Tuesday, December 21, 2021

Amnesty International: Write for Rights 2021 - Report

Amnesty International, US, 12-20-2021.

2021 Write For Rights (10 Cases) 

Amnesty International Local Group 139, Madison, Wisconsin 

Report By: Azam Niroomand-Rad, PhD, Coordinator Group 139 

Summary outline of signatures collected by AI-139 members and friends (Not including online actions). Each case was mailed to the Amnesty International specified authority. 

(1) Belarus: Release Mikita Zalatarou and have fair trial for children. 


(76 Signatures) 

(2) China: Release Zhang Zhan immediately & stop censorship of journalists. (65 Signatures) 

(3) Egypt: Release immediately Mohamed Baker, Human Rights Lawyer. (66 Signatures) 

(4) Israel: End discrimination and harassment of Janna Jihad in Occupied Palestine. (63 Signatures) 

(5) Guatemala: Drop charges against Bernado Caal Xol who protects his heritage. (70 


Signatures) 

(6) Mexico: Investigate violence against Wendy Galarza, childcare worker. (66 Signatures) 

(7) Nigeria: Drop all charges for Imoleayo Michael, computer programmer. (69 Signatures) 

(8) Thailand: Drop charges for Panusaya Sithijirawattanakul, university student. (70 Signatures) 

(9) Ukraine: Investigate and end hate crimes against LGBTI Sphere NGO. (75 Signatures) 

(10) USA: Must Act Now. Demand unconditional release of Ciham Ali, US Citizen in Eritrea. (69 Signatures) 



Saturday, December 18, 2021

CHINA/TIBET: TIBETAN MONK HELD INCOMMUNICADO FOR 2 YEARS - URGENT ACTION

Amnesty International, 12-17-2021.

Tibetan monk Rinchen Tsultrim was sentenced to four years and six months’ imprisonment in a secret trial for “inciting secession” after expressing political views on his WeChat account. 


Held incommunicado since August 1, 2019, his family members only learned of the trial, his crime and whereabouts through a response from the Chinese authorities to the United Nations human rights experts in August 2021. 


According to international human rights law and standards, no one should be imprisoned solely for peacefully exercising their right to freedom of expression. Without access to family and legal representation, there are grave concerns for Rinchen Tsultrim’s condition and wellbeing. 


CLICK to TAKE ACTION

Wednesday, December 8, 2021

MEXICO: Detainee Tortured to Death - URGENT ACTION

Amnesty International, USA, 12-8-2021.

On August 3, 2021, José Eduardo Ravelo died from multiple internal injuries, after telling his mother the police had tortured him in detention days before in Mérida, state of Yucatán. 


The prosecutor’s office carrying out the investigation of Jose Eduardo's death has publicly stated that torture or ill treatment did not occur during his detention, even before concluding the investigation, raising serious doubts about the seriousness and impartiality of the prosecutors. 


We urge the Attorney General to ensure an independent and exhaustive investigation into all possible crimes committed against José Eduardo, and to guarantee full access to justice and reparations for his mother. 

 

 CLICK HERE to TAKE ACTION

Monday, November 29, 2021

IRAN: Executions by Iran's Security Forces - NEWS

Amnesty International,  November, 2021

This document contains the details of 324 men, women and children documented by Amnesty International as having been killed by Iran’s security forces during their crackdown on mass protests that erupted across Iran between 15 and 19 November 2019, following the government’s announcement about the significant overnight rise in the price of fuel.

Amnesty International believes that the real number of those killed is higher than 324. The organization is aware of scores of additional names that have been reported online, but has assessed that it does not yet have sufficient reliable details to include them in its list of 324 recorded deaths. The lack of access to information is due, in large part, to the climate of intense fear created by the authorities, which has resulted in fewer families and other informed individuals being willing to speak out. 

On 16 November 2021, Amnesty International published some of these reported names in Persian on its Telegram, Instagram and Twitter accounts, and invited anyone with information about them or other victims hitherto unknown to contact the organization. The selection of these reported names was based on the amount of information available online about the date, place and circumstances of the alleged deaths, and/or the availability of pictures said to be depicting the reported victims and/or the gravesites where they were buried. 

