Three years ago today, Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast. Hundreds of thousands of people were evacuated. In New Orleans, the vast majority of residents lived in areas damaged by the storm.
Every survivor of the hurricane has a human right to return home. But tens of thousands remain displaced, many living in inadequate temporary shelter or even homeless. After three years, the people of the Gulf Coast still face a human rights crisis.
Many survivors can’t return, due to the lack of affordable housing in the Gulf Coast. Ongoing demolitions of public housing developments in New Orleans have made the situation even worse.
It’s crucial that survivors' voices be heard. That's why I'm proud to have executive produced the new film Trouble the Water. Based on footage shot by Kimberly Rivers Roberts and her husband Scott, the movie shows the experience of 9th Ward residents trapped in New Orleans after the levees broke and their journey in the aftermath of the disaster. See Trouble the Water in a theater near you.
Hurricane Katrina survivors have already lost too much. Help ensure that after three long years, they can finally return home.
on the second anniversary of the launch of the campaign for equality on 27 august, the good peeps over at amnesty international are renewing its demand that the iranian authorities cease harassing and imprisoning women’s rights defenders and to restrict their campaigning activities for the repeal of laws and policies which discriminate against women in iran...
the campaign for equality is a network of individuals working to end legal discrimination against women...the campaign informs women of their rights, and is aiming to collect one million signatures from the iranian public to a petition against discriminatory laws...
two years into the campaign, women’s rights defenders are facing increasing repression as they try to take their demands for equal treatment to the broader population while the authorities continue to impose restrictions on their use of public space to carry out their peaceful and legal activities...
there are also worrying developments that seem to be further entrenching discrimination against women in iran...in particular, a new family protection bill passed in july by the law and legal affairs committee of iran’s parliament not only fails to address discrimination against women in relation to marriage, divorce and child custody but, if passed into law, would also lift the condition requiring a man to get the permission of his first wife before taking a second wife...the bill still needs further parliamentary approval and to be agreed by the council of guardians, but it represents a very worrying trend...
amnesty international is urging the iranian government and parliament not to entrench discrimination but to move ahead with a package of reforms in order to end those laws and practices which continue to discriminate against women, who make up half of the population of iran, and to deny them access to their human rights...amnesty international is also urging the iranian government to ratify, without reservation, the convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women, and to bring iran’s laws and practices into conformity with this convention...
since the launch of the campaign, amnesty international has collected information on the harassment of the campaign for equality activists...they face threatening phone calls by persons identifying themselves as ministry of intelligence officers warning them not to hold planned meetings; they are prevented from organizing peaceful meetings or demonstrations and to date, the website of campaign for equality has been blocked on at least 11 occasions and filtering has extended to local sites of the campaign in several iranian provinces...
some campaigners have been sentenced or are facing charges for their peaceful campaigning for women’s rights and amnesty international calls for such charges to be dropped and for their immediate and unconditional release of those serving prison sentences...
amir yaghoub-ali was sentenced in may 2008 to one year’s imprisonment for collecting signatures in daneshjou park, tehran in july 2007...he is currently free pending the outcome of an appeal against his conviction and sentence...
in june 2008 hana abdi, a member of iran’s kurdish minority, and member of the campaign in kordestan province and of the azad mehr ngo was sentenced to the maximum five years’ imprisonment, to be spent in internal exile after conviction of "gathering and colluding to commit a crime against national security,"...hana abdi was summoned to the prosecutors office in august 2008 and was cautioned about passing news outside prison, if she does so she would be further charged with “propaganda against the state,”...
zeynab bayzeydi, another kurdish women's rights activist was sentenced in august 2008 to four years' imprisonment, and internal exile on account of her activities in support of women's rights, which she has denied, except the one arising from her work on the campaign for equality...
women’s rights defenders in iran describe a climate of increasing repression and restrictions on public space for them to carry out their peaceful, legal activities...
in an interview (link to the interview) with amnesty international, sussan tahmasebi a founding member of the campaign for equality explained:
“We are forced to hold our meetings, trainings and seminars in our homes, but the security forces have worked hard to prevent us from even holding meetings in our own homes, meetings have been broken up and members have been arrested. Nearly 50 were arrested and charged with vague security charges, such as endangering national security, or spreading of propaganda against the state.”
in the year of the 10th anniversary of the u.n. declaration on human rights defenders, which affirms the protection of human rights defenders from violence or threats as a result of their work, amnesty international is urging the iranian authorities both to protect human rights defenders and value the work they do...the organization is also calling for the immediate release of all prisoners of conscience, including activists in the campaign for equality who are currently detained...
