Schlagwort: Amnesty International

A decision by a court in Russia’s second biggest city to designate the Russian LGBT Network an “extremist organization” and impose a nationwide ban on its activities will only increase the marginalization of LGBTI people and their human rights, Amnesty International said today.

The verdict by the St Petersburg City Court followed closed hearings as requested by the Ministry of Justice and was issued within two months of similar rulings designating five other LGBTI groups: Coming Out in St Petersburg, the LGBT Resource Centre in Yekaterinburg, Moscow Community Centre for LGBT+ Initiatives, LGBTI group Irida in Samara, and LGBTI-themed media project Parni+ as “extremist organizations.”

“When in November 2023 the Supreme Court banned the non-existent ‘international LGBT movement’ as ‘extremist,’ it was clear that the authorities would not stop there. The designation of the Russian LGBT Network and other organizations as ‘extremist’ are links in the same chain of persecution and injustice by the Russian authorities against LGBTI people,” said Marie Struthers, Amnesty International’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia Director.

The designation of the Russian LGBT Network and other organizations as ‘extremist’ are links in the same chain of persecution and injustice by the Russian authorities against LGBTI people

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

“For nearly two decades, the Russian LGBT Network has united activists from across the country, provided emergency assistance and produced vital research on discrimination and violence against LGBTI people. Banning it is a major premeditated blow to LGBTI people and their allies.”

LGBTI human rights defenders, activists and volunteers play a vital role in providing legal, psychological and social support, documenting abuses and evacuating those at risk. Despite their legitimate human rights work, a growing number of organizations have been arbitrarily designated as “extremist”.

“The Russian authorities must immediately stop misusing anti-extremism legislation to repress the LBGTI community, reverse homophobic policies and guarantee the rights to freedom of expression, association and non-discrimination to LGBTI people in line with international human rights law. Discriminatory legislation targeting and criminalizing LGBTI people must be fully abolished, and court decisions designating the ‘international LGBT movement’ and individual organizations as ‘extremist’ overturned,” Marie Struthers said.

Further reprisals and silencing of LGBTI people

Since the end of 2025, authorities have expanded their crackdown on LGBTI rights through criminal prosecutions, arrests and fines targeting individuals, private gatherings and media platforms.

On 8 December 2025, a court in Cherkessk sentenced a resident of the Republic of Karachay-Cherkessia to two-and-a-half-years’ imprisonment for joining a group chat and posting comments that authorities characterized as promoting “non-traditional sexual relations.” On 4 December 2025, a court in Ulyanovsk placed under house arrest three residents charged with “organizing and participating in the activities of an extremist organization” for holding closed LGBTI-themed parties and drag shows between January 2024 and December 2025.

In January 2026, drag performer Aleksandr Knyagin fled Russia after being placed on a federal wanted list following an earlier police raid on a venue hosting an LGBTI event in Kirov on 1 November 2025.

On 18 December 2025, sex educator and LGBTI activist Sasha (Aleksandra) Kazantseva was sentenced in absentia to nine years’ imprisonment on charges including spreading “false information” about the Russian Armed Forces and alleged participation in an “extremist LGBT movement.” By the end of 2025, at least 23 criminal cases had been opened on “extremism” charges related to LGBTI activities.

On 23 March, a court of Chita, Eastern Siberia, sentenced 23-year-old entrepreneur Tatiana Zorina to four years in a penal colony for “organizing the activities of an extremist organization” in a nightclub she co-owned.

Authorities have also relied on heavy fines to suppress support for LGBT rights. On 2 February, three cases for alleged “LGBT propaganda” were filed against Yevgeny Pisemsky, founder of the banned Parni+ media project and Phoenix Plus,anNGO that earlier was labelled a “foreign agent” and subsequently chose to disband. In the same month, journalist Vadim Vaganov was fined 100,000 rubles (US$1,300) also for “LGBT propaganda” – his third such fine – and soon faced a fourth administrative case. On 18 and 25 February, journalist Yaroslav Rasputin received two separate fines of 200,000 rubles (US$2,600) for social media posts.

On 16 April, a court in Saratov fined the news agency SaratovBusinessConsulting 500,000 rubles (US$6,700) for publishing a review of the TV-series Heated Rivalry, which authorities deemed to constitute “LGBT propaganda.”

“Besides criminal prosecutions and administrative fines, we are also witnessing the systematic erasure of LGBTI people from public life, including through censorship and measures targeting cultural institutions, publishers, bookstores, streaming platforms and online spaces,” said Marie Struthers.

Besides criminal prosecutions and administrative fines, we are also witnessing the systematic erasure of LGBTI people from public life, including through censorship and measures targeting cultural institutions, publishers, bookstores, streaming platforms and online spaces

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

On 2 February 2026, a Moscow court fined a senior manager of the streaming service Wink 200,000 rubles (US$2,600) for providing access to LGBTI-themed movies. On 11 February, major platforms – Kinopoisk, Ivi and Wink – were fined between 3 and 3.5 million rubles (US$38,700–45,250) for the same “offence.” On 20 April, a court similarly fined the gaming platform Roblox 8 million rubles (US$106,900).

