Press release me, let me go

So who won? Like everyone else, I can only see deadlock and “a lurch to the right” in the super-close Israeli election results . I can’t pretend I’ve ever paid much attention to domestic Israeli politics (I haven’t always looked too...

Belfast solicitor Patrick Finucane was murdered at his home, in front of his wife and three kids, on 12 February 1989, twenty years ago today. Since then, compelling evidence has indicated that UK state agents were involved in the...

What’s the proper response to nasty and violent attacks on women who were daring to go to a bar and drink with their friends? A demonstration? Letter writing campaign? Call for police investigations? Amnesty regularly uses all these...

I must admit I haven’t watched Panorama for ages. (Did I ever watch it? Yes, but I think the last time I actually saw one was that amazing programme where John Sweeney loses his rag after getting stonewalled by a Scientology spokesman...

Before the hugely popular films featuring Alex the Lion and Gloria the Hippo, for many Madagscar was known as a place where sugar comes from. Despite the growing interest in eco-tourism and the popularity of the Disney animations...

A man called the press office a few days ago to complain about our statements on the war in Sri Lanka. He said we were biased and did not understand what is going on there – ‘tell me where else in the world the government is bombing...

It’s a funny old world ain’t it? Take a couple of prominent speeches by our elected politicians in the House of Commons in the last two days. Yesterday: David Davis – of opposition to 42 days pre-charge detention fame – blasting the...

In my day ‘Punk’s not dead’ used to be the teenage mantra, a line beloved of Exploited fans the country over. Recently I reckon it’s more a case of the war on terror’s not dead. Hang on! You thought Obama’s (very welcome) promise to...

Now that the power-sharing deal between President Robert Mugabe and Morgan Tsvangirai has finally been agreed, perhaps the people of Zimbabwe can hope for a brighter future? From where I’m standing for millions of Zimbabweans the...

Today's blog comes from a baltic bethnal green, where I am holed up in my flat watching the snow keep coming. It's relentless. GIven that I live pretty near the Amnesty office i was poised to set off on a snowy walk (no buses in London...

Back in the days when I played kick-it-and-hope football with the lads in my area and fancied myself a new Clive Walker (a temporarily promising Chelsea left-winger in about 1977), I never really thought about playing football with...

I was talking to Amnesty’s expert on Sri Lanka today and the situation she described to me was one of the most truly Orwellian I have ever heard about. News reports tell us that the government is on the verge of possible conclusive...

You may have noticed a lot of news coverage today of a new report launched in Northern Ireland today by the Consultative Group on the Past in Northern Ireland , most of it concerning recommendations that payments of £12,000 are made to...

It’s all beginning to unravel, says The Times , referring to a European deadlock over which countries might be able to lend a hand in closing Guantánamo. Plus, says the Times story, there’s a new “taunting” video from former Guantánamo...

"They cannot forget the beatings they suffered, they cannot forget the terror they felt and the terror they inflicted. They cannot forget the sounds of the machine guns, they cannot forget that they killed. They cannot forget that they...

As Richard Hammond might say, sometimes things move fast, and Obama’s certainly not letting the grass grow under his feet over Guantánamo and human rights. As regular readers – both of you! – of this blog will know, I was recently...

Perhaps predictably, the Baby Milk Scandal in China has ended in executions. Two people have been sentenced to death over the scandal, which saw hundreds of thousands of people getting sick and six babies die when milk powder was...

I’m not a big lover of large events. Crowds: no, don’t like them. Football matches, too many people. Being at home on the laptop: yes, much better! Also, fanfare and big-time media hype sets my teeth on edge. Guess where this is going...

The cliché is that during the fog of war you can’t really find out what’s going on. Keeping out nearly all international media, as I’ve said before , is one very effective way of ensuring that things are enveloped in doubt, claim and...

After three weeks of shelling and with over 1,200 people killed and more than 5,000 wounded, the Israeli bombardment of Gaza is finally, or at least temporarily, over. All reports describe the peace as fragile, with Hamas demanding...