Amnesty International has found the security forces’ use of lethal force against the vast majority of those killed to be unlawful. In almost all protests that took place between 15 and 19 November, there is no evidence that people were in possession of firearms or that they posed an imminent threat to life that would have warranted the use of lethal force, according to extensive research, including video analysis, conducted by Amnesty International. The organization is aware of two reported exceptions in one city on 18 November and early hours of 19 November where gunfire is believed to have been exchanged between a number of protesters and security forces

Amnesty International has found that at least 238 of the recorded deaths resulted from incidents that took place over just two days on 16 and 17 November. 

CLICK HERE to LEARN MORE

 

Tuesday, November 23, 2021

IRAN: Detained Students at Risk for Death Penalty - URGENT ACTION

Amnesty International, November 23, 2021.

Iranian university students Ali Younesi and Amirhossein Moradi, arbitrarily detained without trial in section 209 of Tehran’s Evin prison since 10 April 2020, are at risk of being convicted in a grossly unfair trial of a spurious charge that carries the death penalty. 


Ministry of intelligence agents beat them and held them in prolonged solitary confinement in harsh conditions to extract forced “confessions”. They are prisoners of conscience targeted for exercising their right to family life.


CLICK HERE to TAKE ACTION


 

  

Monday, November 15, 2021

CHINA: Zhan's Health is Critical - Send a Tweet

Amnesty International, Australia, Nov 14, 2021

Together, over 16,000 people have signed the petition calling on Chinese authorities to free Zhan immediately and unconditionally.

 

However, Zhan’s situation is more critical than ever. She has been on hunger strike in protest of her incarceration and is at risk of dying if she is not urgently released to receive medical treatment. Her family say they do not expect her to live through the winter if she is not released on medical grounds.

 

We must keep taking action and maintain this pressure to demand Zhan’s immediate release.


Send a tweet to the Chinese Embassy to demand Zhan’s release.

Tuesday, November 9, 2021

Write for Rights 2021

When we all act together, we have the power to change lives.
Write for Rights is the world’s biggest human rights event, where millions of people around the world come together to protect the rights of others.
It began when a group of activists in Poland held a 24-hour letter-writing marathon, writing letters day and night on behalf of people whose rights had been wronged. 20 years later, and it has turned into our biggest campaign where we all come together to protect the human rights of people at risk.
From 2,326 letters in 2001 to 4.5 million letters, tweets and petition signatures today, Write for Rights supporters have used the power of their voice to help others. Together, they’ve helped transform the lives of more than 100 people, freeing them from torture, harassment, or unjust imprisonment.  

Click here for information about each case and how YOU can be involved!
To sign all ten petitions at one time, click here.

Friday, November 5, 2021

IRAN & UK: Richard Ratcliffe Hunger Strike Continues - NEWS

Amnesty International, UK, November 4, 2021.

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s husband, Richard Ratcliffe, has begun another hunger strike outside the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office. He is demanding urgent action from the government over his wife’s continued detention in Iran. 

 

Richard is now entering day 12 of his hunger strike. This form of protest is distressing and risky and at this point, Richard is already feeling his energy levels dipping. 


CLICK HERE to LEARN MORE


Thursday, October 28, 2021

USA: Environmental Lawyer Arbitrarily Detained - URGENT ACTION

Amnesty International, USA, 10-27-2021.

On October 1, 2021 Steven Donziger, a lawyer and environmental rights defender who successfully represented victims of oil dumping in Ecuador, was sentenced to six months in prison on a politically motivated ‘contempt of court’ charge. 


He has already spent more than two years under house arrest in a process that United Nations experts found lacks any legal basis and is in violation of numerous fair trial standards. The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention found that his detention is in retaliation for his work as a lawyer for the Indigenous communities in Ecuador. He must be released immediately and unconditionally. 

CLICK HERE to TAKE ACTION

 

Saturday, October 23, 2021

IRAN: Execution Pending - URGENT ACTION

Amnesty International, USA, 10-22-2021.

A young Iranian man Arman Abdolali is facing imminent execution for a crime that took place when he was 17 years old. After global outcries, Iranian authorities postponed hisexecution three times in October 2021. He learned on 20 October his execution is to be carried out within a week. 


Hossein Shahbazi, another young man convicted and sentenced to death for a crime that took place when he was aged 17, also remains at risk of imminent execution after his scheduled 25 July 2021 execution was postponed following international actions. 


Their trials were marred by serious violations, including the use of torture-tainted “confessions”.


CLICK HERE to TAKE ACTION

Friday, October 15, 2021

USA: Free Leonard Peltier - URGENT ACTION

Amnesty International, USA, 10-14-2021

Native American activist Leonard Peltier has been imprisoned in the USA for over 44 years, some of which was spent in solitary confinement, serving two life sentences for murder despite concerns over the fairness of his trial. 


