Schlagwort: Amnesty International

An innovative new research briefing by Amnesty International breaks down the “virulent cocktail” of xenophobic, racist and misogynistic hate targeting racialized women and LGBTQI+ people in Canada.  

The Hate is Intersectional: Xenophobic Technology-facilitates Gender-Based Violence (TfGBV) against Racialized Women and 2SLGBTQIA+ People in Canada exposes a playbook of toxic tropes and tactics spreading across social media as anti-immigrant rhetoric rises both online and offline. Launching alongside the briefing are new social media videos and graphics – part of Amnesty International’s global Make It Safe Online campaign – to counter online hate with messages of critical resistance, inclusion, and hope.  

“We are in the midst of an epidemic of digital hate-mongering designed to intimidate, dehumanize and attack racialized migrant women and LGBTQI+ people,” said Shreshtha Das, researcher and advisor on gender at Amnesty International.  

“These attacks subject racialized women and LGBTQI+ people to a virulent cocktail of misogynist, xenophobic and racist hate that is steeped in ideas of white supremacy. We hope that, by exposing hateful false narratives and how they spread, we can draw attention to the toll it takes, help survivors get the support they need, and contribute to the work of activists fighting back.” 

To arrive at their findings, Amnesty researchers drew upon a computer-assisted text analysis of thousands of social media posts and comments, as well as interviews with Black, Indigenous and other racialized women and LGBTQI+ people who had experienced technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TfGBV). (The term LGBTQI+ refers to people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, or queer, and can include other minority groups who have been discriminated against based upon their sexual orientation or gender identity.) 

We are in the midst of an epidemic of digital hate-mongering designed to intimidate, dehumanize and attack racialized migrant women and LGBTQI+ people

Shreshtha Das, researcher and advisor on gender at Amnesty International.

Amnesty International’s analysis found that racialized migrants and others perceived as such – particularly women and LGBTQI+ people – are routinely subjected to racist, homophobic and misogynistic attacks, including misogynist slurs, dehumanizing racist language likening them to animals or disease, and narratives framing them as economic “burdens” and targets for exclusion, deportation and violence.  

Hateful attacks spreading false narratives 

A dominant theme that emerged in the social media analysis was the racist narrative that “mass immigration” poses an existential threat to Canada, and specifically to its white “legacy” population. Many xenophobic online attacks referenced racist so-called “great replacement” or “white genocide” theories, which falsely claim that white, Christian populations are being deliberately replaced with non-white migrants and their descendants. These narratives frame racialized migrants, and other people perceived as migrants, as threats to national identity, traditions and institutions rooted in settler European identity – which are constructed as inherently superior. These narratives are used to justify xenophobic and racist TfGBV, rooted in the brutal historical injustices of colonialism that continue to have effects today. 

In Canada, people perceived as South Asian or Muslim are most frequently targeted in online attacks that invoke the so-called “great replacement” theory. In the social media posts reviewed by Amnesty International, there were numerous taunts calling for women and LGBTQI+ people from racialized communities to be deported, or they were told to they don’t belong in Canada and that they must “go back,” even in cases where the target was a Canadian citizen.  

Amnesty’s social media analysis and first-person interviews found that the public visibility of vocal racialized women was framed as a hostile takeover of Canadian institutions. Journalist Saba Eitizaz told Amnesty International that in one of the emails she received when she was subjected to a violent and organized hate attack in 2022, the sender “talked about in great detail how they could break my jaw so I wouldn’t be able to talk, but then they wouldn’t kill me.” 

“[T]he hate seemed to be more directed, just anger that I even had a voice in Canadian media.”  

Amnesty International’s analysis of the collected data also indicates that women’s and LGBTQI+ people’s rights have often been instrumentalized to cast racialized migrant populations as a threat to public safety and, in particular, to “traditional” white families. “Online attacks mentioning ‘rape gangs’ and ‘grooming gangs’ – supposedly run by Black and brown men – and ‘immigrant rapists’ spread disinformation and falsely invoke a sense of fear and imminent sexual threat, predominantly to white women and children,” said Shreshtha Das. “This not only fuels misplaced anger and hate towards racialized migrant communities, but also does nothing to address the root causes of gender-based violence.”  

