Kategorie: Humans

Reacting to the decision by an Istanbul court to acquit the president and the 10 members of the executive board of the Istanbul Bar Association of terrorist propaganda charges, Esther Major, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for Research in Europe said:

“The decision to acquit the Istanbul Bar Association leadership of these unfounded charges is welcome news. This case was a clear misuse of criminal law and should never have been brought in the first place.

“For years, bar associations and lawyers in Türkiye have been targeted simply for carrying out their professional duties and speaking out in defence of human rights and the rule of law. While today’s ruling brings relief, it does not erase the chilling effect these proceedings have had and the harm experienced by the individuals subjected to this.

“Türkiye’s overly broad anti-terrorism laws are open to abuse and are frequently used by the judiciary to clamp down on protected rights. These laws must be urgently reviewed and brought in line with Türkiye’s international human rights obligations, including to ensure that the domestic legal framework protects and facilitates the exercise of the rights to freedom of peaceful expression, peaceful assembly and freedom of association.

“In light of their acquittal, we urgently call on the Turkish authorities to also bring an end to the parallel and politically motivated civil proceedings aimed at removing the association’s leadership.   

“The Turkish authorities must respect and protect the independence and self-governance of bar associations, end the misuse of anti-terrorism and criminal laws to target lawyers, human rights defenders, journalists, and civil society actors; and sign and ratify the Council of Europe Convention for the Protection of the Profession of Lawyer.” 

Background

All 11 members of the Istanbul Bar Association’s elected leadership were charged with “spreading terrorist propaganda” under Article 7/2 of the Anti-Terrorism Law and “publicly disseminating misleading information” under Article 217/A of the Turkish Penal Code for issuing a public statement on 21 December 2024 concerning the killing of two journalists in northern Syria and the arrest of journalists and lawyers at a related peaceful protest in Istanbul the day before.

The final hearing in the criminal proceedings against the Istanbul Bar Association Executive Board took place at the Istanbul Heavy Penal Court No. 26 between 5 and 9 January 2026.  

On 9 January the court ruled that all 11 lawyers acquitted of both charges they faced. The verdict could be subject to appeal by the prosecutor.

For more information, please see Amnesty International’s joint statement with 37 human rights and lawyers’ organizations issued ahead of the hearing.

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Responding to the Trump administration’s announcement that the United States is withdrawing from 66 international organizations, conventions, and treaties, Erika Guevara Rosas, Amnesty International’s Senior Director of Research, Advocacy, Policy and Campaigns, said: 

“This is a vindictive and reckless assault on the legitimacy and integrity of the United Nations and the rules-based international order that has been the bedrock of global cooperation for the past 80 years. With this latest in a series of damaging attacks, President Trump is shamefully doubling down on his efforts to destroy the multilateral system that the United States helped to build from the ashes of World War Two to guarantee the universal human rights and protection of all people.

“This was a deceptive announcement, given the United States had already disengaged from many of these bodies and chosen to defund key UN agencies. It is yet another troubling example of the Trump administration’s callous disregard for international law and global commitments in crucial areas such as promoting development, addressing the climate crisis, ending violence against children, and achieving gender equality. For example, the UN Population Fund, which the administration has now announced withdrawing from after previously defunding it, is vital in the fight against gender-based violence and advocating for millions of women and girls around the world.

“Further, in publicly withdrawing from organizations it already had disengaged from, the administration used the occasion to broadcast its overt anti-Black racism. With Secretary of State Marco Rubio citing ‘DEI mandates’ as justification for the withdrawals, the administration’s announcement that it was leaving the Permanent Forum on People of African Descent, a body of the UN Human Rights Council, from which the United States had already withdrawn, was nothing more than a deliberate act of racism and institutional sabotage.

UN member states and implicated international organizations must act immediately to shore up the multilateral and international legal architecture essential to universal human rights

Erika Guevara Rosas

“These decisions are not just cruel, racist and discriminatory, they will also no doubt prove to be devastatingly short-sighted by undermining the interests of people in the United States and around the world.

“Withdrawing from the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in particular is unprecedented and the United States will be the only country to have done so. Along with its withdrawal from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and other climate-related bodies, this will actively undermine climate action both domestically and globally. It will inhibit efforts to protect the US population from the impacts of the climate crisis and could drive more climate displacement from other countries. Still, other states should seize this as an opportunity to now do the important work of fairly phasing out fossil fuels and funding a just transition, then call on the US to rejoin later.

