Fionnuala NÍ Aoláin KC (Hons)
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niaolainf.bsky.social
Fionnuala NÍ Aoláin KC (Hons)
@niaolainf.bsky.social
3.6K followers 110 following 620 posts

Regents Law Professor, Minnesota Law + Professor QUB Law School (Belfast)+ Director MN HRC. ICJ. RIA. FBA. Former UN SR Counter-Terrorism & Human Rights (2017-23). Member of the UN Commission of Inquiry (Syria); Irish, Gaeilgeoir, Mom, Loves Yoga & Hiking. .. more

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Fionnuala Ní Aoláin is an Irish academic lawyer specialising in human rights law. She was the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism for the United Nations Human Rights Council from August 1, 2017 - November 2023. .. more

Political science 67%
Sociology 15%
Posts Replies Media Videos

niaolainf.bsky.social
Fionnuala NÍ Aoláin KC (Hons) @niaolainf.bsky.social · 6d
“Bringing children home from the al-Hol and al-Roj camps both upholds their rights and protects them and society from the threat of violent extremism.”

www.thenewhumanitarian.org/opinion/2026...
Repatriating children from Syria’s IS camps is the right thing and the smart thing to do
Bringing children home from the al-Hol and al-Roj camps both upholds their rights and protects them and society from the threat of violent extremism.
www.thenewhumanitarian.org

niaolainf.bsky.social
Fionnuala NÍ Aoláin KC (Hons) @niaolainf.bsky.social · 6d
“Rand Hammoud, the surveillance campaigns lead at Access Now, said Pall Mall leadership needs to set up “clear criteria for industry engagement … to protect the credibility of an initiative that depends on good faith participation.”

therecord.media/spyware-make...
Spyware maker is hijacking diplomatic efforts to limit commercial hacking, civil society warns
Spyware maker NSO Group trumpeted the company’s participation in the Pall Mall Process, which drew criticism from civil society leaders and government officials who called out human rights abuses.
therecord.media

Reposted by Fionnuala Ní Aoláin

gtconway.bsky.social
George Conway ⚖️🇺🇸 @gtconway.bsky.social · 7d
www.law.com/americanlawy...

Reposted by Fionnuala Ní Aoláin

famillesunies.bsky.social
Collectif des Familles Unies @famillesunies.bsky.social · 7d
2 février 2026
+110 enfants français
COUPABLES DE RIEN
sont détenus depuis 7 ans
dans le camp de prisonniers #Roj
Nord-Est de la #Syrie
dans des conditions indignes
en violation du droit international
et de la Convention des droits de l'enfant
#RapatriezLesTous
@jnbarrot.bsky.social

Reposted by Fionnuala Ní Aoláin

rgoodlaw.bsky.social
Ryan Goodman @rgoodlaw.bsky.social · 8d
"It's such a farce. It makes me viscerally angry."

Another heroic Epstein survivor rebukes Todd Blanche.

On the deputy attorney general's claims about DOJ communications with the survivors.

niaolainf.bsky.social
Fionnuala NÍ Aoláin KC (Hons) @niaolainf.bsky.social · 8d
A Republic if you can keep it.

niaolainf.bsky.social
Fionnuala NÍ Aoláin KC (Hons) @niaolainf.bsky.social · 9d
“Une enquête de l'ONU salue le cessez-le-feu entre la Syrie et les YPG et appelle à la protection des civils”

www.aa.com.tr/fr/monde/une...
Une enquête de l'ONU salue le cessez-le-feu entre la Syrie et les YPG et appelle à la protection des civils
- La Commission appelle à l'accès à l'aide, à des retours en toute sécurité et à des enquêtes sur les allégations d'abus dans le nord-est de la Syrie - Anadolu Ajansı
www.aa.com.tr

Reposted by Fionnuala Ní Aoláin

asharangappa.bsky.social
Asha Rangappa @asharangappa.bsky.social · 9d
Today seems like a good day to re-up my cheat sheet on understanding complicity in the Epstein files open.substack.com/pub/asharang...
Your Cheat Sheet on Complicity in the Epstein Saga
Who knew complicity could be so...complicated?
open.substack.com

Reposted by Fionnuala Ní Aoláin

justsecurity.org
Just Security @justsecurity.org · 9d
With thanks to our authors this week:

Kate Welty
Laurence Helfer
Max Sarinsky
@mikeschmitt.bsky.social
@niaolainf.bsky.social
Pablo Arrocha Olabuenaga
Preston Lim
@rgoodlaw.bsky.social
Rob McLaughlin
@selopez.bsky.social
@tomjoscelyn.bsky.social
Tracey Begley
@weissmann.substack.com

