EC's Amnesty Int'l Urgent Action Letter Toolkit: May 2009

Saturday, May 30, 2009

UA Risk of Execution 5-30-09

To read the current Urgent Action newsletter, go to
http://www.amnestyusa.org/urgent/newslett.html
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For a print-friendly version of this Urgent Action (PDF):
http://www.amnestyusa.org/actioncenter/actions/uaa13509.pdf

29 May 2009

UA 135/09 Death Penalty

PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY

Shadi ‘Abdul Karim al-Madhoun (m) aged 28
‘Aamer Saber Hussein al-Jundiya (m) aged 45
Salem ‘Ali al-Jundiya (m) aged 40
Mo’men Hussein al-Jundiya (m) 37
Nasser Salamah Abu Freih (m) aged 28
Mohammed Ali Hassan Saidam, (m), aged around 36
Iyad Ahmed Diab Sukkar (m) aged 35

Amnesty International is gravely concerned that the seven men named above are at risk of execution. They were sentenced to death by military courts operating under the jurisdiction of the Hamas de-facto administration in Gaza, where proceedings do not meet international standards for fair trial.

The men have been convicted of various crimes including kidnapping, murder, political killings and of “collaboration” with the Israeli army resulting in killings of fellow Palestinians. Shadi ‘Abdul Karim al-Madhoun was sentenced on 24 May 2009 for kidnapping and murder. ‘Aamer Saber Hussein al-Jundiya, Salem ‘Ali al-Jundiya and Mo’men Hussein al-Jundiya were also sentenced on 10 March 2009 for kidnapping and murder. Nasser Salamah Abu Freih was sentenced on 22 February for “collaboration” with the Israeli army. Mohammed Ali Hassan Saidam was sentenced on 16 December 2008 for the same reason; as was Iyad Ahmed Diab Sukkar, who was sentenced on 20 July 2008.

Several defendants have been convicted under provisions of the 1979 Revolutionary Penal Code of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). This code was never ratified by the elected legislative authority, the Palestinian
Legislative Council (PLC, the parliament). It is therefore not part of Palestinian law according to the Basic Law which serves as the Constitution.

Under Palestinian Law, the death sentences must be ratified by the Palestinian Authority (PA) President before they can be carried out. However, the Hamas de-facto administration, which has been ruling Gaza since June 2007 and which remains in conflict with the West-Bank based PA caretaker government of PA President Mahmoud Abbas, has announced that it is establishing a committee composed of legal advisors and officials in the Hamas Ministry of Justice who will be responsible for ratifying death sentences in Gaza. If this committee decides to ratify these sentences, the men could be executed at any time.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The last known executions in Gaza were carried out in June and July 2005, prior to the establishment of the Hamas de-facto administration in Gaza. Four men were hanged in Gaza central prison and one was killed by firing squad in the Police headquarters in Gaza City. All five had been convicted of murder in earlier years, some by the State Security Court which has since been abolished.

The PA has jurisdiction over Gaza and parts of the West Bank, which make up the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) and are under Israeli military occupation. However, inter-Palestinian factional violence and tensions between the two main Palestinian political parties Fatah and Hamas which won the last parliamentary elections in 2006, has resulted in a situation where since June 2007, the West Bank has been governed by a PA caretaker government appointed by PA President Mahmoud Abbas and Gaza has been governed by a Hamas de-facto administration led by Isma’il Haniyeh.

Since then, PA President Abbas suspended operations of PA security forces and judicial institutions in Gaza, creating a legal and institutional vacuum there. Hamas responded by creating a parallel law enforcement and judicial apparatus. These however lack appropriately trained personnel, accountability mechanisms or safeguards.

RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible:
- urging the Hamas de-facto administration to ensure that these death sentences are not carried out, nor any other death sentences imposed in earlier years;
- expressing concern at the establishment of a legal committee vested with the authority to ratify death sentences;
- acknowledging that it is the right and responsibility of the Hamas administration to bring to justice those suspected of criminal offenses, but pointing out that no convincing evidence has ever been produced that the death penalty is a more effective deterrent than any other punishment.

