January 23, 2023

Published by Defending Rights & Dissent at January 23, 2023
On January 18, state troopers shot and killed Tortuguita Terán, an environmental activist protesting forest destruction in DeKalb County, near Atlanta, GA. Defending Rights & Dissent is dismayed by this repression of dissent and condemns it in the strongest possible
January 19, 2023

Published by Defending Rights & Dissent at January 19, 2023
Although the Biden Administration has put an end to the “China Initiative,” biased prosecutions against Chinese Americans haven’t stopped. Defending Rights & Dissent recently sent a letter expressing concern about the prosecution of Mr. Haoyang Yu to the US Attorney’s
January 11, 2023

Published by Defending Rights & Dissent at January 11, 2023
Yesterday, in a party-line vote, the Republican-controlled House of Representatives passed a resolution calling for the creation of a committee to study the “weaponization of the federal government.” Although the select committee will be housed within the Judiciary Committee, non-Judiciary
January 9, 2023

Published by Defending Rights & Dissent at January 9, 2023
Wednesday, January 11th is the 21st anniversary of the opening of the prison camp at Guantánamo Bay. Across the country, local coalitions will host commemorations, and a national virtual event featuring Guantánamo survivors is also scheduled. Please join one of
December 22, 2022

Published by Sue Udry at December 22, 2022
Is the FBI deploying facial recognition technology against peaceful protesters? Is it enabling state and local law enforcement to identify protesters using FBI biometric tools? Senator Jon Ossoff (D-GA), Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA), and Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-NY) want answers
December 12, 2022

Published by Defending Rights & Dissent at December 12, 2022
Defending Rights & Dissent joined Freedom of the Press Foundation and a coalition of nearly 40 press freedom, civil liberties and other organizations urging Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to advance the PRESS Act to a vote before Congress adjourns.
December 8, 2022

Published by Defending Rights & Dissent at December 8, 2022
“It is time for the Biden administration to break from the Trump administration’s decision to indict Assange – a move that was hostile to the media and democracy itself. Correcting the course is essential to protect journalists’ ability to report
December 5, 2022

Published by Defending Rights & Dissent at December 5, 2022
Defending Rights & Dissent opposes the decision of President Joseph Biden and the United States Congress to override the will of rail workers and impose upon them a contract they rejected. The right to collective bargaining, the right to form
November 28, 2022

Published by Chip Gibbons at November 28, 2022
Reprinted with permission from Chip Gibbons’ Substack Newsletter. Chip Gibbons retains all copyright. It was twelve years ago today that five international newspapers—The New York Times, The Guardian, Le Monde, Der Spiegel, and El País—began working with WikiLeaks to publish the first stories based
November 28, 2022

Published by Defending Rights & Dissent at November 28, 2022
Defending Rights and Dissent has joined with 90 other organizations – all of us fighting to protect youth privacy, safety, and access to information – to voice our concern about the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA). While it sounds benign,
November 23, 2022

Published by Defending Rights & Dissent at November 23, 2022
When voters went to the polls across the country for the midterms, it wasn’t just their member of Congress they were selecting. Voters also had the chance to weigh-on policy directly through ballot initiatives and referendums. Across the country, progressive,
November 23, 2022

Published by Defending Rights & Dissent at November 23, 2022
On May 11, 2022, an Israeli sniper murdered Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh. The Al-Jazeera reporter was wearing a blue press vest while covering an Israeli raid on a Palestinian refugee camp in the occupied West Bank. Abu Akleh’s family
November 23, 2022

Published by Defending Rights & Dissent at November 23, 2022
On October 2, 2018, Washington Post columnist and journalist Jamal Khashoggi was brutally murdered inside the Saudi embassy in Istanbul, Turkey. His body was reportedly dismembered. Khashoggi was a critic of the Saudi government. US intelligence concluded that Crown Prince
November 21, 2022
Published by Defending Rights & Dissent at November 21, 2022
Defending Rights & Dissent joined 17 other anti-surveillance organizations urging the Federal Trade Commission to look closely at the government’s use of commercially available data to evade legal restrictions on the collection of personal information, and to exercise the full
November 18, 2022

Published by Sue Udry at November 18, 2022
Sherry Chen, a scientist at the National Weather Service was arrested in October 2014 after an illegal and discriminatory internal investigation (read more here). She was wrongly charged with espionage and faced 25 years in prison and a fine of