On 30 January 2026, the feminist publishing house No Kidding Press – which had ceased operations – was fined 800,000 rubles (US$10,300) for the publication and distribution of the graphic novel The Fruit of Knowledge by Swedish author Liv Strömquist. In the same month, cases were opened against the bookstore chain Chitai-gorod – Bukvoed for selling several titles, including Ursula Le Guin’s sci-fi novel The Left Hand of Darkness. Earlier, on 26 November 2025, Stephen King’s novel It was withdrawn from sale following complaints alleging “LGBT propaganda.”

On 21 April 2026, law enforcement officers detained the head of the publishing house Eksmo, Yevgeny Kapyev, and several employees in connection with an “extremism” case against the Popcorn Books, a publisher associated with LGBTI-themed literature. They were subsequently released after questioning as witnesses in the criminal case.

The post Russia: Russian LGBT Network is labelled “extremist” in escalating crackdown on LGBTI rights appeared first on Amnesty International.

Responding to news that the Commission of Inquiry’s report into the killings perpetrated during and after the 29 October 2025 general elections has been handed to Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for East and Southern Africa, Flavia Mwangovya, said:

“Victims’ families and members of the public must have an opportunity to interrogate the investigation report to know the scope of the investigations, procedures followed, its findings, and the factual and legal basis of the findings. To withhold the Commission of Inquiry report from the public is a blow to transparency, which is key in the process of achieving accountability, and heaps a further injustice on the families of those unlawfully killed.

“The report’s findings that at least 518 people died of unnatural causes, including from gunshot injuries, should not be taken lightly. These are lives lost at the hands of security forces. The Tanzanian authorities must immediately launch independent, transparent and effective investigations into these deaths and bring those responsible to account.

To withhold the Commission of Inquiry report from the public is a blow to transparency, which is key in the process of achieving accountability, and heaps a further injustice on the families of those unlawfully killed.

Flavia Mwangovya, Deputy Regional Director, Amnesty ESARO

“Authorities must reveal under what circumstances these people were killed or injured and who were responsible for ordering, enabling, or committing these violations. They must also immediately make the whole report public. Any limitations on transparency must be strictly necessary for a legitimate purpose, such as protecting the privacy and safety of affected individuals through appropriate redactions. In no circumstances may the authorities restrict transparency in a way that would result in impunity for those responsible.

Authorities must reveal under what circumstances these people were killed or injured and who were responsible for ordering, enabling, or committing these violations. They must also immediately make the whole report public.

Flavia Mwangovya

“The president’s open refusal to make the Commission of Inquiry report public is a disappointing continuation of a pattern in which officially commissioned reports are never made public, perpetuating a state of impunity in Tanzania.”

Background

Following the 29 October 2025 general elections, Tanzanian security forces used unnecessary or disproportionate force, including lethal force, to suppress election protests. Security forces fired live ammunition and teargas directly at protesters and other individuals who posed no imminent threat of death or serious injury. Amid a nationwide Internet shutdown, security officials subjected individuals to beatings and other forms of ill-treatment, denied the wounded access to healthcare, arrested some still in need of care, and collected bodies of victims of their brutality from mortuaries. On 14 November 2025, President Samia Suluhu announced the formation of a Commission of Inquiry to investigate the killings that occurred during and after the elections.

The post Tanzania: Release Commission of Inquiry report into election-related killings to kickstart accountability process appeared first on Amnesty International.

Responding to the International Criminal Court confirming all crimes against humanity charges against former Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte, paving the way for full trial proceedings, the Director of Amnesty International Philippines Ritz Lee Santos said:

“Families of victims and survivors of the ‘war on drugs’ have waited far too long for justice. The ICC’s confirmation of all charges against former President Duterte is a historic moment for victims and international justice. It sends a clear message that those who are alleged to have committed widespread and systematic murder as a crime against humanity will one day find themselves in the dock, facing trial. Justice may be slow in coming, but it cannot be delayed forever.

“This trial is not about politics. It is about a campaign in which thousands of people were killed in cold blood, and a justice system in the Philippines that has consistently failed them. The ICC is acting because the authorities would not. For years, those responsible for unlawful killings have operated with impunity, but that era is ending.

“For the survivors and victims’ families who have carried their grief in silence, today affirms that their voices have been heard and their persistence is not in vain. As these proceedings move forward, the international community will bear witness not only to the crimes that Duterte is alleged to have committed, but to the courage of those who never stopped demanding justice.

“The ICC must now ensure victims’ rights to participate in the trial and guarantee that witnesses are protected so that the trial can decide on the allegations facing Duterte. Meanwhile, efforts must stop at nothing to ensure that all those individually responsible for crimes under international law and grave human rights violations are held accountable, whether in the Philippines or at the ICC.”

Background

The Pre-Trial Chamber of the International Criminal Court today decided that former President Duterte should stand trial for all three charges against him of murder and attempted murder as crimes against humanity.

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.

In January 2026, a Pre-Trial Chamber determined, following a review by medical experts, that Duterte is fit to stand trial. On 22 April 2026, the Appeals Chamber confirmed that the Court may exercise jurisdiction over the alleged crimes.