APPEALS TO:

Isma’il Abd al Salam Ahmad Haniyeh
Prime Minister
Hamas de-Facto Administration in Gaza
Fax: 011 972 8 288 4815 OR 011 972 8 288 4493
Online contact link:
http://www.pmo.gov.ps/index.php?option=com_contact&view=contact&id=1&Itemid=79
Salutation: Dear Mr Haniyeh

Muhammad Faraj al-Ghoul
Acting Minister of Justice
Hamas de-Facto Administration in Gaza
Fax: 011 970 8 2880103
Online contact link:
http://www.moj.ps/index.php?option=com_contact&Itemid=3
Salutation: Dear Mr al-Ghoul

Dr Mahmoud Khaled Zahar
Foreign Minister
Hamas de-Facto Administration in Gaza
Fax: 011 972 8 286 8971 OR 011 970 8 286 8971
Salutation: Dear Dr Zahar

Mr Fathi Ahmad Muhammad Hammad
Minister of the Interior
Hamas de-Facto Administration in Gaza
Fax: 011 972 8 288 1994
Email: info@moi.gov.ps
Salutation: Dear Mr Fathi Ahmad Muhammad Hammad

COPIES TO:

Tahar al-Nunu,
Spokesperson, Hamas de-Facto Administration in Gaza
Email: gazanews@hotmail.com

Head of Mission Dr. Nabil Abuznaid
Palestine Liberation Organization Office
1320 18th St NW Suite 200
Washington, DC 20036
Fax: 1 202 974 6278
Email: plomission1@aol.com OR palmission@aol.com

PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY.
Check with the AIUSA Urgent Action office if sending appeals after 10 July 2009.

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Amnesty International is a worldwide grassroots movement that promotes and defends human rights.

This Urgent Action may be reposted if kept intact, including contact information and stop action date (if applicable). Thank you for your help with this appeal.

Urgent Action Network
Amnesty International USA
600 Pennsylvania Ave SE 5th fl
Washington DC 20003
Email: uan@aiusa.org
http://www.amnestyusa.org/urgent/
Phone: 202.544.0200
Fax: 202.675.8566
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END OF URGENT ACTION APPEAL
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Thursday, May 28, 2009

UA Imminent Execution 5-28-09

28 May 2009

UA 134/09 - Death penalty/Fear of imminent execution

IRAQ 12 people, names not known

According to Iraqi media citing a spokesman from the Iraqi Supreme Judicial Council, 12 people under sentence of death had their sentences upheld by the Cassation Court. Their cases will be referred to Iraq's Presidential Council for ratification, after which they could be executed at any time.

No further details were given except that 10 of those facing execution were sentenced to death by al-Najaf criminal court under Article 1(4) of the 2005 Anti-Terrorism Law and two others were sentenced to death by Babel and Basra criminal courts for murder.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The death penalty was suspended in 2003 while Iraq was under occupation by a US-led coalition. However, since its reintroduction by the Iraqi government in August 2004, hundreds of people have been sentenced to death and scores have been executed. At least 65 people were put to death in 2006 alone, many of them after unfair trials.

In 2007 at least 199 people were sentenced to death and 33 were executed, and in 2008 at least 285 people were sentenced to death and at least 34 executed. The totals could be much higher as there are no official figures for the number of prisoners facing execution and the Iraqi press’s reporting of death sentences is erratic at best. The Presidential Council, which ratifies death sentences, is composed of the President and the two Vice-Presidents.

On 9 March 2009 the Iraqi Supreme Judicial Council confirmed to Amnesty International that Iraq’s Presidential Council had ratified the death sentences of 128 people, 12 of whom were executed on 3 May.

On 6 May 2009 the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) issued a statement expressing concern at the execution of the 12 people on 3 May and urging the Iraqi authorities to implement a moratorium on executions.

RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible:
- expressing concerns at reports that the Cassation Court has upheld the death sentences imposed on 12 people;
- requesting details of their full names and the charges against them;
- urging the authorities to commute these and all other death sentences;
- calling on them to establish a moratorium on executions.

APPEALS TO:

Please send appeals via the Iraqi embassy, asking them to forward your appeals to the officials below

Ambassador Samir Shakir Mahmood Sumaida'ie
Embassy of the Republic of Iraq
3421 Massachusetts Ave NW
Washington DC 20007
email: amboffice@iraqiembassy.org
fax: 1 202 462 5066
phone: 202 742 1600 EXT 136

President
Jalal Talabani
Salutation: Your Excellency

Vice-President
Tariq al-Hashimi
Salutation: Your Excellency

Vice-President
'Adil 'Abdul Mahdi
Salutation: Your Excellency

COPIES TO:

Nuri Kamil al-Maliki
Salutation: Your Excellency

Minister of Foreign Affairs
Hoshyar Zebari
Salutation: Your Excellency

Minister of Human Rights
Wajdan Mikhail Salam
Fax: 011 9641 538 2007
Salutation: Your Excellency

PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY.
Check with the AIUSA Urgent Action office if sending appeals after 9 July.

