Nearly 2,000 Yazidi children freed from the grip of the Islamic State group in recent years are still trapped by psychological and physical trauma, Amnesty International warned on Thursday.

The Yazidis are an ethno-religious minority numbering around 550,000 in their heartland of northwest Iraq before IS swept through the rugged region in 2014.&nbsp;

Slamming the Yazidis as heretics, IS slaughtered thousands of men, abducted women and girls and forced boys to fight on its behalf.

Yazidi children were forcibly converted to Islam and taught Arabic, banned from speaking their native Kurdish.

To this day, child survivors suffer "debilitating long-term injuries," as well as post-traumatic stress disorder, mood swings, aggression and flashbacks.

The rights group found that 1,992 children who faced torture, forced conscription, rape and other abuses at the hands of IS were not getting the care they need.&nbsp;

Amnesty said access to education could help ease children back into society, but tens of thousands of Yazidis still live in displacement camps where schooling is irregular.

Many have also gone into debt from paying thousands of US dollars to smugglers to free Yazidi relatives who were held by IS.&nbsp;

Yazidi mothers forcibly wed to IS fighters are struggling to heal their own psychological scars, while dealing with the stigma of having children born to jihadist fathers.

Many Yazidi women who were rescued from IS' last bastion in Syria over the last two years were forced to leave their IS-born children behind when they returned to their families in neighbouring Iraq.

Mothers must be reunited with their children and no further separation should take place, Amnesty said.&nbsp;

Nearly 2,000 Yazidi children freed from the grip of the Islamic State group in recent years are still trapped by psychological and physical trauma, Amnesty International warned on Thursday.

Nearly 2,000 Yazidi children freed from the grip of the Islamic State group in recent years are still trapped by psychological and physical trauma, Amnesty International warned on Thursday. The Yazidis are an ethno-religious minority numbering around 550,000 in their heartland of northwest Iraq before IS swept through the rugged region in 2014. Slamming the Yazidis as heretics, IS slaughtered thousands of men, abducted women and girls and forced boys to fight on its behalf. Yazidi children were forcibly converted to Islam and taught Arabic, banned from speaking their native Kurdish. To this day, child survivors suffer "debilitating long-term injuries," as well as post-traumatic stress disorder, mood swings, aggression and flashbacks. The rights group found that 1,992 children who faced torture, forced conscription, rape and other abuses at the hands of IS were not getting the care they need. Amnesty said access to education could help ease children back into society, but tens of thousands of Yazidis still live in displacement camps where schooling is irregular. Many have also gone into debt from paying thousands of US dollars to smugglers to free Yazidi relatives who were held by IS. Yazidi mothers forcibly wed to IS fighters are struggling to heal their own psychological scars, while dealing with the stigma of having children born to jihadist fathers. Many Yazidi women who were rescued from IS' last bastion in Syria over the last two years were forced to leave their IS-born children behind when they returned to their families in neighbouring Iraq. Mothers must be reunited with their children and no further separation should take place, Amnesty said.

Yazidi children freed from IS haunted by health crisis, says Amnesty

Two men have been "arbitrarily detained" by Afghanistan's intelligence agency after exposing a paedophile ring that allegedly abused hundreds of boys, Amnesty said Monday in a statement urging the pair's release.

Sexual abuse is widespread in Afghanistan despite efforts to clamp down on the crime, and boys are often reluctant to come forward in a culture that still shames victims rather than going after perpetrators.

Musa Mahmudi and Ehsanullah Hamidi were detained by the National Directorate of Security (NDS) on Thursday as they were on their way to meet with the European Union ambassador in Kabul, Amnesty said.

Mahmudi, a youth social worker, told Britain's Guardian newspaper this month that teachers and local officials were involved in the ring, based in Logar province south of the capital.

At least 546 boys from six schools were allegedly abused, the Guardian reported. Authorities have not confirmed the allegations.&nbsp;

Some victims went on to be murdered, the newspaper said, adding that rights campaigners had uncovered more than 100 videos of the abuse.

"Afghanistan's intelligence agency must immediately release these human rights defenders immediately," Amnesty campaigner Samira Hamidi said in a statement.

"They are at risk of torture and other ill-treatment. Rather than punishing them for speaking out against these horrific crimes, the authorities should praise them for their work".

The NDS and the EU ambassador did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Ehsanullah Hamidi's role in revealing the scandal was not immediately clear, and he was not referenced in the Guardian story.

Logar provincial governor spokesman Didar Lawang confirmed Mahmudi's arrest.

"He was arrested after the people of Logar asked the government to arrest him and question him about a paedophile ring in schools," Lawang said.

Mahmudi told Amnesty he had had received death threats accusing him of "dishonouring the people of Logar".

Parts of Afghanistan still tolerate the practice of bacha bazi, or "boy play", where older men force boys to dress up as women and then force them to have sex.

Two men have been "arbitrarily detained" by Afghanistan's intelligence agency after exposing a paedophile ring that allegedly abused hundreds of boys, Amnesty said Monday in a statement urging the pair's release.

Two men have been "arbitrarily detained" by Afghanistan's intelligence agency after exposing a paedophile ring that allegedly abused hundreds of boys, Amnesty said Monday in a statement urging the pair's release. Sexual abuse is widespread in Afghanistan despite efforts to clamp down on the crime, and boys are often reluctant to come forward in a culture that still shames victims rather than going after perpetrators. Musa Mahmudi and Ehsanullah Hamidi were detained by the National Directorate of Security (NDS) on Thursday as they were on their way to meet with the European Union ambassador in Kabul, Amnesty said. Mahmudi, a youth social worker, told Britain's Guardian newspaper this month that teachers and local officials were involved in the ring, based in Logar province south of the capital. At least 546 boys from six schools were allegedly abused, the Guardian reported. Authorities have not confirmed the allegations. Some victims went on to be murdered, the newspaper said, adding that rights campaigners had uncovered more than 100 videos of the abuse. "Afghanistan's intelligence agency must immediately release these human rights defenders immediately," Amnesty campaigner Samira Hamidi said in a statement. "They are at risk of torture and other ill-treatment. Rather than punishing them for speaking out against these horrific crimes, the authorities should praise them for their work". The NDS and the EU ambassador did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Ehsanullah Hamidi's role in revealing the scandal was not immediately clear, and he was not referenced in the Guardian story. Logar provincial governor spokesman Didar Lawang confirmed Mahmudi's arrest. "He was arrested after the people of Logar asked the government to arrest him and question him about a paedophile ring in schools," Lawang said. Mahmudi told Amnesty he had had received death threats accusing him of "dishonouring the people of Logar". Parts of Afghanistan still tolerate the practice of bacha bazi, or "boy play", where older men force boys to dress up as women and then force them to have sex.

Amnesty urges release of Afghan men who exposed paedophile ring

More than 100 demonstrators are believed to have been killed across Iran since leaders ordered security forces to stamp out protests triggered by fuel price rises, Amnesty International said Tuesday.

"At least 106 protesters in 21 cities have been killed, according to credible reports," the London-based rights group said.

It added that "the real death toll may be much higher, with some reports suggesting as many as 200 have been killed".

The rights watchdog said the security forces had received a "green light to crush" the protests which broke out on Friday and had spread to more than 100 cities across Iran.

"Authorities must end this brutal and deadly crackdown immediately," said Amnesty's Philip Luther, whose organisation based its report on "verified video footage, eyewitness testimony from people on the ground and information" from rights activists outside Iran.

Amnesty also urged Iranian authorities to "lift the near-total block on internet access designed to restrict the flow of information about the crackdown to the outside world".

It said video footage showed that "snipers have also shot into crowds of people from rooftops and, in one case, a helicopter".

While most demonstrations appeared to have been peaceful, it said, "a small number of protesters turned to stone-throwing and acts of arson and damage to banks and seminaries".

Security forces had been seen taking away dead bodies and injured people from roads and hospitals, according to witnesses, and refused to hand over bodies of victims to their families, Amnesty said.

A hike in petrol price sparked the protests in which Iran has officially confirmed at least five dead, including three security personnel allegedly stabbed to death by "rioters".

More than 100 demonstrators are believed to have been killed across Iran since leaders ordered security forces to stamp out protests triggered by fuel price rises, Amnesty International said Tuesday.

More than 100 demonstrators are believed to have been killed across Iran since leaders ordered security forces to stamp out protests triggered by fuel price rises, Amnesty International said Tuesday. "At least 106 protesters in 21 cities have been killed, according to credible reports," the London-based rights group said. It added that "the real death toll may be much higher, with some reports suggesting as many as 200 have been killed". The rights watchdog said the security forces had received a "green light to crush" the protests which broke out on Friday and had spread to more than 100 cities across Iran. "Authorities must end this brutal and deadly crackdown immediately," said Amnesty's Philip Luther, whose organisation based its report on "verified video footage, eyewitness testimony from people on the ground and information" from rights activists outside Iran. Amnesty also urged Iranian authorities to "lift the near-total block on internet access designed to restrict the flow of information about the crackdown to the outside world". It said video footage showed that "snipers have also shot into crowds of people from rooftops and, in one case, a helicopter". While most demonstrations appeared to have been peaceful, it said, "a small number of protesters turned to stone-throwing and acts of arson and damage to banks and seminaries". Security forces had been seen taking away dead bodies and injured people from roads and hospitals, according to witnesses, and refused to hand over bodies of victims to their families, Amnesty said. A hike in petrol price sparked the protests in which Iran has officially confirmed at least five dead, including three security personnel allegedly stabbed to death by "rioters".

More than 100 protesters believed killed in Iran: Amnesty

At least 16 people have been killed in violence in Ethiopia this week that began with protests against Prime Minister and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Abiy Ahmed, an Amnesty International researcher said Friday.

"Up to now we have confirmed 16 people dead, but the number must be more than that because new reports are emerging which we have not confirmed," Fisseha Tekle told AFP.

He said the violence had included instances of security forces opening fire on protesters but was increasingly taking the form of ethnic and religious clashes.&nbsp;

"Some people have lost their lives with sticks, with machetes, some houses have been burned. People have been using even bullets and light arms to kill each other, to fight each other," he said.&nbsp;

"I don't have the latest on what happened during the night but there was no sign of decrease."&nbsp;

The violence erupted in Addis Ababa, the capital, and in much of Ethiopia's Oromia region after a high-profile activist accused security forces of trying to orchestrate an attack against him.

The activist, Jawar Mohammed, is a former Abiy ally and member of the prime minister's Oromo ethnic group, the country's largest, who has recently become critical of some of Abiy's policies.&nbsp;

The unrest highlights divisions within the ethnic Oromo support base that swept Abiy to power last year, divisions that could undermine his position ahead of elections planned for May 2020.

At a press conference Thursday, Jawar called for calm while accusing the authorities of stoking instability.

At least six people were killed in the town of Ambo, west of Addis, after security forces opened fire on protesters, Fisseha said.&nbsp;

Ethnic and religious violence has been reported in the towns and cities of Dodola, Harar, Balerobe and Adama.

Ethiopian officials have provided scant information on casualties but did confirm two deaths in Adama earlier this week.

Property belonging to the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, which some associate with the Amhara ethnic group, has been targeted in multiple locations, Fisseha said.

"Up to now it is people going after the Orthodox Church and that creates a standoff and violence because the followers of the Orthodox defend themselves," Fisseha said.&nbsp;

On Thursday, the Orthodox Church issued a call for calm while saying the violence has "resulted in the loss of lives as well as caused damages to properties and mass displacements," according to the state-affiliated Fana Broadcasting Corporate.&nbsp;

Amnesty called on security forces to use restraint as they work to get the situation under control.&nbsp;

"The fact that protests are not commonly peaceful does not mean they have to use lethal force," Fisseha said.&nbsp;

"It's only as a last resort that lethal force can be used and only to protect the lives of security forces and protect the lives of other people."

At least 16 people have been killed in violence in Ethiopia this week that began with protests against Prime Minister and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Abiy Ahmed, an Amnesty International researcher said Friday.

At least 16 people have been killed in violence in Ethiopia this week that began with protests against Prime Minister and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Abiy Ahmed, an Amnesty International researcher said Friday. "Up to now we have confirmed 16 people dead, but the number must be more than that because new reports are emerging which we have not confirmed," Fisseha Tekle told AFP. He said the violence had included instances of security forces opening fire on protesters but was increasingly taking the form of ethnic and religious clashes. "Some people have lost their lives with sticks, with machetes, some houses have been burned. People have been using even bullets and light arms to kill each other, to fight each other," he said. "I don't have the latest on what happened during the night but there was no sign of decrease." The violence erupted in Addis Ababa, the capital, and in much of Ethiopia's Oromia region after a high-profile activist accused security forces of trying to orchestrate an attack against him. The activist, Jawar Mohammed, is a former Abiy ally and member of the prime minister's Oromo ethnic group, the country's largest, who has recently become critical of some of Abiy's policies. The unrest highlights divisions within the ethnic Oromo support base that swept Abiy to power last year, divisions that could undermine his position ahead of elections planned for May 2020. At a press conference Thursday, Jawar called for calm while accusing the authorities of stoking instability. At least six people were killed in the town of Ambo, west of Addis, after security forces opened fire on protesters, Fisseha said. Ethnic and religious violence has been reported in the towns and cities of Dodola, Harar, Balerobe and Adama. Ethiopian officials have provided scant information on casualties but did confirm two deaths in Adama earlier this week. Property belonging to the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, which some associate with the Amhara ethnic group, has been targeted in multiple locations, Fisseha said. "Up to now it is people going after the Orthodox Church and that creates a standoff and violence because the followers of the Orthodox defend themselves," Fisseha said. On Thursday, the Orthodox Church issued a call for calm while saying the violence has "resulted in the loss of lives as well as caused damages to properties and mass displacements," according to the state-affiliated Fana Broadcasting Corporate. Amnesty called on security forces to use restraint as they work to get the situation under control. "The fact that protests are not commonly peaceful does not mean they have to use lethal force," Fisseha said. "It's only as a last resort that lethal force can be used and only to protect the lives of security forces and protect the lives of other people."

At least 16 dead in anti-Abiy protests in Ethiopia: Amnesty

Amnesty International accused <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/activists-push-us-congress-to-pass-hong-kong-bill-250392">Hong Kong </a>police on Friday of torture and other abuses in their handling of more than three months of pro-democracy protests, but the police say they have shown restraint on the street in the face of increased violence.

Anti-government protesters, many masked and wearing black, have thrown petrol bombs at police and central government offices, stormed the Legislative Council, blocked roads to the airport, trashed metro stations and lit fires on the streets of the<a href="https://www.wionews.com/entertainment/stand-up-to-beijing-hong-kong-singer-tells-us-lawmakers-companies-250172"> Chinese-ruled city</a>.

Police have responded with tear gas, water cannons, rubber bullets, bean bag rounds and several live rounds fired in the air, warning the crowds beforehand with a series of different coloured banners.

They have also been seen beating protesters on the ground with batons, with footage of one such attack on cowering passengers on an MTR subway train going viral online and prompting widespread anger.

"The evidence leaves little room for doubt – in an apparent thirst for retaliation, Hong Kong’s security forces have engaged in a disturbing pattern of reckless and unlawful tactics against people during the protests," Nicholas Bequelin, East Asia director at Amnesty International, said in a report following a field investigation. "This has included arbitrary arrests and retaliatory violence against arrested persons in custody, some of which has amounted to torture.”

In one instance, police shone green lasers into the eyes of detainees, Amnesty said, employing a tactic previously used by many protesters against police.

Responding to the Amnesty report, police said they have respected the "privacy, dignity and rights" of those in custody according to regulations, allowing detainees transport to hospitals and communication with lawyers and their families.

"The force to be used by police shall be the minimum force necessary for achieving a lawful purpose," police said in an emailed statement.

The official police Facebook page earlier noted that almost 240 police had been wounded in the violent protests as they exercised "a high level of restraint ... to restore public order."

The recent round of protests in Hong Kong, a former British colony that was returned to China under a "one country, two systems" arrangement in 1997, was sparked by planned legislation that would have allowed people accused of breaking Chinese laws to be sent to the mainland for trial.

The legislation was withdrawn but the protests have broadened into calls for universal suffrage, including an independent inquiry into perceived police brutality, with demonstrators angry about what they see as creeping interference by Beijing.

China has said it is committed to the "one country, two systems" arrangement that ensures freedoms not enjoyed on the mainland, including right of assembly and an independent judiciary, and denies interfering. It has accused foreign powers, particularly the United States and Britain, of fomenting the unrest and told them to mind their own business.

In a direct challenge to Communist Party rulers in Beijing, some protesters on Sunday threw bricks at police outside the Chinese People's Liberation Army base and set fire to a red banner proclaiming the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.

