©Tomasz Grygorowicz
Several dozen activists from Amnesty International demonstrated in the front of the Prime Minister office in Warsaw on April 4. They urged Polish authorities to conduct a transparent investigation the secret CIA detention centres in Poland.
Participants at Saturday’s event wore white masks and yellow question and presented short statements on behalf of individuals that had been arrested and tortured during the “war on terror”.
Continuar leyendo ‘Questions for the Polish Prime Minister’ »
Art Attack, a festival of activist poetry was held from March 12-March 14 in Zagreb. The festival, held this year for the first time, was organized by the English Students’ Club in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Zagreb in Croatia.
On the last day of the Festival, Amnesty International Croatia organized a video projection of short movies and video clips on human rights violations committed in the name of security.
Continuar leyendo ‘Art Attack - a night of poetry in Croatia’ »
Limits imposed on freedom of expression are poignantly felt on the eve of presidential elections in Algeria. Three French publications were just pulled of the shelves: L’ Express, Marianne and Le Journal du Dimanche. Why? It seems, because they contained information contrary to “national values”. Marianne dared in article provocatively entitled “ Bouteflika: the last Sultan” criticize the policy of national reconciliation instigated and promoted by President Bouteflika.
The journalist Florence Beauge of the Monde newspaper recently lamented that it was difficult to cover a country when you are refused the right to visit. Amnesty International is the same position. Our last visit to Algeria dates back to the spring of 2005. Since that time, the authorities indicated that Amnesty International’s criticism on the latest amnesty measures accorded to security forces and armed groups was not well received by “the highest level of the state” and we were not able to obtain visas.
Continuar leyendo ‘Truth and justice: visible by their absence in Algeria’s presidential electoral campaign?’ »
Ana Hurt and James Burke write from the Dominican Republic
Women human rights defenders ©Amnesty International
We are in Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic where we have just held a seminar for women human rights defenders from the Caribbean. There were 24 women participating, from the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, the Bahamas and Trinidad and Tobago.
It was great to have a variety of human rights organizations present, with representatives working on women’s rights; migrants’ rights; lesbian and gay rights; housing rights; women defending the rights of people living with HIV/AIDS; and working to secure justice for victims of police violence and their families. The main goal of the seminar was to provide a space for the women to share their experiences and provide tools to help enable their work.
Continuar leyendo ‘Building links between Caribbean women human rights defenders’ »
©Tomasz Grygorowicz
Over 100 people, mostly students, attended the meeting with Rhuhel Ahmed - former Guantánamo detainee in Warsaw on April 2, 2009. Ahmed’s visit in Poland coincided with the launch of AI Poland’s Counter terror with Justice campaign.
“At the time when some people say, that tortures are justified during the ‘war on terror’ we have an unique possibility to hear testimony of the person that survived the hell of tortures in Kandahar and Guantanamo”, said Draginja Nadazdin, Director of Amnesty International’s section in Poland, introducing Rhuhel Ahmed to the public.
Continuar leyendo ‘Ex Guantánamo detainee at speaking tour in Poland’ »
