Human Rights Watch Daily Brief, 4 July

In today's Brief: Can Egypt's new government avoid the abuses of the past? Plus, child soldiers in Burma; getting it wrong on counterterrorism in India; health and rights in Iran and Greece; the European Parliament slams Hungary; and what to do with Snowden's asylum claims. The dramatic turn of events in Egypt has not brought an end to deep political polarization between supporters and opponents of Mohamed Morsy, ousted yesterday by a combination of massive popular protests and the military. While many were arguing this morning about whether or not to call this a "coup", from the perspective of human rights, the key point is whether the new government will break decisively from the pattern of serious abuses that has prevailed for years. Specifically, will the authorities now respect the rights to free expression and peaceful assembly of all Egyptians? Given the closure of pro-Morsy television stations and reports of attacks on and round-ups of Morsy supporters, initial signs are deeply worrying. And speaking of Tahrir, there's no sign that the political shift has brought any improvement to the appalling situation in the Square... We also highlighted a number of other important stories, including Burma's boy soldiers... ...India's misdirected counterterrorism efforts... ...the hospitalization of a detained opposition figure and the death of an imprisoned labor rights activist in Iran... ...a backward step for human rights and public health in Greece...