Human Rights and Social Justice

Ahead of the first hearing in the trial of Istanbul Mayor and presidential candidate, Ekrem İmamoğlu, and 406 other defendants on charges including bribery and extortion, Dinushika Dissanayake, Amnesty’s Deputy Director for Europe, said:  “After almost a year behind bars in pretrial detention, Ekrem İmamoğlu will take to the dock to face an absurd array of 142 charges set out in an almost 4,000 page indictment and carrying a ludicrous […]

Responding to the launch of Molly vs The Machines, a documentary about Molly Russell, a 14-year-old British girl who died by suicide in 2017 after she viewed harmful online content while struggling with depression, Hannah Storey, Amnesty International’s Head of Children and Young People’s Digital Rights, said:  “Molly is remembered by her family and friends for her kindness. She deserved protection from algorithms that […]

Chinese authorities must stop blocking access to medical treatment for a land rights activist, Amnesty International said, as the annual ‘Two Sessions’ meetings of China’s government opened in Beijing. The family of woman human rights defender Yang Li, who recently spent 15 months in detention for her advocacy on land rights, say that her condition […]

A year on from the detention of Fidel Antonio Zavala Pérez, a member and spokesperson for the Unidad de Defensa de Derechos Humanos y Comunitarios (UNIDEHC), Amnesty International expresses its concern regarding his prolonged pre-trial detention and the abusive use of criminal law against defenders and community leaders to criminalize the defence of human rights […]

Responding to today’s conviction of a woman who had an abortion later in pregnancy, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director Sarah Brooks said: “Abortion is essential healthcare and a human right under international human rights law and standards – it is not a crime. Today’s ruling highlights the impossible position pregnant people and medical providers are […]

Responding to the killing of prominent Iraqi women’s rights activist Yanar Mohammed, who was shot by unidentified gunmen on a motorcycle outside her home in northern Baghdad, Razaw Salihy, Amnesty International’s Iraq Researcher, said  “The brutal killing of Yanar Mohammed, who dedicated her life to defending women’s rights, is a calculated assault to stifle human rights defenders, […]

Across the world, governments and anti-rights movements are rolling back on decades of progress on gender equality, including access to abortion. But people are fighting back, determined to protect the rights so many have fought so hard to achieve.  Ahead of International Women’s Day, we spoke with five courageous activists from Tunisia, Mexico, Burkina Faso, […]

Click to expand Image Women walk past a fountain in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, July 6, 2023. © 2023 Ilya Pitalev/Sputnik via AP Photo Three years after Uzbekistan criminalized domestic violence, data shows that for women progress is too slow. Ahead of International Women’s Day on March 8, the government should recommit to enforcing laws that protect […]

Click to expand Image US President Donald Trump (right) meets with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington DC, March 3, 2026. © 2026 Mark Schiefelbein/AP Photo In times of conflict, such as in the escalating hostilities in the Middle East, governments committed to international law need to […]