The unilateral decision of the Government of India to revoke the special status of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) under the Constitution of India without consulting J&K stakeholders and amidst a complete clampdown on civil liberties and communications blackout is likely to inflame prevailing tensions, alienate the people in the state and increase the risk of further human rights violations, said Amnesty International India today.

The Honorable Mike Pompeo

It was the scandal which finally exposed the dark side of the big data economy underpinning the internet. The inside story of how one company, Cambridge Analytica, misused intimate personal Facebook data to micro-target and manipulate swing voters in the US election, is compellingly told in “The Great Hack”, a new documentary out today.

Responding to reports that Abdulloh Esormusor, a suspect in a security-related case, was found unconscious in military custody and was taken to an intensive care unit at the Pattani Provincial Hospital , Piyanut Kotsan, Director of Amnesty International Thailand said:

Following the latest protest in Hong Kong on Sunday which ended in violence, including people being attacked at Yuen Long MTR station by a group of men, Man-kei Tam, Director of Amnesty International Hong Kong, said:

Responding to President Trump’s toxic tweets accusing four Democrat Congresswomen of hating the United States and suggesting they go back to the “totally broken and crime infested places from which they came”, Amnesty International’s Secretary General, Kumi Naidoo, said:

The wave of police killings triggered by Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s murderous anti-drugs campaign continues to rage on, destroying lives and devastating communities, a report by Amnesty International reveals today. The UN must immediately open an investigation into gross human rights violations and possible crimes against humanity committed as part of the “war on drugs.”

© Sophie Garcia | hanslucas.comSophie Garcia www.sophiegarcia.net

3 July 2019 – a representative of Amnesty International Thailand submitted an open letter to Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan, and handed over the same letter to Commissioner-General of the Royal Thai Police, to urge the authorities to investigate violent attacks on three activists and to protect the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. Deputy Commissioner of the Special Branch Police Pol Maj Tanai Apichartsenee and Deputy Commander of Administrative and Civil Cases, Legal and Litigation Department, Pol Col Komsan Sukmak acted as representatives to receive the letter for the Royal Thai Police.

In the aftermath of the latest ambush which left a prominent pro-democratic activist, Sirawith Seritiwat, aka “Ja New” with grievous injuries, Amnesty International Thailand recalls how political activists in Thailand have recently been subjected to incessant attacks, while none of the perpetrators have been brought to justice. Thai authorities must immediately carry out investigations and bring the perpetrators to justice.

Today is International Day in Support of Victims of Torture. Sadly, torture remains rife in many countries. And more than sixty years after torture was outlawed internationally, gruesome torture equipment is still being openly marketed and traded around the world.

 On 22 May 2019, Thai authorities renewed their crackdown on peaceful protesters by pursuing the prosecution of a group of 17 individuals, including an opposition party politician, for their participation in a peaceful protest outside a Bangkok police station on 24 June 2015. Their gatherings took place during the military government’s ban on “political” gatherings of five or more persons. Filing charges against these individuals nearly four years after their peaceful demonstration appears to be a politically motivated decision to silence perceived opponents and has a chilling effect on the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly in Thailand.