Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

Source: Greenpeace Statement –

A final judgment has officially been entered in Big Oil company Energy Transfer’s massive lawsuit against us.

Nearly a year after a North Dakota jury decided that three Greenpeace entities are liable for more than $660 million in damages, today the Court awarded Energy Transfer $345 million.

But today is not the end of this case — or Greenpeace USA.

We will request a new trial, and — if necessary — appeal the decision with the North Dakota Supreme Court. The law is firmly on our side, and we are confident in our strong arguments for an appeal.

As the next chapter of this now eight-year legal saga begins, we want to thank every Greenpeace supporter. Your commitment, your shared concern about the wider threat this lawsuit poses to the work of so many organizations and individuals, has powered us forward.

Together, we’re going to show Big Oil that they won’t sue us out of existence.

Greenpeace USA’s more than fifty-year legacy of nonviolent direct action, peaceful protest, and exposing environmental harm will live on.

Energy Transfer is trying to silence our movement

Donate to the Warrior Defense Fund to help us fight back.

Donate

“They’re going to pay for this.”

That’s what Energy Transfer’s board chair Kelcy Warren said in 2017 after his company first sued Greenpeace entities for supporting the Indigenous-led Standing Rock resistance.

In their closing statement at trial, Energy Transfer’s lawyer confirmed that was still their mission. They told the jury that “solidarity” and “Indigenous leadership” are actually deceptive code words, and that ruling in Energy Transfer’s favor is about more than this case.

This lawsuit has always been about Big Oil trying to make someone “pay” for the Dakota Access Pipeline protests, erase Indigenous sovereignty, and weaken the climate movement.

What happened at Standing Rock scared Big Oil. They saw a grassroots, Indigenous-led protest in North Dakota organically grow into an international resistance that activated millions.

They saw how powerful the climate movement can be. Energy Transfer sought massive “exemplary damages” because they want this case to be a warning to any person or organization that thinks about exercising their right to speak out or peacefully protest.

With Donald Trump back in the White House, this playbook is now everywhere you look: comply and stay silent, or your institution will be destroyed.

It’s not a coincidence that Energy Transfer and Kelcy Warren are Trump’s largest fossil fuel industry donors. And it’s not a coincidence that all of this is happening just as the world is running out of time to achieve existential climate goals.

While it remains both possible — and economically viable — for humanity to curb climate pollution on the scale that’s necessary, that won’t happen through incremental change. The changes we need will require the mass mobilization of a global climate movement.

But in the years since the Standing Rock protests, anti-protest laws have spread across the U.S. and the world. Two of the most important components of change and progress throughout human history — free speech and peaceful protest — have never been more endangered.

We must defend those rights. Our future depends on it.

We’re not going to allow Big Oil to stop us from living our values and building the better world we know is possible.

While there are many reasons to be worried right now, there are even more to be hopeful. We have a lot of work ahead of us, but we’re in this together.

Together, we’re going to hold polluting fossil fuel companies financially accountable for the damage they’ve caused.

Together, we’re going to protect our oceans and ban deep sea mining.

Together, we’re going to achieve a global plastics treaty.

Together, we’re going to defend democracy from facism.

Our work continues.

Source: Greenpeace Statement –

MANDAN, N.D. (February 27, 2026)  — Greenpeace organizations in the U.S. and Greenpeace International announce they will seek a new trial and, if necessary, appeal the decision with the North Dakota Supreme Court following a North Dakota District Court judgment today awarding Energy Transfer (ET) $345 million. ET’s SLAPP suit remains a blatant attempt to silence free speech, erase Indigenous leadership of the Standing Rock movement, and punish solidarity with peaceful resistance to the Dakota Access Pipeline. Greenpeace International will also continue to seek damages for ET’s bullying lawsuits under EU anti-SLAPP legislation in the Netherlands.

“Speaking out against corporations that cause environmental harm should never be deemed unlawful,” said Marco Simons, Interim General Counsel at Greenpeace USA and Greenpeace Fund. “It is guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution, and is essential to the protection of communities and the health of democracy. This is a setback, but the movement to defend people and the planet has always faced setbacks and resistance, and Energy Transfer will fail in its goal of silencing its critics. 

