Friday, January 29, 2016

AI Madison Grouop #139 Member List of "Other" Links & Petitions - Jan 29 to Feb 5, 2016

     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.

      Here are some of those links submitted by our members:
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Amnesty International URGENT ACTIONS - Jan 29 to Feb 5, 2016

Click here for entire list of URGENT ACTION for the week of Jan 29  to Feb 5. (This post is updated daily.) 


     Countries include:  Iran, Pakistan, Sudan, Yemen, China, Vietnam, Bahrain, Brazil, Greece, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, and Peru.

 Note: Most Urgent Actions require a written letter. See our guidelines for writing letters.  Countries are added to this list during the week. The link contains all Urgent Actions for the week.
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AI Madison Group #139 Weekly Update - January 29, 2016


"Iran has the shameful status of being the world’s leading executioner of juvenile offenders." - Amnesty International Australia

​Greetings Everyone!
     This week we have links on our Online Petitions, Urgent Actions (letter writing), Online Actions, and Human Rights News sections. We also have videos and have just introduced a section that features Amnesty International podcasts. Watch for more information about our Nowruz Action in March and the Amnesty International General Meeting in April. We also have a special event coming to Madison in April. Can't wait to share it with you but will have to wait until the details have been worked out. Very exciting! Thanks again to our many post/link contributors and to those of you who make a difference by signing petitions and writing letters. Can you feel the energy!
     Often one of our posts will include several links to more information. For example, our post, "Iran: Kids growing up on death row - ONLINE PETITION," is from Amnesty International Australia. This post also includes links to the following: (1) Iran is sentencing children and teenagers to death, (2)  Iran’s hypocrisy exposed as scores of juvenile offenders condemned to gallows, and (3)  Growing Up on Death Row: The Death Penalty and Juvenile Offenders in Iran. We can't include all news items related to a particular topic but we try to consolidate those links sent to us by our members during the week. It is our hope that our posts will provide you will information about a particular issue and an action link.
     We are seeking a new name for our weekly post, AI Madison Group #139 Member List of "Other" Links & Petitions - Jan 22 to Jan 29, 2016.  We need a name that is shorter and catchier. Send your ideas to group139@aiusa.org. We want to hear from you!
     Oh, yes, Don't forget to check out our Facebook, Twitter, and website.
     Have a wonderful week!
 
     -Debbie, Weekly Update Editor

Click here for links to this week's Amnesty International and Human Rights Information and Actions

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Amnesty International Australia: January 2016 Newsletter

Amnesty International Australia

Here are some highlights from their newsletter: 
  • The ‘Arab Spring’: Five years on
  • Activist Filep Karma was finally freed from prison in Indonesia. 
  •  Marwan, a 22 year old Tunisian student was released from prison after being convicted of engaging in homosexual relations – a crime under Tunisian law.
  • Environmental activist, Yevgeny Vitishko is now free after a Russian court ordered his release under police supervision.
  • The Australian Senate has passed a motion calling on Commonwealth, state and territory governments to work together to close the gap in imprisonment rates of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. 
  • The amazing response to our Syria Appeal...
  • Demand a safe home for the people in Syria, ONLINE PETITION
Click here for ENTIRE newsletter.

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Thursday, January 28, 2016

Wisconsin: Tell Your Lawmakers - Protect our Families, Not Shady Gun Sellers - EMAIL MESSAGE

Wisconsin Anti-Violence Effort

      "But we can trace a clear line between rising gun violence in Wisconsin and these senseless loopholes in our background check laws. When one man masquerading as a “private seller” can flood communities across Wisconsin with more than 500 firearms, is it any wonder the death toll keeps rising? We may not be able to stop every cause of gun violence, but we can help stop this one — and right now the Wisconsin Legislature is sitting on a bill that would do exactly that. Send a message to demand an immediate hearing on the background checks bill."

Click here for more ACTION information. 

