Below you’ll find breaking news as well as reports, updates on our campaigns, and victories.
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Press Release
MEDIA ADVISORY: AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL USA TO MARK ANNIVERSARY OF JAMAL KHASHOGGI KILLING
October 2, 2019 marks one year since Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi Arabian journalist who went into self-exile in the United States, entered into a Saudi consulate in Istanbul to obtain marriage documents, never to be seen again. Questions still remain about the killing of Jamal Khashoggi and a credible, transparent investigation into the full truth about what happened to him, those responsible, how high their rank or status, or how they will be held to account has yet to materialize. On the one-year anniversary of Khashoggi’s killing, Amnesty International is continuing calls on the U.N. to investigate the matter and…
September 20, 2019
Press Release
Saudi Arabia: UN findings on Jamal Khashoggi’s murder highlight need for independent criminal investigation to uncover the truth
Responding to the release of the UN report on the murder of Saudi Arabian journalist Jamal Khashoggi, which concludes that he was the victim of “an extrajudicial killing for which the state of Saudi Arabia is responsible under human rights law,” and that “there is credible evidence, warranting further investigation of high-level Saudi officials’ individual liability, including the Crown Prince’s,” Lynn Maalouf, Amnesty International’s Middle East Director of Research, said:
June 19, 2019
Press Release
Saudi Arabia: Decision to spare teenager’s life must be followed by abolition of death penalty for all juveniles
Responding to the news that Murtaja Qureiris, the young man from Saudi Arabia arrested at the age of 13, will not face execution and has been sentenced to 12 years in prison instead, Amnesty International’s Middle East Research Director Lynn Maalouf said the following:
June 17, 2019
Press Release
Congress Must Not Allow Arms Transfers to Saudi Coalition
Responding to reports that President Trump will attempt to exploit loopholes to continue sending arms to Saudi Arabia and the UAE without Congressional approval, Philippe Nassif, the advocacy director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International USA said the following.
May 24, 2019
Press Release
Independent UN Investigation Only Path to Accountability for Khashoggi Killing
While Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that 16 Saudis would be barred form entering the United States in response to the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Amnesty International reiterated its call for an independent investigation into his death. Philippe Nassif, the Advocacy Director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International USA, stated: "If the United States is serious about seeking accountability for the killing of Jamal Khashoggi, then Secretary Pompeo must call for and support an independent investigation, led by the United Nations. Unfortunately, the Trump Administration’s historic willingness to look the other way in the…
April 9, 2019
Press Release
Saudi Arabia: Six months after the brutal killing of Jamal Khashoggi, there remains ‘no real signs of justice’
Marking six months since the shocking murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Samah Hadid, Amnesty International’s Middle East Director of Campaigns, said:
April 2, 2019
Press Release
Saudi Arabia: Provisional release of three women activists a positive step, but bogus charges must be dropped
Responding to the release of three Saudi women activists, Iman al-Nafjan, Aziza al-Yousef and Ruqayyaa al-Mhareb, Lynn Maalouf, Amnesty International’s Middle East Director of Research, said: “The release from jail of Iman al-Najfan, Aziza al-Yousef and Ruqayyah al-Mhareb, who will finally be able to return to their homes and loved ones after their 10-month ordeal of arbitrary detention and torture, is welcome news. “This is a long overdue step as these women should never have been jailed in the first place and their release should certainly not be on a ‘temporary’ basis. They have been locked up, separated from their loved ones,…
March 28, 2019
Report
Human rights in the Middle East and North Africa: A review of 2018
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
Thailand: Amnesty welcomes Saudi woman’s refugee protection
Responding to news that the UN have granted refugee status to Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun, an 18-year old Saudi woman, and put her forward for resettlement to Australia, Amnesty International’s Middle East Director of Campaigns Samah Hadid said: “Rahaf’s story sends an important message: people around the world rallied to support her plea for protection, and people power prevailed over those who tried to oppress her. Rahaf took incredible risks to flee her family home and break Saudi Arabia’s male guardianship rules. In just a few days, her story became an inspiration to millions worldwide. Let it remind the world of…
January 9, 2019
Press Release
Thailand: Don’t deport Saudi woman in grave danger
Responding to reports that Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun, an 18-year-old Saudi woman, faces deportation from the transit zone of Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok (Thailand), Samah Hadid, Amnesty’s Middle East Director of Campaigns said:
January 7, 2019
Report
Oppressive, sexist policies galvanize bold fight for women’s rights in 2018
Women activists around the world have been at the forefront of the battle for human rights in 2018, Amnesty International said today as it launched its review on the state of human rights over the past year. The human rights group also warns that the actions of “tough guy” world leaders pushing misogynistic, xenophobic and homophobic policies has placed freedoms and rights that were won long ago in fresh jeopardy. “In 2018, we witnessed many of these self-proclaimed ‘tough guy’ leaders trying to undermine the very principle of equality – the bedrock of human rights law. They think their policies…
December 9, 2018
Press Release
Reports of torture and sexual harassment of detained activists in Saudi Arabia
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