ShortFormBlogamnesty international Archives

Libyan leader pledges respect for human rights: On Monday, Amnesty International released a report on Libya’s past six months of warfare. It found that while pro-Gaddafi forces committed widespread war crimes, there were also incidences of such crimes within the Libyan rebellion – torture, disappearances, and the mass killing of prisoners among them. The leader of Libya’s interim council, Mustafa Abdel Jalil, has responded by vowing the new government will respect human rights (though it won’t be a secular one, as he says Libya will remain a moderate Islamic nation), and pledged to investigate claims of war crimes committed by his own fighters. source

Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

Crime and punishment in China: Amnesty International claimed yesterday that while the exact number is guarded as a state secret, they believe thousands of people were executed in the China last year, more than every other country combined. While China has maintained they’ve taken steps to lower their rate of execution, such as mandatory review of all death penalty cases since 2007, Amnesty International says they’ve still been executing people for “a wide range of crimes that include nonviolent offences and after proceedings that did not meet international fair trial standards.” source

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Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

1000’snumber of people executed in China last year, according to Amnesty International – note the lack of firm number here
714 number of people executed in 17 other nations last year, including Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and the United States source

Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

In one swift move, Obama both backtracks on a major campaign promise to change the way the United States fights terrorism and undermines the nation’s core respect for the rule of law.
Amnesty International executive director Larry Cox • On one of Obama’s most unpopular decisions thus far, after, you know, getting a dog. Seriously, it seems like very few liberal-leaning groups dig this decision. LIBERAL RAGE! ROAR! • source

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Background Bush got the drama police on his back because of the harsh interrogation techniques his administration used on Guantanamo Bay detainees. Obama said he would kill them off as a campaign promise. Liberal-leaning groups supported him. source

Background Bush got the drama police on his back because of the harsh interrogation techniques his administration used on Guantanamo Bay detainees. Obama said he would kill them off as a campaign promise. Liberal-leaning groups supported him.
What’s next? Today Obama announced that his administration would revive the tribunals – with significant changes. Harsh interrogation techniques wouldn’t be used, they’d be only used for the 13 Sept. 11 suspects in custody, but with more rigid legal protections in place. source

Background Bush got the drama police on his back because of the harsh interrogation techniques his administration used on Guantanamo Bay detainees. Obama said he would kill them off as a campaign promise. Liberal-leaning groups supported him.
What’s next? Today Obama announced that his administration would revive the tribunals – with significant changes. Harsh interrogation techniques wouldn’t be used, they’d be only used for the 13 Sept. 11 suspects in custody, but with more rigid legal protections in place.
But why? The likely root cause for the backtrack is the need for congressional support. Obama hopes to have legislation signed by the time a freeze on the cases expires. D.C. legislators like this just a wee bit more than Amnesty International. source

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13 Sep 2011 16:30