“The absurdity of this judgment can easily be illustrated. These Greenpeace organizations have been held responsible for supposedly delaying a pipeline that to this day does not have legal authority to operate, and which was actually delayed by the decisions of the US Army Corps of Engineers. The judgment includes tens of millions of dollars for signing a letter also signed by 500 other organizations, which echoed statements made in United Nations reports. If the courts still believe in justice, this result will not stand.”

The Court’s final judgment today rejects some of the jury verdict delivered in March 2025, but still awards hundreds of millions of dollars to ET without a sound basis in law. The Greenpeace defendants will continue to press their arguments that the US Constitution does not allow liability here, that ET did not present evidence to support its claims, that the Court admitted inflammatory and irrelevant evidence at trial and excluded other evidence supporting the defense, and that the jury pool in Mandan could not be impartial.[1][2]

ET’s back-to-back lawsuits against Greenpeace International and the US organizations Greenpeace USA (Greenpeace Inc.) and Greenpeace Fund are clear-cut examples of SLAPPs — lawsuits attempting to bury nonprofits and activists in legal fees, push them towards bankruptcy and ultimately silence dissent.[3] Greenpeace International, which is based in the Netherlands, is pursuing justice in Europe, with a suit against ET under Dutch law and the European Union’s new anti-SLAPP directive, a landmark test of the new legislation which could help set a powerful precedent against corporate bullying.[4] 

“Energy Transfer’s attempts to silence us are failing. Greenpeace International will continue to resist intimidation tactics,” said Mads Christensen, Greenpeace International Executive Director. “We will not be silenced. We will only get louder, joining our voices to those of our allies all around the world against the corporate polluters and billionaire oligarchs who prioritise profits over people and the planet. 

“With hard-won freedoms under threat and the climate crisis accelerating, the stakes of this legal fight couldn’t be higher. Through appeals in the US and Greenpeace International’s groundbreaking anti-SLAPP case in the Netherlands, we are exploring every option to hold Energy Transfer accountable for multiple abusive lawsuits and show all power-hungry bullies that their attacks will only result in a stronger people-powered movement.”

Greenpeace USA recently released a meticulously researched report on Energy Transfer’s pattern of pollution and legal violations, documenting hundreds of incidents and violations including four major disasters since September 2024. “If Energy Transfer thought their lawsuit would silence us, they are seriously mistaken,” said Tim Donaghy, Greenpeace USA Research Director and lead author of the report. “There’s something wrong with a system that too often lets polluters off the hook but penalizes those who call out harm. Free speech is an essential tool in building a healthier and more sustainable world. If people do not feel free to speak out against those who are polluting the air and water, and whose business model is driving us toward climate collapse, then what chance do we have of enacting solutions to these problems?”

Energy Transfer’s SLAPPs are part of a wave of abusive lawsuits filed by Big Oil companies like Shell, Total, and ENI against Greenpeace entities in recent years.[3] A couple of these cases have been successfully stopped in their tracks. This includes Greenpeace France successfully defeating TotalEnergies’ SLAPP on 28 March 2024, and Greenpeace UK and Greenpeace International forcing Shell to back down from its SLAPP on 10 December 2024.

Photos and Videos can be accessed from the Greenpeace Media Library.

Notes: 

