Amnesty International Australia
Defending Human Rights
Former Branch President of QLD & Northern NSW Paul Toner describes how community organisations and everyday Queenslanders came together to call for our basic human rights be protected under law…and won! In February 2019 the Queensland government finally passed a Human Rights Act. It was the result of a four year campaign by community groups …
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Hakeem is home! On 12 February he arrived at Tullamarine airport in Melbourne and into the arms of his joyous wife. The Thai authorities have now dropped the falsified case against Melbourne-based footballer Hakeem al-Araibi. He had spent 76 days unjustly imprisoned in Thailand and for every single one of those days, he faced deportation to danger …
Tep Vanny is a Cambodian human rights defender who spent more than 700 days in prison for her peaceful activism. Her only “crime” was standing up against a luxury tourist construction project which resulted in the forced evictions of thousands of people out of their homes in the Boeung Kak lake area of Phnomh Penh. Now back at …
Continue reading ““We are willing to risk everything to defend our homes and land””
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 …
Continue reading “Mother Mushroom: Vietnamese blogger released and exiled”
The landmark ruling by India’s Supreme Court decriminalizing consensual same-sex relations is a historic step, which sends a message of hope not only to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people, but to everyone fighting for justice and equality, Amnesty International India said today. “The judgment closes the door on a dark chapter of …
After more than 700 days in detention Tep Vanny, a Cambodian land rights activist, is released from prison. What happened? Tep Vanny was released from prison following a royal pardon. Vanny spent over 700 days in prison, after being arrested on 16 August 2016. For almost 10 years, she has defended her community in the …
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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 …
On 15 August, Taner Kilic — the Honorary Chair of Amnesty International Turkey — was released from prison. Taner was thrown into prison on 9 June 2017 on the absurd charge of being a member of an “armed terrorist organisation”. İdil Eser,the Director of Amnesty Turkey, was detained one month later alongside and nine others while attending a …
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The Malaysian authorities have acquitted and dropped all charges against political cartoonist Zulkiflee Anwar “Zunar” Ulhaque, alongside lawmaker R. Sivarasa and civil rights lawyer N. Surendran. Zunar, a political cartoonist, has been targeted numerous times by the Malaysian authorities as a result of his political cartoons In 2015 Zunar was charged with nine sedition charges for …
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Renowned Ethiopian journalist, Eskinder Nega, has been imprisoned nine times simply for doing his job. He was released earlier this year after spending his longest stint in prison. In this letter to Amnesty International’s supporters, he reflects on his time in prison, how he survived and why the voice of human rights needs to continue… …
Continue reading “Eskinder Nega: Defending human rights is the right thing to do”