CAMBODIA: Environmental Activists Free - GOOD NEWS

Amnesty International, USA, Feb 21, 2018

Hun Vannak and Doem Kundy, activists affiliated with the environmental NGO ‘Mother Nature Cambodia’ (MNC), were released from Koh Kong Provincial Prison in the morning of 13 February 2018. On 26 January 2018, Koh Kong’s Provincial Court convicted both men of “incitement to commit a felony” and “violation of privacy” and sentenced them to one year in prison with seven months of that prison sentence suspended.

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CHAD: DETAINED ACTIVIST ALLEGES TORTURE - URGENT ACTION

Amnesty International, USA, Feb 24, 2018.

Alain Didah Kemba, spokesperson of the Chadian youth movement IYINA, was arrested on 19 February for allegedly attempting to burn a tire on the street. He is being detained at the Police Headquarters without charge. Alain has reported that he was beaten on his legs and the soles of his feet during an interrogation and his lawyer says he can barely stand on his feet as a result.

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TIBET: UN Calls for Release of Human Rights Activist - NEWS

Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization, (UNPO), Feb 22, 2018.

On 21 February 2018, UN human rights experts issued a call for the immediate release of Tibetan human rights activist, Tashi Wangchuk, following a recent ruling by a Chinese court to uphold the charges of ‘incitement of separatism’ against him. Mr Wangchuk has been in detention since his arrest in January 2016, after appearing in a documentary advocating for Tibetans to be educated in their own language and for the enjoyment of their cultural rights. The case of Mr Wangchuk was included in a recent resolution passed by the European Parliament that called for the immediate and unconditional of human rights defenders in China.

UNPO welcomes this statement from the UN Special Rapporteurs and supports the call for the immediate release of Mr Wangchuk. This statement highlights the dire situation facing ethnic and religious minorities in China, whose basic human rights are continuously violated by the Chinese government.  The statement was released on International Mother Language Day [21 February], which is a global observance that aims to promote awareness of cultural and linguistic diversity and multilingualism.

CLICK HERE for MORE INFORMATION about UNPO; Click on Nations/Peoples; scroll to find Tibet.

SLOVAKIA: Man at Risk of Torture if Extradited to RUSSIA - URGENT ACTION

Amnesty International, USA, Feb. 21, 2018.

Aslan Yandiev was detained by the Slovakian authorities on 20 January 2011, shortly before the Prosecutor General’s office of the Russian Federation submitted a request for his extradition. He is now at risk of imminent extradition to Russia following the Minister of Justice’s decision on 7 February to authorise it. If extradited to Russia, Aslan Yandiev would be at risk of torture and other ill-treatment.

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SYRIA: Stop Siege in Eastern Ghouta - ONLINE EMAIL ACTION

Amnesty International, Canada, Feb. 21, 2018.

The Syrian government, backed by Russia, is bombing its own people in Eastern Ghouta. Scores of people have been killed and hundreds injured in the past month.

This is not new for the people of Eastern Ghouta: people who’ve been trapped in a cruel siege for nearly six years are now being attacked daily, killed and maimed by their government. Children and elderly people are dying of malnutrition and lack of medication.

Tell the Syrian and Russian governments to end the attacks and lift the siege on Eastern Ghouta immediately.

The attacks must be stopped. Humanitarian aid must be allowed into Eastern Ghouta.

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USA: Baby Mateo Free; Father Still Detained - ONLINE PETITION

Amnesty International, USA; Feb 15, 2018

In November, Jose D.F. presented himself at the United States border with his 1-year-old son, Mateo, and immediately requested asylum. Jose and baby Mateo were fleeing the threat of targeted killings in their home country of El Salvador, and Jose and his wife made the impossible decision of splitting up the family so that Jose D.F. and Mateo could seek asylum and safety in the United States.

After spending several days in a detention center with Customs and Border Patrol, border patrol officers transferred Jose and baby Mateo to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. These agents denied Jose’s requests to use a phone, told him that his asylum claims would be compromised if he refused to surrender his son, and demanded baby Mateo be given up to ICE agents. 

Baby Mateo, who has been forcibly held in foster care since November, has since been released to his mother.  Unfortunately, his father Jose remains in a detention facility in San Diego, despite following all rules and procedures.

Jose D.F. and Mateo’s experience is a cruel violation of international immigration detention standards by failing to prioritize and facilitate family unity.  ....the Department of Homeland Security has considered making family separation the official policy for all asylum seekers who approach the border.

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Unfortunately Jose remains in an ICE detention facility despite following all rules and procedures — take action now to demand Jose’s release.

CHINA: Human Rights Lawyer Detained Two Years - EMAIL ACTION

Amnesty International, Australia, Feb. 15, 2018.

Human rights lawyer Wang Quanzhang has been detained by the Chinese Government since August 2015.  

He has not been able to see his wife and son for over two years. They miss him and want him home.

He has defended the rights of some of China’s most vulnerable people, including members of Falun Gong – a spiritual movement persecuted in China. He isn’t afraid to fight for justice and because of this he’s had to endure harassment, intimidation and even police beatings.

Today he’s behind bars, hidden from the outside world and at risk of being drugged and tortured.

