June, 11 2010, 02:36pm EDT
![Amnesty International - USA](https://assets.rbl.ms/32012686/origin.png)
For Immediate Release
Contact:
AIUSA media office,Email:,media@aiusa.org,Phone: 202-544-0200 x302
Amnesty International Urges Egypt Government to Investigate Brutal Killing of Young Man
WASHINGTON
Amnesty International is
calling for an immediate, full and independent investigation into the brutal
killing of a 28-year-old Egyptian man, Khaled Mohammed Said, while in the
hands of Egyptian security forces in the city of Alexandria on Sunday,
June 6.
Shocking pictures of Khaled Mohammed Said's
body, whose face is almost unrecognizable from the beating he received,
at the hands of the Egyptian police and in public according to reports,
has been posted on the internet.
"The horrific photographs are shocking evidence
of the abuses taking place in Egypt which are in stark contrast to the
image of the country depicted today by Egyptian officials to members of
the UN Human Rights Council and their reluctant recognition of some minor
wrongdoings," said Amnesty International.
"These pictures are a rare, first-hand glimpse
of the routine use of brutal force by the Egyptian security forces, who
expect to operate in a climate of impunity, with no questions asked."
Although, the exact circumstances surrounding
the killing are still being pieced together, what is known is that Khaled
Mohammed Said was severely beaten by two plain-clothes police officers
in an internet cafe. He was reportedly dragged out of the cafe and the
beating continued until he died.
According to a lawyer from El-Nadim Center
for Rehabilitation of Victims of Violence,
Khaled Mohammed Said's relatives were
informed of his death, but were prevented from seeing his body immediately.
The police took them to Sidi Gaber police station, where they were told
that Khaled Mohammed Said had swallowed a bag of narcotics when the police
had approached him, and had died from an overdose.
The family filed a complaint with the prosecutor
on Monday, June 7, but was surprised to find that the police had already
filed a report claiming Khaled Mohammed Said had died from a drug overdose.
The prosecutor has since ordered an autopsy and the investigation is continuing.
Amnesty International calls for an investigation
to be carried out in line with international standards, including those
within the United Nations Principles on Effective Prevention and Investigation
of Extra-legal, Arbitrary and Summary Executions.
Under the umbrella of Egypt's 29-year-old
state of emergency, abuses by the security forces are routine and rarely
punished, and those responsible have only been brought to justice on a
very few occasions. The state of emergency was extended for another two
years earlier this month, despite repeated calls from states and international
human rights groups during the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) for it to
be lifted as soon as possible.
"The Egyptian authorities must respond immediately
to this brutal beating and killing in the most robust way. If they do not
take action, it will yet again send a clear signal that these abuses may
continue and guarantee the perpetrators get away with it," said Amnesty
International. "The Egyptian authorities must reign in their security
forces. The Egyptian authorities should know that the eyes of the world
are increasingly on them, and the pictures online mean that they cannot
avoid conducting a thorough investigation with another whitewash."
Amnesty International is a global movement of millions of people demanding human rights for all people - no matter who they are or where they are. We are the world's largest grassroots human rights organization.
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'Tragic Outcome' for Gig Workers as California Supreme Court Hands Win to Uber, DoorDash
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Jul 25, 2024
Labor advocates on Thursday decried a ruling by the California Supreme Court upholding a lower court's affirmation of a state ballot measure allowing app-based ride and delivery companies to classify their drivers as independent contractors, limiting their worker rights.
The court's seven justices ruled unanimously in Castellanos v. State of California that Proposition 22, which was approved by 58% of California voters in 2020, complies with the state constitution. Prop 22—which was overturned in 2021 by an Alameda County Superior Court judge in 2021—was upheld in March 2023 by the state's 1st District Court of Appeals.
The business models of app-based companies including DoorDash, Instacart, Lyft, and Uber rely upon minimizing frontline worker compensation by categorizing drivers as independent contractors instead of employees. Independent contractors are not entitled to unemployment insurance, health insurance, or compensation for business expenses.
There are approximately 1.4 million app-based gig workers in California, according to industry estimates.
While DoorDash hailed Thursday's ruling as "not only a victory for Dashers, but also for democracy itself," gig worker advocates condemned the decision.
"Over the last three years, gig workers across California have experienced firsthand that Prop 22 is nothing more than a bait-and-switch meant to enrich global corporations at the expense of the Black, brown, and immigrant workers who power their earnings," plaintiff Hector Castellanos, who drives for Uber and Lyft, said in a statement.
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Lorena Gonzalez, president of the California Federation of Labor Unions, AFL-CIO, said that "we are deeply disappointed that the state Supreme Court has allowed tech corporations to buy their way out of basic labor laws despite Proposition 22's inconsistencies with our state constitution."
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The Gig Workers Rising campaign said on social media that "Uber and other app corporations spent $220 million to buy this law, and they did it by tricking Californians."
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Veena Dubal, a law professor at the University of California, Irvine who focuses on labor and inequality, toldCalMatters that Thursday's ruling was "a really tragic outcome," but "it's not the end of the road."
Dubal's sentiment was echoed by some California state legislators, who said the ruling presents an opportunity to act.
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Prop 22 has served as a template for lawmakers in other states seeking to deny or limit basic worker rights, benefits, and protections.
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Last month, Uber and Lyft reached an agreement with the office of Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell, a Democrat, to pay $175 million to settle a lawsuit filed in 2020. As part of the deal, the companies also agreed to increase driver pay and provide paid sick leave, accident insurance, and some health benefits. The agreement does not address how app-based gig workers should be classified.
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March for Our Lives, which was launched after the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, honored Harris with the group's first-ever endorsement on Wednesday, calling her "the right person to stand up for us and fight for the country we deserve."
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