The authorities continued to erode the independence of the judiciary. COVID-19 measures served as a pretext to crackdown on peaceful protesters and to restrict access to asylum. Criminal charges were used to curtail freedom of expression. LGBTI rights remained under attack. Authorities attempted to...

Reacting to the release of 16 individuals from Russian and Belarusian prisons, including Russian human rights defenders, as part of a prisoner swap deal, Marie Struthers, Amnesty International’s Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, said: “Today, we share the relief and joy for the release...

Amnesty International is launching a new campaign calling on people the world over to help make public support for abortion rights visible to all.  Over the past 30 years, huge strides have been taken in the fight for the right to abortion, with laws changing for the better in more than 60...

Reacting to news that Polish lawmakers approved four amendments to Poland’s abortion laws in a first reading in parliament today, Amnesty International’s Miko Czerwiński, Head of Campaigns, Amnesty International Poland said:  “By approving these four amendments, Poland’s parliament has taken a...

A US district court has ordered Israeli spyware firm NSO Group to disclose documents and code related to its notorious Pegasus spyware, to WhatsApp. Responding to the news, the Head of the Security Lab at Amnesty International, Donncha Ó Cearbhaill said: “This decision brings us a step closer...

Authorities in European states must immediately halt the transfer of refugees and asylum seekers from the North Caucasus back to Russia where they will be at risk of torture and other ill-treatment and potentially forced to fight in Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine, said Amnesty International...

Amnesty International is launching its annual global letter-writing campaign ahead of Human Rights Day on 10 December, in a bid to transform the lives of people whose rights have been violated. This year, Amnesty International is campaigning for justice with and for 11 people from around the world,...

Following the conviction and sentencing of activist Justyna Wydrzyńska to 8 months’ community service for helping a pregnant woman to access abortion pills in Poland, Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General, said: “The case sets a dangerous precedent in Poland, where abortion is...

Charges against an activist facing up to three years in prison accused of helping a pregnant woman access abortion pills in Poland must be dropped, said Amnesty International today ahead of the resumption of her trial in Warsaw tomorrow. In November 2021, the prosecutor charged human rights...

Polish authorities have targeted LGBTI people with stigmatising and harmful rhetoric, and refused or frustrated their attempts to protest, Amnesty International Poland has found in a new report. They treated us like criminals: From shrinking space to harassment of LGBTI defenders finds that LGBTI...

Charges against an activist facing up to three years in prison for helping a pregnant woman access abortion pills in Poland must be dropped said Amnesty International today ahead of the resumption of her trial in Warsaw tomorrow. In November 2021 human rights defender, Justyna Wydrzyńska, was...

Poland/Belarus: New evidence of abuses highlights ‘hypocrisy’ of unequal treatment of asylum seekers  The Polish authorities have arbitrarily detained nearly two thousand asylum seekers who crossed into the country from Belarus in 2021, and subjected many of them to abuse, including strip searches...

Charges against Justyna Wydrzyńska, a human rights defender who faces up to three years in prison for supporting a pregnant woman who needed a safe abortion in Poland, should be immediately dropped, Amnesty International said today ahead of the start of her trial in Warsaw tomorrow. In 2020,...