Amnesty International today accused Turkey of implementing &quot;arbitrary dismissals&quot; of public sector workers in a series of purges since last year&#39;s failed coup.

Over 100,000 people from the public sector including members of the judiciary and armed forces have been dismissed since the attempted overthrow of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in July, the rights group said.

They have all been dismissed by decree under the state of emergency put into force a few days after the failed putsch bid.

The emergency has been renewed three times and is due to expire on July 19. But Erdogan yesterday said it would continue until there was peace, without giving a time limit.

In a report entitled &quot;No end in sight&quot;, Amnesty criticised the dismissals which it said were &quot;carried out arbitrarily on the basis of vague and generalised grounds of &#39;connection to terrorist organisations&#39;&quot;.

The organisation urged the government to put in place a &quot;prompt and effective appeal mechanism for those already dismissed&quot;.

The dismissed public sector officials Amnesty spoke to described a lack of evidence presented to them after finding their names on a list published in the Official Gazette.

&quot;None... Have been provided with any explanation of the reason for their dismissal beyond the generalised allegation contained in the decrees,&quot; Amnesty wrote.

The organisation conducted 61 interviews including with 33 dismissed individuals and met Turkish authorities, trade union representatives, NGOs and lawyers.

The government insists that those dismissed have access to an appeals commission -- whose members were confirmed last week -- which will hear their cases.

But Amnesty said the commission was not an &quot;effective domestic remedy&quot;, and urged the Turkish government to establish a &quot;genuinely independent, impartial, transparent and effective appeal mechanism&quot;.

It criticised the position many found themselves in with limited -- if any -- ability to find work and their passports cancelled. &quot;Some of the measures, including the barring of individuals from all forms of public service and the routine cancellation of passports would violate rights even in the cases where dismissal was justified,&quot; the report said.

According to Amnesty, of those dismissed more than 33,000 are teachers and other employees of the education ministry while over 24,000 are police officers and others from the interior ministry.

Over 8,000 are members of the armed forces, more than 5,000 are academics and include those working in the higher education sector as well as over 4,000 judges, prosecutors and justice ministry officials, it added.

As well as sackings, more than 47,000 have been arrested over alleged links to the movement led by US-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, accused of ordering the failed coup.

Gulen, who lives in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania, strongly denies the charges but Turkey alleges his group is a terror group which it dubs the &quot;Fethullah Terror Organisation&quot; (FETO).

Although Western governments and human rights activists have hit out at the crackdown, Ankara defends the purges as necessary to clear individuals with alleged malicious intent inside the public sector.

&nbsp;

Trouble in the USA

Amnesty International&#39;s report comes days after video surfaced of Edrogan&#39;s bodyguards assaulting peaceful Kurdish protesters in Washington, DC, outside the Turkish embassy.

In one video, Erdogan is sitting in the back seat of this black Mercedes, and watches as his guards beat up the protesters. Some have claimed that the order to assault the protesters came from Erdogan himself.

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Footage captured from another angle reveals Erdogan orders the attack on peaceful DC protesters directly (at 0:13). <a href="https://t.co/xegB7vEmM8">pic.twitter.com/xegB7vEmM8</a>
&mdash; Turkey Untold (@TurkeyUntold) <a href="https://twitter.com/TurkeyUntold/status/865304412499173376">May 18, 2017</a></blockquote>
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(WION with inputs from AFP)

&nbsp;

Over 100,000 people from Turkey's public sector, including members of the judiciary and armed forces, have been dismissed since the failed coup in 2016

Amnesty International today accused Turkey of implementing "arbitrary dismissals" of public sector workers in a series of purges since last year's failed coup. Over 100,000 people from the public sector including members of the judiciary and armed forces have been dismissed since the attempted overthrow of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in July, the rights group said. They have all been dismissed by decree under the state of emergency put into force a few days after the failed putsch bid. The emergency has been renewed three times and is due to expire on July 19. But Erdogan yesterday said it would continue until there was peace, without giving a time limit. In a report entitled "No end in sight", Amnesty criticised the dismissals which it said were "carried out arbitrarily on the basis of vague and generalised grounds of 'connection to terrorist organisations'". The organisation urged the government to put in place a "prompt and effective appeal mechanism for those already dismissed". The dismissed public sector officials Amnesty spoke to described a lack of evidence presented to them after finding their names on a list published in the Official Gazette. "None... Have been provided with any explanation of the reason for their dismissal beyond the generalised allegation contained in the decrees," Amnesty wrote. The organisation conducted 61 interviews including with 33 dismissed individuals and met Turkish authorities, trade union representatives, NGOs and lawyers. The government insists that those dismissed have access to an appeals commission -- whose members were confirmed last week -- which will hear their cases. But Amnesty said the commission was not an "effective domestic remedy", and urged the Turkish government to establish a "genuinely independent, impartial, transparent and effective appeal mechanism". It criticised the position many found themselves in with limited -- if any -- ability to find work and their passports cancelled. "Some of the measures, including the barring of individuals from all forms of public service and the routine cancellation of passports would violate rights even in the cases where dismissal was justified," the report said. According to Amnesty, of those dismissed more than 33,000 are teachers and other employees of the education ministry while over 24,000 are police officers and others from the interior ministry. Over 8,000 are members of the armed forces, more than 5,000 are academics and include those working in the higher education sector as well as over 4,000 judges, prosecutors and justice ministry officials, it added. As well as sackings, more than 47,000 have been arrested over alleged links to the movement led by US-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, accused of ordering the failed coup. Gulen, who lives in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania, strongly denies the charges but Turkey alleges his group is a terror group which it dubs the "Fethullah Terror Organisation" (FETO). Although Western governments and human rights activists have hit out at the crackdown, Ankara defends the purges as necessary to clear individuals with alleged malicious intent inside the public sector. Trouble in the USA Amnesty International's report comes days after video surfaced of Edrogan's bodyguards assaulting peaceful Kurdish protesters in Washington, DC, outside the Turkish embassy. In one video, Erdogan is sitting in the back seat of this black Mercedes, and watches as his guards beat up the protesters. Some have claimed that the order to assault the protesters came from Erdogan himself. Footage captured from another angle reveals Erdogan orders the attack on peaceful DC protesters directly (at 0:13). pic.twitter.com/xegB7vEmM8 — Turkey Untold (@TurkeyUntold) May 18, 2017 × (WION with inputs from AFP)

Amnesty lambastes 'arbitrary dismissals' in Turkey purges

More than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails started a hunger strike on Monday&nbsp;Aprill 17, the Palestinian Prisoners Day, demanding better detention conditions. They request to be allowed&nbsp;more family visits, an&nbsp;end to to be put to both solitary confinement and&nbsp;the practice of detention without trial, and&nbsp;more access to healthcare and education.&nbsp;

One&nbsp;major issue&nbsp;facing&nbsp;Palestinian prisoners from Gaza and West Bank in jails located inside Israel&rsquo;s borders is that they don&#39;t get&nbsp;easy and regular access to their&nbsp;families. Due to security procedures, crossing the many checkpoints dividing Palestinian territories and Israel is not easy, or is&nbsp;refused altogether. At times it happens that family members who are willing to meet their relatives do not reach in time or are not allowed to cross, resulting in a senseless psychological stress both for them and the detainees. The human rights focused NGO Amnesty International recently issued a <a href="https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2017/04/israel-must-end-unlawful-and-cruel-policies-towards-palestinian-prisoners/" target="_blank">report </a>on this matter.

Shortly after the beginning of the hunger strike, thousands of Palestinian activists demonstrated in several cities to show their support to the inmates&rsquo; cause. The biggest solidarity demonstration was held in Ramallah, where some 2,000 people took to the street.

Palestinian inmates declared that the hunger strike won&rsquo;t end until the prisons&rsquo; management&nbsp;meets all their requests. Their protest is expected to involve more than 2,000 detainees.&nbsp;

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Palestinian political prisoners. (WION)
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The strike was called by&nbsp;Marwan Barghouti--a 58-year-old prominent member of Fatah&nbsp;who led the first and the second intifada and is currently serving five life sentences for murder.

Reuters reported that after the beginning of the strike, Barghouti was moved to another jail and held in solitary confinement. The New York Times informed that not only was he&nbsp;accused of&nbsp;leading&nbsp;the protest, he has also been accused of smuggling out a pamphlet which they decided to carry as an <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/16/opinion/palestinian-hunger-strike-prisoners-call-for-justice.html?_r=0" target="_blank">opinion piece</a>. Barghouti&rsquo;s document explains his&nbsp;reasons behind the protest.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu commented scathingly on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website, saying that&nbsp;&ldquo;calling Barghouti a &#39;political leader&#39; is like calling Assad a &#39;pediatrician&#39;. They are murderers and terrorists. We will never lose our sense of clarity because we are on the side of justice and they are on the side that is neither just nor moral&rdquo;.

The Israeli public security minister Gilad Erdan denied&nbsp;any allegation of mistreating&nbsp;prisoners, and declared that the hunger strike is &quot;prompted by internal Palestinian politics and therefore includes unreasonable demands.&rdquo;

Israel&rsquo;s foreign ministry went even further, stating that &quot;the Palestinian prisoners are not political prisoners. They are convicted terrorists and murderers. They were brought to justice and are treated properly under international law&rdquo;.

Under Israeli prison law, voluntarily refusing food is a punishable offence and a hunger strike is considered an illegal action. The Israeli outlet&nbsp;Haaretz published a statement&nbsp;by the country&rsquo;s prison service, saying: &ldquo;The Israel Prison Service has a great deal of experience in coping with hunger strikes, and it has the ways and the means to deal with them. It should be noted that the Prison Service does not conduct negotiations with prisoners.&rdquo;

The detainees&rsquo; political action comes at a critical time for Israel, which will witness the 50th anniversary of the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza Strip occupation in June. The&nbsp;Palestinian authority&nbsp;has said&nbsp;that&nbsp;the hunger strike is uniting prisoners from the two rival factions of Fatah and Hamas, which is currently governing the Gaza Strip.

Palestinian President and Hamas leader Mahmoud Abbas declared that his organisation has all the intention to support the prisoner&rsquo;s struggle, which is among their top priorities.

The inmates&rsquo; unity is most likely due to the high consideration&nbsp;Barghouti enjoys among the Palestinian population. Many see him as capable of dethroning the 82-year-old Mahmoud Abbas and running as the next presidential candidate. This strike could definitely help Barghouti to strengthen his position in order to gather consensus for the next election and end the Hamas-led government.

Given all the implications, the strike seems destined to last long.

(WION)

More than 1,000 inmates are on the strike called by Marwan Barghouti?who is serving 5 life sentences for murder?demanding better conditions

More than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails started a hunger strike on Monday Aprill 17, the Palestinian Prisoners Day, demanding better detention conditions. They request to be allowed more family visits, an end to to be put to both solitary confinement and the practice of detention without trial, and more access to healthcare and education. One major issue facing Palestinian prisoners from Gaza and West Bank in jails located inside Israel’s borders is that they don't get easy and regular access to their families. Due to security procedures, crossing the many checkpoints dividing Palestinian territories and Israel is not easy, or is refused altogether. At times it happens that family members who are willing to meet their relatives do not reach in time or are not allowed to cross, resulting in a senseless psychological stress both for them and the detainees. The human rights focused NGO Amnesty International recently issued a report on this matter. Shortly after the beginning of the hunger strike, thousands of Palestinian activists demonstrated in several cities to show their support to the inmates’ cause. The biggest solidarity demonstration was held in Ramallah, where some 2,000 people took to the street. Palestinian inmates declared that the hunger strike won’t end until the prisons’ management meets all their requests. Their protest is expected to involve more than 2,000 detainees. Palestinian political prisoners. (WION) × The strike was called by Marwan Barghouti--a 58-year-old prominent member of Fatah who led the first and the second intifada and is currently serving five life sentences for murder. Reuters reported that after the beginning of the strike, Barghouti was moved to another jail and held in solitary confinement. The New York Times informed that not only was he accused of leading the protest, he has also been accused of smuggling out a pamphlet which they decided to carry as an opinion piece. Barghouti’s document explains his reasons behind the protest. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu commented scathingly on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website, saying that “calling Barghouti a 'political leader' is like calling Assad a 'pediatrician'. They are murderers and terrorists. We will never lose our sense of clarity because we are on the side of justice and they are on the side that is neither just nor moral”. The Israeli public security minister Gilad Erdan denied any allegation of mistreating prisoners, and declared that the hunger strike is "prompted by internal Palestinian politics and therefore includes unreasonable demands.” Israel’s foreign ministry went even further, stating that "the Palestinian prisoners are not political prisoners. They are convicted terrorists and murderers. They were brought to justice and are treated properly under international law”. Under Israeli prison law, voluntarily refusing food is a punishable offence and a hunger strike is considered an illegal action. The Israeli outlet Haaretz published a statement by the country’s prison service, saying: “The Israel Prison Service has a great deal of experience in coping with hunger strikes, and it has the ways and the means to deal with them. It should be noted that the Prison Service does not conduct negotiations with prisoners.” The detainees’ political action comes at a critical time for Israel, which will witness the 50th anniversary of the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza Strip occupation in June. The Palestinian authority has said that the hunger strike is uniting prisoners from the two rival factions of Fatah and Hamas, which is currently governing the Gaza Strip. Palestinian President and Hamas leader Mahmoud Abbas declared that his organisation has all the intention to support the prisoner’s struggle, which is among their top priorities. The inmates’ unity is most likely due to the high consideration Barghouti enjoys among the Palestinian population. Many see him as capable of dethroning the 82-year-old Mahmoud Abbas and running as the next presidential candidate. This strike could definitely help Barghouti to strengthen his position in order to gather consensus for the next election and end the Hamas-led government. Given all the implications, the strike seems destined to last long. (WION)

Palestinians in Israeli jails start hunger strike

China executed more people last year than the rest of the world combined, Amnesty said Tuesday, defying a global decline with thousands of killings that have disproportionately targeted poor citizens.

