing demonstrators from continuing to join the global protests against police violence.
Service Prosecuting Authority drops all but one investigation into British war crimes in Iraq
By Jean Shaoul, 13 June 2020
The British government is serving notice that it has no intention of honouring domestic or international law outlawing abuse, torture and murder by its military and security forces.
Australian PM calls for mass arrests at protests against police violence
By Oscar Grenfell, 12 June 2020
Echoing Donald Trump, Scott Morrison declared that demonstrations had been “hijacked by left-wing radicals” who were pursuing “their own political agendas.”
Democrats announce toothless police reform bill
By Barry Grey, 9 June 2020
The “Justice in Policing” bill, a collection of minor reforms that has no chance of being passed by the Senate and signed by Trump, is aimed at containing and dissipating mounting social protest.
Trump, Barr continue threat to deploy military against nationwide protests
By Barry Grey, 8 June 2020
The political situation in the US remains on a knife edge as Trump’s fascistic cabal continues to plot against the Constitution.
Encouraged by Trump, police rampage leaves protesters dead and wounded across the US
By Jacob Crosse, 6 June 2020
Demonstrators have been teargassed, pepper sprayed, shot with rubber bullets and beanbags, and beaten by rampaging police.
“I didn’t receive one warning”
Protester explains how he was brutally assaulted by Secret Service officials in Washington, D.C.
By Nick Barrickman, 6 June 2020
The demonstrator explained how federal officials provoked and then assaulted peaceful demonstrators outside the White House last weekend as protests against police brutality swept the country.
Brazil’s President Bolsonaro calls demonstrators “terrorists,” threatens military repression
By Miguel Andrade, 6 June 2020
Gen. Hamilton Mourão viciously attacked protests against the murder of George Floyd and social inequality, calling for the arrest of demonstrators.
Australian governments try to block demonstrations against police violence
By Oscar Grenfell, 6 June 2020
The bans and police threats are outright attacks on the right to protest, a basic democratic right, aimed at establishing a precedent for suppressing mounting social and political opposition.
Anger over US police assault on Australian journalists in Washington DC
By Oscar Grenfell, 4 June 2020
Had the attack occurred in a country such as China or Iran, the muted response from the Australian political establishment would undoubtedly have been very different.
Woman pinned down by police officers in London: “I can’t breathe”
By Thomas Scripps, 3 June 2020
Police violence is directed against the working class, particularly its poorest sections, and falls disproportionately on black communities.
Trump administration deploys military to the capital as nationwide protests continue
By Jacob Crosse, 2 June 2020
Trump’s dictatorial moves to quash protests against the police murder of George Floyd signal an escalation of state violence.
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio defends police violence against protesters
By Sam Dalton, 2 June 2020
In a news conference Saturday night, de Blasio defended police who drove their cruisers into a crowd of peaceful protesters earlier that evening in Brooklyn.
Julian Assange unable to attend court hearing due to illness as legal travesty continues
By Thomas Scripps, 2 June 2020
Assange has a chronic lung condition and his health has been ruined by years of psychological torture and medical neglect.
Coup d’état in Washington: Trump declares war on the Constitution
By Statement of the Socialist Equality Party (US), 2 June 2020
In a series of politically criminal acts, Trump is establishing a presidential dictatorship based on the military and police.
Administrative hearing in Julian Assange’s extradition case to be held today
By Oscar Grenfell, 1 June 2020
The hearings have had a farcical character, with Assange unable to participate due to coronavirus dangers and the press frequently excluded.
Ukrainian National Police official demands a list of Jews living in Kolomyya
By Jason Melanovski, 19 May 2020
The intimidation and persecution of ethnic and religious minorities within Ukraine has become routine, with far-right elements operating openly as officials of the Ukrainian state.
Turkish government steps up attack on Kurdish HDP amid COVID-19 pandemic
By Barış Demir, 19 May 2020
The dismissal of five Kurdish-nationalist mayors comes amid growing military tensions in the region and growing social anger at the government’s failure to handle COVID-19.
Australian secret interrogation powers to extend to “foreign interference”
By Mike Head, 19 May 2020
ASIO will have the power to forcibly question 14-year-olds and anyone deemed connected to a “foreign” organisation.
