WIRE July/August 2012 by Wire magazine

for people who care about human rights july/august 2012 VOluME 42 IssuE 004

justice for bhopal

donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t pollute the london 2012 olympics

inside this wire coVer image

what else

A child playing in Bhopal, India, near the site of the 1984 Union Carbide gas leak. ©Keith Bedford

Campaign news in

carrying the torch

the agenda (page 2), good news and updates on the letter writing marathon (page 20) and much more.

Meet the women still fighting for justice in Bhopal, India, and support them by sending our postcard and tweeting the London 2012 Olympic Committee.

page 4

“our life without him is bare and incomplete” Find out about Pakistan’s disappearance crisis, to mark the International Day of the Disappeared, and sign our petition to end it.

page 6

not forgotten Photo story from Yida refugee camp in South Sudan, where thousands of people have fled to escape bombs and hunger. Sign our petition and read our new report.

page 8

“you can hear the soul cry” Forty years after they were placed in solitary confinement in a US prison, Albert Woodfox, Herman Wallace and Robert King are still fighting for justice. Write them a letter, and send our postcard to support their campaign.

getting wire

wire is available online at www.amnesty.org/en/stayinformed/enewsletters/the-wire you can subscribe to receive six printed copies of wire for £15/us$24/€17 a year (or £35/us$54/€41 for institutions). amnesty international sections and structures can buy discounted copies. email wire.subscribe@amnesty.org or call +44 (0)20 7413 5814/5507. to join amnesty international visit www.amnesty.org/en/join

page 12

the ghost town of tawargha How Libya’s recent conflict pitted old neighbours against each other, and left a whole town deserted.

page 14

“i’ll neVer be able to escape my past” Shin Dong-hyuk, the only person known to have escaped one of North Korea’s notorious prison camps after being born in one, explains why he decided to share his harrowing story.

page 16

10 candles for international justice We celebrate the 10th anniversary of the International Criminal Court.

page 19

worldwide appeals read, share, act – see our insert

first published in 2012 by amnesty international publications www.amnesty.org © amnesty international ltd index: nws 21/001/2012, issn: 1472-443X printed by banbury litho, banbury, united Kingdom, on 100gsm cocoon preprint 100% recycled paper. all rights reserved. no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the publishers. wire, editorial and publishing programme, amnesty international, international secretariat, peter benenson house, 1 easton street london wc1X 0dw, united Kingdom Cover image: © Keith bedford

Activists call on Shell to own up, pay up and clean up the Niger Delta, as part of a week of action in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, April 2012.

“there may be times when we are powerless to preVent injustice, but there must neVer be a time when we fail to protest.” elie wiesel

The

Agenda

News from Amnesty International’s regional teams and campaigns

Prisoners of conscience

Send a tweet for Mikhail Khodorkovsky Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the former head of Russian oil company YUKOS, is still imprisoned in Karelia, northern Russia. He is an outspoken social commentator and an advocate for a strong Russian civil society. Amnesty International considers him and his business partner, Platon Lebedev, to be prisoners of conscience and believes that their persecution is politically motivated. Please tweet President Vladimir Putin @KremlinRussia to say Khodorkovsky and lebedev’s trial was unfair #FreeKhodrokovskyandlebedev

At least

101

countries tortured or otherwise

ill treated people in 2011

Africa

End forced evictions Thousands of people marched to demand an end to forced evictions in Africa earlier this year, and thousands more have signed our petition. Help us get as many signatures as possible before we deliver it to African governments in September 2012, by watching our film and taking action at tinyurl.com/end-evictions

Americas

End human rights violations by Dominican police Eleven years after the Dominican Republic created the post of ombudsman to promote human rights and oversee the country’s police, the post is still vacant. Recent Amnesty research has uncovered human rights violations by the Dominican police, including enforced disappearances. Join our call to reform the country’s police force and appoint an ombudsman with enough powers and resources to promote human rights. Visit www.amnistiapr.org

Middle East and North Africa

Words set free for human rights More than 59,000 words have been set free so far in Amnesty’s online Freedom Dictionary. We launched the project to raise awareness about human rights violations in the Middle East and North Africa, and the importance of free speech. A woman in Lebanon freed the word “inspire”, in Iraq a man liberated “free-spoken” and a young man in Tunisia set free “revolutionist”. liberate your own word at freedomdictionary.org

2 wire [ jul/aug 2012 ]

Freedom of expression

Faxjam update Activists around the world sent 4,578 faxes on behalf of Indonesian prisoner of conscience Johan Teterissa. He is serving a 15-year sentence for leading a peaceful protest in 2007. After seeing a news story about our campaign on Indonesian television, Johan thanked Amnesty’s members for their campaigning for him and to protect freedom of expression.

(

“I am happy to declare Mongolia a country free of capital punishment and to express my sincere gratitude for the support that Amnesty International has provided us in achieving this success.”

)

Elbegdorj Tsakhia, President of Mongolia

Migrants’ rights

Making migrants safer in Nepal Our Migrant Worker Caravan has travelled to four areas in Nepal to raise awareness about how migrant workers are vulnerable to exploitation and forced labour. We produced a Know Your Rights booklet to give people practical advice about what to do if their rights are abused. We also collected signatures for a petition to protect migrants who are working in Nepal.

Europe and Central Asia

Time for Spain to “tackle its dark past” The charges have been dropped against Spanish Judge Baltasar Garzón, who was prosecuted after investigating war crimes and human rights violations during the Spanish Civil War and Francisco Franco’s government.

agenda

Up front

“They know they are being watched” © Amnesty International

Amnesty International’s watchful eye encourages the military and police in the Maldives to think twice about hurting peaceful protesters, says Researcher ABBAS FAIZ.

Amnesty welcomed the news and called on Spain to “tackle its dark past” by fully investigating the extrajudicial executions, torture and enforced disappearances that took place.

A mural showing the dangers migrants face, painted on the wall of Belén, Posada del Migrante shelter in Saltillo, Coahuila state, Mexico. Migrants in Mexico continue to be murdered, kidnapped or forcibly recruited by criminal gangs. Many suffer sexual violence. The people who help them on their journey face threats, attacks and intimidation. Amnesty International is calling on the authorities to protect them and investigate these crimes.