This online rhetoric corresponds with recent trends in reported hate crimes in Canada: between 2020 and 2023, the annual number of hate crimes against South Asian people rose by 90 per cent, while anti-Muslim hate crimes increased by 150 per cent, according to Statistics Canada. Online spaces are not separate from the “offline” world. They reflect and amplify dominant, often violent, discourse about gender, race, migration, and their intersections. 

The toll on physical, mental health 

Unsurprisingly, these attacks take a toll on the people targeted. Racialized women and LGBTQI+ people interviewed for the briefing reported serious harms to their mental and physical health, which in turn affected their family lives and their careers. Journalist Erica Ifill, who was the target of an organized hate attack in 2022, told Amnesty International that she fell into a deep depression when the online hate campaign started. “It was super difficult. It was depressing. It was very shocking… I like to call it a digital lynch. I got digitally lynched”.  

Yet, survivors interviewed for the briefing said they found little or no recourse to justice through formal means. In the absence of adequate structural protections, some have resorted to forms of self-censorship such as making their social media accounts private, quitting certain platforms, or being more selective about what they post.  

‘Policy changes are not enough’ 

In response, Amnesty International concludes the briefing with a series of policy recommendations aimed at dispelling hateful narratives, quelling online violence and harassment, and ensuring holistic support for survivors of TfGBV.  

Politicians across the political spectrum have a responsibility to call out hateful narratives when they encounter them. And we must not allow them to condone – let alone indulge in – dehumanizing rhetoric that threatens people’s safety, online and on the street.”  

Ketty Nivyabandi, Secretary General of Amnesty International Canada’s English-speaking section.

“Decision-makers in Canada must take urgent steps to prevent and holistically address xenophobic, racist and misogynistic narratives circulating online,” said Ketty Nivyabandi, Secretary General of Amnesty International Canada’s English-speaking section. “They must also recognize that policy changes are not enough. Politicians across the political spectrum have a responsibility to call out hateful narratives when they encounter them. And we must not allow them to condone – let alone indulge in – dehumanizing rhetoric that threatens people’s safety, online and on the street.”  

Countering efforts to push certain voices of out of the landscape requires collective resistance and solidarity to shut down hate, build collective power, and transform our world together.  

Elaheh Sajadi, a gender rights campaigner with Amnesty International Canada’s English-speaking section.

To accompany the release of the report, Amnesty International has launched a Canada-focused social media campaign challenging “us vs. them” narratives that divide communities, scapegoat migrants and fuel technology-facilitated gender-based violence aimed at silencing women and LGBTQI+ activists and journalists who challenge these narratives. Supporters are encouraged to share the campaign video, call out these narratives wherever they arise, and resist their spread by amplifying messages of solidarity – affirming that we are better together. 

“What we are seeing is not just harmful rhetoric, but a coordinated effort to push certain voices out of the landscape,” said Elaheh Sajadi, a gender rights campaigner with Amnesty International Canada’s English-speaking section. “Countering it requires collective resistance and solidarity to shut down hate, build collective power, and transform our world together.”  

The post Canada: Xenophobic, racist tropes drive online hate against racialized women and LGBTQI+ people  appeared first on Amnesty International.

Authorities across East and Southern Africa continued their campaigns of harassment and arbitrary arrests and detention of independent journalists over the past year, Amnesty International said today ahead of World Press Freedom Day.

The organization documented sustained intimidation, harassment, and attacks on independent media in several countries in the region. Amnesty International also documented increased internet blockades or shutdowns and the use of restrictive cyber security laws to restrict media freedom, especially in countries that held elections in 2025 and early 2026.

“Across the region, governments and in some instances non-state actors, intensified their crackdowns on the media and journalists through shutdowns and arrests and arbitrary detentions. They weaponized criminal justice systems to target journalists and continued to use broad and vaguely worded laws to silence and intimidate them. This all came at a time when media revenues were low, putting an even greater strain on press freedom,” said Tigere Chagutah Amnesty International’s Regional Director for East and Southern Africa.

Freedom under siege

In Ethiopia, journalists have faced a renewed wave of crackdowns by the authorities in recent months. Prominent outlets such as Wazema Radio and Addis Standard have had their licenses arbitrarily revoked.

