Below you’ll find breaking news as well as reports, updates on our campaigns, and victories.
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Report
Maldives: The tortuous ordeal of a prisoner in paradise
A Sri Lankan driver who has languished in prison in the Maldives for three years accused of involvement in a dramatic plot to assassinate the island's president has been denied a fair trial and subjected to vicious police beatings that may amount to torture, Amnesty International revealed in a new briefing released today. Prisoner in Paradise tells the story of how Lahiru Madhushanka arrived in the Maldives to seek a business opportunity in 2015 and suddenly found himself accused of being a highly trained sniper trying to kill President Abdulla Yameen. His family and lawyer allege he has since been repeatedly…
October 30, 2018
Press Release
Leading journalists demand justice for Jamal Khashoggi
Leading journalists from around the world pay tribute to Jamal Khashoggi, the Saudi Arabian journalist who was murdered by Saudi state agents at the country’s consulate in Istanbul this month, by reading portions of his final Washington Post column in a video released today by Amnesty International. Jake Tapper of CNN, Nick Kristof of the New York Times, Indian journalist Barkha Dutt, Mehdi Hasan of Al-Jazeera English, Naomi Klein of The Intercept, Jason Rezaian of the Washington Post, Egyptian journalist Kareem Shaheen, Lebanese-Australian author and journalist Rania Abouzeid, Hamid Mir of Pakistan’s Geo News and Lebanese editor Rami Khouri all feature in…
October 29, 2018
Press Release
Brazil: Toxic speech must not become government policy
Reacting to the election of Jair Bolsonaro and Hamilton Mourão as president and vice president of Brazil, Amnesty International said today: “The president-elect has campaigned with an openly anti-human-rights agenda and frequently made discriminatory statements about different groups of society. His election as Brazil´s president could pose a huge risk to Indigenous Peoples and quilombolas, traditional rural communities, LGBTI people, black youth, women, activists and civil society organizations, if his rhetoric is transformed in public policy” said Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International. Bolsonaro’s campaign promises include loosening gun control laws and granting prior authorization for law enforcement officials to…
October 28, 2018
Press Release
Amnesty International Response to Killings at Pittsburgh Synagogue
The following can be attributed to Victoria Coy, End Gun Violence campaign manager at Amnesty International USA: “The horrifying killings of worshippers at a Pittsburgh synagogue are the latest example of the tragic results of the politics of hate and fear combined with the devastating impact of gun violence. “We call on leaders at all levels of government to denounce anti-Semitism, white supremacy, bigotry, and discrimination in all its forms and to ensure comprehensive and sensible gun laws that prevent people with violent intentions from obtaining firearms. “Everyone has the human right to live in safety whether they are in…
October 27, 2018
Press Release
President Trump must abandon plan to close southern border to Central Americans seeking asylum
In response to reports that President Trump plans to take executive action blocking refugees and people seeking asylum from Central America from entering the United States to request protection, Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International, said: “The Trump administration is defying international law and manufacturing a crisis at the border by proposing policies that would cause catastrophic and irreparable harm to thousands of families who had no choice but to leave home in order to keep their children safe from harm.” “President Trump has shown callous disregard for the plight of those making this dangerous journey from Honduras and…
October 26, 2018
Press Release
Amnesty India latest target of government crackdown
Amnesty India is the latest target of the Modi government’s assault on civil society. On Thursday, the Enforcement Directorate, an agency that looks into financial crimes, raided the organization’s office and froze its bank accounts, effectively stopping its vital human rights work.
October 26, 2018
Report
Purged beyond return? No remedy for Turkey’s dismissed public sector workers
More than two years after being arbitrarily dismissed, almost 130,000 Turkish public sector workers are still awaiting justice and facing an uncertain future, Amnesty International said in a report published today.
October 24, 2018
Report
Tunisia: Arbitrary and abusive travel restrictions breach human rights
Travel restrictions introduced by the Tunisian authorities in the name of security are being imposed in an often arbitrary, sweeping and discriminatory manner flouting basic human rights, said Amnesty International in a report today. Since 2013, Tunisia’s Ministry of Interior has restricted the movement of nearly 30,000 people under secretive border control measures known as “S17 measures”. These measures are not accessible to the public and lack complete judicial oversight. “They wouldn’t even tell me why”: Arbitrary restrictions on freedom of movement in Tunisia describes the cases of at least 60 people who have been unlawfully prevented from travelling abroad or had…
October 24, 2018
Press Release
Madagascar: Unjustified, excessive and prolonged pre-trial detention keeps thousands in life-threatening prison conditions
People who have not been found guilty of any crime are dying in Madagascar’s prisons due to appalling conditions, Amnesty International said today, as it released a report highlighting how the Malagasy authorities’ excessive use of pre-trial detention is harming the poorest people in society. The organization documented how, in 2017 alone, 52 out of the 129 detainees who died in Madagascar’s prisons were in pre-trial detention. The report, Punished for being poor: unjustified, excessive and prolonged pre-trial detention in Madagascar, is based on visits to nine prisons around the country, where more than 11,000 people have been arbitrarily placed in pretrial detention which…
October 24, 2018
Press Release
Mexico: Amnesty International to observe authorities’ response to Honduran caravan
An Amnesty International delegation will travel to the southern Mexican state of Chiapas from 23 to 26 October to document the situation of the migrants, refugees, and people seeking asylum who are travelling in the caravan from Honduras and monitor the response of the Mexican authorities.
October 24, 2018
Press Release
Americas: Authorities must not deport caravan members to face danger
Mexican authorities must guarantee that no one at risk of danger in Honduras is deported and that caravan members are informed of their right to seek asylum, said Amnesty International today in response to news that several members of the caravan were transferred to a migration detention center rather than to a shelter.
October 21, 2018
Press Release
Saudi Arabia: Independent investigation into Jamal Khashoggi’s death is urgently needed
Responding to the Saudi public prosecution’s investigation findings revealing that Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi died after a ‘fist-fight’ inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Samah Hadid, Amnesty International’s Middle East director of campaigns said: “We are shocked and saddened by the dreadful news confirming the death of Jamal Khashoggi inside the Saudi consulate. The investigation findings by the Saudi authorities claiming that Khashoggi died as a result of a “fist-fight” inside the consulate are not trustworthy and marks an abysmal new low to Saudi Arabia’s human rights record. “We call on the Saudi Arabian authorities to immediately produce Jamal Khashoggi’s body…
October 20, 2018