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Riga Pride needs protection

Thu, 22 May 2008 15:49:28 +0100

To read more about Riga Pride 2008, please see:
http://blog.amnesty.org/prideblog/

A Latvian organization for the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people, called Mozaika, is planning to hold a Gay Pride event in the centre of Latvia’s capital, Riga on 31 May.

When similar events were organized in 2005 and 2006, they were either banned or inadequately protected against attacks from homophobic counter-protestors.

In 2007, a Gay Pride march celebrating the rights of LGBT people was held inside a park in Riga. It received adequate police protection, but was marred by large numbers of counter-demonstrators chanting homophobic abuse outside the park. Two homemade explosive devices were thrown into the park, where they exploded.

This year, Mozaika is again facing problems trying to organise the march. They have faced difficulties in obtaining a permit for holding a Gay Pride from Riga City Council. However, a permit has now been given to hold a Gay Pride on a major street in Riga on 31 May.

However, the Pride march is likely to be targeted by counter-demonstrators and the Pride marchers will need to be adequately protected by law enforcement officials.

Release Equatorial Guinea pastor

Thu, 22 May 2008 17:02:44 +0100

Reverend Bienvenido Samba Momesori, a Protestant pastor and member of an ethnic group native to Bioko Island, has been detained since October 2003 without charge or trial. Amnesty International considers him a prisoner of conscience, arrested solely for his peaceful political opinions and because of his ethnic origin.

Reverend Bienvenido Samba Momesori, in his mid-50s, married with four daughters and one son, is a pastor of the Church of Cherubs and Seraphs.

On Sunday 26 October 2003 he was arrested at his church in Malabo, the capital of Equatorial Guinea, on Bioko Island. He has been held without charge or trial ever since.

The authorities initially denied they were holding him, but after two weeks his family discovered he was in Black Beach prison in Malabo. Later he was transferred, apparently when the authorities heard that a Red Cross delegation was looking for him. The authorities again refused to disclose his whereabouts, but in December 2003 his family learned that Reverend Samba was in Evinayong Prison on the mainland.

Initially held incommunicado, he now shares a cell with fellow prisoner of conscience Felipe Ondó Obiang. His conditions of detention have improved somewhat since 2003. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is able to visit regularly.

However, following a visit by the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention in July 2007, family visits in all prisons have been restricted to once a month and last only 15 minutes. Because the prison is far from their home Reverend Samba’s family visit only every five months or so. Food provided by the authorities in prisons in Equatorial Guinea has increased, but remains insufficient and unvaried, so the family brings food, or money to buy it, when they visit. Prisoners often share their food with those who have no families to provide for them.

Reverend Samba’s family and the ICRC also provide medicines for his chronic ailments, as the prison does not provide treatment for any acute illness.

On 5 June 2006, President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo released 42 people in an amnesty to mark his 64th birthday. Those benefiting included prisoners of conscience and political detainees - most of whom had been imprisoned without charge or trial for over two years. Please aim at intensifying your work on behalf of Reverend Samba around that date.

Call for arrest of suspected Sudanese war criminals

Tue, 13 May 2008 17:48:03 +0100

Over 2.3 million people have been displaced in the Darfur conflict. More than 90,000 people are believed to have been killed as a result of the conflict, and over 200.000 are thought to have died from conflict related causes. Thousands of women have been raped since the conflict began.

On 27 April 2007 the International Criminal Court (ICC), an international tribunal, issued two arrest warrants against government minister Ahmad Harun and Janjawid leader Ali Kushayb. The two are suspected of crimes against humanity and war crimes committed in Darfur, including murder, rape and torture.

The Sudanese authorities have refused so far to allow Ahmad Harun and Ali Kushayb to be tried by the ICC.

Take action to ensure that persons accused of the worst human rights violations are brought to justice.

Pressure is on to elect strong and effective Human Rights Council

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 13:58:01 +0100

The UN General Assembly will elect, in direct and individual elections and by secret ballot, 15 new members of the Human Rights Council on 21 May 2008. The Council is the principal human rights political body of the United Nations.

