In early 2025 photojournalist Marios Lolos was covering a demonstration in Athens about the Tempi rail tragedy when a police officer threw a stun grenade in his direction. It hit the left side of his head, exploding next to him. The impact resulted in him suffering permanent hearing loss and a head injury.
Greek police frequently use unnecessary or excessive force against peaceful protesters and journalists resulting in serious physical and psychological injuries, Amnesty International said in a report published today, as it called for a ban on the use of stun grenades in the policing of protests. Protests are not battlefields: Patterns of unlawful use of force by police and impunity in Greece finds that these deeply disturbing abuses are underpinned by protest legislation that […] The post Greece: Dangerous policing tactics have turned peaceful protests into battlefields appeared first on Amnesty International .
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps said the Resistance Front will continue its struggle until foreign forces are expelled from West Asia and the Zionist regime is eliminated, stressing that recent developments have imposed new realities on the region’s adversaries.
Responding to the news that Egyptian activist and writer Ahmed Douma has been convicted and sentenced to one year in prison following an unfair trial, Amnesty International’s Regional Researcher, Mahmoud Shalaby said: “The renewed unjust imprisonment after an unfair trial of Ahmed Douma is a devastating assault on the right to freedom of expression. The weaponization of the criminal justice system against Ahmed Douma and other activists lays bare president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s government’s relentless campaign to crush peaceful dissent and restrict civic space. “Having already […] The post Unjust one-year prison sentence for activist Ahmed Douma emblematic of Egypt’s ongoing arbitrary detention crisis appeared first on Amnesty International .
Months since Gaza’s nominal ceasefire began, Palestinians continue to be killed and maimed in drone and airstrikes, including the enclave’s police force which is crucial to peace and reconstruction efforts, the UN human rights office (OHCHR) said on Wednesday.
Iranians in several cities described wages being consumed by rent, food and healthcare costs, according to messages received by Iran International on Wednesday.
Responding to reports that Chinese authorities have barred the mothers of protesters killed in the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown from visiting their loved ones’ graves on this week’s anniversary of the atrocity, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director Sarah Brooks said: “Banning the relatives of people killed in the Tiananmen crackdown from visiting their loved ones’ graves […] The post China: ‘Heartless’ ban on Tiananmen Mothers visiting cemetery signals escalating repression appeared first on Amnesty International .
Amnesty International has today added its name to a complaint filed against FedEx Belgium alleging the unlawful transit of arms, including parts for F-35 fighter jets which have been used extensively by Israel during its ongoing genocide against Palestinians in the occupied Gaza Strip. The human rights organization has joined a coalition of civil society organizations, […] The post Belgium: Amnesty International joins complaint against FedEx for unlawful arms transit to Israel appeared first on Amnesty International .
Testimonies from political prisoners and journalists arrested in crackdowns since the war have started to emerge as regime’s internet blackout lifts Iranian writer Hamid Asefi wasn’t home on the afternoon of 5 March when armed intelligence agents stormed his Tehran apartment, breaking down the door with a sledgehammer and axe. After going unit to unit looking for him, they finally encountered him as he returned to the building. One of the agents “drew his handgun, shouted at me to stop, and before I had time to respond, struck me forcefully on the back of the neck and spine with the butt of his weapon, dragging me into the apartment,” Asefi told the Guardian in a written interview.
US activist says Israel blocked her entry over Palestinian rights advocacy Linda Sarsour, a Palestinian-American activist, said Israel has barred her from visiting Palestine because of her advocacy for Palestinian rights. In a social media post, Sarsour said, “My advocacy for the concept that all people are created equal and deserve freedom and human rights is so terrifying to a genocidal apartheid regime that they will bar the entry of a prominent Palestinian-American mom and grandmother from New York. ” The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) condemned the reported ban, saying “it is long past time” for US authorities to “defend the rights of American citizens and others to visit Palestine without interference”.
WFP says cyberattack exposed data of 600,000 Gaza households The World Food Programme (WFP) has informed about 600,000 Palestinian households in the Gaza Strip that their personal information was exposed in a “security-related incident”, according to reporting by The New Humanitarian. The WFP said the compromised data came from a self-registration application used by Palestinians applying for food and cash assistance. According to the agency, information accessed by “unauthorised actors” included names, identification numbers, mobile phone numbers and location data.
Craig and Lindsay Foreman, both aged 53, given 10-year sentences in February after being convicted of espionage A British couple jailed on spying charges in Iran have lost an appeal against their convictions, their family has said. Craig and Lindsay Foreman, both aged 53, were handed 10-year prison sentences in February after being convicted of espionage, which they both deny. Continue reading...
