Below you’ll find breaking news as well as reports, updates on our campaigns, and victories.
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Press Release
Amnesty International Demands Lawyers for Ethiopian Journalists, Opposition Party Members Reportedly Detained; Warns Detainees May Be At Risk of Torture
Contact: Suzanne Trimel, 212-633-4150, [email protected] (New York) -- In response to media reports that two journalists and two opposition party members have been arrested in Ethiopia on suspicion of terrorist offenses, Michelle Kagari, Amnesty International’s deputy Africa director said today: "The pretext of counter-terrorism being used to silence dissent, particularly among groups traditionally critical of the government such as political opposition parties and the private press, is worrying." "The detainees must be granted full and prompt access to legal representatives and their families." Amnesty International also warned that some of the detainees may be at risk of torture. The four…
June 30, 2011
Press Release
Tamils Set for U.K. Deportation Following Suicide Attempt, Says Amnesty International
Contact: AIUSA media relations, 202-509-8194 (Washington, D.C.) – Amnesty International is calling on the United Kingdom authorities not to deport Sri Lankans at risk of torture, ahead of a planned deportation from Gatwick Airport in London to Colombo this afternoon. At least twenty Sri Lankans, mostly Tamil, face forcible return on the flight. "Nobody should be deported from the United Kingdom if they are at risk of torture," said Yolanda Foster, Sri Lanka researcher at Amnesty International. "The end of the armed conflict in Sri Lanka in May 2009 has not diminished the risks faced by failed Sri Lankan asylum…
June 16, 2011
Press Release
Amnesty International Makes Worldwide Appeal to Health Professionals on Behalf of Bahraini Doctors, Nurses and Paramedics Reportedly Tortured Before Standing Trial for Treating Wounded Protester
Organization Plans Twitter Campaign Wednesday Demanding State Department Send High-Level Observer to Bahraini Opposition Leaders' Trial Contact: Suzanne Trimel, 212-633-4150, [email protected] (New York) – Amnesty International on Tuesday urged health professionals worldwide to demand that Bahrain investigate reports of torture of some of the 48 doctors, nurses and paramedics who are being tried by a special military court. The health professionals were arrested after they treated protesters wounded during the bloody street protests in February and March demanding government reforms. In a worldwide “Appeal for Action,” the human rights organization urged health professionals to send appeals to King Shaikh Hamad…
June 15, 2011
Press Release
Hired gunmen threaten rural communities in Brazil
Brazilian authorities must investigate acts of violence and intimidation by hired gunmen against rural workers in the north of the country, Amnesty International said today, amid ongoing threats targeting two communities.
June 8, 2011
Report
Lack of justice could fuel new violence in Kyrgyzstan
In June 2010, four days of violent clashes between ethnic Kyrgyz and ethnic Uzbeks in southern Kyrgyzstan left thousands injured, hundreds dead and hundreds of thousands displaced. The Kyrgyzstani authorities are obliged to establish the truth about what happened. They must provide justice for the thousands of victims of the serious crimes and human rights violations, including crimes against humanity. However, one year on from the June violence, justice is no closer to being done.