Asia and the Pacific

Close Yodok prison camp We tried to hand over 165,500 appeals from around the world to the North Korean Embassy in Bern, Switzerland, on 12 April. Our petition called for the closure of Yodok prison camp, where an estimated 50,000 political prisoners are being held. The police and press were waiting when our activists arrived at the embassy, and although the North Korean representative refused to accept our petitions, they couldn’t ignore us. Turn to page 16 for the extraordinary story of prison camp escapee Shin Dong-hyuk.

(

“It’s in people’s nature to want to stop evil and embrace the good”

Chen Guangcheng, Chinese human rights activist

)

The news spread quickly that Amnesty International had arrived in the Maldives. A protester and former detainee told me how important it was to have us there: “[The authorities] are behaving themselves now”, she said. “They know they’re being watched.” My visit came just after Mohmamed Nasheed, the country’s first democratically elected President, was forced to resign following a mutiny by the military and police. His resignation prompted peaceful protests in the capital Malé and other cities, which were then violently attacked. More than 10 MPs from Nasheed’s Maldivian Democratic Party told me how police and military officers had beaten them on their legs, arms and backs. Two female MPs said officers aimed for their heads when they hit them. If other people hadn’t protected them, they believe they might have died. “They were trying to kill us”, one said. From Malé I took a 70-minute flight south to Addu, a city that can easily escape international attention. I met people who had survived torture by the military and police following arrest. I visited detainees held in police lock-ups and people who had been attacked by military officers during peaceful rallies. They all wanted to share their stories. More than 20 people told me that military officers had attacked them during peaceful protests. The officers grabbed their hair, neck or arms, told them to open their mouths and eyes, and then pepper-sprayed them. This, the protesters said, had become standard police and military practice. Yet some police officers told me they did not want to take part in human rights violations. One officer patrolling a public rally in Malé told me: “We handle protests more carefully now”. His colleague smiled: “We feel the gaze of international organizations.” I wrote about what I heard. Later, a human rights defender told me: “I have observed a significant improvement in methods for crowd control used by police. I relate it partly to the statement released by Amnesty.” His words echo the positive comments I have received from many Maldivians since my visit.

Abbas Faiz interviews a political detainee in Addu, Maldives.

letters Want your views and comments to appear in The Agenda? Write to us at yourwire@ amnesty.org

3 wire [ jul/aug 2012 ]

bhopal

carrying the torch what links the london 2012 olympics to one of the biggest industrial disasters in history? aloys ligault and madhu malhotra met the women at the forefront of the fight for justice and a clean future in bhopal, india.

“a

re you here about the disaster?” asked the rickshaw driver taking us to our hotel. “It’s been a big problem for us. Many people in my family got sick. You’ll still find a lot of sick people here.” We had just arrived in Bhopal earlier this year to meet survivors of the huge toxic gas leak at the Union Carbide pesticide plant. The leak, which began on 2 December 1984, killed between 7,000 and 10,000 children, women and men in just three days. Another 15,000 or so died in the following years. A hundred thousand or more were left with serious health problems, including respiratory illnesses, neurological damage and gynaecological disorders. The disaster and its aftermath raised fundamental questions about the morality and accountability of the world’s giant corporations. Almost 28 years later, the former plant still hasn’t been cleaned up. There has been no thorough investigation into why the leak happened and the impact it has had on local people’s lives. Survivors have not been offered the medical care they need, nor fair compensation. No wonder people here are still angry. Bhopal recently came into the spotlight when the London Organising Committee for the 2012 Olympic Games (LOCOG) chose The Dow Chemical Company to design the decorative plastic wrap for the Olympic Stadium. Dow bought the Union Carbide Corporation in 2001, but fiercely denies any connection with the disaster. When LOCOG supported Dow’s stance, its Ethics Commissioner, Meredith Alexander, resigned in protest in March this year, saying she didn’t want to become “an apologist for Dow Chemicals”. Amnesty International is calling on LOCOG to retract its statements denying a

connection between The Dow Chemical Company and the 1984 Bhopal catastrophe. We are also calling on the Indian government and the companies involved to reach an agreement with Bhopal’s people to clean up the former Union Carbide factory site, make the drinking water safe and clean, pay adequate compensation and hold those responsible to account. The rusty industrial skeleton of the former Union Carbide factory in Bhopal is striking. Built right in the middle of the buzzing city, it can be seen from almost anywhere. Inside it, a pile of toxic waste still rests, cheek by jowl with the poor neighbourhoods that surround the plant. Here, the catastrophe is not just a memory. We met Safreen (right, in blue), a smiley student, in her family’s leafy garden close to the old factory. She wasn’t born when the disaster happened, but it still affects her life. She has joined a children’s group fighting for survivors’ rights, and dreams of becoming a doctor to help people cope with the health problems that still linger here. “Young children are forced to give up school and work because their parents have been affected by the gas”, Safreen explained. “Others are born with deformities and illnesses. I want children in Bhopal to breathe fresh and clean air, drink clean water and stay healthy. I dream that Bhopal will be a better place to live and that the companies will take responsibility for causing so much of suffering.” The following day, the weather was steaming hot as we reached

bhopal

Clockwise from left: Safreen (in blue); Rampyari Bai, a Bhopal survivor; Hazra Bi with her granddaughter. Middle: Bhopal memorial mural painted by Janet Brown Reinitz, directly opposite the abandoned Union Carbide factory. Below: London’s Olympic Stadium, which will be decorated with a plastic wrap produced by Dow Chemical.

