Newsroom

Update

For continuous updates on human rights in South Asia, follow acharya_dude on twitter. I’ve been on vacation for the past two weeks so I’ve not been able to join the condemnation (until now) of the flawed conviction in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh of Dr. Binayak Sen, a pediatrician and human rights activist, of terrorism charges.  His conviction, if upheld on appeal, will mean a life sentence for a man who has passionately defended the rights of indigenous peoples in his state and has saved the lives of countless children in his medical practice. Dr. Sen is a recognized human rights…

January 3, 2011

Update

Yesterday, while still on vacation in Hawaii, President Obama signed the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act into law, laying the groundwork for a $4.3 billion fund to cover the healthcare costs of first responders suffering from medical complications arising from their service at Ground Zero. The act will come too late to help former NYPD officer James Zadroga, who died in January 2006, but 100s of his fellow officers, firefighters, steelworkers and volunteers will benefit enormously. In the words of Mike Paladino, President of the New York City Detectives Endowment Association: "The USA has done the right thing."…

January 3, 2011

Update

By Girma Negash, Sudan Country Specialist This posting is part of the Sudan Referendum Watch series Recent reports have indicated that South Sudan will move forward as scheduled on January 9. Voter registration including the delivery of ballots went smoothly, the northern Sudan political leadership is openly hinting acceptance of the referendum, and negotiations on post referendum arrangements seem to advance. Still, risks of conflict and renewed war remain as long as agreements on sticky issues like Abyei, border demarcation, and post-referendum citizenship are not resolved ahead of the plebiscite. Need of vigilance The political uncertainty around the prospect of…

December 31, 2010

Update

One week after the astonishing news that Iranian cinematic giant Jafar Panahi had been handed a harsh prison sentence and an unprecedented twenty-year total ban on his artistic activities, Mr. Panahi’s colleagues and admirers around the world have spearheaded a concerted effort to overturn the travesty of justice that has been inflicted on him.

December 28, 2010

Update

A coalition of student groups from the Arizona university system invited me recently to talk to the Arizona Board of Regents (ABOR) about Caterpillar, Inc’s role in violations of international humanitarian and human rights law in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT).  Although an unusual setting, I accepted for a number of reasons. Although Amnesty International (AI) hasn’t focused on Caterpillar (CAT) in an action since our 2004 report, there has been a frightening surge in home demolitions and forced evictions in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem recently, as well as demolitions in ‘unrecognized’ villages like Al-‘Araqib inside Israel –…

December 23, 2010

Update

Post-election Belarus arrests opposition leaders and refuses to comment on human rights abuse reports.

December 23, 2010

Update

It has been 25 years since Brazil’s military regime ended.  Yet, the crimes and violence enforced by the country’s authorities from 1964 to 1985 have failed to see the light of justice. As a condition to allow the restoration of democracy in Brazil in 1979, the military regime enacted legislation designed to provide blanket amnesty for ”political or political related crimes” committed since 1961.  The law has been used since then, to provide state agents with immunity from crimes they committed during the country’s military era.  Because of it, state officials were able to get away with torture, enforced disappearances…

December 23, 2010

Update

At a special session of the UN Human Rights Council today, the US claimed that the post-election violence in Cote D’Ivoire has claimed 200 lives so far – a much higher toll than previously reported. U.S. ambassador Betty E. King told the Council: We have credible reports that almost 200 people may have already been killed, with dozens more tortured or mistreated, and others may have been snatched from their homes in the middle of the night. This bleak assessment came shortly after the United States indicated that it is looking into strengthening the existing 10,000 strong UN peacekeeping force…

December 23, 2010

Update

Kevin Cooper has been on death row in California for 25 years. There are major unresolved doubts about his guilt and many have called on outgoing Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to grant him clemency and commute his sentence.

December 22, 2010

Update

We want to share this powerful message former prisoner of conscience Bu Dongwei shared with Amnesty members earlier today. Dear Amnesty Supporter, Are you celebrating a holiday this December? Gathering in a place of worship? Displaying a symbol of your faith? I was tortured for my faith — forced into a Chinese "re-education through labor" camp for more than two terrifying years for being a practitioner of Falun Gong. I will never forget the day when seven policemen rushed into my home and arrested me. I was preparing a bath for my daughter – she was only 1 ½ years…

December 22, 2010

Update

Amnesty International denounces the passage of the Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 6523) by the U.S. Senate and House prohibiting prosecution of Guantanamo detainees in Federal Courts. Today’s vote will only serve to further erode the U.S. government's human rights record and hamper the administration’s ability to bring terrorism suspects to justice. U.S. federal courts have and can continue to handle the prosecution of terrorism suspects, through fair trials that protect public safety and promote public confidence. This law will also effectively prevent the closure of the Guantanamo Bay detention facility, prolonging a human rights scandal whose closure national security and…

December 22, 2010

Update

Today, four persons incarcerated in Angola were released from prison following a decision by the Attorney General their conviction was based on outdated legislation. Francisco Luemba, a lawyer, Raul Tati, a Catholic priest, and two others were convicted in August under a 1978 statute of the crime of “other acts against the security of the state” over an attack on the Togo national soccer team in the Cabinda region of Angola. Amnesty International declared them prisoners of conscience. Luemba and Tati were members of the now banned human rights organization Mpalabanda and for many years publicly criticized the Angolan government and the Front for the Liberation of…

December 22, 2010