Urgent Action 11-14-10

URGENT ACTION APPEAL
- From Amnesty International USA

To learn about recent Urgent Action successes and updates, go to
http://www.amnestyusa.org/iar/success
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For a print-friendly version of this Urgent Action (PDF):
http://www.amnestyusa.org/actioncenter/actions/uaa23610.pdf

12 November 2010

UA 236/10 - Risk of Forced Eviction

ISRAEL 250 Residents, including 1/3 children

Around 250 residents, one third of them children, of the Bedouin village al-'Araqib in southern Israel are facing forcible eviction from their land and the destruction of their property for the seventh time since July. Although residents have a long- established claim to the area and are Israeli citizens, the Israeli government does not recognize their rights to the land.

Since July, al-'Araqib village has been destroyed by the Israeli authorities at least once a month and the villagers anticipate further destruction within the next week. Earlier this week, Israeli authorities demolished a mosque in the nearby Bedouin town of Rahat, and the neighboring local council refused to continue selling water to residents of al-'Araqib. Persistent attempts by the villagers and their supporters to rebuild their homes have been met by further destruction, and the entire village is threatened. Residents are currently camping out in makeshift shacks and tents.

On 27 July, at least 46 homes and other structures in al-'Araqib, including animal pens and water tanks, were destroyed by officials of the Israel Lands Administration (ILA) accompanied by over 1,000 police officers. The entire village was razed by bulldozers, and thousands of olive and other trees were uprooted, destroying the villagers' livelihood. Possessions including electricity generators, refrigerators, and vehicles were confiscated by the police.

On 4 and 10 August, makeshift shelters that the villagers had built were demolished and buried by bulldozers, supported by a large police force in riot gear equipped with a water cannon. Building materials and water tanks were seized; seven residents were arrested but later released, four on condition that they not enter al-'Araqib. Then on 17 August, the authorities recommenced demolitions at dawn during Ramadan, while the villagers were fasting. On 12 September at dawn, dozens of police arrived again at al-'Araqib with bulldozers and destroyed newly erected tents and other structures. The sixth and latest demolition was on 13 October, when the entire village was razed to the ground, and the director of the Negev Coexistence Forum, a group supporting the villagers, was arrested by police and banned from entering al-'Araqib for 10 days.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION
These demolitions come in the context of ongoing Israeli government actions against residents of "unrecognized" villages like al-'Araqib. Dozens of Bedouin villages in southern Israel and other parts of the country are not formally recognized by the state authorities, even though their tens of thousands of residents are Israeli citizens. They lack basic services and live under constant threat of destruction of their homes and eviction from the land. This year has seen a marked increase in the demolition of Bedouin homes in the Negev (or Naqab) area of southern Israel. The Israel Lands Administration classifies al- 'Araqib and other "unrecognized" villages as state land and claims that the Bedouin citizens of Israel "invaded" these areas. Yet, the Bedouin have a well-established historical claim to live there and international human rights law supports the view that they should be free from threats of home demolition or forced evictions.

In its concluding observations in July 2010, the UN Human Rights Committee (HRC) stated its concern about "allegations of forced evictions of the Bedouin population based on the Public Land Law (Expulsion of Invaders) of 1981 as amended in 2005" and about what it described as the Israeli authorities "inadequate consideration" of the agricultural and other traditional needs of the Bedouin population of the Negev and the difficulties that the Bedouin face in accessing "health structures, education, water and electricity" due to Israeli policies. The HRC called for the Israeli authorities to "respect the Bedouin population's right to their ancestral land and their traditional livelihood based on agriculture" and to "guarantee the Bedouin population's access to health structures, education, water, and electricity, irrespective of their whereabouts" in Israel. The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination has also expressed concern about Israel's relocation of Bedouin residents of "unrecognized" villages to towns and called for their villages to be officially recognized, and for Israel to "enhance its efforts to consult" the villagers and seek their agreement or consent in advance of any process of relocation.

Despite an apparent governmental plan to regularize the status of some of the "unrecognized" villages, it was reported in the Israeli media in early 2010 that the Interior Ministry, the Israel Lands Administration, and the police had decided to triple the demolition rate of Bedouin construction in the Negev, and the marked increase in the number of demolitions and demolition orders this year accords with such reports.

RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible:
- Urging the Israeli authorities not to destroy al-'Araqib again, and to allow the villagers to rebuild their homes;
- Urging the Israeli authorities to immediately end the policy of home demolitions in al-'Araqib and other "unrecognized" villages in Israel, and to take steps to officially recognize al-'Araqib and other "unrecognized" villages so as to allow residents security of tenure and the possibility of developing their villages without threat to their homes and livelihoods;
- Urging the Israeli authorities to take immediate steps in line with the UN Human Rights Committee's recommendations of July 2010 to guarantee access to health structures, education, water, and electricity for residents of these villages.

APPEALS TO:

Director-General of the ILA
Yaron Bibi Israel Lands Administration
6 Shamai Street
P.O. Box 2600
Jerusalem 94631,
ISRAEL
Fax: 011 972 2 620 8427
Email: natalil@mmi.gov.il
Salutation: Dear Director-General, ILA

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior
Eliyahu Yishai
2 Kaplan Street
PO Box 6158
Kiryat Ben Gurion
Jerusalem 91061,
ISRAEL
Fax: 011 972 2 666 2909
Email: sar@moin.gov.il
Salutation: Dear Minister

COPIES TO:

Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu
Office of the Prime Minister
3 Kaplan Street
Kiryat Ben-Gurion, Hakirya
PO Box 187, Jerusalem,
ISRAEL
Fax: 011 972 2 566 4838
Email: pm_eng@pmo.gov.i

Ambassador Michael Oren
Embassy of Israel
3514 International Dr. NW
Washington DC 20008
Fax: 1 202 364 5607
Email: info@israelemb.org
info@washington.mfa.gov.il

PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the AIUSA Urgent Action office if sending appeals after 24 December 2010.


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URGENT ACTION APPEAL
- From Amnesty International USA

To learn about recent Urgent Action successes and updates, go to
http://www.amnestyusa.org/iar/success
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For a print-friendly version of this Urgent Action (PDF):
http://www.amnestyusa.org/actioncenter/actions/uaa13510.pdf

Note: Please write on behalf of these persons even though you may not have received the original UA when issued on 18 June, 2010. Thanks!

12 November 2010

Further information on UA 135/10 (18 June 2010) and follow ups (10 November 2010, 15 September 2010, 3 September 2010, 27 August 2010, 5 August 2010 & 25 June 2010) – Prisoner of conscience/ Unfair trial / Health concern

KYRGYZSTAN Azimzhan Askarov (m), human rights defender

Prisoner of conscience Azimzhan Askarov is critically ill and was transferred to a prison hospital just outside Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan on 12 November. His family and colleagues are concerned that he may die without proper medical treatment, which may not be available in the prison hospital.

Azimzhan Askarov was transported from Jalal-Abad to a prison just outside the capital Bishkek. He was transferred to Prison Colony Number 47, which has better medical facilities than are available in southern Kyrgyzstan. According to official sources, doctors who examined him said that Azimzhan Askarov’s life is no longer in danger, but Amnesty International is concerned he is being transferred because his health has deteriorated further.

Azimzhan Askarov’s lawyer has asked for a second opinion and is trying to ensure that he is given all the necessary tests and treatment. However, there is a danger that Azimzhan Askarov will not be able to receive the necessary tests and treatment in a prison hospital.

Azimzhan Askarov was given a life sentence on 15 September having been accused of participating in “mass violence and murder” in June 2010. He appealed the sentence but on 10 November it was upheld.

His lawyer and family members reported on the final day of his appeal hearing that Azimzhan Askahov was not able to eat for over 15 days because of undiagnosed problems with his digestive tract. Azimzhan Askarov’s colleagues described him as looking very gaunt with yellowish skin. His lawyer and family members also stated an ambulance had to be called earlier in the day to the detention centre in Bazar- Korgan where Azimzhan Askarov was being held because his condition was deteriorating rapidly. His family and lawyer were told that the emergency doctor who attended Azimzhan Askarov was unable to give him the necessary medical assistance and recommended that he be seen urgently by a specialist surgeon as he might need to have emergency surgery.

Amnesty International believes that Azimzhan Askarov has been targeted for his legitimate activities as a human rights defender, as he has documented police ill-treatment for several years.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Amnesty International believes that Azimzhan Askarov has been targeted for his legitimate activities as a human rights defender.

