Amnesty International: News

18 Jul 2024

South Korea

South Korea Supreme Court upholds same-sex spousal benefits

In a historic verdict, South Korea's Supreme Court has ruled that same-sex couples are entitled to spousal benefits under the national health insurance program.

11 Jul 2024

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi

ISIS leader al-Baghdadi's widow given death sentence by Iraqi court 

An Iraqi court has sentenced Asma Mohammed, widow of the late Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, to death.

05 Jun 2024

Human Rights Watch

Rights organization accuses Israel of using white phosphorus in Lebanon

Human Rights Watch (HRW), an international human rights organization, has accused Israel of deploying white phosphorus incendiary shells on residential buildings in southern Lebanon.

30 May 2024

Beijing

Hong Kong court convicts 14 democracy activists for subversion

A Hong Kong court has found 14 of 16 activists and politicians guilty of subversion in the largest trial under the Beijing-imposed national security law (NSL).

13 May 2024

China

Chinese journalist imprisoned for Covid reporting to be released 

Zhang Zhan, a former lawyer and independent journalist from China, is expected to be released on Monday after serving a four-year prison sentence.

Explained: Enforceability of UN Security Council's Gaza ceasefire resolution

After over five months of the Israel-Hamas war, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on Monday demanded for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

02 Jan 2024

Dhaka

Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus gets jail in Bangladesh: Here's why

A court in Bangladesh has sentenced Nobel Peace Prize laureate and Grameen Bank founder Muhammad Yunus to six months in jail.

26 Dec 2023

France

27 passengers on France-grounded plane seek asylum: What it means

A Romanian charter plane heading for Nicaragua with 303 passengers—mostly Indians—remained grounded in France for four days over suspected human trafficking.

12 Nov 2023

Pakistan News

Pakistan: 2.5 lakh Afghans flee amid crackdown on 'illegal migrants'

More than 2.5 lakh Afghan nationals were reportedly forced to leave Pakistan over the past few weeks after the government intensified its crackdown on foreign nationals, including migrants allegedly lacking proper documentation.

27 Jul 2023

Singapore

Singapore to execute first woman in 20 years

Singapore is reportedly set to execute a woman on Friday for drug trafficking, the first female execution in nearly 20 years.

20 May 2023

Iran

Iran executes 3 anti-government protesters despite international outrage

Iran has executed three men in connection with the anti-government protests that erupted in the country last year, reported Reuters.

08 Mar 2023

United Kingdom

UK announces 'illegal migration bill'; PM Rishi Sunak warns migrants  

United Kingdom (UK) Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Wednesday announced bringing a strict and controversial law the "Illegal Migration Bill" against illegal migrants coming from different countries. It will likely block them from seeking asylum or citizenship.

18 Dec 2022

Iran

Iran: Well-known actor Taraneh Alidoosti arrested after criticizing capital punishments

In a fresh crackdown on anti-government protesters, Iran arrested well-known actress Taraneh Alidoosti on Saturday for allegedly criticizing the death penalty against protesters who participated in a nationwide protest against Mahsa Amini's death, AFP reported.

21 Jul 2022

Mumbai

Who's ex-Mumbai top cop arrested in NSE phone tapping case

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday arrested former Mumbai Police Commissioner Sanjay Pandey in an illegal phone tapping case.

#NewsBytesExplainer: Why ED penalized Amnesty India, ex-CEO Aakar Patel

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) issued a show-cause notice to Amnesty International India and its former CEO Aakar Patel on Friday for alleged violations of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA).

08 Apr 2022

Delhi

CBI didn't revoke lookout circular despite court order: Aakar Patel

Former Amnesty International India chief, Aakar Patel, on Friday filed a contempt application in a Delhi court against Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officials for refusing to revoke a lookout circular (LOC) issued against him despite court orders to do so.

11 Jan 2022

Afghanistan

Afghanistan crisis: US to donate $308 million, COVID-19 vaccines

The United States aims to provide an additional $308 million in humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan, said the White House in a statement on Tuesday.

23 Jul 2021

Pegasus

Here's what Amnesty really said about the Pegasus controversy

Global human rights group Amnesty International said in an official statement that it fully stands by the findings of the Pegasus Project.

