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Last Day for Matching Funds, Sept. 30
Give if you are able. Someone has been nice enough to match all funds
up to the first $130K.
Human Rights is so very important.
To all friends. I wouldn't write to you if I didn't think matching funds were so very important.
Give if you are able. I would like to know how you are doing.
What your doing. How it's going.
I think these images matter. See a few others here...
http://current.com/items/89283848_charitywater_org_dril...
They take a little time to load, however if you move your mouse they will come up. Give if you are able. Someone has been nice enough to match all funds up to the first $130K. Human Rights is so very important. ... more -
US and UK 'fail' to monitor weapons flood into Iraq
Amnesty International issues a warning today that the US and the UK are failing in monitoring the flood of weapons into Iraq. Despite human rights violations by all parties in the conflict, Amnesty says the small arms trade is thriving, will many weapons being supplied by the US and UK and more still ending up in the hands of insurgents. Without a proper monitoring system that audits the trail of weapons, there is no way to tell where the weapons end up, thus contributing to the distribution of arms to other conflict hotbeds like Darfur and Burma.
"Among examples cited by Amnesty are the supply of 63,800 Kalashnikov assault rifles from Bosnia to Iraq and the dispatch via the UK of thousands of Italian Beretta pistols, many of which ended up in the hands of al-Qaida insurgents in Iraq." Amnesty International issues a warning today that the US and the UK are failing in monitoring the flood of weapons into Iraq. Despite ... more -
Solidarietà. Peter Gabriel premiato da Amnesty International
Art for Amnesty, la struttura di Amnesty International che si occupa di
eventi artistici ha annunciato oggi che Peter Gabriel e’ stato nominato Ambasciatore della
coscienza 2008. La cerimonia di consegna del Premio avra’ luogo all’Hard
Rock Cafe’ di Londra, mercoledi’ 10 settembre.
Pater Gabriel e’ da decenni un attivista per i diritti umani. E’ stato
accanto ad Amnesty International nel ‘Conspiracy of Hope Tour’ del 1986 e
nello ‘Human Rights Now! Tour’ del 1988. Successivamente, ha fondato
‘Witness’, una video-community che svolge campagne per i diritti umani e,
da ultimo, ‘The Elders’, un gruppo di personalita’ autorevoli che cerca di
risolvere per via diplomatica i problemi piu’ intricati del pianeta.
Il Premio Ambasciatore della coscienza, giunto alla sua sesta edizione, e’
un riconoscimento alla straordinaria leadership e partecipazione alle
campagne per proteggere e promuovere i diritti umani. Ispirato a una
poesia scritta per Amnesty International dal Nobel per la Letteratura
Seamus Heaney, intende promuovere l’azione di Amnesty International
associandone il nome alla vita, al lavoro e all’esempio dei suoi
Ambasciatori. Nelle precedenti edizioni, il riconoscimento e’ andato a
Nelson Mandela, U2, Mary Robinson e Vaclav Havel.
Il Premio Ambasciatore della coscienza verra’ conferito a Peter Gabriel da
The Edge, chitarrista degli U2, in una cerimonia che avra’ luogo all’Hard
Rock Cafe’ di Londra, mercoledi’ 10 settembre. Quel giorno, Amnesty
International lancera’ ‘Small Places Tour 2008’, il piu’ ambizioso
progetto musicale promosso dall’organizzazione per i diritti umani negli
ultimi vent’anni. Informazioni sugli artisti che vi prenderanno parte
saranno rese note dopo il conferimento del Premio a Peter Gabriel. Art for Amnesty, la struttura di Amnesty International che si occupa di ... more -
Pechino 2008: le promesse mancate
Al termine dei Giochi olimpici di Pechino, Amnesty International ha accusato le autorità cinesi di aver preferito badare all'immagine rispetto alla sostanza e di aver continuato a perseguitare e punire attivisti e giornalisti durante le Olimpiadi.
L'organizzazione ha inoltre criticato il Comitato internazionale olimpico (Cio) per aver macchiato l'eredità dei Giochi in tema di diritti umani, chiudendo un occhio sulle violazioni commesse.
