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Saudi Arabia executions disproportionately target foreign nationals

Tue, 14 Oct 2008 10:50:58 +0100

The government of Saudi Arabia executes an average of more than two people a week. Almost half of them, a disproportionately high number in relation to the local population, according to a new Amnesty International report, are foreign nationals from poor and developing countries.

There was a sharp increase in executions in 2007, with a total of at least 158 people put to death. Amnesty International monitored 39 executions in 2006.

So far this year, Amnesty International has recorded a further 71 executions to the end of August. The organisation said that it fears there could be a new surge of executions in the coming weeks, following the end of the holy month of Ramadan.

“We had hoped that the much-heralded human rights initiatives introduced by the Saudi Arabian authorities in recent years would bring an end to – or, at least, a significant reduction in - the use of the death penalty.

"Yet, in fact, we have witnessed a sharp rise in executions of prisoners sentenced in largely secret and unfair trials, making the need for a moratorium more urgent than ever,” said Malcolm Smart, Director of the Middle East and North Africa Programme at Amnesty International.

"The government's continuing high use of the death penalty runs counter to the growing international trend towards abolition. Moreover, the death penalty is carried out disproportionately and discriminately on national or ethnic grounds against poor foreign workers and against Saudi Arabian nationals who lack the family or other connections that, fortunately, help others to be saved from execution."

Defendants, particularly poor foreign migrant workers from developing countries in Africa and Asia, often have no defence lawyer and are unable to follow court proceedings in Arabic. They, and many of the Saudi Arabians who are executed, also have no access to influential figures such as government authorities or heads of tribes, nor to money, both crucial factors in securing a pardon.

"The process by which the death penalty is imposed and carried out is harsh, largely secretive and grossly unfair. Judges, all men, have wide discretion and can hand down death sentences for vaguely-worded and non-violent offences," said Malcolm Smart. "Some migrant workers have even been unaware that they had been sentenced to death until the very morning of their execution."

Execution is usually by beheading, generally in public. In some cases, crucifixion follows execution.

Saudi Arabia is one of the few states in the world with a high rate of executions for women. It is also one of the few remaining countries to execute people for crimes they committed when they were still under the age of 18, in breach of international law.

“It is high time for the Saudi Arabian government to step up to the plate on this issue and respect its obligations under international law," said Malcolm Smart. "As an elected member of the UN's Human Rights Council, the government should move quickly to reverse this ghastly trend and bring Saudi Arabia's legal and judicial practices into conformity with international standards.

"It must ban the death penalty for children, ensure fair trials, address rampant discrimination, and curtail judges’ discretionary powers in the use of this cruel, inhumane, and degrading punishment."

Amnesty International has documented Saudi Arabia’s extensive use of the death penalty for over a quarter of a century. This report is the organization's latest evaluation following the legal, judicial and human rights changes introduced in recent years in Saudi Arabia. The organization has, however, been unsuccessful in seeking a visit to the country to conduct research.

Vietnamese government continues to persecute Catholics

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 18:13:36 +0100

The Vietnamese authorities and state sponsored groups continue to persecute Catholics following September's violent crackdown on peaceful mass protests in Ha Noi.

Catholics who took part in the protests, to show support for the church's claims in a land dispute, have been increasingly physically and verbally attacked and intimidated, according to the Amnesty International briefing, After the crackdown: attacks and intimidation.

The authorities have also launched a public campaign through the media – which is under strict state control – to discredit the Archbishop of Ha Noi, other church leaders and protesters.

As the media campaign intensifies, counter-protesters and state sponsored groups are gathering outside the Archdiocese and the Thai Ha parish in Ha Noi, harassing and intimidating church leaders and parishioners. At least one Catholic church outside of Ha Noi has been attacked by stone-throwing gangs.

A young Catholic woman told Amnesty International that "they shout bad words about our mothers and fathers, and say things like 'kill the archbishop' and 'kill the priests'. Last Sunday evening when I came from church, there were maybe 400-500 people there, many in blue shirts, shouting slogans and holding banners."

The authorities are also using criminal law to stifle free expression of opinion. Four protesters have been detained and charged, and numerous parishioners have been called in for questioning at police stations in recent days. Senior church officials are also believed to be at risk of arrest.

Catholics started protesting in December 2007 over a long-running dispute about ownership of two pieces of land in Ha Noi. The land belonged to the Catholic Church until the 1950s when it was confiscated by the state. Negotiations between the church and the government stalled in February 2008.

