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Press Release

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

Press Release

A preschool in north-eastern Ukraine was hit on the morning of February 25 with widely-banned cluster munitions while civilians took shelter inside, killing three of them, including a child, and wounding another child, Amnesty International said today. The attack appears to have been carried out by Russian forces, which were operating nearby, and which have a shameful record of using cluster munitions in populated areas. 

February 27, 2022

Press Release

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has been marked by indiscriminate attacks on civilian areas and strikes on protected objects such as hospitals, Amnesty International said today, after documenting three incidents that it believes to have killed at least six civilians and injured at least 12 more. Indiscriminate attacks violate international humanitarian law (the laws of war) and can constitute war crimes.   

February 25, 2022

Press Release

Amnesty International calls for unerring respect for international human rights and humanitarian law, following Russia’s multi-pronged attack on Ukraine this morning.  

February 24, 2022

Press Release

Responding to news that President Vladimir Putin has ordered “peacekeeping operations” to the so called “Donetsk People’s Republic” and “Luhansk People’s Republic” in eastern Ukraine, Daniel Balson, Europe and Central Asia Advocacy Director at Amnesty International USA said: “It is abundantly clear the human costs of a full-blown conflict will be devastating to the people of Ukraine. U.S. officials have already recognized this, and Amnesty International has repeatedly stressed the real and immediate threat that an escalation of violence entails for civilians in Ukraine.

February 23, 2022

Update

On February 16, 2022, Amnesty International USA sent a letter to Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman urging the U.S. Department of State to take action in defense of human rights in Ukraine. As Russian troops mount on Ukraine's borders, Amnesty International has warned that a further escalation of violence risks severe consequences for human rights in Ukraine and across the broader region. Previous Russian military interventions, including in Georgia, Syria, and Crimea, have often resulted in severe violations of international humanitarian law, including war crimes. Given the risk to human rights posed by another escalation of violence, Amnesty's letter…

February 16, 2022

Press Release

Responding to the news that jailed political opposition leader Aleksei Navalny will face a new criminal trial in prison on February 15 for alleged embezzlement and contempt of court, Marie Struthers, Amnesty International’s Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, said:  “Evidently unsatisfied with the prison sentences already handed down to Aleksei Navalny, the Russian authorities are trying him again behind the barbed wire walls of a prison in what they have cynically described as an ‘open court hearing’. This sham trial, attended by prison guards rather than the media, breaks international human rights law and clearly deprives Navalny of…

February 15, 2022

Press Release

With the threat of Russia using military force looming, Amnesty International warns that another escalation of the armed conflict in Ukraine will have devastating consequences for human rights in the region; threatening civilian lives, livelihoods and infrastructure; driving acute food shortages; and potentially causing mass displacement.

January 27, 2022

Press Release

Over the course of the last 12 months, the Russian authorities have unleashed an unprecedented campaign of repression and reprisals against wrongfully imprisoned opposition leader Aleksei Navalny and his supporters, destroying all remnants of the rights to freedom of expression and association, Amnesty International said today on the first anniversary of the politician's arrest.

January 16, 2022

Press Release

Responding to journalists Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov collecting the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, Amnesty International’s Secretary General Agnes Callamard said:  “For the first time in almost a century, the Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to journalists, highlighting the bravery and outstanding achievements of media in an increasingly polarized world where facts and truth are under relentless attack. 

December 10, 2021

Press Release

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

Press Release

Reacting to the news that a Russian court designated three organizations founded by Aleksei Navalny as “extremist”, Natalia Zviagina, Amnesty International’s Moscow Office Director, said: 

June 10, 2021