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Press Release

While yesterday’s surprise sealing of Amnesty International’s long-term office by Moscow city authorities will hamper day-to-day work, its staff will continue to stand up against human rights violations and abuses committed in Russia and abroad, the organization said.    Attempts to resolve the issue have so far been stonewalled by municipal authorities, who falsely claimed that Amnesty International was in arrears on its rent, and terminated the organization’s lease in a clear abuse of process.    “If the authorities remain unwilling to solve this issue, it will soon start to look ominously like a deliberate move to obstruct our work…

November 3, 2016

Press Release

Staff at Amnesty International’s Moscow office arrived at work this morning to find their office unexpectedly sealed with a notice from municipal authorities warning people not to enter.

November 2, 2016

Press Release

Militia fighters from the Sab’awi tribe have unlawfully detained, publicly humiliated and tortured or otherwise ill-treated men and boys in villages south-east of Mosul that were recaptured from the armed group calling itself the Islamic State (IS) in recent days, said Amnesty International. The organization’s researchers on the ground in Iraq interviewed local officials and eyewitnesses including villagers who described how members of the Sab’awi Tribal Mobilization militia (Hashd al-‘Ashairi) carried out punitive revenge attacks. Residents suspected of having ties to IS were beaten with metal rods and given electric shocks. Some were tied to the bonnets of vehicles and…

November 2, 2016

Press Release

Human rights lawyer latest to be barred from travelling abroad The Egyptian authorities should stop imposing travel bans to prevent human rights defenders from leaving the country and speaking out about Egypt’s appalling human rights record, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said after another prominent human rights lawyer was banned from travelling today. The bans are part of a larger campaign to suppress independent, critical voices inside the country. Early this morning, human rights defender Malek Adly was stopped from boarding a flight to France without any reasons given, as required by law, he said by phone. Since the armed forces…

November 2, 2016

Press Release

Three students in Cameroon were sentenced by a military court to 10 years in prison today after sending a sarcastic text message about Boko Haram. Fomusoh Ivo Feh, Afuh Nivelle Nfor and Azah Levis Gob were convicted for “non-denunciation of terrorist acts.”

November 2, 2016

Report

Decades of resource development and government policy failures have strained the social fabric of communities in northeast British Columbia (BC), Canada, and have put the lives and safety of Indigenous women and girls at great risk, Amnesty International said in a new report.

November 1, 2016

Report

Italy: Beatings and unlawful expulsions amid EU push to get tough on refugees and migrants  The European Union’s pressure on Italy to “get tough” on refugees and migrants has led to unlawful expulsions and ill-treatment which in some cases may amount to torture, a new report from Amnesty International revealed today. Beatings, electric shocks and sexual humiliation are among the numerous allegations of abuse documented in Hotspot Italy: How EU’s flagship approach leads to violations of refugee and migrant rights. The report demonstrates how the EU-sponsored ‘hotspot approach’ for processing refugees and migrants at the point of arrival is not…

November 1, 2016

Update

Today on the 16th Anniversary of Resolution 1325, there is still much progress to be made on women’s inclusion in peace and security efforts.

October 31, 2016

Press Release

The fierce offensive on western Aleppo city launched by armed opposition groups on October 28 has been marked by indiscriminate attacks on civilian areas that cannot be justified as a way to break the relentless siege that has sparked a humanitarian crisis in eastern Aleppo, Amnesty International said. Up to 48 people including 17 children have been killed in civilian areas of government-controlled western Aleppo since the offensive began, according to the Syrian Observatory of Human Rights.  “The goal of breaking the siege on eastern Aleppo does not give armed opposition groups a license to flout the rules of international…

October 31, 2016

Press Release

In response to this morning’s detention of 11 journalists and staff from Cumhuriyet newspaper and the shutting down of 15 media outlets over the weekend, Amnesty International’s Europe Director, John Dalhuisen, said:   “Today’s detention of journalists and staff from Turkey’s only remaining mainstream opposition newspaper is part of an ongoing systematic attempt to silence all critical voices. Together with the shutting down of media houses over the weekend, this is the latest wave in a post-coup purge which has turned Turkey’s once vibrant media landscape into a wasteland.”   “The blatant misuse of emergency powers to shut down media…

October 31, 2016

Press Release

Pakistan’s authorities must immediately and unconditionally release hundreds of opposition activists, lift restrictions on their movement and take all appropriate measures to ensure that people are allowed to exercise their right to peaceful assembly, Amnesty International said today. The organization’s calls come as Pakistan’s authorities have intensified their crackdown on supporters of Imran Khan’s Tehreek-e-Insaf party, including by using unnecessary and excessive force. The police fired tear gas and rubber bullets against protesters and detained hundreds in indiscriminate and arbitrary mass arrests. Amnesty International has received credible reports that hundreds of people have been arrested under Section 144 of the…

October 31, 2016

Press Release

·         “They lied to us”: testimony shows refugees were told they were going to Athens ·         Asylum claims and procedural guarantees ignored ·         EU border agency officers involved Greece has illegally returned at least eight Syrian refugees to Turkey without respecting procedural guarantees or considering their asylum claims, documentation and testimonies obtained by Amnesty International reveal.  The Syrians, including four children under the age of five, were rescued in Greek waters when their boat travelling from Turkey to Italy encountered problems and they were taken to the island of Milos on October 9. All eight registered their intention to claim…

October 28, 2016