Democracy – Inclusion – Justice – Solidarity – Sustainability The COVID-19 pandemic is demonstrating all too well that unequal societies go hand-in-hand with human suffering, fragile economies and delicate democracies. Solidarity must be the bedrock of Europe’s response to this crisis: to fighting...

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. The...

100 groups call for urgent measures to safeguard access to abortion Poland prepares to debate draconian law to further restrict abortion European governments should urgently guarantee safe and timely access to abortion care for women and girls in the region during the COVID-19 pandemic, 100...

Since 2012, an ongoing institutional reform has centralized court administration in Hungary as the government aims to weaken checks of the executive power and restrict established powers of independent institutions. While judges feel they still can adjudicate relatively freely, the institutional...

Helping other people is normal. And it is the right thing to do. What is the problem? In recent years, compassion has been turned into a crime across Europe. People who have helped refugees and migrants have been threatened, smeared, intimidated, harassed, and dragged through the courts to face...

Reacting to today’s European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) judgment in Ismayilova v. Azerbaijan, in favour of journalist Khadia Ismayilova, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Denis Krivosheev, said: “The case of Khadija Ismayilova – a prominent journalist...

This briefing is submitted in accordance with Rule 9(2) of the Rules of the Committee of Ministers for the supervision of the execution of judgments, in advance of the 1369th (Human Rights) meeting of the Ministers’ Deputies on the execution of judgments. Considering Turkey’s obligations...

The decision to detain Osman Kavala on new charges merely hours after a court ordered his release must be immediately reversed and he must immediately set free, said Amnesty International. “This decision smacks of deliberate and calculated cruelty. To have been granted release after almost...

Following the acquittal of Osman Kavala and eight other defendants in the so-called ‘Gezi trial’, Amnesty International’s Turkey Campaigner, Milena Buyum said: “Today’s decision is hugely welcome and confirms what has been clear to the entire world for more than two years. “The only just verdict in...

Spokespeople available On Saturday judges and lawyers from at least 14 countries will march in Warsaw in defence of human rights and the rule of law in Poland, as the Polish Senate considers a law which would further erode judicial independence.  Ahead of the protest, Draginja Nadaždin,...

European Court calls for civic leader’s immediate release The European Court of Human Rights ruled on December 10, 2019 that Osman Kavala, a civic leader, has been arbitrarily detained in Turkey since November 2017. The court said that his detention has been carried out and prolonged in bad faith...

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...