Wire - for people who care about human rights by Wire magazine

FOR PEOPLE WHO CARE ABOUT HUMAN RIGHTS MARCH/APRIL 2012 VOLUME 42 ISSUE 002

 ON THE FRONT LINE: WOMEN IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA  WORLD HEALTH DAY

NO ARMS FOR ATRO CITIES ARMS TRADE TREATY – DECISION TIME

Welcome to Wire, Countries in the Middle East and North Africa are in turmoil. People across the region continue to fight for their liberties and their rights despite the brutality of the leaders who try to silence them. Amnesty international has been there from the start, with researchers documenting human rights violations on the ground, and members lobbying and campaigning around the world. On International Women’s Day, 8 March, we will stand in solidarity with the women of the region, who are demanding an end to discrimination and oppression (page 8). On World Health Day, 7 April, we will be calling for health workers in Syria, Bahrain and other countries, to be protected from attacks and abuse (page 4). You can be part of this too. Take action, make a stand.

Send your comments and suggestions to: Wire editorial and Publishing Programme Amnesty international international Secretariat Peter Benenson House 1 easton Street London WC1X 0DW United Kingdom

or email us on yourwire@amnesty.org

First published in 2011 by Amnesty international Publications www.amnesty.org © Amnesty international Ltd index: NWS 21/002/2012 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.

Yours, Wire team

Members of Amnesty International protest the 10th anniversary of the Guantánamo detention facility, Washington DC, USA, January 2012. Despite President Barack Obama’s pledge to close the facility by 22 January 2010, 171 men were being held there in mid-December 2011.

GettiNG Wire Would you like know more about Amnesty international’s campaigns or use WIRE for your own activism? WIRE is available to download online at www.amnesty.org. Cover photo: A soldier of the Chadian national army (ANt) in front of Presidential Palace in N’Djamena, February 2008. Amnesty international has documented arms transfers to Chad despite ongoing human rights violations there. © PASCAL GUYOt/AFP/Getty images

institutions are welcome to purchase copies. the price for six copies a year for institutions is £35/US$54/€41. Amnesty international sections can purchase copies for their own members. email us on wire.subscribe@amnesty.org or call +44 (0)20 7413 5814/5507.

CONteNtS

iNSiDe

tHiS Wire

A MeDiCAL eMerGeNCY Health workers in Syria and Bahrain are arrested and tortured for doing their job. Put pressure on the authorities to end this. LiSA SHerMAN-NiKOLAUS.

LeFt tO FeND FOr tHeMSeLVeS

PAGe 4

People in South Africa’s rural communities do not get adequate HIV treatment because of poverty and discrimination. MArY rAYNer calls for action.

ACt FOr WOMeN On International Women’s Day, support women fighting for an equal voice in the Middle East and North Africa.

PAGe 6

iN SOLiDAritY, iN DeFiANCe

PAGe 8

Find out how Amnesty International has been responding to events in the Middle East and North Africa.

NO ArMS FOr AtrOCitieS PAGe 12

Want an Arms Trade Treaty that protects human rights? Join the campaign, says rASHA ABDUL rAHiM.

PAGe 14

HUMAN riGHtS OUt iN tHe OPeN ANANDA reeVeS looks at a UN process that scrutinizes the human rights records of all its member states.

Wire iNterVieW African communities are fighting back against forced evictions. BriDGet BUrrOWS speaks to activists MiNiCAH OtieNO HAMiSi and PHiLiP KUMAH about a week of action for housing rights.

PAGe 16

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GOOD NeWS AND WOrLDWiDe APPeALS UPDAteS PAGe 20

ACt NOW

WOrLDWiDe APPeALS reAD, DiStriBUte, ACt See iNSert

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The

Agenda

News from Amnesty International’s regional teams and campaigns

Individuals at risk

Writing for Rights works Azerbajani activist Jabbar Savalan (pictured below) has been released from prison. He received a presidential pardon on 26 December 2011 after serving 11 months of a two-and-a-half year sentence in Azerbaijan. Amnesty members and activists took action on behalf of Jabbar who was sentenced on drugs charges after calling for a “day of rage” protest. His story was featured in WIRE and was part of the annual Write for Rights marathon. During the event, thousands also demanded justice for Valentina Rosendo Cantú (bottom right) and Inés Fernández Ortega (bottom left) who were raped by members of the Mexican armed forces. The Mexican government has now formally taken responsibility for the rape and abuse of Valentina. A second statement will be made for Inés.

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“The Syrian regime does not fear those imprisoned but those who do not forget them.” Razan Ghazzawi, exiled Syrian blogger page 8

Americas

Send socks to migrants

Image from What would you take? A film about Mexican migrants.

Migrants travelling through Mexico face abuse from the authorities and are kidnapped and attacked by criminal gangs. Charitable shelters along the route provide basic assistance, including clothing. You can show solidarity by sending a pair of socks to “La 72” shelter in Tenosique. The address is: Fray Tomás González, “La 72” Hogar Refugio para Personas Migrantes, Calle S/N, Colonia Estación Nueva, Tenosique, Tabasco state, Post code 86901, Mexico. www.sendsocks.org

Nigeria – LGBT rights under threat Lesbians, gay men, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in Nigeria could soon face up to 14 years in prison for being in a same-sex relationship. We are calling on Nigeria’s House of Representatives to reject the SameGender Marriage bill, which also criminalizes people who “witness”, “aid” or “abet” same-sex relationships as well as the registration of gay clubs and organizations protecting LGBT rights. http://tinyurl.com/nigeria-bill

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Asia and the Pacific

Afghanistan film banned

Africa

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Gulnaz, aged 21, received a 12-year prison sentence for adultery when she told Afghan police that she had been raped at the age of 19. Her story features in a new film about women prisoners in Afghanistan. The film has been banned from public release by the Office of the Special Representative of the European Union (EU) for Afghanistan, due to fears about the welfare of the women depicted. Amnesty met with EU representatives and the film maker to discuss the issues raised by the film, and is pushing for a law on violence against women to be effectively implemented in Afghanistan.

95%

of people in the Asia-Pacific region live in countries that retain the death penalty

Jahalin family in alMihtwish, Occupied Palestinian Territories, 3 November 2011. The Israeli army plans to forcibly evict and transfer 20 Palestinian communities from their homes in the occupied West Bank. The plan aims to relocate the communities, a majority of which are Jahalin Bedouin, to a site about 300m away from the Jerusalem municipal garbage dump. To help stop the transfer of one of the poorest communities in the West Bank, go to http://tinyurl.com/jahalin

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“The individual matters; the individual has a choice. Vaclac Havel… showed us that we can choose a better life, that we can be better.”