He has always maintained his innocence. He is 76 years old and suffers from a number of chronic health ailments, including one that is potentially fatal. Leonard Peltier will not be eligible for parole again until 2024. 


His lawyers have submitted a new petition for clemency. President Biden must grant Leonard Peltier clemency on humanitarian grounds and as a matter of justice.


CLICK to TAKE ACTION


 

Thursday, October 14, 2021

VENEZUELA: Human Rights Defenders Detained - URGENT ACTION

Amnesty International, USA, 10-12-2021

Javier Tarazona, Director of local NGO FundaREDES, Rafael Tarazona and Omar de Dios García, FundaREDES’ activists, were arbitrarily detained on July 2, 2021 after attempting to report harassment from security officers at the Attorney General’s Office in the city of Coro (Western Venezuela).  They charged with inciting hatred, treason, and terrorism. 


Despite numerous requests, their trusted legal representatives have been denied accreditation before the court. The three are still awaiting a pre-trial hearing to take place. We urge authorities to release them immediately and unconditionally since their detention is politically motivated.   


CLICK HERE to TAKE ACTION


  

Tuesday, September 28, 2021

IRAN: German Iranian Detained - URGENT ACTION STATEMENT

Amnesty International,  USA, 9-27-2021

Nahid Taghavi, a 66-year-old German Iranian national, has been arbitrarily detained in Tehran’s Evin prison since 16 October 2020. She has serious medical conditions, including diabetes and high blood pressure, placing her at heightened risk of severe illness or death if she contracts COVID-19. She is a prisoner of conscience that requires lower lumbar surgery according to prison physician. Her family have agreed to pay for her surgical procedure outside prison. 


In recent years, the Iranians authorities have arrested and detained dozens of dual nationals, including human rights activist Nahid Taghavi. 


In July 2019 report by the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran, Prof. Rahman expressed deep concern about the continued “arbitrary arrest, detention, ill-treatment and denial of appropriate medical treatment of dual and foreign nationals.” He stated that the Iranian authorities have “subjected these individuals to sham trials, which have failed to meet basic fair trial standards, and convicted them of offences on the basis of fabricated evidence or, in some cases, no evidence at all, and [have] attempted to use them as diplomatic leverage.” 

Prof. Rahman also noted that the families of several dual nationals detained in Iran consider the detention of their loved ones to be “hostage-taking”. 


Amnesty International has documented a pattern of systematic fair trial rights violations in Iran, beginning from the time of arrest right up until when defendants stand trial. Detainees are often arrested without warrants and held in prolonged solitary confinement in undisclosed locations without access to their families. Individuals detained, investigated and prosecuted, especially those who are dual nationals or who are arrested on politically motivated charges, including human rights activists, are subjected to grossly unfair judicial proceedings. 


Prosecution authorities and interrogators belonging to security and intelligence bodies, including the Revolutionary Guards, systematically deny detainees their right to access a lawyer from the time of arrest, even lawyers vetted and approved by the judiciary, during the investigation phase of their case. Prosecution authorities also deny prisoners of conscience access to adequate health care, including surgical procedures 


I ask you to immediately and unconditionally release Nahid Taghavi as she is a prisoner of conscience detained solely in connection with her peacefully exercising her rights to freedom of expression and association. Pending her release, give her regular access to a lawyer of her choosing and family, as well as to any health care she needs, including medication and transfer to outside facilities for surgical treatment, and ensure that she is granted access to consular assistance from the German authorities. 


Prof. Azam Niroomand-Rad 

Coordinator, Amnesty International Local Group 139, 

Madison, WI, USA 


Tuesday, September 21, 2021

Solidarity Statement for Iran's Political Prisoners

Our AI Group #139 Coordinator, Azam Niroomand-Rad, wrote this statement of solidarity for the group, Emergency Campaign  2Free Iran's Political Prisoners, supporting the release of Iran's political prisoners.

 September 20, 2021

"The Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and government authorities have failed to provide accountability for political prisoners. According to Amnesty International there are many arbitrary arrests of human rights activists in particular women, ethnic and religion minorities. Leaked video footage from Evin prison offers evidence of beatings, sexual harassment, and other ill-treatment by prison officials without any fear of consequences or accountability. Security forces violate prisoners’ right to life and dignity. Lack of investigations constitutes in and of itself a violation of the human rights.

