The Cambodian authorities must immediately release 24 women and six children detained yesterday while peacefully protesting their forced eviction.

The group of 30 were arrested while protesting last week’s violent forced eviction of some 300 families from the poor Borei Keila neighbourhood of Phnom Penh.  

“These people never should have been arrested in the first place,” said Donna Guest, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for the Asia-Pacific.  

The Mongolian parliament's approval of a bill that aims to scrap the death penalty is a vital step towards full abolition of the death penalty in Mongolia, Amnesty International said today.

The bill, which ratifies the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), was approved today by a large majority of MPs.

The Chinese authorities must immediately release prominent women’s rights activist Ni Yulan, who faces several years in jail when her trial starts on 29 December, Amnesty International said today.

Ni Yulan is the third activist that Amnesty International is aware of to be tried over the past few weeks, as the Chinese authorities crack down on individuals they perceive to be a threat.

The nine-year jail sentence handed down to activist Chen Wei for writing critical articles about the Communist Party is unacceptable, Amnesty International said today, and urged Chinese authorities to release him immediately and unconditionally.
 
Chen Wei was sentenced for “inciting subversion of state power”. His lawyer, Zheng Jianwei, said the trial lasted less than two hours and added that his family said he would not appeal.

Amnesty International today called on Chinese authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Chen Wei， a human rights advocate set to stand trial on 23 December on charges of “inciting subversion of state power” over essays he wrote that were critical of the Communist Party.

According to the indictment， seen by Amnesty International， Chen Wei’s charge stems from four essays he allegedly posted online and “sent to overseas organizations，” including New York-based human rights group， Human Rights in China.

 Amnesty International today called on Chinese authorities to end violent and illegal land grabs, as protests by villagers in the southern province of Guangdong continued following the death in custody of land rights advocate Xue Jinbo. 

 Amnesty International and Belarusian human rights organizations Viasna and Belarus Helsinki Committee were today turned away from delivering a global petition to Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka, calling for an end to executions in Belarus. 

The success of the US Secretary of State’s visit to Myanmar should be decided by whether the authorities respond immediately by undertaking bold and far-reaching human rights reforms, Amnesty International said in a statement today.
 
On Thursday Hillary Clinton will begin a two-day visit to Myanmar, the highest-level visit by a US official in over 50 years.
 

On the eve of the second anniversary of the Maguindanao massacre, Amnesty International lamented the very slow wheels of justice in the Philippines and called on the Philippine authorities to abide by its obligations under international human rights law to ensure effective remedy for victims of the Maguindanao massacre and their families, and to break the continuing impunity. Amnesty International also reiterated its call for improved support to witnesses and victims’ families.

The Chinese authorities must immediately release two Falun Gong practitioners jailed for their beliefs in Hebei province, Amnesty International said today, as petitions by local residents calling for an end to their imprisonment reportedly reached almost 3,000 signatures.

The Chinese government must address the underlying causes of protests that have led 11 Tibetans to set themselves on fire since March, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said today.

In a letter to Chinese President Hu Jintao on November 3, 2011, the human rights organizations called on the Chinese government to carry out a comprehensive review of the human rights situation across the Tibetan plateau and to end legal and policy restrictions that breach human rights in the region.

Japan’s justice minister should not sign execution warrants, Amnesty International and the Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network said today, following the minister’s announcement that he does not intend to end capital punishment, despite saying last month that he would not approve executions.

Justice Minister Hideo Hiraoka said Friday he would look at each death row case individually, after a prominent politician reportedly had encouraged him to exercise his power to authorize executions.

Authorities in the Dominican Republic must urgently reform their police force to tackle alarming levels of killings and torture, Amnesty International said in a new report today.

‘Shut up if you don’t want to be killed’: Human Rights violations by the police in the Dominican Republic, documents scores of cases of killings, torture and ill-treatment at the hands of police, gathered during three research missions in the country and the lack of effective investigations

The Syrian government has turned hospitals into instruments of repression in its efforts to crush opposition, Amnesty International said today in a new report.

The 39-page report Health Crisis: Syrian Government Targets the Wounded and Health Workers documents how wounded patients in at least four government-run hospitals have been subjected to torture and other ill-treatment, including by medical workers.

Hospital workers suspected of treating protesters and others injured in unrest-related incidents have themselves faced arrest and torture.

The Syrian government has turned hospitals into instruments of repression in its efforts to crush opposition, Amnesty International said today in a new report.

The 39-page report Health Crisis: Syrian Government Targets the Wounded and Health Workers documents how wounded patients in at least four government-run hospitals have been subjected to torture and other ill-treatment, including by medical workers.

Hospital workers suspected of treating protesters and others injured in unrest-related incidents have themselves faced arrest and torture.

