MIL NGO Engine

Source: Amnesty International –

The World Cup brings people together like no other event. That is what football is. That is what humanity can be.

Yet, millions of football fans who are set to attend the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the USA risk coming face to face with troubling attacks on human rights, not least those stemming from abusive and deadly US immigration policies.

Three fans, who also work for Amnesty International, will be travelling to the World Cup this year. Here they share their thoughts on why everyone attending the world’s greatest football tournament deserves to feel safe, included and free to exercise their rights.

“Everything good about football is rooted in community, inclusion and passion – the World Cup should be no exception”

Duncan Tucker, 37, from the UK but based in Mexico City

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My love of football came from playing with friends and watching with family when I was kid. I’ll never forget the roar of the crowd at White Hart Lane when my parents first took me to see Tottenham Hotspur in 1995. Nor the excitement of Euro 96, from Gazza’s wonder goal against Scotland and England’s 4-1 demolition of the Netherlands, to the crushing heartbreak against Germany – perfectly soundtracked by the anthemic “Three Lions”. I was captivated by every minute.

I’ve never been to a World Cup, so I’m buzzing to watch South Africa take on South Korea in my wife’s hometown of Monterrey in northern Mexico. I’m expecting a joyous atmosphere, given Mexico’s proud history of hosting iconic World Cups and its national obsession with the sport. Mexico should also prove a more hospitable destination than the USA, where the Trump administration’s discriminatory visa restrictions and invasive, aggressive and highly militarized immigration enforcement will discourage many potential visitors. However, while Mexico’s authorities will embrace tourists, we should not forget that they are nowhere near as welcoming to vulnerable migrants and refugees who risk their lives attempting the hazardous journey to the US border.

I hope everyone who attends will be able to enjoy the tournament in a safe and discrimination-free environment. Everything good about football is rooted in community, inclusion and passion – and the World Cup should be no exception. Yet FIFA’s outrageous ticket costs, combined with Mexico’s extreme economic inequality, have priced all but a tiny fraction of the host population out of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to attend matches. This is meant to be the people’s game, not a vessel for sportswashing or corporate greed. But FIFA has repeatedly betrayed the spirit of the game, from exorbitant pricing to shamelessly inventing a peace prize to curry favour with President Trump. It must urgently recentre the World Cup around all the things that make football special, before the world falls out of love with it.

“The World Cup is supposed to bring people together, but many communities are currently living in fear”

Mary Kapron, 38, from Canada

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I grew up playing competitive soccer in my hometown of Peterborough, Ontario. When I think back on that time, some of my happiest memories are travelling to games and tournaments with my teammates, who were also my closest friends. Soccer was a huge part of my life growing up, and it’s something that’s still really important to me today.

Growing up in Canada, one of my favourite things about the World Cup was how everyone came together around it. Our neighbours were from all over the world, and during the tournament you’d see flags from every country hanging from houses and cars everywhere. It always felt like this really joyful moment where people connected across cultures and backgrounds.

I’m really excited to be attending a World Cup game. At the same time, I’m also very aware of the privilege involved in being able to go. Ticket prices are incredibly high. This World Cup has become inaccessible to so many people who love the sport but can’t afford to attend.

For people travelling to the United States, there are concerns about immigration policies. Nationals from several countries participating in the tournament, including Côte d’Ivoire, Haiti, Iran and Senegal, are affected by the Trump administration’s travel ban, which means many won’t be able to attend matches in the US.

Given the work I do documenting human rights violations against migrants and asylum seekers in the US, I’m also concerned about immigration enforcement around stadiums, Fan Fest events or public watch parties. The World Cup is supposed to bring people together, but many communities are currently living in fear and may not feel comfortable gathering publicly.

From a soccer perspective, I hope there are surprises and upsets, and I’d love to see a country win that has never won before. But more than that, I hope people are able to experience the joy and sense of community that soccer can create. One of the reasons I love the sport is the way it brings people together across languages, cultures and borders, and I hope fans are able to celebrate safely and freely without fear.

FIFA often talks about soccer as something that unites the world, and I really believe that the sport has the power to do that. But if FIFA is serious about that message, then human rights need to be part of the conversation as well.

Guillermo Rodríguez García, 31, from Mexico City

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Football takes me back to my childhood, when we used to stop traffic to play with all my neighbours. That was in early 2000, before the Mexican government declared the “war on drugs”, and it was reasonably safe to go outside without adult supervision. Football is that freedom we used to have in public spaces, but it’s also family to me: my older brother and sister are big fans of the Guadalajara club, so I sort of inherited their passion.

Attending the World Cup is a mixed feelings experience! Yes, it’s exciting! The third World Cup in Mexico and the first shared with the US and Canada – an expression of how close our relationship is: migration, commerce, cultures, and shared ecosystems that rely on each other.

