Amnesty International USA is the US Section of Amnesty International, a worldwide human rights organization. http://www.amnestyusa.org/rss/en/actions.xml en Amnesty International Amnesty International hourly 4 http://www.amnestyusa.org/actioncenter/actions/uaa03110.pdf?rss=actions Henry Skinner, a 47 year old man, is due to be executed in Texas on 24 February. He maintains his innocence and is seeking clemency and DNA testing of evidence of the crime. 2010-02-04T18:02:25-05:00 http://www.amnestyusa.org/actioncenter/actions/uaa31109.pdf?rss=actions Zhao Lianhai, a man seeking justice for families affected by a tainted milk powder scandal in 2008, was detained on 13 November and is now in custody awaiting trial in Beijing. He is at risk of torture and other ill-treatment. 2010-02-04T17:39:26-05:00 http://www.amnestyusa.org/actioncenter/actions/uaa02910.pdf?rss=actions A Columbian paramilitary group has threatened to kill the members of a women's human rights organization. The threat declares them a military target and says there is a plan to kill them all. 2010-02-04T16:43:53-05:00 http://www.amnestyusa.org/actioncenter/actions/uaa02810.pdf?rss=actions Three men have had their sentences confirmed by Yemen's Supreme Court in recent days. If the Court's decision is ratified by the President, they will be at imminent risk of execution. 2010-02-03T12:42:48-05:00 http://www.amnestyusa.org/actioncenter/actions/uaa34109.pdf?rss=actions Iranian student leader Majid Tavakkoli, held since 7 December 2009 after a demonstration, has been sentenced to eight years and six months imprisonment after an unfair trial. He is believed to be appealing against his conviction and sentence. He is a prisoner of conscience. 2010-02-02T18:06:12-05:00 http://www.amnestyusa.org/actioncenter/actions/uaa02710.pdf?rss=actions Martin Grossman, a 45 year old white man, is due to be executed in the US state of Florida on February 16 for a crime he committed when he was only 19 yrs. old. He was convicted of murder in 1985. 2010-01-29T17:54:32-05:00 http://www.amnestyusa.org/actioncenter/actions/uaa02610.pdf?rss=actions Four Kurdish political activists were detained on December 26, 2009 in Syria after peacefully expressing their political opinions regarding issues related to Kurds in Syria. Hassan Saleh, Muhammad Ahmed Mustafa, Ma'rouf Mulla Ahmed, and Anwer Naso have been held incommunicado since then. They are at rist of torture and other ill-treatment. 2010-01-28T09:57:09-05:00 http://www.amnestyusa.org/individuals-at-risk/priority-cases/uzbekistan-alisher-karamatov-and-azam-farmonov/page.do?id=1181055&rss=actions Uzbek authorities detained Alisher Karamatov and Azam Farmonov on April 29, 2006 as the two men defended the rights of local farmers. The two, both of them regional heads of the independent Human Rights Society of Uzbekistan, were allegedly tortured by authorities, charged with extortion and subjected to an unfair trial where they were denied adequate legal representation. 2010-01-27T16:57:21-05:00 http://www.amnestyusa.org/actioncenter/actions/uaa02410.pdf?rss=actions Sri Lankan journalist and political analyst Prageeth Eknaligoda went missing on 24 January from Homagama, near the capital Colombo. 2010-01-27T11:41:39-05:00 http://www.amnestyusa.org/actioncenter/actions/uaa02310.pdf?rss=actions Belarusian conscientious objector, Ivan Mikhailau, was sentenced to three months' imprisonment on 1 February 2010. Amnesty International considers him to be a prisoner of conscience and is calling for his immediate and unconditional release. 