Schlagwort: Amnesty International

Commenting on Amnesty International’s designation of Artyom Kamardin, Yegor Shtovba and Nikolai Dayneko – poets imprisoned in 2022 for public reading of their anti-war poetry – as prisoners of conscience, Marie Struthers, Amnesty International’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia Director, said:

“What crime have these men committed? Reading poetry in public cannot threaten national security, nor did their poems express prohibited forms of hatred or contain calls to violence. Quite the opposite – the messaging was anti-violence and anti-Russia’s war of aggression. Their imprisonment is nothing but retaliation for daring to express their views.”

“Even more disgraceful is the torture including brutal sexualized violence that Artyom Kamardin was subjected to, as well as their ongoing imprisonment in inhuman or degrading conditions.

“Artyom Kamardin, Yegor Shtovba and Nikolai Dayneko are prisoners of conscience, imprisoned solely for exercising their right to freedom of expression. The Russian authorities must immediately and unconditionally release them and quash their convictions. Allegations of torture and other ill-treatment must be promptly, independently and effectively investigated, and those responsible brought to justice in fair trials.”

Artyom Kamardin, Yegor Shtovba and Nikolai Dayneko are prisoners of conscience, imprisoned solely for exercising their right to freedom of expression

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

Background

The case originates from the anti-war poetry readings held on 25 September 2022 in front of Vladimir Mayakovsky’s monument in Moscow’s Mayakovskaya Square.

On 28 September 2022, Artyom Kamardin, Yegor Shtovba and Nikolai Dayneko, were detained on remand as suspects in a criminal case of “incitement of hatred and enmity with a threat to use violence” (Article 282(2)(a) of the Criminal Code). Artyom Kamardin was reportedly subjected to torture, including sexualized violence, during his arrest and search of his flat. Despite documented injuries, he was denied adequate medical care. The three were charged in October 2022. The charge was later changed to “incitement of hatred done as an organized group” (Article 282(2)(v)). In March 2023, they were additionally charged with “public calls to actions directed against the state security” (Article 280.4(3)).

In December 2023, Artyom Kamardin and Yegor Shtovba were sentenced to seven and five and a half years’ imprisonment, respectively. Nikolai Dayneko, who entered a guilty plea, was sentenced to four years in a penal colony in May 2023. Their sentences were later upheld on appeal.

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Responding to FIFA’s announcement that no action will be taken against the Israeli Football Association (IFA) over the participation of clubs based in illegal settlements in Israel’s leagues, Steve Cockburn, Head of Economic and Social Justice at Amnesty International said: 

“By refusing to take action against clubs based in Israeli settlements, FIFA has failed to enforce its own rules and is blatantly flouting international law. FIFA had a clear opportunity to stand up for Palestinians’ rights and international law – with this decision it has shamefully chosen to abandon both. 

By refusing to take action against clubs based in Israeli settlements, FIFA has failed to enforce its own rules and is blatantly flouting international law. 

Steve Cockburn, Head of Economic and Social Justice at Amnesty International

“The International Court of Justice has unambiguously declared that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory is unlawful, that settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) are illegal and that Israel’s presence in the OPT must rapidly end. FIFA’s own statutes are clear that its members cannot play games in the territory of another association without permission. 

“By continuing to condone the presence of clubs based in illegal settlements in the OPT in Israel’s league, the Israeli Football Association is indirectly legitimizing Israel’s unlawful occupation and its severe human rights violations against Palestinians, including the crime against humanity of apartheid. FIFA must not continue to ignore the International Court of Justice’s 2024 Advisory Opinion. FIFA has an unequivocal responsibility to act. It must also ensure full transparency and publish the legal advice FIFA received on this matter and provide the full rationale for its unjust decision.” 

Background 

There are at least six clubs based in illegal settlements in the OPT currently playing in Israeli leagues. Article 64.2 of FIFA’s statutes states that: “Member associations and their clubs may not play on the territory of another member association without the latter’s approval.”  

In March 2024, the Palestinian Football Association (PFA) submitted a complaint to FIFA calling for sanctions against the IFA over anti-Palestinian racism in Israeli football and calling for the exclusion of settlement clubs.  

In its response on 19 March 2026 the football governing body said FIFA would not take action declaring that the “legal status of the West Bank remains an unresolved and highly complex matter under public international law”. 

