Amnesty International består av 3 miljoner människor som kämpar för att de mänskliga rättigheterna ska gälla alla, alltid.

Vad är en blixtaktion

Då det är extra bråttom att agera Amnesty International får dagligen information om människor som trakasseras, fänglas, döms till döden eller vars säkerhet på andra sätt hotas. I de fall då det är extra bråttom - t ex risk för tortyr, "försvinnanden" eller avrättning - genomförs en blixtaktion ( urgent ...

Lås upp

Lås upp din mobil - lås upp för en fängslad människa Lås upp är en mobilkampanj för att värva sms-aktivister till vårt blixtaktionsnätverk. Tillsammans med reklambyrån Garbergs m fl har vi tagit fram bilder som är anpassade för att lägga i sin iPhone eller iPad. Ena bilden för den låsta skärmen ...

Om blixtaktioner Amnesty International får dagligen information om människor som trakasseras, fänglas, döms till döden eller vars säkerhet på andra sätt hotas. I de fall då det är extra bråttom - t ex risk för tortyr, "försvinnanden" eller avrättning - genomförs en blixtaktion ( urgent action på engelska): ett världsomfattande ...

Hur skriver man blixtaktioner

Hur skriver man blixtaktioner? Alla blixtaktioner är skrivna på engelska och ger dig en handledning hur du ska kunna agera för det aktuella fallet, med information om den eller de utsatta personerna och vad du kan göra för att hjälpa den eller dessa. En blixtaktion är uppdelad enligt följande (1) ...

Statistik

Statistik - Blixtaktionverksamhet 2009 Vid slutet av 2009 hade 343 nya blixtaktioner (BA) och 257 uppdateringar skickats ut från vårt internationella sekretariat i London - det är endast några färre vad gäller nya BA-fall än för 2008 och visar att BA fortfarande är en central del av Amnestys aktivist-och kampanjarbete. ...

Lås upp mobilen och rädda liv - bli sms-aktivist! När vi får information om att en människas liv är i fara utfärdas en blixtaktion. Som sms-aktivist blir du en del av ett världsomspännande nätverk som protesterar. Med ett knapptryck kan du göra stor skillnad för människor i utsatta situationer. Så ...

UA 144/12 HAITI - RISK OF FORCED EVICTION FOR FAMILIES IN HAITI

  UA 144/12 - RISK OF FORCED EVICTION FOR FAMILIES IN HAITI   Three hundred families who were left homeless after the January 2010 earthquake face imminent forced eviction from their makeshift camp in Port-au-Prince. Amnesty International is concerned that if evicted they will once again be left homeless.   ...

Further information on UA 292/11 – SYRIA - SYRIAN REARRESTED AND HELD INCOMMUNICADO

  SYRIA   Muhammad Yassin Al Hamwi, who was among four Syrian men originally detained in September 2011, was rearrested on 4 May, having been released on 25 February. Two others, Muhammad Muhammad Al Hamwi and Ahmad Kuraitem, were released on 28 March. An acquaintance of theirs, Abd al-Akram al-Sakka, ...

Further information on UA 119/12 – ISRAEL - FOOTBALLER'S HUNGER STRIKE CONTINUES

  ISRAEL   The health of Palestinian footballer Mahmoud al-Sarsak, on hunger strike in an Israeli prison, is deteriorating. Other administrative detainees who had also been on hunger strike have stopped following a deal with the Israeli authorities. Mahmoud al-Sarsak is continuing his hunger strike in demand for his immediate ...

UA 141/12 – COLOMBIA - HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS THREATENED

  COLOMBIA   On 8 May, three human rights defenders and a lawyer in Sucre, northern Colombia, received death threats. All four have been supporting peasant farmers to get back land seized during the armed conflict. Other human rights defenders, also working on land restitution and campaigning against impunity, were ...

UA 143/12 – PAKISTAN - EXECUTIONS SET TO RESUME IN PAKISTAN

  PAKISTAN   The execution of Behram Khan by hanging has been scheduled for 30 June. It would be the first execution in Pakistan in almost four years and could pave the way for authorities to carry out more death sentences. Only the President of Pakistan can permanently halt his ...

Further information on UA 129/12 – SUDAN - SUDANESE JOURNALIST FACES HARASSMENT

  SUDAN       Faisal Mohammed Salih, a prominent journalist and columnist from Sudan who had been arrested by the National Security Service (NSS) was released on 8 May. However, he has since been re-arrested and released several times. He is currently free, but faces new criminal charges in ...

UA 140/12 – MEXICO - HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS AT RISK

  MEXICO   A human rights defender was kidnapped on 15 May, and held prisoner for almost a day: his organization has received threatening messages. All the members of the organization and their families are in grave danger. According to human rights defender Jose Enrique Morales Montano, a member of ...

UA 142/12 – SUDAN - OPPOSITION LEADER UNDER HOUSE ARREST

  SUDAN   Ezdehar Jumaa Said Ahmad, a leader of the opposition Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North, is under house arrest. She has not been charged. Her five young children must go out unaccompanied to buy food.   Ezdehar Jumaa Said Ahmad was arrested in the morning of 21 April by ...

UA 137/12 – IRAN - AHWAZI ARABS FACING UNFAIR TRIAL, RISK TORTURE

  IRAN       Six members of Iran's Ahwazi Arab minority are due to go on trial in Iran on 20 May. The men were detained without charge for almost a year and all were arrested in connection with their activities on behalf of Iran's Ahwazi Arab minority. It ...

Further information on UA 82/12 – SYRIA - TURKISH JOURNALISTS RELEASED

  SYRIA Turkish journalists Adem Ozkose and Hamit Coskun arrived back in Turkey on 13 May after being detained in Syria for two months.   Adem Ozkose, a 34-year-old reporter and Hamit Coskun, a 21-year-old cameraman, crossed the Turkish border into Syria on 5 March 2012. Their last contact with ...

UA 139/12 – PAKISTAN - POLITICIAN THREATENED, AS DEFENDS MINORITIES

  PAKISTAN   Regional parliamentarian Saleem Khursheed Khokhar has received death threats over his calls for Hindu women and girls to be protected from abduction and forced conversion to Islam.   Saleem Khursheed Khokhar, a Christian, is a member of Pakistan's Sindh Provincial Assembly and President of the Sindh chapter ...

Further information on UA 367/11 – INDIA - THREE TAMIL NADU PROTESTORS FACE ARREST

  INDIA   At least three leaders of an anti-nuclear group in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu are facing the threat of arrest, though more than 330 protestors ended their hunger strike on 15 May following a call from a former high court chief judge.   The peaceful ...

UA 136/12 – HONDURAS - PROTECTION GROUP IN HONDURAS THREATENED

  Honduras   Two European volunteers for an international protection project based in the Honduran capital, Tegucigalpa, were threatened in April. The volunteers – one French and one British – protect individuals and members of Honduran human rights organisations at risk of attack by accompanying them. The safety of the ...

Further information on UA 32/12 ALBANIA - INADEQUATE HOUSING FOR ROMA FAMILIES

  Further information on UA 32/12 - INADEQUATE HOUSING FOR ROMA FAMILIES   On 8 May, eight Romani families, numbering some 50 individuals, moved with a police escort, from the premises of the Albanian Romani Association in the Albanian capital Tirana, to buildings which were partially renovated for their permanent ...

UA 135/12 HAITI - FAMILIES AT RISK OF FORCED EVICTION IN HAITI

  UA 135/12 - FAMILIES AT RISK OF FORCED EVICTION IN HAITI   Hundreds of families living in a camp for internally displaced people in Carrefour, in Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince, are being harassed and intimidated and are at imminent risk of forced eviction.   Residents at Grace Village camp, in ...

Further information on UA 55/11 ZIMBABWE - ACTIVISTS' SENTENCES LIKELY TO BE OVERTURNED

  Further information on UA 55/11 - ACTIVISTS' SENTENCES LIKELY TO BE OVERTURNED   Six Zimbabwean activists convicted in March 2012 of conspiring to commit public violence have had their community service orders suspended following an appeal. It is likely that the orders, and suspended prison sentences handed down to ...

Further information on UA 296/11 Bahrain - VERDICT APPROACHING IN BAHRAIN MEDICS' CASE

  Further information on UA 296/11 - VERDICT APPROACHING IN BAHRAIN MEDICS' CASE   The verdict on the case of 20 health professionals on trial in Bahrain is scheduled to be announced on 14 June. If convicted and imprisoned, all 20 would be prisoners of conscience.   On 10 May, ...

Further information on UA 205/11 SUDAN - HEALTH CONCERNS FOR DETAINED ACTIVIST

    SUDAN   More than ten months after his arrest, Sudanese activist Bushra Gamar Hussein Rahma remains detained without trial or access to a lawyer. His health is poor and deteriorating, yet he continues to be denied access to a doctor.   Bushra Gamar Hussein Rahma has been detained ...

UA 131/12 EGYPT - PROTESTORS AT RISK OF TORTURE IN CAIRO

    EGYPT   At least 300 people are at risk of torture or other ill-treatment after their arrest by military and other forces. They may face unfair military trials after being arrested during a demonstration against military rule in Egypt, on 4 May.   During the demonstration thousands of ...

UA 134/12 Syria - FEARS FOR JOURNALIST ARRESTED IN SYRIA

  UA 134/12 - FEARS FOR JOURNALIST ARRESTED IN SYRIA   Palestinian journalist, Salameh Kaileh, was arrested in Syria by men believed to be Air Force Intelligence officers on 24 April. He is as risk of torture and other ill-treatment, and there is concern for his health as he requires ...

Further information on UA 82/12 Syria - TURKISH JOURNALISTS DETAINED IN SYRIA

  Further information on UA 82/12 - TURKISH JOURNALISTS DETAINED IN SYRIA   Turkish journalists Adem Özköse and Hamit Coskun continue to be detained following their capture by Shabiha members (armed gangs supporting the Syrian authorities) in northern Syria on or around 10 March. They are currently believed to be ...

UA 133/12 COLOMBIA - WOMEN RIGHTS DEFENDERS' LIVES IN DANGER

  COLOMBIA   On 7 May, shots were fired into the office of a women’s rights organization in Bogota, Colombia. This follows a series of attacks and intimidation against human rights defender Monica Roa and her colleagues. It is believed these attacks are in retaliation for their work in favour ...

Further information on UA: 120/12 AFGHANISTAN - AFGHAN JOURNALIST FREED

  AFGHANISTAN   Afghan TV journalist Nasto Naderi has been released on bail by security forces in Afghanistan. However, he is still under investigation and could be put on trial for criticizing government officials. Journalist Nasto Naderi, who hosts a programme on Afghan local TV station Noorin TV, was released ...

Further information UA 367/11 INDIA - TAMIL NADU PROTESTORS FACE IMMINENT ARREST

  INDIA   At least 330 people who have been on hunger strike in protest against a nuclear power plant project in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu face imminent arrest, after police issued orders prohibiting the protest and surrounded their village.   The peaceful protestors, including more than ...

Further information UA 124/12 IRAQ - IRAQI DETAINEES REPORT TORTURE

  IRAQ   A group of detainees held in Iraq, who were accused in a television programme of terrorism-related offences, have reported that they have been tortured. They say that they were coerced into making “confessions” that appeared on the programme. At least four of them continue to be denied ...

UA 132/12 EGYPT - RIGHTS DEFENDER AT RISK OF FORCED RETURN

  EGYPT   The Egyptian authorities have arrested a Darfuri refugee in Egypt and may forcibly return him to Sudan, apparently for his activism in support of refugees and migrants in Egypt. If returned, he would be in danger of being tortured or otherwise ill-treated.   On 6 May 2012, ...

Further information on UA 75/12 Equatorial Guinea - HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER IMPRISONED

  Further information on UA 75/12 - HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER IMPRISONED   Wenceslao Mansogo Alo, a doctor, political activist and human rights defender was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment on 7 May in Bata city, Equatorial Guinea, after being convicted of professional negligence. An initial accusation of mutilation of a ...

Further information on UA 114/12 Syria - DOCTORS HELD INCOMMUNICADO IN SYRIA

  Further information on UA 114/12 - DOCTORS HELD INCOMMUNICADO IN SYRIA   Syrian doctor Mohamad Osama Abdulsalam Al-Baroudi has been held incommunicado since he was arrested from his Damascus clinic on 18 February. He is believed to have been tortured and there are grave fears for his health. Fellow ...

UA 130/12 United Arab Emirates- TWO MEN HELD AT UNKNOWN LOCATION IN UAE

  UA 130/12 - TWO MEN HELD AT UNKNOWN LOCATION IN UAE   The whereabouts of two men arrested in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in April remain unknown. They might be at risk of torture or other ill-treatment.   Saleh al-Dhufairi, a UAE national, was arrested at a mosque ...

Further information on UA 84/11 Russian Federation - ASYLUM SEEKER BACK IN TAJIKISTAN

  Further information on UA 84/11 - ASYLUM SEEKER BACK IN TAJIKISTAN   Nizomkhon Juraev, a Tajikistani asylum seeker who disappeared after his release from detention in Russia on 29 March, reportedly re-appeared in Tajikistan on 7 April. While he has claimed that he is free, sources close to him ...

Further information on UA 130/10 Iran - TRADE UNIONIST GIVEN SIX-YEAR PRISON SENTENCE

  Further information on UA 130/10 - TRADE UNIONIST GIVEN SIX-YEAR PRISON SENTENCE   Iranian trade unionist Reza Shahabi has been sentenced to six years' imprisonment on vaguely worded charges. He is in poor health, and it is not clear whether he is receiving all necessary medical treatment. Another trade ...

UA:128/12 - PROMINENT ACTIVIST ARRESTED IN BAHRAIN

  UA:128/12 - PROMINENT ACTIVIST ARRESTED IN BAHRAIN   Prominent human rights activist Nabeel Rajab was arrested on 5 May at Bahrain International Airport in relation to tweets he posted. He has been charged with “insulting a national institution” and is at risk of torture or other ill-treatment.   Nabeel ...

UA 129/12 Sudan- JOURNALIST DETAINED, AT RISK OF TORTURE

  UA 129/12 - JOURNALIST DETAINED, AT RISK OF TORTURE   A prominent journalist, Faisal Mohammed Salih, was arrested in Sudan on 8 May by the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS). He is believed to be detained for giving an interview critical of the government. He is being held ...

Further information on UA 16/11 - ARMED MEN THREATEN MIGRANTS IN MEXICO

  Further information on UA 16/11 - ARMED MEN THREATEN MIGRANTS IN MEXICO   Two migrants were threatened by armed men outside a migrants’ shelter in Lechería, Mexico State. The lives of migrants, staff and volunteers at the shelter are at risk.   On 3 May, two migrants, a man ...

Further information on UA: 119/12 - PALESTINIAN HUNGER STRIKERS' LIVES IN DANGER

  Israel/Occupied Palestinian Territories Two Palestinian hunger strikers' lives are in danger, as the Israeli Supreme Court has delayed ruling on the appeal against their detention without charge or trial. Other administrative detainees on hunger strike are still denied access to independent doctors.   Bilal Diab and Tha’er Halahleh’s petition ...

Further information on UA 96/12 - ILLINOIS INMATE CLEMENCY RECOMMENDATION DUE

    USA The Illinois Prisoner Review Board is due to decide whether to grant Jacqueline Montanez clemency. The final decision will then be in the hands of the Illinois Governor. She is the only woman in the state serving a sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole ...

UA:126/12 - BROTHERS HELD INCOMMUNICADO FOR MONTHS

  UA:126/12 - BROTHERS HELD INCOMMUNICADO FOR MONTHS   Syrian brothers Ghassan Mustafa Ma’lul and Ahmad Mustafa Ma’lul were arrested at a checkpoint at al-Rabikh, near Saraqeb, Idlib province, in northern Syria on 20 November 2011 and have been held in incommunicado detention since. On 13 April 2012, they were ...

UA:127/12 - ACTIVISTS HELD IN UNKNOWN LOCATION

  UA:127/12 - ACTIVISTS HELD IN UNKNOWN LOCATION   Since 2 May, 11 members of a human rights organization in Mauritania have been detained at an unknown location by the Mauritanian authorities after protesting against the writings of Islamic scholars. Amnesty International believes that they are prisoners of conscience, detained ...

UA 124/12 IRAQ - IRAQI MEN DETAINED INCOMMUNICADO

  IRAQ   Four men arrested over the past few weeks are being held incommunicado. At the end of April a local TV channel broadcast a programme which accused the men of involvement in terrorism-related offences. They are at risk of torture and other ill-treatment.   On 20 March former ...

UA 125/12 - ACTIVIST DETAINED IN SUDAN, AT RISK OF TORTURE

  SUDAN On 21 April, Alawiya Osman Ismail Kubaida, a 58-year old activist from the opposition party Sudan People’s Liberation Movement – North (SPLM-N), was arrested in her home by plainclothes agents of the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS). She is being held incommunicado and is at risk of ...

Further information on UA 107/12 EGYPT - STRIKING WORKERS RELEASED

  EGYPT   Five Egyptian workers detained after participating in a strike were released without charge on 23 April 2012 after spending more than forty days in military custody.   Mahmoud Farouk Aljundi, Ahmed Mohamed Talaat, Mohamed Issam Syam, Abu Al Yazid Abdul Atti and Hassan Ahmed Al Armouti were ...

Further information on UA 133/11 AZERBAIJAN - JABBAR SAVALAN CONSCRIPTED INTO ARMY

  AZERBAIJAN   University student Jabbar Savalan has been conscripted by the Azerbaijani military. As he should be exempt from military service, Amnesty International believes he is being targeted because of his peaceful activism.   Jabbar Savalan was summoned to the military commissariat for a medical examination on 30 April. On ...

Further information on UA 139/11 BAHRAIN - JAILED OPPOSITION ACTIVISTS FACE APPEAL TRIAL

  BAHRAIN   14 opposition activists in Bahrain have been ordered to appear before a civilian court for an appeal trial. One of the activists, Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja, who has been on hunger strike for approaching three months, told his family on 29 April that he was forcibly fed during the ...

Further information on UA 100/12 CUBA - GOVERNMENT CRITIC RELEASED TO AWAIT TRIAL

  CUBA   Government critic Andrés Carrión Álvarez has been released from prison, to await trial on trumped up charges.   Andrés Carrión Álvarez was released from prison on 13 April to await trial on a charge of “public disorder” (desórdenes públicos) for shouting “freedom” and “down with communism” before an ...

Further information on UA 99/12 CUBA - PRISONER FREED, IF GIVES UP POLITICAL ACTIVISM

  CUBA   Prisoner of conscience José Daniel Ferrer García has been released, on condition that he gives up his political activism: he has been told that if he does so, his trial on trumped-up charges will not go ahead. Prisoner of conscience José Daniel Ferrer García was released from ...

Further information on UA 36/11 IRAN - HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER IMPRISONED

  IRAN   Iranian human rights defender Narges Mohammadi, a mother of two young children, has begun serving a six-year sentence in Tehran's Evin Prison. Amnesty International considers her a prisoner of conscience who should be immediately and unconditionally released.   Two people, a man and a woman, possibly from ...

UA 122/12 RUSSIAN FEDERATION - ALLEGED FEMINIST PUNK SINGERS DETAINED

  RUSSIAN FEDERATION   Three young women are being detained by the Russian authorities for allegedly performing a protest song in a cathedral as part of a feminist punk group ‘Pussy Riot’. On 19 April, a Moscow court extended the detention of the women until 24 June.   Nadezhda Tolokonnikova ...

UA 123/12 HONDURAS - HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS THREATENED

  HONDURAS   Four members of a prominent human rights organization in Honduras have recently been attacked, threatened and harassed. Their lives are in danger.   The Committee of the Families of the Detained and Disappeared (Comité de Familiares de los Detenidos y Desaparecidos, COFADEH) is a prominent human rights ...

UA 120/12 AFGHANISTAN - JOURNALIST DETAINED, RISKS TORTURE OR DEATH

  AFGHANISTAN   Afghan TV journalist Nasto Naderi has been detained without charge since 21 April, when he was summoned to the General prosecutor's office for questioning over a controversial broadcast. He is at grave risk of torture or death.   Nasto Naderi works for Noorin TV in the capital, ...

UA 121/12 INDONESIA - DEMAND PROTECTION FOR CHURCH CONGREGATION

  INDONESIA   The congregation of an Indonesian church were threatened during recent protests against them. Police were present, but did not do enough to protect them. Without police protection the congregation will be in danger.   On the morning of 22 April, around 100 members of the Filadelfia Batak ...

UA 119/12 ISRAEL - HUNGER STRIKERS DENIED INDEPENDENT DOCTORS

  ISRAEL   Six Palestinian detainees on hunger strike in protest at being detained without charge or trial are now so ill that they have been moved to Ramleh prison hospital. They have all been denied access to independent doctors.   Tha'er Halahleh and Bilal Diab have been on hunger ...

Further information on UA 97/12 TOGO - STUDENTS ARRESTED AT DEMO RELEASED

  TOGO   Togolese students arrested on 28 March and 3 April, following demonstrations at the University of Kara, have been released.   Students Agnité Massama, Bitsioudi Birénam and Sidiba Mohamed who were arrested on 28 March at the University of Kara, have been released. They are members of the National Union of Pupils and Students of Togo (Union nationale des élèves et étudiants ...

Further information on UA 86/12 SYRIA - SYRIAN HUMAN RIGHTS LAWYER RELEASED

  SYRIA   Human rights lawyer Abdullah al-Khalil was released on 28 March.   Following his release, he sent Amnesty International a message saying, "Best wishes to everyone."   There are unconfirmed reports that he was beaten and otherwise ill-treated while detained. It is unclear whether there are any charges ...

UA 118/12 COLOMBIA - SECURITY FEARS FOR PEASANT FARMERS' LEADER

  COLOMBIA   Peasant farmer leader Hernán Henry Díaz, who was arranging a protest march, has not been seen since 18 April, and may have been subjected to enforced disappearance, in Putumayo Department, southern Colombia.   Hernán Henry Díaz, a spokesperson of the Departmental Roundtable of Social Organisations in Putumayo ...

UA 113/12 IRAN - IRANIAN-CANADIAN FACING EXECUTION IN IRAN

  IRAN   A man with dual Iranian-Canadian nationality, Hamid Ghassemi-Shall, appears to be at imminent risk of execution. His family were told on 15 April that his death sentence had been passed to the body within the Judiciary that carries out executions.   Hamid Ghassemi-Shall was arrested on 24 ...

Further information on UA 27/12 IRAQ - ONE OF TWO ARRESTED WOMEN RELEASED

  IRAQ   One of the two women working for the Iraqi Vice-President's Office who were arrested on 1 January has been released. The other woman's whereabouts are still unknown.   Rasha Nameer Jaafer al-Hussain, who was working at the Iraqi Vice-President's Office, was arrested without a warrant at her ...

UA 116/12 ROMANIA - STOP FORCED EVICTION OF ROMA IN BAIA MARE

  ROMANIA   Around two thousand Roma are facing imminent forced eviction in Baia Mare, north-western Romania. Seventy families are reported to have agreed to being relocated while the remaining residents risk being made homeless. In addition, those inhabitants without identity documents registered in Baia Mare will be evicted, their ...

UA 117/12 BAHRAIN - DAUGHTER OF HUNGER STRIKER ARRESTED

  BAHRAIN   Bahraini activist Zainab Al-Khawaja was arrested on 21 April for protesting against the detention of her father, who has been on hunger strike for over two months. Amnesty International is calling for her immediate and unconditional release.   Zainab Al-Khawaja is a Bahraini activist and the daughter ...

UA 115/12 BRAZIL - AMAZON COMMUNITIES THREATENED BY LOGGERS

  BRAZIL   Rural leaders and farmers in a remote area of Amazonas state, northern Brazil, are facing death threats and attacks from illegal loggers and land-grabbers (grileiros) encroaching upon their lands. There remains no police presence in the area and no investigations into the illegal activities reportedly taking place. ...

UA 114/12 SYRIA - DOCTOR ARRESTED, RISKS TORTURE

  SYRIA   Syrian cardiologist Dr Mahmoud Al Refaai was arrested at al-Mouwasat hospital in the capital, Damascus, on 16 February 2012. He is believed to have been tortured and otherwise ill-treated.   According to a local source, Dr Mahmoud Al Refaai's family were informed of his arrest by a ...

UA 112/12 SYRIA - REFORMIST MAY BE DETAINED, RISKS TORTURE

  SYRIA   A peaceful advocate of democratic reform in Syria, Dr Mohamed al-Ammar, went missing on his way home from work in the southern city of Dera'a, on 19 March. He is believed to be held at the Military Intelligence branch in Dera'a in conditions amounting to enforced disappearance, ...

UA 111/12 MEXICO - STATE AGENTS THREATEN MIGRANT SHELTER STAFF

  MEXICO Government agents have attempted to get into a migrants' shelter in the south-eastern Mexican state of Tabasco. The human rights defenders who staff the shelter, and migrants staying there, are in danger.   On 15 April two men registered at the “La 72” migrants' shelter claiming to be, ...

UA 110/12 AZERBAIJAN - POLICE AND STATE OIL STAFF BEAT UP JOURNALISTS

  AZERBAIJAN   Two journalists trying to film illegal house demolitions in Azerbaijan on 18 April were beaten up by and police, and had to be hospitalized.   Award winning journalist Idrak Abbasov tried to film  the hundreds of State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) employees illlegally demolishing houses in the settlement of ...

UA 107/12 EGYPT - STRIKING WORKERS HELD BY MILITARY POLICE

  EGYPT   Five men working at the Sumid Arab Petroleum Pipeline Factory in the Egyptian port of Suez have been arrested after taking part in a strike. They may be prisoners of conscience, held solely for peacefully exercising their right to assemble freely and their right to strike. They ...

Further information on UA 30/12 CHAD - EVICTED FAMILIES OFFERED COMPENSATION

  CHAD   More than 600 people forcibly evicted from their homes in Sabbangali, N’Djamena, the capital of Chad, have been offered compensation and allocated plots of land to rebuild their houses in another area of N’Djamena.   The forced eviction of 670 people took place on 24 January 2012. ...

UA 109/12 INDONESIA - PRISONER'S MEDICAL TREATMENT PREVENTED

  INDONESIA   Indonesian prisoner of conscience Filep Karma is in urgent need of medical treatment. He needs to travel to receive this treatment, but the prison authorities have refused to pay for his transport and medical costs.   Filep Karma is serving a 15-year sentence at the Abepura prison ...

Further information on UA 31/12 ISRAEL/ OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES - PALESTINIAN DETAINEE FREE

  ISRAEL/ OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES   Palestinian administrative detainee Khader Adnan was released on 17 April. He spent four months in detention without charge or trial. For 66 days of this period, he was on hunger strike in protest at his ill-treatment and administrative detention. He is now back with ...

UA 108/12 MEXICO - MIGRANTS’ RIGHTS DEFENDER THREATENED

  MEXICO   Mexican priest Father Alejandro Solalinde Guerra has been threatened with death as a result of his work defending migrants’ rights. His life is at risk.   On 15 April, Father Alejandro Solalinde, coordinator of the Catholic Pastoral Care Centre for Migrants in Southwestern Mexico (Pastoral de Movilidad ...

Further information on UA 93/12 USA - EXECUTION IN OHIO AS GOVERNOR DENIES MERCY

  USA   Mark Wiles was executed by lethal injection in the US state of Ohio on 18 April for a murder committed in 1985. The governor denied clemency on 11 April. Mark Wiles had been on death row for more than a quarter of a century.   Mark Wiles ...

UA 106/12 HONDURAS - HUMAN RIGHTS JOURNALIST THREATENED

  HONDURAS   Dina Meza, a Honduran journalist and human rights activist, has received a series of threats of sexual violence against her in recent weeks. Her safety is at risk.   Dina Meza reports on human rights issues for the website Defenders Online (Defensores en Linea). She is also ...

Further information on UA 56/12 EGYPT - EGYPTIAN PRO-DEMOCRACY PROTESTER RELEASED

  EGYPT   George Ramzi Nakhla was released on 25 March 2012. He reported that he was ill-treated by security forces while in detention and was not given adequate medical treatment.   George Ramzi Nakhla, a member of “6 April Youth” movement, told Amnesty International that Central Security Forces (riot ...

Further information on UA 68/09 MEXICO - COLLEAGUES AND FAMILY STILL RECEIVING THREATS

  MEXICO   Human rights defenders working on behalf of trade unionist Marcelino Coache, and his family, continue to be threatened and intimidated in Oaxaca, Mexico in a pattern of threats that has been occurring since 2009. Fears continue for their safety.   Alba Cruz Ramos has represented trade union ...

Further information on UA 64/12 TURKEY - HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER RELEASED IN TURKEY

  TURKEY   Prisoner of conscience Halil Savda has been conditionally released from prison in eastern Turkey. He was released under new amendments to the law on the execution of sentences that make it possible for prisoners with less than a year of their sentence remaining to be conditionally released ...

Further information on UA 91/11 SAUDI ARABIA - SAUDI ARABIAN HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST SENTENCED

  SAUDI ARABIA   Saudi Arabian activist Mohammed Saleh al-Bajady has apparently been sentenced to four years’ imprisonment followed by a travel ban. He is a prisoner of conscience detained in part for his human rights activism.   Amnesty International has received credible information that on 10 April the Specialized ...

Further information on UA 299/11 BELARUS - PRISONER OF CONSCIENCE FREED

  BELARUS   Belarusian prisoner of conscience Andrei Sannikau was released from prison in the northeastern city of Vitebsk on 14 April. He has thanked everyone who showed him support and solidarity.   Opposition presidential candidate Andrei Sannikau was sentenced to five years in prison in May 2011 for taking ...

Further information on UA 49/12 MALAWI - PROMINENT MALAWIAN LAWYER RELEASED ON BAIL

  MALAWI   Prominent Malawian lawyer Ralph Kasambara was released on bail on 21 February. He had been arrested on charges of "kidnapping" and "unlawful wounding" following an incident which began when he was threatened at his office. He had been openly critical of the former President of Malawi, Bingu ...

Further information on UA 197/11 CHINA - TWO MEN EXECUTED IN CHINA

  CHINA   A Hong Kong man, Robert Shan Shiao-may, and a Taiwanese man, Lien Sung-ching, were executed in mainland China on 30 March after the Supreme People’s Court in Beijing approved their death sentences.   Robert Shan Shiao-may, aged 54, was sentenced to death on 26 June 2009 for ...

Further information on UA 99/12 CUBA - CUBAN PRISONER OF CONSCIENCE STILL HELD

  CUBA   Cuban government critic José Daniel Ferrer García has been detained without charge for more than 10 days. Amnesty International considers him to be a prisoner of conscience, detained solely for peacefully exercising his right to freedom of expression. 42 others arrested at the same time have now ...

UA 104/12 IRAN - HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST SENTENCED

  IRAN   Iranian human rights activist Mansoureh Behkish has been sentenced to four-and-a-half years in prison. She intends to appeal: if she is sent to jail, Amnesty International will consider her to be a prisoner of conscience.   Mansoureh Behkish was told on 4 April 2012 that she had been ...

Further information on UA 91/11 SAUDI ARABIA - HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST ON HUNGER STRIKE

  SAUDI ARABIA   Human rights activist Mohammed Saleh al-Bajady, who is on trial, is reported to be on hunger strike. Amnesty International considers him to be a prisoner of conscience detained solely for his human rights activism.   Mohammed Saleh al-Bajady, a 36-year-old businessman who co-founded the human rights ...

