Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

Source: Amnesty International –

By Mandipa Machacha and Tsidi Leatswe

When Tadala Zindawa**, (21) from Tata village in Lilongwe’s Chitukula area, fell pregnant while in secondary school, she was overcome by fear and panic. Scared of her parents’ disapproval and with abortion criminalized in Malawi, Tadala resorted to unsafe methods using Aloe Vera or Surf Soap to induce abortion. The procedure not only failed, but it led to severe pain and heavy bleeding. She survived after post-abortion care, but the psychological and physical scars are lifelong.

Nevertheless, Tadala is one of the lucky ones.

Every year, hundreds of women and girls in Malawi die or are injured from pregnancy and childbirth-related complications. According to the Malawi Ministry of Health and the Guttmacher Institute, about 141,000 abortions occur annually in Malawi, the vast majority unsafe and accounting for 6–18% of maternal deaths.

Every year, hundreds of women and girls in Malawi die or are injured from pregnancy and childbirth-related complications.

Mandipa Machacha and Tshidi Leatwe

Preventing such deaths and injuries through timely access to care has been increasingly recognized around the world as a human rights issue, and not solely a public health concern.

In October 2025, the Human Rights Council adopted by consensus Resolution A/HRC/60/L.20/Rev.1 on Preventable Maternal Mortality and Morbidity and Human Rights. The resolution urges states to eliminate legal, structural, and social barriers that deny women and girls access to life-saving sexual and reproductive health services by repealing discriminatory laws, combating gender stereotypes, and ensuring access to comprehensive sexuality education.  

The resolution’s strength lies in its comprehensive framing. By linking maternal health to the right to life,  health, equality and non-discrimination, the resolution obliges states to ensure maternal care is based on human rights, health workers are protected, and sexual and reproductive health are integrated into universal health coverage. In doing so, it reminds the global community that maternal deaths and injuries are not inevitable – they are preventable when rights are respected and systems are accountable.

Yet, in Malawi, these commitments remain far from reality.

When law and policy fail women and girls

Malawi’s abortion law, inherited from colonial legislation and provided for in the Penal Code (Cap. 7:01)  permits abortion only to save the life of the mother, with no exceptions for rape, incest, or severe fetal anomaly. This restrictive framework violates international standards, including the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights’ General Comment No. 2 (2014) on Article 14 of the Maputo Protocol, which recognizes women’s right to medical abortion in cases of sexual assault, rape, incest, and where pregnancy endangers life or health.

Malawi’s abortion law, inherited from colonial legislation and provided for in the Penal Code (Cap. 7:01) permits abortion only to save the life of the mother, with no exceptions for rape, incest, or severe fetal anomaly

Mandipa Machacha and Tshidi Leatswe

Many women and girls, like Tadala, resort to unsafe and clandestine methods – ingesting harmful substances, inserting objects, or seeking untrained providers. Fear of prosecution deters them from seeking post-abortion care, which is legal under Sections 19 and 20 of the Gender Equality Act No. 3 of 2013.

This stark reality was reflected in a recent ruling by the High Court in Blantyre. On 28 October 2025, the High Court of Malawi ruled that denying a 14-year-old rape survivor access to a safe abortion violated her rights to sexual and reproductive health under the GenderEquality Act (AC (a minor) v Attorney General & Others, Civil Cause No. 162 of 2023).

Reform deferred, lives lost

For nearly a decade, advocates, medical professionals, and civil society organizations have pushed for the adoption of the Termination of Pregnancy Bill, which would expand access to abortion in limited cases such as rape, incest, and severe fetal anomaly.

Yet it remains stalled in Parliament, trapped between political hesitation and moral panic. Public opposition has been fueled by misinformation and religious fundamentalism that frames abortion as a moral transgression rather than a human rights and public health imperative. This rhetoric not only distorts the issue; it costs lives.

For nearly a decade, advocates, medical professionals, and civil society organizations have pushed for the adoption of the Termination of Pregnancy Bill, which would expand access to abortion in limited cases such as rape, incest, and severe fetal anomaly.

