Monday, July 27, 2020

Palestine: Free Anti-Corruption Activisits - URGENT ACTION

Amnesty International, USA, 7-25-2020.

On 19 July 2020, the West Bank-based Palestinian forces arrested 19 anti-corruption activists during a peaceful protest held in the city of Ramallah. While three were released, 16 of these activists have been charged, 10 of which remain in detention. 

All 10 are on hunger strike in protest of their detention. Authorities must immediately drop all charges and release these activists. Their next court hearing is on 5 August 2020.

Saturday, July 18, 2020

IRAN: Stop Death Penalty - ONLINE PETITION

Amnesty International USA, 7-17, 2020.

Amirhossein Moradi, Mohammad Rajabi and Saeed Tamjidi were sentenced to death in connection with the nationwide protests that took place in November 2019. Iran’s judiciary spokesperson accused them of being “riot leaders”.

Mohammad Rajabi and Saeed Tamjidi have said they were kicked, hung upside down and repeatedly beaten. Amirhossein Moradi has said that interrogators tortured him through beatings, electric shocks and standing on his chest. He also reported painful kidney problems as a result of the torture. Despite this, he has been denied medical care. His “confessions”, which he has said were given under torture, were used as evidence by the court to convict all three.

These death sentences form part of a wider trend of arrests and the death penalty being used against dissenting voices in Iran.

Tuesday, July 14, 2020

IRAN - Human Rights Defender at Risk for COVID-19 - URGENT ACTION

Amnesty International, USA, July 13, 2020.

Imprisoned Iranian human rights defender Narges Mohammadi, who suffers from serious pre-existing health conditions, is showing suspected COVID-19 symptoms. The authorities are putting her health and life at risk by denying her health care and holding her in inhumane conditions. 

She is held solely for her peaceful human rights work and must be released immediately and unconditionally.


Saturday, July 11, 2020

COLOMBIA - Human Rights Defender in Danger - URGENT ACTION

Amnesty International, USA, 7-10-2020.

On 2 July, the Inter-Ecclesiastic Commission of Justice and Peace received confidential information about an ongoing plan to kill the Human Rights Defender Jani Silva. 

The plan is allegedly run by an armed group called “La mafia” because of the voluntary crops substitution program that Jani Silva is promoting in the Putumayo region (South West), Colombia. 

According to NGOs, “La Mafia” is behind the killings of 14 persons in the Putumayo region since the COVID-19 lockdown started. We are urging the National Protection Unit to increase protection measures for Jani Silva.

Thursday, July 9, 2020

IRAN: Women's Rights Actiivist Prison Sentence Increased - URGENT ACTION

Amnesty International, USA, 7-8-20.

Iranian women’s rights defender Saba Kordafshari, 22, learned in May 2020 that judicial authorities had unlawfully and secretly increased her prison sentence from nine to 24 years by altering an appeal verdict from November 2019, which had quashed her conviction for a charge that carried 15 years in prison. 

She must be immediately and unconditionally released as she is held solely for her human rights work including campaigning against Iran’s discriminatory forced veiling laws.




Saturday, July 4, 2020

SYRIA: Demand Aid for North-West Syria - ONLINE PETITION

Amnesty International, Canada, 7-3-2020
Today, millions of civilians in north-west Syria urgently need food, medicine, clean water and adequate shelter. Cornered in a crowded and ever-shrinking area that was already struggling to accommodate the needs of its population, the displaced continue to suffer intolerable living conditions. They need timely and sustained humanitarian aid.
This alarming situation is the result of air and ground attacks by Syrian and Russian government forces on civilians and civilian objects such as residential homes, medical facilities and schools in north-west Syria. Between December 2019 and March 2020, these attacks have killed or injured scores of civilians and around one million were forced to flee their homes towards the Turkish border.
On 10 July, UN Security Council Resolution 2504, the only way that the UN can continue to deliver vital aid across the Turkish border to people in north-west Syria. will expire. This resolution is a lifeline for desperate civilians and must be renewed.
We are concerned that some states, like Russia, plan to veto the resolution, which would only worsen an already dire humanitarian situation. We must all act now to ensure that civilians in north-west Syria continue to receive timely and sustained humanitarian aid and we need your support to put pressure on Russia to make this happen.