law used against housing activists in cambodia...

some 150,000 cambodians live at risk of being forcibly evicted in the wake of land disputes, land grabbing and agro-industrial and urban redevelopment projects in 2008...

tens of thousands have already been forcibly evicted in recent years, many left homeless, others relocated to inadequate resettlement sites with poor infrastructure, lacking basic amenities including sanitation, and with limited access to work opportunities...

rich and powerful individuals and groups involved in land disputes in cambodia are increasingly using their power to silence opponents through the criminal justice system, according to an amnesty international briefing paper "A risky business - defending the right to housing,"..

the paper provides examples of abuses of human rights defenders working for the promotion of land rights and against forced evictions in cambodia in the last two years...amnesty international is calling for greater protection for human rights defenders...

informal village leader chhea ny was arrested in august 2006 over a long-standing land dispute with local officials, business people and high-ranking military in boeung pram village, in battambang province...he was released in december 2007 after 16 months in prison...chhea ny told amnesty international:

"I was chained and held in a dark prison cell for one week. I was so miserable. And I was not allowed to wash. After one week they removed the chain from my legs. When they took off the chain they let me stay outside in daylight, and they offered an apology; they said they had made a mistake and [punished] the wrong man."

brittis edman, amnesty international’s cambodia researcher, said that chhea ny's case is a blatant example of what happens when the legal system fails to protect human rights and to serve justice...

the rapid increase in the number of peaceful land activists in prison is a serious concern in its own right...but every imprisoned human rights defender becomes a tool for intimidation of other activists, demonstrating that detention, trials and imprisonment are a real threat...

according to local human rights groups, over the past two years, the number of land activists arrested has practically doubled from 78 in 2006 to 149 in 2007...this rise corresponds with an increase in the number of reports alleging that police have unfairly arrested land activists; prosecutors have pressed groundless criminal charges against them; and law enforcement and court officials have threatened people protesting against forced evictions with arrest or imprisonment...

the cambodian authorities must ensure that the legal system fairly protects all parties involved in land disputes and in protecting human rights, and must investigate all credible allegations of intimidation and unlawful arrests of human rights defenders...

in a report released in february 2008, amnesty international showed how the cambodian authorities are failing to protect – in law and practice – the population against forced evictions...

by contrast, those with political or economic power are allowed to act with impunity in arbitrarily expropriating land...they do so by colluding with local authorities in ways that lead to the issuing of dubious land titles and eviction orders, and the misuse of the court system to prevent victims from acting to defend their rights...

cambodia burns homes of the poor

peace out <3

eight injured as sarajevo queer festival attacked...

several people were attacked at the end of the first day of the sarajevo queer festival on wednesday...eight people, policemen included, were reported to have been injured after dozens of young men attacked visitors to festival...according to the organizers of the four-day event police allowed anti-gay protestors to get too close to the venue thus endangering the participants...

the festival, organised by the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (lgbt) non-governmental organization, udruenje q, opened in the academy of fine arts in the centre sarajevo, the capital of bosnia and herzegovina...the attacks forced the organizers to make the rest of the festival a private event...

amnesty international called on the authorities to promptly and thoroughly investigate the attacks and bring those responsible to justice...the organization also called on the authorities to provide adequate security for the participants of the festival... said nicola duckworth, europe and central asia programme director at amnesty international:

"The call of gay rights activists for equality before the law and an end to discrimination was met with intolerance and violence."

the organizers of the festival and their sympathizers, including journalists, have and continue to receive death threats...homophobic posters are widely distributed and put in prominent places...some media outlets have used homophobic language and misrepresented the aims of the festival...

in a letter to the prime minister of bosnia and herzegovina nikola spiri earlier this month, amnesty international expressed concern at the atmosphere of increasing intimidation against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in the country and called on him to ensure that their rights are protected...

to date, amnesty international has not received an answer...the apparent lack of adequate measures by the authorities to guarantee an atmosphere free of intimidation and violence for the festival shows that the organization's recommendations have not been heeded...

chicago: police abuse of three lesbians and a gay man
lithuania: human rights on the march
turkey urged to respect lgbt people’s right to freedom of association

peace out <3

inquest into death of jean charles de menezes opens in london...

the family of jean charles de menezes will at last have the chance to get answers to their questions about the events leading to his death, in the course of the coroner’s inquest which opened in london on monday...

on 22 july 2005, the day after a series of attempted bomb attacks on public transport in london, plain clothes officers of the metropolitan police shot dead jean charles de menezes...the unarmed young brazilian had been working as an electrician in the u.k. for the previous three years...

he was shot onboard a london underground train at Stockwell station in south London while on his way to work...police officers had mistakenly identified jean charles de menezes as one of the main suspects in their investigation into the attempted bomb attacks of the previous day...

in november 2007, a jury found the office of the commissioner of the metropolitan police guilty of an offence under health and safety legislation for failing adequately to protect members of the public, including jean charles de menezes, in the way they conducted the investigation into the attempted attacks on 21 july 2005...no individual police officer has to date been charged with any criminal offence arising from the death of jean charles de menezes...

the 11 members of the public who make up the inquest jury will now listen to evidence from police officers involved in the operation that led to the shooting and from other witnesses...the inquest proceedings will take place in public, although many of the police witnesses will be allowed to give their evidence anonymously from behind a screen, and transcripts of each day’s proceedings will be published on the coroner’s website: http://www.stockwellinquest.org.uk...

the family of jean charles de menezes, as a party to the inquest proceedings, will have the opportunity, through their lawyers, to put their own questions to witnesses...this will be the first opportunity for them to do so; previous investigations and legal proceedings, including the criminal prosecution, had not allowed for this crucial involvement of the next of kin of jean charles de menezes...

