Responding to the latest disturbing reports and photos of prominent Russian political activist Aleksei Navalny, who is serving a nine-year prison sentence on trumped-up charges of fraud, Marie Struthers, Amnesty International’s Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, said:
“We have received deeply disturbing information about Aleksei Navalny’s increasingly harsh treatment in the strict regime penal colony where he is currently locked up. This includes severe penalties for purported offences, and repeated efforts to ostracize him from other prisoners who are reportedly not allowed to speak with or even look at him. In gross violation of his rights as well as Russia’s own laws, Aleksei Navalny is not allowed confidential meetings with his lawyer. His health and wellbeing are at grave risk, and this is tantamount to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.”
“Russian prison authorities are using the cruel methods they have been refining for years to try and break the spirit of Aleksei Navalny by making his existence in the penal colony unbearable, humiliating and dehumanizing. We demand the immediate and unconditional release of prisoner of conscience Aleksei Navalny and accountability for all those who are responsible for his unlawful imprisonment and ill-treatment.”
Russian prison authorities are using the cruel methods they have been refining for years to try and break the spirit of Aleksei Navalny by making his existence in the penal colony unbearable, humiliating and dehumanizing
Marie Struthers, Amnesty International’s Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia
Background
Aleksei Navalny was transferred from penal colony IK-5 (Pokrov, Vladimir region) to another colony, with a stricter security regime, IK-6 (Melekhovo, Vladimir region) on 14 June where his treatment by the administration and colony guards has become harsher, according to his lawyers.
Since 15 August, the colony administration has placed Aleksei Navalny in a punishment cell (shtrafnoy izolyator, or SHIZO, in Russian) four times, either citing minor infringements of prison rules, such as an unbuttoned button on his prison shirt or giving no explanations at all. While in SHIZO, Aleksei Navalny is denied family visits, parcels and letters. The prisoner of conscience has also reportedly been labelled a “malicious violator” of the penal colony’s regime and put in “strict conditions of detention.” It means, among other things, that he is allowed only four visits by relatives per year instead of six.
In addition to the disciplinary measures against Aleksei Navalny, the colony’s administration told him that they were stripping him of his right to have confidential communications with his lawyer. As a result, Aleksei Navalny must now communicate with his lawyer across an opaque plastic sheet, which makes it impossible for them to exchange or examine any documents.
Aleksei Navalny’s communication with other prisoners has reportedly been severely restricted: they are allegedly forbidden from talking to or even looking at him. According to reports from his colleagues and a Russian human rights activist, when Navalny passes by, an alarm is rung which means prisoners must either turn away from Navalny or move away from the windows if the politician is close to them at that moment.
Ahead of tomorrow’s planned Euro Pride walk in Belgrade which has been banned by Serbian authorities, Eve Geddie, Amnesty International’s Director at the European Institutions Office said:
“The decision by Serbian authorities to ban Euro Pride for purported security reasons is shameful. Instead of giving in to hateful rhetoric towards and threats against LGBTI people, authorities must take all necessary measures to provide adequate protection for the participants and enable them to enjoy their rights without fear of harassment, intimidation or violence.
“By allowing the walk to proceed, Serbia will cement its place as the first country in the Western Balkans to host Euro Pride in a region where LGBTI people experience daily discrimination and frequent violence. The authorities should lift the ban and allow the Euro Pride walk to go ahead unhindered.”
Background
In 2020, Belgrade nominated itself to host the Euro Pride. However, in August 2022, President Aleksandar Vučić, announced that the Pride walk would not be allowed to proceed. Organizers have said that the walk will take place despite the ban.
On 10 September, President Vučić said that the Ministry of Interior would make a decision 96 hours before the planned event.
On 13 September, the Ministry of Interior decided that neither the Pride walk, nor a planned counterprotest, could go ahead citing security issues, including “danger of violence, destruction of property, and other forms of disruption of public order on a larger scale”.
On 14 September, the organizers filed a complaint to the Administrative Court requesting it to overturn the Ministry’s decision. This is still pending.
Earlier today, organizers submitted another formal request to the Ministry of Interior with a proposed shorter route for the walk. This was supported by 27,000 signatures. They are awaiting a decision from the authorities on their request.
