Kategorie: Humans

Responding to Saudi Arabia’s hosting of a Formula One Grand Prix this weekend, Heba Morayef, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, said:

“Over the last few years, the Saudi Arabian authorities have invested heavily in PR stunts to rebrand their image and attempt to deflect attention from their brutal crackdown on activists and human rights defenders. Although we saw a brief lull in executions and prosecutions of activists during Saudi Arabia’s presidency of the G20 summit, that ended immediately after the event when the authorities ramped up their repression once again.

“The Saudi Arabian authorities need to realize that the best PR comes from respecting human rights. If the authorities want to be perceived differently, they should immediately and unconditionally release all those incarcerated for peacefully expressing their views, lift all travel bans and impose a moratorium on the death penalty. Foreign governments wishing to deepen their relations with Saudi Arabia should urge the authorities to address their egregious human rights record.

“Any company holding major events in Saudi Arabia must identify, mitigate or prevent any human right abuses that it may cause, contribute to or be directly linked to through its operations, products and services, including Formula 1 and its Grand Prix races.”

The Saudi Arabian authorities need to realize that the best PR comes from respecting human rights.

Heba Morayef, Amnesty International

Background

In December 2020, shortly after the end of the G20 Summit hosted by Saudi Arabia, the Saudi Arabian authorities resumed their crackdown on freedom of expression, targeting human rights defenders as well as anyone who has expressed views critical of the government. After an 85% fall in recorded executions in 2020, at least 40 people were put to death between January and July 2021 – more than during all of 2020.  On 15 June, Saudi authorities executed Mustafa al-Darwish, a young man who was arrested in 2015 for allegedly participating in anti-government protests in the Eastern Province, following a grossly unfair trial.

Amnesty International has documented the cases of at least 64 individuals prosecuted for exercising their rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly between 2013 and 2021; To date, 39 remain imprisoned, while others were conditionally released only recently after serving their sentences or are awaiting trial for charges related to their expression and human rights work. They include human rights defenders, peaceful political activists, journalists, poets and clerics. Their conditions of release include years-long travel ban sentences.

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Reacting to the news that Marfa Rabkova, a human rights defender and coordinator of the NGO Viasna’s Volunteer Service, is facing fresh charges linked to “endangering national security” that could lead up to 20 years in prison for 11 criminal offenses, Marie Struthers, Amnesty International’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia Director, said:

“Marfa Rabkova’s case epitomizes the horrors currently faced by human rights defenders and the wider civil society in Belarus. Over the last 18 months, Alyaksandr Lukashenka’s government has effectively outlawed the country’s entire human rights community by imprisoning dozens of human rights activists under spurious charges, closing vast numbers of NGOs and arbitrarily detaining hundreds of peaceful protesters.

Marfa Rabkova’s case epitomizes the horrors currently faced by human rights defenders and the wider civil society in Belarus. Over the last 18 months, Alyaksandr Lukashenka’s government has effectively outlawed the country’s entire human rights community

Marie Struthers, Amnesty International’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia Director

“Marfa Rabkova is facing up to 20 years in prison amid an onslaught of obviously baseless, politically-motivated charges when all she has done is stand up for human rights. The secrecy that surrounds her prosecution, however, means we may never know the details of what she has been officially accused of.

“The Belarusian authorities must immediately and unconditionally release not only Marfa Rabkova, but all of her detained colleagues from Viasna and other activists that continue to be arbitrarily detained throughout the country. The relentless persecution of civil society groups in Belarus must end.”

Background

According to a letter Marfa Rabkova sent to her family from jail, the Belarusian authorities have, among other charges, accused her of managing a criminal organization, inciting social hostility, deliberately destructing property, and calling for action that aims to harm national security.

Marfa Rabkova was detained together with her husband Vadzim Zharomski on 17 September 2020. She has been held in pre-trial detention since her arrest.

Seven other staff members from Viasna’s Volunteer Service have also been arrested under vaguely worded charges, two of whom were sentenced to prison following closed-door trials.

Founded in 1996, Viasna is a leading human rights organization in Belarus and has been documenting human rights violations following the August 2020 disputed presidential election. In 2003, the authorities deregistered the organization.

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Girls who are survivors of sexual violence in Paraguay face a confusing path of obstacles to rebuilding their lives and obtaining justice in a country where authorities ignore their voices, force them to carry pregnancies resulting from rape to term, while failing to listen to the expert opinions of their own professionals on sexual violence, Amnesty International concluded in a new report released today.