“Withdrawing from peacebuilding mechanisms and bodies directly contradicts the US government’s stated calls for the UN to prioritize ‘peace and security’. This is particularly alarming at a time when President Trump is threatening several countries with military action and on the same day he called for a $1.5 trillion military budget. The consequences of these withdrawals risk triggering global destabilization, further endangering human rights everywhere, and disproportionately harming the most marginalized communities.

“UN member states and implicated international organizations must act immediately to shore up the multilateral and international legal architecture essential to universal human rights, including by engaging in robust defense of these systems and meaningful reforms to preserve accountability, prevent erosion of standards and protect people all over the world.”

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Iranian authorities have unleashed a deadly crackdown on protesters across the country since 28 December 2025, marked by security forces’ unlawful use of force and firearms and mass arbitrary arrests, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said today.

The organizations’ findings reveal how security forces, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Iran’s police force, known by its Persian acronym FARAJA, have unlawfully used rifles, shotguns loaded with metal pellets, water cannon, tear gas and beatings to disperse, intimidate and punish largely peaceful protesters.

The crackdown has resulted in the killing of at least 28 protesters and bystanders, including children, in 13 cities across eight provinces between 31 December 2025 and 3 January 2026, based on credible information gathered by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. 

“People in Iran daring to express their anger at decades of repression and demand fundamental change are once again being met with a deadly pattern of security forces unlawfully firing at, chasing, arresting and beating protesters, in scenes reminiscent of the Woman Life Freedom uprising of 2022. Iran’s top security body, the Supreme National Security Council, must immediately issue orders for security forces to stop the unlawful use of force and firearms,” said Diana Eltahawy, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa.

Protests erupted on 28 December 2025 following a sharp currency collapse, amid soaring inflation, chronic state mismanagement of essential services, including access to water, and worsening living conditions. Starting with shop closures and strikes in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar, protests quickly spread nationwide, evolving into street demonstrations calling for the downfall of the Islamic Republic system and demanding human rights, dignity and freedom. The authorities responded with violent dispersals and mass arrests, with hundreds already arbitrarily detained and at risk of torture and other ill-treatment.

“The frequency and persistence with which the Iranian security forces have unlawfully used force, including lethal force, against protesters, combined with systematic impunity for members of security force who commit grave violations, indicate that the use of such weapons to crush protests remains entrenched as state policy,” said Michael Page, Deputy Middle East and North Africa Director at Human Rights Watch.

Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International spoke to 26 people, including protesters, eyewitnesses, human rights defenders, journalists, and a medical professional, reviewed official statements, and analysed dozens of verified videos published online or shared with the organizations. An independent pathologist consulted by Amnesty International reviewed images of protesters injured or killed.

Iran’s top security body, the Supreme National Security Council, must immediately issue orders for security forces to stop the unlawful use of force and firearms. 

Diana Eltahawy, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa

Senior state officials have demonized protesters as “rioters” and vowed a “firm” crackdown.

On 3 January 2026, when security forces killed at least 11 protesters, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said “rioters should be put in their place.” On the same day, the IRGC’s provincial corps of Lorestan province declared that the period of “tolerance” was over, pledging to target “rioters, organizers and leaders of anti-security movements … without leniency.”

On 5 January 2026, the Head of the Judiciary also ordered prosecutors to show “no leniency” to protesters and to expedite their trials.

UN member states and regional bodies, such as the EU, should issue unequivocal public condemnations and undertake urgent diplomatic action to pressure the Iranian authorities to stop the bloodshed, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said.

Given the prevailing climate of systemic impunity that has enabled Iranian authorities to repeatedly commit  crimes under international law documented by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, including murder, torture, rape, and enforced disappearances to eliminate and punish dissent, the organizations call on other countries’ prosecution authorities to initiate criminal investigations under the principle of universal jurisdiction, with a view to issuing arrest warrants for those suspected of responsibility.

Unlawful use of force and killings

The 28 victims were all shot by security forces, including with metal pellets fired from shotguns. Consistent with well-documented patterns of state denial and silencing, authorities have denied responsibility for the killings. Officials forced some victims’ families to appear on state media to blame deaths on accidents or protesters and threatened them with reprisals and secret burials of their loved ones if they do not comply.

