Kategorie: Humans

The prospect of Daniel Ortega’s fourth presidential term in Nicaragua is a frightening one for a nation where human rights violations have become increasingly commonplace under his government, Amnesty International said today. 

“Once again, the people of Nicaragua find themselves in a situation where voicing criticism of the government puts them at grave risk. In the last few years, we’ve witnessed first-hand the plot of a horror thriller developing in the country, where deadly police repression, wrongful imprisonment, ill-treatment, harassment and criminalization of human rights defenders and journalists are common practices, all of them endorsed by a judiciary without independence and a National Assembly that exists only to rubberstamp Daniel Ortega’s repressive agenda,” said Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International. 

Nicaragua’s Electoral Supreme Council announced the preliminary results of Sunday’s general election today, under which Ortega would be re-elected. His new term will begin in January 2022. The elections were marked by arbitrary arrests of activists and journalists, among other acts of harassment, coercion and political violence. Press freedom has also been in the government’s crosshairs, and the media have denounced restrictions and obstacles that have made it impossible for them to carry out their work.   

Several Nicaraguan civil society organizations and movements called for a citizen’s electoral strike in the country and protests in other countries. The media reported low voter turnout, and Nicaraguans mobilized in several cities around the world denouncing the serious human rights crisis and the impossibility of exercising political rights in Nicaragua. 

Once again, the people of Nicaragua find themselves in a situation where voicing criticism of the government puts them at grave risk

Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International

Urnas Abiertas, a citizens’ electoral observatory, registered more than 200 acts of political violence and acts of electoral coercion on election day, including the presence of parapolice forces in the vicinity of the voting stations, as well as intimidation and coercion of state workers to force them to vote.  The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights also reported having received information on possible human rights violations.  

“Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo’s renewed mandate as president and vice president augurs the perpetuation of the structures behind the repressive strategy against critical voices and guaranteed impunity for crimes under international law. Moreover, this new period portends the continued forced migration of those who are criminalized for speaking out,” said Erika Guevara-Rosas.  

“The international community must do more than standing by as brave Nicaraguans continue to fight for their dwindling human rights. During the OAS General Assembly, which takes place this week, member states must collectively assume without delay their shared responsibility for protecting the human rights of people in Nicaragua and put pressure on the Ortega government as a first step in this post-election context. These multilateral forums must do all they can to stop the structures of repression and impunity in Nicaragua from remaining untouchable.”  

Since 2018, Amnesty International has documented human rights violations including violent and lethal repression against demonstrators and harassment and criminalization  of social activists, human rights defenders lawyers and journalists. The government-controlled National Assembly also passed several laws that severely diminished the civil space and put human rights at risk.  

Since the end of May, 39 people identified as opponents of the government, including seven presidential candidates, were unfairly arrested. Some of them were forcibly disappeared for a period of time and held in secret for months before being allowed contact with a lawyer or their relatives.  

For more information or to organize an interview, please contact Duncan Tucker: duncan.tucker@amnesty.org 

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Despite the lifting of Egypt’s state of emergency, at least 36 men remain at risk of execution following convictions by grossly unfair emergency courts, Amnesty International said today. The organization is aware of at least two men who were executed after unfair trials by emergency courts in the past three years and calls for the 36 men to be granted re-trials that meet international fair trial standards without recourse to the death penalty.

The state of emergency, which came into force in April 2017, allowed for the creation of Emergency State Security Courts (ESSCs), which are inherently unfair. Despite the lifting of the state of emergency, ongoing trials of hundreds of individuals, including human rights defenders and peaceful protesters, are set to continue.  

“The Egyptian president must immediately quash all death sentences passed by emergency courts and order retrials in front of regular courts without recourse to the death penalty. To impose the death penalty in grossly unfair trials where defendants are refused the right to appeal constitutes an arbitrary deprivation of the right to life,” Philip Luther, Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Research and Advocacy Director, said.

“Chillingly, Egypt has already executed at least 83 people so far this year, some following convictions in proceedings that made a mockery of justice. The Egyptian authorities should immediately establish a moratorium on the use of the death penalty, with a view to abolishing this cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment once and for all.”

Egyptian authorities executed Ibrahim Ismail in December 2019 and Moataz Hassan in July 2021. Both were convicted of murder and sentenced to death in two separate trials by ESSCs. Neither man was allowed to lodge an appeal.

Defendants in ESSC trials are routinely subjected to a number of other violations of fair trial rights, including being denied the right to adequate time and facilities for the preparation of their defence, the right to communicate with counsel of their own choosing and the right to a public hearing.

