IRAN: Women's Rights Defender Gets 24 Years - URGENT ACTION

Amnesty International USA, November 19, 2019.

Iranian women’s rights defender Saba Kordafshari, 21, has been sentenced to 24 years in prison for her peaceful human rights work, including campaigning against Iran’s discriminatory forced veiling laws. 

If her verdict is upheld on appeal, she would be required to serve 15 years of her prison sentence. She is a prisoner of conscience who must be immediately and unconditionally released.

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IRAQ: Abducted Medic Released - GOOD NEWS!

Amnesty International, USA, 11-15-2019.

On 13 November 2019, activist and medic Saba Mahdawi was released. Saba went missing after being abducted by an unknown group on 2 November 2019. Her family confirmed to Amnesty that Saba was in good health and had not been ill-treated.

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IRAQ: Medic Abducted - URGENT ACTION

Amnesty International, USA, November 13, 2019.

On 2 November 2019, Iraqi activist and medic Saba Mahdawi was abducted by armed and masked men at around 11:20 pm on her way home from Tahrir Square in Baghdad. Saba’s family has raised her case with the local authorities, but no progress has been made to date. The Iraqi police and other security personnel involved in the investigation confirmed to her family that her whereabouts remained unknown, with no additional information with regards to the perpetrators’ identities.

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ISRAEL & OPT: Updates and Press Releases

Amnesty International, USA, Nov 4, 2019.

A lot has been happening on-the-ground in Israel, the OPT/Palestine.  Below are the latest updates on actions and statements issued by Amnesty International.

ACTION:  Ayman Nasser:  On September 11, 2019, the Israeli Ofer Military Court in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) approved the renewal of Ayman Nasser’s administrative detention for a further four months.  See Amnesty’s Urgent Action here:  https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/mde15/1076/2019/en/.

Amnesty International’s staffer targeted for harassment:  Laith Abu Zeyad.  See the Amnesty International statement here:  https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2019/10/israel-opt-amnesty-staff-member-faces-punitive-travel-ban-for-human-rights-work/. 

See the Amnesty statement about the IDF raid on the Addameer (the Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association) offices here:  https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2019/09/israel-ramps-up-assault-on-civil-society-with-chilling-raid-on-palestinian-ngo-addameer/.

Whatsapp announced on October 20 that Israeli spyware manufacturer, NSO Group, has used a Whatsapp vulnerability to target approximately 1400 individuals from 20 countries around the world. Information has surfaced that around 100 of these targets are HRDs. Amnesty is supporting a legal case in Tel Aviv District Court.  See press release here:  https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2019/10/whatsapp-scores-of-activists-targeted-with-spyware/.

Amnesty issued a statement when armed Israeli guards shot dead a Palestinian woman after she allegedly pulled out a knife at the Qalandiya military checkpoint between Ramallah and East Jerusalem in September.  See Amnesty's statement here:  https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2019/09/israel-opt-israeli-forces-killing-of-palestinian-woman-at-checkpoint-underscores-need-for-international-justice/.

Amnesty issued press release condemning state-sanctioned torture - Samir Arbeed.  See the press release here:  https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2019/09/israel-opt-legally-sanctioned-torture-of-palestinian-detainee-left-him-in-critical-condition/.

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USA: Stand with Human Rights Defenders' - ONLINE PLEDGE

Amnesty International, USA, November 1, 2019.

We live in polarizing times.  But human rights—and a belief in human dignity—should unify us.  Let’s show a groundswell of unified support from across the United States!

The U.S.’s human rights reputation is inseparable from the Trump administrations’s attacks on asylum-seekers at our southern border, embrace of dictators, and disregard for international law and institutions.

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