But it’s also difficult  to see how elitist the game has become: prohibitive prices, hyperconsumption, exploitation of host communities, and FIFA’s indolence around the genocide in Palestine. It’s hard to see our countries pretending this is a world celebration, while all three countries actively diminish the rights of migrants and people seeking international protection.

My greatest fear is that the World Cup becomes the perfect cover for human rights violations in host countries and beyond. I hope this World Cup will be a celebration that brings us closer together as humanity, and that, rather than just a mental break, it will be the opportunity to deepen our empathy for the many instances of violence occurring around the world.

I call on FIFA to prioritize fans over commercial interests. This means firmly advocating for conditions that respect the human rights of visitors and host communities, and taking all necessary measures to ensure that football’s biggest celebration returns to its working-class roots – and isn’t just for those who can afford tickets costing hundreds of dollars.

Source: Greenpeace Statement –

In September 2025, Greenpeace Africa sounded the alarm. Reports had emerged that 50 acres of Imenti Forest in Meru County were being considered for a State Lodge, a golf course and an airstrip – a directive said to have come from the President himself during a meeting with Meru leaders. We called for an immediate halt. We demanded transparency. We said forests are not bargaining chips.

The government heard us. It chose to proceed anyway.

Nine months later, the threat has not just persisted – it has advanced through official channels. On 6th May 2026, the Principal Secretary for Forestry issued formal concurrence to the Chief Conservator of Forests for the excision of 2.75 hectares of Imenti Forest. The stated justification was road infrastructure under the Horn of Africa Gateway Development Project, financed by the World Bank’s International Development Association. But what has since emerged strips away any pretense of public interest: senior government officials and the Governor of Meru County have been reported touring Kambakia Forest, a section of Imenti, to identify sites for an airstrip, a golf course and a State Lodge.

This is how it always happens. A project enters through a side door, framed as infrastructure, framed as development, and by the time the full picture becomes clear, the administrative machinery is already in motion. Kenyans have seen this in Karura. In Ngong Road Forest. In the Mau Complex. Each time, the same promises of investment and economic growth are made. Each time, it is the forest that pays the price. And each time, it is communities – not the officials who signed the papers – who bear the consequences for decades.

According to Sherie Gakii, Communications and Storytelling Manager at Greenpeace Africa: 

“Imenti Forest is not a new crisis. It is the same crisis, in a new location, with the same officials and the same tired excuses. Every time development needs land, it always finds a forest. Never a quarry. Never a degraded plot. Never the vast tracts held by the politically connected. Always a gazetted forest. Always a water tower. Always someone else’s inheritance to lose. That pattern needs to end.”

The pattern is now being institutionally embedded. The recent amendment to Section 56(2) of the Forest Conservation and Management Act expanded the Kenya Forest Service’s authority to issue easements and wayleaves in public forests under the guise of public utilities. Environmental defenders warned this would become a backdoor for commercial and political interests. The government was aware of those concerns. What is now unfolding in Imenti is a direct consequence of choosing to ignore them.

Article 62 of the Constitution is unambiguous: public forests are public land. Their protection and oversight belong to the National Land Commission, not to individual Principal Secretaries issuing concurrences in response to politically motivated requests. Any excision or conversion of gazetted forest land without full public participation, a credible environmental impact assessment, and constitutional compliance is unlawful. The government knows this. It is proceeding regardless.

Greenpeace Africa demands an immediate halt to all processes aimed at allocating, licensing or converting any part of Imenti Forest for commercial development. We call on the National Land Commission to assert its constitutional mandate and investigate how this concurrence was issued. We call on Parliament to scrutinise what is being done to Kenya’s gazetted forests in the name of infrastructure and prestige.

We further call on the World Bank and the International Development Association to urgently review their due diligence obligations. The Horn of Africa Gateway Development Project cannot be a vehicle, however indirect, for opening a protected forest to commercial development. That would be a direct contradiction of the environmental and social safeguards the Bank is bound to uphold.

We said it in September 2025 and we say it again today: Imenti Forest is not empty land. It is a water catchment, a biodiversity reserve, and a source of livelihood for communities who have no equivalent to replace it. Planting 15 billion trees means nothing if existing forests are quietly surrendered to serve powerful interests.

The government had every opportunity to act on the warnings raised last year. It made a different choice. The question now is whether Parliament, the National Land Commission, and Kenya’s courts will uphold what the Constitution demands, or whether Imenti will become the latest entry in a long record of forests lost to political convenience.

Imenti must be defended. Not in words. In action.

Source: Amnesty International –

States attending the June Climate Meetings next week in Bonn, Germany must use the talks to turn climate commitments into a concrete actionable rights-centric agenda for November’s COP31, Amnesty International said today.  

What happens in Bonn matters because it will shape the negotiations, priorities and level of ambition that governments carry into COP31 in Antalya, Türkiye later this year. These meetings are an important chance for governments to show they are ready to translate climate commitments made in the recently adopted United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) resolution on last year’s ICJ Advisory Opinion on climate change into action that is rooted in human rights, equity and justice.  

