February 2000

While the Russian government's apparent willingness to join with the Council of Europe to investigate alleged atrocities committed by Russian troops is a welcome development, the first move toward any investigation must be to allow immediate independent and unimpeded access to all areas of Chechnya for international human rights monitors, Amnesty International said today four years after Russia joined the Council of Europe, promising respect for human rights. Posted: 29 Feb 2000

Amnesty International welcomes the release of Radio Liberty {journalist} Andrey Babitsky but calls on the Russian government to reveal the truth behind the saga of his arrest, detention and handover. In a telephone conversation with Amnesty International earlier today, Andrey Babitsky said that he had been exchanged by the Russian authorities against his will and was held in a house in southern Chechnya by unidentified Chechens. Posted: 29 Feb 2000

Following the peace accord, the government of Bangladesh and the Chittagong Hill Tracts authorities must see peace through by ensuring that all past and present human rights violations are investigated and perpetrators are brought to justice, Amnesty International said in a new report released today. Posted: 29 Feb 2000

At the end of a week of high level meetings between Amnesty International and the Nepal government, two prisoners who "{disappeared}" more than eight weeks ago have been released, Amnesty International said today welcoming the release of Suresh Ale Magar and Pawan Shrestha on 26 February. Posted: 29 Feb 2000

In a damning and disturbing report just published, Sir Nigel Rodley, the United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on {torture}, confirms that torture and ill-treatment are "systematic and widespread" in Cameroon's police and gendarmerie cells. Posted: 29 Feb 2000

Protecting human rights is the best way to bring peace. It may take time to negotiate a solution, but with the right political will human rights abuses can be ended immediately. Posted: 25 Feb 2000

With three executions in Texas and Florida in the past 24 hours, and a fourth scheduled this evening in Texas, the brothers Bush - Governors of the two states - are allowing the USA to stray further from international standards, and deepening the damage to US claims to be a progressive force for human rights, Amnesty International said today. Posted: 25 Feb 2000

Mass murderers responsible for killing thousands of people are allowed to walk free in a Latin American country, Amnesty International said today. That country is Guatemala. Posted: 25 Feb 2000

"Where the state's own authorities are concerned we must be as sure as we can of the truth" - Prime Minister Tony Blair on the need for a full-scale judicial inquiry into Bloody Sunday. Posted: 24 Feb 2000

The new White Paper released by Beijing in defence of its human rights record is more significant for what it leaves out than for what it reveals, Amnesty International pointed out today. Posted: 18 Feb 2000

In an ironic coincidence, the United Nations Secretary General's praise for Australia's assistance to East Timor today contrasts with the Australian Prime Minister's refusal to accept that universal human rights standards equally apply to his own country, Amnesty International said. Posted: 18 Feb 2000

New York City -- Amnesty International today called for a new trial in the case of Mumia Abu Jamal on the basis that his original trial was deeply flawed. Posted: 17 Feb 2000

In a statement today, seven international human rights organisations condemned Egypt's attempt to prosecute prominent {human rights defender} Hafez Abu Sa'ada on spurious charges before an (Emergency) Supreme State Security Court (ESSSC) which denies defendants the most basic right -- the right to a fair trial. Posted: 15 Feb 2000

The High Court's decision to require the Home Secretary to disclose the forensic medical report on Augusto Pinochet to the states seeking his extradition, has been welcomed by Amnesty International as "a victory for justice, fairness and transparency." Posted: 15 Feb 2000

The application of Australia's mandatory sentencing laws to juveniles is clearly inconsistent with its international human rights obligations, Amnesty International warned the government four months ago, in a submission to the Senate. Posted: 15 Feb 2000

The Himalayan state of Nepal is courting a human rights disaster, as the face-off between the government and an armed Maoist movement hardens into patterns recalling other regional conflicts. Posted: 14 Feb 2000

Reports that suspected hijackers returned to Afghanistan would face execution if convicted by the Taleban authorities is a stark reminder of the human rights violations occurring regularly in that country. Amnesty International has recently gathered information on major human rights violations that include: Posted: 11 Feb 2000

The year 2000 has brought no change in the repression of opposition in Belarus as President Lukashenka's government has turned its attention to less well known dissidents outside Minsk and to younger protesters, Amnesty International warned today. Posted: 11 Feb 2000

Sixty one people on death row in Kinshasa may soon be {executed}, despite assurances given to an Amnesty International delegation in August 1999 by the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) that a moratorium on executions was in place. Posted: 10 Feb 2000

The Russian government should immediately make public the whereabouts, and order the release of, Radio Liberty {journalist} Andrey Babitsky, Amnesty International said today. Latest indications are that Babitsky is being held by a pro-Russian Chechen militia. The organisation fears Babitsky's life is in great danger and that he may have been subjected to torture and ill-treatment while being held in incommunicado detention since he was last contacted on 15 January. Posted: 10 Feb 2000