Press Releases

Humanitarian aid agencies must be allowed immediate and unhindered access to Homs and other affected areas, Amnesty International said today.

The Bab ‘Amr district of the city has come under intensive shelling for more than 17 days, during which time Amnesty International has received the names of 465 people reported to have been killed in Homs.

Filmmaker and environmentalist Josh Fox is to appear in court on 15 February on a charge of “unlawful entry” following his arrest in Congress on 1 February, when he was prevented from filming a hearing of the House Subcommittee on Energy and the Environment on the grounds that he lacked press credentials.

Occupyface art by Paul-Felix Montez, a new face on the arts scene, providing a visual message for the Occupy movement world wide protestors. The proposal sees a 40-foot tall sculpture monument based on the artist’s art work designs. First, a half scale mock up is to be constructed and brought to downtown Manhattan for exhibition in 2012.

Thanks to a wave of demonstrations and protests in Santiago the government has abandoned plans to force journalists to hand over images to police under controversial new legislation sponsored by interior minister Rodrigo Hinzpeter, who announced on 18 January that he would withdraw that section of the bill.

Reporters Without Borders is stunned by Paris-based TV satellite operator Eutelsat’s decision yesterday to stop carrying the broadcasts of Copenhagen-based Kurdish TV station Roj TV on the grounds that a Danish court found it guilty of supporting the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), an armed separatist group regarded by Turkey as a terrorist organization.

Reporters Without Borders strongly condemns yesterday’s decision by Hungary’s Media Council to strip Klubradio, the country’s only national opposition radio station, of its broadcast frequency within a couple of months.

ActiveWatch – Media Monitoring Agency and Reporters without Borders condemn the acts of violence perpetrated against journalists by both policemen and protesters over the past four days. The two organizations also denounce basic human rights violations by the riot police, such as the right to free speech, the right to freedom of movement and the right to freedom of assembly

The ASEAN Commission on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Women and Children (ACWC) convened a Consultative Meeting with the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General on Violence against Children (SRSG-VAC) and CEDAW Committee experts on violence against women in Manila, The Philippines, on 16-17 January 2012.

In the beginning, the corrupt security forces of the police state shot the unarmed
civilians, then claimed to start the movement of reform by killing thousands. This
murderous regime cannot resuscitate the bodies of murdered victims or bring the
carnage of bodies back together; nothing can restore a life lost except a brighter future
than prevents the loss of more lives.

Somaliland officials are abducting and refouling Oromo, Ogaden and Eritrean asylum seekers. This is against international law as it pertains to refugees. Dr Trevor Trueman has co-ordinated a report on this matter which turns around the incident that took place late December 2011 where twenty refugees from Ethiopia were detained by Somaliland security forces.