Below you’ll find breaking news as well as reports, updates on our campaigns, and victories.
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Update
Returned asylum-seekers tortured in Sri Lanka
Three Sri Lankan men (Sumith Mendis and his brother Indika Mendis, and Lasantha Wijeratne) were deported from Australia back to Sri Lanka, subsequently arrested and tortured in custody. All three are reportedly at risk of further torture. Please write to the Sri Lankan government and ask them to protect the men from any further torture, investigate their reported torture and hold accountable anyone found responsible. Thanks. Update: an online action is now available on this case.
September 4, 2010
Update
Mexican Indigenous Rights Activists Face New Threats to Their Security
Only a few days ago we were happy to share the wonderful news that Raúl Hernández, an indigenous rights leader and prisoner of conscience, had been released from prison after two years of struggle. Unfortunately, Hernández and other indigenous rights activists have been suffering serious threats and harrassment for more than a week. The daughter of Inés Fernández, a fellow member of the Me’phaa Indigenous People’s Organization (Organización del Pueblo Indigena Me’phaa, OPIM), was threatened by two men on August 28th. The men threatened her family with death and mentioned Raúl Hernández, suggesting a connection between his release and their…
September 3, 2010
Update
Thank you Gov. Strickland for not executing Kevin Keith!
Ohio's Governor Ted Strickland recently commuted the death sentence of Kevin Keith, who was scheduled to be executed on September 15th, to life without parole.
September 3, 2010
Update
Pledge Your Support to Amnesty International
Join Amnesty International by September 30th!
September 2, 2010
Update
A Big Mac or a House?
Apparently McDonald's is eyeing Zimbabwe as a potential new market for its franchise restaurants. While this can be viewed as a positive step in international regard for the stability of Zimbabwe both politically and economically, I don't think the 250 people rendered homeless last week are as optimistic. In the early morning hours of August 25th, Zimbabwe police officers entered an informal settlement in the suburbs of Harare and gave residents 10 minutes to gather their possesssions before torching their homes. As if being woken in the middle of the night and told to get out isn't scary enough, the police…
September 2, 2010
Update
Mexican Indigenous Rights Leader Finally Released!
Last month, we asked you to take action for Mexican inidgenous human rights defender Raúl Hernández. We are thrilled to report that after two years in Guerrero state prison on fabricated charges Hernández was finally released!
September 1, 2010
Update
Will North Carolina Halt Executions?
Following the release of a devastatingly critical report on the shoddy work of North Carolina’s State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) crime labs, Seth Edwards, the president of the North Carolina Conference of District Attorneys today said he “supported a moratorium on the execution of any death-row inmates whose cases include evidence from the State Bureau of Investigations crime labs.” The fallout from the audit of the SBI, combined with the fact that 152 death row inmates in NC are now challenging their death sentences under the new Racial Justice Act, paints a picture of criminal justice and capital punishment systems in…
August 31, 2010
Update
Don't Forget the Disappeared in Sri Lanka
Today is August 30, the International Day of the Disappeared, observed by Amnesty International and other human rights groups to remember victims of "enforced disappearance" around the world and to press for justice for them and their families. An "enforced disappearance" occurs when agents of the state detain someone and the state then denies any knowledge of the person's status or whereabouts. Over the past several decades, Sri Lanka has experienced tens of thousands of enforced disappearances, the vast majority of which remain unresolved. One recent example is that of the journalist Prageeth Eknaligoda, who went missing shortly after leaving work…
August 30, 2010
Update
Nicolas Cage Speaks Out With Gulf Coast Survivors
On the 5th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, Nicolas Cage speaks out with Amnesty International on restoring rights in the Gulf Coast.
August 30, 2010
Update
Man Sentenced to Death in Saudi Arabia for 'Sorcery'
“Sorcery” isn’t actually defined as a crime in Saudi Arabian law, but it’s been used to punish people for the peaceful expression of human rights such as the freedom of thought, belief, conscience and expression.
August 27, 2010
Update
War for Human Rights Existed Before Katrina
The war for human rights existed before the wrath of Katrina. A war where income, race and gender acted as indicators of your allegiance, and one where (like most wars) there could be no true victor.
August 27, 2010
Update
So Inappropriate
Buried amidst the legal documents in Judge William T. Moore's Troy Davis files is a letter from an ordinary Georgia citizen, a letter Judge Moore apparently asked his clerk to include in the docket. It says simply: When so much is contested, the penalty of death seems so inappropriate. That makes sense to me. The letter writer correctly observes that Troy Davis' June evidentiary hearing settled nothing. Witness testimony was all that was available, and, with no physical or scientific evidence, there was no foolproof way to resolve the conflicting stories and accounts that have been the major feature of this case for…
August 27, 2010