Sentenced to death, denied the right to appeal  

Sixteen of the 36 men facing execution were sentenced to death on 29 July 2021 by an emergency court in Rashed. Nine were convicted of murder in relation to an attack on a police bus in al-Behira, located northwest of Cairo, in August 2015 that killed three policemen and wounded others, years before the state of emergency was declared. The remaining seven men were convicted of aiding that murder. The other 22 men sentenced to death were convicted of murder, bombings and membership of terrorist groups by ESSCs between 2019 and 2021.

In the al-Behira trial, the judge relied only on torture-tainted “confessions” and testimonies by policemen, refused to allow defence lawyers to cross-examine the prosecution witnesses, rejected requests by defence lawyers to examine evidence that may have exonerated the defendants, including their cellular tower data. In addition, the judge acknowledged in the verdict that the defendants’ lawyers were not present during their clients’ questioning by prosecutors.

Several defendants in the trial said they were tortured while in detention. A source familiar with the trial told Amnesty International that one man who was sentenced to death said he had been beaten and given electric shocks during questioning until he gave a videotaped “confession,” which he later tried to retract.

Two brothers sentenced to death in the case – Ahmed al-Zarea, 31 and Al-Motaseem al-Zarea, 28 – were held incommunicado from their detention on 31 August and 4 September 2015 respectively until 14 September 2015. A source familiar with their case told Amnesty International that the two brothers were subjected to beatings and electric shocks by policemen from the National Security Agency (NSA), a secretive police agency, during detention.

NSA officers ignored a judge’s order to release them pending investigations on 26 February 2018 and instead took them to an undisclosed location, thus subjecting them to enforced disappearance. They were taken to a prosecutor on 7 April 2018 and questioned over accusations of “membership in a terrorist group” and “protesting illegally”. They were again placed in pretrial detention until a judge ordered their provisional release on 9 June 2018. The NSA forced them to report to its offices on a weekly basis as part of an extrajudicial probation measure referred to by victims and the NSA as “monitoring”.

The brothers have been detained separately in the notorious Tora Maximum Security 1 “al-Aqrab” and Maximum Security 2 and banned from receiving family visits. In total, the NSA has accused Ahmed al-Zarea in five separate cases and Al-Motaseem in two separate cases, with all charges related to membership of a terrorist group and illegally protesting. In the only case that moved to trial, two separate courts acquitted Ahmed al-Zarea of all charges.

“Ahmed Al-Zarea and Al-Motaseem Al-Zarea were subjected to a catalogue of horrific violations, including repeated torture, enforced disappearance, prolonged arbitrary detention and grave breaches of their fair trial rights – and now their lives are at risk. The authorities must ensure that ‘confessions’ extracted through torture or coercion are never used as evidence in court and must investigate all allegations of enforced disappearance and torture,” said Philip Luther.

Background:

On 25 October 2021, President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi announced that he would not extend Egypt’s state of emergency, in force since April 2017 following the twin bombing of two churches that left 45 people dead.

Article 19 of the law governing the state of emergency stipulates that ongoing trials are to continue even after the state of emergency is no longer in force. The president, however, retains the power to authorize, quash or commute verdicts or to order a retrial.

In September 2021, Egypt launched a five-year national human rights strategy, which stipulates that the right to defence in death penalty cases is deeply connected to the right to life. The strategy also noted the need to implement the constitutional requirement of enabling defendants to appeal against verdicts by all criminal courts.

Egypt has executed at least 83 individuals so far in 2021, many of whom were convicted in unfair trials. Some were executed in secret, with family members and loved ones deliberately kept uninformed and denied final visits, which contravenes Egyptian law.

The post Egypt: Retry 36 men facing execution following unfair trials by emergency courts appeared first on Amnesty International.

Ethiopia is teetering on the brink of a human rights and humanitarian catastrophe, Amnesty International warned today, amid worrying developments linked to the escalating Tigray conflict.

On 4 November the Ethiopian government granted itself sweeping new emergency powers which arbitrarily restrict human rights and threaten the independence of the judiciary.

Meanwhile there has been an alarming rise in social media posts advocating ethnic violence, and government officials have implored civilians to take up arms against the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), which have recently joined forces against the central government.

“The dire humanitarian and human rights crisis which began one year ago in Tigray has been spilling into other areas of the country. To stop the situation spiraling out of control, the Ethiopian authorities must urgently take serious action to ensure human rights and international humanitarian law are respected,” said Deprose Muchena, Regional Director for East and Southern Africa at Amnesty International. 

The dire humanitarian and human rights crisis which began one year ago in Tigray has been spilling into other areas of the country. To stop the situation spiraling out of control, the Ethiopian authorities must urgently take serious action to ensure human rights and international humanitarian law are respected

Deprose Muchena, Regional Director for East and Southern Africa at Amnesty International

State of Emergency

Ethiopia’s federal parliament adopted a state of emergency on 4 November, exactly a year after armed conflict with the TPLF began.