Ahead of NBA finals, advocates renew call for league to sever ties with UAE Submitted by Yasmine El-Sabawi on Tue, 06/02/2026 - 15:54 US lawmaker accuses Abu Dhabi of 'sportswashing' to cover up involvement in Sudan atrocities Mitch Johnson of the San Antonio Spurs, left, speaks to referee Courtney Kirkland, whose jersey displays the Emirates logo, during the second quarter against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the NBA Western Conference finals at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas, on 22 May 2026 (Alex Slitz/Getty Images via AFP) Off The New York Knicks are in the NBA Finals, and Arsenal just won the English Premier League before losing the UEFA Champions League Final. What the teams and their achievements have in common isn't just the avid and vocal support of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani , but also lucrative sponsorship deals with the United Arab Emirates. Beyond individual teams, the NBA in recent years has signed two deals: one with the UAE's department of tourism, signed in 2021, and a sponsorship deal with Emirates Airlines, signed in 2024.
Lindsay and Craig Foreman were arrested in January 2025 during a global motorbike journey.
Egyptian activist in 'real danger' in Oman as she faces extradition over social media posts Submitted by Alex MacDonald on Mon, 06/01/2026 - 14:37 Omani authorities use false claims of Interpol Red notice to threaten deportation of Mariam Abdelbasette days after giving birth A social media picture of Mariam Abdelbasette (supplied) Off An Egyptian woman and her newborn baby face extradition on false claims of an Interpol red notice from Oman to Egypt over social media posts she made criticising the Egyptian government. Mariam Abdelbasette has been held since 25 May at the Medical City Hospital for Military Agencies in the Omani capital Muscat after requiring a caesarian section to deliver her baby. Oman has claimed that it is complying with an Interpol Red notice to remove Abdelbasette from the Gulf state and return her to Egypt, following her husband Ahmed Mousa, who was forcibly deported to Egypt on 9 April 2026 and subsequently imprisoned.
The UN health agency in Lebanon is verifying reports of strikes on a hospital in the southern city of Tyre on Monday, amid a concerning rise in attacks on healthcare in the country.
Women and girls in Lebanon are paying an increasingly devastating price as violence and displacement continue despite a ceasefire, the UN reproductive health agency (UNFPA) warned on Tuesday.
Oxford Union president vows to platform Hasan Piker and Cenk Uygur in defiance of UK ban Submitted by Imran Mulla on Tue, 06/02/2026 - 11:00 'Free speech does not require a visa', said Arwa Elrayess, the Palestinian president of the prestigious student debating society Hasan Piker, a streamer and outspoken critic of Israel, addresses the Oxford Union in 2025 (Screengrab/X) Off The Oxford Union, former British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan once proclaimed, is "the last bastion of free speech in the western world. " That dramatic assertion has often been questioned, but today Macmillan's quote is proudly displayed outside the prestigious debating society's bar. The president of the Oxford Union this term, Arwa Elrayess, appears determined to live up to the claim.
Al-Aqsa imam warns against Israeli bill to ban Muslim call to prayer Submitted by Mera Aladam on Tue, 06/02/2026 - 08:16 Sheikh Ekrima Sabri says Israel has 'no right' to pass such a bill as an occupying power A Muslim man prays outside the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound during Friday noon prayers in the Old City of Jerusalem, 10 April 2026 (Ahmad Gharabli/AFP) Off The imam of Al-Aqsa Mosque has warned against an Israeli bill that would legalise restrictions on the Muslim call to prayer after it was approved by a ministerial committee on Sunday. Sheikh Ekrima Sabri said efforts to curb the adhan - the Islamic call to prayer - had resurfaced after "repeated failed attempts to ban it or reduce its volume". "The current attempt to ban the Muslim call to prayer has taken a dangerous turn by legalising the banning of the call to prayer through issuing a law to prohibit it," he said on Monday.
Oxford Union raises free speech concerns over speakers' entry restriction Arwa Elrayess, President of the Oxford Union, said she was “deeply concerned” after US political commentators Cenk Uygur and Hasan Piker had their authorisation to visit the UK revoked on the grounds that their appearances would not be “conducive to public good”. Both commentators have said they were prevented from entering the UK because of their advocacy for Palestinian rights. In a statement, Elrayess said, “This eleventh-hour call signals much more than democratic decline – it is a direct threat to free expression.