A recent debate has opened up in Nashville again with the reintroduction of the "English Only" bill before the city council. If passed, Nashville would be one of the first in the nation to take such sweeping measures. While Amnesty International does not take an official stand on this issue, we would like to take this time to remind everyone that they come from a grand tradition of immigrants. It is socially irresponsible, not to mention highly inflammatory, to target immigrants whether legal or not as a response to what has become uncertain times for the United States. "They" are, in fact, trying to learn English. "They" are not responsible for the downtrodden economy, lack of jobs, decline in the dollar, or the waste of tax dollars. Statistics consistently show that immigration has long term benefits for the economy, and elimination of translation services is not going to solve the immigration problem. It is ironic that as one of the new gateways for legal immigrants and refugees, Nashville is in danger of becoming a symbol for intolerance and closed doors. So, whatever you believe about immigration, please remember that all are entitled to the provisions of the UN Declaration of Human Rights and the dehumanization of immigrants is the wrong stance to take in the face of such a complicated problem.
i was north of atlanta at a methodist retreat center wrapping up an amnesty international volunteer leadership training talking with ben, a colleague from nawlins...he was concerned about this storm in the gulf - he called it katrina...i hadn't heard of it yet...
well, three years ago this week, hurricane katrina tore through the gulf coast...today, tens of thousands are still trying to pick up the pieces and return home...
some of the largest public housing facilities in new orleans have already been demolished to make way for new construction...the gulf coast today has fewer affordable housing options available...residents who were once able to afford housing, may no longer be able to afford to return home...
now that the energy of athletic competition has passed it can be said: chinese authorities prioritized image over substance as it continued to persecute and punish activists and journalists during the games...
where was bob costas at for that story...
it should be added that - and not surprisingly - the international olympic committee (ioc) tarnished the human rights legacy of the olympics by turning a blind eye to the abuses...
the beijing olympics were a spectacular sporting event which took place against a backdrop of human rights violations, with activists prevented from expressing their views peacefully and many in detention when they have committed no crime...chinese authorities and the Iioc had an opportunity to demonstrate human rights improvements but in most respects they failed to deliver...forced evictions, detention of activists and restrictions on journalists should not blight another olympics...
not much of a legacy, that...oh yeah, there was hiding the face of a wonderful 7 year-old singer because chinese officials apparently thought her young face quasimodo-like...
in thier defense jacques rogge, president of the international olympic committee, said at the closing of the beijing olympics: 'These were truly exceptional Games,'...
hmmmmm...some defense that...
during the course of the games, amnesty international documented continued patterns of human rights violations directed at peaceful activists and journalists in china, including:
activists being detained and punished -- including by being assigned to “re-education through labour” -- for repeatedly applying for permission to demonstrate in the protest zones...
the ongoing imprisonment or arbitrary arrests of chinese journalists and human rights activists who have tried to report on human rights violations...
petitioners and activists being denied permits to engage in peaceful demonstrations in government-designated protest zones in parks around beijing...on 18 august, and after repeated questioning from the media, the chinese authorities claimed they had received 77 protest applications involving 149 people, but that 74 had been ‘withdrawn’, two had been ‘suspended’ and one had been ‘vetoed’...amnesty international said:
"It is high time for the IOC to put its core values of ‘human dignity’ and ‘universal, fundamental ethical principles’ into practice by making human rights a new pillar of the Olympic Games.”
the human rights organization called on the ioc to learn the lessons from beijing by building concrete and measurable human rights impact indicators into all future olympics bid processes and host city contracts...
they also recognized some positive steps taken by the authorities, including the unblocking of several international websites -- such as www.amnesty.org -- in response to strong public concern expressed by beijing-based journalists at the start of the games...
small but tangible positive step that - access to the world's most respected and nobel peace prize winning human rights organization's web site...
however, amnesty international urged the chinese authorities to extend the unblocking across the board and to make permanent the temporary regulations introduced for foreign journalists in china in the run-up to the games, ensuring that they are uniformly and effectively enforced...
