Schlagwort: Amnesty International

Responding to the cancellation of bail of lawyers and human rights defenders Imaan Mazari-Hazir and Hadi Ali Chattha and an order to immediately arrest them in a bogus case relating to “anti-state” tweets, Babu Ram Pant, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for South Asia, said: 

“This baseless trial of Imaan Mazari-Hazir and Hadi Ali Chattha is a blatant abuse of the justice system. Pakistani authorities must end the judicial harassment and coercive tactics used to silence dissent and intimidate those who defend human rights. 

“The ‘cyber terrorism’ and other trumped-up charges under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act against Imaan and Hadi are politically motivated and amount to criminalizing the right to freedom of expression. This rushed process has been riddled with glaring violations of the right to fair trial, denying the accused the right to attend proceedings and challenge evidence.  

Pakistani authorities must end the judicial harassment and coercive tactics used to silence dissent and intimidate those who defend human rights.

Babu Ram Pant, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for South Asia

“The charges have been brought against Imaan Mazari and Hadi Chattha solely for the peaceful exercise of their human rights and carrying out their professional duties. Authorities must immediately drop all charges against them and rescind the orders for their arrest. The authorities must end this miscarriage of justice, uphold the rule of law, and ensure that human rights defenders can freely exercise their human rights and carry out their work without any fear of reprisals.” 

Background 

A case was filed against Imaan Mazari-Hazir and Hadi Ali Chattha on 12 August 2025 under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, alleging that Imaan had posted content on her X account from 2021 to 16 April 2025 “targeting important State Institutions of Pakistan” under sections relating to “cyber terrorism”, “hate speech” and “false and fake information”. Hadi faces the same charges merely for sharing and reposting Imaan’s posts. Hadi was briefly arrested on 29 October 2025 in relation to the case. In December, they filed a petition to the Islamabad High Court for transfer of their case to another judge alleging instances of bias and procedural irregularities. The trial, however, continued, and on 15 January 2026, the presiding judge cancelled Imaan and Hadi’s bail and on 16 January ordered their arrest within 24 hours. 

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Responding to emerging videos that appear to show the release and escape attempts of victims from scamming compounds across Cambodia, Amnesty International’s Regional Research Director Montse Ferrer said:

“Footage appearing to show the mass release and escape attempts from scamming compounds of individuals who are possibly victims of human trafficking and torture raises concerns that thousands of people are now stranded in Cambodia without support and at risk of being re‑trafficked into other compounds.   

“The Cambodian government must provide support for these individuals and help bring all remaining victims inside scamming compounds to safety, as well as ensuring their access to justice and remedy. They must not be forcibly sent back to countries where they risk being persecuted, as has happened in the past.

“This latest dramatic development reflects the alarming scale of the problem of the scamming industry in Cambodia and the failure of the government to properly investigate and hold those responsible to account.

“If the Cambodian government is serious about ending this slave-driven industry, it must now investigate all scamming compounds in the country. Where there is sufficient evidence, it must prosecute perpetrators and their accomplices – including landlords and companies who have contributed to the harms of scamming compounds. Testimonies from victims, if willing, should be used to prosecute the offenders in Cambodian courts.”

Background

Amnesty International has geolocated 15 videos and images, many provided by research group CyberScamMonitor, and reviewed social media posts that appear to show escape attempts and releases at least 10 scamming compounds across Cambodia within the last 36 hours. Seven of these sites were profiled in Amnesty International’s June 2025 report on scamming compounds where they were referenced as BA01, KA02, SI03, SI08, SI15, SI37 and SI38.

Videos show people leaving, or having already left, multiple sites Amnesty International has confirmed as scamming compounds or identified as suspected scamming compounds. In some of the videos, people appear to being beaten by security guards at the gates of one of these sites in Bavet (BA01).

To date, Amnesty International has interviewed more than 100 victims of the scamming industry who are often trafficked into compounds from outside of Cambodia where they are then enslaved, forced to scam or recruit others, deprived of their liberty and tortured if they do not comply with the orders of their bosses.

In July 2025, the Cambodian government announced a nationwide crackdown on scamming compounds in the country. The government later said it had freed more than 3,000 victims of human trafficking.

In June 2025, an Amnesty International report found that more than 50 scamming compounds across Cambodia were sites of widespread slavery, human trafficking, forced labour, torture and other human rights abuses, operating as prison‑like facilities controlled by organized criminal groups. The report concluded that Cambodian authorities had failed to prevent or address these violations, with evidence pointing towards state complicity or deliberate inaction that had allowed the industry to flourish.