1. The judgment entered by North Dakota District Court Judge Gion follows a jury verdict finding Greenpeace entities liable for more than US$660 million on March 19, 2025. Judge Gion subsequently threw out several items from the jury’s verdict, reducing the total damages to approximately US$345 million. [
2. Public statements from the independent Trial Monitoring Committee  
3. Energy Transfer’s first lawsuit was filed in federal court in 2017 under the RICO Act – the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, a US federal statute designed to prosecute mob activity. The case was dismissed in 2019, with the judge stating the evidence fell “far short” of what was needed to establish a RICO enterprise. The federal court did not decide on Energy Transfer’s claims based on state law, so Energy Transfer promptly filed a new case in a North Dakota state court with these and other state law claims.
4. Greenpeace International sent a Notice of Liability to Energy Transfer on 23 July 2024, informing the pipeline giant of Greenpeace International’s intention to bring an anti-SLAPP lawsuit against the company in a Dutch Court. After Energy Transfer declined to accept liability on multiple occasions (September 2024, December 2024), Greenpeace International initiated the first test of the European Union’s anti-SLAPP Directive on 11 February 2025 by filing a lawsuit in Dutch court against Energy Transfer. The case was officially registered in the docket of the Court of Amsterdam on 2 July, 2025. Greenpeace International seeks to recover all damages and costs it has suffered as a result of Energy Transfers’s back-to-back, abusive lawsuits demanding hundreds of millions of dollars from Greenpeace International and the Greenpeace organizations in the US. The next hearing in the Court of Amsterdam is scheduled for 16 April, 2026. 

---

Contacts: Madison Carter, National Press Secretary, Greenpeace USA: [email protected], [email protected] 

Source: Amnesty International –

Responding to the presentation of a report by the Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan (CHRSS) on Friday 27 February to the UN Human Rights Council that documents the deteriorating human rights situation in the country, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for East and Southern Africa Tigere Chagutah said;

“The report by the Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan, which paints a bleak picture of the human rights situation in the country, finds that the “scale and recurrence of violations are enabled by impunity, implicating all parties to the conflict.

“Speaking at the Human Rights Council on 27 February, Amnesty International called on the Council to extend the mandate of the Commission for at least two years. The critical conditions that led to the establishment of the CHRSS in 2016 remain unchanged. Now is not the time to end or relax scrutiny of the violations occurring in South Sudan.

Speaking at the Human Rights Council on 27 February, Amnesty International called on the Council to extend the mandate of the Commission for at least two years.

Tigere Chagutah, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for ESARO

“It is also critical that the Council passes a strong resolution that reflects the worsening situation in South Sudan, making clear that it stands ready to respond to any further deterioration of human rights in the country.”

It is also critical that the Council passes a strong resolution that reflects the worsening situation in South Sudan, making clear that it stands ready to respond to any further deterioration of human rights in the country.

Tigere Chagutah

Background

A new report presented by the CHRSS to the UN Human Rights Council on 27 February 2026, documents serious violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law in various regions of South Sudan, including Upper Nile and Jonglei states, as well as Central and Western Equatoria states. The report implicates senior military and political officials in the violations, which include airstrikes on civilians and indiscriminate bombardments, and the forced recruitment of boys and young men by the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF).

The Human Rights Council established the CHRSS in March 2016 and mandated it to collect and preserve evidence of, and clarify responsibility for, alleged gross human rights violations and abuses and related crimes. South Sudan is one of the few states to cooperate with a mechanism set up to address its human rights situation.

Source: Amnesty International –

The Algerian authorities must ensure the upcoming retrial of 94 people in connection with the August 2021 events in the Kabylie region, in northeastern Algeria, adheres strictly to international fair trial standards without recourse to the death penalty and excluding any torture-tainted statements, Amnesty International said today.

On 1 March 2026, 94 individuals will face trial again by the Algiers Court of Appeals after the Supreme Court overturned a previous appeal ruling related to the lynching of an activist, devastating wildfires and other violence in the Kabylie region in August 2021. On 24 November 2022, 56 people were convicted of involvement in acts including membership in an organisation committing acts of sabotage, premeditated murder, torture and arson. They were sentenced to death in proceedings marred by uninvestigated torture claims and politically motivated charges.  

During the initial trial, at least five defendants said they were subjected to torture and other  ill-treatment in detention, including the use of electric shocks, attempted waterboarding, and threats of rape, to extract statements under duress, which were used to convict them. Despite this, the court failed to investigate the claims, with judges instead telling defendants it was their own responsibility to file complaints.

“The flawed investigation and grossly unfair trial that led to these callous death sentences are a stain on Algeria’s justice system. The new trial represents an important opportunity for the Algerian authorities to end the travesty of justice, redress past violations and ensure accountability without recourse to the death penalty,” said Diana Eltahawy, Deputy Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International.