Amnesty International accused Hong Kong police on Friday of torture and other abuses in their handling of more than three months of pro-democracy protests, but the police say they have shown restraint on the street in the face of increased violence.

Amnesty International accused Hong Kong police on Friday of torture and other abuses in their handling of more than three months of pro-democracy protests, but the police say they have shown restraint on the street in the face of increased violence. Anti-government protesters, many masked and wearing black, have thrown petrol bombs at police and central government offices, stormed the Legislative Council, blocked roads to the airport, trashed metro stations and lit fires on the streets of the Chinese-ruled city. Police have responded with tear gas, water cannons, rubber bullets, bean bag rounds and several live rounds fired in the air, warning the crowds beforehand with a series of different coloured banners. They have also been seen beating protesters on the ground with batons, with footage of one such attack on cowering passengers on an MTR subway train going viral online and prompting widespread anger. "The evidence leaves little room for doubt – in an apparent thirst for retaliation, Hong Kong’s security forces have engaged in a disturbing pattern of reckless and unlawful tactics against people during the protests," Nicholas Bequelin, East Asia director at Amnesty International, said in a report following a field investigation. "This has included arbitrary arrests and retaliatory violence against arrested persons in custody, some of which has amounted to torture.” In one instance, police shone green lasers into the eyes of detainees, Amnesty said, employing a tactic previously used by many protesters against police. Responding to the Amnesty report, police said they have respected the "privacy, dignity and rights" of those in custody according to regulations, allowing detainees transport to hospitals and communication with lawyers and their families. "The force to be used by police shall be the minimum force necessary for achieving a lawful purpose," police said in an emailed statement. The official police Facebook page earlier noted that almost 240 police had been wounded in the violent protests as they exercised "a high level of restraint ... to restore public order." The recent round of protests in Hong Kong, a former British colony that was returned to China under a "one country, two systems" arrangement in 1997, was sparked by planned legislation that would have allowed people accused of breaking Chinese laws to be sent to the mainland for trial. The legislation was withdrawn but the protests have broadened into calls for universal suffrage, including an independent inquiry into perceived police brutality, with demonstrators angry about what they see as creeping interference by Beijing. China has said it is committed to the "one country, two systems" arrangement that ensures freedoms not enjoyed on the mainland, including right of assembly and an independent judiciary, and denies interfering. It has accused foreign powers, particularly the United States and Britain, of fomenting the unrest and told them to mind their own business. In a direct challenge to Communist Party rulers in Beijing, some protesters on Sunday threw bricks at police outside the Chinese People's Liberation Army base and set fire to a red banner proclaiming the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.

Amnesty accuses Hong Kong police of abuses, torture of protestors

Rights group Amnesty International Friday called for justice for those killed during months of protests that rocked Sudan, insisting that demonstrators had faced "disproportionate and unnecessary" violence.

Sudan has experienced unprecedentedly large rallies since December, first against now-ousted leader Omar al-Bashir and later against the generals who seized power after overthrowing him.

The protest movement says that more than 250 demonstrators were killed in the violence, including at least 127 in a crackdown on a sit-in during early June outside military headquarters in Khartoum.

"Amnesty International thanks the people of Sudan for showing us courage, for showing us resilience and for showing that we can resist injustice and violation of human rights," Amnesty International Secretary General Kumi Naidoo told reporters during a visit to Khartoum, in the first such trip by the rights group's chief to Sudan.

He said the demonstrators were confronted by "disproportionate use of violence, unnecessary use of violence and provocative use of violence".

"Amnesty International will back the Sudanese people in calling on the new government to ensure that there is absolute accountability and justice" for the families of those killed.

Protests first erupted in December against the then government's decision to triple the price of bread.

They swiftly escalated into a nationwide campaign against Bashir's ironfisted three decade rule.

The army ousted Bashir on April 11 but protesters continued their street campaign, switching it against the military council that overthrow him.

In August, Sudan embarked on a transition to civilian rule thanks to a power-sharing deal signed between protest leaders and the generals, and a joint civilian-military ruling body was sworn in.

On Sunday, an 18-member cabinet was sworn in, the first since the ouster of Bashir.

&nbsp;

Rights group Amnesty International Friday called for justice for those killed during months of protests that rocked Sudan, insisting that demonstrators had faced "disproportionate and unnecessary" violence.

Rights group Amnesty International Friday called for justice for those killed during months of protests that rocked Sudan, insisting that demonstrators had faced "disproportionate and unnecessary" violence. Sudan has experienced unprecedentedly large rallies since December, first against now-ousted leader Omar al-Bashir and later against the generals who seized power after overthrowing him. The protest movement says that more than 250 demonstrators were killed in the violence, including at least 127 in a crackdown on a sit-in during early June outside military headquarters in Khartoum. "Amnesty International thanks the people of Sudan for showing us courage, for showing us resilience and for showing that we can resist injustice and violation of human rights," Amnesty International Secretary General Kumi Naidoo told reporters during a visit to Khartoum, in the first such trip by the rights group's chief to Sudan. He said the demonstrators were confronted by "disproportionate use of violence, unnecessary use of violence and provocative use of violence". "Amnesty International will back the Sudanese people in calling on the new government to ensure that there is absolute accountability and justice" for the families of those killed. Protests first erupted in December against the then government's decision to triple the price of bread. They swiftly escalated into a nationwide campaign against Bashir's ironfisted three decade rule. The army ousted Bashir on April 11 but protesters continued their street campaign, switching it against the military council that overthrow him. In August, Sudan embarked on a transition to civilian rule thanks to a power-sharing deal signed between protest leaders and the generals, and a joint civilian-military ruling body was sworn in. On Sunday, an 18-member cabinet was sworn in, the first since the ouster of Bashir.

Amnesty wants justice for victims of Sudan protests

Nicaragua said on Monday it released 50 political prisoners under a new law that frees people arrested amid a year of anti-government protests while also protecting police and others who violently clamped down on the demonstrations.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/eu-warns-nicaragua-of-sanctions-over-rights-abuses-191810">Street protests</a> erupted in April 2018 when President Daniel Ortega tried to cut welfare benefits, and spiralled into a broader protest movement against the president`s rule.&nbsp;

The <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/nicaragua-expels-international-human-rights-missions-185454">United Nations</a>` top human rights official, as well as local opposition groups, have blasted the legislation as a way to grant impunity to those who committed crimes during the crackdowns.&nbsp;

The law extends protections to "people who have not been investigated, who find themselves under investigation" or in criminal processes and "complying with their sentences," according to the text. It also bans freed political prisoners from launching further anti-government protests.&nbsp;

"I`m free, but I still feel imprisoned," said Hansell Vasquez, one of the freed inmates.&nbsp;

Nicaragua`s Interior Ministry said the 50 people it recently released had been arrested for crimes against public safety, and that it planned to release others detained on the same charges.&nbsp;

More than 700 people were arrested in demonstrations and 325 mostly opposition protesters died in clashes with security forces, rights groups say. More than 60,000 Nicaraguans have gone into exile because of political strife over the past 14 months.

Ortega has pledged to release those detained in the anti-government protests as a gesture of good faith to the opposition and a bid at national dialogue.&nbsp;

Nearly 200 detainees whom the opposition describes as political prisoners remain behind bars, while 520 others have been freed, according to a rights group that supports those arrested during the protests.&nbsp;

Nicaragua said on Monday it released 50 political prisoners under a new law that frees people arrested amid a year of anti-government protests while also protecting police and others who violently clamped down on the demonstrations.

Nicaragua said on Monday it released 50 political prisoners under a new law that frees people arrested amid a year of anti-government protests while also protecting police and others who violently clamped down on the demonstrations. Street protests erupted in April 2018 when President Daniel Ortega tried to cut welfare benefits, and spiralled into a broader protest movement against the president`s rule. The United Nations` top human rights official, as well as local opposition groups, have blasted the legislation as a way to grant impunity to those who committed crimes during the crackdowns. The law extends protections to "people who have not been investigated, who find themselves under investigation" or in criminal processes and "complying with their sentences," according to the text. It also bans freed political prisoners from launching further anti-government protests. "I`m free, but I still feel imprisoned," said Hansell Vasquez, one of the freed inmates. Nicaragua`s Interior Ministry said the 50 people it recently released had been arrested for crimes against public safety, and that it planned to release others detained on the same charges. More than 700 people were arrested in demonstrations and 325 mostly opposition protesters died in clashes with security forces, rights groups say. More than 60,000 Nicaraguans have gone into exile because of political strife over the past 14 months. Ortega has pledged to release those detained in the anti-government protests as a gesture of good faith to the opposition and a bid at national dialogue. Nearly 200 detainees whom the opposition describes as political prisoners remain behind bars, while 520 others have been freed, according to a rights group that supports those arrested during the protests.

Nicaragua releases political prisoners under contentious new amnesty law

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/myanmar-soldiers-jailed-for-rohingya-killings-freed-after-less-than-a-year-221928">Myanmar's military</a> is guilty of committing new "war crimes", extrajudicial killings and torture in its fight against ethnic Rakhine rebels, Amnesty International said Wednesday.

The armed forces have deployed thousands of troops and heavy artillery across northern Rakhine state in recent months where Arakan Army (AA) rebels are fighting for more autonomy for the state's ethnic Rakhine Buddhists.

The state was also the scene of the military's bloody crackdown against the Rohingya Muslim community in 2017.

That campaign pushed some 740,000 Rohingya into Bangladesh in violence UN investigators say warrants prosecution of top generals for "genocide".

Amnesty said Wednesday it had "new evidence" that Myanmar's military is now "committing war crimes and other human rights violations" against the ethnic Rakhine, listing extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests, torture and enforced disappearances.

Access to the conflict area is heavily restricted but details of civilian deaths have emerged over recent weeks and months.

But the army has confirmed it shot dead six detainees late last month in the village of Kyauk Tan.

Amnesty's report is based on scores of interviews with people from various ethnic groups, photographs, videos and satellite imagery.

It documents seven unlawful attacks that killed 14 civilians and injured dozens more, saying notorious infantry units have been deployed against the ethnic Rakhine.

Some Rohingya Muslims who have remained in the area have also been killed.

"The new operations in Rakhine State show an unrepentant, unreformed and unaccountable military terrorising civilians," said regional director Nicholas Bequelin.

A Myanmar army spokesman could not be immediately reached for comment on the report.

The rights group also criticised the government for choosing to "remain silent" while supplies of medicine, food and humanitarian relief remain blocked by authorities.&nbsp;

In an unprecedented move after the AA attacked police posts in January, Aung San Suu Kyi's government ordered the army to "crush" the rebels.

Although the military was the main perpetrator, AA insurgents have also "committed abuses against civilians", Amnesty said, alleging they have sent letters with bullets to local administrators and business people.

"I can firmly say it does not happen," AA spokesman Khine Thu Kha told AFP by phone, denying the claims.

Myanmar's military is guilty of committing new "war crimes", extrajudicial killings and torture in its fight against ethnic Rakhine rebels, Amnesty International said Wednesday.

Myanmar's military is guilty of committing new "war crimes", extrajudicial killings and torture in its fight against ethnic Rakhine rebels, Amnesty International said Wednesday. The armed forces have deployed thousands of troops and heavy artillery across northern Rakhine state in recent months where Arakan Army (AA) rebels are fighting for more autonomy for the state's ethnic Rakhine Buddhists. The state was also the scene of the military's bloody crackdown against the Rohingya Muslim community in 2017. That campaign pushed some 740,000 Rohingya into Bangladesh in violence UN investigators say warrants prosecution of top generals for "genocide". Amnesty said Wednesday it had "new evidence" that Myanmar's military is now "committing war crimes and other human rights violations" against the ethnic Rakhine, listing extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests, torture and enforced disappearances. Access to the conflict area is heavily restricted but details of civilian deaths have emerged over recent weeks and months. But the army has confirmed it shot dead six detainees late last month in the village of Kyauk Tan. Amnesty's report is based on scores of interviews with people from various ethnic groups, photographs, videos and satellite imagery. It documents seven unlawful attacks that killed 14 civilians and injured dozens more, saying notorious infantry units have been deployed against the ethnic Rakhine. Some Rohingya Muslims who have remained in the area have also been killed. "The new operations in Rakhine State show an unrepentant, unreformed and unaccountable military terrorising civilians," said regional director Nicholas Bequelin. A Myanmar army spokesman could not be immediately reached for comment on the report. The rights group also criticised the government for choosing to "remain silent" while supplies of medicine, food and humanitarian relief remain blocked by authorities. In an unprecedented move after the AA attacked police posts in January, Aung San Suu Kyi's government ordered the army to "crush" the rebels. Although the military was the main perpetrator, AA insurgents have also "committed abuses against civilians", Amnesty said, alleging they have sent letters with bullets to local administrators and business people. "I can firmly say it does not happen," AA spokesman Khine Thu Kha told AFP by phone, denying the claims.

Amnesty accuses Myanmar military of fresh 'war crimes' in Rakhine

Myanmar began releasing prisoners on Friday after the president announced he would pardon nearly 7,000 people in addition to thousands released earlier this month.

President Win Myint granted unconditional amnesty to 6,948 prisoners serving jail terms around the country "to bring delight to the citizens of Myanmar and taking into consideration humanitarian concerns", according to a statement.

More cases were being scrutinised for possible pardons, the statement&nbsp;said.

More than 9,000 prisoners were released on April 17, the first day of the traditional New Year, but human rights activists were disappointed that the earlier amnesty only included two people jailed on political charges.

Min Tun Soe, a spokesman for the prisons department, told Reuters that Friday's amnesty would also not include many activists.

"As far as I can see on the list, the majority are drug-related cases," Soe&nbsp;said.

Two activists in the northern state of Kachin were released on Friday, one of them, Zau Jat, told supporters and journalists outside the prison in the city of Myitkyina.

"There are many prisoners in this prison who experienced an unfair judiciary," Zau Jat said in comments broadcast live over Facebook.

A court in December convicted Zau Jat and fellow activist Lum Zawng, also released on Friday, under Myanmar's peaceful assembly law and sentenced both to six months in prison.

"Even if there was no amnesty, we would be released next month, so this is just (the authorities) trying to improve their image," said Zau Jat.

Min Tun Soe and another prison official told Reuters that Friday's release did not include prisoners held in Yangon, excluding two Reuters reporters jailed for breaking the Official Secrets Act from the amnesty.

Myanmar's Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected the final appeal of the journalists, Wa Lone, 33, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 29, and upheld their seven-year prison sentences.

The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), a human rights group monitoring the prisons, said earlier this month there were 45 people serving prison sentences for "political activity", most of them for alleged links to armed groups.

Hundreds more are awaiting trial on political charges, including criticising Myanmar's powerful military, according to AAPP. Many are on bail but the group counts 94 people jailed awaiting trial in political cases.

Government spokesman Zaw Htay told reporters in the capital Naypyitaw that armed group members and those involved in "politically related cases" would be released in the third amnesty of more than 6,000 prisoners at an undisclosed date, according to a video published by The Speaker, a news outlet.

Myanmar began releasing prisoners on Friday after the president announced he would pardon nearly 7,000 people in addition to thousands released earlier this month.

Myanmar began releasing prisoners on Friday after the president announced he would pardon nearly 7,000 people in addition to thousands released earlier this month. President Win Myint granted unconditional amnesty to 6,948 prisoners serving jail terms around the country "to bring delight to the citizens of Myanmar and taking into consideration humanitarian concerns", according to a statement. More cases were being scrutinised for possible pardons, the statement said. More than 9,000 prisoners were released on April 17, the first day of the traditional New Year, but human rights activists were disappointed that the earlier amnesty only included two people jailed on political charges. Min Tun Soe, a spokesman for the prisons department, told Reuters that Friday's amnesty would also not include many activists. "As far as I can see on the list, the majority are drug-related cases," Soe said. Two activists in the northern state of Kachin were released on Friday, one of them, Zau Jat, told supporters and journalists outside the prison in the city of Myitkyina. "There are many prisoners in this prison who experienced an unfair judiciary," Zau Jat said in comments broadcast live over Facebook. A court in December convicted Zau Jat and fellow activist Lum Zawng, also released on Friday, under Myanmar's peaceful assembly law and sentenced both to six months in prison. "Even if there was no amnesty, we would be released next month, so this is just (the authorities) trying to improve their image," said Zau Jat. Min Tun Soe and another prison official told Reuters that Friday's release did not include prisoners held in Yangon, excluding two Reuters reporters jailed for breaking the Official Secrets Act from the amnesty. Myanmar's Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected the final appeal of the journalists, Wa Lone, 33, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 29, and upheld their seven-year prison sentences. The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), a human rights group monitoring the prisons, said earlier this month there were 45 people serving prison sentences for "political activity", most of them for alleged links to armed groups. Hundreds more are awaiting trial on political charges, including criticising Myanmar's powerful military, according to AAPP. Many are on bail but the group counts 94 people jailed awaiting trial in political cases. Government spokesman Zaw Htay told reporters in the capital Naypyitaw that armed group members and those involved in "politically related cases" would be released in the third amnesty of more than 6,000 prisoners at an undisclosed date, according to a video published by The Speaker, a news outlet.