Even as executions have dropped by more than a third globally, China&#39;s death penalty rate is &quot;shockingly high&quot; although the full extent of the secretive practice is unknown, Amnesty International said.

While President Xi Jinping&#39;s much-hyped corruption crackdown has seen many high-ranking figures sent to jail, their death sentences have often been commuted.

Meanwhile ordinary people caught in the crosshairs of the law have not been so lucky, it said.

Farmers were more frequently sentenced to death than any other group in China, Amnesty said in a report that sought to lift the veil on the workings of the system.

China&#39;s ruling Communist Party regards execution figures as a state secret, meaning that hundreds of death sentences are omitted from the public database of court verdicts.

&quot;China is really the only country that has such a complete regime of secrecy over executions,&quot; Amnesty&#39;s East Asia director Nicholas Bequelin said at a press conference in Hong Kong.&nbsp;

&quot;Probably the reason is the numbers are shockingly high&quot;, he added. &nbsp;&nbsp;

&nbsp;Secrecy and speed&nbsp; 
 
Although local media reports estimated that at least 931 individuals were executed between 2014 and 2016, only 85 of them were found in the online database, Amnesty said. &nbsp;

Estimates from other rights groups also puts the number of annual executions in China in the thousands.

From arrest to execution, the process is characterised by secrecy and speed: a 2016 report from US-based Dui Hua 
Foundation said China&#39;s average death row prisoner waits only two months before being executed.&nbsp;

Dui Hua estimates that there were approximately 2,000 executions in China in 2016, down from 2,400 in 2013 and some 
4,000 in 2010 -- following legal reforms that improved oversight.&nbsp;

Concerns over wrongful convictions have grown in recent years, fuelled by police reliance on forced confessions and the 
lack of effective defence in criminal trials.

Chinese courts have a conviction rate of 99.92 per cent.&nbsp;

The nation&#39;s top judge, Zhou Qiang, apologised in 2015 for past miscarriages of justice, saying: &quot;We feel deep remorse for wrongful convictions&quot;.

Public anger has mounted over miscarriages of justice, including a high-profile case that saw a teenager in Inner Mongolia wrongfully convicted and executed for rape and murder in 1996.

Hugjiltu was put to death two months after the woman was killed and was finally exonerated nine years later when a serial killer confessed to the crime.

Despite Chief Justice Zhou&#39;s call to &quot;correct&quot; mistakes, experts say recent reforms have not been widely implemented.&nbsp;

&quot;Coerced confessions are supposed to be excluded from evidence. In practice, however, the police have unchallenged 
discretion to... extract confessions by detaining and torturing suspects for long periods,&quot; New York University professor 
Jerome Cohen told AFP.&nbsp;

Even cases which provoke widespread anger and online petitions calling for death sentences to be revoked are not exempt.

Farmer Jia Jinglong was sentenced to death for killing a village official with a nail gun after his home was demolished weeks before his wedding day in 2013.

Jia was beaten and denied compensation for his house, the state-run Global Times reported, and the case prompted fury in China, where land seizures and forced evictions of villagers by local officials have become a major source of social 
resentment.

But despite the public outcry and calls from legal experts to commute his sentence, he was executed last November.

Only a handful of countries still use the death penalty with regularity.

The United States executed 20 people last year, the lowest figure for the country since 1991.

All other countries together executed at least 1,032 people last year -- a decline of 37 percent compared to 2015. Of those, 87 per&nbsp;cent took place in just four countries &ndash; Iran, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Pakistan.&nbsp; 
 
(AFP) 
&nbsp;

China has defied a global decline with thousands of killings that have disproportionately targeted poor citizens

China executed more people last year than the rest of the world combined, Amnesty said Tuesday, defying a global decline with thousands of killings that have disproportionately targeted poor citizens. Even as executions have dropped by more than a third globally, China's death penalty rate is "shockingly high" although the full extent of the secretive practice is unknown, Amnesty International said. While President Xi Jinping's much-hyped corruption crackdown has seen many high-ranking figures sent to jail, their death sentences have often been commuted. Meanwhile ordinary people caught in the crosshairs of the law have not been so lucky, it said. Farmers were more frequently sentenced to death than any other group in China, Amnesty said in a report that sought to lift the veil on the workings of the system. China's ruling Communist Party regards execution figures as a state secret, meaning that hundreds of death sentences are omitted from the public database of court verdicts. "China is really the only country that has such a complete regime of secrecy over executions," Amnesty's East Asia director Nicholas Bequelin said at a press conference in Hong Kong. "Probably the reason is the numbers are shockingly high", he added. Secrecy and speed Although local media reports estimated that at least 931 individuals were executed between 2014 and 2016, only 85 of them were found in the online database, Amnesty said. Estimates from other rights groups also puts the number of annual executions in China in the thousands. From arrest to execution, the process is characterised by secrecy and speed: a 2016 report from US-based Dui Hua Foundation said China's average death row prisoner waits only two months before being executed. Dui Hua estimates that there were approximately 2,000 executions in China in 2016, down from 2,400 in 2013 and some 4,000 in 2010 -- following legal reforms that improved oversight. Concerns over wrongful convictions have grown in recent years, fuelled by police reliance on forced confessions and the lack of effective defence in criminal trials. Chinese courts have a conviction rate of 99.92 per cent. The nation's top judge, Zhou Qiang, apologised in 2015 for past miscarriages of justice, saying: "We feel deep remorse for wrongful convictions". Public anger has mounted over miscarriages of justice, including a high-profile case that saw a teenager in Inner Mongolia wrongfully convicted and executed for rape and murder in 1996. Hugjiltu was put to death two months after the woman was killed and was finally exonerated nine years later when a serial killer confessed to the crime. Despite Chief Justice Zhou's call to "correct" mistakes, experts say recent reforms have not been widely implemented. "Coerced confessions are supposed to be excluded from evidence. In practice, however, the police have unchallenged discretion to... extract confessions by detaining and torturing suspects for long periods," New York University professor Jerome Cohen told AFP. Even cases which provoke widespread anger and online petitions calling for death sentences to be revoked are not exempt. Farmer Jia Jinglong was sentenced to death for killing a village official with a nail gun after his home was demolished weeks before his wedding day in 2013. Jia was beaten and denied compensation for his house, the state-run Global Times reported, and the case prompted fury in China, where land seizures and forced evictions of villagers by local officials have become a major source of social resentment. But despite the public outcry and calls from legal experts to commute his sentence, he was executed last November. Only a handful of countries still use the death penalty with regularity. The United States executed 20 people last year, the lowest figure for the country since 1991. All other countries together executed at least 1,032 people last year -- a decline of 37 percent compared to 2015. Of those, 87 per cent took place in just four countries – Iran, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Pakistan. (AFP)

China executed more people in 2017 than rest of the world combined: Amnesty

Amnesty International today accused the Saudi-led Arab coalition battling rebels in Yemen of using banned cluster munitions in raids on residential areas.

The Brazilian-manufactured munitions were fired in a February 15 attack on three residential districts and agricultural land in Saada province of northern Yemen, a stronghold of the Shiite Huthi rebels, it said in a statement.

Two people were wounded in the attack, said Amnesty, which has also reported that the coalition used cluster munitions in October 2015 and May of last year.

The coalition &quot;absurdly justifies its use of cluster munitions by claiming it is in line with international law, despite concrete evidence of the human cost to civilians caught up in the conflict&quot;, said Lynn Maalouf, research director at Amnesty&#39;s Beirut regional office.

&quot;Cluster munitions are inherently indiscriminate weapons that inflict unimaginable harm on civilian lives,&quot; she said. 
Amnesty called for Brazil &quot;to join the Convention on Cluster Munitions and for Saudi Arabia and coalition members to stop all use of cluster munition&quot;.

Separately, Human Rights Watch in December accused the coalition of firing Brazilian-made rockets containing the outlawed munitions near two schools in Saada, killing two civilians and wounding six including a child.

The December 6 came a day after Saudi Arabia joined the US and Brazil in abstaining from a UN General Assembly vote that overwhelmingly endorsed an international ban on cluster bomb use.

The weapons can contain dozens of smaller bomblets that disperse over large areas, often continuing to kill and maim civilians long after they are dropped.

The Saudi-led coalition, which has come under repeated criticism over civilian casualties in Yemen, acknowledged in December it had made &quot;limited use&quot; of British-made cluster bombs but said it had stopped using them.

The conflict in Yemen has left more than 7,400 dead and 40,000 wounded since the coalition intervened on the government&#39;s side in March 2015, according to the UN.

(AFP)

'Cluster munitions are inherently indiscriminate weapons that inflict unimaginable harm on civilian lives,' said Amnesty's research director

Amnesty International today accused the Saudi-led Arab coalition battling rebels in Yemen of using banned cluster munitions in raids on residential areas. The Brazilian-manufactured munitions were fired in a February 15 attack on three residential districts and agricultural land in Saada province of northern Yemen, a stronghold of the Shiite Huthi rebels, it said in a statement. Two people were wounded in the attack, said Amnesty, which has also reported that the coalition used cluster munitions in October 2015 and May of last year. The coalition "absurdly justifies its use of cluster munitions by claiming it is in line with international law, despite concrete evidence of the human cost to civilians caught up in the conflict", said Lynn Maalouf, research director at Amnesty's Beirut regional office. "Cluster munitions are inherently indiscriminate weapons that inflict unimaginable harm on civilian lives," she said. Amnesty called for Brazil "to join the Convention on Cluster Munitions and for Saudi Arabia and coalition members to stop all use of cluster munition". Separately, Human Rights Watch in December accused the coalition of firing Brazilian-made rockets containing the outlawed munitions near two schools in Saada, killing two civilians and wounding six including a child. The December 6 came a day after Saudi Arabia joined the US and Brazil in abstaining from a UN General Assembly vote that overwhelmingly endorsed an international ban on cluster bomb use. The weapons can contain dozens of smaller bomblets that disperse over large areas, often continuing to kill and maim civilians long after they are dropped. The Saudi-led coalition, which has come under repeated criticism over civilian casualties in Yemen, acknowledged in December it had made "limited use" of British-made cluster bombs but said it had stopped using them. The conflict in Yemen has left more than 7,400 dead and 40,000 wounded since the coalition intervened on the government's side in March 2015, according to the UN. (AFP)

Saudi-led coalition used cluster bombs in Yemen: Amnesty

Human rights NGO Amnesty International released <a href="http://https://www.amnesty.org.in/pages/losing-faith-the-muzaffarnagar-gang-rape-survivors-struggle-for-justice">its report</a> on the 2013 gangrape in Muzaffarnagar today (February 9) asking the next government in the poll-bound state to ensure that the survivors get justice and investigations 
are not further delayed.

The report reveals that there has not been a single conviction in the cases of gangrape despite the&nbsp;government constituting a special team to investigate the cases. It also says two of the survivors were forced to change their statements.

&quot;The state government constituted a special team later in September 2013 to investigate the cases, and the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and the chief of the ruling Samajwadi Party promised swift justice.

The state government and successive central governments have also failed to adequately protect survivors from threats and harassment aimed at deterring them from pursuing their cases, and to provide adequate reparation to the survivors. Their failures continue to keep the survivors in a state of fear and insecurity, sceptical that they will ever get justice.

As state assembly elections commence in Uttar Pradesh, the gang-rapes of Muzaffarnagar and Shamli are at risk of becoming another forgotten human rights tragedy,&quot; the report states.

It accuses the state government of failing to protect women from threats and intimidation and of not informing them about the status of their cases.

In 2013, communal violence between Hindus and Muslims in and around Muzaffarnagar and Shamli districts in Uttar Pradesh led to the deaths of over 60 people and the displacement of tens of thousands.&nbsp;

The report talks about the fact that thousands of Muslim families were forced to flee their homes and take shelter in relief camps and that scores of women spoke of having been assaulted, raped and gangraped. It states that out of the seven women who eventually came forward to report that they had been gangraped, none has received justice so far.

With the Uttar Pradesh elections around the corner, the NGO said the new state the government should ensure that those responsible for the crime are brought to justice and the survivors are provided with effective legal assistance and rehabilitation.

&quot;Ensure that the investigations and prosecutions into the gangrape cases are pursued vigorously without undue delay, and those responsible are brought to justice. Investigate reports of threats, intimidation or harassment of survivors or their relatives, and bring suspects to trial.

It has also recommended the Centre to enact a robust law to respond to communal violence and a comprehensive victim and witness protection program.

Activist-lawyer Vrinda Grover, who represented the victims in the Supreme Court, said this is the first case where section 376 (2)(g) (rape during communal or sectarian violence) of the Indian Penal Code has been invoked in 
the FIR since the law was amended.

&quot;State machinery is not working in favour of women victims. There was a deliberate design to not allow these cases to move forward. The delay was deliberate and this is an example of institutional complicity...The scenario is 
changing today as the rape survivor is standing against the wrong and demanding justice...

&quot;According to me, this is the most appropriate time to release the report because we are not here to listen to empty slogans by political parties. This is the time that they act speedily to give women their rights,&quot; she said.

