Responding to news about the re-arrest of Saudi Arabian women’s rights activist Loujain al-Hathloul at King Fahad International Airport in Dammam in Saudi Arabia on 4 June, Samah Hadid Director of Campaigns for Amnesty International in the Middle–East said:

“The Saudi Arabian authorities’ continuous harassment of Loujain al-Hathloul is absurd and unjustifiable. It appears she is being targeted once again because of her peaceful work as a human rights defender speaking out for women’s rights, which are consistently trammelled in the kingdom. If so she must be immediately and unconditionally released.

“Instead of upholding its promise of a more tolerant Saudi Arabia, the government has again shattered any notion that it is genuinely committed to upholding equality and human rights.”

Amnesty International learned that Loujain al-Hathloul is due to travel from Dammam to Riyadh at 17:30 local time to be interrogated by the Bureau of Investigation and Prosecution. She has no access to a lawyer and has not been allowed to contact her family. The exact reason for her arrest remains unknown, however Amnesty International believes it is in relation to her human rights activism.

Loujain al-Hathloul is a prominent Saudi Arabian human rights defender who was detained for 73 days after she defied the kingdom’s de facto driving ban for women by attempting to drive into Saudi Arabia from the United Arab Emirates on 30 November 2014. Loujain al-Hathloul went on to stand for election in Saudi Arabia in November 2015 – the first time women were allowed to both vote and stand in elections in the state. However, despite finally being recognized as a candidate, her name was never added to the ballot.

Amnesty International has gathered more than half a million signatures worldwide on petitions calling for an end to the appalling persecution of men perceived to be gay in the Russian republic of Chechnya. In a global day of action on 2 June, Amnesty International activists handed in petitions to Russian embassies around the world.

As a preview to the main event, Amnesty International Australia attempted to present the petition to the Russian Consulate in Sydney onJune 1, with a photo of the five Russian activists arrested for delivering a similar petition on May 11. The consulate refused to meet with them.

There will also be an array of stunts in major cities in the next week, to protest the coordinated campaign of abductions, torture and death by the Chechen authorities.

“The clock is ticking for gay men in Chechnya, who are living under the shadow of this terrifying purge. We are urging the international community to open their doors to all those fleeing homophobic persecution in Chechnya,” said John Dalhuisen, Amnesty International’s Director for Europe and Central Asia.

“The Chechen authorities claim that gay men do not exist. This week people from around the world will come together in defiance to show gay men in Chechnya that we recognize them and demand their protection.”

Thousands of signatures have been collected from countries as far apart as Taiwan and Brazil. As well as petition hand-ins, stunts and protests will take place this week and next outside Russian embassies in countries including Belgium, Canada, Finland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine and the UK.

The Russian authorities have opened a preliminary investigation into the reports of persecution. Amnesty International is calling on them to proceed to a full-blown criminal investigation, and to take all necessary steps to ensure the safety of individuals who may be at risk in Chechnya.

Background

On 1 April, the Russian independent daily newspaper Novaya Gazeta reported that more than 100 men believed to be gay had been abducted in recent days, as part of a coordinated campaign.

The men were reportedly tortured and otherwise ill-treated, and at least three were killed.

In response to reports that President Donald Trump is expected to pull the USA from the Paris Agreement on climate change, Margaret Huang, executive director of Amnesty International USA said:

“Let there be no doubt, President Trump’s expected decision to withdraw the USA from the global climate deal is an assault on a range of human rights putting millions of people’s lives and wellbeing around the world in severe jeopardy.

“By refusing to join other nations in taking necessary steps to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate climate change, the President is effectively saying: ‘Let them drown, burn and starve’.”

Margaret Huang, executive director of Amnesty International USA

“By refusing to join other nations in taking necessary steps to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate climate change, the President is effectively saying: ‘Let them drown, burn and starve’.

“Climate change is one of the most pervasive threats to human societies that the world has ever experienced. It is also one that can quickly and irreversibly spill out of control. As glaciers melt, lakes and riverbeds dry up, forests burn, crops die out and heatwaves rage, it will have devastating impact on human rights.

“It has the potential to make social inequality, famine and the refugee crisis even more acute. Hundreds of millions of people would be denied their rights to life, to health, food, water and housing. Those in vulnerable situations in every continent around the world, especially children, will be among the worst hit.

