Iran releases prisoner of conscience Arash Sadeghi
On May 1, the Iranian prisoner of conscience, Arash Sadeghi, was released from Karaj prison with a reduced sentence.
Arrested after the contested elections of 2009, he had been sentenced in 2016 to 15 years in prison for ” conspiracy against national security », « propaganda against national security “And” insulting the leadership of the country “. He served five and a half years of that sentence under difficult conditions.
Suffering from a rare form of bone cancer for which he underwent shoulder surgery, Sadeghi received inadequate medical treatment in prison and was subjected to torture. He has gone on hunger strikes to demand the release of his wife, activist Golrokh Ebrahimi-Iree (with him in the photo), who is still a prisoner of conscience.
Did you know ? Iran is a country in West Asia. Its capital is Tehran and the country is surrounded by Turkmemistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Turkey, Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Belarus: clemency for two condemned to death
It seemed impossible that good news could come out of Belarus in this time of ruthless political repression, but it is.
On April 30, President Alexander Lukashenko granted the leniency request ofIllya et Stanislau Kostseu, two brothers aged 21 and 19 who had been sentenced to death on January 10, 2020 for killing one of their former teachers.
In more than a quarter of a century in power, Alexander Lukashenko has only once granted clemency to a death row inmate.
Did you know ? Belarus is the only European state to apply the death penalty. According to local non-governmental organizations, some 400 people have been executed in this country since its independence in 1991.
Belgium: Amnesty welcomes CERD recommendations on ethnic profiling
In early May, the United Nations Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) published its conclusions on Belgium’s compliance with its international obligations in the fight against racism and racial discrimination within of the police. The Committee criticizes, inter alia, the absence of an explicit legal ban on ethnic profiling.
The ” reasonable grounds Is a key concept of the law on the police service concerning the power of the police officers to carry out an identity check. The Committee therefore fears that the interpretation of “ reasonable grounds Allowing identity checks does not lead to abuse on the part of the police.
To make research and control possible, the Committee recommends the use of receipts or control forms. The purpose of these documents is to clarify the reasons for a check or other police action, requiring the officer to explain his ” reasonable grounds »And by giving those audited legal remedies to lodge a complaint if necessary. The Committee also stresses the need for an independent complaints mechanism for victims of ethnic profiling.
US support for the lifting of vaccine patents
In October 2020, India and South Africa called for a provisional lifting of patents on COVID-19 vaccines until global collective immunity is achieved. If passed, this interim waiver would facilitate the development and manufacture of larger and more affordable COVID-19 diagnostic, treatment and vaccine tools. A large proportion of low- and middle-income countries supported this proposal. Most high-income countries opposed it (such as countries in Europe).
« Today the United States have taken an important step for the global solidarity. By supporting the lifting of intellectual property protection for COVID-19 vaccines, the government of Joe Biden (the President of the United States) put the lives of people around the world before the profits of a few pharmaceutical giants and their shareholders », Declared Agnès Callamard, Secretary General of Amnesty International.
Did you know ? Patents are used to protect a new invention. It gives its holder a monopoly of exploitation and more precisely the right to oppose any use of the invention by an unauthorized third party. Medicines, and more specifically pharmaceutical specialists (including vaccines) are protected by one or more patents. In general, a drug is protected by several patents including patents on the molecule itself, patents on the manufacturing process etc.
Poland: Constitutional Court ruled illegal
A judgment of the European Court of Human Rights, delivered on May 7, 2021, ruled that irregularities in the election of judges of the Constitutional Court of Poland, which dates back to 2015, had prevented access to “ a court established by law “. For this reason, the European Court of Human Rights concluded that the Constitutional Court was illegal.
This decision, which states that the magistrates of the Polish Constitutional Court are not independent and that its judges were appointed in violation of the law, must now lead the European Union to finally take firm measures. The years of ” dialogue Aimed at preventing the Polish authorities from taking control of their judicial bodies have clearly failed.
Sierra Leone will abolish the comb of mort
« The government has decided to take the initiative to abolish the death penalty in order to respect the fundamental rights of citizens. Once the proposal reaches Parliament and is approved, that will be the end of the history of the death penalty in our country. ».
These are the words spoken, without committing to a specific date yet, by Sierra Leone’s Deputy Justice Minister Umaru Napoleon Koroma in mid-May.