(WION) 
&nbsp;

Communal violence between Hindus and Muslims led to the deaths of over 60 people and the displacement of tens of thousands

Human rights NGO Amnesty International released its report on the 2013 gangrape in Muzaffarnagar today (February 9) asking the next government in the poll-bound state to ensure that the survivors get justice and investigations are not further delayed. The report reveals that there has not been a single conviction in the cases of gangrape despite the government constituting a special team to investigate the cases. It also says two of the survivors were forced to change their statements. "The state government constituted a special team later in September 2013 to investigate the cases, and the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and the chief of the ruling Samajwadi Party promised swift justice. The state government and successive central governments have also failed to adequately protect survivors from threats and harassment aimed at deterring them from pursuing their cases, and to provide adequate reparation to the survivors. Their failures continue to keep the survivors in a state of fear and insecurity, sceptical that they will ever get justice. As state assembly elections commence in Uttar Pradesh, the gang-rapes of Muzaffarnagar and Shamli are at risk of becoming another forgotten human rights tragedy," the report states. It accuses the state government of failing to protect women from threats and intimidation and of not informing them about the status of their cases. In 2013, communal violence between Hindus and Muslims in and around Muzaffarnagar and Shamli districts in Uttar Pradesh led to the deaths of over 60 people and the displacement of tens of thousands. The report talks about the fact that thousands of Muslim families were forced to flee their homes and take shelter in relief camps and that scores of women spoke of having been assaulted, raped and gangraped. It states that out of the seven women who eventually came forward to report that they had been gangraped, none has received justice so far. With the Uttar Pradesh elections around the corner, the NGO said the new state the government should ensure that those responsible for the crime are brought to justice and the survivors are provided with effective legal assistance and rehabilitation. "Ensure that the investigations and prosecutions into the gangrape cases are pursued vigorously without undue delay, and those responsible are brought to justice. Investigate reports of threats, intimidation or harassment of survivors or their relatives, and bring suspects to trial. It has also recommended the Centre to enact a robust law to respond to communal violence and a comprehensive victim and witness protection program. Activist-lawyer Vrinda Grover, who represented the victims in the Supreme Court, said this is the first case where section 376 (2)(g) (rape during communal or sectarian violence) of the Indian Penal Code has been invoked in the FIR since the law was amended. "State machinery is not working in favour of women victims. There was a deliberate design to not allow these cases to move forward. The delay was deliberate and this is an example of institutional complicity...The scenario is changing today as the rape survivor is standing against the wrong and demanding justice... "According to me, this is the most appropriate time to release the report because we are not here to listen to empty slogans by political parties. This is the time that they act speedily to give women their rights," she said. (WION)

Central, state government failed 2013 Muzaffarnagar gang-rape survivors: Amnesty report

Philippine police may have committed crimes against humanity by killing thousands of alleged drug offenders or paying others to murder as part of President Rodrigo Duterte&#39;s drug war, Amnesty International said on Wednesday.

An Amnesty report, which followed an in-depth investigation into the drug war, also outlined what it said were other widespread police crimes aside from extrajudicial killings that mainly targeted the poor.

&quot;Acting on orders from the very top, policemen and unknown killers have been targeting anybody remotely suspected of using of selling drugs,&quot; Rawya Rageh, a senior crisis adviser for Amnesty, told AFP. &quot;Our investigation shows that this wave of extrajudicial killings has been widespread, deliberate and systematic, and therefore may amount to crimes against humanity.&quot;

Among a litany of alleged crimes, Amnesty accused police of fatally shooting defenceless people, fabricating evidence, paying assassins to murder drug addicts and stealing from those they killed or the victims&#39; relatives.

It also said police were being paid by their superiors to kill, and documented victims as young as eight years old.

&quot;The police are behaving like the criminal underworld that they are supposed to be enforcing the law against,&quot; the report said.

Duterte won presidential elections last year after promising during the campaign to eradicate drugs in society within six months by killing tens of thousands of people.

&nbsp;

&#39;Murderous war on poor&#39;

On one occasion Duterte vowed that 100,000 people would be killed and so many bodies would be dumped in Manila Bay that the fish there would grow fat from feeding on them.

Duterte launched his crackdown immediately upon taking office seven months ago. Since then, police have reported killing 2,555 people while nearly 4,000 others have died in unexplained circumstances, according to official figures.

As president, Duterte has repeatedly urged police to kill drug users as well as traffickers.&nbsp;

Duterte said in December he had personally killed people when he was mayor of a southern city to set an example for police.&nbsp;Three months earlier he said he would be &quot;happy to slaughter&quot; three million drug addicts, and likened his campaign to Nazi leader Adolf Hitler&#39;s efforts to exterminate Jews in Europe.&nbsp;

The Amnesty report said Duterte had incited the police to carry out a murderous war on the poor, and warned that the International Criminal Court would need to start investigating unless Philippine authorities did not stop it soon.

&quot;The police killings are driven by pressures from the top, including an order to &#39;neutralise&#39; alleged drug offenders, as well as financial incentives. They have created an informal economy of death,&quot; the report said. Amnesty said it investigated the deaths of 59 people, and found the majority of them were extrajudicial killings.

&nbsp;

&#39;I will surrender, sir&#39;

In a number of cases witnesses to killings or victims&#39; relatives told Amnesty that the person shot dead was unarmed and had not resisted arrest. Police also planted drugs and weapons that they later &quot;seised&quot; as evidence, Amnesty said.

&quot;I will surrender, I will surrender, sir,&quot; Gener Rondina, 38, told police after they broke into his home in the central city of Cebu, a witness told Amnesty.

Rondina then knelt and raised his arms behind his head but police then shot him dead, Amnesty said, citing the witness.

When family members were allowed into the house six hours after Gener was shot, valuables including a laptop, watch and money were missing, according to Amnesty.

Police alleged Rondina had a gun and they acted in self defence, and the method of killing as well as the justification was typical of the drug war, Amnesty said.

Amnesty also warned that the lists of drug suspects that police were using to target people were deeply flawed. This was partly because many people were placed on the lists simply after being reported by fellow community members, without any further investigation, according to Amnesty.

Duterte had until this week been unrepentant in response to criticism of his drug war and the police, insisting he was acting within the law but that extreme measures must be taken to stop the Philippines from becoming a narco state.

After a series of scandals emerged over the past month in which police were caught committing murder, kidnapping, extortion and robbery, Duterte this week ordered them to stop all activities related to the drug war.

He described the police force as &quot;corrupt to the core&quot; and vowed to cleanse it. But he also vowed the drug war would continue until the last day of his term, in 2022. He said police would return to the drug war after he reorganised the force and, in the meantime, the military would become more involved.

(AFP)

The report accused police of fatally shooting defenceless people, fabricating evidence, and paying assassins to murder drug addicts

Philippine police may have committed crimes against humanity by killing thousands of alleged drug offenders or paying others to murder as part of President Rodrigo Duterte's drug war, Amnesty International said on Wednesday. An Amnesty report, which followed an in-depth investigation into the drug war, also outlined what it said were other widespread police crimes aside from extrajudicial killings that mainly targeted the poor. "Acting on orders from the very top, policemen and unknown killers have been targeting anybody remotely suspected of using of selling drugs," Rawya Rageh, a senior crisis adviser for Amnesty, told AFP. "Our investigation shows that this wave of extrajudicial killings has been widespread, deliberate and systematic, and therefore may amount to crimes against humanity." Among a litany of alleged crimes, Amnesty accused police of fatally shooting defenceless people, fabricating evidence, paying assassins to murder drug addicts and stealing from those they killed or the victims' relatives. It also said police were being paid by their superiors to kill, and documented victims as young as eight years old. "The police are behaving like the criminal underworld that they are supposed to be enforcing the law against," the report said. Duterte won presidential elections last year after promising during the campaign to eradicate drugs in society within six months by killing tens of thousands of people. 'Murderous war on poor' On one occasion Duterte vowed that 100,000 people would be killed and so many bodies would be dumped in Manila Bay that the fish there would grow fat from feeding on them. Duterte launched his crackdown immediately upon taking office seven months ago. Since then, police have reported killing 2,555 people while nearly 4,000 others have died in unexplained circumstances, according to official figures. As president, Duterte has repeatedly urged police to kill drug users as well as traffickers. Duterte said in December he had personally killed people when he was mayor of a southern city to set an example for police. Three months earlier he said he would be "happy to slaughter" three million drug addicts, and likened his campaign to Nazi leader Adolf Hitler's efforts to exterminate Jews in Europe. The Amnesty report said Duterte had incited the police to carry out a murderous war on the poor, and warned that the International Criminal Court would need to start investigating unless Philippine authorities did not stop it soon. "The police killings are driven by pressures from the top, including an order to 'neutralise' alleged drug offenders, as well as financial incentives. They have created an informal economy of death," the report said. Amnesty said it investigated the deaths of 59 people, and found the majority of them were extrajudicial killings. 'I will surrender, sir' In a number of cases witnesses to killings or victims' relatives told Amnesty that the person shot dead was unarmed and had not resisted arrest. Police also planted drugs and weapons that they later "seised" as evidence, Amnesty said. "I will surrender, I will surrender, sir," Gener Rondina, 38, told police after they broke into his home in the central city of Cebu, a witness told Amnesty. Rondina then knelt and raised his arms behind his head but police then shot him dead, Amnesty said, citing the witness. When family members were allowed into the house six hours after Gener was shot, valuables including a laptop, watch and money were missing, according to Amnesty. Police alleged Rondina had a gun and they acted in self defence, and the method of killing as well as the justification was typical of the drug war, Amnesty said. Amnesty also warned that the lists of drug suspects that police were using to target people were deeply flawed. This was partly because many people were placed on the lists simply after being reported by fellow community members, without any further investigation, according to Amnesty. Duterte had until this week been unrepentant in response to criticism of his drug war and the police, insisting he was acting within the law but that extreme measures must be taken to stop the Philippines from becoming a narco state. After a series of scandals emerged over the past month in which police were caught committing murder, kidnapping, extortion and robbery, Duterte this week ordered them to stop all activities related to the drug war. He described the police force as "corrupt to the core" and vowed to cleanse it. But he also vowed the drug war would continue until the last day of his term, in 2022. He said police would return to the drug war after he reorganised the force and, in the meantime, the military would become more involved. (AFP)

Philippines police killings may amount to 'crimes against humanity': Amnesty

Amnesty International said on Thursday that Iraqi government forces tortured and killed villagers south of Mosul, the first such report of alleged rights abuse in a US-backed campaign to retake the city from Islamic State.

The New York-based rights group said victims included &quot;up to six&quot; people found last month in the Shura and Qayyara sub-districts who security forces suspected of ties to the ultra-hardline jihadist group which seized a third of Iraqi territory in 2014.

&quot;Men in Federal Police uniform have carried out multiple unlawful killings, apprehending and then deliberately killing in cold blood residents in villages south of Mosul,&quot; said Lynn Maalouf, deputy director for research at Amnesty&#39;s Beirut office.

Spokesmen for the federal police and the Interior Ministry, to which they belong, could not be reached for comment.

The Mosul operation, involving a 100,000-strong alliance of troops, security forces, Kurdish peshmerga and Shi&#39;ite Muslim militias and backed by U.S.-led air strikes, has entered its fourth week but has so far gained just a small foothold in the city.

Amnesty&#39;s report described several incidents on or around October 21 in which separate groups of men were beaten with cables and rifle butts before being shot to death. In one case, a man&#39;s head had been severed from his body, it said.

Amnesty said that. without accountability, the alleged abuses risked being repeated in other towns and villages as the Mosul offensive continues.

(Reuters)

The rights groups said the victims included 'up to six' people whom security forces suspected of ties to Islamic State

Amnesty International said on Thursday that Iraqi government forces tortured and killed villagers south of Mosul, the first such report of alleged rights abuse in a US-backed campaign to retake the city from Islamic State. The New York-based rights group said victims included "up to six" people found last month in the Shura and Qayyara sub-districts who security forces suspected of ties to the ultra-hardline jihadist group which seized a third of Iraqi territory in 2014. "Men in Federal Police uniform have carried out multiple unlawful killings, apprehending and then deliberately killing in cold blood residents in villages south of Mosul," said Lynn Maalouf, deputy director for research at Amnesty's Beirut office. Spokesmen for the federal police and the Interior Ministry, to which they belong, could not be reached for comment. The Mosul operation, involving a 100,000-strong alliance of troops, security forces, Kurdish peshmerga and Shi'ite Muslim militias and backed by U.S.-led air strikes, has entered its fourth week but has so far gained just a small foothold in the city. Amnesty's report described several incidents on or around October 21 in which separate groups of men were beaten with cables and rifle butts before being shot to death. In one case, a man's head had been severed from his body, it said. Amnesty said that. without accountability, the alleged abuses risked being repeated in other towns and villages as the Mosul offensive continues. (Reuters)

Iraqi govt forces tortured, killed civilians south of Mosul: Amnesty

Ten countries accounting for 2.5 per cent of world GDP are hosting more than half the world&#39;s refugees, Amnesty International said Tuesday as it slammed what it called the selfishness of wealthy nations.

In a report on the plight faced by the world&#39;s 21 million refugees, the London-based human rights body lamented that countries immediately neighbouring crisis zones bear the brunt of the global refugee problem.

Fifty-six per cent of refugees are being sheltered in 10 countries, according to the report, in which Amnesty proposed a solution whereby the world&#39;s countries find a home for 10 per cent of the planet&#39;s refugees every year.

&quot;A small number of countries have been left to do far too much just because they are neighbours to a crisis,&quot; said Amnesty secretary general Salil Shetty, presenting the report entitled &quot;Tackling the global refugee crisis: from shirking to sharing responsibility&quot;.

&quot;That situation is inherently unsustainable, exposing the millions fleeing war and persecution in countries like Syria, South Sudan, Afghanistan, and Iraq to intolerable misery and suffering.

&quot;It is time for leaders to enter into a serious, constructive debate about how our societies are going to help people forced to leave their homes by war and persecution.&quot;

Amnesty said the top refugee-hosting country was Jordan, which has taken in more than 2.7 million people, followed by Turkey (more than 2.5 million); Pakistan (1.6 million) and Lebanon (more than 1.5 million).

