Following the Indonesian House of Representatives renewal of the special autonomy law for Papua and West Papua, Amnesty International Indonesia and Amnesty International Australia call on the Indonesian government to ensure that the rights of the Papuan people, particularly that Indigenous communities are protected by the law. “Despite the protections contained in the previous law, …
Tag Archives: Prisoner of conscience
Statement on Alexei Navalny’s status as Prisoner of Conscience
Following careful evaluation Amnesty International has decided to re-designate Alexei Navalny as a “Prisoner of Conscience”. In February, Amnesty took an internal decision to stop using the “Prisoner of Conscience” term for Navalny, due to concerns relating to discriminatory statements he made in 2007 and 2008 which may have constituted advocacy of hatred. The Russian government and its supporters …
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Action launched for Australian prisoner of conscience, Chau Van Kham
Amnesty International Australia has today launched a new campaign for Vietnamese Australian prisoner of conscience Chau Van Kham who is serving a 12-year sentence for “terrorism” activities in Vietnam. Trang Chau said her husband is in poor health and has been denied his lawyer of choice. “In 2019, my husband decided to go to Vietnam …
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Virus-hit prisons still full of human rights defenders, as attacks continue
Governments who were lauded for releasing prisoners in response to COVID-19 outbreaks have excluded human rights defenders from the measures and continue to make new arrests of activists, journalists and critics, Amnesty International said today. In a new briefing, “Daring to Stand up for Human Rights in a Pandemic”, which documents attacks on human rights …
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Mother Mushroom: Vietnamese blogger released and exiled
Nguyễn Ngọc Như Quỳnh, a prominent Vietnamese blogger also known by her pseudonym, Mẹ Nấm (Mother Mushroom), has been released from prison in Vietnam on the condition that she leaves the country. The mother of two was arrested in 2016 and sentenced to 10 years in prison on charges of “conducting propaganda” against the state. Responding …
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Bangladesh: Denial of bail to Shahidul Alam a cruel affront to justice
Responding to the denial of bail to Shahidul Alam, a celebrated Bangladeshi photographer and Amnesty International prisoner of conscience, the organisation’s South Asia Campaigner, Saad Hammadi, said: “The decision to deny Shahidul Alam bail is a cruel affront to justice. He should never have been detained in the first place, since all he did was …
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Cambodia: Land rights activist Tep Vanny released from prison following royal pardon
Responding to the news that human rights defender Tep Vanny has been released from prison following a royal pardon after more than 700 days in detention, Minar Pimple, Amnesty International’s Senior Director of Global Operations, said: “After more than two years of being unjustly detained for her peaceful activism, the news that Tep Vanny is …
Bangladesh: Photographer facing 14 years declared Prisoner Of Conscience
Shahidul Alam, the Bangladeshi photographer and outspoken social activist facing between 7 and 14 years in prison for Facebook posts about the student protests he was covering, is a prisoner of conscience who should be immediately released, Amnesty International said today. Shahidul Alam was charged on Monday under Section 57 of Bangladesh’s Information and Communication …
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Malaysia: Release of Anwar Ibrahim a momentous day for human rights
The release of long-time Malaysian opposition leader and Amnesty International prisoner of conscience Anwar Ibrahim is a landmark moment for human rights in the country, the organisation said today. Anwar, who has twice been imprisoned on politically motivated “sodomy” and corruption charges, received a royal pardon following last week’s election win for the Pakatan Harapan …
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