Also see:
1. http://www.wkow.com/story/31039737/2016/01/23/5-year-old-boy-killed-in-beloit-shooting-identified
2. http://www.jsonline.com/news/crime/wauwatosa-man-under-investigation-for-illegal-gun-sales-b99656908z1-366433831.html

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Wednesday, January 27, 2016

Iran: Free the brilliant young Iranian physicist! - ONLINE PETITION

Change.org
     Omid Kokabee, a brilliant young Iranian physicist, is serving a ten year prison sentence apparently for his refusal to collaborate in military or nuclear research and as a result of spurious charges related to his legitimate scholarly ties with academic institutions outside of Iran . Kokabee had been pursuing doctoral studies at the University of Texas, Austin, when he returned to Iran to visit his family. He was arrested in 2011and sentenced to prison in May 2012, after an unfair trial in a Revolutionary Court.  While in detention he was held in solitary confinement, subjected to prolonged interrogations, and pressured to make a confession.
     Amnesty International regards Omid  Koabee as a prisoner of conscience and calls for his immediate and unconditional release.

Click here for more INFORMATION and an ONLINE PETITION. 
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Israel: Circus performer being detained indefinitely without charge - ONLINE PETITION

Amnesty International UK

23-year-old circus performer Mohammad Faisal Abu Sakha has been detained by the Israeli military without any contact with his family since late last year.
He hasn’t been charged with a crime and the authorities have provided no evidence or reason for his detention.
Along with hundreds of other administrative detainees, he is being denied the right to defend himself.
Tell the Israeli authorities to end this injustice immediately.

Click here for more information and ONLINE PETITION. 
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New Amnesty International Podcasts added to our Sidebar!!!

     We are excited to announce a new addition to our sidebar.... AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL PODCASTS! We currently list the following podcasts and encourage our members to submit their favorite AI podcast. Send your suggestions to group139@aiusa.org.
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Revisiting the Killing Field of Sri Lanka - VIDEO & NEWS

Reposted from Amnesty International Twin Cities
Channel 4 News
"This week for the first time since 2009, Channel 4 News has finally been allowed to Sri Lanka's killing field." 


 

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Iran: Kids growing up on death row - ONLINE PETITION

Amnesty International Australia
     Under Iranian criminal law, girls as young as nine and boys as young as 15 may be tried as adults and sentenced to death.Currently there are over 49 people on death row for crimes they committed when they were under 18.Last year authorities executed four child offenders, reaching a total of 73 cases over the past decade!Join our call on the Iranian Head of the Judiciary to abolish the use of the death penalty against all child offenders immediately. 
Click here for more information and ONLINE Petition. 
Also see:
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Obama bans solitary confinement for juveniles in federal prisons & new rules - NEWS & ACTION

 The Washington Post
January 26, 2016
     "President Obama on Monday announced a ban on solitary confinement for juvenile offenders in the federal prison system, saying the practice is overused and has the potential for devastating psychological consequences.
     In an op-ed that appears in Tuesday editions of The Washington Post, the president outlines a series of executive actions that also prohibit federal corrections officials from punishing prisoners who commit “low-level infractions” with solitary confinement.
     
     The new rules also dictate that the longest a prisoner can be punished with solitary confinement for a first offense is 60 days, rather than the current maximum of 365 days."

Click here for ENTIRE article. 
Click here to take action from Together to End Solitary.  

For more information:

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Iran: Hossein Ronaghi Maleki Taken Back to Prison - URGENT ACTION before March 3rd!

Amnesty International

     Hossein Ronaghi Maleki, a 30-year-old Iranian blogger, was taken to Tehran’s Evin Prison on 20 January, after he reported to the Office of the Prosecutor, and is now held in Section Seven of the prison. He had written on his Facebook page on the same day, “My refusal to return would mean the confiscation of the bail amount and that would be a breach of the bail bondsmen’s trust and a nullification of commitments and moral principles.”
      Hossein Ronaghi Maleki has only one functioning kidney and according to his doctors needs constant monitoring and access to specialized medical care, which he cannot get in prison. Nevertheless, the Office for the Implementation of Sentences sent him a summons on 20 December 2015, telling him that he must return to prison within a month to resume serving his sentence, or else the bail amount set to secure his release would be confiscated. Hossein Ronaghi Maleki had been on medical leave since June 2015. In spite of his poor health, the authorities had told him several times that he “must return [to prison]”. 

