Good News
Good news from around the world
Ukraine: Chechen refugee Lema Susarov released UA 207/07
4 July 2008
On 4 July, ethnic Chechen refugee Lema Susarov was permitted to travel from Ukraine to Finland, where he will be resettled.
Lema Susarov was first recognized as a refugee by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in 2006, in Baku, Azerbaijan. According to the UNHCR, he arrived in Ukraine at the end of 2006. The Russian Federation sought his extradition on 16 February 2007, on charges of robbery, and the decision to extradite him was taken by the Prosecutor General of Ukraine on 27 July 2007, apparently under pressure from the Russian authorities. He had been detained in Ukraine since 20 July 2007.
Lema Susarov applied to Ukraine's State Committee for Nationalities and Religions (SCNR) for refugee status in the country in August 2007. However, as the SCNR did not take any decisions on refugee status between May and November 2007 because of a dispute about its terms of reference, the UNHCR office in Kyiv carried out an individual assessment of Lema Susarov’s case, and on 22 August 2007 determined him to be a refugee. The UNHCR subsequently submitted an application for his emergency resettlement, and on 11 October 2007, Finland recognized his refugee status and accepted him for resettlement. However, when the SCNR resumed its work, it also considered his application for refugee status, and rejected it on 15 January 2008.
Lema Susarov appealed against this rejection, and his appeal was heard by a district appeal court in June. On 2 July, the court ruled in his favour, and he was released.
Many thanks to all who sent appeals. No further action is needed.
Al-Jazeera journalist released from Guantanamo
Sami al-Haji is the Al-Jazeera journalist who has been detained in Guantanamo for five years but recently released. He was in the USA where he met with AI USA . They advised:
Sami told us that he received 10,000 letters while he was in Guantanamo and apologized that he was not able to reply to each of you individually. He told us that when he received the first letter he knew he was part of the AI movement. He asked us for the following message to be relayed to all AI members. Please circulate this message to all groups and members who campaigned on his case.
"Myself, my son Mohammed and my wife Asma thank all AI members for supporting me and for supporting human rights. We will work hard with them together until we achieve peace for all people in the world. I will never forget their help and I will pray for them. I ask them to keep praying for me also. I will be glad if they continue their relationship with me, are in touch with me in my life and help me with my new job."
Sami al-Hajj has a new job with al-Jazeera where he will be working as a News Producer on Liberties and Human Rights Affairs. AI will remain in contact with him and will be exploring ways in which we can support him and work with him in the future.
China: Mongolian Human Rights Activist Released UA 155/08
Mongolian human rights activist Jaranbayar Soyolt was released from custody in China on 16 June and returned to his home in the Mongolian capital, Ulaanbaatar, on 18 June. He was detained by immigration officials on 6 January at Beijing Capital International Airport and held in detention for two days before being transferred to a detention centre in Inner Mongolia. He was interrogated by the Chinese authorities about his alleged involvement in "overseas activities harmful to China’s security". He was not tortured or ill-treated in detention.
Jaranbayar Soyolt is a human rights activist and a founding member of several exiled dissident groups based in Mongolia. Originally a Chinese citizen from the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region, he legally left China and settled in Mongolia in 1991, and became a Mongolian citizen in 1997. The Chinese authorities have labelled him a Mongolian separatist and have claimed that he is plotting to overthrow the ruling communist party of China.
Jaranbayar Soyolt and AI thank all who sent appeals on his behalf. No further action is requested from the UA network.
Activist released in Uzbekistan
Uzbekistani human rights defender Mutabar Tadzhibaeva, who was sentenced to eight years in prison in 2006, was unexpectedly released on Monday, 2 June.
The prisoner of conscience, who won the 2008 Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders last month, was driven to her home in Margilan and reunited with her family. Tadzhibaeva passed her thanks to NGOs including Amnesty International, which had campaigned for her release.
"I spent 900 days on a "torture island"; 700 of those days I spent in solitary confinement," she revealed. "I endured only because of the support of people who were concerned about my fate. Only this gave me strength. I want to thank them for not forgetting those nearest and dearest to me - that knowledge helped me remain determined."