Myanmar pardons nearly 7,000 prisoners in their second amnesty this month

On the first day of the traditional New Year in Myanmar, the country on Wednesday released over 9,000 prisoners from jails.

The release of the prisoners came in the wake of the President&nbsp;Win Myint's&nbsp;announcement of amnesty on day 1 of the New Year.

President Win Myint said 9,353 prisoners, including 16 foreigners, had been pardoned "as a gesture of marking the Myanmar New Year, for the peace and pleasure of the people, and taking into consideration humanitarian concerns”.

In a statement on a Facebook page, the president also added that the authorities were further scrutinising on the decision to release other prisoners.

Such releases from prisons across the country are regularly ordered to mark the holiday.

Several prisons had begun releasing inmates by early afternoon, with two political prisoners among them, said Aung Myo Kyaw from the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, a non-profit human rights group.

A total of 364 political prisoners are behind bars or facing trial, according to AAPP, including people accused of criticising the army and ethnic minority activists jailed after protesting against war between government forces and minority insurgents.

Two Reuters reporters jailed for breaking the Official Secrets Act were not among those being pardoned, a senior official at Insein prison, the colonial-era jail on the outskirts of the commercial capital of Yangon where they are being held, told Reuters.

(With inputs from Reuters)

On the first day of the traditional New Year in Myanmar, the country on Wednesday released over 9,000 prisoners from jails. The release of the prisoners came in the wake of the President Win Myint's announcement of amnesty on day 1 of the New Year.

On the first day of the traditional New Year in Myanmar, the country on Wednesday released over 9,000 prisoners from jails. The release of the prisoners came in the wake of the President Win Myint's announcement of amnesty on day 1 of the New Year. President Win Myint said 9,353 prisoners, including 16 foreigners, had been pardoned "as a gesture of marking the Myanmar New Year, for the peace and pleasure of the people, and taking into consideration humanitarian concerns”. In a statement on a Facebook page, the president also added that the authorities were further scrutinising on the decision to release other prisoners. Such releases from prisons across the country are regularly ordered to mark the holiday. Several prisons had begun releasing inmates by early afternoon, with two political prisoners among them, said Aung Myo Kyaw from the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, a non-profit human rights group. A total of 364 political prisoners are behind bars or facing trial, according to AAPP, including people accused of criticising the army and ethnic minority activists jailed after protesting against war between government forces and minority insurgents. Two Reuters reporters jailed for breaking the Official Secrets Act were not among those being pardoned, a senior official at Insein prison, the colonial-era jail on the outskirts of the commercial capital of Yangon where they are being held, told Reuters. (With inputs from Reuters)

Myanmar releases over 9,000 prisoners in New Year amnesty

Sri Lanka on Wednesday began interviewing 47 applicants for two positions as hangmen, officials said, as Amnesty International urged Colombo not to bring back capital punishment.

President Maithripala Sirisena announced in February that Sri Lanka would end a 43-year moratorium on executions this month in a Philippines-inspired war on drugs.

An official said that 47 male applicants would be interviewed on Wednesday and Thursday after the government advertised the vacancies in February.&nbsp;

But the successful candidates may face a delay in carrying out their new role.

"Since there is no living person in Sri Lanka who has carried out an execution, we need to send the new recruits abroad for training," the official, who asked to remain anonymous, told AFP, adding that Colombo was also yet to identify a country to provide training.&nbsp;

"The rope (used for hangings) has not been used at all since it was imported (in 2015), it will have to be tested and certified."

Rights group Amnesty International meanwhile said resuming hangings would not end drug-related crime and that innocent people could be executed due to flaws in Sri Lanka's criminal justice system.

Sirisena has said that he was inspired by the anti-drug war in the Philippines and was keen to replicate the success of his counterpart Rodrigo Duterte. Sirisena has since deployed security forces in his battle against drugs.

In a nationally televised event in Colombo, Sirisena pledged to end the spread of narcotics within two years.

Restoring capital punishment is a centrepiece of his anti-drugs policy.

Criminals in Sri Lanka are regularly given death sentences for murder, rape and drug-related crimes but until now their punishments have been commuted to life in jail.

Sri Lanka's last judicial hanging was in 1976, but an executioner was in the post until his retirement in 2014. Three replacements since have quit after short stints at the unused gallows.

On Monday, Sirisena witnessed the destruction of nearly 800 kilos (1,280 pounds) of cocaine seized between 2016 and 2018.&nbsp;

In February, police seized nearly 300 kilos of heroin worth $17 million, the island's biggest haul, at a Colombo shopping mall. In 2013, police seized 260 kilos of heroin brought into the country hidden inside tractors imported from Pakistan.

Sri Lanka's biggest drug haul, by weight, was in December 2016 when police seized 800 kilos of cocaine. Six months earlier, authorities discovered 301 kilos of cocaine inside a shipping container.

Authorities believe the Indian Ocean island is also being used as a trafficking transit point.

Sri Lanka on Wednesday began interviewing 47 applicants for two positions as hangmen, officials said, as Amnesty International urged Colombo not to bring back capital punishment.

Sri Lanka on Wednesday began interviewing 47 applicants for two positions as hangmen, officials said, as Amnesty International urged Colombo not to bring back capital punishment. President Maithripala Sirisena announced in February that Sri Lanka would end a 43-year moratorium on executions this month in a Philippines-inspired war on drugs. An official said that 47 male applicants would be interviewed on Wednesday and Thursday after the government advertised the vacancies in February. But the successful candidates may face a delay in carrying out their new role. "Since there is no living person in Sri Lanka who has carried out an execution, we need to send the new recruits abroad for training," the official, who asked to remain anonymous, told AFP, adding that Colombo was also yet to identify a country to provide training. "The rope (used for hangings) has not been used at all since it was imported (in 2015), it will have to be tested and certified." Rights group Amnesty International meanwhile said resuming hangings would not end drug-related crime and that innocent people could be executed due to flaws in Sri Lanka's criminal justice system. Sirisena has said that he was inspired by the anti-drug war in the Philippines and was keen to replicate the success of his counterpart Rodrigo Duterte. Sirisena has since deployed security forces in his battle against drugs. In a nationally televised event in Colombo, Sirisena pledged to end the spread of narcotics within two years. Restoring capital punishment is a centrepiece of his anti-drugs policy. Criminals in Sri Lanka are regularly given death sentences for murder, rape and drug-related crimes but until now their punishments have been commuted to life in jail. Sri Lanka's last judicial hanging was in 1976, but an executioner was in the post until his retirement in 2014. Three replacements since have quit after short stints at the unused gallows. On Monday, Sirisena witnessed the destruction of nearly 800 kilos (1,280 pounds) of cocaine seized between 2016 and 2018. In February, police seized nearly 300 kilos of heroin worth $17 million, the island's biggest haul, at a Colombo shopping mall. In 2013, police seized 260 kilos of heroin brought into the country hidden inside tractors imported from Pakistan. Sri Lanka's biggest drug haul, by weight, was in December 2016 when police seized 800 kilos of cocaine. Six months earlier, authorities discovered 301 kilos of cocaine inside a shipping container. Authorities believe the Indian Ocean island is also being used as a trafficking transit point.

Sri Lanka interviews 47 potential hangmen, Amnesty urges it to not bring back capital punishment

The <a href="http://www.wionews.com/south-asia/myanmar-army-kills-13-in-counterattacks-on-rakhine-rebels-191279">security forces in Myanmar </a>have bombed villages and are blocking civilians from accessing food and humanitarian assistance amid a crackdown targeting rebels in the troubled<a href="http://www.wionews.com/south-asia/myanmar-villagers-flee-fresh-rakhine-state-fighting-enter-bangladesh-195963"> Rakhine State</a>, the Amnesty International said on Monday.

The nonprofit in its latest report citing villagers and local activists said soldiers were also using vague and repressive laws to detain civilians as part of the offensive that began on January 4 when Arakan Army guerrillas raided police stations and killed 13 policemen.

At least 5,200 people, according to the United Nations, have been displaced by the fighting after the army launched the operation to annihilate insurgents, described as terrorists by the government.

"These latest operations are yet another reminder that the Myanmar military operates without any regard for human rights. Shelling inhabited villages and withholding food supplies are unjustifiable under any circumstances," said Tirana Hassan, Director of Crisis Response at Amnesty International.

Hassan accused the Myanmar authorities of "deliberately playing with the lives and livelihoods of civilians".

"As we've seen time and again, the military's priority is not to protect people in the crossfire, but rather to hide their abuses from the international community."

Amnesty reported said that artillery or mortar shells have forced people out of their homes and they return to find their properties looted and damaged.

Authorities have established restrictions on the entry of humanitarian aid from international agencies, except the Red Cross and the UN's World Food Program, to five districts where clashes are ongoing, according to the rights group.

A witness told Amnesty that the army was also imposing restrictions on the purchase and sale of commodities such as rice leading to a lack of supply in some areas.

Citing local activists and media reports, Amnesty said the army was also making arbitrary arrests and at<a href="http://13.232.42.114/south-asia/myanmar-activists-charged-after-protesting-independence-hero-statue-196112"> least 26 people have been arrested</a> for violating the law of illegal association with the Arakan Army, a crime punishable by harsh prison sentences.

The Arakan Army, formed in 2009 to achieve greater autonomy for the Buddhist minority Rakhine, is one of the various rebel groups that have taken up arms in the complex web of conflicts plaguing the country.

Rakhine is home to the Rohingyas, a Muslim-majority community, who have been denied citizenship as the government calls them illegal Bangladeshi immigrants.

More than 723,000 Rohingyas have fled to Bangladesh since August 2017 following an army offensive, which the UN described as an ethnic cleansing and intentional genocide.

The army has denied the accusations and insisted that the operation was in response to an attack by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army, a guerrilla group, targeting some 30 police posts on August 25, 2017.

Rakhine, which occupies a long coastal strip in western Myanmar, is an area with rich natural resources and a key geostrategic location, but with also one of the highest rates of poverty in the country.

The security forces in Myanmar have bombed villages and are blocking civilians from accessing food and humanitarian assistance amid a crackdown targeting rebels in the troubled Rakhine State, the Amnesty International said on Monday.

The security forces in Myanmar have bombed villages and are blocking civilians from accessing food and humanitarian assistance amid a crackdown targeting rebels in the troubled Rakhine State, the Amnesty International said on Monday. The nonprofit in its latest report citing villagers and local activists said soldiers were also using vague and repressive laws to detain civilians as part of the offensive that began on January 4 when Arakan Army guerrillas raided police stations and killed 13 policemen. At least 5,200 people, according to the United Nations, have been displaced by the fighting after the army launched the operation to annihilate insurgents, described as terrorists by the government. "These latest operations are yet another reminder that the Myanmar military operates without any regard for human rights. Shelling inhabited villages and withholding food supplies are unjustifiable under any circumstances," said Tirana Hassan, Director of Crisis Response at Amnesty International. Hassan accused the Myanmar authorities of "deliberately playing with the lives and livelihoods of civilians". "As we've seen time and again, the military's priority is not to protect people in the crossfire, but rather to hide their abuses from the international community." Amnesty reported said that artillery or mortar shells have forced people out of their homes and they return to find their properties looted and damaged. Authorities have established restrictions on the entry of humanitarian aid from international agencies, except the Red Cross and the UN's World Food Program, to five districts where clashes are ongoing, according to the rights group. A witness told Amnesty that the army was also imposing restrictions on the purchase and sale of commodities such as rice leading to a lack of supply in some areas. Citing local activists and media reports, Amnesty said the army was also making arbitrary arrests and at least 26 people have been arrested for violating the law of illegal association with the Arakan Army, a crime punishable by harsh prison sentences. The Arakan Army, formed in 2009 to achieve greater autonomy for the Buddhist minority Rakhine, is one of the various rebel groups that have taken up arms in the complex web of conflicts plaguing the country. Rakhine is home to the Rohingyas, a Muslim-majority community, who have been denied citizenship as the government calls them illegal Bangladeshi immigrants. More than 723,000 Rohingyas have fled to Bangladesh since August 2017 following an army offensive, which the UN described as an ethnic cleansing and intentional genocide. The army has denied the accusations and insisted that the operation was in response to an attack by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army, a guerrilla group, targeting some 30 police posts on August 25, 2017. Rakhine, which occupies a long coastal strip in western Myanmar, is an area with rich natural resources and a key geostrategic location, but with also one of the highest rates of poverty in the country.

Amnesty says Myanmar army shelling villages, blocking aid in Rakhine

Amnesty India Monday said that the Indian government's expulsion of Rohingya asylum-seekers to Myanmar shows a disdain for international laws.

On January 4, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said a family of Rohingya asylum-seekers from Rakhine state, registered with the UNHCR in India, was sent back to Myanmar after being detained in Assam, where they had been serving a prison term since 2013 for illegal entry into India.

Amnesty India issued a statement saying it regretted India's decision to repatriate the asylum-seekers to Myanmar, where conditions are not conducive for their return.

"The fact that the government ignored the UNHCR's requests for access to the family, who were registered as asylum-seekers, is deeply concerning. The government's actions indicate a blatant disregard for the international refugee protection mechanism and the mandate of the UN Refugee Agency," Abhirr V P, senior campaigner, Amnesty India, said.

Amnesty India Monday said that the Indian government's expulsion of Rohingya asylum-seekers to Myanmar shows a disdain for international laws. On January 4, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said a family of Rohingya asylum-seekers from Rakhine state, registered with the UNHCR in India, was sent back to Myanmar after being detained in Assam, where they had been serving a prison term since 2013 for illegal entry into India.

Amnesty India Monday said that the Indian government's expulsion of Rohingya asylum-seekers to Myanmar shows a disdain for international laws. On January 4, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said a family of Rohingya asylum-seekers from Rakhine state, registered with the UNHCR in India, was sent back to Myanmar after being detained in Assam, where they had been serving a prison term since 2013 for illegal entry into India. Amnesty India issued a statement saying it regretted India's decision to repatriate the asylum-seekers to Myanmar, where conditions are not conducive for their return. "The fact that the government ignored the UNHCR's requests for access to the family, who were registered as asylum-seekers, is deeply concerning. The government's actions indicate a blatant disregard for the international refugee protection mechanism and the mandate of the UN Refugee Agency," Abhirr V P, senior campaigner, Amnesty India, said.

India's expulsion of Rohingya shows disdain for international laws: Amnesty India

Saudi Arabia on Friday dismissed as baseless reports about torture and sexual harassment published by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.

"The government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia categorically and strongly denies the allegations made by them. The wild claims made, quoting anonymous `testimonies` or `informed sources`, are simply wrong," the Ministry of Media said in a statement.

The rights groups accused Saudi Arabia on Tuesday of abusing several activists, including some female human rights defenders detained since May.

The May arrests followed an earlier crackdown on clerics, intellectuals, and activists last year in an apparent bid to silence potential opponents of Saudi Arabia`s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

The torture allegations come with Saudi Arabia facing an international outcry over the killing last month of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

Saudi Arabia on Friday dismissed as baseless reports about torture and sexual harassment published by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. "The government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia categorically and strongly denies the allegations made by them.

Saudi Arabia on Friday dismissed as baseless reports about torture and sexual harassment published by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. "The government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia categorically and strongly denies the allegations made by them. The wild claims made, quoting anonymous `testimonies` or `informed sources`, are simply wrong," the Ministry of Media said in a statement. The rights groups accused Saudi Arabia on Tuesday of abusing several activists, including some female human rights defenders detained since May. The May arrests followed an earlier crackdown on clerics, intellectuals, and activists last year in an apparent bid to silence potential opponents of Saudi Arabia`s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The torture allegations come with Saudi Arabia facing an international outcry over the killing last month of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

Saudi Arabia says reports about torture by Amnesty, HRW are baseless

Myanmar authorities and citizens leapt to the defence of Aung San Suu Kyi Tuesday after Amnesty International stripped her of its top award over indifference to atrocities committed against Rohingya Muslims, doubling down on support for the civilian leader in the face of global ire.

Suu Kyi's international reputation as a rights icon is in pieces and Amnesty's move is the latest in a string of rescinded accolades.