Six people killed during a night raid on a family home in Ghor province, including a 12-year-old girl
OngoingTaliban killings indicate a pattern of attacks on ethnic minorities and members of the former security forces
Taliban fighters killed six Hazara people in a deliberate attack on the ethnic minority group in Afghanistan’s Ghor province, Amnesty International said today following a new investigation.
On 26 June 2022, the Taliban detained and unlawfully executed four men during a night raid operation in search of a former security official. The body of at least one of those executed showed signs of torture. A woman and a 12-year-old girl were also killed during the raid.
The attack is part of a wider pattern of unlawful targeted killings of people whom the Taliban perceives as adversaries, in this case being both members of the Hazara community and those who were associated with the former Afghan government.
These violent deaths are further shocking proof that the Taliban continue to persecute, torture and extrajudicially execute Hazara people.
Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General
“The Taliban must immediately end this cruel pattern of targeted killings and, as the de facto authorities, ensure the protection of all Afghans,” said Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General.
“The Taliban must investigate these killings and ensure that those responsible are prosecuted in accordance with international human rights obligations and standards. If the de facto authorities cannot provide justice, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court should immediately open full investigations into all cases of extrajudicial executions. In addition, along with the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation in Afghanistan, Amnesty International calls for an independent accountability mechanism in and for Afghanistan.”
Amnesty International documented similar extrajudicial executions of Hazara people in Ghazni province in July 2021, and Daykundi province in August 2021. Despite publicly promising not to target former government officials, the Taliban have still not investigated or prosecuted anyone for the killings.
Amnesty International conducted eight remote interviews, including with witnesses to the June 2022 attack, analyzed 38 photos and three videos that were taken in the aftermath of the attack, consulted a forensic pathologist to review the images of the bodies, and reviewed satellite imagery of the area to confirm the location of one of the killings. Several of the photos analyzed were published online by Taliban media, including the Ghor Province Governor Media Office, which deleted the post soon after publication.
Family members killed
On the night of 26 June 2022, Taliban forces raided the home of Mohamad Muradi, a Hazara man and security official under the former government who had also previously led a People’s Uprising Program force – a local militia – against the Taliban in 2020 and 2021.
Muradi had recently returned to his home in Chahar Asyab, in the Lal wa Sarjangal district in Ghor province, after failing in an attempt to flee to Iran, and then hiding in other cities around the country. Like many who had been involved in Taliban opposition, Muradi had not taken up the offer of a personalized ‘amnesty letter’ – often issued to former security and government officials, offering permission to return home in exchange for a promise to lay down arms – due to the fear of reprisal attacks by the Taliban.
Witnesses told Amnesty International that, on the night of the attack, Taliban forces fired rifles and rocket-propelled grenades at Muradi’s home, killing Taj Gul Muradi, his 22-year-old daughter, who had studied medicine and had been providing health care in the community. The attack wounded Muradi and two of Muradi’s other children, a son and his 12-year-old daughter. The girl suffered severe stomach injuries and died the next day.
Muradi’s left leg was injured, and he surrendered to Taliban forces through the intervention of local elders. However, the Taliban then dragged him outside of the house and shot him dead. An analysis of photos of Muradi’s body shows damage to the front of his shirt, indicating a likely chest wound, and an exit wound in his forehead.
Amnesty International reviewed photos and videos that show damage to Muradi’s home consistent with witness testimony. The images were also geolocated by analyzing visible features – including vegetation, nearby pavements and the buildings’ layout – and satellite imagery.
@Private
Photographs of those unlawfully killed by the Taliban in Ghor province of Afghanistan
Tortured and extrajudicially executed
Three other men who had been staying at Muradi’s home were detained and then extrajudicially executed. Two of them, like Muradi, had previously been members of the People’s Uprising Program force, though none had taken part in fighting with the militia for some time.
Ghulam Haider Mohammadi, Muradi’s nephew, had been visiting relatives. Photos of Mohammadi’s body indicate that he was executed with at least one gunshot to head, while kneeling and with his hands bound behind him. Locals found his body approximately 50 meters from Muradi’s home, left between some rocks in a tree-covered area.
