Human Rights

The U.S. continued its air campaign against the Islamic State with some estimates of the cost so far at $1 billion. The U.K., Canada, Australia, Denmark and Turkey all committed to join the campaign in Iraq. The U.N. and U.S. are expanding their mission to combat the spread of Ebola in West Africa. Amnesty International released a new report on widespread use of torture by police in Mexico. And the five countries bordering the Caspian Sea met to announce their agreement to prevent outside military presence in the sea.

At PEN International there is a tradition: During the organization’s general assemblies, empty chairs are left prominently vacant as a reminder of imprisoned writers and journalists around the world. This year, for the free expression watchdog’s 80th anniversary – marked this week in Kyrgyzstan’s capital, Bishkek – three empty chairs reminded the assembly of three Central Asian men imprisoned for their writings and activism: Azimjon Askarov from Kyrgyzstan, Ilham Tohti from China and Vladimir Kozlov from Kazakhstan.

The decision to charge three soldiers with murder in the June 30 killings of 22 suspected gang members was greeted with skepticism Wednesday by a public that has seen few human rights cases resolved.

Crime has been near the top of Georgia's political agenda for a decade. But successive governments have still to address fundamental questions of legitimacy and trust.