Amnesty International is calling on the Vietnamese government to uphold the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and freedom of religion without discrimination.

The organization is also calling for the immediate and unconditional release of those imprisoned for peacefully expressing their views.

Armed groups and government forces continue to abuse women and children in North Kivu

Mon, 29 Sep 2008 16:58:43 +0100

Armed groups are still recruiting child soldiers to fight in the ongoing conflict in the province of North Kivu, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Those child soldiers who attempt to escape have been killed or tortured, sometimes in front of other children, to discourage further escapes. Children who are taken captive by the DRC army on suspicion of being armed group fighters, have faced ill-treatment and torture in military detention.

There is also continuing physical and sexual abuse of women and children in the conflict, according to the new Amnesty International report, North Kivu: No end to the war against women and children.

The report is based on research and eye witness testimony collected by an Amnesty International fact-finding mission in North Kivu in February and March 2008. It says that members of armed groups and government security forces continue to rape and sexually abuse women and girls and, in a smaller number of cases, men and boys. Infant children and elderly women are among the victims, many of whom have suffered gang rape or have been raped more than once.

These abuses are happening despite government and armed group commitments to immediately end these atrocities in a 23 January 2008 "Act of Engagement".

According to the Amnesty International report, of the former child soldiers who had been reunited with their families in North Kivu through a national demobilization programme, as many as half may since have been re-recruited by armed groups.

Beaten to death
One former child soldier told Amnesty International how two youths were beaten to death in front of him and other child recruits "as a lesson to all of us not to try to escape":

"[The boys] were brought out of a pit in the ground and presented to us during a training session. [An armed group senior commander] then gave the order to beat them. Two soldiers and a captain pushed them down into the mud. When they tired of kicking them…they beat them with wooden sticks. The punishment lasted 90 minutes, until they died."

Rape has been committed in public and in front of family members, including children. Some women have been abducted and held as sexual slaves. In many cases, sexual abuse and rape appear to be ethnically motivated and/or aimed at terrorizing and demoralizing communities suspected of supporting enemy groups.

One 16-year-old rape survivor described how she had been abducted by two junior army officers and held captive in an army camp in North Kivu for several days before she was released. In the camp, she was raped nightly by one of the officers.

"The other officers and soldiers in the camp didn't seem to care or be willing to take responsibility", she told Amnesty International. She now suffers flashbacks and persistent headaches.

In its report, Amnesty International issued comprehensive recommendations to the armed groups, DRC government and the international community aimed at stopping human rights abuses. The recommendations include a call on armed groups to immediately release all children associated with their forces, and measures to end to the horror of sexual violence.

Background to the conflict
Despite a peace accord signed in January 2008, armed conflict has persisted in North Kivu. The fighting involves the regular Congolese army (FARDC) and the CNDP armed group under the command of a renegade general Laurent Nkuna, as well as a number of local mayi-mayi militia and the Rwandan FDLR armed group. Civilians have borne the brunt of the violence.

More than 100,000 people have been displaced by renewed fighting in North Kivu since 28 August 2008, adding to more than 1 million people displaced by earlier violence in the region.

Law used against housing activists in Cambodia

Fri, 26 Sep 2008 17:16:52 +0100

Some 150,000 Cambodians live at risk of being forcibly evicted in the wake of land disputes, land grabbing and agro-industrial and urban redevelopment projects in 2008.

Tens of thousands have already been forcibly evicted in recent years, many left homeless, others relocated to inadequate resettlement sites with poor infrastructure, lacking basic amenities including sanitation, and with limited access to work opportunities.

Rich and powerful individuals and groups involved in land disputes in Cambodia are increasingly using their power to silence opponents through the criminal justice system, according to an Amnesty International briefing paper "A risky business - defending the right to housing."

The paper provides examples of abuses of human rights defenders working for the promotion of land rights and against forced evictions in Cambodia in the last two years. Amnesty International is calling for greater protection for human rights defenders.

Informal village leader Chhea Ny was arrested in August 2006 over a long-standing land dispute with local officials, business people and high-ranking military in Boeung Pram village, in Battambang province. He was released in December 2007 after 16 months in prison.

Chhea Ny told Amnesty International: "I was chained and held in a dark prison cell for one week. I was so miserable. And I was not allowed to wash. After one week they removed the chain from my legs.

