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Press Release
Amnesty International USA Responds to DAPL Executive Action
Today, President Trump signed an executive action advancing the completion of the Dakota Access Pipeline. In response to the news, Amnesty International USA's Managing Director of the Individuals at Risk Program, Zeke Johnson, issued the following statement: “President Trump’s decision to disregard the serious concerns of Indigenous people about the Dakota Access Pipeline is a shameful and unconscionable attack on human rights. The U.S. government is obligated under international law to respect, protect, and fulfill the human rights of Indigenous people like the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, including the right to access clean water and the right to peacefully protest.…
January 24, 2017
Press Release
Pompeo’s CIA Must Not Backslide Into Torture
Following the confirmation of Rep. Mike Pompeo to the head of the Central Intelligence Agency, Amnesty International USA executive director Margaret Huang released the following statement:
January 23, 2017
Press Release
Trump and his administration must respect human rights
As Donald Trump takes the oath of office to become the 45th President of the United States, Amnesty International is pressing him and his administration to protect human rights in the USA and abroad.
January 20, 2017
Press Release
Amnesty International USA Responds to Guantanamo Transfers
In response to reports of transfers from Guantanamo Bay, Margaret Huang, executive director of Amnesty International USA, issued the following statement: p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px Arial; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000} span.s1 {font-kerning: none} “While many detainees have at last been transferred, we are gravely disappointed by President Obama’s failure to shutter Guantanamo. This isn’t just a broken promise, it is a serious legal and moral failure that leaves us all at risk of further human rights violations. We are extremely concerned that President-elect Trump will make good on his threat to subject more people to indefinite detention without…
January 20, 2017
Press Release
Russia: Lawmakers must halt alarming plans to decriminalize domestic violence
Ahead of the second reading of a bill to decriminalize some forms of domestic violence in the Russian State Duma, Anna Kirey, Deputy Director for Campaigns for Russia and Eurasia at Amnesty International, said: “This bill is a sickening attempt to trivialize domestic violence, which has long been viewed as a non-issue by the Russian government. Far too often victims find they cannot rely on the law for protection and their abusers are let off the hook, with only a tiny fraction imprisoned for their actions. “The authors of this legislation, chillingly dubbed the ‘slapping bill,’ are betraying the victims…
January 19, 2017
Press Release
Native American Activist Leonard Peltier Denied Clemency
Native American activist Leonard Peltier was denied clemency by President Obama today after more than four decades in prison.
January 18, 2017
Press Release
Commutation for Chelsea Manning is a long overdue positive step for human rights
With less than a week left in his term, President Obama commuted the sentence of Chelsea Manning today. Manning had been serving a 35-year sentence in a maximum security prison after releasing information that pointed to potential crimes under international law and human rights violations by the U.S. military.
January 17, 2017
Press Release
Amnesty International USA Statement on the Passing of Dr. Morton Winston
Dr. Morton Winston, professor of philosophy at the College of New Jersey, longtime leader with Amnesty International, and noted human rights scholar and activist, died suddenly this week while vacationing in Peru.
January 15, 2017
Press Release
Secretary of State Nominee Tillerson’s Answers are Extremely Concerning
Following the first day of Secretary of State nominee Rex Tillerson’s confirmation hearing, Amnesty International USA executive director Margaret Huang released the following statement
January 11, 2017
Report
The long wait for justice: Accountability in Central African Republic
Individuals suspected of committing war crimes including killing and rape during the conflict in the Central African Republic (CAR) are evading investigation and arrest, and in some cases live side by side with their victims, Amnesty International said in a new report released today.
January 10, 2017
Press Release
Saudi Arabia steps up ruthless crackdown against human rights activists
Saudi Arabia’s authorities have begun the year with an intensified crackdown against human rights activists dealing another heavy blow to the last vestiges of the country’s embattled civil society, said Amnesty International.
January 10, 2017
Press Release
Former FBI Agent Calls for Clemency for Leonard Peltier
In a letter sent to President Obama, a former FBI Special Agent called for the president to grant clemency to Native American activist and federal prisoner Leonard Peltier, who has served over 40 years in prison after being convicted in a flawed trial for the deaths of two FBI agents.
January 9, 2017