The remaining six nations listed in the top 10 each hosted hundreds of thousands of refugees: Iran (979,400); Ethiopia (736,100); Kenya (553,900); Uganda (477,200); Democratic Republic of Congo (383,100), and Chad (369,500).

The statistics are based on figures from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

Amnesty said many of the world&#39;s wealthiest nations &quot;host the fewest and do the least&quot;.

&quot;It is not simply a matter of sending aid money. Rich countries cannot pay to keep people &#39;over there&#39;,&quot; it said.

The &quot;self-interest&quot; of such countries meant the international refugee crisis was set to get worse, not better, Amnesty claimed.

&quot;If every one of the wealthiest countries in the world were to take in refugees in proportion to their size, wealth and unemployment rate, finding a home for more of the world&#39;s refugees would be an eminently solvable challenge,&quot; said Shetty.

(AFP)

Amnesty International said countries neighbouring crisis zones bear the brunt while wealthy nations evade responsibility

Ten countries accounting for 2.5 per cent of world GDP are hosting more than half the world's refugees, Amnesty International said Tuesday as it slammed what it called the selfishness of wealthy nations. In a report on the plight faced by the world's 21 million refugees, the London-based human rights body lamented that countries immediately neighbouring crisis zones bear the brunt of the global refugee problem. Fifty-six per cent of refugees are being sheltered in 10 countries, according to the report, in which Amnesty proposed a solution whereby the world's countries find a home for 10 per cent of the planet's refugees every year. "A small number of countries have been left to do far too much just because they are neighbours to a crisis," said Amnesty secretary general Salil Shetty, presenting the report entitled "Tackling the global refugee crisis: from shirking to sharing responsibility". "That situation is inherently unsustainable, exposing the millions fleeing war and persecution in countries like Syria, South Sudan, Afghanistan, and Iraq to intolerable misery and suffering. "It is time for leaders to enter into a serious, constructive debate about how our societies are going to help people forced to leave their homes by war and persecution." Amnesty said the top refugee-hosting country was Jordan, which has taken in more than 2.7 million people, followed by Turkey (more than 2.5 million); Pakistan (1.6 million) and Lebanon (more than 1.5 million). The remaining six nations listed in the top 10 each hosted hundreds of thousands of refugees: Iran (979,400); Ethiopia (736,100); Kenya (553,900); Uganda (477,200); Democratic Republic of Congo (383,100), and Chad (369,500). The statistics are based on figures from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Amnesty said many of the world's wealthiest nations "host the fewest and do the least". "It is not simply a matter of sending aid money. Rich countries cannot pay to keep people 'over there'," it said. The "self-interest" of such countries meant the international refugee crisis was set to get worse, not better, Amnesty claimed. "If every one of the wealthiest countries in the world were to take in refugees in proportion to their size, wealth and unemployment rate, finding a home for more of the world's refugees would be an eminently solvable challenge," said Shetty. (AFP)

Ten countries host half of world's refugees: Amnesty International

&nbsp;

Amnesty International today accused Sudan&#39;s government of human rights violations and chemical attacks in Darfur.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

&quot;An Amnesty International investigation has gathered horrific evidence of the repeated use of what are believed to be chemical weapons against civilians, including very young children, by Sudanese government forces in one of the most remote regions of Darfur over the past eight months,&quot; Amnesty said in an official statement.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

&quot;Between 200 and 250 people may have died as a result of exposure to the chemical weapons agents, with many or most being children,&quot; the report states according to AFP.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Tirana Hassan, the organisation&#39;s crisis director said 32 villages are affected in Jebel Marra. Bombs and rockets containing chemicals were dropped on villages. &nbsp;&quot;Many photos show young children covered in lesions and blisters. Some were unable to breath and vomiting blood,&quot; Hassan said.

&nbsp;

She added that&nbsp;&quot;horrific burns and skin reactions to the agents... and some of the first responders and caregivers have told us that even when they touch the skin, it actually falls off in large chunks.&quot;

 
In a video posted by Amnesty, chemical weapons expert Jennifer Knaack said that symptoms differed suggesting various chemicals were used. &nbsp;

&nbsp;

The victims were exposed to vesicants, or blister agents, such as sulfur mustard, lewisite or nitrogen mustard, experts said. Within minutes of coming in contact with the chemicals people experienced dizziness, vomiting and skin problems.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

&quot;When (the bomb) fell there were some flames and then dark smoke,&quot; AFP quoted a woman saying whose baby was affected in the attack.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

She said the bombing had caused vomiting, dizziness, skin problems and headaches.

&nbsp;

&quot;The baby is not recovering ... he is swollen ... he has blisters and wounds.&quot;

&nbsp;

Human rights violations

Amnesty drafted a letter to the UN Human Rights Council on September 7, which states:&nbsp;&quot; Civilians in South Darfur and particularly Jebel Marra continue to face attacks and abuses in 2016 by the 
RSF (Rapid Support Forces) in &quot;Operation Decisive Summer&quot; offensives.&nbsp;In January 2016, the Sudanese government renewed aerial bombardments and ground attacks on presumed rebel locations.&quot;

&nbsp;

During the RSF operations, civilians were raped, killed, beaten and their homes were burnt, according to the rights group.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

The government is not allowing humanitarian aid from reaching the affected villages, the report concluded.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

The international organisation says the attack was targeting the rebel Sudan Liberation Army, which is led by Abdul Wahid (SLA/AW).&nbsp;

&nbsp;

The fight between the Sudanese government and the rebel forces have been going on for the past 13 years, which has killed 300,000 people and 2.5 million displaced, according to the UN.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

(WION with inputs from AFP)

Amnesty's report states that more than 200 people have been killed in the chemical attacks and majority are children

Amnesty International today accused Sudan's government of human rights violations and chemical attacks in Darfur. "An Amnesty International investigation has gathered horrific evidence of the repeated use of what are believed to be chemical weapons against civilians, including very young children, by Sudanese government forces in one of the most remote regions of Darfur over the past eight months," Amnesty said in an official statement. "Between 200 and 250 people may have died as a result of exposure to the chemical weapons agents, with many or most being children," the report states according to AFP. Tirana Hassan, the organisation's crisis director said 32 villages are affected in Jebel Marra. Bombs and rockets containing chemicals were dropped on villages. "Many photos show young children covered in lesions and blisters. Some were unable to breath and vomiting blood," Hassan said. She added that "horrific burns and skin reactions to the agents... and some of the first responders and caregivers have told us that even when they touch the skin, it actually falls off in large chunks." In a video posted by Amnesty, chemical weapons expert Jennifer Knaack said that symptoms differed suggesting various chemicals were used. The victims were exposed to vesicants, or blister agents, such as sulfur mustard, lewisite or nitrogen mustard, experts said. Within minutes of coming in contact with the chemicals people experienced dizziness, vomiting and skin problems. "When (the bomb) fell there were some flames and then dark smoke," AFP quoted a woman saying whose baby was affected in the attack. She said the bombing had caused vomiting, dizziness, skin problems and headaches. "The baby is not recovering ... he is swollen ... he has blisters and wounds." Human rights violations Amnesty drafted a letter to the UN Human Rights Council on September 7, which states: " Civilians in South Darfur and particularly Jebel Marra continue to face attacks and abuses in 2016 by the RSF (Rapid Support Forces) in "Operation Decisive Summer" offensives. In January 2016, the Sudanese government renewed aerial bombardments and ground attacks on presumed rebel locations." During the RSF operations, civilians were raped, killed, beaten and their homes were burnt, according to the rights group. The government is not allowing humanitarian aid from reaching the affected villages, the report concluded. The international organisation says the attack was targeting the rebel Sudan Liberation Army, which is led by Abdul Wahid (SLA/AW). The fight between the Sudanese government and the rebel forces have been going on for the past 13 years, which has killed 300,000 people and 2.5 million displaced, according to the UN. (WION with inputs from AFP)

Amnesty International accuses Sudan of chemical attacks in Darfur

Thailand&#39;s military government on Wednesday barred human rights group Amnesty International (AI) from holding a news conference about&nbsp;the release of a report&nbsp;alleging&nbsp;that&nbsp;Thai soldiers and police committed&nbsp;torture.

The group said it had documented 74 cases of&nbsp;torture perpetrated by&nbsp;Thailand&#39;s military government. Two of the organisation&#39;s staff were scheduled to speak at the launch of the report in Bangkok today, but were denied on legal grounds,&nbsp;AI spokesman Omar Waraich told AFP.&nbsp;

&quot;The authorities said to us that...if any representatives from Amnesty International spoke at the event, they would be in violation of Thailand&#39;s labour laws,&quot; he said. &quot;They did not specify further,&quot; he added.

Amnesty International has accused the junta, which took power in the Southeast Asian country in a coup in 2014, of carrying out a &quot;culture of torture&quot;.

The government bars people from holding political rallies and protests and has detained dozens for criticising the regime. Since the coup, soldiers and police have been dispatched in large numbers to clamp down on free speech&nbsp;at events featuring political debates and human rights issues.&nbsp;

&quot;Torture is taking place, it&#39;s taking place by the army, by the police, and that&#39;s what the report documented,&quot; Waracih told AFP, adding that finding ways to prevent the oppressive climate from flourishing was &quot;difficult&quot;.&nbsp;

Earlier this year, the authorities slapped defamation charges&nbsp;on three rights activists for publishing a report on torture in Thailand&#39;s insurgency-hit south.&nbsp;

(WION with inputs from AFP)

The human rights group was supposed to release a report on 74 cases of torture committed by Thai soldiers and police today

Thailand's military government on Wednesday barred human rights group Amnesty International (AI) from holding a news conference about the release of a report alleging that Thai soldiers and police committed torture. The group said it had documented 74 cases of torture perpetrated by Thailand's military government. Two of the organisation's staff were scheduled to speak at the launch of the report in Bangkok today, but were denied on legal grounds, AI spokesman Omar Waraich told AFP. "The authorities said to us that...if any representatives from Amnesty International spoke at the event, they would be in violation of Thailand's labour laws," he said. "They did not specify further," he added. Amnesty International has accused the junta, which took power in the Southeast Asian country in a coup in 2014, of carrying out a "culture of torture". The government bars people from holding political rallies and protests and has detained dozens for criticising the regime. Since the coup, soldiers and police have been dispatched in large numbers to clamp down on free speech at events featuring political debates and human rights issues. "Torture is taking place, it's taking place by the army, by the police, and that's what the report documented," Waracih told AFP, adding that finding ways to prevent the oppressive climate from flourishing was "difficult". Earlier this year, the authorities slapped defamation charges on three rights activists for publishing a report on torture in Thailand's insurgency-hit south. (WION with inputs from AFP)

Thailand's military government bans Amnesty International talk alleging torture

About 75,000 Syrian refugees have not been getting humanitarian aid for two months in the area at the&nbsp;border with Jordan, international human rights organisation Amnesty International said in a report on Thursday. 
 
Humanitarian assistance to the Berm, the Moroccan wall of Western Sahara, halted completely when Jordan sealed the Rukban and Hadalat border crossings with Syria after seven border guards were killed in an attack in June, said the Amnesty International.&nbsp; 
 
Only one food delivery was made in August for 75,000 refugees living in an informal camp.&nbsp;Video footage and satellite images have shown refugees makeshift grave sites&nbsp;inside a desert no man&rsquo;s land between Jordan and Syria. 
 
&quot;The humanitarian situation is very bad. The situation of children, in particular, is very bad. We have drinking water but hardly any food or milk &hellip; [it] is awful,&quot; Abu Mohamed, a refugee, told Amnesty. Abu has been living in &nbsp;the camp in Rukban for five months. 
 
&ldquo;Many people have died&hellip; They distributed just rice and lentils and a kilo of dried dates, but that was all for a whole month, they gave us nothing but that. The mood among the people in Rukban is below zero,&quot; he added.&nbsp; 
 
Poor hygiene and sanitary conditions have added to the misery by leading to an outbreak of hepatitis which has claimed 19 lives so far.&nbsp; 
 
Aid workers have also reported that at least nine childbirth-related deaths took place since 21 June.&nbsp; 
 
Security concerns&nbsp; 
 
Jordan&rsquo;s minister of state for media affairs Mohammed al-Momani told the rights group that the border was closed due to &#39;security concerns&#39;, which also halted humanitarian operations at the berm.&nbsp; 
 
&ldquo;The area around the Berm is becoming a Daesh enclave,&rdquo; he told the UK-based group.&nbsp; 
 
Al-Momani said Jordan is lending help and has also called on the United Nations to do their bit for the refugees. 
&nbsp; 
According to the human rights group, the UN is negotiating plans with the Jordan to allow humanitarian operations to resume by shifting the distribution points some 2 km into the no man&#39;s land area, 
&nbsp; 
&ldquo;There is no question that security is an important consideration, but protecting people in Jordan should not come at the expense of providing humanitarian assistance and protection to those desperately in need,&rdquo; said Tirana Hassan, crisis response director at Amnesty International.&nbsp; 
 
Jordan carries out rigorous screening and registration processes prior to allowing refugees in their country. &nbsp;The authorities can use these processes again to open their doors to refugees fleeing the conflict in Syria, while keeping security measures in check.&nbsp; 
 
&ldquo;Whether aid is distributed at the berm&rsquo;s edge or 2km away does not change the fact that there are tens of thousands of people seeking international protection on Jordan&rsquo;s doorstep, nor does it absolve the authorities&rsquo; obligation to offer a safe haven to those fleeing conflict and persecution,&rdquo; said Tirana Hassan. 
 