"Le Olimpiadi sono state uno spettacolare evento sportivo, ma si sono svolte in un contesto di violazione dei diritti umani: agli attivisti è stato impedito di esprimere le proprie idee pacifiche e molti di essi sono stati imprigionati senza aver commesso alcun reato", ha dichiarato da Hong Kong Roseanne Rife, vicedirettrice del Programma Asia-Pacifico di Amnesty International. "Le autorità cinesi e il Cio avevano l'opportunità di mostrare che il rispetto dei diritti umani fosse migliorato ma hanno ampiamente fallito: sfratti forzati, arresti di attivisti e restrizioni ai danni dei giornalisti non dovranno caratterizzare un'altra Olimpiade".
La dichiarazione di Amnesty International è giunta poco dopo quella di Jacques Rogge, presidente del Cio, che durante la cerimonia di chiusura delle Olimpiadi di Pechino ha detto: "Questi sono stati Giochi davvero eccezionali".
(continua...) Al termine dei Giochi olimpici di Pechino, Amnesty International ha accusato le autorità cinesi di aver preferito badare all'imma... more -
Exhibition on Zimbabwe abuses opens in SA
Images of torture victims and police beating protesters along with the words of human rights activists are part of a new exhibit that Amnesty International hopes will inspire citizens across Africa to press their governments for action in Zimbabwe.
Albie Sachs, who fought white rule and now sits on post-apartheid South Africa's highest court, opened the exhibit Tuesday, saying its strongest images weren't the most gruesome, often taken hurriedly by photographers who risked arrest for portraying Zimbabwe in a bad light.
Sachs pointed instead to formal portraits of Zimbabweans like lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa, renowned for her defense of opposition politicians, journalists and human rights campaigners, who joined him at the opening.
The portraits show "that spirit of what the people of the country can achieve despite all the difficulties," Sachs said.
Then he embraced Mtetwa, who said: "It's the first time I've been hugged by a judge."
Sachs responded: "If you can't hug a judge, become a judge."
Sachs's hug was awkward — his right arm was blown off in an apartheid-era car bomb explosion blamed on the white government's intelligence agencies. Tuesday, he was a metaphor for transformation — hoped for or realized. So was the setting, a jail where Nelson Mandela and other anti-apartheid activists were once held that, after apartheid ended in 1994, became the headquarters of the highest tribunal, the Constitutional Court.
Over the next month, the Amnesty International exhibit titled "My Rights My Struggle" is scheduled to travel to countries including Tanzania, whose president currently chairs the African Union; and Botswana and Senegal, whose governments have been unusually critical of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, who is accused of trampling human rights and ruining his country's economy to stay in power.
Amnesty International urged visitors to the exhibit in Johannesburg to send post cards expressing their concern about Zimbabwe to South African President Thabo Mbeki, who is mediating power-sharing talks between Mugabe and his opposition. Mbeki also is the current chair of the Southern African Development Community, which includes Zimbabwe and is the key regional bloc. SADC has been diverted from its economic agenda by the political troubles in Zimbabwe.
The exhibit included a video and a short play by a Zimbabwean street theater group that was to be performed daily, depicting Zimbabweans declaring their refusal "to live in constant fear." The portraits were accompanied by taped testimonials, such as one from trade union activist Lucia Gladys Matibenga. She described being beaten at a workers' rights rally in 2006. Her arm was broken and her ear drum ruptured.
"I would ask the whole world for just one minute to pray for Zimbabwe," Matibenga says. "To pray for a new Zimbabwe." Images of torture victims and police beating protesters along with the words of human rights activists are part of a new exhibit that ... more -
Irán: ¡Dos menores en peligro de ejecución inminente!
Actualizado: 20 de agosto de 2008
¡Behnoud y Mohammad se encuentran en peligro de ejecución inminente! Amnistía Internacional ha sabido que a Behnoud Shojaee le han concedido un aplazamiento de dos semanas, pero sigue en peligro de ejecución. A Mohammad Feda’i le han concedido un aplazamiento hasta mediados de septiembre.
¡Ayúdamos a parar estas ejecuciones!
http://web.es.amnesty.org/iran-ejecucion-inminente/
Salut et Fraternité Actualizado: 20 de agosto de 2008 ... more -
UNA FINESTRA SUL MONDO PER I DIRITTI UMANI
Sospendendo per un attimo l' indifferenza, si può fare molto più per i diritti umani di quello che si pensa.
Amnistìa Internacional, l'agenzia spagnola di Amensty international, è da anni molto attiva in una serie di iniziative che hanno condotto a salvare la vita di persone che avevano ricevuto una pena capitale nel loro paese. Come nel caso di Amina Laval, sottratta al boia da una petizione online, una raccolta di adesioni effettuata proprio dalla agenzia Spagnola.
nella pagina linkata si trova la possibilità di aderire rapidamente ad iniziative che possono SALVARE LA VITA, a persone in grave pericolo.
Come nel caso:
IRAN: DUE MINORENNI IN ATTESA DI ESECUZIONE CAPITALE IMMINENTE
http://web.es.amnesty.org/iran-ejecucion-inminente/
In questo caso abbiamo già firmato in 135.047, ma è URGENTISSIMO L'INTERVENTO.
Canadá: pide la extradición de un menor de Guantánamo
http://www.es.amnesty.org/actua/acciones/canada-pide-la...
China: Detenido por defender su derecho a una vivienda
http://www.es.amnesty.org/actua/acciones/china-derecho-...
Ripeto il link della home page, dove sono elencati i casi:
http://www.es.amnesty.org/
Salut et Fraternité Sospendendo per un attimo l' indifferenza, si può fare molto più per i diritti umani di quello che si pensa. ... more -
L' Iran annuncia sospensione delle lapidazioni
Amnesty International ha accolto positivamente l'annuncio, da parte di un portavoce del potere giudiziario, che la pena della lapidazione è stata sospesa e, conseguentemente, diverse donne hanno ottenuto la commutazione della condanna a morte.
"La lapidazione è una pratica orribile, volta ad accrescere la sofferenza di chi viene messo a morte, e che non può avere alcuno spazio nel mondo moderno. Auspichiamo che le autorità iraniane garantiscano che questa pena terrificante non verrà mai più usata" - ha dichiarato Amnesty International. Amnesty International ha accolto positivamente l'annuncio, da parte di un portavoce del potere giudiziario, che la pena della lap... more -
Nobody Listened: Documentary on Human Rights Abuses in Cuba
Fidel Castro is a controversial figure. From the era of Eisenhower to that of George W. Bush, Castro has ruled Cuba and maintained extraordinary world attention.
NOBODY LISTENED reveals Castro’s brutal methods for sustaining his longevity, and forces us to listen closely to accounts rarely taken seriously before. Former Castro comrades, life-long Communist party leaders, writers, and intellectuals – as well as unrepentant supporters of fallen dictator Fulgencio Batista – appear and testify in gripping detail about the seedy underbelly of Cuba's police state.
Spanish with subtitles Fidel Castro is a controversial figure. From the era of Eisenhower to that of George W. Bush, Castro has ruled Cuba and maintained ext... more -
Origin of Amnesty International
Amnesty International is a worldwide movement of people who campaign for internationally recognized human rights to be respected and protected for everyone.
We believe human rights abuses anywhere are the concern of people everywhere.
So, outraged by human rights abuses but inspired by hope for a better world, we work to improve people's lives through campaigning and international solidarity.
Our mission is to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated.
Our members and supporters exert influence on governments, political bodies, companies and intergovernmental groups.
Activists take up human rights issues by mobilizing public pressure through mass demonstrations, vigils and direct lobbying as well as online and offline campaigning.
We have more than 2.2 million members and subscribers in more than 150 countries and regions and we coordinate this support to act for justice on a wide range of issues. Amnesty International is a worldwide movement of people who campaign for internationally recognized human rights to be respected and p... more -
Torture Can Never Be Justified / Amnesty International video
Don't let arguments for torture go unchallenged. Watch this video where former US President Carter, the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and others raise their voices against torture and other ill-treatment Don't let arguments for torture go unchallenged. Watch this video where former US President Carter, the UN Special Rapporteur on ... more
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The price of speaking out
Mahboubeh Karami has been languishing in Evin prison since 13 June. Amnesty's Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui explains how the journalist and activist ended up in Tehran's notorious jail
Mahboubeh Karami, 40, is a freelance journalist. She is also active in the Campaign for Equality, a women's rights movement in Iran which calls for reform of laws that discriminate against women and which launched the "One million signatures" campaign in support of this demand. She has been detained in Tehran's Evin Prison since 13 June.
On that morning, she called her mother briefly from her mobile, after boarding a bus in north Tehran. All was well but about 20 minutes later she called again. The bus had been forced to halt near Mellat Park because of a demonstration by people against the arrest on 11 June of Abbas Palizdar, who had accused several senior Iranian officials of financial corruption.
The protest was peaceful but police and other security forces reportedly used tear gas and batons to disperse the demonstrators. They also set up checkpoints. While drivers were told to keep moving, they stopped a number of buses, including the one on which Mahboubeh was travelling, so that plain-clothed officers could check the passengers.
When Mahboubeh called her mother that second time it was to tell her that her coat had been pulled from her and she was being manhandled from the bus by the security police. She was able to speak only briefly before her phone was disconnected.
On the day she was detained, her family and friends could find out nothing about where she was being held. The next information they had came from one of the other bus passengers who had found Mahboubeh's bag - dropped when she was seized. He took it to her family and told them that Mahboubeh and all other female passengers had been taken off the bus, although they had not taken any part in the demonstration.
On 14 June, the day after the protest, the Head of Tehran's Judiciary told the press that 200 people had been arrested and that those who were innocent or were suspected of committing only minor offences would learn about the status of their cases within a week. In the weeks that followed others who took part in the demonstration, or who were arrested at the same time as Mahboubeh, were released, although in some cases they first had to pay considerable sums of bail.
Mahboubeh Karami’s mother, Sedigheh Mosa’ebi, has said that her daughter called her from Evin Prison on 25 June saying that about 90 women were arrested on 13 June. Most of whom, like her, had nothing to do with the demonstration in Mellat Park. She told her mother that “The police stopped the bus in front of the Park. Then they began hitting the windows with their batons and forced the driver to open the doors. They attacked a man in the bus. I could not keep silent and when I protested, they took me in too.”
Mahboubeh Karami and nine other women, then being detained with her, went on hunger strike on 6 July to protest about their incarceration and conditions – they had been moved to a section of Evin Prison where detainees are not permitted visits. The protest ended after the other nine women were all released by 25 July. Although not freed, Mahboubeh Karami was moved to a ‘general’ section of Evin Prison, and has since been allowed weekly visits from her family. Mahboubeh Karami has been languishing in Evin prison since 13 June. Amnesty's Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui explains how the journalist a... more -
Iranians suspend death by stoning
Iran's has suspended the punishment of death by stoning, state media say. Stoning is the penalty for crimes such as adultery under Iranian law.
A judiciary spokesman said four people sentenced to die by stoning had had their sentences commuted and that all other cases had been put under review. Lawyers and human rights campaigners have said at least eight women and a man are awaiting the punishment.
Amnesty International called on Iran in January to abolish what it called a "horrific practice, designed to increase the suffering" of those condemned.
Amnesty also said a disproportionate number of those sentenced to death by stoning were women because they were not treated equally before the law and were particularly vulnerable to unfair trials. Iran's has suspended the punishment of death by stoning, state media say. Stoning is the penalty for crimes such as adultery unde... more -
FBI concedes Aafia Siddiqui in US custody
Five years after her mysterious disappearance in Karachi, the FBI has finally conceded that an MIT-trained Pakistani neuroscientist is alive and is in US custody in Afghanistan.
Aafia Siddiqui, 36, disappeared with her three children while visiting her parents’ home in Karachi in March 2003, around the same time the FBI announced that it wanted to question her over her alleged links to Al Qaeda.
Her family’s lawyer Elaine Whitfield Sharp said she believed recent media reports about Mrs Siddiqui’s incarceration increased pressure on the US and Pakistani authorities to divulge more information.
“I don’t believe that they just found Aafia,” she said. “I believe that she was there all along.”
The fate of her three young, American-born children is still unknown.
Before her disappearance, Mrs Siddiqui lived in a Boston suburb of Roxbury and studied at Brandeis University as well as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
* * * * *
More at link.
To learn more about who Aafia Siddiqui really is, click here: http://soj.weblog.ro/2004-05-29/10410/The-mysterious-ca...
In a 2006 report, Amnesty International listed Mrs Siddiqui as among a number of “disappeared” suspects in the war on terrorism. On July 6, 2007, AI listed Mrs Siddiqui as a possible CIA “secret detainee”, although she was still on the FBI’s Seeking Information - Terrorism list. Late last week, Mrs Siddiqui’s photo still appeared on the FBI’s list of people wanted for questioning.
