TWO Urgent Actions - September 26, 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/uaa24209.pdf

Note: Please write on behalf of these persons even though you may not have received the original UA when issued on September 11, 2009. Thanks!

24 September 2009

Further information on UA 242/09 (11 September 2009) – Fear of torture

MYANMAR Kyaw Zaw Lwin (m), Human Rights Activist

Trusted sources have reported to Amnesty international that male activist Kyaw Zaw Lwin was tortured and suffered other ill-treatment while in detention in Insein Prison, Yangon, Myanmar’s main city. He was arrested in Yangon on 3 September. He has been denied medical treatment for the injuries he sustained from the torture he endured during interrogation. There are grave concerns about his health.

The torture and ill-treatment that Kyaw Zaw Lwin suffered in detention included beating and kicking. He was deprived of food for seven days and moved between different interrogation centers. He was not allowed to sleep at night and was kept awake during interrogation by the authorities. Details of the charges against him are not known.

The state newspaper New Light of Myanmar reported on 24 September that Kyaw Zaw Lwin had entered Myanmar to “create unrests within the country”. The newspaper reported details of the activities that Kyaw Zaw Lwin and other Burmese pro-democracy exiles allegedly undertook in collaboration with “internal anti-government elements” in Myanmar.

Kyaw Zaw Lwin, a US citizen, received consular access for the first time on 22 September.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Amnesty International has received additional information about Kyaw Zaw Lwin since issuing the initial Urgent Action. Kyaw Zaw Lwin has identified himself as an independent activist. While he has been involved with the work of pro-democracy groups and campaigns, he is not affiliated with any single group. Much of Kyaw Zaw Lwin’s work with pro-democracy groups has been undertaken because several of his relatives are political prisoners. His mother San San Tin and cousin Nwe Hnin Yi (aka Noe Noe), as well as Thet Thet Aung, who has now been confirmed as his cousin, are all currently serving prison sentences for their part in the anti-government demonstrations in September 2007.

A government amnesty on 17 September announced the release of 7,114 prisoners on ‘humanitarian grounds’. Only 127 of those released were political prisoners. Political dissidents and pro-democracy campaigners continue to be harassed and detained in Myanmar.

RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible:
- Express concern at reports that Kyaw Zaw Lin was tortured and suffered other ill-treatment while in detention;
- Urging the authorities to immediately provide Kyaw Zaw Lin access to any medical treatment he may require, and that this continues until he is released;
- Calling on the authorities to release Kyaw Zaw Lin immediately and unconditionally as soon as he has received the urgent medical treatment he needs;
- Demand that the authorities guarantee that Kyaw Zaw Lwin is not tortured or otherwise ill-treated while he remains in custody and that he has access to his family and legal counsel.

APPEALS TO:

Minister for Home Affairs
Maung Oo
Ministry of Home Affairs
Office No. 10
Naypyitaw, UNION OF MYANMAR
Fax: 011 95 67 412 439
Salutation: Dear Minister

Minister of Information
Brigadier-General Kyaw Hsan
Ministry of Information
Bldg. (7), Naypyitaw,
UNION OF MYANMAR
Salutation: Dear Minister

Minister of Foreign Affairs
Nyan Win
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Naypyitaw, UNION OF MYANMAR
Salutation: Dear Minister

COPIES TO:

Ambassador Linn Myaing
Embassy of the Union of Myanmar
2300 S St. NW
Washington DC 20008
Fax: 1 202 332 4351
Email: info@mewashingtondc.com

PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY.
Check with the AIUSA Urgent Action office if sending appeals after 16 October 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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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/uaa25509.pdf

25 September 2009

UA 255/09 - Fear for safety/excessive force/arbitrary detention

HONDURAS Protestors

Reports indicate that at least five people have been killed in the political turmoil in Honduras since 21 September, when deposed President Manuel Zelaya returned to the country. Mass demonstrations against the de facto authorities have taken place in various cities across Honduras, and there are reports of many demonstrators having been beaten and some shot by security forces, and of wide-scale arbitrary detentions.

On Tuesday 22 September, police officers are alleged to have shot dead 18 year-old Jose Jacobo Euceda Perdomo in the city of San Pedro Sula. A further four people are reported to have died in Tegucigalpa, including a 65-year-old man who died of gunshot wounds received during a demonstration.

During the 22 and 23 September, reports indicate that police entered poor residential neighborhoods of the Honduran capital Tegucigalpa and the second city San Pedro Sula, searching for opponents of the de facto authorities who had taken part in demonstrations since 21 September. Police are reported to have remained in the residential neighborhoods for several hours, during which time they fired live ammunition and tear gas, and entered homes without warrants late at night, beating and detaining many individuals. Young people appear to have been particularly targeted in these raids.