Mandipa Machacha and Tshidi Leatswe

Pregnancy complications  in childbirth remain the leading cause of death among girls aged 15–19 worldwide, according to the WHO. In Malawi, adolescent pregnancies are associated with higher risks of obstetric complications, school dropout, and social exclusion. Denial of sexual and reproductive health information and services perpetuates gender inequality and violates Malawi’s obligations under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), and the Maputo Protocol.

Every maternal death and injury from a preventable cause violates the right to life. Every unsafe abortion is a failure of justice. Malawi to must act now, because the cost of inaction is measured in lives lost, those living with injuries and futures denied.

This opinion piece first ran in the Malawi Nation Online.

Mandipa Machacha is a Researcher and Advisor on Gender at Amnesty International.
Tshidi Leatswe is a Regional Campaigner on Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe at Amnesty International.

*names have been changed to protect her identity. 

Source: Amnesty International –

As people in Syria mark one year since the fall of former President Bashar al-Assad’s government, Amnesty International reiterates the urgent need for Syria’s new authorities to break with the past and commit to delivering justice, truth and reparations while securing human rights for all.

Over the past year, the decades of repression and systematic human rights violations that were committed under the Assad government have continued to deeply affect the country, with victims and survivors still waiting to see their rights to truth, justice and reparation realised. The new government, led by President Ahmad al-Sharaa and formed on 29 March 2025, has pledged to break with this legacy, and has taken some measures towards justice and accountability, but challenges remain. 

Syrian authorities must act decisively to build a rights-respecting future for Syrians who have suffered so much already. The government must strictly adhere to international human rights standards particularly on due process rights, including for suspects of past and current crimes.

Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International

In addition to crimes of the past, the new government’s response to serious violations committed since they came to power, including sectarian-based killings in the coastal and southern regions of Syria, will be a litmus test of its commitment to pursuing justice and accountability. Armed groups opposed to the government have also committed serious abuses including unlawful killings, abductions and burning of homes.

“During a recent trip to Syria, survivors, families of victims and local organizations spoke of their hunger for truth and justice for past and current human rights violations. The challenges are many, and the task monumental, but we saw the energy, effort and commitment of those who want to work together to build a new rights-respecting Syria, from the mothers and wives who came together to demand answers about their missing sons and husbands, to survivors of the recent massacres who documented what happened to their communities, to those leading civic efforts, to others who have joined the national commissions to deliver on truth, justice and reparation,” said Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General.

“Syrian authorities must act decisively to build a rights-respecting future for Syrians who have suffered so much already. The government must strictly adhere to international human rights standards particularly on due process rights, including for suspects of past and current crimes. They must signal a zero-tolerance approach to any new violations to avoid spiralling back into old cycles of impunity for atrocities. They must enhance protection of the space for civil society to independently contribute towards this transition away from Assad-era violations.”

Source: Amnesty International –

In April and September 2022, Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) human rights activists King Mwamisyo Ndungo and Elias Bizimungu, members of the movement Lutte pour le Changement (LUCHA), were arbitrarily arrested. They were later sentenced by a military court in Goma to five years in prison for peacefully exercising their rights to freedom of expression and assembly. Amnesty International proclaimed the two as prisoners of conscience.

On May 29, 2023, Elias Bizimungu was acquitted and released. On January 27, 2025, King Mwamisyo Ndungo fled prison during a mass prison escape that followed the takeover of Goma by the March 23 Movement (M23) fighters. This is Mwamisyo’s story.

In 2021, President Félix Tshisekedi proclaimed a state of siege in North Kivu and Ituri provinces.

He appointed army and police officers to replace civilian admins. He said this would help to deal with the several armed groups in the provinces so that civilians would be better protected.

At first, we were happy because to us, it seemed the President was determined to tackle these groups that had for years caused untold suffering to civilians.

The DRC Constitution strictly limits the use of state of siege (also referred to a state of emergency) to an initial 30 days and, if necessary, an extension of 15 days at a time. But in this case, Tshisekedi extended the state of siege for up to six months. And yet, nothing was changing in terms of the security situation.

We did not agree with these extensions because people were still being killed. In Beni, more people were killed during the state of siege by the the various fighters in eastern DRC than when there was no state of siege. The army and the police had become law unto themselves using the state of siege to extort [money] from civilians.