Across the region, governments and in some instances non-state actors, intensified their crackdowns on the media and journalists through shutdowns and arrests and arbitrary detentions.

Tigere Chagutah, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for East and Southern Africa

Journalists have been detained following unlawful surveillance, while reports of enforced disappearances of journalists have increased. Most recently, on 15 April 2026, Million Beyene, managing editor of independent media outlet Addis Standard, was abducted in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital, by members of the national intelligence agency, according to the media house. Millions were held for two weeks in an undisclosed facility without access to his lawyer or family. His abduction appears to be linked to his work as a journalist. He was subsequently handed over to his family and legal team on 28 April.

Measures targeting Ethiopian journalists and media outlets have increasingly extended to international media.

In Tanzania, in August 2025, the home affairs minister ordered police to conduct “online patrols” to apparently monitor “individuals who used digital platforms to disrupt peace and security”.

In September, the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority imposed a 90-day ban on online platform JamiiForums, alleging it had published misleading and defamatory content about the government, in contravention of the 2020 Online Content Regulations and its amendments. 

In October, Tanzania’s authorities imposed a partial internet shutdown during the general elections. Both local and international media were barred from covering the human rights situation in the country in the lead up to and after the elections.

In Uganda, security forces attacked dozens of journalists covering the March 2025 parliamentary by-elections in Kawempe in the capital, Kampala.  Journalists from NTV Uganda and the Daily Monitor newspaper were also subsequently banned from covering parliamentary proceedings and the presidency. The 2023 Anti-Homosexuality Act, which criminalizes the “promotion of homosexuality” through publishing, broadcasting, distribution, and online expression, and imposes penalties of suspension or cancellation of licenses, continued to create a restrictive and intimidating environment for journalists, editors, podcasters, human rights reporters, and community media outlets covering LGBTQI+ lives, public health, violence, forced evictions, court cases, or advocacy.

In Zimbabwe, journalist Blessed Mhlanga remains in exile following his speech at the Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy on 18 February 2026 where he spoke about media repression and shrinking civic space. Gideon Madzikatidze, a journalist with Bulawayo24, has remained in custody since 18 February 2026 after he was detained for publishing a story alleging corruption involving a waste management company. He has been charged with cyberbullying and “broadcasting without a licence,” despite the story being published online. He has been denied bail three times. 

 Media freedom in armed conflicts

In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), control of large swathes of eastern DRC by the March 23 Movement (M23) armed group has had a chilling effect on the media. M23’s detention, torture, and threats against journalists have forced numerous journalists to flee M23-controlled areas and influenced coverage by other independent journalists of M23 abuses and other sensitive issues.

In Mozambique, the National Institute of Communication suspended for 48 hours Vida and Encontro radio stations in Nampula city in February 2025. It claimed, without evidence, that their broadcasting was disrupting the connection between the local airport’s control tower and aircraft. At least one of the stations – Radio Encontro – was known to be critical of the government and of the 2024 elections.

In June, around 16 journalists were arrested and their equipment confiscated by the security forces in Muidumbe district, Cabo Delgado. They were interrogated and intimidated for two hours in nearby Macomia district in connection with their attempt to photograph the destruction of public infrastructure in Macomia during armed conflict. The district administrator had previously authorized the journalists to take photographs.

Journalism is not a crime. Amnesty International reiterates its call to authorities in the region to immediately release all journalists being held for doing their work, quash their convictions and sentences, and drop ongoing charges against them. They must also refrain from enacting laws that stifle media freedom

Tigere Chagutah

In Somalia, journalists were attacked by security forces and subjected to threats, harassment, intimidation, beatings, arbitrary arrests and prosecution. The government stepped up attempts to control and censor journalists reporting on public interest issues, including insecurity, corruption and forced evictions.  

In South Sudan, President Salva Kiir Mayardit signed into law the Cybercrimes and Computer Misuse Act in February 2026. South Sudanese human rights defenders and the Committee to Protect Journalists raised alarm about the act, warning that it could criminalize legitimate online activity and be abused to further restrict media freedom.