Mutabar Tadzhibaeva was detained on 7 October 2005, on the eve of an international conference on human rights defenders in Dublin, Ireland, which she was due to attend. She had come under increasing pressure from the authorities for her human rights activities, including for speaking out about the government's crackdown on human rights activities since the May 2005 mass killings in Andizhan.
On 6 March 2007, she was sentenced to eight years' imprisonment. She faced 13 economic and political charges, including "membership of an illegal organization" and "using funds from Western governments to prepare or distribute materials containing a threat to public order and security".
According to Mutabar Tadzhibaeva's oldest brother, she did not know that she was being released, but instead thought she was being taken for medical tests to a hospital in Tashkent. Mutabar's brother told the independent uznews.net website that his sister looked pale and had lost weight, but that emotionally she was fine.
Tadzhibaeva's release was hailed by her colleagues, with human rights activists citing the release as the result of international pressure. The remaining six years of her eight-year sentence have been commuted to a three-year suspended sentence.
Uzbekistani Human Rights Defender in prison wins 2008 Martin Ennals Award
(Geneva) Today the Jury of the Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders announces as 2008 Laureate:
Mrs. Mutabar Tadzhibaeva from Uzbekistan was arrested after having criticized the government’s handling of the mass killing in Andizhan, three years ago in May 2005. On 7 March 2006 she was sentenced to eight years imprisonment on 17 different charges, including “slander” and “membership of an illegal organization”. In 2006, she was transferred for a short period of time to a psychiatric detention centre and forced to undergo medical treatment. Her health condition is deteriorating due to detention conditions. She has frequently been placed in a punishment cell for protesting against prison conditions. She is only having limited access to her lawyer and relatives.
The tragedy of Andizhan, where hundreds of people were killed, should not be forgotten. The Government of Uzbekistan should release Mutabar Tadzhibaeva unconditionally.
The Chairman of the Jury of the MEA, Hans Thoolen, describes the laureate as “an exceptionally brave woman in a country where standing up for human rights is a dangerous activity which can lead to imprisonment and death; where human rights defenders often have to choose between prison or exile.” He draws attention to the laureate’s principled stand to monitor abuses committed by governmental authorities. The 10 organizations on the Jury of the Martin Ennals Award demand the immediate release of Mrs Tadzhibaeva and the guarantee that she will be safe. The MEA calls on the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to use its good offices for this purpose.
From letters written by Mrs Tadzhibaeva in prison between August and November 2007 one can see the anguish and suffering: “….I do not want to be forgotten.”; “… They are afraid of my truth, so they torture me this way.”; “… I am holding out as much as I can.”
The Ceremony of the Martin Ennals Award will take place in Geneva on 20 November 2008.
MEA: the main award of the human rights movement. The Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders (MEA) is a unique collaboration among 10 of the world’s leading human rights organizations to give protection to human rights defenders worldwide. The Jury is composed of the following NGOs: Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Human Rights First, International Federation for Human Rights, World Organisation Against Torture, Front Line, International Commission of Jurists, German Diakonie, International Service for Human Rights and HURIDOCS. Previous laureates : Pierre Claver Mbonimpa, Burundi and Rajan Hoole-Kopalasingham Sritharan, Sri Lanka (2007); Akbar Ganji, Iran and Arnold Tsunga, Zimbabwe; Aktham Naisse, Syria; Lida Yusupova, Russia; Alirio Uribe Muñoz, Colombia; Jacqueline Moudeina, Chad; Peace Brigades International; Immaculée Birhaheka, DR Congo; Natasha Kandic, Yugoslavia; Eyad El Sarraj, Palestine; Samuel Ruiz, Mexico; Clement Nwankwo, Nigeria; Asma Jahangir, Pakistan; Harry Wu, China.
Patrons of the Martin Ennals Award: Asma Jahangir, Barbara Hendricks, Jose Ramos-Horta, Adama Dieng, Leandro Despouy, Robert Fulghum, Theo van Boven and Werner Lottje†.
