"Amnesty on the scene, wearing yellow "Observer" t-shirts. #Ferguson" [@ryanjreilly]
Amnesty International has had a team on the ground in Ferguson since Thurs. 8/14.
"Jasmine Heiss, a senior campaigner with Amnesty who is a part of the team in Ferguson, said the use of the “cross-functional team” — which she said included community trainers, researchers, and human rights observers — was “unprecedented” within the United States for the group." [source]
"On Saturday, after Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon declared a state of emergency and put a curfew in place in Ferguson, Amnesty International USA’s executive director, Steven W. Hawkins, issued a scathing statement.
“We criticize dictators for quelling dissent and silencing protestors with tactics like curfews, we’ll certainly speak out when it’s happening in our own backyard,” he said. “The people of Ferguson have the right to protest peacefully the lack of accountability for Michael Brown’s shooting.”" [source]
".@amnesty observers being escorted away from #Ferguson corner being cleared of all but credentialed media." [@sdkstl]
During protests the night of 8/18, Amnesty observers were escorted out of Ferguson by the police (see photo at right). Shortly thereafter, Amnesty issued a press release calling for police to conduct an investigation into the shooting of Michael Brown, for police to respect international law in protests (and investigations of any violations), and a review of policing tactics. Here's the release.
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