“We urge President Trump not to set the world on a deadly collision course with disaster, war and insecurity. All states must move away from fossil fuels or risk provoking a human rights catastrophe of epic and irreversible proportions.”

“We urge President Trump not to set the world on a deadly collision course with disaster, war and insecurity.  All states must move away from fossil fuels or risk provoking a human rights catastrophe of epic and irreversible proportions.”

Background

The Paris Agreement is the the world’s most ambitious climate change agreement. One hundred and twenty five countries have ratified the agreement, which entered into force in November 2016.

Under the Paris Agreement, states commit to holding the increase in global average temperatures to well below 2 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels and striving toward limiting the increase to 1.5 degrees, which is the level determined by scientists as the maximum to avoid disastrous climate change.

The USA is the world’s second largest contributor to carbon emissions and world’s largest economy and so should provide the much needed technology and funds to implement global climate programs to assist developing countries reduce emissions and assist their peoples to protect themselves from the effects of climate change.

Under the Paris Agreement, the United States had committed to reduce emissions by 26–28% below 2005 levels by 2025, which itself would not have been consistent with limiting climate change to below 2°C.

Failure to prevent dangerous levels of climate change would have a disastrous consequences for human rights. Without strong action to prevent it, climate change is expected to cause 250,000 deaths per year between 2030 and 2050 due to malaria, malnutrition, diarrhoea and heat stress; increase the number of people at risk of hunger by 600 million by 2080 and displace 330 million people through flooding. Hundreds of millions of people would be denied their rights to life, to health, food, water, housing and other rights. The adverse effects are likely to be disproportionately experienced by those living in poverty, particularly women and girls, Indigenous Peoples and others disadvantaged due to discrimination.

A new law signed by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, imposing unprecedentedly harsh restrictions on NGOs, could be a death sentence for human rights groups in the country.

“This is a catastrophic blow for human rights groups working in Egypt. The severity of the restrictions imposed by this law threatens to annihilate NGOs in the country, at a time when the authorities’ escalating crackdown on dissent makes their work more important than ever, said Najia Bounaim, Campaigns Director for North Africa at Amnesty International.

“This law, which gives the government extraordinary powers to control NGOs and imposes harsh punishments and fines for any violation of its draconian provisions, is the latest ploy by the Egyptian authorities to silence all independent voices.”

After the law was approved by parliament in November 2016, Amnesty International called on the President not to sign it due to its conflict with Egypt`s constitution and international obligations. However, the President signed the law without addressing any of the concerns raised by Egyptian or international human rights organizations.

Targeted campaign

Over the past three years, Egyptian authorities have orchestrated a targeted campaign against human rights organizations. Twenty-four have been banned from travel, and seven organizations and 10 individuals have had their assets frozen. Most recently, investigative judges summoned two NGO directors, Mohamed Zaree from Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies and Mustafa el-Hassan from Hisham Mubarak Law Center. Both were released on bail.

Even in the past week repressive measures have intensified against other critical voices. On 23 May, Egyptian authorities arrested the former presidential candidate Khaled Ali on charges of committing acts that violate public decency. The Public Prosecution released him on bail the second day and referred him to  trial. The authorities have also recently blocked more than 21 websites, among them the prominent news platforms Mada Masr and Daily News Egypt.

Ramping up attacks

“For too long the international community has turned a blind eye to the steady erosion of human rights in Egypt, thus encouraging the authorities to ramp up their attacks on peaceful criticism without fear of being held to account,” said Najia Bounaim.

“We are calling on them to urgently pressure the Egyptian authorities into closing the ongoing criminal investigation into the work of human rights groups, which together with the new law will have devastating consequences for human rights in Egypt.”

Powers designed to combat terrorism have been repeatedly misused to curb peaceful protest, our new report has found.

A right not a threat: Disproportionate restrictions on demonstrations under the State of Emergency in France reveals that hundreds of unjustified measures restricting freedom of movement and the right to peaceful assembly have been issued under the guise of countering terrorism.

“Emergency laws intended to protect the French people from the threat of terrorism are instead being used to restrict their rights to protest peacefully,” said Marco Perolini, Amnesty International’s researcher on France.

