AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL PRESS RELEASE

20/03/2014 – Since the beginning of the Euromaydan protest on 21November 2013, Amnesty International has documented numerous cases of human rights abuses, including violations of the right to peaceful assembly, repeated excessive use of force by law enforcement officers, harassment of those who dared to complain, torture, abductions, unfair trials, and finally shooting at unarmed protesters.

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL MEDIA ADVISORY

It is shameful to think that within the EU people who have committed no crime are being held in harsh prison-like conditions for prolonged periods, in some cases for up to 18 months or longer. Amnesty International is concerned that Cyprus is using the systematic detention of migrants to intimidate and deter potential immigrants and asylum-seekers

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL MEDIA ADVISORY

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL

Berkin is the fourth person to die as a direct result of abusive use of force by police officers during last year’s Gezi Park protests. The lack of effective investigations into the use of such force which also left thousands injured has touched a nerve and resulted in a wave of anti-government demonstrations which are sweeping Turkey again.

Residents wait to receive UNRWA food aid at the besieged al-Yarmouk camp on January 31, 2014.© unrwa.org

10/03/2014 – Three years after popular pro-reform then anti-government protests drew a brutal response from the Syrian authorities, leading to the internal armed conflict that continues to rage, around a quarter of a million civilians are living under siege across Syria. Many have endured appalling conditions in their struggle to survive

© Tamimi Press

The defendants in this trial were confronted by abusive use of force by police. Some of them sought to prevent violence, others to protect themselves. A few were just caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. All are victims of a politically motivated show trial.

This senseless loss of human life is deeply disturbing. The Ukrainian authorities must take all measures in their power to stop and prevent the unlawful use of force and firearms, both by police officers and any vigilante groups who are colluding with them. All those responsible must be brought to justice.