February 2001

Amnesty International has described as "widespread and indiscriminate" incidents of torture and ill-treatment in Egyptian police stations and detention centres. Launching a report today, entitled "Egypt: Torture Remains Rife as Cries for Justice Go Unheeded," the human rights organization stressed that "No one is safe from harm." The majority of victims, who include women, the young and the elderly, are held in police stations in connection with criminal investigations. Posted: 28 Feb 2001

Today's verdict by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia that rape and sexual enslavement are crimes again humanity, challenges widespread acceptance that the torture of women is an intrinsic part of war, Amnesty International said today, welcoming the landmark decision. Posted: 28 Feb 2001

Reports of China's ratification of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) is a welcome step that will bring China more fully into the UN human rights system, Amnesty International said. "However the reservation which appears to have been placed on Article 8, the right to freely form trade unions, is very disappointing." Posted: 28 Feb 2001

The Secretary General of Amnesty International, Pierre Sane, has called on the United Nations to appoint, immediately, a Special Rapporteur on Togo and to create a witness protection program. Posted: 28 Feb 2001

Amnesty International has submitted proposals today to the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, saying that the region - after years of human rights violations - should have the world's most advanced Bill of Rights. The Commission is carrying out a consultation on the scope and content of the Bill, which was promised in the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement. Posted: 27 Feb 2001

The death penalty will not resolve the ongoing violence between Sunni and Shiite extremists, Amnesty International said today calling on the Government of Pakistan to stop the execution of Haq Nawaz, scheduled for the morning of 28 February 2001 at Mianwali Jail in central Punjab province. Posted: 27 Feb 2001

Amnesty International welcomed today's verdict by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia on the former Bosnian-Croat politician Dario Kordic and Mario Cerkez, former commander of the HVO Vitez Brigade. "The verdict represents a step forward in bringing political leaders responsible for violations of international law in the region to justice", added the organization. Posted: 27 Feb 2001

Amnesty International is concerned that Article 209 of the Austrian penal code places restrictions on consensual sexual activity between males in a manner that violates the government's obligations under international law to prohibit discrimination and arbitrary interference with the right to privacy. Posted: 27 Feb 2001

Asylum-seekers and refugees may face immediate deportation to countries where their human rights are at risk if the Lebanese authorities do not reconsider their decision that all 'irregular' foreigners must leave the country by 28 February, Amnesty International said today. Posted: 26 Feb 2001

Torturers are arming themselves with increasingly sophisticated equipment, and - according to a new report released today by Amnesty International - the trade in these devices is growing. The equipment includes high voltage electric shock stun weapons and chemical crowd control devices, while torturers continue to abuse old-style equipment such as restraint devices. Posted: 26 Feb 2001

Amnesty International has written to Greece's Minister of Justice, Professor Mihalis Stathopoulos, calling for a review of a recent court case in which a man was convicted of "disseminating false information" in a leaflet on minority languages. Posted: 23 Feb 2001

The targeting of Palestinians suspected of attacking Israelis amounts to a policy of state assassination, Amnesty International said today. Posted: 21 Feb 2001

Amnesty International today wrote to Hans Haekkerup, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General (SRSG) in Kosovo, expressing extreme concern about reports that Afrim Zeqiri, an ethnic Albanian, is being detained without legal basis at the Mitrovica detention centre. Furthermore, there is no legal procedure by which he can challenge the legality of his continuing detention. Posted: 21 Feb 2001

Amnesty International is concerned that a Baptist Christian, reportedly held solely because of his beliefs, has been administered psychotropic drugs and beaten by prison guards in a labour camp in Turkmenistan where he has been serving a four-year prison sentence. Recent reports are that he has now been transferred to a prison hospital. Posted: 21 Feb 2001

Comprehensive and long term reform is urgently needed for the prison system in São Paulo to overcome the crisis made evident by the recent prison rebellion which left at least 16 inmates dead, Amnesty International said today. Posted: 20 Feb 2001

Amnesty International has described as "highly significant for Bahrainis" recent decisions by the Amir to abolish the State Security Law and the State Security Court. Posted: 20 Feb 2001

The response to the upheavals in prisons in the city of São Paulo must be calm and measured and avoid any excessive use of force, Amnesty International said today. Posted: 20 Feb 2001

The right of Chilean torture survivors to justice is at risk if their action is not supported by the authorities, Amnesty International said today. Posted: 20 Feb 2001

Amnesty International condemned the unprovoked attack on a convoy of buses travelling north of Podujevo in northern Kosovo near the border with Serbia proper, thought to have been carried out by armed ethnic Albanians. The buses - under a heavy escort of Swedish Kosovo Force (KFOR) troops - were carrying Serb civilians from the town of Strpce in southern Kosovo to Serbia. Posted: 19 Feb 2001

In the wake of the second killing of a human rights defender in four months and allegations that the killers are linked to police, the government of Andhra Pradesh must take immediate action to protect human rights defenders and impartially investigate the attacks, Amnesty International said today. Posted: 19 Feb 2001