 Amnesty International believes there are no transparency in Iran’s justice system and the fact that many human rights violations go unreported due to widespread fear of reprisal, harassment and intimidation by security officers. The lawyers defending political prisoners have also received threats for pursuing legal action or even faced persecution and imprisonment. 

Amnesty International has serious concerns of the recent UN Special Rapporteur on Iran in July 2021 regarding gross human rights violations and abuses in the IRI with no accountability. A number of dual nationals from UK, Sweden, Germany and Australia are kept in solidarity confinement limiting access by their families and lawyers. 

The governments of the US, Iran, and other countries may have their own national interests. Sanctions hurt people and political prisoners. We demand the US to lift sanctions and the IRI to free all political prisoners including people of Baháʼí Faith, Kurd, Baluch, and Arab dissent now and unconditionally." 


Monday, September 20, 2021

We Mourn the Passing of One of Our Dedicated Members

 

July 29, 2021: 
It is with great sadness that we post the obituary of one of our longtime members. Wayne Kinos passed away on July 29, 2021. He was a tireless advocate for human rights and we will miss him greatly. 



Friday, September 17, 2021

IRAN: Deaths in Custody - PRESS RELEASE

Amnesty International, USA, 9-16-2021

Please find attached a press release (in English and Persian) that Amnesty International issued today on a decade of deaths in custody in Iran that have gone uninvestigated and unpunished amid systemic impunity for torture.

 

The press release reveals that the Iranian authorities have failed to provide accountability for at least 72 deaths in custody since January 2010, despite credible reports that they resulted from torture or other ill-treatment or the lethal use of firearms and tear gas by officials.


 Amnesty International believes that the real number of deaths in custody is likely much higher given the lack of transparency in Iran’s justice system and the fact that many human rights violations go unreported due to widespread fear of reprisal and systematic repression of civil society.

 


EGYPT: Charges Dropped for Egyptian Lawyer - GOOD NEWS

Amnesty International, USA, 9-16-2021.

Over the past few years, Egyptian lawyer and human rights defender Azza Soliman was arrested several times and harassed by the Egyptian authorities for defending women's rights.

 

There is have great news.The charges against Azza have been dropped and her travel is no longer banned!

 

Local Amnesty activists found ways of getting the attention of Egyptian authorities by sending letters and pictures demanding that they drop the charges against Azza.

 

In total, over 35,000 people campaigned on Azza’s behalf and made sure the Egyptian authorities heard the message to drop the charges.

 


 

 

 

Wednesday, September 15, 2021

IRAN: Swedish-Iranian Doctor at Risk for Execution - ONLINE PETITION

Amnesty International, Australia, Sept 15, 2021.

Over 5 years ago, Swedish-Iranian academic Ahmadreza, a specialist in emergency medicine, was on a regular trip to Iran when he was arrested. 

Ahmadreza says he was tortured and that interrogators threatened to harm his children unless he 'confessed' to being a 'spy' for Sweden.

Ahmadreza’s wife Vida describes him as “a conscientious and compassionate doctor who has put all of his effort into the health and welfare of others.” 

In November 2020, Vida was told that Ahmadreza’s execution would be carried out within a week. In response compassionate people from all around the world spoke out and called for the Iranian authorities to call off the execution. 

He remains at risk for execution.

Call on the Iranian authorities to quash Ahmadreza’s death sentence today.

 



Monday, September 13, 2021

USA: Intellectually Disabled Man Faces Execution - URGENT ACTION

Amnesty International, USA, Sept 10, 2021.

Ernest Johnson faces execution on October 5, 2021. He was convicted and sentenced to death in 1995 for the 1994 murders of three employees of a convenience store in Missouri. A jury sentenced him to death despite a claim of intellectual disability in violation to international law. Johnson had surgery in 2008 to remove a brain tumor which has left him with seizures. Medical expert testified that the lethal injection drugs may trigger violent and painful seizures. State and federal courts have denied his claims for relief. We urge Governor Parson to halt the execution and commute his sentence.


CLICK HERE to TAKE ACTION

IRAN: Kurdish Prisoner at Risk for Execution - URGENT ACTION

Amnesty International, USA, 9-12-2021.

Iranian Kurdish prisoner Heidar Ghorbani is at imminent risk of execution for “armed rebellion against the state” (baghi), despite serious fair trial violations and the trial court confirming that he was never armed. In August 2021, the Supreme Court rejected his second request for judicial review. His conviction is based on torture tainted “confessions” obtained while he was forcibly disappeared.

