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  • News
  • Africa
  • Human Rights Defenders and Activists

Amnesty launches first global emergency appeal to counter growing anti-human rights agenda worldwide

Human rights defenders and NGOs, including Amnesty International itself, are targeted as authorities around the globe steal from the same playbook to silence criticism Amnesty International has today launched its first ever global emergency fundraising appeal, calling on supporters to help fight a growing backlash against journalists, lawyers, activists and human rights organizations around the world working to defend and promote human rights.

Date:
6 February 2021
  • News
  • France
  • Torture and other ill-treatment

Global: Fresh evidence of police misuse of tear gas leading to protesters’ deaths and injuries – updated investigative website

Amnesty International today published new evidence of the misuse of tear gas by security forces in several countries in the second half of 2020, including during protests around the election in Uganda, the Black Lives Matter movement in the USA, and in the repression of protesters in Lebanon. The organization’s interactive website Tear Gas: An Investigation has now been updated to include new cases of police committing human rights violations against peaceful protesters around the world.

Date:
5 February 2021
  • News
  • Malawi
  • Killings and Disappearances

Malawi: Resurgence of killings and abductions of persons with albinism spells a dangerous escalation

The resurgence of killings and abduction of persons with albinism in Malawi, with the attempted abduction of a 12-year-old and the killing of 26-year-old last week, shows  a dangerous escalation for the safety of this vulnerable group, Amnesty International and the Association of Persons with Albinism said today. A 12-year-old girl with albinism narrowly survived abduction by two unknown assailants who  broke into her home in Machinga district on 3 February, while the body of Saidi Dyton is still missing following the arrest of three suspects who confessed to his killing on 27 January.

Date:
4 February 2021
  • News
  • Iran
  • Death Penalty

Iran: Eight Baluchi and Ahwazi Arab prisoners at risk amid alarming rise in executions

Iranian authorities must immediately halt any plans to execute four Baluchi and four Ahwazi Arab men amid an alarming rise in executions of ethnic minority prisoners in the past two months, Amnesty International said today. The international community, including UN human rights bodies and the EU must urgently intervene to save their lives. “The recent escalation in executions of Baluchis and Ahwazi Arabs raises serious concerns that the authorities are using the death penalty to sow fear among disadvantaged ethnic minorities, as well as the wider population.

Date:
4 February 2021
  • News
  • Lebanon
  • Killings and Disappearances

Lebanon: Horrific murder of activist Lokman Slim must not go unpunished

Responding to news of the tragic murder of Lebanese intellectual and activist Lokman Slim today, Lynn Maalouf, Deputy Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International, said: “Lokman Slim was at the forefront of the struggle against impunity in post-war Lebanon actively advocating for the right of the families of the missing and disappeared to justice and truth, alongside families’ associations a handful of other organizations and activists brave enough to defy the reigning pattern of impunity.

Date:
4 February 2021
  • News
  • Uganda
  • Armed Groups

Uganda: ICC conviction of LRA commander provides overdue justice for victims of decades-long campaign of abuses

Following today’s International Criminal Court (ICC) conviction of Dominic Ongwen, a former commander of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebel group for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in northern Uganda, Seif Magango, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for East Africa, the Horn and Great Lakes, said: “We hope this decision provides a measure of redress for the 4,000 victims who participated in the case and who can now receive reparations for their suffering.

Date:
4 February 2021
  • News
  • Mali
  • Armed Groups

Mali: New project makes the fight against impunity a priority

It is being implemented with financial support from the European Union Today, Lawyers without Borders Canada (ASFC), the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), the Malian Association for Human Rights (AMDH), and Amnesty International announce the launch of a new project that aims to bolster the fight against impunity in Mali. Our organisations recognise the essential role that the fight against impunity plays in addressing the rights of victims and the protection of local populations.

Date:
4 February 2021
  • News
  • Business and Human Rights

Amnesty urges bold action to clean up the battery industry

Ensuring clean and green battery supply chains must be a priority for businesses and governments during the post-pandemic recovery, Amnesty International said today. The organization has published a set of principles for ensuring that lithium-ion batteries, which power electric vehicles and many electronic devices, and which are essential for tackling climate change, are not linked to human rights abuses or environmental harm.