“Governments must now act with urgency to deliver on their legal obligations to protect humanity and to help impacted groups recover from harms caused by climate change. Climate action that ignores human rights is not only unjust, but also less effective,” said Ann Harrison, Amnesty International’s Climate Policy Advisor. 

“If governments want credible outcomes in Antalya, they need to show at Bonn that they are serious about moving from rhetoric to delivery.” 

In recommendations published ahead of the meeting, Amnesty International calls on governments to commit to a full, fast, fair and funded phase out of fossil fuels through a just transition, to scale up grants-based climate finance; provide full reparations for climate change related loss and damage, and to protect civic space and strengthen the participation of Indigenous Peoples, environmental human rights defenders and affected communities in climate decision-making.  

Climate action that ignores human rights is not only unjust, but also less effective.

Ann Harrison, Amnesty International’s Climate Policy Advisor.

The need for action is urgent 

Amnesty International is urging all parties to the climate treaties to build on progress at the recent conference in Santa Marta towards an equitable transition away from fossil fuels that leaves no one behind, including by ending fossil fuel subsidies while protecting people on lower incomes. 

It’s important that the Just Transition Mechanism agreed at COP30 is effective and funded in its setup so that it prioritizes human rights and the meaningful participation of civil society, affected groups and the free, prior and informed consent of Indigenous Peoples.  

The organization is also calling for major progress on climate finance. According to United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) data, lower-income countries’ needs for mitigation and adaptation are estimated at USD 5 to 6 trillion by 2030, with the USD 300 billion per year by 2035 finance goal agreed at COP29 remaining far below what is needed. The shortfall in adaptation finance is particularly acute. 

“The fact that some countries insisted on removing references to climate finance from the recent UNGA resolution does not mean that obligations to provide it have gone away. We know the money is there, it’s a matter of political choice as to how it is allocated. It’s essential that the biggest polluters are made to pay for the harm they are causing,” said Ann Harrison. 

“Scaled up, primarily grants-based finance for climate action is the key to ensuring that the rights of all people, everywhere, now and in the future, are protected. This will ensure that they can live lives of dignity on a planet that can sustain both humans and the essential ecosystems of which we’re a part and on which we depend.” 

Amnesty International is further urging governments to adopt a reparative justice approach and to strengthen support for the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage, including by ensuring that it operates in a fully human rights-compliant way and is backed by an ambitious resource mobilization strategy.  

Scaled up, primarily grants-based finance for climate action is the key to ensuring that the rights of all people, everywhere, now and in the future, are protected. 

Ann Harrison

Access and inclusion 

A central test for Bonn will be whether the talks are open and accessible to those most affected by climate change. Amnesty’s recommendations stress that frontline communities, Indigenous Peoples, environmental human rights defenders and marginalized groups must be able to participate meaningfully in climate negotiations. The organization has raised concerns about visa access for Bonn participants and has called for all host countries to provide a dedicated UNFCCC visa process.  

Amnesty International is also urging Germany and the COP31 co-hosts Türkiye and Australia to ensure that all participants can freely express themselves and peacefully demonstrate without undue restrictions and fear of reprisals. 

“Bonn must help shift the pendulum on climate towards justice. Governments should arrive ready to make progress on a just transition away from fossil fuels, which requires adequate climate finance and reparations for loss and damage, as well as the protection of civic space. Anything less would be another failure for people already paying the price of climate inaction,” said Ann Harrison. 

Bonn must help shift the pendulum on climate towards justice. 
Anything less would be another failure for people already paying the price of climate inaction

Ann Harrison

Background 

The June Climate Meetings will take place in Bonn from 8 to 18 June 2026. It is a key preparatory meeting ahead of COP31 in Antalya, Türkiye, from 9 to 20 November 2026. Amnesty International has released a briefing, “Recommendations to Parties to the UNFCCC on Human Rights-Consistent Climate Action in 2026”, ahead of the conference. Amnesty spokespersons will be available for expert comments and interviews at the climate meetings in Bonn.  

Contact: [email protected] 

Source: Amnesty International –

In response to the announcement by Haitian authorities of two new specialized judicial units intended to address, among other issues, serious human rights abuses in Haiti, Ana Piquer, Americas director at Amnesty International, said: 

“The opening of these specialized judicial units is a necessary step in the fight against the widespread impunity that has enabled serious abuses against thousands of victims in Haiti, including sexual violence and the recruitment and use of children by gangs for criminal purposes.” 

The opening of these specialized judicial units is a necessary step in the fight against the widespread impunity that has enabled serious abuses against thousands of victims in Haiti, including sexual violence and the recruitment and use of children by gangs for criminal purposes.” 

Ana Piquer, Americas director at Amnesty International.