at the end of the inquest – which is expected to take around three months – the jury will be asked to deliver a verdict on the cause of the death of jean charles de menezes, and the facts of "how, when and where" the death occurred...the inquest jury cannot determine whether any individual is liable, in criminal or civil law, for the death...

amnesty international believes that the coroner’s inquest provides a crucial element of public scrutiny of the events leading to the shooting of jean charles de menezes...it may be able to bring to light information about all of the circumstances of the death that did not emerge either during the criminal prosecution nor through the investigation into the death conducted by the independent police complaints commission...

some of those who are expected to give evidence at the inquest – including the officers who fired the fatal shots, and passengers who were in the train carriage at the time of the shooting – were not called as witnesses during the criminal prosecution...

amnesty international has long emphasized the need for full and public scrutiny of the actions of all state agents and agencies involved in this incident, so as to ascertain whether the killing of jean charles de menezes was lawful – specifically, whether the force used was no more than absolutely necessary and a proportionate response in the circumstances...the coroner’s inquest is one way of ensuring such scrutiny, and its opening, although long delayed, is a welcome step towards establishing the truth...

the killing of jean charles de menezes

peace out <3

amnesty international praises stay of execution for troy davis...

amnesty international usa (aiusa) welcomed the order from the supreme court of the united states to stay the execution of troy anthony davis hours before his scheduled execution...the state of georgia scheduled davis’ execution for today, in effect circumventing the u.s. supreme court before it had time to decide whether its justices would consider davis’ case...larry cox, executive director for aiusa said:

“For reasons that are unfathomable, Chatham County officials seemed doggedly determined to ram this execution through before justice could fully run its course. We are grateful that the U.S. Supreme Court has shown the foresight to stay the execution. We hope that it takes up the case and looks at it with fresh eyes, marking the first time that evidence pointing to Davis’ innocence will have been heard in a court of law.”

davis was convicted in 1991 of killing savannah police officer mark allen macphail...authorities failed to produce a murder weapon or any physical evidence tying davis to the crime...in addition, seven of the nine original state witnesses have since recanted or changed their initial testimonies in sworn affidavits...in march 2008 the georgia supreme court decided against a new evidentiary hearing for davis in a narrow 4-3 ruling...last friday, the georgia board of pardons and paroles denied davis’ request for clemency...

since the launch of its february 2007 report, where is the justice for me? the case of troy davis, facing execution in georgia, amnesty international has campaigned intensively for clemency for davis, collecting well over 200,000 petition signatures and letters from across the united states and around the world. To date, internationally known figures such as pope benedict xvi, archbishop desmond tutu and former u.s. president jimmy carter have all joined the call for clemency, as well as lawmakers from within and outside of georgia...

amnesty international is a nobel Prize-winning grassroots activist organization with more than 2.2 million supporters, activists and volunteers in over 150 countries campaigning for human rights worldwide...the organization investigates and exposes abuses, educates and mobilizes the public, and works to protect people wherever justice, freedom, truth and dignity are denied...

for more information about the troy davis case, please visit: www.amnestyusa.org/troydavis

make a difference!
help prevent the execution of a juvenile in saudi arabia
thank new jersey leaders for supporting abolition
demand halt to juvenile executions in iran

peace out <3

one of myanmar's longest serving political prisoners released...

one of myanmar's longest serving political prisoners was released on tuesday along with at least six other prisoners of conscience...u win tin, a 78-year-old journalist, prominent dissident and senior official in the main opposition national league for democracy (nld) party, led by daw aung san suu kyi, had been imprisoned for 19 years...

the fate of the other estimated 2,100 political prisoners who are still behind bars in myanmar remains, however, a cause for concern...said benjamin zawacki, amnesty international's myanmar researcher:

"While the release of U Win Tin and his fellow prisoners is certainly the best news to come out of Myanmar for a long time, unfortunately they don’t even represent one percent of the political prisoners there. These seven people should never have been imprisoned in the first place, and there are many, many more who should also be released."

amnesty international has noted unconfirmed reports that the government of myanmar may grant "amnesty" to as many as 9,000 prisoners in the run-up to planned elections in 2010...however, it remains unclear whether this figure includes political prisoners...

u win tin refused to accept an amnesty by the government, as to do so would have implied that the reason for his imprisonment was legitimate...reports indicate that there were no conditions on his release...added zawacki:

"Prisoners of conscience, like those released today, are exactly what the term says: people sent to prison simply because of what they believe, and the peaceful actions they take because of those beliefs. They have done nothing wrong and we call for their immediate and unconditional release."

the other six prisoners of conscience released are also nld members and four are mps-elect from the 1990 elections in which the nld was victorious...they are:

• dr daw may win myint (female), 58, an mp-elect, and dr than nyein (male), also an mp-elect, 71, who were imprisoned in 1997 for organizing an nld meeting...their original sentences had been repeatedly extended since 2004 and they suffer from poor health.
• win htein (male), 66, a senior assistant to daw aung san suu kyi, who was imprisoned in 1996 for, among other offences, organizing farmers and nld members to collect agricultural statistics...he had been held in solitary confinement and suffers from numerous health problems, including hypertension and heart disease.
• aung soe myint oo (male), an nld mp-elect, who was sentenced in august 2003 to seven years, for "having a motorcycle without a license", but was widely believed to have been targeted for his political activities.
• u khin maung swe, (male) 66, an nld mp-elect, who was sentenced in august 1994 to seven years in prison.
• u than naing (male), a member of the nld.(male), a member of the nld.

the release of these seven political prisoners is indeed welcome...but this is not – and cannot be seen as – an end in itself, only the beginning..

