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The international community’s chilling complacency towards wide-scale human rights violations in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) has emboldened governments to commit appalling violations during 2018 by giving them the sense that they need never fear facing justice, said Amnesty International as it published a review of human rights in the region last year. The report Human rights in the Middle East and North Africa: A review of 2018 describes how authorities across the region have unashamedly persisted with ruthless campaigns of repression in order to crush dissent, cracking down on protesters, civil society and political opponents, often with tacit support…

February 26, 2019

Press Release

In the context of the arrival of international aid, and in response to multiple complaints of the use of force and attacks on demonstrators with firearms – including AK-type rifles – in Santa Elena de Uairén, Bolívar state, and in other areas of Venezuela, which have resulted in at least two deaths and 22 people wounded, Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International, said: “We demand that Nicolás Maduro put an end to the use of force. The security forces must refrain from using weapons of war and other firearms against the population, and the pro-Nicolás Maduro armed groups must…

February 23, 2019

Press Release

Amnesty International Kenya joins other Kenyans and persons of good will around the world in expressing shock and outrage at the attacks that deliberately targeted and caused damage to lives and property at 14 Riverside Drive, Nairobi, this afternoon. According to media reports, the insurgent group Al Shabaab has claimed responsibility for the attacks. If the intention of the attackers is to intimidate and create fear among Kenyans, this will have the opposite result. Kenyans shall rally as they have done in the past to protect their constitutional rights and freedoms. We urge the security agencies to promptly and effectively…

January 16, 2019

Press Release

The military prison at Guantánamo Bay remains a stain on the human rights record of the United States and continues to present site for ongoing violations as long as it stays open, said Amnesty International USA on the eve of the January 11 anniversary of its opening. “When President Trump revoked President Obama’s order to close the military prison at Guantánamo, he opened the door for a whole new era of horrific human rights violations to take place,” said Daphne Eviatar, director of Security with Human Rights at Amnesty International USA. “While the prison should have been relegated long ago…

January 10, 2019

Press Release

In response to the publication of the “Report on the Acts of Violence Occurred Between April 18 and May 30, 2018 in Nicaragua," by the Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts (GIEI-Nicaragua) today, Erika Guevara Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International, said: “The damning report by the Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts reveals that the government of President Daniel Ortega has committed crimes against humanity in the context of the crisis that began last April. This report constitutes a detailed investigation of the crimes under international law and human rights violations carried out by state agents under the command of President Ortega,…

December 21, 2018

Report

As part of its brutal campaign against northern Iraq’s Yezidi minority, the armed group calling itself Islamic State (IS) committed war crimes and crimes against humanity when it sabotaged irrigation wells and destroyed other farming infrastructure, Amnesty International said in a new report today. A year after Iraq’s government declared military victory over IS, Dead Land: Islamic State’s Deliberate Destruction of Iraq’s Farmland details how the armed group also burnt orchards, looted livestock and machinery and laid landmines in farming areas. “The damage to Iraq’s countryside is as far-reaching as the urban destruction, but the consequences of the conflict on…

December 12, 2018

Press Release

Amnesty International is taking legal advice in order to revoke the export licence of Israel-based NSO Group, after it was revealed the cyber firm’s spyware had been used in an attempt to spy on an Amnesty staff member. A recent investigation by Haaretz newspaper uncovered the firm’s sophisticated surveillance tool “Pegasus” was offered to authorities in Saudi Arabia last year. Two weeks ago, Amnesty International Israel submitted an urgent request to the Israeli Ministry of Defence, demanding that NSO Group's defence export licence be revoked in light of an attempted cyber attack on an Amnesty staff member via NSO's spyware.…

November 28, 2018

Press Release

Several Saudi Arabian activists, including a number of women, who have been arbitrarily detained without charge since May 2018 in Saudi Arabia’s Dhahban Prison, have reportedly faced sexual harassment, torture and other forms of ill-treatment during interrogation, Amnesty International said today. According to three separate testimonies obtained by the organization, the activists were repeatedly tortured by electrocution and flogging, leaving some unable to walk or stand properly. In one reported instance, one of the activists was made to hang from the ceiling, and according to another testimony, one of the detained women was reportedly subjected to sexual harassment, by interrogators wearing…

November 20, 2018

Press Release

Libyan, European and Panamanian authorities must ensure that at least 79 refugees and migrants who are on board a merchant vessel at the port of Misratah are not forced to disembark to be taken to a Libyan detention centre where they could face torture and other abuse, said Amnesty International today. The refugees and migrants, including a number of children, were found as they attempted to reach Europe by boat across the Mediterranean. Amnesty International understands that Italian and Maltese maritime authorities were involved in the operation, carried out by the merchant ship Nivin. Flying a Panamanian flag, the Nivin…

November 16, 2018

Press Release

A year after shocking images purporting to show human beings being bought and sold in Libya caused a global outcry, the situation for migrants and refugees in the country remains bleak and in some respects has worsened, said Amnesty International. Findings published by the organization today highlight how EU member states’ policies to curb migration, as well as their failure to provide sufficient resettlement places for refugees, continue to fuel a cycle of abuse by trapping thousands of migrants and refugees in appalling conditions in Libyan detention centres. “One year after video footage showing human beings being bought and sold like merchandise shocked the world,…

November 12, 2018

Press Release

Responding to the news that French prosecutors have issued arrest warrants for three senior Syrian government and intelligence officials on charges of torture, enforced disappearances, crimes against humanity and war crimes, Amnesty International’s Senior Director for Research Anna Neistat said: “These arrest warrants for three senior officials, including a top adviser to President Bashar al-Assad, are an important step towards delivering justice for the countless victims of gross human rights violations carried out by the Syrian government. “With war crimes and crimes against humanity continuing to go unpunished in Syria, it is vital that all states cooperate to ensure justice…

November 5, 2018

Press Release

Fears of escalating bloodshed are rising ahead of planned protests in Gaza later today after Israeli authorities announced a “zero tolerance” policy towards demonstrations along the Israel/Gaza fence, said Amnesty International.

October 19, 2018