Schlagwort: Amnesty International

Ahead of former Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte’s confirmation of charges hearingatthe International Criminal Court (ICC) on Monday 23 February, Amnesty International’s Secretary General Agnès Callamard said:

“Former President Rodrigo Duterte’s long-awaited day in court is a significant step towards delivering justice for victims and survivors of his administration’s deadly so-called ‘war on drugs’.

“It also reminds the international community that nobody is above the law, no matter the ferocity of attacks, sanctions and threats aimed at the ICC from some world leaders.

“The ICC’s Pre-Trial Chamber must now swiftly reach a decision on confirming the charges of crimes against humanity against Duterte so that justice can proceed.

“Just as Duterte has the right to a fair trial, timely progress towards justice remains essential to uphold victims’ rights. Should the charges be confirmed, the trial must proceed promptly and witnesses must be protected from intimidation.

“We urge the Philippine government to cooperate with the ICC’s ongoing investigation into crimes committed in the country, including by promptly enforcing any further arrest warrants issued by the Court.

“The government’s surrender of Duterte to the ICC does not absolve it of responsibility to deliver domestic accountability for violations in the ‘war on drugs’. Alongside the ICC, the government must carry out effective investigations against all others suspected of involvement in extrajudicial executions and hold perpetrators accountable in fair trials.”

Background

In March 2025, former President Duterte was arrested by the Philippine government and surrendered to the ICC to face charges of murder and attempted murder as crimes against humanity linked to his government’s so-called “war on drugs” and previously his time as mayor of Davao City between 2013 and 2016. Duterte’s initial appearance before the Court took place on 14 March 2025.

Since his arrest, he has been awaiting trial in ICC custody in the Netherlands. Lawyers for the former President have challenged the Court’s jurisdiction, his ongoing detention and his fitness to stand trial. Most recently, they have sought the disqualification of Filipino lawyers who were appointed to represent victims before the Court.

A challenge to the Court’s jurisdiction remains pending before the Appeals Chamber. In January 2026, a Pre-Trial Chamber determined, following a review by medical experts, that Duterte is fit to stand trial.

The Pre-Trial Chamber needs to make its decision on whether to confirm some or all of the charges within 60 days after the 23-27 February hearings conclude. Should it do so, the case would be transferred to a different chamber for the actual trial.

During the Duterte administration from 2016 to 2022, thousands of people, mostly from poor and marginalized communities, were unlawfully killed by the police – or by armed individuals suspected to have links to the police – as part of the “war on drugs”.

Amnesty International has published major investigations detailing extrajudicial executions and other human rights violations by police and their superiors. The organization has determined that the acts committed reach the threshold of crimes against humanity.

The ICC continues to investigate further potential crimes against humanity, during the “war on drugs” and by the Davao Death Squad in Davao City while Duterte served as mayor from 2011 to 2016. On 13 February 2026 a “Public Lesser Redacted Version” of the document containing charges listed eight other persons as co-perpetrators of crimes alongside Duterte. No further arrest warrants have been made public yet.

The post Philippines: Duterte confirmation of charges hearing a crucial opportunity for justice appeared first on Amnesty International.

The Iranian authorities must immediately halt all plans to execute eight individuals sentenced to death after being convicted of committing offences during the January 2026 nationwide protests, Amnesty International said today.  The organization is urging authorities to quash their convictions and death sentences, and promptly put an end to expedited torture-tainted grossly unfair trials against at least 22 others in connection to the uprising.

The organization has gathered information about at least 30 individuals facing the death penalty for alleged offences linked to the January 2026 protests. They include at least eight individuals convicted and sentenced to death in February within weeks of their arrests. They are Saleh Mohammadi, aged 18, Mohammad Amin Biglari, aged 19, Ali Fahim, Abolfazl Salehi Siavashani, Amirhossein Hatami, Shahin Vahedparast Kolor, Shahab Zohdi and Yaser Rajaifar.

At least 22 others, including two 17-year-old children, are at risk of the death penalty as they undergo or await trial proceedings marred by torture-tainted “confessions” and other serious violations of the right to a fair trial, including denial of access to lawyers during the investigation phase, and refusal to recognize independent legal counsel appointed by families for trial.

“The Iranian authorities are once again laying bare the depth of their disregard for the right to life and justice by threatening expedited executions and imposing death sentences in fast-tracked trials, only weeks after arrest. In weaponizing the death penalty, they are seeking to instill fear and crush the spirit of a population demanding fundamental change,” said Diana Eltahawy, Deputy Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International.  