Date:
4 February 2021
  • News
  • Myanmar
  • Detention

Myanmar: Aung San Suu Kyi reportedly charged for having walkie-talkies

Responding to news that Aung San Suu Kyi has been charged with breaching import-export laws for having walkie-talkies in her home, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for Research, Emerlynne Gil, said:  “If these charges are confirmed, they suggest the military is desperate for a pretext to embark on a witch-hunt and intimidate anyone who challenges them. “Any such trumped-up charges against Aung San Suu Kyi – and the dozens of others still arbitrarily detained since the coup – should be dropped and they should be immediately released.

Date:
3 February 2021
  • News
  • Europe and Central Asia
  • Censorship and Freedom of Expression

Europe: How to combat counter-terror discrimination

Discrimination against Muslims in European counter-terrorism efforts has helped to create an environment in which Muslims are more likely to be the subject of hate speech and attacks, Amnesty International and Open Society Foundations said in a guide published today. The Human Rights Guide for Researching Racial and Religious Discrimination in Counter-Terrorism in Europe is aimed at those working in the human rights or anti-discrimination fields.

Date:
3 February 2021
  • News
  • Pakistan
  • Censorship and Freedom of Expression

Pakistan: Persecution of Ahmadis must end as authorities attempt shutdown of US website

The Pakistani authorities must end their ongoing persecution of the Ahmadiyya religious minority, which is now extending across borders, said Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), following an attempt by the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) to shut down the website of the Ahmadis’ US-based community. On 24 December 2020, the PTA sent a legal notice to the administrators of trueislam.

Date:
3 February 2021
  • News
  • Angola
  • Killings and Disappearances

Angola: Shooting spree by security forces kills at least 10 protesters

Responding to a crackdown by Angolan security forces in which more than 10 protesters were shot and killed since 30 January, in the mining town of Cafunfo, Cuango municipality, Lunda Norte province, Amnesty International and OMUNGA, Angolan Non-Governmental Organization, said: Muleya Mwananyanda, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for Southern Africa said: “Amnesty International can today confirm that since 30 January, Angolan security forces have killed at least 10 people, as authorities continue to hunt down peaceful protesters whose only ‘crime’ has been to speak out against deplorable living conditions.

Date:
2 February 2021
  • News

Russia: Aleksei Navalny given prison term while mass detention of his supporters leads to severe overcrowding and cruel and inhuman detention conditions

A court in Moscow has sentenced opposition activist and Kremlin critic Aleksei Navalny to two years and eight months in prison, amid a brutal crackdown on peaceful protests which saw at least 5,021 people detained on 31 January alone. The Simonovsky District Court granted a motion put forward by the Federal Penitentiary Service to replace Aleksei Navalny’s suspended sentence with jail time, and he will be held at a penal colony.

Date:
2 February 2021
  • News
  • Africa
  • Human Rights Defenders and Activists

South Sudan: Rampant abusive surveillance by NSS instils climate of fear

South Sudan’s National Security Service (NSS) is using abusive surveillance to terrorize journalists, activists and critics, leading to a climate of intense fear and self-censorship, Amnesty International said in a new report. “These Walls Have Ears” – The Chilling Effect of Surveillance in South Sudan” presents new evidence of the South Sudanese authorities’ surveillance capabilities, and also highlights the role played by telecommunication and surveillance companies who enable the interception of phone calls without adequate legal safeguards.

Date:
2 February 2021
  • News
  • Myanmar
  • War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity

Myanmar: UN Security Council must act urgently, hold military accountable

Ahead of the UN Security Council’s emergency closed meeting on Myanmar today, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director of Advocacy Sherine Tadros said:   “What we are witnessing in Myanmar didn’t just suddenly happen. You cannot leave perpetrators of grave crimes under international law on the loose and then act surprised when they trample human rights again. “Yesterday, an emboldened military took years of international inaction as a quiet signal that they could oust the civilian government and embark on a spree of baseless arrests without any real consequences.

Date:
2 February 2021
  • News
  • Guinea
  • Unlawful Detention

Guinea: Deaths in detention and prison sentence for opposition members

Authorities in Guinea must investigate the deaths of at least four people in detention and end a wave of arrests targeting at least 400 opposition and civil society members across the country following the publication of the presidential election results in October, Amnesty International said today. In the past two months, four people, including three supporters of the opposition Union of Democratic Forces of Guinea (UFDG) have died in pre-trial detention in Conakry’s main prison.

Date:
2 February 2021