For further information, please contact: Luis Marreiros, Coordinator, +41228094925
marreiros@martinennalsaward.org or visit www.martinennalsaward.org
Algeria: Rabah Kadri was released, out of danger UA 101/08
Rabah Kadri was released without charge on 27 April, at about 1pm. He had been held incommunicado for 12 days. He was able to go to his parents, who live in Algiers, and is staying with them. He is no longer at risk of torture or other ill-treatment.
He was detained by plainclothes security officers on 16 April, when he arrived in Algiers after being deported from France.. He did not know where he was held; he is believed to have been in the custody of the intelligence agency Department for Information and Security (Département du renseignement et de la sécurité, DRS) in one of the unofficial detention centres they operate in Algiers.
Rabah Kadri told Amnesty International that he was treated humanely. He was interrogated about the activities which had led to his conviction and prison sentence in France. He also said that he was asked to sign a statement saying that he had been treated well before he was released. People who have just been released by the DRS are very cautious when speaking about how they have been treated, in case any criticism of the authorities leads to repercussions.
Rabah Kadri also complained about the way he was treated in France upon release from the Val de Reuil prison on 14 April. He said that he was taken to a police station and made to spend the night locked in a small, dirty and smelly cell. The following day, he was taken by plane to the southern city of Marseille, where he was put on a boat to Algiers. He said he was also locked up in a cell during the boat journey.
No further action is requested from the UA network. Many thanks to all who sent appeals.
Equatorial Guinea: Detainee released without charge after more than 4 months UA 37/08
Brígida Asongsua Elo was released without charge on 25 April, having been held in harsh conditions at Malabo Central Police Station since 16 December 2006.
On 24 April, the day before her release, Brígida Asongsua was assaulted by a male bodyguard of the Secretary of State for National Security. The bodyguard went to the police station and ordered Brígida Asongsua to sweep the floor in the Secretary of State's office. Brígida Asongsua told Amnesty International that the same man had ordered her to sweep the office on several occasions before, and that she had always refused to do so. When she refused on this occasion, he pulled her hair and hit her. Brígida Asongsua’s lawyer complained about the assault to the Secretary of State, who ordered the bodyguard's arrest. The following day, the Secretary of State met with Brígida Asongsua in his office and apologised to her for the behaviour of his bodyguard, saying that he had not been aware of it. Soon after this meeting, Brígida Asongsua was released.
Brígida Asongsua has told Amnesty International that she had been aware of the organization's work on her behalf. She had this message for those who campaigned for her release: “Thank you, thank you, thank you. I don’t know what else to say. I don’t know how to pay you for all you have done for me. Thank you, thank you”
No further action is required from the UA network. On behalf of Brígida Asongsua Elo, thank you very much to all who took part in this action.
Saudi Arabia: Blogger Released UA 04/08
Bogger Fouad Ahmad al-Farhan was released without charge on 26 April.
Fouad Ahmad al-Farhan, who owns a small IT company, had been arrested at his office on 10 December, and was held at Dhaban Prison, in the city of Jeddah.
An official from the Interior Ministry had apparently warned him that he was at risk of being taken in for interrogation by the Ministry. He believed that this would be in connection with his writings on political prisoners in his blog.
No further action is requested from the UA network. Many thanks to all who sent appeals.
IRAN: Women's Rights Defender Released UA 93/08
28 April 2008
Khadijeh Moghaddam was freed on 16 April. The condition of her release had originally been set as bail of one billion rials (approximately US$112,000), but on 15 April this was changed to a third-party guarantee. She was released after the necessary court documents had been signed.
Initially held in the Eshrat Abad security police station for several hours, she was taken to court and charged with "spreading of propaganda against the state; disruption of public opinion; and actions against national security”, following which she was transferred to the Vozara detention centre where she was held in solitary confinement for seven days. She was then transferred to Evin Prison where she spent one night before her release.
