October 2012

The US state of Texas is set to carry out its 250th execution under the governorship of Rick Perry. The execution - of 41-year-old Donnie Roberts, convicted of murder in 2004 - is scheduled for 6pm Texas time this evening. Posted: 31 Oct 2012

The full extent of the sexual violence during the 1992-1995 war in Bosnia and Herzegovina that shattered the lives of thousands of women across the country has still to be recognised by the Republika Srpska authorities, Amnesty International said in a briefing paper published today. Posted: 31 Oct 2012

The Bahrain governments ban on all rallies and gatherings in the country violates the right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly and must be lifted immediately, Amnesty International has said. Posted: 31 Oct 2012

Rwandan opposition leader Victoire Ingabire must get a prompt and fair appeal after being convicted in a trial that fell short of international standards, said Amnesty International. Posted: 31 Oct 2012

Ahead of the US presidential election on 6 November, Amnesty International has produced a briefing on the key human rights issues confronting both presidential candidates. Posted: 31 Oct 2012

Amnesty International has called on the Tunisian authorities to quash the convictions of journalists Sofiene Chourabi and Mehdi Jlassi, who have been fined for being drunk in public and harming public morals. Posted: 30 Oct 2012

A poet facing a secret trial in Qatar after being detained since last year is a possible prisoner of conscience and must be released immediately and unconditionally if he has beenis detained solely for his peaceful criticism, Amnesty International has urged, as the one-year anniversary of his arrest approaches. Posted: 29 Oct 2012

The recent abduction of Leonid Razvozzhayev from Ukraine, allegedly by Russian government agents, may have constituted a violation of the countrys obligations under international human rights law and the UN Refugee Convention and must be promptly investigated, Amnesty International said today. Posted: 29 Oct 2012

Two Vietnamese songwriters who face up to 20 years in jail for writing songs criticising their government should be released immediately and unconditionally, Amnesty International said today, ahead of their trial tomorrow. Posted: 29 Oct 2012

Amnesty International today welcomed the news that a British arms dealer Gary Hyde had been found guilty on charges of illicit arms deals. Posted: 26 Oct 2012

Amnesty International has condemned a suicide bombing earlier today at the Eid Gah mosque in Maymana, the capital of Faryab province in Afghanistan. Posted: 26 Oct 2012

News that Iranian human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh has won the Sakharov Prize EU award for human rights and freedom of thought came as her health deteriorated due to a hunger strike in protest at the Iranian authorities refusal to allow her face-to-face visits with her 13-year-old daughter and five-year-old son. Posted: 26 Oct 2012

Amnesty International returned from a month-long mission to Ivory Coast with reports of torture, sexual abuse, state-sponsored militia attacks and death in custody from a country still reeling from last years presidential power struggle. Posted: 26 Oct 2012

All peaceful activists and other prisoners of conscience detained in Syria must be set free, Amnesty International said today after a mass amnesty was granted ahead of the Eid al-Adha religious festival. Posted: 25 Oct 2012

Europe's police services received a sharp wake-up call this morning thanks to a new hard-hitting briefing from Amnesty International on the policing of austerity protests across the continent. Posted: 25 Oct 2012

Demonstrators beaten by police while in custody Trumped-up charges against a group of human rights defenders in Kenya including Amnesty International staff and volunteers must be dropped, the organisation said ahead of a court appearance in Nairobi today. Posted: 25 Oct 2012

Claims that a Russian opposition MPs assistant was abducted in Ukraine and forced to return to Russia where he has alleged he was tortured or otherwise ill-treated must be investigated, Amnesty International said today in a letter to the Russian Federation Prosecutor General. Posted: 24 Oct 2012

Amnesty International has denounced a decision to uphold prison sentences against two former leaders of the Bahrain Teachers Association. Posted: 24 Oct 2012

Posted: 24 Oct 2012

Progress on human rights in Tunisia following the ousting of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali is being rolled back by the current Tunisian government, Amnesty International warned today, as the country marks the first anniversary of the National Constituent Assembly elections. Posted: 23 Oct 2012