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Tip of the Month:
Use shortcuts: Do whatever is necessary to make your letter
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will not be put off and they can be sent out sooner. Start
by making a generic file for each type of concern;
paragraphs on torture, the death penalty, disappearances,
denial of medical care and so on, can be copied into your
working file and edited as needed.

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Amnesty International is a worldwide grassroots movement
that promotes and defends human rights.

This Urgent Action may be reposted if kept intact, including
contact information and stop action date (if applicable).
Thank you for your help with this appeal.

Urgent Action Network
Amnesty International USA
600 Pennsylvania Ave SE 5th fl
Washington DC 20003
Email: uan@aiusa.org
http://www.amnestyusa.org/urgent/
Phone: 202.544.0200
Fax: 202.675.8566

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END OF URGENT ACTION APPEAL
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Tuesday, May 19, 2009

UA May 19, 2009

18 May 2009

Further Information on UA 114/09 (29 April 2009) - Prisoner of conscience

IRAN Maryam Malek (f) aged 26

Maryam Malek was released on 29 April 2009 after five days in detention. Her bail had been set at 200 million rials (about US$20,000), but her family could not afford this amount. She was released instead with a third party guaranteeing her bail.

Maryam Malek is likely to face trial in the future, as she has been charged under vaguely-worded provisions, including Article 499 ("propaganda against the system") and Article 500 ("membership of an organization aimed at harming national security") of the Penal Code. Such charges fall short of internationally recognizable criminal offenses but were made in connection with her membership of and activities for the Campaign for Equality, which is also known as the One Million Signatures campaign.

Maryam Malek is a student and journalist who reports on cases that are heard in the family courts. Her house was searched on 22 April 2009 by three security officials who confiscated books, papers, CDs, her computer and materials relating to the Campaign for Equality. On 23 April, she was issued with a summons to report to the Security Police station.

Maryam Malek reported to Branch 14 of the Security Police on 25 April and was interrogated for several hours, and then arrested with a temporary arrest warrant. She was held overnight in the Vozara detention centre in Tehran. The following day she was interrogated again by the Security Police, before being transferred to Branch 2 of the Revolutionary Court in Tehran, where she was charged. The day before her release, she was transferred to Section 209 of Evin Prison, which is controlled by the Ministry of Intelligence, and interrogated again.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The Campaign for Equality, also known as the One Million Signatures Campaign, launched in 2006, is a grassroots initiative composed of a network of people committed to ending discrimination against women in Iranian law. The Campaign gives basic legal training to volunteers, who travel around the country promoting their work. They talk with women in their homes, as well as in public places, telling them about their rights and the need for legal reform. The volunteers seek to collect one million signatures of Iranian nationals for a petition demanding an end to legal discrimination against women in Iran. Dozens of the Campaign’s activists have been arrested or harassed for their activities for the Campaign for Equality, some while collecting signatures for the petition.

Most recently, Parastou Alahyari was sentenced to one year's imprisonment on 25 April 2009 for "propaganda against the system" in connection with her peaceful activities for the Campaign for Equality. She is awaiting the outcome of her appeal to find out if she will have to serve her sentence.

RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible:
- welcoming the release of Maryam Malek;
- urging the authorities to drop all charges against her, as if she were to be imprisoned, Amnesty International would consider her to be a prisoner of conscience solely detained for the peaceful exercise of her right to freedom of expression and association;
- reminding the authorities that the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to which Iran is a state party guarantees the rights to freedom of expression and association.