US Senate reauthorizes domestic surveillance, allows access to internet histories
By Kevin Reed, 16 May 2020
The Senate voted 80 to 16 to reauthorize the domestic surveillance provisions of the USA Freedom Act, including rejection of an amendment that would have barred law enforcement from accessing the internet browsing and search histories of citizens.
COVID-19: Military steps up repression in war-ravaged northern Sri Lanka
By Subash Somachandran, 16 May 2020
The government and the military are nervous about the growing unrest among workers and poor against the draconian social conditions.
Woody Allen’s A Rainy Day in New York: A little more of an edge than usual
By David Walsh, 16 May 2020
Disgracefully, A Rainy Day in New York has been suppressed in the US. The film was completed in 2018, but Amazon Studios refused to distribute it.
EU supports Orbán’s dictatorial measures in Hungary
By Markus Salzmann, 12 May 2020
Although similar to Hitler’s “Enabling Act,” which consolidated the Nazi dictatorship in Germany in 1933, Orbán’s Emergency Law enjoys the support of the European Union.
Polish government forced to call off presidential elections at last minute
By Clara Weiss, 12 May 2020
Polish media reports suggest that panic and chaos now reign in Warsaw.
Russian court keeps historian of Stalinist massacres jailed amid COVID-19 outbreak
By Clara Weiss, 12 May 2020
The vendetta against Dmitriev is part of the campaign by Russia’s state and ruling oligarchy to suppress all efforts to uncover the truth about the crimes of Stalinism.
Tamil National Alliance backs Sri Lanka’s Rajapakse regime on COVID-19
By Athiyan Silva, 9 May 2020
TNA leader M.A. Sumanthiran declared that he does not “allow political opinions or differences…not only in our country but throughout the world.”
Australian governments pushing tracing app despite unanswered privacy-functionality questions
By Oscar Grenfell, 8 May 2020
The intrusive mobile phone application is being used to legitimise the dangerous back to work campaign of the ruling elite.
New Zealand government exploits pandemic to boost police and military powers
By Tom Peters, 7 May 2020
The government is testing police state measures that will be used against opposition to mass unemployment and the social crisis triggered by the pandemic.
German authorities press charges in Lübcke murder case
By Dietmar Gaisenkersting, 6 May 2020
The neo-Nazi Stephan Ernst is accused of having shot leading Christian Democratic politician Walter Lübcke in cold blood on the terrace of his home on the night of June 2, 2019.
Assange extradition hearing rescheduled for September
By Thomas Scripps, 5 May 2020
The British state continues to obstruct both Assange’s ability to conduct his defence and journalists’ ability to report on the case in detail.
Sri Lankan president continues to entrench autocratic rule
By K. Ratnayake, 30 April 2020
Sri Lanka’s main opposition parties have issued a pathetic 10-point appeal to the Sri Lankan president, urging him to reconvene parliament and offering their support.
Work resumes in Sri Lanka’s free trade zones but thousands are sacked
By Nandana Nannetti, 29 April 2020
While the unions are campaigning for big financial subsidies for companies they are not doing anything to defend jobs and wages.
Assange extradition hearing delayed following defence appeal
By Thomas Scripps, 28 April 2020
Assange’s legal team insisted that a hearing could not proceed under the current circumstances of the coronavirus pandemic
Is Sri Lankan President Rajapakse plotting a coup under cover of anti-pandemic measures?
By K. Ratnayake, 28 April 2020
The government is using the COVID-19 pandemic as the pretext to mount a power grab, insert the military into the running of the state, and run roughshod over working people’s democratic rights.
Application for delay in Assange extradition hearing as COVID-19 sweeps through UK prisons
By Alice Summers, 27 April 2020
The vindictive suspension of the COVID-19 prisoner release programme demonstrates the criminal disregard of the British ruling class for the lives of prisoners.
Sri Lankan president says military to impose “discipline” when lockdown ends
By K. Ratnayake, 25 April 2020
Rajapakse’s threats have nothing to do with enforcing “social distancing” and the spread of COVID-19 but are in preparation to suppress mass unrest in the working class.
Hong Kong arrests prominent pan-democrat activists
By Ben McGrath, 25 April 2020
Washington is attempting to exploit the arrests to further whip up tensions with Beijing and paint China as a threat.
090 Chicago mayor emergency powers act
24 April 2020
Brazil’s Bolsonaro escalates coup threats as ruling class pushes “back-to-work” orders
By Miguel Andrade, 22 April 2020
As COVID-19 spread uncontrolled across the country, Bolsonaro delivered a fascist rant in front of hundreds of supporters gathered at Brazil’s Army headquarters.
Trump threatens to adjourn Congress
By Tom Carter, 21 April 2020
As strikes and walkouts break out with increasing frequency, the political establishments around the world stumble further and further to the right.
Australian journalist still faces prosecution despite illegal police raid
By Mike Head, 21 April 2020
The High Court ruled the raid’s search warrant “invalid” but allowed the federal police to keep the seized material for use to lay criminal charges.
Australian governments refuse to assist international students amid pandemic
By John Harris, 20 April 2020
Thousands of international students are on the precipice of homelessness and abject poverty after state and federal governments refused to provide them with any assistance.
Intensive CIA spying on Assange targeted his infant child
By Oscar Grenfell, 18 April 2020
As the US government finalised its bogus charges against Assange, it oversaw dirty tricks operations targeting his partner and their infant child.
TNA offers a “democratic” veneer to Sri Lankan president’s coronavirus emergency powers
By S. Jayanth, 17 April 2020
The Tamil National Alliance is providing political cover for Rajapakse’s rapid moves towards a presidential dictatorship.
“Production costs do not equal the cost of a human life”
Outrage grows as Amazon workers die for Bezos’ profits
By Nick Barrickman, 16 April 2020
Workers across the US denounced Bezos’ fortune and the company’s unsafe practices, which are leading to increasing sickness and death in its facilities.
Julian Assange’s partner Stella Morris speaks out: “His life is on the brink”
By Oscar Grenfell, 13 April 2020
Morris’s comments are a moving refutation of the media smears directed against Assange and underscore the urgency of the fight for his immediate freedom.
Grand jury records in notorious 1946 US lynching case to remain sealed
By Fred Mazelis, 10 April 2020
The heinous crime near the Moore’s Ford Bridge in Georgia sparked wide outrage which contributed to the emergence of the civil rights movement.
Vindictive court rulings prove British state wants Assange dead
By Thomas Scripps, 8 April 2020
Judge Vanessa Baraitser has decreed that Assange will remain behind bars and that his extradition show-trial will proceed in May, even as the coronavirus pandemic spreads rapidly in British prisons.
As it releases thousands of prisoners, UK government keeps Julian Assange locked-up in danger
By Thomas Scripps, 6 April 2020
The WikiLeaks founder is currently held on remand pending extradition to the US, not charged with any crime or serving any sentence, in Belmarsh maximum security prison.
Julian Assange still held on remand as coronavirus spreads through UK prisons
By Thomas Scripps, 3 April 2020
The WikiLeaks founder, held in Belmarsh prison and facing extradition to the US for exposing war crimes, has a chronic lung condition and has had his health destroyed by a decade of mistreatment by the British state
Germany marked an increase in violent attacks on refugees in 2019
By Isabel Roy, 3 April 2020
The Left Party has been instrumental, along with the country’s other political parties, in creating a hostile climate and the corresponding explosion of violence against refugees and immigrants.
Why is the World Socialist Web Site banned from the subreddit r/coronavirus?
By Kevin Reed, 3 April 2020
The subreddit r/coronavirus has banned content from the World Socialist Web Site from being shared among its 1.8 million reader-members. We are demanding that the moderators explain why this decision has been made and immediately reverse this act of political censorship.
Peruvian president authorizes military to use lethal force to enforce the national quarantine
By Cesar Uco and Don Knowland, 1 April 2020
A new law shows that Peru’s ruling oligarchy, in anticipation of widespread unrest, is preparing the army to carry out repression with absolute impunity.
Unprecedented police and military powers implemented in Australian pandemic response
By Mike Head, 1 April 2020
Lockdown measures that have become necessary to try to contain the coronavirus are being enforced in the most heavy-handed manner.
The significance of Hungarian Prime Minister Orban’s enabling act
By Peter Schwarz, 1 April 2020
Hungary’s parliament passed an emergency law on Monday that grants Orban unrestricted dictatorial powers.
Ohio, Texas and Mississippi ban abortion under guise of fighting coronavirus
By Isaac Finn, 28 March 2020
Over the last two weeks Ohio, Texas and Mississippi have effectively banned abortion, claiming that personal protective equipment is needed to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.
