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 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
- 10/26/15 FBI director tells police chiefs they can learn from Black Lives Matter hashtag, Washington Post, by Wesley Lowery. Quotes Steven W. Hawkins.
- 10/26/15 FBI director: 'Era of viral videos' may be one reason for violent crime rise, Associated Press. Quotes Steven W. Hawkins.
- 10/26/15 FBI Head Says Police Are Afraid to Do Their Jobs, Admits He Has No Proof This Is True, Mic, by Zak Chane-Rice. Quotes Steven W. Hawkins.
- 10/27/15 The inside story of predator drones, PBS NewsHour Shortwave Podcast, by P.J. Tobia. Appearance by Naureen Shah
- 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.
- 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
- 10/27/15 Two ACLU Defeats Highlight Judiciary’s Lopsided Deference to Executive Branch Secrecy, The Intercept, by Jenna McLaughlin
- 10/28/15 UN: Executions in Iran could top 1,000 in 2015, Al Jazeera America
- 10/27/15 Sex Workers More Worried About Cops Than Dangerous Johns, Vocativ, by Tracy Clark-Flory and Matan Gilat.
- 10/25/15 In migrant summit, EU leaders vow more capacity for arrivals, USA Today, by Jane Onyanga-Omara
- 10/22/15 Refugees Confront Harsh Weather Conditions in the Balkans, Weather Channel
- 10/29/15 Did Australian Officials Pay Smugglers to Remove Asian Asylum Speakers?, Christian Science Monitor, by Annika Frederickson
- 10/27/15 Amnesty International’s New U.S. Leader Shifts the Fight for Human Rights to America,Chronicle of Philanthropy, by Michael Anft. Profile of Steven W. Hawkins (subscription only)
