Human Rights Center
LightNews LightNews
banner
hrcberkeley.bsky.social
Human Rights Center
@hrcberkeley.bsky.social
4.6K followers 560 following 230 posts
Investigating war crimes, pursuing justice, and preparing tomorrow's advocates.

https://humanrights.berkeley.edu/
Posts Replies Media Videos
hrcberkeley.bsky.social
🚨🚨 Calling all investigators, lawyers, journalists + researchers interested in skilling up in #OSINT! Join us and @instituteici.bsky.social this April at The Hague for our foundational open source investigations training:
🗓️ April 20–24
📍The Hague
🖊️Apply by Feb. 23:
iici.global/courses/open...
Open Source Investigation – Foundational - IICI
The Human Rights Center at UC Berkeley School of Law and the Institute of International Criminal Investigations in The Hague have partnered to offer two comprehensive open source investigation courses...
iici.global
February 10, 2026 at 5:35 PM
hrcberkeley.bsky.social
🚨Are you an investigator, lawyer, journalist, or researcher interested in skilling up in
#OSINT? Join us and @instituteici.bsky.social this April at The Hague for our foundational open source investigations training:
🗓️ April 20–24
📍The Hague
🖊️Apply by Feb. 23:
iici.global/courses/open...
Open Source Investigation – Foundational - IICI
The Human Rights Center at UC Berkeley School of Law and the Institute of International Criminal Investigations in The Hague have partnered to offer two comprehensive open source investigation courses...
iici.global
February 2, 2026 at 6:36 PM
hrcberkeley.bsky.social
In a new @opiniojuris.bsky.social blog, HRC's @alexakoenig.bsky.social & @bmcg-leyh.bsky.social from @utrechtuniversity.bsky.social reflect on the challenges of running open source investigations labs at public universities: opiniojuris.org/2026/01/12/i...
Innovative but Precarious: The Challenge of Running Open-Source Investigations Labs at Public Universities
[Alexa Koenig, PhD, MA, JD, is a research professor at UC Berkeley School of Law, faculty director of UC Berkeley’s Human Rights Center, and director and co-founder of the center’s Investigations L…
opiniojuris.org
January 30, 2026 at 4:44 PM
hrcberkeley.bsky.social
"[Bystander video] is one of the tools at the disposal of everyday people that is a cornerstone of really being able to hold government actors accountable + help individuals who cannot be there on the ground understand what is happening," @alexakoenig.bsky.social:
www.usatoday.com/story/news/n...
Protesters, immigration agencies battle — on social media
Social media has become a critical tool for documenting the activity of federal agents. In some cases, officers are filming activists right back.
www.usatoday.com
January 29, 2026 at 5:28 PM
hrcberkeley.bsky.social
"The censorship of this important story reminds us that the motivations or interests of wealthy owners of news organizations can diverge from those of their journalists and audiences," wrote Kyle Sweasey, HRC Investigations Lab student, for @dailycal.bsky.social:
www.dailycal.org/opinion/op-e...
Corporate ‘60 Minutes’ censorship is a reminder that journalism must evolve or die
My own proximity to this ordeal has provoked numerous conversations on journalists’ duties to investigate concentrated power while simultaneously working for the increasingly concentrated power struct...
www.dailycal.org
January 28, 2026 at 9:14 PM
hrcberkeley.bsky.social
Interested in joining our team? Check out our role for Associate Director of Student Programming. You'll be responsible for instructional design, academic year planning, administrative management, and partner/staff coordination for our Investigations Lab:
aprecruit.berkeley.edu/JPF05220
Associate Director of Student Programming- Human Rights Center - School of Law
University of California, Berkeley is hiring. Apply now!
aprecruit.berkeley.edu
January 24, 2026 at 12:00 AM
hrcberkeley.bsky.social
🚨Are you an investigator, lawyer, journalist, or researcher interested in improving your #OSINT skills? Join us and @instituteici.bsky.social this April at The Hague for our foundational open source investigations training:
🗓️ April 20–24
📍The Hague
🖊️Apply by Feb. 23:
iici.global/courses/open...
Open Source Investigation – Foundational - IICI
The Human Rights Center at UC Berkeley School of Law and the Institute of International Criminal Investigations in The Hague have partnered to offer two comprehensive open source investigation courses...
iici.global
January 22, 2026 at 6:09 PM
Reposted by Human Rights Center
berkeleyjournalism.bsky.social
Our @ucberkeleyofficial.bsky.social from the @hrcberkeley.bsky.social Investigations Lab — including J-School student Kyle Sweasey —contributed #OSINT for the @hrw.org report on #CECOT that was pulled from "60 Minutes" last month. journalism.berkeley.edu/uc-berkeley-...
