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Press Release

State Department’s Human Rights Report Highlights Trump Administration’s Anti-Human Rights Policies

In response to the U.S. State Department releasing its third human rights report compiled under the Trump administration, Joanne Lin, national director of advocacy and governmental relations at Amnesty International USA, said:

March 11, 2020

TOPSHOT - Afghan security forces stand guard at an Afghan National Army (ANA) outposts after an attack by Taliban militants, in Kunduz Province on March 4, 2020. - The US launched an airstrike against Taliban fighters to defend Afghan forces on March 4, an American military spokesman said, as violence spirals after a string of deadly attacks by the insurgents, throwing the country's nascent peace process into grave doubt. (Photo by STR / AFP) (Photo by STR/AFP via Getty Images)

Press Release

ICC Authorizes Historic Investigation in Afghanistan

Responding to the International Criminal Court’s decision to open an investigation into international crimes in Afghanistan, Amnesty International’s Head of International Justice, Solomon Sacco, said: "This is a historic moment where the International Criminal Court has reversed a terrible mistake and decided to stand by the victims of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by all sides to the conflict in Afghanistan.

March 5, 2020

A picture taken on March 3, 2020 shows a general view of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey in Ankara, ahead of a closed session to discuss the latest developments in the northwestern Syrian province of Idlib. - Syrian President's forces have since December battled to retake the jihadist-dominated stronghold, where Ankara backs some rebel groups. The offensive has caused almost a million people to flee their homes and shelters, and triggered a direct Turkish military intervention last week. (Photo by Adem ALTAN / AFP) (Photo by ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Press Release

Moscow Summit Must Prioritize Ending Renewed Attacks on Civilians in Idlib

Ahead of a summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Moscow tomorrow (Thursday, March 5) to discuss the escalating military conflict in Idlib in Syria, Lynn Maalouf, Amnesty International’s Middle East Research Director, said: “The Moscow summit represents an opportunity for Russia and Turkey to prioritize the safety of civilians."

March 4, 2020

Iranians wave a national flag (R) during a protest in support of the Islamic republic's government and supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in the northwestern city of Ardabil on November 20, 2019, as President Hassan Rouhani said the country's people had defeated an "enemy conspiracy" behind a wave of violent street protests. - Demonstrations erupted in sanctions-hit Iran last week after an announcement the price of petrol would be raised by as much as 200 percent, with motorists blocking major roads in Tehran before the unrest spread rapidly to at least 40 urban centres, with petrol pumps torched, police stations attacked and shops looted. (Photo by STR / AFP) (Photo by STR/AFP via Getty Images)

Press Release

New Evidence Shows At Least 23 Children Killed in Iran by Security Forces During November Protests

An investigation by Amnesty International has uncovered evidence that at least 23 children were killed by Iranian security forces in the nationwide protests in November last year.

March 3, 2020

HONG KONG, CHINA - 2020/02/12: Police officers confront protesters gathered in a public state building complex with the intention to stop a plan for a clinic to treat infected patients with coronavirus disease in Wong Tai Sing, Hong Kong. Protest demanding the Hong Kong government to take stronger action against the Coronavirus disease. The death toll from the covid-19 coronavirus epidemic passed 1, 100 and infected over 45, 000 people worldwide. (Photo by Miguel Candela/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Press Release

Arrest of Pro-Democracy Activists in Hong Kong is Fresh Attempt to Crush Dissent

In response to today’s arrest of media tycoon Jimmy Lai and two other pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong on charges of “unlawful assembly” for their participation in largely peaceful mass protests on August 31, 2019, Director of Amnesty International Hong Kong Man-Kei Tam said:

February 28, 2020

EDITORS NOTE: Graphic content / Syrians gather near a crater on the ground at the scene of a pro-regime forces air strike in the town Maarrat Misrin in Syrias northwestern Idlib province, on February 25, 2020. (Photo by Abdulaziz KETAZ / AFP) (Photo by ABDULAZIZ KETAZ/AFP via Getty Images)

Press Release

Targeting Schools Being Properly Used for Educational Purposes in Idlib, Syria is a War Crime

Following reports that 10 schools were hit by shelling in Idlib and Aleppo countryside, Heba Morayef, Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Regional Director, said:

February 25, 2020

Press Release

Dispatch from Guantanamo: U.S. Must Open Criminal Investigation into Mitchell and Jessen, Two Torture Program Psychologists

