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Video grab of members of Bolivarian National Guard as they are deployed outside Los Llanos prison, in Guanare, Portuguesa state, Venezuela on May 2, 2020, after a riot occured. - The death toll from a prison riot in western Venezuela has risen to at least 47, with 75 wounded, an opposition politician and prisoners' rights group said Saturday. With the coronavirus pandemic raging, visits from family and friends -- who often bring food and medicine to inmates -- have been greatly reduced. (Photo by - / AFPTV / AFP) / BEST QUALITY AVAILABLE (Photo by -/AFPTV/AFP via Getty Images)

Press Release

Massacre at Guanare Detention Center in Venezuela Must Not Go Unpunished

In response to reports that at least 46 prisoners were killed and more than 70 injured in a violent incident inside the Los Llanos Penitentiary Centre (CEPELLA) in Guanare, Portuguesa state, yesterday, Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International, said:

May 4, 2020

Video grab at Lima's Lurigancho prison, where relatives of inmates demanded authorities forr medicine, after a deadly riot took place in another prison in the city, over fear of contagion of the COVID-19 coronavirus, in Lima on April 28, 2020. (Photo by Jesus OLARTE / AFPTV / AFP) (Photo by JESUS OLARTE/AFPTV/AFP via Getty Images)

Press Release

Amnesty International Calls for the Release of All Prisoners of Conscience Worldwide

Amnesty International is calling for the immediate and unconditional release of all the prisoners of conscience it is campaigning for worldwide, who are now at heightened risk due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

May 4, 2020

BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images

Press Release

U.S. military sheds some light on civilian casualties from shadowy war in Somalia

Reacting to the publication today of US Africa Command’s (AFRICOM) first quarterly assessment of civilian casualties resulting from its operations in Africa, which acknowledges that two Somali civilians were killed and three injured in an air strike, Seif Magango, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for Eastern Africa, said: “This first regular public report acknowledging AFRICOM’s role in civilian casualties is a welcome glimmer of transparency in more than a decade of deadly military operations that until now have been shrouded in secrecy. Now there must be accountability and reparation for the victims and their families – the U.S. military has…

April 27, 2020

Photo by Hyoung Chang/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images

Press Release

Judge to government: promptly and safely release kids from detention centers

Responding to a decision by Judge Dolly M. Gee of the United States District Court directing the government to make every effort to promptly and safely release children currently being held in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) custody, including children subjected to the so-called “Remain in Mexico” program, or the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), Denise Bell, researcher for refugee and migrant rights at Amnesty International USA said: “It is well past time that children were released. No child should ever be detained because of their immigration status and the continued detention of children as…

April 24, 2020

Amazon Workers At Staten Island Warehouse Strike Over Coronavirus Protection
Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Press Release

Jeff Bezos must address concerns of Amazon workers during COVID-19 crisis

The multinational U.S.-based company Amazon must ensure its workers across the globe receive adequate health and safety protection during the COVID-19 pandemic, Amnesty International said, as hundreds of U.S. Amazon workers prepare to call in sick on Friday in protest over labour issues. Worker organizations report that hundreds of Amazon warehouse workers in the U.S. have already stayed home from work this week, citing concerns including a lack of health protection at warehouses. Amnesty International also called on the e-commerce giant to protect the rights of workers who speak out, amid allegations that staff have been fired after voicing safety…

April 24, 2020

A prisoner shines a torch from the main ICE detention center in downtown Los Angeles

Press Release

Prisoner of Conscience in Saudi Arabia: Dr. Abdullah al-Hamid Dies While in Detention

Responding to news of the death of Dr Abdullah al-Hamid, a prisoner of conscience who passed away while in detention in Saudi Arabia, Lynn Maalouf, Amnesty International’s Middle East Research Director, said:

April 24, 2020

Update

Amnesty International USA Opposes New Rule Empowering Unlawful Expulsions of Asylum-Seekers

Amnesty International USA submitted the following comment opposing a new U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) interim final rule which is currently empowering mass expulsions of asylum-seekers and unaccompanied children at U.S. borders. For PDF version, click here. Kyle McGowan Office of the Chief of Staff Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 1600 Clifton Road NE, MS H21-10 Atlanta, GA 30329 Telephone: 404-498-7000 [email protected]   HHS Docket No. CDC-2020-0033 85 FR 16559   April 23, 2020   Via electronic submission to eRulemaking Portal   RE: Amnesty International USA Comments on “Suspension of Introduction of Persons into United States…