Jaiprakash Nagar, a neighbourhood rolling out from the south side of the former factory. At the foot of the 1985 memorial statue to Bhopal’s victims, we met Hazra Bi (left), a Bhopal activist and survivor. Tears came as she talked about her life. “My whole life changed after the gas leak,” she told us. My husband was so severely affected by the gas that he died. Raising four children alone was traumatic.” Her children and grandchildren were born with medical problems she thinks were caused by the gas leak. The official compensation her family received was too little, too late. “It’s been round the clock physical and mental agony for almost three decades”, Hazra Bi said. “But I won’t give up the fight. It’s a question of Bhopal’s future generations.” A dusty ride across town took us to Rampyari Bai, aged 85, who has taken part in every single march organized by survivors in Bhopal. Showing us a bruised ankle, she said the police beat her up during the last anniversary rally. In her small, dark flat lit by a neon lamp even in the mid-afternoon, we had to speak up so she could hear us. But her fighting spirit was still intact. In a strong, firm voice, she explained how difficult it had been to get even meagre compensation and basic health care. “I will fight for our rights and justice until my last breath so another

Bhopal doesn’t take place in this world”, she said. “It’s high time Dow took responsibility for 30 years of suffering. The compensation I received is a mockery and a dehumanizing experience. I want the next generation to have happy lives.” These are just some of the women at the forefront of Bhopal’s struggle for proper compensation, for a clean-up of the former Union Carbide site, better health care and access to information about what happened in 1984. The survivors’ headquarters is the Sambhavna Clinic, which provides free health care, funded by the UK-based Bhopal Medical Appeal. A quiet place surrounded by dusty roads, it symbolizes the activists’ energy and hope in the face of being largely forgotten. Sathyu Sarangi and Rashna Dingra, two prominent campaigners, confirmed our most powerful impression from the visit: that there is no fatalism here. Bhopal’s people know that they have suffered a terrible injustice, and will keep carrying the torch for their rights. Giant corporations do have a responsibility to respect human rights. They can’t simply walk away from disasters like Bhopal. As Hazra Bi put it: “I hope that people around the world will learn from our struggle and stories and support this never-ending peaceful fight for justice and dignity.”

act now

sign and send our postcard to sebastian Coe, Chair of the london 2012 Olympic Committee (see insert). and send tweets saying: Dear @sebcoe, stop defending Dow Chemical don’t pollute #london2012 with their toxic legacy, and @london2012, stop defending Dow’s excuses for the Bhopal disaster #DontDowIt #amnesty #justiceforBhopal

international day of the disappeared

“our life without him is bare and incomplete” paKistan’s disappearance crisis

atiq-ur rehman “our life without him is bare and incomplete – i don’t know how we continue to survive without him.”

shams un Nissa speaking about her son, atiq-ur Rehman

Atiq-ur Rehman, a 29-year-old scientist and officer of Pakistan’s Atomic Energy Commission, disappeared on his wedding day, 25 June 2004. People say he went to the market in Abbotabad, North West Frontier Province, to buy food and never came back. The police claimed that he was in the custody of an intelligence agency and refused to register his family’s complaint. Despite Supreme Court hearings on his case in 2007, his fate and whereabouts are still unknown.

Shams un Nissa, mother of Atiq-ur Rehman.

shams baloch

ons, husbands, brothers, fathers. Hundreds – possibly thousands – of people have “disappeared” since Pakistan became a key ally in the US-led “war on terror”. Many were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. Denied contact with the outside world, many are tortured and held for years in secret prisons without any legal protection. Some will never return. Many of those abducted, secretly detained, or killed by state agents are ethnic Sindhi and Baloch political activists who seek more autonomy or complete separation from Pakistan, or tribal Pashtun people from the north-west, where insurgency is rife. An enforced disappearance has many victims, beyond the person who is missing. Families are forced to live without knowing what has happened to their loved one, and without seeing those responsible brought to justice. To mark the International Day of the Disappeared on 30 August, here are some of their stories.

“he was supporting 10 poor families along with his own. now all those families’ lives are at stake. their children’s education, health and daily life have suffered badly”

a relative of shams Baloch

Political activist Shams Baloch.

6 wire [ jul/aug 2012 ]

Shams Baloch was abducted on 1 July 2010 while travelling in an ambulance with his 80-year-old mother to a hospital in Quetta, Balochistan’s provincial capital. He is a member of the Balochistan National Front political group and a former head of the local district administration. Police and intelligence officials confirmed that Shams Baloch was stopped at a checkpoint operated by the paramilitary Frontier Corps. Unidentified men in plain clothes intercepted his car, dragged and beat him in front of his family and took him away. The soldiers at the checkpoint didn’t intervene. Pakistan’s Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances and the Balochistan High Court have so far failed to trace him.

international day of the disappeared © Amnesty International

masood janjua and faisal faraz “we can never come to terms with this.” amina Masood janjua, wife of Masood ahmed janjua

“i don’t want anything – no money, no dollars, nothing at all – just my son.” Zenab Khartoum, mother of Faisal Faraz

Amina Masood Janjua with photos of her husband, Masood Janjua.

Masood Ahmed Janjua, a businessman from Rawalpindi, “disappeared” on 30 July 2005. He was travelling on a bus to Peshawar with Faisal Faraz, a 25-year-old engineer from Lahore. When Pakistan Supreme Court judges began hearing Masood Janjua’s case in October 2006, several people testified to having seen both men being detained. Despite further investigations, state officials still deny any knowledge of what happened to them. Amina Masood Janjua is still campaigning for her husband to be released. She has founded Defence of Human Rights, an organization supporting the relatives of disappeared people in Pakistan.

Zenab Khartoum, mother of Faisal Faraz.

dr abid sharif and mansoor mehdi “my one son has never met his father, he just looks at his pictures.” Zhahida sharif, wife of Dr abid sharif

“i lost something most precious to me.” Mohammad Idrees, father of Mansoor Mehdi

Mohammad and Arifa Idrees, with photo of their son Mansoor Mehdi.

Dr Abid Sharif and his assistant Mansoor Mehdi disappeared on 16 September 2005. Dr Abid told his pregnant wife that they were going to provide free medical help in a camp in Peshawar for four days. When they failed to return, their relatives asked the police to investigate, because they believed the Pakistani intelligence agencies were involved. The police refused and told the family that it was not entitled to legal assistance because the case had not been recorded by the authorities. Dr Abid’s family believes he might have been abducted because he was a vocal critic of Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan’s President and Army Chief at the time.

muzaffar bhutto “my children cry and ask me when will he come back?” saima Bhutto, wife of Muzaffar Bhutto

Muzaffer Bhutto’s mother holds his photograph during a demonstration in 2012.

