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Rwanda Urged to End Clampdown on Dissent as Charles Ntakirutinka Released
The release today of a former government minister following a decade in prison has prompted Amnesty International to call for an end to the ongoing persecution of political opponents and journalists in Rwanda.
"Charles Ntakirutinka spent 10 years of his life in prison because he formed a political party," said Erwin van der Borght, Amnesty International's Africa Director.
"Ten years after Charles Ntakirutinka was jailed, political opponents and journalists still spend years in prison for speaking out.
WASHINGTON
The release today of a former government minister following a decade in prison has prompted Amnesty International to call for an end to the ongoing persecution of political opponents and journalists in Rwanda.
"Charles Ntakirutinka spent 10 years of his life in prison because he formed a political party," said Erwin van der Borght, Amnesty International's Africa Director.
"Ten years after Charles Ntakirutinka was jailed, political opponents and journalists still spend years in prison for speaking out.
"The Rwandan government should put promises to respect freedom of expression and association into practice."
Considered a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International, Charles Ntakirutinka was arrested in April 2002, as part of a crackdown before the 2003 presidential elections, the first elections after the 1994 genocide.
After serving as a minister in the post-genocide government, Charles Ntakirutinka launched a new political party, the Democratic Party for Renewal (PDR-Ubuyanja), in 2001 with former President Pasteur Bizimungu.
After an unfair trial in 2004, Charles Ntakirutinka was convicted of "inciting civil disobedience" and "association with criminal elements".
The prosecution claimed he had organized clandestine meetings, along with his party colleagues, to disturb public order, provoke civil conflict and target certain government authorities for assassination.
The Rwandan authorities continue to prosecute political opponents and journalists for criticizing the government. Repression escalates in the run-up to elections.
The months leading up to the August 2010 presidential elections, which President Kagame won with 93 per cent of the vote, saw a crackdown on freedom of expression and association.
New opposition parties were prevented from contesting the elections. The United Democratic Forces (FDU-Inkingi) and the Democratic Green Party were unable to obtain security clearance to organize meetings needed for their registration.
The only new party to secure registration, PS-Imberakuri, was infiltrated by dissident members and decided not to stand.
Bernard Ntaganda, president of the Ideal Social Party (PS-Imberakuri), was sentenced to four years imprisonment in February 2011. He was found guilty of "divisionism" for holding public speeches criticizing government policies ahead of the 2010 elections, breaching state security and attempting to plan an "unauthorized demonstration".
His prosecution for threatening state security and divisionism was solely based on speeches criticizing government policies. His case is currently on appeal.
The trial of Victoire Ingabire, leader of the United Democratic Forces (FDU-Inkingi), is on-going. She is charged with terrorism, creating an armed group, "genocide ideology", "sectarianism", and willingly disseminating rumours aimed at inciting the public against the existing leadership.
The "genocide ideology" charges were based, in part, on her public call for the prosecution of war crimes committed by the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF).
Amnesty International is a worldwide movement of people who campaign for internationally recognized human rights for all. Our supporters are outraged by human rights abuses but inspired by hope for a better world - so we work to improve human rights through campaigning and international solidarity. We have more than 2.2 million members and subscribers in more than 150 countries and regions and we coordinate this support to act for justice on a wide range of issues.
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Rallying With Sanders, Platner Condemns 'Corrupt Politicians and the Corporations That Bought Them'
"We will defeat the oligarchy and the political system that it maintains," said Graham Platner. "The politics of Susan Collins."
May 25, 2026
US Sen. Bernie Sanders on Sunday rallied in Orono, Maine with progressive Senate candidate Graham Platner, who called for transformative political change to reclaim the wealth that has been "stolen by corrupt politicians and the corporations that bought them."
Platner, who effectively locked up the Maine's US Senate Democratic primary after Gov. Janet Mills exited the race last month, placed five-term incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins among the corrupt lawmakers who have sold out workers and advanced the interests of the billionaire class, which is shelling out millions to protect Collins' seat.
"We will not just fight the oligarchy," Platner told an audience of 1,400 gathered at the University of Maine, the location of the 40th stop of Sanders' (I-Vt.) nationwide "Fighting Oligarchy" tour. "We will defeat the oligarchy and the political system that it maintains... The politics of Susan Collins. A politics that turns politicians into millionaires but tells you to be grateful for crumbs. It is a lie."
Platner declared that "we need a political revolution," something he said Sanders "has been fighting for for 60 years."
"When we beat back fascism, when we defend our democracy and our freedom, let it be a different kind of freedom," said Platner. "A freedom to not be condemned to scraps and struggle, but to live with the dignity and fulfillment that gives us the society we deserve."
Watch the full rally:
Sanders, who became the first US senator to endorse Platner last August when he was widely seen as a long shot to win the Democratic nomination, said that "what we're talking about"—from Medicare for All to a living wage to union rights for all workers—"is not radical."
"What is radical is when so few have so much," said Sanders. "What is radical is when billionaires control our political system."
