The Dispute Index

Kenneth Roth

Portrait of Kenneth Roth
Hildenbrand / MSC (CC BY 3.0 DE), via Wikimedia CommonsSourceCC BY 3.0 DECropped from the 1031 x 1198 pixel Commons file to a square.

American lawyer and human rights advocate who was executive director of Human Rights Watch from 1993 to 2022.

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What we have documented

We have documented 2 statements by Kenneth Roth, in 2 cases. Each statement below gives the quotation, its original source and a link to the full case.

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Statements by Kenneth Roth

Portrait of Kenneth Roth

Kenneth Roth

Role at the time: Human-rights advocate and Yale lecturer; plaintiff

Condemned

Statement summary

Roth says government efforts around the world to penalize independent journalists are a prelude to the rise of autocracy, and that defending media freedom and access is an essential safeguard of democracy.

“Worldwide, I have seen how governmental leaders’ efforts to penalize independent journalists are a prelude to the rise of autocracy”
Read the official statement (opens in a new tab)Roth v. Trump: Plaintiff statementsIndividual statements by Roth, Froomkin, Gage and Wittes
Why we used this label

The conduct at issue is excluding White House journalists because of their coverage. This statement expressly criticizes those restrictions.

Read statementFull case: Should President Trump bar CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House over their coverage?
Portrait of Kenneth Roth

Kenneth Roth

Role at the time: Former executive director, Human Rights Watch

Condemned

Statement summary

Kenneth Roth wrote that Israel applied the Hannibal Directive on October 7 and that Israelis were deemed better dead than abducted, citing Haaretz's report.

“Israel applied the Hannibal directive on Oct 7. Israelis were deemed better dead than abducted”
Read the original post (opens in a new tab)Kenneth Roth's post on the Hannibal Directive (July 7, 2024) · Kenneth RothOriginal post
Why we used this label

The reference point is Israeli fire on October 7, 2023, under or in the manner of the Hannibal Directive, that put Israeli captives at risk of being killed by Israeli forces. Roth asserts that Israel applied the directive and judged captives better dead than abducted, which criticizes the conduct. The closest competing label is Mixed or conditional, but the post states its conclusion without qualification.

Read statementFull case: Did Israeli forces kill Israelis under the Hannibal Directive on October 7?

A participant is a subject of the case. A speaker has a statement documented in it. A commentator has an opinion or editorial documented in it.

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