“Children and young adults form the bulk of those caught in the machinery of state repression following the January protests, denied access to effective legal representation and subjected to torture or other ill-treatment and incommunicado detention to extract forced ‘confessions’. The international community must take coordinated global action, pressuring the Iranian authorities to stop using the court system as a conveyor belt for executions.”

Amnesty International believes the real number of those at risk of the death penalty is much higher as authorities systematically warn families against speaking out and subject those detained to incommunicado detention, enforced disappearance, torture and other ill-treatment to extract forced “confessions”.

The international community must take coordinated global action, pressuring the Iranian authorities to stop using the court system as a conveyor belt for executions

Diana Eltahawy, Deputy Regional Director

Officials have arrested thousands of protesters and dissidents in connection to the January 2026 uprising, and repeatedly threatened to seek “the maximum punishment [meaning the death penalty] … without any delays… in the shortest possible time”.

Amnesty International is calling on all UN member states as well as international and regional bodies to take urgent coordinated diplomatic action, demanding that the Iranian authorities: quash the convictions and death sentences; refrain from issuing further death sentences; and ensure that anyone charged with a recognizable criminal offence is tried in accordance with the right to a fair trial without recourse to the death penalty.

All states must also press the Iranian authorities to grant UN Special Procedures and the UN Fact‑Finding Mission on Iran, as well as representatives of embassies in Iran, access to detention facilities and the ability to observe trials.

Amnesty International has issued an Urgent Action urging global activism to stop the executions. 

Torture and grossly unfair proceedings

Saleh Mohammadi, aged 18, was sentenced to death by Criminal Court One in Qom on 4 February, less than three weeks after his arrest on 15 January 2026 in connection with the death of a security agent during protests in Qom on 8 January 2026, an accusation he denies. The verdict, reviewed by Amnesty International, shows that he retracted his “confessions” in court saying they were extracted under torture, but the court dismissed this without any investigation. An informed source said he sustained hand fractures as a result of beatings.

Mohammad Amin Biglari, aged 19, and six others Ali Fahim, Abolfazl Salehi Siavashani, Amirhossein Hatami, Shahin Vahedparast Kolor, Shahab Zohdi and Yaser Rajaifar were sentenced to death for “enmity against god” (moharebeh) by Branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran for allegedly setting a Basij base on fire. Their death sentences were issued on 9 February, about a month after their arrest. An informed source said Mohammad Amin Biglari was forcibly disappeared for weeks before his transfer to Ghezel Hesar prison in Alborz province. Authorities denied him access to a lawyer during investigations then assigned him a state-appointed lawyer who failed to represent his interests during a fast-tracked trial based on forced “confessions”. They have since denied an independent lawyer, appointed by his family, access to his casefile, hindering his ability to file an appeal before the Supreme Court.

Ehsan Hosseinipour Hesarloo, 18, Matin Mohammadi and Erfan Amiri, both 17, are undergoing a fast-tracked, torture-tainted grossly unfair trial before Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran for alleged involvement in an 8 January 2026 fire at a Basij base inside a mosque in Pakdasht, Tehran province, that killed two Basij agents. An informed source told Amnesty International that Basij agents arrested the teenagers earlier that day, before the incident, and that Ehsan was forced to “confess” after severe beatings and when interrogators put a gun in his mouth. The source said the judge has refused to recognize the representation of at least three lawyers chosen by Ehsan’s family, threatened them, and imposed a state‑appointed lawyer who failed to defend him effectively.

His 17‑year‑old co‑defendants remain in a detention facility for children, facing capital charges, despite international human rights law strictly prohibiting the imposition of the death penalty on those aged under 18 at the time of alleged offence.

Others facingsimilar fast‑tracked, torture‑tainted trials include 35-year-old Abolfazl Karimi, arrested on 6 January in Tehran after trying to help two women shot in the legs. An informed source told Amnesty International he was shot with metal pellets, beaten, denied medical care for his injuries, and forced to sign self‑incriminating statements while blindfolded.  Around 12 February, he and 13 others arrested in connection to protests on unclear charges were told by the judge presiding over Branch 15 of Revolutionary Court in Tehran that they were “being sentenced to death”.

Others at risk include Shervin Bagherian Jebeli, 18, Danial Niazi, 18,  Mohammad Abbasi, 55, and Amirhossein Azarpira, 24, and Mohammadreza Tabari. 

Urgent need for comprehensive international justice approach

Widespread patterns of torture and enforced disappearances in Iran along with arbitrary deprivation of life, including through both mass unlawful killings during protest dispersals and arbitrary executions, have continued and remain rooted in systemic impunity.