In Sudan, amid the ongoing conflict, journalists have been targeted by both sides with arrests, detentions, abductions and killings.

“In all the cases of attacks against journalists that Amnesty International has documented, no one has been held accountable. Victims also continue to be denied access to justice and effective remedies. This increased hostility against the media threatens people’s access to information and weakens accountability,” said Tigere Chagutah.

“Journalism is not a crime. Amnesty International reiterates its call to authorities in the region to immediately release all journalists being held for doing their work, quash their convictions and sentences, and drop ongoing charges against them. They must also refrain from enacting laws that stifle media freedom”.

The post East and Southern Africa: Media freedom under attack amid prevailing impunity appeared first on Amnesty International.

The outbreak of conflict has had a devastating human rights impact on millions across the Middle East, affecting civilians in at least 12 countries. More than 5,000 people have been killed, tens of thousands injured, and millions displaced across the region.

 In Lebanon, at least 2,567 people have been killed, including 103 healthcare workers. Despite a fragile ceasefire, attacks there have continued in recent days. Israeli forces retain control of land in southern Lebanon and are deliberately destroying civilian infrastructure and homes there.

Bissan Fakih, MENA Campaigner at Amnesty International, describes her first trip to her family home in southern Lebanon amidst the shaky ceasefire.

 I was relieved when we crossed the makeshift bridge at Qasmiye. It was hastily constructed after Israeli air strikes destroyed it, but easy to drive on. It also meant I was approaching home. Bridges over the Litani River, connecting southern Lebanon to rest of the country, had been blown up one after the other in Israeli air strikes.

With the 10-day ceasefire of the Israel-Hezbollah war set to expire, I had decided to drive to the southern coastal city of Tyre, to check on my family home and check on the city in case it was going to be bombed again.

Rescue workers still searching for bodies

I arrived at the site of an Israeli air strike, on a usually bustling street on Tyre’s waterfront. The strike came only a few minutes before the ceasefire took effect at midnight on 17 April. I imagine the people in those buildings had thought they survived the war. Rescue workers were still looking for bodies. They said 26 people had been killed in the attack.

A man at the site told me there was one person still beneath the rubble. He pointed at a weary looking rescue worker from the Risala Scouts – a civil defence organization – who was directing the search now on its fifth day and said he could answer my questions. I said a few words of respect given all that he and his colleagues had been through. Dozens of healthcare workers and first responders in Lebanon have been killed in Israeli air strikes since 2 March 2026 yet they continued to run into danger to save lives.

A man speaking to a reporter nearby pointed to a set of tattooed lines on his right arm. He pointed line by line yelling “gone!” at each one. They were the names of his family members.  “Only this one remains… They are not Hezbollah, where is Hezbollah?”

Most cars and motorcycles I passed had the photos of people killed in the fighting plastered on them. In the few hours I was there, there were three funerals. All of Tyre felt like one big funeral, and I guessed all of southern Lebanon did. In a village a short drive away, journalist Amal Khalil was being laid to rest after being killed in Israeli air strikes the previous day, despite the so-called ceasefire.

Close by, a temporary burial site used in the 2024 war, had rows of freshly dug numbered graves for people who couldn’t be buried in their ancestral villages because Israeli soldiers are still holding them as part of a ‘security zone’.

Despite the rubble around us, Tyre, either oblivious or out of a mothering kindness, was in her full April glory, all blue skies and clear blue water and swaying palm trees.

Home

My grandma has been gone for many years, but the house still smelled of her when I opened the door. No one was there – my family was displaced to my home in Beirut. They were among more than one million people who have been displaced since 2 March by the Israeli military’s overly broad mass evacuation orders.

I almost jumped out of my skin at the sound of a nearby explosion, automatically thinking it was an air strike. I realized then that it was likely the Israelis detonating homes in nearby villages. Relief followed by anguish. The so-called security zone Israel is holding several kilometres into Lebanon, and the Israeli army has been destroying civilian infrastructure and blowing up homes in the area.

The ceasefire was still holding in our neighbourhood, but I was tense being in an empty building and I worked quickly.

