BREAKING: President Karzai Rejects Law Rolling Back Violence Protections for Women

February 19, 2014 at 12:47 PM

Afghan university students and independent civil society activists take part in a demonstration in support of passing the Elimination of Violence against Women law in front of Parliament in Kabul (Photo Credit: Shah Marai/AFP/Getty Images).

This is what protecting human rights looks like: responding to resounding national and international outcry, including the voices of Afghan women and Amnesty activists around the world, early this week Afghan President Karzai blocked a new discriminatory law that would have denied justice to women and girls subjected to domestic violence, rape, and forced or child marriage.

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HAPPENING NOW: Russian Journalist Charged Under “Gay Propaganda” Law

By Jasmine Heiss

February 12, 2014 at 12:30 PM

Meet Elena Klimova, the latest victim of Russia’s new “gay propaganda” law (Photo Credit: Private).

She saved lives. So why does Russia want to punish Elena Klimova?

Because she created a safe space for LGBTI teens in a country rife with homophobia.

Elena is a journalist and founder of Children 404, a popular online resource that supports LGBTI teens in Russia. It’s a space for teenagers to share their stories, get support and obtain advice from experienced psychologists.

Elena’s Children 404 has prevented teenagers from committing suicide and running away from home. She’s easing their isolation and making their world a little better, right?

Not according to Russian authorities. Russian authorities are going to absurd lengths to punish people and defenders of LGBTI human rights. They want to shut Children 404 down, and have charged Elena with “propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations.”

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Russian Environmental Activist Sentenced to 2 Weeks in Jail – For Swearing

By Guest Writer

February 5, 2014 at 10:00 AM

Yevgeny Vitishko was arrested on February 3 near Sochi and charged with “petty hooliganism,” allegedly for swearing (Photo Credit: Amnesty International).

By Emile Affolter, Press Officer at Amnesty International Netherlands, currently in Sochi

Just a couple of days before the Winter Olympic Games start in Sochi, an activist was arrested. Sadly, such arrests are not unusual in Russia, but the timing of this particular arrest sent a chilling message across Russian civil society.

The environmentalist Yevgeny Vitishko was planning on traveling to Sochi, but was stopped by police, convicted of “petty hooliganism” and sentenced to 15 days in administrative detention.

His crime? According to Russian authorities, he cursed while standing at a bus stop.

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What Imagine Dragons Did Before They Performed on Saturday Night Live

By The Editors

February 5, 2014 at 8:00 AM

Before he took the stage of SNL with the rest of Imagine Dragons and Kendrick Lamar, Dan Reynolds sat down to listen to a message recorded halfway around the world by two activists he had never met.

“Good luck Imagine Dragons – yes, from Dublin – See you Wednesday in New York – Goodbye!”

The message was from Masha Alekhina and Nadya Tolokonnikova, two recently released members of Pussy Riot.

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Months After Riots, Indian Refugees Are Still Suffering

By Guest Writer

January 28, 2014 at 3:00 PM

14-year-old Feroze Khan breaks down after hearing his parents talk about his younger brother who died in Malakpur camp due to cold. More than 50 children and many old age people have died because of cold and lack of medical facilities in the relief camps set up for Muzaffarnagar riots victims (Photo Credit: Raj k Raj/Hindustan Times via Getty Images).

NOTE: This blog has been updated due to changing circumstances on the ground.

By James Mutti, India Country Specialist, Amnesty International USA

The riots that killed over 50 people and engulfed the northern Indian district of Muzaffarnagar in August and September of 2013 have been over for months.

But for tens of thousands of mostly Muslim refugees forced from their homes in the violence, the injustice continues today. Those guilty of murder, rape, arson and other violent crimes continue to walk free, and dozens of young children have frozen to death in squalid, make-shift refugee camps.

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HAPPENING NOW: LGBT Nigerians Jailed After Passage of New Anti-Gay Law

By Guest Writer

January 18, 2014 at 1:00 PM

“I no longer feel safe under this law,” said Rashidi Williams (pictured here), Director of Nigeria’s Queer Alliance rights group. “It has the potential to encourage instigation of violence against gay people and lesbians.” (Photo Credit: Pius Utomi Ekpei/AFP/Getty Images).

By Makmid Kamara, Nigeria Researcher at Amnesty International

A man lay on a bench in a packed court room in northern Nigeria, screaming in pain as he was being lashed 20 times with an oil-smeared whip. The man had been sentenced to the brutal punishment by an Islamic court for committing “homosexual offences.”

This is par for the course in Nigeria, where same sex conduct is banned. But now, brutal homophobic persecution has hit a new, unthinkable low.

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6 of President Vladimir Putin’s Most Oppressive Laws

By The Editors

January 15, 2014 at 7:46 AM

NOTE: This blog post has been updated in several places for clarity.

The Olympics are right around the corner. But while Shaun White practices his Double McTwist 1260 and Ashley Wagner works on nailing a pearl spin, President Vladimir Putin is perfecting the art of repression.

Since he was inaugurated as President of the Russian Federation, Putin has orchestrated a number of changes in Russian law effectively criminalizing any criticism of him and Russian security forces. The new Draconian laws are having a terrible impact.

With Sochi fast approaching, here are 6 of Putin’s most oppressive laws. But unlike White and Wagner’s routines, we’re not looking forward to seeing these at the Olympics:

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ACT NOW: Stop Shocking Anti-LGBT Bill From Becoming Law

By Cristina Finch

January 14, 2014 at 5:11 PM

We only have a few weeks to stop a dangerous bill from becoming law in Uganda.

Formerly known in the media as the “Kill the Gays Bill,” the legislation institutionalizes discrimination against already marginalized lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) Ugandans.

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The Forgotten Victims of Haiti’s Earthquake

By Guest Writer

January 13, 2014 at 9:16 AM

A Brazilian soldier of the MINUSTAH force hugs an Haitian child orphaned by the 2010 earthquake (Photo Credit: Vanderlei Almeida/AFP/Getty Images).

By Chiara Liguori, Amnesty International Caribbean Researcher. This piece originally appeared on CNN World’s Global Public Square.

Four years ago, a devastating earthquake struck the Caribbean island of Haiti, leaving an estimated 200,000 people dead and more than 2 million homeless. It was a disaster on an almost unprecedented scale. And, for a country already wracked by poverty with so many institutional weaknesses, it was a complete catastrophe.

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The Year in Drones: The Secrets Exposed, Promises Made and Ugly Realities That Remain

By Guest Writer

January 3, 2014 at 1:07 PM

Amnesty said in a report released in October that the U.S. carried out unlawful drone killings in Pakistan, some of which could amount to war crimes or extrajudicial executions. The Administration refused to confirm or deny our account or publicly commit to investigating potentially unlawful killings.

By Naureen Shah, Advocacy Advisor at Amnesty International USA

Nearly every month of 2013 brought a devastating revelation about the secret U.S. drone program, which has reportedly involved more than 400 drone strikes and killed more than 4,700 people. Here’s a look back at the secrets that were exposed, the promises made, and the ugly realities that remain:

January 2013: The White House reportedly finalizes a lethal “playbook” with rules for the secret killing of terrorism suspects. The CIA conducts drone strikes in Pakistan, but they are reportedly exempt from the playbook’s rules.

“There’s a sense that you put the pedal to the metal now,” the Washington Post reports an unnamed U.S. official as saying about the CIA’s continued killings.

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Tag Archives: communities at risk

6 of President Vladimir Putin’s Most Oppressive Laws

The Year in Drones: The Secrets Exposed, Promises Made and Ugly Realities That Remain