"When they took off the chain they let me stay outside in daylight, and they offered an apology; they said they had made a mistake and [punished] the wrong man."

Brittis Edman, Amnesty International’s Cambodia Researcher, said that Chhea Ny's case is a blatant example of what happens when the legal system fails to protect human rights and to serve justice.

"The rapid increase in the number of peaceful land activists in prison is a serious concern in its own right. But every imprisoned human rights defender becomes a tool for intimidation of other activists, demonstrating that detention, trials and imprisonment are a real threat," said Brittis Edman.

According to local human rights groups, over the past two years, the number of land activists arrested has practically doubled from 78 in 2006 to 149 in 2007. This rise corresponds with an increase in the number of reports alleging that police have unfairly arrested land activists; prosecutors have pressed groundless criminal charges against them; and law enforcement and court officials have threatened people protesting against forced evictions with arrest or imprisonment.

"The Cambodian authorities must ensure that the legal system fairly protects all parties involved in land disputes and in protecting human rights, and must investigate all credible allegations of intimidation and unlawful arrests of human rights defenders," said Brittis Edman.

In a report released in February 2008, Amnesty International showed how the Cambodian authorities are failing to protect – in law and practice – the population against forced evictions.

By contrast, those with political or economic power are allowed to act with impunity in arbitrarily expropriating land. They do so by colluding with local authorities in ways that lead to the issuing of dubious land titles and eviction orders, and the misuse of the court system to prevent victims from acting to defend their rights.

Read more:
Cambodia burns homes of the poor (Report, 11 February 2008)

Arms Trade Treaty could fail without human rights

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 10:25:15 +0100

Every year,more than 300,000 people are killed with conventional weapons. Millions more are injured, abused, forcibly displaced and bereaved as a result of armed violence. Many of the weapons used to commit these violations are sourced on the poorly regulated international arms market.

Amnesty International's new report, Blood at the Crossroads: Making the case for a global Arms Trade Treaty, uses nine detailed case studies of the catastrophic human rights consequences of unrestrained arms trading.

Launched as UN member states prepare to meet in October to consider further steps to move towards negotiations on an Arms Trade Treaty, the report says that world leaders should adopt a "Golden Rule" to help protect human rights when arms are transferred between countries.

The "Golden Rule" states simply: that governments must prevent arms transfers where there is a substantial risk that they are likely to be used for serious violations of international human rights and humanitarian law.

From the ongoing conflict in Darfur, military crackdowns in Myanmar and Guinea to the proliferation of sectarian violence in Iraq, the report shows how and why the current variations and loopholes in national arms legislation allow massive violations of human rights to occur. It also demonstrates that without an effective human rights provision, a global Arms Trade Treaty could fail to protect those most vulnerable.

The report is launched during a global week of action by activists and supporters of the Control Arms Campaign. Campaigners are reminding governments that "The World is Watching", a theme during the week of events and activities to ild up pressure for an agreement on an effective Arms Trade Treaty as quickly as possible.

Worldwide support for a UN process to develop a global Arms Trade Treaty was reflected when 153 states voted in favour (1 against (US), and 24 abstained) during the General Assembly in December 2006. Then during 2007 almost 100 states submitted their views to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon, proposing human rights protection as one of the top considerations.

In the run up to October's UN discussions at the General Assembly First Committee meeting on Disarmament and Security, a few states - including China, Egypt, India, Pakistan, Russia and the US – have been attempting to block, delay and water down proposals. These attempts could make the treaty fail in its objectives and allow the continued unchecked trade in arms.

"Despite the massive green light from most of the world community, a small minority of sceptics want to keep the status quo shambles so they can turn a blind eye to blatantly irresponsible arms transfers, rendering most national arms controls and UN arms embargoes weak and ineffective," said Brian Wood, Amnesty International’s arms control manager.

China, Russia, the US and many other nations, are highlighted in the report as trading arms to countries with well documented human rights violations.

China and Russia remain the largest suppliers of conventional arms to Sudan that are used for serious ongoing human rights violations by the Sudanese armed forces in Darfur. Russia supplied military helicopters and bomber aircraft, while China sold Sudan most of its arms and ammunition.

In Iraq, the US Department of Defense has funded most of the supply of over one million rifles, pistols and infantry weapons for 531,000 Iraqi security force personnel in a poorly managed and unaccountable process since 2003. This supply has compounded the massive proliferation of arms and gross human rights abuses that began under the former Saddam government.

