Schlagwort: Amnesty International

Responding to reports that Chinese journalist Zhang Zhan has been convicted of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” and sentenced to four years in prison, Amnesty International’s China Director Sarah Brooks said:

“This second conviction for Zhang Zhan is a betrayal of China’s stated priority of upholding the rule of law. Like lawyer Yu Wensheng and so many others, Zhang’s commitment to defending human rights and her consistent refusal to keep silent – even after a prison sentence that put her health and life at risk – have made her a target.

“Until the Chinese authorities are pressured to change vague and overly broad laws and held accountable for systematically depriving human rights defenders of their liberty, the future for human rights in the country remains grim.

“Zhang’s baseless conviction should be quashed, and she should be immediately released. Pending release, she must be provided with access to counsel, her family and adequate healthcare.

“Chinese authorities must end their decades-long misuse of the criminal charge  of ‘picking quarrels and provoking trouble’.  And the international community, including China’s bilateral partners, must make it a priority to not merely call for the release of Zhang and others unjustly detained, but actively use its leverage to ensure they will be freed.” 

Background

Chinese journalist and activist Zhang Zhan was reportedly convicted of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” and sentenced to four years in jail following her trial on Friday 19 September at the Pudong New District People’s Procuratorate.

Prior reports indicated that Zhang has gone on hunger strike while in detention and has shown signs of having been forcibly fed. Her family and lawyer have been subjected to harassment and intimidation by authorities and are unable to share detailed updates about her situation. As a result, very little is known about her current health condition and other aspects of her case.

Zhang Zhan was previously jailed on the same charge for reporting on the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic in Wuhan. A former lawyer, she travelled to Wuhan in February 2020 to provide on-the-ground information about what was happening there. She posted on social media about how government officials had detained independent reporters and harassed families of Covid-19 patients.

She went missing in Wuhan in May 2020. It later emerged that she had been taken by the Chinese authorities and detained in Shanghai, where she was convicted of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” after a sham trial. Zhang Zhan was released on 13 May 2024 after completing a four-year prison sentence.

However, she was subjected to strict surveillance and continuous harassment by the authorities after her release, and she was detained again less than four months later. Her arrest came shortly after she reportedly travelled to the northwestern province of Gansu to show solidarity with other human rights defenders.

During her previous imprisonment, she went on a hunger strike that led to multiple hospitalizations and her weight dropped drastically to just 37 kilograms — half of what she weighed prior to her deprivation of liberty.

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Responding to the US veto of a UN Security Council draft resolution that would have demanded an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire in Gaza, the lifting of all restrictions on the entry of humanitarian aid and ensuring its safe distribution, and immediate unconditional release of all hostages held by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups, Amnesty International’s Secretary General, Agnès Callamard, said: 

“For the sixth time, the United States has vetoed a UN Security Council resolution aimed at ending the unbearable suffering of over 2 million Palestinians in Gaza struggling to survive Israel’s genocide that has been cruelly unfolding, before the world’s eyes. It is morally reprehensible that instead of using its leverage to halt the endless catalogue of horrors, the USA has – yet again – abused its veto rights to effectively further greenlight Israel’s genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. The results of the vote, 14 in favor and only one against, show that the USA stands alone on this issue. It is now up to the General Assembly to take decisive action.

“The implications of this veto are especially devastating for Palestinians in Gaza City, where Israel has unleashed an unprecedented campaign of annihilation that is brutally pushing hundreds of thousands of residents out of the city to unsafe and unfit areas in the south of the Gaza Strip. Israel’s relentless onslaught is accelerating the erasure of the ancient city, its heritage and Palestinian identity. That this veto comes just two days after the Independent UN Commission of Inquiry (COI) published a report concluding that Israeli authorities and forces are committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, makes it all the more reprehensible. 

“From continuing to provide Israel with the massive military support that has enabled the commission and continuation of the genocide, to unconditional political and diplomatic backing, including through casting this latest veto, the US government has shown a deadly disregard for the survival of Palestinians in Gaza. This also endangers the lives of the remaining Israeli hostages, whose lives are at stake.  

