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<\/a>Amnesty International faces one of the most serious challenges to its moral authority since the human rights organization was founded in 1961.<\/p>\n
Author Salman Rushdie, himself once defended by the organization, accused AI recently of “moral bankruptcy,” telling the London Times…<\/a> <\/p>\n \u201cIt looks as if Amnesty\u2019s leadership is suffering from moral bankruptcy and has lost the ability to tell right from wrong.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n At issue is Amnesty’s ties to a former Guantanamo detainee named Moazzam Begg, a British national and Islamic fundamentalist. <\/p>\n The head of AI’s gender unit, a woman named Gita Saghal, was suspended recently after she accused her organization’s leadership<\/a> of aligning itself with a “jihadist” leader.<\/p>\n “I believe the campaign fundamentally damages Amnesty International’s integrity and, more importantly, constitutes a threat to human rights,” she wrote. <\/p><\/blockquote>\n Amnesty has partnered with Begg’s group, called Cageprisoners, to raise awareness about what the human rights group views as illegal behavior at Guantanamo Bay.<\/p>\n But Begg’s own views — and his support of Islamic groups that don’t embrace human rights — have been widely controversial, according to the Times<\/a>. <\/p>\n He has championed the rights of jailed al-Qaeda members and hate preachers, including Anwar al-Awlaki, alleged spiritual mentor of the Christmas Day Detroit aircraft bomber.<\/p>\n Ms Sahgal said: \u201cTo be appearing on platforms with Britain\u2019s most famous supporter of the Taleban, whom we treat as a human rights defender, is a gross error of judgment.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n After suspending Sahgal earlier this month, Amnesty issued the following statement defending its involvement with Begg: <\/p>\n \u201cHe speaks about his own views and experiences, not Amnesty International\u2019s,\u201d its statement noted. \u201cAnd Moazzam Begg has never used a platform he shared with Amnesty to speak against the rights of others.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Defenders of Begg point out that he was held by US authorities for three years and has never been charged with any crime.<\/p>\n