Following testimony at Guantanamo over the past two weeks of James E. Mitchell and John “Bruce” Jessen--two contract psychologists who played leading roles in designing and implementing the CIA’s so-called “enhanced interrogation techniques”--in which Mitchell described in detail their direct participation in torture, Amnesty International issued a call for a criminal investigation to be opened immediately. Zeke Johnson, the senior director of programs at Amnesty International USA, said: "No longer can those responsible for torture justify their brutality by claiming that they were told their actions were legal. These practices were illegal back then and they are illegal now. Not…

January 31, 2020

KOLKATA, WEST BENGAL, INDIA - 2020/01/21: Muslim women hold poster and shout slogan during a rally to protest against Citizenship Amendment Act or CAA 2019. (Photo by Ved Prakash/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Press Release

New Study Shows Shocking Scale of Abuse on Twitter Against Women Politicians in India

Women politicians in India face a shocking scale of abuse on Twitter, reveals data from a new study titled “Troll Patrol India: Exposing Online Abuse Faced by Women Politicians in India." The study was conducted using crowdsourcing, machine learning and data science. It reviewed hundreds of thousands of tweets sent to 95 women politicians — an analysis on an unprecedented scale in India, said Amnesty International India today.

January 23, 2020

Palestinian woman and children walk past an Israeli flag at the mainly deserted Shuhada Street in the divided town of Hebron, in the Israeli occupied West Bank, on January 13, 2020. - At the outset of the second Palestinian intifada in 2000, or uprising, the Israeli army declared Shuhada street a "closed military zone," restricting Palestinian access to residents of the immediate area, on foot only. (Photo by Emmanuel DUNAND / AFP) (Photo by EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP via Getty Images)

Press Release

Court in Israel Decides to Hear Case Against NSO Behind Closed Doors

Responding to a decision by Tel Aviv District Court on Thursday to close the doors of the hearing of a legal action seeking to revoke the export license of spyware firm NSO Group, Danna Ingleton, Deputy Director of Amnesty Tech, said:

January 16, 2020

Press Release

Architects of CIA torture program to testify at Guantanamo for first time

The two psychologists responsible for designing and implementing the CIA’s “enhanced interrogation techniques” will testify in pre-trial hearings in the September 11 case at Guantánamo Bay next week. Amnesty International experts will be there to observe their testimony.  The contract psychologists, James E. Mitchell and John “Bruce” Jessen, are responsible for developing interrogation techniques, including waterboarding, confinement in small boxes, beatings, and sleep deprivation, which amounted to torture. Many detainees suffered such abuse in secret sites around the globe, including in Europe, with the complicity of a number of European governments. Julia Hall, Amnesty International’s leading expert on counter-terrorism, who…

January 16, 2020

Lebanese anti-government protesters gather during clashes with riot police following a demonstration outside the police barracks in the capital Beirut overnight on January 16, 2020. - Public anger against cash-strapped banks has boiled over in crisis-hit Lebanon, where demonstrators armed with metal rods, fire extinguishers and rocks attacked branches overnight in protest at controls that have trapped the savings of ordinary depositors. Police said 59 people were detained, in one of the largest waves of arrests since Lebanon's anti-government protests began on October 17 demanding sweeping reforms. (Photo by ANWAR AMRO / AFP) (Photo by ANWAR AMRO/AFP via Getty Images)

Press Release

Arbitrary Arrests and Beatings of Protesters in Lebanon Must Immediately End

The Lebanese Internal Security Forces, including anti-riot police, used excessive and unlawful force against protesters on the nights of January 14 and 15, subjecting scores of protesters to brutal beatings and carrying out waves of arbitrary arrests of many peaceful protesters after two nights of clashes with a minority of protesters.

January 16, 2020

TEHRAN, IRAN - JANUARY 14: People take part in an anti-government protest organised by University of Tehran held after Iran's announcement on unintentionally shooting down Ukrainian 737 plane in Tehran, leaving all passengers, crew members dead, on January 14, 2020 in Tehran, Iran. (Photo by Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Press Release

Scores Injured as Security Forces Use Unlawful Force to Crush Protests in Iran

Verified video footage, photographs and testimonies from victims and eyewitnesses on the ground obtained by Amnesty International, confirm that Iranian security forces used unlawful force against peaceful protesters who gathered across Iran following the authorities’ admission that they had shot down a Ukrainian passenger plane on January 8.

January 15, 2020