“History will not forgive the USA for standing alone against the international community, emboldening Israel in its ongoing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, and further eroding a fragile global legal system meant to protect human rights, but which has seen its norms and very legitimacy crushed by pervasive impunity and contempt for international law.

“By continuing to back and arm Israel as it carries out its relentless campaign of annihilation in Gaza, the risk of US complicity in war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide is mounting. All states must exert far more pressure on Israel, including through banning, with immediate effect, the direct and indirect supply, sale or transfer to Israel of all arms and surveillance equipment as well as all trade or investment relations that contribute to, or are directly linked to Israel’s international crimes.”

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Rwandan authorities must immediately release opposition politician and president of Development and Liberty for All (DALFA-Umurinzi) political party, Victoire Ingabire, Amnesty International said today.

The Rwanda Investigations Bureau (RIB) has linked her arrest in June to alleged subversion for communicating with nine others who were arrested October and December 2021 and are facing charges of attempting to overthrow the government.

Amnesty International also called for the immediate release of the nine. They include eight members of DALFA and Journalist Théoneste Nsengimana.  All nine are awaiting the end of their trial which started in November 2024 after three years of pre-trial detention. 

Ingabire was arrested at her home in the capital Kigali on 19 June by the RIB. The next day, in a tweet confirming the arrest, the RIB stated it had launched an investigation against Ingabire, at the request of the Public Prosecutor, linked to the case of the DALFA members arrested in 2021.

Ingabire is accused of, among other charges, “establishing or joining a criminal organization, conspiring to commit crimes against the government, and inciting unrest or disorder among the population.” She has denied these charges. If convicted, she could face up to life in prison. The prosecutor has relied on the testimony of a former aide and voice recordings purporting Ingabire shared ideas on non-violent actions against the government with the group.

“Three months since the arrest of Victoire Ingabire and almost four years since the arrest of nine others, eight of whom are members of Ingabire’s unregistered political party, Rwandan authorities continue to send a clear message that political opposition in the country will not be tolerated,” said Tigere Chagutah, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for East and Southern Africa.

Ingabire remains in detention following a court ruling in July denying her bail on the grounds that she was a flight risk. She was previously imprisoned in 2010 and sentenced to 15 years in prison on charges including “divisionism” but received a presidential pardon in 2018 and was released under conditions requiring monthly check-ins with a local prosecutor and prior authorization before travelling abroad. In 2017, the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (AfCHPR) ruled that Rwanda had violated her rights to freedom of expression and a fair trial. 

Three months since the arrest of Victoire Ingabire and almost four years since the arrest of nine others, eight of whom are members of Ingabire’s unregistered political party, Rwandan authorities continue to send a clear message that political opposition in the country will not be tolerated.

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

Amnesty International documented the case of the eight DALFA members and journalist Théoneste Nsengimana. The prosecutor is seeking a 10-year sentence for the journalist, and for the others, sentences ranging from 20 years to life imprisonment for planning and attending a workshop on peaceful resistance to authoritarian practices. The workshop was based on the book, by Srda Popovic. Amnesty International believes that the charges against them have no legal grounds and violate Rwanda’s Constitution as well as the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to which the country is a state party.   

“Rwanda’s persistent political persecution of those with differing opinions has gone on for too long. Peaceful dissent and the right to freedom of association should not be criminalized. Authorities must immediately end the authoritarian practices, and facilitate, ensure and uphold media freedom, and the rights to freedom of expression and association for everyone in the country without any reprisals or risk of arrest or judicial harassment,” said Tigere Chagutah.

Rwanda’s persistent political persecution of those with differing opinions has gone on for too long. Authorities must immediately end the authoritarian practices, and facilitate, ensure and uphold media freedom, and the rights to freedom of expression and association for everyone in the country without any reprisals or risk of arrest or judicial harassment.

Tigere Chagutah.

Background

Victoire Ingabire returned to Rwanda from exile in the Netherlands in January 2010 to participate in the country’s presidential elections. Ingabire was barred from the election and arrested on charges including “genocide ideology” and “divisionism”. 

