Press releases
Mexico: Civilian authorities must investigate pattern of serious abuses by military - 8 December 2009
New evidence of serious human rights violations carried out during military operations to combat organized crime and drug cartels in Mexico has been unveiled in a report published by Amnesty International today.Nepal: Major accused of torturing girl to death must be arrested - 8 December 2009
The Nepali government must immediately pursue the arrest of an army major expelled last week from a UN peacekeeping mission in Chad when it emerged he has been accused of torturing a 15-year-old Nepalese girl to death, Amnesty International said today.
Iran: Security forces condemned for protest crackdown - 7 December 2009
Amnesty International condemned the excessive use of force by Iranian security forces that saw scores of protesters beaten and detained during student-led demonstrations on Monday.Sudan must end violent crackdown on protestors - 7 December 2009
Amnesty International has strongly condemned a violent crackdown by Sudanese security forces on political protests in Khartoum on Monday.Iraq: Over 900 people on death row face imminent execution - 4 December 2009
The Iraqi authorities must immediately stop the executions of more than 900 people on death row who have exhausted their legal appeals and could be put to death at any time, Amnesty International said.
The prisoners, who include 17 women, are said to have had their death sentences ratified by the Presidential Council, the final step before executions are carried out.
At least 120 people are known to have been executed in Iraq so far this year.
“In a country which already has one of the highest rates of execution in the world, the prospect that this statistic may rise significantly is disturbing indeed,” said Philip Luther, Deputy Director of Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Programme.
France must not deport terror suspect to Algeria - 4 December 2009
France must not deport a man convicted of terrorist acts to Algeria where he may be at risk of incommunicado detention and torture or other ill-treatmentSomalia : Civilian deaths in hotel explosion condemned - 3 December 2009
Amnesty International condemns the unlawful killing of civilians in an explosion today at a student graduation ceremony in Shamo hotel, Mogadishu.
The blast appears to have occurred as people had gathered to celebrate the graduation of medical students from Banadir University in the hotel, in a district of the capital Mogadishu which remains under the control of Somalia’s Transitional Federal Government. No one has claimed responsibility for the blast.
Guinea: Evidence of new arrests, harassment and illegal detentions by security forces - 3 December 2009
Guinea’s security forces are continuing to arrest and harass activists and others, following a massacre during a political protest on 28 September, Amnesty International found during a recent visit to Guinea.Honduras: No return to “business as usual” - 3 December 2009
(Tegucigalpa) At the end of a 10-day visit to Honduras during the country’s presidential elections, Amnesty International today called for an independent investigation to ensure all those responsible for human rights abuses are brought to justice and the victims given reparations.China: Halt death sentences against Uighurs - 3 December 2009
China’s supreme court must carefully review reported death sentences imposed today on five individuals by a court in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region (XUAR) of northwest China.
Thirteen people were sentenced by the court in the city of Urumqi, in connection with deadly violence that erupted after a police crackdown on Uighur protesters on 5 July.
Five of these were sentenced to death, and another two were sentenced to life imprisonment.