Sunday's "Fight Oligarchy" rally came days after a survey showed Platner leading Collins—who has held her seat for nearly three decades—by seven percentage points among likely voters, who appear unfazed by an intensifying wave of attacks on Platner from pro-Collins super PACs and the National Republican Senatorial Committee.
"Susan Collins is spineless and corrupt," Platner wrote on social media ahead of the rally. "And in 163 days, we will defeat her."
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Viral Video Compilation Shows Top Iran War Booster Making One Failed Prediction After Another
"He’s the Jim Cramer of Iran war predictions," said one critic.
May 24, 2026
Conservative commentator Dave Rubin, who for months has been a top booster of President Donald Trump's illegal war with Iran, was inundated with mockery on Sunday after a viral video exposed months' worth of his failed predictions about the conflict.
The video, which was posted on social media Saturday, begins with Rubin telling viewers to not listen to any of the prognostications being made by critics of the war, which Trump launched in late February without any authorization from Congress.
"I'm pretty good with predictions," Rubin says. "And my prediction here is that everything the media is now going to say about Iran—it's going to close the Strait of Hormuz, and energy prices are going to go crazy—none of this is going to come to pass."
Iran war: greatest hits from the last 12 weeks pic.twitter.com/9pgXyvmsgF
— Dave Rubin Clips II (Parody) - Retired Jan.20/2025 (@DaveClips) May 24, 2026
The video then cuts to Rubin wrongly predicting that gas prices during the conflict "will continue to come down," before switching to claims that Iran lacks the military capability to keep the Strait of Hormuz closed in the face of US military power.
"If the United States wants to keep the Strait of Hormuz open, which it does," says Rubin, "and Donald Trump says we'll escort ships through if we have to, it's going to stay open."
From there, the video shows Rubin hyping of the prospect of Iranian dissident Reza Pahlavi swooping in to take over the country after the war, and then getting fooled by a fake artificial intelligence-generated video of Iranians giving thanks to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for bombing their country.
The video compilation of Rubin's failed predictions drew immediate ridicule from critics.
"He’s the Jim Cramer of Iran war predictions," joked Krystal Ball.
Commentator Adam Mockler wrote of Rubin that "it’s brutal watching him make failed predictions week after week."
Journalist Glenn Greenwald argued that the video should be the last nail in the coffin of whatever credibility Rubin had left.
"Imagine having sat through and listened to all of this Israeli propaganda, which turned out to be (predictably and completely) false," commented Greenwald, "and then thinking there was some value in continuing to listen to this person."
The Bulwark's Tim Miller said that while he knew Rubin was "a smooth-brained hack," he still "couldn’t even fathom how bad these war takes would be."
Political analyst Omar Baddar, meanwhile, said the video should erase any doubt that Rubin is "the dumbest man on the internet."
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Report Exposes How Trump Administration Has 'Mowed Down' Regulators Overseeing Prediction Markets
The Trump administration last week sued Minnesota after it passed a law banning prediction markets from operating in the state.
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A Sunday report in The New York Times revealed how the Trump administration is using a key government agency to shut down any efforts to regulate online betting markets such as Kalshi and Polymarket.
According to the Times, the administration has stacked the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) with industry insiders who have systematically "mowed down" staffers at the agency who have expressed interest in providing oversight on prediction markets.
Among other things, the report documented how multiple officials at CTFC have been put on leave simply for asking questions about the betting markets' ties to members of President Donald Trump's family or for having past experience enforcing regulations related to cryptocurrencies.
What's more, the Times found that even being an industry insider isn't enough to guarantee good standing in the agency. Brian Quintenz, who was tapped by Trump to lead CTFC last year, saw his nomination withdrawn after he drew the ire of Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss for refusing to support their cryptocurrency exchange's complaint against the agency.
Revelations about industry insiders rolling over regulators at CTFC come as the Trump administration is fighting any attempts by states to regulate prediction markets.
As explained in a Thursday report from CNBC, the Trump administration is "fighting a multi-front battle to stop the state actions and assert its regulatory authority," with CTFC arguing that it is "the only entity that can regulate" betting platforms.
16 different states are engaged in legal proceedings against the platforms, and Minnesota last week passed a law to ban them outright, which immediately drew a lawsuit from the administration.
The new Minnesota law, which is scheduled to take effect in August, bans prediction markets "from hosting, creating or advertising in the state," according to ABC News.
In an interview with ABC, Minnesota state Rep. Emma Greenman (D-63B) said she authored the legislation because she has grown increasingly concerned about young people in the state seeing their finances drained from placing online bets.
"We're seeing studies come out that say [the companies] are targeting 18- to 21-year-olds," said Greenman, "and we are seeing gambling starting younger and younger."
CFTC Chair Michael Selig last month warned states against trying to regulate prediction markets, which he said would "circumvent the clear directive of Congress."
"Our message to Wisconsin is the same as to New York, Arizona, and others," said Selig. "If you interfere with the operation of federal law in regulating financial markets, we will sue you."
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