Since no charges were ever filed against her, human rights groups treated her case as that of “extrajudicial detention”, although no government ever claimed detaining her.
Even the FBI does not mention any charges in the notice seeking information about her. “Although the FBI has no information indicating this individual is connected to specific terrorist activities, the FBI would like to locate and question this individual,” says the notice.
The “gray lady of Bagram”: On July 7, a British journalist Yvonne Ridley told a news conference in Islamabad that a Pakistani woman had been held in solitary confinement for years at the Bagram US base near Kabul. The identity of this prisoner remains unconfirmed. She has been nicknamed the “gray lady of Bagram”. Ms Ridley, however, speculated that she was Aafia Siddiqui.
Moazzam Begg and several other former captives also have reported that a female prisoner, prisoner 650, was held in Bagram. The former captives claim that she has lost her sanity and cries all the time.
Although it is still not clear if the “gray lady of Bagram” is Aafia Siddiqui, her family’s attorney told reporters on Friday that the FBI had finally conceded that Mrs Siddiqui is in US custody.
“It has been confirmed by the FBI that Aafia Siddiqui is alive,” said Ms Sharp, who said she spoke to an FBI official on Thursday.
“She is injured but alive, and she is in Afghanistan.”
For five years, US and Pakistani authorities denied knowing her whereabouts. But human rights groups and Mrs Siddiqui’s relatives had long suspected that she had been captured in Karachi and secretly taken into custody.
On Thursday, an FBI official visited Mrs Siddiqui’s brother in Houston to deliver the news that she was alive and in custody, Ms Sharp said.
FBI officials, however, would not say who was holding her or reveal the fate of her children.
“If she’s in US custody, they want to know where she is,” Ms Sharp said. “Who has got her? And does she need medical care?”
The FBI and the Justice Department declined to comment. Five years after her mysterious disappearance in Karachi, the FBI has finally conceded that an MIT-trained Pakistani neuroscientist is... more -
China accuses US of trying to sabotage Olympics
The Chinese government accused US politicians of displaying "evil motives" and trying to "sabotage the Olympics" today after the House of Representatives passed a resolution condemning Beijing's record on human rights.
A foreign ministry spokesman also condemned George Bush for meeting five prominent Chinese political activists just days before he attends the opening ceremony.
The host nation faces a growing storm of overseas criticism that it has failed to live up to its Olympic promise to improve human rights and allow complete reporting freedom for visiting journalists.
The Chinese government rejects such accusations, saying it has eased controls on the media and religion, as well as reducing the number of death sentences handed down by courts.
But the House of Representatives resolution, which passed yesterday by 419 votes to 1, called for immediate action to stop the arrests of civil activists and Tibetans and to put pressure on China to stop supporting Burma and Sudan.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said the US government should curtail "the disgusting actions of this small group of anti-Chinese lawmakers".
The bill, he said, "fully exposed their evil motives to politicize the Olympics and interrupt and sabotage the Beijing Olympics".
The White House entered the fray on Tuesday, when Bush met privately with five prominent exiles, including Wei Jingsheng, a democracy activist who spent nearly 20 years in prison before seeking exile in the US, and Uighur rights campaigner Rebiya Kadeer.
The White House said Bush had expressed "concerns" to the group about the human rights situation in China. The president also told the Chinese foreign minister that the Olympics were an "opportunity to demonstrate compassion on human rights and freedom".
Beijing expressed strong discontent. "By arranging such a meeting between its leader and these people and making irresponsible remarks on China's human rights and religious situation, the US side has rudely interfered in China's internal affairs and sent a seriously wrong message to anti-China hostile forces," Liu was quoted as saying by the Xinhua news agency.
He said the five people that Bush met had harmed China's national security by engaging in "anti-China splittism activities and hostile sabotage activities under the banner of so-called 'human rights and religion'".
Although Bush has insisted he will attend the Olympics to watch the sport rather than lecture on politics, the furore over human rights shows no sign of dying down.
This week, the US-based group Human Rights in China reported that a school employee in Sichuan province was sentenced to a "re-education through labour" camp for a year because he took and posted online photographs of schools that collapsed during the earthquake. This is a sensitive subject for the authorities, which have restricted access to many quake-hit schools and warned angry parents not to speak to the media.
