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Armed security forces used tear gas and shot at the offices of the Aden-based Arabic daily al-Ayyam in Yemen on Wednesday. Two men including a security guard for al-Ayyam were killed and another security guard was injured.

The attack took place after security forces besieged the offices of al-Ayyam in an attempt to arrest Hisham Basharheel, al-Ayyam’s editor–in-chief, in connection with an incident in February 2008.

On Monday, security forces ordered Hisham Basharheel to hand himself over to the authorities in Sana'a within 48 hours. The order is apparently in connection with an incident in February 2008 when armed men shot at his home and security guards retuned fire. One of the attackers was killed and another injured. Hisham Basharheel has not been charged in connection with the case. Those suspected were charged and are being tried for the killing.  

Amnesty International is concerned that Hisham Basharheel may have been targeted solely because of al-Ayyam’s coverage of the protests in the southern part of the country.

"Amnesty International recognises the rights of governments to bring to justice anyone accused of a recognisably criminal offence. However, Amnesty International categorically opposes the targeting of anyone with the aim of suppressing freedom of the press." said Philip Luther, Deputy Director of Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa Programme

In another development, the editors in chief of al-Masdar, al-Nedaa, ad-Diyar, and al-Sharea were questioned on 13 May and charged with "undermining national unity". They were reported to have been released shortly after interrogation.

The government has previously accused the newspapers of expressing views favourable to the secession of the south in their coverage of protests in the southern part of the country in April and confiscated thousands copies of the newspapers.  

Yahya Bamahfouz, editor in chief of al-Mukkla press, an Arabic news website and Nasser Khamis were arrested in Hadramout, south-eastern Yemen, earlier this week for their writing about the Southern Movement. According to reports, Yahya Bamahfouz is being detained incommunicado at Political Security in al-Mukkla.

The Yemeni government announced the formation of a press court on Monday. Amnesty International does not have full details of the court, but human rights activists in Yemen fear it to be a special court set up to target journalists and stifle press freedom further.

Amnesty International has, on a number of occasions, documented its concerns regarding restrictions on freedom of expression in Yemen, in particular the authorities’ targeting of critics of the state using the vaguely worded charge of "undermining national unity".

The Pakistani military and Taleban insurgents should immediately allow tens of thousands of civilians caught in the middle of ferocious fighting to leave, Amnesty International has said.

More than half a million Pakistanis have fled the conflict in the last three weeks, bringing the total number of civilians displaced in the last year to 1.3 million. But approximately 700,000 people remain trapped in Swat valley according to a local parliamentarian.

Residents of Malakand, in Pakistan’s North West Frontier Province (NWFP), who have fled their homes in the last two days have told Amnesty International that civilians left behind face intense combat, much of it in civilian areas, but also suffer from lack of fuel, electricity, food, and access to medical care.

"The thousands of people in Malakand, who have not been able to flee, now face a major humanitarian crisis," said Sam Zarifi, Amnesty International’s Asia-Pacific director. "The Taleban have shown no regard for their safety and well-being, but now the army seems to be pursuing a scorched earth policy."

The Pakistani military has imposed a 'shoot on sight' policy for anyone violating an indefinite curfew established in Malakand. The curfew was announced from local mosques and through loudspeakers mounted on pick-up trucks.

Authorities relaxed the curfew briefly yesterday in the city of Mingora, also in NWFP, allowing thousands of people to flee, often on foot. Several people told Amnesty International that they had to leave behind family members who could not physically flee or who lived outside Mingora, and thus did not benefit from the lifting of the curfew.

"The Pakistani military should act immediately to help civilians reach safety, and to ensure that food, fuel, and medical supplies reach those still trapped in Malakand," said Sam Zarifi.

Civilians from various areas of Malakand district told Amnesty International in the past two days that electricity in the area has been cut off, and generators have stopped working because of lack of diesel fuel, creating major problems for hospitals, as well as for food storage. Nearly all ambulance service has now ended.

Meanwhile, residents told Amnesty International that Taleban insurgents have used health facilities, schools, and residential areas to hide and launch attacks from, thus knowingly drawing a military response from the Pakistani military.

"The Pakistani government seems to relax the curfew at times to get civilians away from fighting," said Sam Zarifi. "But even after the civilians have left, the warring sides have to avoid targeting civilian objects like hospitals and schools."

President Barack Obama would be "short-changing justice" if he revives the military commissions to try Guantánamo detainees, Amnesty International has said.

"You cannot revamp a system that is, in essence, unfair," said Rob Freer, US Researcher at Amnesty International. "The US has a functioning civilian criminal justice system that is used to dealing with complex trials. This is the system that the US administration should be using for any Guantánamo detainee it decides to prosecute."

"Military commissions were conceived and developed as part of an unlawful detention regime, to facilitate convictions while minimizing judicial scrutiny of the executive’s treatment of detainees," said Rob Freer.

"No amount of tinkering with their rules can fix this discredited system. The commissions – which President Obama has himself described as an 'enormous failure' – should be scrapped."

Amnesty International has been calling on the new US administration to abandon the military commissions, withdraw all charges under the Military Commissions Act (legislation which, as a Senator, Barack Obama, voted against) and to transfer to the US mainland any Guantánamo detainee who is to be charged.

These detainees should be brought before a civilian judicial authority, and promptly charge him with specific offences under applicable federal law.