Muzaffar Bhutto was abducted for the second time on 25 February 2011, allegedly by plain-clothed intelligence agents and police. He is the General Secretary of Jeay Sindh Muttaheda Mahaz (JSMM), a Sindhi nationalist political party advocating more provincial autonomy from Pakistan. He was travelling in his car with his wife and younger brother in Hyderabad city, Sindh province, when they were stopped by around 20 men in plain clothes. The men came out of unmarked cars and detained Muzaffar Bhhutto at gunpoint. He was recovering from surgery to injuries he got the first time he was detained and allegedly tortured, between October 2005 and November 2006. Police claimed at the time that they had charged him with terrorismrelated offences. After being tried in an anti-terrorism court, he was released on 5 January 2009. In May 2012, Muzaffar Bhutto was found dead, like so many of Pakistan’s disappeared people. Amnesty is now calling for an investigation into his abduction and possible political killing.

act now support the relatives’ search for justice by signing our petition to end disappearances in Pakistan and hold those responsible to account at tinyurl.com/pakistan-petition

7 wire [ jul/aug 2012 ]

south sudan

not forgotten a growing human rights crisis is in danger of being forgotten. aleX neVe from amnesty international canada reports from an isolated refugee camp near south sudan’s border with sudan, alongside researcher Khairunissa dhala.

hen South Sudan was born in July 2011, its newfound peace with Sudan was fragile, at best. In a land ruled for decades by military governments from the north and armed groups in the south, enormous challenges lay ahead to protect human rights. We travelled to the northern reaches of South Sudan, along the frontier with Sudan, to meet thousands of people at the forefront of that challenge. They are stuck in a hot and crowded refugee camp, close to a border disputed by two governments which both want control of lucrative oil fields. In June 2011, an armed opposition group, the Sudanese People’s Liberation Army-North (SPLA-N), waged an armed campaign against the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) in Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile states in Sudan. Their response unleashed a relentless wave of attacks and a humanitarian crisis. The SAF’s aged Antonov planes drop unguided bombs, killing and maiming untold numbers of civilians, and leaving farmers unable to cultivate crops. Because the Sudanese government doesn’t allow international food assistance into Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile, people have begun to starve. The bombs and the hunger have forced over 500,000 people to flee from their homes – more than 100,000 into isolated areas of South Sudan. We visited Yida, a refugee camp a few kilometres from the border with Sudan’s Southern Kordofan state. Already home to more than 20,000 refugees, as many as 400 arrived every day while we were there in April. By the time the relentless rains cut Yida off from the outside world in May, there might have been close to 30,000 refugees in the camp. The story of Halima Ahmed, 18, captured the immensity of this crisis. She fled to Yida last August because the fighting had forced her school to shut. She came to Yida on her own and found hundreds of other young people in the same situation, all hoping to continue with school. But school has not been easy, nor has life in the camp. UN agencies want the refugees to move to other camps at a safer distance from the border, and so have not built or funded schools at Yida. More than 6,000 students rely on 135 volunteer teachers, with hardly a piece of paper or textbook between them. 8 wire [ jul/aug 2012 ]

Halima and other girls who are on their own sleep in unguarded, overcrowded shelters. Men and boys often harass and attack them there at night. “Usually when you scream, someone will come running to help out”, Halima said. In March, Halima went back to her village in Southern Kordofan. She found that her nine-year-old brother had been killed in a bombing raid. Then the Antonov planes returned. A bomb fragment cut her three-year-old sister’s throat and killed her instantly. Once it was safe again, Halima fled back to Yida. Now she doesn’t feel safe anywhere. But the hope of learning keeps her going. She wants to continue her secondary education and go to university to become a doctor and help people. There was much talk of war while we were in Yida. South Sudan’s Armed Forces had occupied an oil field on the disputed border with Sudan. Sudan was sending its Antonov bombers and MiG fighters further and further into South Sudan. This captured international attention. I couldn’t help but think how Halima and thousands more had needed that attention many months ago. Isaac Malik, a man in his late thirties from Southern Kordofan who had been at Yida for only a few weeks, helped us with translation. He worried that in the middle of all of the war-mongering “they would be forgotten”. I assured him they would not. Amnesty International could not keep the rains at bay, or build the schools or order the Antonovs to stay away. But we can and will, I told him, do everything possible to make sure that this crisis is not forgotten. We will demand that the indiscriminate attacks end. We will insist that the Sudanese government allow unhindered humanitarian assistance in Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile states. And we will press for stronger refugee protection in South Sudan. We will not forget.

act now

sign our petition to pressure the uN security Council to protect civilians in sudan at: tinyurl.com/uN-sudan-petition Read our new report, We can run away from bombs but not from hunger at: tinyurl.com/cant-run-from-hunger

Above: An argument breaks out in the water queue. Women and children often stand in line for up to 10 hours to fill one jerry can in temperatures of up to 45°C. With few water sources and thousands of refugees, tensions can run high. Below: Refugees sleeping rough in Yida. In April, hundreds of people were arriving every day into the crowded camp. Most came with nothing, except what they were wearing and what they could carry.

Above: Halima Ahmed, 18, arrived alone in the camp after her village in Sudan was bombed. She lives with other girls and young women in basic shelters with no security. They are extremely vulnerable to attacks from men and boys. If something happens, their only protection is to scream. Below: Alex Neve and his translator, Isaac Malik, talking to 15-year-old Abil Abdallah (middle). Abil walked for four days to reach Yida and he still doesn’t know what has happened to his family.

Right: A boy guides a blind woman – one of many vulnerable people in Yida – through the camp’s main market.

Left: A man collects water from a puddle. Without enough clean water, people resort to drinking dirty water to survive. This has lead to waterborne diseases spreading and serious illnesses, including diarrhoea in children.

Below: Nothing to do but wait: teenage boys take refuge from the sun inside one of the few structures in Pariang, a refugee transit camp about an hour away from Yida. Many parents have sent their children across the border to South Sudan in the hope that they can go to school there. But both teachers and books are in extremely short supply.

Above: Women protecting a food storage warehouse in Yida. Left: Men charging up their mobile phones in Yidaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s main market at night. Phones are a lifeline for people stranded in this desolate and remote part of South Sudan. They allow the refugees to keep in touch with their relatives and catch up on the latest news about the fighting between the two neighbouring countries.

