Author: Amnesty Ely

August 2022 Newsletter Newsletter

Confronting Injustice: Racism and the Environmental Emergency

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This report from Greenpeace and the Runnymede Trust argues that black, indigenous, and people of colour bear the brunt of an environmental emergency that, for the most part, they did not create, yet their struggles have repeatedly been ignored by those in positions of power. Furthermore, systemic racism operates worldwide to produce inequalities in housing,…
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August 2022 Newsletter Newsletter

Good and Bad News around the World – August 2022 Update

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Good News World President Biden took executive action in July to protect access to abortion. It directs agencies to work with medical providers and insurers to protect the privacy of women who seek or utilise abortion services, asks the Federal Trade Commission to protect the privacy of those seeking online information about abortion, and establishes…
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August 2022 Newsletter Newsletter

The US Supreme Court and the Death Penalty

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In 1972, the Supreme Court ruled that the death penalty violated the Eighth Amendment ban on cruel and unusual punishment because it was used in a discriminatory manner against the poor and minorities. However, in 1976, it ruled that the death penalty per se was not unconstitutional because it could serve the social purposes of…
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August 2022 Newsletter Newsletter

Lithuania: Forced Out or Locked Up – Refugees and Migrants Abused and Abandoned

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Between November 2021 and May 2022, AI conducted dozens of interviews with refugees and migrants in Lithuania who had attempted to enter from Belarus. In March 2022, a delegation from AI also travelled to Lithuania. They visited two detention centres, conducted interviews with detainees, spoke with relevant authorities and representatives of humanitarian and civil society…
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August 2022 Newsletter Newsletter

Report by the Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration

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This report, an Inspection of the Initial Processing of Migrants Arriving via Small Boats between December 2021 and January 2022, published recently after a three-month delay, focused on protecting the border through security checks and the identification and safeguarding of vulnerable people. It said that ‘these migrants crossed the Channel in dire circumstances. Many were…
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August 2022 Newsletter Newsletter

Amnesty’s report Afghanistan: Death in Slow Motion: Women and Girls under Taliban Rule

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This report makes for upsetting, if entirely predictable, reading as the executive summary states:   In less than a year, the Taliban have decimated the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan. Soon after they took control of the country’s government, the Taliban said they were committed to upholding the rights of women and girls. Yet…
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August 2022 Newsletter Newsletter

British Nationals Deprived of Nationality

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A small group of British women and children, some 20 families, are detained in desert camps in North-East Syria, held in inhumane conditions with inadequate access to water, food, and healthcare. Investigations by Reprieve show that almost two-thirds of the women are victims of trafficking, often after online grooming by ISIS. A six-month inquiry by…
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August 2022 Newsletter Newsletter

Judges under Attack by Executive

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A report by the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Democracy and the Constitution called An Independent Judiciary – Challenges since 2016 suggests improper attacks on judges threaten the constitution. The APPG argued that government politicians are misrepresenting legal rulings to their own advantage, attacking judges over their decisions and making threats about legal reform.…
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August 2022 Newsletter

Police Investigations in England and Wales of Stillbirths and Miscarriages

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Some readers of the July Newsletter were surprised that abortions are not legal in England and Wales and are controlled by the 1861 Offences Against the Person Act. Women experiencing stillbirths or miscarriages can still be investigated by the police on suspicion of having had an illegal abortion, e.g. by taking pills bought online or…
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June 2022 Newsletter Newsletter

Amnesty International Report: Poland: Cruelty not Compassion at Europe’s Other Borders

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Amnesty’s recent report on the situation at the Polish-Belarussian border makes stark reading. Refugees and migrants attempting to cross into Poland from Belarus face repeated violent pushbacks by the Polish Border Guards. Hundreds have been arbitrarily detained in Poland in appalling conditions and without access to a fair asylum proceeding and protection.  Many have been…
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