Jasmine, via Facebook, on the death of Vaclav Havel, former President of Czechoslovakia

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tHe AGeNDA

Up front

Thousands stuck in the desert

Europe and Central Asia

Middle East and North Africa

In a recent visit to Cyprus, Amnesty documented squalid conditions and limited medical and legal aid in the island’s migrant detention centres. Rejected asylum-seekers and migrants facing deportation can be held for months in the centres, where up to three people share tiny, draughty cells. One detainee claimed to be gradually losing his sight during four months in detention without adequate medical care. http://tinyurl.com/Cyprus-centres

A Saudi Arabian woman accused of “witchcraft and sorcery” has been executed by beheading. She is the second person in recent months to be executed for sorcery in Saudi Arabia; in September 2011, a Sudanese man was beheaded after an unfair trial. In December, the Saudi Arabian Supreme Court upheld the sentencing of six Bedouin men to have their right hands and left feet amputated for “highway robbery”. The men were allegedly tortured to make them confess to the crime. http://tinyurl.com/Saudi-16-12

Inside Cyprus’ detention centres

Cruel, inhuman and degrading penalties

300,000

estimated number of armed killings outside of conflict each year. Page 14

www.marcsilver.net

Campaigner Charlotte Phillips

Letters Want your views and comments to appear in WIRE? Write to us at yourwire@ amnesty.org

I met 17-year-old Omar (below) at Chucha refugee camp in Tunisia this December. Omar had escaped two armed conflicts, first in his native Somalia then recently in Libya, where he was viciously attacked and left unconscious. Chucha camp, a sea of white UN-supplied tents stretched out across the sands of the Sahara, is his home for now. He is there on his own and is partially paralyzed as a result of his injuries. A doctor in the camp who examined him found out that one of his kidneys was missing – no one, including Omar, knows exactly what happened. This was my second visit to Chucha. The camp, about 7km away from the border with Libya, currently hosts around 3,000 people – refugees mainly from Sudan, Somalia and Eritrea who fled the conflict in Libya last year. Ever since our first visit in June 2011, we have been campaigning and advocating on behalf of the people stranded in the camp and others who are stuck by the Egyptian border. For a year now, they have been waiting and hoping that in the not-so-distant future they will be able to leave the camp and start their lives again in a safe country willing to resettle them. This time, we returned to Chucha with two film makers. We wanted to document the realities of displacement, the effects of war, and the emotional waiting game that Omar and many thousands of others are forced to live through as they await a safe haven. As the footage from Chucha is being edited, we have every reason to be optimistic. There are signs that countries are beginning to pay attention, and that those governments that are best positioned to offer resettlement places could soon be persuaded to stretch out a helping hand. For Omar, who is still in Chucha, this could be a life-changing moment.

For more information, go to www.amnesty.org/refugees-and-migrants

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WORLD HEALTH DAY

A MEDICAL EMERGENCY

Nurses, doctors and other health workers are being assaulted, vilified, even killed for doing their jobs. Campaigner and registered nurse LISA SHERMAN-NIKOLAUS reports.

orking as a health professional has its risks. Over-tiredness, risk of infection and dealing with difficult or dangerous patients are some of the most common ones. But for many health professionals, the dangers are far greater: they risk harassment, arrest, torture, even death for treating or dealing with patients who are wanted by the government, or for advocating initiatives they believe will improve public health. In March and April 2011, dozens of health workers, including doctors, paramedics and nurses, were arrested in Bahrain. Many had witnessed, and criticized, human rights abuses committed by the government during the brutal crackdown on protests there. Forty-eight of them were brought to trial in two separate cases. Roula al-Saffar (pictured opposite page, left), former president of the Bahrain Nursing Society, was among those arrested. “On the second day of my arrest, they hit me on my face with an electric device,” she recalled. “I felt dizzy. I lost consciousness. Then when I woke up, another person called me a whore and insulted my family. One of them said, ‘We are going to have fun with you.’” Roula says she was beaten, slapped and was given electric shocks and her hair was cut off. In September 2011, she and 19 other colleagues, mostly from the Salmaniya Medical Complex, were found guilty of, among other things, occupying a government hospital, possession of weapons and stealing medicines. A military court sentenced them to up to 15 years in prison. Released on bail, they are appealing against their conviction before a civilian court. The case of the other 28 continues in a separate trial.

ATTACKED FOR DOING THEIR JOB In Syria, the authorities are blocking access to health care for people wounded during the protests that began in March 2011. While some health professionals have been implicated in human rights violations, many others are being threatened, detained incommunicado, tortured or killed for treating the injured. One witness at al-Birr wa al-Khadamat Hospital in Banias, in the north-west of the country, told us how a doctor and a 19-year-old nurse, both wearing green hospital uniforms, were singled out for treating “terrorists”: “Soldiers and security would come… and ask: ‘Where is the doctor? Where is the doctor?’ Then they

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would beat him very hard… They would taunt the nurse, saying: ‘Look how beautiful he looks, wearing green!’ Then I could hear a loud collision of the thick wooden baton against his body followed by [his] loud shrieking... As they hit him, they would say: ‘You were at the hospital, weren’t you? Treating the wounded, weren’t you?’” The nurse was arrested and remains in detention.

JAILED FOR HIV WORK Doctors Kamiar and Arash Alaei worked with people living with HIV and AIDS in their native Iran. Their work, focusing on the prevention and treatment of HIV and AIDS, particularly among injecting drug users, is internationally recognized. The brothers (pictured opposite page with green scarf) travelled abroad for conferences and training, and collaborated

WORLD HEALTH DAY

with US and other foreign institutions working in the same field. In 2008, the Alaeis were arrested, although neither was politically active, and imprisoned for “co-operating with an enemy government”. Held in solitary confinement in Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison and interrogated for four months, they were eventually allowed to participate in prison activities. Speaking to us in July 2011, Kamiar recalled, “It’s hard to be in prison, but as a physician, as a public health practitioner, we had the same responsibility [to educate on health]. So we continued our work by talking to other prisoners about their health, about HIV, about tuberculosis, about smoking and about general precautions.” In 2010, following calls from Amnesty International and other organizations, Kamiar was released, having served half his sentence, and Arash was pardoned and freed in 2011.

HEALTH WORKERS TO RIGHTS DEFENDERS

An ambulance worker points to a window smashed by security forces as the ambulance tried to pick up injured protesters, February 2011, Bahrain. Above from left: Roula al-Saffar, Kamiar Alaei, Arash Alaei and Binayak Sen.

