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 It’s Oscar season. And that’s great, because I like movies. I’m not a buff or anything, which is why I wrote “movies” and not “film” or “cinema”. But I enjoy a good flick. As someone who campaigns for death penalty abolition, I’m especially interested this year because there is a death penalty film, Paradise Lost 3, nominated for Best Documentary.
Movies can be a powerful tool for raising awareness about an issue, or even inspiring people to take action. In our death penalty abolition work, we have tried to promote movies we think will do that.
But what do we know?
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 Jenni Williams-Women of Zimbabwe Arise Yesterday, the activists of Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) took to the streets in Bulawayo for the 10th consecutive commemoration of Valentine’s Day. Yes, I know it’s a week early; but in Zimbabwe, when you’re trying to keep the riot police from guessing when your peaceful protests will occur, that’s what you have to do. Unfortunately, their plan didn’t work and co-founder Jenni Williams, along with twelve other people including a pregnant woman and minor, were arrested.
WOZA and MOZA (Men of Zimbabwe Arise) use the occasion of Valentine’s Day to confront governmental policies that violate civil and human rights in Zimbabwe and educate their fellow citizens about issues and what can be done. Frequently, WOZA is met with brutal violence at the hands of the riot police. Jenni has been arrested nearly 50 times.
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 President Mohamed Nasheeds (photo: Mauroof Khaleel) Mohammad Nasheed, a former Amnesty International Prisoner of Conscience, resigned today as President of Maldives. He was the first democratically elected President of the country, following decades of dictatorship in the country. He was instrumental in highlighting the case for action against climate change, going so far as to hold a cabinet meeting underwater.
His supporters and media reports are stating that it was basically a coup by the military and opposition supporters.
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 courtesy of the Indian Muslim Observer You would think that after the massive 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and last year’s nuclear calamity at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi plant, Indian authorities might consider more closely the potential threats posed by the country’s many nuclear power plants.
But unlike some countries that have spurned the aggressive pursuit of nuclear power post-Fukushima, India presses on full speed ahead. Barely five months after the Fukushima disaster and despite serious concerns about India’s readiness for a similar accident, India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said:
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 ©AFP/Getty Images Join us Thursday, February 9th from 1:00 – 2:00 PM EST for a live online chat on Facebook with Amnesty International on the crisis in the Middle East and North Africa.
2011 was an unprecedented year in the region — a year in which millions of people flooded the streets to demand change. While change has come to some countries, in others repressive governments continue to clamp down on dissent with deadly force and censor their citizens:
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Today marks the 12th anniversary of the unlawful detention of Walid Yunis Ahmad in the Kurdish Region of Iraq.
 You may recognize his name. Perhaps the longest serving detainee in Iraq, Walid was featured in our report, “New Order, Same Abuses: Unlawful Detention and Torture in Iraq” and has been the subject of several Amnesty International actions.
Walid Yunis Ahmad is a Turkomen and father of three who worked for a local radio and TV station. He was arrested on February 6, 2000.
He was “disappeared” for three years, tortured, and detained without charge or trial for ten years. See the rest of this entry »
 Sasha Baron Cohen as Supreme Leader Shabazz Aladeen English comedian Sacha Baron Cohen, better known for his character Borat, has a new satirical movie in the works – The Dictator, depicting the leader of the imaginary authoritarian Republic of Wadiya. The latter has just launched its website, and the tourism section mentions Amnesty International:
Many dozens of endangered species can be found caged at the Wadiyan National Zoo, including pandas, white tigers, and Amnesty International officials.
Of course The Dictator is a comedy (see the trailer), but it will presumably highlight – through humor and exaggeration - human rights violations and abuse of power. In that sense, it may be worth watching it, of course after the Wadiyan National Zoo sets Amnesty International officials free so that they can make it to the Annual General Meeting in Denver in late March and continue fighting for a world without abuse of power!
Now, visit our online action center to fight real-life abuses.
Turkey’s jailing of writers has received increasing attention in both the Turkish and the international press, enough to force Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan to defend the fact that Turkey has more journalists in prison, describing them as “so-called journalists” who “ are actually “police murderers, sexual molesters and supporters of a coup”.
In 2011 Turkey imprisoned 104 journalists, causing Reporters Without Borders to drop Turkey’s press freedom ranking to 148th in the world. Either the country has one of the most vicious and corrupt press corps in modern history or these arrests are politically motivated. However, the Prime Minister will have none of this. When American Ambassador to Turkey Francis Ricciardone stated that he was unable to understand the massive arrests, he was dismissed by Erdogan as a “rookie ambassador” who just didn’t understand Turkey.
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 Pawiak Prison Museum in Warsaw, Poland. Last week I had the opportunity to visit the Pawiak Prison Museum in Warsaw, Poland.
During the Nazi occupation of Poland in World War II Pawiak was the largest political prison in the country – approximately 100,000 prisoners passed through its cells.
37,000 of those men and women died in Pawiak – many under interrogation by the Gestapo. Another 60,000 were sent to German concentration camps. Very few survived the war.
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By Lisa Schechtman, Amnesty USA’s Women’s Human Rights Coordination Group
 Before you keep reading, let’s be clear: this blog is about the universal human right to the highest attainable standard of health, the package of services it takes to be well—and the ability to afford it. It’s also about the implications of the Susan G. Komen Foundation’s decision to stop providing grants to the Planned Parenthood Federation of America for breast cancer screening. Because too often, women’s health falls victim to agendas that prevent women from exercising their human rights. It’s about the big picture.
According to Planned Parenthood, the vast majority of its services are the provision of information and education about health, well-being and sexuality; prevention of and response to gender-based violence; prevention and treatment of sexually transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDS; and family planning counseling and supplies. These services are provided to both men and women, of all ages, of all income levels. They are part of basic health care.
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