The Baltic Pride march due to take place on Saturday 16 May in Riga, Latvia, will go ahead after a ban against the event was lifted on Friday morning.

Riga City Council (RCC) had revoked permission for the march, organized by the Latvian organization Mozaika, the Lithuanian Gay League, and Estonian Gay Youth, on Thursday.

The organizers made an injunction to the court and were granted a hearing on Friday at 10am at Riga's Municipal Court, which overturned the decision to ban the march.

Amnesty International has welcomed the decision to allow the march.

"We are happy that the rule of law has prevailed," said Amnesty International's Europe and Central Asia Deputy Director David Diaz-Jogeix, speaking from Riga. "We are confident the Latvian authorities will ensure the right to freedom of assembly and expression in tomorrow's Baltic pride, according to Latvia's international and european human rights obligations".

Over 70 Amnesty International activists from 23 European countries are intending to travel to Riga to participate in the march and related events.

The proposed Baltic Pride march was authorised by the RCC’s Commission on Meetings, Marches and Demonstrations on 8 May, following a series of agreements between the organisers, the City Council and the police on the march’s venue and the necessary security arrangements.

On Wednesday, a majority of Riga’s City Council members signed an open letter to the Executive Director of the City Council, Andris Grinbergs, calling on him to revoke permission for the march on the grounds that it was offensive to public decency and posed a threat to public security. 

The Council members stated that if the Executive Director did not revoke permission by 4pm on 14 May, they would seek to overrule the decision through a vote in the City Council.

Other planned Pride events in Russia and the Ukraine this weekend have been banned.

A march planned for Saturday in Moscow, Russia, has been banned for the fourth year running. A spokesperson for Moscow's mayor is reported to have said that organizers of LGBT parades are seeking "not only to destroy moral pillars of our society but also deliberately provoke disorder, which would threaten the lives and security of Muscovites and guests of the city."

Members of the LGBT movement in Moscow planned to hold their action on May 16 regardless of whether they get permission or not. The Moscow government is declaring that no gay parades have been and will be held in Moscow.

The Moscow march is planned to coincide with the Eurovision Song Contest final, which is also taking place in Moscow on Saturday. The Dutch entrant to the competition, pop singer Gordon, has said that he will refuse to take the stage if Russian police violently suppress the march.

Municipal authorities in Mykolayiv City, Ukraine, have banned LGBT groups from holding public events as part of a "Rainbow spring 2009" festival for the second year running. The organizers had planned to mark International Day Against Homophobia on Sunday, 17 May.

The municipal authorities, in a message to the Mykolayiv Association of Gays, Lesbians and Bisexuals, LiGA, said that "holding of this event creates the danger of social unrest; it would undermine peace and the public order and would result in massive clashes and conflicts."

The Central Administrative Court of Mykolaiyv delivered their judgement upholding the banning of the Rainbow Spring Festival at midday on Thursday.

The Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) must immediately heed demands by the United Nations Security Council and similar calls made by US President Barack Obama and allow tens of thousands of civilians to leave the 'No Fire Zone', Amnesty International said on Thursday.

Amnesty International welcomed the Security Council’s statement as a first step in addressing the humanitarian and human rights crisis in Sri Lanka but called for an end to the use of heavy calibre weapons and for the UN, the Red Cross (ICRC) and other humanitarian organizations to be allowed immediate access to the 50,000 civilians, or more, trapped in the ‘No Fire Zone’ on the island’s north east coast.

"The Security Council must now ensure that its demands are promptly implemented, that the situation in Sri Lanka is formally put on the Council’s agenda and kept under close review.  It also needs to address accountability for the grave violations of international humanitarian and human rights law by both parties in future" said Sam Zarifi, Amnesty International’s Asia-Pacific Director.

Amnesty International welcomed separate statements from the Security Council and President Obama condemning the LTTE for its use of civilians as human shields and calling on the government to take urgent action to ensure the safety of civilians. The Security Council told the Sri Lankan government to fulfil its commitment not to use heavy calibre weapons in areas with high concentrations of civilians - a promise it has broken in recent weeks - causing the death of many civilians.

Amnesty International's Secretary General, Irene Khan, wrote on 12 May to the Security Council calling for immediate action to address the appalling situation in the ‘No Fire Zone’. She expressed grave concern about the large numbers of civilians being killed, including many children and warned of growing evidence that the government and the LTTE are committing serious violations of international humanitarian law.  

Amnesty International also urged the Security Council to stress individual responsibility for crimes under international law and to ensure the creation of a commission of inquiry, as a first step towards establishing accountability for alleged breaches of international humanitarian and human rights law.

Background

Amnesty International called on the UN Security Council to ensure that attacks on civilians by the Sri Lankan army or the LTTE be stopped; that the LTTE allow all civilians to leave the conflict area; and that the Sri Lankan government stop using heavy artillery in a very densely populated area and provide immediate access to international monitors and humanitarian agencies.

The organization has regularly condemned both the LTTE and the Sri Lankan military for serious violations of international humanitarian law, including war crimes. The LTTE have forcibly trapped civilians in the conflict zone as human shields against government forces. The Sri Lankan military has in the past used heavy artillery, which is indiscriminate under the circumstances, causing civilian deaths and injuries.

US President Barack Obama warned that "without urgent action, this humanitarian crisis could turn into a catastrophe".

He condemned the LTTE's use of civilians as 'human shields' and urged the Sri Lankan government to stop the ‘indiscriminate shelling’ in the area and asked for access by humanitarian agencies to the civilians who are trapped between the warring parties and those displaced people within Sri Lanka so that they can receive additional support needed.

The US administration moved on Wednesday to block publication of photographs depicting abuse of detainees in US custody in Afghanistan and Iraq. The photographs were due to be released by 28 May 2009 under Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) litigation.

The administration's decision in April to release the photos seemed to herald a step towards President Barack Obama’s promised commitment to transparency in government. On 13 May, however, the administration wrote to the federal judge overseeing the FOIA case to explain that it had changed its mind about the release of the photographs.

"Upon further reflection at the highest level of Government", the US Justice Department’s letter states, "the Government has decided to pursue further options", including but not limited to an appeal to the Supreme Court.

Amnesty International is urging the US administration to recognise that a U-turn on this issue sets it on a path not to a better future, but rather back towards past mistakes. The organization is urging the administration not to appeal to the US Supreme Court on this issue and to release the photographs as previously promised.

Myanmar democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi faces trial on Monday 18 May after an American national is alleged to have swum across the lake in front of her house and stayed there for two days.  

Amnesty International called on the UN Security Council and Myanmar's Asian neighbours to urgently intervene to secure Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s release from prison.

The current order keeping Daw Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest is set to expire on 27 May 2009. Her party, the National League for Democracy, is reported to have said that the upcoming trial is an excuse to keep her locked up.

"The government of Myanmar must free Daw Aung San Suu Kyi at once, without condition, and not return her to house arrest," said Benjamin Zawacki, Amnesty International’s Myanmar expert.

Amnesty International has also highlighted the detention of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's two female companions, Khin Khin Win and her daughter, who were arrested at the same time and face trial with her.  

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has recently been in poor health.  When her regular doctor, Tin Myo Win, called on her on 7 May, security forces prevented him from entering her house.  On returning home, he was taken away by the authorities. Dr Tin Myo Win is a former prisoner of conscience, whose current whereabouts remain unknown.

"Khin Khin Win, her daughter and Dr. Tin Myo Win are now among more than 2,100 political prisoners currently being held in prison in Myanmar," said Benjamin Zawacki.

"Just like other political prisoners, they are at risk of torture and other ill-treatment. Conditions in Myanmar prisons are extremely bad and jeopardise the health of prisoners."

"In the absence of a unified international voice, the Myanmar government will continue to act in utter disregard for human rights. Now more than ever, the Security Council and ASEAN member states must send an unequivocal signal to the generals that they can no longer act with impunity," Zawacki concluded.
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has been detained for 13 of the past 19 years, mostly under house arrest. In March 2009, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention said that the detention of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi violated both international law and Myanmar’s domestic legislation.   

The planned Baltic Pride march due to take place on Saturday in Riga, Latvia, has been banned. Riga City Council (RCC) revoked permission for the march, organized by the Latvian organization Mozaika, the Lithuanian Gay League, and Estonian Gay Youth.

The organizers have complained to the courts and have been granted a hearing at 10am on Friday to allow the march to go ahead as originally planned.

The proposed Baltic Pride march was authorised by the RCC’s Commission on Meetings, Marches and Demonstrations on 8 May, following a series of agreements between the organisers, the City Council and the police on the march’s venue and the necessary security arrangements.

On Wednesday, a majority of Riga’s City Council members signed an open letter to the Executive Director of the City Council, Andris Grinbergs, calling on him to revoke permission for the march on the grounds that it was offensive to public decency and posed a threat to public security.  

The Council members stated that if the Executive Director did not revoke permission by 4pm on 14 May, they would seek to overrule the decision through a vote in the City Council.

Amnesty International condemned the decision not to allow the march.

"This is a disgraceful move by the Riga City Council," said Nicola Duckworth, Amnesty International’s Director of the Europe and Central Asia programme. "The decision is unlawful under Latvian law and violates the rights of Baltic LGBT people to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.

"The Council should immediately reverse its decision and allow the march. Amnesty International fully supports the legal challenge by the organizers."

Over 70 Amnesty International activists from 23 European countries are intending to travel to Riga to participate in the march and related events.

Planned Pride events in Russia and the Ukraine have also been banned.

A march planned for Saturday in Moscow, Russia, has been banned for the fourth year running. A spokesperson for Moscow's mayor is reported to have said that organizers of LGBT parades are seeking "not only to destroy moral pillars of our society but also deliberately provoke disorder, which would threaten the lives and security of Muscovites and guests of the city."

Members of the LGBT movement are threatening to hold their action on May 16 regardless of whether they get permission or not. The Moscow government is declaring that no gay parades have been and will be held in Moscow.

The march is planned to coincide with the Eurovision Song Contest final, which is taking place in Moscow on Saturday. The Dutch entrant to the competition, pop singer Gordon, has said that he will refuse to take the stage if Russian police violently suppress the march.

Municipal authorities in Mykolayiv City, Ukraine, have banned LGBT groups from holding public events as part of a "Rainbow spring 2009" festival for the second year running. The organizers had planned to mark International Day Against Homophobia on Sunday, 17 May.

The municipal authorities, in a message to the Mykolayiv Association of Gays, Lesbians and Bisexuals, LiGA, said that "holding of this event creates the danger of social unrest; it would undermine peace and the public order and would result in massive clashes and conflicts."

The Central Administrative Court of Mykolaiyv delivered their judgement upholding the banning of the Rainbow Spring Festival at midday on Thursday.

"These bans demonstrate a clear lack of understanding of the obligations of the state and the local authorities to protect and respect the right to freedom of expression of all people, including those holding minority views," said Nicola Duckworth.

The remaining three of 18 political and human rights activists who were re-detained in Zimbabwe last week have all been released on bail.

Kisimusi Emmanuel (Chris) Dhlamini, Andrison Shadreck Manyere and Gandi Mudzingwa were freed by the High Court of Zimbabwe on Wednesday.

The three men were in hospital, two of them being treated for injuries sustained as a result of torture by state security agents, when they were granted bail.

They were among at least 30 victims of enforced disappearances that took place between October and December 2008.

Twenty-three of them, including the three men released on Wednesday, were later ‘discovered’ at various police stations in and around Harare on 22 and 23 December. The police, rather than arrest their abductors, unlawfully detained the victims of the enforced disappearances.  

Seven people, whom the Movement of Democratic Change (MDC) - Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s faction - claim were also abducted at the same time, have never been found.

All the former detainees, except Dhlamini, Manyere and Mudzingwa, were finally released in February and March 2009.

After Dhlamini, Manyere and Mudzingwa were ‘discovered’, they were brought to court on criminal charges. Their lawyers argued that as victims of kidnappings they should be treated as complainants, not as accused.

They were charged with insurgency, banditry, sabotage and terrorism based on explosions that damaged police premises and a bridge. The charges are widely believed to be fabricated by the state.

When the lawyers finally had access to interview them, Dhlamini and Mudzingwa alleged to have been tortured. The magistrate, after several delays, allowed them access to doctors of their choice, who confirmed injuries consistent with torture allegations.

After months in detention, the three prisoners were briefly released on bail on 17 April 2009 after the state failed to file a notice to appeal in the required time. However, three days after being released on bail, Mudzingwa and Dhlamini were again placed under armed guard, first by prison guards, and then by police guards.  

On 5 May, eighteen of the former detainees, including Mudzingwa, Dhlamini and Manyere, were indicted to appear before the High Court. Fifteen of them were again released on bail the following day.

However, Mudzingwa, Dhlamini and Manyere were denied bail reportedly because the charges against them of insurgency, banditry, sabotage or terrorism, were more serious. All three of them were detained in hospitals in Harare under police guard until their release.

A lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) pride march planned to take place this weekend in Riga, Latvia has been thrown into doubt after local councillors attempted to veto it.

Amnesty International has called on the Latvian authorities to ensure that the planned Baltic Pride event on Saturday 16 May is allowed to take place.

Permission was granted for the march, organized by the Latvian organization Mozaika, the Lithuanian Gay League, and Estonian Gay Youth,– by Riga City Council on 8 May 2009. 

In response to security concerns, relating to possible conflicts with counter-demonstrators, it was agreed that the march could take place in Vermandarzs Park and a few surrounding streets.

On Wednesday, a majority of Riga’s City Council members signed an open letter to the Executive Director of the City Council, Andris Grinbergs, calling on him to revoke permission for the march on the grounds that it was offensive to public decency and posed a threat to public security. 

The Council members stated that if the Executive Director did not revoke permission by 4pm on 14 May, they would seek to overrule the decision through a vote in the City Council. 

“Banning the march would be unlawful under Latvian law,” said Nicola Duckworth, Amnesty International’s Director of the Europe and Central Asia programme.  “It would also violate the rights of Baltic LGBT people to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. “

Amnesty International has called on the Latvian authorities to ensure that the Baltic Pride event is allowed to take place under the originally agreed conditions and to ensure that marchers are provided with the necessary protection against the threat of violent disruption by counter-demonstrators.

More than seventy Amnesty International activists from 23 European countries will be travelling to Riga to take part in the march and express their solidarity with LGBT people in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

An Amnesty International briefing published on Monday highlights patterns of alleged human rights violations by Greek police against civilians. These include excessive use of force and firearms, torture or other ill-treatment, arbitrary detention and denial of prompt access to lawyers.

The events during the violent demonstrations that rocked Greece in recent months are currently coming under police and judicial investigations. As its report was launched, Amnesty International called on the Greek authorities to take the opportunity to address long-standing problems of policing.  

"Time and again police officers in Greece have been accused of using excessive force against demonstrators or denying them their rights when in detention," said Nicola Duckworth, Europe and Central Asia Programme Director at Amnesty International. "The police response to the recent unrest is the culmination of an entrenched pattern of serious human rights violations by law enforcement officials."

The killing of 15-year-old Alexis Gregoropoulos by an officer serving as a special guard on 6 December 2008 sparked widespread demonstrations that in many cases developed into riots.

Amnesty International has been receiving mounting allegations of violations by police in the context of the demonstrations in December and January 2009.

The organization has brought a number of cases from December and January to the attention of the Minister of the Interior, Prokopis Pavlopoulos. Police officers were said to have arbitrarily arrested, ill-treated and detained peaceful demonstrators as well as civilians reportedly not involved in demonstrations. Detainees, including minors, were prevented from promptly contacting their lawyers.  

"These incidents should be used as a catalyst by the government to launch a wide-ranging commission of inquiry that would investigate not only recent events but also systemic issues, including training of police on the use of firearms and of force," Nicola Duckworth said

"The people of Greece have the right to proper policing in accordance with the government’s national and international obligations."

Take Action: Alleged abuses in the context of policing demonstrations in Greece

The Paraguayan state is failing to adequately protect the rights of its Indigenous Peoples, forcing many to live in misery and effectively condemning some to death, Amnesty International has said.

The Yakye Axa and Sawhoyamaxa Indigenous communities have been displaced from their traditional lands and have been living at the side of the Pozo Colorado-Concepción highway for more than 10 years. Without access to their land they live in precarious conditions, unable to source water and food for themselves and with inadequate provision of health and education.

The Inter-American Court of Human Rights ruled in 2005 and 2006 that the Paraguayan authorities must return the land to each community, in light of their desperate situation.

“In these conditions, the very survival of the Yakye Axa and Sawhoyamaxa is at risk,” said Louise Finer, Paraguay researcher at Amnesty International. “But the government has the power to show its commitment to Indigenous Peoples’ rights by fully complying with the Court's rulings. These two communities have waited long enough.”

The Court set a deadline of 13 July 2008 for the restitution of traditional lands to the Yakye Axa and of 19 May 2009 for the Sawhoyamaxa. The Court also ordered that the Paraguayan state must provide the communities with basic services – such as sanitation, medical care, food and water – to ensure they are able to survive until their lands are returned.

More than 27 members of the two communities have died of preventable causes since those judgements were passed. In the past four months, six of the Sawhoyamaxa have died after suffering from diarrhoea and vomiting, among them four infants under the age of two.

Some action has been taken by President Fernando Lugo, including the presentation of a bill to expropriate the lands claimed by the Yakye Axa that is currently awaiting congressional approval.

“Steps taken by the Paraguayan government to help Indigenous Peoples are positive but much more needs to be done, and much faster,” said Louise Finer. “The clock is ticking fast for the Yakye Axa and Sawhoyamaxa and unless their lands are returned and funds are made available for their development, more lives could be lost."

The Yakye Axa and Sawhoyamaxa have been demanding the return of their traditional land for more than 15 years.

"We’re only demanding our land, the land where our grandparents were born and buried, where we were born,” Venancio Flores from the Yakye Axa told Amnesty International in November 2008.

According to the last Census of Indigenous Peoples in 2002, 45 per cent of Paraguay’s Indigenous Peoples do not enjoy definitive legal ownership of their land.

READ MORE
Campaigning in Paraguay for Indigenous communities’ rights to their traditional land (Blog, 30 March 2009)
Medical concern: Paraguay: Members of the Sawhoyamaxa and Yakye Axa Indigenous communities, especially young children and the elderly (Urgent Action, 16 February 2009)

One of Cambodia's most notorious suspected killers still alive finally faced trial on Monday for crimes committed while he was a Khmer Rouge commander 30 years ago.

Kaing Guek Eav, also known as Duch, is charged with crimes against humanity and war crimes, as well as murder and torture. It is the first trial by the "Extraordinary Chambers" set up to try those most responsible for the mass killings and other atrocities that took place in Cambodia in the 1970s under Khmer Rouge rule.

A packed courtroom testified to the importance of the trial. Victims, students, NGO workers including Amnesty International and a massive media presence had gathered for the first day of the substantive hearing, in which court staff read out the 45-page indictment, a catalogue of gruesome crimes of which Duch is accused.

Amnesty International has urged the Extraordinary Chambers to use this landmark case as a springboard to bring more Khmer Rouge suspected war criminals to justice.

"We welcomed the opening of the first trial in the Extraordinary Chambers. Finally, the Cambodian people could see one of the most notorious Khmer Rouge leaders face trial. But many more need to face the court to really deliver justice to the millions of victims of these horrific crimes," said Brittis Edman, Amnesty International's Cambodia researcher.

Only four other detained suspects – all leading members of the Khmer Rouge government – are set for trial by the Extraordinary Chambers. However, the scope of the charges against them does not address the majority of the crimes under the jurisdiction of the Extraordinary Chambers.

"The Extraordinary Chambers must urgently expand its prosecution strategy to investigate and prosecute more cases before it is too late," said Brittis Edman. "These cases should represent the wide range of crimes committed and communities and groups affected."

“Many of the victims and the suspect are elderly. There is a real risk that many will die before the victims finally see justice for the crimes they and their relatives were subjected to.

The Cambodian justice system needs significant reform before it can effectively prosecute Khmer Rouge crimes, so the Extraordinary Chambers are the only hope that many of these elderly victims have for justice.

The Khmer Rouge's notorious leader, Saloth Sar – more commonly known as Pol Pot – died in 1998 without facing trial.

Amnesty International has also called on the UN and Cambodian government to address the serious corruption allegations that have been levelled at the Extraordinary Chambers.

It has been alleged that Cambodian staff have been required to pay "kickbacks" to officials following their appointment to the Extraordinary Chambers – casting serious doubts on the Chambers' competence, independence and impartiality.   

"Any corruption allegations must be investigated promptly and thoroughly by a competent authority," said Brittis Edman. "A failure to do so risks undermining the credibility of the whole institution and what it is trying to accomplish."

Ten days ahead of Algeria’s presidential elections, the country's next leader has been urged by Amnesty International to address the legacy of human rights abuses of the 1990’s internal conflict and respond to thousands of victims let down by the authorities.

Over 200,000 people died during the conflict according to government estimates. Security forces and state-armed militias committed massive human rights violations, including extrajudicial executions and other unlawful killings. They were also responsible for enforced disappearances, secret and arbitrary detentions and torture and other ill-treatment of thousands of real or suspected members or supporters of armed groups.

Armed groups also committed widespread human rights abuses, including killings of civilians, abductions, torture and rape.

Most of the crimes were never investigated and the perpetrators were never held to account.

"Algeria's new president needs to seize the opportunity of a new mandate to tackle the culture of impunity which has prevailed since the 1990s," said Philip Luther, Acting Director of the Middle East and North Africa Programme. "How can there be genuine national reconciliation if the authorities are yet to establish the truth about past and ongoing crimes and justice for the victims?"

A new Amnesty International report entitled A Legacy of Impunity: A Threat to Algeria's future highlights the organization's concerns over the Algerian authorities' ongoing lack of investigations into past and present human rights abuses and the impunity afforded to those responsible for them.

Launched on Monday, the report argues that amnesty measures instigated and promoted by President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, in power since 1999, have prevented victims and their families from obtaining truth, justice and reparation. Legislation adopted in 2006 also muzzles voices critical of the authorities’ conduct during the internal conflict by threatening them with prison terms of up to five years.

"The blanket amnesties granted successively to armed groups and later to members of the security apparatus are an additional wound inflicted on the victims and their families," said Philip Luther. "Instead of granting impunity to perpetrators, thereby encouraging further abuses, the authorities should restore the dignity of victims by sending out a strong message that such crimes will no longer be tolerated."

The report points out that the authorities are actively seeking to erase the memory of the internal conflict without dealing with its consequences on victims and the general human rights situation and to shut down debate and criticism.

Despite this, families of victims and activists have been vocal in demanding investigations into human rights abuses and justice for perpetrators sometimes at the risk of harassment.

Louisa Saker, who has not seen or heard from her husband since he was arrested in 1994, was convicted in 2008 of participating in an unauthorized march because she demonstrated with families of the disappeared in the north-eastern city of Constantine. Nonetheless, she is determined to continue her struggle to uncover the truth about what happened to her husband.

"Families of victims of enforced disappearance are unable to mourn and achieve closure so long as their ordeal continues to be ignored," said Philip Luther. "They are pressured into accepting death certificates and financial assistance whereas they are demanding truth and justice."

Algerian authorities are now repeating the same argument of security threats and counter-terrorism that they used during the internal conflict to justify ongoing human rights violations. Security forces, and particularly the Department of Information and Security (Département du renseignement et de la sécurité, DRS), continue to detain terrorism suspects incommunicado in secret detention, at times for periods lasting weeks or even months, and subject them to torture and unfair trials in a climate of virtually total impunity.

Amnesty International has reminded the Algerian authorities that killings of civilians by the al-Qaida Organization in the Islamic Maghreb, which it condemns without reserve, should not be used to justify violations in the context of counter-terrorism.

Algeria’s emergence as an important ally in the so-called "war on terror" has meant that human rights violations have occurred with little scrutiny by European countries or the USA. Furthermore, in recent years European countries such as France and the United Kingdom have transferred to Algeria individuals they deemed as threats to their national security despite evidence that they risked grave human rights violations such as torture and other ill-treatment on their return.

Amnesty International has made a series of recommendations to the new president which, if followed, would help to guarantee redress to victims of human rights abuses of all kinds and ensure that they are not committed again.

The organization has recommended that the authorities repeal the amnesty laws that entrench impunity and ensure that no immunity from prosecution is granted to anyone, whether they are members of the security forces, state-armed militias or armed groups.

It has also called for impartial and independent investigations to be conducted into all allegations of human rights abuses, for perpetrators to be brought to justice and for victims and their families to be provided with reparation.

Calls for a humanitarian truce between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the Sri Lankan Armed Forces are growing as fighting intensifies and the number of casualties increases. On Thursday, Amnesty International reiterated its call for an immediate truce to allow aid to reach trapped civilians and ensure safe passage for all those that wish to leave.

Tens of thousands of people are trapped in "safe zones" in the north eastern Wanni region, where they are at increased risk from the escalation in attacks by both sides in the conflict.

"The deliberate firing on civilians by either side constitutes a war crime," said Sam Zarifi, Director of the Asia Pacific region at Amnesty International. "We cannot stress enough the importance of an immediate pause to allow the displaced to leave before thousands more are killed. The UN and international donors must put pressure on both parties to end this major humanitarian catastrophe."

On 26 March United Nations humanitarian Chief John Holmes also called for a humanitarian pause to allow the civilian population to leave. Amnesty International urged the United Nations and international donors to put pressure on Sri Lanka to ensure unimpeded humanitarian access to camps for the displaced people in the region.

Amnesty International made the call as it released a new briefing detailing on the situation of internally displaced people in Sri Lanka.
 
