Today (5 February 2024), Amnesty International Thailand and the People’s Amnesty Network handed 7,301 names of persons who support its Urgent Action and its demands to Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin and Pol. Col. Tawee Sodsong, Minister of Justice, as a global campaign has been launched for people to sign up the petition letter demanding the release of Human Rights Defender, Anon Nampha, immediately and unconditionally. All charges and all rulings against him have to be quashed. The demand to quash the charges and sentencing applies to all members of the public including children who have been prosecuted merely for exercising their rights to freedom of expression. The letter was received by officials from the Government House led by Somkid Chueakong, Deputy Secretary to the Prime Minister on Political Affairs. 

New evidence suggests Myanmar’s military is using new tactics to import aviation fuel after sanctions were imposed in response to air strikes that have unlawfully killed and injured civilians, Amnesty International said today ahead of the third anniversary of the 2021 coup.

Reacting to the news that the Thai authorities are considering deporting the members of the Bi-2 music band to Russia following their detention in Thailand, reportedly under alleged pressure from Russian diplomats, Denis Krivosheev, Amnesty International’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia Deputy Director, said:

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) proceedings on a South Africa legal case alleging that the state of Israel is breaching its obligations under the UN Genocide Convention could help protect Palestinian civilians, end the man-made humanitarian catastrophe in the occupied Gaza Strip and offer a glimmer of hope for international justice, said Amnesty International today.

January 11, 2024, marks the 22nd anniversary of the opening of the U.S. military detention camp at Guantanamo Bay. Thirty men remain detained indefinitely without trial; most have never even been charged with a crime. In urging the U.S. Government to close the detention camp Guantanamo Bay, Daphne Eviatar, director of the Security with Human Rights program at Amnesty International USA, made the following statement:

2023 marks the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). Born from the ashes of World War II under the shadow of the very worst of humanity, the UDHR held out the promise of a global framework for justice and the recognition of ‘equal and inalienable rights’ for all. 

Although human rights are being gravely undermined in numerous countries across the world, Amnesty International’s supporters and activists have shown that change is always possible…

Myanmar’s military has unlawfully killed, arbitrarily detained and stolen from civilians as it struggles to contain the heaviest outburst of armed resistance since the 2021 coup, Amnesty International said today.

Responding to the introduction of bills in Thailand’s Parliament today that aim to recognize same-sex marriage, Amnesty International Thailand Researcher Chanatip Tatiyakaroonwong said: 

Amnesty International is launching its annual global letter-writing campaign ahead of Human Rights Day on 10 December, in a bid to transform the lives of people whose rights have been violated.

Children and young people across Thailand are taking a risk by standing up for their rights and leading mass protests, despite a ruthless crackdown by the authorities. At least 286 children have been targeted with criminal and civil charges for their peaceful activism in the past two years. Despite the alarming repression, there’s a movement of determined young people who won’t give up.

Reacting to the resumption of attacks by Israel in the occupied Gaza Strip and rocket fire from armed groups into southern Israel after a seven-day truce ended, Erika Guevara-Rosas, Senior Director of Research, Advocacy, Policy and Campaigns at Amnesty International, said: