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Amnesty International | |
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| Abbreviation | Amnesty AI |
| Formation | 1961 |
| Purpose | Human rights advocacy (declared, sometimes) Western imperialist propaganda (de facto) |
Amnesty International is a self-declared human rights non-profit organization. Though it has practiced legitimate human rights advocacy at times it is closely connected with Western intelligence agencies and peddles imperialist propaganda.[1]
Criticism
Prisoner of Conscience Designation
Amnesty International maintains a designation of 'prisoner of conscience'. According to Amnesty International USA states this designation is for individuals who it says are:
"... imprisoned or otherwise physically restricted (like house arrest), solely because of his/her political, religious or other conscientiously held beliefs, their ethnic origin, sex, color, language, national or social origin, economic status, birth, sexual orientation or other status, and who has not used violence or advocated violence or hatred."[2]
In practice, the designation is given to pro-imperialist figures in countries targeted by Western propaganda, with the designation denied to anti-imperialist and left wing political prisoners.[1]
Some notable people denied prisoner of conscience designation include
- Nelson Mandela of the African National Congress[1]
- Abdullah Öcalan of the Kurdistan Workers Party[3]
- Whistleblowers Chelsea Manning and Julian Assange[1]
The first two of these were denied prisoner of conscience status due to their alleged support for violence, meaning their refusal to denounce the legitimate armed struggle against oppressive, Western-backed governments. Despite this, supporters and even perpetrators of indiscriminate violence against civilians are recognized by Amnesty International as prisoners of conscience. These include:
- Venezuelan politician and terrorist Leopoldo Lopez, who led a US backed school that resulted in 43 deaths and included the bombing of schools and the murdering journalists.[1]
- Alexei Navalny, who advocated for genocide against the Muslim peoples of the Northern Caucasus, referring to them as an "infestation of cockroaches," and calling for their murder.[1]
- Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who before his presidency was imprisoned for reciting a poem calling for a theocratic state in Turkey.[3]
Support for Venezuelan Regime Change Propaganda
During the Trump administration in the United States of America, Amnesty International echoed US propaganda towards Venezuela, referencing crime while ignoring the crippling sanctions imposed by the United States which resulted in immense harm to the economy and people of Venezuela.[4]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Alan Macleod (2021-01-27). "AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL: NAVALNY A PRISONER OF CONSCIENCE. BUT NOT MANNING, ASSANGE OR MANDELA" Mintpress News.
- ↑ "PRISONERS OF CONSCIENCE". Amnesty USA - HUMAN RIGHTS PRIORITIES FOR THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Ocalan's nephew accuses human rights groups of ignoring jailed PKK leader's plight" (2021-01-20). Morning Star.
- ↑ Joe Emersberger (2019-03-01). "AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL IS PEDDLING TRUMP’S REGIME-CHANGE PROPAGANDA AGAINST VENEZUELA" Mintpress News.