June 7, 2011
Press Release
Amnesty International Condemns Treatment of Myanmar Prisoners Kept in ‘Dog Cells’ After Protests
Amnesty International Condemns Treatment of Myanmar Prisoners Kept in ‘Dog Cells’ After Protests Contact: AIUSA media relations, 202-509-8194 (Washington, D.C.) – The Myanmar authorities must stop forcing prisoners into cells designed for military dogs, Amnesty International said today, after it emerged that the practice is being used as punishment against hunger striking activists. Seven prisoners, including two Buddhist monks who went on hunger strike at Insein prison in the main city of Yangon, were placed in solitary confinement between May 24 and 26, in the cells, Amnesty International has learned. "The shocking accounts of the cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment…
June 6, 2011
Press Release
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL CONDEMNS 40 YEARS’ SOLITARY CONFINEMENT FOR ‘ANGOLA 2,’ CALLING IT ‘MOST EXTREME’
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL CONDEMNS 40 YEARS’ SOLITARY CONFINEMENT FOR ‘ANGOLA 2,’ CALLING IT ‘MOST EXTREME’ Widow of slain prison guard: ‘If they did not do this – and I believe that they didn’t – they have been living a nightmare’ Contact: Wende Gozan Brown at 212-633-4247, [email protected]. (London) – Amnesty International is mobilizing its worldwide membership to call for the immediate removal from solitary confinement of two Louisiana inmates who have been held in Closed Cell Restriction (CCR) for almost 40 years, calling it a violation of human rights law. “The appalling treatment of the ‘Angola 2’ showcases an…
June 6, 2011
Report
USA urged to end inmates’ 40 year-long solitary confinement
39 years ago, three young black men were put in solitary confinement; two are still in isolation. In total, the three men have spent more than 100 years in solitary, mostly in the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola, USA. But the ‘Angola 3’ have refused to be silenced; their fight for justice continues. In this document Amnesty International is again calling on the Louisiana authorities to end the cruel, inhuman and degrading conditions in which they are held by immediately removing the men from solitary confinement.
June 6, 2011
Press Release
Amnesty International Condemns Treatment of Myanmar Prisoners Kept in ‘Dog Cells’ After Protests
Amnesty International Condemns Treatment of Myanmar Prisoners Kept in ‘Dog Cells’ After Protests Contact: AIUSA media relations, 202-509-8194 (Washington, D.C.) – The Myanmar authorities must stop forcing prisoners into cells designed for military dogs, Amnesty International said today, after it emerged that the practice is being used as punishment against hunger striking activists. Seven prisoners, including two Buddhist monks who went on hunger strike at Insein prison in the main city of Yangon, were placed in solitary confinement between May 24 and 26, in the cells, Amnesty International has learned. "The shocking accounts of the cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment…
June 6, 2011
Press Release
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL CONDEMNS 40 YEARS’ SOLITARY CONFINEMENT FOR ‘ANGOLA 2,’ CALLING IT ‘MOST EXTREME’
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL CONDEMNS 40 YEARS’ SOLITARY CONFINEMENT FOR ‘ANGOLA 2,’ CALLING IT ‘MOST EXTREME’ Widow of slain prison guard: ‘If they did not do this – and I believe that they didn’t – they have been living a nightmare’ Contact: Wende Gozan Brown at 212-633-4247, [email protected]. (London) – Amnesty International is mobilizing its worldwide membership to call for the immediate removal from solitary confinement of two Louisiana inmates who have been held in Closed Cell Restriction (CCR) for almost 40 years, calling it a violation of human rights law. “The appalling treatment of the ‘Angola 2’ showcases an…
June 6, 2011
Report
Libya: Campaign of enforced disappearances in Nafusa region must end
Scores of people have vanished from Libya’s Nafusa Mountain area apparently at the hands of forces loyal to Colonel al-Gaddafi, Amnesty International said today as it released a new report into deteriorating conditions in the western region of the countryLibya: Disappearances in the besieged Nafusa Mountain as thousands seek safety in Tunisia details a number of cases of people who have disappeared and are believed to have been taken Tripoli from Nafusa Mountain, which has been under siege and fire from pro-Gaddafi forces since early March 2011.“It is outrageous that the families of these men have absolutely no idea what…
May 27, 2011
Press Release
Witnesses Tell Amnesty International of Executions, Rapes and Manhunts During Ivory Coast Political Violence; New Report Accuses Both Sides of Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Related to Atrocities
Contact: Suzanne Trimel, 212-633-4150, [email protected] Witnesses Tell Amnesty International of Executions, Rapes and Manhunts During Ivory Coast Political Violence; New Report Accuses Both Sides of Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Related to Atrocities Report Says Human Rights Violations Are Still Being Committed Including Villages Burned and Dozens of People Killed (New York) -- Forces allied to both former Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo and the new President Alassane Ouattara committed crimes against humanity and war crimes, including mass executions, torture, and rapes, during six months of deadly violence following disputed elections, Amnesty International (AI) said in a report released…
May 26, 2011