In an interview with the Campaign for Equality on 12 April, Khadijeh Moghaddam’s husband, Dr. Khosrowshahi, said, “When I saw her yesterday, Khadijeh explained that she was interrogated in relation to the visits and gatherings in our home with members of the Mother’s Committee of the Campaign and the Mothers for Peace, which she hosted. They asked her to name the persons who regularly visited with her in her home. My wife found this line of questioning to be unethical and as such did not provide a response. Additionally, it seems that they asked her why she had visited the family of Mr. Ossanlu [an imprisoned trade unionist leader – see UA 08/06 and follow-ups]. She responded by saying that Mr. Ossanlu’s mother is a friend of hers, and that it is very natural for her to go their home on the occasion of the Iranian New Year. Additionally, she responded that she views defending civil society activists to be her duty.” (see: http://www.we-change.org/english/spip.php?article251).
Khadijeh Moghaddam is an active member of the Campaign for Equality, which aims to collect one million signatures of Iranians for a petition demanding an end to legal discrimination against women in Iran and is a member of the Mother’s Committee. She is also a member of the organization “Mothers for Peace”, and has also been active on environmental issues for many years.
Other women’s rights defenders in Iran continue to be harassed and to be convicted in connection with their peaceful activities. In recent weeks, four women – Marzieh Mortazi Langaroudi, Nasrin Afzali and Nahid Ja’fari received six-month prison sentences and 10 lashes all suspended for 2 years. This was in connection with their participation in a peaceful demonstration on 4 March 2007 outside the court where five other women were on trial for organizing another peaceful demonstration demanding an end to legal discrimination against women in June 2006. All were convicted of taking part in an illegal gathering and colluding with the intent to disrupt national security. Another woman, student Zeynab Peyghambarzadeh, received a two year suspended prison sentence in connection with the same event. Their treatment appears to show the arbitrary nature of Iranian justice, as at least 12 other women present at the March 2007 demonstration have been acquitted of any offence.
No further action is required at present. Many thanks to all those who sent appeals.
Pakistan ratifies key UN human rights treaty
18 April 2008
Pakistan has ratified a key UN human rights treaty and signed two others.
“Becoming a state party to UN human rights conventions is a key step to ensuring human rights are respected, protected and realized for all in Pakistan in line with international standards,” said Amnesty International.
The organization has called on the Pakistani authorities to grasp this opportunity and address the pressing human rights problems in the country.
When presenting its candidature for the elections of the Human Rights Council in April 2006, Pakistan committed itself to early ratification of core human rights treaties.
On 17 April 2008, Pakistan moved to uphold this pledge, ratifying the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), and signing both the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UNCAT).
Amnesty International has repeatedly, over many years, urged Pakistan to ratify these and other UN human rights treaties.
Amnesty International has called upon the Government of Pakistan to promptly ratify the ICCPR and the UNCAT and enact implementing legislation to ensure that the three treaties become part of Pakistan’s domestic law. It should also ratify all other human rights treaties and their optional protocols, as well as the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, and give full effect to international human rights treaties in policy and practice.
Amnesty International has also urged the new Pakistan authorities to release, or else disclose, the fate and whereabouts of all victims of enforced disappearance; to end all secret, incommunicado and administrative detentions; to end all torture and other ill-treatment and repeal all laws which carry cruel, inhuman or degrading punishments; and to declare a moratorium on all death sentences and commute the death sentences of the over 7000 people currently on death row.
Iranian trade unionist freed
11 April 2008
A prominent trade unionist in Iran has been released from detention after serving a one-year prison sentence. Independent labour activist, Mahmoud Salehi, one of the co-founders of the Bakery Workers’ Trade Union in Saqez, was released on bail on Sunday 6 April, according to reports.
Mahmoud Salehi ©ITUCMahmoud Salehi has been the object of strong, unified international lobbying by international trade union and human rights’ organizations since 2007. Amnesty International has joined with the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) to launch a series of joint demonstrations and protests in front of Iranian embassies around the world.