All images ÂŠ Pete Muller, except where indicated.

11 wire [ jul/aug 2012 ]

usa

“you can hear the soul cry” justice for the angola 3 © Nicola Krebill (http://n.krebill.org)

“you can hear the soul cry… eVerywhere you go, you’re bound, you’re in chains, you’re in a cell siX by nine.” Robert King, 17 april 2012

forty years ago, three young black men – albert woodfox, herman wallace and robert King – were put in solitary confinement in the louisiana state penitentiary in the usa, nicknamed “angola”. Known as the angola 3, the three men were drawn together by their resistance to the prison’s brutal conditions. they founded a prison chapter of the black panther party in 1971, before they were placed in solitary. they campaigned for better treatment and conditions, for solidarity between black and white inmates, and for an end to the widespread rape and sexual slavery in angola. robert King was released in 2001, but albert “i Know that public pressure worKs” woodfox, now aged 65, and 70-year-old herman Robert King wallace, are still in solitary, now in different louisiana prisons. they spend 23 hours of every I know that public pressure works and that public opinion day in a small cell, alone. during their time matters. I have seen it at work in the courts. I have in angola, the men communicated via other seen how it can make a difference in the decisionprisoners, notes, and by simply yelling to each making of those that determine a sentence, a verdict other when they could. on 17 april 2012, 40 years to the day after the angola 3 were put in solitary, the governor of louisiana was handed a petition signed by more than 67,000 people in over 125 countries, asking for albert and herman to be freed from isolation. the fight for their release continues. albert woodfox, herman wallace and robert King write here about surviving solitary and keeping the fight for justice alive. please write to albert and herman, expressing your support. then join the campaign to end the two men’s time in isolation by signing and sending the postcard insert in this issue of wire.

12 wire [ jul/aug 2012 ]

or a judgment. I have also seen it at work in the media when they report on stories that must be told. The authorities need to know that people are watching them and that they are accountable to us, the people. For over 11 years, since my release in 2001 from 31 years in Angola penitentiary (29 years in solitary confinement), I have campaigned for justice for Herman and Albert and against a cruel and immoral legal system which tortures and wrongly incarcerates many thousands. I have travelled to over 40 countries and spoken to thousands of young people, students, governments, NGOs, lawyers and those involved in the social justice movement. Knowing the illegal and inhumane torture that Herman and Albert endure on USA soil, I will continue to shine a light on injustice wherever it rears its ugly head. Standing on the State Capitol steps in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on Tuesday 17 April, I felt the

Robert King speaking at an Amnesty International event marking 40 years in solitary confinement for Herman Wallace and Albert Woodfox on 17 April 2012.

power of the people, of all those who have supported the Angola 3 over the years. We handed in a petition of over 65,000 signatures to Governor Jindal, demanding Herman and Albert’s immediate release from solitary confinement. We could not be ignored - the media were there, and organizations stood by our side in support. Amnesty’s presence was felt. For me the day was bitter sweet, bitter with a deep sadness that we were marking this day, but sweet seeing the years of efforts and struggle culminating in this day. The tide is changing

and the time for change is now. We have the wind at our back and we need to keep on moving… The fight for justice never ends… the fight to free Herman and Albert and all political prisoners continues.

all power to the people. King.

usa

“the feeling of pain allows me to Know that i am aliVe”

act now sign and send the postcard in our insert, asking for albert Woodfox and Herman Wallace to be removed from isolation. and please write to the two men – prison walls can’t isolate them from your support and solidarity:

albert Woodfox (pictured right)

As we commemorate the 40th year of being held in a cell 23 hours a day, I would like to say a few words about what it is like to be in solitary confinement. I am allowed a brief moment out of my 6x9 ft world for one hour of exercise. This has been my routine for 40 years. The pain and suffering goes beyond description. To be honest I am not sure what damage has been done to me, but I do know that the feeling of pain allows me to know that I am alive. If I dwelled on the pain I have endured and stopped to think about how 40 years locked in a cage 23 hours a day has affected me, it would give insanity the victory it has sought for 40 years. I do not have the words to convey the years of mental, emotional and physical torture I have endured. I ask that for a moment you imagine yourself standing at the edge of nothingness, looking at emptiness – that is insanity! Fighting for humanity! While being pushed closer to the edge by winds of human cruelty, with no edge in sight! Around the world people have added their voices to the call for justice for the Angola 3. I am both honored and humbled that Amnesty International have added their voices to the call. For Angola 3 and all people held in prison across America and the world for their political voices, actions and beliefs! So I push on, finding the strength each day to fight to live. Freedom for the Angola 3. Power to the People.

la3.org

albert woodfoX #72148 David Wade Correctional Center, N1a3 670 Bell Hill Rd Homer, louisiana 71040, usa

herman wallace

#76759 Elayn Hunt Correctional Center, CCR-D-#11 PO Box 174 st. gabriel louisiana 70776, usa

albert “shaKa cinque” woodfoX

wer strong “to surViVe solitary requires a willpo d tortures” enough to endure these state-sanctione

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Herman Wallace (pictured left)

17, we will have been incarcerated for Exactly 40 years ago today… on April is nothing new to Albert and I, nor to 40 years in solitary confinement. This hundreds of thousands in US prisons. to the politicians who dictate However, it means absolutely nothing , or to the non-elected keepers of human rights to the rest of the world 6x9 feet for 23 hours a day, America’s prisons who keep us in cells to our conviction for a crime we are despite the lack of evidence that led actually innocent of. ive the daily threat of sadistic Surviving solitary confinement is to surv being thrown into the dungeon, or abuse, destruction of personal property, constantly scream, curse and throw moved to a psychiatric unit where men solitary requires a willpower strong their waste at each other. To survive ed tortures. State and Federal judges enough to endure these state-sanction re chambers and yet allow them to are knowledgeable of these illegal tortu exist. n that you take when you sign Your moral condemnation and the actio e. We need to send a clear renc diffe al the Amnesty petition makes a critic ing us incarcerated in solitary message to the authorities that keep ptable. We want to thank Amnesty confinement for 40 years is not acce do and ask that you join us in our four International and you for all that you decades of struggle for justice.