“Justice for the terrible violence of the events of August 2021 must mean a fair trial fully in line with international standards. All allegations of torture and other ill-treatment must be thoroughly, impartially, transparently and effectively investigated and forced ‘confessions’ extracted under torture or duress must be excluded from evidence. Individuals detained solely for the peaceful exercise of their human rights must be immediately released and charges against them dropped.”

The new trial represents an important opportunity for the Algerian authorities to end the travesty of justice, redress past violations and ensure accountability without recourse to the death penalty

Diana Eltahawy, MENA Deputy Regional Director

Amnesty International analysed the initial ruling and interviewed three lawyers and four family members who asked to remain anonymous. According to the information gathered, the prosecution of at least 10 defendants sentenced to death appears to solely be based on their political affiliations or alleged ties to the Movement for the Self-determination of Kabylie (MAK), a political opposition group labelled as “terrorist” by the Algerian authorities. No evidence has been presented by the prosecution indicating their presence at the scene of the crime and/or linking them to acts of violence. Four of the 10 defendants were outside of the country at the time of the events.  

Furthermore, the court failed to allow defence lawyers to cross examine prosecution witnesses including police officers, relying instead on written testimonies. In August 2021, Algerian television channels aired videos of 12 of the defendants in which they appeared to ‘confess’ their involvement in the lynching or their ties with the MAK, violating their rights to presumption of innocence and against self- incrimination.

Amnesty International is calling on the Algerian authorities to ensure the right to a fair trial, including by the rights to a fair and public hearing, to adequate defence and to examine witnesses.

Background

Algeria has not carried out any executions since 1993. Amnesty International opposes the death penalty unconditionally, in all cases and under any circumstances. Under international law, the imposition of the death penalty following unfair proceedings renders the punishment arbitrary.

Since April 2021, the Algerian authorities have extensively used Article 87 bis of the Penal Code and overbroad terrorism accusations to prosecute activists, human rights defenders, and journalists. Many have been targeted for demanding political change or for their alleged ties to the MAK or Rachad, both opposition groups which were designated as “terrorists” in 2022 through a process that runs counter to international human rights standards.

The current case involves the August 2021 lynching of activist Djamel Ben Smail in Larbaa Nath Irathen and the fires that spread throughout the Kabylie region, resulting in at least 90 deaths. On 24 November 2022, as shared by the public prosecutor’s office at the Court of Algiers, a criminal court in Algiers sentenced 49 individuals to death after convicting them on charges including terrorism, murder and setting fires, in addition to seven people sentenced to death in their absence. The court issued sentences ranging from two to ten years in prison against 28 others. Seventeen people were acquitted. While the Algiers Court of Appeals maintained 38 death sentences in October 2023 and retained prison sentences for 30 others and acquitted 26 people, the Supreme Court overturned the appeal ruling in cassation on 28 November 2024 and ordered a retrial. Among the defendants, 52 are currently detained.

Source: Amnesty International –

The Algerian authorities must ensure the upcoming retrial of 94 people in connection with the August 2021 events in the Kabylie region, in northeastern Algeria, adheres strictly to international fair trial standards without recourse to the death penalty and excluding any torture-tainted statements, Amnesty International said today.  

On 1 March 2026, 94 individuals will face trial again by the Algiers Court of Appeals after the Supreme Court overturned a previous appeal ruling related to the lynching of an activist, devastating wildfires and other violence in the Kabylie region in August 2021. On 24 November 2022, 56 people were convicted of involvement in acts including membership in an organisation committing acts of sabotage, premeditated murder, torture, and arson. They were sentenced to death in proceedings marred by uninvestigated torture claims, and politically motivated charges.   

During the initial trial, at least five defendants said they were subjected to torture and other ill-treatment in detention, including the use of electric shocks, attempted waterboarding, and threats of rape, to extract statements under duress, which were used to convict them. Despite this, the court failed to investigate the claims, with judges instead telling defendants it was their own responsibility to file complaints. 