“Under the cover of the state of emergency, rights to protest have been stripped away with hundreds of activists, environmentalists, and labour rights campaigners unjustifiably banned from participating in protests.”

“State of Emergency”

Following the horrific Paris attacks on 13 November 2015, France’s state of emergency, introduced a day later, has been renewed five times normalizing a range of intrusive measures.

These include powers to ban demonstrations on vague grounds and prevent individuals attending protests. Last week, President Macron indicated that he will ask parliament to extend it for a sixth time.

The state of emergency allows prefects to ban any gathering as a precautionary measure on very broad and undefined grounds of ‘threat to public order’. These powers to restrict the right to freedom of peaceful assembly have frequently been used disproportionately.

Between November 2015 and 5 May 2017, authorities used emergency powers to issue 155 decrees prohibiting public assemblies, in addition to banning dozens of protests using ordinary French law.

They also imposed 639 measures preventing specific individuals participating in public assemblies.

People prevented from protesting

Of these, 574 were targeted at those protesting against proposed labour law reforms. Moreover, according to media reports, authorities imposed dozens of similar measures to prevent people from participating in protests after the second round of the presidential elections on 7 May.

One labour law protestor told Amnesty International: “You get the impression that they use any means at their disposal to attack those who are the most active in the movement.”

Charles, a young student living in Paris, was prohibited from attending two protests against labour law reforms on the grounds that he had been previously arrested, though not charged, at a protest.

He told Amnesty International: “They accused me of being one of the violent demonstrators…I felt like I had been treated like a terrorist, like someone dangerous.”

These restrictions breach the presumption under international law that a demonstration should be assumed to be peaceful unless authorities can show otherwise. Protests are being seen as a potential threat rather than a fundamental right.

Batons, rubber bullets, tear gas

In defiance of the restrictions under the state of emergency, many have continued to protest. However, those who braved the restrictions have frequently been met with unnecessary or excessive force by the security forces.

Batons, rubber bullets and tear gas have been used against peaceful protesters who did not appear to threaten public order.

Whilst some of those involved in these public assemblies did engage in acts of violence, hundreds, if not thousands, of protesters suffered injuries at the hands of police.

The Street Medics, an informal movement of first-aid workers, estimated that in Paris alone, around 1,000 protesters were injured by police during protests against the labour law reforms.

Kicked, beaten, and losing an eye.

Amnesty International has seen video evidence of four police officers kicking and beating Paco, a 16-year-old student, with batons before arresting him. Two witnesses told Amnesty International that Paco was not engaging in violence when he was attacked by the police.

Jean-François, a 20-year-old student who lost his left eye when he was shot by police with a rubber bullet, told Amnesty International: “I am very angry. Before that I tended to trust the police.”

“By drastically lowering the bar for restricting the right to freedom of peaceful assembly, France’s state of emergency has resulted in the egregious misuse of what were designed to be exceptional measures to counter terrorism. People peacefully exercising their right to assembly have been swept up in a crude anti-terrorism net,” said Marco Perolini.

“In the run-up to the election, Emmanuel Macron promised to protect the right to protest in France. Now he is President, he must turn his words into action.”

“With the battle lines already being drawn between the new president and the unions on labour law reform, President Macron must stop the misuse of anti-terrorism powers to restrict peaceful protest and end France’s dangerous and dizzying spiral towards a permanent state of emergency.”

Background

France’s state of emergency allows prefects to ban any gathering as a precautionary measure on very broad and undefined grounds of ‘threat to public order’. These powers to restrict the right to freedom of peaceful assembly have frequently been used disproportionately.

Bans on public assemblies have also been justified by authorities on the grounds that they lack sufficient policing resources to maintain public order. The authorities argue that they must prioritize resources to counter the threat of violent attacks on the public. The use of resource-intensive strategies by police to contain peaceful protesters calls into question this explanation.

Amnesty International observers attended a peaceful protest in Paris on 5 July where police corralled hundreds of people on the Pont de la Concorde for several hours – a tactic that required substantial police resources.

Cambodia’s government is using its courts to silence human rights defenders and political activists, Amnesty International says in a new report.