i am herman wallace. © cgtextures.com

13 wire [ jul/aug 2012 ]

libya

visited Misratah, Libya’s third largest city, at the height of Libya’s recent armed conflict to document war crimes and other serious human rights abuses. It was under a brutal military assault by Muammar al-Gaddafi’s forces. Distraught residents blamed the relentless shelling of Misratah on the Tawarghas, a black Libyan community from a town where al-Gaddafi’s forces had set up a base, some 40km away. They also blamed the Tawarghas for the disappearances of hundreds of Misratah’s men, and for allegedly raping women. Local leaders told me that everyone in Tawargha had joined al-Gaddafi’s forces or were loyal to them. No one knew then how these allegations would come back to haunt the Tawarghas. A few months later, the siege of Misratah was over. Militias from the city began attacking Tawargha with powerful weapons like Grad rockets, forcing most of its 30,000 people to flee. The militias shot at people who tried to escape, killing and injuring several. Those who stayed behind were either arrested or ordered to leave. When I visited Tawargha in September 2011, the town was deserted. Its name had been scratched off signs. Houses had been burned. A truck was being loaded up with mattresses and other looted goods. While we walked around, young anti-Gaddafi fighters from Misratah used Tawargha houses as a shooting range. The town was completely uninhabitable when I returned in February 2012. Roads were blocked off by sand mounds. Smoke suggested recent arson. An official told us that militias ransack and burn buildings every time a rumour spreads that the Tawarghas might be coming home, vowing that this will never happen. Today, Tawarghas are scattered across Libya. Many are in basic camps for internally displaced people (IDPs) in Tripoli or Benghazi. Misratah’s militias have raided the camps, forcing men to leave with them. They shot dead two people in an IDP camp in Tripoli in February. When the Tawarghas protested later that day, five more were shot dead, including three children. Hundreds of men have been detained and tortured in Misratah. Several have died. Others have confessed to killings and rapes just because they couldn’t take more torture. None of those arrested have been formally charged or given access to lawyers. “We are so afraid once they are taken to Misratah”, a Tawargha man’s relative told me. “We can’t bear to hear more bad news. We aren’t safe anywhere, we can’t leave home, we are trapped. If we go out, we risk being arrested too.” 14 wire [ jul/aug 2012 ]

Clockwise from top left: A boy from Tawargha carries water at a camp for internally displaced people in Benghazi, January 2012; Tanks in Tawargha, September 2011; Houses burn in Tawargha after Misratah militias attacked the town, December 2011.

The attacks seem to have racial overtones. One Tawargha man held by militias in Misratah told us: “Those who arrested us called us ‘slaves’ and said that we should go back to Africa because there is no place for us in the new Libya.” Comments published in Misratah’s local newspapers, on TV and social networking sites have expressed hate and discrimination against the community. Misratah’s local authorities are turning a blind eye to the abuses, at best. At worst, they are complicit. They have often stated that “alternative solutions” are needed for the Tawarghas, and that no force can ensure their safety if they return home. The central government has so far failed to investigate any alleged abuses or to help people return home. This is a story of revenge and collective punishment for the alleged crimes of a few. Amnesty International has called for justice for all victims of war crimes and human rights abuses in Libya. The attacks against the Tawarghas appear to constitute crimes against humanity, which could be prosecuted in the International Criminal Court. Meanwhile, Misratah’s old neighbour remains a ghost town, its people too afraid to return.

act now

Fax ali Hmeida ashur, Minister of justice and Human Rights, on +218214805427 (also a phone-line), sending a copy to the National Council on Human Rights on +218214447377. Call on him to: n guarantee the safe return of all forcibly displaced people n Bring to justice those responsible for attacks that have forcibly displaced people n End arbitrary detentions of tawarghas by militias and security forces n Ensure that all detainees receive medical treatment, and are protected from torture and other ill-treatment n Compensate the tawarghas and assist them with rebuilding their homes and their lives

a deserted town in north-western libya has become a sad symbol of how a society can unravel after a conflict, pitting old neighbours against each other. researcher diana eltahawy reports.

the ghost town of tawargha

ÂŠ Amnesty International

opinion piece

human rights talK

what was life like in the kwanliso? I lived in a small, dirty room with my mother. A place where criminals live cannot be clean. I was born to criminal parents, so I had to live the life of a criminal. The walls were mouldy and rain would leak through. In winter, the room would be icy. I woke up worrying every morning about whether I would meet the work quota that day. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t get fed. I ate whatever the prison guards gave me and I did what they ordered me to do. At school, all I learned was to write, do simple arithmetic and hard labour in the fields from the age of six. We were not told anything about North Korea, its government or the world outside. People in kwanliso are considered sub-human − animals that are not worthy of being taught anything.

what were your worst experiences in the camp?

shin dong-hyuk is the only known north Korean born in a political prison camp (kwanliso) who has managed to escape. born in camp 14 in south pyongan province in 1982, he crawled through the barbed wire in 2005 and made it to south Korea. we spoke to him when he visited london, uK, to promote Escape from Camp 14, the extraordinary story about his life told by journalist blaine harden.

16 wire [ jul/aug 2012 ]

Starvation, combined with hard labour and constant beatings, was the hardest. Prison guards show no leniency towards children, women or the elderly. If you make a mistake, you are immediately beaten. Several people were beaten to death. One day at school, the teacher searched us and found five kernels of corn on one of the girls. The teacher thought she had stolen the corn and beat her severely in front of us. She fainted, and we carried her home to her mother. The next day she was dead. [She was six years old.] This sort of thing was very common. Later, when I was working in a fabric factory, I accidentally dropped a sewing machine on the floor

human rights talK

and it broke beyond repair. One of the guards got very angry and cut off a knuckle of my middle finger to punish me. At the time, I just thought I was lucky to have escaped execution.

what was your relationship with your parents like? It wasn’t an affectionate relationship. The concept of family was unknown to me. We were just all criminals. I’m still learning what it means to be a family.

what did you imagine about the outside world? I thought that what we were taught, saw and heard in the camp, was everything the world had. The world that I knew at the time was one where only prison guards and criminals existed. I only heard about the outside world when I met another inmate, Park. I couldn’t picture it very well, but started imagining what it would be like. Even though I didn’t believe what he told me, I decided to give it a shot. We attempted to escape together. Unfortunately he didn’t make it.