follow-up to pre-game educational efforts: many chinese activists have been persecuted and punished for speaking out about human rights violations before or during the beijing olympics...for example:
housing rights activist, ye guozhu , is being held in police custody after completing a four-year prison sentence in connection with his attempts to draw public attention to alleged forced evictions in beijing due to olympics-related construction...the police said he would be kept in detention to keep him and his family out of trouble until the olympics and paralympics were over...on 26 july, the police sent the family an official detention notice stating that ye was being held at xuanwu district police detention centre on suspicion of “gathering a crowd to disturb order in a public place”, but provided no further detail...amnesty international received reliable reports that police beat him with electroshock batons before his trial and he was subjected to further beatings in prison...
two elderly women, wu dianyuan (aged 79) and wang xiuying (aged 77) were accused of “disturbing public order” and assigned to one year of rtl after they applied to demonstrate in one of the official protest zones...they had been petitioning the authorities since 2001 when they were evicted from their homes to make way for a development project...beijing city officials ruled that they would not have to serve their time in an rtl facility as long as they ‘behaved’, but that restrictions would be placed on their movements...
the olympic pillars are currently sports, culture and the environment...the environment was added in 1994 at the winter olympics in norway in recognition of the negative impact major sporting event can have on the surrounding environment...
this september, the united nations general assembly (unga) gathers in new york city...it’s only been a year since u.n. and african union peacekeepers were approved to deploy in darfur...but for 5-and-a-half years darfuris have experienced nightmarish scenes of rape, murder, and forced displacement...president bush will stand before the unga as a global leader on darfur – what, if anything, will he choose to say about the crisis in darfur?
the u.n. has the power to ensure that necessary resources are provided in darfur...more equipment, peacekeepers, and funding can mean the difference between safety and danger, life and death...world leaders have witnessed terror grip an entire region’s population – 2.6 million darfuris have lost their homes and livelihoods due to the violence...
after nearly coldwaresque dynamics throughout the month of august all sides in the conflict in south ossetia need to take a DEEP breath and agree to fully respect international humanitarian law and as such, to ensure that civilians are protected from hostilities...the same standards must also be respected in other related hostilities reported to be breaking out in the kodori gorge in abkhazia, another disputed region of georgia...
i mean good god people, all operations must also avoid attacks which do not attempt to distinguish between military and non-military targets...some of the attacks mounted in south ossetia could amount to war crimes...
and bottom line, georgia and russia must provide protection and safe passage to people fleeing from the conflict and allow unimpeded access to humanitarian relief to those in affected areas...
here's a wee bit o' background to the international law regarding this outbreak of violence...all parties to the conflict must comply with principles of international humanitarian law which are binding on states and non-governmental armed groups...
key among these is the principle of distinction between civilian and military targets, and the protection of civilians; direct attacks against civilians or non-military objects are prohibited; also prohibited are indiscriminate attacks which do not attempt to distinguish between military and non-military targets, or which use inherently indiscriminate weapons; disproportionate attacks are prohibited too which, while aimed at a legitimate military target, but have a disproportionate impact on civilians relative to the military objective; parties must take measures to protect the civilian population from the dangers arising from military operations - this includes not locating military objectives among civilian concentrations; civilians must have access to humanitarian assistance, and humanitarian agencies must be allowed access to the civilian population; all prisoners, the wounded and those seeking to surrender, must be treated humanely - prisoners must never be killed or held as hostages; anyone responsible for grave breaches of international humanitarian law should be brought to justice in a fair trial, and reparations should be provided to the victims of such violations...
"We fled from death but death is after us; we don't know what is happening to our relatives back home in camps for the displaced. Staying there would have been better than what happened to us”
A Sudanese refugee from the Darfur region who attempted to cross the border of Egypt with Israel and served a one year prison sentence in Egypt
In a briefing published on August 20th, Amnesty International recognized the responsibility of the Egyptian government to respect the fundamental human right to life in their efforts to control their borders. While Amnesty understands the government's need to regulate the movement of foreign nationals in and out of its borders, the use of excessive force to curtail refugees fleeing one of the worst war zones in the world is a flagrant misuse of justice.
Since mid-2007 hundreds of refugees from the sub-saharan region have attempted to cross over Egypt in an attempt to reach Israel, and some end up paying with their lives. International standards restrict the use of deadly military force to a handful of circumstances; if lives are in danger and there is no other means to respond.