I packed a huge bag of loose photographs. I had made it my winter holiday project to organize our family photos into albums and move them to my home in Beirut, fearing they could get destroyed in another round of fighting, but I hadn’t gotten through them all. I also grabbed some warm weather clothes for my grandpa since the weather had changed during his displacement and some cake stands of my mom’s I’d been eyeing without the temerity to ask for or take, before locking up the house.

I kissed the door frame before I left and said a prayer for the house’s protection; I asked it to stay, to wait for our return. And then I superstitiously regretted it – I had always walked out of this house nonchalantly. Perhaps I jinxed it by giving the goodbye so much meaning.

Rubble of a damaged building in Tyre, southern Lebanon©Amnesty International/ Bissan Fakih

Tyre seafront southern Lebanon © Amnesty International/ Bissan Fakih

Living through the war we are documenting

Everyone on the Amnesty International team in Beirut has been affected in one way or another. Some of us are hosting displaced people; others have themselves been displaced. The researchers and campaigners covering violations in Lebanon are living through the war they are documenting.

Days like Black Wednesday, on 8 April, when Israeli forces killed more than 357 people in air strikes across Lebanon including in crowded civilian areas in Beirut, came frighteningly close to our homes and our office.

As we hear air strikes and worry about our own safety and that of our families, we also worry about the safety of the people whose cases we work on across the region, and we continue that work.

Despite the fragile ceasefire, the worry and grief have not eased. The destruction of homes and the killing of civilians in southern Lebanon, including of first responders, continues. Israeli surveillance drones circle overhead in Beirut too – a nauseating reminder that death from above could revisit our homes and places of refuge at any time.

My family is eager to go home, to be on our balcony, see our neighbours and enjoy the scents and comfort of the south. That cannot happen until we have a real, enduring ceasefire and a full withdrawal of Israeli troops from Lebanon.

The post ‘I said a prayer for the house’s protection; I asked it to stay, to wait for our return’: Notes from a trip to southern Lebanon appeared first on Amnesty International.

Imagine this scenario….

Imagine waking up one day to find that certain topics can no longer be discussed openly. Schools avoid difficult conversations. Journalists tread more carefully. Your news feed shows fewer critical voices. Public spaces feel less safe for protest or dissent. 

Nothing dramatic happened overnight! There are no obvious turning points, just a gradual shift. Yet over time, the space for dialogue, disagreement, and public participation has narrowed. You may have heard the term authoritarian practices in the news, in history lessons, or in conversations. But what does it really mean? What is considered an authoritarian practice, and what falls outside of it?  What do they actually look like in everyday life for ordinary people like you and me? How can we spot and resist these practices that seriously undermine human rights?  

Would you notice? And more importantly, if you did, would you know how to respond? 

For many people around the world, this scenario is not hypothetical. This is a lived reality, experienced by growing numbers of people around the globe. Authoritarian practices that violate human rights rarely arrive at once. More often, they emerge gradually, introduced through policies, narratives, and practices that might even seem reasonable in isolation. Measures limiting the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, or access to information are often justified in the language of security, stability, or national interest. These justifications can make restrictions feel necessary, at times even protective. 

Over time, repeated exposure to these narratives can normalize limitations on rights.  This gradual normalization is what makes such developments difficult to detect, and even harder to challenge. This makes them easy to overlook. When change is gradual, it rarely triggers immediate resistance. Instead, it reshapes expectations; what people believe is acceptable, possible, or safe.  This scenario reflects a broader global reality. Across the world, civic space is shrinking, and the rule of law is being weakened. Governments and other powerful actors are employing practices that limit what people can say, share, or challenge, while they undermine the institutions intended to keep a check on power. 

At a time like this, strengthening our knowledge and understanding of human rights is not optional. It is essential. Without that understanding, it becomes much harder to spot the signs showing the expansion of authoritarian practices, and recognize when human rights are being unduly restricted to respond effectively when they are. This erosion of our rights is often subtle and systemic. It does not always look like repression in its most obvious form. Instead, it works through discouragement, fear, and the quiet reshaping of what is considered “normal”. When people lose the ability to question, organize, or speak freely, the effects reach far beyond individuals. Entire societies are affected as powerful actors intend to unduly build, exercise, and entrench power for the benefit of a narrow group.  