you were tortured yourself – what happened? When I lived in the camp I never saw it as torture. I thought I deserved to be tortured, because I made mistakes. When my mother and my brother were executed for attempting to escape, my father and I were supposed to be executed too. But we miraculously managed to avoid it. When I was hung

upside down and burnt over a coal fire because of my mother and my brother, I thought it was right that I was being put through this. I wasn’t angry at the people who were torturing me, but I blamed my mother and my brother for their wrongdoing.

how has your perspective changed since then? Since my escape, I’ve travelled all over the world and felt many new emotions. But I still feel very confused. In the prison camp, I thought it was completely natural to go through all those painful experiences. But now that I’m out and have lived in South Korea and the US, these experiences actually feel much more painful. Since the book about my life was published, I feel more stressed than when I was in the camp. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to escape my past, because it is being retold in the book.

what can the outside world do to close north Korea’s prison camps? In the book, I revealed a shameful secret that I had kept for years: the fact that my mother and my brother were publicly executed because I turned them in. I wonder if people will read the book, learn of my secrets and forget soon afterwards – or will they take action to put a stop to this brutal violation of human rights? I hope that the international community will work to help prevent further killings in North Korea. Raising awareness of what’s happening there is key, and I hope this book will do that.

People inside North Korea can’t do anything about this. If a change is to happen, I believe it will come through NGOs such as Amnesty International, putting pressure on the North Korean regime. So it’s important that people support organizations such as Amnesty.

yours is a very difficult story to recount – why are you telling it? It’s a daunting task to evoke the memories that I want to forget. But when I think of the babies being born in the kwanliso, destined to spend their entire lives as a slave until the day they die, I feel it’s the least I can do to help bring an end to this brutal system.

what keeps you going now? Materially, I’m so much better off now. In that regard, I live a content life. But mentally I am very distraught. I live between Washington D.C. and Seoul, but I don’t think there is a place in the world I can call home.

act now

Watch our video “Hell holes”: North Korea’s secret prison camps at: tinyurl.com/secret-prison-camps

17 wire [ jul/aug 2012 ]

indigenous people

“land is our identity. without it we won’t eXist” the pahari indigenous people of bangladesh are fighting against land grabs and violence – and for their future.

“t

he army told me the settlers were going to come here and take my land: ‘They’re going to live here’, they said. ‘You won’t be able to live here anymore’. The army and the settlers won’t let us live in peace.” Laxmi Rani Chakma belongs to the Pahari Indigenous people, who have lived for generations in the hilly and lush Chittagong Hill Tracts of southeastern Bangladesh. The Pahari’s distinct culture, language and way of life are intimately connected to their land. This all came under threat after Bangladesh achieved independence in 1971. The Pahari’s fight for autonomy and the rights to their land led to decades of armed conflict. Many were killed or displaced, and their land occupied by Bengali settlers. A 1997 Peace Accord ended the conflict and established a Land Commission to resolve all land disputes. The Pahari were promised strong representation in local government and that temporary army camps in the region would be disbanded. But 15 years on, tens of thousands of Pahari people are still landless, still waiting for the Commission to deal with their claims to land they say was ‘illegally settled’ by Bengalis. “The Land Commission is totally ineffective”, says Bithirani Tripura, Vice-President of a Pahari women’s rights NGO, set up to help women who have been abused by the military. “There are new forms of land grabbing now”, she adds. “Multinational companies are grabbing land. Influential people are grabbing land. There is no justice.” Meanwhile, the authorities have encouraged more Bengalis to come to the area. For Dada Shukrachand and Laxmi Rani Chakma, new roads being built through their lands signal more settlers arriving to look for land to live on. The Bangladeshi army still has camps scattered all across the region. The Pahari see this as an occupation that threatens their security and way of

18 wire [ jul/aug 2012 ]

From top: Bangladeshi army workers building a road through land that the Pahari considers to be theirs, Rangamati, June 2011; A Pahari family; Laxmi Rani Chakma.

life. Women and girls, who traditionally grow the food, spend long periods of time away from their villages to tend fields. This has made them targets for attacks, including rape and other sexual violence. This violence is often related to land grabbing, and used as a tool to make people feel so unsafe that they decide to abandon their land. Three Pahari women were reportedly raped and murdered in 2011. Ten were reported to have been raped, four abducted, and there were seven attempted rapes. In one case, several Pahari were reportedly murdered after intervening to protect the victim of an attempted rape. Many women are too afraid to report attacks. Even when they do, “there is no redress. If they go to the police to complain, the police harass them”, says Donomala Chakma, a Pahari woman and human rights activist. These human rights violations, and the delays in implementing the Peace Accord, are pushing the Pahari to the margins of public and social life in Bangladesh. Controlling their lands are critical to their culture and identity, their well-being and economic development. Donomala Chakma sums it up: “Land is our identity. We depend on it for food, animal feed and wood. Without it we won’t exist.”

act now

9 august 2012 is the International Day of the World’s Indigenous People. sign and send our postcard insert calling on the Bangladeshi authorities to make the land Commission fulﬁll its obligations, including allowing the Pahari to participate fully in all its work.

international justice

justice for victims of some of the world’s most serious crimes has come a long way in the 10 years since the international criminal court was established. amnesty international legal adviser jonathan o’donohue looks at the court’s triumphs and tribulations so far, and charts the challenges ahead. e have much to celebrate on 10th anniversary of the International Criminal Court (ICC) on 1 July 2012. Its very existence has given hope for justice to victims of war crimes,

