Below you’ll find breaking news as well as reports, updates on our campaigns, and victories.
If you are a member of the press, please reach out to [email protected]
Press Release
Children among civilians killed and maimed in cluster bomb minefields in Yemen
Children and their families returning home in northern Yemen after a year of conflict are at grave risk of serious injury and death from thousands of unexploded cluster bomb submunitions, Amnesty International said, following a 10-day research trip to Sa’da, Hajjah, and Sana’a governorates.
May 20, 2016
Press Release
Kazakhstan must release activists arrested in disturbing crackdown over Land Code protest
The Kazakhstani authorities must immediately and unconditionally release almost three dozen activists after dramatic wave of arrests, apparently aimed at blocking peaceful demonstrations from going ahead this weekend, Amnesty International said.
May 20, 2016
Press Release
Greek decision highlights fundamental flaws in EU-Turkey refugee deal
A Syrian national who arrived on the Greek island of Lesvos has won an appeal against a decision that would have led to his forcible return to Turkey, underscoring the fundamental flaws in the migration deal agreed in March between the European Union and Turkey, Amnesty International said today.
May 20, 2016
Press Release
Government crackdowns on peaceful demonstrations in Viet Nam
The Vietnamese authorities have cracked down heavily in response to a series of demonstrations taking place throughout the country in May 2016, organized following an ecological catastrophe that has decimated the nation’s fish stocks. Wide-ranging police measures to prevent and punish participation in demonstrations has resulted in a range of human rights violations including torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment and punishment, as well as violations of the rights to peaceful assembly and freedom of movement.
May 20, 2016
Update
4 in 5 People Worldwide Say: ‘We Welcome Refugees’
When Amnesty asked more than 27,000 people across 27 countries if they would welcome refugees, the response was incredible: 4 in 5 people replied with a resounding “yes, we will”! All over the world, people are watching in horror as the global refugee crisis goes from bad to worse. Our survey shows that while many governments still claim they simply can’t find room for refugees, their citizens feel the opposite way. The UK and Australian governments are probably more out of touch than any other leaders globally: an astonishing 87% of British people and 85% of Australians are ready to…
May 19, 2016
Update
That Time When Solitary Confinement Was Not Considered “Solitary Confinement”
It has been more than three years now, but I can still remember the awestruck feeling I had in January 2013 while observing Chelsea Manning’s court-martial proceedings for the unauthorized disclosure of classified military documents to Wikileaks. This thought kept pouring through my mind as I sat intently listening to Col. Lind as she read her decision: “How is solitary confinement not ‘solitary confinement’?” On 18 May, Amnesty International, with the help of attorneys from Keker & Van Nest, LLP, filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Army Court of Criminal Appeals in support of Chelsea Manning’s appeal of her sentence.…
May 19, 2016
Press Release
Egypt steps up vicious onslaught against NGOs with arrest of minority rights defender
Prominent Egyptian human rights defender, Mina Thabet, Director of the Minority and Religious Groups Department at the Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms (ECRF), was arrested today as the government escalates its assault on Egypt’s NGO community.
May 19, 2016
Press Release
16-year-sentence against critically ill human rights defender in Iran signals all-out repression
The shocking 16-year prison sentence against prominent human rights defender Narges Mohammadi, who has several serious, chronic illnesses, represents an all-out attack on human rights defenders in Iran, and demonstrates how Iran’s abusive criminal justice system is used as a tool of repression, said Amnesty International.
May 19, 2016
Press Release
Singapore president must act now to stop execution
The Singapore authorities should immediately halt the execution of Kho Jabing, a Malaysian national convicted of murder, Amnesty International said today.
May 19, 2016
Update
Renowned Physicist in Danger of Dying if Returned to Prison in Iran
It didn’t have to be this way. A promising young physicist, beloved by his colleagues, lies in a hospital bed with just one kidney left. The other was removed because cancer had spread to the point where it was no longer salvageable. If he had only been permitted to get the treatment he needed earlier, he might still have his kidney today. Omid Kokabee has already suffered far too much. The 33-year old scientist has been in either prison or the hospital since he was arrested in Iran more than five years ago in January 2011. After a flawed and unfair trial…
May 18, 2016
Press Release
Repression on the rise in Algeria as peaceful protesters face imprisonment
The Algerian authorities must end their relentless efforts to silence peaceful protesters, said Amnesty International ahead of the start of the trial tomorrow of four protesters from the southern city of Ouargla who are facing up to a year in prison for taking part in protests against unemployment in Algeria’s oil capital, Hassi Messaoud.
May 18, 2016
Press Release
New Poll Shows Majority of Americans Believe U.S. Must Do More for Refugees
New “Refugees Welcome Index” shows government refugee policies out of touch with public
May 18, 2016