On 10 September 2025, a European Union Parliament resolution said the arrest is part of a broader crackdown on political opposition, journalists, and civil society. Since 2017, at least five members of Ingabire’s former party, FDU-Inkingi, have died or forcibly disappeared. The opposition, civil society and media operate under severe restrictions on their rights to freedom of expression and association, alongside threats, arbitrary detention, prosecution on trumped-up charges, killings, and enforced disappearances. Independent civil society and the media also face attacks, intimidation, harassment and other reprisals for their work.

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In response to the ruling by Jordan’s State Security Court to uphold its conviction and five-year prison sentence against political activist Ayman Sanduka on 15 September for a Facebook post addressed to the King in which he criticized Jordan’s policies, Kristine Beckerle, Deputy Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa said:

Equating criticism of government policy with incitement against the regime is a dangerous distortion of justice and sends a chilling message that peaceful dissent, including that related to Israel, is not tolerated in Jordan. 

Kristine Beckerle, Amnesty International.

“The decision to uphold Ayman Sanduka’s conviction is a deeply alarming sign of Jordan’s accelerating rollback of the fundamental right to freedom of expression. Ayman Sanduka should never have been detained in the first place; he was imprisoned solely for expressing his views online. Equating criticism of government policy with incitement against the regime is a dangerous distortion of justice and sends a chilling message that peaceful dissent, including that related to Israel, is not tolerated in Jordan. 

“The Jordanian authorities must drop all charges and immediately and unconditionally release Ayman Sanduka. Arrest or detention as punishment for the legitimate exercise of human rights, including the right to freedom of expression, is arbitrary and violates Jordan’s obligations under international law.” 

 Background 

On 21 December 2023, the State Security Court prosecutor summoned and detained Ayman Sanduka, a political activist and mathematics teacher, over a Facebook post he wrote in October 2023 addressed to the King of Jordan, in which he criticized Jordan’s diplomatic relations with Israel. On 7 January 2025, the State Security Court convicted Sanduka of “incitement to oppose the political regime” and sentenced him to five years in prison. 

In July 2025, the Court of Cassation ruled that Sanduka’s post did not amount to incitement but instead “fell under the lesser offense of ‘insulting the King,’” and ordered the case to be retried. However, on 15 September 2025, the State Security Court upheld its original ruling. The State Security Court is a military court that fails to meet international standards of impartiality and independence and is often used to prosecute civilians in violation of international law. Since the October 2023 Israeli offensive in Gaza, Jordanian authorities have used broad laws, including the Penal Code and the Cybercrimes Law, to target journalists, activists, and others who express opinions critical of government policies toward Israel. 

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States, public institutions and companies the world over are enabling or profiting from Israel’s prolonged violations of international law, including its ongoing genocide against Palestinians in the occupied Gaza Strip, its unlawful occupation of the whole Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) and its cruel system of apartheid against all Palestinians whose rights it controls, through their complicity, support or self-imposed paralysis, said Amnesty International in a briefing published today outlining urgent calls to states and companies.

“It is beyond time for states, public institutions, companies, universities and other private actors to end their lethal addiction to economic gains and profits at all costs. Israel’s prolonged unlawful occupation and decades of apartheid have required in-depth and sustained support to Israel through economic relations and trade. Twenty-three months of relentless bombardment and an ongoing genocide have demanded endless supply of weapons, and surveillance equipment, backed by privileged trading relations and states and companies prepared to ignore the indefensible,” said Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General.

“This must stop. Human dignity is not a commodity. While Palestinian mothers in Gaza are left to watch their children waste away from starvation under Israel’s genocide, arms companies and others continue to reap substantial profits. Amnesty International calls on its members and supporters the world over to demand an immediate end to the political economy underpinning Israel’s international crimes.

“Today’s briefing identifies actions that states must take to fulfil their obligations, from banning and barring companies contributing or directly linked to Israel’s crimes, to effective legislation and regulation, and including divesting and ceasing purchases or contracts. It also lists actions companies should take, such as suspending sales or contracts and making divestments.  

