Amnesty questioned by watchdog after it blacklisted JK Rowling's women's refuge charity in trans row

Amnesty trustees are being questioned by the charity regulator after it blacklisted JK Rowling's women-only charity in a row over trans rights.The UK branch of the global human rights charity caused outrage when it featured Beira's Place on a list of more than 100 'anti-rights' organisations. Beira's Place, in Edinburgh, was founded by Ms Rowling in 2022 to support victims of sexual violence. Amnesty apologised and said the list, titled 'A Growing Threat: The Anti-Rights Movement in the UK' had been published without the usual checks. Ms Rowling, who said she was 'burning with fury' after discovering the women-only support service had been mentioned, has threatened to bankroll legal action against Amnesty. Last week, Amnesty referred itself to the Charity Commission by submitting a serious incident report. While the watchdog has not launched a formal investigation into Amnesty, it has opened a regulatory compliance case in order to assess concerns raised.A spokesperson said: 'We have opened a regulatory compliance case to further assess concerns raised with us about a briefing published by Amnesty International UK Charitable Trus'As part of this we are engaging with the charity's trustees to gather more information. In line with our guidance, the charity has submitted a serious incident report.' Ms Rowling has threatened Amnesty International with legal action, prompting the organisation to remove the report from its website. The NGO referred itself to the charity regulator Amnesty International produced a report of organisations that it believes are holding back LGBT rights - including Ms Rowling's Edinburgh rape centre Beira's PlaceMarion Calder, a co-director of the campaign group For Women Scotland, said her group 'welcomes the news that the Charity Commission is taking this seriously'.Ms Rowling's charity describes itself as a 'safe and supportive sexual assault service for women in Edinburgh' which 'offers support, advocacy and information in a safe, women-only space'.Also featured in Amnesty's report was Sex Matters, a charity which supports legal action to protect single-sex spaces and For Women Scotland, the campaign group whose legal action led to the Supreme Court to rule that 'women' in equality law refers to biological females, and therefore does not include trans women.In scathing social media posts criticising her charity's inclusion in Amnesty's list, Ms Rowling said: 'Amnesty is no longer the organisation that defended all who were persecuted for their freedom of speech.'It has become a self-appointed, vainglorious policeman of wrongthink. It tweets out ideological slogans. It demonises those who disagree with those slogans. It intervened in FWS v Scottish Ministers, on the side of those determined to keep men in women's prisons and rape crisis centres.'You cannot be simultaneously an impartial defender of freedom and speech and a wealthy international witch hunter that publicly vilifies and intimidates small campaigning groups with whom you disagree.'As for "silencing" Amnesty, I have neither the power nor the desire to do so. I want them to explain as loudly and extensively as possible why they are using their might and formerly lustrous reputation to attack small non-violent campaigning organisations with legally protected beliefs.' Ms Rowling took to X to share her 'fury' over Amnesty's report, which listed more than 170 organisations it considers anti-transMs Rowling added: 'Amnesty's attack on Beira's Place has left me burning with the kind of fury that mounts with every passing hour.'She also said: 'I am still f*****g furious, thanks for asking.'On Friday, the head of Amnesty International UK was urged to resign.The report by the global charity's British arm claimed gender-critical people - who believe someone's true gender is based on biology rather than how they identify - represent 'a movement against the rights of women and LGBTI people'.Published in May and previously available on its website, it claimed 'the growth and influence of the GC [gender-critical] movement' is 'worrying' and has been normalised by the media.It also called on journalists to 'qualify GC and explain that it is an ideological stance that seeks to restrict the rights of trans people' in their reporting.The Harry Potter author threatened to bankroll legal action over the report, including other organisations who were listed - prompting Amnesty to remove it from their website.Amnesty UK said: 'We remain committed to defending human rights, including both the rights of women and girls, and the rights of trans people.'We are engaging fully with the Charity Commission to provide all necessary information.'