Opinion

It has been more than 40 years since I was imprisoned in Iran for speaking out against human rights abuses and state executions, and for defending women’s rights. I spent eight years behind bars in Iran’s notorious Evin prison. I was tortured. I remember it as if it happened yesterday. Every few years, uprisings erupt across Iran – and each wave of resistance is deeper and more widespread than the one before. In 2022, it was women who led the Woman, Life, Freedom Movement after the murder of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini by the country’s “morality police”, and it revolutionised my…

By Cheta Nwanze Let's not mince words. Nigeria’s new tax regime, which landed on our heads this January, is the most ambitious attempt to reshape the state since, well, since the last time someone had a “bright idea” in Abuja. They’re calling it a “generational reset”. From where I sit, and from where millions of Nigerians actually sit – in traffic, in market stalls, in offices – wondering how to make ends meet, it feels more like a grand, high-stakes gamble. The economists and the “Africa rising” brigade are nodding sagely. The rest of us are checking our pockets and…

*We Seek End To Unfair Trials, Arbitrary Detentions, Enforced Disappearances, Persecution Of Political Opponents, Sweeping Restrictions On Free Speech, Assembly *We Seek Embrace Of Independent Investigations, Accountability By Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights The US military operation in Venezuela undermines a fundamental principle of international law, agreed after the horrors of two world wars and the Holocaust: states must not use force to pursue their territorial claims or political demands. I am deeply disturbed by these events – and by some of the reactions I have seen. A narrative is emerging that seeks to justify the US…

By SAMSON EZEA Among the prominent names in President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s recent list of ambassadorial nominees is a man widely regarded as a diplomat by temperament and practice—the immediate past Governor of Enugu State, Rt. Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (CON).It is an axiomatic fact that Ugwuanyi embodies diplomacy in character and conduct. Naturally gifted in peacemaking, dialogue, negotiation, and brinksmanship, he is known for his patience, humility, accessibility, humanity, and generosity. These qualities have defined his public life since he ventured into politics in 2003 and continued after he left office in 2023. To date, he remains unchanged—calm, dependable, and…