Human Rights Watch Daily Brief, 15 July 2015

In a speech yesterday, US President Barack Obama called for reform of the US criminal justice system, naming it a "source of inequity" in American life. His speech hit the right note. It’s not easy to be an investigative journalist in the Western Balkans. A new report documents the threats and attacks that reporters there face. So what can the EU do? Pressuring the governments of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, and Serbia to stop would be a good start. Seventeen groups are urging President Obama to use his upcoming trip to Kenya to pressure Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta on key human rights concerns in his country. Jordanian authorities are curtailing media freedom by detaining and bringing charges against journalists under broad and vague provisions of the country’s terrorism law. This week’s mass sacking of the Nigerian top brass by President Muhammadu Buhari offers the country renewed hope for a rights-respecting military. From earlier today: Media freedom in the Western Balkans is increasingly coming under attack, affecting journalists' ability to do critical and independent reporting, Human Rights Watch said in a new report today.