Canada revoked her honorary citizenship last month and the US Holocaust Museum in March took back an award named after concentration camp survivor Elie Wiesel.

Institutions that once showered Suu Kyi with titles are rapidly distancing themselves from a leader they argue is doing little in the face of alleged genocide and ethnic cleansing against its Rohingya minority.

Amnesty's "Ambassador of Conscience Award" was bestowed in 2009 and other recipients include Nelson Mandela,&nbsp;Malala Yousafzai and Ai Wei Wei.

"Today, we are profoundly dismayed that you no longer represent a symbol of hope, courage, and the undying defence of human rights," Amnesty International chief Kumi Naidoo&nbsp;said in a letter to Suu Kyi released by the group.

"Amnesty International cannot justify your continued status as a recipient of the Ambassador of Conscience award and so with great sadness we are hereby withdrawing it from you."

But domestically, Suu Kyi remains popular across vast swathes of Myanmar and within her party, the National League for Democracy, which won elections in 2015 ending decades of military-backed rule.

The stripping of awards not only harms the "dignity" of Suu Kyi, but also that of all NLD members, the party's spokesman Myo Nyunt told AFP, adding he thought this was all part of a wider conspiracy.

"All these organisations are working for the Bengalis who have left the country in order to get citizenship," he said, using a pejorative term for the Rohingya that is widely accepted in Myanmar and falsely implies they are illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.

Deputy Minister for Information Aung Hla Tun told AFP he was personally sad and disappointed by Amnesty's announcement and said Suu Kyi was being treated "unfairly".

Such moves would only "make the people love her more", he added.

People on the street in Yangon were defiant.

"Their withdrawal is pretty childish. It's like when children aren't getting along with each other and take back their toys," 50-year-old Khin Maung Aye said.

"We don't need their prize," said Htay Htay, 60.

More than 720,000 Rohingya were driven over the border to Bangladesh in a crackdown that started in August 2017, and refugees have detailed horrific testimony of murder, rape, torture and arson.

The military says it was defending itself against Rohingya militants.

UN investigators have called for top generals to be prosecuted for genocide and accused Suu Kyi's government of complicity, though has stopped short of calling for her to be hauled before a court.

Suu Kyi became a democracy icon after spearheading the opposition movement to the feared military junta, which resulted in her spending some 15 years under house arrest before her release in 2010.

She has yet to comment on Amnesty's decision herself but has in the past shrugged off questions about withdrawn awards.

Calls to revoke Suu Kyi's 1991 Nobel Peace Prize have been rebuffed by the committee that oversees it.

Some think, however, that Amnesty's move will be taken more personally because she became a cause celebre for the rights group during her house arrest.

"This is effectively an excommunication of Suu Kyi from the pantheon of human rights champions," Yangon-based independent analyst David Mathieson said, adding that the decision would "sting".

Myanmar authorities and citizens leapt to the defence of Aung San Suu Kyi Tuesday after Amnesty International stripped her of its top award over indifference to atrocities committed against Rohingya Muslims, doubling down on support for the civilian leader in the face of global ire.

Myanmar authorities and citizens leapt to the defence of Aung San Suu Kyi Tuesday after Amnesty International stripped her of its top award over indifference to atrocities committed against Rohingya Muslims, doubling down on support for the civilian leader in the face of global ire. Suu Kyi's international reputation as a rights icon is in pieces and Amnesty's move is the latest in a string of rescinded accolades. Canada revoked her honorary citizenship last month and the US Holocaust Museum in March took back an award named after concentration camp survivor Elie Wiesel. Institutions that once showered Suu Kyi with titles are rapidly distancing themselves from a leader they argue is doing little in the face of alleged genocide and ethnic cleansing against its Rohingya minority. Amnesty's "Ambassador of Conscience Award" was bestowed in 2009 and other recipients include Nelson Mandela, Malala Yousafzai and Ai Wei Wei. "Today, we are profoundly dismayed that you no longer represent a symbol of hope, courage, and the undying defence of human rights," Amnesty International chief Kumi Naidoo said in a letter to Suu Kyi released by the group. "Amnesty International cannot justify your continued status as a recipient of the Ambassador of Conscience award and so with great sadness we are hereby withdrawing it from you." But domestically, Suu Kyi remains popular across vast swathes of Myanmar and within her party, the National League for Democracy, which won elections in 2015 ending decades of military-backed rule. The stripping of awards not only harms the "dignity" of Suu Kyi, but also that of all NLD members, the party's spokesman Myo Nyunt told AFP, adding he thought this was all part of a wider conspiracy. "All these organisations are working for the Bengalis who have left the country in order to get citizenship," he said, using a pejorative term for the Rohingya that is widely accepted in Myanmar and falsely implies they are illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. Deputy Minister for Information Aung Hla Tun told AFP he was personally sad and disappointed by Amnesty's announcement and said Suu Kyi was being treated "unfairly". Such moves would only "make the people love her more", he added. People on the street in Yangon were defiant. "Their withdrawal is pretty childish. It's like when children aren't getting along with each other and take back their toys," 50-year-old Khin Maung Aye said. "We don't need their prize," said Htay Htay, 60. More than 720,000 Rohingya were driven over the border to Bangladesh in a crackdown that started in August 2017, and refugees have detailed horrific testimony of murder, rape, torture and arson. The military says it was defending itself against Rohingya militants. UN investigators have called for top generals to be prosecuted for genocide and accused Suu Kyi's government of complicity, though has stopped short of calling for her to be hauled before a court. Suu Kyi became a democracy icon after spearheading the opposition movement to the feared military junta, which resulted in her spending some 15 years under house arrest before her release in 2010. She has yet to comment on Amnesty's decision herself but has in the past shrugged off questions about withdrawn awards. Calls to revoke Suu Kyi's 1991 Nobel Peace Prize have been rebuffed by the committee that oversees it. Some think, however, that Amnesty's move will be taken more personally because she became a cause celebre for the rights group during her house arrest. "This is effectively an excommunication of Suu Kyi from the pantheon of human rights champions," Yangon-based independent analyst David Mathieson said, adding that the decision would "sting".

'We don't need their prize': Myanmar defiant as Amnesty pulls Suu Kyi award

There is evidence that attacks by the U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State in the Syrian city of Raqqa last year broke international law by endangering the lives of civilians, human rights group Amnesty International said on Tuesday.

During its campaign to recapture the group’s Syrian capital, the coalition did not take enough account of civilians or take the precautions necessary to minimise harm to them, Amnesty said in a report.

It documented the cases of four families whose experiences it said were emblematic of wider patterns and provided “prima facie evidence that several coalition attacks which killed and injured civilians violated international humanitarian law”.

In an email, the coalition said it applies “rigorous standards to our targeting process and takes extraordinary efforts to protect non-combatants”.

It added that it strikes military objectives in accordance with the laws of armed conflict and is transparent about its procedures.

The campaign to capture Raqqa was waged from June to October last year by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an alliance of Kurdish and Arab militias backed by coalition warplanes and special forces troops.

Reuters reporters in Raqqa during and after the campaign said that air strikes and fighting had caused massive destruction throughout the city, laying waste to entire districts.

The jihadist Islamic State had once used the city as the administrative centre of its self-declared caliphate, making it a planning centre for attacks by its followers around the world.

During the battle for Raqqa, IS fighters made it harder for the coalition offensive to avoid civilian deaths by operating among them and using them as human shields, Amnesty said.

Amnesty said it had interviewed 112 civilian residents of Raqqa during field research there in February, visiting the sites of 42 air, artillery and mortar strikes.

It said that in the four cases detailed in its report, air strikes using powerful munitions had hit buildings full of civilians who had been staying there for long periods.

It focused on the Aswad family, which it said lost eight members in a single air strike, the Hashish family, which it said lost 18 members, the Badran family which it said lost 39 members, and the Fayad family which it said lost 16 members.

“Witnesses reported that there were no fighters in the vicinity at the time of the attacks. Such attacks could be either direct attacks on civilians or civilian objects or indiscriminate attacks,” the report said of the four cases studied, adding that such attacks amounted to war crimes.

Amnesty called on the coalition and member states to acknowledge the scale of devastation, make public necessary information for an independent investigation and make reparations to victims.

During its campaign to recapture the group’s Syrian capital, the coalition did not take enough account of civilians or take the precautions necessary to minimise harm to them

There is evidence that attacks by the U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State in the Syrian city of Raqqa last year broke international law by endangering the lives of civilians, human rights group Amnesty International said on Tuesday. During its campaign to recapture the group’s Syrian capital, the coalition did not take enough account of civilians or take the precautions necessary to minimise harm to them, Amnesty said in a report. It documented the cases of four families whose experiences it said were emblematic of wider patterns and provided “prima facie evidence that several coalition attacks which killed and injured civilians violated international humanitarian law”. In an email, the coalition said it applies “rigorous standards to our targeting process and takes extraordinary efforts to protect non-combatants”. It added that it strikes military objectives in accordance with the laws of armed conflict and is transparent about its procedures. The campaign to capture Raqqa was waged from June to October last year by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an alliance of Kurdish and Arab militias backed by coalition warplanes and special forces troops. Reuters reporters in Raqqa during and after the campaign said that air strikes and fighting had caused massive destruction throughout the city, laying waste to entire districts. The jihadist Islamic State had once used the city as the administrative centre of its self-declared caliphate, making it a planning centre for attacks by its followers around the world. During the battle for Raqqa, IS fighters made it harder for the coalition offensive to avoid civilian deaths by operating among them and using them as human shields, Amnesty said. Amnesty said it had interviewed 112 civilian residents of Raqqa during field research there in February, visiting the sites of 42 air, artillery and mortar strikes. It said that in the four cases detailed in its report, air strikes using powerful munitions had hit buildings full of civilians who had been staying there for long periods. It focused on the Aswad family, which it said lost eight members in a single air strike, the Hashish family, which it said lost 18 members, the Badran family which it said lost 39 members, and the Fayad family which it said lost 16 members. “Witnesses reported that there were no fighters in the vicinity at the time of the attacks. Such attacks could be either direct attacks on civilians or civilian objects or indiscriminate attacks,” the report said of the four cases studied, adding that such attacks amounted to war crimes. Amnesty called on the coalition and member states to acknowledge the scale of devastation, make public necessary information for an independent investigation and make reparations to victims.

Evidence shows coalition attacks on Syria's Raqqa broke law: Amnesty

Myanmar's new president said on Tuesday over 8,000 prisoners will be freed in an amnesty, a move the government said would bring about humanitarian support amid the country's political reforms after decades of military rule.

The presidential pardon, signed by newly-elected President Win Myint, said the move was aimed to bring peace as part of celebrations of the Myanmar new year. It did not specify when the amnesty would take place.

"To bring peace and pleasure to people's heart, and for the sake of humanitarian support, 8,490 prisoners from respective prisons will be given the pardon," the Presidential Office said in a statement.

Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi has made ending near-perpetual civil war to bring national reconciliation her top priority. Her ruling National League for Democracy took office in 2016 amid sky-high expectations of greater freedoms after nearly half a century of military rule.

Two Reuters reporters jailed in Myanmar were not included in the amnesty, according to Min Tun Soe, spokesman of Myanmar Prisons Department, citing ongoing legal proceedings.

A court in Yangon has been holding preliminary hearings since January to decide whether the pair will be charged under the colonial-era Officials Secrets Act, which carries a maximum penalty of 14 years in prison.

Over 6,000 prisoners who were sentenced under drug-related charges would be included in the pardon, according to a Facebook post by government spokesman Zaw Htay.

Nearly 2,000 members of Myanmar's military and police force, who were jailed under the Military Act or Police Disciplinary Act, would be freed, Zaw Htay wrote. He did not elaborate.

He said a total of 36 prisoners on a rights watchdog list, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners' (AAPP), were also included in the amnesty.

Hundreds of political prisoners have been released from Myanmar's jails in amnesties in recent years, including dozens freed in April 2016, days after Nobel laureate Suu Kyi's party took power following nearly 50 years of military rule.

Myanmar's constitution obliges Suu Kyi's civilian government to share power with the powerful military, which controls key cabinet posts including law and order and security.

"We submitted a list of 44 political prisoners and now 36 are released...This amnesty is very good news and we welcome and support it," said AAPP's Myanmar representative Aung Myo Kyaw.

"But there should not be a single political prisoner in a democratic country," he said. "It will be better if remaining political prisoners and also those who are still facing charges were pardoned."

Suu Kyi, who spent years under house arrest, has said that releasing the remaining political prisoners was a top priority.

Prior to Tuesday's pardon, there were 240 political activists jailed or awaiting trial in Myanmar, according to AAPP.

Suu Kyi has struggled to rebut criticism over slower economic growth and the stuttering peace process. Her government also faces mounting international condemnation for a military operation against Rohingya Muslims that has sent nearly 700,000 members of the minority community fleeing to Bangladesh.

The government said the move would bring about humanitarian support amid the country's political reforms after decades of military rule

Myanmar's new president said on Tuesday over 8,000 prisoners will be freed in an amnesty, a move the government said would bring about humanitarian support amid the country's political reforms after decades of military rule. The presidential pardon, signed by newly-elected President Win Myint, said the move was aimed to bring peace as part of celebrations of the Myanmar new year. It did not specify when the amnesty would take place. "To bring peace and pleasure to people's heart, and for the sake of humanitarian support, 8,490 prisoners from respective prisons will be given the pardon," the Presidential Office said in a statement. Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi has made ending near-perpetual civil war to bring national reconciliation her top priority. Her ruling National League for Democracy took office in 2016 amid sky-high expectations of greater freedoms after nearly half a century of military rule. Two Reuters reporters jailed in Myanmar were not included in the amnesty, according to Min Tun Soe, spokesman of Myanmar Prisons Department, citing ongoing legal proceedings. A court in Yangon has been holding preliminary hearings since January to decide whether the pair will be charged under the colonial-era Officials Secrets Act, which carries a maximum penalty of 14 years in prison. Over 6,000 prisoners who were sentenced under drug-related charges would be included in the pardon, according to a Facebook post by government spokesman Zaw Htay. Nearly 2,000 members of Myanmar's military and police force, who were jailed under the Military Act or Police Disciplinary Act, would be freed, Zaw Htay wrote. He did not elaborate. He said a total of 36 prisoners on a rights watchdog list, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners' (AAPP), were also included in the amnesty. Hundreds of political prisoners have been released from Myanmar's jails in amnesties in recent years, including dozens freed in April 2016, days after Nobel laureate Suu Kyi's party took power following nearly 50 years of military rule. Myanmar's constitution obliges Suu Kyi's civilian government to share power with the powerful military, which controls key cabinet posts including law and order and security. "We submitted a list of 44 political prisoners and now 36 are released...This amnesty is very good news and we welcome and support it," said AAPP's Myanmar representative Aung Myo Kyaw. "But there should not be a single political prisoner in a democratic country," he said. "It will be better if remaining political prisoners and also those who are still facing charges were pardoned." Suu Kyi, who spent years under house arrest, has said that releasing the remaining political prisoners was a top priority. Prior to Tuesday's pardon, there were 240 political activists jailed or awaiting trial in Myanmar, according to AAPP. Suu Kyi has struggled to rebut criticism over slower economic growth and the stuttering peace process. Her government also faces mounting international condemnation for a military operation against Rohingya Muslims that has sent nearly 700,000 members of the minority community fleeing to Bangladesh.

Myanmar to free over 8,000 prisoners in new-year amnesty

A global human rights body on Wednesday said the Unnao gangrape case, allegedly involving a BJP MLA, and the subsequent death of the woman’s father in judicial custody painted a “chilling picture”, and demanded an independent investigation.

Amnesty International India’s Programmes Director Asmita Basu, in a statement also urged the Uttar Pradesh government to respond to the notices issued by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in this case and ensure that the perpetrators are brought to justice.

The NHRC had yesterday sent a notice to the Uttar Pradesh government and the state police chief seeking a detailed report on the custodial death of the 50-year-old man after his daughter had accused a BJP MLA and his aides of gangrape in Unnao, and asked the authorities to ensure “the aggrieved family is not subjected to further harassment”.

Days after the 17-year-old woman accused BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar, his brother Atul Singh and his aides of raping her, her father had died in custody on Monday. Prior to her father’s death, the woman had also tried to immolate herself outside the Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s house in Lucknow. The death of her father in custody while seeking justice for his daughter, “suggests that the UP police have turned their backs on human rights,” the Amnesty India said.

The alleged failure of the Uttar Pradesh police in registering an FIR against the MLA, the harassment faced by the woman and her family, and the death of her father in custody, “paint a chilling picture”, the rights body said.

