July 2011

Amnesty International reacted to news that Majid Movahedi, sentenced to blinding as retribution for an acid attack seven years ago in Iran, has been pardoned by his victim in exchange for compensation, with a call for legal reform in the country. Posted: 31 Jul 2011

Iran must release two US nationals held for the past two years apparently for political reasons, Amnesty International said today, ahead of a fresh hearing in their case on Sunday 31 July. Posted: 29 Jul 2011

To coincide with the 50th anniversary of the worlds biggest human rights organisation, Amnesty International UK has launched Amnesty TV Posted: 29 Jul 2011

Amnesty International welcomed the release of six political activists, but called on the Malaysian authorities to free thousands of other detainees held under preventive detention laws. Posted: 29 Jul 2011

Amnesty International has said the decision by the Israeli authorities to sue residents of a Bedouin village in Israels Negev desert for the cost of Israeli government agencies repeatedly destroying their homes and other structures beggars belief. Posted: 29 Jul 2011

The verdicts imposed against 12 people accused of killing 3 members of the Ahmadi community in Indonesia, show that religious minorities face ongoing discrimination, Amnesty International said today. Posted: 29 Jul 2011

The Burundian government should immediately release two prominent lawyers jailed amid an ongoing dispute with the government, Amnesty International said today, as a national lawyers strike continues. Posted: 28 Jul 2011

Security forces and a state-backed militia in Ivory Coast are creating a climate of fear that is preventing hundreds of thousands of people, displaced by post-election violence from returning to their homes, Amnesty International said in a report released today. Posted: 28 Jul 2011

Amnesty International today condemns the comments by Paul Evans Aidoo, Ghanas Western Region Minister, who recently called for the arrest of all gay men and lesbians in the country. Posted: 27 Jul 2011

The Bahraini authorities must immediately release two teachers held since they led a strike in March if they are being held solely for their involvement in peaceful protests, Amnesty International said today, amid claims one of them was tortured. Posted: 27 Jul 2011

The recent execution of a Belarusian man convicted of assault and murder does nothing to advance the cause of justice, Amnesty International said today, after it was confirmed that the country had carried out a secretive execution earlier this month. Posted: 26 Jul 2011

Amnesty International has urged the Vietnamese authorities to immediately and unconditionally release a Catholic priest who was returned to prison yesterday while on parole to treat serious health problems. Posted: 26 Jul 2011

Authorities in Nigeria must immediately put a stop to unlawful killings by security forces, said Amnesty International after at least 23 people were killed by police following a bomb blast on Saturday in the north-eastern city of Maiduguri. Posted: 26 Jul 2011

Access to Amnesty Internationals website has been blocked in Saudi Arabia today following the organisations criticism of a draft anti-terror law that would stifle peaceful protest in the kingdom. Posted: 25 Jul 2011

A draft Saudi Arabian anti-terrorism law obtained by Amnesty International would allow the authorities to prosecute peaceful dissent as a terrorist crime. Posted: 24 Jul 2011

Attempts by FTSE 100 mining company Vedanta to overturn an Indian government decision blocking a proposed bauxite mine and expansion of an alumina refinery in Orissa, India, should not be allowed to succeed, according to a new report from Amnesty International today (24 July). Posted: 24 Jul 2011

Gambia must act to improve the deteriorating human rights situation across the country, Amnesty International said in a new report released today. Posted: 22 Jul 2011

New video footage of a public hanging in Iran this week highlights the brutalisation of both the condemned and those who watch executions, Amnesty International said today. Posted: 21 Jul 2011

Today (20 July), the Foreign Affairs Committee released its report on the 2010 Foreign and Commonwealth Offices (FCO) Human Rights and Democracy Report. Posted: 20 Jul 2011

Goran Hadzic, the only remaining suspect wanted by the International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia, was arrested today in Serbia on charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes in eastern Slavonia, Croatia. Posted: 20 Jul 2011