APPEALS TO:

Head of the Judiciary
Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi
c/o Director, Judiciary Public Relations and Information Office
Ardeshir Sadiq
Judiciary Public Relations and Information Office
No. 57, Pasteur St., corner of Khosh Zaban Avenue
Tehran
ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN
Email: info@dadiran.ir (In the subject line write: FAO Ayatollah Shahroudi)
Salutation: Your Excellency

Leader of the Islamic Republic
Ayatollah Sayed 'Ali Khamenei
The Office of the Supreme Leader
End of Shahid Keshvar Doust Street
Islamic Republic Street
Tehran
ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN
Email: http://www.leader.ir/langs/en/index.php?p=letter
Salutation: Your Excellency

COPIES TO:

President
His Excellency Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
The Presidency
Palestine Avenue, Azerbaijan Intersection
Tehran
ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN
Fax: 011 98 21 6 649 5880
Email: http://www.president.ir/en/president/email/index.php

Director, Human Rights Headquarters of Iran
Mohammad Javad Larijani
Office of the Head of the Judiciary
Pasteur St, Vali Asr Ave., south of Serah-e Jomhuri
Tehran 1316814737
ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN
Fax: 011 98 21 3390 4986 (please keep trying)
Email: info@dadiran (In the subject line write: FAO Mohammad Javad Larijani)
Salutation: Dear Mr Larijani

Iran does not presently have an embassy in the United States. Instead, please send copies to:

Iranian Interests Section
Embassy of Pakistan
2209 Wisconsin Ave NW
Washington DC 20007
Phone: 202 965 4990
Fax: 202 965 1073
Email: requests@daftar.org

PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY.
Check with the AIUSA Urgent Action office if sending appeals after 29 June 2009.

----------------------------------
Tip of the Month:
Write as soon as you can. Try to write as close as possible to the date a case is issued.

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Amnesty International is a worldwide grassroots movement that promotes and defends human rights.

This Urgent Action may be reposted if kept intact, including contact information and stop action date (if applicable). Thank you for your help with this appeal.

Urgent Action Network
Amnesty International USA
600 Pennsylvania Ave SE 5th fl
Washington DC 20003
Email: uan@aiusa.org
http://www.amnestyusa.org/urgent/
Phone: 202.544.0200
Fax: 202.675.8566
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END OF URGENT ACTION APPEAL
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Friday, May 15, 2009

UA May 15, 2009

URGENT ACTION APPEAL
- From Amnesty International USA

To read the current Urgent Action newsletter, go to
http://www.amnestyusa.org/urgent/newslett.html
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For a print-friendly version of this Urgent Action (PDF):
http://www.amnestyusa.org/actioncenter/actions/uaa12709.pdf

15 May 2009

UA 127/09 Fear for safety

COLOMBIA

Aida Quilcue (f), leader of Indigenous rights organization Consejo Regional Indigena del Cauca (CRIC),
Cauca Indigenous Regional Council
Her daughter, aged 12
Other CRIC members

Indigenous leader Aida Quilcue, who has been receiving protection ordered by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights since her husband was killed by soldiers in December 2008, is still in grave danger. Her 12-year-old daughter was threatened at gunpoint outside her house on 11 May. She, her daughter and other members of the organization she leads, the Consejo Regional Indigena del Cauca (CRIC), Cauca Indigenous Regional Council, are in grave danger.

Aida Quilcue’s daughter was standing outside her house, in the hamlet of Clarete, municipality of Popayan, in the south-western department of Cauca, when she saw a car slowly approaching her. The car, with four men inside wearing civilian clothes, stopped in front of her. The man in the passenger seat pointed a gun at her; the driver told him to put the gun away because people were looking. Aida Quilcue’s daughter ran into the house to tell the members of the Indigenous Guard, who were keeping watch on her, what happened. The Indigenous Guard are a non-violent, organized group of Indigenous volunteers in charge of organizing the protection of Indigenous communities from armed actors. The car then slowly moved off and stopped 30 meters away: the men inside looked back at the house, and then the car sped away.

Aida Quilcue’s husband, Edwin Legarda, was fatally wounded when soldiers fired at the vehicle he was traveling in to collect her from the city of Popayan in Cauca Department. Edwin Legarda died in hospital: 17 bullet holes were found in the car. Aida Quilcue had been returning from Geneva, after attending the Human Rights Council’s (HRC) Universal Periodic Review session on Colombia. At the HRC she had publicly raised concerns about human rights violations against Indigenous Peoples, including killings by the Colombian security forces. In Colombia, she had also played a prominent role in recent demonstrations by Indigenous People in support of land rights and in protest at human rights violations.

In April 2009 seven soldiers, including two junior officers, were arrested by judicial police investigating the killing of Edwin Legarda.

