Amnesty International Canada – Thirty years ago, the international community agreed to ban torture and adopted the Convention against Torture. Yet in recent years, the practice remains widespread as governments justify any means to combat security threats and organized crime or simply suppress dissent. Key safeguards that would reduce and prevent the use of torture remain unimplemented.

Send a message to Canada’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Rob Nicholson, calling on him to ensure Canada fully commits to ending the use of torture around the world.

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Canada must take action to strengthen global efforts to end torture, say NGOs in open letter to Prime Minister Harper

Governments are snooping on everything we do online. State intelligence and security agencies are using mass surveillance to collect our private emails, calls, internet searches, contact lists, phone locations, webcam images and more.

Sign Amnesty International’s petition today, and call on Canada, the USA, UK, Australia and New Zealand – to end indiscriminate mass surveillance today.

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Credit: Amnesty International

Raif Badawi should be in Canada today, with his wife and their three children. Instead he is spending time in Briman prison, Jeddah city, Saudi Arabia.

UPDATE: RAIF BADAWI HAS NOT BEEN FLOGGED FOR THE 6TH CONSECUTIVE WEEK. Raif received 50 lashes in public on Friday, January 9th during prayer time in Jeddah. Raif remains at risk of flogging as long as the court verdict and sentence remains in place. THANK YOU FOR KEEPING UP THE PRESSURE!

Authorities arrested Raif Badawi (pronounced Ra-eef Ba-da-wee) on 17 June 2012. They charged him with insulting Islam and creating the “Saudi Arabian Liberals” website for social and political debate. The charges are related to articles Raif wrote criticizing religious figures.

Raif Badawi’s case bounced back and forth between courts until 7 May 2014. On that day, the Criminal Court pronounced a sentence of 10 years in prison, 1000 lashes and a fine of 1 million riyals (about $290,000 CDN). After he serves a decade in jail, he is also forbidden to travel for the following decade and from participating in the media.

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