Click here for more information and addresses. 
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Iran: Six Years in Jail for Iranian Filmaker, Keywan Karimi - URGENT ACTION

Amnesty International
     Keywan (Keyvan) Karimi was sentenced on 13 October 2015 to six years in prison and 223 lashes, by a Revolutionary Court in Tehran. The court had convicted him of charges including “insulting Islamic sanctities” and “illicit relations”. Amnesty International understands that he was not told until his last court hearing that he faced the charge of “insulting Islamic sanctities” over a music video clip the authorities had found on his hard drive, for which he has received six years in prison. Instead, he had been charged with “spreading propaganda against the system”, which was not mentioned in the final ruling at all. Keywan Karimi’s appeal hearing, at which representatives of security and intelligence bodies were present, was held on 23 December. 

Click here for more information and addresses. 
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PODCAST: Listen to Chen Guangcheng's remarkable story (37:25 min)

Amnesty International UK

This is the first of a series from Amnesty International called, "In Their Own Words." 

     "Chen Guangcheng is a blind lawyer and activist, living in exile in the US - after a daring escape from authorities in China determined to silence him for exposing state-sponsored human rights abuses.
Known as ‘the barefoot lawyer’, Guangcheng defied the odds to stand up for human rights in the face of China’s unsympathetic and rights-denying regime. After discovering the dark and violent truth about how China's 'one-child policy' was being enforced in Linyi province where he comes from, Guangcheng began to experience a campaign of abuse from authorities determined to stop him from speaking out."

Click here for entire article.
Click here for more information podcast.
Click here for the podcast.
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Monday, January 25, 2016

Refugees: No child should face this terror - NEWS

from AAVAZ
 Right now, there are at least 25,000 unaccompanied children seeking refuge in Europe! They’ve fled unimaginable violence, lost their parents, and are desperate to find safe haven. But instead of urgently offering them sanctuary, authorities have abandoned them to dangerous traffickers that stalk them. The craziest thing is that even children with relations in Europe are not being allowed to join them. But this week everything changed -- refugee experts have just won a legal case requiring the UK to let unaccompanied kids join their families in Britain and claim asylum there.

Further information:

Four Syrian refugees must be brought from Calais camp to Britain, judges rule (The Guardian)
http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/jan/20/four-syrian-refugees-must-brought-calais-camp-britain-judges-rule

Syrian teenagers in Calais win UK asylum ruling (BBC)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-35366425

Calais refugee camp filled with people that feel 'forgotten' (CBC News)
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/calais-refugee-camp-filled-with-people-that-feel-forgotten-says-victoria-journalist-1.3396753

Calais migrant crisis: Young asylum seekers face lengthy legal battles to stay in Britain (The Independent)
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/calais-migrant-crisis-young-asylum-seekers-face-lengthy-legal-battles-to-stay-in-britain-10455754.html

Christmas in the Jungle: Heartbreaking pictures of migrant children living in squalor in Calais camp (Daily Mail)
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3374028/Christmas-Jungle-Heartbreaking-pictures-desperate-conditions-facing-children-6-000-migrants-stuck-Calais-camp-dream-new-life-UK.html
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Amnesty International URGENT ACTIONS - Jan 22 to Jan 29, 2016

Click here for entire list of URGENT ACTION for the week of Jan22  to Jan 29. (This post is updated daily.) 


     Countries include: United Arab Emirates, Ukraine, Turkey, Thailand, Iran, Jordan, Egypt, China, Belarus, Venezuela, Ecuador, Greece, Iran, Turkey, Democratic Republic of Congo, Myanmar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan,Timor-Leste, Angola, China/Thailand, and United Arab Emirates.

 Note: Most Urgent Actions require a written letter. See our guidelines for writing letters.  Countries are added to this list during the week. The link contains all Urgent Actions for the week.
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Syria: Female refugees face physical assault, exploitation and sexual harassment on their journey through Europe

Amnesty International
January 18, 2016

     "The organization interviewed 40 refugee women and girls in northern Europe last month who travelled from Turkey to Greece and then across the Balkans. All the women described feeling threatened and unsafe during the journey. Many reported that in almost all of the countries they passed through they experienced physical abuse and financial exploitation, being groped or pressured to have sex by smugglers, security staff or other refugees.
     “After living through the horrors of the war in Iraq and Syria these women have risked everything to find safety for themselves and their children. But from the moment they begin this journey they are again exposed to violence and exploitation, with little support or protection,” said Tirana Hassan, Amnesty International's Crisis Response director."