2010-01-27T11:29:38-05:00 http://www.amnestyusa.org/individuals-at-risk/priority-cases/nepal-rita-mahato/page.do?id=1181046&rss=actions Human rights defender Rita Mahato has been threatened with death, rape and kidnapping as a result of her work helping women in Nepal who have suffered acts of violence. She is a health adviser at the Women's Reabilitation Center (WOREC), which has been attacked by men from the village who object to WOREC's work. The police have failed to provide Rita Mahato with protection or to investigate the threats, and she fears for her life. 2010-01-26T15:03:58-05:00 http://www.amnestyusa.org/individuals-at-risk/priority-cases/iran-mansour-ossanlu/page.do?id=1181052&rss=actions Mansour Ossanlu, a trade union activist and human rights defender, is no stranger to prisons. He has long been persecuted by authorities because of his legitimate trade union activities, and he has spent several periods in prison as a result. Amnesty International considers him to be a prisoner of conscience and is calling for his immediate and unconditional release. 2010-01-26T14:49:12-05:00 http://www.amnestyusa.org/actioncenter/actions/uaa02210.pdf?rss=actions The death sentence against a Filipina female domestic worker, Jakatia Pawa, was upheld by Kuwait's Court of Cassation on January 19th. Throughout the judicial process, Pawa maintained that she was innocent. Her lawyer stated that there was no evidence in the case file proving that she had indeed committed the murder. 2010-01-26T11:30:34-05:00 http://www.amnestyusa.org/actioncenter/actions/uaa02110.pdf?rss=actions Behrang Tonekaboni, a male music journalist, and his mother Lily Farhadpour, along with Behrang Tonekaboni's male colleague Kayvan Farzin, have been detained at an unknown location since their arrests in Iran's capital, Tehran, earlier this month. They appear to have been subjected to enforced disappearance and are at risk of torture or other ill-treatment. 2010-01-25T10:51:47-05:00 http://www.amnestyusa.org/actioncenter/actions/uaa01910.pdf?rss=actions Members of Taller de Desarrollo Comunitarion (Community Development Workshop, TADECO) a community development and human rights organization in Chilpancingo, Southern Mexico, have received death threats and have been followed. The Mexican authorities have offered no protection to the activists. 2010-01-22T12:20:36-05:00 http://www.amnestyusa.org/actioncenter/actions/uaa10809.pdf?rss=actions Two alleged members of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), an armed opposition group based in the Darfur region in western Sudan, have been sentenced to death for their alleged participation in an attack on Sudan's capital, Khartoum. This brings to 105 the total number of individuals sentenced to death in connection with the attack. 2010-01-22T12:13:56-05:00 http://www.amnestyusa.org/actioncenter/actions/uaa27109.pdf?rss=actions Habibollah Latifa, a member of the Kurdish minority in Iran, has been transferred to solitary confinement. The transfer to solitary confinement is often an indication that an execution is going to take place within days. Another Iranian Kurdish man, Sherko Moarefi, remains on death row at Saqqez Prison in Kordestan province. 2010-01-22T12:05:07-05:00 http://www.amnestyusa.org/actioncenter/actions/uaa11607.pdf?rss=actions The Supreme Court in Saudi Arabia has quashed the death sentences of 24-yr-old Canadian man Mohammed Kohail and 23-yr-old Jordanian man and has ordered a retrial. If convicted, they are at risk of being sentenced to death again. 18-yr-old Sultan Kohail is free on bail and awaiting retrial. He remains at risk of being sentenced to death if convicted, despite the fact that he was 16 at the time of the alleged crime. 2010-01-22T11:44:53-05:00 http://www.amnestyusa.org/actioncenter/actions/uaa27809.pdf?rss=actions On January 15, Chinese pro-democracy activist Zhou Yongjun was sentenced to 9 years' imprisonment for fraud. Amnesty International believes that his conviction is politically motivated. 2010-01-22T11:18:51-05:00 http://www.amnestyusa.org/all-countries/iran/ayatollah-boroujerdi-prisoner-of-conscience/page.do?id=1221008&rss=actions Ayatollah Sayed Hossein Kazemeyni Boroujerdi, a 50-year-old Shi?a cleric, is currently imprisoned in Yazd Prison for his peaceful religious opinions. Amnesty International considers him to be a prisoner of conscience. 