A Vietnamese court on Thursday reduced the jail sentences of four activists convicted on charges of plotting to overthrow the government but upheld those for four others, a lawyer said, while a banned opposition group they were said to have links with called for their immediate release.

LONDON — The annual report by Amnesty International cites the increasing number of refugees around the world, and the lack of support for them, as the key human rights issue for the past year.  The London-based group also calls the Internet an important tool in fighting human rights abuses, and calls on governments to increase access to it. 

We are concerned by a Vietnamese court’s sentencing of Dinh Nguyen Kha to eight years in prison and Nguyen Phuong Uyen to six years in prison on subversion char

Two ethnic Khmer monks have escaped into hiding after an attempt by Vietnamese government and religious authorities to strip them of their religious status following accusations of anti-state activity, sources said on Friday.

A project to modernize an historic area of Tibet’s capital Lhasa has ignited a storm of protest online and among international Tibetan support groups, with some calling the move an attempt to destroy Tibetans’ “living connection” to their past.