Myanmar activist at risk of torture (News, 16 September 2008)
No moving backwards for Myanmar (Feature, 8 August 2008)
Imprisoned for giving water to monks (News, 31 March 2008)

peace out <3

Georgia has granted a temporary reprieve for Troy Davis. Find his story here.

celebs, activists Issue joint call for human rights...

hooray for hollywood...

just last week director paul haggis and actor mark ruffalo joined with amnesty international to urge the closing of guantanamo bay...this was the press advisory issued for last saturday's event...

Los Angeles–Amnesty International USA (AIUSA) will bring its national tour of a life-size Guantanamo prison cell replica to Santa Monica, California, starting Thursday, Sept. 18, and running through Saturday, Sept. 20. Academy Award-winning director Paul Haggis, actor Mark Ruffalo and others will join AIUSA Executive Director Larry Cox and lawyers challenging the unlawful detentions at Guantanamo for a press conference at 10:00 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 18, at the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica calling on the Bush administration to shut down Guantanamo.

Following the press conference, members of the public may tour the cell and record a 30-second reaction video that will be posted on AIUSA’s tearitdown.org Web site. On the outside of the cell is a large LCD screen showing a timeline of illegal U.S. detentions and torture, as well as related facts and quotes. After the visiting the cell, visitors are encouraged to sign the global tearitdown petition.

The cell is a replica of a Camp 5 cell. It brings to life the harsh realities of illegal detention to concerned citizens and highlights the human rights violations that Guantanamo symbolizes. The cell includes a steel toilet, florescent lights and a sliding metal door. Detainees reported being held in isolation in similar cells for as long as 23 hours daily.

Previous stops along AIUSA’s national cell replica tour include Miami; Philadelphia; Portland, ME; Washington, DC; and the Democratic and Republican conventions.

EVENT: Press Conference with Guantanamo Prison Cell Replica
AIUSA Executive Director Larry Cox, director Paul Haggis, actor Mark Ruffalo,
Marisol Orihuela, ACLU attorney who works on detention issues, and
Michael Rapkin, attorney representing one of the men detained at Guantanamo
Salam Al-Maarayati, executive director, Muslim Public Affairs Council

DATE: Thursday, September 18, at 10:00 a.m.

LOCATION: Third Street Promenade (at the dinosaur topiary)
(1300 block, between Arizona Avenue and Santa Monica Blvd), Santa Monica

The cell will be open to the public Thursday, Sept. 18, through Saturday, September 20th. Hours are 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursday; 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

For more information, including photographs and videos from recent cell replica tour stops, please visit http://www.amnestyusa.org or contact the AIUSA media office at 202-544-0200 x302.

make a difference!
u.s. deports syrian, now at grave risk of being tortured
ensure transitional justice measures in afghanistan
protect human rights in colombia

peace out <3

japan should adopt death penalty moratorium...

just 11 days ago three men were executed in japan on -- thursday 11 september...amnesty international has called for the government to immediately adopt a moratorium on executions...

the humnan rights organization called on new japanese minister of justice yasuoka okiharu to conduct a thorough re-examination of the country's death penalty policy after three sixty plusyear old men - mantani yoshiyuki (68), yamamoto mineteru (68) and hirano isamu (61) - were killed by hanging...

their executions bring the total this year to 13...they are the first executions since yasuoka okiharu took office on 2 august and are further evidence of japan's intent to continue sanctioning the state taking of life...

there are currently around 102 people on death row in japan...the prison authorities usually carry out executions in secret...officials notify death row inmates just hours before the execution and inform family members only after the execution has taken place...

once the appeals process is complete, a death row prisoner in japan may wait for years or even decades before execution...this practice means that these prisoners can be executed at any time and live in constant fear of execution...

when the u.n. human rights council reviewed the human rights situation in japan in may 2008, they expressed particular concern about the death penalty...a number of states urged japan to adopt a moratorium on executions in accordance with the u.n. general assembly resolution (62/149), which calls for a global moratorium on the use of the death penalty...

u.n. resolution on global moratorium on executions – read the resolution...

peace out <3

Ghosts at the Border

On September 15th of last year, the New York Times reported briefly on the death of Felicitas Martinaz Barradas, a woman who died trying to cross the border from Mexico to Arizona by way of the Sonoran Desert. This is a frequent route for those making their way into the United States and it is fraught with injury and death. Those traveling with her report that before she died, a smuggler gave her a carbonated drink and some caffeine pills in an effort to combat her increasing weakness. She died a little over 10 miles from the border.

The US Border Patrol has reported a drop in the number of illegal immigrants apprehended at the border, the result of additional agents and heavy National Guard presence. However, the numbers of those perishing in the deserts of regions that remain less patrolled are rising. In the first 8 months of 2007, a Pima County medical examiner's office handled nearly 180 border crossing deaths, compared with 139 in 2006. Pima County is one of the busiest areas for illegal crossings, and the death toll continues to rise.

Those numbers reflect increasing police activity in areas around California and Texas, previous hotbeds for border crossings. The goal was to divert traffic away from places like San Francisco, and to allow the desert to become a natural barrier to decrease the numbers of people trying to find a way into the country. But the desert hasn't stopped them.

Amnesty International has called for efforts to be made to control the flow of immigration through methods other than police activity and bigger fences. All life is to be respected regardless of citizenship. Ask that immigration remain at the forefront of our new candidates' platforms with the focus on humanitarian solutions to what has become a crisis not only for the United States, but for Mexico as well.