Even if refugees survive their journey, there is still no guarantee of safety. Amnesty has evidence against Egypt suggesting a disregard for international standards by forcibly ejecting refugees from the country without giving them access to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees office to assess their status claims. Once returned to their country of origin, refugees face a real and present danger to their safety and well-being. In a memorandum addressed to President Hosni Mubarak Amnesty is asking the following things from Egypt:
1. Restrict the use of force to comply with international standards 2. Ensure that military personnel are given human rights training 3. Investigate promptly and impartially instances of excessive force used on refugees 4. Ensure that refugees are not detained for immigration purposes, and stop trying civilians in military courts 5. Cease all forcible returns where those returned face risk of serious human rights violations, and comply with UNHCR guidelines.
FLASH --- the sudanese government is holding hundreds of people without charge or access to lawyers, following the armed attack on khartoum by the justice and equality movement (jem) on 10 may...
the fate and whereabouts of most of those still detained remain unknown...there have also been reports of torture and other ill-treatment from people who were released...amnesty International fears that those people still detained are at high risk of torture...according to reports received by the nobel peace prize winning human rights organization, those still held include women and a nine-month-old child...
these fears come after eight alleged jem members were sentenced to death by hanging by sudan's anti-terrorism special courts on sunday 17 august...amongst the eight is a senior jem commander...the verdict takes the number of individuals sentenced to death in relation to the 10 may attack to 38...said tawanda hondora, deputy program director for africa at amnesty international:
"Sudan's Anti-terrorism Special Courts are nothing but a travesty of justice. Some of the people sentenced only met their lawyers for the first time during the trial, while several said they suffered torture when they were held incommunicado and that they were forced to confess to crimes. Those trials were clearly unfair and now Sudan is preparing to try yet more people with this system. How is that justice?"
one of the lawyers of those convicted on 17 august told amnesty international that his request for an investigation into the allegations of torture and other ill-treatment by his client was rejected by the court...this included an appeal for a medical examination despite the fact that, according to the lawyer marks of ill-treatment were still clearly visible on their bodies when the accused were facing the judge...
the defence lawyers have appealed all the 38 verdicts within the limited period allowed by the special courts...the final decision – expected in the next few weeks – has to be taken by the special court of appeal...thereafter, the president will have to sign the decision for the executions to be carried out...said hondora:
"The Sudanese government has the duty to investigate crimes and bring the perpetrators to justice but they must do it in accordance with international law and the Sudanese constitution, which guarantees fair trials. We urge the Sudanese authorities not to execute these men and to review their cases immediately."
amnesty international has also urged the sudanese authorities to reveal the whereabouts of all individuals held in the context of the 10 may investigation, and to either promptly charge them or release them immediately...
the world's largest grassroots human rights organization has also called for all detainees to be given regular access to lawyers and family and to be provided with the appropriate medical attention...
background the 10 may attack marked the first time a darfur-based armed opposition group had reached the capital since the start of the conflict in 2003...
in the weeks following the attack, hundreds of individuals were arrested by sudanese police and security forces...the majority of those arrested are of darfurian origin...amnesty international received reports that extra-judicial executions occurred during the waves of arrests...
in july, the sudanese president, omar hassam el bashir, announced that he was releasing 87 alleged child soldiers who were accused of having taken part in the attack...
at the end of july, the special courts convicted and sentenced another 30 individuals to death...they were found guilty of criminal offences in relation to the 10 may attack...
the anti-terrorism special courts were established on 29 may specifically to try individuals accused of participating in the 10 may attack...
the articles under which individuals have been charged and convicted include articles of the 1991 penal code, the 2001 anti-terrorism act and 1993 weapons and ammunition ordinance...
the 17 august verdict is the fourth issued by the special courts...
after months of increased tension, and recent low-level hostilities, the conflict between georgia and the breakaway region of south ossetia escalated in the early morning of 8 august 2008...the fighting became the most serious confrontation since the civil war between the two was concluded through a truce in 1992...
in fighting in the disputed region of south ossetia over the past couple of weeks, heavy civilian casualties have been reported...although reports of civilian dead and wounded vary, with numbers and circumstances difficult to independently verify, media reports and footage indicates damage to civilian objects as a result of the military attacks from both sides...