There must be an immediate, independent and impartial investigation into these alleged violations, and “authorities must take all steps to ensure that the survivor and her family are protected from any further harassment,” the statement said.

Amnesty International India's Programmes Director Asmita Basu, in a statement also urged the Uttar Pradesh government to respond to the notices issued by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in this case and ensure that the perpetrators are brought to justice.

A global human rights body on Wednesday said the Unnao gangrape case, allegedly involving a BJP MLA, and the subsequent death of the woman’s father in judicial custody painted a “chilling picture”, and demanded an independent investigation. Amnesty International India’s Programmes Director Asmita Basu, in a statement also urged the Uttar Pradesh government to respond to the notices issued by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in this case and ensure that the perpetrators are brought to justice. The NHRC had yesterday sent a notice to the Uttar Pradesh government and the state police chief seeking a detailed report on the custodial death of the 50-year-old man after his daughter had accused a BJP MLA and his aides of gangrape in Unnao, and asked the authorities to ensure “the aggrieved family is not subjected to further harassment”. Days after the 17-year-old woman accused BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar, his brother Atul Singh and his aides of raping her, her father had died in custody on Monday. Prior to her father’s death, the woman had also tried to immolate herself outside the Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s house in Lucknow. The death of her father in custody while seeking justice for his daughter, “suggests that the UP police have turned their backs on human rights,” the Amnesty India said. The alleged failure of the Uttar Pradesh police in registering an FIR against the MLA, the harassment faced by the woman and her family, and the death of her father in custody, “paint a chilling picture”, the rights body said. There must be an immediate, independent and impartial investigation into these alleged violations, and “authorities must take all steps to ensure that the survivor and her family are protected from any further harassment,” the statement said.

Unnao rape case paints chilling picture, says Amnesty; demands independent probe

Pakistan's Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi announced a tax amnesty on Thursday aimed at broadening the government's revenue base in a country where only about 1 percent of the adult population are taxpayers.

Announcing that all 120 million national identity card holders will be assigned tax numbers, Abbasi told a news conference in Islamabad: "If you don't pay taxes, Pakistan will not be sustainable."

Under the amnesty plan, all Pakistanis will be able to declare their unreported income and assets and bring their money into the tax base after paying a 5 percent one-off penalty, Abbasi said. He said Pakistanis living overseas and declaring income or assets would pay a 2 per cent one-time penalty.

Pakistani politicians will be exempted from the amnesty, which will be effective until June 30.

"This is some 2-1/2 months' time you have to benefit from, and after that, you will have to face the law," the prime minister said.

Once the amnesty period expires, Pakistani authorities will use technology to identify and catch tax evaders.

He said only 1.2 million of Pakistan's 208 million people filed income tax returns in the last year, and of them, 500,000 paid zero taxes.

Abbasi said the government was also reducing the tax rate to encourage people to voluntarily sign up. Tax rates on individuals vary in Pakistan but can be as high as 30 percent for salaried individuals and 35 percent for non-salaried individuals.

Pakistan has one of the world's lowest number of taxpayers as a percentage of the population.

Successive governments have promised to rein in tax evasion and boost revenues but have faced fierce resistance to change, including from the many politicians and businessmen believed to be among those dodging payment.

Pakistan's nearly $300 billion economies has recently been showing signs of vulnerability despite surging growth rates above 5 percent, the fastest pace in a decade.

The government has in recent months devalued the rupee, imposed tariffs on imported goods and sought to boost exports to reduce growing balance of payments pressures.

A widened current account deficit has prompted analysts to suggest the country may need an International Monetary Fund bailout in the next 12 months.

Abbasi said he was aware of the challenges.

"We have been in a growth phase. There are current account challenges. We are tackling that," he said.&nbsp

Announcing that all 120 million national identity card holders will be assigned tax numbers, Abbasi told a news conference in Islamabad: "If you don't pay taxes, Pakistan will not be sustainable."

Pakistan's Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi announced a tax amnesty on Thursday aimed at broadening the government's revenue base in a country where only about 1 percent of the adult population are taxpayers. Announcing that all 120 million national identity card holders will be assigned tax numbers, Abbasi told a news conference in Islamabad: "If you don't pay taxes, Pakistan will not be sustainable." Under the amnesty plan, all Pakistanis will be able to declare their unreported income and assets and bring their money into the tax base after paying a 5 percent one-off penalty, Abbasi said. He said Pakistanis living overseas and declaring income or assets would pay a 2 per cent one-time penalty. Pakistani politicians will be exempted from the amnesty, which will be effective until June 30. "This is some 2-1/2 months' time you have to benefit from, and after that, you will have to face the law," the prime minister said. Once the amnesty period expires, Pakistani authorities will use technology to identify and catch tax evaders. He said only 1.2 million of Pakistan's 208 million people filed income tax returns in the last year, and of them, 500,000 paid zero taxes. Abbasi said the government was also reducing the tax rate to encourage people to voluntarily sign up. Tax rates on individuals vary in Pakistan but can be as high as 30 percent for salaried individuals and 35 percent for non-salaried individuals. Pakistan has one of the world's lowest number of taxpayers as a percentage of the population. Successive governments have promised to rein in tax evasion and boost revenues but have faced fierce resistance to change, including from the many politicians and businessmen believed to be among those dodging payment. Pakistan's nearly $300 billion economies has recently been showing signs of vulnerability despite surging growth rates above 5 percent, the fastest pace in a decade. The government has in recent months devalued the rupee, imposed tariffs on imported goods and sought to boost exports to reduce growing balance of payments pressures. A widened current account deficit has prompted analysts to suggest the country may need an International Monetary Fund bailout in the next 12 months. Abbasi said he was aware of the challenges. "We have been in a growth phase. There are current account challenges. We are tackling that," he said.

Pakistan declares tax amnesty to broaden income revenue base

Amnesty International today called on authorities in Mali to investigate extra-judicial killings following the discovery last week of a mass grave containing six bodies.

The rights group said it had collected evidence that "the six bodies found in a mass grave on 25 March had been arrested by the military three days earlier in the village of Dogo and taken away to an unknown location."

"This macabre discovery comes after weeks of escalating violence which has left civilians in central Mali caught in the crossfire, facing enforced disappearances and unlawful killings by the military on one side, and roadside bombs and abductions by armed groups on the other," Amnesty's West Africa researcher Gaetan Mootoo said in a statement.

"We are urging the Malian authorities to investigate reports of enforced disappearances and extra-judicial killings of civilians in the central region, and bring all those suspected of criminal responsibility to justice," Mootoo said.

The UN Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) on March 29 expressed "deep concern" over the increase in "serious violations and human rights abuses against civilians, including cases of summary execution" in the centre of the country, where jihadist groups are particularly active.

MINUSMA, which has 12,000 peacekeepers in Mali, said it had recorded at least 85 major violent incidents and armed confrontations that resulted in at least 180 civilian victims, including 15 women and 17 children, since the beginning of the year.

It said it was also worried about the extent of inter-communal violence in the central region, which has killed at least 50 people.

"Some cases are attributable to community self-defence groups," said MINUSMA, which welcomed Prime Minister Soumeylou Boubeye Maiga's recent visit to the restive region and the government's commitment to "shed light on serious violations and human rights abuses".

Maiga, who is charged with improving Mali's security situation, vowed to disarm militias during a visit to Koro on March 25.

In early 2012 Islamist extremists linked to Al-Qaeda and other armed groups took control of Mali's desert north, but were largely driven out in a French-led military operation launched in January 2013.

That insurgency has since spread to the country's centre, where local grievances are exploited by the Islamists in a region awash with guns.

Another problem is deadly clashes between farmers and herders driven south to feed their animals in recent years.&nbsp

Mali to investigate extra-judicial killings following the discovery last week of a mass grave containing six bodies

Amnesty International today called on authorities in Mali to investigate extra-judicial killings following the discovery last week of a mass grave containing six bodies. The rights group said it had collected evidence that "the six bodies found in a mass grave on 25 March had been arrested by the military three days earlier in the village of Dogo and taken away to an unknown location." "This macabre discovery comes after weeks of escalating violence which has left civilians in central Mali caught in the crossfire, facing enforced disappearances and unlawful killings by the military on one side, and roadside bombs and abductions by armed groups on the other," Amnesty's West Africa researcher Gaetan Mootoo said in a statement. "We are urging the Malian authorities to investigate reports of enforced disappearances and extra-judicial killings of civilians in the central region, and bring all those suspected of criminal responsibility to justice," Mootoo said. The UN Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) on March 29 expressed "deep concern" over the increase in "serious violations and human rights abuses against civilians, including cases of summary execution" in the centre of the country, where jihadist groups are particularly active. MINUSMA, which has 12,000 peacekeepers in Mali, said it had recorded at least 85 major violent incidents and armed confrontations that resulted in at least 180 civilian victims, including 15 women and 17 children, since the beginning of the year. It said it was also worried about the extent of inter-communal violence in the central region, which has killed at least 50 people. "Some cases are attributable to community self-defence groups," said MINUSMA, which welcomed Prime Minister Soumeylou Boubeye Maiga's recent visit to the restive region and the government's commitment to "shed light on serious violations and human rights abuses". Maiga, who is charged with improving Mali's security situation, vowed to disarm militias during a visit to Koro on March 25. In early 2012 Islamist extremists linked to Al-Qaeda and other armed groups took control of Mali's desert north, but were largely driven out in a French-led military operation launched in January 2013. That insurgency has since spread to the country's centre, where local grievances are exploited by the Islamists in a region awash with guns. Another problem is deadly clashes between farmers and herders driven south to feed their animals in recent years.

Amnesty calls on Mali to probe extrajudicial killings

Many women cannot express themselves freely on Twitter without fear of violence or abuse, Amnesty International said on Wednesday, even though the #MeToo campaign has helped women to speak out.

Abuses ranged from &#39;doxing&#39; - releasing personal documents such as a person&#39;s address or children&#39;s names - to posting nude pictures, the rights group said, as it launched a campaign to get Twitter to step up its response to violations.

&quot;Many women are logging onto Twitter to find death threats, rape threats and racist or homophobic slurs littering their feeds,&quot; Azmina Dhrodia, a researcher with Amnesty and author of its #ToxicTwitter report, said in a statement.

&quot;If Twitter is allowing violence and abuse against women to flourish on the platform, the danger is that someone experiencing that will censor or silence themselves as a result,&quot; she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Twitter was not immediately available to comment. In October, however, the company pledged to toughen its rules on online sexual harassment and impose stronger penalties for misconduct.

The report follows an international study this month that found women politicians on Twitter were judged more harshly than their male peers on appearance and marital status and were three times more likely to receive sexist comments.

Amnesty said it asked Twitter in January for information on how many reports of abuse it gets, the number of reports that were in violation of Twitter&#39;s rules, and its response times.

It published a reply from Twitter which said the data could be &quot;misleading&quot; as some users report content that they disagreed with for political reasons in a bid to get others blocked.

Twitter also noted it had made dozens of changes over 16 months to improve safety, and, according to Amnesty, said it &quot;cannot delete hatred and prejudice from society&quot;.

&quot;We are not asking them to solve the world&#39;s problems. We are asking them to make concrete changes that truly demonstrate that abuse against women is not welcome on Twitter,&quot; Dhrodia said.

In a poll last year, Amnesty found a third of women who experienced online abuse stopped giving opinion. It found 43 percent of women in Britain and 22 percent in the United States felt Twitter&#39;s response to abuse or harassment was inadequate.

Twitter does have a number of tools to help users, including options to block followers, to change settings to avoid seeing certain words, and to report abuse.

In a written response to Amnesty, Vijaya Gadde, who is Twitter&#39;s general counsel, said limiting accounts that violated the service&#39;s rules on abuse had improved behaviour.

Gadde did say Twitter continued to see repeat offenders who create new accounts when suspended.

Twitter&#39;s hateful conduct policy states that the company does not &quot;tolerate behaviour that harasses, intimidates, or uses fear to silence another person&#39;s voice&quot;. 
&nbsp;

Abuses ranged from 'doxing' - releasing personal documents such as a person's address or children's names - to posting nude pictures, the rights group said, as it launched a campaign to get Twitter to step up its response to violations

Many women cannot express themselves freely on Twitter without fear of violence or abuse, Amnesty International said on Wednesday, even though the #MeToo campaign has helped women to speak out. Abuses ranged from 'doxing' - releasing personal documents such as a person's address or children's names - to posting nude pictures, the rights group said, as it launched a campaign to get Twitter to step up its response to violations. "Many women are logging onto Twitter to find death threats, rape threats and racist or homophobic slurs littering their feeds," Azmina Dhrodia, a researcher with Amnesty and author of its #ToxicTwitter report, said in a statement. "If Twitter is allowing violence and abuse against women to flourish on the platform, the danger is that someone experiencing that will censor or silence themselves as a result," she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. Twitter was not immediately available to comment. In October, however, the company pledged to toughen its rules on online sexual harassment and impose stronger penalties for misconduct. The report follows an international study this month that found women politicians on Twitter were judged more harshly than their male peers on appearance and marital status and were three times more likely to receive sexist comments. Amnesty said it asked Twitter in January for information on how many reports of abuse it gets, the number of reports that were in violation of Twitter's rules, and its response times. It published a reply from Twitter which said the data could be "misleading" as some users report content that they disagreed with for political reasons in a bid to get others blocked. Twitter also noted it had made dozens of changes over 16 months to improve safety, and, according to Amnesty, said it "cannot delete hatred and prejudice from society". "We are not asking them to solve the world's problems. We are asking them to make concrete changes that truly demonstrate that abuse against women is not welcome on Twitter," Dhrodia said. In a poll last year, Amnesty found a third of women who experienced online abuse stopped giving opinion. It found 43 percent of women in Britain and 22 percent in the United States felt Twitter's response to abuse or harassment was inadequate. Twitter does have a number of tools to help users, including options to block followers, to change settings to avoid seeing certain words, and to report abuse. In a written response to Amnesty, Vijaya Gadde, who is Twitter's general counsel, said limiting accounts that violated the service's rules on abuse had improved behaviour. Gadde did say Twitter continued to see repeat offenders who create new accounts when suspended. Twitter's hateful conduct policy states that the company does not "tolerate behaviour that harasses, intimidates, or uses fear to silence another person's voice".

Twitter failing women as online abuse flourishes, says Amnesty

Myanmar is building security installations on top of razed Rohingya villages, Amnesty International said Monday, casting doubt on the country&#39;s plans to repatriate hundreds of thousands of refugees.

Nearly 700,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled northern Rakhine state to Bangladesh since Myanmar launched a brutal crackdown on insurgents six months ago that the US and UN have called ethnic cleansing.

Myanmar rejects that accusation, saying it was responding to attacks by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army in late August.&nbsp;

But critics accuse the military of using the insurgent attacks to launch disproportionate, scorched-earth &quot;clearance operations&quot; as a pretext to push out the loathed minority.

The new Amnesty report, &quot;Remaking Rakhine State,&quot; uses satellite imagery and interviews to point to a rapid increase in military infrastructure and other construction since the start of the year that researchers say amounts to a &quot;land grab&quot;.

&quot;The new evidence and the rebuilding that Amnesty has documented in our latest research shows that the Myanmar authorities are building over the top of the very places the Rohingya need to return to,&quot; Tirana Hassan, Amnesty&#39;s crisis response director, told AFP ahead of the report&#39;s release on Monday.

&quot;In some instances there has been the destruction of existing homes.&quot;

Though admitting the images only paint a partial picture, the rights group says structures for security forces, helipads and even roads have been built in and around torched Rohingya properties.

Satellite imagery of one village called Kan Kya on the outskirts of Rakhine&#39;s Maungdaw town taken two months after the August attacks shows a settlement scarred by fire.

But by early March buildings could be seen on the revamped land. Amnesty believes they are part of a new base for security forces.&nbsp;

Similar building activity was also detected in Inn Din village, where Myanmar has admitted that its security forces took part in the killings of 10 Rohingya residents in September.&nbsp;

Rakhine state has been largely sealed off from rights groups, the media and UN investigators.

Myanmar and Bangladesh were supposed to start repatriating Rohingya refugees in late January but many are reluctant to return to a place without guarantees of basic rights and safety.

The report also highlights concerns that abandoned Rohingya land will be set aside for ethnic Rakhine Buddhists and other non-Muslim groups in the area, and that alterations to the landscape will erase evidence of alleged atrocities by the military.

Myanmar officials could not immediately be reached for comment.

Myanmar has denied claims it is covering up evidence, saying it is improving the standard of living in one of the poorest states in the country.