All members of the United Nations have a duty to ensure that the Human Rights Council is a strong and effective body for the protection and promotion of all human rights in all countries. To achieve this, it is crucial that all states elected to the Council demonstrate commitment to the highest human rights standards.

Governments must put human rights at the heart of their decisions and vote only for those countries that are truly committed to promoting and protecting human rights.

Nearly 20 countries have, so far, declared their candidature to the Council and, in line with current practice, all candidate countries should now submit voluntary human rights pledges.

Amnesty International does not campaign for or against individual countries, but makes information available to Member States to help inform their voting in these elections. This information includes human rights profiles of candidate countries and an overview of their election pledges for purposes of comparison.

Governments are acting on our behalf in these elections and should be aware that the world is watching these elections in the hope that truly human rights committed members are elected to serve on the Council. You can help keep the pressure up by calling on your government’s representatives to the United Nations to vote to ensure a strong Human Rights Council.

Human Rights Council elections 2008
2008 Elections to the UN Human Rights Council. Prospective members of the Human Rights Council must demonstrate solid commitment to human rights

Call on Kenya's leaders to respect and protect human rights

Thu, 14 Feb 2008 13:35:37 +0000

Amnesty International urges Kenya's leaders to ensure the human rights of Kenyan people are protected.

An international day of public and online action this month will demonstrate solidarity with the people of Kenya and call on the Kenyan government to protect people from politically-motivated and ethnic violence.

On 27 February, people can show their outrage at the continuing human rights abuses in Kenya in a series of events organised by Amnesty International; including an online Facebook action and a series of street demonstrations.

The disputed election of 27 December 2007 sparked an outbreak of fighting and a series of grave human rights violations. At least 1,000 people have been killed so far, while more than 300,000 have been displaced.

Amnesty International's recent visit to Kenya found evidence of unlawful killings, the ethnically targeted forced relocation and burning of homes by armed militias, excessive use of force by security officials, sexual violence against women and girls, and violations of freedom of expression and assembly. Amnesty International has also documented death threats against human rights defenders and activists.

The death toll includes hundreds shot dead by police, who were deployed to quell the post-election violence and break up mass protests against the election called by the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) opposition party.

Subsequent violence has seen increasingly organised attacks by ethnic militia and youth gangs against people of Kikuyu ethnicity, which has led to retaliatory attacks by Kikuyu militias and youth gangs.

There is particular concern at the ethnic dimension to the political violence and its possible long-term implications for Kenyan society.

Amnesty International calls on the Kenyan government to protect the people of Kenya, many of whom have endured unrelenting suffering in the last two months. Kenyan leaders must end the cycle of impunity that perpetuates the politically motivated violence in Kenya.

Join the protest:

Amnesty International organizing streets demonstrations in the on 27 February. If you turned up to show your support...

Please send your photos to cold27south@photos.flickr.com

Kenyan victims of political violence speak out (26 February)
Kenyan activists receive death threats (1 February)
Killings continue in Kenya (28 January)
Kenyan police fire at protesters (18 January)
Kenyan election sparks political killings (4 January)

Rape: ever present danger for Darfur's women

Thu, 14 Feb 2008 17:14:09 +0000

"All around the camps there is not enough wood. But the Arab Jammala dominate the area and we daren’t go far out. If you are a man you will be beaten, if you are a woman you will be raped." – Internally displaced man living in a camp, 2007.

At least 2.3 million people have been displaced by the conflict in Darfur. Most of those driven from their homes and communities are now living in more than 65 camps dotted around Darfur.

Hundreds of thousands of people were driven from their home in 2003-4 in attacks that were accompanied not only by killing, but also by rape of women on an unprecedented scale.

Janjawid militias used rape as a weapon to humiliate and punish the communities they attacked. They often carried out assaults in public and abducting some women, taking them to militia camps to live for months in sexual slavery.