Source: Amnesty International –

By Boram Jang, East Asia Researcher at Amnesty International

Like every schoolchild in South Korea, I was taught about the days in May 1980 when our country’s soldiers killed civilians in the Gwangju Democratic Uprising. At least 166 protesters — mostly students — were shot dead, and at the time there were no consequences for those responsible.

One year ago — on Dec. 3 last year, when South Korea’s then-President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law and deployed troops to the National Assembly — that lesson helped save the country’s constitutional order. In just six hours.

Not because of courts or international intervention, but because of citizens, including soldiers and lawmakers, who had all been taught the same thing: Power must answer to the people. And it’s a lesson that can be learned by countries under authoritarian threat worldwide.

After democratization in 1987, South Korea began the painful work of reckoning, centered on truth and accountability. In 1996, two former presidents were tried and imprisoned for their roles in the supression of the Gwangju Uprising. Truth commissions documented the killings, schools taught this history, and memorials were built. The process was imperfect, but it fundamentally succeeded in breaking the cycle of impunity. The principle that power must answer to the people became enforceable, not aspirational.

When my generation learned about Gwangju, we absorbed a powerful collective memory of state wrongdoing and the principle that such crimes must never go unpunished.

At around 10:30 p.m. on Dec. 3, Yoon declared martial law on television and deployed soldiers to storm and barricade the National Assembly. It was the first such declaration since the end of military rule. Within minutes, thousands of citizens began marching towards parliament. What followed showed the strength built over four decades of work towards accountability.

While parts of the military did follow the orders, several officers who received orders to move toward the National Assembly hesitated or refused. It has since been reported that one senior officer instructed his unit not to cross the bridge to Yeouido, where the Assembly sits, and not to harm civilians. Nine months later, the Ministry of National Defense honored 15 service members for refusing or delaying unlawful orders. These soldiers were “citizens in uniform” — even though their decision to defy a presidential command carried personal risks, they chose to act on the lessons of Gwangju to ward off an unacceptable abuse of power.

Civilians poured into the streets. Thousands of people blocked military vehicles and helped lawmakers climb over walls when police barricaded the gates. They remained through the freezing December night, phones out, livestreaming everything. They weren’t guaranteed safety, but these individuals — including my friends — had seen the need to bear witness and knew this was critical for accountability.

Lawmakers understood that their duty was to the people, not the presidential office. At about 1 a.m. 190 lawmakers voted unanimously to lift martial law. This included opposition members and 18 from the president’s party. Under South Korea’s constitution, parliament’s demand could not be refused. By dawn, martial law was lifted. Six hours from start to finish.

The resistance worked because 40 years of reckoning had proven that the principle of accountability carries real force.

The soldiers and officers who refused orders weren’t just being moral; they were making judgments shaped by decades of accountability. They knew from the Gwangju trials that the era of executive impunity for unlawful orders had ended. They assumed that the constitutional system ultimately sets fidelity to the rule of law higher than blindly following superiors. Justice, they had learned, might be slow, but it would arrive.

Those who defended parliament a year ago believed they had the right to check their government, and they had evidence. After Gwangju, families who demanded truth received some, prosecutors who charged presidents kept their positions, and courts that convicted the powerful remained independent.

This wasn’t faith in the abstract but trust built on observable reality. Dictators had served time, courts functioned under pressure, and through years of incomplete justice and civic effort, accountability became tangible.

South Korea’s reckoning remains unfinished. Former President Yoon now stands on criminal trial, many questions about the military and police remain open, and political divisions run deep.

But that night demonstrated something essential for countries facing authoritarian pressure. Accountability cannot remain rhetorical but must be demonstrated through concrete action, even when imperfect. This is the ultimate guarantee of non-recurrence.

This requires prosecuting leaders who commit crimes, no matter their stature. It means protecting those who demand answers, not intimidating them into silence. It means teaching what happens when this principle fails and when it succeeds. It means showing that standing against overreach protects the system rather than destabilizes it.

The resistance shown that night held because each actor, from “citizens in uniform” to everyday citizens to elected officials, operated in a system where accountability had proven real. They had seen accountability work, despite its flaws. We trusted it would work again.

