Political imprisonment

This May 16, 2020, photo provided by Mohamed Soltan shows himself at his home in Fairfax, Va. After his arrest in 2013 for documenting the deadliest crackdown on protesters in Egypt’s modern history, Mohammed Soltan landed in a notorious prison where he says he was brutally tortured for 21 months. (Bushra Soltan via AP)

Egypt's ex-PM faces torture allegation in American's lawsuit

Jun. 1, 2020 11:49 PM EDT

CAIRO (AP) — After his arrest in 2013 for documenting the deadliest crackdown on protesters in Egypt’s modern history, Mohamed Soltan landed in a notorious prison where he says he was brutally tortured for 21 months. He never thought he'd get a chance to fight back, let alone make it out alive. But...

A medical worker wears a mask and a face shield at the entrance of the SERMESA hospital in Managua, Nicaragua, Monday, May 11, 2020. President Daniel Ortega's government has stood out for its refusal to impose measures to halt the new coronavirus for more than two months since the disease was first diagnosed in Nicaragua. Now, doctors and family members of apparent victims say, the government has gone from denying the disease's presence in the country to actively trying to conceal its spread. (AP Photo/Alfredo Zuniga)

Nicaragua releases more than 2,800 inmates amid pandemic

May. 13, 2020 8:34 PM EDT

MANAGUA, Nicaragua (AP) — Nicaragua released more than 2,800 prisoners Wednesday, one day after the death of an inmate who reportedly had suffered from respiratory problems and while the government maintained there was no local spread of the coronavirus in the country. Loyda Valle, a friend of inmate...

FILE - In this June 19, 2019 file photo, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi speaks during a press conference in Bucharest, Romania. Amnesty International says that journalism in Egypt has effectively become a crime over the past four years, as authorities clamp down on media outlets and muzzle dissent. The London-based rights group said in a report Sunday, May 3, 2020 that as the number of coronavirus infections in Egypt continues to rise, the government is strengthening information controls, instead of upholding transparency during the health crisis. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda, File)

Amnesty reports chilling details of Egypt press crackdown

May. 3, 2020 8:02 AM EDT

CAIRO (AP) — Journalism in Egypt has effectively become a crime over the past four years, as authorities clamp down on media outlets and muzzle dissent, Amnesty International said in a report released Sunday. As the number of coronavirus infections in Egypt continues to rise, the government is...

A head-to-toe veiled woman wearing a face mask to curb the spread of the new coronavirus walks in Tajrish neighborhood in northern Tehran, Iran, Thursday, April 16, 2020. Authorities have canceled ceremonies marking the anniversary of the death of Ayatollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic over COVID-19 disease concerns, which underscored Iranian officials' expectation that the virus crisis will continue for several more weeks. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Iran lets some Tehran businesses reopen after virus lockdown

Apr. 18, 2020 3:17 PM EDT

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran allowed some businesses in the capital and nearby towns to re-open Saturday after weeks of lockdown aimed at containing the worst coronavirus outbreak in the Middle East. Israel also announced an easing of its own lockdown measures. Iran was slow to respond to the pandemic and...

A prisoner reaches out from a bus to shake hands with family members after being released from the Insein prison during a presidential pardon in Yangon, Myanmar, Friday, April 17, 2020. Myanmar says it is releasing almost 25,000 prisoners under a presidential amnesty marking this week's traditional Lunar New Year celebration. (AP Photo/Thein Zaw)

Almost 25,000 to be freed under Myanmar prisoner amnesty

Apr. 17, 2020 6:21 AM EDT

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — Myanmar announced Friday that it was releasing almost 25,000 prisoners under a presidential amnesty marking this week's traditional New Year celebration. The release for the Thingyan holiday was announced in a statement from President Win Myint's office. Mass amnesties on the holiday...

Russia-backed separatists war prisoners wearing masks to protect against coronavirus walk during a prisoner exchange, in Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine, Thursday, April 16, 2020. Ukrainian forces and Russia-backed rebels in eastern Ukraine have begun exchanging prisoners in a move aimed at ending their five-year long war. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP)

Ukrainian forces and Russia-backed rebels exchange prisoners

Apr. 17, 2020 12:08 AM EDT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian forces and Russia-backed rebels exchanged 34 prisoners Thursday in the latest trade aimed at creating conditions that could lead to the end of the six-year war in eastern Ukraine, the Ukrainian president's office said. Ukraine took back 20 of its citizens in the swap with the...

In this file picture taken on Thursday, Dec. 19, 2019, Miroslav Marcek, one of the suspected shooters in the slaying of an investigative journalist Jan Kuciak and his fiancee Martina Kusnirova sits in a courtroom ahead of the trial in Pezinok, Slovakia. On Monday April 6, 2020, a court in Slovakia has convicted Miroslav Marcek, a former soldier, of murder of an investigative journalist and his fiancee and sentenced him to 23 years in prison. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek/File)

Defendant in Slovak reporter's slaying sentenced to 23 years

Apr. 6, 2020 11:01 AM EDT

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AP) — A Slovakian court on Moday sentenced a former soldier to 23 years in prison for the alleged contract killings of an investigative journalist and his fiancee, a case that triggered a political crisis and brought down the country’s government. The court in the town of...