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Update

Access to justice is an essential right for victims of all human rights violations. Today, Ecuador became the first country to ratify the new UN mechanism that will enable people denied their human rights to have their complaints heard in front of an independent, international panel of experts. The Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights allows individuals and groups within the country to seek justice from the UN should these rights - which include the rights to adequate housing, food, water, health, work, social security and education - be violated by their government. Civil…

June 16, 2010

Update

Authorities have arrested two leading members of a trade union in Iran that is not recognized by Iranian authorities. Saeed Torabian and Reza Shahabi are currently detained at unknown locations, where they are at risk of torture and other ill-treatment. It is speculated that these two men’s arrests are connected to the June 12th anniversary of the disputed 2009 presidential election. Both men were arrested, while authorities searched their homes and confiscated their computers and cell phones. Saeed Torabian and Reza Shahabi are both members of the The Union (or Syndicate) of Workers of the Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company…

June 16, 2010

Update

On June 14th the Supreme Court denied a petition of review from Maher Arar, the Canadian citizen who was abducted by the U.S. Government in 2002 and rendered to Syria where he was held for almost one year without charge and tortured.

June 16, 2010

Update

As Myanmar prepares for its upcoming elections, a sense of concern and tension is in the air. Many fear that there will once again be political unrest, resulting in widespread arrests from election-related crackdowns. Moreover, contributing to the anxiety is the anticipated release of democracy leader and co-founder of the National League for Democracy (NLD) Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who has endured unofficial detention and has been held under house arrest for about 15 years in Yangon. Will you be among those calling for justice in Myanmar on Friday?  On June 18th, Amnesty International and other NGOs will be…

June 16, 2010

Update

Violent clashes continue to erupt in Southern Kyrgyzstan this morning, although the raids are settling after three full days of brutality and bloodshed that have reportedly left more than 100 dead and over 1,000 injured.

June 14, 2010

Update

According to a recent Washington Post article, since 2001, the Pentagon has spent at least 500 million in renovating Guantanamo, in addition to approximately 150 million a year in operational costs. Some interesting expenditures for base personnel:  volleyball court ($259,000); go-kart track ($296,000); 27 playgrounds (for a total of $3.5 million); a KFC/Taco Bell restaurant ($733,000); and a café whose renovation only cost $683,000. Even if the amount invested does not include the annual operating costs of $150 million—which according to the White House double the amount of a comparable U.S. federal prison—it does include other costly expenditures, such as…

June 14, 2010

Update

While we live in a country where there is a holiday that honors the American flag, it’s hard to imagine that in other countries it is considered a crime to raise a flag!  Flag Day, which commemorates the adoption of the American flag, is celebrated in the United States on June 14th. It may seem silly that we have an entire day devoted to a rectangular piece of material, but the meaning of the flag runs deeper than that. The American flag is a representation of not only the freedom our country possesses as a whole, but also the freedom…

June 14, 2010

Update

Amnesty International's comprehensive new report "From Protest to Prison – Iran One Year After the Election" shows, large numbers of people are suffering in Iran's prisons—those arrested in the wake of the June 12 election and those who have been languishing there before that date.

June 14, 2010

Update

This posting is part of our Urgent Action Series. For more information visit www.amnestyusa.org/uan Officers of Sudan’s National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) have arrested six doctors and attacked protesting medical students and doctors in the last two weeks.  This is worrisome for several reasons, including that the arrests are warranted by Sudan's 2010 National Security Act. NISS officers are arresting doctors simply for participating in the Doctors' Strike Committee, which has been pressuring authorities to keep their promises to improve the working conditions and salaries of Sudanese doctors.  The government has neglected its promises to doctors, and instead is…

June 14, 2010

Update

Activists and victims in Armenia are outraged that a serial pedophile has received mild sentence by a court in capital Yerevan.

June 12, 2010

Update

For three years, the population of the Gaza Strip has been suffering the debilitating effects of Israel's blockade imposed when Israel decided to treat the area as a "hostile entity" after Hamas ousted Fatah from Gaza. With the stated aim of preventing rocket fire by militants and pressuring Hamas, the blockade instead punishes the civilians in the Gaza Strip by restricting a vast range of goods and products that have no possible military use.

June 11, 2010

Update

As the first World Cup match between Mexico and South Africa kicks off today, it is not all fun and games for the homeless, refugees, migrants and street hawkers who have faced harassment and displacement by the South African government. This harassment has included police raids, arbitrary arrests, ill-treatment and extortion, as well as destruction of informal housing.  Regulations created to comply with FIFA World Cup requirements in host cities are being used by police to expel homeless people and street traders from "controlled access sites" and exclusion zones around World Cup venues. Penalties for offences under the regulations include…

June 11, 2010