13/06/2014 – Saturday 14 June is the ten year anniversary of the adoption of the European Union (EU) Guidelines on Human Rights Defenders (HRDs)1, committing the EU and its member states to support and assist HRDs within the framework of the Union’s external relations policy. On this anniversary, Amnesty International calls on the EU and its member states to take stock of the effectiveness of the Guidelines, and to renew their commitment to translate them into meaningful action in support of HRDs.

The new Danish law on transgender people is the first of its kind in Europe.© Søren Malmose

This is a vindictive, politically motivated show trial without a shred of evidence of actual crimes. It should be stopped at the first hearing.The prosecution has concocted a case simply to send a strong message to the rest of Turkey that the authorities will ruthlessly pursue anyone who dissents and organises protests against government policies.

The Turkish authorities have been relentless in their crackdown on protesters – be it police violence on the streets or by prosecuting them through the courts. Meanwhile the police enjoy near total impunity. The message is clear: peaceful demonstrations will not be tolerated.

06/06/2014 – Amnesty International today expressed concern that the definition of marriage included in a new constitutional amendment contravenes international and European human rights law, and will discriminate against Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex (LGBTI) individuals on the ground of their sexual orientation.

The fact that it took investigations by a dedicated NGO and journalists to unearth this week’s sorry tale about the state failing to admit to sanctioning torture is a further reminder of the ongoing failure to deal effectively with the past

“Rather than deterring those in need, Europe’s preventative approach to migration is putting lives in danger. No matter how high we build our walls, people will always try to escape conflict and poverty.”

Credit: Игорь Титаренко https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/