The organization has received credible and consistent reports that the LTTE has forcibly displaced civilians and pushed them into areas under their control in the Wanni. They are effectively being held hostage and used as a buffer against the Sri Lankan armed forces – a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law.

Most independent observers estimate there are between 150,000 to 200,000 civilians trapped in the midst of the heavy fighting. The LTTE is also reported to have deliberately attacked civilians that have tried to escape from areas under their control.

The Sri Lankan government has intensified the suffering of the displaced people by cutting off international humanitarian assistance to a region where there are no longer any functioning hospitals. Those people that risk their lives and flee face further ordeals when they enter government-controlled areas.

Amnesty International has received information that the government is using the screening process at checkpoints and in transitional "welfare villages" as an excuse to discriminate against large groups of ethnic Tamils and to detain families for indefinite periods of time.

Reports show that the "welfare villages" established by the authorities are overcrowded and have inadequate facilities. In camps in Vavuniya and Jaffna, the displaced are held in de facto detention, not being allowed to leave. There is also a continued military presence inside the camps which puts the civilians at further risk.

"The Sri Lankan government’s attitude so far has been to seek international assistance while rejecting international standards or scrutiny," said Sam Zarifi. "The United Nations and donor government must ensure Sri Lanka acts on its obligations and ends the discrimination and suffering of the displaced people."

Officials involved in opening Guatemala's police archives and members of their families have been threatened and attacked in recent days. The wife of the Director of the Human Rights Ombudsman’s Office was kidnapped on Wednesday and tortured.

One official was beaten up, whilst a number of threats have been made against other officials of the Human Rights Ombudsman’s Office. These include a bomb threat and a threat against the life of the Director of the Office.

The police archives contain information on atrocities committed by the security forces during Guatemala's internal armed conflict. The archives were discovered in 2005 by members of the Human Rights Ombudsman’s Office who have since been organizing and classifying the information available and this week made 12 millions documents, of an estimated 80 million, available to the public.

Amnesty International has said that the organization believes the attacks and threats have been made to intimidate the Human Rights Ombudsman’s Office and stop them from carrying out their work. Two former police officers have already been charged in a case of enforced disappearance as a result of information uncovered in the archives.

The organization has urged the Guatemalan authorities to immediately and thoroughly investigate the attacks and threats against the officials and their families.  

"The ghosts of the past have no place in Guatemala today," said Kerrie Howard, Americas Deputy Director at Amnesty International. "The Guatemalan authorities must ensure that people responsible for the attacks and threats against those who work to bring to light the abuses committed during the armed conflict do not get away with it.

"The opening of the police archives is a huge step towards real justice in Guatemala. The key now is to ensure that the information is used to deliver justice to thousands of victims of human rights violations in Guatemala."

Guatemala’s internal armed conflict cost the lives of approximately 200.000 people, most of them members of Mayan Indigenous groups, who were killed or subjected to enforced disappearance. The conflict began in 1960 and ended in 1996 with the signing of the Peace Accords between the Guatemalan Government and the armed opposition group. The archives discovered by the Human Rights Ombudsman’s Office belonged to the now extinct National Police, which was replaced by the National Civilian Police, a new body created by the Peace Accords.

Tens of thousands of people are trapped in "safe zones" in the north eastern Wanni region of Sri Lanka. They are at increased risk from the escalation in attacks as fighting intensifies between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the Sri Lankan Armed Forces. The number of casualties is increasing.

Dr Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu is the Executive Director of the Centre for Policy Alternatives in Sri Lanka and is also a human rights activist, writer and journalist. 

Four detained border guards have died in Bangladesh in the past two weeks. Amnesty international has called on the country’s authorities to institute an independent, impartial and competent body to investigate the deaths.  
 
The four members of Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) were among hundreds of detained BDR personnel interrogated on suspicion of involvement in the killing of more than 70 people, including at least 55 army officers, during a two-day BDR mutiny in February.

Nayek subedar Mozammel Haq died on 9 March; BDR personnel Waheduzzaman died on 15 March; sepoy Monir Hossain died on 17 March and Lance nayek Mobarak Hossain died in custody on 22 March. It is not clear if they were in the custody of the army or the police when they died.

There are credible reports suggesting that these detainees may have died as a result of torture. Government officials have said the first two committed suicide and the other two died of heart attacks. However, hospital sources have noted that the wrists, arms, knees and shoulders of the latest victim were swollen and badly bruised.

The exact number of BDR personnel held is not known but government sources have put the figure at more than 400. Little independent information is available about the circumstances under which the detainees are held, or their treatment in custody. In the vast majority of cases, family members have not been allowed to meet them. It is not known if they have access to lawyers or can receive medical treatment if needed.

Amnesty International has called on the government of Bangladesh to ensure that detainees are not  subjected to torture, that they have access to lawyers, family visits and courts and that they can challenge the legality of their detention. All detainees should be promptly released unless charged with recognisable criminal offences and remanded by an independent court.

"The government must act immediately to ensure that any detainee in need of medical attention receives the treatment they require," said Sam Zarifi, Amnesty International's Asia director.

"The investigation must be rigorous in establishing the causes of these deaths, and anyone found to have been responsible for their death, including those with command responsibility, should be brought to justice in accordance with international fair trial standards, and without the imposition of the death penalty.

"An impartial investigation is in the government's interest in order to build trust and confidence within the armed forces and avoid a repeat of this situation."