for example, in tskhinvali, capital of south ossetia, dozens of civilian buildings are said to have been destroyed as a result of attacks by georgian forces, including residential homes, administrative buildings, a toy shop, university and the republican hospital...on 9 august, russian bombs hit a residential area in gori, a town in central georgia...
to check out this digestable update on civilian vulnerabilities just click here...
the government of the indian state of jammu & kashmir needs to fracking rescind the order issued a week ago to authorize security forces to “shoot on sight” in response to communal clashes in the town of kishtwar, oda district...
seriously...
kishtwar witnessed violent clashes between hindus and muslims on 12 august, where at least two people were killed as a result of alleged police firing...it is one of several towns in the state currently under curfew in the wake of protests that have left at least 28 people dead...
the government of jammu and kashmir reversed the proposed transfer of the disputed forest land on 1 july after ten days of protests in kashmir...the reversal prompted counter protests during which demonstrators in the jammu region obstructed traffic on the jammu-pathankot national highway, the main land route to the kashmir region...members of the hindu nationalist groups -- including the bharatiya janata party as well as the vishwa hindu parishad (world hindu council) – have been accused of having initiated an economic blockade by stopping traffic in both directions on the highway...the traffic stoppage reportedly led to shortages of essential food in the kashmir valley and damaged perishable goods shipped out of the valley...police opened fire on those attempting to block the highway on 6 august, leading to one death in kathua district...
shoot on sight orders are a clear violation of the right to life and of international standards of law enforcement...the volatility of the situation in jammu & kashmir requires more sensitivity from the authorities, not a shoot on sight order...
seriously...
since the state government announced a proposal to transfer forest land from the state to the amarnath shrine board on 26 may, in order to accommodate the annual hindu pilgrimage at the shrine, there have been a series of protests and counter protests that have grown increasingly violent...
more public protests have been announced in the run up to indian independence day on 15 august by the all party hurriyat conference (aphc), one of the largest predominantly muslim political formations in jammu and kashmir...
indian authorities should conduct investigations and bring to justice police officers, as well as protesters, in a quick, transparent, and fair way in order to cool down sectarian tension...
seriously...
the government of india has a responsibility to ensure that it protects the right to life in accordance with its responsibilities under international law...this includes the international covenant on civil and political rights, to which it is a state party, and standards such as the u.n. basic principles on the use of force and firearms by law enforcement officials and the code of conduct for law enforcement officials, which state that firearms should be used only when strictly unavoidable in order to protect life...
the region will soon take part in state as well as national elections...
julia ozorio gamecho is the first woman to tell the truth and justice commission about how she was sexually abused by the military during general alfredo stroessner's regime...
the sri lankan military has launched a major offensive to reclaim areas of the north and east previously controlled by the liberation tigers of tamil eelam (ltte)...families have been multiply displaced...according to unhcr, as of 30 june, there are some 467,000 individuals displaced by conflict in sri lanka’s north and east..this figure includes an estimated 194,900 persons who were displaced after fighting intensified in april 2006...
thousands of families who fled the recent fighting between sri lankan forces and the ltte must be allowed to move to safer areas and to receive necessary humanitarian assistance...these people are running out of places to go and basic necessities...the tigers are keeping them in harm’s way and the government is not doing enough to ensure they receive essential assistance...
government aerial bombardment and artillery shelling since may has forced more than 70,000 people to flee their homes, primarily in kilinochchi and mulaitivu districts...
amnesty international reseaerchers and observers hava established that around a third of these families are living in the open air with no shelter...many cannot receive food, tarpaulin for temporary shelters and fuel because of a lack of access into ltte-controlled areas and restrictions on goods going through omanthai - the crossing point between government-controlled territory and that held by the ltte...some families have been forced to move several times...
in the ltte-controlled wanni area, the tigers have hindered thousands of families from moving to safer places by imposing a strict pass system and, in some instances, forcing some family members to stay behind to ensure the return of the rest of the family...these measures seem designed in part to use civilians as a buffer against government forces -- a serious violation of international humanitarian law...the ltte has also engaged in forced recruitment...
lack of cement to build adequate toilets and washrooms has forced people to use open bathing facilities...the lack of adequate privacy for women and girls has led to a notable increase in reports of sexual and gender based violence...