The reported death of Colonel Mu'ammar al-Gaddafi would bring to a close a chapter of Libya's history marked by repression and abuse but does not end the story, Amnesty International said today.
 
“The legacy of repression and abuse from Colonel Mu'ammar al-Gaddafi's rule will not end until there is a full accounting for the past and human rights are embedded in Libya's new institutions,” said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Deputy Director for North Africa and the Middle East at Amnesty International.

In reaction to news that a 20 year old Tibetan nun, Tenzin Wangmo, set herself on fire and died on Monday, near Kirti monastery in Ngaba County, Sichuan province, Amnesty International said:

“This is the ninth self-immolation in recent months by ethnic Tibetans and indicates a new level of desperation on the part of Tibetans against the Chinese government’s repression of their culture and religious freedom,” said Sam Zarifi, Amnesty International’s Asia-Pacific Director.

The Iranian authorities will make a farce of a UN Committee hearing into Iran’s human rights record unless they acknowledge current and past abuses, Amnesty International warned today.

The UN Human Rights Committee, which monitors how states comply with their obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, begins meeting today to consider Iran. The Iranian authorities’ report to the Committee, the first submitted since 1993; is more than a decade late.

The release of at least 120 political prisoners in Myanmar today is a minimum first step, and authorities must immediately and unconditionally release all remaining prisoners of conscience, Amnesty International said.

Prisoners of conscience make up the majority of the political prisoners still jailed after the measure.

Amnesty International activists around the world are coming together on the World Day Against the Death Penalty to demand an end to executions in Belarus, the only country in Europe and the former Soviet Union that still executes.

“Belarus is the only country in Europe that still claims to kill people in the name of justice,” said Roseann Rife, death penalty expert at Amnesty International.

As many as 400 people may have been executed in Belarus since 1991 – the true number is unknown because of the secrecy surrounding executions.

Five years after the murder of Anna Politkovskaya, the investigative journalist, little progress has been made to increase the safety of journalists or human rights defenders who dare to expose abuses or challenge authority in Russia, Amnesty International said today.

Permanent members of the Security Council that used their veto yesterday to block a binding resolution on Syria have utterly failed in their responsibilities to protect the Syrian people, Amnesty International said today.

"It is shocking that after more than six months of horrific bloodshed on the streets and in the detention centres of Syria, the governments of both Russia and China still felt able to veto what was already a seriously watered down resolution," said Malcolm Smart, Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa Director.

The State Board of Pardons and Paroles in the US state of Georgia must reconsider their decision to deny clemency for a US man facing the death penalty, Amnesty International said today after the ruling cleared the way for his execution on Wednesday.

Troy Davis was sentenced to death in 1991 for the murder of police officer Mark Allen Macphail in Savannah, Georgia.

The Yemeni authorities must immediately stop the killing of peaceful protesters by security forces, Amnesty International said today following reports that dozens of people have been shdot dead in the capital Sana'a since Sunday.

Hundreds more are said to have been injured after security forces used snipers and rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) against protesters marching to demand the resignation of President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

Around 26 people were killed on Sunday. The continuing violence has seen more killed in Sana'a today.

In response to Prime Minister Najib Razak's announcement today that the Malaysian government will seek to repeal the Internal Security Act (ISA), lift all emergency proclamations, and repeal or review other restrictive laws, Amnesty International said:

"Prime Minister Najib's repeal of the ISA is a significant step forward for human rights in Malaysia. The ISA is a notoriously repressive piece of legislation that has stifled peaceful dissent in the country for over 50 years," said Sam Zarifi, Amnesty International's Asia-Pacific Director.

A Chinese activist jailed in connection with her support for bloggers must be released, Amnesty International said today after she was sentenced to nine months in prison.

Wang Lihong, 56, was detained  in March and later charged  with “creating a disturbance” amid a government crackdown on online calls for a “Jasmine Revolution”  inspired by  protests in the Middle East and North Africa.

The US state of Georgia should grant clemency to death row inmate Troy Davis Amnesty International said today, after his execution was set to take place on 21 September.

Troy Davis was convicted in 1991 of the 1989 murder of a Savannah police officer. The case against him rested on witness testimony. Since his trial, seven of nine key witnesses have recanted or changed their testimony, some alleging police coercion.

Davis now faces his fourth execution date in four years.

At least 88 people are believed to have died in detention in Syria during five months of bloody repression of pro-reform protests, a new Amnesty International report reveals today.

Deadly detention: Deaths in custody amid popular protest in Syria documents reported deathsin custody between April and mid-August in the wake of sweeping arrests.

The 88 deaths represented a significant escalation in the number of deaths following arrest in Syria. In recent years Amnesty International has typically recorded around five deaths in custody per year in Syria.