Find the original New York Times story here.

moroccan blogger jailed for peacefully expressing his views...

on monday 8 september, a moroccan man became the first blogger to be sentenced to two years imprisonment...mohamed erraji was also fined 5,000 dirhams (US$625) for “lack of respect due to the king”...he is not the first moroccan to be jailed for peacefully expressing his views on the monarchy, which is still a “taboo” subject in morocco...

on 11 september 2008, the defence’s request to provisionally release mohamed erraji was heeded by the court of appeals in agadir...his appeal hearing is scheduled to take place on 16 september 2008...

mohamed erraji's conviction is reported to be related to an article he published on 3 september on hespress, an independent moroccan website...the article was entitled: “The King encourages the nation (to rely) on handouts”...the following day, he was summoned to the police station in the city of agadir, where he lives, and questioned from 9am to 5pm...he was then asked to return to the police station on 5 september...he was kept in pre-arraignment detention and transferred to the inzegaine prison on the night of 7 september...

on 8 september, he was brought in front of the court of first instance in agadir and convicted without the presence of a lawyer, reportedly on the grounds that he had admitted writing the article...

his relatives were not informed of his detention...this was in breach of moroccan law, which requires the police to notify relatives of detainees at the beginning of their detention...although he was asked by the judge whether he had legal counsel, his family said that the speedy nature of the investigation and the trial effectively prevented him from seeking legal counsel...said amnesty international:

“Mohamed Erraji is in prison solely for exercising his right to freedom of expression and should be released immediately and unconditionally. Such abuse damages the image projected by the Moroccan authorities of a state where respect for human rights has greatly improved.”

mohamed erraji, a 29 year old, has been commenting on social and political events in morocco on his blog, which he describes as a space where he can freely express his thoughts...

in recent years, several people, including journalists, political activists and human rights defenders have been prosecuted and sometimes sentenced to prison terms for peacefully expressing their views on the monarchy...the moroccan penal code and press code contain provisions that carry sentences of up to five years imprisonment and heavy fines for any “offences” against the king, the royal family or for “undermining the monarchy”...

last year, eight members of the moroccan association for human rights (association marocaine des droits humains, amdh) were sentenced to prison terms of up to four years and fined for “undermining the monarchy”, after they had participated in may day demonstrations during which slogans criticizing the monarchy were chanted...they were pardoned by the king in april this year...

the trial of ahmed benchemsi, editor of the weekly magazines nichane and tel quel, charged in august 2007 with “undermining the monarchy” after he had published an editorial commenting on a speech by the king, was recently adjourned...concluded amnesty international:

“It is high time the Moroccan authorities reform laws which contravene the fundamental right to freedom of expression, enshrined in the Moroccan Constitution and in international law. As an immediate step, they should halt criminal proceedings against those who peacefully express their views and release those imprisoned solely on account of their opinions.”

peace out <3

amnesty international condemns parole board decision to allow the execution of troy davis...

amnesty international (aiusa) hyas condemned in the strongest possible terms the decision to deny clemency to troy anthony davis...the human rights organization, after attending last friday’s clemency hearing, called the decision a baffling and unbelievable perversion of justice...jared feuer, southern regional director for amnesty international usa, who attended the clemency hearing said:

“Nobody in that Parole Board room could have walked out today knowing with certainty that Davis committed murder. The parole board went against its pledge to prevent the execution of any person where there is doubt as to his guilt.”

davis was convicted in 1991 of killing an off-duty savannah police officer, despite the fact that police never produced a murder weapon and no physical evidence linked davis to the crime...following his conviction, seven of the nine original witnesses have either recanted or changed their testimony in sworn affidavits; one of the remaining two is alleged to be the actual killer... said larry cox, executive director for aiusa:

“It is baffling that this decision could have been rendered in a case that has completely unraveled, and is now leaving a shameful stain on Georgia’s reputation. The U.S. Supreme Court must intervene immediately and unequivocally to prevent this perversion of justice.”

for more information, please visit www.amnestyusa.org...

help prevent the execution of a juvenile in saudi arabia
thank new jersey leaders for supporting abolition
stop executions and floggings of child offenders in saudi arabia

peace out <3

global week of action to support arms trade treaty...

activists and supporters of the control arms campaign in more than 50 countries will be taking part in the arms trade treaty (att) week of action which started this past saturday 13 september...

the world is watching week will see campaigners urge their governments to reach an agreement on an effective arms trade treaty as quickly as possible...u.n. member states will consider such negotiations at the general assembly meeting of the first ommittee on disarmament and security in october...

each year at least a third of a million people are killed with conventional weapons...many more are injured, abused, forcibly displaced and bereaved as a result of armed violence...many of the weapons used to commit these violations are sourced on the poorly regulated international arms market...

events planned for the week of action include awareness raising football matches in mali, a street march in tanzania, a film screening in edinburgh, a parade in mongolia and a stunt outside the ministry of foreign affairs in spain...

