Amnesty International Australia
Defending Human Rights
An Egyptian military court has sentenced eight individuals, all civilians, to death and another 18 to lengthy prison terms, after a grossly unfair military trial that relied on “confessions” extracted under horrific torture including defendants being whipped with a burning cloth. Affront to justice “This verdict is an affront to justice and must be quashed …
Continue reading “Egypt: Death sentences handed down after ‘confessions’ under torture”
Hundreds of refugees who survived the 2015 boat crisis in South East Asia have been locked up in poor conditions in Malaysia ever since, Amnesty International said, following a visit to the country to investigate the fate of people one year on. Rohingya refugees are being kept in indefinite detention Failure to properly investigate criminal …
Continue reading “Malaysia: One year on, no justice for ‘boat crisis’ survivors”
Saudi Arabia will have put to death more than 100 people in the first six months of this year if it continues to carry out executions at its current pace. At least 94 people have been executed so far this year, higher than at the same point last year. 2015 saw the highest number of …
Continue reading “Saudi Arabia: Surge in executions continues as death toll approaches 100”
A new global survey commissioned by Amnesty International shows that 80% of people would welcome refugees fleeing danger into their own countries. The Refugees Welcome Index, based on a global survey of more than 27,000 people and carried out by strategy consultancy GlobeScan, ranks 27 countries across all continents based on people’s willingness to let …
President Joko Widodo should seize the opportunity to show that his government has the resolve to stand up for human rights by halting the imminent executions of up to 15 people. Flawed justice system The death row prisoners believed to at risk have been convicted of alleged drug offences and some did not receive a …
Continue reading “Indonesia: Halting executions will be a show of strength”
Armed groups surrounding the Sheikh Maqsoud district of Aleppo city have repeatedly carried out indiscriminate attacks that have struck civilian homes, streets, markets and mosques, killing and injuring civilians and displaying a shameful disregard for human life. The organization has gathered strong evidence of serious violations from eyewitnesses, and obtained the names of at least …
Continue reading “Syria: Armed opposition groups committing war crimes in Aleppo city”
The Chief Justice of the highest court in Australia has taken the rare step of speaking out about the need for action on family violence and our “appallingly high rate of indigenous incarceration”. Chief Justice French rarely speaks on issues publicly, so this is an important step for shining the spotlight on the over-representation of …
Continue reading “Australia’s top judge urges action on family violence and Indigenous prison rates”
Pakistani authorities are failing to protect human rights defenders. The murder of Khurram Zaki, a human rights defender and former journalist, who was gunned down at a restaurant in Karachi on 8 May 2016 marks the latest such killing of a noted Pakistani human rights defender in recent years. “As a human rights defender, Khurram …
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Malawian authorities must take immediate action to stop the ritual killings of people with albinism following the discovery of two more mutilated bodies in the past week. Details have been uncovered of the killing of a 30-year-old woman with albinism, Jenifer Namusyo, who was found dead on 30 April hours after she was stabbed in …
Continue reading “Malawi: Authorities must put end to killing spree of people with albinism”
The UN Security Council should impose targeted sanctions on all those carrying out deliberate attacks on hospitals and other war crimes, as Amnesty International releases harrowing testimony revealing how hundreds of civilians, including children, have been killed by intensified Syrian government air strikes since 21 April. Deliberate attacks The organisation interviewed doctors and activists in …
Continue reading “Syria: UN Security Council must step up pressure to end attacks on hospitals”