UC Berkeley student researchers featured in "60 Minutes" story pulled by CBS editor-in-chief Bari Weiss
UC Berkeley Journalism offers a two-year Master of Journalism (MJ) degree and a summer minor, preparing students for careers in journalism.
journalism.berkeley.edu
January 6, 2026 at 8:58 PM
Reposted by Human Rights Center
ucberkeleylaw.bsky.social
Watch: Professor Alexa Koenig, co-faculty director of @hrcberkeley.bsky.social, appeared on @ktvufox2.bsky.social to discuss research on El Salvador’s CECOT prison: https://www.ktvu.com/video/1759430 #BerkeleyLaw @alexakoenig.bsky.social
El Salvador’s mega-prison: what UC Berkeley researchers found
Alexa Koenig, Berkeley law co-faculty director, Human Rights Center, shares findings into the deportations of Venezuelan's to El Salvador's CECOT prison. The UC Berkeley research team was part of a st...
www.ktvu.com
January 6, 2026 at 6:58 PM
hrcberkeley.bsky.social
Berkeley Human Rights Center challenges CBS decision to pull '60 Minutes' El Salvador prison report:
abc7news.com/post/berkele...
Berkeley Human Rights Center challenges CBS decision to pull '60 Minutes' El Salvador prison report
HRC's co-faculty director Alexa Koenig said her team was "surprised" to learn the segment had been shelved despite clearing CBS's extensive legal and editorial review. Berkeley researchers had spent m...
abc7news.com
December 30, 2025 at 11:55 AM
hrcberkeley.bsky.social
Our response to the pulling of the @60minutes.bsky.social segment “INSIDE CECOT:”
humanrights.berkeley.edu/uncategorize...
Human Rights Center response to pull of 60 Minutes segment "INSIDE CECOT" - Berkeley Human Rights Center
humanrights.berkeley.edu
December 23, 2025 at 7:19 PM
hrcberkeley.bsky.social
Tune into @60minutes.bsky.social this Sunday to watch @alexakoenig.bsky.social & our Investigations Lab students highlight their research with @hrw.org + @cristosal.bsky.social, documenting inhumane conditions in El Salvador’s CECOT mega-prison:
www.paramountpressexpress.com/cbs-news-and...
Paramount Press Express | “60 MINUTES” LISTINGS FOR SUNDAY, DEC. 21
Airs 7:30-8:30 PM, ET/7:00-8:00 PM, PT, After NFL Football, on the CBS Television Network and Paramount+ INSIDE CECOT – Earlier this year, the Trump adm
www.paramountpressexpress.com
December 19, 2025 at 8:29 PM
hrcberkeley.bsky.social
💫 30+ years of impact
🎒 400+ student fellows from UC campuses
🤝 350+ partner orgs
🌎 88+ countries & territories

Apply to be a part of HRC's 2026 Student Fellowship today!

🗓️ Deadline: Feb 17
🔗 Apply now: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
🔗 Learn more: humanrights.berkeley.edu/programs-and...
docs.google.com
December 17, 2025 at 4:46 PM
Reposted by Human Rights Center
anthonyghaly.bsky.social
I'm tremendously honored to have contributed to the drafting of the Open Source Practitioner's Guide to the Murad Code, and thrilled that it is finally out in the world. For my law and OSINT friends, the Guide is also available in French, Arabic, and Ukrainian--so please share widely!
hrcberkeley.bsky.social Human Rights Center @hrcberkeley.bsky.social · Dec 1
1/5: In partnership with @instituteici.bsky.social we are thrilled to finally share the Open-Source Practitioner’s Guide to the Murad Code, a resource designed to strengthen the digital investigations of systematic + conflict-related sexual violence (SCRSV): www.muradcode.com/open-source-...
Open Source Practitioners Guide — Murad Code project
www.muradcode.com
December 16, 2025 at 3:28 PM
hrcberkeley.bsky.social
Join us TODAY in 10 mins to officially launch the Open-Source Practitioner’s Guide to the Murad Code w/
@instituteici.bsky.social, a new resource supporting safe & ethical digital investigations into conflict-related sexual violence. Join us (translation: FR/AR/UK):
us02web.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
Welcome! You are invited to join a meeting: Launch of the Open-Source Practitioner's Guide to the Murad Code. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the meeting.
Welcome! You are invited to join a meeting: Launch of the Open-Source Practitioner's Guide to the Murad Code. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the meeting.
us02web.zoom.us
December 16, 2025 at 2:50 PM
hrcberkeley.bsky.social
HRC's @alexakoenig.bsky.social spoke with @news.dw.com about collecting, preserving & verifying digital evidence of atrocities in conflict, using the #BerkeleyProtocol as a framework on seeking accountability for atrocities and potential war crimes committed in Gaza:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPm3...
Israel rejects Gaza war crime allegations | DW News
YouTube video by DW News
www.youtube.com
December 11, 2025 at 6:37 PM
hrcberkeley.bsky.social
"We have to decide globally if it is acceptable to generate AI SGBV content and share it online," @bellingcat.com's @koltai.bsky.social told HRC's @alexakoenig.bsky.social. "The harm it currently generates will only amplify if we let this go unchecked."
medium.com/@maggie.visu...
