Below you’ll find breaking news as well as reports, updates on our campaigns, and victories.
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Report
Scorched Earth, Poisoned Air: Sudanese Government Forces Ravage Jebel Marra, Darfur
An Amnesty International investigation has gathered horrific evidence of the repeated use of what are believed to be chemical weapons against civilians, including very young children, by Sudanese government forces in one of the most remote regions of Darfur over the past eight months.
September 26, 2016
Press Release
Killing of Jordanian journalist a deplorable attack on freedom of expression
The shooting to death of a prominent journalist outside a court in Amman yesterday is an alarming attack on freedom of expression, said Amnesty International.
September 26, 2016
Press Release
Pakistan: Stop execution of death row prisoner with mental disability
Pakistan’s authorities must not execute Imdad Ali, a death row prisoner with a history of mental illness, Amnesty International said today.
September 26, 2016
Report
Thailand: A culture of torture under the military
Since seizing power in a 2014 coup, Thailand’s military authorities have allowed a culture of torture and other ill-treatment to flourish across the country, with soldiers and policemen targeting suspected insurgents, political opponents, and individuals from the most vulnerable sections of society, a new report by Amnesty International said today. The report, “Make Him Speak by Tomorrow”: Torture and Other Ill-Treatment in Thailand, documents 74 cases of torture and other ill-treatment at the hands of soldiers and the police, including beatings, suffocation by plastic bags, strangling by hand or rope, waterboarding, electric shocks of the genitals, and other forms of…
September 23, 2016
Press Release
Chelsea Manning Punishment for Suicide Attempt is Cruel and Inhumane
A prison disciplinary board has sentenced Chelsea Manning, who is currently serving a 35-year sentence at the United States Penitentiary in Leavenworth, to 14 days in solitary confinement following her suicide attempt in July.
September 23, 2016
Press Release
Azerbaijan: Assaults on freedom of expression mar constitutional referendum
Threats, arrests and prosecutions of those who have voiced criticism of the proposed amendments to the Constitution have been a defining feature of the authorities’ campaign ahead of the referendum scheduled in Azerbaijan on 26 September, Amnesty International said ahead of the vote. “The referendum has been accompanied by arrests and intimidation from the beginning. Those who have attempted to criticise and campaign against these proposals have faced assaults and harassment by the authorities,” said Denis Krivosheev, Deputy Director for Europe and Central Asia at Amnesty International. Last month, police arrested three political activists from the opposition group, Republican Alternative (REAL)…
September 23, 2016
Report
European paralysis forces tens of thousands of asylum-seekers to live in appalling conditions
One year on from promises to relocate over 66,000 asylum-seekers from Greece, just 6% relocated A year after EU leaders agreed on an emergency relocation scheme to share responsibility for asylum-seekers, tens of thousands remain stranded in appalling conditions in Greece, Amnesty International revealed in a new briefing published today. Our hope is broken provides detailed case studies, evidence and data on the ways in which European governments’ lack of political will is condemning extremely vulnerable people to crippling insecurity and hardship. It reveals that just 6% of the commitments for relocation from Greece have been fulfilled. “At the current…
September 22, 2016
Press Release
Bahrain: Dissolution of main opposition party is flagrant attack on freedom of expression and association
In response to a Bahraini court’s decision today to uphold the dissolution of the country’s main opposition political group, Al-Wefaq, Amnesty International’s Research and Advocacy Director, Philip Luther said: “The decision to uphold the dissolution of Al-Wefaq is a flagrant attack on freedom of expression and association and a brazen attempt to suppress criticism of the government in Bahrain. “The Bahraini authorities have not presented any credible evidence that Al-Wefaq is anything but a peaceful opposition movement which has been seeking reform in the country in the face of increasing government repression. “In the absence of independent institutions to scrutinize…
September 22, 2016
Press Release
Sudan: No Justice for Protester Killings
UN Should Press Sudan to Investigate, Prosecute Those Responsible Sudanese authorities have yet to provide justice to victims of a violent crackdown on anti-austerity protesters in Khartoum in September 2013, the African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies (ACJPS), Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said today. “Although it seems like Sudan has succeeded in sweeping the horrific violence of September 2013 under the carpet, victims’ families still demand justice,” said Mosaad Mohamed Ali, Executive director at ACJPS “The UN Human Rights Council, currently holding a session on Sudan, should press Sudan to hold those responsible to account for the…
September 22, 2016
Update
Troy Davis: 5 Years On
Troy was on death row for over two decades before he was finally executed. In that time he became a leader himself in the movement to end the death penalty, with his steadfast spirit and unshakeable faith in justice inspiring activists around the world.
September 21, 2016
Press Release
India: Kashmiri human rights activist re-arrested
Kashmiri human rights activist Khurram Parvez has been detained a second time, after a court ordered his release from administrative detention on Tuesday. “Detaining a person right after he is released, without any intention to charge him or bring him to trial, amounts to using a revolving door of persecution,” said Aakar Patel, Executive Director, Amnesty International India. “This kind of arbitrary use of the law suggests that the Jammu and Kashmir police are determined to lock up Khurram Parvez at any cost.” The activist was first arrested on 16 September and placed in administrative detention in a jail in Kupwara, over…
September 21, 2016
Press Release
Saudi Arms Deal Must Be Halted After Failed Senate Vote
A resolution to block the latest arms sale to Saudi Arabia by the Obama administration failed in the Senate today.
September 21, 2016