Myanmar rejects that accusation, saying it was responding to attacks by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army in late August

Myanmar is building security installations on top of razed Rohingya villages, Amnesty International said Monday, casting doubt on the country's plans to repatriate hundreds of thousands of refugees. Nearly 700,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled northern Rakhine state to Bangladesh since Myanmar launched a brutal crackdown on insurgents six months ago that the US and UN have called ethnic cleansing. Myanmar rejects that accusation, saying it was responding to attacks by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army in late August. But critics accuse the military of using the insurgent attacks to launch disproportionate, scorched-earth "clearance operations" as a pretext to push out the loathed minority. The new Amnesty report, "Remaking Rakhine State," uses satellite imagery and interviews to point to a rapid increase in military infrastructure and other construction since the start of the year that researchers say amounts to a "land grab". "The new evidence and the rebuilding that Amnesty has documented in our latest research shows that the Myanmar authorities are building over the top of the very places the Rohingya need to return to," Tirana Hassan, Amnesty's crisis response director, told AFP ahead of the report's release on Monday. "In some instances there has been the destruction of existing homes." Though admitting the images only paint a partial picture, the rights group says structures for security forces, helipads and even roads have been built in and around torched Rohingya properties. Satellite imagery of one village called Kan Kya on the outskirts of Rakhine's Maungdaw town taken two months after the August attacks shows a settlement scarred by fire. But by early March buildings could be seen on the revamped land. Amnesty believes they are part of a new base for security forces. Similar building activity was also detected in Inn Din village, where Myanmar has admitted that its security forces took part in the killings of 10 Rohingya residents in September. Rakhine state has been largely sealed off from rights groups, the media and UN investigators. Myanmar and Bangladesh were supposed to start repatriating Rohingya refugees in late January but many are reluctant to return to a place without guarantees of basic rights and safety. The report also highlights concerns that abandoned Rohingya land will be set aside for ethnic Rakhine Buddhists and other non-Muslim groups in the area, and that alterations to the landscape will erase evidence of alleged atrocities by the military. Myanmar officials could not immediately be reached for comment. Myanmar has denied claims it is covering up evidence, saying it is improving the standard of living in one of the poorest states in the country.

Myanmar erects security structures atop burned Rohingya land: Amnesty

The first Rohingya refugees who arrived on Jorina Katun&#39;s farmland in Bangladesh last year were worn out and traumatised after fleeing violence in neighbouring Myanmar. They wept and begged to stay, and Katun, moved by their plight, said yes.

&quot;I really regret that,&quot; she said. &quot;They said they would stay for only a month. They&#39;re still here and more are coming.&quot; Katun now has 25 Rohingya families living on a patch of land where she used to grow rice and vegetables.

Since August, nearly 700,000 Rohingya have crossed from Myanmar&#39;s Rakhine State into Bangladesh. Makeshift camps housing the Rohingya sprawl across thousands of acres of what was once a government forest reserve, butting up against - and sometimes overwhelming - Bangladeshi homes and land. Jorina Katun lives on the edge of the largest such camp.

Officials and aid workers fear that the welcome is wearing thin, due to the unprecedented number of refugees and growing doubts over whether Myanmar will ever take them back.

Repatriation was due to begin in January under an agreement signed by Myanmar and Bangladesh. But the plan has stalled due to safety and logistical concerns, and meanwhile, Rohingya continue to flee across the border.

&quot;We&#39;ve accommodated them, but for how long?&quot; said Kazi Abdur Rahman, a deputy district administrator in Cox&#39;s Bazar. &quot;Our crop fields are destroyed. Our forests are destroyed...It&#39;s a huge impact on the whole community.&quot;

So far, local people have been remarkably tolerant, with many feeling duty-bound to help fellow Muslims they see as being oppressed because of their religion. There have only been a handful of anti-Rohingya protest, all small and peaceful.

But many also blame the Rohingya for driving up food prices and stealing jobs, and officials worry that the refugees bring with them an increased risk of disease, militant activity and drug trafficking. 
Residents have been told to report any Rohingya seen outside the camps, said Rahman. &quot;It&#39;s for our security, so they can&#39;t get up to any terrorist activity,&quot; he said.

He said he had no evidence that the Rohingya were involved in crime, but noted they were poor, desperate and &quot;very vulnerable to evil forces&quot;.

THE CHEAPEST WORKER

Before the current crisis, Bangladesh was already home to 300,000 Rohingya refugees who had fled previous bouts of violence in Myanmar. Now, in Ukhia and Teknaf, two sub-districts near the Myanmar border, Rohingya outnumber local people by about two to one.

Residents of Ukhia and Teknaf were already among Bangladesh&#39;s poorest and by some measures as deprived as the refugees, according to ACAPS, a Geneva-based think-tank which analyses humanitarian responses.

Seven in 10 families &ndash; both Bangladeshi and Rohingya &ndash; struggled to get enough to eat, ACAPS found.

Little of the land around Cox&#39;s Bazar is suitable for farming, so Bangladeshis have to buy about 80 percent of their food in local markets, said ACAPS.

The price of that food is rising, said Hamidul Hoque Chowdhury, a college principal who heads the Ukhia branch of the Awami League, the party of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Six months ago, 1 kg of potatoes cost 20 takas ($0.24); it has since tripled in price to 60 or 70 takas. The price of fish has doubled, he said.

&quot;The local people are now silent. They&#39;re not shouting now. But they&#39;re not happy,&quot; said Chowdhury. &quot;Tensions will definitely rise.&quot; 
Chowdhury, who helped organise a small anti-Rohingya protest in Ukhia in January, said Rohingya were competing with Bangladeshis for unskilled labour jobs, the main source of income for about half the local population.

Faruk Ahmed, 73, a local farmer, said he hired Rohingya labourers because they were cheap, plentiful and hard-working.

&quot;Bangladeshis want 500 takas ($6) a day, but Rohingya will take 300 takas,&quot; he said. &quot;I&#39;ll hire the cheapest worker.&quot;

ROHINGYA ISLAND

Partly to ease the congestion at the camps, Bangladesh is accelerating a controversial plan to temporarily relocate 100,000 Rohingya on a remote island in the Bay of Bengal.

H.T. Imam, an advisor of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, said the refugees must be kept apart from Bangladeshis. &quot;In the past, the Rohingya spread out and caused serious law and order problems,&quot; he said.

Humanitarian groups said they were also looking for ways to support the Bangladeshi community.

Of the $950 million budget currently being requested from donors for March to December, a quarter had been earmarked for projects that will directly benefit Bangladeshis, said UN host community liaison Maurice Dewulf.

There are &quot;no major signals yet&quot; of problems between Bangladeshis and locals in Cox&#39;s Bazar, Dewulf said, but such problems become more likely the longer a refugee crisis lasts.

The Rohingya families camped out on Jorina Katun&#39;s land are also doing what they can to keep the peace, paying Katun between 300 and 600 takas ($3.50 to $7) a month in rent, says refugee Bodi Alam. 
The Bangladesh Army, which oversees security in the area, said it forbids local people to charge rent. &quot;But we still pay,&quot; said Alam.

Without such payments, there would be quarrels with the Bangladeshis. &quot;They will say &#39;go from here, this is our area, these are our houses, this is our land,&#39;&quot; he said.

Since August, nearly 700,000 Rohingya have crossed from Myanmar's Rakhine State into Bangladesh

The first Rohingya refugees who arrived on Jorina Katun's farmland in Bangladesh last year were worn out and traumatised after fleeing violence in neighbouring Myanmar. They wept and begged to stay, and Katun, moved by their plight, said yes. "I really regret that," she said. "They said they would stay for only a month. They're still here and more are coming." Katun now has 25 Rohingya families living on a patch of land where she used to grow rice and vegetables. Since August, nearly 700,000 Rohingya have crossed from Myanmar's Rakhine State into Bangladesh. Makeshift camps housing the Rohingya sprawl across thousands of acres of what was once a government forest reserve, butting up against - and sometimes overwhelming - Bangladeshi homes and land. Jorina Katun lives on the edge of the largest such camp. Officials and aid workers fear that the welcome is wearing thin, due to the unprecedented number of refugees and growing doubts over whether Myanmar will ever take them back. Repatriation was due to begin in January under an agreement signed by Myanmar and Bangladesh. But the plan has stalled due to safety and logistical concerns, and meanwhile, Rohingya continue to flee across the border. "We've accommodated them, but for how long?" said Kazi Abdur Rahman, a deputy district administrator in Cox's Bazar. "Our crop fields are destroyed. Our forests are destroyed...It's a huge impact on the whole community." So far, local people have been remarkably tolerant, with many feeling duty-bound to help fellow Muslims they see as being oppressed because of their religion. There have only been a handful of anti-Rohingya protest, all small and peaceful. But many also blame the Rohingya for driving up food prices and stealing jobs, and officials worry that the refugees bring with them an increased risk of disease, militant activity and drug trafficking. Residents have been told to report any Rohingya seen outside the camps, said Rahman. "It's for our security, so they can't get up to any terrorist activity," he said. He said he had no evidence that the Rohingya were involved in crime, but noted they were poor, desperate and "very vulnerable to evil forces". THE CHEAPEST WORKER Before the current crisis, Bangladesh was already home to 300,000 Rohingya refugees who had fled previous bouts of violence in Myanmar. Now, in Ukhia and Teknaf, two sub-districts near the Myanmar border, Rohingya outnumber local people by about two to one. Residents of Ukhia and Teknaf were already among Bangladesh's poorest and by some measures as deprived as the refugees, according to ACAPS, a Geneva-based think-tank which analyses humanitarian responses. Seven in 10 families – both Bangladeshi and Rohingya – struggled to get enough to eat, ACAPS found. Little of the land around Cox's Bazar is suitable for farming, so Bangladeshis have to buy about 80 percent of their food in local markets, said ACAPS. The price of that food is rising, said Hamidul Hoque Chowdhury, a college principal who heads the Ukhia branch of the Awami League, the party of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Six months ago, 1 kg of potatoes cost 20 takas ($0.24); it has since tripled in price to 60 or 70 takas. The price of fish has doubled, he said. "The local people are now silent. They're not shouting now. But they're not happy," said Chowdhury. "Tensions will definitely rise." Chowdhury, who helped organise a small anti-Rohingya protest in Ukhia in January, said Rohingya were competing with Bangladeshis for unskilled labour jobs, the main source of income for about half the local population. Faruk Ahmed, 73, a local farmer, said he hired Rohingya labourers because they were cheap, plentiful and hard-working. "Bangladeshis want 500 takas ($6) a day, but Rohingya will take 300 takas," he said. "I'll hire the cheapest worker." ROHINGYA ISLAND Partly to ease the congestion at the camps, Bangladesh is accelerating a controversial plan to temporarily relocate 100,000 Rohingya on a remote island in the Bay of Bengal. H.T. Imam, an advisor of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, said the refugees must be kept apart from Bangladeshis. "In the past, the Rohingya spread out and caused serious law and order problems," he said. Humanitarian groups said they were also looking for ways to support the Bangladeshi community. Of the $950 million budget currently being requested from donors for March to December, a quarter had been earmarked for projects that will directly benefit Bangladeshis, said UN host community liaison Maurice Dewulf. There are "no major signals yet" of problems between Bangladeshis and locals in Cox's Bazar, Dewulf said, but such problems become more likely the longer a refugee crisis lasts. The Rohingya families camped out on Jorina Katun's land are also doing what they can to keep the peace, paying Katun between 300 and 600 takas ($3.50 to $7) a month in rent, says refugee Bodi Alam. The Bangladesh Army, which oversees security in the area, said it forbids local people to charge rent. "But we still pay," said Alam. Without such payments, there would be quarrels with the Bangladeshis. "They will say 'go from here, this is our area, these are our houses, this is our land,'" he said.

Rohingya refugees test Bangladeshi welcome as prices rise and repatriation stalls

The &quot;politics of demonisation&quot; provided fertile ground for human rights abuses in 2017, exemplified by the response of Europe and Donald Trump&#39;s US to the refugee-crisis, rights group Amnesty said today in its annual report.

The British-based group took particular aim at the US president&#39;s &quot;transparently hateful&quot; executive order banning entry to citizens of several Muslim-majority countries.

&quot;Throughout 2017, millions across the world experienced the bitter fruits of a rising politics of demonisation,&quot; said the report, which was launched this year for the first time in the United States.

It accused leaders of wealthy countries of approaching the refugee crisis &quot;with a blend of evasion and outright callousness&quot;.

&quot;Most European leaders have been unwilling to grapple with the big challenge of regulating migration safely and legally, and have decided that practically nothing is off limits in their efforts to keep refugees away from the continent&#39;s shores,&quot; it added.

Amnesty Secretary-General Salil Shetty singled out Trump for criticism, saying the travel ban &quot;set the scene for a year in which leaders took the politics of hate to its most dangerous conclusion&quot;.

He also condemned his decision to keep the US camp at Guantanamo Bay on Cuba open, and his ambivalent attitude to waterboarding and other harsh interrogation techniques.

&quot;You can imagine what this means for governments across the world who are extensively using torture,&quot; he said.

He noted that US attitudes had an impact across the world.

Tirana Hassan, director of crisis response at Amnesty International, said: &quot;When it comes to conflict, crisis and mass atrocities we have seen zero moral or legal leadership coming from the international community.&quot;

Amnesty said Myanmar&#39;s military crackdown on Rohingya insurgents, which prompted an exodus of nearly 700,000 Rohingya people into neighbouring Bangladesh, was the &quot;ultimate consequence of a society encouraged to hate, scapegoat and fear minorities&quot;.

&quot;This episode will stand in history as yet another testament to the world&#39;s catastrophic failure to address conditions that provide fertile ground for mass atrocity crimes,&quot; said the report.

It highlighted recent elections in Austria, France, Germany and the Netherlands, where &quot;some candidates sought to transpose social and economic anxieties into fear and blame&quot;, as evidence that the &quot;global battle of values reached a new level of intensity&quot; in 2017.

The report also accused governments of exploiting national security and terrorism concerns &quot;to reconfigure the balance between state powers and individual freedoms&quot;.

&quot;Europe has continued to slip towards a near-permanent state of securitisation,&quot; it warned.

&quot;France, for example, ended its state of emergency in November, but only after adopting a new anti-terror law.&quot; However, Amnesty said that it was possible for &quot;ordinary people&quot; to take back the initiative, noting the Florida students demanding more gun control after the Parkland school massacre.

&quot;There is no better example of that than what we&#39;ve seen with the kids in this country standing up against gun violence in the last few days,&quot; Shetty said.

The British-based group aimed at the US president's "transparently hateful" executive order banning entry to citizens of several Muslim-majority countries

The "politics of demonisation" provided fertile ground for human rights abuses in 2017, exemplified by the response of Europe and Donald Trump's US to the refugee-crisis, rights group Amnesty said today in its annual report. The British-based group took particular aim at the US president's "transparently hateful" executive order banning entry to citizens of several Muslim-majority countries. "Throughout 2017, millions across the world experienced the bitter fruits of a rising politics of demonisation," said the report, which was launched this year for the first time in the United States. It accused leaders of wealthy countries of approaching the refugee crisis "with a blend of evasion and outright callousness". "Most European leaders have been unwilling to grapple with the big challenge of regulating migration safely and legally, and have decided that practically nothing is off limits in their efforts to keep refugees away from the continent's shores," it added. Amnesty Secretary-General Salil Shetty singled out Trump for criticism, saying the travel ban "set the scene for a year in which leaders took the politics of hate to its most dangerous conclusion". He also condemned his decision to keep the US camp at Guantanamo Bay on Cuba open, and his ambivalent attitude to waterboarding and other harsh interrogation techniques. "You can imagine what this means for governments across the world who are extensively using torture," he said. He noted that US attitudes had an impact across the world. Tirana Hassan, director of crisis response at Amnesty International, said: "When it comes to conflict, crisis and mass atrocities we have seen zero moral or legal leadership coming from the international community." Amnesty said Myanmar's military crackdown on Rohingya insurgents, which prompted an exodus of nearly 700,000 Rohingya people into neighbouring Bangladesh, was the "ultimate consequence of a society encouraged to hate, scapegoat and fear minorities". "This episode will stand in history as yet another testament to the world's catastrophic failure to address conditions that provide fertile ground for mass atrocity crimes," said the report. It highlighted recent elections in Austria, France, Germany and the Netherlands, where "some candidates sought to transpose social and economic anxieties into fear and blame", as evidence that the "global battle of values reached a new level of intensity" in 2017. The report also accused governments of exploiting national security and terrorism concerns "to reconfigure the balance between state powers and individual freedoms". "Europe has continued to slip towards a near-permanent state of securitisation," it warned. "France, for example, ended its state of emergency in November, but only after adopting a new anti-terror law." However, Amnesty said that it was possible for "ordinary people" to take back the initiative, noting the Florida students demanding more gun control after the Parkland school massacre. "There is no better example of that than what we've seen with the kids in this country standing up against gun violence in the last few days," Shetty said.