it is further known that the government is housing those who have been able to leave ltte areas in temporary shelters that often operate as de facto detention centres...witnesses from kalimoddai camp in mannar district told amnesty international that more than 200 families who are held there cannot exit the camp for any reason (except to go to school) without obtaining a pass from the government’s security forces...said yolanda foster of amnesty international:
“Both sides to this long conflict have again shown that they will jeopardize the lives of thousands of ordinary people in the pursuit of military objectives. In the absence of independent international monitors, Sri Lankan civilians lack protection and remain at the mercy of two forces with long records of abuse.”
a humanitarian crisis continues to engulf gaza – not the result of a natural disaster but entirely man-made and avoidable...the tightening of israeli blockade since june 2007 has left the population, 1.5 million palestinians, trapped and with few resources...some 80 per cent depend on the trickle of international aid that the israeli government allows in...even patients in dire need of medical treatment not available in gaza are often prevented from leaving...
to read an update on the collective punishment that is the gaza strip click here...
as violence spread throughout zimbabwe following the initial round of presidential elections, members of the women’s rights organization, women of zimbabwe arise! (woza), appealed to regional authorities to help end the crisis...as woza members peacefully marched to the zambian embassy to ask for assistance, police descended on the crowd arresting fourteen members...
woza leaders, jenni williams and magadonga mahlangu, were among those arrested, and consequently spent more than a month in jail after arbitrarily being denied bail...
their trial date, recently scheduled for august 27th, is an opportunity to set the record straight – the rights of human rights activists must not be denied. All fourteen activists are being charged with "distributing materials likely to cause a breach of the peace,"...
these bogus charges are a clear violation of the right to freedom of expression and should be dropped immediately...
right now, south africa’s president thabo mbeki is mediating talks between zimbabwe’s president robert mugabe and opposition parties...these mediation talks present a unique opportunity...your letters directed to president mbeki can help free the jenni magadonga and the other members of woza...
please take action now...tell president mbeki that all charges against the women of aimbabwe arise must be dropped and that police intimidation and torture must end...what happened to the members of woza is just the tip of the iceberg...human rights defenders in zimbabwe are repeatedly the victims of harassment and brute force...international law and the zimbabwe constitution, guarantees peaceful freedom of assembly to all people...the government must no longer be allowed to act with impunity and in violation of these protections...
malaysian opposition leader anwar ibrahim is free on bail after pleading not guilty to charges of sodomy...according to media reports, his next hearing is on 10 september...
anwar has declared that the charges will not stop his campaign for a parliamentary seat as part of an effort to dislodge the barisan nasional, malaysia’s ruling coalition since the country’s independence in 1957...
anwar is the de facto leader of the pakatan rakyat (people’s alliance), a coalition of three opposition parties that won 82 of the 222 parliamentary seats in the march 2008 general elections...this was the first time since 1969 that the barisan nasional lost its two-thirds majority in the parliament, the number required to defeat any veto attempts and to amend the malaysian constitution...said sam zarifi, amnesty international’s asia-pacific director:
“Ten years ago the government used a similar charge of sodomy against Anwar Ibrahim and kept him in jail for six years, the conviction was ultimately overturned. In 1998, Amnesty International considered Anwar Ibrahim a prisoner of conscience. Today, there are again indications that the government is not playing by the rules in this case.”
s male aide, mohamad saiful bukhari azlan, filed a complaint stating that Anwar had forcibly sodomized him in a kuala lumpur apartment on 26 june 2008...under conservative malaysia's strict laws, the crime of sodomy, even if consensual, is punishable by up to 20 years in prison...
armed police officers wearing masks arrested anwar on 16 july and held him overnight after azlan filed the complaint...
on 28 july, the report on the medical examination of azlan by a doctor at a private hospital was leaked to the press...the report indicated that he had not been sodomized...however the doctor advised him to go to a government hospital for a second examination, which he is reported to have done later that day...the whereabouts of the doctor are currently unknown...continued zarifi:
“We are also concerned about the safety of all the witnesses in this case, particularly Dr Mohamed Osman, and we call on the government to provide adequate protection to them."
on 6 august, malaysian police informed anwar that he would be formally charged with "carnal intercourse against the order of nature" and should present himself to the kuala lumpur Sessions court at 10am on 7 august...
also on 6 august, the elections commission announced that the by-election for the permatang pauh, penang, parliamentary seat, which anwar is contesting, would be held on 26 august...