The emergency proclamation is overly broad, since it extends to the entire country and restricts human rights that cannot be limited or suspended under any circumstances according to international law.

For example, it allows authorities to arrest anyone without a warrant if there is “reasonable suspicion” of cooperation with “terrorist groups”, and to detain them without judicial review for as long as the proclamation is in place, currently for six months.

This could have a particularly worrying impact on human rights defenders and journalists. The emergency proclamation allows for NGO and media outlet licenses to be suspended or cancelled if they are suspected of providing direct or indirect material or moral support to “terrorist organizations” – terms which are ill-defined and open to broad interpretation. 

Earlier this year, Amnesty International documented mass round-ups and arbitrary detentions of Tigrayans, including journalists and a human rights activist, whom the government claimed had ties to the TPLF, which is designated as a terrorist group by the Ethiopian federal government.

The emergency proclamation also allows for the prohibition of any form of expression opposed to “the operation of the Emergency Operation and the purpose of the Proclamation” and poses challenges to the independence of the judiciary.

“The sweeping nature of this state of emergency is a blueprint for escalating human rights violations, including arbitrary detention, particularly of human rights defenders, journalists, minorities and government critics. And it puts detainees at heightened risk of torture and other ill-treatment,” said Deprose Muchena.

Civilians asked to take up arms

In another worrying development, government officials in several Ethiopian regions have recently implored civilians to take up arms to repel the ongoing TPLF offensive.

In the capital Addis Ababa, government officials have asked civilians to organize to safeguard their surroundings, and to register arms or hand them to neighbours if they are unable to use them themselves. Similar calls to arms have been echoed by the Amhara, Oromia and Somali regional governments.

This call to arms puts people’s rights and even lives at risk by encouraging the establishment of untrained and unaccountable militias. Such groups already have committed war crimes in this conflict, including unlawful killings, rape and other sexual violence targeting people on the basis of their ethnicity.

Rise in online hate speech

On 3 November, Facebook removed a post by Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, stating it had violated the platform’s policies against inciting violence.

However, Amnesty International has noted a significant rise in other recent social media posts inciting violence and using ethnic slurs against Tigrayans, some of which have gone unchecked. According to analysis from a local human rights organization, influential people such as journalists and political figures were among those sharing the posts, and social media platforms were slow to remove them. 

“Ethiopian authorities have an obligation to prohibit advocacy of hatred that constitutes incitement to hostility, discrimination or violence. The authorities must urgently denounce any statements, online or otherwise, which advocate violence against a specific ethnic group. Given the rising political and ethnic tension in Ethiopia, social media companies also have a responsibility to rapidly scale up their content moderation efforts, and ensure that the algorithms behind their platforms are not fueling advocacy of violence,” said Deprose Muchena.

Given the rising political and ethnic tension in Ethiopia, social media companies also have a responsibility to rapidly scale up their content moderation efforts, and ensure that the algorithms behind their platforms are not fueling advocacy of violence.

Deprose Muchena

Civilians at risk amid escalation

Amnesty International reiterated its call on all parties to the conflict in Ethiopia to respect international humanitarian law and protect civilians. Leaders on all sides must also renounce incitement to violence against individuals based on their ethnicity.

Since the conflict in Tigray began in November 2020, the organization has documented war crimes by Ethiopia National Defence Forces, Eritrean forces, and Amhara forces, and has been documenting an increasing number of allegations of war crimes by the TPLF. The Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) has repeatedly been implicated in serious human rights abuses, mainly attacks targeting ethnic Amhara minorities in Western Oromia.

Violations by the warring parties have included massacres, extrajudicial killings of captives and sexual violence targeting women and girls. Barriers to access for humanitarian organizations to areas affected by the conflict and attacks targeting aid workers and facilities have greatly worsened the dire humanitarian situation resulting from the conflict.

African leaders and other international actors with influence must make clear to all the parties in Ethiopia that they must step back from the brink, protect civilians, end incitement, allow unhindered humanitarian access and monitoring, and respect human rights. 

Deprose Muchena

“African leaders and other international actors with influence must make clear to all the parties in Ethiopia that they must step back from the brink, protect civilians, end incitement, allow unhindered humanitarian access and monitoring, and respect human rights,” said Deprose Muchena. 

“The parties must understand that those responsible for war crimes and other violations will be held accountable.”

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In celebration of its 60^th anniversary, Amnesty International has teamed up with Moomin Characters Ltd to launch a brand-new limited range of products.  

Using original illustrations drawn by Moomins creator and long-time Amnesty supporter Tove Jansson, the collection features canvas bags, beanies, water bottles, matchsticks, candles, sweaters and t-shirts, with 10% of all proceeds going towards Amnesty’s global human rights work.  

What better way to celebrate the Moomin spirit and the hope of Amnesty’s mission than to light a candle?