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch found that protesters have been largely peaceful. While the organizations have reviewed some footage and reports indicating that some protesters have engaged in acts of violence, in all the incidents of shootings investigated by the organizations, there was no imminent threat to life or serious injury justifying the use of firearms.

According to evidence gathered by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, the provinces of Lorestan and Ilam, home to Kurdish and Luri ethnic minorities, saw the deadliest repression, with at least eight killed in Lorestan and five killed in Ilam. Other provinces where killings took place between 31 December 2025 and 3 January 2026 include Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, Fars, and Kermanshah, each with at least four deaths, as well as Esfahan, Hamedan and Qom, each with one death.

A protester in Azna, Lorestan province, told Amnesty International that on the evening of 1 January 2026, security forces opened fire on peaceful protesters near the county governor’s office in Azadegan Square. She shared a video, which the organizations verified, showing an IRGC agent firing at protesters. After the crowd dispersed, some protesters regrouped outside a nearby police station, where security forces opened fire again.

Verified videos published online on 1 January 2026 show protesters outside the station chanting. The sounds of gunshots can be heard in at least one verified video.

Information reviewed indicates that at least six protesters were killed in Azna, including Vahab Mousavi, Mostafa Falahi, Shayan Asadollahi, Ahmadreza Amani, and Reza Moradi Abdolvand. The authorities continue to withhold the body of Taha Safari, aged 16, who was initially reported as missing. An informed source told Amnesty International that on 3 January 2026, Taha Safari’s family members went to a police station to inquire about his whereabouts and an official there showed them pictures of several deceased individuals; the family identified Taha Safari among them. The image of his body showed visible severe head injuries.

A protester in Malekshahi, Ilam province, told Amnesty International that on the afternoon of 3 January 2026, hundreds of peaceful protesters marched from Shohada Square toward an IRGC Basij base:

“IRGC agents opened fire from inside the base, shooting … without regard for who they shot … Three to four people were killed instantly, and many others were injured. The protesters were completely unarmed.”

Two verified videos from Malekshahi taken in the afternoon show protesters outside the Basij base, fleeing amid the sound of gunshots. Another video posted online shows six agents inside the base with at least one firing a weapon toward protesters. Three victims with visible injuries, motionless, are seen in two videos.

Informed sources said that three protesters – Reza Azimzadeh, Latif Karimi and Mehdi Emamipour – were killed instantly. Two others, Fares (Mohsen) Agha Mohammadi and Mohammad Reza Karami, died later from their injuries.

In Jafarabad area in Kermanshah, Kermanshah province, Reza Ghanbary and two brothers, Rasoul Kadivarian and Reza Kadivarian,were fatally shot on 3 January 2026. A human rights defender said that plain-clothes agents, who arrived in three white vehicles, fired metal pellets at the brothers who were among a group of protesters trying to block a road.

In Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province, Ahmad Jalil and Sajad Valamanesh were killed by security forces during protests in Lordegan on 1 January 2026 and Soroush Soleimani in Hafshejan on 3 January 2026, according to information received from a human rights defender. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch reviewed images of their bodies, showing classic spray patterns of metal pellet wounds on their torsos.

Protesters gravely injured

The organizations documented large-scale harm from the widespread use of metal pellets fired from shotguns, including head and eye injuries, as well as injuries caused by beatings and gunfire from rifles.

A protester from Dehdasht, Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province, said that security forces shot him during protests on 3 January 2026. Fearing arrest, he avoided hospital care despite risk of losing his leg. An independent pathologist consulted by Amnesty International who reviewed a photograph of the protester’s injury noted that it could have been caused by a single shotgun pellet wound. 

On 6 January 2026, a photographer from Ilam city posted a video on social media showing his bloodied face covered with wounds from metal pellets. Showing a metal pellet to the camera, he said that security forces are using hunting ammunition against protesters: “Killing a human is a game to them. They think we are prey and they are hunters.”

A woman in Esfahan city told Amnesty International that an agent pushed her on the ground and stomped on her back as she was fleeing from security forces who were violently dispersing protests. She shared images showing her bloodied face with multiple abrasions.

“The more I struggled, the harder he pressed down,” she said. “I couldn’t move. I cried out but he told me to shut up.”