His wife, Li Wenzu, and young son Quanquan, have not been allowed to visit him and surveillance cameras have been set up outside the family’s home.

Take action to put the pressure on Chinese authorities to release him now.

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USA: Ask Senators to Protect Dreamers - ONLINE PETITION

Amnesty International, USA, Feb. 13, 2018.

This March, thousands of Dreamers will begin losing their work permits and protection from deportation if Congress does not pass legislation to grant them permanent residency.

Dreamers are Americans in all but name – they were raised here, went to school here, work and pay taxes here. They broke no immigration laws as they were brought here as children, yet they live in constant fear of deportation.

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EQUATORIAL GUINEA: Cartoonist in Detention Without Charge - URGENT ACTION

Amnesty International, USA, Feb 12, 2018.

On 16 February, Equatorial Guinean cartoonist and activist Ramón Esono Ebalé will have spent five months in pre-trial detention. He was arrested and detained in the capital of the country, Malabo, on 16 September 2017 and questioned over his cartoons that criticised Equatorial Guinea’s President Teodoro Obiang and his government. The cartoons were shared on the internet. 

He was informed that he had formally been charged with counterfeiting money on 7 December 2017, after having already spent three months in detention without charge. Ramón has denied the allegations against him and insists that he is innocent.

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CAMBODIA: Health Concerns for Detained Politician - URGENT ACTION

Amnesty International, USA, Feb 5, 2018.

Kem Sokha, president of the dissolved main opposition party, was denied bail on appeal on 1 February, despite his seriously deteriorating health. Held in isolated pre-trial detention since his arrest on 3 September 2017, he faces up to 30 years imprisonment if convicted of politically motivated charges of treason.

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IRAN: Kurdish Prisoner Sentenced to Death - URGENT ACTION

Amnesty International, USA, Feb. 5, 2018.

Ramin Hossein Panahi, a 22-year-old man from Iran’s Kurdish minority, started a hunger strike on 27 January after he learned that he had been sentenced to death in connection with his membership of the armed Kurdish opposition group Komala. On 31 January, a Ministry of Intelligence official visited him in prison and said that his death sentence would be commuted to imprisonment if he agreed to make televised “confessions” denouncing Kurdish opposition groups as “terrorists”. When he refused, the intelligence official apparently became enraged and said that he would pay with his life for his “stubbornness”. Ramin Hossein Panahi was then transferred to solitary confinement where he now remains. There are fears about his health as he suffers from persistent headaches and a kidney infection, possibly resulting from torture. Following his arrest on 23 June 2017, he was forcibly disappeared for four months. 

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IRAN: Young Human Rights Defenders Arrested - NEWS

Amnesty International, Feb. 2, 2018

Responding to reports that at least six young human rights defenders, including Shima Babaei and her husband Dariush Zand, Saeed Eghbali, Leila Faraji, Mahmoud Masoumi and Behnam Mousivand have been detained in coordinated arrests across Iran on 1 February, Magdalena Mughrabi, Deputy Middle East and North Africa Director at Amnesty International said:

“These human rights defenders must be released immediately and unconditionally – they have committed no crime and have been arrested purely because of their human rights work. We are extremely concerned that these individuals are now at risk of torture or other ill-treatment.

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BELARUS: Two Sentenced to Death - URGENT ACTION

Amnesty International, USA, Feb. 2, 2018

On 20 January, Minsk City Court sentenced Viachaslau Sukharko and Aliaksandr Zhylnikau to death. In March 2017, the two men were found guilty of murdering three people in December 2015 and were sentenced to life imprisonment. In July 2017,... the Supreme Court sent their case back to the lower court for a retrial, which resulted in them being sentenced to death. 

Despite mounting domestic and international pressure, Belarus remains the only country in Europe and Central Asia which continues to apply the death penalty. In addition to Viachaslau Sukharko and Aliaksandr Zhylnikau, five other men are believed to be on death row in Belarus.

Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases without exception, as a violation of the right to life, as proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment.

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TURKEY: Taner Kilic Re-Arrested - EMAIL ACTION

Amnesty International, USA, Feb 1, 2018

Yesterday, we shared that our dear Amnesty Turkey colleague Taner Kilic had finally been granted release on bail after 8 gruelling months in jail.

In a devastating flip flop for Taner; while his family excitedly waited for him to walk out of prison and into their arms, he was re-arrested and taken back into custody. The authorities are taking him to a court in Izmir today.

We're stunned and outraged. This is a cruel and unacceptable turn of events for Taner and his loved ones.

Right now, we need to come together to show our strength and unwavering solidarity for Taner and all human rights defenders.

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IRAN: Challenging 39 Years of Repression - ARTICLE

Iran Human Rights, January 30, 2018

About one month after a girl showed her civil disobedience by removing her scarf at Tehran’s Revolution Street, several women have in recent days replicated her action to show their protest against the compulsory hijab (Pictures).

According to unconfirmed reports, several of these women have been arrested. Iran Human Rights (IHR) calls on the world community to show its solidarity with Iranian women's struggle against forced hijab. 

IHR spokesman Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam said, “By showing solidarity, the world community can prevent Iranian authorities from using violence and detention against women who fight for their dignity and show civil disobedience in the most peaceful way.”

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