UA 105/12 CAMBODIA - CAMBODIAN WOMAN THREATENED WITH DEATH

  CAMBODIA   A Cambodian woman, Ros Bopha, has gone into hiding after leading her community in protest about their living conditions. The community lives at Trapeang AnhChanh, over 20 km from the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh, after being evicted from their homes because of a railway restoration project. She ...

Further information on UA 132/11 VIET NAM - BLOGGER'S "PROPAGANDA" TRIAL IMMINENT

  VIET NAM   Blogger Nguyen Hoang Hai, known as Dieu Cay ("the peasant's pipe"), in prison since 2008, will be brought to trial shortly for "conducting propaganda" against the state. His lawyer was recently allowed to visit him, and said he was ill and had lost a lot of ...

Further information on UA 139/11 BAHRAIN - HUNGER STRIKING ACTIVIST'S HEALTH FAILING

  BAHRAIN   The health of Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja , one of the 14 imprisoned activists in Bahrain, has deteriorated as he passes his 64th day on hunger strike. The authorities refused to release him and the other 13 opposition activists waiting for a hearing before the Court of Cassation on 23 ...

Further information on UA 76/12 SYRIA - KAMAL SALOUM RELEASED ON BAIL

  SYRIA   Kamal Saloum was released on bail on 26 March. He had been arrested on 11 February 2012 and held incommunicado since then. He is now on trial on charges related to his contacts with international media outlets and speaking out against the Al-Assad government.   Kamal Saloum ...

Further information on UA 98/12 SURINAME - AMNESTY LAW PASSED IN SURINAME

  SURINAME   The National Assembly has voted in favour of an amendment to Suriname's 1992 amnesty law. This may stop the trial of the current president, who has been charged with extrajudicial executions carried out in December 1982.   The 1992 law already gave amnesty for criminal offences linked ...

Further information on UA 294/11 BRAZIL - EVICTION ORDER SUSPENDED

  BRAZIL   The Laranjeira Ñhanderu community can now stay on their ancestral lands, after a court decision suspended an eviction order until the necessary anthropological studies have been carried out to verify their claims.   FUNAI and Federal Prosecutors had appealed against the order to evict the Laranjeira Ñhanderu ...

Further information on UA 91/12 CUBA - PRISONERS OF CONSCIENCE RELEASED ON BAIL

  CUBA   Two Cuban prisoners of conscience have been released on bail to await trial on trumped-up charges arising from their joining peaceful protests.   Prisoners of conscience Yasmín Conyedo Riverón and her husband, Yusmani Rafael Álvarez Esmori, were released on bail late in the evening of 5 April, after nearly three ...

Further information on UA 103/12 PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY - THREE EXECUTED IN GAZA

  PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY   Three men were executed by hanging in the Gaza Strip on 7 April 2012 by the Hamas de facto administration. A fourth man, J.Z.J, remains on death row and could be executed by firing squad at any time.   On 7 April 2012, Mohammed Baraka, from ...

Further information on UA 367/11 INDIA - RELEASE TAMIL NADU NUCLEAR PLANT PROTESTORS

  INDIA   Of the 180 people detained in March for protesting against a nuclear power plant project in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, 148 have been released on bail. While 25 more may be released on bail during the next few days, seven others are likely to remain ...

Further information on UA 296/09 SINGAPORE - THIRD APPEAL AGAINST DEATH SENTENCE REJECTED

  SINGAPORE   Yong Vui Kong’s third appeal application against his death sentence was rejected on 4 April. Only an act of clemency from the President of Singapore can stop his execution from going ahead. Yong Vui Kong has already spent over four years on death row.   In January, ...

UA 102/12 SUDAN - SUDANESE STUDENT ACTIVIST DETAINED

  SUDAN   On 28 March, student activist Haidar Mahmoud Abderrahman Manis was arrested by security forces in Khartoum North, Sudan. He is being detained in an unknown location, and has no access to his family or a lawyer. He is at risk of torture or other ill-treatment.   Haidar ...

Further information on UA 304/11 SAUDI ARABIA - SAUDI HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST FACING TRIAL

  SAUDI ARABIA   A human rights activist in Saudi Arabia is facing trial on 9 April 2012 on charges which criminalize the rights to freedom of expression and assembly.   Fadhel Maki al-Manasif, aged 26, has been held since October 2011 in the General Investigations Prison in the city ...

Further information on UA 364/11 INDIA - PROTEST LEADER RELEASED ON BAIL

  INDIA   Abhay Sahoo has been released on bail after spending more than three months in prison. He has led a seven-year campaign against the seizure of common lands used by local farmers, for a $12 billion plant of South Korean multinational steel company POSCO. He is still facing ...

UA 101/12 SYRIA - FEARS FOR SYRIAN MAN HELD INCOMMUNICADO

  SYRIA   A Syrian man, aged 70, has been held incommunicado since 19 March, reportedly by Air Force Intelligence. He is believed to be detained in relation to his son’s pro-reform activities. He is in poor health, and it is not known if he is receiving the daily medication ...

Further information on UA 350/11 INDIA - TAMIL NADU DOCTOR NO LONGER AT RISK

  INDIA   A community doctor from the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, Dr V Pugazhendhi, who had warned people of the harmful effects of radiation from nuclear installations, now says he no longer faces a threat to his life from the police or the prospect of detention without ...

UA 100/12 CUBA - CUBAN GOVERNMENT DETAINS CRITIC

  CUBA   A government critic has been detained, apparently without charge, for more than a week for peacefully expressing his right to freedom of expression.   Andrés Carrión Álvarez was arrested in the city of Santiago de Cuba on 28 March where he was attending an open air mass celebrated ...

UA 99/12 CUBA - CRACKDOWN ON CUBAN DISSIDENTS

  CUBA   The authorities have arrested 43 government critics in the province of Santiago de Cuba. This is a clear attempt to crush the emerging peaceful dissident movement in eastern Cuba.   Cuban security forces detained 43 government critics in three locations in the eastern province of Santiago de ...

Further information on UA 273/11 SYRIA - SYRIAN HELD FOR MEDIA INTERVIEWS RELEASED

  SYRIA   Syrian retired teacher Mohammed Najati Tayyara was released on 17 January following a general amnesty for “offences” allegedly committed since the start of widespread unrest in Syria in March 2011. He had been arrested by Syrian Political Security officers on 12 May 2011. He was subjected to ...

Further information on UA 71/12 ISRAEL - ADMINISTRATIVE DETAINEE TRANSFERRED TO GAZA

  ISRAEL/OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES   Palestinian woman Hana Shalabi ended her hunger strike on 28 March. She has been transferred to the Gaza Strip in what may amount to forcible transfer or deportation. Hana Shalabi spent 43 days on hunger strike in protest against her detention without charge or trial. ...

Further information on UA 227/11 BAHRAIN - PRISONER DESCRIBES TORTURE TO COURT

  BAHRAIN   Former president of the Bahrain Teachers' Association (BTA) Mahdi 'Issa Mahdi Abu Dheeb has provided a detailed account in court of his torture and other ill-treatment. Amnesty International is calling for his immediate and unconditional release.   Jalila al-Salman and Mahdi 'Issa Mahdi Abu Dheeb's, appeal hearing ...

Further information on UA 84/11 RUSSIAN FEDERATION - TAJIK REFUSED ASYLUM SEEKER DISAPPEARED

  RUSSIAN FEDERATION   Nizomkhon Juraev was released from a Russian detention facility on 29 March. He has not been seen since. He is a citizen of Tajikistan, and there are fears that he has been abducted by Tajikistani security services with the intent of forcibly returning him to Tajikistan. ...

UA 98/12 SURINAME - AMNESTY LAW CHANGE MAY END CURRENT TRIAL

  SURINAME   The Surinamese Parliament will shortly vote on an amendment to the country’s 1992 amnesty law. If passed, it will halt a current trial into the killing of 15 people in December 1982, allegedly perpetrated by, amongst others, the current President Dési Bouterse.   Members of the Surinamese ...

Further information on UA 139/11 BAHRAIN - ACTIVISTS' SENTENCES TO BE REVIEWED

  BAHRAIN   The Court of Cassation in Bahrain is set to review the verdict and sentences imposed on 14 opposition activists. Amnesty International is calling for their immediate and unconditional release.   On 2 April the Court of Cassation will review the verdict and sentences imposed on 14 opposition ...

Further information on UA 65/12 USA - FEDERAL COURT BLOCKS ALABAMA EXECUTION

  USA   Seventy-year-old Alabama death row prisoner Thomas Arthur has received a stay of execution from a federal court. He had been scheduled to be executed on the evening of 29 March for a murder committed in 1982.   The stay was issued on the grounds of Thomas Arthur's ...

UA 97/12 TOGO - STUDENTS ARRESTED AT DEMONSTRATION, RISK TORTURE

  TOGO   Three students were arrested on 28 March during a demonstration at Togo's University of Kara. They are detained at the Central Prison in Kara and are at risk of torture or other ill-treatment. Two other students have received threats and are at serious risk of arrest.   ...

UA 96/12 USA - CHILD SENTENCED TO LIFE SEEKS CLEMENCY

  USA   On 11 April the Illinois Prisoner Review Board will review the clemency application of Jacqueline Montanez, the only woman in that state serving a sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for a crime committed as a child. She has been in prison for more ...

UA 95/12 GUATEMALA - TRADE UNION LEADER KILLED, OTHERS IN DANGER

  GUATEMALA   A trade union leader was shot dead on 24 March in Guatemala City, together with three other men. He may have been targeted for his trade union activities. Other members of the trade union may be in grave danger.   Luis Ovidio Ortíz Cajas was shot on 24 ...

UA 94/12 COLOMBIA - PARAMILITARIES KILL FATHER AND SON IN COLOMBIA

  COLOMBIA   Manuel Ruíz, a member of the community council of Apartadocito, and his son, were abducted and subsequently killed by paramilitaries in northern Colombia on 23 March. Other members of the family and community may be in danger.   On 23 March paramilitaries abducted Manuel Ruíz and his ...

UA 93/12 USA - OHIO GOVERNOR TO DECIDE ON EXECUTION

  USA   Mark Wiles is scheduled to be executed in the US state of Ohio on 18 April for a murder in 1985. He has spent more than half of his life on death row. The parole board has recommended that the governor deny clemency, but he is not ...

UA 82/12 SYRIA - FEARS FOR TURKISH JOURNALISTS IN SYRIA

  SYRIA   Turkish journalists Adem Özköse and Hamit Coskun went missing while reporting on current events in northern Syria. They were in Syria, close to the Turkish border, on 10 March when they last made contact with colleagues. It is believed that they have been subjected to enforced disappearance, ...

Further information on UA 251/11 INDONESIA - PRISONER RECEIVES MEDICAL TREATMENT

  INDONESIA   Papuan political prisoner Kimanus Wenda has received medical treatment after the Nabire prison authorities gave him permission to travel from Nabire prison in Papua province to hospital in Jayapura.   On 12 March, Kimanus Wenda travelled from Nabire prison to Jayapura, capital of Papua province, accompanied by ...

Further information on UA 71/12 ISRAEL - PALESTINIAN HUNGER STRIKER’S APPEAL REJECTED

  ISRAEL/OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES   Palestinian woman Hana Shalabi’s appeal against her four-month administrative detention order was rejected on 25 March. Her lawyers have now appealed to the Israeli High Court of Justice. Fears for her life are increasing as she has spent 40 days on hunger strike in protest ...

Further information on UA 25/12 MEXICO - INDIGENOUS ACTIVIST FREED BUT STILL AT RISK

  MEXICO   Human Rights Defender, Maximino García Catarino, has been released from prison in Ayutla de Los Libres, Guerrero state, Mexico. He is still at risk of reprisals.   On 20 March, Maximino García Catarino, a leading member of the Organization for the Future of the Mixteco People (Organización ...

Further information on UA 102/10 IRAN - CLEMENCY DENIED FOR IRANIAN MAN ON DEATH ROW

  IRAN   An Iranian teacher who was convicted of moharebeh (enmity against God) and sentenced to death has had his request for pardon rejected. He is at risk of imminent execution.   The teacher, Abdolreza Ghanbari, was arrested at his workplace after anti-government demonstrations took place on 27 December ...

Further information on UA 64/12 TURKEY - PRISON TRANSFER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER

  TURKEY   Human rights defender Halil Savda was transferred to a new prison on 15 March. He has now served 28 days of a 100-day prison sentence, for speaking publicly about his support for conscientious objectors. He is a prisoner of conscience, detained solely for the peaceful exercise of ...

Further information on UA 75/12 EQUATORIAL GUINEA - HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER CHARGED

  EQUATORIAL GUINEA   Dr Wenceslao Mansogo Alo, arrested on what appear to be political grounds, has been charged with offences relating to the death of a patient at his clinic. The charges appear to be linked to his human rights work and political activities.   Wenceslao Mansogo Alo, a ...

Further information on UA 55/11 ZIMBABWE - ACTIVISTS GIVEN TWO YEAR SUSPENDED SENTENCE

  ZIMBABWE   Six Zimbabwean activists who were arrested in February 2011 were convicted on 19 March on charges of “conspiracy to commit public violence” and sentenced two days later to carry out 420 hours community service and pay a fine of US$500 each. They were also sentenced to a ...

UA 92/12 CUBA - BROTHERS ARRESTED AFTER LISTENING TO HIP-HOP

  CUBA   Two brothers are currently serving prison sentences in Cuba for politically motivated offences. They are prisoners of conscience, detained solely for peacefully exercising their right to freedom of expression.   Brothers Antonio Michel Lima Cruz and Marcos Máiquel Lima Cruz have been imprisoned since Christmas Day 2010. ...

UA 91/12 CUBA - CUBAN COUPLE DETAINED FOR PROTEST ACTIVITIES

  CUBA   A Cuban couple have been detained on trumped up charges in response to taking part in peaceful protests which criticise the government. They are prisoners of conscience, detained solely for peacefully exercising their right to freedom of expression.   Lady in White Yasmín Conyedo Riverón and her ...

Further information on UA 367/12 INDIA - FEAR FOR SAFETY OF TAMIL NADU PROTESTORS

  INDIA   Fifteen people who are fasting in protest against a nuclear power plant project in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu fear for their safety after thousands of police and paramilitary forces surrounded their coastal village of Idinthakarai. At least 180 people have already been detained in ...

Further information on UA 292/11 SYRIA - TWO MEN RELEASED, FATE OF OTHERS UNKNOWN

  SYRIA   Muhammad Yassin Al Hamwi and Shaker al-Masri have been released. They had been detained incommunicado since their arrest on 23 September 2011. Muhammad Muhammad Al Hamwi and Ahmad Kuraitem, also arrested the same day, and Abd al-Akram al-Sakka, held since 15 July, remain subjected to enforced disappearance. ...

UA 86/12 SYRIA - FEARS FOR SYRIAN HUMAN RIGHTS LAWYER

  SYRIA   Human rights lawyer Abdullah al-Khalil is being held in incommunicado detention at an unknown location where he is at risk of torture and other ill-treatment. He has not been seen since he was arrested on a street in al-Raqqa, eastern Syria, on 3 February.   Abdullah al-Khalil, ...

UA 87/12 IRAN - EXECUTION FEARS FOR KURD POLITICAL PRISONER

  IRAN   Habibollah Golparipour, a member of Iran's Kurdish minority on death row, has been transferred to Semnan Prison, northern Iran. His family have not been allowed to visit him since his transfer, and he may be at imminent risk of execution.   Habibollah Golparipour was arrested on 27 ...

UA 90/12 COLOMBIA - PARAMILITARIES THREATEN SON OF DEFENDER

  COLOMBIA   David Rabelo Gutiérrez, the son of a human rights defender who is on trial, has received an email, signed by paramilitaries, that declares him a military target.   David Rabelo Gutiérrez received an email on 8 March, signed by the paramilitary organization United Self-Defence Groups of Colombia ...

UA 89/12 MEXICO - INDIGENOUS PEOPLE ATTACKED, THREATENED

  MEXICO   Community leader and human rights defender Bernardo Vásquez Sánchez was shot dead on 15 March. His brother and cousin, also members of the community organization defending their land and rights against a mining company were also injured. The organization sufferedseveral previous threats and there is fear of ...

UA 88/12 AZERBAIJAN - YOUTH ACTIVISTS BEATEN, RISK POLICE TORTURE

  AZERBAIJAN   Three youth activists have been beaten in police custody, and are at risk of torture. They were arrested while performing at a peaceful protest in the capital, Baku, after one of them swore about the President's family. They are now detained incommunicado.   Several youth organizations held ...

Further information on UA 347/09 IRAN - IRANIAN HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST SENTENCED

  IRAN   Kouhyar Goudarzi, a member of the Committee for Human Rights Reporters (CHRR), was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment on 7 March, to be served in Zabol, eastern Iran. He is a prisoner of conscience. His mother, Parvin Mokhtare, was released from prison on 18 March.   On ...

Further information on UA 348/11 BELARUS - TWO MEN EXECUTED IN BELARUS

  BELARUS   Dzmitry Kanavalau and Uladzslau Kavalyou have been executed in Belarus. The authorities should now release the bodies of the two men to their families for burial.   On 17 March, Lubou Kavalyou, the mother of Uladzslau Kavalyou received a letter by post from the Supreme Court dated ...

UA 85/12 SERBIA - ROMA FAMILIES AT IMMEDIATE RISK OF EVICTION

  SERBIA   Around 1500 Roma people are at risk of being forcibly evicted from their homes in Belvil, an informal settlement in Belgrade, Serbia's capital, at any time from 19 March. They have not been given information about resettlement and may be resettled in inadequate conditions or left homeless. ...

Further information on UA 18/12 COLOMBIA - FAMILY TARGETED BY PARAMILITARIES

  COLOMBIA   A member of a family previously targeted by paramilitaries in northern Colombia has survived an attempt on his life. His life, and the lives of his relatives, are at risk.   On 11 March, Hernando José Verbel Ocón drove his motorbike from the central square of San ...

UA 80/12 SYRIA - DISAPPEARANCE OF SYRIAN KURD STUDENT ACTIVIST

  SYRIA   Student activist, Jaqar Khoen Mullah Ahmed, a member of Syria’s Kurdish minority, has not been seen since 3 March. There are fears he may have been arrested by the security forces. If so, with the security forces denying he is in their custody, he has been subjected ...

UA 84/12 SUDAN - SUDANESE ACTIVIST AND TEACHER DETAINED

  SUDAN   On 15 March, Jalila Khamis Koko, a teacher and member of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), was taken from her home in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan. She is being detained incommunicado and is at serious risk of torture or other forms of ill-treatment.   Jalila ...

UA 83/12 COLOMBIA - HUMAN RIGHTS LAWYER AT RISK

  COLOMBIA   Paramilitaries have offered a bounty for the killing of Colombian human rights lawyer José Humberto Torres, a member of the Political Prisoners Solidarity Committee (Comité de Solidaridad con los Presos Políticos, CSPP). His life is at risk, along with those of other CSPP members.   Paramilitaries and ...

Further Information on UA 348/11 BELARUS - TWO COULD BE EXECUTED IN DAYS IN BELARUS

  BELARUS   Two men on death row in Belarus, Dzmitry Kanavalau and Uladzslau Kavalyou, are likely to be executed within the next few days. The President has denied clemency to both men.   Dzmitry Kanavalau and Uladzslau Kavalyou were sentenced to death on 30 November, following a trial that ...

Further information on UA 58/12 RUSSIAN FEDERATION - MAN WHO "DISAPPEARED" MAY BE IN CUSTODY

  RUSSIAN FEDERATION   Rustam Aushev, not seen since 17 February, may have been detained by security service officials. His whereabouts are still unknown, and his life may be in danger.   Rustam Aushev, a 23-year-old resident of Ingushetia, was seen on 17 February 2012 being detained by men in ...

Further information on UA 69/12 BAHRAIN - KUWAITI TEENAGER HELD IN BAHRAIN RELEASED

  BAHRAIN   Kuwaiti teenager Ali Feifel Sahad al-Ali was released on 14 March 2012, after he was sentenced to one month in prison. He returned to Kuwait with his family the same day.   On 14 March 2012 Ali Feifel Sahad al-Ali, an 18-year-old Kuwaiti national, was sentenced to ...

Further information on UA 71/12 ISRAEL/OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES - PALESTINIAN HUNGER STRIKER

  ISRAEL/OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES   Hana Shalabi's detention order has been reduced to four months, but an Israeli military judge has yet to rule on her appeal. She has been on hunger strike since her arrest over three weeks ago. Her health is deteriorating.   Following a judicial review on ...

Further information on UA 25/12 MEXICO - INDIGENOUS RIGHTS ACTIVIST FACING UNFAIR TRIAL

  MEXICO   On 15 March, the case of Maximino García Catarino will go to a Mexican appeal court to challenge his committal to trial on a charge of murder. He is a human rights defender belonging to the Na Savi Indigenous people. His detention and prosecution may be politically ...

Further information on UA 329/11 MEXICO - NEW BREAK-IN AT WOMEN'S RIGHTS ORGANIZATION

  MEXICO   The offices of Mexican women's rights organization Consorcio Oaxaca have been broken into again, and the staff have been threatened. Their human rights work for women could be put at risk.   Consorcio Oaxaca staff went to work on 3 March, and found that their office had ...

Further information on UA 296/11 BAHRAIN - BAHRAINI MEDICS' APPEAL RESUMES

  BAHRAIN   The trial of 20 health professionals resumed on 8 March 2012. Their travel bans have not been lifted and their allegations of torture still have not been independently investigated. Their lawyers are complaining about the difficulty of mounting an adequate defence.   The appeal hearing of 20 ...

UA 78/12 HONDURAS - JOURNALIST THREATENED

  HONDURAS   Journalist Mavis Ethel Cruz has received a telephone death threat at her home in Honduras. Her life is in danger.   Mavis Ethel Cruz is a journalist based in the northern city of San Pedro Sula, where she hosts the daily radio programme "News by the Hour" ...

UA 77/12 IRAN - FIVE ARAB MEN AT IMMINENT RISK OF EXECUTION

  IRAN   Five members of Iran’s Ahwazi Arab minority, including three brothers, their cousin and another man are at imminent risk of execution in public, after their death sentences were upheld by the Supreme Court. The sentences may be intended to deter Ahwazi Arabs in Iran from demonstrating on ...

UA 79/12 AZERBAIJAN - POLICE BEAT UP PEACEFUL PROTESTERS

  AZERBAIJAN   Police beat five youth activists during and after a peaceful protest in Azerbaijan's capital, Baku, on 6 March. The protest had been sparked by reports that two prisoners of conscience had been beaten while being moved between prisons, and police dispersed them violently.   Jabbar Savalan and ...

UA 76/12 SYRIA - SYRIAN MAN HELD AFTER MEDIA INTERVIEW

  SYRIA   Syrian man Kamal Saloum has been missing since 11 February 2012 after he gave an interview with Al Jazeera following an earlier demonstration in his hometown of al-Suwayda, south Syria. He is being held incommunicado and there are fears for his health as it is unclear whether ...

Further information on UA 61/12 SUDAN - SUDANESE ACADEMIC RELEASED WITHOUT CHARGE

  SUDAN   Professor Mohamed Zain Al-Abideen was released without charge on 4 March after being held incommunicado in Sudan for 15 days. He believes he was arrested for writing an article in which he criticized Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir.   Mohamed Zain Al-Abideen, the Dean of the College of ...

Further information on UA 16/12 SYRIA - SYRIAN PRO-REFORM ACTIVIST RELEASED

  SYRIA   Pro-reform activist Georges Moubayed was released at the end of January 2012. He had been abducted by a group believed to be linked to the Syrian authorities.   Georges Moubayed, a jeweller aged 62, was abducted after leaving his house in the Jaramana district of the Syrian ...

Further information on UA 53/12 BAHRAIN - THREE BAHRAINI PROTESTERS RELEASED

  BAHRAIN   Three protesters arrested on 14 February 2012 in Bahrain, are among many who have been released on bail. They were arrested during a protest to mark the first anniversary of the beginning of the unrest in Bahrain. Activists Naji Fateel and Abdullah Abdulkarim al-Fardan and blogger Hassen ...

Further information on UA 367/11 INDIA - TAMIL NADU PROTESTORS FACE IMMINENT ARREST

  INDIA   Sixteen people campaigning against a nuclear power plant project in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu face imminent arrest after India’s Prime Minister’s Office alleged that NGOs had illegally diverted funds received from abroad to the protestors.   The protestors are campaigning against a Russian-built nuclear ...

Further information on UA 127/11 ISRAEL/ OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES - ACADEMIC RECEIVES THIRD

  ISRAEL/ OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES   Palestinian academic Ahmad Qatamesh received a new six-month administrative detention order on 1 March. He has been held without charge or trial since 21 April 2011.   Ahmad Qatamesh was given a third administrative detention order on 1 March, the day that his second ...

UA 73/12 USA - CANADIAN ON DEATH ROW IN USA SEEKS CLEMENCY

  USA   A Canadian man on death row in the US state of Montana for a double murder committed in 1982 is seeking clemency, having exhausted his court appeals. His clemency hearing has been set for 2 May, with written submissions to the parole board due by 11 April. ...

Further information on UA 371/11 SAUDI ARABIA - PROTESTERS RELEASED

  SAUDI ARABIA   Around 15 men detained in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia's capital, during a protest held on 16 December have been released. Around 12 were set free without charge after they were reportedly made to sign pledges that they would not participate in protests in the future. The remaining ...

UA 71/12 ISRAEL/ OCUPPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES - PALESTINIAN DETAINEE'S HEALTH AT RISK

  ISRAEL/ OCUPPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES   Palestinian woman Hana Shalabi has been on hunger strike since 16 February 2012 in protest against her detention without charge or trial by the Israeli authorities. They have not yet responded to her lawyer's request to transfer her to a hospital for medical treatment, ...

UA 74/12 IRAN - IRANIAN JOURNALIST HELD ARBITRARILY

  IRAN   Iranian journalist Rahman Ghahremanpour was arrested on 1 June 2011. The legal basis for his arrest is unclear, and he was arrested without a warrant. He is believed be held in Tehran’s Evin Prison since his arrest, placing him at risk of torture or other ill-treatment.   ...

UA 75/12 EQUATORIAL GUINEA - HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER FALSELY ARRESTED

  EQUATORIAL GUINEA   A human rights defender and political activist from Equatorial Guinea has been arrested under false charges because of his human rights work and political activities. Wenceslao Mansogo Alo, a doctor specializing in gynaecology and obstetrics, was arrested on 9 February and accused of mutilating the body ...

Further information UA 46/12 RUSSIAN FEDERATION - ANTI-LGBTI BILL PASSES FINAL HEARING

  RUSSIAN FEDERATION   A bill that would severely restrict the right to freedom of expression of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people in St Petersburg, Russia, passed its final hearing on 29 February. It is due to be signed into law by the Governor of St Petersburg ...

UA 72/12 COLOMBIA - HUMAN RIGHTS ORGANISATIONS THREATENED

  COLOMBIA   Paramilitaries have sent death threats to several Colombian human right defenders and organizations, accusing them of being guerrillas. Some, including women's rights NGOs, have been told to leave Bogotá and others have been declared military targets.   On 28 February a death threat was sent to several ...

UA 70/12 MEXICO - SOLDIERS THREATEN MURDER VICTIM'S RELATIVES

  MEXICO   An Indigenous man was fatally shot by soldiers on 3 February: his relatives have been threatened to stop them calling for justice. Their lives are in danger.   According to eyewitnesses, soldiers shot a 27-year-old Indigenous Tepehuan man in the head on 3 February. Carmen Puerta Carrillo ...

UA 67/12 SYRIA - SYRIAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS AND OTHERS STILL HELD

  SYRIA   Syrian staff at the Syrian Centre for Media and Freedom of Expression, as well as a visitor to the centre, have been held incommunicado since their arrest on 16 February. They are believed to be held at the Air Force Security branch in Damascus. They may be ...

Further information on UA 60/12 CUBA - JOSÉ DANIEL FERRER GARCIA RELEASED

  CUBA   José Daniel Ferrer Garcia, who was detained on 21 February, was released without charge on 24 February.   Former prisoner of conscience José Daniel Ferrer Garcia told Amnesty International how he had been arrested in Havana on 21 February and held in police custody. He was transferred ...

UA 69/12 BAHRAIN - TEENAGER ARRESTED, RISKS TORTURE

  BAHRAIN   A Kuwaiti teenager arrested in Bahrain on 12 February 2012 is currently held in a police station in Bahrain and faces criminal charges. He said police beat him when he was arrested. He may be at risk of further torture or other ill-treatment.   Ali Feifel Sahad ...

UA 68/12 DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF KOREA - FEARS FOR FORCIBLY RETURNED NORTH KOREANS

  DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF KOREA   At least nine North Koreans have reportedly been forcibly returned from China to North Korea where they are at serious risk of arbitrary detention, torture and other ill-treatment, enforced disappearance, forced labour, and death. Other North Koreans currently detained in China are also ...

UA 66/12 HONDURAS - TWO HONDURAN ACTIVISTS RECEIVE DEATH THREAT

  HONDURAS   Two human rights activists in the Lower Aguán region in Honduras received a death threat on 22 February.   Wilfredo Paz is the spokesperson of the Permanent Observatory of Human Rights in the Aguán (Observatorio Permanente de Derechos Humanos del Aguán), a group that monitors human rights ...

Further information on UA 62/12 MEXICO - MEXICAN HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER RELEASED

  MEXICO   Mexican human rights defender Lucila Bettina Cruz Velázquez was released on bail on 24 February. The charges against her remain and she is at risk of an unfair trial.   On 24 February, at around 00:30, Lucila Bettina Cruz Velázquez was released on bail, following a court ...

UA 65/12 USA - ALABAMA SETS EXECUTION OF 70-YEAR-OLD MAN

  USA   Thomas Arthur, aged 70, is scheduled to be executed in the US state of Alabama on 29 March for a murder committed in 1982. He has been on death row for more than 25 years.   On 1 February 1982, police were called to the home in ...

Further information on UA 21/12 SUDAN - STUDENT ACTIVIST RELEASED WITHOUT CHARGE

    SUDAN   Sudanese student Taj Alsir Jaafar was released without charge on 23 February 2012 after being detained by the Sudanese National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) for almost two months. It is believed he was arrested for participating in student protests, including a peaceful sit-in at Khartoum ...

UA 64/12 TURKEY - TURKISH HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER imprisoned

    TURKEY   Human rights defender Halil Savda was detained at 6am on 24 February while visiting the district of Doğubeyazıt in eastern Turkey. He is now in prison there, and has been ordered to serve a 100-day prison sentence handed down in 2008, for speaking publicly about his ...

UA 63/12 BRAZIL - COMMUNITY THREATENED AND AT RISK OF EVICTION

    BRAZIL   Forty families from the Rio dos Macacos community in Brazil are being repeatedly threatened by naval officers who are trying to force them off their lands. The officers have destroyed houses and threatened community members at gunpoint.   Around 40 families in the municipality of Simões ...

Further information on UA 323/11 SERBIA - FAMILIES AT RENEWED RISK OF EVICTION

    SERBIA   Thirty-three families, including Roma displaced from Kosovo, could be forcibly evicted from their homes in Belgrade, Serbia's capital, at any time from 1 March. Some of the families have been offered accommodation that does not meet international standards on adequate housing, while others will be left ...

UA 62/12 Mexico - MEXICAN HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER ARRESTED

    MEXICO       Mexican human rights defender Lucila Bettina Cruz Velázquez was arrested on 22 February. The information available suggests that she is the target of unfounded criminal charges and detention in reprisal for defending the rights of Indigenous people.   On 22 February agents from the ...