Witnesses told Amnesty International that the other two victims – named Asif Rezayee and Arif Sangaree – were put in a vehicle and driven away to be killed in a separate location. The bodies of the two men were later discovered in an uninhabited part of Takeghal, more than 30 minutes’ drive from where they were initially detained.
Asif Rezayee had been living in Kabul but had returned to his home village a few days prior to visit family members. Rezayee was executed by gunfire while his hands were cuffed behind his back. Photos and a video of his body show four distinct gunshot wounds, to the head, chest, right thigh, and left hand. Based upon the nature of the wounds, apparent bullet trajectory, and gun powder stains, the wounds to the leg and hand were done at close range prior to execution. Such intentional infliction of pain on a bound detainee constitutes torture, a crime under international law.
Photos indicate that Arif Sangaree was also executed while bound and detained, with at least one close range shot to the head. One of the photos posted by the Taliban to Facebook, claiming credit for the successful operation, shows Sangaree with a significant facial wound surrounded by fresh bright red arterial blood, indicating the Taliban took the photo immediately after his death. In contrast, photos provided by people who discovered the body show Sangaree with the identical wound, but the blood dark and dried, meaning time had passed.
The Taliban news sources that posted the image of Arif Sangeree’s body described the night raid as a “targeted operation” that culminated in a fight between “rebels” and “Mujahideen”, or the Taliban. The account claimed seven rebels had been killed, detained and wounded, and that one Taliban member was killed, with two others wounded.
To justify the deaths, the statement went on to say that the raid had occurred after fighters associated with Mawlavi Mahadi, the Hazara leader of a Taliban defector group, had attacked the Taliban in Balkhab district of Sar-e-Pul province, and then fled and established themselves in the village of Chahar Asyab. This Taliban statement is incorrect. While this fighting has been documented by the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation in Afghanistan in his 6 September 2022 report, which includes cases of Taliban executions of fighters hors de combat, Muradi and his family members were not members of Mahadi’s group or taking part in this round of attacks. Rather, Amnesty International believes the Taliban justification is a pretext for targeting ethnic minorities and soldiers associated with the former government.
Bilal Guler/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
The Taliban must immediately cease these acts of revenge and ensure employees of the former government and their families can live safely in Afghanistan
Agnès Callamard
Bilal Guler/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Background
The Taliban seized power in Afghanistan following the collapse of the government in mid-August 2021. Amnesty International has called for the protection of thousands of Afghans at serious risk of Taliban reprisals. There have been numerous cases of raids and extrajudicial executions targeting those the Taliban perceives as adversaries – those affiliated with the former government particularly Hazaras/Shias or those fighting with the National Resistance Front (NRF).
Read previous investigations by Amnesty International into unlawful killings by Taliban:
Amnesty International’s Secretary General Agnès Callamard will be attending the 77th Session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in New York between 19 and 23 September. Ahead of her visit, Agnès Callamard said:
“Armed conflict, food shortages, deepening inequalities and the mounting climate emergency are testing the effectiveness of the international community like never before. Everywhere we turn today lies evidence of failings of the past: civilians from Ukraine to Ethiopia dying in their thousands while the perpetrators of war crimes walk free, huge swathes of Pakistan underwater, and millions of people worldwide on the brink of famine.
Armed conflict, food shortages, deepening inequalities and the mounting climate emergency are testing the effectiveness of the international community like never before.
Agnès Callamard
“Instead of alleviating the suffering caused by conflicts, members of the UN Security Council have allowed rampant abuse of the veto power to exacerbate it. This tragic betrayal of the Security Council’s mandate is but one example of the UN’s failures to rise above politics and national self-interest. This week we need bold, coordinated action from UN member states, who must show global leadership and live up to the principles on which the UN is founded. Global problems of the scale we are now confronting can only be addressed through global solutions.”
During her time in New York, Agnès Callamard will call on UN member states to seek pathways to accountability for violations including:
Violations of international humanitarian law and war crimes committed by Russian forces in Ukraine;
Crimes against humanity, ethnic cleansing and war crimes committed by Amhara regional security forces and civilian authorities in Ethiopia’s Western Tigray Zone;
The ongoing campaign of atrocities unleashed by the Myanmar military in Rakhine state, and the military’s brutal crackdown on opposition to the 2021 coup.