South Korea built that public trust through 40 years of struggle and accountability, from the classroom to the highest corridors of power. When tested, it held. And with authoritarian practices expanding globally, it’s a lesson that has rarely seemed more relevant.

This article was originally published by The Korea Herald

Source: Amnesty International –

At least 19 people killed, more than 300 injured on day one of protests

Security forces fired into crowds hitting protesters, children, bystanders and journalists

‘The firing began wildly – from inside the Parliament compound, from outside, and from armed units near the main gate’ – Journalist at the scene

‘All those responsible for ordering, enabling, or carrying out these abuses – regardless of rank or position – must be brought to justice through a fair and transparent process’ – Nirajan Thapaliya

Widespread failings by Nepal’s law enforcement agencies in policing September’s youth-led “Gen-Z” protests resulted in unlawful killings, unnecessary and excessive use of force, and severe injuries, Amnesty International said in a new briefing.

The 25-page briefing, “We went there to raise our voice, not to be killed”: Nepal’s Deadly Crackdown on Protesters, documents how security forces used mounting and ultimately lethal force – including live ammunition – against largely peaceful protesters in the capital Kathmandu on 8 September, in which at least 19 people were killed and more than 300 injured. Across the country, the two-day protests and subsequent six days of unrest left 76 people dead and more than 2,000 injured.

Amnesty verified eyewitness accounts, photographic and video evidence, and interviewed medical personnel, protesters, protest observers, organisers and journalists. The organisation’s findings reveal a series of systemic failures in the policing of protests, including the failure to exhaust non-violent means before resorting to force; the dangerous and unlawful use of less-lethal weapons; poor planning, preparation and training for policing of protests; unnecessary and unlawful use of lethal force in situations with no imminent threat of serious injuries or to life.

These actions violated the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and expression guaranteed under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

Escalation of force against peaceful protesters

The briefing details how, after the protests had initially started without incident, tensions rose when a section of the crowd dismantled a police barricade that had been erected to prevent access towards the federal parliament building, less than 500 metres away.

Security forces responded by deploying a water cannon, in some cases using high-pressure jets at close range against protesters in a manner that raises serious concerns over the principles of necessity and proportionality under international human rights standards. The use of force quickly escalated over the course of the next few hours, with witnesses describing panic and chaos as security forces intensified their response.

According to witnesses, tear gas grenades were launched from elevated positions, an extremely dangerous practice that violates the UN Guidance on less lethal weapons. Some were discharged in and around hospital premises, and disrupted emergency medical services. Medical workers reported that tear gas was fired inside and around hospital areas, causing breathing difficulties among admitted patients, children, and older people who were not part of the protest.

Kinetic impact projectiles, including rubber bullets and rubber-coated metal bullets, were fired directly into dense crowds without warning and without meaningful attempts at de-escalation, hitting those as young as 14 years old. Doctors who treated the injured confirmed that rubber bullets were removed from patients’ skulls.

Such misuse of less lethal weapons is in violation of international standards such as the UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials and the UN Human Rights Guidance on Less-Lethal Weapons in Law Enforcement and Nepal’s Local Administration Act.

Unlawful use of lethal force

Amnesty also documented the rapid escalation of force to unlawful use of live ammunition.

A journalist who was documenting the protest near the Parliament gate said:

“The firing began wildly – from inside the Parliament compound, from outside, and from armed units near the main gate.”

Testimonies from healthcare workers and injured people describe gunshot wounds to vital organs. Security forces fired into crowds – including protesters, children, bystanders and journalists – striking people in the head, neck and chest.

A doctor at a hospital where many of the injured were treated said:

“In mass-casualty disasters, the usual pattern is that there are relatively fewer severe cases and more mild to moderate cases, with only some deaths. We plan for that. Typically, we might expect 10–20% to be severe. But this time it was reversed – there were far more severely injured patients, perhaps 50-60%.”

Another doctor who had attended to injured and wounded protesters said:

“Some had gunshot wounds to the head and chest, others had life-threatening injuries to the abdomen or major blood vessels… Around 2pm, the emergency ward was in its worst state – blood everywhere, patients collapsing, doctors and nurses working nonstop. It felt like a butcher’s house.”