The ATT week of action is part of Amnesty International's celebration of the 60th anniversary year of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It also coincides with the release of the Amnesty International report, Blood at the Crossroads: Making the case for a global arms trade treaty. Released on 17 September, the report describes how arms supplies fuel serious human rights abuses around the world.

worldwide support for a un. process to develop a global arms trade treaty was reflected when 153 states voted in favour (1 against (usa), and 24 abstained) during the general assembly in december 2006 and during 2007 when almost 100 submitted their views to u.n. secretary-general ban ki moon, proposing human rights protection as one of the top considerations...

throughout 2008, a group of government experts from 28 countries has been meeting at the u.n.to discuss the content of the treaty...with further successful campaigning, it is hoped that discussions leading to the negotiation of the treaty could continue into 2009...

peace out <3

peter gabriel named ambassador of conscience at launch of global tour...

peter gabriel was honoured with the 2008 ambassador of conscience (aoc) award in london on wednesday 10 september, at the launch of amnesty international's global music and human rights project, the small places tour...the event, held at the hard rock cafe, outlined a preliminary list of 545 small places concerts (that could grow in excess of 1000 events) in 50 countries...

the musician and human rights campaigner received the amnesty international award from former recipient, u2 guitarist the edge...other people to previously hold the title are nelson mandela, vaclav havel, hilda gonzalez and mary robinson...now in its sixth year, the aoc recognises exceptional individual leadership in the fight to protect and promote human rights...

following the lunch-time event, the small places tour kicked-off with an evening concert in los angeles with mexican rock band jaguares...

artists on the small places tour will use their music to inspire and engage new human rights activists throughout the world...events will include 11 september concerts in namibia highlighting human rights in zimbabwe; and in estonia with rem where fans will engage in amnesty international's campaign to release burmese activist aung san suu kyi and other political prisoners in myanmar...

the tour will culminate on international human rights day on 10 december, with dozens of concerts held throughout the world...

the small places tour celebrates the 60th anniversary of the universal declaration of human rights (udhr) and is inspired by eleanor roosevelt's call for "concerted citizen action" in her "small places" speech...

the tour stresses the importance of human rights "at home" – in communities, schools, and workplaces...roosevelt said, "Where after all do universal human rights begin? In small places close to home. So close and so small that they can’t be seen on any map of the world."

peter gabriel first worked with amnesty during the conspiracy of hope tour in 1986 and then on 1988's groundbreaking tour human rights now!..gabriel went on to found witness, a video community campaigning for human rights and more recently the elders, a private alliance of senior global figures to launch diplomatic assaults on the globe's most intractable problems...

speaking about his award, gabriel said,

"It was through the tours for Amnesty International that I first met many people around the world engaged in human rights work. It was these people and their extraordinary stories of suffering and courage that I found impossible to walk away from, so the Ambassador of Conscience Award means a great deal to me. I hope that the Small Places Tour on the 60th anniversary of the UDHR will really help to reinforce and underpin this extraordinary document that has been crucial to the lives of so many citizens of the world, and to be a similar source of inspiration to all those who take part."

the aoc is run by art for amnesty...its founder bill shipsey said,

"Peter has been at the vanguard of the struggle for human rights and justice around the world for nearly a quarter of a century and has inspired many others to join that struggle. He is an Ambassador in the truest sense of the word."

amnesty international has long enjoyed a successful history of partnering with artists to build the human rights movement...the organization's global conspiracy of hope and human rights concerts with u2, peter gabriel, bruce springsteen, and many others, resulted in hundreds of thousands of new activists joining amnesty international...

amnesty international's recent make some noise/instant karma cd featured 20 artists including green day, u2, and gwen stefani and raised funds and awareness to support the organization’s efforts to end the killing in darfur...

last year's aliados con amnesty tour with the band jaguares inspired almost 75,000 Latino youth to take action to stop violence against women...hundreds of these activists have since become human rights leaders in their communities...

the small places tour myspace page
60 years of udhr
ambassador of conscience award page

peace out <3

clemency denied for troy davis!

many of us who know this case and know this man are crushed...

in the face of an overwhelming public outcry the georgia board of pardons and paroles shockingly refused to grant clemency to troy davis on friday...

mr. davis' serious claims of innocence, which include the recantation of 7 out of 9 witnesses, have never been heard in court...further, no murder weapon was found and no physical evidence linked davis to the crime...

amnesty international and the naacp held a rally on thursday night calling for clemency...hundreds (nearly 1000!) of supporters attended many wearing t- shirts that proclaimed "I am Troy Davis,"...earlier in the day, amnesty international and others delivered over 20,000 petitions, just a small fraction of the over 200,000 collected from all over the world...

troy davis is scheduled to be executed by the state of georgia on september 23 at 7pm...

peace out <3

Refugee, 9, dies from injuries sustained in Al Tanf

The death of a nine-year old Palestinian refugee on September 10th highlights the continuing danger in Al Tanf, a refugee camp located on the Iraq-Syria border. He died late Tuesday afternoon in an ambulance after being struck by a truck. The Baghdad-Damascus highway runs past the settlement and the young refugee, Mohamed Kamal Ibrahim, is not the first child to be killed by a vehicle on this road. He was due to be resettled in Sweden soon with his family.

Conditions in the camp are harsh and unforgiving. The camp suffers from sandstorms, fire risks, and extremes of cold and heat in the desert, while also being infested with snakes and scorpions. Many of the refugees, who cannot enter Syria, suffer from a range of ailments and traumas, yet the nearest hospital is in Iraq (400 km away) The UNHCR has repeatedly drawn attention to the lack of medical facilities, which they say points to the need for a humanitarian solution to be found for displaced Palestinians who cannot return home due to fighting in Iraq.

In fact, few of these displaced Palestinians will eve be accepted for resettlement or offered shelter in third countries. Only about 300 have been able to relocate to non-traditional resettlement countries such as Brazil and Chile, and recently a group of 29 made their way to Iceland from Al Waleed, another refugee camp. But this does very little to alleviate the suffering of the remaining 2300 or so still stranded in the desert.

