Amnesty calls on Lesotho to end alleged human rights violations

Amnesty calls on Lesotho to end alleged human rights violations

Authorities in the small southern African kingdom of Lesotho have come under scrutiny from human rights advocates who say excessive force is part of a pattern when security forces arrest and detain suspects. Ahead of general elections planned for next week, the Amnesty International appeal calls on political candidates in…

African nations implicated in Pegasus spyware inquiry

Morocco, Egypt and Rwanda are just three of the nations where governments and their leaders are named in an ongoing investigation into the use of Pegasus spyware supplied by Israeli tech company NSO Group. The Pegasus Project, coordinated by the Paris-based NGO Forbidden Stories, looks at how the technology is…

Somali reporter killed as attacks on journalists increase

A Somali broadcast journalist was gunned down Sunday night in the town of Afgoye, some 30 kilometers south of Mogadishu, according to the Somali Journalists Syndicate (SJS). Abdiwali Ali Hassan was returning home shortly after 6 p.m. when unidentified gunmen shot him more than five times in the head and…

NGO calls on Lesotho to halt dam construction

Nearly 8,000 people face displacement because of a dam under construction in the southern African kingdom of Lesotho, and the Amnesty International organization is calling on authorities to stop the work until the affected Mokhotlong district is properly compensated. “As the construction of the Polihali Dam begins with work on…

Amnesty speaks out against gender-based attacks on activists

Amnesty International has stepped up on behalf of women human rights activists, who disproportionately face discrimination and attacks across the globe for their work – including Malak al-Kashef, a 19-year-old Egyptian transgender activist who was arrested in March 2019 during protests in Cairo. Her case, in which she was charged…

Rights groups worry over Algeria’s crackdown on protests

Algerians have protested every week for more than six months now, demanding economic reforms and an embrace of democratic principles. Thousands continued to protest even after former president Abdelaziz Bouteflika resigned in April, and they haven’t stopped as the North African nation works its way toward a December 12 presidential…

Another firebomb targets Malawi’s HRDC protest leader

In Malawi, a second firebomb has been launched at the property of Timothy Mtambo, the leader of a human rights organization that has organized protests against the outcome of the disputed May presidential election and Malawi’s electoral commission. Mtambo, who heads up the Human Rights Defenders Coalition (HRDC), said this…

Amnesty honors Fridays for Future youth activists with top award

Young climate change activists from across the globe have received Amnesty International’s Ambassador of Conscience Award for 2019, for their work in the Fridays for Future movement spearheaded by Greta Thunberg of Sweden. “We are humbled and inspired by the determination with which youth activists across the world are challenging…

In Oslo, EV makers pressed to consider DR Congo mining practices

The conditions in Democratic Republic of Congo’s artisanal mines were front and center on Thursday, as Nordic Electric Vehicle (EV) Summit in Oslo focused on the future of clean-energy vehicles that rely on lithium-ion batteries. That’s because Amnesty International highlighted concern over the ever-increasing demand for cobalt and other minerals…

Senegal’s CENA asks for patience as it tallies election results

Senegal’s electoral commission has until Friday to release the former results of Sunday’s election, but the early results suggest that President Macky Sall is headed toward a second term. That said, the Commission Electorale Nationale Autonome (CENA) is asking candidates and their supporters to refrain from announcing victory or prematurely…