But we can resist! The first step in resisting is learning; this is why human rights education becomes a powerful tool of resistance. 

Making sense of authoritarian practices through education  

Understanding these developments is not always straightforward. Authoritarian practices are rarely presented as such. Instead, they are embedded in complex political, economic, social, and cultural dynamics. They are not only about laws or policies; they are also about narratives, what people fear, what they believe, and what they accept as “normal”. This is not about which political affiliation or government system is best. It is about understanding how fear and division are used politically, how narratives are manipulated to justify authoritarian practices, and how we can start to question the systems and stories that allow injustice to grow.¹ Without the resources and tools to critically analyze these narratives, it becomes difficult to understand how rights are being restricted and eroded for the sake of concentrating power, or how to respond. This is where awareness becomes crucial.  

Recognizing patterns, questioning assumptions, and understanding human rights and the protections they give to keep power in check are key steps in responding effectively. Learning to ask questions about who benefits, what is being framed as a threat, and whose voices are being excluded is an essential part of this process. Critical awareness, therefore, is not automatic; it must be learned. This is where education in human rights plays a crucial role. Education can enable us to translate complex global issues into accessible and practical knowledge to act.  

Tools and Resources to Understand and Resist 

Amnesty International’s Rights Revealed: Human Rights and the Escalation of Authoritarian Practices Around the World is designed with this purpose in mind. This two-part educational resource is aimed at anyone seeking to understand how fear, division, and narratives are used to silence, control, and erode human rights. It’s not about political affiliations or governance systems. It focuses on the tactics themselves and how we can recognize and challenge them.  

The educational resources include: 

Part 1: Unpacking Authoritarian Narratives of Fear, Repression, and Control 

Complementary resource:  U.S.-specific Case Cards on Unpacking Authoritarian Narratives Rights of Fear, Repression and Control U.S.-specific Case Cards on Unpacking Authoritarian Narratives Rights of Fear, Repression and Control – Amnesty International 

Part 2: Resisting Authoritarian Practices in Defence of Human Rights 

It is available in English, Arabic, French, and Spanish. 

They aim to support learners, educators, and communities in making sense of these issues. This makes them relevant not only in classrooms, but also in community discussions, public spaces, or personal reflections. 

In a world where rights can be gradually restricted to further entrench power, being informed is a form of resistance. Education plays a crucial role in this. It equips individuals with the knowledge and confidence to question, to engage, and to challenge injustice in their everyday experiences.  

Act! Take the Next Step 

Understanding is the first step, but it should not be the last. Rights are not sustained by laws and institutions alone. They depend on individuals who are aware, engaged, and willing to act. 

You don’t need to be an expert to engage with these issues. 

Start by exploring Amnesty’s educational resources. Use them in your classroom, your work, or your community. Share them, discuss them, and question them. Reflect on how these issues appear in your own context. Ask questions. Share what you learn. The more informed and engaged we are, the stronger those rights become. You can: 

• Use them in teaching, workshops, or conversations 

• Reflect on how these issues appear in your own context 

• Engage in conversations about rights and responsibilities 

• You can explore the interactive quiz on Authoritarian Practices on Kahoot Quiz here  

Because when human rights are either quietly or openly undermined and eroded to concentrate power in a few hands, understanding and action matter more than ever. 

Footnote

1.  Amnesty International, Rights revealed: Human rights and the escalation of authoritarian practices around the world: Part 1 – Unpacking authoritarian narratives of fear, repression and control (2025), p. 1, https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/pol32/0336/2025/en/ ︎

The post When Rights Are Quietly Disappeared: Resisting Authoritarian Practices Through Human Rights Education appeared first on Amnesty International.

In November 2024, Ugandan Opposition politician Kizza Besigye was abducted in Kenya and returned to Uganda where he is facing treason charges. In my conversation with his wife Winnie Byanyima, she talks about his health, his work in human rights, and the state of human rights in Uganda. Besigye was, at one time, the personal doctor of Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni who has ruled Uganda for 40 years now. During this period, the country’s human rights situation has deteriorated.

