Skip to main content
Amnesty International UK
Log in
Jan 28 2024 10:50AM
Life in Gaza - A Genocide in Real-Time

Trigger warning: this blog contains distressing content In every one of Israel's wars of aggression, I've felt terrorised, increasingly anxious and extremely uncertain about anything. I've lived through too many wars but somehow...

Mar 13 2023 1:07PM
The 12th Anniversary of the Syrian Revolution - Will Assad be 'Normalised' by the 13th?

By Mansour Omari* This March marks the 12th anniversary of the Syrian revolution. It is, as ever, an occasion for remembrance, sadness, and defiance, but also urgent action. These anniversaries are an occasion to mourn the loss of our...

Jul 12 2022 2:46PM
New Israeli PM - Same Old Apartheid and Annexation

This November will see the fifth Israeli elections in less than four years, with now ex-prime minister Naftali Bennett having handed over the reins to Yair Lapid, who will remain interim premier until a new government is sworn in after...

May 14 2022 1:38PM
The Tadamon Massacre - Six Minutes that Shocked a Nation

By Mansour Omari I'm recovering from a stroke. My doctors said they didn't know the cause, but undoubtedly the stresses of surviving Assad's torture machine and continuing to campaign for justice are contributing factors. The doctors...

Mar 23 2022 11:43AM
Under Apartheid - Hello from Gaza

By Aya Al-Ghazzawi Growing up in Gaza My realisation of my suffocating surroundings in Gaza began when I was maybe four years old. I used to hear my dad discussing politics with our relatives. I didn't understand everything they were...

Jan 13 2022 10:32AM
Reflections on the Syrian Torture Trial in Koblenz

By Mansour Omari "Whoever has succumbed to torture can no longer feel at home in the world." German prosecutors quoted these words from Holocaust survivor Jean Améry to introduce their closing argument in Koblenz, at the trial of Anwar...

Sep 29 2021 7:21PM
Victims of Assad's notorious Students' Union speak out - but the UN is not listening

By Mansour Omari In July this year, the UN Development Program in Syria (UNDP) posted on its social media platforms that it is cooperating with the National Union of Syrian Students (NUSS) in organising the Hult students Prize. The...

Sep 9 2021 1:09PM
Afghanistan – A Hell on Earth

By Nigina Istanakzai-Zarifi - Afghanistan Country Coordinator for Amnesty International UK Kabul's sudden fall to the Taliban opened the gates of hell to the Afghan people. The promises of a new and better era, especially for women and...

Jul 27 2021 12:28PM
The UN's student partner in Syria helped torture students

By Mansour Omari The UN Development Program in Syria is working directly with a group many Syrians believe to be complicit in crimes against humanity. This is the same UN office that thanked Russian authorities for supporting Syrians...

Jun 4 2021 5:24PM
The Gaza Deja vu

By Ahmed Masoud - @masoud_ahmed 20 May 2021 Rolling news humming in the background, constant work messages, endless Whatsapp notifications, phone calls to family in Gaza, a blizzard of Twitter, Facebook and Instagram posts. Is there a...

Apr 23 2021 6:44PM
On the Trauma of Advocacy

The tenth anniversary of the Syrian uprising has now passed. Harrowing testimony of victims and stories of resistance from survivors saturated this brief moment in our collective conscience. Hundreds of articles, podcasts, interviews...

Mar 11 2021 2:05PM
Syria 10 Years On - Assad’s Pyrrhic Victory

Syria’s human rights community is not just petitioning and protesting against atrocities; they’re also hunting down torturers and war criminals.

Mar 6 2021 5:59PM
Friends & Families of Syria’s Disappeared Develop a Roadmap for Justice

Kristyan Benedict - @KreaseChan In the autumn of 2019, Syrian survivors of torture and familes of those still missing , gathered in rural Holland to work on what would become, nearly 18 months later, the Truth and Justice Charter . I...

Dec 22 2020 10:59AM
Why Did Austria Protect An Assad Regime Torture Chief?

Syrian human rights activists want states to hold Austria to account for violating the Torture Convention

Oct 12 2020 4:12PM
Countless Brave Syrian Activists Made The Koblenz Torture Trial Possible

By Mansour Omari Earlier this year, on April 23, a monumental event happened. The first ever trial about Syrian state torture started in Koblenz, Germany. The German prosecution charged two Syrians, Anwar Raslan and Iyad Al-Gharib...

Jun 3 2020 5:16PM
TripAdvisor’s attitude to racism & injustice is ‘Palestinian Lives Don’t Matter’

By Kristyan Benedict - @KreaseChan Over recent days, we’ve seen numerous major companies around the world issuing statements of support for the Black Lives Matter protests. In truth, many feel hollow - paying lip-service to the issues...

May 18 2020 7:11PM
Syrian Torture Trial in Koblenz, Germany - Part 1

Mansour Omari, a Syrian human rights defender, gives a personal account of the first day of a historic Syrian torture trial in Koblenz, Germany.

May 2 2020 9:23PM
Syrian Torture Trial in Koblenz, Germany - Part 2

Part 2 of Mansour Omari's deeply personal account of the Syria torture trial in Koblenz, Germany.

Apr 14 2020 3:01PM
Syrian Torture Trial in Koblenz, Germany - Part 3

I wondered what his victims felt hearing his voice. Was it too penetrating? Did it throw them back to that time and place when they heard it for the first time?

Mar 27 2020 4:44PM
Syria: Death by coronavirus - the latest fate awaiting Syrians
Video

As the coronavirus pandemic sweeps across the world, urgent action needs to be taken to save the lives of untold numbers of at-risk Syrians.

1/4
1/4