Amnesty International (as well as the UNHCR) calls for alternative solutions to the refugee crisis in Baghdad. Solutions must be found to provide medical care, basic necessities, and safety to the residents of the camp, and more importantly, long term solutions must be found for their futures.

Find the original story by Dalia Al-Achi and Carole Laleve here.

new pakistani president must improve human rights...

with the swearing in of pakistan's president, asif ali zardari, the pakistani government should act immediately to reverse the country's human rights record...

the human rights organization amnesty international urged mr zardari and his party's government to:

• reveal the fate of hundreds of victims of "enforced disappearances"

• reinstate all the judges illegally deposed by former president pervez musharraf in november 2007

• commute the death sentences for more than 7,000 people currently on death row

• protect civilians in the tribal areas of pakistan

there are no excuses for the government to delay acting on its pledge to address the terrible situation for many families of the "disappeared" by gathering and publicizing a list of all those in government detention...

inn the words of amnesty international the human rights situation will remain bleak in pakistan without an effective, independent judiciary...the restoration of the judges is a necessary step toward ensuring an independent judiciary...judges are in a unique position to challenge human rights policies, overturn abusive laws and protect individuals from violations...without an effective, independent judiciary, the human rights situation will remain bleak in pakistan...

the organization also reminded the new president of the public commitment made by his party and the prime minister to commute the death sentences of more than 7,000 people who are on death row – what would be the largest mass commutation in modern times...this would be the first action towards a general moratorium on the death penalty, with the ultimate aim of abolishing it...

in the final point of its statement on pakistan, amnesty international recognized the legitimate security concerns of the pakistan government in the tribal areas of pakistan but urged the new president that security forces operations should aim at protection of civilian lives...the security forces operations and militants’ activities have resulted in mass internal displacement of hundreds of thousands of people, in addition to the loss of many civilian lives...

asif ali zardari was elected as the new president of pakistan on 6 september when president pervez musharraf resigned on 18 August, after the new elected government in pakistan threatened him with impeachment proceedings...

mr zardari is the widower of the former prime minister benazir bhutto, who was assassinated on 7 december 2007...he became head of the pakistan people's party after her death...

peace out <3

amnesty cites use of force against rnc protesters as disproportionate...

amnesty international announced its concern through allegations of excessive use of force and mass arrests by police at demonstrations in st. paul, minnesota during the republican national convention (rnc) from september 1-4, 2008...the human rights organization is calling on the city and county authorities to ensure that all allegations of ill-treatment and other abuses are impartially investigated, with a review of police tactics and weapons in the policing of demonstrations...

the organization’s concerns arose from media reports, video and photographic images which appear to show police officers deploying unnecessary and disproportionate use of non-lethal weapons on non-violent protestors marching through the streets or congregating outside the arena where the convention was being held...

amnesty international has urged that an inquiry be carried out promptly, that its findings and recommendations be made public in a timely manner...if the force used is found to have been excessive and to have contravened the principles of necessity and proportionality, then those involved should be disciplined, measures put in place and training given to ensure future policing operations conform to international standards...

police are reported to have fired rubber bullets and used batons, pepper spray, tear gas canisters and concussion grenades on peaceful demonstrators and journalists. amnesty international has also received unconfirmed reports that some of those arrested during the demonstrations may have been ill-treated while held at ramsey county jail...

amnesty international is also concerned at reports that several journalists who were covering the rnc were arbitrarily arrested while filming and reporting on the demonstrations...they include host of independent news program democracy now!, amy goodman, and two of the program’s producers, sharif abdel kouddous and nicole salazar, who were both allegedly subjected to violence during their arrest...a photographer for the associated press (ap) and other journalists were also arrested while covering the demonstrations...

kouddous described his arrest to media,

“…two or three police officers tackled me. They threw me violently against a wall. Then they threw me to the ground. I was kicked in the chest several times. A police officer ground his knee into my back…I was also, the entire time, telling them, ‘I’m media. I’m press….,’ but…that didn’t seem to matter at all.”

amnesty international recognizes the challenges involved in policing large scale demonstrations and that some protestors may have been involved in acts of violence or obstruction...however, some of the police actions appear to have breached united nations (u.n.) standards on the use of force by law enforcement officials...these stipulate, among other things, that force should be used only as a last resort, in proportion to the threat posed, and should be designed to minimize damage or injury...some of the treatment also appears to have contravened u.s. laws and guidelines on the use of force...the u.n. standards also stress that everyone is allowed to participate in lawful and peaceful assemblies, in accordance with the principles embodied in the universal declaration of human rights...

peace out <3

the u.n. counter-terrorism review should make human rights a priority...

as the united nations general assembly (unga) conducts the first major review of its global counter-terrorism strategy, an amnesty international report shows how governments have so far failed to uphold the strategy's human rights standards...

adopted on 8 september 2006, the u.n. strategy was the first global attempt to agree on a set of practical action points to combat terrorism...in the strategy, all states recognize, unequivocally, that human rights are the fundamental basis for the fight against terrorism...

however, the amnesty international report, security and human rights: counter-terrorism and the united nations, concludes that there is a huge gap between governmental rhetoric and human rights observance on the ground...

published on 3 september, a day before the unga review, the report also says that much more needs to be done to mainstream human rights throughout the u.n. system and that states must demonstrate the political will to translate stated human rights commitments into action...

the report considers the impact of terrorism on human rights, examines u.n. work on counter-terrorism, notably of the security council, and conducts a brief review of the type of human rights violations committed in the pursuit of counter-terrorism measures, citing a range of country examples from all over the world...

