March 2000

Amnesty International welcomed the news that Saudi Arabia had invited the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers to visit Saudi Arabia. Posted: 30 Mar 2000

Amnesty International is concerned about reports of politically-motivated violent street demonstrations by individuals said to be calling for, among other demands, the resignation of the Provisional Electoral Council in Haiti. At least six people are reported to have been killed, and more injured. Posted: 30 Mar 2000

Detained, threatened, attacked, evicted, prevented from leaving the country or forced into exile, dissidents in Cuba are increasingly being subjected to a range of punitive measures in a deliberate move away from long-term imprisonment, Amnesty International said today in a new report. Posted: 30 Mar 2000

By deciding to review Australia's participation in UN treaty committees, the government shows a deplorable lack of respect for and understanding of the crucial role they play within the UN human rights system, Amnesty International said today. Posted: 30 Mar 2000

"The guards started beating us from the minute we entered the camp. There were about 20-25 men in masks in the camp's yard, standing in two lines and forming a live chain, something like a "human corridor". We were pushed through this "corridor" and each of the guards began hitting us with clubs. Then they ordered us to completely undress and we were forced into a freezer room, previously used for freezing meat. They kept us there naked for a while and then ordered us to dress up and get out. They began beating us again in the corridor outside the freezer. They continued beating us in the cell, too. During this first night in the camp I was beaten four times. The next day, we were forced to run through the live chain of armed guards in masks in the corridor in front of our cells. Some of the guards were armed with heavy hammers, the rest had clubs. When I ran through their "corridor", somebody hit me on the back with a hammer. The pain was so strong, that I was not even able to feel any pain during all the rest of the beatings with clubs..." "Musa"*, a survivor of the Chernokozovo "filtration camp" Posted: 28 Mar 2000

Any action to tackle impunity is a step towards justice, Amnesty International said today reacting to the decision by Spain's main criminal court, the Audiencia Nacional, to open an investigation into accusations of genocide made by Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Rigoberta Menchu, against former Guatemalan officials. Posted: 27 Mar 2000

By detaining around 30 {journalists} covering a peaceful demonstration in Minsk on Saturday, the Belarusian government has again attempted to stem international criticism of its intolerance of dissent, Amnesty International said today. Posted: 27 Mar 2000

Prominent human rights activist Akin Birdal, was today re-imprisoned despite a medical report warning that his injuries are a danger to his life. Posted: 27 Mar 2000

The fines handed down to writer Laila al-Othman, publisher Yahya Rubay'an and poet Dr Alia Shuaib are another setback to freedom of opinion and expression in Kuwait, Amnesty International said today. Posted: 27 Mar 2000

"I ask you in the name of God and humanity... to help me because I have no one who could help me here in Saudi Arabia. My poor family has done everything they could but I believe they have lost hope... In this prison...we cannot have contact with the outside world, we cannot defend ourselves..." A letter from a woman facing murder charges punishable by death - 1999 Posted: 27 Mar 2000

President Estrada's announcement today that no one will be executed for the rest of the year is a breakthrough for human rights in the Philippines, Amnesty International said today welcoming the moratorium. Posted: 23 Mar 2000

"The soldiers often told us, 'even if you get out of here alive, you will certainly be handicapped'." "Musa", a survivor of the Chernokozovo "filtration camp" Posted: 23 Mar 2000

Twenty years ago today Monsignor Oscar Arnulfo Romero, Archbishop of San Salvador, was killed while celebrating mass. Twenty years on the perpetrators of this heinous crime - identified by the Truth Commission in 1993 - have not been brought to justice. Posted: 23 Mar 2000

Belarus' opposition groups should not be subjected to ill-treatment or detention during this Saturday's peaceful Day of Freedom march in Minsk, Amnesty International said today in an appeal to the Belarusian government and law enforcement agencies. Posted: 22 Mar 2000

The Austrian authorities continue to ignore serious indicents of police brutality and have failed to end the ill-treatment of detainees, Amnesty International said in a report launched in Vienna today. Posted: 22 Mar 2000

Amnesty International has today written to Governor Don Sundquist of Tennessee, to urge him to stop the planned executions of Robert Coe and Philip Workman. The State of Tennessee has not carried out an execution for 40 years. Posted: 21 Mar 2000

After the suspension of two executions, Amnesty International today called for an immediate moratorium on the use of the death penalty in Lebanon and the commutation of these and all other death sentences while the government considers the abolition of the {death penalty}. Posted: 21 Mar 2000

After the suspension of two executions, Amnesty International today called for an immediate moratorium on the use of the death penalty in Lebanon and the commutation of these and all other death sentences while the government considers the abolition of the death penalty. Posted: 21 Mar 2000

China's two year "anti-superstition" campaign is now a massive crackdown on followers of religious and spiritual movements such as the Falun Gong, Amnesty International said today in a new report. Posted: 21 Mar 2000

Amnesty International campaigners from over 20 African countries will meet at Grand Bassam, C �te d'Ivoire, tomorrow, 22 March, for four days to discuss human rights issues affecting Africa and the rest of the world. Posted: 20 Mar 2000