Further information on UA 7/12 Cambodia - DETAINED VICTIMS OF FORCED EVICTION ESCAPE

    CAMBODIA   The women and six children who were arbitrarily detained at Prey Speu Social Affairs Center in Phnom Penh, Cambodia escaped the facility on 18 January. They had been arrested during a peaceful protest about the forced eviction of the Borei Keila community and detention of eight ...

UA 60/12 CUBA - EX PRISONER OF CONSCIENCE BELIEVED DETAINED

    CUBA   Former prisoner of conscience José Daniel Ferrer García’s whereabouts are unknown following his alleged arrest in central Havana, Cuba, on 21 February.   Former prisoner of conscience José Daniel Ferrer García, who is on conditional release from prison, is believed to have been re-arrested in central ...

UA 61/12 SUDAN - ACADEMIC DETAINED IN SUDAN

    SUDAN   On 20 February Professor Mohamed Zain Al-abideen, who holds dual British and Sudanese citizenship, was arrested by the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) in the city of Omdurman, Sudan. His arrest took place immediately after the publication of an article in which he criticized Sudanese ...

Further information on UA 31/12 Israel/OPT - HUNGER STRIKER TO BE DETAINED UNTIL APRIL

      Israel/Occupied Palestinian Territories   An Israeli Supreme Court hearing on 21 February on Palestinian hunger striker Khader Adnan’s appeal against his administrative detention was cancelled. He will remain in detention until 17 April. He has ended his hunger strike but his life remains in danger.   On ...

Further information on UA 307/11 - EXECUTION FEARS GROW FOR IRANIAN KURDS

    IRAN   Two members of Iran’s Kurdish minority, Zaniar Moradi and Loghman Moradi, could be executed at any time. Their death sentences have been sent to the Office for the Implementation of Sentences, a body within the Judiciary, which is the final step before being called for execution. ...

Further information on UA 44/12 BURUNDI - ACTIVIST RELEASED IN BURUNDI

    BURUNDI   Faustin Ndikumana, President of the Burundian organization Words and Action for the Awakening of Conscience and the Evolution of Mindsets (PARCEM), was released on 21 February, after two weeks in custody. He was also fined 1,000,000 Burundian francs ($775 US). He had alleged that magistrates bribe ...

UA 57/12 Zimbabwe - NGO BAN PUTS LIVES UNDER THREAT IN ZIMBABWE

    ZIMBABWE   The work of 29 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) is at risk of being halted in Masvingo, Zimbabwe, after an announcement by the local governor ordering the suspension of their operations. Many of these organizations work with people living with HIV/AIDS or provide relief to residents affected by ...

Further information on UA 21/12 Sudan - CALLER CLAIMS STUDENT ACTIVIST HAS DIED

    SUDAN   On 20 February, the mother of detained student activist Taj Alsir Jaafar received an anonymous phone call stating that her son had died. The Sudanese National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) have refused to confirm this information. He has been on hunger strike since 11 February ...

Further information on UA 29/12 Ukraine - DETAINED ASYLUM-SEEKERS STOP HUNGER STRIKE

    UKRAINE       The strike, held in protest by the group of Somali asylum-seekers and migrants, against their illegal detention and alleged ill-treatment, lasted for six weeks. The strike was halted by the group on 17 February after they received assurances from the State Migration Service that ...

Further information on UA 343/2011 Syria - SYRIAN ACTIVIST RELEASED FROM DETENTION

  SYRIA Syrian man Ahmed Andora was released on 27 January 2012 after almost four months in detention. A local contact told Amnesty International that Ahmed Andora was released in the early hours of 27 January 2012. He was not taken before a judge and no charges were brought against ...

UA 59/12 Saudi Arabia - SAUDI "DAY OF RAGE" PROTESTER TO GO ON TRIAL

    SAUDI ARABIA   The only man to demonstrate on the “Day of Rage” in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on 11 March 2011, is scheduled to stand trial on 22 February. Amnesty International considers him to be a prisoner of conscience, held solely for peacefully exercising his rights to freedom ...

Further information on UA 365/11 Bahrain - WOMAN ACTIVIST RELEASED IN BAHRAIN

    BAHRAIN   Zainab al-Khawaja was released on 20 February after having been arrested on 12 February for participating in a protest. She was charged with "illegal gathering".   Zainab al-Khawaja, a Bahraini activist, was arrested on 12 February 2012 while she was participating in a march towards the ...

Further information on UA 47/12 Bangladesh - AUTHORITIES TOLD TO RESPOND ABOUT DETAINEES

  BANGLADESH   Two student opposition activists in Bangladesh, Al Mukaddas and Mohammad Waliullah, are still missing after they were allegedly detained by security forces on 4 February. On 15 February a court ordered the government to respond by 7 March to allegations that the two men had been illegally ...

UA 58/12 Russian Federation YOUNG MAN DISAPPEARED IN NORTH CAUCASUS

    RUSSIAN FEDERATION     On 17 February, a man was forcibly disappeared at a railway station in the North Caucasus, en route from Russia to Belarus. His family has reportedly seen CCTV footage of him being taken away and believes he has been abducted by members of security ...

UA 40/12 Uganda - ANTI-HOMOSEXUALITY BILL IS RE-TABLED IN UGANDA

    UGANDA'   A bill which institutionalizes discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people has been re-tabled in the Ugandan Parliament. It could be debated and passed into law in the next month. On 7 February 2012, the Anti-Homosexuality Bill was re-tabled in the Parliament of Uganda. The ...

UA 55/12 Iran - WEB PROGRAMMER AT RISK OF EXECUTION IN IRAN

      IRAN     Web programmer Saeed Malekpour could be executed at any time in Iran. His death sentence was confirmed by the Supreme Court on 17 January 2012 and a court official has indicated that his death sentence may have now been sent for implementation.   Saeed ...

UA 54/12 Mexico - HUMAN RIGHTS CENTRE RAIDED IN MEXICO

  MEXICO   The offices of Juan Gerardi Human Rights Centre, in Torreón, Coahuila, in north-eastern Mexico have been raided by military and police personnel. The Human Rights Defenders working there may be at risk of further harassment.   On the evening of 9 February, members of the military as ...

UA 56/12 Egypt- DETAINED PROTESTOR IN EGYPT ILL-TREATED

      EGYPT   On 6 February 2012 George Ramzi Nakhla was arrested after taking part in a protest in Cairo. He has reportedly been ill-treated while in detention and has not received adequate medical treatment. Amnesty International fears George Ramzi Nakhla may be a prisoner of conscience arrested ...

UA 53/12 Bahrain - DETAINED ACTIVISTS AT RISK IN BAHRAIN

      BAHRAIN   Scores of activists were arrested on 14 February 2012 at a protest to mark the first anniversary of the beginning of the unrest in Bahrain. Dozens remain in detention and are at risk of torture and other ill-treatment. Several were badly beaten during their arrest. ...

Further information on UA 346/11 Bahrain - 14 MANAMA PROTESTORS RELEASED

    BAHRAIN   On 14 February 2012 a judge ordered the release of 14 people who had been serving six-month sentences for taking part in an "illegal gathering" among other charges. The 14 have been released on bail, and are now waiting for a final decision from the Court of ...

Further information on Syria - BROTHER OF KILLED SYRIAN ACTIVIST AT RISK

      SYRIA     Hazem Taisir Mattar, brother of killed Syrian activist Ghayath Mattar, has been missing from his hometown of Daraya, Syria, since 7 February. There are fears he may have been arrested and is now held in secret detention in conditions amounting to enforced disappearance. If ...

Further information on UA 24/12 Bahrain - NASER BADER AL-RAAS FOUND NOT GUILTY

    BAHRAIN   A Canadian sentenced last October in Bahrain to five years in prison for taking part in anti-government protests has now been found not guilty on appeal.   Naser Bader al-Raas, a Canadian national of Kuwaiti origin sentenced to five years in prison for inciting hatred towards ...

Further information on UA 36/12 USA - EXECUTED AFTER THREE DECADES ON DEATH ROW

    USA   Robert Waterhouse was executed in Florida in the evening of 15 February. Aged 65, he had been on death row for half his life, for a murder committed in January 1980.   In September 1980, 33-year-old Robert Waterhouse was sentenced to death for the first-degree murder ...

UA 50/12 Saudi Arabia - THREE MEN AT RISK OF EXECUTION IN SAUDI ARABIA

    SAUDI ARABIA Three foreign nationals convicted of drugs related offences are at risk of execution in Saudi Arabia against the backdrop of an upsurge of executions since the beginning of 2012. Two other men were executed on 14 February for similar offences. Ali Agirdas, a Turkish national, and ...

UA 51/12 Sri Lanka - MAN ABDUCTED DAYS BEFORE COURT HEARING

    SRI LANKA Ramasamy Prabaharan, a Tamil businessman who brought a case against Sri Lankan police for torture, unlawful arrest and detention was abducted on 11 February at his home in Colombo, Sri Lanka, by armed men.  He was due to appear in court on 13 February. There are fears for ...

UA 49/12 Malawi - CRITICAL LAWYER GRANTED BAIL THEN REARRESTED

    MALAWI   Former Malawian Attorney General, Ralph Kasambara, a lawyer and prominent critic of the government, was arrested on 13 February at his office in Blantyre. He was charged with assault and released on bail on 15 February. Hours later he was rearrested at his home by armed ...

UA 52/12 China - NORTH KOREANS FACING FORCIBLE RETURN

      CHINA   The Chinese authorities are preparing to forcibly return at least 21 people to North Korea, where they would be at serious risk of torture and other ill-treatment, forced labour and death. Any attempt to return them to North Korea, where they are at risk of ...

Further information on UA 31/12 Israel/Occupied Palestinian Territories - HUNGER STRIKER'S DETENTION

   Israel/Occupied Palestinian Territories    An Israeli military court has rejected Palestinian hunger striker Khader Adnan’s appeal against his administrative detention, which will now continue until 8 May. He has been on hunger strike since 18 December. His life is in immediate danger.   On 13 February 2012, an Israeli ...

Further information on UA 32/12 Albania – ROMA FAMILIES OBTAIN TEMPORARY ACCOMODATION

    ALBANIA   On 12 February, nine Romani families from the Babrru tent site moved from the Albanian Ombudsperson’s Office - where they had taken shelter after leaving Babrru - to the premises of the Romani Baxt Albania (RBA, Albanian Romani Association) in Tirana.   According to the Albanian ...

Further information on UA: 294/11 BRAZIL - COMMUNITY GET TEMPORARY REPRIEVE

    BRAZIL   The Laranjeira Ñhanderu community have been given permission to remain on their ancestral lands while an appeal against their eviction order is considered.   On 6 February, the Third Regional Federal court in São Paulo, hearing an appeal against the eviction order against the Laranjeira Ñhanderu ...

Further information UA: 43/12 Nigeria - FORCED EVICTION HALTED

      NIGERIA   The planned demolition of the Railway Quarter in Port Harcourt was halted by the state authorities after pressure from the community, local NGOs and Amnesty International. The demolition of the Railway Quarter in Port Harcourt that was expected to take place on 13 February was ...

UA 48/12 SAUDI ARABIA - MAN MIGHT FACE DEATH PENALTY FOR TWEETS

    SAUDI  ARABIA Saudi Arabian national Hamza Kashgari risks being charged of apostasy, punishable by death, for remarks he posted on Twitter. He was forcibly returned to Saudi Arabia on 12 February from Malaysia, after he had left the country amid death threats for the posts. He is now ...

UA 47/12 BANGLADESH - STUDENT ACTIVISTS AT RISK OF TORTURE

  BANGLADESH   Two student opposition activists in Bangladesh, Al Mukaddas and Mohammad Waliullah, have been missing since 4 February. Eyewitnesses saw them being detained by Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and the Detective Branch (DB) of the Bangladesh Police in Savar, north of the capital, Dhaka. The RAB have denied ...

Further information on UA 365/11 BAHRAIN - WOMAN ACTIVIST RE-ARRESTED IN BAHRAIN

      BAHRAIN   Zainab al-Khawaja was arrested on 12 February for participating in a protest and has been charged with “illegal gathering”. She is currently in detention. Amnesty International is calling for her immediate release and considers her to be a prisoner of conscience.   Zainab al-Khawaja, a ...

Further information on UA 38/12 CUBA - SCREENING POSTPONED AS BLOGGER DENIED EXIT

  CUBA   Following the Cuban authorities´ refusal to grant Cuban blogger Yoani Sánchez permission to travel to Brazil to attend a documentary screening on freedom of expression, the documentary-maker has decided to postpone its showing so that she can attend at a later date.   The Brazilian documentary-maker Dado ...

Further information on UA 37/12 SUDAN - SUDANESE YOUTH ACTIVISTS RELEASED

    SUDAN   The six members of the student-led movement Girifna who were arrested on 25 January have been released from Kober prison in Khartoum, Sudan. Some of the relatives of the students have sent their thanks to Amnesty International activists for their efforts.   Amar Dirar, Nagi Musa, ...

UA 41/12 PAKISTAN - MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR BLASPHEMY

  PAKISTAN         A Pakistani man, Muhammad Ishaq, who lives in New York State, USA, has been sentenced to death for blasphemy in Pakistan.   A district court in Punjab province upheld Muhammad Ishaq's death sentence, which had been handed down to him in July 2009 by ...

UA 45/12 SAUDI ARABIA - THREE AT RISK OF IMMINENT EXECUTION

    SAUDI ARABIA     Three men may be at imminent risk of execution in Saudi Arabia for drugs offences. They have exhausted all their appeals and could be executed in the coming days.   Saudi Arabian nationals Qassem bin Rida bin Salman al-Mahdi, Khaled bin Muhammad bin Issa ...

UA 44/12 BURUNDI - FREE ACTIVIST WHO SPOKE OUT

  BURUNDI   Anti-corruption activist Faustin Ndikumana was arrested on 7 February and charged with making "false declarations". He had alleged that some magistrates had got their posts by bribing officials in the Ministry of Justice.   Faustin Ndikumana is President of Words and Action for the Awakening of Conscience ...

UA 46/12 RUSSIAN FEDERATION - FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION AT RISK IN RUSSIA

  RUSSIAN FEDERATION   The right to freedom of expression of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people in the Russian city of St Petersburg could be severely restricted if a new bill is passed into law. The bill is due to have its third hearing in the city's ...

UA 43/12 NIGERIA - HUNDREDS AT RISK OF FORCED EVICTION

NIGERIA     Hundreds of people are facing forced eviction from their homes in Port Harcourt after the Governor of Rivers State told their community their homes would be demolished. Some 15 buildings had already been demolished, leaving over 100 people homeless.   The Governor of Rivers State visited residents ...

Further information on UA 31/12 ISRAEL/OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES - PALESTINIAN HUNGER STRIKER

  ISRAEL/OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES   Palestinian Khader Adnan’s life is in danger as he continues his hunger strike in protest against his detention. On 7 February an Israeli military judge confirmed his four-month administrative detention order, which allows him to be held without charge or trial.   Khader Adnan was ...

UA 42/12 COLOMBIA - ATTEMPTED KILLING BY PARAMILITARIES

  COLOMBIA   A man from the Peace Community of San Jose de Apartado, Jesus Emilio Tuberquia, was shot at by two paramilitaries in the northern town of Apartado on 4 February.   Two paramilitaries on a motorbike approached Jesus Emilio Tuberquia, the legal representative of the Peace Community of ...

Further information on UA 247/10 YEMEN - HASSAN BA'OOM RELEASED

  YEMEN   Hassan Ba'oom, leader of a political opposition group in southern Yemen, was released without charge along with his son Fawaz Ba'oom on 7 December 2011. They had been detained incommunicado since 20 February 2011.   Hassan Ba'oom, who is in his seventies, was arrested along with his ...

Further information on UA 357/11 CHINA - FALUN GONG MAN CLOSE TO DEATH

  CHINA   Falun Gong practitioner, Zhou Xiangyang, is said to be close to death in prison hospital. He is on a hunger strike and urgently needs to be released on medical parole.   Zhou Xiangyang has been held in the Gangbei Prison in Tianjin City, north of Beijing since ...

UA 39/12 PANAMA - FEARS FOR PROTESTORS AFTER TWO KILLED

  PANAMA   Two protestors were killed and reportedly over 40 people injured when police dispersed a protest by Indigenous Peoples in Panama on 5 February. Protests are likely to continue across the country and there are fears that excessive force may be used by State security forces.   On ...

UA 38/12 CUBA - CUBAN BLOGGER DENIED EXIT FROM COUNTRY

  CUBA   Cuban authorities have refused blogger Yoani Sánchez permission to travel to Brazil to attend a documentary screening on freedom of expression. Amnesty International believes that this refusal is a punitive measure in response to her outspoken criticism of civil and political rights in Cuba.   Cuban blogger ...

Further information on UA 12/12 USA - NO CLEMENCY IN LIFE WITHOUT PAROLE CASE

  USA   Christi Cheramie was sentenced at the age of 16 to life in prison without the possibility of parole. She has been denied clemency by the Louisiana Board of Pardons and must wait seven years before she is permitted to submit a further application for clemency.   On ...

Further information on UA 24/12 BAHRAIN - CANADIAN IN BAHRAIN RELEASED ON BAIL

  BAHRAIN   A Canadian imprisoned in Bahrain for taking part in protests was released on bail on 6 February 2012. His charges have not been dropped and he has a hearing on 16 February. Amnesty International calls for all the charges against him to be dropped.   Naser Bader ...

Further information on UA 349/11 MEXICO - HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER KNIFED AT HOME

  MEXICO   On 3 February, Norma Andrade was attacked with a knife by an unknown man at her home in Mexico City. There are grave fears for her safety and that of her colleagues and family.   Norma Andrade is one of the founders of Our Daughters Return Home ...

Further information on UA 14/12 COLOMBIA - HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS THREATENED

  COLOMBIA   Members of the Regional Human Rights Corporation (CREDHOS) in Barrancabermeja, Colombia, have received new death threats from paramilitaries.   On 1 February, Wilfran Cadena, vice-president of the Regional Human Rights Corporation (Corporación Regional para la Defensa de los Derechos Humanos, CREDHOS) arrived at CREDHOS's office in Barrancabermeja, ...

UA 37/12 SUDAN - SIX YOUTH ACTIVISTS DETAINED

  SUDAN   Six members of the student-led movement Girifna were arrested on 25 January, after taking part in a public forum on human rights. They are at risk of torture and other ill-treatment.   Amar Dirar, Nagi Musa, Gazi Eltayeb, Mohamed Mahjoub, Sharif Kamal and Omar Hamid took part ...

UA 35/12 TURKMENISTAN - FORMER PRISONER UNABLE TO GET MEDICAL CARE

  TURKMENISTAN   Geldy Kyarizov, a horse breeder who used to work for the government of Turkmenistan but fell out of favour with the authorities, is in very poor health and needs urgent specialist medical treatment abroad. However, he and his family members are reportedly on a ‘black list’ and ...

UA 36/12 USA - THREE DECADES ON DEATH ROW, EXECUTION SET

  USA   A 65-year-old man is scheduled to be executed in the US state of Florida on 15 February for a murder committed in January 1980. He has been on death row for half of his life.   In September 1980, 33-year-old Robert Waterhouse was sentenced to death for ...

UA 33/12 SYRIA - FEARS FOR MISSING SYRIAN MAN

  SYRIA   Syrian farmer Hussam Ahmed al-Nabulsi was arrested by members of the Syrian Military Intelligence on his way to work in the coastal town of Banias, on 31 December 2011. He has been held incommunicado at an unknown location since then. There are grave concerns that he is ...

UA 32/12 ALBANIA - STOP FORCED EVICTIONS OF ROMA IN ALBANIA

  ALBANIA   Nine homeless Romani families temporarily settled by the Albanian authorities in tents on private land have been threatened with imminent forced eviction. No adequate alternative housing has been offered to these families.   The families are among some 40 Romani families who left the informal settlement near ...

Further information on UA 294/11 BRAZIL - INDIGENOUS COMMUNITY HAVE DAYS TO LEAVE LAND

  BRAZIL   The Laranjeira Ñanderu indigenous community, including over 80 children and 30 elderly people, is at risk of eviction from an area they claim as ancestral lands in Brazil. If evicted, the community will be forced to live on a small plot of land near a highway, without ...

UA 31/12 ISRAEL/OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES - PALESTINIAN HUNGER STRIKER’S LIFE AT RISK

  ISRAEL/OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES   Khader Adnan has been on hunger strike since 18 December 2011 in protest against his administrative detention, a procedure which the Israeli authorities use to detain individuals indefinitely without charge or trial.   Israeli soldiers arrested Khader Adnan from his house in Arrabe village in ...

UA 30/12 CHAD - FAMILIES EVICTED DESPITE PROMISES FROM MAYOR

CHAD Over 670 people have been forcibly evicted and their homes destroyed in N’Djamena, the capital of Chad, to enable the construction of a hotel to take place. This is despite reassurances from the local Mayor that they would be allowed enough time to find alternative accommodation. The former residents ...

Further information on UA 24/12 BAHRAIN - CANADIAN NATIONAL IMPRISONED IN BAHRAIN

  BAHRAIN   Canadian national Naser Bader al-Raas has been imprisoned in Bahrain for taking part in protests in March 2011. Amnesty International considers him to be a prisoner of conscience and calls for his immediate and unconditional release.   Naser Bader al-Raas, a Canadian national of Kuwaiti origin, was ...

Further information on UA 205/11 SUDAN - DETAINED ACTIVIST HAS BEEN TRANSFERRED

SUDAN On 22 January, Sudanese human rights activist Bushra Gamar Hussein Rahma was transferred from Kober prison, Khartoum, into the custody of the Attorney-General. This could signify that he is either due to be released, or charged. It is therefore a crucial time to pressure the authorities. Bushra Gamar Hussein ...

Further information UA 353/11 ZIMBABWE - DETAINED ACTIVISTS RELEASED ON BAIL

ZIMBABWE Three Zimbabwean activists from the Media Monitoring Project Zimbabwe (MMPZ) who were arrested in December 2011 have been released on bail. Two charges against them have now been dismissed by a Magistrate. They continue to face a third charge of “undermining the authority of or insulting President Robert Mugabe”. ...

UA 29/12 UKRAINE - ASYLUM-SEEKERS DETAINED AND ILL-TREATED

UKRAINE Somali and Eritrean asylum-seekers and migrants are on hunger strike in protest against their illegal detention at a Migrant Accommodation Centre in Western Ukraine. They, and detainees from other countries supporting them have been threatened and beaten and are at risk of other ill-treatment. On 30 January, the Migrant ...

Further Information on UA 299/11 BELARUS - WIFE EXPRESSES FEAR FOR ANDREI SANNIKAU

  BELARUS   Belarusian prisoner of conscience, Andrei Sannikau, met with his wife for the first time in three months on 24 January, when he told her that he had been tortured and that he feared for his life.   Opposition presidential candidate, Andrei Sannikau was sentenced to five years ...

Further information on UA 13/12 PHILIPPINES - MISSING MEN BELIEVED TO BE IN POLICE CUSTODY

PHILIPPINES Three men, who have been missing since 3 January, are now believed to be in police custody in an undisclosed location in the Philippines. According to a credible source, intelligence agents apprehended Najir Ahung, Rasdie Kasaran and Yusup Mohammad at Manila domestic airport terminal on 3 January, after they ...

UA 27/12 IRAQ - IRAQI WOMEN HELD WITHOUT CHARGE

IRAQ Two women employed by Iraq’s Vice-President’s Office were arrested on 1 January 2012.  Their current whereabouts are not known. The Iraqi authorities issued an arrest warrant against the Vice-President and it is believed they have been arrested in relation to this. Amnesty International fears they are at risk of ...

UA 28/12 HONDURAS - DEATH THREATS AGAINST HONDURAN JOURNALIST

HONDURAS Honduran journalist Gilda Silvestrucci has received death threats by phone. In recent weeks she has been campaigning for justice for Honduran journalists who have been threatened, attacked or killed as a consequence of their work, often exposing human rights violations. Her safety could be at risk. Gilda Silvestrucci is ...

UA 26/12 COLOMBIA - ATTEMPTED KIDNAP OF FEMALE DEFENDER

COLOMBIA On 23 January, an attempted kidnapping took place of Blanca Nubia Diaz in Bogotá, Colombia. She is seeking justice for the rape and killing of her daughter Irina del Carmen Villero Díaz by paramilitaries. On 23 January, in plain daylight, a car followed Blanca Nubia Díaz in Bogotá. A ...

UA 23/12 ISRAEL/OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES - PALESTINIAN LEGISLATOR HELD WITHOUT CHARGE

ISRAEL/OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES The Speaker of the Palestinian parliament, Aziz Dweik, has been placed under administrative detention following his arrest on 19 January. This allows the Israeli authorities to detain him indefinitely without charge or trial. Israeli military officials arrested Aziz Dweik, the Speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), ...

Further information on UA 252/11 SYRIA - SYRIAN REPORTER FREED, NO NEWS OF BROTHER

SYRIA Syrian reporter 'Adel Walid Kharsa was released on 9 January 2011 after over two months in incommunicado detention following his arrest in the city of Hama, central Syria, on 31 October 2011. His brother, 'Imad Walid Kharsa, appears to have been subjected to enforced disappearance and is at risk ...

UA 25/12 MEXICO - INDIGENOUS RIGHTS ACTIVIST FACING UNFAIR TRIAL

MEXICO A human rights defender of the Na Savi Indigenous people (known in Spanish as Mixteco), has been arrested by state judicial police in south-western Mexico.  He is in danger of an unfair trial. Maximino Garcia Catarino, a member of the Organization for the Future of the Mixteco People (Organizacion ...

UA 21/12 SUDAN - SUDANESE STUDENT ACTIVIST DETAINED

SUDAN On 30 December 2011, student activist Taj Alsir Jaafar was arrested by security forces in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan. He is being held incommunicado at an unknown location, and is at risk of torture or other ill-treatment. He may be a prisoner of conscience, detained for the peaceful ...

UA 20/12 SYRIA - HEALTH CONCERNS FOR DETAINED SYRIAN ACTIVIST

SYRIA Shibal Ibrahim, a member of Syria's Kurdish minority and a political activist, has been held incommunicado by Syrian security forces since his arrest on 22 September 2011. He is believed to be in poor health, and is at risk of torture and other ill-treatment. He is a prisoner of ...

Further information UA 190/11 GAMBIA - ACTIVISTS JAILED FOR DISTRIBUTING T-SHIRTS

GAMBIA Four activists have been convicted over the distribution of Coalition for Change – The Gambia (CCG) t-shirts calling for an ‘End to Dictatorship Now’ in The Gambia. On 17 January, Dr Amadou Scattred Janneh, the country's former Minister for Information and Communication, was sentenced to life imprisonment with hard ...

UA 22/12 HONDURAS - HONDURAN HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER AT RISK

HONDURAS A Honduran human rights defender and blogger, based in the capital, Tegucigalpa, has received death threats by phone and text message. Her life could be at risk. Itsmania Pineda Platero is the director of the Asociación Xibalba, an activist organization working on issues of public security and youth rehabilitation ...

Further information on UA 212/11 INDONESIA - FEARS FOR CHURCH CONGREGATION CONTINUE

INDONESIA The congregation of the Taman Yasmin Indonesian Christian Church fear for their safety after they were intimidated by members of radical Islamist groups on 22 January. They are at risk of further intimidation and possible attacks. At about 7am on 22 January, members of two radical Islamist groups – ...

UA 24/12 BAHRAIN - CANADIAN SENTENCED AFTER PROTEST

BAHRAIN A Canadian national in Bahrain had his five-year prison sentence upheld on appeal on 24 January 2012. He was arrested after taking part in protests in March 2011. Amnesty International calls for the charges against him to be dropped. Naser Bader al-Raas, a Canadian national of Kuwaiti origin, was ...

Further information on UA 351/11 MEXICO - DISAPPEARED ACTIVISTS' FAMILIES AT RISK

MEXICO The families of two missing environmental activists in Guerrero state, Mexico, have reported being threatened and followed after making a complaint about the activists' enforced disappearance. They and other relatives are in danger. On 7 December 2011, Eva Alarcón and Marcial Bautista of the Organization of Peasant Environmentalists of ...

Further information on UA 355/11 CUBA - PRISONERS OF CONSCIENCE FREED

CUBA Cuban human right activists Ivonne Malleza Galano and Ignacio Martínez Montejo were released from detention on 20 January, along with Isabel Haydee Álvarez, who was detained after calling on officials to release the two activists. They had been held for 52 days without charge, following their participation in a ...

Further information on UA 14/10 IRAQ - HALT THE EXECUTION OF ELEVEN IRAQI MEN

IRAQ The Iraqi presidency has ratified the sentences of 11 men sentenced to death in 2010 for their alleged involvement in causing bomb explosions in August 2009. They are at risk of imminent execution. The 11 men were sentenced to death on 14 January 2010 by the Central Criminal Court ...

UA 19/12 MEXICO - INTIMIDATION FROM MILITARY ACCUSED OF TORTURE

MEXICO The relatives of three men who have filed complaints for torture while in military custody have been threatened and intimidated by military personnel at their homes in Baja California state, Mexico. Amnesty International fears for their safety. On 13 January 2012, the home of Maria Isabel Reyna Martínez González ...

UA 18/12 COLOMBIA - ATTACK SURVIVOR RECEIVES DEATH THREAT

COLOMBIA Orlando Verbel Rocha's life is in danger. A threat was made against him through the daughter of his deceased brother, Eder Verbel Rocha, who was killed by paramilitaries on 23 March 2011, in San Onofre Municipality, northern Colombia. Orlando Verbel Rocha survived the attack in which his brother was ...

Further Information on UA 355/11 CUBA - CUBA STILL DETAINING PEACEFUL PROTESTORS

CUBA Three people who were involved in a peaceful anti-government protest in Havanna, have now been detained for more than seven weeks without charge. Amnesty International considers them to be prisoners of conscience, detained solely for peacefully exercising their right to freedom of expression. Human rights activists Ivonne Malleza Galano ...

UA 14/12 COLOMBIA - HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER'S LIFE IN DANGER

COLOMBIA Colombian human rights defender Abelardo Sánchez Serrano was threatened by two armed men in the city of Barrancabermeja, Santander Department, Colombia, on 13 January. His life is now in danger. On 13 January, Abelardo Sánchez Serrano, a staff member of the Regional Human Rights Corporation (Corporación Regional para la ...

UA 10/12 CHINA - MACAU RESIDENT AT RISK OF EXECUTION IN CHINA

CHINA A man sentenced to death in China for drugs offences, Lau Fat-wai, is currently having his case reviewed by the Supreme People's Court. If the Supreme People's Court upholds his death sentence, he could be executed within a week of the court's decision. Lau Fat-wai is a resident of ...

UA 16/12 SYRIA - ABDUCTED SYRIAN ACTIVIST AT RISK OF TORTURE

SYRIA Pro-reform activist Georges Moubayed was abducted on 10 January 2012 and remains held at an unknown location by a group believed to be linked to the Syrian authorities. On 12 January, his family received a phone-call in which he said he had been shot in the leg and the ...

UA 15/12 MEXICO - REPRISAL FEARS FOR STUDENTS SEEKING JUSTICE

MEXICO Students who suffered torture and ill-treatment at the hands of state and federal police during a protest in Guerrero state, Mexico, are filing a complaint with federal and state prosecutors. There are fears that the complaint may lead to reprisals against them. On 12 December 2011, two students were ...

UA 13/12 PHILIPPINES - FEAR OF ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCE OF THREE MEN

PHILIPPINES Three men have been missing since 3 January 2012, when they were last seen being taken, reportedly by military intelligence agents, at Manila airport.   After flying in to the Manila domestic airport terminal from Zamboanga City on 3 January, Najir Ahung, Rasbi Kasaran and Yusoph Mohammad were apprehended ...