There are more women living in camps than men and the threat of rape remains rife for those who venture outside the camps. Many of the camps are surrounded by belts of deserted land with hardly a tree standing. Rapes are carried out on women who leave the camps to go to market or collect firewood. They are carried out by Janjawid militia, government soldiers, armed opposition groups and even by other displaced people.

One girl displaced during the conflict told of being raped by a group of men from the Sudanese army while collecting fire wood. When her brother took her to report this to the local police, the policeman refused to report the case and detained her brother when he questioned the procedure.

"The images of that day occupied my mind. I can’t say I have completely recovered. The shock is still terrible. I don’t trust the police and I never will trust them," said the girl to Amnesty International.

Most women raped in Darfur never report what has happened because it’s so unlikely that the perpetrator will be brought to justice that there’s little point in a woman harming her reputation and prospects of marriage.

Police rarely investigate cases of rape reported to them, while if the alleged rapists are members of the Sudanese Armed Forces, justice appears to be impossible. In some instances, it is the person who makes the complaint who is detained.

Send a seasonal greeting for Romani rights

Tue, 18 Dec 2007 15:23:03 +0000

Roma are one of the largest and fastest-growing ethnic minority groups in Europe. They are also the most deprived.

The persistent discrimination faced by the Roma community perpetuates their economic and social marginalization. They suffer massive discrimination in access to housing, employment and education. In some countries, they are prevented from obtaining citizenship and personal documents required for social insurance, health care and other benefits.

Roma are often victims of police ill-treatment, while their complaints are seldom investigated. Many Romani children are unjustifiably placed in "special" schools, where scaled-down lessons limit the opportunities to fulfil their potential. Romani children and women are among the communities most vulnerable to traffickers.

Ensuring equal access to rights for Roma must be a European priority. Almost 80 per cent of the total European Roma population (of about 10 million) live in European Union member states and aspiring member states.

European governments have the obligation to respect, protect and fulfil the human rights of Roma in the same way they would their majority – and other minority – populations. To improve the situation of Roma, the European Union must show strong leadership. It must develop a more comprehensive and cohesive approach to realizing the human rights of Roma and give guidance and assistance to its existing and aspiring member states.

Read more:

Slovak education system fails Romani children (Report Abstract, 14 November 2007)

Macedonia: Government's failure to address double discrimination against Romani women and girls (Press Release, 6 December 2007)

False starts: The exclusion of Romani children from primary education in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Slovenia (Report, 16 November 2006)

Demand the truth about student's disappearance

Fri, 30 Nov 2007 13:12:00 +0000

"Even today I think, maybe today, tomorrow, they will return my son to me … Every night he appears in my sleep and during the day I cry all the time ... That is not a life any more. For me everything came to a halt. I don't live; I just walk over the earth." - Bilat Akhmatkhanova, Artur Akhmatkhanov's mother

In April 2003 22-year-old Artur Akhmatkhanov was grabbed by masked soldiers and bundled into an armoured personnel carrier. He has not been seen since.

According to eyewitnesses, it was members of the Russian federal forces (FSB) who detained the Grozny student and human rights volunteer.

Amnesty International has been told that the following day, police and FSB officers collected empty cartridges and a blood-smeared cloth from the scene for analysis, but Artur Akhmatkhanov's family has not been told what happened to him or why.

A year after Artur’s enforced disappearance, the military prosecutor denied that the Russian military were involved, saying: "[N]o special operations for detaining citizens on the territory of the Chechen Republic were conducted, no citizens were detained and no one was handed over to the law enforcement agencies."

Artur Akhmatkhanov’s enforced disappearance is part of a deeply worrying pattern of ongoing human rights abuses in Chechnya and neighbouring republics in the North Caucasus. The Ombudsman in the Chechen Republic reported in 2005 that more than 2,000 people had "disappeared" at the hands of unidentified security forces in Chechnya. The Russian NGO Memorial estimates that up to 5,000 men, women and children have gone missing there since 1999. Amnesty International knows of only one conviction related to an enforced disappearance.

