News stories - 2013

The Italian President must reject a former CIA agents plea to be pardoned for a crime he committed in the country as part of the US-led rendition programme, Amnesty International said today. Posted: 13 Sep 2013

Far-reaching procedural and institutional reform, and not the death penalty, is needed to tackle the endemic problem of violence against women in India, Amnesty International said today after four men convicted of the December 2012 gang-rape were sentenced to death by a court in New Delhi. Posted: 13 Sep 2013

Zambia must immediately drop the charges against two men accused of same-sex sexual conduct and release them from prison unconditionally, Amnesty International said ahead of a court hearing next Monday (16 September). Posted: 12 Sep 2013

Scores of supporters of former Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi have been denied their basic legal rights after being detained in mass arrests in the country, said Amnesty today, with numerous cases of lawyers being barred from meeting detainees for days after the detentions took place. Posted: 12 Sep 2013

Thousands of people are being forcibly evicted from makeshift camps in Mogadishu as the government presses ahead with plans to clean up the capital, Amnesty said in a briefing released today. Forced evictions have gathered pace in recent months despite the authorities failure to find an alternative safe location. Posted: 12 Sep 2013

Cuban authorities must immediately and unconditionally release a political activist imprisoned solely because of his political views, Amnesty International said as it adopted Ivn Fernndez Depestre as a prisoner of conscience. Posted: 12 Sep 2013

Amnesty International today joined bereaved families in expressing extreme disappointment at the news that calls for an independent public inquiry into the circumstances of the Omagh bombing, have been rejected by the government. Posted: 12 Sep 2013

Victims of the conflict in Northern Ireland are being disgracefully let down by a flawed and fragmented approach to dealing with the past, Amnesty International said today (Thursday 12 September) as it published a new report. Posted: 12 Sep 2013

Responding to reports that two companies have been expelled from a prestigious London arms fair for selling illegal torture equipment, Oliver Sprague, Amnesty Internationals Arms Programme Director, said: It is good news that the organisers have finally decided to act, but it is nothing short of scandalous that it has taken evidence gathered by independent researchers at the fair to force them to act." Posted: 11 Sep 2013

A Libyan student who studied in the UK is facing life imprisonment in Libya for taking part in a pro-Gaddafi anti-war protest in London two years ago. Posted: 10 Sep 2013

Thousands of torture survivors and relatives of those disappeared during General Augusto Pinochets brutal regime are still being denied truth, justice and reparation, Amnesty International said today on the eve of the 40th anniversary of the day he seized power. Posted: 10 Sep 2013

The Kenyan authorities must cooperate fully with the International Criminal Court (ICC) to ensure justice is done for the victims of the 2007-8 post-election violence, Amnesty International said today, ahead of the opening of the trial of Deputy President William Ruto and broadcaster Joshua arap Sang in The Hague. Posted: 9 Sep 2013

Part Two of the Transparency, Non-Party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Bill known as the Lobbying Bill, could have devastating consequences for debate and democracy, Amnesty International warned today as MPs prepare to scrutinise the Bill. Posted: 9 Sep 2013

A Dutch Supreme Court judgment finding the state liable for the deaths of three Muslim men amid the Srebrenica genocide marks a significant victory in the decades-long search for accountability, Amnesty International said today. Posted: 6 Sep 2013

Ukraines bid to persuade the European Commission to release the country from its commitment to legislate against homophobia is an unacceptable attempt to deny equal rights in the country, Amnesty International said today. Posted: 6 Sep 2013

Amnesty International has condemned todays vote in the Kenyan parliament to withdraw from the International Criminal Court. Posted: 5 Sep 2013

From 9 - 20 September, Amnesty International UK will be hosting a photography exhibition at its headquarters in Shoreditch to mark the 40th anniversary of General Augusto Pinochet's bloody military coup in Chile. Posted: 5 Sep 2013

Easing the suffering of millions of civilians affected by Syrias armed conflict must be a top priority for world leaders meeting at the G20 Summit in St Petersburg, Amnesty International said today Posted: 5 Sep 2013

Amnesty International UK and Network Distributing will be holding a special free screening of Oscar-nominated Chilean film No on Monday 16th September at Amnesty's headquarters in Shoreditch. The event marks 40 years since Pinochets coup and 25 years since the return of democracy to Chile. Posted: 5 Sep 2013

Amnesty International has called on world leaders gathering for this week's G20 meeting in St Petersburg to condemn Russia's draconian homophobic law and do all in their power to persuade the Russian authorities to scrap it. Posted: 4 Sep 2013