“The flawed investigation and grossly unfair trial that led to these callous death sentences are a stain on Algeria’s justice system. The new trial represents an important opportunity for the Algerian authorities to end the travesty of justice, redress past violations and ensure accountability without recourse to the death penalty,” said Diana Eltahawy, Deputy Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International.  

“Justice for the terrible violence of the events of August 2021 must mean a fair trial fully in line with international standards. All allegations of torture and other ill-treatment must be thoroughly, impartially, transparently and effectively investigated and forced ‘confessions’ extracted under torture or duress must be excluded from evidence. Individuals detained solely for the peaceful exercise of their human rights must be immediately released and charges against them dropped.” 

The new trial represents an important opportunity for the Algerian authorities to end the travesty of justice, redress past violations and ensure accountability without recourse to the death penalty

Diana Eltahawy, MENA Deputy Regional Director

Amnesty International analysed the initial ruling and interviewed three lawyers and four family members who asked to remain anonymous. According to the information gathered, the prosecution of at least 10 defendants sentenced to death appears to solely be based on their political affiliations or alleged ties to the Movement for the Self-determination of Kabylie (MAK), a political opposition group labelled as “terrorist” by the Algerian authorities. No evidence has been presented by the prosecution indicating their presence at the scene of the crime and/or linking them to acts of violence. Four of the 10 defendants were outside of the country at the time of the events, and six of them were sentenced in their absence.    

Furthermore, the court failed to allow defence lawyers to cross examine prosecution witnesses including police officers, relying instead on written testimonies. In August 2021, Algerian television channels aired videos of 12 of the defendants in which they appeared to ‘confess’ their involvement in the lynching or their ties with the MAK, violating their rights to presumption of innocence and against self- incrimination. 

Amnesty International is calling on the Algerian authorities to ensure the right to a fair trial, including by the rights to a fair and public hearing, to adequate defense and to examine witnesses. 

Source: Greenpeace Statement –

Greenpeace Africa is in solidarity with Friends of Karura Forest following disturbing reports of tree felling and land disturbance inside Karura Forest without clear public communication or consultation.

According to information shared publicly by the Green Belt Movement after engaging the Kenya Forest Service (KFS), the development has been acknowledged by KFS leadership and described as “temporary structures” expected to remain in place until 2032. However, the scale of tree clearing, site preparation, and ground disturbance observed on site raises serious concerns about whether this undertaking is truly temporary, or something more permanent and expansive.

Karura Forest is protected public land governed under a participatory forest management framework. Public participation is not optional; it is a constitutional requirement and a legal obligation under the Forest Conservation and Management Act. Yet no public participation process preceded the commencement of these works. The legally recognised Community Forest Association – Friends of Karura Forest – was reportedly neither informed nor consulted before indigenous trees were felled.

Greenpeace Africa is deeply concerned by the pattern this represents. In recent years, Kenya’s forests have faced increasing pressure – from controversial logging decisions to infrastructure encroachments in protected areas. At the same time, the government has committed to expanding forest cover and planting 15 billion trees. These commitments ring hollow if protected indigenous forests can be cleared without transparency, environmental scrutiny, and public oversight.

Several urgent questions now demand answers:

• Was an Environmental Impact Assessment conducted prior to the initiation of this project?
• If so, where is the public disclosure, and was it subjected to public participation as required by law?
• On what legal basis was tree clearance authorised inside a protected urban forest?
• Why was the Community Forest Association not formally engaged before works commenced?
• Why establish accommodation facilities and a two-million seedling nursery within an ecologically sensitive forest when alternative KFS headquarters land exists?

Karura Forest is not merely a site for operational convenience. It is a biodiversity sanctuary, a climate buffer for Nairobi, and a symbol of people-led environmental protection rooted in decades of citizen resistance and stewardship.

Greenpeace Africa calls upon the Kenya Forest Service to:

• Immediately halt ongoing tree clearance and construction activities pending full public clarification;
• Publicly disclose all approvals, environmental assessments, and planning documents related to this project;
• Convene a transparent public participation process involving Friends of Karura Forest and the wider public;
• Provide clear assurances that Karura’s protected status and participatory governance model will be upheld.