&ldquo;Directly or indirectly forcing refugees to return to Syria by refusing access and imposing intolerable living conditions on them is a flagrant violation of Jordan&rsquo;s international obligations. The authorities must allow unfettered humanitarian access to refugees who are trapped,&rdquo; she said. 
&nbsp;&nbsp; 
At the Rukban refugee camp, the overall number of shelters rose from&nbsp;368 a year ago to 6,563 in late July 2016, and most recently increased to 8,295 in September 2016, according to the report.&nbsp; 
 
(WION)

Only one food delivery was made for refugees in August. An outbreak of hepatitis has claimed 19 lives so far

About 75,000 Syrian refugees have not been getting humanitarian aid for two months in the area at the border with Jordan, international human rights organisation Amnesty International said in a report on Thursday. Humanitarian assistance to the Berm, the Moroccan wall of Western Sahara, halted completely when Jordan sealed the Rukban and Hadalat border crossings with Syria after seven border guards were killed in an attack in June, said the Amnesty International. Only one food delivery was made in August for 75,000 refugees living in an informal camp. Video footage and satellite images have shown refugees makeshift grave sites inside a desert no man’s land between Jordan and Syria. "The humanitarian situation is very bad. The situation of children, in particular, is very bad. We have drinking water but hardly any food or milk … [it] is awful," Abu Mohamed, a refugee, told Amnesty. Abu has been living in the camp in Rukban for five months. “Many people have died… They distributed just rice and lentils and a kilo of dried dates, but that was all for a whole month, they gave us nothing but that. The mood among the people in Rukban is below zero," he added. Poor hygiene and sanitary conditions have added to the misery by leading to an outbreak of hepatitis which has claimed 19 lives so far. Aid workers have also reported that at least nine childbirth-related deaths took place since 21 June. Security concerns Jordan’s minister of state for media affairs Mohammed al-Momani told the rights group that the border was closed due to 'security concerns', which also halted humanitarian operations at the berm. “The area around the Berm is becoming a Daesh enclave,” he told the UK-based group. Al-Momani said Jordan is lending help and has also called on the United Nations to do their bit for the refugees. According to the human rights group, the UN is negotiating plans with the Jordan to allow humanitarian operations to resume by shifting the distribution points some 2 km into the no man's land area, “There is no question that security is an important consideration, but protecting people in Jordan should not come at the expense of providing humanitarian assistance and protection to those desperately in need,” said Tirana Hassan, crisis response director at Amnesty International. Jordan carries out rigorous screening and registration processes prior to allowing refugees in their country. The authorities can use these processes again to open their doors to refugees fleeing the conflict in Syria, while keeping security measures in check. “Whether aid is distributed at the berm’s edge or 2km away does not change the fact that there are tens of thousands of people seeking international protection on Jordan’s doorstep, nor does it absolve the authorities’ obligation to offer a safe haven to those fleeing conflict and persecution,” said Tirana Hassan. “Directly or indirectly forcing refugees to return to Syria by refusing access and imposing intolerable living conditions on them is a flagrant violation of Jordan’s international obligations. The authorities must allow unfettered humanitarian access to refugees who are trapped,” she said. At the Rukban refugee camp, the overall number of shelters rose from 368 a year ago to 6,563 in late July 2016, and most recently increased to 8,295 in September 2016, according to the report. (WION)

75,000 refugees trapped on Jordan-Syria border with no humanitarian aid: Amnesty

As he met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani lashed out at Pakistan for its extremely &ldquo;shortsighted&rdquo; approach for dealing with terrorism in his address at the Institute of Defence and Analyses in Delhi.&nbsp; 
 
He also said that &ldquo;Pakistan celebrates every single of its defeat as victory and every single one of its intelligence failure as a confirmation of conspiracy theory&rdquo;. 
 
&ldquo;They agreed that this phenomenon presented the single biggest threat to peace, stability and progress in the region and beyond,&quot; a joint statement said without naming Pakistan, a nation that both countries accuse of sponsoring terror. 
 
The Afghan President added that countries that feel threatened by increasing cooperation between India and Afghanistan &ldquo;need to change their outlook and not blame others&rdquo;. 
 
He emphasised on the need to put an end to terrorism for achieving political aims and condemned Pakistan&#39;s myopic stance on &ldquo;good terrorists and bad terrorists&rdquo;.&nbsp; 
 
&ldquo;&quot;We see that there is a distinction between good and bad terrorists. Good terrorists are the ones that attack your neighbours, bad terrorists are the ones who attack you. This type of approach is enormously shortsighted. The blowback phenomenon is going to be bad. Terrorism will bite, like a snake, who feeds it,&rdquo; he said. 
 
Ghani stressed on the need for regional cooperation to fight terrorists and said one country&#39;s response is &quot;totally insufficient&quot;. 
 
Asked about Pakistan blocking road route to Afghanistan via the Wagah border, Ghani said both countries need to worry as there is air connectivity and efforts are on to increase that. 
 
However, he said those who try to block two great nations, will be blocked themselves. 
 
Told that they are reports that he had warned Pakistan that their export to central Asian countries through Afghanistan will be blocked, Ghani said he speaks sternly. 
 
(WION with inputs from PTI)

Edward Snowden, charged with espionage and theft of government property after leaking sensitive documents, has been living in exile

As he met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani lashed out at Pakistan for its extremely “shortsighted” approach for dealing with terrorism in his address at the Institute of Defence and Analyses in Delhi. He also said that “Pakistan celebrates every single of its defeat as victory and every single one of its intelligence failure as a confirmation of conspiracy theory”. “They agreed that this phenomenon presented the single biggest threat to peace, stability and progress in the region and beyond," a joint statement said without naming Pakistan, a nation that both countries accuse of sponsoring terror. The Afghan President added that countries that feel threatened by increasing cooperation between India and Afghanistan “need to change their outlook and not blame others”. He emphasised on the need to put an end to terrorism for achieving political aims and condemned Pakistan's myopic stance on “good terrorists and bad terrorists”. “"We see that there is a distinction between good and bad terrorists. Good terrorists are the ones that attack your neighbours, bad terrorists are the ones who attack you. This type of approach is enormously shortsighted. The blowback phenomenon is going to be bad. Terrorism will bite, like a snake, who feeds it,” he said. Ghani stressed on the need for regional cooperation to fight terrorists and said one country's response is "totally insufficient". Asked about Pakistan blocking road route to Afghanistan via the Wagah border, Ghani said both countries need to worry as there is air connectivity and efforts are on to increase that. However, he said those who try to block two great nations, will be blocked themselves. Told that they are reports that he had warned Pakistan that their export to central Asian countries through Afghanistan will be blocked, Ghani said he speaks sternly. (WION with inputs from PTI)

White House says Snowden's leaks 'endangered national security', right groups appeal for pardon?

Amnesty International today condemned the hanging in Iraq of 36 men convicted of a mass killing of soldiers, saying some of their confessions were extorted under threats and torture. 
 
The watchdog called on the Iraqi authorities to establish a moratorium on executions and to hold &quot;fair and transparent&quot; trials for those accused of involvement in the massacre. The hangings were carried out yesterday, at a prison in southern Iraq, state television said. 
 
Those executed were convicted in the deaths of as many as 1,700 soldiers, mostly Shi&#39;ites, two years ago. The soldiers were killed after they fled from Camp Speicher, a former US military base just north of Saddam Hussein&#39;s home town of Tikrit, when it was overrun by Islamic State, the ultra-hardline Sunni group, in 2014. 
 
US-backed Iraqi government forces and Iranian-supported Shi&#39;ite militias recaptured the region last year. 
 
&quot;One of the men executed &#39;confessed&#39; to killing 60 cadets at Speicher after receiving threats that his wife and sisters would be raped. He was also beaten with cables and given electric shocks,&quot; Amnesty said. 
 
&quot;Even though he recanted this &#39;confession&#39; in court, according to lawyers, it was used to justify its verdict&quot;. 
 
The government came under increased pressure from local Shi&#39;ite politicians to execute militants sentenced to death after a massive bombing that targeted a shopping street in Baghdad on July 3, killing at least 324 people. 
 
Claimed by Islamic State, the truck bomb that blew up in the Karrada district was the deadliest since the US-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003. 
 
Justice minister Haidar al-Zamili on Sunday expected more executions to be carried out, dismissing UN and human rights groups concern over the fairness of the trials.&nbsp; 
 
(Reuters)

The watchdog called on Iraqi authorities to hold 'fair and transparent' trials for those accused of a mass killing of soldiers

Amnesty International today condemned the hanging in Iraq of 36 men convicted of a mass killing of soldiers, saying some of their confessions were extorted under threats and torture. The watchdog called on the Iraqi authorities to establish a moratorium on executions and to hold "fair and transparent" trials for those accused of involvement in the massacre. The hangings were carried out yesterday, at a prison in southern Iraq, state television said. Those executed were convicted in the deaths of as many as 1,700 soldiers, mostly Shi'ites, two years ago. The soldiers were killed after they fled from Camp Speicher, a former US military base just north of Saddam Hussein's home town of Tikrit, when it was overrun by Islamic State, the ultra-hardline Sunni group, in 2014. US-backed Iraqi government forces and Iranian-supported Shi'ite militias recaptured the region last year. "One of the men executed 'confessed' to killing 60 cadets at Speicher after receiving threats that his wife and sisters would be raped. He was also beaten with cables and given electric shocks," Amnesty said. "Even though he recanted this 'confession' in court, according to lawyers, it was used to justify its verdict". The government came under increased pressure from local Shi'ite politicians to execute militants sentenced to death after a massive bombing that targeted a shopping street in Baghdad on July 3, killing at least 324 people. Claimed by Islamic State, the truck bomb that blew up in the Karrada district was the deadliest since the US-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003. Justice minister Haidar al-Zamili on Sunday expected more executions to be carried out, dismissing UN and human rights groups concern over the fairness of the trials. (Reuters)

Amnesty condemns hanging in Iraq, says confessions were extorted

Thirteen anti-slavery activists in Mauritania were sentenced to between three and 15 years in prison on Thursday, despite criticism of the case against them by international rights groups. 
 
A court in the capital Nouakchott found the 13 members of a group fighting hereditary slavery in the west African country guilty of &quot;use of violence&quot;, but rights group Amnesty International has said they were falsely accused because of their advocacy work. 
 
The thirteen activists claim they were tortured in prison in the run-up to the court case and lawyers for the group denounced Thursday&#39;s verdict as &quot;a travesty of justice&quot;. 
 
They were arrested between June 30 and July 9 after a protest by a Nouakchott slum community that was being forcibly relocated as the city prepared for an Arab League summit on July 25. 
 
The slum was home to many so-called Haratin -- a &quot;slave caste&quot; under a hereditary system of servitude whose members are forced to work without pay as cattle herders and domestic servants, despite an official ban. 
 
(AFP)&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

Rights group Amnesty International has said they were falsely accused because of their advocacy work

Thirteen anti-slavery activists in Mauritania were sentenced to between three and 15 years in prison on Thursday, despite criticism of the case against them by international rights groups. A court in the capital Nouakchott found the 13 members of a group fighting hereditary slavery in the west African country guilty of "use of violence", but rights group Amnesty International has said they were falsely accused because of their advocacy work. The thirteen activists claim they were tortured in prison in the run-up to the court case and lawyers for the group denounced Thursday's verdict as "a travesty of justice". They were arrested between June 30 and July 9 after a protest by a Nouakchott slum community that was being forcibly relocated as the city prepared for an Arab League summit on July 25. The slum was home to many so-called Haratin -- a "slave caste" under a hereditary system of servitude whose members are forced to work without pay as cattle herders and domestic servants, despite an official ban. (AFP)

13 anti-slavery activists sentenced in Mauritania

Iran has executed a group of 20 &quot;terrorist&quot; Sunni prisoners suspected of attacks on security forces, drawing condemnation from rights groups which said the convictions may have been based on forced confessions. 
 
State news agency IRNA said members of the Tawhid and Jihad group were executed on Tuesday, but did not give a figure. Rights groups said between 10 and 20 people were killed. 
 
They were convicted of killing two Sunni Muslim clerics, several police and wildlife guards, abducting a number of people and carrying out armed robbery and bombings in Western Iran, IRNA said. 
 
Iranian state television broadcast what it said were the confessions of some members of the Sunni Muslim group, in which they said they targeted both Shi&#39;ite and Sunni clerics whose ideologies they regarded as heresy. 
 
Iran&#39;s seven million Kurds make up around 10 per cent of the population. Most live in Kurdistan and other northwestern provinces on the border with Iraq. Many Kurds seek greater rights for their region. 
 
The area has seen increased clashes between kurdish militants and government security forces in recent months. 
 
Iran&#39;s intelligence ministry said in a statement carried by IRNA that more than 100 members of the Tawhid and Jihad &quot;terrorist&quot; group had been identified, many of whom had been arrested or killed in clashes since 2011. 
 
The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, an independent organisation based in New York, said 20 prisoners had been hanged. It said Iran&#39;s Supreme Court had rejected the appeal of one of the convicts, Shahram Ahmadi, against his death sentence despite assertions his confession was made under torture. 
 
Human Rights Watch condemned Iran for what it said was the &quot;mass execution of at least 10 prisoners&quot;. Sarah Leah Whitson, HRW&#39;s middle east and north africa director, said Iran had executed at least 230 people in 2016. 
 
Iran is one of the world&#39;s top executioners, international rights groups say. Amnesty International said Iran executed at least 977 people in 2015. 
 
Iran rejects international criticism of its rights record as politically motivated. 
 
Iran&#39;s judiciary said the latest cases had been under deliberation for more than six years to make sure all aspects were investigated and the rights of the accused protected. 
 