“By action and omission, Paraguay is turning its back on its girls and teenagers as they face unimaginable abuses. Although on paper there is a legal framework to support survivors of sexual violence, in practice they are at the mercy of a chaotic system that does not listen to them or prioritize their well-being and instead focuses on forcing girls to carry pregnancies to term,” said Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas Director at Amnesty International.

The report, titled in Guaraní Mitãkuña ndaha’eiva’erã sy (They are girls, not mothers), analyses the failures of the system that exists in Paraguay to address cases of sexual violence against children and teenagers based on the experiences of a large number of professionals in the fields of health, education and justice.

The crisis is monumental. In 2019 alone, the Public Prosecutor’s Office received, on average, 12 reports of sexual violence against children and teenagers every day. Experts estimate that for every two cases they know of, there may be at least 10 others.

Most take place in the family environment and, in some cases, the abuse results in pregnancy. In fact, in Paraguay, an average of two girls between the ages of 10 and 14 give birth every day. At least 1,000 girls aged 14 and under gave birth in Paraguay between 2019 and 2020. In addition, more than 12,000 teenage girls between the ages of 15 and 19 gave birth in 2019. Many of these pregnancies may also have been the result of sexual violence, lack of comprehensive sexual education, inadequate information on prevention of early pregnancy or insufficient access to sexual and reproductive health services.

For girls, options are often very limited, despite the enormous risks that early childbirth can pose to their bodies and lives – girls under the age of 15 are four times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications, in addition to being at greater risk of premature birth.

Forcing someone to continue with a pregnancy, particularly when it is the result of rape, is a form of ill-treatment that can be considered torture

Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas Director at Amnesty International

Paraguay continues to have some of the most restrictive laws in the Americas regarding access to safe and legal abortion. Termination of pregnancy is a crime punishable by imprisonment, with the exception of cases where the pregnant woman’s life is in danger.

Without options, many girls end up living with their abusers or in children’s homes where they are often pressured to become mothers, and are subjected to further abuse, deprived of any possibility of a quality education and dignified life plans.

As a consequence of not listening to the professionals’ response to sexual violence in girls and teenagers, Paraguayan authorities are not promoting early detection, are not providing comprehensive sexual education with a gender focus and are not coordinating and streamlining their response to avoid secondary revictimization.

“Girls have the right to a life free of violence. Forcing someone to continue with a pregnancy, particularly when it is the result of rape, is a form of ill-treatment that can be considered torture,” said Erika Guevara-Rosas. “Despite some legislative advances in recent years, Paraguay has failed to put in place sufficient measures to protect the most vulnerable people in society.”

In 2018, Paraguay adopted Law 6202 to prevent sexual abuse and guarantee comprehensive care for child and teenage survivors. However, almost three years later, the roadmap for its implementation has not yet been finalized.

The authorities are also turning their back on Comprehensive Sexual Education, a key element for the prevention of early pregnancies. Although the Childhood and Adolescence Code recognizes its importance, in 2011, the authorities stopped its implementation. In 2017, the Ministry of Education and Science banned “the dissemination and use of materials…referring to gender theory and/or ideology, in educational institutions.”

Paraguay has failed to put in place sufficient measures to protect the most vulnerable people in society

Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas Director at Amnesty International

“Paraguayan authorities must immediately introduce Comprehensive Sexual Education to ensure that girls, boys and teenagers have the necessary skills to speak out if they are threatened by sexual violence,” said Erika Guevara-Rosas.

“They must also finalize the long-awaited single pathway to provide comprehensive care for survivors of sexual abuse and prevent chronic secondary victimization and put in place a national programme to support those who become pregnant and are forced to carry the pregnancy to term, to help them rebuild their lives and overcome the severe long-term damage that sexual violence can inflict.”

For more information or to arrange an interview, contact: duncan.tucker@amnesty.org

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Ahead of tomorrow’s debate in the Polish parliament on a “stop abortion” bill that seeks to legally equate accessing or providing abortion services with killing, Esther Major, Amnesty International’s Senior Research Adviser for Europe, said

“The bill seeking to equate abortion with killing is the latest in a wave of cruel and discriminatory attacks on women’s human rights by Polish lawmakers which is putting the health and lives of women, girls and people in need of an abortion at greater risk.

“This push is part of a coordinated and systematic attempt to exacerbate the already pervasive stigma around access to sexual and reproductive rights in Poland.

“Poland already has a draconian and violative framework for abortion service provision. Poland’s parliamentarians must unequivocally reject this sinister bill, which if passed, would only increase the likelihood of women and girls suffering physical and psychological harm and even losing their lives.”