The new supplies have sometimes involved dubious players in international supply chains and a lack of accountability by Iraq, US and UK governments, leading to diversions of supplies to armed groups and illicit markets.

In Myanmar, despite the persistent pattern of well documented human rights violations committed by Myanmar government forces, China, Serbia, Russia and the Ukraine have between them supplied armoured personal carriers, trucks, weapons and munitions. India has recently offered to supply more arms.

The report shows graphically how violations of the UN arms embargo continue on Cote d'Ivoire, Somalia and Darfur in Sudan because of weak national laws and lack of commitment and capacity by some governments. The failure of over 80 percent of states to establish laws to control arms brokering and arms transportation makes this problem worse.

A UN Group of Governmental Experts examined the Arms Trade Treaty from February to August 2008 and its report will be considered at the UN First Committee of the General Assembly in October.

Amnesty International and its partners are now calling for states during their discussions at General Assembly to agree in December to start a negotiating process during 2009 so that the international community can benefit from a legally-binding and universal Arms Trade Treaty by the end of 2010.

"Discussions on an Arms Trade Treaty have reached a crossroads," says Helen Hughes, one of the researchers on the report. "Governments can either carry on ignoring the horrific consequences of irresponsible international arms transfers or they can meet their obligations in an Arms Trade Treaty with a 'Golden Rule' on human rights that will actually help save people's lives and protect their livelihoods."

Read more:
Play the Control Arms game
Universal Declaration of Human Rights 60th anniversary
The Control Arms website

UN counter-terrorism review should make human rights a priority

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 17:25:38 +0100

As the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) conducts the first major review of its Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy, an Amnesty International report shows how governments have so far failed to uphold the Strategy's human rights standards.

Adopted on 8 September 2006, the UN Strategy was the first global attempt to agree on a set of practical action points to combat terrorism. In the Strategy, all States recognize, unequivocally, that human rights are the fundamental basis for the fight against terrorism.

However, Amnesty International's report, Security and Human Rights: Counter-terrorism and the United Nations, concludes that there is a huge gap between governmental rhetoric and human rights observance on the ground.

Published on 3 September, a day before the UNGA review, the report also says that much more needs to be done to mainstream human rights throughout the UN system and that States must demonstrate the political will to translate stated human rights commitments into action.

The report considers the impact of terrorism on human rights, examines UN work on counter-terrorism, notably of the Security Council, and conducts a brief review of the type of human rights violations committed in the pursuit of counter-terrorism measures, citing a range of country examples from all over the world.

The report says that since the 11 September 2001 attacks on the USA and in other countries since then, a wide range of counter-terrorism laws, policies and practices have eroded human rights protection - such as that to freedom of expression and not to suffer torture or other ill treatment - as governments claim the security of some can only be achieved by violating the rights of others.

The Security Council, in pushing for the criminalization and suppression of terrorism worldwide without taking due care for the protection of human rights, must also take some responsibility for the adverse consequences.

The UNGA review is a crucial opportunity for the UN to act. Amnesty International has therefore called on the UNGA to mark the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by making the implementation of the human rights provisions of the Strategy a top priority for the coming year.

The Security Council must also address the human rights deficit in its work by adopting strong human rights language in its resolutions dealing with terrorism and giving greater importance and resources to the protection of human rights in its counter-terrorism work.

“The response of governments to the threat of terrorism is one of the fundamental human rights challenges of our time,” said Yvonne Terlingen, Head of Amnesty International's Office at the United Nations.

"Human rights and security go hand in hand. Human rights are key to achieving peace. The only way of countering terrorism is with justice."

Women in Mexico let down by failures in justice system

Thu, 31 Jul 2008 11:38:19 +0100

Thousands of Mexican women who face violence in their homes are being put at risk of further abuse by a justice system that often fails to take their safety seriously, according to a new Amnesty International report.

Mexico: Women's struggle for justice and safety: Violence in the family in Mexico says that one in four women in Mexico has suffered abuse at the hands of their partner.

Susana, a 24-year-old mother of two from Sonora state, faced 10 years of physical and psychological violence. Her husband imprisoned her in her home for long periods, and she suffered broken bones in her hand, a fractured nose and a dislocated collarbone.

