Urgent Action Network blog

A 30th anniversary is often a time of great joy - marking a long-standing companionship or marriage, for example, or a significant birthday. But last Friday, on a London rooftop in the crisp winter sunshine, I joined a group of...

You might remember taking part earlier this year in one of our actions about freedom of expression in Azerbaijan , when the country hosted the Eurovision Song Contest. We were by no means the only ones to use that opportunity to shine...

Exiled freelance writer Li Jianhong (pen-name ‘Xiao Qiao’) longs to return home. As a new generation of leaders take charge of China’s Communist Party she is not optimistic for change. I used to expose government corruption as a...

2012 has seen some dramatic developments and good news in cases we have campaigned on for years. Here are just a few highlights: Chen Guangcheng’s extraordinary escape In April, blind Chinese activist, Chen Guangcheng escaped house...

“Everything is gone. My documents, my money. I’m in these clothes since [they demolished]. We’re sleeping there, by our house. Me, my wife and my 3 children. My wife is heavily [pregnant]. I’m trying to find somewhere for them to stay...

Dear Activists, The Italian authorities must immediately stop plans to evict Roma families from a camp on the outskirts of Rome, and should instead improve housing conditions there, Amnesty International said yesterday. Amnesty...

Dear Activists, A Russian feminist punk group has conducted several performances in public places such as Moscow underground, Moscow Red Square and on the roves of buses. In media interviews the group members have stated that they...

Dear Amnesty Letter Writers, Our research centre (the International Secretariat) recently found out that human rights defenders in Colombia have received death threats for carrying out their work. Last Wednesday the Inter-Church...

Not long to go now until the Grand Final of the Eurovision Song Contest! It will take place this Saturday, 26 May, in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. As the name of the venue – the Crystal Hall – implies, it’s set to be a glitzy event...

Within days, local authorities in Baia Mare, Romania will move around 70 Roma families from their homes in the Craica settlement to an office building. Others who have refused to accept this relocation risk homelessness. Those not...

Journalists are often key players in the human rights struggle. By turning a spotlight on injustice, they help expose abuses and draw attention to human rights issues. It is for this reason that many human rights and freedom of...

Update, Tuesday 3 April Thank you - hundreds of you have tweeted and facebooked our messages, and it's prompted the European Broadcasting Union to tweet about their position on media freedom in Azerbaijan. But we are concerned that the...

In just two months’ time, the Eurovision Song Contest will take place in Azerbaijan. The country will no doubt warmly welcome voices from across Europe to a luxurious stage, and put on a great show for the 125 million people expected...

Youth activists, including recently released Jabbar Savalan, were beaten by police while staging a peaceful demonstration in Azerbaijan's capital Baku. Call on the authorities to order an immediate investigation into the violence -...

The Individuals at Risk team have been working for a few years now on the case of Inés Fernández Ortega and Valentina Rosendo Cantú - two indigenous women who were raped by Mexican soldiers in separate attacks in 2002. You can read...

We have been informed that 33 families are at immediate risk of forced eviction in Serbia. The authorities appear determined to begin the eviction next week on 7th March. We call on all our expert letter-writing supporters to take...

Mexico - Lucila Bettina Cruz Velázquez On 24 February, at around 00:30, Mexican Human Rights Defender Lucila Bettina Cruz Velázquez was released on bail, following a court hearing in the afternoon of 23 February, in the 6th court of...

Lucila Bettina Cruz Velázquez is a human rights defender who defends the rights of Indigenous people. She has previously been threatened with death and assaulted and this week she has been arrested and detained. Please take ten minutes...

Yesterday we heard that a political activist that was due to have an appeal against his imprisonment will now remain in detention until April. The appeal was cancelled at the last minute and his life remains in danger. If you are a...

The demolition of the Railway Compound in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, was halted by the authorities after a strong protest from the community and pressure from local non-governmental organisations and Amnesty International. Thank you very...