The organizations found that the presence of security forces at hospitals has deterred many injured protesters from seeking medical care, increasing the risk of death. According to a human rights defender, Mohsen Armak died in Hafshejan, Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province, when he was taken to a livestock farm instead of a hospital after being wounded with a metal pellet on 3 January.

On 4 January 2026, the Special Forces of FARAJA and IRGC attacked Imam Khomeini Hospital in Ilam, where injured protesters were being treated. According to a human rights defender and verified video footage, agents fired shotguns loaded with metal pellets and tear gas into the hospital grounds, smashed glass doors, and beat patients, their relatives and medical workers.

Mass arbitrary arrests

Security forces have arbitrarily arrested hundreds of protesters, including children as young as 14, during protest dispersals and nightly raids on homes. Some were taken from hospitals.

The authorities  subjected many to enforced disappearance and incommunicado detention, placing them at risk of torture and other ill-treatment.

The authorities have already broadcast coerced “confessions” of detainees. On 5 January 2026, Tasnim News, affiliated with the IRGC, aired “confessions” of an 18-year-old woman and 16-year-old girl, accusing them of “leading riots”.

The Iranian authorities should immediately and unconditionally release anyone detained solely for peacefully taking part in or expressing support for demonstrations. All detainees should be protected from torture and other ill-treatment and immediately granted access to their families, lawyers and any medical care they need.

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As voters prepare to go to the polls in Benin, candidates running in the country’s legislative and municipal elections on 11 January 2026, and presidential election on 12 April 2026, must commit to prioritizing human rights, Amnesty International and 13 civil society organizations said. The organizations have published a manifesto setting out key human rights priorities for the incoming authorities.

“Civic space continues to shrink in Benin with a wave of attacks on independent media outlets and people still being arbitrarily arrested and detained for dissent. Despite progress, women and marginalized groups face discrimination, while forced evictions jeopardize the human rights of thousands of people. The right to a fair trial and access to justice are some of the issues the incoming authorities must urgently address,” said Dieudonné Dagbéto, Executive Director of Amnesty International Benin.

Our recommendations are not exhaustive, but they provide a roadmap for strengthening respect for human rights.

Dieudonné Dagbéto, Executive Director of Amnesty International Benin

Protect freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly 

Several newspapers and websites in Benin have been suspended under the Digital Code, which criminalizes the ‘publication of false information’ and ‘harassment through electronic communications’. It is essential to revise this Code in alignment with international human rights standards, and the recommendations accepted by the authorities during the last Universal Periodic Review.

The authorities continue to disproportionately restrict the right to protest. They must guarantee the right to freedom of peaceful assembly by revising the criminal Code which currently prohibits “any unarmed gathering that could disturb public peace”, allowing for peaceful protests to be banned on vague grounds.

In recent years, security forces have dispersed peaceful protests with excessive force and arbitrarily arrested individuals. Prompt, thorough, and impartial investigations must be conducted into every alleged case of excessive use of force, and those arbitrarily detained must be released.

The relatives of those allegedly killed by security forced during protests in 2019 are still waiting for justice. We call for the revision of the 2019 amnesty law to ensure their access to justice and remedy.

More humane prison conditions

Despite efforts from the authorities, prisoners still sleep in overcrowded cells. To combat prison overcrowding, pretrial detention should be used as a last resort, and judicial proceedings should be expedited. Laws and decrees offering alternatives to imprisonment for minor offences should be enforced. It is also essential to improve prisoners’ access to drinking water and sanitation, as well as healthcare, including adequate facilities and qualified medical staff, and to investigate allegations of torture and other ill-treatment.

Better access to justice

Opposition political figures continue to be arbitrarily detained, as confirmed by the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention. There must be an end to arbitrary detention and all persons detained without legal grounds or in violation of human rights must be released. The effective implementation of legal aid would be a major step forward. The jurisdiction of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights to receive complaints directly from individuals and NGOs must also be restored.

Promoting gender equality and protecting the most marginalized

Women remain underrepresented in political decision-making bodies, parliament, and senior management positions. Urgent measures are needed to increase women’s representation and achieve gender equality.

In 2024, the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities deemed access to health and education services for persons with disabilities to be insufficient. The manifesto calls for the training and recruitment of teachers in sign language and other media, as well as the creation of centres for children with intellectual disabilities and support for private centres.