Amnesty slams Trump-led 'politics of hate'

The crisis in Myanmar and reported massacres of Rohingya Muslims are the consequence of a society encouraged to hate and a lack of global leadership on human rights, Amnesty International said on Thursday.

The human rights group said in its annual report covering 159 countries that &quot;hate-filled rhetoric&quot; by leaders was normalising discrimination against minorities.

&quot;We saw the ultimate consequence of a society encouraged to hate, scapegoat and fear minorities laid bare in the horrific military campaign of ethnic cleansing against the Rohingya people in Myanmar,&quot; said Salil Shetty, Secretary General of Amnesty.

Last week, the United States urged the UN Security Council to hold Myanmar`s military accountable for what it said was the ethnic cleansing of Rohingya Muslims.

Nearly 690,000 Rohingya have fled Rakhine and taken refuge in neighbouring Bangladesh since the Myanmar military launched a crackdown on insurgents at the end of August, according to the UN.

More than 6,500 Rohingya are currently trapped on a strip of unclaimed land between Myanmar and Bangladesh.

Amnesty said the international community had failed to respond robustly to &quot;crimes against humanity and war crimes from Myanmar to Iraq, South Sudan, Syria and Yemen&quot;.&nbsp;

It said that leaders in countries such as the United States, Russia and China were not standing up for civil liberties and instead were &quot;callously undermining the rights of millions&quot;.

Amnesty said President Donald Trump had taken backward steps on human rights that were setting a dangerous precedent. Shetty described his move to ban people from several Muslim-majority countries in January last year as &quot;transparently hateful&quot;.

Last year`s report accused Trump of &quot;poisonous&quot; rhetoric.&nbsp;

Free speech will be a key issue for those concerned about human rights this year, the report said.&nbsp;

Amnesty said its staff were arrested at an unprecedented rate in Turkey in 2017, which along with Egypt and China was also among the biggest jailors of journalists.

Two Reuters reporters in Myanmar were arrested while investigating the killing of Rohingya Muslims. Court proceedings are ongoing.

&quot;In 2018, we cannot take for granted that we will be free to gather together in protest or to criticise our governments. In fact, speaking out is becoming more dangerous,&quot; Shetty said. 
&nbsp;

Amnesty said the international community had failed to respond robustly to "crimes against humanity and war crimes from Myanmar to Iraq, South Sudan, Syria and Yemen".

The crisis in Myanmar and reported massacres of Rohingya Muslims are the consequence of a society encouraged to hate and a lack of global leadership on human rights, Amnesty International said on Thursday. The human rights group said in its annual report covering 159 countries that "hate-filled rhetoric" by leaders was normalising discrimination against minorities. "We saw the ultimate consequence of a society encouraged to hate, scapegoat and fear minorities laid bare in the horrific military campaign of ethnic cleansing against the Rohingya people in Myanmar," said Salil Shetty, Secretary General of Amnesty. Last week, the United States urged the UN Security Council to hold Myanmar`s military accountable for what it said was the ethnic cleansing of Rohingya Muslims. Nearly 690,000 Rohingya have fled Rakhine and taken refuge in neighbouring Bangladesh since the Myanmar military launched a crackdown on insurgents at the end of August, according to the UN. More than 6,500 Rohingya are currently trapped on a strip of unclaimed land between Myanmar and Bangladesh. Amnesty said the international community had failed to respond robustly to "crimes against humanity and war crimes from Myanmar to Iraq, South Sudan, Syria and Yemen". It said that leaders in countries such as the United States, Russia and China were not standing up for civil liberties and instead were "callously undermining the rights of millions". Amnesty said President Donald Trump had taken backward steps on human rights that were setting a dangerous precedent. Shetty described his move to ban people from several Muslim-majority countries in January last year as "transparently hateful". Last year`s report accused Trump of "poisonous" rhetoric. Free speech will be a key issue for those concerned about human rights this year, the report said. Amnesty said its staff were arrested at an unprecedented rate in Turkey in 2017, which along with Egypt and China was also among the biggest jailors of journalists. Two Reuters reporters in Myanmar were arrested while investigating the killing of Rohingya Muslims. Court proceedings are ongoing. "In 2018, we cannot take for granted that we will be free to gather together in protest or to criticise our governments. In fact, speaking out is becoming more dangerous," Shetty said.

Amnesty says Rohingya crisis consequence of society 'encouraged to hate'

The Kuwait&nbsp;government has announced an amnesty for Indian workers who overstayed without a valid visa due to non-payment&nbsp;of their salaries.

The amnesty has been granted from January 29 to February 22 and provides an opportunity for the workers to leave the country and return to take up employment later.

It1 came as a sigh of relief to workers living in Kuwait illegally. Their passports were taken away while the visas expired as well.

Union Minister of State of External Affairs VK Singh also met the unpaid workers during his visit to Kuwait.

Singh assured workers that the imposed penalty will be removed&nbsp;however, he wasn&#39;t sure about the workers getting their full salary.

Earlier this month media reported close to 4000 Indian workers stranded in Kuwait after a company refuse to pay their wages.

The workers were hired by a construction company which refused to pay them owing to insufficient funds.

&nbsp;

The amnesty has been granted from January 29 to February 22

The Kuwait government has announced an amnesty for Indian workers who overstayed without a valid visa due to non-payment of their salaries. The amnesty has been granted from January 29 to February 22 and provides an opportunity for the workers to leave the country and return to take up employment later. It1 came as a sigh of relief to workers living in Kuwait illegally. Their passports were taken away while the visas expired as well. Union Minister of State of External Affairs VK Singh also met the unpaid workers during his visit to Kuwait. Singh assured workers that the imposed penalty will be removed however, he wasn't sure about the workers getting their full salary. Earlier this month media reported close to 4000 Indian workers stranded in Kuwait after a company refuse to pay their wages. The workers were hired by a construction company which refused to pay them owing to insufficient funds.

Kuwait announces amnesty for stranded Indian workers

Amnesty International said on Wednesday that the US President Donald Trump&#39;s &quot;poisonous&quot; rhetoric on his way to winning the White House led a global trend towards increasingly divisive politics in 2016 that had made the world a &quot;darker&quot; place.

In its annual report covering 159 countries, the human rights group said principles of human dignity and equality had come under assault from politicians seeking election and it zeroed in on Trump, who took office on January 20.

&quot;Donald Trump&#39;s poisonous campaign rhetoric exemplifies a global trend towards angrier and more divisive politics,&quot; Amnesty said in a statement issued in Paris. The world, it said, had become a &quot;darker ... unstable place&quot;, with a rise in hate speech targeting refugees across Europe and the United States.

&quot;The early indications from (...) Trump suggest a foreign policy that will significantly undermine multilateral cooperation and usher in a new era of greater instability and mutual suspicion,&quot; Amnesty added.

Trump, a Republican former reality TV star and property magnate, has said he is &quot;the least racist person&quot; and &quot;least anti-Semitic person you&#39;ve ever seen&quot; and that one of his top priorities is to protect the United States from terrorism.

His administration has been marked by controversies in the early going, fierce attacks on the news media and legal battles over his executive order to ban people temporarily from seven Muslim-majority countries as alleged security risks.

US Vice President Mike Pence visited Europe this week and pledged &quot;steadfast and enduring commitment&quot; to ties between the United States and the European Union, a message at variance with Trump&#39;s far-right chief strategist.

US allies in Europe have been seeking clarity on the Trump administration&#39;s foreign policy strategy and its stance toward Russia.

&quot;The gap between imperative and action, and between rhetoric and reality, was stark and at times staggering,&quot; Amnesty said.

&quot;Nowhere was this better illustrated than in the failure of states attending September&#39;s 2016 United Nations summit for refugees and migrants to agree any adequate response to the global refugee crisis.&quot;

According to Amnesty calculations, some 75,000 refugees found themselves trapped between Jordan and Syria as the civil war in Syria entered its seventh year.

Amnesty said populist movements and messages had also become more common in Europe, notably in Poland and Hungary.

&quot;The result was a pervasive weakening of the rule of law and an erosion in the protection of human rights, particularly for refugees and terrorism suspects, but ultimately for everyone.&quot;

(Reuters)

The group said principles of human dignity and equality had come under assault from politicians seeking election and it zeroed in on Trump

Amnesty International said on Wednesday that the US President Donald Trump's "poisonous" rhetoric on his way to winning the White House led a global trend towards increasingly divisive politics in 2016 that had made the world a "darker" place. In its annual report covering 159 countries, the human rights group said principles of human dignity and equality had come under assault from politicians seeking election and it zeroed in on Trump, who took office on January 20. "Donald Trump's poisonous campaign rhetoric exemplifies a global trend towards angrier and more divisive politics," Amnesty said in a statement issued in Paris. The world, it said, had become a "darker ... unstable place", with a rise in hate speech targeting refugees across Europe and the United States. "The early indications from (...) Trump suggest a foreign policy that will significantly undermine multilateral cooperation and usher in a new era of greater instability and mutual suspicion," Amnesty added. Trump, a Republican former reality TV star and property magnate, has said he is "the least racist person" and "least anti-Semitic person you've ever seen" and that one of his top priorities is to protect the United States from terrorism. His administration has been marked by controversies in the early going, fierce attacks on the news media and legal battles over his executive order to ban people temporarily from seven Muslim-majority countries as alleged security risks. US Vice President Mike Pence visited Europe this week and pledged "steadfast and enduring commitment" to ties between the United States and the European Union, a message at variance with Trump's far-right chief strategist. US allies in Europe have been seeking clarity on the Trump administration's foreign policy strategy and its stance toward Russia. "The gap between imperative and action, and between rhetoric and reality, was stark and at times staggering," Amnesty said. "Nowhere was this better illustrated than in the failure of states attending September's 2016 United Nations summit for refugees and migrants to agree any adequate response to the global refugee crisis." According to Amnesty calculations, some 75,000 refugees found themselves trapped between Jordan and Syria as the civil war in Syria entered its seventh year. Amnesty said populist movements and messages had also become more common in Europe, notably in Poland and Hungary. "The result was a pervasive weakening of the rule of law and an erosion in the protection of human rights, particularly for refugees and terrorism suspects, but ultimately for everyone." (Reuters)

Amnesty holds Trump responsible for rising global trend of divisive politics

A wave of drugs-related killings in the Philippines appears to be &quot;systematic, planned and organised&quot; by authorities and could constitute crimes against humanity, according to an Amnesty International report released on Wednesday.

Amnesty said its investigation into President Rodrigo Duterte&#39;s war on drugs was based on 59 drug-related killings in 20 cities and towns. The agency said it concluded most appeared to be extra-judicial killings, and police accounts of shootouts and deaths during operations were &quot;startlingly similar&quot;, and often far different to witness testimony.

The release of the report comes amid uncertainty over the anti-drugs crackdown and a government suspension on Monday of all police operations due to rampant corruption. The Philippine Drugs Enforcement Agency (PDEA) has now been given the lead role in the campaign.

Duterte made the decision after a security meeting on Sunday triggered by the kidnap and killing of a South Korean businessmen by drugs squad police. He said the incident, which took place at the headquarters of the Philippine National Police (PNP), had embarrassed the country and dented the image of the police.

Amnesty said the vast majority of the killings it investigated &quot;appear to have been extra-judicial killings - unlawful and deliberate killings carried out by government order or with its complicity or acquiescence&quot;.

&quot;The Duterte administration&#39;s relentless pressure on the police to deliver results in anti-drug operations has helped encourage these abusive practices,&quot; the report said.

The Presidential Communications Office did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on Amnesty&#39;s findings.

The government has denied sponsoring extra-judicial killings, or police collaboration with assassins.

The investigation by the London-based advocacy group was carried out mainly in November and December and was completed in January. It said it interviewed 110 people and included witness accounts of victims being shot dead despite having shouted they would surrender.

It said it also found &quot;strong evidence&quot; of links between the authorities and unknown gunmen, as well as connections between cursory and speculative drugs &quot;watch lists&quot; created by local officials, and the people killed by police.

Amnesty&#39;s report included numerous references to a series of Reuters stories and investigations into the war on drugs in the Philippines (http://reut.rs/2jPSgSn).

The latest police data shows 7,669 people have been killed since Duterte unleashed his war on drugs seven months ago, 2,555 in police operations, which the PNP says were all in self-defence. The other deaths are classified as investigated, or under investigation.

Human rights groups believe most of those are drugs-related, carried out by vigilantes or hitmen.

Amnesty&#39;s top recommendation to Duterte was to &quot;immediately order an end to all police operations involving unnecessary or excessive use of force&quot;, especially lethal force.

It said police should suspend officers suspected of unlawful killings, planting evidence or involvement with hit men, and thoroughly investigate paid killings.

It recommended Duterte appoint a new independent head of police internal affairs and the justice ministry prevent intimidation of witnesses and victims and set up a task force to prosecute extrajudicial killings.

&quot;The Philippine government needs to urgently adopt a different approach to drugs and criminality,&quot; it said.

&quot;The impunity that currently reigns has facilitated killing on a massive scale, hitting the poorest and most marginalised segments of the population in particular.&quot;

(Reuters)

The human rights group came to the conclusion after probing 59 drug-related killings in 20 cities and towns

A wave of drugs-related killings in the Philippines appears to be "systematic, planned and organised" by authorities and could constitute crimes against humanity, according to an Amnesty International report released on Wednesday. Amnesty said its investigation into President Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs was based on 59 drug-related killings in 20 cities and towns. The agency said it concluded most appeared to be extra-judicial killings, and police accounts of shootouts and deaths during operations were "startlingly similar", and often far different to witness testimony. The release of the report comes amid uncertainty over the anti-drugs crackdown and a government suspension on Monday of all police operations due to rampant corruption. The Philippine Drugs Enforcement Agency (PDEA) has now been given the lead role in the campaign. Duterte made the decision after a security meeting on Sunday triggered by the kidnap and killing of a South Korean businessmen by drugs squad police. He said the incident, which took place at the headquarters of the Philippine National Police (PNP), had embarrassed the country and dented the image of the police. Amnesty said the vast majority of the killings it investigated "appear to have been extra-judicial killings - unlawful and deliberate killings carried out by government order or with its complicity or acquiescence". "The Duterte administration's relentless pressure on the police to deliver results in anti-drug operations has helped encourage these abusive practices," the report said. The Presidential Communications Office did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on Amnesty's findings. The government has denied sponsoring extra-judicial killings, or police collaboration with assassins. The investigation by the London-based advocacy group was carried out mainly in November and December and was completed in January. It said it interviewed 110 people and included witness accounts of victims being shot dead despite having shouted they would surrender. It said it also found "strong evidence" of links between the authorities and unknown gunmen, as well as connections between cursory and speculative drugs "watch lists" created by local officials, and the people killed by police. Amnesty's report included numerous references to a series of Reuters stories and investigations into the war on drugs in the Philippines (http://reut.rs/2jPSgSn). The latest police data shows 7,669 people have been killed since Duterte unleashed his war on drugs seven months ago, 2,555 in police operations, which the PNP says were all in self-defence. The other deaths are classified as investigated, or under investigation. Human rights groups believe most of those are drugs-related, carried out by vigilantes or hitmen. Amnesty's top recommendation to Duterte was to "immediately order an end to all police operations involving unnecessary or excessive use of force", especially lethal force. It said police should suspend officers suspected of unlawful killings, planting evidence or involvement with hit men, and thoroughly investigate paid killings. It recommended Duterte appoint a new independent head of police internal affairs and the justice ministry prevent intimidation of witnesses and victims and set up a task force to prosecute extrajudicial killings. "The Philippine government needs to urgently adopt a different approach to drugs and criminality," it said. "The impunity that currently reigns has facilitated killing on a massive scale, hitting the poorest and most marginalised segments of the population in particular." (Reuters)

Philippines' war on drugs 'systematic, planned and organised': Amnesty

A first information report (FIR) was today registered against Amnesty International India under various Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections, including sedition, in connection with the&nbsp;alleged raising of &quot;independence&quot; slogans by &quot;pro-freedom&quot; Kashmiris who entered into heated arguments with a Kashmiri Pandit leader when the latter hailed the Indian Army. 
 
A police official involved in the investigation said that the FIR has been registered and investigations will proceed. 
 