Amnesty International expressly called on the Haitian state to prioritize the creation of specialized judicial chambers to investigate and prosecute grave human rights violations in a report on abuses against children in the context of gang violence in Haiti. The authorities must now ensure that these units are independent, have sufficient resources, and are staffed by personnel trained in human rights-based, trauma-informed and child-sensitive procedures. 

The Haitian authorities must also ensure effective protection measures for judges, prosecutors and other judicial personnel, so that they can carry out their duties without threats, reprisals or undue interference. 

The international community must provide technical and financial support to Haiti so that these units can operate effectively, independently and sustainably. 

For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact [email protected]

Source: Amnesty International –

The Egyptian authorities must immediately halt the unjust prosecutions of three human rights activists arrested solely for organizing a peaceful event calling for the release of those arbitrarily detained, Amnesty International said today.  

On 25 May, Egyptian police arrested pharmacist Hanan Altantawy, and lawyers Mohamed Abu al-Dayyar and Wafaa al-Masry, all members of the informal group the Committee to Defend Prisoners of Conscience (CDPC), for the group’s involvement in organizing a public event in Cairo two weeks earlier highlighting cases of people unjustly detained for political reasons. Altantawy and al-Masry were released on bail on the day of their arrest but prosecutors ordered that Abu al-Dayyar be held in pretrial detention for 15 days. All three face criminal investigations in connection with accusations of “disseminating false news”, with Abu al-Sayyar is additionally facing terrorism-related charges.  

“By pursuing these unjust prosecutions, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s government is sending a clear message that it has no intention of changing course or addressing the country’s decade-long arbitrary detention crisis. It is rank hypocrisy for the authorities to claim progress on human rights to international partners such as the EU while arresting people for peacefully advocating justice and freedom for unjustly imprisoned activists, journalists and politicians,” said Mahmoud Shalaby, Regional Researcher at Amnesty International. 

Instead of arresting peaceful activists, the Egyptian authorities must end their relentless crackdown on freedom of expression and peaceful assembly and end the rampant use of arbitrary detention to intimidate activists that has devastated thousands of lives.

Mahmoud Shalaby, Regional Researcher at Amnesty International

“Instead of arresting peaceful activists, the Egyptian authorities must end their relentless crackdown on freedom of expression and peaceful assembly and end the rampant use of arbitrary detention to intimidate activists that has devastated thousands of lives. The authorities must immediately and unconditionally release Mohamed Abu al-Dayyar and drop all charges against Hanan Altantawy and Wafaa al-Masry.” 

On 12 May, the CDPC organized a public  exhibition titled ‘They don’t belong in prison’ at the Cairo headquarters of the political party Bread and Freedom, highlighting the cases of several arbitrarily detained individuals, including Ashraf Omar, Marwa Arafa, Mohamed Adel, and Yehia Hussein Abdelhady. 

On 25 May, at around 1am, police went to the home of Abu al-Dayyar, the former campaign manager of presidential candidate Ahmed Altantawy, and arrested him. Egypt’s Supreme State Security Prosecution (SSSP) prosecutors opened investigations against him on accusations of “joining a terrorist group,” “disseminating false news,” and “using a website to promote terrorist activities.” They questioned him about the work of the CDPC, its exhibition and venue, as well as his reasons for working on Altantawy’s electoral campaign, according to his lawyer from the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR).  

The police presented as evidence of the accusations above a screenshot of a Facebook post about prisoners of conscience and a CD containing material related to photographs displayed at the exhibition. 

This is not the first time the Egyptian authorities have targeted Abu al-Dayyar. In February 2024, a court sentenced him to a year in prison on charges of conspiring and inciting others to “disseminate election-related material without authorization.” These charges stemmed from calls made by Ahmed Altantawy’s electoral election campaign urging people to complete endorsement forms online, after his supporters faced obstacles and intimidation when they attempted to register endorsements at public notary offices.  

A few hours after Abu al-Dayyar’s arrest, on 25 May police arrested Wafaa al-Masry from where she was staying while she was on holiday in Egypt’s North Coast. SSSP prosecutors investigated her on charges of “disseminating false news,” according to her lawyer, human rights defender Mahienour El-Massry. They questioned her about her role in organizing the exhibition and the criteria the CDPC uses to select cases for its campaigns, among other issues. On the same day, prosecutors ordered her release pending investigations on bail of 50,000 EGP (USD 957).  

Also on the morning of 25 May, police raided Hanan Altantawy’s home in Giza and arrested her, according to human rights lawyer Nabeh Elganadi. SSSP prosecutors investigated her on charges of “disseminating false news” and questioned her about the work of CDPC and the exhibition. On the same day, prosecutors ordered her release pending further investigations, on bail of 50,000 EGP (USD 957).  

On 17 May, the CDPC issued a statement denouncing the arrest and intimidation of families of people held for political reasons in connection with the exhibition organized by the CDPC. Amnesty International learned that the authorities arrested several relatives of detainees in connection to the exhibition, before releasing them within days. 

