Dear High Representative,

Dear High Representative,

Responding to the European Council decision to continue with its plan to ensure that countries accessing the EU Budget comply with fundamental rights, Eve Geddie, Director of Amnesty International’s European Institutions Office said:

Leading human rights organisations have come together to demand the acquittal of 19 human rights defenders for their participation in a Pride parade in 2019, ahead of the verdict expected on Thursday.

Following the strongly worded interim resolution by the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers demanding Turkey release Osman Kavala from prison immediately, Amnesty International’s Europe Director Nils Muižnieks said:

To:

Responding to today’s ruling by the European Court of Human Rights, that the convictions of 11 activists in France for campaign actions calling for a boycott of Israeli products violated their right to freedom of expression, Marco Perolini, Amnesty International’s France Researcher said:

Responding to the decision by French authorities to prosecute the three police officers, one of whom assaulted a British human rights defender, Tom Ciotkowski, while he was documenting police abuse against refugees in Calais in 2018, Nicolas Krameyer, Amnesty International France’s Programme Manager, said:

People’s rights are being violated by governments in Europe and Central Asia, who are cracking down on protests and seeking to erode the independence of the judiciary to avoid accountability, Amnesty International said today as it published its annual review of human rights in the region.

From 2014 onward, Burundian HRDs, journalists and civil society came under ever-greater pressure in a fast-onset crisis that culminated in an almost total absence of HRDs and civil society space at the time of writing in April 2019. Accelerating harassment and arbitrary detention of HRDs and journalists were the canary in the coal mine for this human rights crisis. At the start of the crisis, the EU was well placed as a donor to Burundi and partner of the government. In response, it initiated intense political dialogue, launched consultations under article 96 of the Cotonou Agreement in October 2015, and finally suspended all aid conducted through the government in March 2016.

In recent years, human rights defenders in China have faced increasing intimidation, harassment, arbitrary detention and attacks.

The European Union (EU) and its member states are falling short on their commitment to support and protect human rights defenders (HRDs) who are facing mounting deadly threats and attacks, a new Amnesty International report out today shows.