Below you’ll find breaking news as well as reports, updates on our campaigns, and victories.
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Update
A Success Story on a Small Island
In the middle of all the interest in the American election, there was an election halfway around the world last week that got me thinking about a brave young woman from the Maldives named Jennifer Latheef. I met her at an Amnesty meeting two years ago where she spoke at a panel of former prisoners of conscience. I didn't know where the Maldives were or anything about the islands, other than they are a popular resort for celeb weddings. (I'm sure I'm not alone -- here's the google map link.) It was one of those meetings that Amnesty International makes…
November 6, 2008
Update
Why Does New Hampshire Have the Death Penalty?
A jury in New Hampshire has just sentenced a white millionaire businessman named John Brooks to life without parole for the capital murder of Jack Reid in 2005. This was New Hampshire’s first death penalty trial in 49 years; New Hampshire has no one on death row and has not carried out an execution since 1939, and the refusal of this jury to vote for a sentence of death begs the question: why does New Hampshire have the death penalty? A second death penalty trial is also underway in New Hampshire, where African American Michael Addison is charged with killing…
November 6, 2008
Update
Tensions in DRC Remain High
The situation in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo remains fragile, after rebel forces and local militia clashed north of Goma. More than 250,000 people have been displaced by the recent fighting and the humanitarian situation remains catastrophic. The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) is currently trying to find out what happened to the 50,000 people that were previously housed in the area. "As we feared, three internal displacement sites run by UNHCR near the town of Rutshuru in eastern DRC (...) have been destroyed and emptied," David Benthu Nthengwe, UNHCR external relations officer, told IRIN "We and our partners are…
November 5, 2008
Update
Voting Rights Equals Human Rights
< p class="MsoNormal" style="none;"> Last night’s record voter turnout and victory for Senator Barack Obama are a powerful demonstration to me that the American people are passionate about hope for the future and are willing to work to bring about the change they desire. It was inspiring to witness so many people turn out to exercise one of the most fundamental human rights. This historic election also reaffirms my belief in the strength and effectiveness of grassroots organizing and the power to build a decentralized movement for change. That is the model on which Amnesty International was founded, and still…
November 5, 2008
Update
Future Danger
In the Philip K. Dick short story (and Steven Spielberg / Tom Cruise film) The Minority Report, a special agency known as Precrime relies on psychic “precogs” to anticipate and thus prevent murders before they happen.   It is an interesting and thought provoking scifi premise, but, disturbingly, we’re actually sort of really using it to decide who should be executed … In the all too real non-scifi world of Texas Capital Punishment, prosecutors hire psychi(atri)c experts to enlighten juries about convicted murderers’ “future dangerousness”. In Texas, “future dangerousness” is an aggravating factor that juries must consider in deciding whether or…
November 5, 2008
Update
Sign Up for the 2008 Global Write-a-thon
It's that special time of year again when letters can move mountains. Be a part of Amnesty International's Global Write-A-Thon - December 5-14, 2008. Your letters can save a life! Last year, the outpouring of support activists showed for individuals around the world at risk of severe human rights injustices led to the biggest Global Write-a-thon ever! We're aiming high again this year – 75,000 letters on behalf of human rights – and we need your help. Gather your friends, family and people of your community and pledge to make a difference for human rights. It all starts with just…
October 30, 2008
Update
Get Ready to Close Gitmo and Stop Torture
As soon as the next president of the United States is elected, we'll go live with an action calling on him to take immediate steps in the first 100 days of his term to close Guantanamo, eradicate torture and ill-treatment, and end impunity for human rights abuses. Stay tuned and be ready to take action. We'll need you to send emails and write letters to the president-elect. Check back here or go to www.amnestyusa.org/100days Need inspiration? Check out The Video the CIA Doesn't Want You to See Want to take action now? Help the Uighurs
October 29, 2008
Update
Keep the Dream Alive in Memphis
Despite all setbacks challenging our basic freedoms and fundamental rights, somehow we continue to keep the dream alive. On Sunday, Nov. 2, an estimated 1,000 to 2,000 people will come together in Memphis, TN to create an aerial image of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The event will celebrate the anniversary of Dr. King’s “I have a dream” speech that launched the civil rights movement. The Keep the Dream Alive event represents communities coming together to honor heroes and carry their human rights work forward.
October 28, 2008
Update
Stay Granted for Troy Davis!
A stay of execution has been granted by the federal appeals court in Atlanta for Troy Davis who had been scheduled to die by lethal injection on October 27. This follows the refusal by the U.S. Supreme Court to hear Troy Davis' appeal. Mr. Davis' serious claims of innocence, which include the recantation of 7 out of 9 witnesses, have never been heard in court. Further, no murder weapon was found and no physical evidence linked Davis to the crime. Please join us by signing the petition to save Troy Davis.
October 24, 2008