20/11/2013 – In December 2013, the Czech Republic will be reviewed by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe with regard to its progress towards the execution of the European Court of Human Rights judgment in the case of D.H. and Others. In 2007, the European Court held the...

Amnesty International has documented Ukraine’s actions and challenges remaining to erradicate police torture. © APGraphicsBank Irrespective of the future of the Association Agreement with Ukraine, the EU must work to ensure Ukraine complies with its international obligations. Ukraine is an...

19/11/2013 – In the run up to the Vilnius Summit the EU has focused its attention on the problem of selective justice. The case of Yuliya Tymoshenko highlights the lack of fair trials and independence of the judiciary in Ukraine, but the political significance of her case should not be...

14/11/2013 – On 11 November, Turkey’s Supreme Court of Appeals upheld the convictions of 11 public officials following the death in custody of Engin Çeber in 2008. A prison director and two prison guards received life sentences for causing Engin Çeber’s death through torture, the first time...

The Court skirted around the real issue in this case and missed a key opportunity to state clearly that to criminalize consensual same-sex conduct ultimately amounts to criminalising people for who they are and, therefore, amounts to persecution per se, regardless of how often sentences of...

31/10/2013 – Almost one third of Syria’s population have fled their homes. More than 2 million are refugees living outside Syria – mostly in Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Iraq and Egypt – and 4.25 million individuals are displaced internally in Syria. They have fled widespread violence and human...

Given the strains that the main hosting countries are under, there is a risk that without sufficient support from the international community they will no longer be willing or able to continue to give adequate protection and assistance to Syrian refugees. Countries with the means to do so,...

30/10/2013 – In Rome, Italy, a two-track system applies to people in need of housing support. On the sole basis of their ethnicity, Roma who cannot afford a home are placed in authorized camps, built and managed by the municipal authorities.

The Council conclusions on migration painfully show that the expressions of sadness and solidarity were nothing more than crocodile tears. Europe’s priority clearly is not to save lives or to protect people along the borders. Instead it is to prevent people from arriving in Europe at all...

Amnesty International  MEDIA ADVISORY     Spokesperson availability on recommendations to the Lithuanian EU Presidency: mid-term review   (Brussels, 24 October 2013) As Lithuania reaches the mid-point of its European Union (EU) presidency, Amnesty International will meet...

EU and member states must do more to prevent further loss of life. Now is the time for action! Amnesty International MEDIA ADVISORY  Photo opportunity and spokesperson availability for 24 & 25 October European Council: Migration (Brussels, 22 October 2013) Ahead of this week’s...

22/10/2013 – Further to our statement to the Justice and Home Affairs Council on 8 October in the wake of the shipwreck off the coast of Lampedusa which cost the lives of 360 people, we are reiterating our concerns on European migration policy to heads of state and governments meeting at the...