Amnesty found evidence of the use of lethal force by police in circumstances that did not involve an imminent threat of death or serious injury, resulting in arbitrary deprivations of life.

The deliberate or reckless use of live ammunition, kinetic impact projectiles, water cannon and tear gas against largely peaceful demonstrators cannot be justified under any circumstance.

Nirajan Thapaliya, Amnesty International Nepal’s Director, said:

“The violent and unlawful Government response to young people exercising their right to peaceful assembly reflects a shocking and callous disregard for human life.

“All those responsible for ordering, enabling, or carrying out these abuses – regardless of rank or position – must be brought to justice through a fair and transparent process.

“The young people killed and injured during the Gen-Z uprising deserve truth and justice. By failing to ensure accountability for past protest-related human rights violations, successive governments have allowed impunity to take root and undermine the rule of law.

“Authorities must not repeat the past mistakes and abandon the victims. Without accountability – and unless Nepal urgently reforms its policing practices – the conditions that enabled these unlawful killings will persist, putting future assemblies and lives at risk.”

Amnesty calls on the Government to review the general approach towards protests and ensure that police facilitate peaceful protests and amend domestic laws, including those governing the use of force, so that they fully comply with international human rights standards.

Use of mob violence

Amnesty’s briefing focuses on the events of the first day of the protests on 8 September 2025. While the incidents on subsequent days are not documented in the briefing, Amnesty condemns the use of mob violence against people and property resulting in deaths, injuries and serious damage to property that occurred amid the wider unrest in September. The authorities must thoroughly, effectively, independently and impartially investigate these acts of violence and exercise due diligence to identify suspects, who should be brought to justice in fair trials.

Source: Amnesty International –

Widespread failings by Nepal’s law enforcement agencies in policing September’s youth-led “Gen-Z” protests resulted in unlawful killings, unnecessary and excessive use of force, and severe injuries, Amnesty International said in a new briefing.

The briefing, “We went there to raise our voice, not to be killed”: Nepal’s Deadly Crackdown on Protesters, documents how security forces used mounting and ultimately lethal force – including live ammunition – against largely peaceful protesters during the assembly in Kathmandu on 8 September, at which at least 19 people were killed and more than 300 injured. Across the country, the two-day protests and six days of subsequent unrest left 76 people dead and more than 2,000 injured.

“The violent and unlawful government response to young people exercising their right to peaceful assembly reflects a shocking and callous disregard for human life. All those responsible for ordering, enabling, or carrying out these abuses, regardless of rank or position, must be brought to justice through a fair and transparent process,” said Nirajan Thapaliya, Director of Amnesty International Nepal.

All those responsible for ordering, enabling, or carrying out these abuses, regardless of rank or position, must be brought to justice

Nirajan Thapaliya, Director of Amnesty International Nepal

Amnesty International verified eyewitness accounts, photographic and video evidence, and interviewed medical personnel, protesters, protest observers, organizers and journalists. The organization’s findings reveal a series of systemic failures in the policing of assemblies, including the failure to exhaust non-violent means before resorting to force; the dangerous and unlawful use of less-lethal weapons; poor planning, preparation and training for policing of protests; unnecessary and unlawful use of lethal force in situations with no imminent threat of serious injuries or to life.

These actions violated the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and expression guaranteed under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).

Escalation of force against peaceful protesters

The briefing details how, after the protests had initially started without incident, tensions rose when a section of the crowd dismantled a police barricade that had been erected to prevent access towards the federal parliament building, less than 500 metres away.

Security forces responded by deploying a water cannon, in some cases using high-pressure jets at close range against protesters in a manner that raises serious concerns over the principles of necessity and proportionality under international human rights standards. The use of force quickly escalated over the course of the next few hours, with witnesses describing panic and chaos as security forces intensified their response.

According to witnesses, tear gas grenades were launched from elevated positions, an extremely dangerous practice that violates the UN Guidance on less lethal weapons. Some were discharged in and around hospital premises, and disrupted emergency medical services. Medical workers reported that tear gas was fired inside and around hospital areas, causing breathing difficulties among admitted patients, children, and older people who were not part of the protest.