Augusta Quiney, Head of Art for Amnesty

A key theme of many of the images used in the collection is a candle, in recognition of Amnesty International’s world-famous logo – a candle burning inside barbed wire. Accordingly, the collection has been entitled “Better to light a candle, than to curse the darkness,” in honour of an ancient Chinese proverb often invoked by Amnesty’s founder Peter Benenson.  

“One of the most visible signs of hope is the candle, which brings light where and when it is needed.  What better way to celebrate the Moomin spirit and the hope of Amnesty’s mission than to light a candle. We hope that this collection, based on some beautiful images created by Tove Jansson, captures that spirit,” said Augusta Quiney, Head of the Art for Amnesty programme behind the partnership at Amnesty International. 

These illustrations by Tove Jansson were not only lovely works by a great artist, but also a reflection of the values she held dear: a belief that things can change for the better if we act together

Roleff Kråkström, Managing Director at Moomin Characters Ltd.

Throughout the 1980s Tove, together with her brother Lars Jansson, collaborated with various organizations with whom she shared common values, including Amnesty International’s Finnish section, donating pictures of the Moomins illustrating hope, justice and diversity. These illustrations have been much distributed and loved by people ever since.  

“These illustrations by Tove Jansson were not only lovely works by a great artist but also a reflection of the values she held dear. These values are very much in line with what Amnesty International, as the world’s largest human rights organization, is known for: a belief that things can change for the better if we act together in solidarity and hope to fight against the world’s injustices,” said Roleff Kråkström, Managing Director at Moomin Characters Ltd. 

The Moomin collection is available at https://shop.moomin.com/collections/amnesty-x-moomin for a limited time. 

Background

As a global movement of more than ten million people, Amnesty International is the world’s largest grassroots human rights organization. We investigate and expose abuses, educate and mobilize the public, and help transform societies to create a safer, more just world.  

Moomin Characters Oy Ltd is the official copyright holder of all the Moomin characters. All characters from Moominvalley are trademark registered worldwide. The Moomins are central characters in a series of books and comic strips written by Finnish-Swedish writer and artist Tove Jansson between 1945 and 1980. They are one of Finland’s biggest exports and have a global fan base. The company was founded in the 1950’s by Tove Jansson (1914-2001) and her brother Lars Jansson to take care of the copyright of the Moomins and is still run by family members. Rights and Brands is the worldwide licensing agent of the company. Find out more about Tove Jansson and the Moomins here:  
www.moomin.com 
www.tovejansson.com 

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In response to the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) announcing that it is opening an investigation into alleged crimes against humanity committed in Venezuela, Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas Director at Amnesty International said: 

“The International Criminal Court has finally recognized the urgency of investigating the crimes against humanity that multiple human rights organizations, including Amnesty International, have documented and denounced for years in Venezuela. The Office of the Prosecutor must fully investigate the atrocities committed against the Venezuelan people, pursuing cases against those who bear the greatest responsibility for crimes against humanity.” 

The ICC Prosecutor has announced the conclusion of his Office’s preliminary examination in Venezuela – which it had opened in 2018 – with a determination that a full investigation is warranted. The Office of the Prosecutor had previously found that crimes against humanity have been committed in Venezuela under Nicolas Maduro’s government, since at least 2017, including arbitrary detentions, use of torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, rape and other forms of sexual violence, as well as persecution. 

The Office of the Prosecutor must fully investigate the atrocities committed against the Venezuelan people

-Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas Director at Amnesty International

In a public announcement, Prosecutor Khan and President Maduro explained that they had agreed to a “Letter of Understanding”. Prosecutor Khan also highlighted the importance of “positive complementarity” in his approach to the Venezuela investigation.

“This is the first ICC investigation into a country in the Americas. To be effective, the ICC must commence as soon as possible, and should impartially investigate those most responsible for the systematic policy of repression and social control in Venezuela, since at least 2014, as noted by the United Nations’ Fact-Finding Mission in its reports in September 2020 and September 2021,” added Erika Guevara-Rosas.

“While a cooperative approach to investigations would be desirable, the Prosecutor should listen to calls from victims who are yet to see justice and recognise that his Office’s intervention is urgently needed for prompt and effective investigations of crimes against humanity in Venezuela. Although the ‘principle of complementarity’ urges the Prosecutor to call on Venezuelan authorities to carry out independent and impartial domestic investigations in Venezuela, he must not be deferential to state proceedings at all costs. In particular, when states are not genuinely willing or able to investigate and prosecute crimes under international law themselves – including investigations into those at senior levels or most responsible.”

“Above all, the Prosecutor’s approach must ensure that the rights to justice of victims and survivors of human rights violations in the country are respected and fulfilled by the Court and in Venezuela. It is paramount that human rights defenders who have sought justice at the ICC should be protected against any reprisals.”

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

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