Salehi was originally sentenced to four years’ imprisonment for organizing an independent workers rally in Saqez on International Labour Day, 1 May 2004. His sentence was reduced on appeal to one year’s imprisonment and a three-year suspended prison term.
He finally began serving the sentence on 9 April 2007 in Saqez, before being transferred to a high security prison in Sanandaj, capital of Kordestan Province. His state of health severely deteriorated while in jail, after prison authorities repeatedly denied him proper medical care for acute kidney failure and other serious ailments.
An international day of action on 6 March 2008 brought trade union and other activists into the street in 35 countries, demonstrating in support of both Salehi and Mansour Ossanlu (or Osanloo). Ossanlu is President of the Tehran bus drivers’ union and remains in detention at Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison.
One week later, the authorities levelled new charges against Salehi, who had originally been due for release on 23 March. Observers believe the new accustations were brought against him as a reaction to the day of action and in retaliation for solidarity messages that Salehi had managed to smuggle out of jail.
Since his release, Salehi has returned to Saqez, where he was met by family and friends. The ITUC, ITF and Amnesty International have welcomed news of Salehi’s release, but, in a joint statement, reminded Iran’s authorities that Ossanlu and other unjustly imprisoned trade unionists must be freed.
Ethiopia: Two prisoners of conscience freed
28 March 2008
Amnesty International today welcomed the release of human rights activists Daniel Bekele and Netsanet Demissie, who had been detained in Ethiopia since November 2005, but said the two prisoners of conscience should be compensated for the time they spent in prison.
The two men were released today, having received a presidential pardon after they signed a letter “acknowledging mistakes” committed in relation to the 2005 elections. It is not yet clear if the pardon is unconditional.
“These two men did not commit any acts for which they need to seek pardon,” said Erwin van der Borght, Director of Amnesty International’s Africa Programme.
“They were prisoners of conscience, detained and convicted solely for their peaceful work as human rights defenders. They should have their convictions unconditionally pardoned, and should receive compensation for the period they were unfairly imprisoned.”
Daniel Bekele is the policy manager of ActionAid in Ethiopia. Netsanet Demissie is the founder and director of the Organization for Social Justice in Ethiopia. Both are prominent human rights lawyers.
Both men chose to enter a defence, unlike other co-accused, during a trial that ran for over two years. In December 2007, they were convicted by a majority verdict of the Ethiopian Federal High Court of provoking and preparing “outrages against the Constitution” and were sentenced to 30 months imprisonment.
According to Amnesty International, the prosecution failed to present evidence that either Daniel Bekele or Netsanet Demissie incited violence and the judges convicted them on the basis of the testimonies of two witnesses whose credibility was doubtful and strongly contested by the defence. The Ethiopian government barred representatives from Amnesty International from observing the trial in July 2007.
IRAN: Shahla Jahed Execution Overtuned
12 March 2008 - UA 283/05
According to press reports, the Head of the Judiciary in Iran has recently overturned the murder conviction of Shahla Jahed, who was sentenced to death for murdering her husband’s first wife in 2002.
Recent reports from the Iranian newspaper, E'temad, say that Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi overturned the execution verdict against Shahla Jahed and ordered a fresh probe into the case after finding "procedural flaws" in the original investigation.
Shahla Jahed, a "temporary" wife of Nasser Mohammad-Khani, a former striker for the Iranian national football team and former manager of a team in Tehran, was accused of stabbing to death Laleh Saharkhizan, her husband’s "permanent" wife, on 9 October 2002. Under Iranian law, men and women can have both "permanent" and "temporary" marriages. In a temporary marriage, men and women can commit to be married for a certain period of time, after which the marriage is null and void. Men can have up to four permanent wives, and any number of temporary wives. Women can only be married to one man at a time.
Shahla Jahed was initially sentenced to death in June 2004 and an appeal by her relatives, at the time, was rejected and the judges of Branch 15 of the Supreme Court upheld the sentence. Shahla Jahed’s lawyer reportedly wrote a letter to the Head of the Judiciary, Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi, requesting a review of the execution order in view of the fact that Shahla Jahed's case had not been properly investigated. In November 2005 the Head of the Judiciary reportedly ordered a stay of execution so that the case could be re-examined. However, the death sentence was upheld in September 2006.