He is the director of the human rights organization Vozdukh (Air) and he has been documenting police ill-treatment of detainees in the district of Bazar Korgan and other parts of the Jalal-Abad region for years. In June 2010, during the violence in south of Kyrgyzstan, Azimzhan Askarov filmed and photographed killings and arson attacks on mostly Uzbek homes and other buildings in Bazar Korgan, allegedly by groups of armed men and men in military uniforms claiming to be Kyrgyz.

He was detained on 15 June 2010 in Bazar Korgan on suspicion of “organizing mass disorder” and “inciting ethnic hatred” in connection with the death of one police officer during the violence that month. On 13 August he was charged with “attempting to participate in hostage taking,” “storage of ammunition,” “storage of extremist literature,” “inciting ethnic hatred,” “mass riots,” “being an accomplice to premeditated murder” and “being an accomplice in the killing of a law enforcement officer.” According to local human rights defenders, Azimzhan Askarov was subjected to prolonged beatings on the premises of the police station in Bazar Korgan to force him to hand over his film footage and confess to the murder of the police officer.

He was sentenced to life imprisonment and the confiscation of his property by the Nooken district court on 15 September after a blatantly unfair trial. Local and international human rights monitors said that during the trial hearing of Azimzhan Askarov and seven co-defendants on 2 September, relatives of the dead police officer attacked and threatened Azimzhan Askarov’s lawyers and family, both inside and outside the courtroom.

Azimzhan Askarov and three of the other defendants appeared at the 6 September hearing with visible bruises on their faces which had not been apparent at the 2 September hearing, suggesting they had been beaten between the two hearings while in custody.

The appeal court hearings started on 25 October in Tash-Kumir some 20 km from Bazar-Korgan in order to guarantee the safety of the defendants, their lawyers and the judges. Armed police officers were guarding the court room. Relatives of the murdered police officer were reportedly less disruptive during the sessions, nevertheless they shouted abuse and threats at the defendants and their lawyers, held up posters asking for the death penalty to be given to the defendants, threw water at Azimzhan Askarov’s lawyer and made death threats against the lawyer of one of the other defendants. No witnesses for the defense were called during the first appeal court sessions. On 3 November the court hearings transferred to Nooken where the trial of first instance had taken place.

On 4 November eyewitnesses reported seeing several defendants with visible signs of beatings leaving the court building in Nooken at the end of the day’s hearing. Observers had been asked to leave the court room before the defendants were removed and so it was not clear who had beaten the defendants. At least one defendant was kicked and beaten by police officers outside the court building as he was escorted to the vehicle taking the defendants back to the Bazar-Korgan detention centre. Defense lawyers asked for forensic medical examinations to be conducted immediately but prosecutors in Bazar-Korgan refused to order any. Human Rights Defenders said that instead the prosecutor’s office held a press conference and denied that any beatings had taken place.

RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible:
- Expressing alarm that Azimzhan Askarov is critically ill and urge the authorities to ensure that he receives appropriate and necessary emergency care immediately, including being transferred to hospital
- Expressing concern that Azimzhan Askarov is being held at Bazar-Korgan detention center where he has previously been ill-treated and insist that he is moved to a different detention facility
- Reiterating that Azimzhan Askarov should not be in detention or facing trial but is a prisoner of conscience and should be immediately and unconditionally released.

APPEALS TO:

Minister of Justice
Salyanova Aida Zhenishbekovna
32 M.Gandi Street,
Bishkek, 720010
KYRGYZSTAN
Fax: 011 312 656592
Email: minjust@minjust.gov.kg
Salutation: Dear Minister

General Prosecutor
Kubatbek Baibolov
Orozbekova Street,
72 Bishkek 720040
KYRGYZSTAN
Fax: 011 996 312 665411
Salutation: Dear General Prosecutor

COPIES TO:

President
Roza Otunbaeva
Dom praviteltsva
Bishkek 720003
KYRGYZSTAN
Fax: 011 996 312 625012
Email: admin@kyrgyz-el.kg

Ambassador Arslan Anarbaev
Embassy of the Kyrgyz Republic
2360 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Washington DC 20008
Fax: 1 202 386 7550
Email: consul@kgembassy.org

PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the AIUSA Urgent Action office if sending appeals after 24 December 2010.


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