Amnesty International renews its call on UN member states and regional and international bodies to pursue a comprehensive international justice approach.

States must call on the UN Security Council to refer the situation in Iran to the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court. They should also consider establishing international justice mechanisms aimed at pursuing prompt criminal investigations and prosecutions of those who have committed crimes under international law and other serious human rights violations.

At the national level, states should also initiate coordinated criminal investigations under universal or other forms of extraterritorial jurisdiction, with a view to issuing arrest warrants and initiating prosecutions where sufficient evidence exists.

Background

Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases without exception regardless of the nature of the crime, the characteristics of the offender, or the method used by the state to kill the prisoner. The death penalty is a violation of the right to life and the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment.

Since the Woman Life Freedom uprising of 2022, authorities have increasingly weaponized the death penalty to instill fear, crush dissent and punish marginalized communities. In 2025, the authorities carried out the highest number of executions recorded since 1989.

For more information or to take action please click here

The post Iran: Children among 30 people at risk of the death penalty amid expedited grossly unfair trials connected to uprising appeared first on Amnesty International.

In response to the recent releases of people arbitrarily detained for political reasons and the discussion of a so-called ‘Amnesty Law’, Valentina Ballesta, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director of Research for the Americas, said: 

“While the freedom of the victims is restored, it is essential that the Fact-Finding Mission, created by the UN in 2019, be able to access the country and certify that this process moves forward in accordance with international standards. The contribution that this Mission can make is essential to guide Venezuela towards a future where human rights are respected and guaranteed,” she added. 

While the freedom of the victims is restored, it is essential that the Fact Finding Mission, be able to access the country and certify that this process moves forward in accordance with international standards.”

Valentina Ballesta, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director of Research for the Americas

“The government must open the doors to impartial scrutiny to embark on the path towards truth, justice, reparation and -above all- guarantees of non-repetition for the thousands of victims and Venezuelan society,” said Valentina Ballesta. 

The government must open the doors to impartial scrutiny to embark on the path towards truth, justice, reparation and -above all- guarantees of non-repetition for the thousands of victims and Venezuelan society.”

Valentina Ballesta, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director of Research for the Americas

“In this context, which includes the discussion of the so-called ‘Amnesty Law’, we recall that those who committed serious human rights violations and crimes against humanity, as well as their chains of command, cannot benefit from processes, mechanisms or laws that enable impunity,” Ballesta concluded. 

For more information or to request an interview, please contact: press@amnesty.org 

The post Venezuela: Call for unconditional releases and support from UN Mission   appeared first on Amnesty International.

Responding to today’s guilty verdict and life sentence for former South Korean President Yoon for the imposition of martial law in December 2024, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director Sarah Brooks said:

“Today’s verdict and sentence is an important step towards accountability which demonstrates that no one is above the law in South Korea, including a former president.

“This ruling holds Yoon accountable for the unlawful imposition of martial law in December 2024, which lacked proper legal justification under both domestic and international law and placed fundamental rights at risk.

“South Korea’s independent courts and citizen resistance have shown how the rule of law and strong institutional checks can effectively counter authoritarian practices. This decision must now be followed by comprehensive measures to ensure such violations never happen again.”

Background

Seoul Central District Court today handed down a life sentence to former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol after finding him guilty of leading an insurrection over his declaration of martial law. The ruling follows prosecutors’ call for the death penalty in this case in January 2026. This case is among eight criminal trials with Yoon as the defendant.

On 3 December 2024, former President Yoon declared martial law in a late-night address broadcast live on TV. The move was met with mass protests, and lawmakers forced their way into the National Assembly to vote to lift the martial law order within hours. Yoon was subsequently impeached and removed from office in a separate case by the Constitutional Court.

The post South Korea: Life sentence for Ex-President Yoon a significant step towards accountability appeared first on Amnesty International.

A new Amnesty International investigation has established that Predator spyware was used in 2024 to target Teixeira Cândido, a prominent Angolan journalist, press freedom activist, jurist and former Secretary General of the Syndicate of Angolan Journalists (SJA). 

Predator is a highly invasive mobile phone spyware, developed and sold by Intellexa – a mercenary spyware company – for use by governments in surveillance operations. This is the first forensic confirmation of its use in Angola. 

“I feel naked knowing that I was the target of this invasion of my privacy. I don’t know what they have in their possession about my life. […] Now I only do and say what is essential. I don’t trust my devices. I exchange correspondence, but I don’t deal with intimate matters on my devices. I feel very limited,” said Teixeira Cândido. 

Teixeira Cândido’s case emerged from a broader investigation into surveillance threats in Angola throughout 2025, originally conducted by Friends of Angola and Front Line Defenders.   

