Press release me, let me go

The news headlines seem pretty gloomy at the moment: cost of food is on the increase, the price of petrol set to double, more and more homeowners likely to go into negative equity, and the vote for 42-day detention without charge is...

MPs will make a crucial decision tomorrow that could undermine the basic human rights of everyone in the UK. The debate on the Counter-Terrorism Bill starts in parliament today, but as far as the media’s concerned it’s all about...

Total British military deaths reaching 100 since 2001 is dominating the news today – one of those sad milestones that pretty much speak for themselves. In the office we also noticed that an Afghan journalist working for the BBC was...

Pressure is definitely mounting within Zimbabwe as the countdown begins towards the second round of elections scheduled for 27 June. Sadly this pressure is manifesting itself in a terrible catalogue of human rights abuses: intimidation...

It’s been all go in the press office these last few days. Last night saw a fantastic gathering of hundreds of Amnesty supporters outside the Chinese embassy to mark the 19th anniversary of the crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in...

I found myself stood in front of a twelve-ton tank yesterday, with the barrel pointing squarely in my face. And yet my only fear was about the people shooting me from behind. Worry not, the armed wing of Amnesty has not yet become...

So, the media’s been awash with 42 days – news, blogs, comment, cartoons, more comment – for oh, about 42 days now. There’s a letter in the Guardian today saying that the almost weird fascination the government has with the magical “42...

Hopefully, it’s not escaped your attention that there is a small sporting event happening in China this summer (aka the Olympic Games), and that we at Amnesty have been keen to use the opportunity to shine a spotlight on the Chinese...

Times, Guardian or Independent? I wasn’t sure which paper I was going to buy this morning until I saw the Indy’s front page headline: ‘The Last Briton in Guantanamo faces death penalty’. This is the story of Binyam Mohamed, the British...

“Italians riot against Gypsies in their midst; South Africans riot against Zimbabweans and other immigrants. In troubled times, the foreigner is always hated.” So says Theodore Dalrymple, writing in today’s Times. And I would add: not...

Today is quite a momentous day for Amnesty. As well as the launch of the Amnesty International Report 2008 , it’s also our 47th birthday. 47 years ago to the day, the Observer printed the original article that led to the founding of...

Guess what happened to me last weekend? Give up? Well, I was clamped by private clampers on an allegedly “private” road near my Kwik-Fit garage (just to get a bloody MOT!). Four and half hours later I’m still there trying to resolve...

Ok, first a confession. I don’t watch football matches at all! The last one I saw was the World Cup final in 1998 – France’s (actually very boring) 3-0 win over Brazil. But if I travel back in time to when I was about six (travel back...

Lots of news about immigration in today’s papers. Well, in the Daily Express mainly, the front page of which screams: ‘Immigration soars to new record’. The story is about the number of foreigners told they can stay in the UK...

Burma’s public relations department really does need a bit of an overhaul. Their PR was bad enough before Cyclone Nargis devastated the Irrawaddy Delta two weeks ago – and it’s only got worse over the last 14 days. When faced with an...

Discussions begin in Dublin today to develop the treaty for a ban of cluster bombs. The UK Government is one of more than 100 attending the negotiations. But as Martin Bell points out in today’s Independent, it seem it cannot decide on...

Great news coming out of the United States last night. The Supreme Court in California has overturned a ban on gay marriage, opening the way to similar moves across the country. Amnesty International has a long running campaign for...

In recent weeks the media has been full of stories of the Zimbabwean elections, with continuing controversy over the vote counts and shifting deadlines, Reuters reports the electoral commission ruling on a new deadline of the end of...

I was wondering today whether people’s attitude to China might have changed in the last couple of days in the aftermath of the earthquake in Sichuan . Seeing anxious parents watching rescuers digging in a pile of rubble that was once a...

Bare-heads and Betty Jackson designer gowns are the new look for judges across England and Wales now – at least when they sit to hear civil cases. I suppose this modern image would be quite timely for some judges in this hot weather...