In June 2007, Amnesty International delivered 4,630 signed postcards for Artur Akhmatkhanov to the Russian Embassy in London with a copy of the report "Russian Federation: What Justice for Chechnya’s Disappeared?" An embassy official said he welcomed dialogue with Amnesty International and acknowledged that some enforced disappearances and abductions were the responsibility of the state. He said the concerns raised would be transmitted to Moscow.

Despite this the investigation into Artur’s disappearance has been suspended. Artur’s mother, Bilat Akhmatkhanova, has never stopped searching for her son.

End persecution of Falun Gong practitioner

Fri, 30 Nov 2007 12:17:21 +0000

"We must make efforts to create a harmonious society and a good social environment for successfully holding the 17th Communist Party Congress and the Beijing Olympic Games […] We must strike hard at hostile forces at home and abroad, such as ethnic separatists, religious extremists, violent terrorists and ‘heretical organizations’ like the Falun Gong who carry out destabilizing activities." – Zhou Yongkang, Minister of Public Security.

Bu Dongwei, a Falun Gong practitioner who worked for the US-based NGO, the Asia Foundation, is serving two and a half years Re-education Through Labour (RTL) at the Tuanhe facility in Beijing. What did he do? He exercised his right to freedom of religious belief. With no trial, he was sent to RTL for “resisting the implementation of national laws” and “disturbing social order”. The evidence was a verbal confession and 80 copies of Falun Gong literature the police said they discovered in his home.

Seven police officers detained Bu Dongwei in May 2006. His family learned where he was held three months later. They dispute the evidence against him and the claim by the authorities that Bu Dongwei decided not to appeal his assignment. Officials at the facility where he is held have asked Bu Dongwei’s family to contribute around 400 Yuan per month (US$52) towards his living expenses.

This is not the first time Bu Dongwei has been imprisoned for his beliefs. After petitioning the authorities to review their ban on Falun Gong in 2000, he was sentenced to 10 months RTL for "using a heretical organization to disrupt the implementation of the law". Amnesty International has been told that during RTL he was deprived of sleep, beaten and forced to sit in a small chair all day – all to make him renounce his beliefs.

The decision to assign a person to RTL is taken by the police, without charge or trial. People can be detained for up to three years, which can be extended by a further year when necessary.

Attempts to substantially reform or abolish RTL now appear to be back on the legislative agenda after being stalled for more than two years. But in the lead-up to the 2008 Olympic Games, Beijing police have used abusive detention practices such as RTL to 'clean up' the city.

Free imprisoned trade unionists

Fri, 30 Nov 2007 17:01:44 +0000

Two days after Tran Quoc Hien was chosen as spokesperson for the United Workers-Farmers Organization (UWFO) in January 2007, he was arrested. The legal consultant only took the job because four other leaders had been arrested before the start of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Viet Nam in November 2006.

The Vietnamese authorities allege Tran Quoc Hien "joined reactionary organizations through the internet", and that "[u]nder the guise of helping members of the public lodge petitions" he and his accomplices incited demonstrations and posted "distorted" articles on the Internet.

He was also accused of being a member of Bloc 8406, an Internet-based pro-democracy movement calling for peaceful political change and respect for human rights. On 15 May 2007, Tran Quoc Hien was sentenced to five years' imprisonment plus two years' probation. Amnesty International does not know where he is.

The four UWFO leaders, Nguyen Tan Hoanh, Tran Thi Le Hang, Doan Huy Chuong and his father Doan Van Dien, are believed to be held at B5 prison camp in Dong Nai province. Amnesty International does not know when they might be tried or on what charges.

UWFO aims to protect and promote workers' rights, including the right to form and join trade unions without government interference. The organization also calls for justice for people whose land and property have been unlawfully confiscated by government officials, and for an end to exploitation of cheap labour and dangerous working conditions.

Viet Nam does not allow independent trade unions. Peaceful dissenting activists and government critics face arrest, imprisonment, house arrest, surveillance and harassment.