Reposted by Fionnuala Ní Aoláin

normative.bsky.social
Julian Sanchez @normative.bsky.social · 10d
Wade Henderson gave a fantastic talk at a Cato Surveillance Conference I organized about a decade back about how tyranny is always beta tested on immigrants & people of color before wider release. www.cato.org/multimedia/c...

niaolainf.bsky.social
Fionnuala NÍ Aoláin KC (Hons) @niaolainf.bsky.social · 10d
We welcome the ceasefire and address ongoing concerns about protection of the civilian population, humanitarian access, and security and humanitarian provision for camps and prisons in NE Syria.

www.ohchr.org/en/press-rel...
UN Syria Commission of Inquiry welcomes new ceasefire and calls for continuing efforts to protect civilians and prevent violations in northeast Syria
GENEVA  – The UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria welcomes today’s ceasefire agreement between the Government of Syria and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and calls for continuing efforts to protect ...
www.ohchr.org

niaolainf.bsky.social
Fionnuala NÍ Aoláin KC (Hons) @niaolainf.bsky.social · 11d
Excellent statement from UN Special Procedures led by Ben Saul on events in Northeast Syria.

www.ohchr.org/en/press-rel...
UN experts urge restoration of peace, human rights and security in North-East Syria
GENEVA – UN experts* today called for a durable ceasefire, the protection of civilians and of Kurdish rights, and the safety and security of detainees and prisoners following recent Syrian military op...
www.ohchr.org

niaolainf.bsky.social
Fionnuala NÍ Aoláin KC (Hons) @niaolainf.bsky.social · 11d
Courage and conviction on the rule of law from a former federal prosecutor (one of our excellent @umnlawschool.bsky.social grads)

justiceconnection.substack.com/p/the-preven...
The Preventable Tragedy of Not Investigating Federal Agents in Minneapolis
When the Justice Department brazenly tips the scales in favor of the federal government without any investigation, it erodes any semblance of legitimacy, and with it, the rule of law.
justiceconnection.substack.com

niaolainf.bsky.social
Fionnuala NÍ Aoláin KC (Hons) @niaolainf.bsky.social · 12d
“Davos captured a broad shift: Less hedging, more boundary-setting, and a willingness to tell Trump that sovereignty is not a bargaining chip. The Europeans’ tactic was to make clear that coercive tools …would not be treated as a clever negotiating flourish …”

indianexpress.com/article/opin...
World Economic Forum at Davos did just enough on Greenland to matter
It did not ‘solve’ anything — there was no treaty, no joint communiqué, no new institutional machinery. But it helped steer a fast-moving transatlantic quarrel away from its combustible edges.
indianexpress.com

Reposted by Fionnuala Ní Aoláin

brfarley.bsky.social
Benjamin Farley @brfarley.bsky.social · 13d
"Slowly then all at once"--true for bankruptcy and the end of the SDF's detention regime in northeast Syria, alike. But with it, new challenges, the same old challenges, and some even worse ones.

From @niaolainf.bsky.social and @annecharbord.bsky.social:

www.justsecurity.org/129727/north...
We Told You So: Now What for Northeast Syria?
Chaos in the camps and prisons in NE Syria was predictable. The new Syrian government must provide security and protection to the detainees.
www.justsecurity.org

Reposted by Fionnuala Ní Aoláin

justsecurity.org
Just Security @justsecurity.org · 13d
The new Syrian government has taken forcible custody of the camps and prisons of NE Syria, after years of appalling abuses.

It’s not too late to mitigate the damage of mass arbitrary detention in Syria, write Fionnuala Ni Aolain and Anne Charbord:

#NESyria #detention
We Told You So: Now What for Northeast Syria?
Chaos in the camps and prisons in NE Syria was predictable. The new Syrian government must provide security and protection to the detainees.
www.justsecurity.org

niaolainf.bsky.social
Fionnuala NÍ Aoláin KC (Hons) @niaolainf.bsky.social · 13d
“Nationwide patterns of abuse by ICE and Border Patrol reveal a dangerous and expanding security force operating with impunity,” Sawyer said.

www.hrw.org/news/2026/01...
US: Second Unjustified Killing by Federal Agents in Minneapolis
The fatal shooting of another Minneapolis resident by federal agents follows weeks of violent and abusive immigration enforcement actions throughout the city.
www.hrw.org

niaolainf.bsky.social
Fionnuala NÍ Aoláin KC (Hons) @niaolainf.bsky.social · 13d
Step up corporate America. We are the silence and we will remember it.

www.axios.com/2026/01/25/m...
Target, other Minnesota-based CEOs call for calm after latest shooting
The milquetoast letter is unlikely to appease local employees, activists and Minnesotans.
www.axios.com

niaolainf.bsky.social
Fionnuala NÍ Aoláin KC (Hons) @niaolainf.bsky.social · 13d
From faculty members @umnlawschool.bsky.social. I have extraordinary colleagues of integrity and courage.

