Reacting to the news that a court in Russia has upheld a Ministry of Justice request to liquidate Moscow Helsinki Group, the oldest human rights organization in the country, Marie Struthers, Amnesty International’s Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, said: “Russia is rapidly plunging ever...

Reacting to news that the authorities in Kyrgyzstan have applied to a court to close Radio Azattyk, the national service of the US broadcaster Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Marie Struthers, Amnesty International’s Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, said: “The closure of Radio Azattyk...

In the two years since mass protests in Russia against the politically motivated detention of prominent opposition activist Aleksei Navalny, the Russian authorities have been relentless in their attempts to dismantle the opposition movement and to create a more fearful environment for those...

Reacting to the news that the Russian media regulator is poised to censor online content containing references to LGBTI people or rights, including banning movies and TV series featuring LGBTI characters, Natalia Zviagina, Amnesty International’s Russia Director, said: “The Russian authorities are...

Reacting to the beginning of a court hearing in the politically motivated case against Ales Bialiatski, 2022 Nobel Peace Prize laureate and chair of the Viasna human rights group, and his colleagues Valiantsin Stefanovich, Uladzimir Labkovich and Dzmitry Salauyou, Marie Struthers, Amnesty...

The Covid-19 pandemic, Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and a pervasive focus on ‘traditional values’ have contributed to a deterioration in human rights and rising levels of domestic violence and other forms of gender-based violence in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Amnesty International said...

Confronted with what can sometimes seem like an endless cycle of bad news in the media, it’s easy to feel despondent. But, amid the gloom, there were plenty of good news stories to celebrate this year.  Throughout 2022, Amnesty’s ongoing campaigning, media and advocacy...

Reacting to the visit of Mary Lawlor, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders to Tajikistan, which concluded on 9 December, Marie Struthers, Amnesty International’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia Director, said: “In her capacity as UN Rapporteur on the Situation of...

As the world gathers to mark 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, Saudi Arabia’s continued imprisonment of women for their peaceful expression in support of women’s rights and imposition of travel bans against women human rights defenders are a crucial reminder of the inherently...

Reacting to the news that a court in Russia has sentenced Ilya Yashin, an opposition activist and former elected head of a Moscow municipal district council, to eightand halfyears in jail on charges of disseminating “knowingly false information” for denouncing war crimes committed by Russian forces...

Responding to reports that imprisoned opposition figure Mariya Kalesnikava has been rushed to intensive care from her ‘punishment cell’ to undergo surgery, Amnesty International’s Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Marie Struthers, said: “The Belarusian authorities must immediately...

The Russian authorities have developed a sophisticated system of restrictions and severe reprisals to crush public protests, which extends to suppressing any reporting of them by journalists and independent monitors. Restrictions have increased since the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and...