(Amnesty International UK):  Afghanistan’s human rights community are facing face intimidation, harassment, threats and violence amid intensifying attacks from both the authorities and armed groups, Amnesty International said in a new briefing released today (28 August). While violence escalates in Afghanistan – last year saw the highest levels of civilian deaths on record – human rights defenders and activists have been largely ignored by the Afghan government and the international community. In the briefing, Defenceless Defenders: Attacks on Afghanistan’s Human Rights Community, Amnesty reveals how the Afghan government has repeatedly failed to investigate attacks on activists, sometimes accusing them of ‘fabricating’ their claims and even telling them to take up arms to defend themselves.