Kinetic impact projectiles, including rubber bullets and rubber-coated metal bullets, were fired directly into dense crowds without warning and without meaningful attempts at de-escalation, hitting those as young as 14 years old. Doctors who treated the injured confirmed that rubber bullets were removed from patients’ skulls.

Such misuse of less lethal weapons is in violation of international standards such as the UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials and the UN Human Rights Guidance on Less-Lethal Weapons in Law Enforcement and Nepal’s Local Administration Act.

Unlawful use of lethal force

Amnesty International also documented the rapid escalation of force to unlawful use of live ammunition.

A journalist who was documenting the protest near the parliament gate said: “The firing began wildly – from inside the parliament compound, from outside, and from armed units near the main gate”

Testimonies from healthcare workers and injured individuals describe gunshot wounds to vital organs. Security forces fired into crowds – including protesters, children, bystanders and journalists – striking people in the head, neck and chest.

A doctor at a hospital where many of the injured were treated said:

“In mass-casualty disasters, the usual pattern is that there are relatively fewer severe cases and more milder to moderate cases, with only some deaths. We plan for that. Typically, we might expect 10–20% to be severe. But this time it was reversed – there were far more severely injured patients, perhaps 50–60%.”

Another doctor who had attended to injured and wounded protesters said: “Some had gunshot wounds to the head and chest, others had life-threatening injuries to the abdomen or major blood vessels… Around 2pm, the emergency ward was in its worst state – blood everywhere, patients collapsing, doctors and nurses working nonstop. It felt like a butcher’s house.”

Amnesty International found evidence of the use of lethal force by police in circumstances that did not involve an imminent threat of death or serious injury, resulting in arbitrary deprivations of life.

The deliberate or reckless use of live ammunition, kinetic impact projectiles, water cannon and tear gas against largely peaceful demonstrators cannot be justified under any circumstance.

The young people killed and injured during the Gen-Z uprising deserve truth and justice

Nirajan Thapaliya

“The young people killed and injured during the Gen-Z uprising deserve truth and justice. By failing to ensure accountability for past protest-related human rights violations, successive governments have allowed impunity to take root and undermine the rule of law. Authorities must not repeat the past mistakes and abandon the victims. Without accountability, and unless Nepal urgently reforms its policing practices, the conditions that enabled these unlawful killings will persist, putting future assemblies and lives at risk,” said Nirajan Thapaliya.

Amnesty International calls on the government to review the general approach towards assemblies and ensure that police facilitate peaceful protests; and amend domestic laws, including those governing the use of force, so that they fully comply with international human rights standards.

Background

Amnesty International’s briefing focuses on the events of the first day of the protests on 8 September. While the incidents on subsequent days are not documented in the briefing, Amnesty International condemns the use of mob violence against people and property resulting in deaths, injuries and serious damage to property that occurred amid the wider unrest in September 2025. The authorities must thoroughly, effectively, independently and impartially investigate these acts of violence and exercise due diligence to identify suspects, who should be brought to justice in fair trials.

Source: Greenpeace Statement –

SYDNEY, Monday 8 December 2025 — Greenpeace Australia Pacific has warned the Albanese government against plans to subsidise gas for industrial users, saying it should instead be supporting industry to decarbonise.

Media reports today that Labor is weighing up an intervention to start bulk-buying gas and selling it at discounted rates to industrial users, comes as the government is expected to announce an East Coast gas reservation policy in the coming weeks.

Greenpeace says the intervention would be at odds with Australia’s commitment to phase out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies, including under the Glasgow Climate Pact and the Belém Declaration on the transition away from fossil fuels inked outside the UN COP30 conference in Brazil less than three weeks ago. 

Joe Rafalowicz, Head of Climate and Energy at Greenpeace Australia Pacific, said: “When it comes to fossil fuels and climate action, the government wants to have its cake and eat it too — joining the Belém Declaration to transition from fossil fuels on the global stage, while pouring subsidies into polluting gas at home.

“The fact the government is considering interventions to prop up the dirty gas industry while homes are being burned to the ground as bushfires rage across NSW and Tasmania, is a level of cognitive dissonance not easily understood.  

“It is mind-boggling the Albanese government is seriously considering propping up the gas industry who profit from selling our gas overseas, and actively lobby to weaken and block climate policy in Australia. 