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Reacting to the decision to acquit rescue volunteer Seán Binder of all criminal charges including membership of a criminal organization, fraud, money laundering, and smuggling (facilitation of irregular entry) Eve Geddie the Director of Amnesty International’s European Institutions Office said:

“Today’s decision is a welcome relief for Seán and his friends, family and supporters, but also for civil society in Greece and beyond. While welcoming this reprieve, Amnesty International underlines once again that these charges should never have been brought to trial in the first place.

“Sean’s human rights have been violated, and his life has remained on hold for many years. We hope today’s decision sends a strong signal to Greece and other European countries that solidarity, compassion and defending human rights should be protected and celebrated, not punished.

“The EU must also take note of today’s decision and introduce stronger safeguards against the criminalization of humanitarian assistance under EU law, no one should be punished for trying to help.”

Seán Binder said: “The court reached the only decision it could today based on the limited legal basis of the charges and the flimsy evidence the prosecutor presented. It is a huge relief that I will not spend the next 20 years in a prison cell, but at the same time, it is troubling that this should ever have been a possibility.

“Today, it was made clear, as it should always have been, that providing life-saving humanitarian assistance is an obligation, not a crime. That using WhatsApp is normal, not evidence of criminality. That buying laundry machines for a refugee camp does not make someone a money launderer. This acquittal must set a precedent.”  

Background

On 15 January 2026 alongside 23 other defendants, Seán Binder stood trial before the Court of Appeal of Lesvos, Greece. The court acquitted rescue volunteer Seán Binder of all charges.

Amnesty International representatives were present at Seán’s trial and spokespeople are available on request.

For more information contact press@amnesty.org or +32 4836 80812 & Free Humanitarians 

For more information on Seán Binder’s case, please see:

Amnesty International Report: Europe: Punishing compassion: Solidarity on trial in Fortress Europe 

Amnesty International campaign, Solidarity on trial: People in Europe are being targeted for helping refugees and migrants 

Greece: Authorities must ‘drop baseless charges’ against rescue volunteer Seán Binder

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Ahead of attending the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos, which begins on 19 January, Amnesty International’s Secretary General, Agnès Callamard, said:

“The ‘spirit of dialogue’, the theme for this year’s meeting in Davos, has been painfully and increasingly absent from international affairs of late. President Trump’s first year back in office has seen the United States withdraw from multilateral bodies, bully other states and relentlessly attack the principles and institutions that underpin the international justice system. At the same time, the likes of Russia and Israel have continued to make a mockery of the Geneva and Genocide Conventions without facing meaningful accountability.

“A few powerful states are unashamedly working to demolish the rules-based order and reshape the world along self-serving lines. Unilateral interventions and corporate interests are taking precedence over long-term strategic partnerships grounded in universal values and collective solutions. This was evident in the Trump administration’s military action in Venezuela and its stated intent to ‘run’ the country, which the president himself admitted was at least partially driven by the interests of US oil corporations. Make no mistake: the only certain consequence of vandalizing international law and multilateral institutions will be extensive suffering and destruction the world over.

“When faced with diplomatic, economic and military bullying and attacks, many states and corporations have opted for appeasement instead of taking a principled and united stand. Humanity needs world leaders, business executives and civil society to collectively resist or even disrupt these destructive trends. It requires denouncing the bullying and the attacks, and strong legal, economic, and diplomatic responses. What should not happen is silence, complicity and inaction. It also demands engaging in a transformative quest for common solutions to the many shared and existential problems we face.

The ‘spirit of dialogue’, the theme for this year’s meeting in Davos, has been painfully and increasingly absent from international affairs of late.

Amnesty International’s Secretary General, Agnès Callamard

“We need UN Security Council reform to address abuse of veto powers, robust regulation to protect us against harmful new technologies; more inclusive and transparent decision-making on climate solutions; and international treaties on tax and debt to deliver a more equitable, rights-based global economy. But this will only be achievable through cooperation and steadfast will to resist those who seek to strongarm and divide us.”

Agnès Callamard will be attending the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting in Davos throughout its duration from 19 to 23 January. She will be available for media interviews on a range of human rights issues, including: 

• Israel’s ongoing genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza
• The USA’s military action in Venezuela, Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, and the conflicts in Sudan, DRC and Myanmar
• The importance of revindicating and revitalizing multilateralism
• The need for global tax and debt reform and universal social protection
• The urgent need for a full, fast, fair and funded fossil fuel phase-out
• The need to massively scale up climate finance, including to address loss and damage
• Big Tech, corporate accountability and the risks of deregulation
• How to limit the harmful impact of artificial intelligence on human rights, including the right to a healthy environment

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