She will also call on member states to:
Resist efforts to stifle attempts to hold Israeli authorities accountable for the apartheid regime they have inflicted on Palestinians;
Address the dire humanitarian situations in Yemen, Myanmar and Syria;
Take coordinated action to assist countries most impacted by the mounting effects of the climate emergency;
Address structural inequality through rights-based, inclusive and fair policies and actions, including strengthening cooperation on global tax reform, and providing urgent and sustainable debt relief for the lowest-income countries.
Earlier this month, Volker Türk was appointed as the new UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. Ahead of UNGA 77, Amnesty International reiterated its call on High Commissioner Türk to fulfil his mandate by being a vocal champion of human rights, with the courage and principles to stand up to powerful states and withstand political pressure. He must also support civil society’s role in informing and shaping human rights positions and responses by the international community.
The 77th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA 77) opened on Tuesday, 13 September 2022. The first day of the high-level General Debate will be Tuesday, 20 September 2022.
Authorities must drop sinister charges against University of Zimbabwe students who have been peacefully protesting high fees and affirm their right to freedom of assembly and expression, Amnesty International said today.
“It is such a travesty of justice that these students are having to spend time in detention and courtrooms for simply asking for affordable education
Lucia Masuka, Executive Director of Amnesty International Zimbabwe
Police arrested 14 students at the University of Zimbabwe on 12 September 2022 after they embarked on peaceful #FeesMustFall demonstrations against high tuition fee hikes by the university. While five more students were arrested on 14 September, and taken to Avondale police station and face charges of “disorderly conduct”, some of those who were arrested on 12 September appeared in court on yesterday.
“It is such a travesty of justice that these students are having to spend time in detention and courtrooms for simply asking for affordable education so that they can remain in lecture rooms. The arrests of these students, who were protesting peacefully, are a violation of their right to protest. Authorities must respect students’ right to peaceful protest and drop all charges against them,” said Lucia Masuka, Executive Director of Amnesty International Zimbabwe.
“We consider the arrests to be arbitrary and call on the Zimbabwe Republic Police to respect the freedom to petition and demonstrate as guaranteed by the constitution.”
The university recently announced a staggering increase in tuition fees of up to 1000% requiring undergraduate students to pay up to ZWD500 000 from around ZWD50 000 depending on their faculty, which is equivalent to about $900USD at the interbank rate of 12 September. Students have described the increase in fees as unaffordable and beyond the reach of their parents and guardians and vowed to boycott lectures until the university reverses its decision.
Authorities must respect students’ right to peaceful protest and drop all charges against them
Lucia Masuka
12 of the 14 students were released late on Tuesday 13 September after paying fines of ZWD2000 or $3.31USD each at the interbank rate of 14 September. The remaining appeared in court on 14 September and were released on free bail and are set to return to court on 29 September. The students are represented by Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR).
Background
The 14 students who were arrested on 12 September were detained at Avondale police station and charged with disorderly conduct. They were identified as Thelma Nzero, Mufaro Vhutuza, Owen Mashaya, Tinashe Zana, Tinotenda Mwenje, Fletcher Katehwe, Havana Mtetwa, Natasha Dhliwayo, Ropafadzo Mutangadura, Fatima Ajida, Tsungai Chitodha, Beyond Wendy Siwela, David Musasa, and Godknows Zabhura.
The five other students who were arrested on 14 September have been identified as Tivimba Musengi, Tinotenda Mangana, Hazel Gwande, Tanyaradzwa Nzvimbo, and Charles Moyo.
#FeesMustFall protests broke out at the University of Zimbabwe on Monday 12 September 2022 as students demonstrated against the university tuition fee hikes. The university increased fees for both undergraduate and postgraduate study by up to a staggering 1000%. Under the new fee structure, undergraduate students are required to pay up to ZWD500 000 from around ZWD50 000 depending on their faculty, which is equivalent to about $900USD at the interbank rate of 12 September. While students pursuing a Master’s degree will have to fork out up to ZWD1 million or $1800USD.
The university has also increased accommodation fees from ZWD71,000 to $616USD or the equivalent in local currency for the August to December semester.
The hike in fees risks forcing many students to abandon their studies thus potentially violating their right to education.