22 Jul 2021

Government of India

Pegasus: Amnesty says never claimed leaked numbers were actually hacked

Human rights group Amnesty International said in a fresh statement that it never claimed the controversial list of phone numbers leaked over the weekend were actually spied on using the Pegasus spyware.

Alleging witch-hunt by GoI, Amnesty halts India operations

Amnesty International has decided to stop its India operations, as it has been subjected to a witch-hunt by the government of India, the NGO working for human rights said in a press statement on Tuesday.

24 Jan 2020

X

Indian women politicians face more online abuse than US/UK counterparts

A recent study on online abuse has revealed the shocking reality of how women politicians in India are targeted on Twitter.

18 Jul 2019

Google

Google's censored Chinese search engine has officially been shuttered

After months of flak, Google has officially confirmed that it has shuttered Project Dragonfly, the secretive effort to mark an entry into China.

02 Feb 2019

Boko Haram

Boko Haram killed 'at least 60' in NE Nigeria: Amnesty

Boko Haram, an armed group, killed at least 60 civilians in an attack on the remote town of Rann in northeast Nigeria earlier this week, Amnesty International said yesterday.

22 Jan 2019

Pakistan News

PTM rally in Karachi: Scores held under anti-terrorism laws

Scores of leaders and workers of the Pashtoon Tahaffuz Movement (PTM) have been arrested by the Sindh police under anti-terrorism laws after they organized a rally on the outskirts of Karachi, Pakistan, officials said today.

07 Dec 2018

Odisha

Abhijit Iyer-Mitra walks out of Odisha jail after 43 days

Delhi-based defense analyst Abhijit Iyer-Mitra walked out of an Odisha jail on Thursday after he was arrested for hurting Odia sentiments.

28 Nov 2018

Google

Google is increasingly turning 'evil', and its employees aren't happy

More than a month after Google CEO Sundar Pichai confirmed that the tech giant was making a censored search engine for China, Google employees have gone public with their protest against the development of the engine.

13 Nov 2018

Myanmar

Amnesty International strips Aung San Suu Kyi of highest honor

Amnesty International yesterday stripped Aung San Suu Kyi of its highest honor over the de facto Myanmar leader's "indifference" to the atrocities committed by the country's military against Rohingya Muslims.

25 Sep 2018

Muslims

Reveal fate of 1mn minority Muslims detained: Amnesty to China

China must come clean about the fate of an estimated 1mn minority Muslims swept up in a "massive crackdown" in Xinjiang, Amnesty International said in a new report yesterday.

09 Sep 2018

Egypt

Egypt: Court hands 5-year jail term to UNESCO award-winning photojournalist

An Egyptian court on Saturday handed a five-year jail sentence to a prominent photojournalist, Mahmoud Abu Zeid, widely known as Shawkan, who had earlier this year received the UNESCO's World Freedom Prize.

16 Aug 2018

Afghanistan

IS claims responsibility for deadly Kabul attack on Shiite students

The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the horrific suicide bombing yesterday that targeted a Shiite area of Afghanistan's capital Kabul, killing 34 students.

08 Jul 2018

Turkey

Turkish authorities sack 18,632 state employees in new decree

Turkish authorities ordered the dismissal of more than 18,632 state employees including 8,998 police officers, soldiers, and academics, in a decree published today over suspected links to terror organizations and groups that "act against national security".

03 Jul 2018

Noida

Noida: Undertrial-prisoner wants to sell kidney to fight his case

It doesn't speak highly about the justice system when an undertrial has to sell body organs to fight their case.

26 Jun 2018

India

India launches blistering attack on Pakistan at the UN

India launched a blistering attack on Pakistan at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) today, reminding Pakistan that no amount of "empty rhetoric" would change the fact that Kashmir is, and will remain a part of India.

30 May 2018

Saudi Arabia

Taking another step towards liberalization, Saudi Arabia criminalizes sexual harassment

Saudi Arabia has passed a new law to criminalize sexual harassment, less than a month before the conservative Kingdom lifts its decades-long ban on women driving, state media said.