Investigating sexual and gender-based crimes online
To celebrate the publication of the Open-Source Practitioner’s Guide to the Murad Code, our Faculty Director Alexa Koenig sat down with…
medium.com
December 10, 2025 at 5:32 PM
Reposted by Human Rights Center
ucberkeleylaw.bsky.social
“That means any war crimes committed by Africa Corps in Mali are, in principle, attributable to the Russian government under the rules on state responsibility,” Lindsay Freeman, Senior Director of International Accountability at @hrcberkeley.bsky.social, told @apnews.com https://bit.ly/4oCUUbd
As Russia's Africa Corps fights in Mali, witnesses describe atrocities from beheadings to rapes
The Associated Press has spoken to over 30 refugees from Mali who say they witnessed beheadings, rapes and other abuses committed by Africa Corps, a new military unit under Russia's direct command.
apnews.com
December 8, 2025 at 10:15 PM
hrcberkeley.bsky.social
New reporting from @apnews.com on the "scorched-earth policy" that Malian civilians have suffered from Russia's Africa Corps, which has replaced Wagner Group in Mali. HRC's @lindsaysfreeman.bsky.social weighs in on holding Russia accountable for Africa Corps' crimes:
apnews.com/article/mali...
As Russia's Africa Corps fights in Mali, witnesses describe atrocities from beheadings to rapes
The Associated Press has spoken to over 30 refugees from Mali who say they witnessed beheadings, rapes and other abuses committed by Africa Corps, a new military unit under Russia's direct command.
apnews.com
December 8, 2025 at 6:30 PM
hrcberkeley.bsky.social
Join us on Dec 16 to officially launch the Open-Source Practitioner’s Guide to the Murad Code w/ @instituteici.bsky.social, a new resource supporting safe & ethical digital investigations into conflict-related sexual violence.
🎙️ Translation: FR/AR/UK
✍️ Register: us02web.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
Welcome! You are invited to join a meeting: Launch of the Open-Source Practitioner's Guide to the Murad Code. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the meeting.
Welcome! You are invited to join a meeting: Launch of the Open-Source Practitioner's Guide to the Murad Code. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the meeting.
us02web.zoom.us
December 5, 2025 at 8:54 PM
hrcberkeley.bsky.social
In a new @opiniojuris.bsky.social piece, HRC Open Source Investigations Specialist Guillén Torres and Utrecht Prof. Pınar Yolum highlight why transparency and oversight are essential as AI becomes more integrated into #HumanRights investigations:
🔗 lnkd.in/eCxW5ttx
LinkedIn
This link will take you to a page that’s not on LinkedIn
lnkd.in
December 5, 2025 at 6:36 PM
hrcberkeley.bsky.social
The U.S. has secretly deported migrants to El Salvador’s CECOT “mega-prison,” where many have vanished. HRC's Investigations Lab students + staff worked with @hrw.org this semester to uncover what’s really happening inside: www.hrw.org/report/2025/...
“You Have Arrived in Hell”
The 81-page report, “‘You Have Arrived in Hell’: Torture and Other Abuses Against Venezuelans in El Salvador’s Mega Prison,” provides a comprehensive account of the treatment of these people in El Sal...
www.hrw.org
December 2, 2025 at 2:26 PM
Reposted by Human Rights Center
instituteici.bsky.social
Register to join the launch event for this critical new #OSINT resource developed by @iici.bsky.social and @hrcberkeley.bsky.social

🕐 Tuesday 16 December, 4-5pm CET
💭 Leading experts in the field discuss the practical application of the Guide
🌐 Translation in French, Ukrainian and Arabic
Welcome! You are invited to join a meeting: Launch of the Open-Source Practitioner's Guide to the Murad Code. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the meeting.
Welcome! You are invited to join a meeting: Launch of the Open-Source Practitioner's Guide to the Murad Code. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the meeting.
us02web.zoom.us
December 1, 2025 at 4:00 PM
hrcberkeley.bsky.social
1/5: In partnership with @instituteici.bsky.social we are thrilled to finally share the Open-Source Practitioner’s Guide to the Murad Code, a resource designed to strengthen the digital investigations of systematic + conflict-related sexual violence (SCRSV): www.muradcode.com/open-source-...
Open Source Practitioners Guide — Murad Code project
www.muradcode.com
December 1, 2025 at 5:03 PM
hrcberkeley.bsky.social
Americans are witnessing a "far more dangerous use" of crowd control weapons in recent months, HRC Advisory Board Member @rohinihaar.bsky.social told @frontlinepbs.bsky.social, despite calls for use policy changes in 2020. "You’re going to see a lot more injuries."
www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontli...
Trump’s Immigration Forces Deploy “Less Lethal” Weapons in Dangerous Ways | FRONTLINE | PBS | Official Site | Documentary Series
Civil rights and weapons experts cite the consequences of federal agents’ use of crowd control weapons: religious leaders shot with pepper balls and noxious chemicals. A nurse nearly blinded by tear g...
www.pbs.org
November 26, 2025 at 5:38 PM