EGYPT: Death Sentence Upheld - URGENT ACTION

Amnesty International, USA, November 13, 2018

On 24 September 2018, Egypt’s Court of Cassation...upheld the death sentences of 20 Egyptians, including Sheikh Abdel Rehim Abdel Halim Gabreel. They were convicted of killing 13 policemen during the 2013 attack on a police station in the Giza suburb of Kerdasa. 

On 26 September 2013, Sheikh Abdel Rehim Abdel Halim Gabreel was arrested from a mosque. After six months of investigations without a lawyer, he was put on trial. On 2 February 2015, he was sentenced to death. The sentence was upheld by the Court of Cassation on 24 September 2018. 

Sheikh Abdel Rehim Abdel Halim Gabreel does not have any political affiliation and did not participate in the criminal acts at Kerdasa. During the trial, two prosecution witnesses denied the testimonies written in the affidavits presented by the prosecution and that incriminated Sheikh Abdel Rehim Abdel Halim Gabreel. 

Sheikh Abdel Rehim Abdel Halim Gabreel’s lawyers performed a forensic medical examination, confirming that he suffers from Psoriasis...His overall physical and psychological health deteriorated in prison, as he cannot have access to adequate health care. The Wadi al-Natrun prison authorities did not allow his family to bring him medication; they only accept giving him some medication and refuse to let his family provide him with all the medication he needs.

CLICK HERE to TAKE ACTION before DEC 24, 2018

IRAN: Activists Executed - NEWS

IRAN HUMAN RIGHTS, November 11, 2018

Two different sources have reported to Iran Human Rights (IHR) that several Ahwazi Arab activists were executed on Thursday, November 8, at one of the prisons in the Iranian city of Ahvaz (Ahwaz).

One of the sources said: “In the aftermath of the September attack to a military parade in Ahvaz, Iranian Ministry of intelligence announced that 22 people were arrested for alleged connection to the incident. It seems that authorities executed all of them on Thursday. Today [Sunday, November 11] they told the prisoners’ families that the executions were carried out. They (authorities) warned the families against public mourning.”

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MEXICO: Indigenous Leaders Killed - ONLINE ACTION

Amnesty International, Canada, Nov. 8, 2918.

The mountains, canyons and forests of Mexico’s Tarahumara Sierra are renowned for their breathtaking beauty.

They are also a place of extreme danger for Indigenous people trying to defend their ancestral territory and the environment on which their survival depends.

The shocking reality is that more than a dozen Rarámuri Indigenous leaders from the tiny community of Coloradas de la Virgen have been killed since 2015.

That terrible toll worsened on October 24 when the disfigured body of Julián Carrillo was found after shots were heard.

Like others before him, Julián had courageously spoken out to denounce illegal logging and mining concessions that threaten Rarámuri lands. He knew he was in danger and reported death threats on repeated occasions. Yet authorities failed to protect him, just as they failed to protect other Rarámuri leaders.

Julián’s voice has been silenced. Ours are urgently needed.

This is literally a matter of life and death. The people of Coloradas de la Virgen have good reason to fear more attacks. They are counting on our support.  Please sign our action calling on Mexico to stop the killers and protect Indigenous environment defenders.

EGYPT: Human Rights Lawyer Detained - URGENT ACTION

Amnesty International, USA, Nov 7, 2018

On 1 November 2018, State Security forces broke into the house of Hoda Abdelmoniem in Cairo at 1:30 am, ransacked it, and took her blindfolded to her mother’s house. While the Security forces searched her mother’s house, she was left blindfolded in a police vehicle. Hoda was then forcibly taken to an unknown destination. Hoda’s daughter witnessed her arrest.

The officers confirmed to Hoda’s daughter that they belong to the State Security forces. However, they did not show an arrest warrant, and refused to tell her daughter about the reason of the arrest or the destination where she was being taken. Hoda was not allowed to take any medicines or personal belongings with her. She has a blood clot in her leg and high blood pressure, resulting in repeated instances of imbalance. Hoda’s lawyers have been asking about her fate and whereabouts in different police stations but have not been unable to locate her. The authorities denied the fact that Hoda has been arrested and said that they do not know her whereabouts. Amnesty International believes that Hoda Abdelmoniem has been forcibly disappeared.

