SAUDI ARABIA: Human Rights Defender in Solitary - URGENT ACTION

Amnesty International, Canada, February 22.2019.

Woman human rights defender, Nassima al-Sada, was placed in solitary confinement in early February 2019. She has been detained since July 2018 without charge or trial.

Nassima’s detention was part of a recent wave of arrests that targeted Saudi human rights activists. Since May 2018, at least 15 human rights activists, including several women human rights defenders, have been detained without charge in Saudi Arabia.

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MEXICO: Indigenous Human Rights Defenders Disappeared - URGENT ACTION

Amnesty International, USA, February 14, 2019.

On 12 February, Mexican Indigenous human rights defenders, Obtilia Eugenio Manuel and Hilario Cornelio Castro disappeared while traveling through Guerrero state, southwest Mexico. They were both members of the Organization of Indigenous Mepha'a People (OPIM, Organización del Pueblo Indígena Mepha'a). 

Since 2009, due to their human rights work, Obtilia Eugenio and other OPIM members have received several attacks and threats, including death threats. Obtilia Eugenio was recently elected member of the Indigenous Municipal Council of the Ayutla de los Libres town (Guerrero state). Their fate or whereabouts are unknown. Authorities must urgently search for them and bring those responsible to justice.

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IRAN: Firearms & Tear Gas Used in Women's Prison - NEWS

Amnesty International, Iran, February, 9 2019

Responding to reports that Iranian prison guards in riot gear beat prisoners and used tear gas, firearms and pepper spray during raids inside the women-only Shahr e-Rey prison (commonly known as Gharchak) in Varamin outside Tehran that began last night, Amnesty International’s Research and Advocacy Director for the Middle East and North Africa, Philip Luther, said:  

“The reports of the Iranian prison guards’ reckless and heavy-handed response to protests at Shahr-e-Rey prison are deeply alarming. Many prisoners were reported to have received hospital treatment for the effects of tear gas.

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USA: Demand Transfer of Leonard Peltier - URGENT ACTION

Amnesty International, USA, February 8, 2019.

Native American activist Leonard Peltier has been imprisoned in the USA for over 40 years despite concerns over the fairness of his trial. The Bureau of Prisons should grant his request for a transfer, so he can be in a facility that is closer to his relatives and with better access to medical care facilities to treat his chronic health issues. 

We also continue to call for Leonard Peltier to be granted clemency and be released.

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WATCH: Behrouz Boochani accepts Victorian Prize for Literature (4:31)

Behrouz Boochani, whose debut book won both the $25,000 non-fiction prize at the Victorian premier’s literary awards and the $100,000 Victorian prize for literature on Thursday night, is not allowed into Australia.

The Kurdish Iranian writer is an asylum seeker who has been kept in purgatory on Manus Island in Papua New Guinea for almost six years, first behind the wire of the Australian offshore detention center, and then in alternative accommodation on the island.

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• See the full transcript here

KENYA: Sengwer Indigenous People Attacked - ONLINE ACTION

Amnesty International, Australia, February 4, 2019.

The Sengwer people in Kenya are being violently evicted by the Kenyan government. Tell the President of Kenya to let the Sengwer people live on their land in peace.

The Sengwer people in Kenya have a deep spiritual bond with the beautiful Embobut Forest. It’s their ancestral land where they have lived for centuries. But this Indigenous community of beekeepers and cattle herders is being violently evicted by the Kenyan government.

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AUSTRALIA: Detained Kurdish-Iranian Wins Literary Prize - NEWS

CNN, February 1, 2019.

A refugee currently held in a detention camp in Papua New Guinea has won two of Australia's richest literary prizes, netting him 125,000 Australian dollars (approximately $90,000).

Winner Behrouz Boochani could not attend Thursday's ceremony for the Victorian Premier's Literary Awards, where he took the Victorian Prize for Literature -- the country's most lucrative prize -- and the Non-Fiction Prize.

Australia detained the Kurdish-Iranian journalist on the island of Manus in 2013 for attempting to enter Australia without a valid visa.

Boochani is among 600 refugees who remain in camps on the island despite Australia having closed its "regional processing center" there in 2017.

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The Guardian: Trump policy to deter asylum seekers is illegal, says Amnesty director

Amnesty International USA executive director Margarent Huang recently lead a delegation of 20 Amnesty International members to the southern border, and what they found is devastating. From the article:

“It really is throwing the entire system into chaos. It feels like the US government is saying: ‘Lets make things as complicated as confusing as possible so we deter people from coming and if they try, we’ll make it so hard for them and make them feel miserable,” Huang said.

• Read the full article here
• See the video here
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