Journalist and Women’s Rights Activist Serving Six-year Prison Sentence

Hengameh Shahidi, a journalist and women's rights activist, began serving a six-year prison sentence in Evin Prison in Tehran on 25 February 2010, after an appeal court upheld her conviction and sentence for "gathering and colluding with intent to harm state security" and "propaganda against the system." Amnesty International considers her to be a prisoner of conscience, held solely for her peaceful political and journalistic activities.

Hengameh Shahidi was an advisor on women's issues to presidential candidate Mehdi Karroubi who ran in the disputed 12 June 2009 elections. She is a member of his E'temad-e Melli (National Trust) Party. The party's newspaper, E'temad was shut down by authorities on 1 March 2010.

Hengameh Shahidi had been previously detained for four months from the end of June to 1 November 2009, and has reported that she was tortured in custody and threatened with execution. At her trial on 4 November 2009, she was accused of taking part in demonstrations that protested the contested elections, giving an interview to the media, writing articles on her blog, singing statements addressed to the United Nations about human rights in Iran, and collecting signatures for the Campaign for Equality which seeks to change discriminatory laws affecting women.

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Worldwide death penalty statistics

We recently released our annual report on global death penalty statistics.

While the use of the death penalty continues to decrease worldwide, a handful of countries accounted for the sheer majority of executions this past year – China, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and the United States.

But many important steps are being taken to finally close the book on capital punishment once and for all. In fact, for the first time since Amnesty International started keeping records, not a single execution was carried out in all of Europe. Furthermore, the UN General Assembly is progressing in its efforts to turn resolutions calling for a worldwide moratorium on the death penalty into reality.

» Learn more about the status of the death penalty worldwide

» Read the full Death Penalty Statistics report (PDF)

» VIDEO: Watch interviews of former death row inmates

Yahoo! Don't Violate Human Rights

Shi Tao, a Chinese journalist, is serving a ten-year prison sentence for sending an email to the U.S. Yahoo! helped put him there. They provided information to the Chinese Government, which led to his unjust imprisonment. Yahoo! needs to hear from people like you and me in droves. Corporations like Yahoo! are very sensitive to public outcry. We must tell Yahoo! that we won't stand for violating privacy and ask them to use their influence to secure Shi Tao's release.

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USA: Help Hold Private Military and Security Contractors Accountable for Human Rights Abuses

Employees and individual contractors of US government contracted companies are alleged to have abused, tortured and killed people in areas including Iraq and Afghanistan, but not a single one has been brought to justice. Help end impunity for human rights violations by private contractors: Urge your representative to support legislation that would bring transparency and accountability to U.S. military and security contracting.


» Learn more about the Transparency and Accountability in Security Contracting Act of 2007

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Dying to Give Birth

We released a startling new report that details the horrific tragedy behind maternal death rates among American women. The awful truth behind the shocking numbers is that at least half of these deaths could have been prevented.

Women in the United States are more likely to die in pregnancy or childbirth than in 40 other countries. More than half of these deaths occur within 42 days of giving the birth because of issues like accessibility, affordability and lack of oversight in maternal health matters. The story only gets worse when you look at the rates of pregnancy-related deaths among minority women. African-American women are nearly four times more likely to die of pregnancy-related complications than white women.

But in a country that spends far more on health care than any other country in the world, we should be able to guarantee every woman's right to a safe childbirth.

» Urge the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to improve timely access to quality maternal care

» Volunteer to meet with Senators and Representatives in your local district to inform them about this tragedy

Make Full Deployment of UNAMID a Reality

On January 1, 2008, a UN-African Union peacekeeping force (UNAMID) was deployed to Darfur with the mandate of protecting civilians. Many countries pledged troops and military hardware; but more than a year since its initial deployment, UNAMID remains severely under-resourced and just over 60% deployed. This failure by the international community continues to undermine UNAMID, which is hardly able to protect its forces, let alone the civilian population that it is mandated to protect. Urge key international actors – China, Egypt, South Africa, the U.K., and the U.S. – to fulfill their pledges and do everything in their capacity to ensure that UNAMID receives the equipment, troops, and funding it needs to operate successfully in protecting the people of Darfur.

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You're invited to New Orleans!

Mark your calendars! Join us from April 9 - 11th in New Orleans for our annual gathering of human rights supporters, experts and activists from across the globe.

This year's All Rights for All People conference is going to be BIG!

Amazing speakers - including Gloria Steinem, Bernice Johnson Reagon, and Alice Walker. Powerful panels - discussing poverty, maternal mortality, criminal justice reform, and so many new strategies for mobilizing the human rights movement on both local and national levels! Rich experiences - connect with other human rights activists making significant contributions in their communities.

Come, learn, network and experience grassroots activism at its very best!

» Register for the 2010 All Rights for All People conference
» Learn more about our All Rights for All People conference
» See the conference agenda (PDF)