Aisha Jung, a former employee at Amnesty International, is suing the human rights organisation due to claims of discrimination. Shortly after the organisation decided to designate Alexei Navalny, a Russian opposition leader a “Prisoner of Conscience” after his arrest in January 2021, Ms Jung was unfairly dismissed.
Amnesty failed to disclose dangerous agendas pushed by Navalny’s nationalist movement called NAROD (The National Russian Liberation Movement), such as YouTube videos likening Chechens to “giant cockroaches and aggressive flies” that need to be annihilated, just before shooting an actor dressed in stereotypical Muslim attire. In another video, Navalny, dressed as a dentist, equates immigration to tooth decay that must be swiftly removed. The status was rightfully revoked in February 2021 due to Navalny’s historic racist and far-right nationalists comments resurfacing. This resulted in an outcry amongst Western liberal media outlets and from within the Amnesty movement, claiming the organisation had deserted him.
Despite never publicly apologising or withdrawing such statements, in May 2021, Amnesty International took the shocking decision to reinstate his status. Understandably, Ms Jung – a Muslim employee aware of Navalny’s history – raised a grievance claiming the reinstatement was insulting and discriminatory towards Muslims and immigrants. Due to this stressful situation, as well as facing other occasions of Islamophobia at work, Ms Jung took sick leave authorised by her GP. Not only did Amnesty not process the grievance, but they also cut Ms Jung’s salary and terminated her employment in May 2022 whilst she was on leave, claiming a breakdown in trust. This unlawful treatment can only be described as discriminatory and Islamophobic.
Click on the link below to read more about how this household name for human rights discriminated against one of their employees and how the IRU (Islamophobia Response Unit) and Fairmont Legal are assisting Ms Jung in taking legal action against her ex-employer: https://www.theiru.org.uk/amnesty-international-islamophobia-allegations/