the report says that since the 11 september 2001 attacks on the usa and in other countries since then, a wide range of counter-terrorism laws, policies and practices have eroded human rights protection - such as that to freedom of expression and not to suffer torture or other ill treatment - as governments claim the security of some can only be achieved by violating the rights of others...

the security council, in pushing for the criminalization and suppression of terrorism worldwide without taking due care for the protection of human rights, must also take some responsibility for the adverse consequences...

the unga review is a crucial opportunity for the u.n. to act...amnesty international has therefore called on the unga to mark the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the universal declaration of human rights by making the implementation of the human rights provisions of the strategy a top priority for the coming year...

the security council must also address the human rights deficit in its work by adopting strong human rights language in its resolutions dealing with terrorism and giving greater importance and resources to the protection of human rights in its counter-terrorism work...

truly the response of governments to the threat of terrorism is one of the fundamental human rights challenges of our time..human rights and security go hand in hand...human rights are key to achieving peace...the only way of countering terrorism is with justice...

peace out <3

Gori, Georgia

The world remains watchful of the situation in Georgia, especially as refugees begin to try to return home. One city, Gori, is exhausted from the effort of containing displaced persons within its shelter's borders. Most of the refugees come from the "buffer zone" between Gori and the South Ossetian border. Some of the latest arrivals from a town called Beloti are telling stories of harrassment and intimidation from the militia directed towards those who chose not to flee to surrounding towns. Many of the refugees had been traveling on foot for several days to 2 weeks, remaining in hiding in an effor to escape harrassment. They expressed fear for the safety of those who were unable to flee the violence, such as the elderly and bedridden.

Teams from the UNHCR report that people are worried for their family members who may have been left behind and fearful for their situation as displaced persons in the face of coming winter.

The UNHCR reports "At its height, more than 158,000 people were displaced during the conflict that erupted on Aug. 8 – about 128,000 within Georgia and some 30,000 who fled to the Russian Federation. The vast majority of those who fled to the Russian Federation have now returned to their places of origin in South Ossetia. Prior to the latest crisis, UNHCR had been working on behalf of some 220,000 previously displaced people, refugees, returnees, asylum seekers and stateless people in Georgia."

Amnesty International asks that you continue to demand that the United States use its considerable power to promote and encourage an end to the conflict, a long term resolution to the problem, and assurance that Georgian displaced persons and refugees can return home soon.

troy davis' powerful claims of innocence may never be heard by the courts...

troy davis is scheduled to be executed by the state of georgia on september 23, even though his serious claims of innocence have never been heard in court...

the case has been tainted from the start, with a questionable police investigation, a lack of funding to ensure adequate defense, and an increasingly restrictive appeals process, which has thwarted attempts to present new evidence in the case...

check it -- no murder weapon was found and no physical evidence linked davis to the crime...

troy davis was convicted of murder solely on the basis of witness testimony, and seven of the nine non-police witnesses have since recanted or changed their testimony, several citing police coercion...others have signed affidavits implicating one of the remaining two witnesses as the actual killer...

six months ago the georgia supreme court refused a request for a new trial...

tell the georgia board of pardon and paroles to commute the death sentence for davi
learn more about troy davis
read the press release

International Day of the Disappeared

Take action in honor of the 25th International Day of the Disappeared. © AI

Every day, people are abducted or secretly detained by their own governments in an attempt to silence dissenting views.

On Saturday, August 30th we honor the "disappeared" because even though we don't know where they currently are, we remember the people...and why they were taken.

There are 41,257 "disappeared" people whose reported cases remain unresolved. That's at least 41,257 reasons to ensure that justice is served and human rights are always protected.

» Take action to protect individuals at risk
» Watch video highlighting families affected by enforced disappearances

Guantánamo visits the National Conventions

© AI Torture can never be justified

With all eyes on St. Paul this week, the Guantánamo cell tour makes a stop outside the Republican National Convention to bring the issues of torture and illegal detention front and center.

After touring six cities, thousands have visited the life size replica of a prison cell at Guantánamo Bay. Check out the cell tour blog for images and video.

But we need your help to continue touring the cell until Guantánamo is closed.

» Donate today to the cell tour and help fund new cell tour locations

» More on the cell tour
» Read a report from our observer at Guantánamo: July 10th, July 11th, July 30th

peace out <3

there's a need for comprehensive justice across the former yugoslavia...

as the trial of radovan karadzic at the international criminal tribunal for the former yugoslavia (icty) in the hague resumes, his prosecution is undoubtedly a huge step forward towards bringing justice to the tens of thousands of victims of bosnia and herzegovina...but are a small number of high profile trials in the hague enough to heal the wounds caused by the horrific violations of human rights committed by all sides to the conflict?

our friends at amnesty international have repeatedly called for the work of the tribunal to be complemented by comprehensive national efforts in the region to investigate and prosecute the tens thousands of other crimes, involving middle and lower ranking suspects that the tribunal does not have the capacity to deal with...

while the resumption of the trial of radovan karadzic has thrown the spotlight back onto the hague yribunal, for which the u.n. security council has recommended an arbitrary 2010 deadline for closure, we have serious concerns about whether enough work is being done to enable local criminal justice systems to administer justice in the region...victims of crimes like murder, rape and forcible deportation have been waiting for justice for almost 13 years since the war ended and continue to suffer without truth or reparations...

that is not to say that there have not been some efforts at a national level to investigate and prosecute crimes of the 1990s conflict...but the reality is that they have been impeded by a wavering political will, coupled with limited judicial capacity and a lack of co-operation between countries on the sharing of evidence as well as the arrest and extradition of the accused...in addition, only a handful of suspects are being tried...