Health professionals often command respect and trust because of their unique position in society as healers and confidants. In gaining the trust of the people they treat, and through documenting medical information, they see things that may be missed by others. In some cases, this means discovering and exposing the potential health risks of a product or new business development. In others, they see injustices in their communities and are spurred into action. They become advocates and activists. And in doing so, they become vulnerable to attack, harassment and abuse. Dr Binayak Sen (pictured above, right), a community health doctor in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh, has been in and out of prison since 2007. He worked with marginalized Adivasi (Indigenous) communities in the region, where security forces and armed Maoists have clashed violently over the years. Dr Sen was first arrested in 2007, shortly after he stated that people shot dead by the Chhattisgarh police in March that year were local Adivasis and not armed Maoists as the police had claimed. The prosecution also alleged that Dr Sen was collaborating with the banned Maoists because he made visits as a doctor to an imprisoned Maoist

leader, although this was with permission from the prison authorities. In 2010, Dr Sen was sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of sedition and conspiracy after an unfair trial. The Supreme Court granted him bail following pressure from Amnesty International and other human rights organizations in April 2011, but his case continues. For Kamiar and Arash Alaei, their prison experience and the support of Amnesty and other organizations have inspired them to take their work even further as advocates and activists. “Thanks to your efforts”, they wrote following their release, “we want to extend your advocacy by being the voice of the voiceless for others who may face a similar situation to ours.”

CAMPAIGNING FOR 40 YEARS For almost four decades, Amnesty has worked with and for health professionals worldwide to promote and protect human rights. We have worked to ensure that health professionals – whether treating the sick or wounded, defending the rights of their communities, or both – are protected from imprisonment, torture, disappearance, harassment and violent attacks. Governments must respect the role of health professionals as healers. As Dr Hani Mowafi, an Amnesty International delegate to Bahrain in February 2011, wrote “once we allow the provision of medical care to be seen as ‘giving comfort to the enemy’, an important refuge in modern society has been eliminated.”

ACT NOW

Demand justice for health workers in Syria by clicking on “Take Action” at www.eyesonsyria.org Read the Health Crisis report at http://tinyurl.com/syriahealth-workers Get updates about Bahraini health professionals and take action at www.amnesty.org/en/region/bahrain Find out more about Arash and Kamiar Alaei at http://tinyurl.com/freed-iranian-doctors

World health day is on 7 April 2012.

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WORLD HEALTH DAY

THE HUMAN RIGHT TO HEALTH Few topics in human rights have inspired as much debate as the right to health. Some say it is a right on par with freedom of speech; others claim that it is unrealistic and impractical. In this excerpt from his book The Human Right to Health, JONATHAN WOLFF outlines some key issues in the debate.

Reprinted from The Human Right to Health by Jonathan Wolff. Copyright © 2012 by Jonathan Wolff. With permission of the publisher, W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. Publishing in April, priced at £14.99. Views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily represent Amnesty International views or policies. The Human Right to Health is part of the Amnesty International Global Ethics Series. Find out more at www.amnestyusa.org/about-us/amnesty-50-years/ global-ethics-book-series

eing imprisoned for a lengthy period without trial, everyone would agree, is a violation of human rights. But it would be a joke, and not a very funny one, to assert that your rights had been violated by several months of unexpected foul weather. Is suffering from ill health more like wrongful imprisonment, or more like an inhospitable climate? After all, falling ill is generally assumed to be a matter simply of bad luck, unless, as it often is, it is a result of your own lifestyle choices. Consider Moleen Mudimu, who died of AIDS in Zimbabwe in 2006. For the last year of her life she suffered terribly; her flesh wasted away, and her body was covered with sores and fungal infections. The anti-retroviral drugs that would have restored her to a decent level of fitness and significantly prolonged her life were available in the pharmacy at the end of her road. But she had no money to buy them. In any case, purchasing power had been destroyed by the hyperinflation that has characterized President Robert Mugabe’s rule. Zimbabwe’s previously well-functioning health system had collapsed, and although free treatment was available to a few, demand greatly outstripped supply. So Moleen Mudimu died. She died, it seems, because of other people’s decisions – decisions about the pricing of drugs, patent laws, economic policy, national priorities, and international sanctions. These had structured her environment in a way that made it impossible for her to survive. Whatever the cause of her condition, it seems reasonable to say that Moleen Mudimu’s human right to health was violated. The International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) recognizes “the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health”, and calls on states parties “to achieve the full realization of this right.” But what could it mean to guarantee to all the people of the world “the right to the highest attainable standard of health”? Does everyone in the world have the right to the health and life expectancy of the Japanese, who as a nation currently have the longest life expectancy? And how could that be achieved?

In 2000 the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights set out how the human right to health can be approached in practice. The right to health, the Committee stated, is not the right to be healthy. However, the right to health is not merely the right to medical care, which is just one of the many determinants of health. Healthy living and working conditions, for example, are also vital. But what about states facing resource constraints? The Committee accepts that there may be legitimate reasons why a state may not be able to fully realize the right to health and has adopted the language of “progressive realization”. This means that a country must take planned and targeted steps toward full realization of the right, but cannot be criticized for not immediately achieving the highest standard of health for its people, if that is not attainable. However, the state does have “minimum core obligations”, meaning states must use whatever resources they have to supply essential primary health care. It may seem that these ideas flatly contradict each other. A very poor country may not be able to provide even basic primary care for all. But if it can do no more, what purpose can be served by accusing it of a human rights violation? In such cases, the Committee suggests the state should seek international assistance, and in signing up to the ICESRC wealthy nations have accepted their responsibilities to assist poorer nations in meeting their minimum core obligations. This raises one of the central philosophical and legal questions regarding human rights: who or what has the responsibility to meet those rights, especially when it can be very expensive to do so? The human right to health is now well-established in international law, although some elements need further refinement. In abstract terms it can be easy to lose one’s grip on what the right to health could be. It is more than the right to medical care, but less than the right to be healthy. But when we look at the experiences of real people such as Moleen Mudimu, it doesn’t seem quite so difficult to understand. © Cgtextures.com

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LEFT TO FEND FOR THEMSELVES

WORLD HEALTH DAY

hen we met Zanele (not her real name) in South Africa four years ago, she was going through a period of great personal distress. Her husband’s second wife, S’bongile (not her real name), had just died, having hidden her HIVpositive status from him and his family. Zanele cared for S’bongile during her illness and sought assistance from a support centre to help her cope. Yet, when S’bongile died, Zanele was blamed by her husband, his family and the community for causing her death. When she tried to discuss protecting against HIV infection in their relationship, he responded with anger. Although Zanele felt alone in her distress, her case was not an isolated one. Other women told us how discrimination and social stigma affected their ability to protect their health. They felt overwhelmed by the struggle to reach HIV services at distant hospitals because they had little or no income. Protecting their health was also difficult for those who couldn’t afford to buy food. Fearing abandonment by family or abuse from community members if their concerns or HIV status became more widely known, they asked to remain anonymous. Since 2009, the authorities have increased efforts to improve health services for people living with HIV. Access to life-saving antiretroviral treatment has expanded remarkably, particularly in local clinics. The increased ability of people living with HIV to maintain their health, along with stronger government leadership, have helped to reduce social discrimination. In 2011, during visits to rural areas to assess the extent to which these improvements had reached some of the poorest rural communities, we