The CDPC is an informal group of members of political parties, activists, and other public figures who came together in November 2025 to campaign for the release of all those unjustly imprisoned through legal, media, and political advocacy. 

Source: Amnesty International –

Amnesty International calls for the immediate and unconditional release of civilians being held hostage by armed groups in Manipur, warning that their continued captivity reflects a deepening human rights crisis amid the authorities’ ongoing failure to protect people from escalating ethnic violence in the state.  

Twenty people have been taken hostage by armed groups from the Kuki and Naga communities in Manipur following escalating inter-ethnic tensions and a worsening security crisis across the state’s hill districts. In recent weeks, the conflict between the Kuki and Meitei communities has expanded to involve a third ethnic group, the Nagas. The latest hostage taking cases mark the most serious escalation of violence since May 2023, when clashes between the Kuki and Meitei communities left hundreds dead.  

“The armed vigilante groups responsible for these abductions must immediately release all hostages and provide information on the fate and whereabouts of those still missing. Civilians must never be targeted, abducted, or used as leverage in ethnic or political disputes. Families have the right to know where their loved ones are and to communicate with them without delay,” said Aakar Patel, Chair of Board, Amnesty International India.  

Civilians must never be targeted, abducted, or used as leverage in ethnic or political disputes

Aakar Patel, Chair of Board, Amnesty International India

“Authorities in Manipur must take urgent and effective measures to secure the safe release of all those held, guarantee their protection, and conduct prompt, independent and impartial investigations into all reported abductions and related abuses.”   

Hostage-taking and the abduction of civilians are prohibited by international law and may amount to crimes under international law. The continued abduction of civilians and the recurrence of ethnic violence underscore the failure of authorities in Manipur to establish security, uphold the rule of law, ensure justice, truth and reparation, and protect human rights.  

“The Manipur government must move beyond reactive measures and take urgent, concrete steps to protect civilians, ensure justice, truth and reparation for crimes and abuses committed by all sides, and address the underlying drivers of the conflict,” said Aakar Patel. 

Background 

Kuki and Naga groups have clashed in Manipur’s hill regions amid disputes over residency rights and territorial control since February 2026. On 13 May, more than 48 people were abducted and taken hostage by armed groups from the Kuki and Naga communities in Kangpokpi and Senapati districts following an ambush that killed three church leaders who had recently led a delegation of Kuki Christian leaders to the adjoining Nagaland to broker peace between the Kukis and the Nagas. 

Since then, 12 Naga and 16 Kuki hostages have been released. However, six Naga remain in the captivity of armed groups from the Kuki community, and their whereabouts are unknown. Kuki Inpi Manipur (KIM), the apex body representing Kuki tribes in the state, has stated that 14 members of the Kuki community who were abducted on 13 May continue to be held hostage by Naga groups. 

On 1 June, the United Naga Council (UNC), the apex civic and political organization representing Naga tribes in Manipur, withdrew its proposal to release 14 Kuki hostages unless the six Naga civilians being held by Kuki groups were first freed. In a statement, the UNC said the planned release had been “cancelled”, citing the “prevailing sentiment of the Naga public”.  

Travel along the national highway also remains disrupted as both Kuki and Naga groups continue to enforce economic blockades following the abductions after the 13 May ambush. 

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led central government and the Manipur state government have failed to end the violence, prevent displacement, and protect human rights in the state. Since 3 May 2023, at least 200 people have been killed and more than 60,000 displaced. Homes, businesses, villages, and places of worship have been burned, attacked, looted, and vandalized. 

In a tacit acknowledgment of the state government’s inability to restore order, the Government of India imposed President’s Rule in 2025. The measure was revoked in February this year, and Yumnam Khemchand Singh assumed office as Chief Minister of Manipur on 4 February 2026. Yet the change in leadership brought little relief, with violence and insecurity continuing under the new administration. 

Source: Amnesty International –

In early 2025 photojournalist Marios Lolos was covering a demonstration in Athens about the Tempi rail tragedy when a police officer threw a stun grenade in his direction. It hit the left side of his head, exploding next to him. The impact resulted in him suffering permanent hearing loss and a head injury. 

“Had it exploded in front of my head and not a little bit later, we wouldn’t be speaking at the moment,” Lolos tells me, his voice thick with emotion. 

The veteran journalist and former president of the Greek Press Photo Union believes that the stun grenade was thrown at him intentionally. Footage verified by Amnesty International corroborates his testimony and suggests that he was deliberately targeted. 

Had the stun grenade exploded in front of my head and not a little bit later, we wouldn’t be speaking now

Marios Lolos, journalist and stun grenade survivor

Lolos’ experience is far from unique. In fact, it is part of a wider pattern in which the right to freedom of peaceful assembly in Greece is being blatantly violated both in law and in practice. Journalists frequently find themselves in the firing line alongside peaceful protesters who are arbitrarily detained, criminalized, and subjected to unlawful use of force by police. The physical and psychological injuries they suffer can be life changing.  