in croatia, amnesty international has criticised the failure to investigate and prosecute crimes committed by the croatian army and police forces, including the murder and disappearance of more than 100 croatian serbs in the sisak area during the 1991-1995 war...

montenegrin cases have been the subject of political obstruction and there are concerns about the effectiveness of national proceedings...no progress has been made in the criminal case of the disappearance of 83 bosniaks, while civil claims brought by the families have been rejected by the national appeals court...

in serbia, the pace of investigations is slow and the independence of the judiciary is questionable...sixteen years after the forced exodus of hundreds of vojvodina croats which left 14 people dead, no investigative action has been taken...furthermore, in those cases that are being prosecuted, national prosecutors involved in cases have been regularly threatened and there are concerns about the effectiveness of national witness protection systems...

in kosovo there is a lack of effective investigations and prosecutions, particularly of crimes of sexual violence, an absence of witness protection and a declining number of international judges and prosecutors...impunity remains in over 3,000 cases of enforced disappearances and abductions...

and while a war crimes chamber has been established with international support in bosnia and herzegovina, amnesty international is concerned that the planned withdrawal of international staff could undermine its effectiveness, unless sufficient resources and training programmes are established for local judges, prosecutors and staff...while other cases have been prosecuted by cantonal and district courts, serious doubts remain about their capacity to deal with such complex cases...

as pressure mounts for the closure of the icty, more work must be done to deliver the longer-lasting benefits of strengthened national justice systems...likewise international monitoring of local war crimes trials must continue until we witness the political commitment and comprehensive reform required to equip them to deliver justice...

the international community should use its influence in relations with these countries to call for an end to impunity for all cases of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes...in doing so, we also have to make sure that national justice systems in the region receive the necessary support for training national staff, capacity-building of local judicial systems and establishing effective witness protection programmes and truth and reparation mechanisms...

while the trial of radovan karadzic is likely to be completed before the tribunal closes, trials at the icty are not enough for the victims of the balkans conflict...the collective we have a duty to make sure their rights to justice, truth and reparations are realised...if not, the dispensation of justice across the former yugoslavia may remain an unfinished task...and it is the thousands of victims of the crimes who will pay the price...

an interview with a survivor of the bosnia and herzegovina

peace out <3

protest launches tour against enforced disappearance in pakistan...

yo yo yo - follow-up blog: the peeps over at amnesty international called on the pakistan government to reveal the fate and whereabouts of hundreds of disappeared people, amid international protests to mark the 25th international day of the disappeared on saturday 30 august...

amina janjua, the founder of defence of human rights, a aakistani organisation that campaigns for the release of the disappeared, was joined by amnesty international activists to demonstrate outside the pakistani high commission in london...they chanted “justice now for the disappeared” and handed over a petition...the demonstration marked the start of an international tour by amina janjua, supported by amnesty international...

amina janjua will appeal to governments around the world to raise their voices against enforced disappearance in pakistan...she speaks for 563 families of the disappeared...she knows only too well the pain and suffering caused by this illegal practice - her own husband, masood janjua, was apprehended in pakistan over three years ago while traveling on a bus to peshawar...state officials deny his detention and all knowledge of his whereabouts...

amina janjua will go to norway, sweden, switzerland, germany and the usa as part of the tour to raise awareness of the issue in pakistan...she will join amnesty international in campaigning for governments to put pressure on pakistan's new ruling coalition to investigate all cases of enforced disappearance and to ensure the practice is brought to an end...

background
the pakistan government began widely using the practice of enforced disappearances after it joined the u.s.-led "war on terror" in 2001...hundreds of people suspected of links to terrorist activity have been arbitrarily detained in pakistan and held in secret facilities...

denied access to lawyers, families and courts and held outside all protection of the law, they are victims of enforced disappearance...most, if not all, are subjected to torture and ill-treatment...the government has repeatedly denied any knowledge of their whereabouts, despite mounting evidence, including official court records and affadavits...

many of those picked up in pakistan were secretly handed over to the u.s. authorities, often for financial reward, ending up in guantánamo bay and secret cia detention centres...

domestic political opponents of the pakistani government were also targeted, in particular, members of pakistan's sindhi and baloch nationalist groups advocating greater autonomy...amnesty international's recent report denying the undeniable: enforced disappearances in pakistan, confronted the authorities with evidence of how government officials obstructed attempts to trace those who have "disappeared,"...

musharraf is gone, but still no sign of the disappeared
denying the undeniable: enforced disappearances in pakistan
25 years remembering the disappeared

peace out <3

international day of the disappeared...

every day, people are abducted or secretly detained by their own governments in an attempt to silence dissenting views...

this past saturday, august 30th, we honored the "disappeared" because even though we don't know where they currently are, we remember the people...and why they were taken...

there are 41,257 "disappeared" people whose reported cases remain unresolved...that's at least 41,257 reasons to ensure that justice is served and human rights are always protected...

take action to protect individuals at risk
watch video highlighting families affected by enforced disappearances

Guantánamo visits the National Conventions

© AI Torture can never be justified

With all eyes on Denver this week, the Guantánamo cell tour makes a stop outside the Democratic National Convention to bring the issues of torture and illegal detention front and center.

After touring just four cities, thousands have visited the life size replica of a prison cell at Guantánamo Bay. Check out the cell tour blog for images and video.

But we need your help to continue touring the cell until Guantánamo is closed.

» Donate today to the cell tour and help fund new cell tour locations

» More on the cell tour
» Read a report from our observer at Guantánamo: July 10th, July 11th, July 30th

peace out <3