China's censorship of the internet was also been thrown into the spotlight earlier this week, when the International Olympic Committee was forced to backtrack on promises that journalists visiting for the Games will have unfettered access to the web. Amnesty, Human Rights Watch and the BBC's Mandarin service are as restricted in the Olympic media centres as outside. The Chinese government accused US politicians of displaying "evil motives" and trying to "sabotage the Olympics" t... more -
Justice Department Asks Intelligence Court to Review New Wiretapping Law in Secret
In a brief filed late yesterday with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC), the Bush administration asked that any review of the new warrantless surveillance law be kept secret and that the court refuse to accept legal briefs from anyone other than the Justice Department itself. The government is responding to a motion the American Civil Liberties Union filed earlier this month asking the FISC to ensure that any proceedings relating to the scope, meaning or constitutionality of the FISA Amendments Act (FAA) be open to the public to the extent possible.
The following can be attributed to Jameel Jaffer, Director of the ACLU National Security Project:
“The government is proposing that the intelligence court should consider the constitutionality of the new surveillance law in proceedings that will be entirely secret. If the government’s request is granted, the court won’t hear arguments from anyone except the government and those arguments will be presented to the court in secret briefs. At the end of the process, the court will issue a ruling that is also secret. The process the government is proposing is completely unacceptable. Especially because the new surveillance law departs so significantly from the standards that have applied to government surveillance for the last 30 years, any proceedings relating to the new law’s constitutionality should be adversarial and as informed and transparent as possible.”
In a separate legal challenge in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, the ACLU seeks a court ruling declaring that the FAA is unconstitutional and ordering its immediate and permanent halt. Plaintiffs in the case include Amnesty International USA, Human Rights Watch, the Nation and PEN American Center.
More information about the ACLU’s legal challenges to the FAA is available online at: www.aclu.org/faa In a brief filed late yesterday with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC), the Bush administration asked that any review... more -
Amnesty International website blocked at Olympic venue
Foreign journalists working from the Olympics press centre in Beijing are unable to access amnesty.org - the Amnesty International website. A number of other websites are also reported to have been blocked.
As Amnesty International prepares to launch a new report evaluating the Chinese authorities' human rights performance in the run-up to the Olympics, this flies in the face of official promises to ensure "complete media freedom" for the Games.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has on many occasions highlighted the loosening of restrictions on foreign media in China as an example of an improvement in human rights brought about by the hosting of the Olympics. On 17 July Jaques Rogge, IOC President, went as far as to claim that "there will be no censorship on the internet."
The Olympics Countdown: Broken Promises is to be published online today at 21:00 GMT, Tuesday 29 July at 05:00am Hong Kong time.
The follow-up to China: The Olympics Countdown: Crackdown on Activists Threatens Olympic Legacy which was released in April this year, the new report shows that there has still been little progress towards fulfilling the Chinese authorities' promise to improve human rights, but rather continued deterioration in key areas.
Blocking Amnesty International's website, along with a number of others, is a clear example of the Chinese authorities' broken promises.
On Tuesday 1 April 2008, Kevin Gosper, Vice Chair of the IOC co-ordinating commission, was at a meeting in Beijing where he urged the Chinese government to honour the commitment in the host city contract to allow free internet access to the media attending the Games.
Gosper said that the continued blocking of some websites would "reflect very poorly" on the hosts. "This morning we insisted again," Gosper added. "Our concern is that the press is able to operate as it has at previous Games - at Games time. I'm satisfied that the Chinese understand the need for this and they will do it.
Have your say on censorship and other human rights issues in China on Amnesty International's The China Debate website http://www.thechinadebate.org/en/ Foreign journalists working from the Olympics press centre in Beijing are unable to access amnesty.org - the Amnesty International web... more -
Despite Deal, Violence Continues in Zimbabwe
As the Zimbabwean government and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) prepare to enter power-sharing talks, Amnesty International called on both parties to ensure there are no pardons for those who committed human rights violations in the post-election period.
“There can be no lasting political solution to the crisis in Zimbabwe without addressing past human rights violations. While human rights violations must end immediately, investigations must be carried out and alleged perpetrators brought to justice,” said Amnesty International.
Amnesty International continues to receive reports of ongoing political violence and harassment, particularly in rural areas. Even since the signing of Monday’s ‘memorandum of understanding’ by the ruling party and opposition, victims of political violence have had to seek medical treatment for injuries sustained in attacks.