2010-01-20T14:21:05-05:00 http://www.amnestyusa.org/actioncenter/actions/uaa24609.pdf?rss=actions Yemen's Minister of Information has announced that the Yemeni authorities are holding journalist Muhammad al-Maqalih. However, the authorities are still refusing to give any information about him, including his whereabouts. He is at risk of torture or other ill-treatment. 2010-01-20T12:51:22-05:00 http://www.amnestyusa.org/actioncenter/actions/uaa32609.pdf?rss=actions Following her return to her home in Laayoune on 17 December, human rights defender Aminatou Haidar has not been able to resume her normal life and work in defense of human rights, as the Moroccan authorities have kept her under constant, overt surveillance, and have stopped everyone who tries to visit her. 2010-01-20T12:37:55-05:00 http://www.amnestyusa.org/actioncenter/actions/uaa12809.pdf?rss=actions Human rights activist Aleksei Sokolov's trial is now scheduled to begin on 19 January. Sokolov was arrested on 13 May '09 and has been in custody awaiting trial since then. There have been a series of violations of criminal procedure in the handling of Sokolov's case and his lawyers fear that he may not receive a fair trial. 2010-01-20T12:22:51-05:00 http://www.amnestyusa.org/actioncenter/actions/uaa31409.pdf?rss=actions Ahmed Mahmoud Haddi, who was detained in conditions amounting to an enforced disappearance by the Moroccan Security forces in October, is now facing trial on criminal charges and has been remanded to prison. He is believed to have been tortured in custody, and is at risk of receiving an unfair trial. 2010-01-19T18:13:41-05:00 http://www.amnestyusa.org/actioncenter/actions/uaa17109.pdf?rss=actions Three Iranian journalists, Bahman Ahmadi Amou'i, Kevyan Samimi Behbahani, and Saeed Laylaz, have been sentenced to prison terms following the government's crackdown on freedom of expression after the June 12 elections. Bahman Ahmadi Amou'i's sentence includes flogging. Keyvan Samini Behbehani remains in solitary confinement. All three men are prisoners of conscience. They are at risk of torture. 2010-01-19T18:03:00-05:00 http://www.amnestyusa.org/actioncenter/actions/uaa01610.pdf?rss=actions Adolfo Guzman Ordaz, a community Indigenous rights activist in Chiapas state, southern Mexico, has received death threats after he filed a complaint against police. He has reported the threats to the authorities, but so far the authorities have made inadequate efforts to protect him. 2010-01-19T15:24:08-05:00 http://www.amnestyusa.org/actioncenter/actions/uaa01510.pdf?rss=actions Trade unionists Pedro Condori Laurente and Claudio Boza Huanhayo have been in prison since 9 and 23 September respectively, on an unfounded charge of murder. Amnesty International believes they are in prison solely because they are defending human rights. 2010-01-19T15:07:20-05:00 http://www.amnestyusa.org/actioncenter/actions/uaa01410.pdf?rss=actions Eleven people have been sentenced to death in Iraq for their involvement in causing bomb explosions which targeted two key government officials and caused numerous casualties. Due to the high-profile nature of the case, the eleven could be executed within weeks. 2010-01-15T17:19:39-05:00 http://www.amnestyusa.org/actioncenter/actions/uaa01210.pdf?rss=actions Gan Jinhua, a Chinese man, has lost an appeal against a death sentence. The Supreme People's Court (SPC) in Beijing is now reviewing his sentence. If the SPC approves the death sentence, he could be executed within a week. 2010-01-15T17:11:54-05:00 http://www.amnestyusa.org/actioncenter/actions/uaa18909.pdf?rss=actions Tibetan filmmaker Dhondup Wangchen was sentenced to 6 years imprisonment on 28 December for "subversion of state power" after a secret, unfair trial in Qinghai province, China. The authorities have refused to let him appeal. 2010-01-14T17:32:35-05:00