Thanks you to Farideh, one of our AI Madison Group #139 members, for sending us this communication from Angie Hougas, AIUSA Board Member.
Date: Fri, 30 Oct 2015 18:15:38 -0500
Dear All:
See below for some updates from this week.
Thanks, Enjoy Halloween
Angie Hoguas
AIUSA Board of Directors
AIUSA Priorities for the Fourth Quarter of 2015, October - December
(Point: Margaret)
·
Priority
Campaigns (work across all three months)
o Police Accountability: five state campaigns (Point:
Jamira)
o Write for Rights (Point: Zeke)
o Year End Fundraising
·
Secondary Priorities
(elevated work with peak times)
o My Body, My Rights: Ireland, Burkina Faso, and Human
Rights Education (Point: Tarah)
o Focus Cases: Albert Woodfox and Raif Badawi (Point:
Jasmine)
o Accountability for CIA torture campaign (Point:
Naureen)
·
Ongoing
o Abolish the death penalty (Point: James)
Individuals at Risk Program:
·
Good news on cases
from our global movement:
o
Abyan (Urgent Action Case): The Australian
government has declared that Abyan (not her real name) will be allowed
back to Australia for medical treatment and mental health support. The
23-year-old Somali refugee requested the Australian authorities to allow
her into Australia to have an abortion after falling pregnant as a result
of an alleged rape in July in Nauru, an island nation in the Central
Pacific. Abortion services are not available in Nauru and abortion is
criminalized.
o
Azza Soliman & 16 others (Urgent Action Case):
Azza Soliman and 16 other eyewitnesses to the fatal shooting of a
32-year-old woman, Shaimaa Al-Sabbagh, were acquitted on by Qasr al-Nil
Appeal Court of charges of protesting illegally and disturbing public
order under Egypt’s draconian Protest Law. While the Misdemeanour Court
of Qasr al-Nil had acquitted the defendants of all charges on
May 23,
Egypt’s Public Prosecution appealed against the decision three days
later. Azza Soliman thanked Amnesty International for its support and
solidarity which she said strengthened her “in front of injustice and
despair.”
o
Danilo Maldonado Machado (Urgent Action Case): Cuban
graffiti artist Danilo Maldonado Machado (‘El Sexto’) was released after
spending almost 10 months in prison without trial following accusations
of “aggravated contempt”. Amnesty International considered him a prisoner
of conscience.
o
Shaker Aamer (Write for Rights): Shaker Aamer was
transferred to the UK after over a decade of indefinite detention without
charge or trial at US Naval Station Guantanamo Bay. His case was included
in AIUSA’s 2013 Write for Rights.
- Priorities for Next Week:
o
Write for Rights promotion
www.amnestyusa.org/w4r
o
Albert Woodfox (Focus Case & Write for
Rights): We will continue to put pressure on the Governor and
Attorney General of Louisiana to free Albert
o
Raif Badawi (Focus Case & Write for Rights):
Continued pressure on Saudi Embassy and on US government
o
Mass Incarceration case project development
Security with Human Rights:
·
GUANTANAMO/TORTURE
o Today, Shaker Aamer was at last transferred out of
Guantanamo after years of campaigning from Amnesty and others, bringing
the number of remaining detainees to 112, nearly half of who have been
cleared for transfer. In 2013, Shaker’s case was highlighted in Write For
Rights.
o AIUSA released
this statement saying Shaker’s transfer upends Guantanamo myths. And
long-time Amnesty member Gay Gardner
posted this blog, describing how these developments motivate her
activism.
o We are planning a webinar to follow Shaker’s transfer,
tentatively scheduled for
Nov. 18. This webinar will celebrate this
Amnesty victory, and discuss next steps on how to end indefinite
detention and ensure accountability for torture.
o Another detainee was transferred out of Guantanamo this
week. Ahmed Abdualaziz returned to his home country Mauritania, after
activism from Amnesty and others.
Here is AIUSA’s statement on this transfer.
o The new “American Torture Story” toolkit is now
available online!
o Next week, the House of Representatives will vote to
override the President’s veto of the National Defense Authorization Act.
The president’s veto was based in part on onerous new restrictions that
would undermine the President’s ability close Guantanamo. AIUSA is
working with coalition partners to put pressure on Members of Congress to
sustain the President’s veto and ensure that the transfer restrictions
are not finalized into law.
Digital and in the News for the past week:
LETHAL FORCE
DRONES
CHINA
- 10/29/15 Al Jazeera America, appearance by Kumar
(no clip)
- 10/29/15 NTN24, appearance by Kumar (no clip)
- 10/29/15
What will happen to China's undocumented "ghost children" after
the one-child policy ends, Hopes and Fears, by Marina
Galperina.
- 10/29/15
China one-child policy to end, CNN.com, by Steven
Jiang
- 10/30/15
5 things
to know for your new day -- Friday, October 30,
CNN.com
- 10/30/15
China scraps controversial one-child policy; couples can have two,
USA Today, by Hannah Gardner and Kim Hjelmgaard.
SAUDI ARABIA
- 10/29/15
Sentenced to be Crucified, New York Times, by Nicholas
D. Kristof. Quotes Ensaf Heidar during a meeting we arranged, and
features photo of an AIUSA rally
SURVEILLANCE
DEATH PENALTY
SEX WORKER POLICY
REFUGEES
AIUSA
We
have such a wonderful membership! Not only do we hold human rights dear
to our hearts but there are also other issues such as the environment,
poverty, children's health, etc that can be related to human rights but
may not be addressed by Amnesty International. 
