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When President Trump signed what has become known as the Muslim ban during his first week in office, he set into motion a series of events that continue to leave families in uncertainty and danger to this day, according to a new report by Amnesty International USA. In some cases, these families were cleared to come to the United States in late 2016 and early 2017, only to be stranded in countries where they face restrictive policies, increasingly hostile environments, and often lack the same rights as permanent residents or citizens. The new report, “The Mountain is in Front of…

June 17, 2019

Report

When President Trump signed what has become known as the Muslim ban during his first week in office, he set into motion a series of events that continue to leave families in uncertainty and danger to this day, according to a new report by Amnesty International USA. In some cases, these families were cleared to come to the United States in late 2016 and early 2017, only to be stranded in countries where they face restrictive policies, increasingly hostile environments, and often lack the same rights as permanent residents or citizens. The new report, “The Mountain is in Front of…

June 17, 2019

Update

To view PDF, click here. After a series of brutal crackdowns in India in the summer of 2018, nine prominent human rights activists remain imprisoned. Many of these activists were specifically targeted because of their work on behalf of some of India’s most vulnerable populations, including the Adivasis and Dalits.  The arrests were conducted under the justification of a draconian counter-terrorism law—the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA)—that is often used to silence government critics. The UAPA violates several international human rights standards and circumvents fair trial guarantees available under Indian criminal law.  Ironically, these crackdowns came in the same year…

June 14, 2019

Press Release

Following an admission by Sudan’s Transitional Military Council (TMC) that they all met the country’s security chiefs on June 2, and after receiving undisclosed advice from the Attorney General and the Head of the Judiciary, ordered the dispersal of peaceful protestors on June 3, which “by mistake” killed more than 100 people and injured hundreds more , Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for East Africa, the Horn and the Great Lakes Sarah Jackson said: “It is completely outrageous and unacceptable that what has now been confirmed to have been a carefully planned attack on sleeping protestors has in the same breath been reduced to…

June 14, 2019

Press Release

More than a million people in more than 200 countries and territories across the globe have come together to express their outrage at the sentencing of prominent Iranian human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh to 38 years and six months in prison and 148 lashes after two grossly unfair trials, Amnesty International announced today, as signatures demanding her release were handed in to Iranian embassies around the world. To mark one year since Nasrin Sotoudeh’s arrest, Amnesty International is organizing a global handover of the signatures collected, calling on the Iranian authorities to release her immediately and unconditionally. Under Iran’s sentencing…

June 12, 2019

Press Release

On June 11, 2019, after the two-week criminal trial of humanitarian volunteer Dr. Scott Warren ended in a mistrial, Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International, said: “The mistrial in the case of Dr. Scott Warren sends a clear message that there are people in the USA who refuse to acquiesce to the government’s attempts to criminalize compassion and humanitarian aid. As long as the USA and Mexico fail to protect the lives of migrants and asylum seekers between the two countries, human rights defenders like Scott Warren must be allowed to continue their necessary and life-saving work, unhampered by politically motivated harassment and prosecution.” 

June 12, 2019

Press Release

In response to the use of force against largely peaceful protestors by Hong Kong police, who used tear gas, guns firing bean bags and rubber bullets, batons and pepper spray to disperse a demonstration against the extradition bill in central Hong Kong on Wednesday, Man-Kei Tam, Director of Amnesty International Hong Kong, commented: “The ugly scenes of police using tear gas and pepper spray against overwhelmingly peaceful protesters is a violation of international law. Police have a duty to maintain public order, but in doing so they may use force only when strictly necessary. Hong Kong’s police have today failed…

June 12, 2019

Press Release

Responding to the arbitrary arrests of over 400 people in Moscow who were peacefully protesting the treatment of journalist Ivan Golunov, Denis Krivosheev, Deputy Director of Amnesty International’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia Office, said: “Today’s arbitrary and often brutal arrests of over 400 peaceful protestors, including children, are a perfect example of the cruel repression that brought protestors to the streets in the first place. Amnesty International observers witnessed police violence and recorded complaints of detainees being beaten. Yet again, the Russian authorities met peaceful dissent with an assault on rights and freedoms. “Those who took to the streets…

June 12, 2019

Update

To view PDF version click here: Human Rights on Capitol Hill June Human Rights on Capitol Hill  published by Amnesty International USA  June 12, 2019  In this edition of Human Rights on Capitol Hill: 1) Asia a) China Amnesty International USA Co-Sponsors Capitol Hill Rally to Commemorate the 30th Anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Crackdown b) Hong Kong – Extradition Law Amendments Are a Dangerous Threat to Human Rights c) Myanmar – New Amnesty International Report Documents How the Myanmar Military Is Attacking Multiple Ethnic Minority Groups   2) Americas a) Venezuela – Congress Must Pass Temporary Protected Status for…

June 12, 2019

Update

Letter to Chief Executive of Hong Kong Carrie Lam on Proposed Changes to Extradition Law To view PDF click here:  SD letter_Extradition Law June 11, 2019 Amnesty International is calling on the Hong Kong government to immediately halt its plan to amend the legislation. Dear Chief Executive, RE: PROPOSED CHANGES TO HONG KONG’S EXTRADITION LAW We are writing to express our grave concern regarding the Hong Kong government’s proposed amendments to two Hong Kong laws concerning extradition, the Fugitive Offenders’ Ordinance (FOO) and the Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Ordinance (MLACMO). The existing legislation expressly excludes Mainland China from…

June 12, 2019

Press Release

Today’s judgment by the Gaborone High Court to decriminalize consensual same sex relations is a victory in the battle for equality and freedom to love whoever you choose, Amnesty International said as it called on other African countries to follow Botswana’s inspiring example. 

June 11, 2019

Press Release

Amnesty International has disturbing new evidence, including satellite imagery, showing that Sudanese government forces, including the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and allied militias, have continued to commit war crimes and other serious human rights violations in Darfur. In the past year these have included the complete or partial destruction of at least 45 villages, unlawful killings, and sexual violence. Tens of thousands of civilians currently protected by United Nations (UN)/African Union (AU) peacekeepers (UNAMID) in Jebel Marra, Darfur, must not be placed at the mercy of the RSF, a ruthless Sudanese security force that has committed crimes against humanity and…

June 11, 2019