Amnesty International Australia
Defending Human Rights
On October 2, 2012, the two men are believed to have been arrested at a government-operated checkpoint on their way from Ma’touq’s home in the Damascus suburb of Sahnaya to his office in Damascus. Despite repeated requests for information to the public prosecutor’s office in Damascus in 2012 and 2013 by family and colleagues, Syrian …
Continue reading “Syria: Renewed calls for Khalil Ma’touq’s release on 4th anniversary of detention”
The order, passed by the District Magistrate of Srinagar and served to the publication on 2 October, states that the newspaper “contains such material and content which tends to incite acts of violence and disturb public peace and tranquillity”. The newspaper has extensively covered the violence in Kashmir in recent months, and reports of human rights …
Continue reading “Closure of Kashmir newspaper a setback to free speech”
Taliban fighters have exposed civilians to attacks, demonstrating the Taliban’s utter disregard for civilians’ right to life. Responding to the news that Taliban fighters have launched a coordinated attack on the city of Kunduz in Afghanistan, Champa Patel, Amnesty International’s South Asia Director, said: “Civilians in Kunduz have woken up this morning to find themselves …
Continue reading “Afghanistan: Civilian lives at grave risk amid Taliban assault on Kunduz”
A big thanks to all our Team Amnesty runners who participated in Run Melbourne 2016! Want to participate in Run Melbourne 2017 and run to defend human rights? When: Saturday 23 & Sunday 24 July 2016 Where: Federation Square, Melbourne If you’re up for the challenge, you can join the 5km, 10km, or the half-marathon. There …
Responding to news that Turkish authorities have issued arrest warrants for 42 journalists, Amnesty International issued the following quote: “This is the latest alarming development in what is increasingly becoming a brazen purge based on political affiliation,” said Gauri van Gulik, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for Europe. “By rounding up journalists the government is failing …
Continue reading “Turkey: Arrest warrants for 42 journalists a brazen attack on press freedom”
At just 18 years old, mental health campaigner and Waayni woman Justice King has made a big difference for young people in her hometown of Mt Isa, Queensland. After her own experience with mental-health issues, she started three mental health campaigns in her community, and for this received 2016’s Queensland Young Achiever Award. Here she …
The outcome of President Obama’s Leaders’ Summit on Refugees in New York marks a small step forward but falls far short of what is needed to address the global refugee crisis. Leaders at the summit increased commitments on resettlement, humanitarian funding, refugee education and access to work. The pledges – which pale in comparison to …
Continue reading “Refugee Crisis: ‘Leaders’ Summit’ fails to show leadership on refugees”
Ali al-Nimr was just 17 when he was arrested on 14 February 2012, a few months after taking part in anti-government rallies in Saudi Arabia. He was sentenced to death, despite being a minor when he was arrested and following a deeply unfair trial based on “confessions” he says were obtained through torture. He now …
Continue reading ““My heart is exhausted”: A mother’s story of death row in Saudi Arabia”
Guy Ragen represented AIA at this year’s World Congress Against the Death Penalty. Here’s what he learned. Every three years, the global movement for the death penalty’s abolition comes together at the World Congress Against the Death Penalty. This year’s Congress was held in Oslo, Norway in late June, and I was lucky enough to …
Two years on from Egypt’s Rabaa massacre many ordinary Egyptians still live in the shadow of what happened that day. Amnesty International campaigner Nadine Haddad describes the violence and its aftermath. 1,000 people dead As you walk through the bustling traffic in Cairo’s Rabaa al-Adawiya Square today, you would never know the bloodiest incident in …
