‘DAY OF SOLIDARITY AND DEFIANCE’ MASS RALLY FOR SYRIA, EGYPT AND THE WIDER MIDDLE EAST

Trafalgar Square, London 12 noon - 2.00pm

Live TV link-up with Homs, global tweeting via #feb11global, spokespeople available for interview from Syria, Egypt, Bahrain and other countries in the region, events in 21 countries

Thousands of Amnesty International supporters and activists, diaspora groups, trade unionists, students and others will come together at a mass rally in Trafalgar Square in central London this Saturday (11 February) to mark a “Global Day of Action” in solidarity with peaceful protestors in the Middle East & North Africa.

Saturday 11 February will mark a year since Hosni Mubarak was forced to step down from office. This time last year, thousands of people rallied in Trafalgar Square and other cities across the world to show their support for people in Egypt. This year, Amnesty has a live link-up with protestors in the besieged Syrian city of Homs, where a fierce crackdown has resulted in a week of bloodshed. There will also be live links to demonstrations in Dera’a and Idlib. This month also marks 30 years since the notorious Hama massacre of 1982 which will be commemorated at the event.

To mark an epic year of protest, violent suppression, endurance and change across the Middle East and North Africa, events will also be held in cities across; Austria, Belgium, Germany, Finland, France, Italy, Iceland, Luxembourg, Morocco, Netherlands, Nepal, Norway, Paraguay, Spain and Switzerland.

Salil Shetty, Amnesty International’s Secretary General, said:
“Human rights were and are at the core of the demands for change in the Middle East and North Africa that have led to the extraordinary events of the last year.

“On the one-year anniversary of the fall of Hosni Mubarak, we are gathering in public places around the world to demonstrate our solidarity with people across the region who are continuing to stand up to brutal repression with courage and dignity.”

“We also stand in defiance against those who are opposing human rights change - in countries such as Syria governments are brutally repressing protests. Those responsible must know that they will be held accountable for the abuses they have committed.”

• Join the event on Facebook event page
• Find out more about the event and download resources /li>
• Tweet using tag #feb11Global /li>

Speakers at the event include:

• Protestors speaking live from Homs, Syria
• Salil Shetty, Amnesty International Secretary General
• Kate Allen, Amnesty International UK Director
• Maryam Al-Khawaja -   Bahrain Centre for Human Rights
• Farah Abushwesha - Women's rights's rightss rights's rights's rights's rights4Libya
• Speakers from Syria, Egypt, Palestine and Yemen

Notes to media

If you are intending to send a reporter, TV crew or photographer, please contact Amnesty’s media team to confirm your attendance and arrange on-the-day interviews and photographs.