(Reuters)

Rights groups say the figure could be as high as 20 and that the convictions may have been based on forced confessions

Iran has executed a group of 20 "terrorist" Sunni prisoners suspected of attacks on security forces, drawing condemnation from rights groups which said the convictions may have been based on forced confessions. State news agency IRNA said members of the Tawhid and Jihad group were executed on Tuesday, but did not give a figure. Rights groups said between 10 and 20 people were killed. They were convicted of killing two Sunni Muslim clerics, several police and wildlife guards, abducting a number of people and carrying out armed robbery and bombings in Western Iran, IRNA said. Iranian state television broadcast what it said were the confessions of some members of the Sunni Muslim group, in which they said they targeted both Shi'ite and Sunni clerics whose ideologies they regarded as heresy. Iran's seven million Kurds make up around 10 per cent of the population. Most live in Kurdistan and other northwestern provinces on the border with Iraq. Many Kurds seek greater rights for their region. The area has seen increased clashes between kurdish militants and government security forces in recent months. Iran's intelligence ministry said in a statement carried by IRNA that more than 100 members of the Tawhid and Jihad "terrorist" group had been identified, many of whom had been arrested or killed in clashes since 2011. The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, an independent organisation based in New York, said 20 prisoners had been hanged. It said Iran's Supreme Court had rejected the appeal of one of the convicts, Shahram Ahmadi, against his death sentence despite assertions his confession was made under torture. Human Rights Watch condemned Iran for what it said was the "mass execution of at least 10 prisoners". Sarah Leah Whitson, HRW's middle east and north africa director, said Iran had executed at least 230 people in 2016. Iran is one of the world's top executioners, international rights groups say. Amnesty International said Iran executed at least 977 people in 2015. Iran rejects international criticism of its rights record as politically motivated. Iran's judiciary said the latest cases had been under deliberation for more than six years to make sure all aspects were investigated and the rights of the accused protected. (Reuters)

Iran executes at least 10 Sunni 'terrorists' in 1 day

Australia is deliberately failing to combat the abuse of asylum-seekers on the Pacific island of Nauru to deter others from arriving by boat, two global human rights groups said Wednesday.&nbsp; 
 
The report by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch (HRW) is a scathing criticism of Canberra&#39;s immigration policy under which asylum-seekers trying to reach Australia by boat are taken to Papua New Guinea or Nauru.&nbsp; 
 
The government, which said today it rejects the report&#39;s allegations, has a policy of refusing asylum-seekers settlement in Australia and keeping them in the Pacific islands or returning them home, even if they are refugees.&nbsp; 
 
&#39;Deliberate policy to deter asylum-seekers&#39;&nbsp; 
 
In the latest criticism of the Canberra&#39;s controversial stance, Amnesty and HRW said asylum-seekers and refugees on Nauru suffered &quot;severe abuse, inhumane treatment, and neglect&quot;.&nbsp; 
 
The government&#39;s &quot;failure to address serious abuses appears to be a deliberate policy to deter further asylum-seekers from arriving in the country by boat&quot;, it added.&nbsp; 
 
Doctors, lawyers and refugee advocates have previously criticised the offshore settlement, with allegations that some asylum-seekers suffered sexual abuse and mental health problems while in the camp.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;Driving adult and even child refugees to the breaking point with sustained abuse appears to be one of Australia&#39;s aims on Nauru,&quot; said HRW&#39;s Michael Bochenek, one of the two researchers who went to Nauru last month to interview 84 asylum-seekers and refugees.&nbsp; 
 
Those interviewed, who came from nations including Iran, Iraq, Somalia and Afghanistan, told the rights groups they had developed severe anxiety, an inability to sleep, mood swings, prolonged depression and short-term memory loss, while describing conditions as &quot;prison-like&quot;.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;People here don&#39;t have a real life. We are just surviving. We are dead souls in living bodies. We are just husks. We don&#39;t have any hope or motivation,&quot; one woman said.&nbsp; 
 
Australia refutes allegations&nbsp; 
 
Australia said Amnesty did not consult with the immigration department about the investigation, with a spokesman adding that the &quot;department strongly refutes many of the allegations in the report&quot;. 
 
 
Conditions &#39;abhorrent&#39;&nbsp; 
 
Asylum-seekers on Nauru have been free to roam around the tiny nation since last year, no longer forced to stay in the detention centre.&nbsp; 
 
But the researchers said conditions outside the centre were &quot;abhorrent&quot;, with reports that asylum-seekers were beaten, robbed and harassed by some members of the local community. Despite criticism of its immigration policy, Australia&#39;s conservative government has strongly defended it, saying it has halted the spate of boat arrivals, and drownings, of earlier years.&nbsp; 
 
But refugee advocates and journalists say a veil of secrecy has been drawn around the processing centres in Papua New Guinea and Nauru, with only a handful of them gaining access to the camp in recent years.&nbsp; 
 
Some 442 asylum-seekers are being held in Nauru, and another 854 on Manus Island, according to immigration department data ending June 30. But PNG has said that its camp on Manus will close after its Supreme Court found that detaining people at the centre was unconstitutional and illegal.&nbsp; 
 
PNG&#39;s Supreme Court has now ordered Canberra to present a resettlement plan for asylum-seekers held on Manus Island by Thursday, including options about where else they could go if they did not want to remain in the Pacific nation, a lawyer for the detainees, Ben Lomai, told AFP.&nbsp; 
 
(AFP)&nbsp;

The government's 'failure to address serious abuses appears to be a deliberate policy to deter further asylum-seekers from arriving by boat'

Australia is deliberately failing to combat the abuse of asylum-seekers on the Pacific island of Nauru to deter others from arriving by boat, two global human rights groups said Wednesday. The report by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch (HRW) is a scathing criticism of Canberra's immigration policy under which asylum-seekers trying to reach Australia by boat are taken to Papua New Guinea or Nauru. The government, which said today it rejects the report's allegations, has a policy of refusing asylum-seekers settlement in Australia and keeping them in the Pacific islands or returning them home, even if they are refugees. 'Deliberate policy to deter asylum-seekers' In the latest criticism of the Canberra's controversial stance, Amnesty and HRW said asylum-seekers and refugees on Nauru suffered "severe abuse, inhumane treatment, and neglect". The government's "failure to address serious abuses appears to be a deliberate policy to deter further asylum-seekers from arriving in the country by boat", it added. Doctors, lawyers and refugee advocates have previously criticised the offshore settlement, with allegations that some asylum-seekers suffered sexual abuse and mental health problems while in the camp. "Driving adult and even child refugees to the breaking point with sustained abuse appears to be one of Australia's aims on Nauru," said HRW's Michael Bochenek, one of the two researchers who went to Nauru last month to interview 84 asylum-seekers and refugees. Those interviewed, who came from nations including Iran, Iraq, Somalia and Afghanistan, told the rights groups they had developed severe anxiety, an inability to sleep, mood swings, prolonged depression and short-term memory loss, while describing conditions as "prison-like". "People here don't have a real life. We are just surviving. We are dead souls in living bodies. We are just husks. We don't have any hope or motivation," one woman said. Australia refutes allegations Australia said Amnesty did not consult with the immigration department about the investigation, with a spokesman adding that the "department strongly refutes many of the allegations in the report". Conditions 'abhorrent' Asylum-seekers on Nauru have been free to roam around the tiny nation since last year, no longer forced to stay in the detention centre. But the researchers said conditions outside the centre were "abhorrent", with reports that asylum-seekers were beaten, robbed and harassed by some members of the local community. Despite criticism of its immigration policy, Australia's conservative government has strongly defended it, saying it has halted the spate of boat arrivals, and drownings, of earlier years. But refugee advocates and journalists say a veil of secrecy has been drawn around the processing centres in Papua New Guinea and Nauru, with only a handful of them gaining access to the camp in recent years. Some 442 asylum-seekers are being held in Nauru, and another 854 on Manus Island, according to immigration department data ending June 30. But PNG has said that its camp on Manus will close after its Supreme Court found that detaining people at the centre was unconstitutional and illegal. PNG's Supreme Court has now ordered Canberra to present a resettlement plan for asylum-seekers held on Manus Island by Thursday, including options about where else they could go if they did not want to remain in the Pacific nation, a lawyer for the detainees, Ben Lomai, told AFP. (AFP)

Rights groups slam Australia for abuse of asylum-seekers

Indonesia executed four convicted drug traffickers, three of them Nigerians, in the early hours of Friday, leaving the fate of 10 others uncertain. 
 
The Africans and an Indonesian man were shot by firing squad during a thunderstorm shortly after midnight on Nusakambangan Island in&nbsp;Central Java, as the government ignored international calls for clemency and pushed ahead with what it considers a war on drugs. 
 
The attorney general said on Wednesday that 14 prisoners, including citizens of India, Pakistan, and Zimbabwe, would be executed this weekend. 
 
An official said on Friday the planned executions would go ahead &quot;in stages&quot; but declined to give a timeframe. 
 
Security was stepped up at the Indonesian embassy in Nigerian capital Abuja on Thursday as protesters gathered to urge Indonesia to halt the executions. Indian and Pakistani officials said they were making last-minute efforts to save their citizens. 
 
&quot;We considered several factors and decided that for now four death row inmates would be executed,&quot; Noor Rachmad, an official at the attorney general&#39;s office, told reporters shortly after Friday&#39;s executions. 
 
Just over a year ago, Indonesia executed 14 prisoners, mostly foreign drugs offenders, causing diplomatic outrage. 
 
Rights activists and governments have again called on Indonesia to abolish the death penalty. 
 
The death penalty is widely accepted by the Indonesian public, but police on Thursday had to break up a protest outside the prison by members of a migrant workers group who called for mercy for an Indonesian woman who was scheduled to be executed. 
 
Around 152 people remain on death row in the country, including convicted drug traffickers from the Philippines, France and Britain. 
 
Authorities plan to execute 16 prisoners this year and more than double that number in 2017. 
 
(Reuters) 
&nbsp;

The fate of remaining 10 drug convicts expected to face the firing squad still uncertain

Indonesia executed four convicted drug traffickers, three of them Nigerians, in the early hours of Friday, leaving the fate of 10 others uncertain. The Africans and an Indonesian man were shot by firing squad during a thunderstorm shortly after midnight on Nusakambangan Island in Central Java, as the government ignored international calls for clemency and pushed ahead with what it considers a war on drugs. The attorney general said on Wednesday that 14 prisoners, including citizens of India, Pakistan, and Zimbabwe, would be executed this weekend. An official said on Friday the planned executions would go ahead "in stages" but declined to give a timeframe. Security was stepped up at the Indonesian embassy in Nigerian capital Abuja on Thursday as protesters gathered to urge Indonesia to halt the executions. Indian and Pakistani officials said they were making last-minute efforts to save their citizens. "We considered several factors and decided that for now four death row inmates would be executed," Noor Rachmad, an official at the attorney general's office, told reporters shortly after Friday's executions. Just over a year ago, Indonesia executed 14 prisoners, mostly foreign drugs offenders, causing diplomatic outrage. Rights activists and governments have again called on Indonesia to abolish the death penalty. The death penalty is widely accepted by the Indonesian public, but police on Thursday had to break up a protest outside the prison by members of a migrant workers group who called for mercy for an Indonesian woman who was scheduled to be executed. Around 152 people remain on death row in the country, including convicted drug traffickers from the Philippines, France and Britain. Authorities plan to execute 16 prisoners this year and more than double that number in 2017. (Reuters)

Indonesia executes one local, 3 Nigerian drug convicts

India plans to reconsider the use of pellet guns by security forces when controlling crowds, its home minister said on Thursday, after widespread resort to the weapons caused multiple casualties and stirred public anger. 
 
Home minister Rajnath Singh told lawmakers the government would set up a panel to look for an alternative to the pellet gun in response to questions about responses to a recent surge of violence in the Kashmir region. 
 
Dr Kaisar Ahmad, principal of Government Medical College Srinagar, said that over 280 had been treated for pellet injuries since July 9 when violence broke out in Kashmir during protests sparked by the death of a separatist militant. 
 
In his talk with lawmakers, Singh said one person had been killed from pellet shots in the most recent violence in India&#39;s northern state of Jammu and Kashmir, bringing the total number of deaths from the weapon there to seven since 2010. 
 
In addition, 53 had suffered eye injuries in the past six years, Singh said. &quot;It is a fact that people were injured by the use of non-lethal weapons,&quot; Singh told lawmakers. 
 
&quot;We will form an expert committee on this that will give its report in two months so that such incidents are not repeated in future.&quot; 
 
Amnesty International this week asked the Indian government to prohibit the use of pellet-firing shotguns during street demonstrations, saying that police should look for &quot;less harmful&quot; devices. 
 
Though meant to be a non-lethal weapon, a senior police officer said that security forces are often forced to use pellet guns at close range to protect themselves against mob attacks. 
 
Insha Malik, a 15-year-old student, was hit in her eyes by pellets when she was watching protests from the window of her house in the South Kashmiri town of Shopian. Her father, Mushtaq Ahmad, says she will never regain her eyesight again. 
 
&quot;She often asks me about her regaining her eyesight. I tell her a lie (to console her) that she will, but it will take time,&quot; he said. 
 
