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Press Release

At least six peaceful protesters were abducted and several others were wounded after armed men fired live ammunition including from heavy machine-guns to disperse a demonstration in Tripoli on August 23, according to eyewitness testimony and video evidence examined by Amnesty International. The organization is calling for the immediate release of all those abducted, for a prompt, thorough and independent investigation into the use of force and for those responsible to be held accountable. On Sunday protesters took to the streets in several cities in the west of Libya, including Tripoli, Misrata and al-Zawyia, to protest against deteriorating economic conditions and…

August 26, 2020

Update

On August 25th, 2020 Amnesty International USA sent a letter to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC) urging them to weigh in on impending arms sales to the Philippines. Amnesty International has long been concerned about the human rights record of President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines. Download the text of the letter here August 25, 2020   Sen. James Risch Chairman Senate Committee on Foreign Relations 423 Dirksen Senate Office Building Washington, D.C. 20510   Sen. Bob Menendez Ranking Member Senate Committee on Foreign Relations 423 Dirksen Senate Office Building Washington, D.C. 20510   Re: Comment Period on Proposed…

August 26, 2020

Update

On August 25th, 2020 Amnesty International USA sent a letter to the House Foreign Affairs Committee (HFAC) urging them to weigh in on impending arms sales to the Philippines. Amnesty International has long been concerned about the human rights record of President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines. Download the text of the letter here August 25, 2020   Rep. Eliot Engel Chairman House Committee on Foreign Affairs 2170 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, DC 20515   Rep. Michael McCaul Ranking Member House Committee on Foreign Affairs 2170 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, DC 20515   Re: Comment Period on Proposed…

August 25, 2020

Press Release

Responding to news that Facebook has complied with censorship requests from the Thai authorities, Rasha Abdul-Rahim, Amnesty Tech’s Acting Program Co-Director said: “Once again, Facebook is caving to the whims of repressive governments while making meek appeals to human rights, setting another dangerous precedent for freedom of expression online.  The company must do everything within its power to resist the Thai authorities’ arbitrary censorship demands. Human rights, not market access, must be the ultimate bottom line. “It’s welcome that Facebook is now planning legal action to challenge the government’s censorship demands, but the harm has already been done: the company should not have given in to the demands in the…

August 25, 2020

Update

On August 18, 44 Members of Congress, led by Congressman Jim McGovern, wrote to Acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Wolf, urging his agency to free Pastor Steven Tendo, an asylum-seeker and human rights activist at risk of death if he is deported to Uganda. Pastor Steven is currently detained in Texas, despite his serious medical condition and risk of contracting COVID-19. Amnesty International is urging the U.S. government to free Pastor Steven and to exercise its authority to release people in U.S. immigration detention. Text of letter | PDF Dear Acting Secretary Wolf,   We write to express our…

August 20, 2020

Press Release

Amnesty International demands that the Russian authorities fully investigate the circumstances of the unexpected and critical deterioration of the health of opposition leader Aleksei Navalny and allow him to immediately be diagnosed by and receive treatment from doctors that his family trusts. The politician was hospitalized and placed in intensive care in Omsk (Siberia) on his way from Tomsk to Moscow. “The administration of the hospital must provide full access to information about his treatment to his family and doctors of his or their choice. There have already been reports that his chosen doctor was not allowed to see the…

August 20, 2020

Press Release

Responding to the role of Luis Kutner in Amnesty International, who died in 1993 and may be linked to the murder of Fred Hampton, Amnesty International USA issued the following statement: Activist Luis Kutner is credited in his obituary with having co-founded Amnesty International in 1961. This is not true, but Kutner was on the advisory body of Amnesty International USA in the 60s, at a time when AI USA did not work on the USA, but only on human rights in other countries. This was due to Amnesty’s rules at the time that prohibited a person from working on…

August 13, 2020

Press Release

The Belarusian authorities must immediately end their assault on journalists, Amnesty International said today, amid reports of journalists being arrested, beaten, and targeted with rubber bullets while covering the vicious police crackdown on protests. Media workers have also had their cameras smashed and their footage deleted. “Journalists in Belarus are doing heroic work to ensure the world knows about the authorities’ brutal repression of protests. It is horrifying to see the lengths to which the government will go to suppress this information – attacking reporters with batons and rubber bullets, destroying their equipment, and throwing dozens in jail, said Marie Struthers, Amnesty International’s…

August 12, 2020

Press Release

Doctors who had attended the protests said they soon realized dozens of people required urgent medical care. They reported injuries and wounds on heads, faces, necks, arms, chests, backs, legs, and spleens. Doctors were also targeted with tear gas as they tried to treat injuries. Doctor Elie Saliba told Amnesty International that he was assaulted three times on August 8 while in Martyr’s Square: he was hit by a pump action pellet in the shoulder, then by a spray of pellets on the head and face, and then beaten by army officers.

August 11, 2020

Update

For PDF version, click here. Lauren Alder Reid, Assistant Director Office of Policy Executive Office for Immigration Review Department of Justice   Andrew Davidson, Asylum Division Chief Refugee, Asylum and International Affairs Directorate U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Department of Homeland Security   Docket No: USCIS 2020–0013; A.G. Order No. 4747–2020   August 10, 2020   Via electronic submission to eRulemaking Portal   RE: Amnesty International Comments on “Security Bars and Processing”   Amnesty International USA submits the following comment in response to the joint Department of Homeland Security (DHS) / Department of Justice (DOJ) proposed rulemaking rendering applicants ineligible…

August 10, 2020

Press Release

Amnesty International’s delegates in the Belarusian capital Minsk witnessed appalling violence unleashed by riot police on peaceful protesters who took to the streets last night after official announcements on election results, which protesters view as rigged. The “official exit poll results” announced by the government pointed to a sweeping win by the incumbent Alyaksandr Lukashenka, contradicting unofficial polls and public sentiment. “Post-electoral violence by police has become a regular feature of politics in Belarus, where all forms of peaceful dissent are brutally suppressed. Last night Amnesty International delegates witnessed first-hand the viciousness of the police response, which included indiscriminate use…

August 10, 2020

Press Release

Responding to today’s hearing before U.S. District Judge Dolly M. Gee on enforcement of the Flores Settlement Agreement during COVID-19, Denise Bell, researcher for refugee and migrant rights at Amnesty International USA said: “The hearing is a searing reminder that the government has doubled down on its refusal to release families together. ICE has the power to release families, but simply refuses to act on it. What’s new is that ICE is trying to cast itself as the protector of family unity. It's obvious that no parent should ever be asked if they’d release their children from detention without them.…

August 8, 2020