News updates

 The acquittal of a young woman who was tortured into confessing to the crime of extortion is long awaited good news but Mexico must ensure those responsible for the abuse she suffered face justice and that she receives reparation, said Amnesty International.

“The fact that a young woman has been forced to spend two years in prison after being tortured to confess to a crime speaks volumes about the state of the Mexican judicial system,” said Erika-Guevara Rosas, Americas Director at Amnesty International.

“While we welcome Cristel’s acquittal, justice will not be done until those who sexually tortured her into confessing to a crime are put behind bars and a strong message is sent that torture is never acceptable.”
 
Cristel Fabiola Piña Jasso, a 25-year old mother of two, was today acquitted by a court in Chihuahua, northern Mexico after spending two years in prison. The judge found there was not sufficient evidence against her and ordered a federal investigation into the torture she suffered.

This afternoon’s United Nations Security Council meeting on Burundi’s ongoing political and human rights crisis must include a clear and robust call on Burundian authorities to end the crisis, address serious human rights concerns and ensure people’s safety, Amnesty International said.

“Incendiary rhetoric from top officials is fuelling fears that the already tense situation in Burundi could spiral out of control, leading to mass killings,” said Sarah Jackson, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for East Africa, the Horn and the Great Lakes region.

“Allowing independent human rights observers in, and protecting residents from further violence, are key ingredients to quelling the current unrest.”

Violence has continued in the capital, Bujumbura, with daily reports of extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests, torture and other ill-treatment. Nine men – including a UNDP employee – were reportedly killed in a shooting in a bar in the capital on Saturday. On Friday, the son of leading human rights defender Pierre Claver Mbonimpa was found dead after having been arrested by police.

The jailing of peaceful activists, restrictions on free speech, discrimination and the political disenfranchisement of minority groups – in particular the persecuted Rohingya– seriously undermine elections in Myanmar, Amnesty International said ahead of the vote on 8 November.

A UN vote to lift the US embargo on Cuba today sends, once again, a strong message to US President Barack Obama and Congress about the dire human rights impact of the economic embargo on ordinary Cubans, said Amnesty International. 

“Claiming to be open to fostering a new kind of relation with the Cuban authorities on the one hand and maintaining an economic embargo that prevents ordinary Cubans from accessing medicines and other basic commodities on the other is a complete incongruence on the part of the US and greatly contributes to further undermine human rights in Cuba,” said Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas Director at Amnesty International.  

“The US Congress must listen to the loud message sent by the international community through the UN today and lift an embargo that has no place in today’s world.” 

Earlier today, 191 countries voted in favor of the resolution calling on the USA to lift its economic embargo against Cuba. Only the USA and Israel voted against it. 

The opening of the trial of three police officers and two members of the military on charges of physically and sexually assaulting a man in their custody must be accompanied by an independent and impartial investigation of all past abuses by Fiji’s security forces, said Amnesty International today.

Four of the men appeared at Nasinu Magistrate’s Court after a “torture video” released online appeared to show them attacking Iowane Benedito with iron bars and batons in November 2012.

The whereabouts of the fifth man is not known.

“This video reveals the shocking level of brutality that the police force and members of the military are capable of. The repeated beatings that Iowane Benedito was subjected to were vicious in the extreme and they clearly amount to torture,” said Josef Benedict, Amnesty International’s South East Asia and Pacific Campaigns Director.

Amnesty International has received multiple reports of Fiji’s security forces using torture and other ill-treatment against people in its custody.

Security forces in the Republic of Congo must refrain from using excessive force against protesters, Amnesty International said today.

Five people are reported to have been killed among reports that the police used live ammunition against protesters who gathered to demonstrate against the proposed changes to the country’s constitution ahead of Sunday’s referendum.

“A heavy-handed response by security forces not only violates the protesters’ rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, but may enflame an already tense situation,” said Ilaria Allegrozzi, Amnesty International Central Africa researcher.

“The use of force and the deaths of protesters must be independently, impartially and effectively investigated and if there are grounds to suspect individuals of criminal responsibility they must be brought to justice.”

 Media freedom is also under threat with mobile Internet services, text messaging and the signal of some radio stations cut in Brazzaville.

The Cuban authorities’ failure to keep to their commitment to release a graffiti artist unfairly imprisoned nearly a year ago is a painful illustration of their disregard for freedom of expression, said Amnesty International.

“Committing to release Danilo Maldonado Machado on 15 October only to keep him behind bars for no reason other than speaking his mind and criticising the government is not only cruel but sends a strong message that freedom of expression is not on the Cuban government’s radar,” said Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas Director at Amnesty International.

“Danilo is a prisoner of conscience, deprived of his liberty as punishment for peacefully expressing his opinions. He must be released immediately and unconditionally and not be made to spend another second behind bars.”

Yesterday, prison authorities told Danilo’s mother that he had served his time but that they did not know when he would be set free. Danilo, however, has never been brought before a judge or sentenced.