Further information on UA 5/12 USA - DELAWARE GOVERNOR GRANTS CLEMENCY

USA The Governor of the US state of Delaware has commuted the death sentence of Robert Gattis to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, three days before the prisoner was due to be executed after nearly 20 years on death row. Robert Gattis was scheduled to be put to ...

Further information on UA 342/11 JAPAN - NEW MINISTER SAYS EXECUTIONS SHOULD RESUME

JAPAN OGAWA Toshio, who was appointed Minister of Justice on 13 January, has said that he intends to resume executions. Last year Japan did not carry out any executions, for the first time in 19 years. The estimated 130 death row inmates are now at greater risk of execution. The ...

Further information on UA 1/12 SUDAN - SUDANESE ACTIVIST RELEASED WITHOUT CHARGE

SUDAN Political activist Mohamed Hassan Alim was released without charge on 16 January 2012 after being held incommunicado for 22 days. He was not told why he had been arrested, but believes it was for publicly criticizing a prominent government official. Mohamed Hassan Alim was arrested on 26 December 2011, ...

UA 11/12 MEXICO - DEMAND LAW TO BAN ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCE

MEXICO From 19 January, the state government and legislature of Nuevo León, northern Mexico, are considering a proposed bill to criminalise enforced disappearance. With 50,000 people killed and thousands missing in Mexico since 2006, this is a crucial opportunity to increase the chance of justice for people who are abducted ...

Further information on UA 336/11 CHAD - DANIEL DEUZOUMBE RELEASED

CHAD Human rights defender Daniel Deuzoumbe Passalet was released without charge on 30 December 2011. He returned to N'Djamena, still weak from his hunger-strike. The N'Djamena High Court sat at Moussoro for two days before it released Daniel Deuzoumbe Passalet on 30 December. The judges ruled that there was insufficient ...

Further information on UA 345/11 SYRIA - SYRIAN STUDENT RELEASED AFTER TWO MONTHS

SYRIA Syrian student Suhaib al-Ammar was released without charge on 10 January 2012, following his arrest by Syrian Air Force Intelligence officials on 18 November 2011. On 18 November, 22-year-old Suhaib al-Ammar was travelling from Damascus, the Syrian capital, to the nearby town of Daraya to visit his sister and ...

Further information on UA 5/12 USA - BOARD RECOMMENDS MERCY AS EXECUTION LOOMS

USA The Delaware Board of Pardons has recommended that the state governor commute the death sentence of Robert Gattis to life imprisonment. The Governor has until 20 January, the day of the scheduled execution, to decide if he will accept the recommendation. Robert Gattis, now 49 years old, has been ...

UA 12/12 USA - CRUCIAL DECISION DUE IN LOUISIANA INMATE’S CASE

USA On 23 and 24 January the Louisiana Board of Pardons will decide whether or not to hear the clemency application of Christi Cheramie, a state inmate serving a sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for a crime committed when she was 16. In June 1994, when ...

Further information on UA 296/09 SINGAPORE - YOUNG MAN AT RISK OF EXECUTION IN SINGAPORE

SINGAPORE Yong Vui Kong, a young Malaysian man on death row in Singapore, was fortunately not executed as expected in 2011. On 15 January, friends and activists risked arrest by publicly gathering to mark his upcoming birthday. The election of Singapore's new President provides a fresh opportunity to call for ...

UA 9/12 INDONESIA - SHI'A MUSLIMS AT RISK OF ATTACKS IN INDONESIA

INDONESIA Hundreds of Indonesian Shi'a Muslims have been living in a temporary shelter after their village was attacked by anti-Shi’a groups at the end of December. On 12 January, they were forced back to their village, despite an ongoing risk of further attacks. On 28 December 2011, Shi’a religious leaders ...

Further information on UA 368/11 MALDIVES - CAMPAIGNER FOR RELIGIOUS TOLERANCE RELEASED

MALDIVES A Maldivian activist who was attacked and detained on 10 December 2011 for organising a peaceful protest calling for religious tolerance was released on 6 January. His attackers remain at large. Ismail "Khilath" Rasheed was assaulted by about 10 men opposing a peaceful demonstration he had organized in the ...

UA 8/12 INDIA - ANTI-STEEL PLANT LEADER FACES FALSE CHARGES

                  INDIA On 23 December, Narayan Reddy, a leader of the Communist Party of India in the eastern state of Orissa, was detained after being falsely charged with murder. He has been part of a seven-year campaign against forcible acquisition of common lands for a US$12 billion plant for South ...

UA 7/12 CAMBODIA - VICTIMS OF FORCED EVICTION DETAINED

CAMBODIA Twenty-four women and six children forcibly evicted from the Borei Keila area of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, were arrested on 11 January during a peaceful protest. They are being arbitrarily detained, and are at risk of ill-treatment. The 30 women and children were among a group protesting peacefully in Phnom ...

Further information on UA 340/11 GUATEMALA - FAMILIES DIVIDED AFTER RAID ON COMMUNITY

GUATEMALA Seventy-one members of a Guatemalan community who had sought refuge in Tabasco state, Mexico, have been detained by Mexican authorities and taken to a migrant detention centre. Over 100 members of the community remain in Tabasco state. Those detained include children, and some families have apparently been divided.   ...

Further information on UA 122/11 BAHRAIN - BAHRAIN DEATH SENTENCES QUASHED

BAHRAIN Two Bahraini men's death sentences imposed by a military court were quashed on 9 January. The cases have been sent to a civilian court of appeal. ‘Ali ‘Abdullah Hassan al-Sankis and ‘Abdulaziz ‘Abdulridha Ibrahim Hussain’s death sentences were quashed by the Court of Cassation in Bahrain on 9 January. ...

UA 3/12 IRAN - NEW EXECUTION FEARS FOR SAKINEH MOHAMMADI

IRAN In late December, reports appeared in the Iranian press apparently reiterating that Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, a woman facing execution in Iran, could be executed by hanging instead of stoning. This recent press coverage indicates that she remains at risk of execution, which could be ordered at any time. Sakineh ...

Further information on UA 267/11 SYRIA - BROTHER OF HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST RELEASED

SYRIA Yassin Ziadeh, brother of exiled Syrian human rights activist Radwan Ziadeh, was released from detention on 5 November 2011. 37-year-old businessman Yassin Ziadeh was arrested by members of the Syrian Air Force Intelligence on 30 August 2011 in Daraya, near the Syrian capital of Damascus. His family told Amnesty ...

Further information on UA 50/11 CHINA - CHINESE ACTIVIST SENTENCED TO NINE YEARS

CHINA Chen Wei, an activist detained in February 2011 during a crackdown to prevent "Jasmine Revolution-inspired" demonstrations in China, was sentenced to nine years in prison on 23 December 2011 on charges of “inciting subversion of state power”. Ding Mao was put under residential surveillance on 1 December 2011. Liang ...

UA 6/12 SYRIA - GRAVE FEARS FOR HEALTH OF SYRIAN ACTIVIST

SYRIA Prominent Syrian pro-reform activist Mohamed Anwar Dabbas was taken from a hospital by Syrian security forces after he was seriously injured during a demonstration on 1 January 2012. He has not been heard from since. There is grave concern for his well-being as it is not known whether he ...

UA 5/12 USA - MERCY SOUGHT AS DELAWARE EXECUTION NEARS

USA Robert Gattis is scheduled to be executed in the US state of Delaware on 20 January for a murder committed in 1990. Aged 27 at the time of the crime, he is now 49 after spending almost 20 years on death row. He is seeking commutation of his death ...

UA 4/12 BAHRAIN - STUDENT DETAINED AMID REPORTS OF TORTURE

BAHRAIN Hassan 'Oun, an 18-year-old student accused of illegal public gathering, has allegedly been subjected to tortured and other ill-treatment while in detention in a police station, His brother is in hiding and may also be at risk of torture or other ill-treatment if arrested.   Hassan 'Oun is an ...

UA 1/12 SUDAN - SUDANESE ACTIVIST DETAINED, AT RISK OF TORTURE

SUDAN Political activist and engineer Mohamed Hassan Alim was arrested by the Sudanese National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, on 26 December 2011. He was arrested after publicly criticizing a prominent government official. He is being held incommunicado and is at risk of torture ...

UA 369/11 BRAZIL - SUBSISTENCE FARMERS FACE DEATH THREATS

  BRAZIL   Community leader Jose da Cruz and members of Brazil's Salgado quilombola community of afro-descendant subsistence farmers, in Pirapemas, Maranhao state, have been repeatedly threatened over their longstanding battle for the rights to their land.   Like other Afro-descendent communities in Maranhao, Salgado community have suffered persistent threats ...

Further information on UA 230/11 CHINA - HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST WANG LIHONG RELEASED

  CHINA   Wang Lihong, a human rights activist, has been released. She was released on 20 December from Beijing Chaoyang Detention Centre.   Wang Lihong, a widely-known human rights activist, was released from prison on 20 December after having served her sentence. She is now staying in the suburbs ...

UA 370/11 INDIA - TEENAGER HELD FOR THIRD TIME WITHOUT CHARGE

  INDIA   Eighteen year old Murtaza Manzoor has been held under the Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act by the state police in India since 19 December. He has already been detained twice for a total of four months earlier this year.   Eighteen year-old Murtaza Manzoor has been ...

UA 371/11 SAUDI ARABIA - PROTESTERS DETAINED IN SAUDI ARABIA

  SAUDI ARABIA   Around 15 men are still detained in police stations in the Saudi Arabian capital, Riyadh, following a protest on 16 December. They may be prisoners of conscience, held for the peaceful exercise of their rights to freedom of expression and assembly.   The group of around ...

Further information on UA 365/11 BAHRAIN - WOMEN ACTIVISTS RELEASED BUT CHARGES REMAIN

  BAHRAIN   Zainab al-Khawaja and Ma'suma Sayyid Sharaf were released on 20 December. They had been arrested on 15 December for participating in a protest. However, the charges against them remain and Amnesty International is calling for them to be dropped.   Zainab al-Khawaja and Ma'suma Sayyid Sharaf were ...

Further information on UA 194/11 ISRAEL/OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES

  ISRAEL/OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES   The Israeli army has ordered the demolition of a further 21 homes and other properties in the Bedouin hamlet of Hadidiya in the Jordan Valley. Many of the structures at risk have been rebuilt following demolitions in June. Fifty people, including at least 25 children, ...

UA 368/11 MALDIVES - CAMPAIGNER FOR RELIGIOUS TOLERANCE ARRESTED

  MALDIVES   An activist who organised a peaceful protest in Malé, Maldives, calling for religious tolerance has been arrested following a call from an Islamic party.   Ismail ‘Khilath’ Rasheed organized and took part in what he called a “silent” demonstration calling for religious tolerance in the Maldives. The ...

Further information on UA 320/11 IRAQ - RESIDENTS OF ‘CAMP ASHRAF’ IN IRAQ AT RISK

  IRAQ   Between 400 and 800 Iranian nationals living in a camp in Iraq could be transferred to a new location at the end of this year. Their security could be at risk while they are being moved. Amnesty International is calling on the Iraqi authorities to ensure their ...

UA 367/11 INDIA - PROTESTORS COULD FACE LIFE IMPRISONMENT

  INDIA   At least 16 people campaigning against the construction of a nuclear power plant in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu could be arrested on charges of sedition at any time. If found guilty of these charges, they could be sentenced to life imprisonment. Amnesty International believes ...

Further information on UA 227/11 BAHRAIN - HEALTH FEARS FOR BAHRAINI TEACHER

  BAHRAIN   There are fears for the health of the former president of the Bahrain Teacher’s Association (BTA) Mahdi ‘Issa Mahdi Abu Dheeb following allegations that he was beaten in detention. The next hearing of his appeal and that of former vice-president of the BTA, Jalila al-Salman, is scheduled ...

Further information on UA 358/11 SRI LANKA - CONCERN GROWS FOR SRI LANKAN ACTIVISTS

  SRI LANKA   New information concerning the disappearance of Sri Lankan political activists Lalith Kumara Weeraraju and Kugan Muruganandan indicates that they may be held in official custody. Despite several complaints lodged with local authorities, no credible action has been taken to investigate their disappearance.   Lalith Kumara Weeraraju ...

UA 332/11 SYRIA - FEARS FOR MEN AND CHILD ARRESTED IN SYRIA

  SYRIA   The whereabouts of three men and a child arrested on 27 November in Syria are unknown. They appear to have been subjected to enforced disappearance, and there are fears for their safety, particularly as two of the men have pre-existing medical conditions.   Lawyer Fahd Musa al-Musa, ...

UA 336/11 CHAD - HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER ARRESTED IN CHAD

  CHAD   On 19 December, Daniel Dezoumbe Passalet, president of Human Rights without Borders (Droits de l'Homme Sans Frontières – DHSF), a Chadian human rights organization, was arrested. He has been charged with “false accusation” (dénonciation calomnieuse), in connection to a radio interview on 18 December.   According to ...

Further information on UA 175/10 TURKEY - HEALTH CONCERNS REMAIN FOR CONCIENTIOUS OBJECTOR

  TURKEY   Prisoner of conscience Inan S. was conditionally released from Bal?kesir prison following the suspension of his prison sentence on 9 December 2011. Charges pending against him and delays in the implementation of legal changes on the right to conscientious objection mean he could be returned to prison ...

UA 357/11 CHINA - FALUN GONG MAN AT RISK OF TORTURE IN PRISON

  CHINA   Detained Falun Gong practitioner, Zhou Xiangyang,is on a hunger strike and is at risk of torture and other ill-treatment. Several people were targeted by security forces in November for signing a petition calling for his release.   Zhou Xiangyang has been held in Gangbei Prison in Tianjin ...

UA 365/11 BAHRAIN - WOMEN ACTIVISTS BEATEN, ARRESTED AT PROTEST

  BAHRAIN   Zainab al-Khawaja, an activist whose father has been sentenced to life in prison for his involvement in protests in Bahrain, was arrested on 15 December during a peaceful protest. Video footage shows her being mistreated during the arrest and she has been held since, along with her ...

UA 361/11 COLOMBIA - HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS THREATENED

  COLOMBIA   Members of the National Movement of Victims of State Crimes (MOVICE) and other non-governmental human rights organizations in Northern Colombia have received emailed death threats signed by paramilitaries.   On 9 December members of MOVICE Sucre branch, received an email containing a death threat signed by the ...

UA 364/11 INDIA - DETAINED ORISSA LEADER FACES FALSE CHARGES

  INDIA   On 25 November, Abhay Sahoo, a political leader of the Communist Party of India in the eastern state of Orissa, was detained and falsely charged in order to stop his campaigning. He has led a seven-year-long campaign against forcible acquisition of common lands of local farmers for ...

UA 363/11 SAUDI ARABIA - SAUDI MEN SENTENCED TO AMPUTATION

  SAUDI ARABIA   Six men have been sentenced by the General Court in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to amputation of their right hands and left feet for “highway robbery”. Their sentence was reportedly upheld by a court of appeal in October and is due to be approved at any moment ...

Further information on UA 111/11 UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - ‘UAE FIVE’ PARDONED BY PRESIDENT

  UNITED ARAB EMIRATES   Five activists in the UAE known as the ‘UAE5’, have been pardoned by the President of the UAE. They were sentenced on 27 November for publicly insulting the president and other top officials, but were pardoned the following day. Amnesty International will continue to call ...

UA 324/11 UKRAINE - LAWYER BEATEN FOR DEMANDING TO SEE CLIENT

  UKRAINE   On 17 August lawyer Dmytro Karpenko was detained and tortured by police in Cherkasy, Ukraine, after demanding to see a client. When he complained about his treatment, the police accused him of assaulting them. His trial is on 29 December.   On 17 August Dmytro Karpenko went ...

UA 362/11 SYRIA - ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCE OF SYRIAN MAN

  SYRIA   Forty-four year old Wa’el Khattab was arrested on 14 August during the ongoing popular protests in Syria. He has had no contact with his family since. He appears to have been subjected to an enforced disappearance by the Syrian authorities. His life is in danger.   Wa’el ...

Further information on UA 16/11 MEXICO - FURTHER FEARS FOR SHELTER STAFF AND MIGRANTS

  MEXICO   Staff, volunteers and migrants at the San Juan Diego migrants’ shelter in Lecheria, Mexico state, are at risk of attack after local community members held a protest outside the shelter and demanded its closure. This follows a pattern of intimidation and harassment against the shelter.   Approximately ...

UA 360/11 HONDURAS - ACTIVISTS THREATENED IN HONDURAS

  HONDURAS   On 5 December, two members of the human rights organisation CODEH were threatened by an unknown man in central Tegucigalpa, Honduras.   On 5 December, at approximately 7:15pm, human rights activists Andres Pavón and Cesar Adin Barraza stopped their pickup truck at a drive-through bank in the ...

UA 359/11 RUSSIAN FEDERATION - DETAINEE DENIED ADEQUATE MEDICAL TREATMENT

  RUSSIAN FEDERATION   Sarabi Seyunov, who has been held in pre-trial detention in Nalchik, Russian Federation, since November 2005, has contracted tuberculosis (TB) allegedly due to his deliberate placement with a TB-positive inmate. His condition has rapidly deteriorated while he was being denied adequate treatment, and he can no ...

UA 356/11 RUSSIAN FEDERATION - OPPOSITION LEADER HELD FOR PROTEST ATTEMPT

  RUSSIAN FEDERATION   Russian opposition leader Sergey Udaltsov has been in detention in Moscow since 4 December, solely for attempting to lead peaceful protests against alleged election fraud. He is in need of medical treatment and should be released without delay.   Leader of the political movement Left Front, ...

Further information on UA 355/11 CUBA - ACTIVISTS HELD WITHOUT CHARGE

  CUBA   Human rights activists Ivonne Malleza Galano and her husband Ignacio Martínez Montejo continue to be held without charge since their arrest on 30 November. They were detained for staging a peaceful demonstration in a park in Havana City, Cuba.   Cuban authorities held Ivonne Malleza Galano incommunicado ...

Further information on UA 231/10 SUDAN - ACTIVIST AND JOURNALIST’S CHARGES DROPPED

  SUDAN   On 13 December, charges against human rights activist Abdelrahman Adam Abdelrahman and journalist Jaafar Alsabki Ibrahim were dropped following orders from the Sudanese Minister of Justice.   Darfuri activist Abdelrahman Adam Abdelrahman was arrested on 30 October 2010 and held incommunicado by the Sudanese National Intelligence and ...

UA 358/11 SRI LANKA - FEARS FOR MISSING SRI LANKAN ACTIVISTS

  SRI LANKA   Sri Lankan political activists Lalith Kumara Weeraraju and Kugan Muruganandan have been missing since 9 December. They were arranging a press conference for the following day to publicize a protest. Lalith Kumara Weeraraju’s family received a phone call saying that he had been killed.   Lalith ...

UA 352/11 GUATEMALA - GUATEMALAN COMMUNITIES THREATENED BY MINING

  GUATEMALA   Before 11 January 2012, Guatemala's minister responsible for mining must decide whether to allow a mine in Santa Rosa department, southeastern Guatemala, to begin extracting metals and minerals. Local communities have not been consulted about the plans.   The company planning to carry out the mining, Minera ...

Further information on UA 349/11 MEXICO - DEFENDERS FACING INCREASING THREAT

  MEXICO   Norma Esther Andrade was discharged from hospital on 6 December, even though she had not recovered, because staff treating her received threats. A banner containing a death threat was also hung by the primary school where she works. There are grave fears for her security, and that ...

UA 353/11 ZIMBABWE - HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVISTS HELD DESPITE BAIL ORDER

  ZIMBABWE   Three detained human rights activists from the Media Monitoring Project Zimbabwe had their bail orders suspended by the state on 9 December. This means that they will remain at Gwanda Remand Prison, in Gwanda, Matabeleland South Province for at least a further seven days.   The Media ...

UA 351/11 MEXICO - MEXICAN PEACE ACTIVISTS ABDUCTED AND KILLED

  MEXICO   Two environmental activists have been abducted in Mexico. There is serious concern for their safety. This follows the recent abduction of a local community leader and activist whose body was later found showing signs of torture. All three were supporters of the Movement for Peace with Justice ...

UA 355/11 CUBA - CUBAN ACTIVIST IN INCOMMUNICADO DETENTION

  CUBA   The whereabouts of Cuban human rights activist Ivonne Malleza Galano are unknown after police detained her during a peaceful demonstration on 30 November in Cuba's capital, Havana City. Her husband, Ignacio Martínez Montejo, has also been detained after participating in the same protest.   On 30 November, ...

UA 354/11 EL SALVADOR - DEMAND JUSTICE FOR MASSACRE VICTIMS

  EL SALVADOR   International pressure is growing on the government of El Salvador to ensure justice for the victims of a series of massacres carried out by the armed forces in December 1981. The global attention on the case around the thirtieth anniversary of the killings gives an opportunity ...

Further information on UA 279/11 SUDAN - POET REMAINS IN INCOMMUNICADO DETENTION

  SUDAN   Sudanese activist and poet, Abdelmoniem Rahama, remains in incommunicado detention. He has had no access to a lawyer and his family have not been informed of his location. He is at risk of torture and ill-treatment.   Abdelmoniem Rahama was arrested on 2 September and was seen ...

Further information on UA 122/11 BAHRAIN - EXECUTION DECISION POSTPONED UNTIL 9 JANUARY

  BAHRAIN   Two men's death sentences imposed by a military court in Bahrain will now be ruled on in January. Amnesty International is calling for their execution not to be carried out and for a re-trial in a civilian court.   ‘Ali ‘Abdullah Hassan al-Sankis and ‘Abdulaziz ‘Abdulridha Ibrahim ...

Further information on UA 296/11 BAHRAIN - MEDICS' APPEAL POSTPONED UNTIL 9 JANUARY

  BAHRAIN   The appeal hearing before a civilian court of 20 Bahraini health professionals sentenced by a military court has been postponed until 9 January.   The 20 health professionals were sentenced on 29 September 2011 to between five and 15 years in prison, by a military court, in ...

UA 346/11 BAHRAIN - COURT IN BAHRAIN JAILS 14 FOR PROTESTING

  BAHRAIN   Bahrain's High Criminal Court of Appeal has upheld the six-month prison sentences of 14 people convicted of, among other things, taking part in an "illegal gathering". Amnesty International believes they may be prisoners of conscience.   The High Criminal Court of Appeal in the capital, Manama, upheld ...

Further information on UA 226/10 SUDAN - SUDAN DEATH SENTENCES UPHELD

  SUDAN   Seven prisoners in North Darfur, Sudan, had their death sentences upheld on 29 November. Two of them were under 18 years old at the time of the alleged crime.   The seven prisoners are part of a group of ten people tried by the South Darfur Special ...

UA 350/11 INDIA - DOCTOR AT RISK FOR WARNING OF RADIATION HARM

  INDIA   A community medical doctor from Tamil Nadu in southern India, Dr V Pugazhendhi, is facing detention without charge and trial and death threats from the police, because he has warned people of the harmful health impacts of radiation from nuclear installations.   On the evening of 1 ...

UA 349/11 MEXICO - HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER SHOT IN MEXICO

  MEXICO   Human rights defender Norma Esther Andrade was shot by an unknown gunman at her home in Chihuhua state, northern Mexico on 2 December. There are grave fears for her security, and that of her family and colleagues.   Norma Esther Andrade is one of the founders of ...

UA 348/11 BELARUS - TWO MEN IN BELARUS AT RISK OF EXECUTION

  BELARUS   The Belarusian authorities must not execute Dzmitry Kanavalau and Uladzslau Kavalyou, who were sentenced to death on 30 November, following a trial that has failed to meet international fair trial standards.   Dzmitry Kanavalau has been found guilty of committing terrorist attacks and producing explosives, in connection ...

Further information on UA 103/11 COLOMBIA - MEMBERS OF PEACE COMMUNITY HELD CAPTIVE

  COLOMBIA   On 28 November, members of a Colombian community that asserts its right not to be part of the country's long-running conflict were held captive for several hours by paramilitaries. Members of this Peace Community, in San José de Apartadó in Northern Colombia, are in serious danger.   ...

UA 347/11 MEXICO - CAMPAIGNER'S FAMILY IN DANGER AFTER KILLING

  MEXICO   Peace and justice campaigner Nepomuceno Moreno Núñez was killed on 28 November in the city of Hermosillo in northwestern Mexico. He appears to have been killed after seeking justice for his son, who was subjected to possible enforced disappearance. The family of Nepomuceno Moreno Núñez are in ...

UA 342/11 JAPAN - MINISTER PRESSURED TO CARRY OUT EXECUTIONS

  JAPAN   Thirteen members of the Aum Shinrikyo cult found guilty of carrying out the gas attack in the Tokyo subway in 1995 are at imminent risk of execution. The Japanese Minister of Justice is under pressure from other ministers to carry out executions before 2012. This means the ...

Further information on UA 133/11 AZERBAIJAN - FACEBOOK ACTIVIST HAS APPEAL REJECTED

  AZERBAIJAN   On 29 November Azerbaijan’s Supreme Court upheld the conviction of Jabbar Savalan, a 20 year-old youth activist and prisoner of conscience. He was arrested in February, one day after posting on Facebook calling for protests against the government.   On 4 May 2011, Jabbar Savalan was jailed ...

Further Information UA 322/11 MYANMAR - PRISONERS AT RISK OF ILL-TREATMENT

  MYANMAR   The 15 political prisoners, all men, who started a hunger strike at Insein prison on 26 October, ended their protest on 7 November without achieving their objectives. Recent information suggests that many of the men were denied drinking water during at least some of that period.   ...

UA 345/11 SYRIA - SYRIAN STUDENT AT RISK OF TORTURE IN DETENTION

  SYRIA   Syrian student Suhaib al-Ammar was arrested on 18 November by officials of Air Force Intelligence, one of Syria’s security police agencies, near Daraya, close to the Syrian capital of Damascus. Since then he has been detained incommunicado at an unknown location, prompting serious fears for his safety ...

Further information on UA 312/11 MEXICO - MEXICAN HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS THREATENED

  MEXICO   A new threat has been received by two human rights defenders in Tehuacán, Puebla state, Mexico. This is the third harassment they have faced this year. There is grave fear for their security, and for the safety of their colleagues.   On 24 November 2011, Reyna Ramírez ...

Further information on UA 240/11 BELARUS - HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER SENTENCED

  BELARUS   A court in Minsk, the Belarusian capital, has handed down a sentence of four and a half years to human rights defender Ales Bialiatski. He is a prisoner of conscience, and should be released immediately and unconditionally.   Ales Bialiatski was sentenced on charges of “concealment of ...

Further information on UA 193/11 IRAQ - TWELVE MEN EXECUTED; THREE REMAIN AT RISK

  IRAQ   Three men in Iraq are at risk of execution. Twelve men convicted on the same charges were executed on 24 November 2011.   Twelve alleged members of armed opposition groups were executed in Iraq on 24 November 2011. They included Firas Hassan Fleih al-Juburi, said to be ...

Further information on UA 21/09 SAUDI ARABIA - IRAQI MAN EXECUTED

  SAUDI ARABIA   Muhammad bin Abd Rab al-Amir bin Ali al-Shammari (previously spelled Mohammad Abdul Amir) an Iraqi national aged 36, was arrested in 1995 and charged with the murder of a Saudi Arabian man. He was executed in the town of on Arar, near Saudi Arabia's border with ...

Further information UA 319/11 MYANMAR - U GAMBIRA NEEDS URGENT MEDICAL CARE

  MYANMAR   U Gambira has been transferred from Kale prison, Sagaing Division, to Myaungmya prison, Ayeryawady Division. Myaungmya prison is more than 600 km from Meiktila where U Gambira’s family lives and slightly further away from his family’s home than Kale prison.   U Gambira continues to be in ...

Further information on UA 290/11 SYRIA - SYRIAN ACTIVIST RELEASED

  SYRIA   Syrian activist Ghassan Yasin was released from detention on 10 November. He had been held since 18 August.   A source has told Amnesty International that on 3 November Ghassan Yasin was brought before judicial authorities in his home town, Aleppo, northern Syria, on charges related to ...

UA 344/11 MEXICO - BROTHER OF WITNESS RECEIVES DEATH THREAT

  MEXICO   The brother of a witness to an alleged extrajudicial execution in the town of Puerto de San Felipe, Baja California state, northern Mexico, has received a death threat. He and the relatives of another witness, and of the victim of the killing, are in grave danger.   ...

Further information on UA 308/11 USA - GOVERNOR IMPOSES MORATORIUM ON EXECUTIONS

  USA   The Governor of Oregon has blocked an imminent execution – which would have been the first in this US state since 1997 and only the third since 1962 – and said that he will allow no further executions while he is governor.   Governor John Kitzhaber announced ...

UA 340/11 MEXICO - EVICTED COMMUNITY AT RISK

  MEXICO   Guatemalan authorities have forcibly evicted a community that was living in northern Guatemala. The 300 inhabitants have fled over the border to Tabasco state, southern Mexico. They are living in precarious conditions without adequate access to food, clean water, housing and medical services.   On 23 August ...

UA 343/11 SYRIA - DETAINED SYRIAN MAN AT RISK OF TORTURE

  SYRIA   Ahmed Andora was arrested by Syrian security forces in Damascus on 28 September. He has been detained incommunicado since 2 October and may have been subjected to enforced disappearance, putting him at grave risk of torture and other ill-treatment.   Ahmed Andora was meeting two people at ...

Further information on UA 252/11 SYRIA - SYRIAN REPORTER'S BROTHER HELD

  SYRIA   Amnesty International has learnt that 'Imad Walid Kharsa, the brother of detained Syrian reporter 'Adel Walid Kharsa, is also being detained and has been held incommunicado since August. It is gravely concerned that both men are at risk of torture and other ill-treatment. According to information received ...

UA 341/11 ARGENTINA - INDIGENOUS LEADER KILLED IN ARGENTINA

  ARGENTINA   Indigenous leader Cristian Ferreyra has been killed by two security guards working for a landowner. He was a member of Lule Vilela indigenous community. The community has been receiving threats and intimidation because of their fight to defend their ancestral lands, which is under threat from deforestation. ...

Further information on UA 325/11 USA - IDAHO CARRIES OUT FIRST EXECUTION SINCE 1994

  USA   On the morning of 18 November, the US state of Idaho carried out its first execution in 17 years, and only its second since 1957. Paul Rhoades, aged 54, was put to death by lethal injection after more than two decades on death row.   Paul Rhoades, ...

Further information on UA 323/11 SERBIA - FAMILIES UNDER NEW THREAT OF FORCED EVICTION

  SERBIA   Twenty-seven Roma families, including some displaced from Kosovo, are facing imminent forced eviction from their homes in the Serbian capital, Belgrade. The government, responsible for the eviction, has not provided them with adequate alternative accommodation.   On 16 November, the City of Belgrade Inspectorate served the 27 ...

UA 339/11 BRAZIL - INDIGENOUS LEADER KILLED

  BRAZIL   Around 100 Guarani-Kaiowa people are encamped on their ancestral lands: on 18 November 40 gunmen attacked the camp, killing an indigenous leader and abducting three children. The indigenous group have vowed to stay on their ancestral land.   At around 6:30 am on 18 November, 40 gunmen, ...

UA 335/11 CHINA - FALUN GONG WOMAN AT RISK OF TORTURE

  CHINA   Li Shanshan was detained in Tangshan, Hebei Province, northern China, on 29 October. The Chinese authorities say they have assigned her to two years "re-education through labour" but are refusing to give details of where she is imprisoned. She is at risk of torture and other ill-treatment. ...