concluded that the most vulnerable individuals still faced significant barriers to health services. The cost of transport, bad road conditions and the lack of food in poor households were the main reasons for this. In addition, some of the women we spoke to were still unable to protect their sexual and reproductive health because their husbands insisted on making decisions for them. Carers in these communities, some of whom are also directly affected by HIV, provide the most marginalized households with emotional support and access to state services. One woman, assisted by a carer, described to us how her young HIV-positive child “would tell [her] he wasn’t taking the medication without food, if there was no food he wasn’t taking it.” The carer helped his mother obtain a pension so that her son could eat. The impact of transport costs was an urgent concern raised by many carers. Zikhokhile Ntombela told us of one woman she supported who could not get to the clinic because she couldn’t afford the journey. “[She] is in a situation where death is imminent,” Zikhokhile said. Thandi Mdletshe described trying to find transport money to help people reach treatment centres. She explained: “If a person taking antiretrovirals stops, then starts again, [the drugs] are not as efficient as they should be.” Domestic violence is widespread and a difficult issue for carers to tackle. Thembi Xulu was Rural KwaZulu-Natal province, where women regularly care for those affected by HIV and AIDS. South Africa, June 2011.

assisting a very sick woman whose husband repeatedly forced her to have sex and refused to let her to go to a clinic. “He won’t really let her do anything that will protect her health.” In November, carers vividly brought these issues to the attention of local dignitaries and decision makers at an event co-hosted by the organization Senzokuhle and Amnesty in northern KwaZuluNatal. By portraying some of the sombre realities through photographs and testimonies, carers challenged the authorities to tackle the remaining barriers to health for women and the poor in remote communities. We can support their demands.

ACT NOW

Sign and send the postcard in this issue of Wire, calling on President Jacob Zuma to end discrimination that prevents women and others in poor rural communities from getting the help and protection that they need in ﬁghting HIV and AIDS. For more information, go to www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/AFR53/005/2011/en www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/AFR53/001/2008/en 7 MAR/APR 2012

South Africa has made significant progress combating the HIV epidemic in recent years. So how come many people, particularly women, in rural communities still don’t get the help they need, asks Researcher MARY RAYNER.

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY 8 MARCH

TAKE ACTION

FOR WOMEN IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA

D N A T S A E K A M SHOW SOLIDARITY WITH WOMEN ACTIVISTS IN SYRIA “Living in suspense of what may happen next is not easy. But we all know the price I’m paying is modest compared to others.” Exiled journalist and human right lawyer Razan Zaitouneh, October 2011

Mass protests in Syria began in March 2011. Many women played leading roles in organizing and supporting demonstrations calling for reform and for the resignation of President Bashar al-Assad. Some paid a high price for their activism, being arbitrarily detained, tortured and ill-treated. Today, many of Syria’s women activists are in hiding. Others have been forced into exile. Call on the President’s wife, Asma al-Assad, to show solidarity with women. Ask her to urge the Syrian authorities to guarantee and uphold the right of women human rights defenders to peaceful protest, and to ensure these women are able to carry out their work without political interference or hindrance.

Download and print the template letter at www.amnesty.org/womens-rights and get more information.

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INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY 8 MARCH

HELP FREE IRANIAN HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER © Amnesty International

“I know that you need water, food, housing, a family, parents, love and visits with your mother. However, just as much, you need freedom, social security, the rule of law, and justice.”

Far left: Yemeni activist Tawakkul Karman, centre, during an anti-government protest in Sana’a, Yemen, January 2011. Top left: Protesters marching to the Pearl roundabout in the capital, Manama, Bahrain, February 2011. Left: Amnesty activists in Belgium campaign for women’s rights in Egypt. Egyptian women were key to the “25 January Revolution which ousted Hosni Mubarak, but have since been sidelined.

DEMAND AN END TO DISCRIMINATION IN YEMEN “I see the great number of Arab women, without whose hard struggles and quest to win their rights in a society dominated by the supremacy of men I would not be here.” Activist Tawakkul Karman, December 2011

Tawakkul Karman is a leading Yemeni activist and one of three women awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on 7 October 2011. She symbolizes women’s central role in the region’s recent uprisings, when women Yemini protesters were harassed, arrested and sometimes beaten. As another means of silencing some of the women, their fathers, uncles and brothers also received threats. As Yemen begins to change, it is time to address the systematic discrimination and violence that have devastated women’s lives for many years.

Urge Yemen’s transitional authorities to work with women to end discrimination in law and practice. Get more info and act at www.amnesty.org/womens-rights

Human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh, writing to her children from prison

Iranian women activists have been paying a high price for their peaceful political activities or human rights work. In January 2011, Human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh was convicted of “propaganda against the system” and “acting against national security”. This was the result of her human rights work and her alleged membership of the Centre for Human Rights Defenders (CHRD) – an organization set up by the Nobel Peace Laureate Shirin Ebadi. Nasrin is serving a six-year prison sentence. She has denied all charges against her, including membership of the CHRD. Before her arrest on 4 September 2010, Nasrin had been warned to stop representing Shirin Ebadi or face reprisals.

Call on the Iranian authorities to release Narin Sotoudeh. Sign and send the postcard in the insert.

CALL FOR WOMEN SUPPORT WOMEN IN PROTESTERS TO BE RELEASED SAUDI ARABIA IN BAHRAIN “We are going to fight for our rights and there is “I was blindfolded and handcuffed. They beat me and gave me electric shocks. They threatened to rape me. They threatened to kill me so that I would confess to false accusations. I was sexually harassed and humiliated… Then the horror of the military courts started.” Bahraini woman, one of 20 health workers sentenced to up to 15 years in prison for aiding injured protesters

Thousands of Bahraini women took part in antigovernment demonstrations in February and March 2011. Dozens were arrested for gathering, speaking out and for anti-government slogans. Some were tortured, threatened with rape during interrogation and harassed. Many are still facing trial or serving sentences following unfair trials in Bahrain’s military courts (before they ceased to exist in early October).

Demand the immediate release of all women imprisoned for peacefully exercising their rights. Sign the petition at www.amnesty.org/womens-rights

no going back. The repressive and conservative forces should be the ones to fear us.”

