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2015 (19)
Dec 2 2015 6:22PM
Syria military action vote: our view on the UK ISIS strategy

Update 3 December: Last night MPs voted in favour of UK military action against ISIS in Syria, after a 10-hour debate in Parliament. Just hours later, the RAF have begun airstrikes on oil fields under ISIS control. Our call remains the...

Dec 1 2015 3:27PM
A 'comprehensive strategy' on ISIS in Syria - some points for the UK

Kristyan Benedict - on Twitter as @KreaseChan Civilians in Syria are being subjected to appalling human rights violations committed by the Syrian government and many armed opposition groups. These violations amount to war crimes and in...

Nov 24 2015 3:50PM
Face to face with her former torturer in Mexico

'You did me so much harm. And now you will never forget my face.' Cristel Piña, torture survor, to the policeman who tortured her A few weeks ago, I attended one of Mexico’s new ‘spoken’ trials as an observer. It was one of the first...

Oct 30 2015 9:53AM
After more than 13 years, Shaker Aamer has been released from Guantánamo Bay

When I helped organise a protest against Guantánamo Bay in 2007 , I had no idea that I would still be campaigning against it more than eight years later. Or that until today there would still be a British resident held at the notorious...

Oct 26 2015 4:00PM
Travelling to England for an abortion was my only option

We found out we were expecting our second child in June 2012. My husband and I were thrilled. We booked an early scan for later that week. They said I was seven weeks pregnant. We were delighted when we found out our baby was due on...

Oct 8 2015 1:17PM
With no deterrence to atrocities, Syria will continue to fragment

By Kristyan Benedict - Amnesty International UK @KreaseChan On October 6 I spoke on a panel at the Frontline Club about the horrific Caesar photos and the ongoing search for justice and accountability in Syria. Below is a summary...

Sep 30 2015 3:50PM
When Shaker Aamer is released from Guantánamo next month, it will be a strange sort of victory for his family

Over the years the campaign for justice for Shaker Aaker has seemed an almost hopeless one. Turning out with family and supporters to hand-deliver petitions to Downing Street or the US Embassy in London has been a forlorn affair...

Sep 7 2015 1:50PM
Syria: Could the UN Break the Siege of Douma?

by Kristyan Benedict, Amnesty International UK - @KreaseChan Douma, like many besieged and bombed parts of Syria, has slipped out of the mainstream news again. The humanitarian catastrophe there is still very much a reality though and...

Jun 26 2015 10:59AM
Take a stand to stop torture

‘The pain of torture is unbearable.’ These are the words of torture survivor Moses Akatugba from Nigeria, one of the many individuals we support in their search for justice. The ‘confession’ Moses made, after having his finger and toe...

Jun 23 2015 3:39PM
From the classroom to death row... and now freedom

After 10 years in jail, and over 800,000 messages from activists around the world, Moses’ life has been spared. Here, we speak to Justine Ijeomah, Director of the Human Rights, Social Development and Environmental Foundation (HURSDEF)...

Jun 12 2015 2:19PM
Syria’s Long Walk to Freedom

“For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.”  — Nelson Mandela Freedom from fear doesn’t come easy. That’s especially the case in Syria. For over four...

Jun 9 2015 12:24PM
After the fantastic #MarRef result in Ireland, it’s time for another referendum…

“You feel like a criminal. I am a law-abiding citizen and I felt like I was committing a crime, like I was smuggling drugs across the border.” Cerys, who travelled to England for an abortion after doctors in Ireland confirmed that her...

May 22 2015 5:21PM
Syria: One year since Russia & China blocked the ICC

One year ago today Russia and China vetoed a UN Security Council resolution which would have referred the horrendous situation in Syria to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court. That callous move compounded the misery for...

May 21 2015 5:22PM
A week to spare the life of Moses Akatugba

UPDATE, 28 MAY 2015: Moses pardoned Emmanuel Uduaghan, the Governor of Delta State, has granted a total pardon to Moses Akatugba, who was sentenced to death by hanging for stealing mobile phones. Thank you to the thousands of you who...

May 20 2015 6:31PM
Nigerian community waits for oil spill clean up

You can clearly see, and smell, the oil that pollutes the waterways near Bodo, as well as the destruction it has caused to the mangrove trees lining the shore. But what shocked me most was the silence of the place. As Africa’s most...

Mar 16 2015 4:54PM
A fifth anniversary of the Syria crisis is tragically looking all too likely

The fourth anniversary of the uprisings in Syria has passed. The reality for most Syrian civilians is as grim as it was on March 15 2015 as it is today. For Syrians hiding from barrel bombs and missiles, there is still no respite. For...

Mar 2 2015 9:34AM
Philip Hammond and Nick Clegg must speak out about Mexico's torture problem

Update, 5 March: Following your actions on Facebook and Twitter, human rights were raised with President Peña Nieto several times during his visit, by both the Deputy PM Nick Clegg , and by David Cameron . Thank you for taking action...

Jan 24 2015 6:04PM
Who's commemorating the victims of King Abdullah's regime?

A great reformer and champion of women’s rights has died, apparently. If you didn’t know who world leaders were lining up to express condolences for this weekend, you might think that one of the great civil rights heroes of our time...

Jan 21 2015 11:47AM
Jailed for a miscarriage - our urgent action to free Guadalupe

Update: 9am, 22 January 2015 Last night, the Salvadorean parliament voted in favour of Guadalupe's pardon. Guadalupe won, by just one vote . This is is fantastic news, and sets a brilliant precedent for the other women criminalised by...