“The briefing also names 15 companies that Amnesty International has identified as contributing to Israel’s unlawful occupation, genocide or other crimes under international law. They include US multinationals Boeing and Lockheed Martin,the Israeli arms companies Elbit Systems, Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), the Chinese company Hikvision, the Spanish manufacturer Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (CAF), the South Korean conglomerate HD Hyundai, the US software company Palantir Technologies, the Israeli technology firm Corsight, and the Israeli state-owned water company Mekorot.

“But let’s make no mistake: these 15 companies are just a small sample of all those responsible for sustaining a government that has engineered famine and mass killing of civilians and denied Palestinians fundamental rights for decades. Every economic sector, the vast majority of states, and many private entities have knowingly contributed to or benefited from Israel’s genocide in Gaza, and its brutal occupation and apartheid in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.”

Amnesty International is publishing this set of urgent calls for states and companies on the anniversary of the 18 September 2024 UN General Assembly resolution, which demanded that Israel end its unlawful occupation of the Palestinian territory within 12 months of its adoption. The resolution was adopted to implement the July 2024 International Court of Justice (ICJ) advisory opinion, which declared that Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territory is unlawful, that its discriminatory laws and policies against Palestinians in the OPT violate the prohibition on racial segregation and apartheid, and that Israel’s presence in the OPT must rapidly terminated.

These corporations must fulfil their human rights responsibilities or face consequences for their actions.

Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General

The UN General Assembly then called on member states to take concrete steps to action the Court’s declaration to bring Israel’s occupation in the OPT to an end, including by taking “measures to prevent their nationals, companies, and entities under their jurisdiction from engaging in activities that support or sustain Israel’s occupation… to cease importing products originating from Israeli settlements and to halt the transfer of arms, munitions, and related equipment to Israel in cases where there are reasonable grounds to suspect they may be used in Occupied Palestinian Territory”, and to “implement sanctions, such as travel bans and asset freezes, against individuals and entities involved in maintaining Israel’s unlawful presence in the Territory.”

“The 12-month deadline that the UN General Assembly resolution set for Israel to withdraw from the Occupied Palestinian Territory expires today, yet Israel continues to starve and slaughter Palestinians on a daily basis. Most member states have done next to nothing to press the Israeli government into complying with the resolution. They must end their indefensible, self-imposed inertia and immediately suspend all activities that contribute to Israel’s violations of international law – or risk complicity in the crime against humanity of apartheid, genocide, and other crimes under international law,” said Agnès Callamard.

Amnesty International is calling on states to ban, with immediate effect, the supply to Israel of all arms, military and security equipment and services, and all surveillance equipment, artificial intelligence and cloud infrastructure used to support surveillance, security and military activity. This includes prohibiting the transit and transshipment of arms, military and security equipment and related parts and components bound for Israel through their jurisdictions, via their ports, airports, airspace or territory.  

The organization is also calling for a halt to trade with and investment in companies based anywhere around the world that are contributing to Israel’s genocide, apartheid or unlawful occupation. These include at the very minimum the companies listed in the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory’s report and in the UN Database of companies contributing to illegal settlements. States must ensure that companies operating within their jurisdictions comply with these bans.  

Companies contributing to Israel’s unlawful occupation and/or crimes under international law

Amnesty International has documented the abuses by several of these companies for years and wrote to all the companies named in this briefing, asking questions about their activities in Israel and the OPT, and expressing concerns over the human rights violations described in this document. In 2025, only five companies sent replies, which are reflected in the briefing.

Amnesty International has documented the use of Boeing bombs and guidance kits in unlawful air strikes carried out in the occupied Gaza Strip. In particular, the Israeli military likely used Boeing-manufactured weapons, including Joint Direct Attack Munitions and GBU-39 Small Diameter Bombs, in a series of deadly air strikes that killed scores of Palestinian civilians across Gaza, including many children. 

Lockheed Martin supplies and services F-16s and Israel’s growing fleet of F-35 combat aircraft – the backbone of the Israeli Air Force which have been used extensively during the bombardment of Gaza.

