IRAN: Syrian Kurd at Risk for Execution - URGENT ACTION

Amnesty International, USA, June 27, 2020.

Kamal Hassan Ramezan Soulo, a Syrian Kurd arbitrarily detained in Iran’s West Azerbaijan province, has been at risk of arbitrary execution for three years because ministry of intelligence officials refuse to acknowledge his real identity and instead are torturing and otherwise ill-treating him to make false “confessions” that he took part in an armed attack. 

They continue to seek his execution by claiming that he is a different man, despite two court rulings dismissing the claims. He must be released immediately.

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USA: Demand ICE Release Detainees - ONLINE ACTION

Amnesty International, USA, June 16, 2020.

As the world responds to an unprecedented crisis unfolding from the COVID-19 pandemic, people, locked up in U.S. immigration detention face these uncertain times while left behind in facilities -- where crowded conditions place them at increased risk of infection and where access to medical care may be limited.

Detained immigrants and asylum-seekers face grave risks including illness and even death if exposed to infection in immigration detention facilities — where rapid spread within crowded centers may occur. Many of them are particularly vulnerable to COVID-19 because of their age or serious medical needs. 

Conditions in immigration detention are well-documented to have substandard medical care, inadequate basic hygiene, and overcrowding.

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AMNESTY DEATH PENALTY PROJECT - Report

Amnesty, UK, June 13, 2020.

Although not yet illegal in itself, the death penalty continued to be used in ways that violated international law and standards in 2019. Some examples include:

At least 13 public executions were recorded in Iran.

At least 6 people – 4 in Iran, 1 in Saudi Arabia and 1 in South Sudan – were executed for crimes that occurred when they were below 18 years of age; Amnesty International believed that other people in this category remained on death row in Maldives, Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and South Sudan.

13 People with mental or intellectual disabilities were under sentence of death in several countries, including Japan, Maldives, Pakistan and USA.

Death sentences were known to have been imposed after proceedings that did not meet international fair trial standards in several countries, including Bahrain, Bangladesh, China, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Malaysia, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Viet Nam and Yemen.

“Confessions” that may have been extracted through torture or other ill-treatment were used to convict and sentence people to death in Bahrain, Egypt, Iran and Saudi Arabia.

Death sentences were imposed without the defendant being present (in absentia) in Bangladesh and Lebanon.

You can read or download Amnesty International’s report – Death sentences and executions 2019 here

4 Actions you can take for Women's Rights today!

Tatyana Revva, a doctor from Volgograd, in southern Russia, is facing disciplinary proceedings that may result in dismissal, following her complaints of the shortage of personal protective equipment and other problems in her hospital in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. She should be able to perform her professional duties, and exercise her right to freedom of expression, without fear of reprisals by the administration. Take action on her behalf here.

Relatives of human rights lawyer and activist, Mahienour el-Masry, who is unlawfully detained at Al-Qanater women’s prison, are concerned about her safety amid fears of a potential outbreak of COVID-19 in Egyptian prisons. Family members last had news about Mahiebour from a former detainee released on 20 March 2020. Use this sample to write a letter demanding her immediate and unconditional release. 

No contact has been made with human rights defender Li Qiaochu since she was taken away by Beijing police on 16 February 2020. Her arrest is suspected to be related to her activism against gender violence and the fact that her partner, Xu Zhiyong, attended an informal gathering of lawyers and activists in Xiamen in December 2019. Detained incommunicado under “residential surveillance in a designated location”, there are grave concerns that Li Qiaochu is at risk of torture or other ill-treatment as she is still without access to her family or a lawyer of her choice. Write a letter demanding her immediate and unconditional release. 

On 17 April, at around 2:30pm, Jani Silva heard 6 gunshots at less than 30 meters from her residence in Puerto Asís in Putumayo (South West), Colombia. On 22 April, she again heard three gun shots at less than 50 meters from her residence. These two incidents occurred after a confidential source provided information to the Inter-Ecclesiastical Commission of Justice and Peace (Comisión Intereclesial de Justicia y Paz) in late March about an ongoing plan to kill Jani Silva. We are urging the Ministry of Interior to provide appropriate protection to her. Take action today.

MALTA: Asylum Seekers Allowed to Disembark - GOOD NEWS

Amnesty International, USA, 6.6.2020

Maltese authorities finally allowed the disembarkment of all asylum-seekers held on four ferry boats off Malta’s territorial waters in the night of 6-7 June. 

The approximately 425 asylum-seekers had been transferred to the ferry boats after their rescue in the central Mediterranean. The disembarkment puts an end to their arbitrary and indefinite detention on the ferries, which for some of them, lasted over a month.

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CHINA: Uyghur Businessman Imprisoned - URGENT ACTION

Amnesty International, USA, 6.8.2020.

Abuduaini Kadier, a Uyghur businessman who was secretly tried and sentenced to seven years in prison, is believed to have been detained in connection with a 2016 holiday he took to Egypt in which he paid for several other Uyghurs’ airfare. No information about his condition or even the charges against him have been shared with his family to date, and without regular access to family and legal representation, there are grave concerns for Abuduaini Kadier’s condition and wellbeing.

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BENIN: Journalist Arbitrarily Detained - URGENT ACTION

Amnesty International, USA, 6-5-2020.

On 19 May, the Cotonou Court of Appeal reduced the sentence against investigative journalist, Ignace Sossou, to 12 months in prison, including six months suspended. 

He was first sentenced to 18 months in prison and fined for “harassment” on 24 December 2019 for tweets quoting the Public Prosecutor during a conference hosted by the French media development agency CFI. 

He is due to be released on 24 June. Ignace Sossou is being arbitrarily detained and must be immediately and unconditionally released.

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USA, MINNEAPOLIS - Store Owner Regrets Police Call - NEWS

The Grio, June 1, 2020.

Minneapolis has a state policy that requires businesses to call the police when they receive counterfeit money. The day George Floyd allegedly used a fake $20 to purchase cigarettes at Cup Foods was no different.

The only difference is the owner, Mahmoud Abumayyaleh, now says that he wishes that phone call to police was never made.

“We want to share our feelings about what transpired and led to the death of George Floyd. He was murdered and executed in cold blood. Thankfully, it was recorded and there needs to be some accountability of those officers who were involved,” Abumayyaleh told theGrio.

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