Amnesty International Australia
Defending Human Rights
The release of human rights lawyer Xie Yang on bail does not represent a break in China’s relentless crackdown against human rights lawyers. Xie Yang was tried in Changsha City Intermediate People’s Court in southern China on 8 May for “inciting subversion of state power” and “disrupting court order” and apparently released on bail even …
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For weeks, Suzanne Khoja had Monday January 30 etched on her mind. She had been thinking of little else since finding out it would be the date she and her family would finally land in the US after a gruelling three-year asylum application process. That process had started after the family had fled the ongoing …
Continue reading ““I will never forget the day they told us we couldn’t go to the US””
The conviction and imprisonment of Jakarta Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, better known as “Ahok”, will tarnish Indonesia’s reputation for tolerance. “This verdict demonstrates the inherent injustice of Indonesia’s blasphemy law, which should be repealed immediately,” said Champa Patel, Amnesty International’s Director for Southeast Asia and the Pacific. “Despite protests of his innocence and evidence that …
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In response to news of a Russian-brokered proposal for “de-escalation zones” in Syria signed by Turkey and Iran and welcomed by the Syrian government, Amnesty International’s Lynn Maalouf, Director of Research at the Beirut regional office said: “Countries hosting Syrian refugees must not mistake this proposal for an opportunity to return those seeking refuge on …
The Bangladeshi government has not only failed to protect dissenting voices or hold accountable the armed groups that threaten them, it has also stifled freedom of expression through a slew of repressive tactics and new laws, according to a new Amnesty International report. The report, Caught between fear and repression: Attacks on freedom of expression …
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On World Press Freedom Day, top journalists including Australian Peter Greste, cartoonists and world-renowned artists are calling for the release of more than 120 journalists jailed in Turkey as part of a ruthless crackdown on freedom of the press. The #FreeTurkeyMedia campaign has attracted 250,000 supporters since February. As part of the campaign today Amnesty …
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By Peter Greste and Mohamed Fahmy In prison, one of the greatest challenges is psychological. Even though conditions can be pretty terrible, as long as you have basic nutrition, clean water and shelter you can physically survive. But it is the sense of hopelessness and isolation that can be mentally crippling, and even fatal. So when …
Continue reading “Turkey’s journalists are under siege – You can help them like you helped us”
Amnesty International calls on the Indonesian government to fulfil its commitment to establish a Task Force to investigate abuses against workers in the country’s vast palm-oil industry. An Amnesty International report revealed labour exploitation on Indonesian plantations owned by suppliers and subsidiaries of Wilmar International, the world’s largest palm oil trader. The abuses documented included …
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Following yesterday’s suspension of more than a dozen police officers and the announcement of an internal investigation into revelations that 12 people were detained illegally in a cramped “secret jail cell” in Manila on drugs-related charges, Champa Patel, Amnesty International’s Director for Southeast Asia and the Pacific, said: “This is an alarming reminder of the …
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If ratified by Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, a new law would grant him powers to select the heads of judicial bodies, including the heads of the Court of Cassation, the State Council, the Administrative Prosecution Authority and the State Lawsuits Authority. “This law has the potential to undermine the independence of the country’s already beleaguered …
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