Shahla Jahed is held in Tehran's Evin Prison. She may now be released on bail, although Laleh Saharkhizan's family are said to be continuing efforts to press for her execution.
IRAN : Jelil Ghanilou (m) - Azerbaijani cultural and linguistic right activist released
10 March 2008 - UA 61/07
Jelil Ghanilou, an Azerbaijani cultural and linguistic right activist, was released on 27 February and is now at home with his family in the city of Zanjan in western Iran. Bail amounting to around US$86,000 was paid for his release.
Jelil Ghanilou was arrested in Zanjan in February 2007 in connection with his participation in an event marking International Mother Language Day. He was released around 10 days later but on 28 May 2007 he was rearrested following demonstrations marking the anniversary of the publication in May 2007 of a cartoon seen by many Iranian Azerbaijani activists as offensive. Between June 2007 and his release he was repeatedly moved between Evin Prison in Tehran and a Ministry of Intelligence detention facility in Zanjan. Reports suggest that he faced continuous interrogation and ill treatment throughout the latter part of 2007 and into 2008. He was held in the Ministry of Intelligence-run Section 209 of Tehran’s Evin Prison from 4 December 2007 until his release.
Global Arms trafficker Victor Bout arrested in Thailand
6 March 2008
One of the world's most notorious arms dealers was arrested in Thailand on March 6 for allegedly supplying Colombian FARC rebels with arms and explosives. Thai police said that Victor Bout was arrested on a Thai warrant which stemmed from an earlier one issued by the U.S Drug Enforcement Administration. The Russian arms dealer has also been accused of trafficking weapons to Central and West Africa since the early 1990s. According to the United Nations and Amnesty International reports, Bout supplied guns to UN-embargoed destinations such as Angola, the DRC, Liberia and Sierra Leone. The guns were transported using a network of shipping agents and cargo planes that operated from various different countries. Many of the guns were paid for with diamonds. However, Bout has never been prosecuted for arms trafficking because of the inadequate laws of most states to regulate arms brokering and arms transporting activities.
Brian Wood, director of Military, Security and Police programme at the International Secretariat of Amnesty International said:
"Victor Bout is not the only person accused by the UN arms embargo investigators of brokering and trafficking arms in defiance of the Security Council, but his name is the most frequently mentioned in official UN reports and so it will be an historic trial. Nevertheless, like all trials it must be fair and the truth of who shipped all those arms to humanitarian catastrophes must come out because the perpetrators have to be prosecuted, especially to deter other would-be arms traffickers.
This is exactly why a global Arms Trade Treaty is needed. Such a Treaty would close loopholes that gun-runners like Victor Bout so easily exploit for their own gain. Through their irresponsible arms transfers gun-runners like Bout have fuelled conflicts where dreadful human rights abuses have occurred."
IRAN: Prisoners of Conscience Sa’id and Elirza Metinpour Released on Bail
6 March 2008 - UA 137/07
Prisoners of conscience Sa’id and Elirza Metinpour were released on bail on 27 February, and are now at home with their family in the city of Zenjan. Bail amounting to five billion rials (about US$540,000) and one billion rials (about US$110,000) for Sa’id and Elirza Metinpour respectively was paid in the form of several property deeds.
Sa’id Metinpour was arrested on 25 May 2007, in the north-western city of Zenjan, and was later taken to Section 209 of Evin prison, where he was tortured in an attempt to make him confess. His brother Elirza was arrested on 28 August 2007, and was also tortured at Evin prison. The brothers are not known to have been formally charged with any offence.
TURKEY: Orhan Kemal Cengiz (m), lawyer, human rights defender and newspaper columnist provided protection
On 27 February Orhan Kemal Cengiz, a lawyer, human rights defender and newspaper columnist, was provided with a bodyguard by the Ankara Security Directorate. He had been threatened and intimidated because of his legal work on behalf of three men killed in an attack at a Christian publishing house in April 2007.
