By Thomas Rozanov I first experienced the value of political freedom in the 2004 Orange Revolution protests in Kyiv, Ukraine. I was only seven years old then, yet I quickly caught inspiration for the rapidly evolving ‘PORA’ and ‘Tak!’ movements and the revolution. Next, fast-forward ten years, and I was driven by the 2014 Euromaidan movement. 2014 Ukrainian Euromaidan protests Reuters/Gleb Garanich It is extremely important to have the right to gather inspired people, to freely voice opinions, to strive to achieve justice and change. My energy was bursting at both periods, just as millions o ..read more

By Thomas Rozanov  What George Orwell once fantasized in his novel ‘1984,’ is an actual threat today. Individuals are confronted with surveillance that interferes with private lives, and human rights. Big Brother tyranny is set into practice with modern widespread technology. “Telescreens” used by Oceania’s ruling party to constantly surveil citizens and prevent conspiracies and “thoughtcrimes” are now being replaced with unlawful access to online accounts, phone surveillance, cyberattacks, and hacking. What once seemed like a dystopian plot, is now a reality. I suspect this dimension wi ..read more

By Ella Shen A few weeks ago, Amnesty International, along with other international organizations, has expressed heavy concern over the possibility of danger, including torture amongst other human rights violations, to journalist Khudoberdi Nurmatov (also known as Ali Feruz), if forcibly returned to Uzbekistan.Nurmatov’s lawyer, Maria Kurakina, stated, “there has been no extradition request from Uzbekistan. There have been no charges against him on alleged involvement into extremist activities or justification of terrorism. His staying in Russia has been absolutely legitimate as he applied fo ..read more

  Russian security forces attempt to block the way of Crimean Tatars crossing a checkpoint in May 2014. REUTERS/STRINGER By Viachaslau “Slava” Bortnik Amnesty International recently released a public statement raising the worsening human rights situation in Crimea marking three years under Russian rule since the Peninsula’s unlawful annexation in March 2014. Despite Amnesty’s call for human rights in last year’s briefing ‘Crimea in the dark: the silencing of dissent’, Russian and Crimean de facto authorities continue to intensify their persecution of political activists, dissenting voic ..read more

(Alex Wong/Getty Images) Ambassadors are on the front lines of diplomacy, where they can head off conflict or be the cause of the next war.  They must not have any conflicts-of-interest or appearance of conflict and definitely not be involved in unlawful activities, especially not a war crime. President-elect Donald Trump has chosen David Friedman, a bankruptcy lawyer, as his advisor on Israel and to be U.S. Ambassador to the State of Israel. David Friedman’s confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee is set for this Thursday, February 16, at 10 am. When the Sena ..read more

By Adotei Akwei and Miho Mitobe At the end of 2016 Amnesty International published a report titled Ethiopia Offline: Evidence of Social Media Blocking and Internet Censorship in Ethiopia. This report documented how social media and networks in Addis Ababa and the Oromia region were being blocked by the Ethiopian government. Among the more alarming findings is that AI and the Open Observatory of Network Interference (OONI), who co-authored the report, detected the use of Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) technology, which can be used to monitor and filter internet traffic. The Ethiop ..read more

A mere two days after millions of people marched around the word with and in solidarity with the Women’s March on Washington, President Donald J. Trump announced the “Global Gag Rule,” a major blow to women’s rights and human rights worldwide. Trump’s Global Gag Rule prohibits U.S. international aid to groups that so much as educate their communities on safe abortion. Even if an organization is using non-U.S. funding for such activities, they will lose their U.S. funding if they offer counseling, advocate for legal reform, provide abortions, or even provide referrals at any time. Foreign NGOs ..read more

Protestors gather in Nkpor, Onitsha on 30 May 2016, Nigeria. By Adotei Akwei and Miho Mitobe In late November AI released a report on human rights violations committed by Nigerian security forces in the southeast of the country. The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) had conducted largely peaceful marches as part of an effort to establish an independent state, and the response was brutal and depressing in its familiarity.  It is not the first time that AI has called on the Nigerian government to investigate possible crimes against humanity by the security forces. In fact, before and sin ..read more

By Ann Burroughs, Chair of AIUSA’s Board of Directors Donald Trump has made it clear he wants bring back torture. “We should go much stronger than waterboarding,” he said last year, calling it “your minor form” of torture. Now he’s picked Rep. Mike Pompeo to head the CIA – an individual who called the CIA’s program of torture and disappearing under the Bush administration “within the law” and “within the Constitution.” We can’t let Trump bring back the CIA torture program. Trump’s pick for CIA chief must reject torture – and commit to upholding the law. That’s why this week, Amnesty Internati ..read more

Emergildo Criollo, a leader from the Cofan tribe in Ecuador and Rita Maldonado, a Guanta community member at the demonstration outside the Chevron shareholder meeting. Behind them, an activist holds bottles of contaminated water. Photo: Amazon Watch By Simon Billenness, Business and Human Rights Thematic Specialist and Paz y Miño, Andean Countries Specialist Did you know Amnesty International USA is a long-time shareholder activist? This week, Amnesty International USA joined the New York State Comptroller, Thomas DiNapoli, in filing a shareholder resolution at Chevron Corporation. The ..read more