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Press Release

Reacting to news that Gina Haspel was confirmed for the role of Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, Daphne Eviatar, Director of Security with Human Rights at Amnesty International USA stated: “For more than a decade, the United States has failed to ensure truth, accountability, and access to remedy for victims of official US torture and enforced disappearance. But now, the US has gone further. The Senate has now rewarded that atrocious conduct by promoting someone that reportedly administered it to lead one of the government’s most powerful agencies. “We already knew from the 2014 Senate torture report that it…

May 17, 2018

Press Release

Reacting to news that Gina Haspel has received support from Democratic Sen. Warner for the role of CIA Director, Daphne Eviatar, Director of Security with Human Rights at Amnesty International USA stated:   “Due to the overwhelming public evidence suggesting Haspel’s participation and compliance with crimes including torture, enforced disappearance, and obstruction of justice, Haspel’s nomination is an affront to human rights. This country has not held any officials accountable for the use of torture, so it’s even more outrageous that the government is considering someone to the chief intelligence position in spite of her alleged participation in that clearly illegal…

May 15, 2018

Press Release

Responding to today’s hearing before the United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence on Gina Haspel’s nomination to Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, Daphne Eviatar, Director of Security with Human Rights at Amnesty International USA, stated:     "Gina Haspel failed to answer pointed questions about her view of the CIA interrogation program, particularly the morality of the program, did not provide information to Senators on whether she would promise 'loyalty' to the president if asked, and has refused to declassify information about her role. There cannot be a fair assessment of her ability to lead the agency.  Therefore she should not be confirmed and we call…

May 9, 2018

Press Release

In advance of today’s hearing before the United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence on Gina Haspel’s nomination to Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, Amnesty is calling on the Committee to vote No. “Ever since President Trump nominated Gina Haspel to become CIA Director, we have called for her nomination to be withdrawn pending proper investigation and declassification of her alleged role in the CIA’s program of torture and enforced disappearances. No such investigation has been initiated or conducted, so as things stand, the nomination should not proceed. Simple as that.” said Daphne Eviatar, Director of Security with Human…

May 9, 2018

Press Release

Reacting to news that U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has provided the White House updated guidance on criteria for transferring new individuals to the Guantanamo Bay detention center in Cuba, Daphne Eviatar, Director of Security with Human Rights at Amnesty International USA stated: “Although so far the new policy is secret, the government’s statement suggests it will allow new detainees to be transferred to Guantanamo.  Given the history of torture, unlawful detention and complete lack of justice provided there, no new detainees should ever be transferred to Guantanamo.  The prison should be shut down, and the current 41 detainees still…

May 2, 2018

Press Release

Ahead of the April 30 deadline for the Defense Department to comment on President Trump’s January order to allow the prison at Guantanamo Bay to remain open, Daphne Eviatar, Director of Security with Human Rights at Amnesty International USA stated: “Each day that this administration keeps the prison at Guantanamo open is an affront to human life. The unlawful detentions of those currently there must not be permitted to continue. No more prisoners should be transferred there, all those cleared for transfer should be transferred out immediately, and those remaining should either have their day in federal court, or be…

April 26, 2018

Press Release

Rather than be sent to a third country where he may face torture, a U.S. citizen held in for seven months in Iraq as a suspected fighter for the Islamic State must be either formally charged and given a fair trial in U.S. courts, or released if no charges are forthcoming, said Amnesty International today following a hearing on the man’s case. The United States gave notice earlier this week that it intended to send the detainee, who holds both U.S. and Saudi citizenship, to another country, possibly Saudi Arabia. “No one should be held for so long without charge…

April 19, 2018

Report

As the Trump administration prepares to further expand the US’s lethal drone program, increasing the risk of civilian casualties and unlawful killings, Amnesty International is calling on four European countries to urgently overhaul the crucial operational and intelligence assistance they provide to the program. Amnesty International and others have documented cases, under successive US administrations, where US drone strikes have killed people who were not directly participating in hostilities or posed no imminent threat to life, including children. In a new report, Deadly Assistance: The role of European states in US Drone Strikes, Amnesty International uses open source information to map out…

April 18, 2018

Press Release

There are at least 97 prisoners of conscience languishing in jails in Vietnam, many of whom are kept incommunicado in squalid conditions and routinely subjected to torture or other ill-treatment, new research by Amnesty International reveals today. The organization is publishing the list on the day before six activists – including five people from the Brotherhood for Democracy group – are facing an unfair trial on trumped-up charges of “attempting to overthrow the people's government.” They all risk lengthy jail sentences. “Vietnam is one of Southeast Asia’s most prolific jailers of peaceful activists – a shameful title no one should…

April 3, 2018

Press Release

Responding to the appointment of Win Myint as the new President of Myanmar, James Gomez, Amnesty International’s Director for Southeast Asia and the Pacific, said: “The Myanmar authorities should use the appointment of a new President as an opportunity to step back from the brink. We’ve seen a dramatic deterioration in the human rights situation in the last year, most especially for the Rohingya community who have been targeted in a brutal campaign of ethnic cleansing involving crimes against humanity. “While the military still wields considerable power, the civilian-led government most do more to end discrimination and ensure that perpetrators of…

March 28, 2018

Press Release

Responding to reports that an alleged Russian air strike using an incendiary weapon burned to death 37 civilians – mainly women and children – hiding in an air-raid shelter in the Syrian town of Arbin on Friday, Amnesty International’s Crisis Response Senior Advisor Rawya Rageh said the following.

March 23, 2018

Press Release

Responding to news that John Bolton will replace H.R. McMaster as National Security Advisor, Zeke Johnson, Senior Director of Programs at Amnesty International USA, stated:   "This is a reckless decision. Bolton's influence over national security policy could result in even more civilian deaths and potentially unlawful killings given his disdain for international law and international institutions.   “Bolton’s appointment could be a disaster for human rights. Bolton was a proponent of “un-signing” the international treaty establishing the International Criminal Court -- referring to the United States as the only real power.   “We are particularly concerned how his replacement…

March 22, 2018