BACKGROUND

The new anti-abortion bill – proposed by Pro – The right to life Foundation – who also put forward a bill two years ago that would criminalize anyone who informs young people about sexuality and relationships – will be discussed in the Polish Parliament’s lower chamber during a sitting on 1-2 December.

The bill proposes to make providing an abortion a criminal offence under the existing provision on “involuntarily causing the death of a person” in Poland’s Criminal Code.

It also – crucially – proposes to criminalize obtaining an abortion under the existing Criminal Code provision on “causing injury to a person”, which, if resulting in “the person’s death” carries a minimum criminal penalty of 5 years’ imprisonment, a penalty of 25 years’ imprisonment or a life sentence.

The Bill also proposes to legally define an embryo as a “child” from the moment of conception.

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Algerian authorities must immediately release human rights lawyer Abderraouf Arslane and drop bogus “false news” and terrorism-related charges against him which stem from his defense of Hirak activists and the expression of his opinions online, said Amnesty International today ahead of the start of his trial on 30 November.

Abderraouf Arslane was detained on 26 May 2021 in the Court of Tebessa, where he was defending three activists – Aziz Bekakria, Redouane Hamidi and Azeddine Mansouri – who had been arrested earlier that day. After the hearing, the prosecutor ordered the detention of Arslane pending investigation on vague accusations of alleged ties with members of Rachad, an unregistered political movement, and his participation in public debates on the 2019-2021 Algerian protests, also known as the Hirak movement, neither of which are recognizable crimes under international law. 

“It is terrible that the Algerian authorities are incarcerating a lawyer simply for doing his job and peacefully exercising his right to free speech. Abderraouf Arslane’s imprisonment and prosecution send a chilling message to lawyers across the country who dare to defend activists or speak up about human rights, especially in the context of the ongoing crackdown on dissent in Algeria,” said Amna Guellali, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa.

“The Algerian authorities must immediately release Abderraouf Arslane from arbitrary pre-trial detention, drop all unfounded charges against him, and cease the judicial harassment and intimidation aimed at unlawfully repressing his legal activities.”

According to the minutes of the prosecutor’s interrogation session, which Amnesty International reviewed, a prosecutor interrogated Arslane in relation to online videos in which he spoke about the Hirak movement and criticised the ongoing repression of activists by the authorities. He was also questioned about his relationship with his client, Aziz Bekakria, who the authorities have detained merely for his membership in the Rachad movement. In May 2021, the Algerian authorities arbitrarily designated Rachad and the Movement for the Self-determination of Kabylie (MAK) as “terrorist organizations,” in response to the organizations’ active role in the Hirak.  Arslane denies being a member of Rachad. 

Prosecutors charged Arslane with “participating in a terrorist group” under Article 87 of the Penal Code, which is punishable by up to 20 years in prison, and for “spreading false news” under Article 196, which brings an additional three-year sentence and a fine. 

During his interrogation, Arslane told the prosecutor that he had been representing Aziz Bekakria in the cases brought against him for participating in the Hirak movement. 

The prosecution of Abderraouf Arslane deals a hammer blow to the rule of law and access to justice in Algeria. The authorities must ensure that all lawyers are able to carry out their crucial legal work without fear of reprisals or arbitrary restrictions.

Amna Guellali, Amnesty International

Background 

Since April 2021, the Algerian authorities have increasingly resorted to using vaguely worded, terrorism-related charges to prosecute journalists, human rights defenders and political activists. Dozens of individuals have been arrested and prosecuted under terrorism charges for their alleged ties to Rachad and MAK. Those prosecuted include human rights defenders and journalists Kaddour Chouicha, Said Boudour and Djamila Loukil, along with 12 other activists.

In 2014, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, warned about “cases in which lawyers have been sanctioned because of political activities, advocacy work, confusion between the lawyer’s cause and his/her client’s cause, and involvement in the legal representation of clients in sensitive cases.” She called on governments “to refrain from criminally convicting or disbarring lawyers for the purposes of silencing them, preventing them from criticizing public policies or obstructing them in their legal representation of specific clients.” 

According to the United Nation’s Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers, governments should ensure lawyers “are able to perform all of their professional functions without intimidation, hindrance, harassment or improper interference” and they should also “not be identified with their clients or their clients’ causes as a result of discharging their functions”. Legal representation is fundamental to the right to a fair trial, which is enshrined in numerous treaties binding on Algeria, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the African Charter on human and peoples’ rights. 

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