February 2013

Amnesty International is urging the Attorney General of the US State of Louisiana not to appeal against a federal court ruling overturning the conviction of Albert Woodfox of the Angola 3, a man who has already been held in solitary confinement for over 40 years. Posted: 28 Feb 2013

Media reports and cell phone footage apparently showing South African police tying a Mozambican man to the back of a police vehicle and dragging him down the road are shocking, Amnesty International said today. Posted: 28 Feb 2013

A Moroccan editor is facing imprisonment on charges of disseminating false information after he ran a story alleging that a senior government official spent almost 800 of public money on a champagne dinner, Amnesty International said. Posted: 26 Feb 2013

On Saturday 2 March at 3.30pm, up to 100 young people from across the UK will take part in a die-in in Shoreditch, east London to illustrate the deadly impact of the poorly regulated arms trade. They will be urging the UK government to lead the call for an effective Arms Trade Treaty at a United Nations conference later this month (18 March). Posted: 26 Feb 2013

Ivory Coasts new national army, which was set up by President Alassane Ouattara in the wake of the 2010 post-election violence, together with an armed militia of traditional hunters the Dozos are carrying out extrajudicial executions, deliberate and arbitrary killings, politically-motivated arrests and torture across Ivory Coast. Posted: 26 Feb 2013

Amnesty International has urged the Nigerian authorities to immediately stop the forced eviction of hundreds of residents in the region as hundreds of homes are being demolished in the Oke Ilu-Eri area of Badia East n Lagos. Posted: 25 Feb 2013

Weeks before crucial talks begin at the United Nations to negotiate an international arms trade treaty, Amnesty International has today released a new short film highlighting the need to control the global trade and transfer of weapons and ammunition. To date, no such global legislation exists. Posted: 25 Feb 2013

The US state of Florida should halt the execution of a man denied a federal review of his appeal claims because his lawyer missed a filing deadline, said Amnesty International. Posted: 25 Feb 2013

Amnesty International today called upon the Honduran authorities to urgently investigate the killing of Jose Trejo just five months after his brother, a prominent human rights lawyer, was also murdered. Posted: 22 Feb 2013

A move by the Egyptian authorities to prohibit Egyptian NGOs contact with foreign organisations without prior permission from security bodies represents a new low for freedom of association, said Amnesty International this evening. Posted: 21 Feb 2013

The sudden execution of three death row inmates is an ominous move from Japans new Liberal Democratic government, Amnesty International said today. Posted: 21 Feb 2013

Tensions are spiralling in South Sudans western Bahr El Ghazal state following a series of arrests by the state authorities and a security clampdown that has left 24 dead and more than 60 injured, Amnesty International said today in a new report. Posted: 21 Feb 2013

A year after the punk band Pussy Riot performed a protest song in Moscow's main Orthodox cathedral (on 21 February 2012), the situation for freedom of expression has only worsened in Russia, Amnesty International said today. Posted: 20 Feb 2013

China, the USA, EU states and other arms-exporting countries must ensure that any deals brokered at an international arms fair in Abu Dhabi this week do not result in weapons reaching countries where they could contribute to serious human rights abuses, Amnesty International said. Posted: 20 Feb 2013

Two years after thousands of people took to the streets of Rabat, Casablanca and other cities in Morocco calling for reform, repression of protests in Morocco remains routine, said Amnesty International today. Posted: 20 Feb 2013

Illegal demolitions of Palestinian homes by Israel will come under the spotlight in Belfast next week at an Amnesty International public meeting. Posted: 20 Feb 2013

Amnesty International demanded the Austrian government ditch its homophobic adoption laws, following a ruling from the European Court of Human Rights earlier today. Posted: 19 Feb 2013

Amnesty International has written to Northern Ireland's First and Deputy First Ministers to raise allegations of abuse suffered in Magdalene Laundry institutions within the jurisdiction. Posted: 19 Feb 2013

The Pakistan authorities must do more to protect the persecuted Shia Hazara minority community, Amnesty International said following a devastating attack in Quetta that killed scores. Posted: 18 Feb 2013

The deaths of two men in police custody in the Bahamas last weekend highlight the urgent need for greater accountability for police abuses, Amnesty International said today. Posted: 14 Feb 2013