Today, the European Commission introduced a proposed revision to the 2008 Return Directive, amending the EU legal framework on returns or deportations outside of the EU. Following pressure from certain member states, it also introduces a possible legal basis for ‘return hubs’ in EU law through “agreements or arrangements” with third countries. “The European Commission…
In July 2024, Amnesty International published research which highlighted the use of systematic unlawful and arbitrary detention in the Samos Closed Controlled Access Centre (CCAC), as well as human rights concerns emerging from the inadequate living conditions. Today, the situation in the Samos CCAC remains alarming. Amnesty International and organisations active in the field of…
Ahead of the EU-Egypt Investment Conference in Cairo (29-30 June) where the EU is expected to sign off on €1 billion in financial assistance to Egypt, Amnesty International is urging leaders to abide by their own rules and insist on reforms on human rights, democracy and rule of law in Egypt. “This deal is one…
We, the undersigned Egyptian, regional and international human rights organisations, urge the European Commission and member states to uphold international and EU law to ensure that macro-financial assistance to Egypt granted under EU regulations secures concrete, measurable, structural and timebound human rights progress and reforms in the country. Since the 2013 military ousting of former…
Ahead of the European Union’s (EU) leaders meeting with the Egyptian president in Cairo (17 March 2024), Amnesty International called for all leaders to ensure that respect for human rights is at the centre of all ties between the EU and Egypt. “As EU leaders seek to strengthen their ties with Egypt, they must not…
Responding to the Italian Senate’s decision to ratify an agreement on detaining people rescued at sea by Italian ships in two detention centres in Albania, Matteo De Bellis, Amnesty International’s Migration and Asylum Researcher, said: “The Italian Parliament has just given the green light to an arbitrary detention deal that will harm thousands of people…
Just a few weeks ago, the Italy-Albania arbitrary detention deal that was proposed in November seemed mired in legal and political obstacles. But in a concerning acceleration of plans, the Italian parliament is now about to complete the ratification of the deal and the Albanian Constitutional Court green-lighted the possibility for the Albanian parliament to…
Solitary confinement is being used in ways that violate the rights of those awaiting trial, including being applied to people with intellectual disabilities and mental illnesses Some suspects held in isolation for almost two months in violation of their human rights Iceland is vastly overusing solitary confinement in pre-trial detention, violating the prohibition of torture…
The undersigned organisations call for the immediate and unconditional release of Kashmiri human rights defender Khurram Parvez, who was arrested one year ago on November 22, 2021 on politically motivated terrorism and other charges. Parvez, the Coordinator of the Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS) and Chairperson of the Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances…
New report details abuses against people who crossed into Lithuania from Belarus Treatment starkly contrasts with reception of people arriving from Ukraine EU Commission not fulfilling its duties under EU law Spokespeople available Lithuanian authorities have arbitrarily detained thousands of people in militarized centres, where they have been subjected to inhumane conditions, torture and other…
Fresh evidence of harrowing violations, including sexual violence, against men, women and children intercepted while crossing the Mediterranean Sea and forcibly returned to detention centres in Libya, highlights the horrifying consequences of Europe’s ongoing cooperation with Libya on migration and border control, said Amnesty International in a report published today. ‘No one will look for…
18 February 2021 The arbitrary arrest and imprisonment of the Russian prominent anti-corruption campaigner and opposition figure Aleksei Navalny, and the concurrent arrests and detention on spurious charges of his colleagues from the Anti-Corruption Foundation and other civil society activists and peaceful protesters are the latest in the series of severe, brazen reprisals against all…