On 22 July, an MDC official from a rural constituency south of Harare who had been in hiding was allegedly attacked while he walked to work with a youth in the early hours of the morning. They were both abducted by suspected supporters of the ruling party and thoroughly beaten on the buttocks, arms, legs and feet. According to reports, their abductors said they had been looking for the MDC official, and that nowhere was safe. Both the MDC official and the youth had to seek medical treatment as a result of injuries sustained.
Though some bases from which ‘war veterans’ and other ZANU-PF supporters launched attacks against opposition supporters have been dismantled, some in rural areas including in Mashonaland West, Central and East provinces, still remain.
“The attacks that have killed as many as 150, injured thousands and displaced tens of thousands over the last several months -- and which continue to take place – must not be swept under the carpet in the interest of finding a short-term political solution,” said Amnesty International. “This would store up problems for further down the road.”
While attempts are being made by all Zimbabwean political parties -- and the Southern African Development Community, African Union and United Nations -- to address the political and economic crisis, Amnesty International said that important questions of justice and impunity were not explicitly tackled in the ‘memorandum of understanding’ signed on Monday.
“Any future deal between the parties should not include amnesties, pardons or any other measures that would prevent the emergence of the truth, a final judicial determination of guilt or non-guilt, and full reparations to victims and their families.”
In signing the memorandum, the ruling party and opposition committed themselves to condemning the promotion and use of violence and to taking all measures necessary to ensure that the structures and institutions it controls are not engaged in acts of violence.
Despite the latest political developments, Amnesty International remains concerned that Zimbabwe is still blanketed in a climate of fear. The government must put an immediate end to all acts of intimidation, arbitrary arrest and torture perpetrated state and non-state actors against human rights defenders and political activists, particularly in rural areas. All bases from which torture and ill-treatment is being carried out must be closed immediately and alleged perpetrators of human rights violations must be brought to justice. As the Zimbabwean government and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) prepare to enter power-sharing talks, Amnesty Int... more -
Iran to Execute 30 convicts on Sunday
TEHRAN, Iran (CNN) -- Thirty people convicted of drug and other criminal charges will be hanged on Sunday, Iran's semi-official Fars News Agency reported Saturday.
The 30 had their cases tried by the highest judicial authorities and were found guilty of the charges brought against them, Iran's judiciary said in a statement.
The verdicts are final, and the sentences will be carried out Sunday, according to Fars.
According to Amnesty International, Iran executed 317 people last year, second only to China's 470. The U.S. executed 42 people in 2007, according to Amnesty International.
The Iranian judiciary's statement said that all 30 were convicted of crimes including murder, murder in commission of a crime, disturbing public safety and security, being a public nuisance while drunk and being involved in illegal relationships -- relationships between men and women who are not married to each other.
Kidnapping and using weapons while committing a crime were among the charges.
The statement said that 20 of the people were convicted of drug and alcohol dealing, armed robbery and smuggling arms.
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The judiciary said it will provide more details later as to the crimes committed by those condemned and added that the hangings should serve as a warning to those who are contemplating committing such crimes.
Others are awaiting trial, and their sentences will be carried out as soon as the verdicts are pronounced by the courts, the judiciary said.
The judiciary asked the public to notify the authorities if they have any information that might lead to arrest and convictions of criminals.
Iran's government launched a campaign March 20 to increase public security and bring the crime rate down.
Police cracked down on drug dealers, whom they called criminal gang members, and habitual criminals who use guns in the commission of their crime. Alleged weapons smugglers and people who break social and religious laws, including adulterers, were also targets.
National television showed scenes of what were described as criminals being paraded in chains as a deterrent to others. The wave of arrests has subsided, as officials are now prosecuting the suspects and sentencing those convicted.
With so many execution, at least Iran doesn't have to have the INSANE prison population that America has. TEHRAN, Iran (CNN) -- Thirty people convicted of drug and other criminal charges will be hanged on Sunday, Iran's semi-official F... more -
Violence against women
In 2004, Amnesty International launched its global Stop Violence Against Women Campaign (SVAW) to help break the silence around this scandal and create a world where women and girls are afforded their basic human rights
Oh yeah VOTE 2008 Green party 1st black woman presidential candidate. In 2004, Amnesty International launched its global Stop Violence Against Women Campaign (SVAW) to help break the silence around this s... more
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