genocide and crimes against humanity, and to their relatives. People planning to commit these crimes also have to think twice now, because they could be held accountable for their actions. The Kony 2012 campaign in April 2012 called for the arrest of Joseph Kony on charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes. The massive public response it generated showed how the ICC is now globally recognized and respected. On 14 March 2012, the ICC delivered its first judgement, convicting Thomas Lubanga of recruiting and using child soldiers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The Court is investigating and seeking to prosecute crimes in the Central African Republic, Côte d’Ivoire, DRC, Kenya, Libya, Sudan’s Darfur region and Uganda. It is also determining whether to open new investigations into alleged crimes in countries including Afghanistan, Colombia, Georgia, Honduras and Nigeria. Amnesty International first began lobbying for an ICC in 1994. The Rome Statute, which defines the Court and its work, was adopted in July 1998. Our members then pushed, alongside thousands of other organizations, for the first 60 governments to ratify, or sign up to it. This was the benchmark that would bring the ICC into existence. We reached our target in just four years. In 2002, the ICC became a reality. Today, 121 states have ratified the Rome Statute. But there are serious challenges ahead. Crimes under the Court’s jurisdiction have continued in many countries that have signed up to it. The ICC should be able to respond to crimes committed anywhere in the world. But this is very difficult, especially as the ICC is increasingly underfunded. The ICC’s focus on Africa has also led to criticism that it is biased. Investigations into crimes committed in six out of the seven countries in Africa were, in fact, initiated by those countries’ governments or by the UN Security Council. But it still begs the question: why hasn’t the ICC acted yet in Afghanistan, Colombia, Georgia, or Honduras? Many crimes are also being committed in countries that haven’t signed up to the ICC. The UN Security Council can refer such crimes to the ICC Prosecutor, but it has been politically selective in how it uses this power, referring Darfur and Libya to the ICC, but not yet Syria, for example. Of the 17 people who are the subject of ICC arrest warrants, only six have been arrested and surrendered to the Court. Sudanese

President Omar Al Bashir, for example, has been charged with genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in Darfur. But he has still been allowed to visit many countries without being arrested. The ICC depends on national authorities fulfilling their obligations to arrest suspects. But many are still choosing not to. The Court also faces internal challenges. Its current prosecution strategy severely limits the number and scope of cases it will pursue, giving rise to several problems. For example, the Prosecutor has been criticized for failing to fully investigate other serious allegations in the Lubanga case, including crimes of sexual violence in the DRC. This approach prevented many more of his victims from accessing justice before the ICC. The Court can never deal with every single crime in a situation where crimes have been committed on a large scale, as in the DRC. But it is still important that it investigates allegations in a way that reflects the overall pattern of the crimes committed. Amnesty International is working with the ICC, governments and partners to address these challenges. Through our Campaign for International Justice, we are pushing for even more states to ratify the Rome Statute. We are lobbying governments to properly fund the ICC and arrest suspects. We are asking the Security Council to refer other crimes, including in Syria, to the Prosecutor. And we are providing input on how the ICC could improve its prosecution strategy and achieve meaningful justice for victims. Following its first conviction, the ICC is now for the first time considering whether to order reparation for victims, aimed at addressing their suffering and helping them to rebuild their lives. This could make a real difference to people who have experienced terrible crimes. But it needs to be approached carefully to avoid disappointing people and their communities. Lubanga is penniless, so any reparation to his victims would need to be paid through the ICC’s Trust Fund for Victims. To make reparation to victims possible, the Fund needs regular donations from governments and individuals. To mark the 10th anniversary of the ICC, Amnesty International is urging governments to make regular donations to the Trust Fund for Victims – visit www.trustfundforvictims.org

act now

Follow our Facebook campaign for international justice at on.fb.me/NO1B5n Find us on twitter at twitter.com/#!/Cmpn4Intjustice 19 wire [ jul/aug 2012 ]

“THEY CAN’T BREAK US”

20 wire [ jul/aug 2012 ]

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“Without yo ur letters, your action solidarity, and your we would have not a moment”, c h ie ved this said Valen tina Rosen After you to do Cantú. ok action fo r Valentina Fernández and Inés Ortega, th e Mexican finally acc governme epted form nt al responsi their rape bility for and abuse b y M in 2002. exican sold iers “We would like to take to truly tha the opport nk you for unity all your su Valentina pport”, continued . “T o each on nomaá [th e of you: ank you].” Amnesty c ontinues to investigati call for an on and for those resp be brough onsible to t to justice .

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amnesty activists wrote letters to support 14 people and communities at risk during two busy weeks last december. together, we achieved an amazing total of over 1.3 million letters and actions around the world.

HU HOUSING IS A

Jabbar Savalan tiona l

Prisoner of conscience Jabbar Savalan was pardoned and freed within days of your letters arriving in Azerbaijan. The young activist had been imprisoned for posting anti-government comments on Facebook. “They may arrest us, but they can’t break us”, he said following his release. On 30 April 2012, Jabbar Savalan was conscripted into military service, despite being exempt in law as he is a university student. He was given just two hours to prepare for conscription, rather than the normal 10 days’ notice period. Amnesty is calling for Jabbar Savalan to be released from military service immediately so he can continue his studies.

your letters change liVes

we will continue to update you on all the people featured in the 2011 write for rights campaign. watch out for our 2012 letter writing campaign in the november/ december issue of wire. meanwhile, please continue to write letters for other people at risk by turning to the worldwide appeals in our insert.

good news & updates

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“You have ac companied us with lots sadness, it’ of s true, but es p ecially with kindness, lo lots of ve and deter mination th the whole of rough this year”, w rote Jean-C Roger Mbed laude e and fellow prisoners in message to a their suppor ters. The m detained in en are Cameroon’s Kondengui Prison solely Central for being hom osexual. “W you to never e ask give in to dis couragemen to never flag, t and but keep on ”, they said We continue . to call for th e men’s rele ase.

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Your letters are gradually arriving at Filep Karma’s prison cell in Indonesia, where he reads them and then passes them back to his family for safekeeping. We have been told that he is very happy every time he receives a letter. These messages show him that he is not alone, and that people around the world care about what happens to him. Your letters have also put pressure on the Minister of Justice and Human Rights, who visited Filep Karma earlier this year. Filep Karma is serving a 15-year sentence for taking part in a ceremony where a Papuan independence flag was raised. Dozens of other people are currently detained in Indonesia for their peaceful political activities.

YOU ARE NOT ALONE

Halil Savda at a Write for Rights event in France on Human Rights Day, 10 December 2011.

Jean-C la image ude Roger Mb pro e in Colo jected onto de’s a gne, Ge rmany. building

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people all oVer the world are taKing to the streets, the airwaVes and the internet to demand