Although the 1991 Constitution provides for the death penalty for aggravated theft, murder, treason and mutiny, and 84 death sentences have been handed down in the past five years, the last executions in Sierra Leone took place in 1988 against 24 soldiers suspected of having attempted a coup.
Did you know ? Sierra Leone is a West African state between Guinea and Liberia. Its capital is Freetown. This country is one of the poorest on the planet.
Hungary: NGO law repealed
The Hungarian Parliament repealed the Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) Act of 2017, which stigmatized civil society and obstructed its work in Hungary. Indeed, this law strengthened government control over NGOs receiving foreign funds.
This withdrawal comes more than 10 months after the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that the Hungarian NGO law was contrary to European legislation on the free movement of capital as well as the European fundamental right to respect for privacy, data protection and freedom of association.
The new law, which was presented and adopted without prior consultation, requires the Court of Auditors to conduct an annual review of the financial status of NGOs which “ influence the public »And can give the authorities the power to audit them selectively. She is also discriminatory against certain NGOs in particular, since religious organizations, sports organizations or organizations representing national minorities are exempt from these requirements.
Amnesty International remporte un Webby Award
Amnesty International’s online multimedia project ” Tear Gas : An Investigation », Won on May 18 a prestigious Webby Award in the category best activist website in the world.
Amnesty International’s Crisis Response Evidence Lab began researching tear gas misuse around the world in 2019, primarily reviewing videos posted on social media platforms.
The resulting website – and which was released in June 2020 and designed in partnership with Xpon Digital – features an interactive world map with videos illustrating more than 100 tear gas misuse cases in 31 countries and territories. It also features a series of expert interviews, as well as a video that examines the performance characteristics of tear gas, explains how tear gas canisters work, and shows that their misuse can cause injury and kill. New cases were added in February 2021 to the website, which will be regularly updated.
Iran: sentenced to death at 16 and finally acquitted
Good and unexpected news comes to us from Iran, one of the very few countries in the world that persists in to kill minors, in violation of the absolute prohibition contained in international human rights law.
Saleh Shariati, arrested in 2012 at the age of 15 and sentenced to be hanged for murder shortly after, when he was 16, was acquitted by the Iranian Supreme Court.
Saleh Shariati had been convicted of the death of a seasonal worker employed on his father’s farm. According to his lawyer, the boy was forced to confess under torture and in front of the victim’s parents. Three witnesses had relieved him of all responsibility.
United Kingdom: condemnation of its mass surveillance system
On May 25, in a landmark judgment, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the UK’s mass surveillance system violated the right to privacy and freedom of expression by failing to provide adequate and effective end-to-end guarantees to prevent abuse and arbitrariness.
Several NGOs, including Amnesty International, the Egyptian Initiative for Human Rights, the American Union for Civil Liberties and Privacy International, had taken the case to the Council of Europe’s judicial body, after the ‘Edward Snowden, a computer scientist, revealed in 2013 that British intelligence intercepted and used the private communications of millions of people on a daily basis, as part of the “Tempora program”.
The London services had also illegally spied on communications from Amnesty International and the South African NGO Legal Resource Center.
Netherlands: Shell condemned to reduce its CO2 emissions
A historic judgment delivered yesterday by the court in The Hague in the Netherlands obliges la multinationale Shell at reduce its CO2 emissions by 45% by 2030. This climate issue was initiated by various organizations in the Netherlands, including Greenpeace, and by more than 17,000 citizens.
This is the first time that a multinational has been held responsible for its contribution to climate change and ordered to drastically reduce its CO2 emissions. Shell now needs to change drastically to align with a maximum warming target of 1.5 degrees.
Malawi: death penalty declared unconstitutional
Malawi’s Supreme Court ruled in a May ruling that the death penalty was unconstitutional.
« We welcome the Supreme Court ruling declaring the death penalty contrary to the Constitution of Malawi. It marks an essential victory against the death penalty and strengthens the right to life in the country ”Said Deprose Muchena, regional director for Eastern and Southern Africa at Amnesty International.
The death penalty is the most cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment there is. She has no place in this world. It constitutes a violation of the right to life and violates human rights.
Did you know ? Malawi is a state located in southern Africa, between Mozambique, Zambia and Tanzania. Its capital is Lilongwe.
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