Click here for ENTIRE article.
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Sunday, January 24, 2016

Human Rights Watch: The Week in Rights - Jan 21, 2016

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AI Madison Group #139 Member List of "Other" Links & Petitions - Jan 22 to Jan 29, 2016

     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.

 
      Here are some of those links submitted by our members:
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Friday, January 22, 2016

AI Madison Group #139 Weekly Update - January 22, 2016


 Greetings Everyone!
     This week we mourned the death of Leila Alaoui, an Amnesty International photographer, and Mahamadi Owedraogo, an Amnesty International driver. They were victims of the terrorist attack in Burkina Faso and were among 30 other people who were also killed. We celebrated the release of Jason Rezaian, Amir Hekmati, and Saeed Abedini from Iran. Many of us have written letters or signed online petitions on their behalf. We welcome them home. Also this week we remembered Martin Luther King, Jr. who continues to inspire us today. There are so many quotes but one of our favorites is "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."
     Thank you for your suggested posts. Thank you for your letters. Thank you for the time you have given to sign online petitions. Working together we share the sorrow, the human rights successes, and the hope for those around the world.
    
     -Debbie, Weekly Update Editor

Click here for ENTIRE Weekly Update and links to this week's Amnesty International and Human Rights Information and Actions
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Thursday, January 21, 2016

Amnesty International USA: Annual General Meeting - April 1-3, 2016

From listening to powerful speakers in plenaries covering topics like gun violence and Art for Amnesty, to networking with fellow activists in our Action Alley—this conference is designed to invigorate human rights defenders and create sturdy partnerships for working together.

We are pleased to note that we received over 65 workshop proposals that are currently being vetted. We expect a complete AGM agenda to be posted on February 2.
 Finally, we would like to note a change in our voting processes this year. In order to be eligible to cast a vote for resolutions at the AGM (April 1-3), you must be a current dues-paying member, which means that you must have joined or renewed your membership by no later than February 11, 2016 (50 days before the start of the AGM). AIUSA Membership is not included with any ticket purchase.

Bring your passion, knowledge and listening attitude to this inspiring national conference and together we can organize on human rights issues at the local, national, and global levels to change the world.

I hope to see you there,
Sincerely,

Rachel O’Leary
Deputy Executive Director
Membership Mobilization Department
Amnesty International USA

Click here for more information.
Click here to register. 
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Wednesday, January 20, 2016

Guantanamo isn't just about 90 prisoners - NEWS

World Can't Wait
     Protesters across the U.S. and at U.S. embassies in London and Mexico City last week demanded the closure of the U.S. torture camp at Guantánamo Bay first set up by the Bush regime on January 11, 2002. The camp has operated seven years under Obama, as long as it did under Bush, though Obama promised in 2009 to close it within a year. Guantánamo forms part of a larger, global network of prisons set up by the United States after 9/11, an integral part of the limitless global “war on terror” necessary to spread the U.S. empire of capitalist-imperialist globalization exploiting billions worldwide. View photos, video and press coverage from Shut Down Guantanamo protests around the country >

Click here for ENTIRE article.
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AI Madison Group #139 Member List of "Other" Links & Petitions - Jan 15 to Jan 22, 2016

     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. 
 
      Here are some of those links submitted by our members:
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Australia: QLD police respond violently to Indigenous woman - ONLINE PETITION

Amnesty International Australia
     Video footage captured last Saturday in Boondall has shown a Queensland police officer forcefully pushing Natasha King by her throat as she tries to reach her son.
Police say they were investigating alleged domestic violence, while the family say they entered the wrong home.
     Let’s get one thing straight – it doesn’t matter what the alleged situation was, the police need to explain this kind of violent behaviour.
     It is shocking to see this kind of police behaviour, especially given Queensland’s recent strong stand on violence against women with a new domestic violence bill.
     We deserve better from our police – Tell Queensland’s Police Minister that we won’t stand for anything short of an independent investigation into this act of police violence.