anwar lost his position as deputy prime minister and finance minister in september 1998, after he criticized the then prime minister dr mahathir mohamad’s handling of malaysian financial policy, related to the 1997 asian economic crisis...
in april 1999, anwar was sentenced to six years’ imprisonment for corruption and was further sentenced to nine years for sodomy in august 2000...the federal court overturned the sodomy conviction in september 2004 after anwar had spent six years in prison...
his corruption conviction disqualified him from running in elections or holding political office until april 2008...
syrian authorities unexpectedly released dr. aref dalilah last thursday following a presidential amnesty...dalilah is the former dean of the faculty of economics of aleppo university and was a well known prisoner of conscience in syria...
dalilah was arrested in september 2001 and convicted by the state security court of "attempting to change the constitution by illegal means" in july 2002...he served seven years of a 10-year sentence, much of it spent in solitary confinement in the political wing of ‘adra prison, damascus...
it is thought likely that dalilah's release was related to his health, which deteriorated alarmingly while he was in prison...
he has suffered from a blood clot in his lung, deep-vein thrombosis, swelling of the heart and diabetes...he had a stroke in may 2006, losing some of the feeling on the left side of his body...
dalilah has not been informed of any conditions on his release or restrictions he may face if seeking to travel outside the country for treatment...following his release, dalilah said:
"I am thankful for all the efforts made by everyone at Amnesty International and all those who took part in actions on my behalf. We are united in the struggle for the causes of justice and democracy. This struggle is still ongoing."
out of the ten prominent individuals detained for their roles in the so-called "damascus spring", dalilah received the longest sentence...the “damascus spring” describes the brief period of increased tolerance from the authorities for freedom of expression and pro-reform activities that followed bashar al-assad’s inauguration as president in july 2000...
however, dalilah's release does not quite close the chapter of the damascus spring detentions...kamal labwani and habib saleh, two former prisoners of the damascus spring released before dalilah, have been re-arrested...labwani was sentenced to 15 years for his pro-democracy activities and saleh is currently being tried for publishing political articles on the internet...hundreds of other political prisoners remain detained in syria, including many prisoners of conscience...
last week more than 20 years after the end of argentina's sickening military junta of the mid-1980's used it injudiciously the argentine parliament voted to scrap the 1951 military code of justice, thus abolishing the death penalty in all cases and closing military courts of justice...
argentina now joins the global trend towards total abolition of the death penalty... this move is also a major step towards ensuring that human rights abuses are dealt with by civilian courts...
the decision abolishes provisions for the death penalty for crimes committed in times of armed conflict or in peace time by members of the armed forces...from now on all military personnel accused of ordinary offenses or crimes under international law will be tried by civilian courts...likewise, military personnel charged with an offense or crime will be free to appoint a civilian lawyer, instead of military...
the argentine parliament passed other provisions which human rights organizations such as amnesty international are studying to mqke sure they are consistent with international law...
salim hamdan, a yemeni national, has been convicted by a panel of six u.s. military officers of "providing material support for terrorism", but acquitted of "conspiracy,"...the pentagon had, however, confirmed yesterday that he would remain in indefinite detention as an "enemy combatant" regardless of the verdict...
amnesty international believes that the conviction under procedures that do not meet international fair trial standards compounds the injustice of his more than five years' unlawful detention in guantánamo...said rob freer, amnesty international's researcher on the united states:
"We have consistently called for justice and security to be pursued within a framework of strict adherence to international law; however the US government has systematically failed in this regard."
amnesty international has further said that the entire military commission system is fundamentally flawed and that the tribunals should be abandoned in all cases. ..the human rights organisation continues to campaign for trials of guantánamo detainees to be held in ordinary civilian courts in the u.s., without resort to the death penalty, and for the guantánamo detention facility to be shut down...
he faced a maximum sentence of life imprisonment....but received a much lesser sentence leaing him about 6 months to serve after being credited with time already served...ironically he does not have to be released after completing his sentence...
the guantanamo cell tour will visit the democratic and republican convention cities later this summer...
after touring just four cities, thousands have visited the life size replica of a prison cell at guantanamo bay...check out the cell tour blog for images and video...
but amnesty international usa needs our help to continue touring the cell until guantanamo is closed...
