Campaigns
Africa
Censorship and Freedom of Expression
On 2 January, the High Court of Mukaza in Bujumbura, Burundi, sentenced journalist Floriane Irangabiye to 10 years in prison and a fine of one million Burundian francs (USD 482). She was convicted on trumped-up charges of “undermining the integrity of the national territory”. Her lawyers have...
February 6, 2023
News
Russian Federation
Censorship and Freedom of Expression
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...
January 23, 2023
Research
Bahrain
Detention
A joint letter from 20 human rights organizations to the King of Bahrain and the Crown Prince and Prime Minister to immediately and unconditionally release Dr. Abduljalil Al-Singace and in the meantime, to ensure he is held in conditions that meet international standards, receives his medication...
January 15, 2023
Campaigns
Bahrain
Human Rights Defenders and Activists
Danish-Bahraini human rights defender Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja continues to be denied due process by the court. On 29 December 2022, an appeal court ruled that he did not have the right to appeal the case in which a criminal court convicted him of insulting a public servant and on 5 January 2023 it...
January 11, 2023
News
Americas
Detention
In light of the progress of the criminal proceedings against Virginia Laparra, former prosecutor of the Special Prosecutor’s Office Against Impunity (FECI), which could conclude with a conviction this week, Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International, said: “Virginia...
December 13, 2022
Campaigns
Bahrain
Prisoners of Conscience
Danish-Bahraini prisoner of conscience Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja was convicted and fined in two separate cases on 28 November 2022 following an unfair trial. The Bahraini authorities have long targeted Al-Khawaja for the peaceful exercise of his human rights and he is serving an unjust life sentence...
December 13, 2022
News
Tajikistan
Censorship and Freedom of Expression
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...
December 9, 2022
News
Russian Federation
Armed Conflict
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...
December 9, 2022
News
Belarus
Censorship and Freedom of Expression
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...
November 30, 2022
News
Middle East and North Africa
International Justice
United Nations member countries should establish an international, independent entity to track and identify those missing and disappeared since the start of the Syria crisis in 2011, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International said today. The Syrian conflict has been marked by prolonged arbitrary...
November 30, 2022
Campaigns
Bahrain
Prisoners of Conscience
Dual Danish-Bahraini national and prisoner of conscience Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja is serving a life sentence in prison for leading peaceful protests during the 2011 popular uprising in Bahrain. He is now facing a number of separate trials accused of breaking a plastic chair and insulting a police...
November 24, 2022
Campaigns
Egypt
Detention
Egyptian-British prisoner of conscience and prominent activist Alaa Abdel Fattah, who has spent most of the last nine years arbitrarily detained, is in critical condition after more than seven months of hunger strike. His family raised concerns about his physical and mental state, after he told...
November 21, 2022