CLICK HERE to LEARN MORE & to TAKE ACTION

Bahrain: Opposition Leader Sentenced to Life - URGENT ACTION

Amnesty International, USA, Nov. 5, 2018

On 4 November 2018, the Bahraini Appeal Court sentenced opposition leader and prisoner of conscience, Sheikh Ali Salman, to life imprisonment. The court overturned an earlier acquittal, and convicted him and two others of communicating sensitive security information to Qatar.

On 4 November 2018, the High Criminal Court of Appeal in Manama, Bahrain’s capital, sentenced Sheikh Ali Salman, the Secretary General of al-Wefaq National Islamic Society (al-Wefaq), Bahrain’s main opposition party, to life imprisonment. He was convicted with two others of “exchanging intelligence information with a foreign country [Qatar] and with those serving its interests to carry out hostile acts against Bahrain....

The two other men, Ali al-Aswad, a former al-Wefaq Member of Parliament, and Sheikh Hassan Sultan, a party member whose nationality was revoked in January 2015, were tried in abstentia.

Sheikh Ali Salman is held in Jaw Prison, south of Manama. He was due for release at the end of December, having served his four-year prison sentence in another case relating to his peaceful speeches.

CLICK HERE to LEARN MORE & to TAKE ACTION

URGENT ACTION: Activist charged for peaceful anti-military protest

ACTIVIST CHARGED FOR PEACEFUL ANTI-MILITARY PROTEST

Activist Tin Maung Kyi has been detained for staging a peaceful solo protest calling on the international community to arrest senior Myanmar generals. He has been charged under laws often used to silence peaceful activists and faces up to two years and one month in prison if found guilty. He must be immediately and unconditionally released.

Take Action:

Write a letter, send an email, call, fax or tweet:

• Release Tin Maung Kyi immediately and unconditionally as he has been detained solely for the peaceful exercise of his rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly;
• Ensure that, pending his release, Tin Maung Kyi is protected against torture and other ill-treatment, that he has unfettered access to his family and legal counsel of his choosing, and is provided with any medical treatment he may require. 
• Repeal or amend all laws criminalizing the exercise of the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, including Article 505(b) of the Penal Code and the Peaceful Assembly Act, and bring them in line with international human rights law and standards.

Contact these two officials by 17 December, 2018:

Lt. Gen. Kyaw Swe, Minister of Home Affairs

Ministry of Home Affairs,

Office No. 10, Nay Pyi Taw,

Republic of the Union of Myanmar

Fax: +95 67 412 439

Email: mohamyanmar@gmail.com

Salutation: Dear Minister

Ambassador U Aung Lynn, Embassy of the Union of Myanmar

2300 S St. NW, Washington DC 20008

Phone: 202 332 3344 OR 202 332 4350 I Fax: 202 332 4351

Email: pyi.thayar@verizon.net -OR-

washington-embassy@mofa.gov.mm

Contact form: https://goo.gl/t7XddG

Facebook: https://goo.gl/ZSjisy

Salutation: Dear Ambassador

Click here to let Amnesty know if you took action on this case! This is Urgent Action 188.18.

Here's why it is so important to report your actions: we record the actions taken on each case—letters, emails, calls and tweets—and use that information in our advocacy.

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Thanks for all you do!

EVENT: A Conversation with Congressman Mark Pocan: Clean Water for Children in Gaza

Dear Friends,


In Gaza, 97 percent of the water is unfit for human consumption!

Amnesty Internationl Local Group #139 - Madison is proud to be a supporter of Clean Water for the Children of Gaza - a joint project of Congregation Shaarei Shamayim, First Unitarian Society of Madison, Jewish Voice for Peace/Madison, and Madison-Rafah Sister City Project.

We are co-sponsoring a fundraiser for this project on Tuesday, November 20th at 7:00 pm at First Unitarian Society – 900 University Bay Dr. in Madison.

At this event, Congressman Mark Pocan will discuss the water crisis in Gaza and share his insights with our community. We will also be raising money to purchase a water filtration system that will serve two schools in Gaza, thus providing clean water to over 3,250 children and their families.

There will also be a brief presentation about the project, a musical performance by Beat Road, and light refreshments. This event is free and open to the public. Donations at this fundraiser will be greatly appreciated!

Event flyer and poster are attached. You can also share our Facebook event and our project brochure. For more information call Tim Cordon at 608-630-3633.

Hope to see you on November 20th!