Forests in Kenya are held in public trust. They cannot be reconfigured through silence.

Kenyans deserve full transparency about what is happening inside Karura Forest.

Source: Oxfam –

Source: Amnesty International –

As Trump tears down renewable energy, once again, Mozambique bears the brunt of climate harm caused by fossil fuel producers.

By Tigere Chagutah

In his address to the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos on 21 January, US President Donald Trump argued against renewable energy solutions. In a wide-ranging speech, he described them as a “green new scam”, while calling world leaders, mainly from the Global North, to extract more fossil fuels to “avoid a catastrophic energy collapse”. The burning and production of fossil fuels is the major driver of global warming, accounting for 89% of greenhouse gas emissions. In addition to global harm to the planet, fossil fuel production harms nature and human rights.

As Trump made this speech, Mozambique was experiencing deadly floods caused by a tropical depression, an event in part made more likely by human-induced climate change.

Mozambique is not helping itself

Daniel Chapo, Mozambique’s president, cancelled his participation at the 2026 WEF, ostensibly to monitor the impact of the floods and the delivery of assistance to victims. However, such actions are meaningless in the absence of an adequate, consistent and coherent implementation of Mozambique’s Climate Action Strategy.

As global calls for the world to equitably phase out fossil fuels and transition to renewable energy grow ever louder, Mozambique continues to invest heavily in fossil fuel production.

YASUYOSHI CHIBA/AFP/Getty Images

The country is home to the biggest fossil gas project in Africa, the Mozambique Liquefied Natural Gas project, in the poorest province of Cabo Delgado, owned by TotalEnergies, the French oil and gas giant. After its halt in 2021, due to a deadly attack by armed groups that have been fighting against the government since 2017, Chapo authorised the project to resume operation, despite strong allegations of human rights abuses and violations, and the improper displacement of communities to give way to the project.

Besides this project, there are three other major fossil fuel projects in the same province: Rovuma LNG, owned by Eni and ExxonMobil; Coral Sul FLNG, owned by Eni; and Coral North LNG, also owned by Eni. Combined, these facilities will produce 9.9 gigatons of CO2 greenhouse emissions, which will significantly increase Mozambique’s total emissions.

In 2019, Cabo Delgado province was hit by Cyclone Kenneth, which flattened the villages of Quissanga, Macomia and Ibo, killing dozens and leaving thousands of people without shelter, food, crops and assets.

Deadly floods

Once again, Mozambique is experiencing deadly climate-related floods. Between 9 and 26 January, about 692,522 people (151,962 families) were affected across southern and central Mozambique, mainly in Gaza (75%), Maputo and Sofala provinces, where 12 people died, 45 were injured, and four remain unaccounted for. The floods destroyed or damaged more than 4,000 homes and flooded almost 155,000 others.

According to the Mozambique Disaster and Risk Management Institute, since the beginning of the rainy season in October, 137 people have died and 800,000 people have been affected. About 72,000 homes were destroyed, and essential infrastructure, including roads, bridges, health care facilities, agricultural land and schools, was damaged.

The country will need $644-million to rebuild its essential infrastructure washed away by the rains, which are expected to continue, with the situation likely to worsen.

Despite its insignificant greenhouse gas emissions (60.26 megatons of CO2, about 0.11% of the global total, in 2024), Mozambique is among the top 10 countries most severely affected by climate change and natural hazards. Climate projections indicate that Mozambique’s land surface temperatures are likely to keep rising.

Unprecedented warming

As Trump fiercely opposes renewable energy, the world is warming at an unprecedented rate. After record heat in 2024, the first year to exceed 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, the critical temperature threshold set in the Paris Agreement, 2026 is likely to be the fourth year in succession with high temperature levels (at least 1.44ºC, above the pre-industrial levels).

Besides Trump’s obstruction of climate action and the devastating effects of climate change, research has shown that fossil fuel companies were responsible for half of all greenhouse gas emissions globally.