In October 2025, Amnesty International had written to FIFA and UEFA calling for the suspension of the IFA unless clubs from illegal settlements in the OPT were immediately excluded from participating in domestic Israeli leagues. 

In November 2025, Amnesty International wrote to law firm Bonnard-Lawson, which was commissioned by FIFA to provide legal advice on its response to the PFA complaint. Bonnard-Lawson responded declining to provide a comment. 

With respect to the anti-Palestinian racism allegations, FIFA’s disciplinary committee fined the IFA 150,000 Swiss francs ($190,700) for “multiple breaches” of its anti-discrimination obligations. 

FIFA and UEFA have both provided funding for the IFA, meaning they may also be contributing to the expansion of illegal settlements, and therefore Israel’s human rights violations.  

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Reacting to the release of 250 individuals imprisoned in Belarus on politically motivated grounds, including human rights defenders Marfa Rabkova and Nasta Loika, as a part of a deal with the United States, Marie Struthers, Amnesty International’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia Director, said:

“While the release of hundreds of individuals unjustly detained on politically motivated charges is a welcome step, it must not be mistaken for justice. Marfa Rabkova, Nasta Loika, Valiantsin Stefanovich and others should not have spent a day in prison. Freedom should never be the product of geopolitical bargaining in human beings. Justice will not be served until those responsible for their unlawful imprisonment are held accountable.

“The Belarusian authorities must immediately and unconditionally release all those still imprisoned solely for exercising their human rights, quash their convictions and put an end to the systemic repression against government critics. Further reprisals, including arrests and imprisonment that we are observing, are unacceptable.”

Further reprisals, including arrests and imprisonment that we are observing, are unacceptable

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

Background

On 19 March, Belarusian authorities released 250 prisoners, including prominent human rights defenders Marfa Rabkova, Nasta Loika and Valiantsin Stefanovich. Among those released is also Mikita Zalatarou, arrested in 2021 when he was 17 years old and sentenced to five years.

The releases followed negotiations with the US, which in turn agreed to ease certain sanctions targeting Belarusian financial institutions and key export sectors. According to available information, while the majority of those freed remained in Belarus, at least 15 individuals were transferred to Lithuania accompanied by the US delegation.

Those released were detained, prosecuted and imprisoned under politically motivated charges, in retaliation for their professional activities such as human rights work or for peacefully exercising their human rights during protests that followed the widely contested 2020 presidential election, which triggered a wave of large-scale reprisals that continue to this day.

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Responding to statements from Pakistani officials claiming that an airstrike that hit a drug rehabilitation centre in Kabul on 16 March was targeting an ammunition depot, Isabelle Lassee, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director, Research, said:  

“While the total death toll from this attack has yet to be independently verified, it’s clear that it resulted in a significant number of deaths and injuries to civilians, at least in the hundreds.  

“It’s well-documented that a large part of Camp Phoenix, a former NATO camp, had been operating as a drug rehabilitation facility since 2016. Pakistan’s military should have taken all feasible precautions to spare civilians and civilian objects before launching this strike. Any reasonable assessment and information gathering would have concluded that the camp had a high civilian presence. 

“Even if an ammunition depot was present inside the wider camp, the decision to attack should have been weighed against any excessive harm that it was likely to cause to civilians. The scale of death and destruction raises serious concerns about whether the Pakistani military conducted an adequate proportionality assessment and took all necessary steps to gather information about the intended target and minimize civilian harm. 

Pakistan’s military should have taken all feasible precautions to spare civilians and civilian objects before launching this strike.

Isabelle Lassee, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director, Research

“The Pakistani authorities must now explain what information they acted upon, and steps taken for verification. They must also carry out an independent, impartial and timely investigation into the circumstances of this strike and the resulting civilian casualties, with the results made public with a view to ensuring accountability. 

“Amnesty International calls on all parties to the conflict to strictly adhere to international humanitarian law and to take urgent measures to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, including hospitals and other healthcare facilities.”  

