News on the topic: Amnesty International
22.04.2021 Amnesty International reiterates call to release minor convict ahead of appeal hearing
Mikita Zalatarou’s case is another stark reminder of the violence that awaits people in Belarus, including minors, when they come face to face with this repressive state.
21.04.2021 Death penalty 2020: Despite Covid-19, some countries ruthlessly pursued death sentences and executions
While there was an overall trend of decline, some countries pursued or even increased the number of executions carried out, indicating a chilling disregard for human life at a time when the world’s attention focused on protecting people from a deadly virus.
14.04.2021 Amnetsy International calls to release minor sentenced to five years imprisonment after unfair trial
On 22 February 2021, 17-year-old Mikita Zalatarou was sentenced to five years in a correctional colony after a trial marred with irregularities, for allegedly “organizing mass disorder” and having thrown a molotov cocktail at the feet of two riot policemen.
07.04.2021 Belarus in Amnesty International's Annual Report 2020/21
The year was characterized by recurrent peaceful protests, with the presidential election in August serving as a catalyst for the most egregious crackdown on freedoms of expression, peaceful assembly and association in Belarus’ post-independence history.
30.03.2021 Belarus: Older people impacted by state repression
The Belarusian authorities have endangered the health of older protesters who are at higher risk from COVID-19 by transporting them in overcrowded police buses and incarcerating them in packed prison cells, Amnesty International said today. In a new briefing, the organization documented the arrest and ill treatment of dozens of older people who took part in peaceful protests, including one 83-year-old man who was made to stand facing a wall for 90 minutes with his arms raised.
24.03.2021 Civil society organisations call for the immediate operationalisation of the Human Rights Council’s new mandate on Belarus
66 Belarusian and international human rights organisations, welcome the resolution passed by the UN Human Rights Council mandating the High Commissioner to create a new robust monitoring and reporting mandate focused on accountability for human rights violations in Belarus that have taken place since 1 May 2020.
24.03.2021 Government’s threats and history of crackdown on protesters require urgent international response
Statements made by the Belarusian authorities ahead of demonstrations planned for 25 March (Freedom Day) raise serious concerns that the police response will yet again be marked by severe violence, Amnesty International said today, as it called for international action to protect the rights of peaceful protesters.
18.03.2021 Amnesty International: Life of hunger-striking prisoner at risk
Punk musician, Ihar Bantsar, has been on a hunger strike since 3 March to protest against his prolonged detention on trumped-up criminal charges. He has been imprisoned solely for exercising his rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly and he must be immediately and unconditionally released.
17.03.2021 End reprisals against human rights defenders
Joint statement by Amnetsy International, FIDH, IMS, Norwegian Helsinki Committee, Human Rights Watch, Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights, Front Line Defenders, IPHR, and People in Need.
08.03.2021 Women at the forefront of human rights struggle in Belarus
Women who have played prominent roles in the protests sweeping Belarus are subject to reprisals and threats, Amnesty International said today. In a new publication, the organization highlights the important role women activists have played in the protests after widely contested presidential elections and reveals state reprisals against them.
22.02.2021 Belarus: Cultural scene in peril as crackdown escalates
Belarus’ vibrant cultural scene is being suffocated amid the brutal crackdown on dissent, with authorities arbitrarily detaining and torturing artists, musicians, writers and actors, and forcing others out of their jobs, Amnesty International said today.
17.02.2021 New reprisals against civil society activists underpin vicious crackdown on human rights
The Belarusian authorities have now set their sights on human rights defenders and journalists whose only crime has been to document the wave of gross human rights violations committed by security forces following last August’s contested presidential election.
08.02.2021 To clamp down on dissent the authorities are targeting children
The Belarusian authorities are resorting to threats, harassment and prosecution of children in an increasingly desperate attempt to suppress dissent, Amnesty International said ahead of the six-month anniversary on 9 February of the start of protests in the country.
27.01.2021 Impunity for perpetrators of torture reinforces need for international justice
A new report by Amnesty International reveals how the Belarusian authorities have weaponized the justice system to punish victims of torture rather than perpetrators, as part of a widespread and brutal crackdown on dissent in the wake of post-election protests.
16.01.2021 Amnesty International: Leaked audio allegedly exposing top Interior Minister official ordering use of illegal force against peaceful protesters must be effectively investigated
Of the string of incriminating leaks showing that Belarusian authorities crushed peaceful protest through pre-meditated human rights violations, this recording – if authentic – is the most damning. It must be immediately, impartially and effectively investigated.
