Amnesty International USA

Bobby Woods has an IQ of around 70 and is scheduled to be executed by the state of Texas on December 3.  The crime for which he was sentenced to die was heinous (he was convicted of raping and murdering an 11-year-old girl), but executing persons with mental retardation has been forbidden by the ...

Mysterious Death of Young Iranian Doctor Raises Questions About Official AccountWhen the father of Dr. Ramin Pourandarjani was contacted by Iranian authorities, telling him that his 26-year-old son had broken his leg in an accident, and that his permission was needed for an operation, the concern...

This posting is part of our Write-a-Thon Cases Series. For more information visit www.amnestyusa.org/writeathon/©AIThreatened with rape, death, and kidnapping, Rita Mahato has courageously continued her work to stop violence against women in Nepal. A health counselor at the Women’s Rehabili...

I finally have good news to report:  the Sri Lankan government announced this past Saturday that the displaced civilians unlawfully trapped in internment camps will be free to come and go as of December 1!  Amnesty International has been calling for this for the past several months in our “...

Women of Zimbabwe Arise, Sarah Hager (Amnesty International USA), White House, November 23, 2009I had the honor and pleasure of attending the RFK Human Rights Award ceremony last night, hosted by President Obama and Mrs. Obama at the White House, where Magodonga Mahlangu and Women of Zimbabwe Ari...

Maajid Nawaz is a British citizen of Pakistani descent who became involved in his youth with the radical Islamic Liberation Party (Hizb al-Tahrir al-Islami), undertaking missions for the party in Pakistan and Egypt. Hizb al-Tahrir is an international movement that campaigns for the reestablishmen...

The death penalty is always inhumane, and the past few days in Texas have brought to light some of its most worrisome aspects.On Wednesday, The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles recommended that Robert Thompson’s death sentence for his role in a 1996 robbery and shooting be commuted to life impr...

AIUSA activists in Chicago demand the release of Internally Displaced People in Sri Lanka. November 2009. (c) AIAcross the U.S., from Boston to Chicago to San Francisco, Amnesty International activists are demanding:  “Unlock the camps in Sri Lanka!”As the 26-year-old war between the ...

Caught between a legal requirement to avoid cruelty, and its desire to kill prisoners, the state of Ohio is struggling to find an acceptable method of execution following the botched, and failed, attempt to put Romell Broom to death on September 15.  As reported in today’s New York Times, the met...

This global action marking International Human Rights Day on December 10 brings people together just about anywhere -- in classrooms, churches, workplaces, homes, and more -- to make a difference in the ...

This posting is part of our Write-a-Thon Cases Series. For more information visit www.amnestyusa.org/writeathon/Vietnamese human rights lawyers Le Thi Cong Nhan and Nguyen Van Dai were arrested on March 6, 2007 for “conducting propaganda against the Socialist Republic of Vietnam” and ...

Back in 2007, Amnesty International launched a ground breaking website, Eyes on Darfur, which showcased satellite evidence of attacks on villages in Darfur. The images demonstrated the ongoing insecurity in the region and the destruction and violence civilians are confronted with on a daily basis...

Anyone who does work on, or pays attention to anything going on in Latin America would know that it is the season for meetings and hearings to be held at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in DC.  I had never attended anything at the commission, well, until last week. I had no idea wha...

This posting is part of our Write-a-Thon Cases Series. For more information visit www.amnestyusa.org/writeathon/Mohammed Mohammed Hassan Odaini © PrivateDespite having been cleared for release more than four years ago, twenty-six-year-old Mohammed Mohammed Hassan Odaini remains detained in Guánta...

Why should we care about the human rights of people who themselves don’t appear to respect them?  Statements made this week by a former member of an armed Islamic group suggest that it is the best way to change hearts and minds.In an interview in the British newspaper the Independent, Maajid Nawa...

The Obama administration’s decision to refer a further five GTMO detainees, including self-proclaimed 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammad, for trial federal court in New York City is a small but significant victory for the rule of law.Carrie Lemack, whose mother was killed on board one the pla...

1) Write a letter. 2) Save a life. Who knew that protecting human rights could be so simple? Join the 2009 Global Write-a-thon and write for human rights......

For all the talk about moving forward, the extent of the illegal American practices, particularly involving rendition and torture, has still not been publicly disclosed. If the Obama Administration doesn’t ...

Iran's crackdown continues. Join our call for the immediate release of an Iranian-American scholar imprisoned in the notorious Evin prison......

Amnesty International USA, Action for Human Rights