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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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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