Using its tight grip on the criminal justice system, the Cambodian government has brought a series of trumped-up charges against members of the political opposition, trade union activists, human rights activists, and political commentators, in an attempt to harass, intimidate and punish them.

“In Cambodia, the courts are tools in the hands of the government. Much lip-service is paid to the judiciary’s independence, but the evidence reveals a cynical manipulation of the criminal justice system to serve political goals and silence people whose views the government refuses to tolerate,” said Champa Patel, Amnesty International’s Director for Southeast Asia and the Pacific.

 “Far from letting justice take its course on the basis of law, our research shows how procedural rules are bent to serve a set purpose, delivering pre-determined outcomes at the behest of the government. It is essential that peaceful activists have all charges against them dropped and are immediately released.”

There are currently 27 human rights defenders and political activists behind bars while hundreds of others are subject to criminal proceedings as part of a concerted attempt by the Cambodian government to crush any public criticism in the country, however peaceful.

There are currently 27 human rights defenders and political activists behind bars while hundreds of others are subject to criminal proceedings as part of a concerted attempt by the government to crush any public criticism in the country, however peaceful.

The new briefing, Courts of Injustice, details how Cambodia’s opaque criminal justice system has been manipulated by the government to detain people on groundless charges before subjecting them to unfair trials.

The ADHOC five

One of the most prominent cases of persecution in 2016 involved the prolonged arbitrary detention of human rights defenders from ADHOC, the country’s oldest human rights organisation. Five current and former members of ADHOC staff were arbitrarily and unjustifiably charged with bribery over an alleged sex scandal. They have since spent over a year in pre-trial detention.

Kem Sokha, then Deputy President of the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) who was allegedly involved in the scandal, and other members of his party, were also hit with a series of trumped up criminal charges.

The case of Tep Vanny

Another case highlighted in the briefing is that of Tep Vanny, Cambodia’s most high-profile activist who has been arrested at least five times since the last general election.

Currently behind bars for the third time as a prisoner of conscience, Tep Vanny is a housing-rights activist who has spent a decade defending her community in central Phnom Penh, where thousands of families have been evicted from their homes.

Along with her fellow activists, many of them women, she has been targeted by the authorities on politically motivated charges, harassed, beaten, arrested and imprisoned. She is currently serving a 2½ year sentence.

Tep Vanny features in Amnesty International’s human rights defenders’ global campaign.

Leaving people in limbo

One of the ways in which people are ensnared by Cambodia’s criminal justice system is to let criminal cases against them languish, leaving them open without carrying out a preliminary investigation and prosecuting.

The effect of this is to leave the accused in a precarious state of uncertainty. Once a criminal complaint has been filed, the authorities can use it as a pretext to control the accused’s behaviour for years. At any moment, even years later, the case can be revived, without any effort being made to investigate or prosecute the matter in the intervening period.

At times, criminal investigations against human rights activists have remained open for an inordinate amount of time, leaving them in legal limbo for many years.

“Convenient” timing

Many of the cases examined by Amnesty International reveal that decisions on how cases should proceed are often made not on the basis of an investigation’s progress, but to coincide with political events, such as demonstrations, elections or negotiations with the opposition.

Bending the law to their will, the authorities often fail to adequately inform people accused of offences of the proceedings against them. In other cases, investigations and prosecutions only take place ahead of looming political events or public demonstrations, preventing key activists from taking part.

“Prosecutions do not appear to be driven by a desire to see justice done for past crimes, instead justice is travestied so that human rights defenders and political activists cannot exercise their rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly,” said Champa Patel.

In cases where activists are brought to trial for peacefully exercising their rights, convictions almost automatically follow. Amnesty International knows of no case where a human rights defender or a political activist has been acquitted.

Unfair trials and convictions

In cases where activists are brought to trial for peacefully exercising their rights, convictions almost automatically follow. Amnesty International knows of no case where a human rights defender or a political activist has been acquitted.

Only after international pressure has been brought to bear have the authorities released activists on suspended sentences.

“Cambodia desperately needs a justice system worthy of the name. As the government faces greater pressure from critics and opponents, it is likely to use the courts against more activists. Only a truly independent judiciary that holds the government to its international human rights obligations rather than acting on its whims can prevent further such injustices,” said Champa Patel.