Marios Lolos’ testimony – along with over fifty of others – is included in a new report published by Amnesty International today. Our research finds that these disturbing abuses are underpinned by protest legislation that fails to comply with international and regional standards, and a persistent culture of impunity for abuses by law enforcement officials policing demonstrations.   

The report, based on two years of research, includes a series of testimonies describing how Greek police deployed stun grenades often directly at peaceful protesters and journalists, above their heads or at their feet, or at times lobbing them into dense crowds.  

Stun grenades are also known as a disorientation, distraction or pyrotechnic devices, “flash-bangs”, percussion or concussion grenades. They are designed to surprise, temporarily disorientate and blind people through intense exposure to sound and light, among other effects.  

The use of stun grenades, which are military grade devices, routinely cause burns to victims, hearing loss or damage, as well as other blast and fragmentation injuries. Their use against crowds of protesters can spark panic and stampede and they have been known to start fires.  

The type of stun grenade deployed by the Greek police emits a sound intensity of 170 decibels – louder than a jet engine at close quarters. In May 2022, student Giorgos Mavros suffered a perforated eardrum, hearing loss, a head injury as well as wounds and burns after police deployed stun grenades during a peaceful student demonstration in Thessaloniki. When I interviewed him this year, he told me that “the sensation was as if I had been struck by a large iron bar”.  Four years on, he is still suffering from the physical and psychological fallout from the injury. He told me how he gets anxious and fearful at the sound of loud bangs and he has largely stopped taking part in protests.  

The type of stun grenade deployed by the Greek police emits a sound intensity of 170 decibels – louder than a jet engine at close quarters

Amnesty International verified footage of police unlawfully using stun grenades in October 2025 next to a café where people were sitting outside. It came just after police had dispersed a protest in Athens. Bystanders were caught up in the chaos.  

The report also documents the unlawful use of batons by officers striking peaceful demonstrators, chasing protesters in so-called “baton charges”, and beating individuals already under police control. It documents the harmful misuse of chemical irritants and water cannon on protesters, as well as the unlawful use of force during arrest and/or detention and by police motorbike units.   

Despite their suffering, victims often struggle to get justice. Perpetrators often go unpunished, while investigations that are opened can take years to conclude. There are many other factors that can hamper accountability, such as flawed disciplinary investigations, the inability of criminal investigations to find perpetrators, some judicial rulings that risk legitimizing unlawful force and the failure of public order police to display identification numbers. At the same time, Greece’s police oversight mechanism (EMIDIPA), lacks sufficient staff and resources to undertake more of its own investigations. 

Faced with these challenges, Marios Lolos is sceptical about his chances of getting justice for his injury, despite lodging a complaint with EMIDIPA and a criminal investigation having been initiated. The police have also launched a disciplinary investigation into the incident. But Lolos has been here before. In 2012 his skull was broken and he sustained life-threatening head injuries when a riot police officer beat him with a baton during anti-austerity demonstrations. Although administrative courts confirmed the state was responsible for his injuries, not a single officer has been held accountable despite disciplinary and criminal investigations. His experience of police impunity is mirrored by that of many of his colleagues.  

The harm inflicted by Greek police in their unlawful use of force in protests, combined with shocking levels of impunity for police abuses, threaten to have a chilling effect on the right to peaceful protest, yet Lolos and other victims refuse to be stunned into silence.  

Military-grade devices have no place in the policing of protests in Greece or anywhere in the world

Nevertheless, participating in or reporting on peaceful protests should not require people to run the gauntlet or risk life and limb. Protest laws in Greece must be reformed and abusive policing practices and impunity must end. The use of stun grenades should be reserved only for high-risk special operations, such as hostage situations. They must be banned for use in the policing of demonstrations and other public assemblies. Military-grade devices have no place in the policing of protests in Greece or anywhere in the world. 

Kondylia Gogou, Amnesty International’s Regional Researcher for Europe.

This artice was first published here by EU Observer.

Source: Amnesty International –

Greek police frequently use unnecessary or excessive force against peaceful protesters and journalists resulting in serious physical and psychological injuries, Amnesty International said in a report published today, as it called for a ban on the use of stun grenades in the policing of protests.  

Protests are not battlefields: Patterns of unlawful use of force by police and impunity in Greece finds that these deeply disturbing abuses are underpinned by protest legislation that fails to comply with international and regional standards, and a persistent culture of impunity for abuses by law enforcement officials policing demonstrations.  

The right to freedom of peaceful assembly in Greece is being blatantly violated both in law and in practice

Kondylia Gogou, Amnesty International’s Regional Researcher for Europe. 

