• Press Release

Amnesty International & Human Rights Watch Release Dual Reports on Drone Strikes

October 18, 2013

Contact: Heather Cabral, [email protected], (202) 776-7700

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch are pleased to invite you to a joint release of two new reports on U.S. drone strikes and other air strikes in Pakistan and Yemen, at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, October 22, 2013, at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.

The Amnesty International report, "'Will I be next?' U.S. drone strikes in Pakistan," documents recent drone killings in northwest Pakistan that may amount to war crimes or extrajudicial executions, including the killing of a 68-year-old grandmother and 14-year-old boy. The report documents nine strikes that occurred in 2012 and 2013, based on rare access to the region.

The Human Rights Watch report, "Between a Drone and Al-Qaeda: The Civilian Cost of U.S. Targeted Killings in Yemen," documents six strikes in Yemen from 2009 to 2013, two of which indiscriminately killed several dozen civilians in violation of the laws of war. The remaining strikes may have targeted individuals not subject to attack or caused disproportionate civilian deaths.

What:     Release of two new reports on U.S. drone strikes and other
              aerial attacks in Pakistan and Yemen

Who:     Mustafa Qadri, Pakistan researcher at Amnesty International
              Naureen Shah, advocacy advisor at Amnesty International USA
              Letta Tayler, senior counterterrorism researcher at Human Rights
              Watch
              Andrea Prasow, senior counterterrorism counsel at Human Rights
              Watch

When:     Tuesday, October 22, 2013
                9:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. EST

Where:     The National Press Club
                 Murrow Room
                 529 14th St. NW, 13th Floor
                 Washington, D.C. 20045

Please RSVP to Heather Cabral at: [email protected]

For more information and to schedule interviews, please contact:

In London, for Amnesty International, Mustafa Qadri (English, Urdu): +442074135650; or +447778472188 (mobile); or [email protected]. Follow on Twitter @mustafa_qadri

In New York, for Human Rights Watch, Letta Tayler (English): +1-212-216-1209; or +1-646-645-1806 (mobile); or [email protected]. Follow on Twitter @lettatayler

In Washington, D.C., for Human Rights Watch, Andrea Prasow (English): +1-202-612-4352; or +1-917-842-5109 (mobile); or [email protected]. Follow on Twitter @andreaprasow

In Washington, D.C., for Amnesty International, Naureen Shah (English); +1-817-201-4104 (mobile); or [email protected], Follow on Twitter @naureenshah

Note to journalists: Copies of the reports will be available at the news conference.

Amnesty International is a Nobel Peace Prize-winning grassroots activist organization with more than 3 million members in more than 150 countries campaigning for human rights worldwide. The organization investigates and exposes abuses, educates and mobilizes the public, and works to protect people wherever justice, freedom, truth and dignity are denied.