Susana filed numerous complaints at the local public prosecutor’s office, but each time was told that it was not a crime and there was nothing they could do. When a case was finally opened and her husband charged, he was detained for just one day before being released on bail. Susana and her family remained in hiding until being referred to a women’s shelter.

Reporting abuse
Women face a range of obstacles when trying to report cases of domestic violence, including:

the refusal of officials to accept complaints
deficient investigations
poor enforcement of protective measures

Women who find the courage to report the abuse are often treated with indifference and have to prove they are subject to violence. In many cases, officials even ask them to deliver summons to their aggressor.

Law to stop violence against women
Mexico passed a law to counter violence against women 18 months ago, The General Law on Women’s Access to a Life Free From Violence. Since then, many states have approved similar legislation. These are positive first steps, but unless the law is properly funded and enforced, it will make little difference to the lives of the many women at risk.

Amnesty International has called on Mexico’s federal and state authorities to:

Make a public commitment to implement the new laws guaranteeing women’s rights to safety and justice and to make sure that there is sufficient funding to put the laws into practice effectively.
Ensure effective access to justice and timely protection measures for women who have suffered violence in the family.

Discrimination against Kurdish Iranians unchecked and on the rise

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 17:04:37 +0100

Iran’s government is failing in its duty to prevent discrimination and human rights abuses against its Kurdish citizens, according to a new Amnesty International report.

The organization fears that the repression of Kurdish Iranians, particularly human rights defenders, is intensifying, according to the report Iran: Human rights abuses against the Kurdish minority.

The report also says that women face a double challenge to their human rights, both as members of a marginalised ethnic minority and as women in a predominantly patriarchal society.

Around 12 million Kurds live in Iran making up 15 percent of the population. Expression of Kurdish culture, such as dress and music, is generally respected and the Kurdish language is used in some broadcasts and publications.

However the Kurdish minority continues to suffer deep-rooted discrimination. Kurds in Iran have their social, political and cultural rights repressed along with their economic aspirations.

Parents are banned from registering their babies with certain Kurdish names and religious minorities that are mainly or partially Kurdish are targeted by measures designed to stigmatize and isolate them.

Discriminated against in their access to employment and adequate housing, the economic neglect of Kurdish regions has resulted in an entrenched poverty which has further marginalized Kurds.

Kurdish human rights defenders, including community activists and journalists, face arbitrary arrest, ill-treatment and prosecution when they protest against the government’s failure to observe international human rights standards.

When they link their human rights work to their Kurdish identity they risk further violations of their rights. Some, including women’s rights activists, become prisoners of conscience. Others suffer torture, grossly unfair trials before Revolutionary Courts and the death penalty.

Ethnic Kurds Farzad Kamangar, Ali Heydariyan and Farhad Vakili were sentenced to death in February 2008 after conviction of “moharebeh” (enmity against God), following a grossly flawed process that fell far short of international standards for a fair trial.

This is a charge levelled against those accused of taking up arms against the state, apparently in connection with their alleged membership of the armed group, the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which carries out attacks in Turkey. Ali Heydariyan and Farhad Vakili were also sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment, apparently for forging documents. Under Iranian law, they must serve their prison sentences before being executed.

In May this year Mohammad Sadiq Kabudvand was sentenced to 11 years’ imprisonment by Branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court in Tehran. The sentence apparently comprises 10 years’ imprisonment for “acting against state security by establishing the Human Rights Organization of Kurdistan (HROK)” and one year’s imprisonment for “propaganda against the system”.

The verdict followed a closed trial session. Amnesty International considers Mohammad Sadiq Kabudvand to be a prisoner of conscience, held solely on account of the peaceful exercise of his rights to freedom of expression and association during his work as chair of the HROK and his activities as a journalist. Such rights are expressly recognized in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Iran is a state party.

“Iran’s constitution provides for equality of all Iranians before the law. But, as our report shows, this is not the reality for Kurds in Iran,” said Malcolm Smart, director of the Middle East and North Africa programme of Amnesty International.

“The Iranian government has not taken sufficient steps to eliminate discrimination, or to end the cycle of violence against women and punish those responsible.”

Although women and girls form the backbone of economic activity in the Kurdish areas, strict social codes are used to deny their human rights.

Such codes make it difficult for government officials to investigate inequalities in girls’ education, early and forced marriages, and domestic violence against Kurdish girls and women - and the severe consequences of some of these abuses, including “honour killings” and suicide.

