For a third year running, authorities in Istanbul banned, on spurious grounds, the Istanbul Pride March, historically the biggest event held by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex (LGBTI) people and supporters in Turkey. Yesterday police used excessive and unnecessary force against...

By George Harvey and Alex Xavier, LGBTI Coordinators Summer is officially here, and with it some of the first Pride festivals of the year in Canada. We have a lot to celebrate this summer! Last November, following efforts from Amnesty supporters around the world, openly gay Venezuelan politician...

The conviction of five people for the charge of “public indecency” after smoking a cigarette or eating in public during the month of Ramadan is a clear violation of individual freedoms in Tunisia, said Amnesty International. In the latest incident, a man was sentenced to one month in jail for...

When reports emerged in April that the Chechen authorities have been detaining, torturing and even killing gay men, as part of a deplorable campaign to purge the republic of people of “non-traditional orientation”, there was international outcry.   An Amnesty International activist in Turkey...

The Bahraini security forces used excessive force against protesters in the village of Duraz, the majority of whom were peaceful, as part of an ongoing crack down on the village which has been under siege by the authorities for 11 months, according to evidence uncovered by Amnesty International. At...

Amnesty International launches new global campaign to stop the wave of attacks against those defending human rights 281 people killed in 2016 for defending human rights, up from 156 in 2015 Human rights defenders facing unparalleled global assault amid demonizing rhetoric, clampdowns on civil...

The conviction and imprisonment of Jakarta Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, better known as “Ahok”, will tarnish Indonesia’s reputation for tolerance, Amnesty International said today. “This verdict demonstrates the inherent injustice of Indonesia’s blasphemy law, which should be...

The Bangladeshi government has not only failed to protect dissenting voices or hold accountable the armed groups that threaten them, it has also stifled freedom of expression through a slew of repressive tactics and new laws, according to a new Amnesty International report published today. The...

The arrest of nine Hong Kong pro-democracy activists is the latest sign the authorities are intent on punishing dissenting voices about the future political status of the city, Amnesty International said. Police arrested the nine people involved in Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement on Thursday...

Uttar Pradesh authorities must bring to justice those responsible for recent racist attacks against black African students and ensure the students’ safety, said Amnesty International India today. “The recent attacks in Uttar Pradesh show how black people in India – particularly African...

March 21 marks Mother’s Day in much of the Arab world, including Saudi Arabia. For the mothers of Abdullah al-Zaher, Dawood al-Marhoon, Ali al-Nimr and Abdulkareem al-Hawaj, four young Saudi Arabian men who were arrested as minors and sentenced to death after grossly unfair trials based on...

“I was beaten with cables and told to kneel before a picture of Bashar Al-Assad.” Former detainee Abu al-Najem Six years of crisis in Syria, which began after anti-government protests erupted in March 2011, have been marred by horror and bloodshed. Parties to the conflict continued to...