The FIR has been registered under the following IPC sections: 142 (being member of an unlawful assembly), 143 (whoever is a member of an unlawful assembly), 147 (rioting), 124A (sedition) and 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony), he said.&nbsp; 
 
A panel discussion on Saturday had turned chaotic as some &quot;pro-freedom&quot; Kashmiris, most of whom were youngsters and students, entered into heated arguments with a leader from the Kashmiri Pandit community.&nbsp; 
 
The event was organised by Amnesty International of India at United Theological College in Bengaluru. The home minister of southern&nbsp;Karnataka, G Parameshwara, commented yesterday that the intention and background of those involved will be investigated.&nbsp; 
 
Activists from &nbsp;Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) student group, backed by India&#39;s ruling Bharatiya Janta Party, staged a protest yesterday against the event calling it &quot;anti-national&quot;. They also filed a complaint with the police along with a CD containing video recording of the event.&nbsp; 
 
Amnesty International India emphasised, it had organised the event as part of a campaign to seek justice for &quot;victims of human rights violations&quot; in Jammu and Kashmir. In a statement the organisation admitted that towards the end of the event, some of those who attended the programme did raise slogans, some of which referred to calls for &#39;azadi&#39; (freedom). 
 
Amnesty noted that as a matter of policy, it does not take any position in favour of or against the demands for self-determination. However, it does believe that under international human rights law, the right to freedom of expression does protect the right to peacefully advocate political solutions, without involving incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence. 
 
(PTI)&nbsp; 
 
 
 
 
 
&nbsp;

The FIR comes after alleged raising of 'independence slogans' by 'pro-freedom' Kashmiris at an event in southern Karnataka

A first information report (FIR) was today registered against Amnesty International India under various Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections, including sedition, in connection with the alleged raising of "independence" slogans by "pro-freedom" Kashmiris who entered into heated arguments with a Kashmiri Pandit leader when the latter hailed the Indian Army. A police official involved in the investigation said that the FIR has been registered and investigations will proceed. The FIR has been registered under the following IPC sections: 142 (being member of an unlawful assembly), 143 (whoever is a member of an unlawful assembly), 147 (rioting), 124A (sedition) and 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony), he said. A panel discussion on Saturday had turned chaotic as some "pro-freedom" Kashmiris, most of whom were youngsters and students, entered into heated arguments with a leader from the Kashmiri Pandit community. The event was organised by Amnesty International of India at United Theological College in Bengaluru. The home minister of southern Karnataka, G Parameshwara, commented yesterday that the intention and background of those involved will be investigated. Activists from Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) student group, backed by India's ruling Bharatiya Janta Party, staged a protest yesterday against the event calling it "anti-national". They also filed a complaint with the police along with a CD containing video recording of the event. Amnesty International India emphasised, it had organised the event as part of a campaign to seek justice for "victims of human rights violations" in Jammu and Kashmir. In a statement the organisation admitted that towards the end of the event, some of those who attended the programme did raise slogans, some of which referred to calls for 'azadi' (freedom). Amnesty noted that as a matter of policy, it does not take any position in favour of or against the demands for self-determination. However, it does believe that under international human rights law, the right to freedom of expression does protect the right to peacefully advocate political solutions, without involving incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence. (PTI)

Amnesty International India booked for sedition

A court in Bangladesh on Thursday allowed police to detain two men over the attack claimed by militant group Islamic State on a cafe in the capital, Dhaka, that killed 20 hostages, mostly foreigners. 
 
The case has drawn criticism from human rights groups who say the suspects were illegally detained and denied access to a lawyer. A lawyer for one of the two men, Hasnat Karim, said his client was innocent and demanded his immediate release.&nbsp; 
 
Karim, who holds dual British and Bangladeshi citizenship, and Tahmid Hasib Khan, a student of Toronto University, were dining separately with family and friends when gunmen stormed the Holey Artisan Bakery on the evening of July 1. 
 
The suspected Islamist militants singled out non-Muslims and foreigners, killing Italians, Japanese, an American and an Indian before security forces stormed the eatery to end the 12-hour siege. Two police also died in the operation. 
 
On Thursday, a Dhaka court remanded the men in custody for eight days for interrogation, with police official Masudur Rahman telling reporters they had been arrested on Wednesday night &quot;from two different places&quot;.&nbsp; 
 
Unknown location 
 
The police assertion of arrests at different sites appeared to run counter to relatives&#39; statements that the men were held at unknown locations after the attack. 
 
&quot;The authorities have finally admitted that Mr Karim is in their custody,&quot; his London-based lawyer, Rodney Dixon, told Reuters in a statement. 
 
&quot;They have had more than sufficient time to make any inquiries. There is clearly no evidence to charge him and he should be let go without any further delay.&quot; 
 
Rights group Amnesty International has criticised the detention of the men as having denied them their fundamental right to legal representation. 
 
The formal arrests take to seven the tally for the cafe attack, which the government blames on local militants, along with another, on July 26, in which police killed nine militants believed to be plotting a similar assault. 
 
The government has dismissed suggestions that Islamic State has a presence in Bangladesh, even though &#39;selfies&#39; of some of the attackers posing with an automatic rifle were posted on the jihadi group&#39;s propaganda outlets during the siege. 
 
In the past year, al Qaeda and Islamic State have made competing claims over the killings of liberals and religious minorities in the mostly Muslim nation of 160 million. 
 
Karim and Khan were among 32 survivors rescued by police and taken into custody for questioning. Police released the others soon after, but the two men&#39;s families said they had not returned. 
 
Karim, a 47-year-old engineer, was at the cafe with his family to celebrate his daughter&#39;s 13th birthday. 
 
Relatives of Khan, 22, told the New York Times that the student, who has epilepsy, had been beaten and denied medical attention after being held. 
 
Khan&#39;s father, reached by telephone, declined to comment. 
 
(Reuters)

Amnesty International has criticised the detention of the men as having denied them their fundamental right to legal representation

A court in Bangladesh on Thursday allowed police to detain two men over the attack claimed by militant group Islamic State on a cafe in the capital, Dhaka, that killed 20 hostages, mostly foreigners. The case has drawn criticism from human rights groups who say the suspects were illegally detained and denied access to a lawyer. A lawyer for one of the two men, Hasnat Karim, said his client was innocent and demanded his immediate release. Karim, who holds dual British and Bangladeshi citizenship, and Tahmid Hasib Khan, a student of Toronto University, were dining separately with family and friends when gunmen stormed the Holey Artisan Bakery on the evening of July 1. The suspected Islamist militants singled out non-Muslims and foreigners, killing Italians, Japanese, an American and an Indian before security forces stormed the eatery to end the 12-hour siege. Two police also died in the operation. On Thursday, a Dhaka court remanded the men in custody for eight days for interrogation, with police official Masudur Rahman telling reporters they had been arrested on Wednesday night "from two different places". Unknown location The police assertion of arrests at different sites appeared to run counter to relatives' statements that the men were held at unknown locations after the attack. "The authorities have finally admitted that Mr Karim is in their custody," his London-based lawyer, Rodney Dixon, told Reuters in a statement. "They have had more than sufficient time to make any inquiries. There is clearly no evidence to charge him and he should be let go without any further delay." Rights group Amnesty International has criticised the detention of the men as having denied them their fundamental right to legal representation. The formal arrests take to seven the tally for the cafe attack, which the government blames on local militants, along with another, on July 26, in which police killed nine militants believed to be plotting a similar assault. The government has dismissed suggestions that Islamic State has a presence in Bangladesh, even though 'selfies' of some of the attackers posing with an automatic rifle were posted on the jihadi group's propaganda outlets during the siege. In the past year, al Qaeda and Islamic State have made competing claims over the killings of liberals and religious minorities in the mostly Muslim nation of 160 million. Karim and Khan were among 32 survivors rescued by police and taken into custody for questioning. Police released the others soon after, but the two men's families said they had not returned. Karim, a 47-year-old engineer, was at the cafe with his family to celebrate his daughter's 13th birthday. Relatives of Khan, 22, told the New York Times that the student, who has epilepsy, had been beaten and denied medical attention after being held. Khan's father, reached by telephone, declined to comment. (Reuters)

Bangladesh detains two over July cafe attack that killed 20 hostages

Syria regime ally Russia yesterday announced a &quot;large-scale&quot; aid operation to allow civilians and fighters to flee besieged Aleppo, as the president offered an amnesty to rebels who surrender. 
 
The opposition, however, condemned the initiative as an attempt to &quot;alter Aleppo&rsquo;s demographics and ensure forced displacement&quot;, while Amnesty said it was &quot;not a substitute for allowing impartial humanitarian relief for civilians... many of whom will be sceptical about government promises&quot;. 
 
UN aid chief Stephen O&#39;Brien warned that any corridors must be used voluntarily and protection be guaranteed. 
 
&quot;No one can be forced to flee, by any specific route or to any particular location,&quot; said O&#39;Brien. 
 
&quot;Protection must be guaranteed for all according to the principles of neutrality and impartiality.&quot; 
 
Government forces have surrounded rebel-held districts in eastern Aleppo since July 17, sparking fears for an estimated 250,000 people who live there. 
 
Residents have reported food shortages and spiralling prices in rebel districts since regime forces cut off the opposition&#39;s main supply route into the northern city earlier this month. 
 
Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu said three humanitarian corridors were being opened &quot;to aid civilians held hostage by terrorists and for fighters wishing to lay down their arms&quot;. 
 
He told Russian news agencies that a fourth corridor would be opened to the north of Aleppo for rebels to flee with their weapons. 
 
Medical and food assistance would be provided along the routes for civilians and fighters who lay down their weapons, Shoigu said. 
 
President Bashar al-Assad, meanwhile, issued a decree offering an amnesty to rebels who surrender over the next three months, state news agency SANA reported. 
 
&quot;Everyone carrying arms and sought by justice is excluded from full punishment if they hand themselves in and lay down their weapons,&quot; it said. 
 
Syria&#39;s state television also announced &quot;the opening of three passages to allow citizens out of eastern districts&quot; of Aleppo. 
 
Regime planes yesterday dropped flyers showing a map with the location of these humanitarian passages, he said, as well as small aid packages, an AFP correspondent said. 
 
He went to see one of the corridors but said it remained closed and saw no movement of local residents nearby. 
 
&quot;We&#39;re scared of using the regime crossings because we refused to do military service. The corridors are nothing more than words. It&#39;s just an excuse to throw people into jail,&quot; said Hassan Ibrahim, a 25-year-old father. 
 
Regime advance 
 
Previously the country&#39;s economic hub, Aleppo and its surrounding countryside have suffered some of the worst fighting in the five-year conflict that has killed more than 280,000 people. 
 
It has been roughly divided into a regime-controlled west and a rebel-held east since July 2012. 
 
Analysts say that losing Aleppo would be a major blow for the armed opposition and could signal a turning point in the conflict, which began in 2011 with the brutal crackdown of anti-government protests. 
 
Yesterday Syrian government forces drove rebels from the neighbourhood of Bani Zeid, on Aleppo&#39;s northern outskirts, after heavy overnight fighting, a monitor said. 
 
The Syrian opposition High Negotiations Committee condemned Russia&rsquo;s proposal as &quot;a euphemism for Russia&rsquo;s efforts to alter Aleppo&rsquo;s demographics and ensure forced displacement&quot;. 
 
&quot;The forcible displacement of Aleppo&rsquo;s population is a war crime perpetrated by the Syrian regime and a permanent member of the (UN) Security Council,&quot; it said, referring to Russia. 
 
Amnesty was also dismissive. 
 
The Russian plan was &quot;not a substitute for allowing impartial humanitarian relief for civilians who remain in opposition-held areas of the city or other besieged areas, many of whom will be sceptical about government promises&quot;, it said. 
 
UN envoy Staffan de Mistura said the world body had not been consulted on Russia&#39;s initiative. 
 
Meanwhile, Human Rights Watch accused Assad&#39;s regime and Russia of extensively using banned cluster munitions against the rebels since late May. 
 
The New York-based watchdog said it had documented 47 cluster munition attacks that killed and injured dozens of civilians in rebel-held areas in three provinces since May 27, many north and west of Aleppo. 
 
On the opposition front, the Syrian branch of Al-Qaeda, Al-Nusra Front, announced Thursday it was breaking ties with the global terror network. 
 
Al-Nusra is a main rival of the Islamic State jihadist group from which it wants to distance itself as a target of foreign air strikes. 
 
At least 15 civilians were killed and dozens wounded Thursday in US-led coalition air strikes on the northern IS-controlled town of Ghandoura, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. 
 
The town is near Manbij, a strategic waypoint between Turkey and the IS bastion of Raqa, and came after the coalition opened a formal investigation to determine whether its air strikes last week near Manbij claimed dozens of civilian lives. 
 
(AFP)

UN aid chief said displacement must not be forced. Civilians are sceptical about government's promise of amnesty to rebels who surrender

Syria regime ally Russia yesterday announced a "large-scale" aid operation to allow civilians and fighters to flee besieged Aleppo, as the president offered an amnesty to rebels who surrender. The opposition, however, condemned the initiative as an attempt to "alter Aleppo’s demographics and ensure forced displacement", while Amnesty said it was "not a substitute for allowing impartial humanitarian relief for civilians... many of whom will be sceptical about government promises". UN aid chief Stephen O'Brien warned that any corridors must be used voluntarily and protection be guaranteed. "No one can be forced to flee, by any specific route or to any particular location," said O'Brien. "Protection must be guaranteed for all according to the principles of neutrality and impartiality." Government forces have surrounded rebel-held districts in eastern Aleppo since July 17, sparking fears for an estimated 250,000 people who live there. Residents have reported food shortages and spiralling prices in rebel districts since regime forces cut off the opposition's main supply route into the northern city earlier this month. Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu said three humanitarian corridors were being opened "to aid civilians held hostage by terrorists and for fighters wishing to lay down their arms". He told Russian news agencies that a fourth corridor would be opened to the north of Aleppo for rebels to flee with their weapons. Medical and food assistance would be provided along the routes for civilians and fighters who lay down their weapons, Shoigu said. President Bashar al-Assad, meanwhile, issued a decree offering an amnesty to rebels who surrender over the next three months, state news agency SANA reported. "Everyone carrying arms and sought by justice is excluded from full punishment if they hand themselves in and lay down their weapons," it said. Syria's state television also announced "the opening of three passages to allow citizens out of eastern districts" of Aleppo. Regime planes yesterday dropped flyers showing a map with the location of these humanitarian passages, he said, as well as small aid packages, an AFP correspondent said. He went to see one of the corridors but said it remained closed and saw no movement of local residents nearby. "We're scared of using the regime crossings because we refused to do military service. The corridors are nothing more than words. It's just an excuse to throw people into jail," said Hassan Ibrahim, a 25-year-old father. Regime advance Previously the country's economic hub, Aleppo and its surrounding countryside have suffered some of the worst fighting in the five-year conflict that has killed more than 280,000 people. It has been roughly divided into a regime-controlled west and a rebel-held east since July 2012. Analysts say that losing Aleppo would be a major blow for the armed opposition and could signal a turning point in the conflict, which began in 2011 with the brutal crackdown of anti-government protests. Yesterday Syrian government forces drove rebels from the neighbourhood of Bani Zeid, on Aleppo's northern outskirts, after heavy overnight fighting, a monitor said. The Syrian opposition High Negotiations Committee condemned Russia’s proposal as "a euphemism for Russia’s efforts to alter Aleppo’s demographics and ensure forced displacement". "The forcible displacement of Aleppo’s population is a war crime perpetrated by the Syrian regime and a permanent member of the (UN) Security Council," it said, referring to Russia. Amnesty was also dismissive. The Russian plan was "not a substitute for allowing impartial humanitarian relief for civilians who remain in opposition-held areas of the city or other besieged areas, many of whom will be sceptical about government promises", it said. UN envoy Staffan de Mistura said the world body had not been consulted on Russia's initiative. Meanwhile, Human Rights Watch accused Assad's regime and Russia of extensively using banned cluster munitions against the rebels since late May. The New York-based watchdog said it had documented 47 cluster munition attacks that killed and injured dozens of civilians in rebel-held areas in three provinces since May 27, many north and west of Aleppo. On the opposition front, the Syrian branch of Al-Qaeda, Al-Nusra Front, announced Thursday it was breaking ties with the global terror network. Al-Nusra is a main rival of the Islamic State jihadist group from which it wants to distance itself as a target of foreign air strikes. At least 15 civilians were killed and dozens wounded Thursday in US-led coalition air strikes on the northern IS-controlled town of Ghandoura, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The town is near Manbij, a strategic waypoint between Turkey and the IS bastion of Raqa, and came after the coalition opened a formal investigation to determine whether its air strikes last week near Manbij claimed dozens of civilian lives. (AFP)

Russia, Syria announce 'flee' corridors for civilians in Aleppo

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