“Gas is expensive, unreliable and unnecessary, and the government should be seeking to exit gas as quickly as possible rather than prolonging its death throes.

“The Albanese government should instead be supporting industry and workers to decarbonise and reduce their gas demand, so they can be competitive as the world moves away from fossil fuels and our trading partners demand low carbon products. If the government doesn’t invest in the green economy of the future, workers and industry will be left behind.”

-ENDS-

For more information or interviews contact Kate O’Callaghan on 0406 231 892 or [email protected]

Source: Amnesty International –

The appalling response by Georgian authorities to allegations that prohibited toxic chemicals were used against protestors to suppress peaceful demonstrations must be met with an international investigation and a complete embargo on all policing equipment, Amnesty International said today in a public statement.

On 1 December 2025, the BBC documentary When Water Burns presented evidence suggesting that water cannon deployed during protests in Georgia in November-December 2024, sprayed water mixed with bromobenzyl cyanide. This World War I-era tear gas, also known as camite, is an harmful toxic chemical that can cause burns, vomiting, shortness of breath and other serious long-lasting injuries. The findings reinforced concerns previously raised by local watchdogs, medical professionals and Amnesty International about the alleged use of toxic chemicals against protestors during the 2024 anti-government rallies.

The Georgian authorities’ immediate reaction was to deny the allegations. The ruling party has publicly denounced the BBC documentary as containing “absurd and false claims” and labelled the BBC a “fake media” organisation. However, following public outcry over the BBC report, the State Security Service of Georgia (SSG) announced an investigation into the allegations. But instead of taking steps to establish the relevant facts and verify the evidence presented, Georgian authorities have begun targeting experts, witnesses, human rights defenders and journalists whose testimonies were presented in the documentary, on suspicion of “abuse of official powers” and “assisting a foreign organization in hostile activity”.

“The Georgian authorities are responding to these serious allegations with a Kafkaesque combination of measures: on the one hand, a wave of fear-mongering and reprisals against witnesses and journalists who came forward; on the other, outright denial and dismissal of evidence as ‘absurd’ – all while keeping the appearance that the investigation into injuries sustained by protesters is underway,” said Denis Krivosheev Amnesty International’s Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

The Georgian authorities are responding to these serious allegations with a Kafkaesque combination of measures: on the one hand, a wave of fear-mongering and reprisals against witnesses and journalists who came forward; on the other, outright denial and dismissal of evidence as ‘absurd’ – all while keeping the appearance that the investigation into injuries sustained by protesters is underway

Denis Krivosheev Amnesty International’s Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia

Experts, witnesses and civil society targeted

Following the BBC broadcast, experts, witnesses and human rights defenders who shared information were summoned for questioning by the SSG, including under procedures typically used for serious criminal cases. The authorities alleged that their testimonies may amount to a criminal offence, by harming Georgia’s national interests and reputation.

On 2 December, Konstantine Chakhunashvili, a doctor who assessed protesters exposed to chemical agents, was summoned less than 24 hours after the documentary aired. He and his colleagues, David Chakhunashvili and Gela Ghunashvili, who co-authored the study into the injuries caused by the toxic chemicals used against protesters, were also questioned about their contacts with journalists.

Representatives of the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA) and Transparency International Georgia, both of which provided publicly available information to the BBC, were also summoned before magistrate judges.

“By branding the sharing of information with journalists as ‘hostile activity’ and summoning and casting experts, civil society groups, and victims as threats to ‘state interests,’ the authorities are undermining the integrity of the investigation and creating a chilling effect on freedom of expression for those contradict government narratives,” said Denis Krivosheev.

By branding the sharing of information with journalists as ‘hostile activity’ and summoning and casting experts, civil society groups, and victims as threats to ‘state interests,’ the authorities are undermining the integrity of the investigation

Denis Krivosheev Amnesty International’s Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia

Call for accountability and a complete embargo on transfers of policing equipment

The SSG’s flawed investigation is part of a wider pattern in which Georgian authorities seek to shield law enforcement from accountability. Amnesty International has consistently documented the systemic abuse of the justice system to silence dissent and sustain a climate of impunity for human rights violations committed by law enforcement officers.