Julian Assange’s bail request denied despite coronavirus risk
By Thomas Scripps, 26 March 2020
Judge Vanessa Baraitser’s refusal came amid mounting calls for the release of vulnerable, low-risk prisoners from the UK’s overcrowded and woefully unprepared prison systems during the coronavirus crisis.
Johnson’s “herd immunity” strategy and the London Conference on Intelligence whitewash: Britain’s ruling class and eugenics
By Thomas Scripps, 26 March 2020
Innumerable posts on social media have drawn the connection between the reactionary ideology of eugenics and the British government’s criminally delayed and negligent response to the pandemic.
Attorney general requests suspension of habeas corpus
Military, Trump administration ready plans for domestic crackdown as virus spreads across US
By Eric London, 24 March 2020
The Justice Department has asked Congress to suspend habeas corpus and due process, even as the military develops plans to deploy troops on US soil to suppress “riots” and “civil disobedience.”
German government prepares for internet censorship and deployment of the armed forces
By Ulrich Rippert, 23 March 2020
The social democratic state premier of Lower Saxony, Boris Pistorius, has called for a clamp-down against those contradicting official government propaganda about the coronavirus epidemic.
UK: Johnson government uses coronavirus crisis to seize dictatorial powers
By Robert Stevens, 20 March 2020
Britain’s ruling elite is using the enormous danger to public health posed by the COVID-19 pandemic to implement a raft of anti-democratic measures they have long planned to impose.
Syriza leader Tsipras offers collaboration with New Democracy against refugees and Turkey
By John Vassilopoulos and Chris Marsden, 20 March 2020
Tsipras is signing off on a policy of brutal repression of refugees waged jointly by the government, fascist thugs who have benefited most from the stoking up of chauvinism and xenophobia, and the European Union.
Qantas spearheads mass layoffs in Australia as pandemic worsens
By Mike Head, 20 March 2020
The federal and state governments are handing billions of dollars to the banks and corporate elite as they unleash massive job losses.
Australian government continues to imprison Tamil refugee family
By Max Newman, 20 March 2020
Despite legal challenges and widespread opposition, the government remains determined to deport the family to Sri Lanka.
Life for immigrants in the US during COVID-19 pandemic
ICE raids continue, asylum seekers turned away, and detention facilities remain potential hotbeds for coronavirus
By Genevieve Leigh, 19 March 2020
“We do not have access to hand sanitizer or masks, or anything else that could protect as we are all stuck together in close quarters.”
As coronavirus pandemic grows, anger rises against German companies
By Marianne Arens, 19 March 2020
While the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) announced that the health risk posed by COVID-19 is “high”, VW announced its production lines would operate until Friday.
Hungarian government uses coronavirus epidemic to promote racism
By Markus Salzmann, 19 March 2020
As throughout Europe, the coronavirus is spreading rapidly in Hungary.
Australian doctors condemn government response to COVID-19 “disaster”
By Mike Head, 19 March 2020
Letters, signed by thousands of doctors, warn that a catastrophe “worse” than Italy’s can only be averted by a lockdown and the urgent pouring of resources into hospitals.
Doctors condemn Australian government’s refusal to defend Julian Assange
By Oscar Grenfell, 19 March 2020
Doctors4Assange has restated its demand that the Australian government immediately fulfil its obligations to Assange, under conditions in which his life is imperilled by the coronavirus pandemic.
University of Michigan terminates provost amid unspecified sexual misconduct allegations
By James Brookfield, 18 March 2020
Statements from the university and reports in the press amalgamated Martin Philbert’s case with that of a university physician alleged to have committed multiple acts of sexual assault against athletes over the course of decades at UM.
Australian government to use “foreign interference” laws against China-linked targets
By Mike Head, 18 March 2020
Under US pressure, the Morrison government is making Chinese people the initial victims of the legislation, to help create the conditions to more broadly outlaw anti-war and anti-government political activity.
UK: NHS anticipates year-long coronavirus crisis and 8 million hospitalised
By Thomas Scripps, 17 March 2020
The UK, along with much of the rest of the world, faces a prolonged social emergency which will affect the lives of millions.
Fund drive to pay Chelsea Manning’s court fines raises $267,000 in two days
By Kevin Reed, 16 March 2020
Within two days of Manning’s release from jail, a GoFundMe campaign organized by her supporters raised more than enough to pay the punitive fines imposed on her for refusing to testify against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.
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