According to a recent update to the Carbon Majors’ database, state-owned companies comprised 17 out of the top 20 emitters. All 17 companies are controlled by countries that refused the proposed phase-out plan at COP30, including Saudi Arabia, Russia, China, Iran, the United Arab Emirates and India.

If the world wants to address global warming, unlike the outcome of COP30, at which world leaders failed to commit to a phase-out roadmap, the transition to renewable energy produced in a manner consistent with human rights is paramount, and it must be just.

As reflected in Amnesty International’s COP30 outcome analysis, this must also be accompanied by, inter alia, the operationalisation of the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage, to meet the needs of vulnerable nations such as Mozambique, which is among the most affected by climate change impacts and is currently experiencing the unjust impact of climate change.

Higher income historical emitters must:

• Provide technical and grant-based or non-debt financial assistance to support Mozambique’s mitigation and adaptation efforts; and
• Provide reparations for loss and damage due to irreversible climate harm, such as the recent floods.

On its side, Mozambique must:

• Invest in more robust emergency disaster response systems and provide remedies to individuals or groups affected by the floods; and
• Embark on an equitable transition away from fossil fuels and invest in adaptation. DM

Tigere Chagutah is the regional director for Amnesty International East and Southern Africa.

This opinion piece first ran in South Africa’s Daily Maverick.

Source: Greenpeace Statement –

Friday 27 February

Commenting on the Green Party winning the Gorton and Denton by-election, Greenpeace UK Head of Politics Ami McCarthy (they/them) said: 

“The message from Gorton and Denton to Westminster is loud and clear: people are hungry for change. This is a victory for people power over billionaires and big polluters, for the politics of hope over the politics of hate, for decency over denial and division. More than twice as many votes went to parties determined to tackle the climate crisis than to Reform, showing the limited public appeal of Nigel Farage’s climate-denying, renewable-hating, Trump-loving platform. And there’s a clear lesson here for Labour too: if they want to regain ground from the Greens, they need to offer the bold solutions on cost of living, climate and nature that people are clearly looking for.”

ENDS

Contact: Greenpeace UK press team on 020 7865 8255

Source: Amnesty International –

Responding to a landmark judgement by an Athens court which found four individuals linked to spyware maker Intellexa, guilty of unlawful access to private communication systems and data, and of violating privacy and data protection laws, Rebecca White, Amnesty International’s Security Lab Researcher said: 

“Almost four years since the ‘Predatorgate’ scandal hit Greece, we are finally seeing consequences for those involved in the abuse of surveillance technology.

Amnesty International and other organizations have shown time and again that Intellexa’s products have been used to mount brazen attacks against journalists, activists, academics and politicians around the world.  

“We hope this landmark ruling signals the end of the era of impunity for the surveillance industry.  

Rebecca White, Amnesty International’s Security Lab Researcher

“Questions remain about the role of the Greek government which has consistently denied purchasing or using Predator. Transparency is a crucial part of accountability – as is remedy for the many victims of the human rights violations brought about by the unlawful use of this technology.” 
 
Background 

The ‘Predatorgate’ scandal surfaced in March 2022 when journalist Thanasis Koukakis discovered that his phone had  been infected with the highly invasive spyware, Predator and that he had been wiretapped by the Greek National Intelligence Service. Four months later, Nikos Androulakis, leader of the opposition party PASOK-KINAL, also discovered his phone had been targeted with Predator while serving as a Member of the European Parliament.  

Numerous allegations, public outrage, parliamentary inquiries and criminal investigations followed. In July 2024, the Supreme Court cleared the intelligence services and political officials of wrong doing.

On 26 February 2026, the Athens court sentenced four individuals  – Tal Dilian, a former Israeli intelligence officer and founder of Intellexa, Sara Hamou – Dilian’s business partner, Felix Bitzios – a former deputy administrator and shareholder of Intellexa and Yiannis Lavranos – owner of Kriel, the company through which Predator was allegedly procured, to 126 years and eight months in prison each,  though the sentence has been suspended pending an appeal. A prosecutor has asked for their investigation along with eight others for espionage and any other people who maybe involved in the case citing the possibility of collaboration with foreign state forces.