Below you’ll find breaking news as well as reports, updates on our campaigns, and victories.
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Press Release
Hollywood Film Directors and Actors Demand Freedom for Brother of Acclaimed Iranian Filmmaker Bahman Ghobadi
More than 40 Hollywood directors and actors and independent filmmakers are joining Amnesty International to demand the release of Iranian filmmaker Behrouz Ghobadi – the younger brother of acclaimed film director Bahman Ghobadi (Rhino Season) – who has been detained incommunicado since his arrest by plainclothes forces in Iran on Nov. 4. Behrouz Ghobadi’s imprisonment is the latest in Iran’s continuing crackdown on filmmakers and directors.
December 5, 2012
Press Release
U.S. Senate Must Ratify Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
Today, Amnesty International USA sent a letter to U.S. Senators Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell in strong support of the United States’ ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (“CRPD”).
December 4, 2012
Press Release
U.S. Senate’s Rejection of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is “Appalling”
Suzanne Nossel, Amnesty International USA executive director, issued the following quote in response to the U.S. Senate's rejection of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
December 4, 2012
Press Release
Detention Provisions Gravely Hindering Closure of Guantanamo Prison Must Be Removed From the NDAA
Amnesty International USA (AIUSA) executive director Suzanne Nossel issued the following statement in response to the U.S. House and Senate versions of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) being cleared for conference.
December 4, 2012
Update
Tibetan Activist Talks About the Alarming Escalation of Self-Immolations in China
A Tibetan activist talks about the alarms escalation of self-immolations in China. At least 75 Tibetans – including many Buddhist monks and nuns – have set themselves on fire this year.
December 3, 2012
Report
Conflict in Yemen: Abyan’s Darkest Hour
A new report exposes atrocities committed by Ansar al-Shari’a (Partisans of al-Shari’a), an armed group affiliated with al-Qa’ida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), which established control of the small city of Ja’ar in the southern governorate of Abyan in early 2011.
December 3, 2012
Press Release
New Report Says Killing, Amputation, and Crucifixion during Abyan Conflict in Yemen is Human Rights Catastrophe
A new Amnesty International report released today calls for an immediate and impartial investigation into a raft of gross and deeply disturbing abuses committed by an al-Qa’ida affiliate and Yemeni government forces during their struggle for the control of the southern region of Abyan in 2011 and 2012.
December 3, 2012
Press Release
Israel Must Halt Construction of Settlements on West Bank
The Israeli government's announcement that it is to expand settlements in the West Bank in response to the United Nations vote on Palestinian statehood violates human rights and international humanitarian law, Amnesty International said today.
December 3, 2012
Update
If They Are Not Guilty, Who Committed the War Crimes?
The acquittal yesterday of three high-ranking members of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) after a retrial on war crimes charges has prompted Amnesty International to reiterate its call for justice for all of the victims in the 1998-9 Kosovo war, and their relatives.
November 30, 2012
Press Release
Egypt’s new constitution limits fundamental freedoms and ignores the rights of women
A draft constitution approved by Egypt’s Constituent Assembly falls well short of protecting human rights and, in particular, ignores the rights of women, restricts freedom of expression in the name of protecting religion, and allows for the military trial of civilians, Amnesty International said.
November 30, 2012
Press Release
Amnesty Calls China’s Sentencing of Exiled Blind Lawyer’s Nephew “Appalling”
Amnesty International today called the sentencing in China of Chen Kegui, nephew of exiled blind lawyer Chen Guangcheng, "appalling," saying it was obvious retaliation for his uncle's escape from house arrest last spring.
November 30, 2012
Press Release
Syria: Shutting down of internet and mobile networks alarming development
News that communications are being targeted by the Syrian authorities raises the alarming prospect that they are seeking to prevent the world from learning what is happening amid increasingly intense fighting in Damascus, Amnesty International said.
November 29, 2012