“Kurdish women are victims of violence on a daily basis and face discrimination from state officials, groups or individuals, including family members.” Malcolm Smart said.

Olympics Countdown

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 18:01:01 +0100

Amnesty International published a series of reports in the run-up to the Beijing Olympics detailing the human rights issues in China.

Chinese authorities’ broken promises threaten Olympic legacy

Mon, 28 Jul 2008 17:41:15 +0100

The Chinese authorities have broken their promise to improve the country’s human rights situation and betrayed the core values of the Olympics, according to a new Amnesty International report.

Published to mark the 10-day countdown to the Games, the report evaluates the performance of the Chinese authorities in four areas related to the core Olympic values of ’universal fundamental ethical principles’ and ‘human dignity’: these include persecution of human rights activists, detention without trial, censorship and the death penalty.

The Olympics Countdown: Broken Promises concludes that in most of these areas human rights have continued to deteriorate since the previous Amnesty International report The Olympics Countdown: Crackdown on Activists Threatens Olympic Legacy, which was published in April this year.

In the run-up to the Olympics, the Chinese authorities have locked up, put under house arrest and forcibly removed individuals they believe may threaten the image of “stability” and “harmony” they want to present to the world.

“By continuing to persecute and punish those who speak out for human rights, the Chinese authorities have lost sight of the promises they made when they were granted the Games seven years ago,” said Roseann Rife, Asia-Pacific Deputy Director at Amnesty International.

“The Chinese authorities are tarnishing the legacy of the Games. They must release all imprisoned peaceful activists, allow foreign and national journalists to report freely and make further progress towards the elimination of the death penalty.”

Reports have just confirmed that foreign journalists working from the Olympics press centre in Beijing are unable to access amnesty.org, the Amnesty International website. In addition, The China Debate, a site recently launched by Amnesty International as a forum to discuss human rights has been blocked in China.

A number of other websites are also reported to have been blocked, including Taiwan newspaper Liberty Times and the Chinese versions of both Germany's Deutsche Welle and the BBC.

This flies in the face of official promises to ensure “complete media freedom” for the Games. Internet control and censorship is increasing as the Olympics approach. Many other sites, including several reporting on HIV/AIDS issues in Beijing, have been targeted.

Despite new media regulations that were supposed to allow for freer reporting for foreign journalists, they continue to be prevented from covering “sensitive issues”, including talking to those who suffer human rights violations. The Foreign Correspondents Club of China (FCCC) documented approximately 180 incidents of reporting disruptions in 2007. This has now increased to 260.

Amnesty International also believes that local activists and journalists working on human rights issues in China are at particular risk of abuse during the Games. Chinese journalists operate in a climate of censorship, unable to report on issues deemed sensitive by the authorities, and many still languish in jail for reporting on such issues.

Housing rights activist Ye Guozhu continues to serve his four-year sentence for “picking quarrels and stirring up trouble” because of his opposition to the seizure and demolition of property to make way for new construction projects for next month’s Olympic Games.

Ye Guozhu’s prison sentence was due to expire on 26 July. Instead the Chinese authorities say, he will remain imprisoned until at least 1 October, after the end of the 2008 Olympic Games.

China is still the world’s top executioner. The Supreme People’s Court (SPC) initiated a review of the death penalty that is believed to have resulted in a significant drop in executions. A senior official said that in the first half of 2008 15 per cent of death sentences were rejected by the SPC.

However, the authorities continue to refuse to disclose the full number of those sentenced to death and executed -- the total figure remains a state secret. Estimates put the number of those executed every year in the thousands. Around 68 offences – including non-violent crimes such as drug-related offences – are punishable by death in China.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) President, Jacques Rogge, recently claimed the IOC’s ‘quiet diplomacy’ had led to several human rights reforms, including the new regulations for foreign media.

“We welcome the IOC’s recognition of its role on human rights, but given the current reality, we are surprised at their confidence that foreign media will be able to report freely and that there will be no internet censorship,” said Roseann Rife. “And they must speak out when the authorities violate the wider Olympic principles.”

“Additionally, world leaders who attend the Games need to raise their voice publicly for human rights in China and in support of individual Chinese human rights activists. A failure to do so will send the message that it is acceptable for a government to host the Olympic Games in an atmosphere of repression and persecution.

Have your say on human rights issues in China on Amnesty International's The China Debate website.