In response to the killing of Edwin Legarda, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights of the Organization of American States issued an order to the Colombian authorities on 14 January to provide protection to Aida Quilcue and 32 other members of the CRIC. The Colombian authorities have provided Aida Quilcue with security measures. Despite this, she and her family, and the other members of CRIC, are still in danger. Men have been seen watching and following them.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Colombia is home to dozens of distinct Indigenous Peoples. They are at particular risk from human rights abuses associated with Colombia’s long-running armed conflict, including threats, killings and forced displacement. They are particular risk of attack largely because many .live in areas where the conflict is most intense and which are rich in biodiversity, minerals and oil. Many Indigenous leaders have been threatened and killed by the parties to the conflict – the security forces, paramilitaries and guerrilla groups.

RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible:
- calling on the authorities to take effective action to protect Aida Quilcue, her daughter and other members of the Consejo Regional Indigena del Cauca, in accordance with their wishes;
- calling on the authorities to order full and impartial investigations into the 11 May threat against the life of Aida Quilcue’s 12-year-old daughter, publish the results and bring those responsible to justice;
- calling on them to continue with the investigation into the killing of Edwin Legarda, making sure that it is thorough and independent, identifies all those responsible and brings them to justice;
- calling on the authorities to produce policy and plans, in conjunction with human rights defenders, to guarantee their safety according to the principles of the UN Declaration on the Rights and Responsibilities of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, and to make these plans public.

APPEALS TO:

Vice-President
Dr. Francisco Santos Calderon
Vicepresidencia,
Carrera 8A No 7-27,
Bogota, COLOMBIA
Fax: 011 57 1 565 7682 (Ask: “me da tono de fax por favor”)
Salutation: Dear Vice-president Santos/Estimado Sr. Vicepresidente Santos

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Colombia
Dr. Jaime Bermudez Merizalde
Calle 10 No 5-51,
Palacio de San Carlos,
Bogota, COLOMBIA
Fax: 011 57 1 562 7822
Salutation: Dear Dr Bermudez/Estimado Dr. Bermudez

Attorney General
Dr. Mario German Iguaran Arana
Fiscal General de la Nacion,
Fiscalia General de la Nacion
Diagonal 22B (Av. Luis Carlos Galan No. 52-01) Bloque C,
Piso 4,
Bogota, COLOMBIA
Fax: 011 57 1 570 2000 (A message in Spanish will ask you to enter extension 2017)
Salutation: Dear Mr Iguaran/Estimado Sr. Fiscal

COPIES TO:

Colombian Indigenous NGO
Consejo Regional Indigena del Cauca (CRIC)
Calle 1 No4-50, Popayan
Departamento del Cauca
Cauca, COLOMBIA

Ambassador Maria Carolina Barco Isakson
Embassy of Colombia
1101 17th St, NW
Washington DC 20036
Fax: 1 202 332 7180
Email: cwashington@cancilleria.gov.co

PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY.
Check with the AIUSA Urgent Action office if sending appeals after 26 June 2009.

----------------------------------
Tip of the Month:
Write as soon as you can. Try to write as close as possible to the date a case is issued.

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Within the United States:
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$0.75 - Airmail Letters and Cards (up to 1 oz.)
To Mexico:
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Amnesty International is a worldwide grassroots movement that promotes and defends human rights.

This Urgent Action may be reposted if kept intact, including contact information and stop action date (if applicable). Thank you for your help with this appeal.

Urgent Action Network
Amnesty International USA
600 Pennsylvania Ave SE 5th fl
Washington DC 20003
Email: uan@aiusa.org
http://www.amnestyusa.org/urgent/
Phone: 202.544.0200
Fax: 202.675.8566
----------------------------------
END OF URGENT ACTION APPEAL
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Monday, May 11, 2009

Opportunity May 14th! RSVP Required!

Daniel Rothenberg, Managing Director of International Projects at the
International Human Rights Law Institute in DePaul University's College of
Law, will be visiting my course this Thursday, May 14th at 12:50. Interested
students are invited to attend. RSVPs to sifferdk@elmhurst.edu are REQUIRED.
Space is limited.