Further information on UA 327/11 SOUTH SUDAN - JOURNALISTS RELEASED

  SOUTH SUDAN   The two journalists from newspaper The Destiny, arrested in early November, have been released without charge.   Ngor Garang, The Destiny's editor-in-chief, had been arrested on 1 November when he went to a meeting with the Director General of South Sudan's National Security Services (NSS). A ...

UA 338/11 BAHRAIN - APPEAL FOR JAILED PROTESTERS

  BAHRAIN   Fourteen people sentenced to six months in prison in Bahrain after a peaceful anti-government protest may be prisoners of conscience. Their appeal will be heard by a civilian court of appeal on 24 November.   A lower criminal court sentenced the 14 - 12 females, of whom ...

Further Information on UA 299/11 BELARUS - ANDREI SANNIKAU DENIED ACCESS TO LAWYER

  BELARUS   On 17 November Andrei Sannikau’s lawyer was told by the Director of Mahiliow prison, north-east Belarus, that he was being held there. However his lawyer was refused a meeting with Andrei Sannikau on the grounds that he is currently being transferred.   This information indicates that Andrei ...

Further information on UA 226/11 IRAQ - TUNISIAN NATIONAL EXECUTED IN IRAQ

  IRAQ   Tunisian national Yosri ben Fakher Trigui was executed in Iraq on 16 November along with 10 other people. Yosri ben Fakher Trigui was executed in Iraq on 16 November according to an official communication issued by the Tunisian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the same day. The ...

UA 337/11 COLOMBIA - THREATS TO DEFENDER AND TRADE UNIONIST

  COLOMBIA   An armed man and woman forced entry into the home of a Colombian human rights defender, Jackeline Rojas Castañeda. They threatened to kill her daughter and demanded information about her husband, Juan Carlos Galvis, a trade unionist.   On 9 November, the armed man and woman entered ...

Further information on UA 331/11 USA - OHIO EXECUTES MENTALLY ILL MAN

  USA   Reginald Brooks, a 66-year-old man diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, was executed in Ohio, USA on 15 November, after nearly three decades on death row. He was sentenced to death in November 1983 for killing his three sons in March 1982.   Ohio Governor John Kasich announced on ...

Further Information on UA 299/11 BELARUS - BELARUSIAN PRISONER OF CONSCIENCE MISSING

  BELARUS   The whereabouts of Belarusian prisoner of conscience Andrei Sannikau are currently unknown. Amnesty International fears he may be at risk of torture and other ill-treatment.   On 16 November, one of Andrei Sannikau’s lawyers attempted to visit him in the prison colony where he is serving his ...

Further information on UA 227/11 BAHRAIN - BAHRAINI TEACHERS’ APPEAL GOING AHEAD

  BAHRAIN   Jalila al-Salman, former vice-president of the Bahrain Teachers’ Association (BTA), was released on 1 November following her re-arrest in October. Her appeal and that of her colleague Mahdi ‘Issa Mahdi Abu Dheeb, former president of the BTA, is on 11 December.   Jalila al-Salman was first arrested ...

Further information on UA 111/11 UAE - “UAE FIVE” RISK HEAVY SENTENCE FOR INSULT

  UNITED ARAB EMIRATES   The verdict of five activists in UAE charged with publicly insulting the president and other top officials is due on 27 November. They have no right to appeal. Amnesty International is calling for their immediate and unconditional release.   Ahmed Mansoor, Nasser bin Ghaith, Fahad ...

Further information UA 245/10 ARGENTINA - TWO CHILDREN ATTACKED BY ARMED MEN

  ARGENTINA   The son and grandson of Félix Díaz, the leader of the Toba Qom indigenous community of La Primavera, Argentina, were attacked by men with guns on 8 November. The men work for a landowner who disputes the community’s claims over land.   The boys, aged 11 and ...

UA 334/11 MEXICO - HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS RECEIVE THREAT

  MEXICO   Six members of Comité Cerezo, a human rights organization in Mexico City, Mexico, have received a threat by email.   On 9 November Comité Cerezo received a threatening email directed at six members of the family that founded the organization. An extract of the email reads: “Let’s ...

UA 333/11 SYRIA - FEARS FOR MISSING SYRIAN ACTIVISTS

  SYRIA   Syrian activists Mohamed Bachir Arab and Ahmed Omar Azoz went missing from their home town of Aleppo, northern Syria, on 2 November. There are fears that they have been arrested and are being held in secret detention, in which case they would be at serious risk of ...

UA 331/11 USA - EXECUTION OF MENTALLY ILL MAN IN OHIO IMMINENT

  USA   A 66-year-old man diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia is facing imminent execution in Ohio, after nearly three decades on death row. Convicted of killing his three sons in 1982, Reginald Brooks is due to be put to death by lethal injection on 15 November.   Reginald Brooks, then ...

UA 330/11 TUNISIA - FORMER LIBYAN MINISTER AT RISK IF EXTRADITED

  TUNISIA   Former Libyan Prime Minister al-Baghdadi al-Mahmoudi, who fled to Tunisia in September, could be extradited to Libya. If he is forcibly returned, he would be at risk of torture or extrajudicial execution. Tunisia's President has yet to authorize the extradition.   Until August 2011, al-Baghdadi al-Mahmoudi was ...

UA 329/11 MEXICO - WOMEN'S RIGHTS ORGANIZATION RAIDED IN MEXICO

  MEXICO   On 3 November, there was a raid on the office of Consorcio Oaxaca, a women's rights organization in Oaxaca state, south west Mexico. There is fear for the safety of the staff and concerns that their human rights’ work for women could be put at risk.   ...

UA 328/11 COLOMBIA - MAN WHO SAW BROTHER’S MURDER THREATENED

  COLOMBIA   Gersaín Rodríguez witnessed his brother’s murder by Colombian paramilitaries in January. His son and his nephew have been forcibly disappeared within the last decade. On 30 October paramilitaries beat and tried to kidnap him. Amnesty International believes his life is in danger.   On 30 October Gersaín ...

UA 327/11 SOUTH SUDAN - TWO JOURNALISTS ARRESTED IN SOUTH SUDAN

  SOUTH SUDAN   South Sudan’s National Security Services (NSS) have arrested and detained two journalists. Neither has been charged or had access to a lawyer or their families. They are at risk of torture and other ill treatment.   Ngor Garang, Editor in Chief at The Destiny newspaper, and ...

UA 325/11 USA - FIRST IDAHO EXECUTION IN 17 YEARS IMMINENT

  USA   The US state of Idaho is scheduled to carry out its first execution since 1994, and only its second in more than half a century. Paul Rhoades is due to be put to death by lethal injection on 18 November. He has been on death row since ...

UA 326/11 GUATEMALA - TWO JOURNALISTS THREATENED AND IN DANGER

  GUATEMALA   At the end of October, two journalists were threatened for reporting on the activities and arrests of members of a local citizen security group in Panajachel, in the Sololá Department of Guatemala. They are in imminent danger.   On 24 October, members of a local citizen security ...

UA 322/11 MYANMAR - PRISONERS IN MYANMAR DENIED DRINKING WATER

  MYANMAR   Fifteen political prisoners, currently on hunger strike in Insein prison in Myanmar, are reportedly being tortured or otherwise ill-treated. According to sources in Myanmar, they have been denied drinking water, and eight of the prisoners have been held in cells designed to hold dogs.   The 15 ...

UA 320/11 IRAQ - IRANIAN ASYLUM-SEEKERS IN IRAQ AT RISK

  IRAQ   Over 3,000 Iranian asylum-seekers living in a camp in Iraq are at serious risk of egregious human rights violations, including forcible return to Iran. The Iraqi authorities plan to close down the camp, which has previously been attacked several times by Iraqi security forces resulting in the ...

UA 323/11 SERBIA - FAMILIES FACE FORCED EVICTION IN SERBIA

  SERBIA   Twenty-seven Roma families, including some displaced from Kosovo, are facing forced eviction from their homes in Belgrade, the capital city of Serbia. They will be left homeless if the Serbian government goes ahead with the eviction.   On 1 November, the City of Belgrade Inspectorate, an administrative ...

Further information on UA 316/11 BANGLADESH - MINISTER MUST PROTECT HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER

  BANGLADESH   Bangladesh's State Minister for Women's and Children's Affairs has told Amnesty International that police are investigating threats against woman human rights defender Shampa Goswami. While Shampa Goswami remains at risk, Amnesty International is calling on the minister to ensure her safety.   Shampa Goswami is a teacher ...

Further information on UA 193/11 IRAQ - FIFTEEN MEN AT IMMINENT RISK OF EXECUTION

  IRAQ   Fifteen men sentenced to death in Iraq in June could be executed at any time after 6 November, which marks the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha. Their sentences have reportedly now been ratified by the Iraqi presidency. The Prime Minister has the power to grant them clemency. ...

UA 321/11 EGYPT - ERITREANS IN EGYPT AT RISK OF FORCIBLE RETURN

  EGYPT   A group of 118 male asylum-seekers face imminent forcible return from Egypt to Eritrea, where they would be at grave risk of torture and arbitrary detention.   After being arrested and detained in and around the city of Aswan, southern Egypt, 118 male Eritrean asylum-seekers have been ...

Further Information on UA 315/11 MEXICO - PROTESTERS AT RISK OF UNFAIR PROSECUTION

  MEXICO   Community activists and members of an Indigenous community protesting against the construction of a wind farm in Oaxaca, southern Mexico, were attacked and injured on 28 October. Amnesty International is concerned that the death of a man at the scene of the protests may be used to ...

UA 317/11 UKRAINE - TORTURE VICTIM FACES PROSECUTION IN UKRAINE

  UKRAINE   A man who was seriously injured by a police officer has been accused of causing the injuries himself, and may face five years' imprisonment for "attacking a police officer".   Oleg Melnik, aged 27, was returning home in the evening of 1 April, with his horse and ...

UA 319/11 BURMA - BURMESE MONK NEEDS URGENT MEDICAL CARE

  BURMA   U Gambira, a Buddhist monk imprisoned in Myanmar because of his role in anti-government protests in 2007, is seriously ill in prison. Amnesty International has recently received information that his injuries resulted from torture he suffered in 2009. He urgently needs to be transferred to a hospital ...

UA 318/11 DOMINICAN REPUBLIC - FAMILIES EVICTED, THREATENED

  DOMINICAN REPUBLIC   Some 72 families were forcibly evicted from a poor neighbourhood in the capital by around 300 police and military personnel on 15 October. Since then they have been living in a camp nearby, where they have been harassed and attacked by the security forces who are ...

Further information on UA 232/11 SYRIA - DETAINED SYRIAN MAN'S LIFE IS AT RISK

  SYRIA   ‘Awad Jassim ‘Abbas, who has had no contact with his family or lawyers since 14 May, may have been subjected to enforced disappearance by the Syrian authorities. His life is in danger.   'Awad 'Abbas was arrested on 14 May, shortly after he and his brother, Hussein ...

UA 316/11 BANGLADESH - WOMAN HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER AT SERIOUS RISK

  BANGLADESH   On 23 October, woman human rights defender, Shampa Goswami, was threatened by a gang of men in Satkhira town, in Bangladesh’s south western Satkhira district, after providing support to a female survivor of gang rape.   In May, Shampa Goswami, a 32-year-old teacher and human rights defender ...

UA 314/11 COLOMBIA - INDIGENOUS LEADER THREATENED IN COLOMBIA

  COLOMBIA   William Carupia Cuñapa, President of the Indigenous Organization of Antioquia (OIA) in north-western Colombia, is believed to be at risk following a death threat.   William Carupia Cuñapa is President of the Indigenous Organization of Antioquia, (Organización Indígena de Antioquia (OIA) an organization representing Indigenous communities in ...

UA 315/11 MEXICO - COMMUNITY THREATENED BY WIND FARM STAFF

  MEXICO   Members of an indigenous community in Oaxaca, southern Mexico have been threatened by security staff from a wind farm construction company. The company has been building on their land. Two human rights defenders have also received death threats. Their lives are a risk.   On 21 October, ...

Further information on UA 296/11 BAHRAIN - POSTIVE DEVELOPMENTS IN MEDICS' CIVILIAN APPEAL

  BAHRAIN   The appeal hearing of 20 Bahraini health professionals previously sentenced by a military court opened before the High Criminal Court of Appeal, a civilian court, on 23 October. Some charges were dropped. The next court hearing is due on 28 November. They could still be at risk ...

Further information on UA 16/10 MEXICO - NEW THREAT AGAINST COMMUNITY ACTIVISTS

  MEXICO   Mexican community activists Margarita Martínez and Adolfo Guzmán Ordaz have received a new death threat, despite having police protection outside their house.   Margarita Martínez and Adolfo Guzmán Ordaz are a married couple, both of whom are community activists in Chiapas state, Mexico. On the morning of ...

UA 309/11 RUSSIAN FEDERATION - CHECHEN PRISONER NEEDS MEDICAL TREATMENT

  RUSSIAN FEDERATION   An ethnic Chechen man, Zubair Zubairaev, imprisoned in Siberia, urgently needs an independent medical examination and complex treatment. His health has been gravely affected by torture and other ill-treatment.   According to his lawyer, who visited the prison in early September and October, Zubair Zubairaev could ...

UA 310/11 SAUDI ARABIA - INDONESIAN WORKER AT RISK OF EXECUTION

  SAUDI ARABIA   An Indonesian domestic worker may be at imminent risk of execution in Saudi Arabia. She may have exhausted all her appeals and could be executed as early as November.   Tuti Turilawati, aged 27, was sentenced to death for the murder of her employer. She reportedly ...

UA 313/11 ECUADOR - INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES AT RISK FROM MILITARY

  ECUADOR   Indigenous communities in Ecuador are at risk from excessive use of force following a recent decree allowing military intervention in the area where they live. The communities have been protesting against the construction of a dam that could damage the lands where they live and work.   ...

UA 311/11 IRAQ - 53 PEOPLE AT IMMINENT RISK OF EXECUTION IN IRAQ

  IRAQ   The death sentences of 53 people, including five foreign nationals, were ratified by the Iraqi presidency on 20 October. They are at imminent risk of execution.   On 20 October the Chief of staff of the Iraqi Presidential Council, Nassir al-Ani, told Iraqi media that the Council ...

UA 312/11 MEXICO - MEXICAN HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS FACE THREATS

  MEXICO   Two human rights defenders in Tehuacán, Puebla state, Mexico, have been threatened. They have been representing staff in an industrial dispute. They are at risk of further threats and intimidation.   On 4 October Rodrigo Santiago Hernández was threatened by an unidentified man. He has been representing ...

Further information on UA 245/11 UNITED KINGDOM - IRISH TRAVELLERS FACING EVICTION LEAVE SITE

  UNITED KINGDOM   The residents of Dale Farm, Essex, UK, left their homes en masse on 20 October, in order to avoid confrontation with bailiffs contracted by Basildon Council to carry out a forced eviction. The eviction will now proceed, and is expected to last a few weeks.   ...

UA 308/11 USA - FIRST OREGON EXECUTION IN 14 YEARS LOOMING

  USA   The first execution in Oregon since 1997, and only the third in this US state since 1962, looks set to be scheduled for 6 December. Questions remain about the mental competence of the condemned prisoner, who has chosen to give up his appeals against his death sentence. ...

Further information on UA 211/11 TAJIKISTAN - TAJIK JOURNALIST FOUND GUILTY

  TAJIKISTAN   On 14 October, a court in northern city of Khujand in the Soghd region, Tajikistan, found BBC journalist, Urunboy Usmonov, guilty of charges brought against him, which implicate him in criminal activities related to banned religious groups.   Tajik journalist Urunboy Usmonov was sentenced to three years' ...

UA 307/11 IRAN - IRANIAN KURDS AT RISK OF IMMINENT EXECUTION

  IRAN   The death sentences against Loghman Moradi and Zaniar Moradi, two members of Iran’s Kurdish minority have been upheld by the Supreme Court. They could now be executed at any time.   Zaniar (or Zanyar) Moradi and Loghman (or Loqman) Moradi were sentenced to public hanging on 22 ...

Further information on UA 227/11 - FEARS OF TORTURE FOR BAHRAINI TEACHER

  BAHRAIN   The fomer vice-president of the Bahrain Teachers’ Association (BTA), Jalila al-Salman, has been re-arrested in Bahrain and sent to jail ahead of her appeal hearing on 1 December. Amnesty International fears she might be at risk of torture or other ill-treatment and that she may be a ...

UA 306/11 EGYPT - ERITREANS FACE FORCIBLE RETURN FROM EGYPT

  EGYPT   Thirty-four Eritrean men and five Eritrean women currently held in Egypt are at imminent risk of forcible return to Eritrea where they would face a real risk of torture and arbitrary detention.   On 18 October 34 Eritrean men and five women were told they would be ...

Further information on UA 261/10 TAJIKISTAN - JOURNALIST FINED AND BANNED FROM JOURNALISM

  TAJIKISTAN   On 14 October 2011, a court in the northern city of Khujand in the Soghd region, Tajikistan, found journalist, Makhmadyusuf Ismoilov, guilty of the charges brought against him of libel, insult and inciting hatred. He will be appealing against the verdict.   Makhmadyusuf Ismoilov, who wrote for ...

Further information on UA 245/11 UNITED KINGDOM - FORCED EVICTION OF IRISH TRAVELLERS IMMINENT

  UNITED KINGDOM   Between 300 and 400 Irish Travellers living at Dale Farm in Cray’s Hill, Essex, UK, face imminent forced eviction from their homes following a series of unsuccessful legal actions to stop the eviction. The eviction could now begin as early as 19 October.   On 17 ...

Further information on UA 83/11 GUATEMALA - GOVERNMENT REFUSES TO PROTECT COMMUNITIES

  GUATEMALA   Fourteen Q’echi indigenous communities in Guatemala, who were forcibly evicted in March 2011, have been told that the Guatemalan government won’t support or protect them. Up to 800 families in the Valle de Polochic in north-eastern Guatemala are at risk of being attacked and do not have ...

UA 300/11 MALAWI - ACTIVISTS IN MALAWI DETAINED AFTER PROTEST

  MALAWI   Five activists in Malawi were arrested and detained by police on Friday 14 October for engaging in a peaceful protest outside parliament in Lilongwe. They are being detained at three police stations in the Malawian capital city. One of the detainees, Brian Nyasulu, is diabetic has been ...

Further information on UA 16/11 MEXICO - MIGRANTS IN DANGER AS WOMAN FOUND DEAD

  MEXICO   The body of a female migrant from Honduras has been found near the San Juan Diego migrants’ shelter in Lecheria, Mexico state. Amnesty International is gravely concerned about migrants travelling through the area.   María Marisol Ortiz Hernández visited San Juan Diego migrants’ shelter with her son ...

Further information on UA 154/11 USA - DEATH PENALTY ON TABLE FOR GUANTÁNAMO TRIAL

  USA   The death penalty has been approved as an option for the upcoming trial of a Saudi Arabian man held at the US naval base at Guantánamo Bay in Cuba. He is to be tried by military commission, under a system which fails to meet international fair trial ...

Further information on UA 195/11 IRAN - ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVIST RELEASED ON BAIL

  IRAN   Farzad Haghshenas, an environmental activist and member of the NGO, Sabzchia (The Green Mountain Society), was released on bail on 1 October.   A member of the Kurdish minority in Iran, Farzad Haghshenas, 35, was released from the Marivan Intelligence detention facility in Kordestan Province, north-western Iran, ...

UA 305/11 MEXICO - MEXICAN POLICE CHIEF ATTACKS HIS EX-PARTNER

  MEXICO   A female federal police officer in Querétaro, central Mexico, has been physically assaulted and threatened by her ex-partner, who is the federal police chief for the state. The authorities have refused to take action against him. She is at risk of further attacks, as are the women’s ...

Further information on UA 258/11 SYRIA - SYRIAN ACTIVIST NO LONGER AT TORTURE RISK

  SYRIA   Young Syrian activist Hanadi Zahlout, who had been held in incommunicado detention at an unknown location after her arrest on 4 August, has now appeared before a court and is in regular contact with her family and her lawyer. She appears to be no longer at risk ...

UA 304/11 SAUDI ARABIA - SAUDI HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST REARRESTED

  SAUDI ARABIA   Human rights activist Fadhel Maki al-Manasif was rearrested on 2 October 2011 in the Eastern Province in Saudi Arabia, less then two months after his release. He is believed to be held in virtual incommunicado detention, putting him at risk of torture or other ill-treatment.   ...

UA 303/11 SYRIA - YOUNG SYRIAN PROTESTER HELD INCOMMUNICADO

  SYRIA   A young Syrian man, Mohamad Nooh, was arrested on 5 October during a demonstration in Daraya, a suburb of Damascus, Syria. He has been held incommunicado since his arrest in conditions amounting to an enforced disappearance. Amnesty International fears for his health as he suffers from liver ...

Further information on UA 49/11 IRAN - OPPOSITION LEADERS CONTINUE TO BE HELD

    IRAN   Iranian opposition leaders Mehdi Karroubi, Mir Hossein Mousavi and Zahra Rahnavard remain under house arrest without an arrest warrant, charge or trial. All three continue to have limited access to family members and no legal representation. Recently, Mehdi Karroubi was allowed to visit his family for ...

Further information on UA 270/11 PAKISTAN - ABDUCTED PAKISTANI JOURNALIST RELEASED

  PAKISTAN   Pakistani journalist Rehmatullah Darpakhel, who was abducted on 11 August 2011, was released on 12 October and is now recovering with his family.   On the afternoon of 11 August 2011, journalist Rehmatullah Darpakhel was abducted by unknown men as he shopped for groceries in his home ...

Further information on UA 205/11 SUDAN - ACTIVIST REMAINS IN DETENTION WITHOUT TRIAL

  SUDAN   Bushra Gamar Hussein Rahma, a Sudanese human rights activist, continues to be detained without trial. This is in spite of assurances from the Sudanese authorities that he would be either charged or freed on 9 October. He was originally arrested on 25 June in Omdurman. He is ...

Further information on UA 288/11 ZIMBABWE - WOZA LEADERS RELEASED

  ZIMBABWE   Two leaders of the Zimbabwean social justice movement Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) have been released from prison, and are due to appear in court on 12 December. They had been arrested in September, while attempting to join a peaceful march, and denied bail.   Jenni Williams ...

Further information on UA 122/11 BAHRAIN - DATE SET FOR BAHRAIN EXECUTION DECISION

  BAHRAIN   The final judicial decision on whether the death sentences of two Bahraini men will be upheld will be heard on 24 October. If their death sentences are upheld, the two men will be executed unless the King grants them clemency.   On 22 May, the National Safety ...

UA 302/11 BAHRAIN - WOMEN AND GIRLS DETAINED IN BAHRAIN

  BAHRAIN   Sixteen women and four girls, detained on 23 September, are being tried on charges which include ‘illegal gathering’, and “incitement to hatred of the regime”. Some claim they have been tortured in detention and their lawyers have not been allowed to visit them. They may be prisoners ...

UA 301/11 ISRAEL - PALESTINIAN SCHOOL AT RISK OF DEMOLITION

    ISRAEL/OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES   A primary school for Palestinian Bedouin children in the Jerusalem area is to be destroyed after Israeli settlers pushed the military to carry out the demolition. It could be destroyed at any time. Seventy pupils from the Arab Jahalin tribe will be left without ...

Further information on UA 253/11 SERBIA - SERBIAN AUTHORITIES BAN BELGRADE PRIDE

  SERBIA   On 30 September, the Serbian National Security Council banned the Belgrade Pride, due to security threats from extremist right-wing groups, who had reportedly threatened violence and arson throughout the city if the event went ahead. The Pride was scheduled to take place on 02 October.   Amnesty ...

Further information on UA 123/11 SUDAN - FIVE SUDANESE ACTIVISTS RELEASED

  SUDAN   On 17 August, Darfuri activist Shakir Abdelrahman Adam, who was arrested in connection to protests at Nyala University, Sudan, was released without charge after a court ruled that he had been wrongfully arrested.   On 20 April around 100 people were arrested following demonstrations at Nyala University, ...

Further information on UA 296/11 BAHRAIN - CIVILIAN ‘RETRIAL’ OF MEDICS SET FOR 23 OCTOBER

  BAHRAIN   The appeal for twenty health professionals sentenced by a military court in Bahrain on 29 September to between five and 15 years has been set for 23 October. It will take place before a civilian court.   On 5 October Bahrain’s Public Prosecutor announced that he had ...

Further information on UA 297/11 ISRAEL - PALESTINIAN PROPERTIES DEMOLISHED

  ISRAEL/ OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES   Yesterday morning, without warning, the Israeli army destroyed four domestic structures in al-Farisiya and Tell al-Himma, in the Tubas district in the occupied West Bank. This has affected three Palestinian Bedouin families of at least 19 people, including at least 11 children.   At ...

UA 298/11 BANGLADESH - MAN ABDUCTED IN BANGLADESH

  BANGLADESH   KM Shamim Akhter, former vice-president of a left wing student organisation, the Bangladesh Chhatra Union, was abducted by men in plain clothes suspected of being security officials on Thursday 29 September near his house in Bangladesh’s capital, Dhaka.   On 29 September at around 8.30 am, a ...

Further information on UA 255/11 SYRIA - ACTIVIST AND SON NO LONGER AT RISK OF TORTURE

  SYRIA   Syrian activist Walid al-Bunni and his son Mu’ayad al-Bunni, who had been held incommunicado after their arrest on 6 August 2011, appear to no longer be at risk of torture. Walid al-Bunni has been charged and is currently awaiting trial. He now has regular contact with his ...

Further information on UA 212/11 INDONESIA - INCREASED FEARS FOR CHURCH CONGREGATION

  INDONESIA   The congregation of the Taman Yasmin Indonesian Christian Church in Bogor, West Java has received new threats. A radical group plans to disrupt the congregation’s weekly Sunday service on 9 October, prompting increased fears for their safety.   According to credible sources, large numbers of a group ...

UA 297/11 ISRAEL/ OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES - PALESTINIAN PROPERTIES AT RISK OF DEMOLITION

  ISRAEL/ OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES   On 18 September, the Israeli military served three “stop work” orders against four domestic structures belonging to three Palestinian Bedouin families in the Tubas district in the occupied West Bank. These orders precede demolition orders, so the properties could be destroyed at any time. ...

Further Information on UA 285/11 MEXICO - FAMILY OF ‘DISAPPEARED’ MEN THREATENED

  MEXICO   Following the disappearance of eight members of the Muñoz family by six armed men in Chihuahua state, Mexico, their family have received threatening telephone calls.   On 13 September, the Muñoz family received a telephone call to their family home. The person calling asked to speak to ...

Further information on UA 209/11 SYRIA - HEALTH FEARS FOR SYRIAN ACTIVIST

  SYRIA   Syrian activist, Anas al-Shogre, who has been detained incommunicado since May, apparently for calling for and leading protests in the coastal city of Banias, is now believed to be held at a State Security branch in the capital Damascus. Reports suggest that he is in poor health ...

Further information on UA 34/11 SOUTH KOREA - COURT RULES IN FAVOUR OF TRADE UNIONIST

  SOUTH KOREA   Migrants Trade Union’s (MTU) President, Michel Catuira, had his appeal against attempts by Korean authorities to deport him upheld on 15 September. Seoul’s Administrative Court ruled that the Korea Immigration Service’s (KIS) efforts to deport him were in violation of South Korean and international human rights ...

Further information on UA 284/11 HAITI - HAITIAN FAMILIES FACE FORCIBLE EVICTION

  HAITI   On 28 September, a landowner, accompanied by armed men, made violent threats against more than 300 people in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, who have been living in a makeshift camp on his property since their homes were destroyed in the January 2010 earthquake. Amnesty International is extremely concerned for ...

UA 299/11 BELARUS - BELARUSIAN PRISONERS OF CONSCIENCE AT RISK

  BELARUS   Belarusian prisoners of conscience, Andrei Sannikau and Zmitser Dashkevich, are being subjected to psychological pressure through constant transportation from one prison facility to another. Both men may be at risk of physical attacks.   On 14 May 2011, opposition presidential candidate, Andrei Sannikau, was sentenced to five ...

Further information on UA: 49/11 IRAN - OPPOSITION LEADERS ARBITRARILY HELD

IRAN Opposition leaders Mehdi Karroubi and Mir Hossein Mousavi, along with Mir Hossein Mousavi’s wife Zahra Rahnavard, are still being held under house arrest without an arrest warrant, charge or trial. Mehdi Karroubi was moved to a small flat without his wife on around 31 July 2011. The three have ...

Further information on UA 225/11 USA - FLORIDA EXECUTION GOES AHEAD

  USA   Manuel Valle, a 61-year-old Cuban national, was executed on the evening of 28 September in the US state of Florida.   Manuel Valle was executed by lethal injection at Florida State Prison in Raiford, Florida. He had been convicted of the murder of a police officer in ...

Further information on UA 15/09 MEXICO - LANDOWNER'S MEN THREATEN RESIDENTS

  MEXICO   People living in a neighbourhood of the northern Mexican city of Ciudad Juarez, Lomas del Poleo, have been threatened by security guards working for a local landowning family. Most people have fled the area, but those still living there are at risk of attack.   Lomas del ...

Further information on UA 347/09 IRAN - INCREASING CONCERNS FOR SAFETY OF GOUDARZI

  IRAN   A man arrested with Kouhyar Goudarzi on 31 July 2011, Behnam Ganji Khaibari, who was later released, committed suicide on 2 September 2011. Kouhyar Goudarzi's mother, who was arrested the day after him, was brought to court on 6 September. Amnesty International is gravely concerned for the ...

UA 296/11 BAHRAIN - BAHRAINI HEALTH PROFESSIONALS SENTENCED

  BAHRAIN   Twenty health professionals were sentenced by a military court in Bahrain on 29 September to between five and 15 years in prison. Amnesty International believes that the charges were politically motivated, that the proceedings did not meet international fair trial standards and that they may be prisoners ...

Further information on UA: 184/11 KUWAIT - ONLINE ACTIVIST SENTENCED FOR TWEETING

KUWAIT Online activist, Nasser Abul, was sentenced to three months’ imprisonment for writing derogatory remarks about Sunni Muslims on his Twitter account. He has already been detained for three months, so was released on 27 September. He was acquitted of the charges of insulting the ruling families of Bahrain and ...

Further information on UA: 253/11 SERBIA - PRIDE PARTICIPANTS THREATENED WITH VIOLENCE

SERBIA The Serbian authorities have agreed that the Belgrade Pride will take place on 2 October. Amnesty International remains concerned that the rights of LBGT people to freedom of expression and freedom of assembly remain under threat from right-wing groups.  As the date for the Belgrade Pride approaches, various nationalist ...

Further information on UA: 139/11 BAHRAIN - SENTENCES OF OPPOSITION FIGURES UPHELD

BAHRAIN A military appeal court in Bahrain upheld the sentences of 14 opposition figures, all civilians, who led and participated in demonstrations in February and March on 28 September. They will now appeal before the civilian Court of Cassation. On 22 June, Bahrain's National Safety Court, a military court, announced ...

UA: 295/11 SAUDI ARABIA - SURGE IN EXECUTIONS IN SAUDI ARABIA

SAUDI ARABIA Eight men on death row have been executed in Saudi Arabia since 5 September, representing a dramatic increase in the number of executions. It is feared that more executions could be carried out at any time. Since the end of the Holy month of Ramadan, executions have resumed ...

Further information on UA: 60/09 IRAN - IRANIAN STUDENT ACTIVIST PARDONED

IRAN Prisoner of conscience Mohammad Pour Abdollah was released from Ghezel Hesar Prison in Karaj, west of Tehran, on 27 August 2011 where he had been serving a three-year sentence. He was released following a pardon by the Supreme Leader. Mohammad Pour Abdollah, a Tehran University student linked to the ...

