February 2004

Posted: 27 Feb 2004

Posted: 27 Feb 2004

Posted: 27 Feb 2004

Posted: 26 Feb 2004

Posted: 26 Feb 2004

A new report released today (Wednesday 25 February 2004) shows that Government changes to British arms export guidelines have led to a relaxation of controls and a significant increase in particular areas of the trade. Posted: 25 Feb 2004

Washington, February 24, 2004 The Pentagon has refused to allow three leading human rights groups to attend and observe military commission trials of detainees at Guantanamo Bay. Posted: 24 Feb 2004

New asylum statistics released today (Tuesday 24 February 2004) reveal a dramatic rise in the number of wrong decisions overturned on appeal, said Amnesty International. Home Office figures showed that 16,070 initial decisions were overturned on appeal in 2003, compared to only 13,875 in 2002 - an increase of 2,195 or 16% (one in six). Posted: 24 Feb 2004

As both Houses of Parliament in the UK prepare to debate and renew Part 4 of the Anti-terrorism Crime and Security Act 2001 (ATCSA) this week, Amnesty International urged members of both Houses of Parliament to vote to abolish internment and uphold the rule of law and human rights. Posted: 23 Feb 2004

Around the world, many police and law-enforcement officials misuse their right to use force, with fatal consequences. Most police forces are armed, but are inadequately trained on how to assess when and where to fire a gun, but with political will, this can be corrected and save many lives, a new report by Amnesty International concludes. Posted: 23 Feb 2004

Rebel leaders have the responsibility to respect human rights and ensure that humanitarian assistance has access, said Amnesty International as rebel forces took control of Haiti's second largest city Cap Haïtien, setting the northern half of the country outside the sphere of state control. Posted: 23 Feb 2004

Seventeen patients at a psychiatric hospital in southern Romania have reportedly died of malnutrition and hypothermia since the start of this year, and the remaining 440 patients are in grave danger unless the Romanian government immediately provide the hospital with adequate food, heating fuel and medication, Amnesty International warned today. Posted: 23 Feb 2004

Amnesty International UK's Director Kate Allen has called for Scottish death row inmate Kenny Richey to be given the opportunity to clear his name after a visit to the prison where Mr Richey is being held in Ohio, USA. Posted: 20 Feb 2004

Posted: 19 Feb 2004

Posted: 19 Feb 2004

On 24 January 2004 Eritrean police arrested 38 members of the Jehovah's Witnesses religion who were holding a religious service in a private home in the capital, Asmara. Ten were released without charge but 28 remain in custody, including children and a 90-year-old man. Posted: 19 Feb 2004

Posted: 18 Feb 2004

Mahasin Abaker Fadul who is just 15 years old is in immediate danger of being flogged as a punishment for having sex outside marriage. Amnesty International is calling for this cruel and degrading sentence to be urgently commuted. Posted: 18 Feb 2004

As the International Court of Justice (ICJ) prepares to open its hearing on the fence/wall being built by Israel, Amnesty International said today (19 February) that it is right for the court to rule on the issue. The human rights organisation stated that the construction is in breach of international law and is contributing to grave violations of the human rights of hundreds of thousands of Palestinian people. Posted: 18 Feb 2004

The joining of notorious perpetrator of human rights violations Louis Jodel Chamblain and his followers with armed rebels accused of past abuses in the Central Plateau would create another devastating threat to respect for human rights in Haiti, Amnesty International said today. Posted: 18 Feb 2004