Monday, January 5, 2015

Nigeria: Desperate parents of abducted Nigerian girls say have turned to U.N.

Reuters
January 3, 2015
by Julia Payne

      "If the government cannot take action, we are asking for the UN to come in and help and if they reject, we just don't know what to do," Reverend Enoch Mark, leader of the parents, told Reuters. Two of his daughters were kidnapped.
     On April 14, Boko Haram militants raided the school while the girls were taking exams. They loaded 270 of them onto trucks. Around 50 escaped shortly afterwards.  
     Dozens, possibly hundreds, have been kidnapped since the Chibok attack. Two weeks ago, gunmen abducted 172 women and children from Gumsuri, 24 km from Chibok.

Click here for entire article. 

USA: Accountability for Torture - No one is above the law ONLINE PETITION

For over a decade, the American people have demanded to know about post-9/11 torture conducted in our names. Now we finally have some answers. The Senate just released its summary report detailing widespread and illegal CIA torture during the Bush years. Over a hundred people were abused and tortured by the CIA and its contractors, often in secret prisons, set up in countries such as Poland, Romania and Thailand. Click here for more information and sign the ACLU Petition to have Attorney General Eric Holder.
Note: This petition is an ACLU ONLINE PETITION and is not an Amnesty International petition.  

Friday, January 2, 2015

USA: US executions fall to 20-year low as death penalty politics shift

Ajazeera


As 2014 draws to a close, the United States will have executed the fewest inmates since 1994 as public views surrounding capital punishment continue to shift and the act of putting prisoners to death becomes more politically and practically difficult.
   There were 35 inmates executed this year, in only seven states, with three — Missouri, Texas and Florida — responsible for 80 percent of them, according to the year-end annual report of the Death Penalty Information Center, a nonprofit group that focuses on capital punishment. Moreover, the number of death sentences handed down this year, at 72, dipped to a 40-year low."

Click here for entire article. 

Heroes of 2014: Russian human rights group Memorial

 The Guardian, Jan 1, 2015


It [Memorial, a Russian human rights organization] was founded in 1989 by the Nobel peace prize laureate Andrei Sakharov. It had on its staff an extraordinarily brave woman, Natalia Estemirova, who for years documented war crimes in Chechnya, until she was killed in 2009. Another Memorial figure, the human rights activist Andrei Mironov, died this summer when caught in crossfire while reporting in eastern Ukraine."
" The Russian supreme court has started procedures to try to close down the organisation. So can Memorial survive in 2015? Anyone who knew these amazing people – I did, along with other journalists who have covered Russia over the years – can understand what a huge impact the closure of Memorial would have. Simply put, it would be the silencing of free voices and a blotting out of memory. It would signal that Russia was indeed entering a dark age."

Click here for complete article from The Guardian.

Egypt: Free the Al Jazeera staff - ONLINE PETITION and Amnesty International PRESS RELEASE

On 1 January, an Egyptian court called for a retrial of the three jailed Al Jazeera journalists. The initial trial of these men was a complete farce and they must be released immediately and unconditionally. Call on the President to release Peter, Mohamed and Baher immediately and unconditionally.


Click here for more information and ONLINE PETITION. 

Press Release from Amnesty International. 

Madison, WI Event: "Beloved Community: Interbeing, Race, Class, and Personhood" - Jan 14, 2015

     Join Sustain Dane and the YWCA for a special video screening of Dr. Powell's presentation "Beloved Community." January 14 from 6-8p at Madison Public Library. This is event is FREE.  

     Sustain Dane and YWCA bring you a special encore screening for the 2014 National Bioneers Conference. john a. powell - Beloved Community: Interbeing, Race, Class, and Person ‘Hood.' As humanity faces global environmental and social collapse, our fear of the “Other” can be magnified by unstable contracting economies, radically shifting demographics, and new social norms. Can humanity overcome these divisions and come together to protect our common home? Stay for a discussion following the film with Angela Russell, City/County Public Health Equity Coordinator; Lauren Beriont, Sustain Dane, Tariq Saqqaf, City of Madison Neighborhood Resource Teams; and Maurice Cheeks, Alder, City of Madison.

     John A. Powell, an internationally recognized scholar in the areas of civil rights, civil liberties, race, ethnicity, housing, poverty, and democracy, is a professor of Law, African American Studies, and Ethnic Studies at UC Berkeley and serves as the Director of its Haas Institute for a Fair and Inclusive Society. He has founded several institutes, taught at numerous law schools, including Harvard and Columbia, and has authored several books, including, most recently: Racing to Justice.
 

AI Madison Group #139 Weekly Update - January 2, 2015

Greetings Everyone!
     It's been a busy and exciting year. While some Prisoners of Conscience (POC) have been released, others still languish behind bars and need our voices... need our pens and our computers to advocate on their behalf. Yes, we've had our successes and our disappointments but remember, if we do nothing... nothing will change.
     This week, be sure to check out the video from various faith leaders regarding slavery, the booklist from NSW Book Club, and the changing policies in China. There are more ONLINE PETITIONS and URGENT ACTIONS that are found not only in our Weekly Update but also on our website.
     Thank you for your support, your time, and your advocacy. Don’t forget to send us your suggestions, articles, and links to group139@aiusa.org. Also, if you know anyone who would like to join our group or would like to receive our Weekly Update, please let us know.
     We look forward to working with you in 2015!
     -Debbie, Weekly Update Editor
Click here for entire Weekly Update.