Activist Samar Badawi, January 2012

Inspired by protests in the region, Saudi Arabia’s women activists have intensified their calls for change. Gender discrimination is rife in the country’s laws and traditions. Women cannot travel, undertake paid work or higher education, or marry without a male guardian’s permission. From June 2011, scores of Saudi Arabian women supported a campaign against the ban on women drivers by getting behind the wheel. Some were arrested and made to sign pledges not to repeat the offence and at least one woman was tried and sentenced to 10 lashes. In September 2011, King Abdullah allowed women to vote and run in municipal elections from 2015, and be appointed to the Shura advisory council. To support Saudi Arabian women’s campaign against discrimination, go to www.amnesty.org/womens-rights 9 WIRE [ MAR/APR 2012 ]

ÂŠ Amnesty International

DEFIANCE

MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA

with unprecedented energy and power – and AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL HAS succeeded in toppling the long-standing rulers of BEEN CHALLENGED, AS NEVER Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Yemen who, until 2011, seemed invincible. BEFORE, TO RESPOND EFFECTIVELY hadBahrain’s rulers, backed by Saudi Arabia, faced TO EVENTS IN THE MIDDLE EAST down the protests by force, at heavy human cost and deepening divisions, but have committed to reform, AND NORTH AFRICA. HERE, reparation and reconciliation. Syria is on the brink of AMNESTY TEAMS EXPLAIN HOW civil war as its President, Bashar al-Assad, is using relentless brute force to crush the protests. THEY WORK TO SUPPORT THE STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM AND AMNESTY IN ACTION As soon as the scale of the unrest became clear, JUSTICE IN THE REGION.

uring the last 14 months in the Middle East and North Africa, millions of people of all ages and backgrounds – especially the young and often with women to the fore – flooded on to the streets to demand change. Many continue to do so in the face of extreme violence by the military and security forces of those who claim to govern in their name. The protests have brought together people from many different ethnic and religious communities. After years of oppression, human rights violations, misrule and corruption, they have raised their voices 12 WIRE [ MAR/APR 2012 ]

Amnesty International went into “crisis response mode” and diverted resources to increase our monitoring of human rights developments in the region and step up our campaigning. Researchers and other experts have been visiting hospitals and morgues, inspecting prison and hospital records, and interviewing a vast number of victims of abuses and eye witnesses, government officials, local NGO representatives, health workers, lawyers, human rights and political activists, and many others. Because human rights organizations, among many others, were barred entry to Syria, our teams have been to Lebanon, Turkey and Jordan to speak to

people who had recently fled Syria. The Yemeni authorities denied us access to Yemen but we were able to closely monitor developments there through long-established ties with individuals and organizations based in the country. This and other forms of research helped us to verify many of the claims and counter-claims about human rights abuses, to publish reports and publicize on an almost daily basis some of the key human rights developments. The research also formed the basis for our global campaigning, advocacy and media work to support the demands of the people in the region for human rights change. Urgent Actions, which are global calls for action, have been issued every week on behalf of people at grave risk either because they faced a grossly unfair trial, or were in danger of execution or likely to be tortured, or because they disappeared. Press releases and news stories covering key developments, special features, blogs and videos are made available almost every day on www.amnesty.org, and translated, adapted and promoted through our national media and online networks around the world. Ahead of Tunisia’s elections for the National Constituent Assembly on 23 October 2011, we

MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA

Far left: Demonstration against human rights violations, France, October 2011.The placard says: “Syria: we are with you”. Centre: Amnesty in Tunisia demonstration outside the Constituent Assembly (old parliament) building, Tunis, November 2011. Left: Amnesty Global Day of action in solidarity with the people of the Middle East and North Africa, Germany, February 2012.

For ongoing updates on the Middle East and North Africa, go to amnestymena.posterous.com

published a 10-point manifesto for human rights. This challenged candidates to pledge to undertake key reforms, including reining in the security forces, reforming the justice system, combating discrimination, and abolishing the death penalty. Amnesty International campaigned for candidates to sign the manifesto, with Amnesty in Tunisia leading the lobbying work. In March, people around the world added their name to a petition entitled “Ensure Accountability for the Excessive Force Used and a Call for the Protection of Protesters” in Bahrain. In August, along with the release of the report, Deadly detention: Death in custody amid popular protest in Syria, an interactive website, www.eyesonsyria.org, was created to focus attention on 88 reported deaths in custody. In response to the deepening conflict in Libya, Amnesty International members called on both sides to respect human rights. Following the launch of our “Human Rights Agenda for Change” for Libya and the report, The battle for Libya: Killings, disappearances and torture, activists globally wrote to Libya’s National Transitional Council urging it to put human rights at the heart of institutional reform to ensure that militias do not commit abuses. In response to the brutal treatment of protesters in Yemen, we have highlighted the extent of the

human rights crisis in the country, notably in the report, Moment of Truth for Yemen, in April, and also focused on the supply of weapons being used to commit gross human rights violations against peaceful protesters. We identified at least 10 supplier countries – USA and UK in particular, but also Bulgaria, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Russian Federation, Turkey and Ukraine – and called on them to immediately suspend the authorization, supply and transfers of weapons, munitions, armaments and related material to Yemen. We campaigned with other organizations against a crackdown on dissent in the United Arab Emirates, in particular the case of five civil society activists who were sentenced in November after a grossly unfair trial to between two and three years in prison; they were released the following day under a presidential pardon. In relation to Saudi Arabia, when we discovered that the government was preparing draconian antiterrorism legislation, we initiated an online action enabling more than 28,000 people from around the world to call on King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud to bring the draft law into line with international human rights standards. We also issued a report in December, Saudi Arabia: Repression in the name of

security, focusing on a new wave of repression in the context of protests and counter-terrorism measures. Urgent Actions and statements were also used to call on the Iranian authorities to investigate the apparent excessive use of force during demonstrations, and to call for the release of prisoners of conscience and others who were arbitrarily detained. A bill in the Majles (parliament) that would have further restricted the operations of independent NGOs was sent for further study following an action against it. We also campaigned against a surge in the use of the death penalty, issuing in December the report, Addicted to death: Executions for drugs offences in Iran, and warning that, in the past, such increases had been followed by mass, often summary, executions of political detainees.

As events in the Middle East and North Africa continue to unfold, we will carry on documenting the violations and mobilizing our members and supporters in solidarity with the people who are truly “in the frontline” in demanding reform, accountability and real guarantees for human rights. 13 WIRE [ MAR/APR 2012 ]

0428 The Wire 14-15 v2_Layout 1 22/02/2012 10:30 Page 14

ARMS TRADE TREATY

In July 2012, member states will gather at the UN to finalize a global Arms Trade Treaty. We need to ensure that human rights safeguards are at its core and embedded in its language. RASHA ABDUL RAHIM explains how you can help make this happen.

60%

of human rights violations documented by Amnesty International in a 10-year sample involved the use of small arms and light weapons

26 million

people worldwide had been internally displaced as a result of armed conflict at the end of 2008

128 armed conflicts have led to at least 250,000 deaths each year since 1989

ÂŠ REUTERS/Buddhika Weerasinghe

14 WIRE [ MAR/APR 2012 ]

0428 The Wire 14-15 v2_Layout 1 22/02/2012 10:30 Page 15

NO ARMS FOR ATROCITIES D

id you know that there are more controls on the export of bottled water and dinosaur bones than there are on conventional arms? This absence of legally binding international standards to regulate the global arms trade has had an enormous human cost. Serious human rights abuses have been committed around the world using a wide range of weaponry, armaments, munitions and related material. Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed, injured, raped and forced to flee from their homes as a result. With an international Arms Trade Treaty finally in sight, we need to make sure that its language does not weaken its ability to protect human rights; the loopholes that currently dominate national, regional and multilateral arms control agreements must be avoided if the Treaty is to successfully prevent states from trading arms irresponsibly and with impunity. To ensure a sustained positive impact on human rights, the world’s largest arms traders – the USA, the EU (in particular France, Germany, and the UK), Russia, China and others – must agree common, legally binding standards that prevent irresponsible transfers.