Amnesty International welcomes the provision of a bodyguard for Orhan Kemal Cengiz, but will continue to call on the authorities to conduct an independent, impartial and thorough investigation into the threats against him. This campaigning will be done through mechanisms other than the Urgent Action network.
Many thanks to all those who sent appeals on behalf of Orhan Kemal Cengiz. He has expressed his gratitude to Amnesty International and to all those who have worked on his case.
AI Italy: Rendition movie launch
AI Italy held a conference to launch the rendition movie on friday 22th of February. After the screening was follow by a debate on rendition in Europe and Italy's role. AI Italy researcher Giusy D'Alconzo, public prosecutor Armando Spataro, EP temporary committee rapporteur Claudio Fava took part in the debate together with Enrico Magrelli and Piera Detassis, two prominent movie critics. The debate was a good chance to highlight AI concerns and requests on renditions and secret detentions, including to the EU and Italy.
The launch received a very good press coverage. All the promotional materials of the film contain AI logo and also the trailer show the writing www.amnesty.it. See intranet link below for details of the coverage, the film poster etc.
AI Italy re-launched AI's framework for ending illegal detention to the 70 local groups working on CTWJ campaign as a petition to collect signatures during events linked to the movie.
Guatemala: Opening military archives is only a first step
Tuesday 26 February 2008
"Opening Guatemala's military archives is a long awaited positive step which Amnesty international welcomes. But the real test will be whether anyone is brought to justice for the hundreds of thousands of killings, torture and disappearances which took place during Guatemala's internal conflict," said Sebastian Elgueta, Guatemala researcher at Amnesty International.
Amnesty International's statement came in reaction to Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom's announcement that military archives spanning nearly four decades of civil war in Guatemala will be opened to the public.
Landmines campaigner found not guilty in South Korea
Lee Si-woo, a photojournalist and peace campaigner, was arrested on 23 April 2007 on vaguely worded charges under the National Security Law (NSL). Lee Si-woo had published information on the US military presence in South Korea while working as a freelance reporter; however, his news reports were based on information obtained legally through the government and the military under freedom of information laws. Lee Si-woo had researched landmine casualties and anti-personnel mines in 2002 for the Korean Campaign to Ban Landmines (KCBL), of which he is a leading member. No questions were raised about the legality of the reports at the time, and many of the sources he used to gather information were freely available on the internet.
Amnesty International believes that the charges against him were solely for exercising his right to freedom of expression. His trial before the Seoul Central District Court began on 4 July 2007.
Lee Si-woo was released on bail on 14 September. Following his release he wrote to Amnesty International saying, ‘Above all, I am really grateful for Amnesty’s help. Without your help, I could not have been released on bail.’
On the 31st January 2008, Lee Si-woo was found not guilty and is now free. Amnesty International would like to thank all those who took action on Lee Si-woo’s case.
Cuba: 58 prisoners of conscience must be released!
18 February 2008
Amnesty International today welcomed the release of four Cuban activists but urged Raul Castro to urgently release the 58 remaining incarcerated prisoners of conscience and to guarantee the right to freedom of expression on the island.
“The release of the four Cuban prisoners of conscience is a very positive step but we must not forget about the at least 58 people who remain held in prisons across Cuba for the sole reason of expressing their political views,” said Kerrie Howard, Deputy director at Amnesty International’s Americas Programme.
“We hope that the recent release is a sign of change in Cuba, a further openness to improving respect for human rights, including the right to freedom of expression and association,” said Kerrie Howard.
Amnesty International has adopted 58 people currently imprisoned across Cuba as prisoners of conscience – those held because of their political or religious beliefs or because of their sex, nationality or ethnicity.
Freed Journalist Donates Prize to AI
A former prisoner of conscience has thanked Amnesty International (AI) for helping secure her release from jail by donating a journalism award to the organization.