Due to the spillover of the conflict affecting the Central Sahel, attacks by armed groups in the north of Benin resulted in 27,294 internally displaced persons and 30,540 refugees and asylum seekers as of November 2025, according to the UNHCR. Most of them, deprived of their land and livestock, have difficulty accessing basic services. The incoming authorities must respect international obligations to protect refugees and displaced persons, and coordinate humanitarian assistance effectively.

Strengthening access to economic, social, and cultural rights

Since 2021, development projects have resulted in thousands of people being forcibly evicted, many of them without prior and fair compensation. Elected authorities must ensure fair compensation and adequate and safe rehousing solutions for all victims of forced evictions.

Despite a 2021 Constitutional Court ruling, women were kept locked up in the Mènontin district hospital in 2023 for non-payment of medical fees. While recognizing that the authorities have corrected this situation, the manifesto calls for effective access to maternity care and essential health services and for an end to the illegal practice of detaining patients.

In 2018, the right to strike was reduced to 10 days per year for almost all public and private sector employees, with a total ban in the health sector. In 2022, this ban was extended to other categories of workers. We call for the revision of the 2018 and 2022 laws to guarantee the right to strike, and to apply restrictions only to essential services.

“Our recommendations are not exhaustive, but they provide a roadmap for strengthening respect for human rights. We call on all political parties and candidates to commit to this,” said Dieudonné Dagbéto.

Signatories:

Amnesty International
Association des Blogueurs du Bénin
Association des Jeunes Juristes du Bénin
Association des Jeunes Juristes Diplomates et Politistes du Bénin (AJJuDIP Bénin)
Centre de formation en mécanisme de protection des droits humains
Coalition des défenseurs des droits humains (CDDH) Bénin
Commission béninoise des droits de l’Homme
Human Rights Priority
Internet society (ISOC) – Bénin
Social Watch Bénin (SWB)
Union des Scolaires et Étudiants du Bénin
Union nationale des médias en ligne (UNAMEL)
Voix et actions citoyennes
Wanep – Bénin

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Responding to yesterday’s Supreme Court judgement denying bail to Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam but granting bail to Meeran Haider, Gulfisha Fatima, Shifa Ur Rehman, Shadab Ahmed and Saleem Khan – human rights defenders who have spent more than five years in pre-trial detention on terrorism-related charges following their peaceful participation in protests against the discriminatory Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), Aakar Patel, Amnesty International India’s Chair of Board, said:

“While we welcome the court’s decision to grant bail to their co-accused, it is shameful that Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam continue to be denied bail. Neither of these individuals should be in detention in the first place. They have been detained for more than five years without trial on politically motivated allegations – the charges against them should be dropped and their release should be unconditional.”

The Supreme Court also imposed exceptionally restrictive conditions on Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam for any future bail applications. It ruled that they will be permitted to seek bail only after the prosecution has completed the examination of its protected witnesses, or after one year from the date of the order, whichever comes earlier. These conditions effectively place their ability to submit further bail petitions at the discretion of the speed and conduct of the prosecution.

This judgment underscores a deeply worrying pattern in which prolonged pre-trial detention is becoming normalized

Aakar Patel, Amnesty International India’s Chair of Board

“Imposing a blanket one-year ban on bail, without any clear justification, unduly restricts the detainees’ right to seek regular judicial review of whether their detention remains lawful and necessary. This is even more troubling given that they have already been held for more than five years without trial,” said Aakar Patel.

“This judgment underscores a deeply worrying pattern in which prolonged pre-trial detention is becoming normalized. Justice cannot prevail while individuals remain imprisoned for years without trial for exercising their right to peaceful protest.”

Background

For more information on Umar Khalid’s case and the UAPA see here.

On 28 January 2020, Sharjeel Imam was detained for allegedly inciting communal violence through speeches delivered during protests in December 2019 and January 2020. On 1 April 2020, Meeran Haider was arrested on similar charges linked to the 2020 Delhi riots, despite his role in non-violent demonstrations. Gulfisha Fatima was arrested on 9 April, 2020, under multiple charges including rioting and assaulting a public servant, though she too had been involved in peaceful protest. Later that month, on 26 April, Shifa ur-Rehman, president of the Jamia Millia Islamia Alumni Association, was also detained for allegedly inciting violence. In each case, activists appear to have been targeted not for violence, but for their vocal opposition to the CAA and their participation in peaceful civic dissent.

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