Amnesty

The U.S. army failed to account for military equipment and vehicles worth more than $1 billion that were intended for Iraqi government forces, according to a 2016 audit by the Pentagon's inspector general.

Amnesty International on May 22 accused the Turkish government of implementing "arbitrary dismissals" of public sector workers since the July 15, 2016 coup attempt, widely believed to have been masterminded by the followers of U.S.-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gülen. 

The United States has evidence the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has built a crematorium at a large military prison outside the capital Damascus, a State Department official said on May 15.

The Syrian government on May 16 denied the accusations.

Amnesty International has made an urgent appeal for the shutdown of the Elliniko migrant and refugee camp on Athens's southern coast and is calling for the transfer of its 1,200 occupants to alternative shelters.

The rights organization is decrying appalling living conditions at the facility and says that women and underage girls live in constant fear of sexual and verbal abuse.

Amnesty International complained to the United Nations on Monday about what it said was Bosnia and Herzegovina's failure to address the longstanding legacy of sexual violence committed during the conflict of 1992 to 1995.

Freedom of expression, the rights of migrants and refugees to protection, and LGBTI rights remain frequently violated in Balkan countries, according to the latest report by the rights watchdog Amnesty International.

The state of freedom of expression in Turkey has deteriorated sharply over the past year, particularly since the state of emergency declared after the failed July 2016 coup attempt, Amnesty International's Annual Report stated on Feb. 22.

The international rights watchdog Amnesty International has urged the UN Special Representative in Kosovo to persuade the UN mission in Kosovo, UNMIK, to apologize for the "failure to protect the lives of Mon Balaj and Arben Xheladini ... and provide the complainants with full reparation for the damage suffered".

As many as 13,000 people were hanged in five years at a notorious Syrian government prison near Damascus, Amnesty International said on Feb. 7, accusing the regime of a "policy of extermination." 

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte announced Feb. 2 the military would take a leading role in his deadly drug war, while vowing to kill more traffickers and addicts.