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An employee of the Qatar based news network and TV channel Al-Jazeera is seen at the channel's Jerusalem office on July 31, 2017. Israel said on August 6, 2017 that it planned to close the offices of Al-Jazeera after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused the Arab satellite news broadcaster of incitement. A statement from the communications ministry said it would demand the revocation of the credentials of journalists working for the channel and also cut its cable and satellite connections. / AFP PHOTO / AHMAD GHARABLI (Photo credit should read AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP/Getty Images)

Press Release

Israel plans to shut down Al Jazeera are an attack on media freedom

In response to the announcement by Israel’s communications minister, Ayoub Kara, that the Israeli government has decided to close Al…

August 7, 2017

SYDNEY TOWN HALL, SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - 2016/02/08: Protesters at Town Hall Square gathered to demonstrate against offshore detention. With mounting public and political pressure against the Australian Federal Government an estimated 4000 protesters rallied at Sydney Town Hall to demonstrate their opposition to the deportation and detention of asylum seeker children to the offshore processing centers of Manus Island and Nauru. The protesters called for the abandonment of all offshore detention with the vocal message of 'let them stay'. (Photo by Richard Ashen/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images) GI_ ID No 509063408

Press Release

Despite Trump’s Comments, U.S. Must Show Compassion to Refugees Suffering in Australian-Run Detention Center

Responding to reports of protests on Manus Island, where Papua New Guinea (PNG) immigration officials, implementing a policy set by…

August 4, 2017

Brittany Peterson/McClatchy DC/TNS via Getty Images

Report

Nicaragua: Country’s future for sale as canal threatens thousands with forced eviction

The Nicaraguan government must stop placing business before the future of the country and its people, Amnesty International said in…

August 3, 2017

All three photos were made on 18 December 2015 in Sakharov Centre in Moscow, Russia during annual Amnesty Party by AI-Russia campaigner Ivan Kondratenko. Ali Feruz (Khudoberdi Nurmatov) holds a poster in support of Uzbekistani journalist Muhammad Bekzhanov who was a hero of Letter Writing Marathon in 2015. Ali Feruz is an asylum seeker from Uzbekistan, a journalist of Novaya Gazeta and activist of Amnesty International in Moscow

Press Release

Russia: Decision to deport journalist to Uzbekistan puts him at risk of persecution and torture

The Russian authorities must immediately overturn their decision to deport asylum seeker Khudoberdi Nurmatov, better known under his journalist alias…

August 2, 2017

Military Intelligence detained Bassel Khartabil on 15 March 2012 and he has remained in detention since. He was initially held incommunicado in the Military Intelligence Detention facility in Kafr Sousseh for eight months and later in the military jail in Saydnaya, where prison personnel tortured him for three weeks, he later told his family. Officials provided Bassel Khartabil’s family with no information about where or why he was in custody until 24 December 2012, when authorities moved him to ‘Adra central prison, where Khartabil was eventually allowed visits from his family. A Syrian of Palestinian parents, Khartabil is a 34-year old computer engineer who worked to build a career in software and web development. Before his arrest, he used his technical expertise to help advance freedom of speech and access to information via the Internet. Among other projects, he founded Creative Commons Syria, a nonprofit organization that enables people to share artistic and other work using free legal tools.

Press Release

Syria: Extrajudicial execution of Bassel Khartabil a grim reminder of Syrian prison horrors

Responding to news of the execution of Syrian-Palestinian human rights activist Bassel Khartabil today, Anna Neistat, Amnesty International’s Senior Director…

August 2, 2017

LAMPEDUSA, ITALY - MAY 24: Refugees and migrants are seen swimming and yelling for assistance from crew members from the Migrant Offshore Aid Station (MOAS) 'Phoenix' vessel after a wooden boat bound for Italy carrying more than 500 people capsized on May 24, 2017 off Lampedusa, Italy. Numbers of refugees and migrants attempting the dangerous central Mediterranean crossing from Libya to Italy has risen since the same time last year with more than 43,000 people recorded so far in 2017. In an attempt to slow the flow of migrants Italy recently signed a deal with Libya, Chad and Niger outlining a plan to increase border controls and add new reception centers in the African nations, which are key transit points for migrants heading to Italy. MOAS is a Malta based NGO dedicated to providing professional search-and-rescue assistance to refugees and migrants in distress at sea. Since the start of the year MOAS have rescued and assisted 3572 people and are currently patrolling and running rescue operations in international waters off the coast of Libya. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

Press Release

Italy ready to consign refugees and migrants to horrific abuse in Libyan detention centres

Responding to news that the Italian parliament has voted in favour of deploying warships in Libyan waters to support the…

August 2, 2017

Opposition activists shout slogans while members of the National Orchestra System hold a demonstration in rejection of the recent deaths of young people by security forces -within opposition protests- in Caracas on May 7, 2017. The last death in Venezuela's unrest, of a 22-year-old man, occurred during looting in Valencia, one of Venezuelan cities hardest hit by a worsening economic crisis. Demonstrators blame Maduro for the country's plight and the shortages of food and medicine, and demand elections to remove the leftist president. / AFP PHOTO / JUAN BARRETO (Photo credit should read JUAN BARRETO/AFP/Getty Images)

Press Release

Venezuela at breaking point as opposition leaders seized from homes

The seizure of two opposition leaders in Caracas late last night is a telling sign that the Maduro administration is…

August 1, 2017

Report

Iran vilifies human rights defenders as ‘enemies of the state’

Iran’s judicial and security bodies have waged a vicious crackdown against human rights defenders since Hassan Rouhani became president in…

August 1, 2017

Since 4 April, there have been at least 60 people reported dead and 1,000 injured in the context of the political crisis, according to official figures. According to local NGOs, hundreds of people have been unfairly imprisoned in the context of massive anti-government demonstrations that have been taking place across Venezuela. More than 300 people are believed to have been taken to military courts, accused of crimes such as “rebellion”, “terrorism” and “treason”, and effectively treated like soldiers in an armed conflict. Over recent weeks, security forces have used undue force to prevent peaceful demonstrations from taking place. Individuals living in residential areas, and not taking part in demonstrations, have also reported being victims of indiscriminate tear gas attacks. The community in La Isabelica, Carabobo, is a striking example of the extent of the indiscriminate use of violence against people not involved in the recent wave of protests. Amnesty International has received direct reports of random shootings against civilians, tear gas being shot straight into homes, and a sense of generalized fear to report these incident to the authorities.

Press Release

Venezuela: Acts of violence highlight government’s disregard for human rights

The dramatic increase in illegal use of force, scores of arbitrary detentions and the killing of at least 10 people,…

July 31, 2017

Press Release

Gruesome murder of Kenyan election official must be investigated

Reacting to the murder of Chris Msando, head of information technology at Kenya’s independent election monitoring body, Amnesty International’s Kenya…

July 31, 2017

Press Release

Brazil: New Amnesty campaign will fight back as Congress considers legal changes that flagrantly attack human rights

Amnesty International today launches a new campaign to fight back against a raft of changes currently being discussed by Congress…

July 31, 2017

Press Release

Russia: VPN ban is a major blow to internet freedom

A new law signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin banning anonymizers and virtual private networks (VPNs) is a major blow…

July 31, 2017