niaolainf.bsky.social
Fionnuala NÍ Aoláin KC (Hons) @niaolainf.bsky.social · 14d
“We conclude that Maduro likely qualifies as a POW under one (or more) of the theories explained below, and as such should be afforded that status while in U.S. custody.”

www.justsecurity.org/129407/presi...
Is President Maduro a Prisoner of War?
Three theories by which POW status might attach to a person in Maduro’s position, and the consequences of entitlement to that status.
www.justsecurity.org

niaolainf.bsky.social
Fionnuala NÍ Aoláin KC (Hons) @niaolainf.bsky.social · 14d
What you need to know in MN today @startribune.com.

niaolainf.bsky.social
Fionnuala NÍ Aoláin KC (Hons) @niaolainf.bsky.social · 14d
Winning on spyware abuses. Great news from the UK. The pocketbook is exactly where this can make a difference and act as a deterrent for use.

www.reuters.com/world/uk/sau...
Saudi dissident awarded $4.1 million by UK court for hacking, assault 'by Saudi Arabia'
A Saudi human rights activist who accuses Saudi Arabia of targeting him with spyware and directing his assault on the streets of London was awarded just over 3 million pounds ($4.1 million) in damages...
www.reuters.com

Reposted by Paul Dorfman, Fionnuala Ní Aoláin, Daniel W. Drezner , and 12 more

metaresistance.bsky.social
Meta Resistance @metaresistance.bsky.social · 14d
Rest in Peace Alex Jeffrey Pretti🙏🏾 The VA ICU Nurses send him off right 💔

Reposted by Kori Schake, Michael D. Robinson, Joe R. Feagin , and 25 more

onestpress.onestnetwork.com
Olga Nesterova @onestpress.onestnetwork.com · 15d
Minnesota National Guard members have arrived at a federal building and were directed to distribute donuts, coffee, and hot chocolate to anti-ICE protesters. Guard members were issued reflective vests so they would not be mistaken for federal agents.

Reposted by Fionnuala Ní Aoláin

brfarley.bsky.social
Benjamin Farley @brfarley.bsky.social · 15d
ICE FO in Colorado reportedly using night letters, essentially:

www.axios.com/local/denver...
ICE launches investigation into ace of spade cards
Family members of ICE detainees found the cards in abandoned cars after ICE carried out arrests.
www.axios.com

Reposted by Timothy Snyder, Kim L. Scheppele, Jan W. Mueller , and 26 more

badideas.bsky.social
Aaron Stewart-Ahn @badideas.bsky.social · 15d
A video of Alex Pretti reading out the final salute of an unnamed veteran he cared for until the end of his life in the ICU, posted to Facebook by his son.

niaolainf.bsky.social
Fionnuala NÍ Aoláin KC (Hons) @niaolainf.bsky.social · 17d
“C'est un petit garçon coiffé d'un bonnet bleu aux oreilles de lapin à côté de lui, une silhouette vêtue de noir qui le retient en le tenant par son sac d'école. Cet enfant a été arrêté à Minneapolis par la police américaine de l'immigration …”

www.radiofrance.fr/francecultur...
Minneapolis : l’arrestation d'un enfant de cinq ans provoque une onde d'indignation
Cet enfant apeuré a 5 ans à peine et il a été arrêté à Minneapolis par les policiers de l'ICE, la police américaine de l'immigration, son père est présenté comme un immigré clandestin.
www.radiofrance.fr

niaolainf.bsky.social
Fionnuala NÍ Aoláin KC (Hons) @niaolainf.bsky.social · 17d
@CoISyria calling for the protection of civilians in NE Syria, and enforcement of the rights of those detained in prisons and camps, including non-refoulement.

Reposted by Fionnuala Ní Aoláin

rgoodlaw.bsky.social
Ryan Goodman @rgoodlaw.bsky.social · 17d
"A 2-year-old girl and her father were detained by federal immigration agents in south Minneapolis and placed on a commercial flight out of Minnesota, despite a judge ordering the toddler’s release."

1/
Agents detain and send 2-year-old girl and her father to Texas despite court order to release toddler
Attorneys for the family say they were asylum-seekers who were pulled over without a warrant and did not have a final order for removal.
www.startribune.com

niaolainf.bsky.social
Fionnuala NÍ Aoláin KC (Hons) @niaolainf.bsky.social · 18d
“Spyware” on speed.

www.haaretz.com/israel-news/...
Revealed: Israeli cyber firms developed an 'insane' new spyware tool. No defense exists
A Haaretz Investigation Reveals That Israeli Cyber Companies Developed Technology That Exploits the Advertising System at the Heart of the Online Economy to Monitor Civilians, Hack Into Their Phones a...
www.haaretz.com