#amnestyinternational – European Affairs Magazine

Saudi Court gives death sentence to Shiite activist.

25 Aprile 2017 BreakingNews @en di

Saudi Arabia handed down death sentence to a Shiite activist on alleged charges of participating in activities against the Riyadh regime.The unnamed man was found guilty and sentenced to death by the Specialized Criminal Court in Riyadh on Sunday for his anti-regime activities, among other offenses, Arabic-language Saudi Arabian daily newspaper Okaz reported. The activist was reportedly accused of carrying out an armed attack on police and its checkpoints in Qatif’s village of al-Awamiyah in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province. His charges also included possession of white arms, spreading hatred against the ruling regime, and provoking people to carry out attacks against Saudi security forces. The monarchy is consistently singled out and criticized for its widespread violation of human rights. US-based Human Rights Watch and UK-based Amnesty International have both condemned Saudi Arabia for cracking down on activists and political dissidents. Back in March 2016, the Amnesty released a statement, saying the kingdom had enforced an “abusive” anti-terror law, which associates peaceful protests with terrorism and allows it to hand down lengthy jail terms to peaceful critics and human rights activists after holding “deeply unfair” trials for them.

Amnesty and Human Right Watch raise alarm over Egypt 'extrajudicial killing' video

23 Aprile 2017 BreakingNews @en di

New alarm from Human Right Watch against Egypt after videos showing Egyptian militarise killing to armed men in North Sinai Members of the Egyptian military are responsible for at least seven unlawful killings, including shooting a 17-year-old child, according to human rights campaigners. According to Amnesty International, these actions show that Egyptian army isn’t afraid by a hierarchic repression, or sentence in front of the crime, which could explain the multiplication of those cases. Moreover, “These outrageous killings confirm that Egypt’s counterterrorism campaign in the Sinai is out of control”, said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “Egypt’s allies cannot claim ignorance about these deadly abuses”. Publication of the last video was few years after James Mattis meeting with Al-Sissi, on Thursday. Amnesty International urged D.Trump, to take some measures against Egypt, to protect Human Rights in the country.

Worries after the arrests of activist Maikoul Zodi and journalist Baba Alpha.

7 Aprile 2017 BreakingNews @en di

Amnesty International is worried about recent arrests of two activists in Niger, Maikoul Zodi ,president of the Movement of the Young Republicans, and Baba Alpha, a journalist. Both the activists were arrested appearently not because of their the militant activities. Maikoul Zodi was questioned for his place of residence and had to present himself in front of the judge durign the day, then he has been accused of “misappropriation of public funds”: recruited in 2014 as a professor, he is accused of non having taken his service while receving salary. Baba Alpha, journalist of the private channel television Bonferey, was arrested with the accuse of forgery. The message sent to dissident voices of Niger is clear: try to express yourself on the economic and social situation and to ask for trasparency and this could led you to prison.

Protesters want Amnesty International to leave.

23 Marzo 2017 BreakingNews @en di

A group of protesters barricated themselves at Amnesty International offices, at Abuja, asking the international organization to leave within 24 hours. Melvin Ejeh, protesters speakperson, said that the group will carry on a five day protest as a first warning: “Let us warn at this point that there will be no interval of respite if Amnesty International fail to leave Nigeria at the end of the five days, as we will activate other more profound options to make the organization leave Nigeria”. Amnesty International is accused by the protestors to “carrying out atrocities which destabilise Nigeria”. Mr. Ejeh said even organisations like the National Human Rights Commission, NHRC, and the Global Amnesty Watch had condemned a recent report by Amnesty International which alleged human rights abuses by Nigerian security agencies against arrested Boko Haram suspects. The organisation’s reports stated that 240 people, including infants, died in a military detention centre in Borno in 2016. The military denied the claims contained in the report, saying “they were contrived lies orchestrated to blackmail and ridicule the Nigerian Armed Forces”.

Human right watchdog accuses Baku of cyberattacks against government

11 Marzo 2017 BreakingNews @en di

According to reports, a watchdog accused the Azerbaijani authorities of a series of allegedly state-sponsored cyberattacks aimed at gaining access to the personal information of government critics. “Our research reveals that a targeted and coordinated cyber campaign is being waged against critical voices in Azerbaijan, many of whom are long-time victims of government repression” said Senior Technologist at Amnesty International Claudio Guarnieri as quoted in the report.

Suspected use of chemical weapons by Sudanese government durign an attack in Darfur,as revealed by Amnesty International

8 Marzo 2017 BreakingNews @en di

Today Amnesty International renewed its call for a UN investigation about a suspected use of chemical weapons by Sudanese government durign an attack in Darfur. Amnesty did already report, in september 2016, the evidence that government used chemical weapons in Darfour (between January and August 2016), but the UN’s Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) at that time said that there weren’t enough informations to draw conclusions. Amnesty’s report contained 100 pages, including photos of children with chemical burns, displaced people, destroyed villages, interviews and chemical weapon’s expert’s analysis. President Omar al-Bashir defined Amnesty’s report’s accusations as “empty lies”. The attack, according to Amnesty, was a military operation against the rebel Sudan Liberation Army, accused by the government to attack civilians. The conflict in Darfur between ethnic minority groups and Bashir’s government started in 2003. Since then 300,00 people have been killed, and 2.5 million are displaced. Bashir is wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes and genocide charges, but he denies the accusations and insists that Darfur conflict has ended.

Amnesty said: Syrian authorities have killed as many as 13,000 people at a prison known as “the slaughterhouse”

8 Febbraio 2017 BreakingNews @en di

Syrian authorities have killed as many as 13,000 people – possibly more – since the start of the 2011 uprising in mass hangings at a prison north of Damascus known to detainees as “the slaughterhouse,” Amnesty International said on Tuesday. In a new report covering the period from 2011 to 2015, Amnesty said 20-50 people were hanged each week at Saydnaya Prison in killings authorized by senior Syrian officials, including deputies of President Bashar Assad, and carried out by military police. The report referred to the killings as a “calculated campaign of extrajudicial execution.