Previously, Daniel was a senior fellow at the Orville H. Schell, Jr. Center
for International Human Rights at Yale Law School, an assistant professor in
the department of anthropology at the University of Michigan, a visiting
professor at the University of Michigan Law School, and a fellow in the
Michigan Society of Fellows. He works on transitional justice issues,
particularly truth commissions, amnesty laws, tribunals, and reparations. He
is the author of With These Hands and editor of the forthcoming Guatemala:
Memory of Silence, a one-volume critical version of the Guatemalan Truth
Commission report.

On Tuesday Daniel will be talking about rule of law reform in Afghanistan.

Daniel also directs DePaul's testimony collection projects in Iraq, known as
the Iraq History Project and the Current Violations in Iraq Project.
Together, the projects represent one the largest independent human rights
data collection and analysis projects in the world. I'm sure he'll be
willing to discuss this project with students.

Click on the following link to hear Daniel talk about this project on NPR's
Worldview:

http://www.chicagopublicradio.org/content.aspx?audioID=32055


Best,

Dr. Sifferd


Katrina L. Sifferd, JD PhD
Assistant Professor of Philosophy
Elmhurst College
sifferdk@elmhurst.edu
630-617-6475

Prisoner Abuse in Illinois

Dear AI members,

As you know, the use of long-term isolation in Guantanamo Bay and in other
prisons overseas is a form of psychological torture, and human rights abuse
addressed by Amnesty International. Today, we have an opportunity to end
human rights abuses in the supermax prison here in Illinois which
is more isolating than Guantanamo Bay, which was found too isolating for
prisoner safety, and now has some social interaction and phone calls, in
order to comply with the humane-treatment requirements of the Geneva Convention.

Prisoners at Tamms supermax prison are held in permanent solitary confinement.
There is no communal activity, no contact visits, and no phone calls. Men
never leave their cell except to shower or go to solitary exercise in a
concrete pen. Many men in the prison are mentally ill. Suicide attempts,
self-mutilation, smearing of feces and severe mental illness are common
at Tammsâ€”this is an expected consequence of long-term isolation.

Incarceration at the supermax was approved by the Illinois legislature
as a short-term â€œshock-treatmentâ€ program for men already in prison who
cause harm to guards or other inmates. Instead, Tamms has become a warehouse
and a human rights disaster:

* One-third of the population has lived in this extreme solitary confinement
since the prison opened almost 11 years ago.

* There are no clear procedures for being transferred to Tamms and there
is no way to earn your way out.

* Most prisoners in Tamms do not deserve to be there for this lengthy
period. Many were not placed in Tamms for acts of violence, and have not
had disciplinary problems at Tamms.

* Long-term isolation creates barriers for successful reentry to society,
or to other prisons, where these prisoners will return.

* There is no correctional justification for placing seriously mentally
ill men in a supermax for extra punishment.

There is a bill before the Illinois House of Representatives brought by
the Tamms Year Ten coalition, and the 70+ affiliated groups.

HB2633 is endorsed by Amnesty International and would be a critical first
step at changing the way this prison operates. We need members to call
their legislators and express support of this bill this week. If each Amnesty
International member called our legislators about this bill, we will make
a difference in the outcome. It is that close. Please let check in
with me in the Regional Office so we know how many calls are being made
and what the responses have been like.

We also need 1000 more signatures on the petition which will be
presented to the Governor next week. Please forward widely.

Petition Link is here:

www.juliehamos.org/tamms

Attached you'll find several documents that will aid in
your activism over the next 3 WEEKS!

Tamms is already a human rights disaster. Your immediate action will make
end the abuse these prisoners have suffered in our very own state!!!

Please feel free to get in touch if you have any additional
questions or concerns.

In Solidarity,

Amanda E. Flott

Field Organizer (Chicago, IL, KS, IA, MO)

Amnesty International USA

Midwest Regional Office

53 W. Jackson St. Suite 731

Chicago, IL 60604

Tel: 312.435.6386 or 312.730.3168(c)

Fax: 312.427.2589

http://www.amnestyusa.org

______________________________________

This Motherâ€™s Day as you honor important women in your life, please take
a moment to speak out on behalf of women around the world who face violence
and other human rights abuses. Join Amnesty International members across
the country and honor mothers and women around the world by participating
in our Motherâ€™s Day card action.

To help protect women around the world this Motherâ€™s Day visit: www.amnestyusa.org/mothersday

______________________________________

Â

Links to press and information about Tamms supermax

Human Rights Watch statement

http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2009/04/06/letter-illinois-representative-julie-hamos-reforming-supermax-confinement

Amnesty International statement

http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/AMR51/042/2009/en

Tamms human rights petition

www.juliehamos.org/tamms

New Yorker article

Atul Gawande, The New Yorker, March 30, 2009

Hellhole: The United States holds tens of thousands of inmates in long-term
solitary confinement. Is this torture?

