Media advisories

Amnesty International launches a short campaign document calling on the Rwandan authorities to review ‘genocide ideology’ and ‘sectarianism’ laws that are being used to suppress political dissent and stifle freedom of speech in the country.

The months leading up to the August 2010 presidential elections, which President Kagame won with 93 per cent of the vote, were marked by a clampdown on freedom of expression through regulatory sanctions, restrictive laws and criminal defamation cases.

The Rwandan government has expressed a commitment to review laws which are used to criminalize criticism, but recent trials of journalists and opposition politicians suggest that Rwanda’s critics still face prosecution and imprisonment.

Amnesty International is calling on President Kagame to allow opposition politicians, journalists and human rights defenders to express their views without fear for their safety.

Beth Berton-Hunter,
Media Relations,
Amnesty International Canada
416-363-9933, ext. 332

A new brief by the international human rights organization Amnesty International calls for an independent review of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) response to ongoing land rights protests in the Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory.

The brief, based on extensive eye-witness interviews, access to information requests, and a review of court transcripts, demonstrates that the deployment of large numbers of heavily armed police, including snipers, and the aggressive tactics used, were not only excessive, but could easily have led to the loss of life.

The brief calls for urgent action to ensure that key recommendations of the Ipperwash Inquiry are properly implemented by the provincial government and the OPP.

Confirmed Speakers:          

Alex Neve, Secretary General, Amnesty International Canada

Larry Hay, former Chief of Police, Tyendinaga Mohawk Police Service

Jim and Rhonda Kunkel, bystanders arrested at gunpoint during the April 2008 protests

Nicole Storms, Tyendinaga community member, para-legal, and eyewitness

Amnesty International will on 19 May release a new report Egypt rises: Killings, detentions and torture in the '25 January Revolution'.
The 123-page report will be released two days in advance of the trial of former Interior Minister Habib El Adly and six close aides, who are accused of ordering the shooting of protesters. The report covers human rights violations that took place between 25 January and 7 March, when the new interim cabinet was sworn into office.

The report documents the cases of 93 individuals killed or injured by security forces using excessive force, focusing on casualties in Greater Cairo, Alexandria, Beni Suef governorate, Suez, Port Said and the industrial heartland of El Mahalla. It charts the waves of arrests in Cairo, particularly from 25 January to 3 February, and the many cases of torture of those detained. It describes the unlawful killings of prisoners in the context of the prison unrest.

Rallies are being held across at least 30 cities in 12 countries.

On Saturday 12 February Amnesty International will be part of a rally being held on Parliament Hill in Ottawa between 1- 3 p.m supporting peaceful protestors in Egypt and in the wider region. Alex Neve, the Secretary-General of Amnesty International Canada will speak at the event.

 They will be joining thousands of Amnesty International supporters, Egyptian activists, trade unionists, students and others on 12 February at rallies in at least 30 cities across the world to mark a “Global Day of Action” in solidarity with protestors in Egypt and the wider Middle East and North Africa region who are demanding greater human rights.

Protests will be held in cities across Australia, Benin, Canada, Germany, France, Mali, Norway, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, UK, the USA and others. Demonstrators have been asked to wear red, black or white (the colours of the Egyptian flag) clothing and face paint.

On Friday 21 January, at a press conference in Port-au-Prince, Amnesty International’s expert on Haiti, Gerardo Ducos, will provide an update on the organization’s engagement with the Haitian authorities regarding the legal case against former president Jean Claude Duvalier. Amnesty International has documented hundreds of human rights abuses committed during Duvalier’s rule (1971-1986), including detention without trial, systematic torture, enforced disappearances and extrajudicial executions.

Jean-Claude Duvalier returned to Haiti on 16 January after nearly 25 years in exile in France. He was briefly arrested on 18 January and is currently facing corruption-related charges.

When: Friday 21 January, 9.30am Local Time (14:30Hs GMT).

Where: Hotel Le Plaza, Salle Therese 2, 10 Rue Capois, Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

Who: Gerardo Ducos, Researcher on Haiti at Amnesty International.

For more information, please contact:
In Port-au-Prince: Carolina Roman, +509 3784 4619.
In London: Josefina Salomon, +44 7778 472 116, jsalomon@amnesty.org

Amnesty International’s expert on Haiti, Gerardo Ducos, will be in Haiti between 8 and 22 January 2011. As part of the visit, Ducos will launch the report Aftershocks: Women speak out against sexual violence in Haiti’s camps at a press conference on Tuesday 11 January in Port-au-Prince. The report, which features the stories of over 50 survivors of sexual abuse, looks at the continuing failure to protect girls and women living in makeshift camps from the risk of rape and sexual assault.

Survivors of sexual violence, who are already struggling to overcome the trauma suffered after losing their loved ones, their homes and livelihoods after the earthquake, have no access to medical care and have little hope to see their attackers brought to a court.

When:

Tuesday 11 January, 10am local time.

Where:

GARR offices (Groupe d'Appui aux Rapatriés et Réfugiés) 69, Christ Roi, Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

Who:

On December 10th, International Human Rights Day, Chinese prisoner of conscience and co-author of CHARTER ‘08 Liu Xiaobo will be awarded the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize. Despite this tremendous international honour, he remains imprisoned in China for his peaceful advocacy for human rights and democracy. Chinese authorities have refused to release him and have also refused to allow his wife to travel to Norway to accept the award on his behalf. On December 10th, a delegation of leading human rights advocates will seek to deliver to the Chinese Embassy petitions signed by thousands of Canadians from across the country urging the Chinese government to release Liu Xiaobo immediately. The advocates have written to the Ambassador, seeking a meeting. It is not yet clear whether Embassy officials will meet with the delegation or agree to receive the peitions.

The human rights advocates will make comments to the press at the time of the petition delivery.

Place: Embassy of the People's Republic of China
515 St. Patrick Street, Otttawa

Date: Friday, December 10, 2010

Time: Between 10:00 and 10:30 a.m.