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Responding to news of the death of Dr Abdullah al-Hamid, a prisoner of conscience who passed away while in detention in Saudi Arabia, Lynn Maalouf, Amnesty International’s Middle East Research Director, said:

“We are devastated to learn of Dr Abdullah al-Hamid’s passing while he remained in detention for his peaceful activism.

“Dr al-Hamid was a fearless champion for human rights in Saudi Arabia, who was determined to build a better world for all. Our thoughts are with his family and friends, who for the past eight years had been deprived of his presence as a result of the state’s inhumane repression.

“As a prominent human rights campaigner, Dr al-Hamid’s important work continues to resonate throughout the region. He, and all other prisoners of conscience in Saudi Arabia, should never have been in jail in the first place.

“We again call on the Saudi Arabian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release all those still imprisoned solely for peacefully exercising their human rights.”

Dr Abdullah al-Hamid

Amnesty International sent an open letter today to the Undersecretary of Prevention and the Promotion of Health, Dr Hugo López-Gatell Ramírez, the maximum authority on the response to COVID-19 in the country, to express its concerns about the lack of protection of the health of migrants and people in need of international protection in Mexico.

“Dr. Lopez-Gatell has been very clear that the best way to protect oneself from contracting COVID-19 is through social distancing; likewise, the Ministry of the Interior has publicly stated that the migrant population is among the most vulnerable. However, the lack of a strong response from the National Migration Institute to protect the lives and health of people in migration detention is extremely alarming," said Erika Guevara Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International.

Responding to plans announced by U.S. President Donald J. Trump to sign an executive order “to temporarily suspend immigration into the United States”, Joanne Lin, the national advocacy director of Amnesty International USA, said:

“While the scope of Trump’s new proposed policy is unclear, the message it sends is: the President is manipulating a pandemic to further the bigotry and xenophobia that have been hallmarks of his presidency from day one.

"We are one country and there is no way we could address the spread of COVID-19 without the unending efforts of immigrants providing healthcare and home aid, staffing grocery stores, and producing food, whose work has been deemed essential while they are simultaneously struggling to access to care, support, and services.

The Saudi Arabian authorities must immediately release Dr Abdullah al-Hamid, a prisoner of conscience who remains detained despite being in coma and in critical condition, Amnesty International said today.

Dr Abdullah al-Hamid, a prominent human rights campaigner serving an 11-year sentence for his peaceful activism, suffered a stroke on 9 April and is currently in a coma in the intensive care unit at al-Shumaisi Hospital in Riyadh.

“It is heartbreakingly cruel that Dr Abdullah al-Hamid remains in detention, even while in a coma,” said Lynn Maalouf, Amnesty International’s Middle East Research Director.

“Dr al-Hamid, and all other prisoners of conscience in Saudi Arabia, should never have been in jail in the first place. All those imprisoned solely for peacefully exercising their human rights must be immediately and unconditionally released.

“Older prisoners and those with existing health conditions who are at high risk of contracting COVID-19 should also be immediately considered for release or alternatives to detention. All those still awaiting trial should also be released.”

People’s rights are being violated by governments in Europe and Central Asia, who are cracking down on protests and seeking to erode the independence of the judiciary to avoid accountability, Amnesty International said today as it published its annual review of human rights in the region.

The organization praised those brave people who took to the streets to defend their own and others’ rights but warned that governments continue to perpetrate human rights violations with impunity across the region.

“In 2019, people in Europe and Central Asia were threatened, intimidated, prosecuted, subjected to excessive use of force by police, and suffered discrimination. However, the grassroots mobilization of courageous people who dared to stand up and hold states accountable provides a ray of hope for the future,” said Marie Struthers, Europe Director at Amnesty International.

Independence of the judiciary under threat

Responding to US President Donald Trump’s announcement that the United States will halt funding to the World Health Organization (WHO) pending the administration’s review of the organization’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International said:

“In trying to distract from criticisms of his own administration's response, President Trump is undermining global efforts to protect people from one of the worst health crises in over a century.”

“This crisis can only be solved through collective effort. COVID-19 does not respect borders, and Trump’s withdrawal will harm the United States as well as other countries fighting the virus. While other world leaders are pledging more support to the WHO, President Trump’s proposal to slash their resources at this moment of crisis will undermine efforts to save lives and halt the spread of the virus. The WHO cannot do its job if it is held hostage to the whims of powerful states, and other countries must do all they can to ensure this reckless decision does not hamper the fight against COVID-19.”