A HUMAN RIGHTS ‘GOLDEN RULE’ We at Amnesty International, and other organizations, believe that a strong Arms Trade Treaty must include a “Golden Rule” to protect human rights. This rule would require all states to conduct rigorous case-by-case assessments of all proposed international arms transfers, and to prevent those transfers from going ahead where there is a substantial risk of their being used to commit or facilitate serious human rights violations. We have also lobbied hard for all types of arms and transfers to be included in the scope of the Treaty, and for its implementation to be robust and transparent. Ratification of the Treaty through effective implementation in national law will widen criminal responsibility on individual and corporate actors such as arms traders, brokers, shippers and financiers. It will also ensure penalties for those who violate the new regulations. Agreement on the Treaty will increase the likelihood of democratically

Look out for our updates and join our solidarity actions in the coming weeks, including our Global Week of Action from 11 to 17 June. Contact Amnesty in your country to find out how you can get involved. Let’s all help stop arms being used for atrocities and abuses. www.amnesty.org/campaigns/control-arms

2003

The Control Arms campaign launches and begins gathering support for the Arms Trade Treaty from over a million people worldwide. The Control Arms coalition hands over the “Million faces” global petition to the UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan. The petition urges states to establish a global instrument to regulate the irresponsible flow of arms.

December 2006

153 governments vote at the UN to start work on developing a global Arms Trade Treaty.

FINAL LAP IN THE RACE TOWARDS A GLOBAL ARMS TRADE TREATY

ACT NOW

TIMELINE

2006

elected assemblies, the media and civil society holding governments to account for exports, imports and international transfers of conventional arms, especially where they affect human rights. But the shape and content of the Arms Trade Treaty will also be determined in part by political manoeuvring. All states import arms, and most will transport them across their territory and export them to some degree. Amnesty has been working to promote the benefits of a Treaty that helps to protect human rights, and to ensure that its standards will be robust and enforceable. This month, we are launching 100 days of action to mobilize activists and raise awareness.

At the UN Preparatory Committee meeting in July 2011, states’ proposals on the Treaty were consolidated in the Draft Chair’s Paper. The “Golden Rule” is included in the text. At the UN Conference in July 2012 and in the weeks leading up to it, many member states will be pushing for a final text that contains “the highest possible common international standards” to control the transfer of a wide range of conventional arms. Some, however, will lobby forcefully for the text to require states to only “take into consideration” the level of risk of human rights violations, which means that they will have no legal obligation to prevent transfers when a serious risk exists. Without such obligation, the Treaty will be significantly weaker; weak regulation will not curb irresponsible arms transfers or illegal arms trafficking. Governments everywhere must support a strong Arms Trade Treaty with a human rights “Golden Rule” that will genuinely help to prevent serious violations of human rights. You can help them make the right decision.

CONTROL ARMS

2009

The UN General Assembly launches a timeframe for the negotiation of the Arms Trade Treaty. This includes one preparatory meeting in 2010 and two in 2011.

23 March 2012 ACT 100 DAYS OF ACTION Push for the inclusion of strong human rights rules in the Treaty.

A soldier in Colombo, Sri Lanka, November 2008. The armed conflict in the country has cost the lives of tens of thousand of civilians. Despite human rights violations, foreign governments continued to allow the supply of weaponry to Sri Lanka.

11-17 June 2012 ACT GLOBAL WEEK OF ACTION Speak out against the irresponsible arms trade.

2-27 July 2012 ACT DECISION TIME

Final Arms Trade Treaty negotiating conference takes place. 15 WIRE [ MAR/APR 2012 ]

ADVOCACY

HUMAN RIGHTS OUT IN THE OPEN A UN process is helping to put pressure on governments to sort out their act on human rights. Assistant Advocate ANANDA REEVES explains how it works.

n 2008, the UN Human Rights Council embarked on a new process called The Universal Periodic Review (UPR). One by one, over a period of four and a half years, the Council reviewed the human rights record of each of the UN’s 193 member states. The UPR gives the international community an opportunity to examine the conduct of governments that are otherwise secretive or reluctant to expose themselves to such public scrutiny. Regardless of how powerful a state may be on the international stage, regardless of its military or economic power, or how little attention it otherwise attracts, all states take part in the UPR. The new process can be an effective forum for building and cementing political momentum around important human rights challenges. When Nicaragua was under review in February 2010, more than 10 states raised concerns about the Nicaraguan government’s total ban on abortion. The ban makes no exceptions and applies even in situations where the life of the pregnant woman or girl is at risk, or where the pregnancy is the result of rape. Amnesty International members have been campaigning on this issue for some time and it has been a key part of our 50th anniversary campaign. Thanks to the UPR process, the debate about the ban has now expanded to include other UN member states. This helps to increase the pressure on the Nicaraguan government and sends a clear message to the other countries where similarly draconian laws violate the rights of women and girls. The first cycle of the UPR, which finishes this March, was also the first time in 20 years that Somalia has engaged with a UN human rights review process. The Somali delegation to the UPR represented Somalia’s Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and Puntland, a semi-autonomous region of Somalia, at the review in May 2011. The TFG was receptive to the recommendations that were made during the review. The challenge now is to encourage the TFG to follow up on its commitments to improve issues around armed conflict, weak governance and instability in southern and central Somalia. Amnesty International and other organizations will be closely monitoring its progress.

The UPR process is not without its pitfalls. Other member states make recommendations to the state under review and the interaction can be tense and sometime open the door for political manoeuvring. For example, states may shield themselves from scrutiny by lobbying friendly nations to highlight positive developments in the review. However, perhaps the UPR’s greatest strength lies in its potential to stimulate action on human rights at a national level – far away from the grand halls of the UN. For this to happen, the UPR needs to be anchored in an effective national process of reflection and forward planning to increase the protection of, and respect for human rights. Civil society has a crucial role to play, as do parliamentarians and national human rights institutions. For Amnesty International, the UPR also provides an opportunity to meet with government representatives and discuss concerns about human rights issues in their country. As important is our work to raise awareness and understanding of the UPR in many countries. We support and collaborate with local NGOs and other civil society partners in their engagement with the review process. Our Sierra Leone team, for example, held a “UPR clinic” for civil society groups in the country and facilitated the submission of information from nine other groups that had not previously worked with the UN. These are exactly the kinds of voices that need to be heard at the UN, so that the experiences of people in every part of every country can be reflected in the review. The UPR belongs to everyone – it is not the exclusive domain of suited diplomats in Geneva. Involvement by civil society is crucial to ensure that the UPR has impact at the national level. Everyone can get involved to make sure this new mechanism helps to bring real substantial improvement to the protection of human rights everywhere.

