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Press Release

Ahead of President Trump’s visit to the UK this week, Amnesty International is calling for Theresa May to “stand up to Trump” and to put the Anglo-American diplomatic relationship on a new “intelligently critical” footing. Amnesty International UK called on the Prime Minister to take up key human rights issues when she meets the president for talks, including the US administration’s policy of detaining child migrants and the reinstatement and expansion of a highly controversial “global gag rule” affecting funding for international women’s health programs. Meanwhile, Amnesty International, a host of other groups and thousands of members of the public…

July 12, 2018

Press Release

This World Refugee Day, Amnesty International USA is calling on all people living in the United States to welcome refugees and asylum-seekers into their communities. While some elected leaders would have us believe that those seeking safety do not deserve to be welcomed here in the United States, we know this to be false. Every day, we see the tremendous popular support that exists for welcoming refugees and asylum seekers in towns, cities, and public squares around the country. On this World Refugee Day, Amnesty International USA urges individuals to take action to welcome those in search of safety into…

June 20, 2018

Press Release

This year’s Kyiv Pride demonstration, which brought together thousands of people in a display of solidarity with the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) community in Ukraine, is a significant human rights achievement for the country, Amnesty International said today. “In a country where homophobic attitudes are still strong, and where LGBTI rights activists face growing intimidation, harassment and violence from far-right groups, the Kyiv Pride demonstration was a genuine achievement and celebration of national significance,” said Amnesty International Director Oksana Pokalchuk. “Respect for human dignity, freedom and equality is the cornerstone of any healthy society. One cannot but…

June 18, 2018

Press Release

The Kyrgyzstani authorities must ramp up their efforts to put an immediate end to the appalling practice of “bride kidnapping”, Amnesty International said today as details emerged that an 18-year-old woman has been abducted and raped in an effort to force her to marry her attacker. The latest incident, which occurred on June 10 according to a local human rights organization, follows the kidnapping and murder of 20-year-old medical student Burulay Turdaliyeva in late May which triggered a public outrage. “These two horrific crimes have taken place within just 14 days of each other, suggesting that though laws exist to…

June 15, 2018

Press Release

Responding to news that the prominent British human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell has been arrested and charged with a criminal offence after staging a protest near Moscow’s Red Square about LGBTI rights in Chechnya, Kate Allen, Amnesty International UK’s Director, said: “The response to Peter Tatchell’s protest is straight out of the Russian authorities’ playbook - protest in a high-profile location like Red Square, hold a placard criticising Putin or speak in support of LGBTI right in public, and face immediate arrest by the police. “In present-day Russia, there’s no right to peacefully protest, no right to publicly stand up…

June 14, 2018

Press Release

Responding to reports that Abdulrasheed al-Faqih, the Executive Director of Mwatana Organization for Human Rights, was arrested this morning while on his way to Sey’oun airport in the southern Yemeni city of Mukalla, Samah Hadid, Middle East Campaigns Director at Amnesty International, said: “Abdulrasheed al- Faqih is one of Yemen’s most prominent human rights defenders and has worked tirelessly to expose the myriad human rights abuses committed by all parties in Yemen’s brutal conflict. He was arrested this morning by security forces affiliated to the internationally recognized Yemeni government while travelling to seek medical treatment, and we are now extremely concerned for his safety.…

June 14, 2018

Press Release

The bill to decriminalize abortion in Argentina, approved today by the Chamber of Deputies, is a fundamental step for the rights of women and people capable of conceiving, and a way of combating structural violence, said Amnesty International. “We’re celebrating this first step taken by the Chamber of Deputies in its decision to move towards decriminalizing abortion. New legislation could end a vicious circle where women have no option but to risk their lives, their health, and their freedom if they are sent to prison. Classifying the legal termination of a pregnancy as a crime has no basis in international…

June 14, 2018

Press Release

The Nigerian military is increasingly resorting to threats, intimidation and smears to discredit Amnesty International’s work documenting the human rights violations it has committed, Amnesty International said today. On May 24, 2018 the organization released a report, “They Betrayed Us”, which documented the prevalence of sexual violence against starving women and girls detained in satellite camps under the control of Nigerian soldiers and militia. The Nigerian military responded by organizing smear campaigns and issuing threats to “take action against Amnesty International”. “Rather than taking action to address the issues raised in this report, like investigating countless allegations of rape and other…

June 7, 2018

Press Release

The international community and allies of the Saudi Arabian government must speak up to help secure the immediate and unconditional release of the women’s rights defenders currently detained in Saudi Arabia, Amnesty International said today. More than two weeks have now passed since a number of prominent women’s rights activists, including Loujain al-Hathloul, Iman al-Nafjan and Aziza al-Youssef were arrested, and yet they remain detained without charge and incommunicado with no access to their families or lawyers. Yesterday, the European Parliament issued a resolution calling for their unconditional release and that of all human rights defenders. It also called for a more…

June 1, 2018

Press Release

Reacting to news of the victory for the “Yes” campaign in Ireland’s referendum on abortion, Colm O Gorman, Executive Director of Amnesty International Ireland said the following.

May 26, 2018

Press Release

Pakistan has secured historic advances for the rights of people in the tribal areas along the Afghan border with the passage of a new constitutional amendment that breaks with disgraceful laws rooted in the colonial era, Amnesty International said today. The passage of the constitutional amendment marks the second time this month that the Pakistani parliament has united across deep political divides on key human rights issues, coming on the heels of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act. “This is an historic moment that ends more than a century and a half of colonial-era draconian laws for people in…

May 25, 2018

Report

Thousands of women and girls who survived the brutal rule of the Boko Haram armed group have since been further abused by the Nigerian security forces who claim to be rescuing them, said Amnesty International in a new report released today.   "They betrayed us" reveals how the Nigerian military and Civilian Joint Task Force (Civilian JTF) – a militia who work alongside them – have separated women from their husbands and confined them in remote “satellite camps” where they have been raped, sometimes in exchange for food. Amnesty International has collected evidence that thousands of people have starved to death in the camps in…

May 23, 2018