 

CLICK HERE to TAKE ACTION


Friday, September 10, 2021

IRAN: Prisoner Held in Cruel Conditions - URGENT ACTION

Amnesty International, USA, 9-10-2021.

Prisoner of conscience Maryam Akbari Monfared has been held in cruel and inhumane conditions in a distant prison in Semnan province far from her family since March 2021.  She was seeking truth and justice for her siblings who were forcibly disappeared and extrajudicially executed in secret in 1988. She has been unjustly jailed for nearly 12 years. 


Monday, September 6, 2021

COLOMBIA: Journalist at Risk - URGENT ACTION

Amnesty International, USA, Sept 1, 2021

On July 7, 2021 a local civil society organization received confidential information about a plan to kill journalist José Alberto Tejada. 


Since April 28, 2021 he has faced more than 14 security incidents including surveillance by unidentified men and a security forces official had treated with killing him. 


José Alberto Tejada’s work has been crucial in denouncing human rights violations and crimes under international law by the security forces during the Colombian National Strike, in the city of Cali (West). 


We urge the National Protection Unit of the Ministry of Interior to provide him with appropriate protection measures with his agreement.


CLICK HERE to TAKE ACTION

 

 

 

Thursday, September 2, 2021

AFGHANISTAN: ONLINE PETITION to PRESIDENT BIDEN

Amnesty International, USA,  Sept 1, 2021

President Biden is talking up what he’s calling “the largest airlift in U.S. history...” but Amnesty is tracking the fallout for at-risk women’s rights activists, journalists, religious minorities, and others left behind in Afghanistan. They’ve been left behind. Their fears are real. They remain in peril.

CLICK HERE to SIGN PETITION

Monday, August 23, 2021

HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH: President Blocks Institutional Accounts - Press Release

HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH, 8-19-2021

Human Rights Watch identified 13 institutional accounts blocked by President Bolsonaro: the Twitter accounts of media sites The Intercept Brazil, Congresso em Foco, Reporter Brasil, Aos Fatos, Diário do Centro do Mundo, and O Antagonista, and two Instagram accounts of news site UOL; two Twitter accounts of Observatório do Clima, a coalition of civil society organizations; and the Brazil Twitter accounts of Reporters without Borders, Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch.

 

“We have found out that @jairbolsonaro blocked @ReporterB. Blocking news media and journalists has become common practice by this government. We condemn such attitude, and it will not curtail our investigations into actions by the president that have an impact on the environment, human rights, and health.”

 

The Brazilian Association of Investigative Journalism (Abraji, in Portuguese) has identified 135 reporters blocked by senior government officials, the majority of them by President Bolsonaro. Some may have replied to Human Rights Watch posts and would be included in the list of people blocked.


See HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH, hrw.org, under videos and photos

 

 

Thursday, August 12, 2021

IRAN: Security Forces Resort to Unlawful Use of Force - PRESS RELEASE

Amnesty International, USA, 8-11-2021

Iranian security forces resorted to unlawful use of force, including birdshot, and mass arrests to ruthlessly crackdown on predominantly peaceful protests that have erupted in various locations across the country over the past few weeks, said Amnesty International. 


Activists, protesters and bystanders swept up in the wave of arrests,including children, have been subjected to enforced disappearance, torture and other ill-treatment.


CLICK to READ COMPLETE PRESS RELEASE

 

Wednesday, August 4, 2021

NIGERIA: Activists Jailed for T-Shirts - URGENT ACTION

Amnesty International, USA, 8-3, 2021.

Activists Larry EmmanuelAnene Victor UdokaSamuel GabrielHenry Nwodo, and Ben Mannaseh are being arbitrarily detained in connection to their peaceful activism. 


On July 4, 2021 they attended a church service at the Dunamis International Gospel Center in Abuja, the Nigerian capital, when they were arrested and beaten by the Center’s security unit for wearing #BuhariMustGo T-shirts. 


In detention, they have been denied access to their lawyers and family and are at risk of torture and other ill-treatment. Nigerian authorities must immediately and unconditionally release them, in accordance with a court order.


CLICK HERE to TAKE ACTION

 


Saturday, July 24, 2021

Iran - Stop Execution - Email Action

Amnesty International, UK, 7-23-2021.