UA: 293/11 HONDURAS - HONDURAN COMMUNITY LEADER ABDUCTED

HONDURAS On 30 August José Reynaldo Cruz Palma, a Honduran community leader, was abducted in San Pedro Sula, northern Honduras by two unknown individuals. To date, his whereabouts are unknown. Amnesty International believes his life is at risk.  On 30 August at 2.30pm, José Reynaldo Cruz Palma and his wife ...

UA 294/11 BRAZIL - INDIGENOUS COMMUNITY FACING IMMINENT EVICTION

  BRAZIL   Thirty-five families of the Guarani-Kaiowá community of Laranjeira Ñanderu face imminent eviction from their ancestral lands in Mato Grosso do Sul State, Brazil. If they are evicted they will be forced to live by the side of a busy highway on the outskirts of a nearby town, ...

Further information on UA: 288/11 ZIMBABWE - DETAINED ACTIVISTS AT RISK OF ILL-TREATMENT

ZIMBABWE Two leaders of the social justice movement, Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA), have been denied bail and remanded in custody until 6 October. The two women, who are both recovering from recent medical operations, were arrested on 21 September while on a peaceful march. Ten activists arrested at the ...

Further information on UA: 227/11 BAHRAIN - BAHRAIN TEACHERS GIVEN JAIL SENTENCES

BAHRAIN The former president and vice-president of the Bahrain Teachers’ Association (BTA) have been sentenced by a military court in Bahrain to 10 and three years in prison respectively. Amnesty International believes they may be prisoners of conscience. On 25 September Mahdi ‘Issa Mahdi Abu Dheeb and Jalila al-Salman were ...

UA: 292/11 SYRIA - SYRIAN MEN DETAINED INCOMMUNICADO

SYRIA Fotot: Muhammad Yassin Al Hamwi och hans son, Muhammad Muhammad Al Hamwi  Four men from the Damascus suburb of Daraya are being held incommunicado after their arrest by Syrian security forces on 23 September. Amnesty International fears for their safety, particularly because one was threatened with death during their ...

Further information on UA: 62/10 IRAN - STUDENT PRISONER OF CONSCIENCE RELEASED

IRAN Prisoner of conscience Milad Asadi was released from Evin Prison in Tehran on 27 August 2011 where he had been serving a seven year prison sentence. His release followed a pardon by the Supreme Leader. Milad Asadi, aged about 24, was a student of electrical engineering at Khajeh Nasir ...

Further information on UA: 216/08 IRAN - HIV/AIDS DOCTORS RELEASED FROM PRISON IN IRAN

IRAN Prisoner of conscience Doctor Arash Alaei was released from Evin Prison in Tehran on 27 August 2011 where he had been serving a six year sentence.  His release followed a pardon by the Supreme Leader.  His brother, Kamiar Alaei, another doctor, is also free. Arash Alaei is an internationally ...

UA: 291/11 RUSSIAN FEDERATION - PRISONER NEEDS URGENT MEDICAL CARE

RUSSIAN FEDERATION Chechen prisoner Shamkhan Aziev, held in the Krasnodar region of South Russia, is suffering from Pott’s disease (an infection of the spine with tuberculosis). His condition is deteriorating and he is in acute pain and must be urgently treated to prevent serious consequences to his health.    In ...

Further information on UA: 277/11 CHINA - PAKISTANI MAN EXECUTED IN SHANGHAI, CHINA

 CHINA                                                                                                   ...

UA: 289/11 IRAN - AZERBAIJANI MINORITY MEMBERS DETAINED IN IRAN

IRAN Twenty-nine people, including Abdollah Sadoughi, a member of the Iranian Azerbaijani minority, were arrested on 24 August in Tabriz, north-west Iran. Abdollah Sadoughi’s health has deteriorated following a hunger strike. They may all be prisoners of conscience, held solely for their peaceful activities in defence of their minority’s rights. ...

UA: 290/11 SYRIA - FEARS FOR MISSING SYRIAN ACTIVIST

SYRIA Syrian activist Ghassan Yasin went missing from his hometown Aleppo, northern Syria , on 18 August. He is believed to be in secret detention at the Political Security branch in Aleppo. He was previously arrested and reportedly tortured by Syrian security forces and suffers from hepatitis C . Ghassan ...

Further information on UA: 110/11 USA - GEORGIA EXECUTES TROY DAVIS

USA Troy Davis was sentenced to death in 1991 for the murder of a police officer and has been on death row since then. He was executed by lethal injection at the Jackson state prison in Georgia, USA, on 21 September, despite serious doubts surrounding his conviction. In his final ...

Further information on UA: 224/11 SYRIA - GEORGE SABRA RELEASED

SYRIA George Sabra was released without charge on 19 September after being brought before a civil court judge in Qatana, south-west of Damascus. He had been arrested on 20 July, and spent two months detained incommunicado. George Sabra's son Chadi Sabra, who lives in France, told Amnesty International that his ...

UA: 287/11 BAHRAIN - ON TRIAL FOR "SPREADING FALSE RUMOURS"

BAHRAIN A Bahraini man accused of involvement with pro-reform protests has been detained in Bahrain since March and says he has been tortured. His next court session will be on 28 September when the verdict will be announced. He is a likely prisoner of conscience. Hashim Adel Mohammed Saeed Al ...

Further information on UA: 262/11 MEXICO - NO CHARGE FOR SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS

MEXICO Two Mexicans who had been detained and charged with terrorism and sabotage after being accused of posting messages on Twitter and Facebook have been released without charge. Local journalist, María de Jesús Bravo Pagola (known as Maruchi) and teacher Gilberto Martínez Vera were released on 21 September without charge ...

UA: 288/11 ZIMBABWE - FEMALE ACTIVISTS DETAINED IN ZIMBABWE

ZIMBABWE Twelve activists from the social justice movement, Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA), have been unlawfully detained at Bulawayo Central police station. They have been arrested for participating in a peaceful march to commemorate International Day of Peace in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe’s second city. Some of them are in poor health. ...

UA: 286/11 DOMINICAN REPUBLIC - MIGRANTS ROUNDED UP, DEPORTED

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC At least 80 Haitian migrants have been rounded up and arbitrarily expelled from the Dominican Republic. Other Haitian migrants are also at risk of being arbitrarily expelled. On 20 September at 5am, officers of the Directorate of Migration raided the neighbourhood of Ponton, in the northern town of ...

Further information on UA: 114/10 SAUDI ARABIA - SUDANESE MAN EXECUTED

SAUDI ARABIA                                                             Abdul Hamid bin Hussain bin Moustafa al-Fakki was executed on 19 September 2011. Abdul Hamid bin Hussain bin Moustafa ...

UA: 285/11 MEXICO - EIGHT MEN FROM MEXICAN FAMILY "DISAPPEARED"

MEXICO Eight men from the same family in Chihuahua state, Mexico, have not been heard from since they were detained in June this year by armed uniformed men. There are fears that they are in grave danger and may have been subjected to enforced disappearance by police. According to eyewitnesses, ...

Further information on UA: 63/11 CAMBODIA - LAND ACTIVIST BEATEN BY POLICE

CAMBODIA  Cambodian activist Suong Sophorn was severely beaten by police officials as he intervened to stop the destruction of houses in Boueng Kak Lake, Phnom Penh, on 16 September. Around 100 armed riot police and security guards stood by as eight properties were demolished without warning.  Another 90 families are ...

UA: 282/11 ETHIOPIA - GOVERNMENT CRITICS ARRESTED, RISK OF TORTURE

ETHIOPIA Four opposition politicians and two journalists have been arrested in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on accusations of participating in terrorism-related activities. They are at risk of torture and other ill-treatment. Amnesty International believes they have been arrested for legitimately exercising their right to freedom of expression as journalists and politicians.  ...

UA: 284/11 HAITI - EVICTION THREAT FOR MAKESHIFT CAMP IN HAITI

HAITI Over 300 people who have been living in a makeshift camp in the capital of Haiti since their homes were destroyed in the earthquake in January 2010 have been threatened with forced eviction. Amnesty International is concerned that if evicted they may not receive alternative adequate accommodation and will ...

Further information on UA: 259/11 ROMANIA - EVICTION OF ROMA HALTED

ROMANIA Following protests by human rights organizations and foreign embassies the planned forced eviction of Roma from Baia Mare, Romania on 5 September appears to have been put on hold. On 23 August the Mayor of Baia Mare, in north-western Romania announced a plan to evict “hundreds” of Roma and ...

UA: 279/11 SUDAN - SUDANESE ACTIVIST AND POET TORTURED

SUDAN On 2 September, Sudanese activist and poet, Abdelmoniem Raham, was arrested in Ed Damazin, Blue Nile state, Sudan. He is being detained by the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) and has reportedly been tortured.  After Abdelmoniem Raham was arrested on 2 September, he was seen in custody of ...

Further information on UA: 274/11 MEXICO - FURTHER THREATS FOR MIGRANTS’ RIGHTS ACTIVIST

MEXICO Migrants’ rights defenders working at a migrants’ shelter in Tenosique, Southern Mexico have been threatened and intimidated by state police and members of the military.  According to eyewitnesses, on 17 September, Fray Tomás González, director of La 72 migrants’ shelter and President of the Usumacinta Human Rights Centre (Centro ...

UA: 280/11 IRAN - DERVISHES AND LAWYERS ARRESTED IN IRAN

IRAN Over 60 individuals, mostly dervishes (members of a religious order), were arrested in the Iranian cities of Kavar, Tehran and Shiraz between 3 and 14 September. At least three lawyers who represent the group were also arrested on 4 September. All are currently held in Evin Prison in Tehran ...

UA: 283/11 GUATEMALA - TRADE UNIONIST KILLED

GUATEMALA Trade unionist, Byron Arreaga, was shot dead in Quetzaltenango, north-western Guatemala, on 13 September. It is believed that he was targeted due to his trade union activities. Amnesty International is concerned for the safety of his fellow trade unionists. On 13 September, Byron Arreaga left his house to drive ...

UA: 281/11 RUSSIA - MAN ‘DISAPPEARED’ IN NORTH CAUCASUS

RUSSIA A man from Ingushetia, the North Caucasus, Russia, has been forcibly disappeared. Amir Chaniev was last seen on 4 September when 30-40 unidentified officers of law-enforcement agencies searched his family’s flat and drove him away. His sister Karina Chanieva was unlawfully detained the next day.  In the early morning ...

Further information on UA: 225/11 USA - FLORIDA RESETS EXECUTION OF CUBAN NATIONAL

USA - FLORIDA Manuel Valle, a Cuban national, is due to be executed in Florida at 4pm on 28 September. He was convicted of the murder of a police officer in 1978. He was 27 when first sent to death row. He is now 61, having spent over three decades ...

UA: 276/11 HAITI - FEAR OF EVICTION FOR TWO HUNDRED FAMILIES

HAITI Two hundred families have been threatened with eviction from their makeshift camp in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Amnesty International is concerned that they may be forcibly evicted at any time, without receiving alternative adequate accommodation. Families living in a makeshift camp called Camp Mosayik in the Delmas municipality of the capital ...

Further information on UA: 248/11 ANGOLA - FORCED EVICTION IN ANGOLA CANCELLED

ANGOLA The planned forced evictions in the Arco Iris neighbourhood of Lubango, Angola, which were scheduled for 25 August, did not take place. Residents believe the work of Amnesty International and the local NGO Association Building Communities (Associação Construindo Comunidades - ACC) contributed to stopping the forced eviction. On or ...

UA: 278/11 SYRIA - DETAINED SYRIAN WRITER AT RISK OF TORTURE

SYRIA Kurdish writer and pro-reform activist, Hussein ‘Essou, aged 59, has been held incommunicado since his arrest in al-Hasakah, north-eastern Syria, on 3 September 2011. He suffers from a heart condition and may not be receiving the regular medication he requires. He is at risk of torture and other ill-treatment.  ...

UA: 274/11 MEXICO - MIGRANTS’ RIGHTS DEFENDER THREATENED, AT RISK

MEXICO Migrants’ rights defender, Fray Tomás González received a telephone threat on 9 September. It is believed he was threatened due to his work with migrants’ shelter La 72 and the Usumacinta Human Rights Centre.  At around 9:30am on 9 September, Fray Tomás González received a telephone call in his ...

Further information on UA: 250/11 SYRIA - FEARS FOR PROTESTERS AFTER DEATH IN CUSTODY

  SYRIA Five men arrested reportedly for their involvement with popular protests in Syria remain detained incommunicado after being arrested in July and August. Fears for the men have heightened following reports that a pro-reform activist from the same town was killed while in the custody of the security forces.  ...

UA: 273/11 SYRIA - SYRIAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST RE-ARRESTED

SYRIA                                                                                                     ...

Further information on UA: 91/10 United Arab Emirates - DEATH SENTENCE OF INDIAN MIGRANTS REVOKED

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES Seventeen Indian migrant workers who were sentenced to death in March 2010 for the murder of a Pakistani national in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have had their death sentences revoked on appeal. They are expected to be deported to India in the coming weeks. On 12 ...

UA: 270/11 PAKISTAN - ABDUCTED PAKISTANI JOURNALIST IN DANGER

PAKISTAN Pakistani journalist Rehmatullah Darpakhel was abducted a month ago by unknown armed men in insurgency-hit North Waziristan in northwestern Pakistan. There has been no news about his fate and whereabouts since. Amnesty International fears that he may be at grave risk of torture and death. Over a month has ...

UA: 275/11 IRAN - IRANIAN WOMEN’S RIGHTS ACTIVIST ARRESTED

IRAN Fereshteh Shirazi, a women’s rights activist and member of the One Million Signatures Campaign (also known as the Campaign for Equality), was arrested on 4 September in the city of Amol, northern Iran. The reasons for her arrest are unknown. Fereshteh Shirazi, a mother of two and a women’s ...

UA: 277/11 CHINA - PAKISTANI MAN FACES EXECUTION IN CHINA

CHINA                                                                A Pakistani man, Syed Zahid Hussain Shah, 36, faces imminent execution in China. The Supreme People’s Court in ...

FU UA: 279/09 YEMEN - FIVE MEN CLOSE TO EXECUTION

YEMEN Five men under sentence of death in Yemen are at imminent risk of execution, possibly within days. The five men, aged between 25 and 29, who are all related, were sentenced to death in July 2006 for the murder of two men. They are held at the Central Prison ...

Further information on UA: 230/11 CHINA - HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST JAILED, RISKS TORTURE

CHINA Human rights activist Wang Lihong has been sentenced to nine months' imprisonment. She is at risk of torture and other ill-treatment.   The presiding judge at Beijing Chaoyang District People's Court announced Wang Lihong's sentence in the morning of 9 September. Wang Lihong immediately announced that she was innocent ...

UA: 271/11 BAHRAIN - "PROTESTER" JAILED AFTER UNFAIR TRIAL

BAHRAIN A Bahraini businessman sentenced to three years in prison by a military court in June after he was convicted of participating in protests, is still awaiting a date for his appeal. Amnesty International believes he could be a prisoner of conscience. Ghazi Ebrahim Farhan, 31, was arrested on 12 ...

Further information on UA: 180/11 - SAUDI ARABIA HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST RELEASED

  SAUDI ARABIA                                           Human rights activist Fadhel Maki al-Manasif was conditionally released on 22 August. He was arrested on 1 May in connection with protests in the Eastern Province ...

Further information on UA: 127/11 ISRAEL/OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES - PALESTINIAN ACADEMI

  ISRAEL/OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES  Palestinian academic Ahmad Qatamesh received a new six-month administrative detention order on 2 September. The military judicial review of the order has been postponed; he remains in detention and cannot appeal until the review takes place. Ahmad Qatamesh, who has been detained since 21 April, was ...

Further information on UA: 266/11 SYRIA- HEALTH OF ARRESTED SYRIAN MAN AT SERIOUS RISK

SYRIA Mohammed Hasan al-Labwani was released on 6 September after being referred to an investigating judge. His next hearing has been scheduled for 18 September.   Mohammed Hasan al-Labwani, who was arrested on 18 August in al-Zabadani, near Damascus, has now been reunited with his family. He was charged by ...

Further information on UA: 50/11 CHINA - ACTIVISTS STILL DETAINED AND AT RISK OF TORTURE

  CHINA Ran Yunfei has been put under “residential surveillance”. Hua Chunhui has been sent home to serve the rest of his term on medical grounds. Ding Mao, Chen Wei and Liang Haiyi remain in detention awaiting trial. They are at risk of torture and other ill-treatment. On 9 August, ...

UA 268/11 SYRIA - SYRIAN ACTIVISTS HELD INCOMMUNICADO AT RISK

SYRIA Syrian activists, brothers Yahya Shurbaji and Ma’an Shurbaji, Ghayath Mattar, Mohamed Tayseer Khoulani and Mazen Zyadeh, all from Daraya, a south-western suburb of Damascus, were arrested on 6 September and are being held incommunicado, reportedly by Air Force Intelligence. They are at serious risk of torture and other ill-treatment.  ...

Further information on UA: 110/11 USA - TROY DAVIS FACING IMMINENT EXECUTION IN GEORGIA

USA A Georgia judge has signed a death warrant in the case of Troy Davis, authorizing the state to execute him in the week of 21 to 28 September. Doubts persist about Troy Davis’ guilt in the crime for which he was sentenced to death two decades ago. The county ...

UA 266/11 SYRIA - HEALTH OF ARRESTED SYRIAN MAN AT SERIOUS RISK

SYRIA Mohammed Hasan al-Labwani has been held incommunicado since his arrest by General Intelligence, commonly referred to as State Security, on 18 August in the town of al-Zabadani, near Damascus, Syria. His family fear for his safety as he suffers from a serious medical condition. He is also at grave ...

UA 265/11 CUBA - DISSIDENTS ARRESTED IN CUBA

  CUBA Eleven members of a dissident organization and three of their relatives have been detained, without being told of any charges against them, since their arrest on 28 August in Cuba. They have not been allowed access to their families.   Eleven members of the Patriotic Union of Cuba ...

Further information on UA: 253/11 SERBIA - BELGRADE PRIDE MUST GO AHEAD

SERBIA DATE SET FOR BELGRADE PRIDE  The organisers of Belgrade Pride have announced their intention to organise the Pride on 2 October. Amnesty International remains concerned that the rights of LBGT people to freedom of expression and freedom of assembly may not be respected by the Serbian government.  The organisers ...

UA 263/11 - ETHIOPIA - OPPOSITION POLITICIANS ARRESTED, RISK TORTURE

  ETHIOPIA Two political opposition leaders were arrested on 27 August in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, after meeting with Amnesty International staff. Bekele Gerba and Olbana Lelisa are both at imminent risk of torture. The family of one of the men has been denied access to him. Both men ...

UA: 264/11 SYRIA - HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST DETAINED IN SYRIA

SYRIA Syrian human rights activist Mohamed Iyyad Tayyara has been held incommunicado since his arrest from his flat in the city of Homs, western Syria, on 28 August 2011. He is at serious risk of torture and other ill-treatment. According to a fellow Syrian human rights activist, Mohamed Iyyad Tayyara, ...

UA: 262/11 MEXICO - RISK OF THIRTY YEARS IN JAIL FOR FACEBOOK POSTS

MEXICO Two Mexicans have been detained and charged with terrorism and sabotage after being accused of posting messages on Twitter and Facebook. Their trial is ongoing and they are being denied a fair trial. If found guilty, they could face thirty years in prison. On 26 August, local journalist María ...

UA 260/11 TAIWAN - UNFAIR TRIAL LEADS TO IMMMINENT EXECUTION

  TAIWAN   A Taiwanese man, Chiou Ho-shun, is in imminent danger of execution. He was sentenced to death in 1989 after an unfair trial. On 25 August, the Prosecutor General rejected a request to seek an extraordinary appeal for a retrial.   Chiou Ho-shun was detained in 1988 and ...

UA 261/11 GUATEMALA - ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVISTS THREATENED

  GUATEMALA   Staff at the Centre for Environmental, Social and Legal Action (Centro de Accion Legal, Ambiental y Social de Guatemala - CALAS) have received death threats. In recent months, CALAS have been promoting a public campaign against corruption and the building of a gas plant in a nature ...

Further information on UA 227/11 BAHRAIN - TEACHERS' MILITARY TRIAL RESUMES

  BAHRAIN   The trial of the former president and vice-president of the Bahrain Teachers' Association (BTA) resumed before a military court on 29 August, and has been postponed until 25 September. Amnesty International believes they may be prisoners of conscience.   Jalila al-Salman and Mahdi ' Issa Mahdi Abu ...

Further Information on UA 254/11 EGYPT - EGYPTIAN BLOGGER IN SOLITARY CONFINEMENT

  EGYPT   The family of prisoner of conscience Maikel Nabil Sanad, who began a hunger strike on 23 August, have told Amnesty International that he is in solitary confinement and his health has greatly deteriorated.   Blogger Maikel Nabil Sanad, 25, has been on hunger strike since 23 August, ...

UA 258/11 SYRIA - SYRIAN WOMAN AT RISK OF TORTURE IN DETENTION

  SYRIA   Young Syrian activist Hanadi Zahlout has been held incommunicado at an unknown location since her arrest in Damascus, Syria, on 4 August. She is at serious risk of torture or other ill-treatment. Amnesty International fears that she may have been subjected to enforced disappearance.   Hanadi Zahlout, ...

Further information on UA 126/10 COLOMBIA - ORGANIZATIONS AND UNIONS THREATENED

  COLOMBIA   On 23 August, several Colombian human rights NGOs and trade unions received a death threat from the paramilitary Black Eagles New Generation in Valle del Cauca Department, western Colombia.   On 23 August Walter Agredo Muñoz, member of the Valle del Cauca Branch of the Political Prisoners ...

Further information on UA 205/11 SUDAN - ACTIVIST DETAINED AGAIN AFTER RELEASE ORDER

  SUDAN   Sudanese human rights activist, Bushra Gamar Hussein Rahma, was re-arrested on 14 August by agents of the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS), immediately after a judge had ordered his release. He is being held in an unknown location, and is at risk of torture and other ...

UA 253/11 SERBIA - BELGRADE PRIDE MUST GO AHEAD

  SERBIA   Amnesty International is concerned that the rights of LBGT people to freedom of expression and freedom of assembly may not be respected by the Serbian government.   The organisers of Belgrade Pride have announced their intention to organise the Pride for September. They have asked the Serbian ...

UA 259/11 ROMANIA - ROMA AT RISK OF FORCED EVICTION IN ROMANIA

  ROMANIA   Hundreds of people, mainly of Roma origin, are facing forced eviction in the next week by local authorities in Baia Mare, north-western Romania. If inhabitants of informal settlements do not have identity documents registered in Baia Mare, they are likely to be evicted and have their homes ...

Further information on UA 97/10 USA - 13-YEAR-OLD BOY TO BE TRIED IN JUVENILE COURT

  USA   On 23 August, a Pennsylvania trial court ordered the immediate transfer of Jordan Brown’s case to a juvenile court for trial. This decision removes the risk of 13-year-old Jordan Brown being sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. Such a sentence, when imposed on anyone ...

UA 256/11 CUBA - WOMEN PROTESTERS MUST NOT BE SILENCED

  CUBA   Female relatives of former prisoners of conscience, and their supporters, have been prevented since mid-July from carrying out a weekly peaceful protest calling for an end to political imprisonment. They are likely to face similar repression on 28 August.   The Ladies in White (Damas de Blanco), ...

Further information on UA 228/11 ECUADOR - SHIELD ACTIVISTS FROM NEW THREAT

  ECUADOR   Ecuadorian land activist Milton Yulan Moran, his family and colleagues have come under renewed threat. On 23 August staff arrived at work to find their office had been raided, and that computers and other valuables had been stolen. The computers contained information about their work on land ...

UA 257/11 RUSSIAN FEDERATION - TWO MEN ABDUCTED IN INGUSHETIA

  RUSSIAN FEDERATION   Two men, Akroman Ugurchiev, and Umalat Bersanov, were abducted in the village of Ordzhonikidzevskaia in Ingushetia, Russian Federation, on 23 August at around 6 p.m. Their abductors are believed to be members of law enforcement agencies.   In the afternoon of 23 August, Akroman Ugurchiev met ...

UA 255/11 SYRIA - SYRIAN ACTIVIST AND 18-YEAR-OLD SON AT RISK

  SYRIA   Prominent Syrian activist Walid al-Bunni and his 18-year-old son, Mu’ayad al-Bunni, have been held in incommunicado detention since 6 August. They were arrested while they were in hiding in Damascus, Syria. They are at serious risk of torture and other ill-treatment.   Walid al-Bunni and his two ...

UA 254/11 EGYPT - EGYPTIAN BLOGGER ON HUNGER STRIKE

  EGYPT   Egyptian blogger and prisoner of conscience Maikel Nabil Sanad began a hunger strike today in protest against his continued imprisonment. Maikel Nabil Sanad is also refusing to take his medication, without which his health could be at risk.   Twenty-five-year-old Maikel Nabil Sanad began a hunger strike ...

Further information on UA 227/11 BAHRAIN - TEACHERS TO BE TRIED BY A MILITARY COURT

  BAHRAIN   The former president and vice-president of the Bahrain Teachers’ Association (BTA), who were detained at the end of March, will be tried before a military court on 29 August. Amnesty International believes they may be prisoners of conscience.   Jalila al-Salman and Mahdi ‘Issa Mahdi Abu Dheeb ...

Further information on UA 347/09 IRAN - IRANIAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST AND MOTHER ARRESTED

  IRAN   Kouhyar Goudarzi, a member of the Committee for Human Rights Reporters (CHRR), was arrested on 31 July 2011 in Tehran, Iran, by plainclothes individuals believed to be from the Ministry of Intelligence. His mother, Parvin Mokhtareh, was arrested the next day. They are at risk of torture ...

UA 252/11 SYRIA - SYRIAN NEWS REPORTER AT RISK OF TORTURE

  SYRIA   ‘Adel Walid Kharsa, a 25-year-old news reporter from Hama, Syria, has been held incommunicado since his arrest on 17 August from the house in which he was hiding. Amnesty International believes he is at risk of torture and ill-treatment.   ‘Adel Walid Kharsa began working as a ...

UA 251/11 INDONESIA - AUTHORITIES REFUSE PRISONER MEDICAL CARE

  INDONESIA   Papuan political prisoner Kimanus Wenda is in urgent need of medical treatment. He has a tumour in his stomach, and needs to be transferred to a hospital to undergo an operation. Prison authorities have refused to pay for his transport and medical costs.   Kimanus Wenda is ...

Further information on UA 244/11 MALAWI - DEMONSTRATIONS POSTPONED AFTER DISCUSSIONS

  MALAWI   Demonstrations that were scheduled to take place in Malawi on 17 August were postponed by participants after a dialogue was facilitated between members of civil society and the government. Amnesty International had expressed fears for the safety of participants in the planned peaceful demonstrations.   Malawian human ...

Further information on UA 163/11 ARGENTINA - COURT RULES IN FAVOUR OF INDIGENOUS FAMILIES

  ARGENTINA   An Argentinean court has ordered that any attempts to evict the Quilmes Indigenous community of Colalao del Valle must be suspended. This decision protects four indigenous families from imminent forced eviction from their homes in the northern Argentinean province of Tucumán.   On 5 August 2011 a ...

Further information on UA 185/11 SPAIN - MIGRANT FAMILY FACE NEW EVICTION THREAT

  SPAIN   Moroccan migrants Abdelilah Ghailan, Fatima Zohra Alami Wahabi and their two children were to have been forcibly evicted from their house in Madrid on 24 June. The eviction was prevented by the presence of Amnesty International members, other social activists and journalists, but the family now face ...

UA 250/11 SYRIA - PROTESTERS AT RISK OF TORTURE AFTER ARRESTS

  SYRIA   Five Syrian men involved in protests in the town of Daraya, south-west of Damascus, have been held incommunicado, reportedly by Air Force Intelligence, since their arrests in July and August. They are at grave risk of torture and other ill-treatment.   Khairo al-Dabbas, aged 52, was arrested ...

UA 248/11 ANGOLA - HUNDREDS OF FAMILIES FACING FORCED EVICTION

  ANGOLA   The authorities in the southern city of Lubango are planning to forcibly evict hundreds of families from their homes on 25 August. The families would be left destitute.   The Lubango city administrator sent a written notification on 29 June to the residents of the Arco Iris ...

UA 249/11 GUATEMALA - INDIGENOUS PEOPLE EVICTED, ATTACKED

  GUATEMALA   The rural community of Parana, in Panzos, north-eastern Guatemala, was attacked by security guards on 10 August. A local company claims it owns the land. Other local indigenous communities were evicted in March, and are at grave risk of further attacks for continuing to cultivate the land. ...

UA 247/11 YEMEN - YEMENI MAN AT RISK OF EXECUTION

  YEMEN   Ahmed Omar al-Abbadi al-Markashi, a Yemeni security guard, had his death sentence upheld by the Court of Appeal in June 2011. If his death sentence is approved by the Supreme Court and then the Vice President, he will be at imminent risk of execution.   Ahmed al-Markashi ...

Further information on UA 165/11 INDIA - SECOND INDIAN ENVIRONMENTALIST RELEASED FROM JAIL

  INDIA   Ramesh Agrawal, one of the two human rights defenders and environmental rights campaigners who has spent two months in the state of Chhattisgarh, was released on bail on the night of 12 August. He and Dr Harihar Patel had been arrested on false charges on 28 May. ...

UA 245/11 UNITED KINGDOM - DALE FARM TRAVELLERS FACE FORCED EVICTION

  UNITED KINGDOM   Up to 86 Irish Traveller families living at Dale Farm face a forced eviction following legal notice from the local authority. The proposed forced eviction would leave many Travellers living at Dale Farm homeless or without adequate alternative housing.   On 4 July, Basildon Council gave ...

UA 246/11 INDIA - THREE MEN FACE IMMINENT EXECUTION

  INDIA   Two Sri Lankans and an Indian national convicted for the assassination of India’s former Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi, are facing imminent execution in Vellore prison in Tamil Nadu, India. This follows the rejection of their mercy petitions by the President of India. If carried out, these would ...

Further information on UA 16/11 MEXICO - STAFF AND MIGRANTS AT SHELTER AT RISK

  MEXICO   Staff, volunteers and migrants at the San Juan Diego migrants’ shelter in Lecheria, Mexico state, are at risk of attack and arson after threats from the local community were made against them. There are fears over their safety.   On 13 August, a group of over 30 ...

UA 244/11 MALAWI - CRACKDOWN FEARS FOR MALAWI PROTESTS

  MALAWI   Demonstrators may be at risk of being killed or seriously injured if police use excessive force to break up protests due to take place in Malawi on 17 August. In July, at least 18 protestors were killed when police fired live bullets to break up demonstrations organized ...

Further information on UA 239/11 SERBIA - EVICTION IN BELGRADE LEAVES FAMILIES HOMELESS

  SERBIA   Five Roma families who lived in privately owned buildings in 55 Skadarska Street, Belgrade, Serbia were evicted on 11 August. The eviction was carried out on the basis of a decision made by a Belgrade court on 29 June, which stated that the residents had to vacate ...

UA 242/11 SAUDI ARABIA - SAUDI SHI'A CLERIC ARRESTED

  SAUDI ARABIA   Saudi Arabian Shi'a cleric Sheikh Tawfiq Jaber Ibrahim al-'Amr was arrested on 3 August. He may be a prisoner of conscience, held solely for peacefully exercising his right to freedom of expression.   Sheikh Tawfiq Jaber Ibrahim al-'Amr was arrested in the evening of 3 August, ...

