Amnesty International Ireland Free Speech Campaign

PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS PAGE IS NO LONGER UPDATED Amnesty International Ireland is Ireland's largest human rights organization with over 15,000 members and supporters. We are part of a global movement of more than 3.2 million people working in over 150 countries. Our sole concern is the protection of the fundamental human rights guaranteed to each one of us by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Throughout the world, individuals face harassment and imprisonment as a result of exercising their right to freedom of expression. Freedom of expression is closely linked to the right to hold opinions and the right to freedom of thought, freedom of assembly, freedom of conscience, and religion. Follow our page, take action, and stand up for free speech.

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Jabeur Mejri:Imprisoned for 7 years for Facebook posts

   On 5 March 2012 Jabeur Mejri was arrested for expressing his views on religion.  A few days before his arrest two lawyers had filed a complaint with local authorities about his Facebook posts, including images of the prophet Mohamed.

  Jabeur was put on trial and convicted of numerous offences including, “attacking sacred values through actions or words” and “undermining public morals”. He was given the maximum punishment for each of the charges, meaning a total of seven and a half years imprisonment and a fine of 1200 Tunisian Dinars (757 US dollars).

  Jabeur’s only recourse at this stage is a Presidential pardon. Many hoped that Jabeur would be released during the month of Ramadan, as Presidential pardons are usually granted during religious or national holidays. However, much to the disappointment of Jabeur and his family he is still being held captive in prison.

  Amnesty’s aim is to ensure Jabeur’s safe release from prison and for his conviction to be overturned.  Additionally, Amnesty wants the Tunisian authorities to respect the right to freedom of expression and ensure they meet their international human rights obligations with regard to this right.

  Take action for Jabeur here: http://www.amnesty.ie/content/release-blogger-jabeur-mejri-prisoner-conscience.

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Egypt: Government must protect Christians from sectarian violence

There has been an unprecedented rise in sectarian violence across Egypt targeting Coptic Christians and the Egyptian authorities must take immediate steps to ensure their safety, Amnesty International said today. 

  Coptic Christians have been targeted – seemingly in retaliation for their support of the ousting of Mohamed Morsi – since the violent dispersals of pro-Morsi sit-ins in Greater Cairo on 14 August. Several Coptic Christians were killed, while their churches, businesses, and homes have been under attack. 

Read out briefing from last month on attacks on Christians in Luxor.

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Human rights leaders call for investigation in Egypt

There must be a full, impartial and effective investigation into the shocking loss of life that has taken place in Egypt over the last week, said Amnesty International’s leaders from across the globe as they came together in Berlin today. 

  Salil Shetty, Secretary General of Amnesty International, said: “The interim government has already stained its human rights record. First, by breaking its promises to use non-lethal weapons to disperse pro-Morsi sit-ins and allow for the safe exit of wounded and then by justifying their actions despite the tragic loss of lives. Read more.

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UN must investigate Egyptian violence

Amnesty International has called on the Egytpian authorities to allow UN experts access to the country to investigate the use of lethal force by the security forces during the violent dispersal of protests in Cairo.

Unprecedented levels of violence have left more than 600 dead around Egypt. The Ministry of Interior reported 43 fatal casualties among security forces. The death toll is expected to climb further as bodies are transferred to official hospitals and morgues. 

Read our latest briefing for eye-witness testimony from last week's violence.

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Brotherhood call for march of anger raises Egypt tension

Deeply polarised Egypt braced for renewed confrontation today after the Muslim Brotherhood called for a nationwide march of millions to show anger at a ferocious security crackdown on Islamists in which hundreds were killed.

Source: www.irishtimes.com

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Cairo: Egyptian PM defends crackdown as death toll rises

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Security forces must stop further bloodshed as a pro-Morsi sit-in is dispersed in Cairo today, said Amnesty International. The organisation is working on the ground to verify reports of human rights abuses. Read more here.

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Call on Egyptian authorities to stop the deportation of refugees

The Egyptian authorities are preparing to deport 13 Syrians to Turkey and 28 Palestinians from Syria to the Gaza Strip.

The group, which includes at least 13 children and 10 women, had sought refuge in Egypt after fleeing the armed conflict in Syria. Under international law, Egypt has a responsibility to protect people fleeing the conflict.

Act now and urge Egyptian authorities to stop the deportation of all members of the group.

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Bahrain: End Crackdown on Peaceful Demonstrations

The Bahraini authorities must not crack down on mass anti-government protests scheduled for tomorrow. Amnesty International fears that new legislation introduced last week will be used to legitimise the use of force to quash peaceful protests. 

“The people of Bahrain have the right to express their views freely and to protest peacefully without the threat of violence,” said Philip Luther, Middle East and North Africa Director at Amnesty International. 

