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Amnesty Urgent Actions
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06

Pakistani Christian family at risk of deportation
A Pakistani Catholic family – ages ranging from 11 to 57 - have been arrested for overstaying their visas in Sri Lanka. The family fled Pakistan when their lives were threatened and arrived in Sri Lanka seeking asylum. Amnesty International learnt on Friday, 31 May 2019, that they are currently detained in deplorable conditions and that there are plans to deport them immediately. Forcibly returning them to Pakistan will put them in harm’s way, as safety for minorities has deteriorated in recent years.
Health concerns for detained filmmaker
Min Htin Ko Ko Gyi, a prominent filmmaker, has been detained since 12 April 2019 and is facing charges in connection with a series of social media posts in which he criticised Myanmar’s military-drafted 2008 Constitution. He has serious health problems and is in urgent need of specialized medical treatment; however, his requests for bail have been denied. If formally charged and convicted, he faces up to four years in prison. He is a prisoner of conscience who should be immediately and unconditionally released.
Asylum seekers at risk of mass detentions
Simultaneous to negotiations between the USA and Mexico around possible tariffs on Mexican goods, hundreds of migrants and asylum seekers were detained on Mexico's southern border on the highway near Metapa in Chiapas state. On 5 June, Mexican migration agents and elements of the National Guard detained approximately 400 people. They were taken to an already overcrowded detention centre, and many were deported the following day without proper explanation to their right to seek asylum or explore other migratory options in Mexico. On 6 June, the government announced the deployment of 6,000 National Guard members to Mexico's southern border.
Over hundred persons continue in detention
After a year since the protests in Nicaragua erupted, at least 700 people faced criminal proceedings and over a hundred of them continue in prison, including student leaders Amaya Coppens and Christopher Olivas and journalists Lucía Pineda Ubau and Miguel Mora. A recently approved amnesty law by the Nicaraguan assembly could endanger the truth, justice and reparation of the victims of the crisis. We urge the Nicaraguan authorities to immediately release and drop all charges all those detained solely on the grounds of the exercise of their right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.
Refugees, asylum seekers held arbitrarily
Fifteen refugees and asylum seekers (14 men, one woman) from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and one male refugee from Ethiopia are currently held at the Third Police Station in Pemba city, Cabo Delgado Province in Mozambique. They have been held since 17 January and are not being given necessary medical care and adequate food.
Protesters at continued risk
On 9 and 10 June, thousands of Haitians marched in Port-au-Prince against corruption and poverty, some calling for the resignation of President Jovenel Moïse. Amidst reports of excess use of force by the police, and ongoing protests, we call on President to guarantee the right to freedom of expression and assembly, to promptly investigate alleged human rights abuses, and bring those responsible to justice.
Ensure pride marches can safely take place
On 14 June the governorate of Izmir banned all Pride events, followed by the governorate of Antalya the next day. Pride events in other cities have been prevented or are also at imminent risk of being banned, including in Istanbul, where Pride is at risk for the fifth year in a row. This clampdown on the LGBTI community in Turkey has been continuing this year despite this Pride season being the first one after the end of Turkey’s state of emergency in July 2018. The authorities must lift these unlawful bans and ensure that all Pride events are allowed to safely take place. They must protect the right to peaceful assembly without discrimination.
Iranian teenager at risk of execution
Danial Zeinolabedini, an 18-year-old imprisoned in Mahabad prison, West Azerbaijan province, is at risk of execution. He was sentenced to death in June 2018 after an unfair trial in which he was convicted of a murder that took place when he was 17 years old. His execution would be a grave violation of international law.
Rakhine journalist in hiding, facing charges
News editor Aung Marm Oo is in hiding after being accused of violating Myanmar’s Unlawful Associations Act, a notorious repressive law which has often been used to target ethnic minorities in Myanmar. He is the Editor-in-Chief of Development Media Group (DMG), a Rakhine State-based news agency which has been reporting on violations during the conflict between the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army. The charge carries a maximum five-year prison sentence.
Ahmed H. must be allowed to return home
Ahmed H. has been separated from his Cypriot wife and two daughters for almost four years. In September 2015, he was imprisoned in Hungary and wrongfully convicted for «complicity in an act of terrorism» in a blatant misapplication of Hungary’s counter-terrorism laws. Ahmed H. was conditionally released on 19 January 2019 and is being held in immigration detention in Hungary. As he is a Syrian national he is at risk being forcibly returned to Syria, a country that is not safe. Cyprus must allow his return home to be reunited with his family.
Detained critics must be released
Between 17 April and 1 May, Somaliland authorities arbitrarily arrested and detained journalist Abdimalik Muse Oldon, opposition youth leader Mohamed Sidiiq Dhame, and Jamal Abdi Muhumed, an employee of the Ministry of the Interior. The three were arbitrarily arrested for posting on social media comments perceived as critical of the Somaliland government and public officials.
Artisanal miners at risk as the army moves in
Some 10,000 artisanal miners are at risk of serious human rights violations if forcibly removed by the army from a mining area owned by one of the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s (DRC) largest cobalt producers, Tenke Fungurume Mining (TFM). On 17 June 2019, the DRC army deployed up to 800 soldiers to the area. The artisanal miners have been given until 2 July 2019 to voluntarily leave the area after which they will be forcibly removed.