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
Protesting Live on TV Is an Act of Great Courage, Not a Crime
Responding to the news that Marina Ovsyannikova, an editor on Russia’s state-controlled Channel One TV who interrupted a live news broadcast on Monday to protest Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, was arrested and held incommunicado for at least 15 hours after her show of dissent, Marie Struthers, Amnesty International’s Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, said: “The Russian authorities must immediately release Marina Ovsyannikova, who has been held by them after her courageous protest staged on live TV. No one should be detained solely for expressing their opinions, let alone be kept without contact with the outside world. She…
March 15, 2022
Press Release
Russian Authorities Block Amnesty International’s Russian-Language Website
Responding to the Russian authorities’ decision to block access to Amnesty International’s Russian-language website as part of the Kremlin’s assault on freedom of expression following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Marie Struthers, Amnesty International’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia Director, said: “People in Russia have the right to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds and from all available sources. By blocking Amnesty’s Russian-language site, along with those of many other human rights organizations, independent media outlets and social media platforms, the Kremlin is showing that it can’t stomach the truth about the horror Russia has unleashed in…
March 11, 2022
Press Release
Kremlin’s Ruthless Crackdown Stifles Independent Journalism and Anti-War Movement
The Russian authorities have unleashed an unprecedented, nationwide crackdown on independent journalism, anti-war protests and dissenting voices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Amnesty International said today.
March 10, 2022
Press Release
Kremlin censors media and disperses protesters opposed to Ukraine invasion in Russia
Responding to the news that the Kremlin has censored domestic media as it disperses anti-war protests and persecutes those who publicly oppose Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Marie Struthers, Amnesty International’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia Director, said: “As thousands of protesters take to the streets across Russia to denounce the war, the Kremlin remains hellbent on stifling state critics as it coerces domestic media into supporting its policies. By using force to disperse anti-war rallies and censoring the press, the Russian authorities are plunging deeper and deeper into repression as public sentiment against the war grows.”
February 28, 2022
Update
Amnesty International USA Statement for the Record for February 9th hearing on “‘Targeted Killing’ and the Rule of Law: The Legal and Human Costs of 20 Years of U.S. Drone Strikes”
On behalf of Amnesty International USA and our members and supporters in the United States, we hereby submit this statement for the record to address our concerns that the United States has at times failed to abide by international humanitarian law and international human rights law in its use of air strikes that have harmed large numbers of civilians over the past 20 years.
February 9, 2022
Press Release
To Protect Human Rights in Russia, Newly Elected MPs Must Repeal Repressive Laws
Newly elected members of Russia’s State Duma, or lower house of parliament, must not shirk their duty to urgently address the country’s increasingly dismal human rights record by amending repressive legislation and resuming parliamentary scrutiny of the executive, Amnesty International said today.
September 19, 2021
Report
Vietnamese Activists Targeted by Notorious Hacking Group
Hacking group Ocean Lotus, which has been suspected of having links with the Vietnamese government, is behind a sustained campaign of spyware attacks on the country’s human rights activists, a new investigation by Amnesty Tech reveals, underscoring an intensifying assault on freedom of expression.
February 23, 2021
Press Release
Facebook Blocks Australian News Sites From Being Shared on its Platform
Responding to Facebook blocking Australian news sites from being shared on its platform Amnesty International Australia campaigner Tim O’Connor said:
February 18, 2021
Press Release
Authorities Must Lift Social Media Block Amid Crackdown Ahead of Election in Uganda
Responding to the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) shutting down access to social media services in the run up to the January 14 general election, Sarah Jackson, Amnesty International's Deputy Regional Director for East Africa, the Horn and the Great Lakes, said:
January 13, 2021
Press Release
Facebook Must Cease Complicity with Government Censorship in Vietnam
Facebook must immediately reverse its decision to censor posts deemed critical of the government in Viet Nam, said Amnesty International today.
April 22, 2020
Press Release
India: Mitigate Risks Of COVID-19 for the People of Jammu and Kashmir by Immediately Restoring Full Access to Internet Services
In wake of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the Government of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir must restore full access to internet services in the region of Jammu and Kashmir and ensure that people have full access to health and safety-related information, said Amnesty International India today.
March 19, 2020
Report
Hundreds in Turkey Arrested in Crackdown on Critics of Military Offensive in Syria
Hundreds of people have been detained in Turkey for commenting or reporting on Turkey’s recent military offensive in northeast Syria and are facing absurd criminal charges as the government intensifies its crackdown on critical voices, said Amnesty International in a report published today.
November 1, 2019