ACT NOW

Find out when your country is due for review by the UN Human Rights Council to time your action. For details, go to http://tinyurl/UPRcalendar Write to your government and urge it to consult with local independent organizations on human rights issues that need to be addressed in the UPR. Call on your government to uphold the commitments that it makes during the review. To find out more, go to http://www.amnesty.org/en/united-nations/universal-periodic-review.

16 WIRE [ JAN/FEB 2012 ]

THE ANNIVERSARY CAMPAIGNS WHERE ARE WE? WHAT’S NEXT?

ACT NOW

WE JAMMED THE FAXES FOR NORMA CRUZ!

HELP GET JUSTICE IN THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO

endured The people of the Democratic Republic of Congo have these of Most es. decad two horrific human rights violations for justice. want s victim the and gated, abuses have not been investi at: y countr Support activists in the www.amnesty.org/50/campaigns/international-justice

For five days in January, nearly 5,000 people jammed the fax machines of the Attorney General of Guatemala. Now the authorities can no longer ignore the death threats received by women’s rights defender Norma

ACT NOW SHELL: OWN UP, PAY UP, CLEAN UP

Oil spills ruin lives and livelihoods in the Niger Delta. Shell must thoroughly investigate and clean up the spills it is responsible for. Sign a petition telling the company to face up to its responsibilities in the Niger Delta. www.amnesty.org/appeals-for-action/shell/clean-up

security situation.

CHECKLIST

ACT NOW

JAM THE FAX OF THE AUTHORITIES IN MYANMAR

Cruz 5,000 faxes sent on behalf of Norma cted colle tures signa 250,000 petition to end executions in Belarus Thousands shone a light for justice

Myanmar Send a fax on behalf of prisoners of conscience in to send a tool fax online this straight from your computer. Use ar. Myanm in power in those of fax directly into the hands sion -expres dom-of ion/free for-act ppealshttp://www.amnesty.org/en/a

  

For latest news, info and actions on our 50th anniversary campaigns, go to amnesty.org/en/50/campaigns Follow the campaign on Twitter #amnesty 50 @amnestyonline

ress in Check prog faxia the Colomb n at jam campaig 0 /5 amnesty.org

SHINE A LIGHT On Human Rights Day 10 December, thousands of people in 83 countries shone a light to call for justice, for freedom, for dignity. Shine a Light activities took place in 83 countries including Thailand (right) and France (above) helping Write for Rights 2011 to become our largest ever letter-writing marathon.

Norma Cruz

Left: Shell workers near a broken pipeline, Bodo, Nigeria, 7 November 2008.

“I want to give my thanks to each and every member of Amnesty International... I hope that with this action, my own safety can be guaranteed, but also the protection of all girls that have been victims of violence.”

y Internat

Watch videos of the events: English http://youtu.be/f3TiKSBncR0 French http://youtu.be/emV5RjowyZI Spanish http://youtu.be/0aqhW3E8L20

ional (Pho

to: Panith

an Kitsak

ul)

n José

17 WIRE [ MAR/APR 2012 ]

HUMAN RIGHTS TALK

PEOPLE LIVE HERE: STAND TOGETHER WITH AFRICA’S SLUMS

18 WIRE [ MAR/APR 2012 ]

For many African governments, slums and informal settlements are a real nuisance – some standing in the way of big development plans and big money, others simply do not matter enough to invest in. So the authorities don’t pave roads, provide sanitation or build schools. And when it suits them, they force people out of their homes. Activists MINICAH OTIENO HAMISI (left) and PHILIP KUMAH (below) talk to Amnesty Campaigner BRIDGET BURROWS about the week of action for housing rights in Africa.

“M

y dream for Nairobi is to see a city which upholds the dignity of its people. [Where] people live in houses with water, with electricity, houses that are habitable.” Minicah Otieno Hamisi spent many years living in informal settlements in Kenya’s capital. As a founding member of the “Rapid Response Team” against forced evictions in the city, she knows that her dream could not be further from reality. On 3 December, Minicah and her team were called to Maasai, an informal settlement in central Nairobi. At 5 o’clock in the morning, before dawn, a group of men had arrived at the settlement and started tearing down the houses. The men, “thugs supported by thirty police officers”, says Minicah, appeared without warning. “I got there as soon as I got the call but they had already started”, she says. “We asked the police officer which authority had ordered the eviction. The contractor gave him a letter from the City Council of Nairobi. The reason for destroying these families’ homes was a through-way for a private home. [By the end], Maasai was completely demolished.” Forty families were left homeless. “For a week afterwards, many of them slept on the street with their children, and they had old people there. There was one old lady who was roughed up and needed medical care and could not move. It was horrible, really horrible.” The Maasai eviction took place even though the courts were still dealing with the case. Minicah and her colleagues confronted the police and the City Council, and got what they wanted: “On 10 December, the families got permission to return to

HUMAN RIGHTS TALK

Prince Peter (above), a former resident of Njemanze informal settlement, Port Harcourt, Nigeria, was among hundreds of people forcibly evicted from their homes in August 2009. “I feel like crying if I remember that day. There’s nothing left of my house. The postcards and messages sent are a hope to everybody. We are grateful because we have support from outside Nigeria. We have people out there fighting for justice, fighting for us.” their shanties. We mobilized people from other informal settlements to help rebuild structures. We have to help each other, it is all we could do.” When people are forcibly evicted from their homes, this kind of support from activists and other communities could be their only lifeline. Minicah explains, “It’s hard to fight forced evictions, especially when [you] are homeless.” She speaks from personal experience: in 1999, Minicah, her husband and their three-year-old child lost all their possessions when their home in Mukeuru Kwa Njenga informal settlement was demolished. “I cried my heart out that day. I thought, ‘how could someone do this to other humans? It was rage that made me first speak out.’ “When [the Rapid Response Team] arrive, people feel that someone is going to fight for them”, Minicah continues. Her team also meets with communities