The three largest Israeli arms companies – Elbit Systems and the state-owned Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and IAI – supply military and security goods and services worth billions of dollars to the Israeli military annually. These include surveillance and armed drones, loitering munitions, and border security systems that Israel has continuously used in its military offensive in Gaza and across the rest of the OPT. Elbit Systems – the only arms company to reply to Amnesty International’s request for further information – rejected Amnesty International’s concerns and argued that the company was operating lawfully, supplying “a sovereign, unsanctioned government, recognized by the international community”.

Israel is also currently using Hikvision’s surveillance products and services in its system of apartheid against Palestinians, while Corsight specializes in the development and sale of facial recognition software that the Israeli military has used in its offensive in Gaza.

We cannot allow the immense, unfathomable suffering of the Palestinian people to be ignored for a minute longer.

Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General

Palantir Technologies, a US artificial intelligence company, has been supplying AI products and services to the Israeli military and intelligence services, which are linked to Israel’s military activities in Gaza.

Mekorot contributes to Israel’s unlawful occupation of the Palestinian Territory by managing the water infrastructure and network in the West Bank in ways that discriminate against Palestinians and favor unlawful Israeli settlements. CAF supports the Jerusalem Light Rail project, which facilitates the expansion of Israeli settlements, while HD Hyundai produces, maintains and services heavy machinery used in unlawful demolitions in the OPT.

In 2019, Amnesty International also highlighted how leading online tourism companies Airbnb, Booking.com, Expedia and TripAdvisor have contributed to the maintenance, consolidation and further expansion of unlawful Israeli settlements in the OPT. While Amnesty called on these companies to responsibly disengage from doing business in Israeli settlements, they continue to have listings there.

“These corporations must fulfil their human rights responsibilities or face consequences for their actions. They must ensure that they are not involved in Israel’s unlawful occupation and crimes under international law in any shape or form. If they fail to do this, companies and their employees and board members risk incurring civil liability and, in some cases, even potential criminal responsibility for aiding and abetting Israel’s crimes,” said Agnès Callamard.

Amnesty is calling on these companies to immediately suspend all sales and deliveries into Israel of weapons and other military, security and surveillance equipment, or other heavy machinery, parts or goods and services contributing or directly linked to human rights violations in the OPT. States, public institutions and other companies must use their leverage through their investments in these companies – up to and including responsibly divesting and ceasing purchases from them – to stop these sales.

States should also bar these companies from trade shows, government meetings, contracts, research grants and activities with public bodies related to the types of products sold into Israel. All these measures must remain in place until such companies can demonstrate that they are not contributing to Israel’s unlawful occupation or crimes under international law.

“Amnesty International calls on people around the world to take peaceful actions. Civil society and the public at large should mobilize and campaign so that all states abide by their obligations and hold accountable corporations contributing or directly linked to Israel’s crimes. It is unacceptable that states and companies are aware that their revenues come from death, destruction and immense suffering of Palestinians, yet they have decided to look away, maintain their business models regardless of the human cost, and indulge in their wealth. We cannot allow the immense, unfathomable suffering of the Palestinian people to be ignored for a minute longer,” said Agnès Callamard.

Background

In January 2024, the ICJ found there was a real and imminent risk of irreparable harm to the rights of Palestinians in Gaza under the Genocide Convention and ordered Israel to take all measures within its power to prevent genocidal acts. The ICJ also affirmed that all states have an obligation to prevent, suppress and punish genocide. The Court reiterated its requests to Israel in two further orders in March and May 2024. All of them remain disregarded.

In December 2024, Amnesty International found that Israel has been committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, and there has since been a growing consensus among experts throughout the international community that genocide is occurring.

In September 2024, the UN General Assembly passed a resolution where it set a 12-month timeline for Israel to withdraw from the OPT. It then passed another resolution in December 2024 that called for the “withdrawal of Israel from the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem; the realization of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people,” and for states “not to render aid or assistance to illegal settlement activities, including not to provide Israel with any assistance to be used specifically in connection with settlements” in the OPT.

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