His health is not good, but he is strong in spirit

Besigye is strong in spirit. He continues to state his innocence, and he continues to remind people that all this is political and that you never give up what you believe in, what you stand for politically, just because you are being persecuted. So, he’s bearing it all with a lot of strength, but his health is not that good.

He’s very strong in spirit because he understands that he is there because he disagrees. He understands that he must endure, he must not allow those who have imprisoned him to win by breaking him. So, his spirit is strong and he holds on to his values and his beliefs and resists from prison.

Dr Besigye flashes the peace sign as he walks out of court on 20 November 2024.Abubaker Lubowa/Daily Monitor

For him, it’s a political struggle. It’s a struggle for democracy and human rights and that’s the price he has been asked to pay and he’s ready to pay it, but he would rather be at home with his family. He was abducted in November 2024 and brought before a military court and then later transferred to an ordinary prison. That’s where he’s been since. There’s a handful of them, about 10, in this little prison [cell], with a very small space for walking.

He was abducted in November 2024 and brought before a military court and then later transferred to an ordinary prison. That’s where he’s been since.

Winnie Byanyima, Besigye’s wife

The prison conditions are awful.  The cell where he sleeps is so tiny that when I went in, when he was on hunger strike, to sit beside his bed, I had to sit at an angle, because the room is so narrow. The ceiling is so high, the light comes in from the top but doesn’t reach where he’s sleeping. So, he is most of the time in near darkness. He sleeps on a thin mattress that’s infested with bed bugs that are always biting him and he is  not allowed even to socialize with other prisoners and is almost completely isolated from them. He can’t go to church with them. He can’t play football. They’ve got spaces where they play games. He’s not allowed to step there.

Doctor, human rights crusader, and activist

Kizza Besigye turned 70 years old on April 22nd. He is a medical doctor; a career he started at Aga Khan Hospital in Nairobi, while in exile.

Before that, he was a student activist. Back then [in the 70s], there was a new force of young people who wanted to change the politics of the country, to break out of being a neo-colonial state, to being a really independent state that’s just, equitable, and democratic. He joined them.

He went underground and joined a rebel group in Uganda, the National Resistance Army. He worked in the National Resistance Movement. There was an armed struggle. That’s where I met him because I too joined that revolution.

He set up the political structures of the National Resistance Movement [(Uganda’s ruling party]). He also served as Minister for Internal Affairs as a junior minister. He later served in the military as head of logistics and engineering. He was a member of parliament, the National Resistance Council. He also served in the Constituent Assembly that made a new constitution.

When President Museveni deviated from the goals of the liberation movement, Besigye criticized the direction. He was dragged to the military court and accused of indiscipline. That was the beginning of their disagreements. President Museveni could not tolerate criticism.

He has firm beliefs in justice, democracy, rights, and the rule of law. He believes everyone should be equal before the law. Because of these beliefs, he has sacrificed greatly and invested his time in organizing the public and non‑violent resistance.

Winnie Byanyima

Besigye later challenged President Museveni in the 2001 election.

Since then, he has been in and out of prison continuously. He is among the most arrested opposition leaders on the continent. His life has been one of constant imprisonment and harassment for challenging Museveni.

He has firm beliefs in justice, democracy, rights, and the rule of law. He believes everyone should be equal before the law. Because of these beliefs, he has sacrificed greatly and invested his time in organizing the public and non‑violent resistance.

At the time of his abduction in Nairobi, he had no presidential ambitions. After multiple contested elections, he concluded elections could not bring change and committed to non‑violent resistance.

Inadequate judicial protection and fair trial concerns

His case has involved repeated legal violations, denial of bail, and judicial bias.

We will continue resisting peacefully and believe that change will come, because to be in a struggle for justice and human rights is a good way to live.

Winnie Byanyima

Senior political leaders have publicly declared him guilty and hundreds and thousands of Ugandans have suffered similar persecution. Democracy requires struggle and sacrifice.

We will continue resisting peacefully and believe that change will come, because to be in a struggle for justice and human rights is a good way to live.

****Listen to Winnie Byanyima on Amnesty in Africa Podcast talking about the plight of her husband.

The post He continues to resist despite his frail health: wife of jailed Ugandan politician Kizza Besigye appeared first on Amnesty International.