Further information on UA 128/09 RUSSIAN FEDERATION - RUSSIAN HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER RELEASED

  RUSSIAN FEDERATION   Russian human rights defender Aleksei Sokolov has been released on parole. His sentence for charges which he has always denied was imposed after a trial held with several reported violations of fair trial standards, and based on testimonies of prison inmates, some of whom had earlier ...

UA 243/11 GUATEMALA - EXPERTS WHO TESTIFIED AT TRIAL THREATENED

  GUATEMALA   Four staff members of the Guatemalan Forensic Anthropology Foundation (Fundación de Antropología Forense Guatemala - FAFG) have received death threats. The threats occurred days after the end of a high profile trial in which former members of the Army were convicted of a 1982 massacre and sentenced ...

Further information on UA 149/11 SYRIA - SYRIAN MAN RELEASED

  SYRIA   Wa’el Hammada, a Syrian man who had been held incommunicado detention and reportedly subjected to torture and other ill-treatment, was released on bail on 1 August. He and his brother ‘Abd al-Rahman Hammada have been charged and are currently awaiting trial.   Following his arrest on 12 ...

Further information on UA 186/11 IRAN - DEATH SENTENCES OF MOTHERS TO BE REVIEWED

  IRAN   Three women and two men facing execution for drug trafficking offences in Iran after unfair trials are believed to have had their cases sent for review by Iran’s Amnesty and Clemency Commission. A decision is expected on ’Id al-Fitr, the last day of Ramadan, which falls at ...

Further information on UA 223/11 TUNISIA - TUNISIAN DETAINEES FACING MILITARY TRIALS

  TUNISIA   Four men arrested on 19 July 2011 in the northern Tunisian town of Menzel Bourguiba are now facing unfair trials before military courts. Amnesty International opposes the trial of civilians before military courts.   The four men, Ayman Gharib, Anis el-Krifi, Walid Boujbali and Haitham el-Mejri, were ...

Further information on UA 95/10 CHINA - CHINESE ACTIVIST RELEASED DUE TO POOR HEALTH

  CHINA   Chinese human rights defender Mao Hengfeng was released on 28 July, about a month before the end of her term of Re-education Through Labour (RTL), due to poor health.   Mao Hengfeng was sent home in a wheelchair from Shanghai Prison Hospital without any advance notice to ...

UA 241/11 COLOMBIA - AFRO-DESCENDENT MEN FORCIBLY DISAPPEARED

  COLOMBIA   Francisco Pineda and Everto González, two members of the community council of Caracolí, north-west Colombia, have been subjected to enforced disappearance by paramilitaries. Amnesty International fears their lives and the lives of other members of the Afro-descendant community may be at risk.   On 1 August a ...

Further information on UA 116/11 BAHRAIN - LAWYER RELEASED IN BAHRAIN

  BAHRAIN   A prominent defence lawyer arrested in Bahrain on 15 April was released on 7 August. The charges against him have not been dropped and he has reported being tortured in prison.   Mohammed al-Tajer, a prominent Bahraini defence lawyer, was arrested at his house in Manama, the ...

Further information on UA 228/11 ECUADOR - DEMAND PROTECTION FOR ACTIVIST’S FAMILY

  ECUADOR   The lives of Rita Julia Morán and other family members of Ecuadorian land activist Milton Yulán Morán are at risk. On 7 August, three vehicles carrying armed men parked in front of their house for about 30 minutes. They drove away after neighbours fired shots into the ...

UA 240/11 BELARUS - BELARUSIAN HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER ARRESTED

  BELARUS   Prominent Belarusian human rights defender Ales Bialatski was arrested in central Minsk, Belarus, on 4 August. Amnesty International is concerned he is being targeted for his legitimate work.   Ales Bialatski, Chairperson of Human Rights Centre Viasna and Vice-President of the International Federation for Human Rights was ...

FU UA 236/11 EGYPT - EGYPTIAN PROTESTERS RELEASED

  EGYPT   Some 111 protesters who participated in a sit-in in Tahrir Square, Cairo, were released on 4 August 2011 after spending three days in military custody. Another 16 protesters had also been released a day earlier.   The protesters were arrested on 1 August when soldiers and Central ...

FU UA 188/11 INDONESIA - FEARS FOR SAFETY OF INDONESIAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST

  INDONESIA   Human rights defender Yones Douw has received medical treatment after he was beaten by military officers on 15 June. However, he continues to fear for his safety and the safety of his family after he received information that he is under surveillance by members of the Indonesian ...

UA 239/11 SERBIA - ROMA FAMILIES FACE FORCED EVICTION IN SERBIA

  SERBIA   Five Roma families facing eviction will be left homeless on 11 August, unless the Belgrade City authorities provide them with alternative housing.   The five Roma families live in privately owned buildings in Skadarska Street in Belgrade, Serbia, and are at risk of being forcibly evicted. Some ...

Further information on UA 191/11 CÔTE D' IVOIRE - TRADE UNIONISTS HELD IN HARSH CONDITIONS

  CÔTE D' IVOIRE   Basile Mahan Gahé, a trade unionist from Côte d’Ivoire who was charged with state security offences and imprisoned, is being held in harsh conditions, according to the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC). Amnesty International believes Basile Mahan Gahé is a possible prisoner of conscience, solely ...

UA 237/11 PAKISTAN - DETAINED BALOCH MEN RISK DEATH

  PAKISTAN   The body of a Baloch student activist was found on 16 July, five months after he was taken into custody by the paramilitary Frontier Corps. Ten other Baloch men, detained at the same time, are in grave danger of the same fate.   The 10 were taken ...

Further information on UA 176/11 SAUDI ARABIA - TWO BROTHERS PUT TO DEATH

  SAUDI ARABIA   Brothers Muhammad Jaber Shahbah al-Ja'id and Sa'ud Jaber Shahbah al-Ja'id were executed on 30 July. The two brothers, who were both married with children, had been sentenced to death in late December 1998 by a court in Mecca, for the murder of another man. Their sentences ...

Further information on UA 162/11 PAKISTAN - ABDUCTED STUDENTS FOUND IN DETENTION

  PAKISTAN   Pakistani brothers Abdullah and Ibrahim Mohamed El-Sharkawi have now been found in detention, after allegedly being abducted by Pakistani intelligence agencies in Pakistan on 25 and 29 May respectively. Ibrahim was released on bail on 27 June; Abdullah was located on 23 July.   Ibrahim Mohamed El-Sharkawi, ...

UA 236/11 EGYPT - DETAINED PROTESTERS RISK MILITARY TRIALS

  EGYPT   Members of the Central Security Forces and the armed forces, including military police, forcibly dispersed a protest in Tahrir Square in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, on 1 August 2011. Over 80 people are believed to have been arrested, some of whom now risk unfair trials before military ...

Further information on UA 225/11 USA - STAY OF EXECUTION FOR CUBAN NATIONAL

  USA   Manuel Valle, a Cuban national who was due to be executed in Florida on 2 August, has received a stay of execution until 6 September. He was convicted of the murder of a police officer in 1978. He was 27 years old when first sent to death ...

Further information on UA 165/11 INDIA - INDIAN ENVIRONMENTALIST RELEASED FROM JAIL

  INDIA   Dr Harihar Patel, one of the two human rights defenders and environmental rights campaigners who have spent two months in the state of Chhattisgarh, has been released on bail by a local court. He and Ramesh Agrawal had been arrested on false charges on 28 May.   ...

Further information on UA 233/11 USA - EXECUTION STAYED TO REVIEW INNOCENCE CLAIM

  USA   The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has stayed the execution of Larry Swearingen, who was due to be put to death in Texas on 18 August. He maintains his innocence. Since his trial, a number of forensic experts have ruled him out as the murderer.   The ...

UA 235/11 MEXICO - POLICE THREATEN STAFF AT MIGRANTS' SHELTER

  MEXICO   Migrant Rights Defenders have been insulted and intimidated by federal police officers at Tijuana Migrants’ Shelter, in the state of Baja California, northern Mexico.   On 26 July, approximately thirty heavily armed federal police officers arrived at the Tijuana Migrants’ Shelter asking to enter the premises. They ...

Further information on UA 40/10 SRI LANKA - REMAINS OF SRI LANKAN DEFENDER EXHUMED

  SRI LANKA   Remains thought to be of Sri Lankan human rights defender Pattani Razeek were exhumed in Valaichchenai, Eastern Sri Lanka on 28 July. His family have tentatively identified his remains, pending a post mortem due to be carried out on 2 August.   Pattani Razeek, human rights ...

Further information on UA 211/11 TAJIKISTAN - TAJIK JOURNALIST RELEASED ON BAIL

  TAJIKISTAN   Tajik journalist, Urunboy Usmonov, who works for the BBC, was released on bail on 14 July. He is not allowed to leave the country.   Urunboy Usmonov was released from a detention centre in the northern city of Khujand in the Soghd region, Tajikistan, and is now ...

Further information on UA 210/11 MALAYSIA - SIX MALAYSIAN ACTIVISTS RELEASED

  MALAYSIA   Six Malaysian activists arrested in Penang on 25 June have now been released. They were held without charge for over a month under an Emergency Public Order and Prevention of Crime Ordinance (EO), which allows for indefinite detention.   Socialist Party MP Dr Jeyakumar Devaraj and five ...

UA 233/11 USA - EXPERTS RULE MAN OUT AS KILLER, EXECUTION SET

    USA Larry Swearingen, aged 40, is due to be executed in Texas on 18 August. He was sentenced to death in 2000 for a murder in 1998. He maintains his innocence. Since his trial, a number of forensic experts have ruled him out as the murderer.   Melissa ...

Further information on UA 181/11 BAHRAIN - BAHRAINI OFFICER RELEASED WITH CONDITIONS

  BAHRAIN A former Bahrain Defence Force (BDF) officer detained in Bahrain since 15 February has now been released on bail after being sentenced to one year in prison. His appeal will be heard in September. Amnesty International is calling for his conviction to be annulled.   Mohamed Albuflasa, a ...

Further information on UA 219/10 RUSSIAN FEDERATION - LAWYER IN DAGESTAN CHARGED

    RUSSIAN FEDERATION   Sapiyat Magomedov, a lawyer from Dagestan, in the North Caucasus, Russian Federation, could face up to five years’ imprisonment after being charged on 27 July with two criminal offences. The charges were brought against her following her complaint about an assault against her by police ...

UA 232/11 SYRIA - TORTURE FEARS FOR DETAINED SYRIAN MAN

      SYRIA   ‘Awad Jassim ‘Abbas has been held incommunicado since his arrest on 14 May. Reports suggest he has been tortured or otherwise ill-treated by Syrian security forces.   ‘Awad ‘Abbas was arrested at his home in al-Dumayr, north-east of the capital Damascus, during a raid by ...

UA 234/11 BRAZIL - NGO STAFF THREATENED WITH DEATH IN BRAZIL

    BRAZIL   Lawyer Diogo Cabral and priest Father Inaldo Serejo, who work for the Brazilian NGO Comissão Pastoral da Terra (Pastoral Land Commission, CPT) were threatened with death on 25 July, in the town of Cantanhede, northern Brazil.   Diogo Cabral and the head of CPT in Maranhão ...

Further information on UA: 176/11 SAUDI ARABIA - EXECUTION OF TWO BROTHERS MAY BE IMMINENT

  SAUDI ARABIA   Amnesty International has received information that two Saudi Arabian brothers Muhammad Jaber Shahbah al-Ja’id and Sa’ud Jaber Shahbah al-Ja’id are at imminent risk of execution.   Muhammad Jaber Shahbah al-Ja’id and Sa’ud Jaber Shahbah al-Ja’id, who are both married and have children, were sentenced to death ...

Further information on UA 132/11 VIET NAM - VIETNAMESE BLOGGER "LOSES ARM" IN PRISON

    VIET NAM   Imprisoned blogger Nguyen Hoang Hai, known as Dieu Cay, has "lost his arm," according to a security official at the prison investigation office. No further information has been given and requests to meet with Hai continue to be denied. He has not been seen by ...

Further information on UA 3/11 IRAN - IRANIAN WOMEN'S RIGHTS ACTIVIST ARRESTED

    IRAN   Women's rights activist Maryam Bidgoli was arrested at her home on the morning of 21 July 2011 and transferred to Langaroud Prison in Qom. She has been imprisoned to serve a six-month prison sentence imposed for her peaceful collection of signatures for a petition demanding an ...

UA 230/11 CHINA - CHINESE HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST FACING TRIAL

    CHINA   Human rights activist Wang Lihong was detained in Beijing, China on 21 April, and could face trial as soon as next month. The Supreme People’s Procuratorate has not given her lawyer full access to documents related to her case. Wang Lihong is suffering from chronic back ...

UA 231/11 EGYPT - PRISONERS BEATEN, DENIED MEDICAL TREATMENT

    EGYPT   Amnesty International has received reports that guards in a prison in the Egyptian south western desert, Wadi Guedid, beat prisoners while conducting searches on 24 July. It is believed those injured during the searches and beatings have not received any medical care.   The family of ...

UA 227/11 BAHRAIN - TEACHERS ARRESTED FOR STRIKING IN BAHRAIN

    BAHRAIN   The former president and vice-president of the Bahrain Teachers’ Association (BTA) have been detained since the end of March. They are now facing trial and Amnesty International believes they are likely to be prisoners of conscience.   Jalila al-Salman and Mahdi ‘Issa Mahdi Abu Dheeb, together ...

Further information on UA 217/11 HAITI - FAMILIES IN HAITI FORCIBLY EVICTED

    HAITI   Some of the families who were evicted from a makeshift camp in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, have been relocated to alternative accommodation, which falls well below adequate sanitary or security conditions.   On 14 July more than 500 families were evicted from a makeshift camp outside the Sylvio ...

Further information on UA 245/10 ARGENTINA - VIOLENT POLICE OPERATION CAPTURED ON VIDEO

    ARGENTINA   New evidence about the violent police operation of 23 November 2010 to evict members of the Toba Qom indigenous community of La Primavera, Argentina, has come to light. Video footage has recently been made public about the events of 23 November 2010, when police violently dispersed ...

Further information on UA 114/11 AI WEIWEI AND HIS COLLEAGUES RELEASED

    CHINA   Ai Weiwei, an internationally well-known Chinese artist; Wen Tao, his friend and assistant; Zhang Jingsong, his cousin and driver; Hu Mingfen, his accountant, have all been released. The current status of Liu Zhenggang, a designer, is unconfirmed.   Ai Weiwei was released on 22 June on ...

Further information on UA 313/09 VIET NAM - PRIEST RETURNED TO PRISON FROM SICK LEAVE

    VIET NAM Human rights activist Father Nguyen Van Ly, a Catholic priest, was arrested by police in the diocese of Hue, central Viet Nam, on the afternoon of 25 July and taken back to prison by ambulance. He had been allowed out for medical treatment in March 2010, ...

UA 229/11 COLOMBIA - HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS THREATENED

  COLOMBIA   José Santos Caicedo and Armando Caracas Carabalí, who are leaders of the Black Communities Process (PCN) and Aníbal Vega, the legal representative of the community council of La Toma, Suárez Municipality in Colombia, are believed to be at risk after receiving death threats.   On 15 July ...

Further information on UA 147/11 INDIA - INDIAN AUTHORITIES INVESTIGATE VIOLATIONS

    INDIA   On 16 and 21 July, villagers who are under threat from forcible evictions in Govindpur village, Jagatsinghpur district, Orissa state, India, carried out further peaceful protests. Nine people were injured as police charges at protestors with batons twice. India’s National Human Rights Commission has asked for ...

UA 228/11 ECUADOR - ECUADORIAN LAND ACTIVIST’S LIFE AT RISK

    ECUADOR   Ecuadorian land activist, Milton Yulan, is at serious risk after his colleague Marlon Lozano was shot in the head on 20 July and died on the following day. It is believed that the attack was directed at Milton Yulan. Milton Yulan is the national coordinator of ...

Further information on UA: 203/11 USA - MAN EXECUTED IN TEXAS FOR POST-9/11 MURDER

  USA Mark Stroman was executed in Texas on the evening of 20 July for the murder of an Indian immigrant following the 9/11 attacks in the USA. Mark Stroman was put to death for the murder on 4 October 2001 of Vasudev Patel, a native of India who was ...

Further information UA 219/11 Sudan - UN WORKER RELEASED AND ALL CHARGES DROPPED

    SUDAN   Idris Yousef Abdelrahman, a civil affairs officer for the joint United Nations African Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) who was arrested on 27 April, is no longer in detention. He was released on 20 July after the prosecutor dropped all the charges against him.   Idris Yousef ...

UA 226/11 IRAQ - TUNISIAN NATIONAL FACES EXECUTION IN IRAQ

    IRAQ   A Tunisian national who has been detained in Iraq since 2006 is at imminent risk of execution after his death sentence was ratified by the Iraqi Presidency at the end of June.   Yosri ben Fakher Trigui was arrested on 20 May 2006 by US forces ...

UA 225/11 USA - FLORIDA EXECUTION SET 33 YEARS AFTER CRIME

    USA   Manuel Valle, a Cuban national, is due to be executed in Florida on 2 August. He was convicted of the murder of a police officer in 1978. He was 27 years old when first sent to death row. He is now 61. He is being denied ...

UA 224/11 SYRIA - ACTIVIST DETAINED, RISKS TORTURE

    SYRIA   Syrian political activist George Sabra has been detained incommunicado at an unknown location since 20 July as part of mass arrests by the Syrian army and security forces in the town of Qatana, south-west of the capital, Damascus. He is at serious risk of torture and ...

Further information on UA 2/11 CHINA - FAMILY OF HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER ARRESTED

  CHINA   Xinna and Uiles, the wife and son of ethnic Mongolian human rights activist Hada, have been formally arrested. Hada is currently in a secret prison and has been going on frequent hunger strikes protesting his continued detention.   Prisoner of conscience Hada was due to be released ...

UA 222/11 IRAQ - TWO DOZEN FACING EXECUTION AFTER UNFAIR TRIAL

  IRAQ   Death sentences have been handed down to 24 men, alleged members of a Shi'a sect, and were upheld by Iraq's Court of Cassation on 30 June. If the sentences are ratified by the Iraqi Presidency the 24 could be executed within days.   Ghanim Arsheij Jassim, his ...

UA 223/11 TUNISIA - EX-PRISONERS DETAINED INCOMMUNICADO

    TUNISIA   Former prisoners Ayman Gharib and Anis el-Krifi were arrested early in the morning of 19 July, at their homes in the town of Menzel Bourguiba, in the north of Tunisia. Their families have not heard from them and do not know where they are or why ...

UA 221/11 KENYA - ASYLUM-SEEKERS RISK DEPORTATION, TORTURE

  KENYA   A group of seven Eritrean refugees and asylum-seekers are at imminent risk of being forcibly returned to Eritrea by the Kenyan authorities. If returned they would be at grave risk of arbitrary detention and torture. Tsigab Angosom, Mussie Ghebremedhin, Bisrat Keleta, Semere Sahlezghi, Efrem Kiflu, Zeria Gebre ...

UA: 220/11 MEXICO - MIGRANTS' RIGHTS WORKERS THREATENED

  MEXICO   Members of staff working at the Usumacinta Human Rights Centre (Centro de Derechos Humanos del Usumacinta, A.C) in the town of Tenosique, Tabasco state, southern Mexico, have been repeatedly threatened and intimidated. Amnesty International believes that these threats are in reprisal for their human rights work, particularly ...

UA 219/11 SUDAN - UN WORKER DETAINED IN SUDAN

  SUDAN   Idris Yousef Abdelrahman, a civil affairs officer for the joint United Nations African Mission in Darfur (UNAMID), is being detained and is at risk of torture or other ill-treatment. On 12 July he was charged with offences that are punishable by death under Sudanese law. Amnesty International ...

UA 218/11 IRAQ - FIVE EX-OFFICIALS FACING EXECUTION IN IRAQ

    IRAQ Five Iraqi men who were officials under Saddam Hussain before his overthrow in 2003 face imminent execution after they were handed over to Iraqi authorities by the US military on 14 July. If, as expected, the Iraqi presidency ratifies their sentences, they could be executed within days. ...

Further Information on UA 179/11 BAHRAIN - BAHRAINI POET RELEASED

  BAHRAIN   A Bahraini poet sentenced in June for reading a poem was released on 13 July. However, there are reportedly conditions attached to her release and Amnesty International is calling on the authorities to remove any that have been imposed, to annul her conviction and to clarify her ...

UA 216/11 TURKEY - FAMILIES FACING FORCED EVICTION IN TURKEY

  TURKEY   Dozens of families are facing imminent forced eviction in Tarlabaşı, a district in central Istanbul, as part of an urban regeneration project carried out by the municipality of Beyoğlu. Some of the families from the district have already been forcibly evicted.   Eviction notices seen by Amnesty ...

Further information on UA 95/10 CHINA - CHINESE ACTIVIST AT RISK OF TORTURE

  CHINA   Mao Hengfeng, a Chinese human rights defender, is being held incommunicado at Shanghai City Prison Hospital. She is at risk of torture and other ill-treatment. She was previously held at the same hospital, where she was tied to a bed and forcibly given several injections against her ...

UA 217/11 HAITI - FAMILIES IN HAITI AT RISK OF FORCED EVICTION

  HAITI   More than 500 homeless families are at risk of being forcibly evicted from a makeshift camp located in central Port-au-Prince, Haiti, where they have been living since the January 2010 earthquake. Amnesty International is seriously concerned that they will not receive adequate alternative accommodation.   The City ...

Further information on UA 144/11 IRAN - ACTIVIST HELD DESPITE ORDER FOR RELEASE

  IRAN   Women’s rights activist Maryam Bahreman remains in detention despite an order from the Prosecutor’s office in Shiraz to release her on bail at the start of July. Amnesty International considers her to be a prisoner of conscience, held solely for the peaceful exercise of her rights to ...

UA 214/11 RUSSIAN FEDERATION - TAJIK MAN FACES EXTRADITION, RISKS TORTURE

  RUSSIAN FEDERATION   The Tajikistani authorities have asked the Russian authorities to extradite Ismon Azimov from Russia for "organization of a criminal group", suspecting that he is a member of the banned Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU). Ismon Azimov would be at serious risk of torture or other ill-treatment ...

Further information on UA 159/11 SUDAN - SUDANESE ACTIVIST RELEASED

  SUDAN   Hawa Abdallah, a Sudanese woman who was arrested on 6 May in Darfur, was released on 13 July. She was arrested for ‘Christianizing’ children and being linked to an armed opposition group.   Hawa Abdallah works as a community activist and a translator for the joint United ...

Further information on UA 192/11 RUSSIAN FEDERATION - LGBT PEOPLE DENIED RIGHT TO HOLD SLAVIC PRIDE

  RUSSIAN FEDERATION   At a 25 June protest against the St. Petersburg authorities' refusal to let the Slavic Pride go ahead, the police arrested 14 people and detained them for more than 24 hours.   The detainees were fined for holding an unsanctioned meeting and released. Additional court hearings ...

UA 215/11 HONDURAS - VIOLENT FORCED EVICTION LEAVES FAMILIES AT RISK

  HONDURAS   Police have forcibly evicted 114 families, including young children, from a community in northern Honduras. Around 80 people are now living in a nearby Community Centre in unsanitary conditions that pose a risk to their health.   Police forcibly evicted a community in the town of Rigores, ...

Further information on UA 210/11 MALAYSIA - REPRESSION CONTINUES AFTER REFORM RALLY

  MALAYSIA   Six activists are still detained, and more than 40 others are now facing prosecution.   Six Malaysian activists for election reform are being detained indefinitely without charge. They are challenging their detention in court, and need access to their lawyers by 15 July to prepare affidavits. On ...

Further information on UA 196/11 IRAN - IRANIAN HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST RELEASED

  IRAN   Mansoureh Behkish, an Iranian human rights activist, was released on bail on 9 July 2011. She is a member of the ‘Mourning Mothers’ group, which campaigns against human rights violations such as unlawful killings, arbitrary arrests, torture and enforced disappearances.   Mansoureh Behkish was released on bail ...

Further information on UA 212/11 INDONESIA - CHURCH CONGREGATION REMAINS AT RISK

  INDONESIA   On Sunday 10 July, the congregation of the Taman Yasmin Indonesian Church (Gereja Kristen Indonesia, GKI) held their weekly religious service outside their sealed-off church. They had been at risk after receiving threats from the local community. However sufficient protection was provided by police and there were ...

UA 213/11 MEXICO - MIGRANTS AT RISK OF MASS KIDNAPPING

  MEXICO   On 6 July, migrants had to flee the Tenosique Migrants Shelter in Tabasco state, southern Mexico, after being threatened that they would be kidnapped. The lives of the shelter staff and migrants who stay at the shelter are at risk.   On 5 July, a young man ...

Further information on UA 210/11 MALAYSIA - MALAYSIAN ACTIVISTS HELD IN SECRET DETENTION

  MALAYSIA   Six Malaysian activists detained under an emergency law are now being held in a secret location, which heightens their risk of torture and other ill-treatment.   After nearly two weeks in detention, six activists for electoral reform were allowed brief access to lawyers on 7 July. They ...

Further information on UA 36/11 IRAN - MANY PROTESTERS RELEASED BUT SOME STILL HELD

  IRAN   Hundreds of people arrested in advance of protests in Iran on 14 February have now been released, including activist Taghi (or Taqi) Rahmani, However at least some are believed to still be held, including Akbar Amini, who protested from the top of a crane.   Writer and ...

Further information on UA 139/11 BAHRAIN - BAHRAIN HEARING MOVES TO CRIMINAL COURT

  BAHRAIN   The appeal case of 21 prominent opposition figures convicted on 22 June in Bahrain has been postponed until 11 September, when it will be heard before an ordinary criminal court, rather than a military court.   On 22 June, Bahrain's National Safety Court, a military court, announced ...

Further information on UA 178/11 USA - TEXAS DEFIES WORLD COURT ORDER AND EXECUTES

  USA   Mexican national Humberto Leal García was executed in Texas on 7 July. His execution violated international law and a binding order from the International Court of Justice (ICJ). The execution went ahead despite opposition from the US and Mexican governments, and UN officials.   Humberto Leal García ...

Further information on UA 149/11 SYRIA - SYRIAN PRISONER RELEASED, BROTHER STILL HELD

  SYRIA   ‘Abd al-Rahman Hammada was released on bail on 27 June 2011 after spending a month and a half in detention. He was reportedly tortured during the first two weeks of his detention. His brother Wa’el Hammada has been held incommunicado since his arrest on 12 May. Amnesty ...

Further information on UA 117/11 CHINA - DETAINED CHINESE ACTIVISTS DENIED MEDICAL CARE

  CHINA   Ni Yulan, housing rights activist and former lawyer, and her husband Dong Jiqin have been formally arrested on charges of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble”. They could now be tried at any time and could face up to five years in prison. This is a crucial time ...

Further information on UA 151/11 SYRIA - SYRIAN ACTIVIST RELEASED

  SYRIA   Syrian civil society activist Amjad Baiazy was released on bail on 1 July. He has been charged and is awaiting trial.   Amjad Baiazy was arrested at Syria’s Damascus International Airport on 12 May. He was held incommunicado in solitary confinement by State Security forces in Damascus ...

Further information on UA 206/11 IRAQ - IRAQI PRO-REFORM ACTIVIST RELEASED

  IRAQ   Iraqi activist Dargham Mahdi al-Zaidi was released on 3 July.   Dargham Mahdi al-Zaidi, a pro-reform activist aged around 30, was released on 3 July. He was abducted in the morning of 27 June while walking in the streets of the Bab al-Sharqi neighbourhood of Baghdad, the ...

Further information on UA 97/10 USA - TRANSFER HEARING SCHEDULED FOR BOY AGED 13

  USA   On 5 August Jordan Brown will have a rare second chance to argue for his case to be transferred to juvenile court for trial. The Pennsylvania Attorney General should seize this opportunity to agree unconditionally to the transfer.   On 8 June, Jordan Brown's lawyers met with ...

UA 211/11 TAJIKISTAN - JOURNALIST ARRESTED AND REPORTEDLY TORTURED

  TAJIKISTAN   Tajikistani BBC journalist Urunboy Usmonov is awaiting trial after being charged with participation in the banned Islamic movement Hizb-ut-Tahrir. Amnesty International believes that he has been detained due to his journalistic work on Hizb-ut-Tahrir. He may have been tortured or ill-treated in detention.   BBC journalist Urunboy ...

Further information on UA 297/09 YEMEN - YEMEN EXECUTIONS POSTPONED

  YEMEN   Five men under sentence of death in Yemen were not executed on 6 July as feared. However, they could still be executed at any time as they have exhausted all their appeals, and their death sentences were ratified by the President in 2009.   Yasser Ismail, aged ...

Further information on UA 208/11 SAUDI ARABIA - FEMALE PROTESTORS RELEASED

  SAUDI ARABIA   Two women who were detained after being arrested at a protest in the Saudi Arabian capital, Riyadh, on 3 July were released on 5 July.   Rima bint Abdul Rahman al-Jareesh and Sharifa al-Saqa’abi were released in the early evening on 5 July. Rima bint Abdul ...

UA 212/11 INDONESIA - CHURCH CONGREGATION THREATENED

  INDONESIA   The congregation of the Taman Yasmin Indonesian Christian Church (Gereja Kristen Indonesia, GKI) in Bogor, West Java, is at risk of attacks, harassment and intimidation at their weekly Sunday service on 10 July after receiving threats from members of the local community. The church has been attacked ...

UA 210/11 MALAYSIA - MP, ACTIVISTS DETAINED FOR PROTESTING

  MALAYSIA   An opposition MP and five other activists calling for reform to Malaysia's electoral system have been detained without charge, and are at risk of torture.   The Malaysian authorities used the country's Emergency Ordinance on 2 July to keep a member of parliament, Dr Jeyakumar Devaraj, and ...

Further information on UA 297/09 YEMEN - FIVE MEN CLOSE TO EXECUTION

  YEMEN   Five men under sentence of death in Yemen could be executed as early as 6 July, according to sources in the country. They have exhausted all their appeals, and their death sentences were ratified by the President in 2009.   Yasser Ismail, aged 29, Bashir Ismail, aged ...

UA 209/11 SYRIA - SYRIAN ACTIVIST AT SERIOUS RISK OF TORTURE

  SYRIA   Syrian activist, Anas al-Shogre, has been detained incommunicado since his arrest on the night of 14-15 May, apparently for calling for and leading protests in the coastal city of Banias, Syria. He is at serious risk of torture and other ill-treatment.   According to a Syrian human ...

UA 208/11 SAUDI ARABIA - TWO SAUDI ARABIAN WOMEN PROTESTERS DETAINED

  SAUDI ARABIA   Two women remain detained following their arrests at a protest on 3 July outside the Ministry of Interior’s office in the Saudi Arabian capital, Riyadh. They may be held solely for peacefully exercising their right to freedom of expression and may therefore be prisoners of conscience. ...

UA 207/11 MEXICO - JOURNALIST AND HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER AT RISK

  MEXICO   Lydia Cacho, a journalist and human rights defender, who is based in Cancún, Quintana Roo state, southern east Mexico, has received new death threats by email and telephone. There are serious fears over her safety and security.   On 14 June Lydia Cacho received a death threat ...

UA 200/11 SERBIA - FORCED EVICTIONS OF ROMA IN SERBIA

  SERBIA   The authorities in Obrenovac, a municipality of Belgrade, Serbia, are planning the forced eviction of seventeen Roma families living in municipal buildings. Amnesty International is concerned the families will be moved to metal containers which do not meet the criteria of adequate housing.   Seventeen predominantly Roma ...