International pressure can help - it has delayed executions before. We need as many people as possible to email the Iranian embassy in the UK calling on them to ensure the executions of Hossein and Arman are immediately halted. 

Send email now

Hossein and Arman were just 17 when they were arrested. Hossein was interrogated for 11 days and denied access to a lawyer. Arman says he was held in solitary confinement and beaten regularly. 

Both say their convictions rely on ‘confessions’ obtained under torture and there are serious concerns about their trials. 

Their death sentences are due to be carried out imminently - we must act now.

Wednesday, July 14, 2021

IRAN: Free Nazanin - ONLINE ACTION

Amnesty International, Australia, 7-14-2021.

Another year locked up. Another year of missed moments with her young daughter.

 

British-Iranian mother Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was recently sentenced to another year in prison in Iran, after having already served an unfair five-year sentence.

 

We’ve been working closely with Nazanin’s husband Richard to fight for her release since she was imprisoned on trumped-up charges in 2016.

 

Just after she was sentenced, Nazanin’s daughter Gabriele celebrated her seventh birthday. Richard told us “It’s the sixth birthday in a row where she’s been separated from Nazanin. We’ve all been left hanging for too long.” 

 

Will you support Nazanin and her family in their campaign to get her home?

 

 

Saturday, July 10, 2021

EGYPT: Twelve Men At Risk for Execution - URGENT ACTION

Amnesty International, US, 7-9-2021.

Twelve death row prisoners are at imminent risk of execution after Egypt’s highest appeals court, the Court of Cassation, upheld their death sentences June 14, 2021 following a grossly unfair mass trial. 

They were convicted and sentenced to death for their involvement in protests related to the ouster of former president Mohamed Morsi from power in July 2013. Their death sentences must be commuted immediately.

Sunday, July 4, 2021

CONGO: HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVISTS ARBITRARILY DETAINED - URGENT ACTION

Amnesty International, USA, 7-4-2021.

Congolese human rights activists, Alexandre Ibacka Dzabana and Christ Dongui, are being arbitrary detained in connection to their human rights work and criticism of the government. 

In March, they were both arrested in front of their house by unidentified men, forced into vehicles and taken to the Central Intelligence and Documentation Center. 

They were eventually presented to a prosecutor and charged with breach of State security and sent to Brazzaville central prison where they remain held in pre-trial detention solely for peacefully exercising their human rights. 

They must be immediately and unconditionally released.

CLICK to TAKE ACTION

Thursday, July 1, 2021

CHINA: Tibetan Monk Jailed for Online Messages - URGENT ACTION


Amnesty International, USA, 7-1-2021.

Tibetan monk Rinchen Tsultrim was sentenced to four years and six months in prison in March 2020 without a fair trial. 


His family members only learned of the sentencing a year later when they were officially informed he was being held in an unnamed prison in Chengdu, Sichuan Province. 


No other information about his condition or even the charges against Tsultrim Rinchen have been shared to date. His family believes he has been imprisoned for expressing political views on his WeChat account and personal website. 

 

CLICK to LEARN MORE & to TAKE ACTION

Saudi Arabia: Nassima Released - Good NEWS!

Amnesty International, UK, 6-30-2021.

Nassima al-Sada, a women’s rights defender imprisoned in Saudi Arabia, was released on 27 June 2021. 

 

Nassima bravely campaigned for an end to the male guardianship system and the driving ban on women. For this, she was sentenced to five years in prison and five years travel ban, backdating to when she was first arrested in July 2018. With two years suspension, Nassima was finally released earlier this month. The travel ban still stands, and we will continue to call on the Saudi government to lift it with immediate effect.




 


Tuesday, June 22, 2021

USA: Amnesty International, National Refugee Day - ONLINE ACTION

Amnesty International, USA, 6-18-2021

Today, we reflect on the importance of humanitarian protection for women all over the world. Read on for information about the Safe from the Start Act, which will help protect refugee and migrant women and girls globally. If you like what you read, invite a friend to subscribe!


Today, we reflect on the importance of humanitarian protection for women all over the world. Read on for information about the Safe from the Start Act, which will help protect refugee and migrant women and girls globally. If you like what you read, invite a friend to subscribe.

 

When emergencies force women and girls to flee from their homes as refugees or internally displaced people within their own countries, they face an increased risk of gender-based violence, including sexual assault, rape, intimate partner violence, child marriage, human trafficking, and even exploitation by humanitarian personnel who are supposed to protect them. 

