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Press Release

270 local and state elected officials from 42 states expressed their support for resettling refugees in their communities in a bipartisan letter sent to President Trump on Tuesday. The letter, supported by refugee advocacy organizations and resettlement agencies, urges the President to resettle at least 75,000 refugees in Fiscal Year 2019. The letter was signed by Governor Jay Inslee (WA), Governor Mark Dayton (MN), and 58 Mayors including Muriel Bowser (Washington, D.C.), Buddy Dryer (Orlando, FL), Keisha Lance Bottoms (Atlanta, GA), Rahm Emanuel (Chicago, IL), Eric Garcetti (Los Angeles, CA), Lyda Krewson (St. Louis, MO), Steve Adler (Austin, TX), and…

August 9, 2018

Press Release

The decision of the Argentine Senate to reject the draft bill to legalize voluntary termination of pregnancy during the first 14 weeks represents the loss of an historic opportunity for the human rights of women, girls and others who can become pregnant, Amnesty International said today. “The Argentine lawmakers chose today to turn their backs on hundreds of thousands of women and girls who have been fighting for their sexual and reproductive rights. The senators who voted against this or abstained have therefore decided to agree on a system which forces women, girls and others who can become pregnant to…

August 9, 2018

Press Release

The number of people drowning in the Central Mediterranean or being taken back to squalid detention centres in Libya has surged as a result of European policies aimed at closing the central Mediterranean route, Amnesty International said in a new briefing published today. The briefing, titled ‘Between the devil and the deep blue sea. Europe fails refugees and migrants in the Central Mediterranean’, reveals the devastating impact of policies which have resulted in more than 721 deaths at sea over June and July 2018 alone. It highlights new Italian policies which have left people stranded at sea for days and analyzes…

August 7, 2018

Press Release

Diplomats from four countries and a senior member of Amnesty International will join numerous human rights monitors in Shali tomorrow to observe the trial on trumped-up drugs charges of prominent human rights defender, Oyub Titiev. If found guilty, Titiev, the head of the human rights organization Memorial in Grozny, faces up to 10 years in jail. “A lot may have changed in Chechnya superficially over the last decade, but fundamentally it remains the same with the authorities using repressive tactics to torture or ‘disappear’ its opponents and persecute its critics,” said Anna Neistat, Amnesty International’s Senior Director for Research. “Rather than catching…

August 7, 2018

Press Release

The Bangladeshi authorities must immediately and unconditionally release Shahidul Alam, a well-known photographer and activist, who was detained by plainclothes policemen on 5 August 2018 after giving an interview to Al-Jazeera English on the current wave of student protests in Dhaka, Amnesty International said today.

August 6, 2018

Press Release

The international community must speak up for detained human rights defenders in Saudi Arabia, Amnesty International said today, after the Canadian ambassador to the country was expelled after calling for their release. “The international community must push Saudi Arabian authorities to end this draconian crackdown and targeted repression of human rights defenders in the country”, said Samah Hadid, Amnesty International’s Middle East Director of Campaigns. “Instead of pursuing human rights reform, the government of Saudi Arabia has chosen to lash out with punitive measures in the face of criticism. States with significant influence in Saudi Arabia - such as the USA,…

August 6, 2018

Press Release

Amnesty International USA announced today the election of six new members to the Board of Directors starting September 2018. The Board develops a clear vision for AIUSA’s priorities and strategies. It is entirely elected by its grassroots membership across the United States, and officers are elected by the Board.

August 3, 2018

Press Release

Reacting to the Russian authorities’ refusal to grant Amnesty International access to Ukrainian filmmaker Oleg Sentsov, currently 81 days into a hunger strike in a penal colony in the Russian Artic, Oksana Pokalchuk, Amnesty International’s Ukraine Director, said:  “Denying us the right to visit Oleg Sentsov is indefensible. After almost 3 months on hunger strike, there are grave concerns for his health. We were planning to visit Oleg accompanied by an independent medical expert who would be able to evaluate his health. In order to dispel all doubts about Oleg’s health condition and the adequacy of medical assistance provided to…

August 2, 2018

Update

Ahead of the July 31, 2018 full Judiciary Committee hearing entitled “Oversight of Immigration Enforcement and Family Reunification Efforts”, Amnesty International USA submitted a statement for the hearing record. On behalf of Amnesty International USA ("AIUSA") and our more than one million members and supporters nationwide, we urged the Committee to press the administration to ensure that all agencies work to reunify separated families forthwith, and to ensure that all parents and all children have the opportunity to present their asylum claims before an impartial immigration judge. Therefore, the Committee should press for: End to family separation End to mass family detention…

August 2, 2018

Press Release

Turkish forces are giving Syrian armed groups free rein to commit serious human rights abuses against civilians in the northern city of Afrin, Amnesty International said today, following an in-depth investigation into life under the Turkish military occupation. Research released today reveals that residents in Afrin are enduring a wide range of violations, mostly at the hands of Syrian armed groups that have been equipped and armed by Turkey. These violations include arbitrary detentions, enforced disappearances, and confiscation of property and looting to which Turkey’s armed forces have turned a blind eye. Some of these groups, and Turkish armed forces…

August 1, 2018

Press Release

Authorities must launch a prompt and effective investigation into the army’s killing of three protesters and injury of scores others following post elections violence, Amnesty International said today. 

August 1, 2018

Press Release

Responding to reports that President Donald Trump may seek to cap U.S. refugee admissions at no more than 25,000 refugees for Fiscal Year 2019, the lowest goal in the history of the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program, Ryan Mace, Grassroots Advocacy and Refugee Specialist at Amnesty International USA stated: “The United States betrays both its values and long history of helping those escaping war, persecution, and horrific violence when it denies refuge to those for whom resettlement is the only option. The Administration’s policies are denying thousands of refugees a chance at a new life. Many refugees are also hoping to…

August 1, 2018