UA 206/11 IRAQ - ACTIVIST ABDUCTED IN BAGHDAD

  IRAQ   An Iraqi pro-reform activist was abducted in central Baghdad on 27 June by men wearing civilian clothes. His whereabouts are unknown to his family and friends, and there are fears that he could be at risk of torture.   Dargham Mahdi al-Zaidi, a pro-reform activist aged around ...

Further information on UA 177/11 MEXICO - SIX MEN UNLAWFULLY DETAINED BY NAVY

  MEXICO   At least six men have been unlawfully detained and subjected to enforced disappearance by Navy marines in northern Mexico. Despite compelling evidence, the Navy is continuing to deny involvement and the official investigation appears to have stalled.   Relatives have filed complaints with local and federal authorities ...

UA 205/11 SUDAN - RIGHTS ACTIVIST DETAINED, AT RISK OF TORTURE

  SUDAN   Sudanese human rights activist, Bushra Gamar Hussein Rahma, is being detained in an unknown location. He was arrested on 25 June in Omdurman, Sudan, and has no access to his family or a lawyer. He is at risk of torture or other ill-treatment.   Bushra Gamar Hussein ...

UA 204/11 NIGERIA - HUNDREDS FORCIBLY EVICTED IN ABUJA

  NIGERIA   Hundreds of people were forcibly evicted from their homes in an informal settlement in Abuja, Nigeria. The settlement was burnt down by a government task force and at least one person was killed.   Hundreds of people were forcibly evicted from their homes and at least one ...

Further information on UA 189/11 SYRIA - KURDISH ACTIVIST RELEASED IN SYRIA

  SYRIA   Sabri Mirza, a 60-year-old Kurdish political activist and human rights lawyer, was released on 23 June, following his arrest the previous week in Qamishly, northern Syria.   Sabri Mirza was arrested by local police and handed over to Political Security forces on 13 June. After being held ...

Further information on UA 218/10 CHAD - FORCED EVICTIONS IN CHAD STOPPED

  CHAD   More than 10.000 people living in Ambatta, in Chad’s capital, N’Djamena, are no longer at risk of forced eviction. The residents of Ambatta have thanked Amnesty International for their action on their behalf, which was crucial in stopping the evictions.   The Ambatta committee, which was formed ...

Further information on UA 165/11 INDIA - INDIAN ENVIRONMENTALISTS DENIED BAIL AGAIN

  INDIA   Two human rights defenders and environmental rights campaigners, Ramesh Agrawal and Dr Harihar Patel, have been denied release on bail by the high court. They have been jailed for a month in state of Chhattisgarh after their arrest on false charges on 28 May.   Ramesh Agrawal’s ...

UA 203/11 USA - SHOOTING SURVIVOR OPPOSES GUNMAN EXECUTION

  USA   Mark Stroman is due to be executed in Texas on 20 July. He was sentenced to death in 2002 for the murder of an Indian immigrant following the 9/11 attacks in the USA. A Bangladeshi man he also shot during a series of post-9/11 crimes is calling ...

UA 202/11 VENEZUELA - VENEZUELAN ACTIVIST RECEIVED DEATH THREATS

  VENEZUELA   The safety of Venezuelan human rights defender Humberto Prado Sifontes, director of the Venezuelan Observatory of Prisons (Observatorio Venezolano de Prisiones) and his family are seriously at risk following a campaign of intimidation and death threats against him that began in the wake of violent disturbances at ...

UA 201/11 MEXICO - MASS KIDNAPPING OF MIGRANTS IN MEXICO

  MEXICO   A mass kidnapping of irregular migrants travelling on a freight train between Oaxaca and Veracruz states, Mexico, took place on 24 June. The whereabouts of many of the men, women and children who were travelling on the train is unknown. Their lives are at risk.   On ...

Further information on UA 326/07 CHAD - SEVEN HELD SINCE 2007, RELEASED IN 2011

  CHAD   Seven men subjected to enforced disappearance since late 2007 are now known to have been released in March this year. The men and their relatives have thanked Amnesty International for campaigning on their behalf.   The seven men had been arrested by Chadian security forces on 30 ...

UA 191/11 COLOMBIA - DEATH THREAT TO HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS

  COLOMBIA   Ten Bogotá-based Colombian non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and 18 individuals, including human rights defenders, have received a death threat by email from the paramilitary Black Eagles Capital Bloc (Águilas Negras Bloque Capital D.C.). Their safety is believed to be under threat.   On 19 June, 10 Bogotá-based Colombian ...

UA 198/11 MEXICO - FEARS DETAINEE HAS BEEN DISAPPEARED

  MEXICO   Jethro Ramsés Sánchez Santana was detained on 1 May in Cuernavaca, Morelos state, Mexico, by Cuernavaca Municipal Police, then passed to members of the Mexican Army. He has not been seen since and the authorities have failed to provide information on his whereabouts. His family are concerned ...

UA 196/11 IRAN - WOMAN DETAINED FOR HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVISM

  IRAN   Iranian human rights activist, Mansoureh Behkish, was arrested on 12 June 2011. She is a member of the ‘Mourning Mothers’ group, which campaigns against human rights violations such as unlawful killings, arbitrary arrests, torture, and enforced disappearances. She is at risk of torture or other ill-treatment.   ...

UA 197/11 CHINA - STOP TWO EXECUTIONS IN CHINA

  CHINA   A Hong Kong man, Robert Shan Shiao-may, and Lien Sung-ching, of Taiwan, are facing execution in mainland China. The Supreme People's Court (SPC) in Beijing is now reviewing their sentences: if it approves them, the men could be executed as early as 25 June.   Robert Shan ...

Further information on UA 139/11 BAHRAIN - HARSH JAIL TERMS FOR OPPOSITION FIGURES

  BAHRAIN   14 opposition figures who led and participated in the demonstrations in February and March in Bahrain have been given very harsh prison terms on broadly-drawn terrorism charges, including seven life sentences. Their trial, before a military court, was unfair and politically motivated.   On 22 June, Bahrain's ...

Further information on UA 297/09 YEMEN - EXECUTIONS OF FIVE MEN IMMINENT

  YEMEN   Five men under sentence of death in Yemen could be executed in the next few days, according to sources in the country. They have exhausted all their appeals, and their death sentences were ratified by the President in 2009.   Yasser Ismail, aged 29, Bashir Ismail, aged ...

UA 195/11 IRAN - ENVIRONMENTALIST ARRESTED IN IRAN

  IRAN   Farzad Haghshenas, an environmental activist and member of the NGO, Sabzchia (The Green Mountain Society), was arrested on 18 May 2011 in front of his shop in Marivan, Kordestan Province, north western Iran. He is at risk of torture or other ill-treatment.   A member of the ...

UA 194/11 ISRAEL - FAMILIES WITHOUT HOMES FOLLOWING DEMOLITION

  ISRAEL   The Israeli army have destroyed 29 homes and other properties in the Bedouin hamlet of Hadidiya in the Jordan Valley, leaving 11 children and 16 adults without homes. The families are planning to rebuild structures to live in, but these will also be at immediate risk of ...

Further information on UA 63/10 MEXICO - DEMAND PROTECTION FOR INDIGENOUS ACTIVISTS

  MEXICO   Indigenous activists, Obtilia Eugenio Manuel and Cuautémoc Ramírez, have received a threatening letter. A week earlier they and other members of OPIM were subject to an aggressive and intimidating search by members of the Mexican army.   On 16 June a hand-written threat was found at the ...

UA 193/11 IRAQ - 15 MEN AT IMMINENT RISK OF EXECUTION

  IRAQ   Fifteen men, alleged to be members of armed groups, were sentenced to death on 16 June, only days after “confessions” by several of them were broadcast on Iraqi television. They may not have received a fair trial and are at imminent risk of execution.   The 15 ...

UA 192/11 RUSSIAN FEDERATION - LGBT ACTIVISTS FEAR ARREST AND VIOLENCE

  RUSSIAN FEDERATION   The authorities in St. Petersburg, Russian Federation, have denied lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) activists the right to hold a Slavic Pride, planned for 25 June. There are fears that the police will detain peaceful demonstrators, and there have also been threats of violence from ...

UA 191/11 CÔTE D'IVOIRE - TRADE UNIONIST ARRESTED, AT RISK OF TORTURE

  CÔTE D'IVOIRE   Amnesty International is very concerned about the safety of Basile Mahan Gahé, a trade unionist who has been detained without charge at a police station in Abidjan’s Williamsville neighbourhood, Côte d’Ivoire, since 26 April. Amnesty International believes he may be a prisoner of conscience, solely detained ...

UA 190/11 GAMBIA - ARRESTS IN GAMBIA FOR DISTRIBUTING T-SHIRTS

  GAMBIA   A former Minister of Information and Communication and three other men have been charged with treason after distributing Coalition for Change – The Gambia (CCG) t-shirts calling for an ‘End to Dictatorship Now’ in The Gambia. They are being detained in Banjul, the capital city, and have ...

Further information UA 136/11 INDIA - TEENAGER RELEASED FROM DETENTION

  INDIA   Nineteen-year-old Zaffar Shafi Hakeem was released from police custody on the evening of 18 June, after local media highlighted Amnesty International’s urgent action appeal.   Zaffar Shafi Hakeem was released from police custody in Anantnag, Jammu and Kashmir in the evening of 18 June and is now ...

Further information on UA 170/11 USA - ALABAMA EXECUTION GOES AHEAD

  USA   Eddie Duval Powell, a 41-year-old African American man, was executed on the evening of 16 June in the US state of Alabama.   Eddie Duval Powell was executed by lethal injection at Holman Prison in Atmore, Alabama. He had been convicted in 1998 of the murder of ...

UA 188/11 INDONESIA- PAPUAN ACTIVIST AT RISK FOLLOWING BEATING

  INDONESIA   Yones Douw, a human rights activist in the Indonesian province of Papua, was beaten by military officers on 15 June and has been denied medical treatment. He fears for his health and safety, as he has previously been detained and assaulted as a result of his human ...

UA 185/11 SPAIN - FAMILY AT RISK OF FORCED EVICTION IN SPAIN

SPAIN   Abdelilah Ghailán and Fátima Zohra Alami Wahabi and their two children are at risk of being forcibly evicted from their homes in Madrid, Spain, from 24 June 2011. The eviction has been ordered without prior consultation and the family has not been offered any alternative housing. Hundreds of ...

Further Information on UA 161/11 INDIA - INDIA EXECUTION SUSPENDED UNTIL JULY

  INDIA   Mahendra Nath Das’ execution has been suspended until 21 July by the Gauhati High Court in Assam, north-east India, as the Government has sought time to respond to the Court. This is a crucial time to appeal to the Government to commute the death sentence.   An ...

UA 189/11 SYRIA - KURDISH POLITICAL ACTIVIST AT RISK OF TORTURE

  SYRIA   Kurdish political activist and human rights lawyer, Sabri Mirza, has been held at an unknown location following his arrest in Qamishly, northern Syria, on 13 June. He is at risk of torture and other ill-treatment and may be a prisoner of conscience detained solely for peacefully expressing ...

UA 173/11 CHINA - FORCIBLY RETURNED ASYLUM SEEKER AT RISK

  CHINA   Ershidin Israil, an ethnic Uighur and a Chinese national, was forcibly returned from Kazakhstan to China on 30 May and is now being treated as a “major terror suspect” by the Chinese authorities. He is at risk of torture and ill-treatment in custody and unfair trial.   ...

Further information on UA 150/11 COLOMBIA - DEMAND PROTECTION FOR HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVISTS

  COLOMBIA   On 14 June, Franklin Torres, Candelaria Barrios and Pedro Geney, members of the National Movement of Victims of State Crimes (MOVICE) in Sucre Department, northern Colombia, received a death threat by email.   The email was also sent to MOVICE staff in Bogotá, who are in charge ...

UA 187/11 GUATEMALA - FAMILY OF MURDERED MOTHER AT RISK

  GUATEMALA   Margarita Chub Che, a human rights defender and community leader, was killed on 4 June in the municipality of San José Panorama, Panzos, north-eastern Guatemala. Her family is believed to be at risk of further attacks because of their demands for justice.   On 4 June, at ...

Further information on UA 146/11 UKRAINE - UA PROMPTS INVESTIGATION INTO POLICE EXTORTION

  UKRAINE   The Ukrainian Ombudspersons Office has responded to the Urgent Action appeal on behalf of Rostislav Chapran by carrying out an investigation in Lviv.   Amnesty International initially issued an Urgent Action on behalf of Rostislav Chapran on 19 May based on information received from his relatives. 32-year-old ...

Further information on UA 19/09 IRAQ - MAN REMAINS IN DETENTION DESPITE COURT ORDER

  IRAQ   An Iraqi man formerly under sentence of death who was acquitted at the end of 2010 by the Court of Cassation continues to be detained in al-Kadhimiya prison in Baghdad. Amnesty International is calling for his immediate release.   Ibrahim Karim Mohammed al-Qaragholi was sentenced to death ...

Further information UA 136/11 INDIA - TEENAGER AT RISK OF REPEAT DETENTION

  INDIA   Nineteen year old Zaffar Shafi Hakeem was taken into custody by police immediately after being released from administrative detention on 10 June, and is at risk of a repeat administrative detention order.   Zaffar Shafi Hakeem had been arrested on 28 January by police in Anantnag, Jammu ...

UA 186/11 IRAN - THREE MOTHERS SENTENCED TO DEATH IN IRAN

  IRAN   Three women and two men are facing execution for drug trafficking in Iran, possibly as soon as 26 June, after unfair trials. They have not had the opportunity to appeal against their convictions and sentences. Their requests for pardon have been rejected on two occasions. Amnesty International ...

Further information on UA 87/11 SYRIA - HUNDREDS OF PRISONERS RELEASED IN SYRIA

  SYRIA   Hundreds of people arrested during protests in Syria have now been released, some individually in previous months and some following a "general amnesty" on 31 May 2011. Nonetheless, arrests continue on a daily basis and hundreds of people remain in incommunicado detention, where they are at risk ...

UA 181/11 BAHRAIN - BAHRAINI OFFICER DETAINED BEYOND SENTENCE

  BAHRAIN   A former Bahrain Defence Force (BDF) officer continues to be detained in Bahrain despite completing his prison sentence and without him or his lawyer being informed of any new charges against him. He has been denied family visits and he is currently believed to be on hunger ...

Further information on UA 122/11 BAHRAIN - BAHRAIN EXECUTION DECISION POSTPONED

  BAHRAIN   Two men sentenced to death in Bahrain, 'Ali 'Abdullah Hassan al-Sankis and 'Abdulaziz 'Abdulridha Ibrahim Hussain, will now wait over three months before hearing whether they will be subjected to capital punishment. If their death sentences are upheld and ratified, the two men will be executed.   ...

Further information on UA 55/11 ZIMBABWE - ACTIVISTS FACE TWENTY YEARS IN JAIL FOR LECTURE

  ZIMBABWE   Six Zimbabwean activists, arrested in February this year in relation to a lecture about revolt in North Africa, will be tried on 18 July for attempting to subvert a constitutionally elected government. If convicted, they could be sentenced to twenty years in prison.   Eddson Chakuma, Antonater ...

UA 183/11 MEXICO - MIGRANTS HARASSSED OUTSIDE MIGRANTS' SHELTER

  MEXICO   Migrants and a volunteer at the Casa del Migrante de Saltillo (Saltillo Migrants’ Shelter) in the Mexican state of Coahuila have been harassed by three armed aggressors. There are fears for the security for the staff and migrants of the shelter.   On 13 June, Klaus Einhorn, ...

UA 184/11 KUWAIT - KUWAITI ARRESTED FOR TWEETING ABOUT PROTESTS

  KUWAIT   A 26-year-old Kuwaiti, Nasser Abul was arrested on 7 June 2011 and accused of insulting the Bahraini and Saudi Arabian ruling families on his Twitter account. He says that he was tortured and ill-treated during the first two days of his detention. He is a prisoner of ...

Further information on UA 47/10 PERU - CHINESE MAN WILL NOT BE EXTRADITED FROM PERU

  PERU   The Peruvian Constitutional Court has ruled that the government should not extradite a Chinese man, Huang Haiyong (also written as Wong Ho Wing) to China to face charges that can carry the death penalty.   When Huang Haiyong arrived in Peru from the USA in October 2008, ...

UA 180/11 SAUDI ARABIA - HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST HELD INCOMMUNICADO

  SAUDI ARABIA   Human rights activist Fadel Makki al-Manasef was arrested on 1 May 2011 in connection with protests in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province; he has been held incommunicado since 18 May, putting him at risk of torture and other ill-treatment. Fadel al-Manasef may be a prisoner of conscience, ...

Further information on UA 12/11 HONDURAS - PROTECT LGBT ACTIVIST UNDER THREAT

  HONDURAS   LGBT activist and human rights defender Alex David Sanchez Alvarez was threatened at gunpoint for the third time this year, on 8 June. Amnesty International believes that his life is in danger.   On the morning of 8 June, at about 8.10am, Alex David Sanchez Alvarez was ...

UA 178/11 USA - EXECUTION PLANNED DESPITE WORLD COURT ORDER

  USA   Humberto Leal García, a Mexican national, is scheduled to be put to death in Texas on 7 July. He was denied his consular rights after his arrest. If allowed to proceed, his execution would violate international law and a binding order from the International Court of Justice ...

UA 179/11 BAHRAIN - BAHRAINI POET SENTENCED FOR READING A POEM

  BAHRAIN   On 12 June a Bahraini poet and student was sentenced to one year in prison for reading a poem criticizing the king of Bahrain.   Ayat al-Qarmezi, a poet and university student at the Faculty of Teachers in Bahrain, was sentenced on 12 June by the National ...

Further information on UA 116/11 BAHRAIN - DEFENCE LAWYER APPEARS IN COURT

  BAHRAIN   A prominent defence lawyer arrested in Bahrain on 15 April appeared in court on 12 June without any prior notice being given to his family or lawyers. His case will resume on 16 June. Amnesty international believes he is a prisoner of conscience who has been detained ...

Further information on UA 149/11 SYRIA - SYRIAN BROTHERS HELD BY INTELLIGENCE AGENCY

  SYRIA   Syrian brothers 'Abd al-Rahman Hammada and Wa'el Hammada, who have been detained since 30 April and 12 May respectively, are now believed to be held incommunicado at one of the three Air Force Security branches in the capital Damascus. Reports suggest that they have been tortured or ...

Further information on UA 129/10 KAZAKSTAN - ETHNIC UZBEKS AT RISK OF TORTURE IF RETURNED

  KAZAKSTAN   Kazakhstan extradited 28 ethnic Uzbeks to Uzbekistan on 9 June, where they are at real risk of torture. Four more ethnic Uzbek men are also at risk of forcible return. The wives and children of all 32 men are also at risk of extradition.   The men ...

Further information on UA 171/11 CHILE - CHILEAN PRISONERS END HUNGER STRIKE

  CHILE   Four Chilean prisoners who had been on hunger strike since 15 March have now ended their strike.   Héctor Llaitul, Jonathan Huillical, José Hueniche and Ramón Llanquileo, who are of Mapuche ethnic origin, began a hunger strike on 15 March in protest against the use of anti-terrorist ...

Further information on UA 147/11 INDIA - POLICE TRY TO FORCIBLY EVICT FARMERS IN INDIA

  INDIA   On 10 June, police marched into Govindpur village, Jagatsinghpur district, Orissa state, India, intending to forcibly evict farmers from common land. After several hours of tense but peaceful protest by villagers, the police retreated, threatening to return soon to continue the eviction.   An estimated 4,000 families ...

UA 176/11 SAUDI ARABIA - SAUDI ARABIAN BROTHERS AT RISK OF EXECUTION

  SAUDI ARABIA   Two Saudi Arabian brothers are at imminent risk of execution in Saudi Arabia. They have exhausted all their appeals and the King is said to have ratified their death sentences. The number of executions in Saudi Arabia has significantly increased in recent weeks. At least 27 ...

UA 177/11 MEXICO - FEARS THAT DETAINEE HAS BEEN DISAPPEARED

  MEXICO   José Fortino Martínez Martínez was detained on 5 June 2011 in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas state, Mexico, by members of the Mexican Navy. Neither his family or a local human rights organization know where he is and are concerned that he is a victim of enforced disappearance.   ...

UA 174/11 SAUDI ARABIA - WOMAN AND MAN AT IMMINENT RISK OF EXECUTION

  SAUDI ARABIA   A woman and a man who have exhausted all their appeals are at imminent risk of execution in Saudi Arabia, where recent weeks have seen a significant increase in executions. At least 27 people have been executed so far this year, 15 of whom were executed ...

Further information on UA 158/11 IRAQ - FOUR IRAQI ACTIVISTS RELEASED

  IRAQ   Four activists detained in Iraq on 27 May were released on 7 June. They allege that they were tortured in detention.   Ahmed Alaa al Baghdadi, Jihad Jalil Ibrahim, Muayyad Faisal al-Tayeb and Ali Abdul Khaliq al Jaf were taken from Tahrir Square in central Baghdad at ...

Further information on UA 162/11 PAKISTAN - TORTURE FEARS FOR TWO PAKISTANI STUDENTS

  PAKISTAN   Brothers Abdullah and Ibrahim Mohamed El-Sharkawi have been allegedly abducted by Pakistani intelligence agencies in Pakistan on 25 and 29 May. Ibrahim was located in detention nine days later. Abdullah is still missing. There are fears that both are at risk of torture and other ill-treatment and ...

UA 172/11 COLOMBIA - DEATH THREATS TO HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS

  COLOMBIA   On 7 June Julio Cesar Rosero, a lawyer representing the family of a victim of an extrajudicial execution in Valle del Cauca Department, South-Western Colombia, received an email telling him he and others would be killed if members of the armed forces were convicted for the killing. ...

Further information on UA 141/11 USA - OHIO GOVERNOR COMMUTES DEATH SENTENCE

  USA   Ohio Governor John Kasich has commuted the death sentence of Shawn Hawkins to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. Shawn Hawkins was due to be executed on 14 June after more than two decades on death row.   In 1990 Shawn Hawkins was convicted of the ...

UA 175/11 SUDAN - ASYLUM-SEEKERS AND REFUGEES RISK FORCIBLE RETURN

  SUDAN   A group of 12 Eritrean refugees and asylum-seekers are at imminent risk of being forcibly returned to Eritrea by the Sudanese authorities. If returned, they would be at grave risk of arbitrary detention and torture.   The 12 men and women are currently being held in Kassala ...

UA 169/11 MEXICO - POLICE RAID HUMAN RIGHTS OFFICE, NO WARRANT

  MEXICO   Federal Police officers raided a human rights organization’s office in the northern Mexican state of Chihuahua on 5 June, without a warrant. The staff of the organization are in danger.   Five Federal Police vehicles arrived at the premises of the Centro de Derechos Humanos Paso del ...

UA 171/11 CHILE - CHILEAN HUNGER STRIKERS MAY BE FORCE FED

  CHILE   Four Chilean prisoners currently on hunger strike could be subjected to forcible feeding. In some circumstances, forcible feeding may amount to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.   Health authorities in the Araucanía Norte region have requested a court order enabling them to take all necessary measures to ...

Further information on UA 140/11 NIGERIA - WHEREABOUTS OF PRISONER NOW KNOWN

  NIGERIA   Aliyu Tasheku had been held incommunicado detention, prompting fears he may be at risk of extrajudicial execution. His whereabouts are now known   Aliyu Tasheku remains unlawfully detained but his whereabouts are now known. He is in contact with his lawyer and family.   Following several court ...

UA 170/11 USA - MENTAL DISABILITY CONCERN AS EXECUTION NEARS

  USA   Eddie Duval Powell, a 41-year-old African American man, is scheduled to be executed in the US state of Alabama on 16 June. He was sentenced to death in 1998 for a murder in 1995. His lawyers claim that he has a mental disability that would render his ...

Further information on UA 18/11 SUDAN - LAST ACTIVIST FROM JANUARY PROTESTS RELEASED

  SUDAN   Adil Ibrahim Karar, the last of the activists known to have been detained in connection with demonstrations in Sudan in January, was released on 29 May. He had been arrested on 31 January in Omdurman, on suspicion of intending to take part in a demonstration.   Adil ...

UA 168/11 BRAZIL - PROTECT SMALLHOLDERS FROM VIOLENCE

  BRAZIL   Hired gunmen have fired shots over two communities of rural workers in the state of Tocantins, northern Brazil. Five community leaders have been “marked down for death”. There is a long-running land dispute in the area between local farmers and smallholders, who are fighting for land reform. ...

Further information on UA 125/11 IRAN - ONE STUDENT ACTIVIST RELEASED, ONE STILL HELD

  IRAN   Shiva Kamalipour Azad, one of the two members of the Confederation of Iranian Students (CIS) arrested on 26 April, was released on bail on 25 May 2011. Mohammad Reza (known as Arash) Fakhravar is now known to be held in Evin Prison in Tehran. He is at ...

Further information on UA 158/11 IRAQ - FOUR ACTIVISTS REMAIN DETAINED IN IRAQ

  IRAQ   The seven remaining activists from the Ayna Haqqi NGO that had been detained in Baghdad on 28 May have been released. However four activists that were detained during protests on 27 May remain in detention.   On 28 May, Iraqi security forces detained at least 11 activists ...

UA 162/11 PAKISTAN - TORTURE FEARS FOR TWO PAKISTANI STUDENTS

  PAKISTAN   Brothers Abdullah and Ibrahim Mohamed El-Sharkawi have not been seen since their alleged enforced disappearance in Pakistan on 25 and 29 May. There are fears that they are being held by Pakistani intelligence agencies and are at risk of torture and other ill-treatment.   Abdullah Mohamed El-Sharkawi, ...

UA 166/11 CAMEROON - CAMEROONIAN MAN JAILED FOR HOMOSEXUALITY

  CAMEROON   Jean-Claude Roger Mbede has been sentenced to 36 months in prison for homosexuality, a criminal offence under Section 347a of the Cameroonian Penal Code. He is currently serving his sentence at Kondengui central prison in Yaoundé, the capital of Cameroon. He is at risk of physical attack ...

Further information on UA 130/10 IRAN - TWO TRADE UNIONISTS RELEASED, TWO STILL HELD

  IRAN   Mansour Ossanlu, head of an independent but unrecognized trade union in Iran, was released from Reja’i Shahr prison on medical leave on 2 June 2011. Gholamreza Gholamhosseini, another trade unionist, was released on bail equivalent to US$30,000 on 27 April 2011. Two other trade-unionists remain in custody. ...

UA 167/11 INDIA - INDIA TURNS DOWN SECOND MERCY PETITION

  INDIA   Devender Pal Singh is at risk of imminent execution in New Delhi, India, after the President of India rejected his mercy petition in May. This is the second petition rejected in the same month.   Devender Pal Singh (also known as Davinder Pal Singh Bhullar) was sentenced ...

Further information on UA 115/11 INDIA - CHILD RELEASED FROM DETENTION IN INDIA

  INDIA   Murtaza Manzoor, 17 years old, was released from police custody in Jammu and Kashmir, India, on 23 May. He had been released from administrative detention on 18 May, but was immediately detained by police.   Murtaza Manzoor had been arrested on 21 January 2011 by police in ...

UA 158/11 IRAQ - PROTESTERS DETAINED, AT RISK OF TORTURE

  IRAQ   A group of pro-reform activists have been allowed no contact with the outside world since they were detained on 27 and 28 May in Baghdad. They are at risk of torture or other ill-treatment.   Ahmed Alaa al Baghdadi, Jihad Jalil Ibrahim, Muayyad Faisal al-Tayeb and Ali ...

UA 163/11 ARGENTINA - INDIGENOUS FAMILIES AT RISK OF FORCED EVICTION

  ARGENTINA   Four Indigenous families are at risk of imminent forced eviction from their homes in the northern Argentinian province of Tucumán. They could face violence from the police and the loss of their homes and livelihoods.   On 30 May a judge based in the northern Argentinian city ...

UA 160/11 RUSSIAN FEDERATION - CHECHEN MAN ABDUCTED BY POLICE

  RUSSIAN FEDERATION   A Chechen man has been abducted from his workplace by men in uniform, alleged to have been police officers. Eyewitnesses have given a full account to the authorities, but the investigation into this enforced disappearance is making no progress.   A Chechen man, Tamerlan Dokuvich Suleimanov, ...

UA 164/11 MYANMAR - PRISONERS PUT IN ‘DOG CELLS’ AFTER PROTESTS

  MYANMAR   Political prisoners in Myanmar who have initiated peaceful protests in three prisons, including hunger strikes, are at risk of torture and other ill-treatment. Amnesty International has received credible reports that seven prisoners who were on hunger strike were placed in solitary confinement in cells designed for military ...

UA 165/11 INDIA - INDIAN ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVISTS HELD

  INDIA   Two human rights defenders and environmental rights campaigners, Ramesh Agrawal and Dr Harihar Patel, were arrested on false charges on 28 May in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh and denied release on bail. Ramesh Agrawal is now being held chained to his bed at hospital where ...

UA 161/11 INDIA - FIRST EXECUTION IN INDIA SINCE 2004 IMMINENT

  INDIA   Mahendra Nath Das is facing imminent execution in Jorhat, Assam, north-east India, after the President of India rejected his mercy petition. This would be the first execution in India since 2004.   Mahendra Nath Das was sentenced to death in August 1997 for a murder in Guwahati, ...

UA 159/11 SUDAN - SUDANESE WOMAN DETAINED, RISKS TORTURE

  SUDAN   A Sudanese woman, Hawa Abdallah, who works for the joint United Nations and African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID), has been held incommunicado since 6 May, when she was arrested for "Christianizing" children and being linked to an armed opposition group. She is at risk of torture ...

Further information on UA 127/11 ISRAEL - DETENTION ORDER CONFIRMED

ISRAEL   A military judge confirmed a four-month administrative detention order for Palestinian academic Ahmad Qatamesh on 19 May. The decision was made following a closed hearing; neither Ahmad Qatamesh nor his lawyer is permitted to see the “evidence” against him. The order expires on 2 September 2011 but can ...

UA 157/11 GUATEMALA - INDIGENOUS FARMER KILLED OVER LAND DISPUTE

  GUATEMALA   On 21 May, Indigenous farmer, Oscar Reyes, was killed, and three other farm workers were injured, while tending crops in the Valle del Polochic, in Panzos, north-eastern Guatemala. In March, local indigenous communities were evicted from the land, over which a local company claims ownership. They are ...

Further information on UA 152/11 MOROCCO - VIOLENT CRACKDOWN ON PROTESTS IN MOROCCO

MOROCCO   In the last week, scores of protesters in Morocco have been physically assaulted by security forces. Nabil Talha, a student who was beaten and arrested on 22 May 2011, has been conditionally released. Another 21 protesters are still detained in Tangiers and face criminal charges.   Following protests ...

UA 156/11 HAITI - STOP EVICTIONS OF HOMELESS HAITIANS

HAITI   Since 23 May, more than 300 homeless families have been forcibly evicted from two makeshift camps in the Delmas municipality of Port-au-Prince, continuing what seems to be a wave of forced evictions in the Haitian capital. Hundreds more are facing imminent eviction in the next three months.   ...

Further information on UA 131/11 EL SALVADOR - NEW DEATH THREATS TO JOURNALISTS

EL SALVADOR   A journalist and two staff members working at Radio Victoria in Cabañas, El Salvador, have received new death threats and are at risk.   For the third time this year on 24 May, at 6.30pm and 7.00pm, Pablo Ayala, a human rights journalist at Radio Victoria in ...