(Reuters)

Pellet shots caused severe injuries and one death in the recent Jammu and Kashmir violence, attracting criticism from many quarters

India plans to reconsider the use of pellet guns by security forces when controlling crowds, its home minister said on Thursday, after widespread resort to the weapons caused multiple casualties and stirred public anger. Home minister Rajnath Singh told lawmakers the government would set up a panel to look for an alternative to the pellet gun in response to questions about responses to a recent surge of violence in the Kashmir region. Dr Kaisar Ahmad, principal of Government Medical College Srinagar, said that over 280 had been treated for pellet injuries since July 9 when violence broke out in Kashmir during protests sparked by the death of a separatist militant. In his talk with lawmakers, Singh said one person had been killed from pellet shots in the most recent violence in India's northern state of Jammu and Kashmir, bringing the total number of deaths from the weapon there to seven since 2010. In addition, 53 had suffered eye injuries in the past six years, Singh said. "It is a fact that people were injured by the use of non-lethal weapons," Singh told lawmakers. "We will form an expert committee on this that will give its report in two months so that such incidents are not repeated in future." Amnesty International this week asked the Indian government to prohibit the use of pellet-firing shotguns during street demonstrations, saying that police should look for "less harmful" devices. Though meant to be a non-lethal weapon, a senior police officer said that security forces are often forced to use pellet guns at close range to protect themselves against mob attacks. Insha Malik, a 15-year-old student, was hit in her eyes by pellets when she was watching protests from the window of her house in the South Kashmiri town of Shopian. Her father, Mushtaq Ahmad, says she will never regain her eyesight again. "She often asks me about her regaining her eyesight. I tell her a lie (to console her) that she will, but it will take time," he said. (Reuters)

India to consider alternatives to pellet gun, says home minister Rajnath Singh

An amateur video shot by a resident of Mong Yaw village in Northern Shan State of Myanmar, shows a bloody path above a cornfield, where several bodies were exhumed from a mass grave. 
 
Witnesses said that soldiers entered the village of Mong Yaw on June 25 and rounded up dozens of men. 
 
Five were led away, never to be seen alive again. Two other men, brothers, were shot while trying to escape on a motorbike and their bodies found in a ditch, villagers said. 
 
&quot;I think Burmese soldiers killed my husband, as they are the people who arrested him in the first place,&quot; said 18-year-old Aye Lu, wife of one of the five missing men, 23-year-old Aik Sai. 
 
&quot;We even went to their (military) office and asked about my husband. They said they already released him. But he has not arrived home yet,&quot; said Aye Lu. 
 
For another local family, a similar story. 
 
22 year-old Sai Mong Tan was weeding a cornfield with his 17-year-old brother, Sai Shwe Lu, when the soldiers arrived.&nbsp;The military later said they had come under attack from rebels in the area, although local activists said there had been no insurgent activity. 
 
The brothers were marched to a nearby road, where dozens more soldiers had detained about a hundred people, and were forced to squat with their hands behind their heads.&nbsp;The soldiers beat and interrogated the men, demanding to know if anyone had spotted insurgents in the area, said Sai Mong Tan.&nbsp;He then watched as soldiers tied up his younger brother and the four other victims and led them away. 
 
Reuters could not independently confirm this account, although it matched the version of events described by other villagers, local officials and rights activists. 
 
Sai Mong Tan believes his brother was singled out because he didn&#39;t speak Burmese and couldn&#39;t answer the soldiers&#39; questions. 
 
Myanmar&#39;s armed forces have often been accused of abuses by human rights groups and Western governments during decades of conflict with ethnic armed separatists in its wild border zones. What is unusual in this case is that the military high command has been taking the allegations seriously. 
 
Major Thein Zaw of the army&#39;s Northeast command said a court martial had begun, although he could not say how many soldiers were on trial or what charges they faced, and local government officials said several soldiers had been arrested. 
 
Villagers say a senior army officer has promised them a full investigation.&nbsp;However, multiple requests by Reuters for comment from the army in the northern city Lashio and the capital Naypyitaw were declined or went unanswered. The military said it would address the issue at a news conference on Wednesday (July 20). 
 
It is extremely rare in Myanmar for soldiers to be held accountable for alleged abuses, or for such allegations to be investigated transparently, rights groups such as Amnesty International say. 
 
The military&#39;s response this time suggests a heightened sensitivity about its image, as it tries to present itself as a responsible partner in Myanmar&#39;s democratic transition and seeks closer ties with its Western counterparts. 
 
Myanmar was a military dictatorship for nearly half a century until a quasi-civilian government of former generals replaced the junta in 2011 and launched a series of political and economic reforms. 
 
Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi was swept into office in April after winning a landslide election last year, but the military still holds immense power.&nbsp;Police and local officials told villagers in Mong Yaw in the days after the late June killings that they couldn&#39;t investigate because the military was already doing so. 
 
Then, on July 3, the region&#39;s vice-commander, Major General Kyaw Kyaw Soe, visited Mong Yaw and promised a full probe, said villagers. He also gave each bereaved family 300,000 Kyat ($250) as a gesture of sympathy, local people said. 
 
General Kyaw Kyaw Soe said some soldiers had been arrested, but gave no further details.&nbsp;A spokesperson from the local Shan Nationalities Democratic Party, Sai Leik, has called for an independent investigation. 
 
&quot;This should not be done by a military investigation alone. It should be a judicial process, they should have only a judicial process which can represent all sectors. The military cannot gain people&#39;s trust if they have the trial in the military court, meaning people cannot know what is happening during the trial,&quot; said Sai Leik 
 
&quot;That&#39;s why I want the independent justice to handle this case. Its judgments are independent, it is elected by the people, and there is no intervention from the government or military,&quot; added Leik. 
 
Most people in Mong Yaw are from the Shan or Palaung ethnic minorities. Soldiers mostly hail from the majority Bamar ethnic group, and often accuse villagers of harbouring insurgents. 
 
Ringed by misty hills, Mong Yaw lies in a remote corner of northern Shan State, a region ravaged by war and poverty. Thousands of people have been displaced by decades of fighting between the military and ethnic insurgents. 
 
(Reuters)

They seem to be taking the allegations seriously, suggesting a heightened sensitivity about its image as it seeks closer ties to the West

An amateur video shot by a resident of Mong Yaw village in Northern Shan State of Myanmar, shows a bloody path above a cornfield, where several bodies were exhumed from a mass grave. Witnesses said that soldiers entered the village of Mong Yaw on June 25 and rounded up dozens of men. Five were led away, never to be seen alive again. Two other men, brothers, were shot while trying to escape on a motorbike and their bodies found in a ditch, villagers said. "I think Burmese soldiers killed my husband, as they are the people who arrested him in the first place," said 18-year-old Aye Lu, wife of one of the five missing men, 23-year-old Aik Sai. "We even went to their (military) office and asked about my husband. They said they already released him. But he has not arrived home yet," said Aye Lu. For another local family, a similar story. 22 year-old Sai Mong Tan was weeding a cornfield with his 17-year-old brother, Sai Shwe Lu, when the soldiers arrived. The military later said they had come under attack from rebels in the area, although local activists said there had been no insurgent activity. The brothers were marched to a nearby road, where dozens more soldiers had detained about a hundred people, and were forced to squat with their hands behind their heads. The soldiers beat and interrogated the men, demanding to know if anyone had spotted insurgents in the area, said Sai Mong Tan. He then watched as soldiers tied up his younger brother and the four other victims and led them away. Reuters could not independently confirm this account, although it matched the version of events described by other villagers, local officials and rights activists. Sai Mong Tan believes his brother was singled out because he didn't speak Burmese and couldn't answer the soldiers' questions. Myanmar's armed forces have often been accused of abuses by human rights groups and Western governments during decades of conflict with ethnic armed separatists in its wild border zones. What is unusual in this case is that the military high command has been taking the allegations seriously. Major Thein Zaw of the army's Northeast command said a court martial had begun, although he could not say how many soldiers were on trial or what charges they faced, and local government officials said several soldiers had been arrested. Villagers say a senior army officer has promised them a full investigation. However, multiple requests by Reuters for comment from the army in the northern city Lashio and the capital Naypyitaw were declined or went unanswered. The military said it would address the issue at a news conference on Wednesday (July 20). It is extremely rare in Myanmar for soldiers to be held accountable for alleged abuses, or for such allegations to be investigated transparently, rights groups such as Amnesty International say. The military's response this time suggests a heightened sensitivity about its image, as it tries to present itself as a responsible partner in Myanmar's democratic transition and seeks closer ties with its Western counterparts. Myanmar was a military dictatorship for nearly half a century until a quasi-civilian government of former generals replaced the junta in 2011 and launched a series of political and economic reforms. Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi was swept into office in April after winning a landslide election last year, but the military still holds immense power. Police and local officials told villagers in Mong Yaw in the days after the late June killings that they couldn't investigate because the military was already doing so. Then, on July 3, the region's vice-commander, Major General Kyaw Kyaw Soe, visited Mong Yaw and promised a full probe, said villagers. He also gave each bereaved family 300,000 Kyat ($250) as a gesture of sympathy, local people said. General Kyaw Kyaw Soe said some soldiers had been arrested, but gave no further details. A spokesperson from the local Shan Nationalities Democratic Party, Sai Leik, has called for an independent investigation. "This should not be done by a military investigation alone. It should be a judicial process, they should have only a judicial process which can represent all sectors. The military cannot gain people's trust if they have the trial in the military court, meaning people cannot know what is happening during the trial," said Sai Leik "That's why I want the independent justice to handle this case. Its judgments are independent, it is elected by the people, and there is no intervention from the government or military," added Leik. Most people in Mong Yaw are from the Shan or Palaung ethnic minorities. Soldiers mostly hail from the majority Bamar ethnic group, and often accuse villagers of harbouring insurgents. Ringed by misty hills, Mong Yaw lies in a remote corner of northern Shan State, a region ravaged by war and poverty. Thousands of people have been displaced by decades of fighting between the military and ethnic insurgents. (Reuters)

Myanmar's military investigates 'war crime' in era of reform

Some 250 people who were arrested and held on suspicion of links to Boko Haram Islamists have been released and given $10, Nigeria&#39;s army said today. 
 
&quot;Yesterday (Sunday), a total of 249 cleared suspected Boko Haram terrorists and accomplices were released as approved by the chief of army staff in Maiduguri,&quot; said army spokesman Sani Usman. 
 
Colonel Usman said in a statement that those released included 169 men, 46 women and 34 children.&nbsp;They were handed over to the Borno state government in northeast Nigeria and told &quot;to remain law-abiding and go about their lawful business&quot;, he added.&nbsp;&quot;Each of them was given a token of N3,000 (naira, $10.40),&quot; he said. 
 
It was not stated how long they were all held in custody. 
 
Most of those held were from Borno, epicentre of the violence that has claimed at least 20,000 lives and made more than 2.6 million homeless since 2009.&nbsp;But one came from Lagos, 1,200 kilometres away in the southwest, and two from neighbouring Cameroon. 
 
Nigeria&#39;s military has been repeatedly criticised for the arbitrary detention of civilians during the seven-year Boko Haram insurgency in the remote region.&nbsp;Human rights groups have accused the army of keeping suspects in overcrowded and unsanitary conditions, and have said many have died from disease, hunger, dehydration and injury. 
 
In May this year, Amnesty International called for one military detention facility in Maiduguri to be shut down after nearly 150 people, among them babies and children, died in custody.&nbsp;Troops have also been accused of carrying out torture and summary executions.&nbsp;Security analysts say arbitrary detention has robbed the military of key on-the-ground intelligence from local people as sweeping arrests have led to hostility and resentment. 
 
In February, 275 detainees were freed, including 50 children. Amnesty said none had been brought before a court or allowed access to lawyers while in detention. 
 
(AFP)

Those released included 169 men, 46 women and 34 children. They were handed over to the Borno state government in northeast Nigeria

Some 250 people who were arrested and held on suspicion of links to Boko Haram Islamists have been released and given $10, Nigeria's army said today. "Yesterday (Sunday), a total of 249 cleared suspected Boko Haram terrorists and accomplices were released as approved by the chief of army staff in Maiduguri," said army spokesman Sani Usman. Colonel Usman said in a statement that those released included 169 men, 46 women and 34 children. They were handed over to the Borno state government in northeast Nigeria and told "to remain law-abiding and go about their lawful business", he added. "Each of them was given a token of N3,000 (naira, $10.40)," he said. It was not stated how long they were all held in custody. Most of those held were from Borno, epicentre of the violence that has claimed at least 20,000 lives and made more than 2.6 million homeless since 2009. But one came from Lagos, 1,200 kilometres away in the southwest, and two from neighbouring Cameroon. Nigeria's military has been repeatedly criticised for the arbitrary detention of civilians during the seven-year Boko Haram insurgency in the remote region. Human rights groups have accused the army of keeping suspects in overcrowded and unsanitary conditions, and have said many have died from disease, hunger, dehydration and injury. In May this year, Amnesty International called for one military detention facility in Maiduguri to be shut down after nearly 150 people, among them babies and children, died in custody. Troops have also been accused of carrying out torture and summary executions. Security analysts say arbitrary detention has robbed the military of key on-the-ground intelligence from local people as sweeping arrests have led to hostility and resentment. In February, 275 detainees were freed, including 50 children. Amnesty said none had been brought before a court or allowed access to lawyers while in detention. (AFP)

Nigerian army releases Boko Haram suspects, gives them $10

After a border official stopped him from leaving Bahrain last week, citing a security order, human rights lawyer Mohammed al-Tajer said he checked with the departments in charge of passports and investigations and was told no travel ban was in place. 
 
The 50-year-old lawyer, who had been planning a short visit to Saudi Arabia, was not surprised. He had joined a growing list of people confined to their country as part of what rights groups describe as an attempt to crush the opposition. 
 
Tajer said some people found out when they headed to the airport last month to fly to Geneva to attend a meeting by the UN Human Rights Council. Others were informed when they tried to cross the King Fahd Causeway to Saudi Arabia last week. 
 
&quot;There are 17 of us -- some of them are not rights activists or well known figures,&quot; Tajer, who has defended prominent Bahraini opposition activists, told Reuters. 
 
19 people prevented from travelling abroad: Human rights group&nbsp; 
 
Amnesty International says at least 19 people, including doctors, lawyers, academics and journalists, have been prevented from travelling abroad in the past month.&nbsp; 
 
Bahrain&#39;s Sunni-led government, mainly drawn from the ruling al-Khalifa family, has been rattled by opposition calls for major reforms, including a cabinet chosen from an elected parliament, and a deep financial crisis that has forced it to cut subsidies and increase basic prices. 
 