Border security guards staged a 33-hour mutiny at the BDR headquarters, Pilkhana, on 25 and 26 February. Bangladeshi media said the causes of the mutiny were BDR grievances over pay and conditions. Government officials alleged it was a conspiracy to unseat the newly-elected government.

Torture of criminal suspects during interrogation is widespread and endemic in Bangladesh. Repeated calls for the protection of people against torture have come from human rights organizations, civil society activists and even the judiciary.

Two Cuban nationals, whose husbands are serving lengthy prison sentences in the USA, have been denied temporary visas allowing them to visit their husbands for the ninth time.

Adriana Pérez and Olga Salanueva's husbands are part of a group known as the "Cuban Five" or "Miami Five". René González and Gerardo Hernández have been imprisoned since 1998. They were found guilty of "acting as unregistered agents of a foreign government" and related charges.

In August 2005, the convictions of all the Cuban Five were overturned by an appeals court and a retrial was ordered, on the ground that pervasive hostility toward pro-Castro Cubans in Miami (where the trial was held) was prejudicial to the accused.

This decision was reversed on 9 August 2006 by the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit on a finding that no such prejudice had been shown in the selection of the trial jury.

Adriana Pérez's latest application was rejected in January 2009 due to her status as "non-eligible" under the US Enhanced Border Security and Visa Entry Reform Act of 2002. This legislation restricts the "issuance of visas to non-immigrant's from countries that are state sponsors of international terrorism."

Olga Salanueva's most recent application was refused on the grounds that she was deported from the US in November 2000. She has been told that she is now permanently ineligible for a visa.

Although some Cuban relatives in the case of all five prisoners have been granted visiting visas, they have experienced considerable delays ranging from a couple of months to two years before learning their applications were successful.

Prior to her deportation in 2000, during René González’s trial, Olga Salanueva had been living legally in the USA . She was subsequently granted a visa to visit her husband in March 2002, which was revoked on 23 April 2002, shortly before her trip.

In 2002, Adriana Pérez obtained a visa to visit her husband but was detained upon arrival in the USA and expelled 11 hours later.

The US authorities have denied successive visa applications from both women over the course of seven years. The reasons cited for the denials are based on claims that both women are threats to national security. Yet neither woman has faced charges in connection with such claims, nor has any credible evidence been produced to substantiate the allegation.

Over the years, the grounds cited for denying temporary visas has varied, highlighting an inconsistency in the authorities’ reasoning for prohibiting the women's visits to their husbands.

Amnesty International has repeatedly raised the issue with the US authorities since 2002 because it believes that denying the men visits from their wives is unnecessarily punitive and contrary to standards for humane treatment of prisoners and states’ obligations to protect family life.

The organization has said that it believes that this deprivation is particularly harsh given the length of the men’s sentences (René González has been sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment and Gerardo Hernández to life imprisonment) and the questions that have been raised about the fairness of the men’s convictions.

Amnesty International has urged that these restrictions be reviewed, drawing the US government's attention to international standards that stress the importance of the family and the right of all prisoners to maintain contact with their families and to receive visits.

The organization said that in the case of prisoners whose families live outside the USA, indefinite or even permanent denial of visits from the prisoner’s immediate family is a severe deprivation to the individual.

Amnesty International is calling on the US government to grant temporary visas to the two women for visitation purposes as soon as new applications are made.

The US immigrant-detention population has surged in the past decade, resulting in a lack of due process that has driven some detainees to attempt suicide, according to an Amnesty International report.

In the last decade the number of immigrants in detention has tripled from 10,000 in 1996 to over 30,000 in 2008.  Those detained include asylum seekers, survivors of torture and human trafficking, lawful permanent US residents and the parents of US citizen children.

"It became the rule that people would be detained," said Sarnata Reynolds, policy director for refugee and migrant rights at Amnesty International USA.

International human rights standards require that detention should be only used in exceptional circumstances, must be justified in each case and must be subjected to judicial review.

However, US law provides that all individuals apprehended at the border "shall be detained" pending deportation proceedings. A senior immigration officer decides whether they may be released while their cases are processed. In practice many will remain for months, and in some cases for years, without any review by a judicial body. 

Immigrants in the USA can also be held in mandatory detention, pending deportation, if they are convicted of certain crimes, including minor, non-violent offences. US citizens and long-term permanent residents have been incorrectly subjected to mandatory detention under these provisions, and have spent months or years behind bars before being able to prove that they are not deportable.

In 2007, legal-service providers discovered as many as 322 people in detention with potential claims for US citizenship

Amnesty International has recommended that detention become a last resort and that  Congress pass legislation that would ensure immigrants have individual hearings to determine the need for detention. Amnesty International has also called on the US government to ensure humane treatment and enforceable human rights standards in all detention facilities housing immigration detainees.

The Amnesty International report highlights individual detainees’ cases, including that of a 34-year-old Mexican mother of three. She said she was arrested at home for failure to appear in court on a petty theft offense. After almost three weeks in detention, she tried to hang herself. When the immigration officers found her, they handcuffed and transferred her to another cell.

Another man, a Buddhist monk, fled Tibet where he had been tortured for his religious and political beliefs. He arrived in New York, only to be placed in detention for 10 months. In 2007, he received permission to remain in the US.