The location of those who were detained in Tegucigalpa remains unclear: some were taken to the main police stations, while others may have been held in the residential neighborhoods. Such irregular methods of detention place individuals at risk of grave human rights abuses, since they may never be formally registered as being in detention. While many are believed to have been released, it is possible that others remain detained in unknown locations.

Tension has also remained high during the day in some areas. The curfew was lifted for several hours on 23 September in Tegucigalpa, and in the aftermath of a demonstration against the de facto authorities there were reports of beatings and arbitrary detentions of demonstrators or those suspected of being demonstrators. Witnesses have reported seeing soldiers randomly beating people on the street with wooden clubs.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Concerns about human rights in Honduras have intensified since the democratically elected President Jose Manuel Zelaya Rosales was forced from power on 28 June and expelled from the country by a military-backed group of politicians led by Roberto Micheletti, former leader of the National Congress. There has been widespread unrest in the country since the coup d'etat with frequent clashes between the police, military and civilian protestors. At least seven people are reported to have died in unclear circumstances since 28 June. Curfews have been imposed sporadically and often with little notice since 21 September, leaving people with few opportunities to buy food and fuel.

Tensions have mounted since the return to Honduras of deposed President Manuel Zelaya on 21 September. The resulting demonstrations against the de facto authorities have met with wide-scale repression from the security forces, leaving many wounded and reports of five dead since 21 September. While a high-level delegation from the Organization of American States was due to visit the country on the weekend of 26 September with the objective of securing a negotiated solution, recent reports indicate that the de facto authorities have proposed a delay of several days.

A research mission to Honduras by Amnesty International took place from 28 July – 2 August 2009. The delegates collected many first hand testimonies of human rights abuses against protestors. Amnesty International delegates interviewed many of the 75 people detained at the Jefatura Metropolitana No3 police station in Tegucigalpa after the police, supported by the military, broke up a peaceful demonstration on 30 July. The report illustrates many cases of ill-treatment, including beatings with batons, by police and military against the protesters.

During the mission Amnesty International was able to confirm that detention and ill-treatment of peaceful protestors are being employed as a form of punishment against those openly opposing the de facto government: other protestors who support the de facto regime did not suffer the same abuses. Evidence contained in the report shows that during the mass arrests of protestors by the police and military, some women and girls were subjected to gender-based violence.

The human rights situation outside of Tegucigalpa is believed to be equally or even more serious. The checkpoints along the primary roads in Honduras are currently manned by military and police who often delay or refuse entry to human rights organizations to areas where human rights violations are reportedly occurring.

Amnesty International is deeply concerned that using excessive force, ill treatment and mass detentions to repress dissent will only serve to inflame tensions further and lead to serious human rights violations. Force must only be employed in the most extreme circumstances and not as a method to prevent people's legitimate right to peacefully demonstrate.

Amnesty International found that limits have been imposed on freedom of expression and there have been a number of attacks against journalists - including the closure of media outlets, the confiscation of equipment and physical abuse of journalists and camerapersons covering events.

RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible:
- Calling for the de facto authorities to stop using excessive force against protestors and respect freedom of expression and association;
- Urging the de facto authorities to immediately release all detainees, unless they are charged with a recognizable criminal offense and are immediately granted access to lawyers and relatives.

APPEALS TO:
Mr Roberto Micheletti
Casa Presidencial
Boulevard Juan Pablo Segundo
Palacio Jose Cecilio del Valle
Tegucigalpa, HONDURAS
Fax: 011 504 239 3298
Salutation: Mr Micheletti
(Note: it is not possible to confirm that this fax number is still the correct one for the office inside the Casa Presidencial - please send letters as well as faxes to ensure the message arrives.)

COPIES TO:
Ambassador Roberto Flores Bermudez
Embassy of Honduras
3007 Tilden St. NW Suite 4M
Washington DC 20008
Fax: 1 202 966 9751
Email: lprado@hondurasemb.org

PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY.
Check with the AIUSA Urgent Action office if sending appeals after 6 November 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.

** POSTAGE RATES **
Within the United States:
$0.28 - Postcards
$0.44 - Letters and Cards (up to 1 oz.)
To Canada:
$0.75 - Postcards
$0.75 - Airmail Letters and Cards (up to 1 oz.)
To Mexico:
$0.79 - Postcards
$0.79 - Airmail Letters and Cards (up to 1 oz.)
To all other destination countries:
$0.98 - Postcards
$0.98 - Airmail Letters and Cards (up to 1 oz.)

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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