The crackdown also follows a deepening diplomatic row between Bahrain`s main Sunni backer, Saudi Arabia, and Shi`ite power Iran. 
 
The rift has grown wider since Iranian demonstrators, angry at the execution of a prominent Shi`ite Muslim cleric in January, ransacked Saudi missions prompting Riyadh and Manama to sever diplomatic ties with Tehran. 
 
Government maintains it does not tolerate human rights violations&nbsp; 
 
Bahraini authorities had no immediate comment on the travel ban in general or on Tajer&#39;s situation. The government says it does not tolerate human rights violations and has established bodies to receive complaints. 
 
Bahrain&#39;s National Institution for Human Rights (NIHR) said it had &quot;noted with concern&quot; the increased number of cases of travel bans and called for them to stop. 
 
&quot;The NIHR notes that decision to ban travel without a judicial order obstructs the constitutional of movement and travel, which contradicts the kingdom`s international and regional commitments related to human rights,&quot; it said in a statement to Reuters. 
 
Shaken by bouts of unrest since Arab Spring-style mass protests in 2011, Western-allied Bahrain, where the U.S. Fifth Fleet is based, has explained a crackdown on opponents in recent weeks as &quot;correcting&quot; the political discourse. 
 
Since June, Bahraini authorities have closed down the main Shi`ite opposition group al-Wefaq, revoked the citizenship of top Shi`ite Muslim cleric Ayatollah Isa Qassim and re-arrested prominent rights campaigner Nabeel Rajab for anti-government Tweets. A court has also more than doubled the prison sentence on al-Wefaq leader Sheikh Ali Salman. 
 
&#39;Bahrain &nbsp;has entered a deeply worrying new phase of clampdown&#39;&nbsp; 
 
Rights groups have documented the travel bans. 
 
The Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR) said on July 4 it had recorded at least 14 cases of rights campaigners and civil society activists having been banned from travel in June. 
 
Amnesty International said it had recorded 21 cases since 2015, 19 of them in the past month alone. 
 
&quot;Preventing human rights defenders, journalists and former prisoners of conscience from leaving their own country is just one of a long list of repressive tactics the Bahraini authorities have sought to punish and muzzle its critics in recent weeks,&rdquo; said Ariel Plotkin, Amnesty International&rsquo;s Bahrain campaigner. 
 
&quot;Bahrain has entered a deeply worrying new phase of clampdown on human rights, instilling fear on civil society,&quot; he added.&nbsp; 
 
Apart from Tajer, they include Sharaf al-Mousawi, the head of Bahrain`s branch of Transparency International, Rula al-Saffar, president of the Bahrain Nursing Society and brain surgeon Taha al-Durazi and his wife.&nbsp; 
 
On July 7, Bahraini journalist and activist Ahmed Radhi was banned from boarding a flight from Manama to Oman, without any prior notification of any ban imposed on him. 
 
&quot;My name is not on any list of banned people and I have a certificate of good conduct from the investigations department, yet I am banned from travel,&quot; Radhi said, according to his Twitter account. 
 
Tajer said it was normal in Bahrain for people to be punished with measures such as travel bans without an official order being presented by any party. 
 
&quot;Don&#39;t be astonished. Many things that cannot be explained happen,&quot; Taker said. &quot;In Bahrain, everything is possible, especially against people who are not viewed with satisfaction by the government,&quot; he added.&nbsp; 
 
(Reuters)&nbsp; 
 
&nbsp;

'Preventing human rights defenders, journalists from leaving their own country is just one of a long list of repressive tactics'

After a border official stopped him from leaving Bahrain last week, citing a security order, human rights lawyer Mohammed al-Tajer said he checked with the departments in charge of passports and investigations and was told no travel ban was in place. The 50-year-old lawyer, who had been planning a short visit to Saudi Arabia, was not surprised. He had joined a growing list of people confined to their country as part of what rights groups describe as an attempt to crush the opposition. Tajer said some people found out when they headed to the airport last month to fly to Geneva to attend a meeting by the UN Human Rights Council. Others were informed when they tried to cross the King Fahd Causeway to Saudi Arabia last week. "There are 17 of us -- some of them are not rights activists or well known figures," Tajer, who has defended prominent Bahraini opposition activists, told Reuters. 19 people prevented from travelling abroad: Human rights group Amnesty International says at least 19 people, including doctors, lawyers, academics and journalists, have been prevented from travelling abroad in the past month. Bahrain's Sunni-led government, mainly drawn from the ruling al-Khalifa family, has been rattled by opposition calls for major reforms, including a cabinet chosen from an elected parliament, and a deep financial crisis that has forced it to cut subsidies and increase basic prices. The crackdown also follows a deepening diplomatic row between Bahrain`s main Sunni backer, Saudi Arabia, and Shi`ite power Iran. The rift has grown wider since Iranian demonstrators, angry at the execution of a prominent Shi`ite Muslim cleric in January, ransacked Saudi missions prompting Riyadh and Manama to sever diplomatic ties with Tehran. Government maintains it does not tolerate human rights violations Bahraini authorities had no immediate comment on the travel ban in general or on Tajer's situation. The government says it does not tolerate human rights violations and has established bodies to receive complaints. Bahrain's National Institution for Human Rights (NIHR) said it had "noted with concern" the increased number of cases of travel bans and called for them to stop. "The NIHR notes that decision to ban travel without a judicial order obstructs the constitutional of movement and travel, which contradicts the kingdom`s international and regional commitments related to human rights," it said in a statement to Reuters. Shaken by bouts of unrest since Arab Spring-style mass protests in 2011, Western-allied Bahrain, where the U.S. Fifth Fleet is based, has explained a crackdown on opponents in recent weeks as "correcting" the political discourse. Since June, Bahraini authorities have closed down the main Shi`ite opposition group al-Wefaq, revoked the citizenship of top Shi`ite Muslim cleric Ayatollah Isa Qassim and re-arrested prominent rights campaigner Nabeel Rajab for anti-government Tweets. A court has also more than doubled the prison sentence on al-Wefaq leader Sheikh Ali Salman. 'Bahrain has entered a deeply worrying new phase of clampdown' Rights groups have documented the travel bans. The Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR) said on July 4 it had recorded at least 14 cases of rights campaigners and civil society activists having been banned from travel in June. Amnesty International said it had recorded 21 cases since 2015, 19 of them in the past month alone. "Preventing human rights defenders, journalists and former prisoners of conscience from leaving their own country is just one of a long list of repressive tactics the Bahraini authorities have sought to punish and muzzle its critics in recent weeks,” said Ariel Plotkin, Amnesty International’s Bahrain campaigner. "Bahrain has entered a deeply worrying new phase of clampdown on human rights, instilling fear on civil society," he added. Apart from Tajer, they include Sharaf al-Mousawi, the head of Bahrain`s branch of Transparency International, Rula al-Saffar, president of the Bahrain Nursing Society and brain surgeon Taha al-Durazi and his wife. On July 7, Bahraini journalist and activist Ahmed Radhi was banned from boarding a flight from Manama to Oman, without any prior notification of any ban imposed on him. "My name is not on any list of banned people and I have a certificate of good conduct from the investigations department, yet I am banned from travel," Radhi said, according to his Twitter account. Tajer said it was normal in Bahrain for people to be punished with measures such as travel bans without an official order being presented by any party. "Don't be astonished. Many things that cannot be explained happen," Taker said. "In Bahrain, everything is possible, especially against people who are not viewed with satisfaction by the government," he added. (Reuters)

Travel clampdown in Bahrain 'attempt to crush opposition', rights groups claim

Mexico&#39;s police and armed forces routinely torture and mistreat women, sometimes resorting to sexual violence during arrest and interrogation, Amnesty International wrote in a damning report released on Tuesday. 
 
The rights group interviewed 100 women who reported violence during arrest, all of whom described having been the victim of some form of sexual harassment or psychological abuse. Seven in ten of the women reported sexual violence during arrest or in the hours that followed. 
 
The types of mistreatment the women were subjected to included blows to the stomach and head, threats of rape directed either at them or their families, near-asphyxiation, electric shocks to the genitals, groping and rape. &nbsp; 
 
&quot;Police appear to be using them as easy targets for arrest to boost figures and show society that the government&rsquo;s security efforts are yielding results,&quot; said an Amnesty International statement. 
 
&quot;The women subjected to such violence are mostly young and from low income backgrounds. The multiple and intersecting discrimination these women face because of their gender, age and socio-economic situation increases their risk of being arbitrarily arrested and tortured or ill-treated,&quot; the statement said. 
 
The report found that many women arrested and imprisoned are single parents and face discrimination simply for not conforming to widely accepted gender expectations, such as having a male partner. 
 
Sex workers in Mexico also often find themselves at risk of torture and ill-treatment during arrest or in detention, the report said, as do women who are bisexual or lesbian. 
 
(AFP)&nbsp; 
 
 
 
&nbsp;

Seven in ten of the women reported sexual violence during arrest or in the hours that followed, says an Amnesty International report

Mexico's police and armed forces routinely torture and mistreat women, sometimes resorting to sexual violence during arrest and interrogation, Amnesty International wrote in a damning report released on Tuesday. The rights group interviewed 100 women who reported violence during arrest, all of whom described having been the victim of some form of sexual harassment or psychological abuse. Seven in ten of the women reported sexual violence during arrest or in the hours that followed. The types of mistreatment the women were subjected to included blows to the stomach and head, threats of rape directed either at them or their families, near-asphyxiation, electric shocks to the genitals, groping and rape. "Police appear to be using them as easy targets for arrest to boost figures and show society that the government’s security efforts are yielding results," said an Amnesty International statement. "The women subjected to such violence are mostly young and from low income backgrounds. The multiple and intersecting discrimination these women face because of their gender, age and socio-economic situation increases their risk of being arbitrarily arrested and tortured or ill-treated," the statement said. The report found that many women arrested and imprisoned are single parents and face discrimination simply for not conforming to widely accepted gender expectations, such as having a male partner. Sex workers in Mexico also often find themselves at risk of torture and ill-treatment during arrest or in detention, the report said, as do women who are bisexual or lesbian. (AFP)

'Mexico's police, armed forces routinely torture women during arrest, interrogation'

More than 130,000 people of Haitian origin living in the Dominican Republic risk deportation because it is nearly impossible for them to renew their temporary residency permits, a migrant aid group official said. 
 
From June 2015 to May 2016, 106,000 Haitians were deported or left the Dominican Republic, according to the latest statistics from Amnesty International. 
 
The Intentional Organization for Migration found that 1,516 unaccompanied minors were expelled from the Dominican Republic during that time, in violation of an agreement with Haiti in 1999. 
 
A 2013 Dominican Republic court ruling said people born there to parents without legal residency would no longer be considered Dominican. Most are of Haitian origin. 
 
The Dominican Republic began enforcing the policy last summer. Some of those deported had never lived in Haiti. 
 
The decision has hurt ties between the two countries that share the island of Hispaniola. 
 
For many Haitians, the treatment amounts to racism against black people by Dominicans, most of whom are lighter skinned and of mixed heritage. 
 
More than 250,000 people - mostly those born to Haitian parents - became stateless under the court ruling. 
 
A Dominican program allowed more than 130,000 people of Haitian origin to obtain a residency permit, but it is only valid for a year. 
 
Those who aren&#39;t able to renew their permits by July 18 face deportation. 
 
&quot;The Dominican authorities did not want to solve this problem once and for all,&quot; said Lissaint Antoine of the Jesuit Refugee and Migrant Organization. 
 
&quot;The majority of these 130,000 people don&#39;t have the financial means or the documents that would allow them to renew their permits.&quot; 
 
Migrant rights groups have denounced the specifics of the residency program. 
 
&quot;To qualify, people were asked to present proof of employment, but the residency permit doesn&#39;t give them the right to work,&quot; Antoine said. 
 
Haiti is the poorest country in the Americas, crippled by long-term political instability and a devastating quake in 2010. 
(AFP)

The residency permit to over 130,000 Haitians was valid only for a year. People who aren't able to renew them by July 18 face deportation

More than 130,000 people of Haitian origin living in the Dominican Republic risk deportation because it is nearly impossible for them to renew their temporary residency permits, a migrant aid group official said. From June 2015 to May 2016, 106,000 Haitians were deported or left the Dominican Republic, according to the latest statistics from Amnesty International. The Intentional Organization for Migration found that 1,516 unaccompanied minors were expelled from the Dominican Republic during that time, in violation of an agreement with Haiti in 1999. A 2013 Dominican Republic court ruling said people born there to parents without legal residency would no longer be considered Dominican. Most are of Haitian origin. The Dominican Republic began enforcing the policy last summer. Some of those deported had never lived in Haiti. The decision has hurt ties between the two countries that share the island of Hispaniola. For many Haitians, the treatment amounts to racism against black people by Dominicans, most of whom are lighter skinned and of mixed heritage. More than 250,000 people - mostly those born to Haitian parents - became stateless under the court ruling. A Dominican program allowed more than 130,000 people of Haitian origin to obtain a residency permit, but it is only valid for a year. Those who aren't able to renew their permits by July 18 face deportation. "The Dominican authorities did not want to solve this problem once and for all," said Lissaint Antoine of the Jesuit Refugee and Migrant Organization. "The majority of these 130,000 people don't have the financial means or the documents that would allow them to renew their permits." Migrant rights groups have denounced the specifics of the residency program. "To qualify, people were asked to present proof of employment, but the residency permit doesn't give them the right to work," Antoine said. Haiti is the poorest country in the Americas, crippled by long-term political instability and a devastating quake in 2010. (AFP)

130,000 Haitians face deportation from Dominican Republic

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