 “For years the authorities in Bahrain have shamelessly sought to stifle freedom of expression, taking increasingly drastic steps to stamp out dissent with complete disregard for international law.” Read more here.

Act now to support human rights activists in Bahrain.

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Act for social media activists at risk of torture in Bahrain

Mohammad Hassan Sayef, a 26-year-old blogger and translator, and Hussain Habib, a 23-year-old cameraman, are being held incommunicado.

Mohammad Hassan Sayef was arrested from his parents’ house in Sitra in the early hours of 31 July 2013 by plainclothes security officers ,without an arrest warrant. He was taken to the Criminal Investigation Directorate in Manama.

He is believed to still be held incommunicado and is at risk of torture and other ill-treatment. His family and their legal representative have not been allowed to visit him.  

Hussain Habib was arrested at Bahrain International Airport as he was due to board a flight to Dubai on 31 July. He was taken to the Criminal Investigation Directorate building for interrogation. He is believed to still be detained there incommunicado.

The exact reasons for the arrest of the two men above are not known, but they may be linked to their use of social media networks.

The government is cracking down on people disseminating information about the human rights situation in Bahrain through social media such as Twitter and Facebook. Both have used these networks extensively.

On 28 July Bahrain’s Parliament submitted 22 recommendations to the King toughening punishments laid out in the 2006 anti-terrorism law.

The King has welcomed the recommendations and has already issued two decrees to this effect.

One of the recommendations is to make sending false information on Bahrain through social meda networks a crime punishable by imprisonment.

Take Action: Call for the immediate release of the two men.

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Eygpt: Evidence points to torture carried out by Morsi supporters

Evidence, including testimonies from survivors, indicates that supporters of deposed President Mohamed Morsi tortured individuals from a rival political camp, said Amnesty International. 

Anti-Morsi protesters told Amnesty International how they were captured, beaten, subjected to electric shocks or stabbed by individuals loyal to the former President. Since mass rival rallies began in late June, as of 28 July, eight bodies have arrived at the morgue in Cairo bearing signs of torture. At least five of these were found near areas where pro-Morsi sit-ins were being held. Read more.

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Earlier this week, Amnesty International warned against the imminent adoption of proposed amendments by the Bahraini authorities to the anti-terrorism legislation as it will lead to further violations of Bahrain’s international human rights obligations.Read the rest of Amnesty International's Public Statement.

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Inside Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood - video

The Guardian spent a week with supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi who have camped out in Rabaa al-Adawiya in protest at Morsi's removal. The video clip features followers who have documented the killing of unarmed protesters and claims of police torture, and medical volunteers who treat victims of the street clashes.

source: www.theguardian.com/uk

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Call for the release of President Mohamed Morsi

Deposed President Mohamed Morsi and nine of his aides have been held in an unknown location since 3 July.

They have had no contact with their lawyers, their doctors or their families.

They are at risk of torture and other ill-treatment.

On 3 July, the army announced it was removing Mohamed Morsi from power after days of protests and political violence.

The deposed President and his team were last seen at the Republican Guard Club, a military compound in Cairo's Nasr City.

On 26 July, a judge ordered that Mohamed Morsi be detained for 15 days to investigate charges that he collaborated with Hamas in prison breaks during the uprising in 2011

Call on the Egyptian authorities to say where Mohamed Morsi and his team are being held. Take Action.

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Bahrain: New Limits on Protesters

New York Times recent article discussing King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa move to issue new decrees giving the authorities more powers to quell antigovernment protests.

source: www.nytimes.com

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Israel: Protect citizens' rights to protest peacefully against forced evictions

The Israeli authorities must not use excessive force on demonstrators planning to protest against a plan to forcibly evict tens of thousands of Arab Bedouins from their homes in southern Israel, said Amnesty International. Citizens across Israel are organizing demonstrations for a “Day of Rage” on Thursday 1 August, to oppose the Prawer-Begin plan. The plan enables the forced eviction of more than 30,000 residents in the Negev desert. Peaceful protests against the proposal on 15 July were met with excessive force by Israeli riot police and border police forces. Amnesty International is calling on the government of Israel to scrap the proposal.Learn more here.

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Egypt’s ban on sit-ins 'recipe for disaster'

The Egyptian government’s decision to mandate security forces to end all pro-Morsi sit-ins in Greater Cairo, considering recent violence against protesters, is a recipe for further bloodshed, Amnesty International said.

“Given the Egyptian security forces' record of policing demonstrations with routine use of excessive and unwarranted lethal force, this latest announcement gives a seal of approval to further abuse,” said Colm O'Gorman, Executive Director at Amnesty International Ireland. “The authorities as well as the security forces should start with an approach that avoids the use of force and is based on ‘methods of persuasion, negotiation and mediation’, as recommended by international standards.”

Read more here.