Amnesty International Bournemouth Poole Christchurch Group

local news & events Amnesty International group for Bournemouth, Poole & Christchurch

Europe Newsletter April 2026

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Here is our latest , slightly shorter than usual, newsletter with updates and actions.

TÜRKİYE

Invitation to talk by speaker from Human Rights Solidarity 7.30 pm 11 May

Kerim Balci

The Maidstone, Medway and Swale Group are inviting activists to join them online or in person to hear Kerim Balci from the organisation Human Rights Solidarity speak about human rights in Turkey. Please see a short biography below.

The meeting is in hybrid format and so people can take part online or in person.  It will take place from 7:30pm on 11 May and the presentation and discussion will last about one hour.

Those wishing to join the meeting online should request a link by email at mmands.amnestygroup@gmail.com.  The link will be sent out on the morning of the meeting.

In case anyone is in a position to join in person, the meeting will take place at the Maidstone Community Support Centre, 39-48 Marsham Street, Maidstone ME14 1HH.

Kerim Balci is the Director of Continuing Education at Respect Gratuate School in the US. Apart from his administrative role in Respect, he teaches topics like Islamic Logic, Hermeneutics, Said Nursi’s writings and the thought of Fethullah Gulen. Balci lives in London, where he leads the international human rights work of the Human Rights Solidarity, a British charity on human rights, immigrant rights and integration. Kerim served as the editor in chief of Turkish Review, a semi-academic journal on Turkey and Turkish politics, and as a columnist at Zaman and Today’s Zaman dailies in Turkey. He published pieces in Quartz, Miami Herald, Oasis, The Atlantic, Dawn and others. Kerim has edited a book named Whose War? in Turkish dealing with the Iraqi War, published an album called Ottoman Jerusalem in Photographs (IRCICA, Istanbul, 2009, Published in Turkish, English and Arabic.) and another album with modern photographs of the city. Kerim contributes to the work of Dialogue Society with occasional lectures on dialogue in Islam and the philosophy of dialogue. [Read more…]

South America Newsletter April 2026

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This month we bring you news from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela, as well as one story impacting across the region.

Highlights are:

  • Across the region, in a new report, Tearing Up The Social Fabric, Amnesty has documented how State authorities in the Americas have promoted and enacted a growing number of laws that restrict or control civil society organisations
  • In Argentina, on the 50th anniversary of the 1976 military coup, tens of thousands marched in Buenos Aires and across the country to honour victims of the dictatorship.
  • International Women’s Day marches in Brazil served as a rallying cry against gender-based violence, fuelled by the latest case to outrage the country involving the alleged gang rape of a 17-year-old girl in Copacabana.
  • For Chile, there is a new Urgent Action, calling for the new president to ensure accountability for all serious human rights violations and crimes under international law and to refrain from pardoning convicted former Carabinero and military officials.
  • Human rights defenders in Colombia have been subjected to unrelenting violence over the past decade, with on average just under 100 killed every year, a report issued by the UN Human Rights Office finds.
  • For Ecuador, the United Nations Committee on Enforced Disappearances assessed the progress and challenges faced by Ecuador in preventing, investigating and punishing enforced disappearances. Amnesty submitted informationto the Committee.
  • The Inter-American Court of Human Rights has condemned Peru over the death of its citizen Celia Ramos, who died at the age of 34 in 1997 after undergoing sterilisation “under coercion”.

REGIONAL

In a new report, Tearing Up The Social Fabric, Amnesty has documented how State authorities in the Americas have promoted and enacted a growing number of laws that restrict or control civil society organisations, reinforcing authoritarian practices that threaten freedom of association and curtail civic space. The report documents how new laws in Ecuador, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Peru and Venezuela are leading to self-censorship, weakened citizen participation and oversight, and erosion of the social fabric as trust and community networks break down, while victims of human rights violations are left unprotected.

 

ARGENTINA

Photos of people who disappeared during the military dictatorship on display at ex-ESMA, the former detention centre.  Photo: Luis Robayo/AFP

On March 24, the 50th anniversary of the 1976 military coup, tens of thousands marched in Buenos Aires and across the country to honour victims of the dictatorship, while human rights groups and international experts warned of setbacks in ongoing efforts to secure truth and justice. Human rights organisations estimate that 30,000 people were disappeared during the dictatorship. At least 500 newborn babies were also stolen from prisoners and given to military families to raise, with some unaware to this day of their true identity. [Read more…]

South America Newsletter March 2026

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This month, we bring you news from Colombia, Brazil, Venezuela, Argentina, Chile and Peru.

Highlights are:

  • Colombia: Amnesty has issued an Urgent Action calling on the Colombian authorities to ensure full and effective protection for two Venezuelan human rights defenders.
  • Brazil: The masterminds behind the murder of human rights defender Marielle Franco, her driver Anderson Gomes, and the attempted murder of her aide Fernanda Chaves, have been sentenced to 76 years in prison.
  • Venezuela: The Venezuelan authorities have released numerous individuals on whose behalf Amnesty International has campaigned, but many more political activists remain behind bars
  • Argentina: The UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women has expressed its deep concern about the setbacks recorded since 2023 regarding the rights of women and LGBTQ+ people in Argentina.
  • Chile: The Senate has begun discussing a Bill that would allow many prisoners, including those convicted of serious human rights violations, to serve part of their sentences under house arrest, which has triggered strong public and political backlash.
  • Peru: In a landmark ruling, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IAHCR) has held the Peruvian state “internationally responsible” for the death in 1997 of one of the women subjected to sterilisation as part of the government’s forced sterilisation programme.    

