The Saudi Arabian government is employing the death penalty as a political weapon to silence dissent against the Shi’a Muslim minority, said Amnesty International, following the execution of four men in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province on 11 July. Yussuf Ali al-Mushaikass, a father of two, was executed along with three other men, for terror-related offences …
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West Mosul: Iraqi and US-led coalition forces failed to take adequate measures to protect civilians
In the battle against Islamic State in west Mosul, Iraqi and US-led coalition forces failed to take adequate measures to protect civilians. New Amnesty International report sheds light on the scale of death, injury and suffering caused to civilians caught between the warring parties in Mosul Islamic State deliberately trapped families in west Mosul to …
UK: Court ruling over arms sales to Saudi Arabia a ‘deadly blow’ to Yemeni civilians
A UK court ruling that the government is entitled to continue authorising arms supplies to Saudi Arabia is a potentially deadly setback to Yemeni civilians, Amnesty International said. The High Court in London dismissed a legal challenge from the NGO Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT), which claimed that such arms transfers should not take place because of …
UN: Nuclear weapons ban is an antidote to cynical brinkmanship
Following the United Nations’ adoption of a new global treaty outlawing nuclear weapons, James Lynch, Head of Arms Control and Human Rights at Amnesty International, said: “This historic treaty brings us a step closer to a world free from the horrors of nuclear weapons, the most destructive and indiscriminate weapons ever created. All states should …
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Absurd ‘terrorism’ investigation launched into Amnesty Turkey’s Director and 9 others
Responding to news that Idil Eser, Director of Amnesty International Turkey, seven other human rights activists and two IT trainers, are being investigated for membership of an armed terrorist organisation, Salil Shetty, Amnesty International’s Secretary General, said: “The absurdity of these accusations against Idil Eser and the nine others cannot disguise the very grave nature …
Director of Amnesty International Turkey must be released from incommunicado detention
Responding to the news that Idil Eser, Director of Amnesty International Turkey, was detained on Wednesday along with seven other human rights defenders and two trainers during a digital security and information management workshop in Büyükada, Istanbul, Salil Shetty, Amnesty International’s Secretary General, said: “We are profoundly disturbed and outraged that some of Turkey’s leading human …
China must release critically ill Liu Xiaobo
The Chinese authorities are demonstrating new-depths of cruelty by preventing Liu Xiaobo from leaving the country to receive urgent medical treatment for his late-stage liver cancer. On Wednesday, the authorities announced medical experts from Germany and the US will be invited to China to assist with the treatment of the Nobel Peace Prize winner. The …
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Central Mediterranean: Death toll soars as EU turns its back on refugees and migrants
The soaring death toll in the central Mediterranean and the horrific abuses faced by thousands of refugees and migrants in Libyan detention centres are clearly linked to failing EU policies. A perfect storm: The failure of European policies in the Central Mediterranean finds that by ceding the lion’s share of responsibility for search and rescue …
Bahrain: Woman human rights defender at high risk of torture, including sexual assault
In response to news about the arrest of human rights defender Ebtisam al-Saegh by the Bahraini authorities on the night of 3 July 2017 Samah Hadid, Director for Campaigns at Amnesty International in the Middle-East said: “The Bahraini authorities must immediately and unconditionally release Ebtisam al-Saegh whose only crime is speaking up against a government …
NSW sexual abuse: allegations of detention child abuse pile up, Prime Minister must act
Two former juvenile justice officers have been charged over horrific historical child sex offences allegedly committed on children as young as 10 at Reiby Juvenile Justice Centre between 1996-2004. In response Roxanne Moore, Amnesty International’s Indigenous Rights Campaigner said: “It is beyond belief that for the third time in just one week we are hearing …