“The right to freedom of peaceful assembly in Greece is being blatantly violated both in law and in practice with peaceful protesters arbitrarily detained, criminalized, and subjected to unlawful use of force at the hands of the police,” said Kondylia Gogou, Amnesty International’s Regional Researcher for Europe.  

“The footage and testimonies we have documented reveals a pattern of dangerous deployment of stun grenades and misuse of batons and other less lethal weapons that have caused a range of injuries, with journalists also in the firing line. These tactics, combined with pervasive impunity for police abuses, have a chilling effect on the right to peaceful protest.”  

Unlawful use of force and a culture of impunity  

The report, based on two years of research and interviews with more than a hundred protesters, journalists, lawyers and others as well as extensive video verification and analysis of multiple different protests, reveals a persistent pattern of unnecessary or excessive use of force by police during demonstrations.   

Of the 67 people interviewed in relation to unlawful use of force in the policing of demonstrations, 30 described how police threw stun grenades directly at peaceful protesters and journalists, above their heads or at their feet and/or into dense crowds.   

The sensation was as if I had been struck by a large iron bar

Giorgos Mavros, PhD student and stun grenade survivor

Photojournalist Marios Lolos, sustained permanent hearing loss and a head injury after being hit by a stun grenade thrown by a police officer on 26 January 2025 while covering a demonstration about the Tempi rail tragedy. He told Amnesty International: “I was carrying my camera, and it was obvious that I was a photojournalist. I believe the riot police officer threw the stun grenade at me intentionally…It hit the left side of (my head) and exploded next to me. If it had exploded in front of my head and not a little bit later, we would not be speaking at the moment.” A video verified by Amnesty International corroborates Lolos’ testimony and suggests that he was deliberately targeted. In May 2022, student Giorgos Mavros suffered a perforated eardrum, hearing loss, a head injury and wounds and burns on his right hand, arm and shoulder after police deployed stun grenades during a peaceful student demonstration in Thessaloniki. He said: “The sensation was as if I had been struck by a large iron bar.”    

Verified video shows police unlawfully using stun grenades next to a café where people were sitting outside following the dispersal of an October 2025 protest in Athens, with bystanders caught up in the chaos. The report also documents unlawful use of batons, including officers striking peaceful demonstrators, chasing protesters in so-called “baton charges”, and beating individuals who were already under police control. Amnesty International additionally documented a series of incidents involving misuse of chemical irritants, water cannon, unlawful use of force during arrest and/or detention and unlawful use of force by police motorbike units.  

Actress and theatre director, Anastasia Politi, described to Amnesty International how two police officers on a motorcycle, one of them holding a baton, drove through a crowd attending a demonstration in a solidarity with Palestinians on 7 October 2025.  

“I managed to step onto the pavement at the very last moment so the motorcycle wouldn’t run me over…but I still felt the bike passing extremely close behind me and at the same time a very strong blow to my back,” she said. She described how she “hit the ground like a watermelon” resulting in a broken arm and a broken rib, light head injuries and injuries to her left knee and shin.  

 Victims of unlawful use of police force often struggle to get justice. Flawed disciplinary investigations, criminal investigations unable to find perpetrators, some judicial rulings that risk legitimizing unlawful force and failure of public order police to display identification numbers hamper accountability. Meanwhile, Greece’s police oversight mechanism (EMIDIPA), does not have sufficient staff and resources to conduct more of its own investigations. 

Broad police powers, draconian tactics and restrictive laws  

The use of overly broad police powers allowing police to stop protesters and bring them to police stations for identity checks has resulted in people being prevented from joining demonstrations, often without reasonable suspicion of wrongdoing.  

Protesters, journalists and lawyers speaking with Amnesty International were subjected to arbitrary deprivation of liberty and described unnecessary and/or degrading body searches, unlawful use of force during their apprehension and/or detention and denial of medical assistance. They also spoke of police failure to guarantee their right to notify someone in the outside world or provide them with sustenance.

Anny Paparoussou, a lawyer providing legal assistance to peaceful protesters and Marina Meintani, a journalist covering a demonstration, were both deprived of their liberty by police under the guise of an ID check transfer. Both Anny Paparousou and Marina Meintani spoke about the unlawfulness of their apprehension and Marina Meintani of her humiliation at being partially strip searched by police.  

The report also highlights the criminalization of peaceful protesters, including individuals charged simply for participating in demonstrations or engaging in acts of civil disobedience. Amnesty International documented the arrest of two of its own activists following the dispersal of a protest in Athens in 2022, during which they described experiencing being subject to unnecessary and abusive force by police.  

Participating in or reporting on peaceful protests should not require people to run a gauntlet or risk life and limb

Kondylia Gogou

Greek legislation governing protests is not compliant with international and regional human rights law and the obligations Greece has under the treaties to which it is party. Nevertheless, there have been efforts by the Greek authorities to further restrict the right to freedom of peaceful assembly including a 2025 legislative provision introducing a blanket ban on protests in parts of Syntagma Square.     