and explains to them how to prepare when an eviction looms, and to raise awareness of their legal rights and the issues they might face. “Our vision is that the City Council include informal settlements in their plans”, she says. “Can you believe that the homes of so many people appear nowhere in their plans? And that the government adopt guidelines on evictions, so that when there is an eviction, it is about international standards and our constitution.” In Ghana, Philip Kumah has also been campaigning for an end to forced evictions in slums and for dignity and protection for people living there. He supports the government’s development plans, he says, but not at the cost of trampling on people’s rights: “The government should negotiate with residents. What we are asking for is a package of resettlement, upgrading or compensation.” Philip lives in Old Fadama informal settlement in the capital, Accra. “I’m a tailor, I work, I pay my taxes. All these people living in Ghana’s informal settlements contribute to the economy and what has the government contributed to us? No single road, no school, no health facility.” Three quarters of African people living in a town or city south of the Sahara live in a slum or informal settlement. These numbers are steadily increasing: figures show that soon, more Africans will live in cities than in villages – and most of them will have no option but to settle in a slum. The millions of people already living in slums are routinely ignored in city authorities’ budgets and plans. Governments in Africa are violating human rights by failing to adequately provide them with

essential services such as water, sewers, schools, health clinics, roads and police posts, and by forcibly evicting them from their homes. The way to bring change, Philip says, is for slum residents across Africa to join forces and work together. In August 2011, Philip joined an Amnesty International delegation visiting slums in Nigeria. “When we meet each other from slums across the continent and see our problems are the same, it makes us stronger.” Minicah agrees. “If there is a struggle in Nigeria, and they get support from Kenya, it puts extra pressure on the authorities. This struggle is not just my struggle, or my city’s struggle, but Africa’s.”

ACT NOW

In March 2012, Minicah, Philip and thousands of others in at least six African cities will come together to demand an immediate end to forced evictions and respect for housing rights. Join Minicah and Philip in saying ‘no’ to the trampling of peoples’ rights. Call for an end to forced evictions. Add your name to the petition and find out more about the week of action (17-24 March) on housing rights at www.amnesty.org/end-forced-evictions Centre above: Philip Kumah, here inspecting a demolished structure in an informal settlement in Accra in December 2011, is campaigning against forced evictions in Ghana. Right above: Residents rally to mark two years to the demolition of the Njemanze informal settlement in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, August 2011. Nearly 17,000 people were forcibly evicted from their homes at the time. 19 WIRE [ MAR/APR 2012 ]

ACTIVISTS RELEASED CHINA AND VIET NAM

Dear WIRE,

GOOD NEWS & UPDATES

Pro-democracy activists Huang Jinqiu (top left), from China, and Truong Quoc Huy (right), from Viet Nam, have both been released from prison early. Huang Jinqiu was serving a 12-year sentence for publishing political essays online, including plans to create a China Patriotic Democracy Party. Truong Quoc Huy (Worldwide Appeals, July 2008) was released from prison eight months early in December 2011. He was imprisoned for using the internet to call for peaceful political change and respect for human rights.

MYANMAR Prominent Syrian dissident Kamal al-Labwani (Worldwide Appeals, August-September 2011) was released on 15 November after spending six years in prison for his peaceful political opposition. His release was delayed by several days, a common tactic of the Syrian authorities that seems to be a final attempt to intimidate prisoners of conscience. A presidential amnesty announced on 31 May 2011 led to his 12-year prison sentence being halved. Subsequently, in August, an additional three-year sentence was overturned on appeal, leaving him to serve the remainder of his reduced prison term of six years. Kamal al-Labwani’s family are very happy and ask that their gratitude be passed on to all those who campaigned and wrote on his behalf.

AL-AMIN KIMATHI Kenyan human rights activist Al-Amin Kimathi was released from prison in Uganda in September. He was held for over a year after travelling to Uganda to witness the trial of six Kenyan terrorism suspects. All charges against him have been dropped. Al-Amin Kimathi spent almost a year in pre-trial detention, during which time the Ugandan authorities refused to provide him or his lawyers with any evidence against him. Ugandan authorities prevented Amnesty International delegates from visiting Al-Amin Kimathi on four occasions. “It’s a relief that Al-Amin Kimathi has been released, although it is long overdue”, said Michelle Kagari, Amnesty International’s Africa Deputy Programme Director.

20 WIRE [ MAR/APR 2012 ]

More than 647 political prisoners have been released in Myanmar as WIRE goes to print. At least 347 were freed between 17 May 2011 and 3 January 2012 and approximately 300 more on 13 January, nine of whom were prisoners of conscience Amnesty has campaigned for. Htay Kywe, Mie Mie (Worldwide Appeals, December 2008), Min Ko Naing and U Gambira were each serving between 65 and 68 years’ imprisonment for the roles they played in the 2007 peaceful protests. U Khun Htun Oo was sentenced to 93 years’ imprisonment for peaceful political activities in 2005. U Ohn Than was jailed for life in 2008 for holding a solo protest against the military government. Ethnic Karenni political activists Khun Bedu and Khun Dee De were arrested in 2008, along with a third man, Khun Kawrio, who has not yet been released. Myo Min Zaw was freed some 13 years into his 52-year sentence for distributing leaflets and organizing student protests. However Ko Aye Aung, who was arrested with Myo Min Zaw, has not yet been released. Myo Min Zaw was the longest-serving of the freed prisoners, at around 13 years. Most had served between three and five years of their exceptionally long sentences. We will continue to call for the immediate and unconditional release of other prisoners of conscience in Myanmar. Take action for Khun Kawrio in the Worldwide Appeals pull-out.

HAVE YOU WRITTEN A LETTER IN RESPONSE TO AN APPEAL IN WIRE? Maybe you have received a reply from the authorities or from an individual at risk? If so, we’d love to hear from you. Please send your stories and copies of any correspondence you have received to the address at the beginning of WIRE.

Dear Wire, received your magazine (Oct/Nov 2011) by chance. I was surprised when I saw that there was not a single word about the crim es, tortures and other human rights violations which have been occurring every day in Bahrain for nearly one year. You are not sincere in your job if you ignore such harsh crimes! Regards, M. B. A

WIRE: Amnesty has been following events in Bahrain very closely. Our reports, campaign digests, briefing papers and news stories are all available on www.amnesty.org. You can also read testimonies from people in Bah rain on the livewire blog, www.amnesty.org/live wire. In this issue of WIRE we show how Bahrain i authorities try to silence health workers and stop them from doing their jobs (page 4) and we call for support for women activists in Bah rain.

Dear all, lthough I am well aware that spac e is always limited, please do your best to continue to include snippets of "goo d news". Such uplifting stories go a long way towards helping us not to lose heart and mai ntain a positive frame of mind. M.B, Malta

WIRE: We could not agree more. We hope the good news in this issue (on this page , and also see our Agenda on p2) will keep you inspired.

The WIRE team reserves the right to edit emails and letters for clarity. Email us at yourwire@amnesty.org or write to the address at the front of the magazine.

ÂŠ Amnesty International

Amnesty International activists in Canada shine a light on the Niagara Falls on Human Rights Day, 10 December 2011. @ Scott Langley

‘WE HAVE TO HELP EACH OTHER, IT IS ALL WE CAN DO.’ HOUSING RIGHTS ACTIVIST MINICAH OTIENO HAMISI, KENYA (PAGE 18)