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: Confirmation of Duterte trial offers victims prospect of long-awaited truth and justice appeared first on Amnesty International.

Reacting to the EU’s failure to call for a vote to suspend the EU-Israel Association Agreement or to agree on any other concrete measures today at the EU Foreign Affairs Council in Luxembourg, Erika Guevara-Rosas, Amnesty International’s Senior Director for Research, Advocacy, Policy and Campaigns said:

“At this point, the EU’s decision to maintain its trade agreement with Israel represents a moral failure and illustrates brazen contempt for civilian lives, particularly in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) and in Lebanon.

“One million people in Europe, more than 75 NGOs, almost 400 former diplomats, UN experts as well as Belgium, Ireland, Slovenia and Spain have all called for the immediate suspension of the agreement. Once again, these calls have been disregarded with Germany and Italy playing a key role in blocking the suspension.

This will be remembered as another shameful chapter in one of the most disgraceful moments in the EU’s history.

Erika Guevara-Rosas, Senior Director for Research, Advocacy, Policy and Campaigns

“Almost a year ago, the EU found that Israel’s crimes under international law against Palestinians violate the agreement’s human rights clause. Since then, Israel has continued to cross every single EU red line. 

“Decades of impunity afforded to Israel by the international community, including the EU, have only emboldened it to escalate its violations of international humanitarian law. This is evidenced by Israel’s genocide in Gaza, its ongoing unlawful occupation of the whole OPT, the system of apartheid imposed against all Palestinians whose rights it controls and its new death penalty law, which will in practice apply exclusively to Palestinians.

“Since the so-called ceasefire in Gaza in October 2025, which the EU has used to justify its inaction, over 740 Palestinians have been killed as Israeli air strikes, shelling and cruel blockade persist.  In Lebanon, Israeli forces have killed and wounded thousands of people, including healthcare workers, and have displaced more than a million people since the re-escalation of hostilities with Hezbollah on 2 March.

“The EU must not again use fragile ceasefires as an excuse to give Israel yet another free pass. Each delay only further entrenches impunity and paves the way for further grave human rights violations. EU member states must urgently take matters into their own hands and unilaterally suspend all forms of cooperation with Israel that may contribute to its grave violations of international law.”

Background

At today’s foreign affairs council, EU ministers failed to agree on any concrete measures, once again delaying meaningful action.

The suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement is one of many concrete steps the EU can and must take to bring an end to Israel’s violations and its own risk of complicity in them. The EU should also bring its actions in line with international law by banning trade with Israel’s illegal settlements in the OPT, a call long supported by Belgium, Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Spain, recently joined by France and Sweden. Until then, member states must adopt national bans on trade with settlements.  

Amnesty International launched a new campaign action calling on Italy and Germany to support the suspension of the EU-Israel Association agreement.

The post EU: Failure to suspend EU-Israel Association Agreement shows contempt for civilian lives appeared first on Amnesty International.

Responding to the Fijian authorities’ announcement that a man, Jone Vakarisi, died in military custody on 17 April, Amnesty International’s Pacific Researcher Kate Schuetze said:

“The information provided by authorities on this death in custody raises more questions than answers. Initial responses from the military suggested that Jone Vakarisi died from a pre-existing medical condition, yet copies of the police autopsy report circulating online suggest that this was a case of serious assault.

“Any death in custody must be met with an independent, impartial, effective and prompt investigation, with results being made public. Statements of regret by the Commander of Fiji’s military are meaningless unless followed by comprehensive and transparent explanations and – where there is sufficient admissible evidence – appropriate criminal charges against those responsible.

“This death also raises questions about the culture of impunity within Fiji’s military forces and the role of the military in policing matters, including its ability to meet the needs of detainees in line with international human rights law and standards.

“Meanwhile, the military’s cautioning against people discussing the incident raises serious freedom of expression concerns. Questions and reporting about this case cannot be supressed for reasons of ‘national security’.”

Background

On Saturday 18 April 2026, Fiji authorities confirmed that Jone Vakarisi died in custody at the Queen Elizabeth Barracks on 17 April. He was taken into custody on 16 April with three other people, two of whom have since been released.

It is unclear what Vakarisi and others detained with him were being investigated for, as no criminal charges have been confirmed. Republic of the Fiji Military Forces (RFMF) statements have suggested that the detentions were related to drug crimes and an organized criminal network they described as being a threat to national security.

In a statement on 18 April, the RFMF said Jone Vakarisi “voluntarily presented” himself at their barracks then died of a “medical emergency” relating to a pre-existing condition. The RFMF described the death as a ‘national security’ incident and cautioned people against discussing it. However, on 20 April the military admitted its initial communication was not factually correct, acknowledging the findings of the autopsy.

Under international standards, any death in custody creates an assumption of the state’s responsibility and a violation of the right to life by state authorities. This assumption can only be overcome on the basis of a proper investigation that demonstrably establishes that the state complied with all its human rights obligations.

The post Fiji: Death of man in military custody must be promptly investigated appeared first on Amnesty International.