“The intimidation of experts and witnesses, combined with the authorities’ perverse approach to the very idea of an investigation into these allegations, makes independent international scrutiny essential,” said Denis Krivosheev

“Amnesty International calls for the creation of an international mechanism of enquiry into the alleged use of toxic chemicals against protesters and other use of unlawful force by Georgian law enforcement during 2024 protests and for state parties to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons to support a Fact-Finding Mission.”

In addition, Georgia’s international partners must adopt robust measures, including a compete embargo on transfers of law enforcement equipment and weapons used against protesters.

States must ensure that equipment capable of causing harm is not supplied to a government that has already violated basic human rights

Denis Krivosheev Amnesty International’s Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia

“States must ensure that equipment capable of causing harm is not supplied to a government that has already violated basic human rights,” Denis Krivosheev said.

Source: Amnesty International –

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Source: Amnesty International –

Reacting to the Kremlin’s latest abuse of the criminal justice system to target Yabloko, the last remaining officially registered political party in Russia that has been openly calling for an end to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Marie Struthers, Amnesty International’s Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, said:

“In preparation for the September 2026 parliamentary election, Russian authorities are steadily dismantling what remains of peaceful political opposition. It is clear they want to purge the political landscape of any groups which are not under the Kremlin’s control and do not share its agenda, including its ongoing war of aggression against Ukraine.

It is clear [that the Russian authorities] want to purge the political landscape of any groups which are not under the Kremlin’s control and do not share its agenda, including its ongoing war of aggression against Ukraine

Marie Struthers, Amnesty International’s Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia

“The pressure on Yabloko’s leadership is relentless. Deputy Chair Lev Shlosberg, convicted under the “foreign agents” law, faces a new criminal case opened today. Another Deputy Chair, Maksim Kruglov, was arrested in October, and party leader Nikolai Rybakov is farcically convicted for “extremism.” These reprisals are a deliberate effort to silence the last organized political force in Russia that consistently calls for peace and speaks out against human rights violations.

“Criminalizing calls for a ceasefire and prosecuting individuals for peacefully expressing views on Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine are blatant attacks on freedom of expression. The Russian authorities must immediately and unconditionally overturn these convictions and drop all the baseless charges against the Yabloko leadership, as well as release all those detained solely for their anti-war views, and repeal war censorship legislation that criminalizes dissent.”

Background

On 5 November 2025, Lev Shlosberg was sentenced to 420 hours of community service for “violation of foreign agent’s duties”. The authorities claimed that he had not marked five videos posted on social media with the “foreign agent” disclaimer. The second criminal case against him – under the “discreditation of Armed Forces” charge – is ongoing.

On 5 December 2025, authorities opened a third criminal case against Lev Shlosberg for “spreading false information about the Armed Forces” over a repost from February 2022. It happened just days before he was due to be released from six months of house arrest that could no longer be legally extended, under a previous “discreditation” case. A day earlier, in two separate cases, St Petersburg courts fined party Chair Nikolai Rybakov RUB 1,500 (USD 19.5) and senior politician, Boris Vishnevsky, RUB 15,000 (USD 195). Rybakov was fined for “sharing extremist symbols” – namely, a photograph of the late opposition figure Aleksei Navalny which Rybakov posted on the day of Navalny’s death. Vishnevsky was fined for allegedly “cooperating with an undesirable organization” in an interview with the elections-monitoring group Golos, which authorities claim is linked to the banned European Network of Election Monitoring Organizations.

These fines serve as pretexts for further reprisals: Rybakov’s “extremism” case already bars him from running in the September 2026 parliamentary election, while the case against Vishnevsky paves the way for subsequent criminal prosecution if he is accused of “cooperation with an undesirable organization” again.

On 2 October 2025, Yabloko’s Deputy Chair Maksim Kruglov was arrested and placed in pre-trial detention over two 2022 Telegram posts referring to UN estimates of civilian casualties in Ukraine and the killings of civilians in Bucha.

At least five other Yabloko party regional leaders and members have been prosecuted. Around 50 administrative cases have been initiated against Yabloko members across Russia’s regions. Eleven Yabloko members, including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Dmitry Muratov and veteran human rights defender Svetlana Gannushkina, have been designated “foreign agents.”