matt pollard, amnesty international’s latest trial observer at the recent military commission hearings at guantánamo bay, gives a sense of what it was like there... click here for matt's responses to what he's observed...
as a result of the devastating wars liberia experienced between 1989 and 1997 and also between 1999 and 2003, over 200,000 people died and another half million liberians were displaced...liberian women, in record numbers, were confronted with unspeakable violence...
women in liberia: fighting for peace is a documentary that follows the epic journey of five liberian women...amnesty international invites you to the u.s. film launch and tour of this groundbreaking film...
thousands of mexican women who survive violence in their homes are being put at risk of further abuse by a justice system that often fails to take their safety seriously...one in four women in mexico has suffered abuse at the hands of their partner...
marcela was stabbed when her former husband broke into her house in the state of sonora in 2005...following the attack, she was paralyzed for four months...over the years, marcela had made over 10 complaints to the public prosecutor’s office about the abuse she was suffering but every time she was advised to resolve the issue directly with her partner...one time, she was told “when you come with a bruise, we’ll do something,”...after the stabbing, marcela’s former husband was prosecuted for attempted murder and sentenced to 10 years but is now appealing the length of his sentence...marcela is scared that when he is released he will find her and kill her...
reporting abuse women face a range of obstacles when trying to report cases of domestic violence, including: • the refusal of officials to accept complaints • deficient investigations • poor enforcement of protective measures
women who find the courage to report the abuse are often treated with indifference and have to prove they are subject to violence...in many cases officials even ask them to deliver summons to their aggressor...
law to stop violence against women mexico passed a law to counter violence against women 18 months ago, the general law on women’s access to a life free from violence...since then, many states have approved similar legislation...these are positive first steps, unless law is properly funded and enforced, or it will make little difference to the lives of the many women at risk...
mexico’s federal and state authorities need to:
prioritise the implementation of the 2007 legislation to protect women from violence and invest the necessary funds to put it into practice
investigate and publish findings on why reporting, prosecution and conviction rates for violence against women remain so low and take specific measures to tackle obstacles identified by these investigations
mexico: violence against women in the family in mexico
amnesty international believes that mexico has made some important advances in recent years in defending women’s right to freedom from violence...in june 2008, wholesale reform of the criminal justice system began...amnesty international hopes this will also lead to strengthened investigation and prosecution of those responsible for violence against women...the challenge that faces all levels of government is to ensure that new legislation to protect women’s rights are implemented and that the barriers women currently face in accessing safety, justice and reparations are removed...
yesterday amnesty international called on chinese authorities and international olympic committee (ioc) officials to fulfill media freedom commitments, following a statement wednesday by an ioc official indicating that the organization had caved in to china's demands on internet censorship...said mark allison, east asia researcher for amnesty international:
"The International Olympic Committee and the Organizing Committee of the Beijing Olympic Games should fulfill their commitment to 'full media freedom' and provide immediate uncensored internet access at Olympic media venues. Censorship of the internet at the Games is compromising fundamental human rights and betraying the Olympic values."
the human rights organization was reacting to statements wednesday by kevin gosper, ioc press commission chair, saying'
"I regret that it now appears BOCOG has announced that there will be limitations on website access during Games time (...). I also now understand that some IOC officials negotiated with the Chinese that some sensitive sites would be blocked on the basis they were not considered Games related."
foreign journalists working from the olympics press center in beijing are unable to access the amnesty international website...a number of other websites are also reportedly blocked...
the ioc has on many occasions highlighted the loosening of restrictions on foreign media in china as an example of the promised improvement in human rights by the chinese authorities through the hosting of the olympics...on april 1, kevin gosper said that the continued blocking of some websites would "reflect very poorly" on the hosts...on july 17, jacques rogge, ioc president, said "there will be no censorship of the internet,"...responding mark allison said:
"This blatant media censorship adds one more broken promise that undermines the claim that the Games would help improve human rights in China."
on monday, july 29, amnesty international published the report "olympic countdown: broken promises," which evaluates the performance of the chinese authorities in four areas related to the core values of the olympics: persecution of human rights activists, detention without trial, censorship and the death penalty...they all relate to the 'core values' of 'human dignity' and 'respect for universal fundamental ethical principles' in the olympic charter...the new report shows there has been little progress toward fulfilling the chinese authorities' promise to improve human rights, and continued deterioration in key areas instead...the report is available on the following webpage...