April 23, 2020

PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC - APRIL 23: A healthcare worker registers people before getting tested for the coronavirus in Prague on April 23, 2020. People have been forming long lines to get tested in a study to determine undetected infections with the coronavirus in the population. Some 27,000 people aged 18 - 89 across the country will be tested in the next two weeks, starting on Thursday. (Photo by Gabriel Kuchta/Getty Images)

Press Release

Basic Human Rights Should Be at the Center of COVID-19 Response, UN Report Shows

UN Secretary-General António Guterres has published a report on the need for a human rights centered response to COVID-19, warning that the pandemic risks becoming a human rights crisis. Steve Cockburn, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director of Global Issues, said:

April 23, 2020

An asylum seeker staying at the Juventud 2000 migrant shelter in Tijuana, Baja California State, Mexico, sprays disinfectant on tents on April 3, 2020 as stronger cleaning measures are being implemented to fight the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, pandemic. - Thousands of migrants overcrowding shelters or begging in the streets in Mexican cities along the US border are living in fear as the novel coronavirus spreads in the population and screening interviews for asylum seekers are being suspended. (Photo by Guillermo ARIAS / AFP) (Photo by GUILLERMO ARIAS/AFP via Getty Images)

Press Release

Dr. López-Gatell Must Support the Release of Migrants in Mexico Due to COVID-19

Amnesty International sent an open letter today to the Undersecretary of Prevention and the Promotion of Health, Dr Hugo López-Gatell Ramírez, the maximum authority on the response to COVID-19 in the country, to express its concerns about the lack of protection of the health of migrants and people in need of international protection in Mexico.

April 23, 2020

Update

Amnesty International USA Teleconference Briefing on the Impact of COVID-19 on Human Rights Around the World (April 29, 1 PM EST)

Amnesty International USA Teleconference Briefing on the Impact of COVID-19 on Human Rights Around the World: Special Updates on COVID-19 in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America   WHEN:  Wednesday, April 29, 1 p.m. (Eastern time) WHO:     Francisco Bencosme, Asia Advocacy Manager Daniel Balson, Eurasia Advocacy Director Philippe Nassif, Middle East and North Africa Advocacy Director Adotei Akwei, Africa Advocacy Director Charanya Krishnaswami, Americas Advocacy Director Joanne Lin, National Director, Advocacy and Government Affairs HOW:    Pre-register here WHAT: While the U.S. has been the most recent epicenter of the raging corona virus, every part of the…

April 22, 2020

Vietnamese activist La Viet Dung holds up a phone with the screen displaying an open letter to Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg in Hanoi on April 10, 2018. A group of 50 Vietnamese activists and rights organisations have written an open letter to Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg suggesting his company may be colluding with communist authorities to scrub out online dissent. / AFP PHOTO / - (Photo credit should read -/AFP via Getty Images)

Press Release

Facebook Must Cease Complicity with Government Censorship in Vietnam

Facebook must immediately reverse its decision to censor posts deemed critical of the government in Viet Nam, said Amnesty International today.

April 22, 2020

Sadnaya - Syria detentions - Collaboration with Forensic Architecture. Illustrations taken from the Forensic Architecture Platform. Saydnaya Military Prison is located 30km north of Damascus, Syria. The prison is under the jurisdiction of the Minister of Defence and operated by the Military Police. Saydnaya became notorious for the use of torture and excessive force following a riot by detainees in 2008. There are two buildings on the Saydnaya site, which between them could contain 10,000-20,000 prisoners. In April 2016, Amnesty International and Forensic Architecture travelled to Turkey to meet a group of survivors from Saydnaya prison. Since 2011, journalists and other monitoring groups have been unable to visit the prison and speak with prisoners from Saydnaya, so this was an opportunity to tell their stories. As there are no images of Saydnaya, we were dependent on the memories of survivors to recreate what happened inside. Using architectural and acoustic modelling, we helped witnesses reconstruct the architecture of the prison and their experiences of detention. The interview techniques were developed by Forensic Architecture at Goldsmiths, University of London, in consultation with the university’s Forensic Psychology Unit.

Press Release

Torture Trial in Germany a ‘Historic Step’ Towards Justice in Syria

The first trial of two former officials of the Syrian government’s security service charged with crimes against humanity marks an important step towards justice, Amnesty International said.

April 22, 2020