“Participating in or reporting on peaceful protests should not require people to run a gauntlet or risk life and limb. Greek authorities must urgently reform protest laws, end abusive policing practices, protect those exercising their rights and break the cycle of impunity that has allowed these violations to continue,” said Kondylia Gogou.  

“Greek authorities must also end the disturbing pattern of unlawful use of force against protesters and journalists by the police and ban the use of stun grenades in the policing of assemblies. Military-grade devices have no place in policing protests in Greece or anywhere in the world.”  

Background   

According to the NGO Greek Helsinki Monitor, prosecutors investigated 181 cases concerning human rights violations and other serious offences by law enforcement officials between 2019 and November 2025, yet there were only seven convictions. Of the 60 cases investigated for allegations of torture committed by law enforcement officials over the same period only four were referred to trial and there was only one conviction. 

Amnesty International and civil society partners from the Torture-Free Trade Network are calling on governments all over the world to push for a Torture-Free Trade Treaty at the United Nations to regulate the trade in policing equipment.  

Amnesty has been documenting and raising concerns around the policing of protests in Greece for many years, including in these 2021 and 2012 reports.   

Source: Greenpeace Statement –

WASHINGTON, DC (June 3, 2026) – Today, the United Nations released “Environmental Cost of AI’s Energy Use,” a report exposing the deficiencies of environmental governance of AI systems given the stark environmental impacts and the unequal hardships posed on communities. The frenzied expansion of data centers alone has exploded the electricity demand of the industry – now estimated to rank 11th globally if the industry was considered an independent country. 

Greenpeace USA Senior Research Specialist, Johanna Fornberg, PhD said: “The latest research from the UN proves that not only is the unchecked expansion of data centers a major climate problem, but it feeds a system that is increasingly unjust. Governance and accountability are essential for protecting communities worldwide from the consequences of technology that is built and distributed without the public interest at its core. Civil society needs to be involved in shaping how these systems are built before they become immutable. Protections are needed as quickly as possible to ensure that the most vulnerable communities do not bear the burdens of new advanced technologies.”

Big Tech has relied on fiscal and political power to steamroll regulators and communities in the pursuit of profits, and that behavior has now reached a tipping point. The expansion of technologies like generative AI, in particular, has led to dropped climate commitments, aggressive anti-regulation lobbies, and the evasion of public participation and consent. Now is the time to hold Big Tech accountable to protect communities and the planet from even more harm.

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Contact: Madison Carter, Greenpeace USA National Press Secretary, [email protected], +1 703-554-4842

Greenpeace USA Press Desk: [email protected]

Greenpeace USA is part of a global network of independent campaigning organizations that use peaceful protest and creative communication to expose global environmental problems and promote solutions that are essential to a green and peaceful future. Greenpeace USA is committed to transforming the country’s unjust social, environmental, and economic systems from the ground up to address the climate crisis, advance racial justice, and build an economy that puts people first. Learn more at www.greenpeace.org/usa. 

Source: Amnesty International –

Responding to the news that Egyptian activist and writer Ahmed Douma has been convicted and sentenced to one year in prison following an unfair trial, Amnesty International’s Regional Researcher, Mahmoud Shalaby said:  

“The renewed unjust imprisonment after an unfair trial of Ahmed Douma is a devastating assault on the right to freedom of expression.  The weaponization of the criminal justice system against Ahmed Douma and other activists lays bare president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s government’s relentless campaign to crush peaceful dissent and restrict civic space.  

“Having already spent a decade in arbitrary detention under cruel and inhuman conditions, Ahmed Douma is being penalized yet again under the guise of bogus ‘false news’ charges, solely for publishing an article and a social media post criticizing detention conditions. His renewed detention is emblematic of the Egyptian authorities’ ongoing misuse of the criminal justice system to punish and deter peaceful dissent, destroying the lives of thousands of people and their families.  

Ahmed Douma has been targeted solely for peacefully exercising his human rights. Egyptian authorities must immediately and unconditionally release him, quash this politically motivated sentence, and end their persistent misuse of the criminal judicial system against him. 

Mahmoud Shalaby, Amnesty International’s Regional Researcher

“Ahmed Douma has been targeted solely for peacefully exercising his human rights. Egyptian authorities must immediately and unconditionally release him, quash this politically motivated sentence, and end their persistent misuse of the criminal judicial system against him. 

“Ahmed Douma’s trial was marred by gross fair trial violations. The court rejected defence requests for the court to examine the prison conditions that he had written about and to hear testimony from defence witnesses and experts. The trial was held behind closed doors and was inaccessible to the public. 

“This sentence exposes the hollow reality of the presidential pardons Ahmed Douma and others received in 2023 and signals that activists released from prolonged unjust detention are not safe from re-arrest.”