The 2024 spyware attack in Angola is one of the most recently confirmed Predator cases, along with the 2025 attack on a human rights lawyer in Pakistan’s Balochistan province, providing further evidence that Intellexa and its spyware system remained operational until 2025 and in jurisdictions unknown until now. While these investigations establish conclusively that the Predator spyware was used, Amnesty International cannot attribute the attacks to specific government customers.

“I feel naked knowing that I was the target of this invasion of my privacy. I don’t know what they have in their possession about my life. […] Now I only do and say what is essential. I don’t trust my devices. I exchange correspondence, but I don’t deal with intimate matters on my devices. I feel very limited,

Teixeira Cândido

Intellexa’s Predator spyware continues contributing to unlawful surveillance despite repeated public exposure, ongoing criminal investigations, and sanctions directed at the company and its senior executives.  

In addition to being targeted with spyware, Teixeira Cândido has faced multiple attacks and intimidation since 2022, including unexplained break-ins at his office.  

From April to June 2024, during the final months as Secretary General of the SJA, Teixeira Cândido received a series of WhatsApp messages on his iPhone from an unknown Angolan number. The sender used a common Angolan name for their WhatsApp profile and pretended to be part of a group of students interested in the country’s social and economic affairs. After an initial period of building rapport, the attacker sent the first malicious Predator link on 3 May at 16:18 pm local time, designed to infect the journalist’s phone. This pattern continued for weeks with the attacker sending additional malicious links, each pretending to direct to news articles and seemingly genuine websites. Further messages encouraged him to open the links. 

On 4 May 2024, Teixeira Cândido appears to have opened one malicious link, which would have resulted in the successful infection of his phone with the Predator spyware. Once the spyware was installed, the attacker could gain unrestricted access to Teixeira Cândido’s iPhone.   

Amnesty International’s Security Lab analyzed Teixeira Cândido’s phone and identified forensic traces of network communications made by the spyware on 4 May, confirming that Predator was installed and running on the journalist’s phone during that day. These forensic traces, in addition to known Predator infection domains used in the infection links, allow for the attribution of this attack to Intellexa’s Predator. 

The infection on Teixeira Cândido’s phone appears to have been removed when the phone was restarted on the evening of 4 May. Between 4 May and 16 June 2024, the attacker sent 11 further Predator infection links, all of which appear to have failed, possibly because they were not opened. 

Detailed information about the attack can be found in the technical briefing Journalism under attack: Predator spyware in Angola. 

Predator spyware has been used to actively target individuals in Angola since at least early 2023. Amnesty researchers believe the targeting of Teixeira Cândido is likely part of a broader spyware campaign in the country. 

“Forensic analysis conducted by Amnesty International’s Security Lab confirmed with high confidence that the infection links are tied to Intellexa’s Predator spyware and resulted in at least one successful infection of Teixeira Cândido’s phone, 

Carolina Rocha da Silva, Operations Manager at Amnesty International’s Security Lab.     

Teixeira Cândido’s spyware attack is a grave violation of his rights to privacy and freedom of expression, which in themselves impact a host of other rights such as freedom of association and peaceful assembly, as reported by Amnesty International. Such attacks have a chilling effect on journalists’ ability to do their work. 

In a previous investigation, Amnesty International revealed that, once installed, Predator spyware can gain total access to data stored on or transmitted from a target’s device including encrypted messaging apps, audio recordings, emails, device locations, screenshots, photos, stored passwords, contacts and call logs. It can also activate the microphone. The spyware is designed to leave no traces on the target’s device, which renders renders any independent audit of potential abuses difficult. This type of highly invasive spyware is fundamentally incompatible with human rights.  

@Teixeira Cândido

The attack occurs amid a tightening authoritarian environment in Angola under President João Lourenço’s administration, marked by the repression of peaceful protests and the routine use of excessive or unnecessary force, arbitrary arrests and detentions, as well as abuses in detention, and enforced disappearances.  

The case also underscores how the commercial sale and use of surveillance technologies without adequate safeguards continues to enable human rights abuses globally.  

Amnesty International sent a letter on 27 January 2026 to Intellexa outlining the findings of the investigation and seeking information about the company’s human rights due diligence processes. No response had been received by the time of publication. 

Background 

In December 2025, Amnesty International, together with Inside Story, Haaretz and WAV Research Collective, published the Intellexa Leaks, which revealed new evidence on Intellexa’s internal operations and documented further Predator-linked abuses.  

The post Angola: Prominent journalist hacked with Predator spyware  appeared first on Amnesty International.