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
Amnesty International Responds to News Reports that the CIA is Involved in Secret Detention Site in Somalia
Amnesty International USA issued the following statement in response to news reports that the CIA has been involved in operating a secret prison in Somalia for terrorism suspects.
July 13, 2011
Press Release
Amnesty International Welcomes Obama’s Decision to Hold Civilian Trial for Somali Terrorism Suspect but Very Concerned about Detention Aboard Ship
Contact: AIUSA media relations, 202-509-8194 (Washington, DC) Tom Parker, policy director for terrorism, (counter) and human rights for Amnesty International USA, issued the following statement in response to news reports that Ahmed Abdulkadir Warsame, a Somali terrorism suspect, was captured in the Gulf of Aden by the U.S. military and interrogated for two months aboard a U.S. Navy ship: "Amnesty International welcomes the Obama administration's decision to charge and prosecute Warsame's case in U.S. federal court. The United States' criminal justice system is the most appropriate and best equipped venue to adjudicate such cases. "However, the organization is greatly concerned…
July 6, 2011
Press Release
Tamils Set for U.K. Deportation Following Suicide Attempt, Says Amnesty International
Contact: AIUSA media relations, 202-509-8194 (Washington, D.C.) – Amnesty International is calling on the United Kingdom authorities not to deport Sri Lankans at risk of torture, ahead of a planned deportation from Gatwick Airport in London to Colombo this afternoon. At least twenty Sri Lankans, mostly Tamil, face forcible return on the flight. "Nobody should be deported from the United Kingdom if they are at risk of torture," said Yolanda Foster, Sri Lanka researcher at Amnesty International. "The end of the armed conflict in Sri Lanka in May 2009 has not diminished the risks faced by failed Sri Lankan asylum…
June 16, 2011
Report
USA: 100 Years in Solitary: The ‘Angola 3’ and their Fight for Justice
39 years ago, three young black men were put in solitary confinement; two are still in isolation. In total, the three men have spent more than 100 years in solitary, mostly in the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola, USA.
June 7, 2011
Press Release
Amnesty International Urges Independent Investigation of Guantánamo Detainee Death
The United States military must allow a fully independent, civilian-led investigation into the death of a detainee at the U.S. Naval Base at Guantánamo in Cuba, Amnesty International said today.
May 19, 2011
Press Release
Amnesty International Urges Independent Investigation of Guantánamo Detainee Death
The United States military must allow a fully independent, civilian-led investigation into the death of a detainee at the U.S. Naval Base at Guantánamo in Cuba, Amnesty International said today.
May 19, 2011
Press Release
Libya: Amnesty International Finds Evidence of Extrajudicial Executions Apparently by Colonel Gaddafi’s Forces Near Ajdabiya
Amnesty International Press ReleaseFor Immediate ReleaseMonday, April 11, 2011Amnesty International Finds Evidence of Extrajudicial Executions Apparently by Colonel Gaddafi’s Forces Near AjdabiyaBodies of Opposition Fighters Were Shot in the Head, Their Hands Bound Behind Their Backs, Says Group’s Researchers in Libya Contact: Suzanne Trimel, 212-633-4150, [email protected](New York) -- Amnesty International today revealed evidence of extrajudicial executions apparently committed by Colonel Mu'ammar al-Gaddafi's forces near the town of Ajdabiya.Amnesty International researchers in eastern Libya on Sunday saw the bodies of two opposition fighters who had been shot in the back of the head after their hands had been bound behind their…
May 6, 2011
Press Release
Leaked Guantanamo Files Highlight Need for Fair Trials and Accountability, Says Amnesty International
Amnesty International Media Release For Immediate Release Tuesday, April 26, 2011 Leaked Guantanamo Files Highlight Need for Fair Trials and Accountability, Says Amnesty International Contact: AIUSA media relations office, 202-509-8194 (Washington, D.C.) -- Amnesty International today renewed its call on U.S. authorities to release or give fair trials to remaining Guantanamo Bay detainees, after leaked files revealed fresh details about those held at the detention center. "The files confirm what we have been saying all along about Guantanamo Bay - that many were detained for spurious reasons and held for years without access to the U.S. legal system," said Susan…
May 6, 2011
Press Release
Iraq: Amnesty International Urges Iraqi Authorites to End Attacks on Protesters and Threats Against Government Critics
Amnesty InternationalPress Release Release Monday, April 11, 2001Amnesty International Urges Iraqi Authorites to End Attacks on Protesters and Threats Against Government CriticsNew Report Says Journalists, Academics, Students and Others are Being Targeted in Iraq and Kurdistan RegionContact: Suzanne Trimel, 212-633-4150, [email protected](New York) – Iraqi authorities are threatening, harrassing and intimidating government critics, journalists, academics, protest organizers and others who are speaking out against chronic lack of services, widespread unemployment, human rights abuses and corruption, Amnesty International said in a report issued today.Days of Rage: Protests and Repression in Iraq documents the killings of pro-democracy protesters by Iraqi and Kurdish forces,…
May 6, 2011
Press Release
Syria: Amnesty International Calls on Syrian President to Rein in Security Forces After Violent Crackdown
Amnesty International Media Release For Immediate Release Thursday, April 14, 2011, Amnesty International Calls on Syrian President to Rein in Security Forces After Violent Crackdown Contact: AIUSA media relations office, 202-509-8194 (Washington, D.C.) -- Syrian President Bashar al-Assad must rein in his security forces and prevent further unlawful killings, Amnesty International said today, as the coastal city of Banias remained under virtual lockdown and the army was reported to have detained all males over 15 in the nearby village of al-Baydah. "The human rights crisis in Syria is growing by the day, almost by the hour," said Malcolm Smart,…
May 6, 2011
Press Release
Amnesty International Calls for End to Reprisal Attacks Against Gbagbo Supporters in Ivory Coast
Amnesty International Press Release For Immediate Release Tuesday, April 12 2011 Amnesty International Calls for End to Reprisal Attacks Against Gbagbo Supporters in Ivory Coast Eyewitnesses Say Policeman Belonging to Gbago’s Ethnic Group is Shot Dead, After Being Taken from His Home Contact: Suzanne Trimel, 212-633-4150, [email protected] (New York) – Amnesty International warned today that perceived supporters of former Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo are at risk of violent reprisals – eyewitnesses report a policeman taken from his home and shot dead -- despite President Outtara’s call on Monday for Ivorians to “abstain from all forms of reprisals…
May 6, 2011
Press Release
Ivory Coast: Amnesty International Reports “Ghost Villages”
Tens of Thousands of Displaced and Fearful Civilians, Their Homes Burned and Looted, Hide in Bush
May 6, 2011