COLOMBIA

Venezuelan human rights defenders Yendri Velásquez and Luis Peche

URGENT ACTION: On 13 October 2025, Yendri Velásquez and Luis Peche, Venezuelan human rights defenders, suffered an armed attack in Bogotá. Four months later, they continue to depend on temporary and insufficient protection measures, despite the National Protection Unit’s vow to implement comprehensive and stable protection measures after the attack. Amnesty is urging the Colombian authorities to ensure full and effective protection for Yendri and Luis. Please help us take action here: Urgent Action. [Read more…]

Europe Newsletter March 2026

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Busy times for Human Rights defenders.

The shocking scenes in the US of ICE enforcers arresting and detaining refugees and migrants and shooting Human Rights defenders have shown that the attacks on the human rights of refugees and migrants are threatening us all. In the UK Nigel Farage has pledged that, when in power he would deport 600000 people seeking asylum, including those who have been granted leave to remain.

The concept of “Remigration” the forced deportation of refugees, immigrants and even citizens of colour is being normalised. And rhetoric leads to violence. Driven by xenophobic rhetoric and hate speech by far-right influencers and agitators and often but not always led by far- right organisers people are attacking hotels and other accommodation housing asylum seekers and refugees. Vulnerable people, survivors of torture, families with children, unaccompanied minors are re-traumatised by verbal and physical violence. As human right defenders we need to staunchly defend the universal human right of seeking asylum from persecution.

And far-right violence doesn’t stop with terrorizing people seeking asylum. The Ahmadi community in Crewe is getting targeted by far-right followers of Tommy Robinson. On Saturday 28th February Far right thugs have again announced a protest at the premises of the Ahmadi community. Activists from Manchester Stand up to Racism are going to travel to Crewe to support the Ahmadi community. For further questions or if you want to get involved please contact Hadil                        Hadil.El-Khouly@amnesty.org.uk

120 organisations so far have joined the Together Alliance to march against the Far Right on 28th of March 2028.  Amnesty has joined the coalition. World-wide there will be actions on or around the same day in Greece, France, Norway, Spain, Germany, Denmark and the US. Join the Amnesty bloc on the 28th !         https://www.togetheralliance.org.uk/

Hungary

Urgent Action

DROP CHARGES AGAINST PÉCS PRIDE ORGANISER

On 10th February the Hungarian prosecution brought charges against Géza Buzás-Hábel, organiser of Pécs Pride and Director of the Diverse Youth Network.

Géza Buzás-Hábel is a Roma, gay man. He worked as a teacher and human rights defender and is from Pécs. He taught Romani language and culture, trained future educators, and has long organised Pécs Pride, the country’s only Pride outside of Budapest, ensuring it remains inclusive, peaceful, and community-driven. [Read more…]

South America Newsletter February 2026

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Dear Friends,

This month we bring you news from Venezuela, Colombia, Brazil, Chile and Argentina.

Highlights are:

  • Venezuela: Urgent Action issued calling on authorities to immediately release all arbitrarily detained individuals.
  • Colombia: Indigenous groups face physical and cultural extinction as illegal groups battle for control of illicit mining and drug-trafficking routes.
  • Brazil: The jury trial of two military policemen accused of the death of 13-year-old Thiago Menezes Flausino, due last week, has been adjourned; Thiago’s family continue to seek justice almost three years after his killing.
  • Chile: Police officer accused of blinding protester Gustavo Gatica during Chile’s 2019 protests acquitted; President-elect José Antonio Kast names abortion opponent as gender equality minister; Kast also visits El Salvador’s mega-prison to explore collaboration on Chile’s penitentiary system.
  • Argentina: Decree issued by President Javier Milei granting intelligence agency SIDE the power to arrest people is condemned by Amnesty International and other human rights organizations; mothers and grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo recognised for their enduring Human Rights struggle.

VENEZUELA

Between 25th December and 19th January, the Venezuelan authorities released a number of politically motivated arbitrary detainees, including Roland Carreno and Biagio Pillieri, as well as prisoners of conscience Rocio San Miguel and Carlos Julio Rokas. However, at least 780 individuals remain arbitrarily detained for political reasons, according to NGO Foro Penal. Amnesty International has issued an urgent action calling on the authorities to immediately release all arbitrarily detained individuals and to ensure that, whilst in custody of the state, every detainee sees their life and safety protected, fair trial guaranteed, adequate medical care, and family visits.

COLOMBIA

Indigenous leader Ati Quigua says local people have been put under curfew by violent groups who want to use their land as a drug-trafficking corridor. Photo credit: Harriet Barber

Violence is surging across Colombia as illegal groups battle for control of the country’s illicit economies, including key drug-trafficking routes and coca-growing regions. The 2016 peace deal with the guerrilla Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) has begun to unravel, allowing splinter factions to move into the vacuum it left behind.

Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, located in northern Colombia on the Caribbean Coast, illustrates this vulnerability clearly. The UN has warned that five Indigenous groups living in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta – the Kogui, Wiwa, Kankuamo, Arhuaco and Ette Naka – face “physical and cultural extinction.” Indigenous leaders say assassination attempts have increased, while Colombian research organisation Cinep/Programme for Peace reports that some victims have been tortured, dismembered and displayed in public spaces in a bid to instil collective terror.

Indigenous leaders say they have faced death threats for speaking out against environmental destruction, and at least three have survived recent assassination attempts. Colombia has suffered the highest number of murders of environmental defenders for three years in a row. Colombia’s representative for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights says this risk is “an ongoing tragedy that we can and must prevent.” [Read more…]

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