23 May 2018

Myanmar

New report claims "sheer brutality" by Myanmar's Rohingyas on Hindus

In what could potentially change the narrative around Myanmar's Rohingya Muslims, a report by Amnesty International has made controversial allegations.

22 Apr 2018

India

When a head priest carried a Dalit on his shoulder

In a major attack on India's deep-rooted caste system, the head priest of Hyderabad's Chilkur Balaji recently carried a Dalit man on his shoulder into the revered temple's inner sanctum.

SC clears man of rape-charges after Khap falsely implicates him

The Supreme Court has put an end to a three-year-long ordeal of Ravi, a Dalit from Baghpat district of UP, by clearing him of rape charges.

26 Mar 2018

Bhopal

Bhopal: Locals beat up rapists as police parade them publicly

Taking a leaf out of Anil Kapoor starrer 'Nayak,' locals in Bhopal rained blows on four rapists as police paraded them publicly yesterday.

20 Dec 2017

China

Chinese netizens debate controversial public death sentences over drugs

Chinese netizens are debating the practice by Guangdong province's Lufeng city to publicly hand out death sentences to inmates and parading them before their execution.

08 Oct 2017

Jammu And Kashmir

Facing criticism for pellet guns, CRPF looks at safer alternatives

After pellets usage in Kashmir faced heavy criticism for causing grievous injuries, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) deployed for counter-insurgency and law and order operations in J&K has sent 21,000 rounds of less lethal, newly developed plastic bullets.

28 Sep 2017

Myanmar

Rohingya crisis: What are China's interests in Rakhine?

Amid rampant violence against Rohingyas in Myanmar's Rakhine state, China and India have been backing its government.

22 Aug 2017

Maldives

Maldives army occupies parliament, roughs up opposition MPs

Opposition MPs in Maldives claim the military has locked down the country's parliament, in a bid to block a no-confidence motion impeaching the speaker of the house.

27 Jun 2017

Karnataka

Bengaluru Metro gives realty sector a boost

With the launch of the Metro Green line in Bengaluru that connects the East-West and North-South corridors, the real estate around the routes have become hot properties.

15 Jun 2017

North Korea

How is life in a NKorean prison, former detainee recalls

In Dec'12, Korean-American Kenneth Bae was convicted by North Korea to 15-years of hard labor.

20 May 2017

Football

FIFA World-Cup 2022: Amnesty accuses Qatar of human rights violations

Amnesty International has stated that despite highlighting gross human rights abuses among workers building infrastructure for Qatar's 2022 FIFA World Cup, the country did little to improve the situation.

06 May 2017

India

Assam wants AFSPA to be removed in some areas

The Assam government will review whether the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) could be withdrawn in a phased manner and present its recommendations to the Centre.

11 Apr 2017

Saudi Arabia

China most likely to hand death penalties to farmers, unemployed

China Judgements Online, after scrutinizing Supreme People's Court's official court verdict database found out that farmers and unemployed people were most often doled out death sentences in China.

16 Dec 2016

High Court

End Repression of Shia Group in Nigeria: Human Rights Watch

International NGO, Human Rights Watch, called on the Nigerian Government to end the brutal crackdown on Shia Islamic movement.

14 Dec 2016

Qatar

Qatar abolishes the 'kafala' system

Qatar formally announced the end of its dreaded and controversial labour system - "kafala" - with immediate effect from December 13.

06 Oct 2016

United Nations (UN)

Global refugee crisis burden being shared unequally

International human rights group Amnesty International stated in a report the burden of global refugee crisis is being shared unfairly as only ten nations are hosting most of the refugees.

23 Sep 2016

World

Iran sentences U.S. permanent resident to 10 years in prison

A U.S. permanent resident named Nizar Zakka, after being detained in Iran for over a year, was sentenced to a $4.2 million fine and 10 years in an Iranian prison.

15 Sep 2016

Facebook

Facebook, Twitter join the First Draft coalition

Social media giants Facebook and Twitter are now part of the 'First Draft news', a coalition of media and technology organizations aimed at improving social media news-gathering.