Amnesty International Australia
Defending Human Rights
Amnesty International has welcomed the Philippines Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights convening a second inquiry on Amnesty International’s ‘Above The Law: Torture in the Police’ report, following a resolution passed in January to respond to the evidence included in the report regarding widespread torture in the Philippine National Police. Zero conviction rate concerning …
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A crucial resolution adopted at the UN Human Rights Council yesterday offered the victims of Sri Lanka’s armed conflict the prospect of finally getting the truth and justice they deserve. The resolution was adopted without a vote at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, following the publication earlier this month of a UN report …
Continue reading “Sri Lanka: UN war crimes resolution marks a turning point for victims”
The acquittal of two journalists in Thailand – on trial for reproducing parts of an article on human trafficking – is a welcome move for freedom of expression, but the two should never have had to stand trial in the first place. The online news outlet Phuketwan’s editor Alan Morison and reporter Chutima Sidasathian were …
Continue reading “Thailand: Acquittal of journalists a small step in the right direction”
The signing of a peace agreement yesterday by the Government of South Sudan is an important and vital step in ending the violence and addressing the massive human suffering in South Sudan. We reiterate our call for both parties to embrace an unequivocal commitment to accountability for atrocities committed during the conflict to ensure a …
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We welcome the Australian Parliament’s decision to consider further ways Australia can work towards the global abolition of the death penalty. Today the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade announced it will review how Australia engages internationally to promote abolition of the death penalty. The Committee will also consider what further steps …
Continue reading “Amnesty applauds action to end the death penalty”
A Nigerian torture victim wrongfully sentenced to death for a crime committed when he was 16 years old has been pardoned following intensive campaigning from Amnesty International supporters across the world. Moses Akatugba, who was on death row following his conviction for stealing three mobile phones 10 years ago and was repeatedly tortured into signing …
Continue reading “Good news: Nigerian torture survivor Moses Akatugba is free”
A Nigerian torture victim wrongfully sentenced to death for a crime committed when he was 16 years old has been pardoned following intensive campaigning from Amnesty International supporters across the world. Moses Akatugba, who was on death row following his conviction for stealing three mobile phones 10 years ago and was repeatedly tortured into signing …
On 28 May 2015, Moses Akatugba, a Nigerian death-row inmate, was pardoned after nearly 10 years in jail. He had been tortured to confess to a crime he says he never committed. Over 800,000 activists sent letters demanding justice for Moses. Moses describes his joy at finally being free. Tears of joy When I called …
Continue reading “‘My first week of freedom after 10 years in jail’: Moses Akatugba”
As Al Jazeera journalist Peter Greste walks free from Egypt’s Tora Prison, the continuing plight of his colleagues Baher Mohamed and Mohamed Fahmy must not be forgotten. Welcome relief The organisation has been calling for the immediate and unconditional release of all three men since their arrest in December 2013. “The news that Peter Greste …
Dr Tun Aung, a Muslim community leader and medical doctor imprisoned for trying to prevent communal violence, was released from jail on 19 January in Myanmar. What happened? In June 2012 Dr Tun Aung was arrested after trying to calm the crowd during a riot involving Buddhists and Rohingya in Western Myanmar’s Rakhine State. Independent …