Click here for more information, video, and ONLINE PETITION. 
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Tuesday, January 19, 2016

Iran: Ailing Blogger, Hossein Ronaghi Maleki, Told to Return to Prison - URGENT ACTION

Amnesty International

Blogger Hossein Ronaghi Maleki has been summoned to return to prison to resume serving his 13-year sentence though he is critically ill and doctors have advised against stopping his specialized medical care. He has been on medical leave since mid-June 2015. If he returns to jail, he will be a prisoner of conscience.


Hossein Ronaghi Maleki received a summons, on 20 December 2015, from the Office for the Implementation of Sentences telling him that he must return to prison within a month to resume serving his prison term, or else the bail amount set to secure his release would be confiscated. He objects to this decision and intends to sit outside the Office of the Prosecutor on 20 January, the deadline of the summons. Despite his poor health, the authorities have told Hossein Ronaghi Maleki on multiple occasions that he “must return [to prison]”, including shortly after he was granted medical leave in June 2015. He has not, however, been rearrested. 

Hossein Ronaghi Maleki has only one functioning kidney and according to his doctors needs constant monitoring and access to specialized medical care, which he cannot get in prison.

Click here and here for more information and addresses.
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Myanmar: Phyoe Phyoe Aung 9 Years in prison for a peaceful student protest - ONLINE PETITION

Amnesty International USA

Last January Phyoe Phyoe Aung and 100 other students protested against a new law that they said limited academic freedom in Myanmar.

As they marched towards Yangon, Myanmar's largest city, police blocked their passage and beat them with batons. Phyoe Phyoe Aung and many other students were arrested and charged with a range of questionable criminal offenses.

Phyoe Phyoe Aung now faces more than nine years in prison.

Click here for more information and ONLINE PETITION. 
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Peru: Compensates woman in historic UN Human Rights abortion case - NEWS

United Nations Human Rights

     "In 2001, a 17-year-old Peruvian girl, named K.L., was 14 weeks pregnant when doctors at the public hospital in Lima diagnosed the foetus with anencephaly. Anencephaly is a fatal birth defect, where the foetus lacks most or all of the forebrain. Doctors told her that continuing the pregnancy would put her life and health at risk. She was recommended to have an abortion.
In 2001, a 17-year-old Peruvian girl, named K.L., was 14 weeks pregnant when doctors at the public hospital in Lima diagnosed the foetus with anencephaly. Anencephaly is a fatal birth defect, where the foetus lacks most or all of the forebrain. Doctors told her that continuing the pregnancy would put her life and health at risk. She was recommended to have an abortion. - See more at: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/PeruAbortionCompensation.aspx#sthash.xQhHzDlJ.dpuf
In 2001, a 17-year-old Peruvian girl, named K.L., was 14 weeks pregnant when doctors at the public hospital in Lima diagnosed the foetus with anencephaly. Anencephaly is a fatal birth defect, where the foetus lacks most or all of the forebrain. Doctors told her that continuing the pregnancy would put her life and health at risk. She was recommended to have an abortion.
Abortion was legal in Peru for such reasons, but the hospital refused termination on the grounds that the State had not provided clear regulations for providing the service.
- See more at: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/PeruAbortionCompensation.aspx#sthash.xQhHzDlJ.dpuf
In 2001, a 17-year-old Peruvian girl, named K.L., was 14 weeks pregnant when doctors at the public hospital in Lima diagnosed the foetus with anencephaly. Anencephaly is a fatal birth defect, where the foetus lacks most or all of the forebrain. Doctors told her that continuing the pregnancy would put her life and health at risk. She was recommended to have an abortion.
Abortion was legal in Peru for such reasons, but the hospital refused termination on the grounds that the State had not provided clear regulations for providing the service.
- See more at: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/PeruAbortionCompensation.aspx#sthash.xQhHzDlJ.dpuf
     Abortion was legal in Peru for such reasons, but the hospital refused termination on the grounds that the State had not provided clear regulations for providing the service. K.L. was forced to carry the pregnancy to full term and breast feed the baby for the four days that it lived. It was a decision that went on to have serious mental and physical consequences on her health.
     A complaint was filed with the UN Human Rights Committee, stating that by denying K.L. access to a legal medical procedure her human rights were violated. The Committee agreed, and recommended that Peru pay compensation to K.L. This was 2005.
     Now, nearly a decade later, the Peruvian government has agreed to pay compensation.

Click here for ENTIRE article.
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