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/03/30/090330fa_fact_gawande

Tribune story

'A look inside Illinois' only super-max prison'

Gary Marx, Chicago Tribune, 2/27/09

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-tamms-27feb27,0,1641824.story

Of course, the Tribune story does not mention that there are currently
NO clear criteria for how someone gets transferred to this prison, or how
they get transferred out.

'Illinois' highest-security prison a study in isolation'

Gary Marx, LA Times, 2/29/09

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-illinois-prison28-2009feb28,0,4430105.story

This is the same story, but it has a photo
that is better.

'Trib Watch: Tamms Year Ten responds to flawed article'

Sergio Barreto, Chicago Progressive Examiner, 3/1/09

http://www.examiner.com/x-2929-Chicago-Progressive-Examiner~y2009m3d1-Trib-Watch-Tamms-Year-Ten-Committee-responds-to-flawed-article

MY VIEW: Perception may not be reality at Tamms'

Rep. Jim Sacia, The Journal-Standard, 12/5/08

http://www.journalstandard.com/archive/x776474015/MY-VIEW-Perception-may-not-be-reality-at-Tamms

'Saints for those in Jail and out'

Micah Maidenberg, Chicago Journal West Town Edition, 11/25/08

http://chicagojournal.com/main.asp?SectionID=25&SubSectionID=55&ArticleID=6509&TM=58297.98

'Isolated from the Real World'

Silvana Tabares, Extra, 10/2/08

http://www.extranews.net/news.php?nid=4169

'Light from Inside: Prisoners Artwork on Display'

Erica Magda, ABC7 Chicago, 8/13/08

http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?sectionews/local&id=6325660

'StopMax: The Fight Against Supermax Prisons Heats Up'

Jessica Pupovac, Alternet, 8/11/08

http://www.alternet.org/story/94257/

'Move mentally ill from Supermax'

Malcolm Young, Chicago Daily Herald, 5/31/08

http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=200603&src=

'Tamms reforms on the way?'

Mick Dumke, Clout City - Chicago Reader, 5/30/08

http://blogs.chicagoreader.com/politics/2008/05/30/tamms-reforms-way/

'Tamms' 10th Birthday No Cause for Celebration'

Rep. Karen Yarborough, Progress Illinois, 5/12/08

http://progressillinois.com/2008/05/12/columns/yarbrough-no-celebration-for-tamms

'Hell in a Cell'

Jeffery Felshman, Chicago Reader cover story, 4/24/08

http://www.chicagoreader.com/features/stories/tamms/

'Torture in Our Own Backyards: The Fight Against Supermax
Prisons'

Jessica Pupovac, Alternet, 3/24/08

http://www.alternet.org/rights/80440/

'Life at Tamms Supermax Prison',

Shannon Heffernan, Chicago Public Radio, 3/11/08

http://www.chicagopublicradio.org/Content.aspx?audioID=19424

'Tamms Year Ten calls for end to torture',

Abby Lerner, The Daily Northwestern, 3/6/08

http://media.www.dailynorthwestern.com/media/storage/paper853/news/2008/03/06/TheWeekly/Tamms.Year.Ten.Calls.For.End.To.Torture-3255707.shtml

'The Supermax Solution',

Regan Good, The Nation, 2/13/03

http://www.thenation.com/doc/20030303/good

'Nothing Left to Lose',

Bruce Rushton, St. Louis Riverfront Times, 5/10/00

http://www.riverfronttimes.com/2000-05-10/news/nothing-left-to-lose/

'Cruel and Usual',

Bruce Rushton, St. Louis Riverfront Times, 2/16/00

http://www.riverfronttimes.com/2000-02-16/news/cruel-and-usual/

'Blooper Max',

Bruce Rushton, Riverfront Times, 8/29/01

http://www.riverfronttimes.com/2001-08-29/news/blooper-max/

YouTube video which starts with family member Mary L.
Johnson

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwLbpvbLHR0

YouTube video of ex-Tamms prisoner.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpzrDnc-r6Q

EC's Amnesty Int'l Urgent Action Letter Toolkit