 

Some emergencies are created by armed conflict, such as the current hostilities in Tigray, Ethiopia. Soldiers from both the Ethiopian and Eritrean armies have used systematic sexual assault and torture of women and girls as a weapon of war to humiliate, traumatize, terrorize and control the whole local population.
 
Other emergencies result from natural disasters.  For example, the recent volcanic eruption of Mount Nyiragongo near Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo forced more than 400,000 residents to flee, including 88,000 women of childbearing age, and at least 12,200 of them pregnant.  There is an urgent need for sexual and reproductive health services to care for pregnant women, newborn babies and survivors of sexual and gender-based violence.
 

<< Click Here to take action>> 

 

 

 

Sunday, June 20, 2021

IRAN: Amnesty International Responds - NEWS

Amnesty International, 6-18-2021.

Responding to today’s announcement declaring Ebrahim Raisi as Iran’s next president, Amnesty International’s Secretary General Agnès Callamard has said:

 

“That Ebrahim Raisi has risen to the presidency instead of being investigated for the crimes against humanity of murder, enforced disappearance and torture, is a grim reminder that impunity reigns supreme in Iran. 


In 2018, our organization documented how Ebrahim Raisi had been a member of the ‘death commission’ which forcibly disappeared and extrajudicially executed in secret thousands of political dissidents in Evin and Gohardasht prisons near Tehran in 1988. The circumstances surrounding the fate of the victims and the whereabouts of their bodies are, to this day, systematically concealed by the Iranian authorities, amounting to ongoing crimes against humanity.


CLICK HERE to READ MORE

 

Tuesday, June 15, 2021

IRAN: Brothers Held After Unfair Trial - URGENT ACTION

Amnesty International, USA, 6-13-2021.

Iranian brothers Vahid Afkari and Habib Afkari are being subjected to renewed torture and other ill-treatment in Adelabad prison in Shiraz. 


Since September 2020, they have been held in windowless solitary confinement cells and denied access to adequate healthcare, fresh air, telephone calls and face to face family visits. 


Authorities arbitrarily arrested them in 2018 after their participation in protests, forcibly disappeared them and repeatedly tortured them for months. They were sentenced to lengthy imprisonment after grossly unfair trials.    

CLICK HERE to TAKE ACTION

CHINA: Release Australian Mirzat - ONLINE ACTION

Amnesty International, Australia, 6-13-2021. 

I am a Uyghur who was born and raised in Australia, but met and got married to my husband in Urumqi, Xinjiang. Due to no other reason but for being Uyghur, people like my husband are being persecuted and tortured at the hands of the Chinese government. 

In April 2017, we were about to fly to Australia and start our life together when the police turned up at our door – just two days before our flight. 

Mirzat was one of the first Uyghurs to be arbitrarily detained in what I didn't know would be the beginning of China's campaign of mass detention and repression against Uyghurs. 

Call for the freedom of Mirzat and all those arbitrarily detained in Xinjiang.



Wednesday, June 9, 2021

SAUDIA ARABIA: Execution Imminent - URGENT ACTION

Amnesty International, USA, 6-8-2021

Mustafa al-Darwish, a young Saudi Arabian man, is at high risk of being executed imminently after his case was referred to the Presidency of State Security and his death sentence upheld by the Supreme Court. 


Mustafa Al-Darwish was arrested in 2015 for allegedly participating in anti-government riots in the Shi’a majority Eastern Province. According to court documents, he was subjected to prolonged pre-trial detention, torture and grossly unfair trial. Amnesty International urges King Salman not to ratify the death sentence and order the relevant judicial bodies to quash his conviction and re-try him in line with international fair trial standards.


CLICK to TAKE ACTION


  

Thursday, June 3, 2021

BELARUS: Journalist Unlawfully Arrested - URGENT ACTION

Amnesty International, May 27, 2021

Exiled Belarusian journalist and government critic, Raman Pratasevich, was unlawfully arrested on May 23, 2021 by the Belarusian authorities along with his partner Sofia Sapega, a Russian national. 


Their Athens-Vilnius flight was diverted and forced to land in Minsk under false pretext. Raman Pratasevich was wanted by the Belarusian authorities on trumped-up “terrorism” charges solely for his journalistic work. 


If convicted, Raman Pratasevich is facing up to 20 years' imprisonment. A televised “confession” may indicate torture and other ill-treatment.


CLICK HERE to TAKE ACTION