Background 

As part of “Operation Ghazab Lil Haq”, Pakistan carried out airstrikes on 16 March in Kabul and Nangarhar. The strikes hit a camp used as drug rehabilitation centre known as Omid, which was established in 2016 on the site of Camp Phoenix, a former US and NATO military base on the outskirts of Kabul. The rehabilitation centre and other complexes on the site are reported to have had capacity for around 2,000 people. According to the Taliban, the strike killed over 400 civilians and injured more than 200 others. These figures could not yet be verified. The United Nations has reported 143 deaths so far. 

Prior to this attack, UNAMA documented at least 76 civilian casualties in Afghanistan since the armed conflict with Pakistan began in February. Pakistani officials reported four civilian deaths on 15 March in Bajaur district and that a child was killed in North Waziristan by mortar shells allegedly fired from Afghanistan on 8 March. 

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Responding to the killings and injuries of dozens of healthcare workers and first responders in Lebanon since 2 March 2026, amid escalating attacks by the Israeli military and its allegations – without providing evidence – that ambulances and healthcare sites are being used for military activities and may be targeted, Kristine Beckerle, Deputy Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International, said:  

“Israel is deploying the same deadly playbook it used in 2024 in Lebanon to kill dozens of health workers and devastate healthcare services. Amnesty International’s past research highlighted how the Israeli military repeatedly carried out unlawful attacks on health facilities and health workers during the 2024 escalation and we called for these to be investigated as war crimes. The Israeli military has also repeatedly and unlawfully attacked health facilities and medical teams in Gaza, as part of a broader pattern of devastating essential services. There has yet to be any accountability or redress for those violations, and now we’re seeing healthcare workers once again killed and wounded.  

Throwing out accusations claiming that healthcare facilities and ambulances are being used for military purposes without providing any evidence does not justify treating hospitals, medical facilities or medical transport as battlefields or treating doctors and paramedics as targets.

Kristine Beckerle, Deputy Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International

“Healthcare workers are risking their lives to save others, and hospitals, other medical facilities and ambulances are specifically protected under international humanitarian law. Throwing out accusations claiming that healthcare facilities and ambulances are being used for military purposes without providing any evidence does not justify treating hospitals, medical facilities or medical transport as battlefields or treating doctors and paramedics as targets. Under international humanitarian law parties to a conflict must ensure to distinguish between military objectives and civilian objects.  

“Hospitals and medical transports only lose their protection if they are used for acts that are considered ‘harmful to the enemy,’ and even then, can only be targeted after a warning that gives sufficient time for the evacuation of patients and staff goes unheeded. In cases of doubt as to whether medical facilities are being used to contribute to military activity, they should be presumed not to be so used. An attack on a medical facility that has lost its protected status must adhere to the rules on precautions, distinction and proportionality and consider carefully the adverse effects that attacking medical facilities has on civilians, the sick and wounded.  

“Under international humanitarian law, civilians, including healthcare workers, do not lose their protected status simply based on an affiliation. As such, direct attacks on medical personnel and those working in civil defence merely on the basis that they are working for institutions associated with Hezbollah are strictly prohibited. Deliberately striking medics performing their humanitarian functions is a serious violation of international humanitarian law and could constitute a war crime. 

“All parties must uphold their legal obligation to protect civilians, medical personnel, patients and healthcare infrastructure at all times. The protection of healthcare is not optional — it is a binding rule of war.” 

Background 

According to the World Health Organization, between 2 and 15 March 2026, 28 attacks on healthcare have been recorded, killing 30 people and injuring 35.  

Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health reported that as of 16 March 2026, 40 health workers have been killed and 96 injured. These include healthcare workers affiliated with the Islamic Health Association – a civilian institution affiliated with Hezbollah that provides medical and emergency services across Lebanon in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, the Islamic Risala Scout Association, as well as one paramedic from the Lebanese Red Cross. The Ministry also reported that five hospitals had been forced to close.  

In a recent statement, Israeli military spokesperson Avichay Adraee alleged that ambulances and medical facilities in Lebanon are being used for military purposes. The Lebanese ministry of health denied the claim. The Israeli military had made a similar claim in 2024. 

Amnesty International previously investigated four Israeli attacks on healthcare facilities and medical vehicles that killed 19 healthcare workers and wounded 11 more in a one-week period between 3 and 9 October 2024. The organization did not find indications that the medical facilities or personnel targeted had been used for military purposes or for acts harmful to the enemy and called for the investigation of the attacks as war crimes. 

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