Serkalem Fasil was freed from an Ethiopian jail in April, following extensive campaigning by human rights NGOs including AI. Her ordeal was recognized in late October when she picked up a Courage in Journalism Award from the International Women's Media Foundation. She has decided to give the prize money to AI and the Committee to Protect Journalists, which also campaigned for her release.
"Human rights was once demonized as alien and subversive in the West… as it is today in nations with dictatorial regimes like that of Ethiopia," said Serkalem Fasil, who attacked the notion that human rights organizations are "western institutions… muddling through non-western societies".
She described her donation as: "A rejection of the manipulation of our national, religious and cultural differences against international human rights organizations. It is also an affirmation of the importance of the work that human rights organizations are doing… I have no doubt about the importance of Amnesty International in this story."
Serkalem Fasil was seized by police in November 2005 for her role as co-publisher of Asqual, Menilik and Satenaw newspapers. AI believes she was detained solely for exercising her right to freedom of expression.
She faced the death penalty if found guilty on charges of treason, outrages against the constitution and incitement to armed conspiracy. She was pregnant at the time of her arrest and gave birth to a baby son in the police hospital, where medical care was grossly deficient.
AI Secretary General Irene Khan paid tribute to her courage in the face of grave human rights abuses.
"I am extremely touched by this strong and brave gesture of support for global human rights by a former prisoner of conscience who is still at risk. As requested, we will be allocating this unusual and selfless donation to our international work," said Ms Khan.
IRAN - Joint US-Iranian nationals and prisoners of concience released
Peace activist Ali Shakeri was released from Evin prison on 24 September, on bail equivalent to approximately US$107,000. His passport was returned to him on 7 October, and he returned to his home in California two days later. He has contacted an Amnesty International office to ask for his thanks to be passed on for its lobbying.
He had been kept in solitary confinement in Section 209 of Evin Prison, and was never charged with any offence. He was allowed no legal representation, but was allowed two visits from one of his brothers. The $107,000 bail took the form of the title to this brother's house in Tehran, and was reportedly arranged after this brother visited him in prison on 2 July. If Ali Shakeri does not return to face trial, the authorities may seize the property.
Dr Haleh Esfandiari (f), an academic, left Iran on 2 September. Fello academic Kian Tajbakhsh was released on 19 September and has reportedly been reunited with family members in Iran. He is reportedly not allowed to leave Iran unless granted permission by a judge. Journalist Parnaz Azima had her passport returned on 4 September and left Iran on 18 September.
US Nevada - Execution Stayed
An hour and a half before William Castillo was to be put to death in Nevada on the evening of 15 October, the state Supreme Court issued a stay, to give it more time to consider questions surrounding Nevada's use of lethal injection.
On 25 September, the US Supreme Court agreed to consider a challenge brought against Kentucky's three-chemical lethal injection process, which is the same as used in most of the death penalty states in the USA. That case will be heard in early 2008 and a decision issued before the end of June 2008. The decision has the potential to affect all states that use lethal injection.
William Castillo, who was sentenced to death in 1996 for the murder in 1995 of Isabelle Berndt in Las Vegas, has given up appeals against his conviction and death sentence, and was himself not challenging Nevada's lethal injection protocol. However, the Nevada Coalition Against the Death Penalty and the Nevada branch of the American Civil Liberties Union filed a challenge on the grounds that Nevada uses the same method of execution that the Supreme Court is due to review. It argued that all executions, whether "voluntary" or not, should be stopped pending the Court's decision, which will likely set the standard for states' lethal injection protocols.
The decision to stay William Castillo's execution came after an emergency hearing in the Nevada Supreme Court, in which the judges questioned what harm delaying the execution, would do to the state.
ETHIOPIA - teachers, students and a lawyer released
Eight men were released unconditionally, without charge, in the evening of 7 September. According to local sources, they said they had not been ill-treated in custody. Police had arrested them on 23 August and alleged they had links with the armed opposition Oromo Liberation Front (OLF). Amnesty International believes an Urgent Action ir released on their behalf played an important role in their release.
