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):
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22 February 2011
UA 38/11 - Fear for safety
CUBA
Reina Luisa Tamayo (f)
Jose Ortiz (m)
On 18 February Reina Luisa Tamayo, and her husband Jose Ortiz, were arrested and detained for 12 hours by state security agents. Reina Tamayo is the mother of Cuban prisoner of conscience Orlando Zapata who died last year, having spent several weeks on hunger strike whilst in prison. Amnesty International believes that their detention is an attempt to prevent them from undertaking any activities in memory of Orlando Zapata on the first anniversary of his death on 23 February.
Reina Luisa Tamayo reported that she and her husband left their house in Banes, Cuba, with Daniel Mesa, a human rights activist, when around 15 state security agents surrounded them. Reina Tamayo shouted at them "Zapata lives! The Cuban people are dying and will soon take the street". In response, state security agents pushed them to try and force them into their van. Reina Tamayo and the two men refused unsuccessfully to go with them. During the struggle, Jose Ortiz was reportedly hit in the face by the agents.
Reina Luisa Tamayo was taken to a room in a state security building where she remained for 12 hours with two female agents and without knowing the whereabouts of her husband or Daniel Mesa, who had also been detained. All three were not allowed to drink water or eat during the 12 hours of detention. Reina and Jose were released after 12 hours but Daniel remained in detention for a further two days. Since Reina Luisa Tamayo's release, between 8 and 12 State Security officials have surrounded her house to prevent visitors.
Amnesty International is concerned that Reina Luisa Tamayo and her relatives are facing difficulties and harassments while preparing to commemorate the first anniversary of the death of Orlando Zapata on Wednesday 23 February. Since his death his mother has been repeatedly harassed and intimidated when commemorating her son's death. Recently she has decided to go with her family into exile in the USA to escape the repression they are suffering. Reina Luisa Tamayo has informed Amnesty International that the US authorities granted to her and 12 persons of her family a visa and all the documents for the travel. They are now waiting to receive a passport and the authorizations from the Cuban authorities to leave the country.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Reina Luisa Tamayo is one of the Damas de Blanco (Ladies in White), a group of women relatives and friends of prisoners detained during a major crackdown on government critics in March 2003. In 2003, over several days, the Cuban authorities arrested 75 men and women for their peaceful expression of critical opinions of the government. They were subjected to summary trials, instead of full trials, and were sentenced to long prison terms of up to 28 years. Amnesty International declared the 75 convicted dissidents to be prisoners of conscience. 6 of them remain in prison.
Damas de Blanco organizes peaceful weekly marches in Havana where they distribute flowers and call for the release of their relatives and friends. In March 2010 Damas de Blanco organized a daily march for a week to mark the seventh anniversary of the arrest of their relatives. On 17 of March 2010, their march was forcibly broken up by Cuban police, who briefly detained several women. Some of the women claimed that they were beaten by the police.
Reina Luisa Tamayo is the mother of Orlando Zapata Tamayo, a prisoner of conscience who died on 23 February 2010, having spent several weeks on hunger strike whilst in prison. Since her son's death, Reina Luisa Tamayo has organized weekly marches on Sundays in the town of Barnes, Holguin Province, Cuba, to honor her son's memory. Relatives and friends accompany Reina Luisa Tamayo on these weekly marches from her home to attend mass at the Nuestra Señora de la Caridad Church, in Barnes and from there to the cemetery where Orlando Zapata Tamayo is buried.
On August 2010 Amnesty International already called on the Cuban authorities to stop harassment on Reina Luisa Tamayo, her friends and relatives, and her right to celebrate peacefully the death of her son, along with any other Cuban citizen who seek to peacefully exercise their right to freedom of expression, assembly and association.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible:
-Calling on the authorities to ensure an immediate halt to the harassment and intimidation of Reina Luisa Tamayo by government agents, and that of the relatives and friends and any other citizens who seek to peacefully exercise their right to freedom of expression, assembly and association;
-Calling on the authorities to permit Reina Luisa Tamayo and others to go the cemetery where Orlando Zapata is buried and peacefully commemorate the anniversary of her son's death;
-Calling on the authorities to allow Reina Luisa Tamayo and her relatives to leave the country, granting them the passport, exit permit and other documents needed to travel outside the country.
APPEALS TO:
Head of State and Government
Raul Castro Ruz Presidente
La Habana
CUBA
Fax: 011 53 7 8333085 (via Foreign Ministry);
011 1 2127791697 (via Cuban Mission to UN)
Email: cuba@un.int (c/o Cuban Mission to UN)
Salutation: Su Excelencia/Your Excellency
Interior Minister
General Abelardo Coloma Ibarra
Ministro del Interior y Prisiones
Ministerio del Interior, Plaza de la
Revolución, La Habana
CUBA
Fax: 011 53 7 8333085 (via Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
011 1 2127791697 (via Cuban Mission to UN)
Salutation: Su Excelencia/Your Excellency
COPIES TO:
Cuba has no embassy in the US at present. To contact its interest in the US, write to:
Embassy of Switzerland
Cuban Interests Section
2639 16th Street NW
Washington, D.C. 20009
Fax: (202) 797 8521
Email: cubaseccion@igc.apc.org
PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY.
Check with the AIUSA Urgent Action office if sending appeals after 01 April 2011.
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Phone: 202.509.8193
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 learn about recent Urgent Action successes and updates, go to
http://www.amnestyusa.org/iar/success
----------------------------------
For a print-friendly version of this Urgent Action (PDF):
http://www.amnestyusa.org/actioncenter/actions/uaa03911.pdf
22 February 2011
UA 39/11 - Fear for safety/Freedom of Expression
GUATEMALA
The Quebrada Seca Community, including:
Catalina Mucu Maas (f),
Alberto Coc Cal (m),
Sebastian Xuc Coc (m),
Amilcar Choc (m)
Three human rights defenders from a Maya Q'eqchi' rural community were killed in Rio Dulce, Izabal, eastern Guatemala. The activists, all university students and campaigners for land rights, were found dead on 14 February. The rest of their community is in danger.
On 12 February, Catalina Mucu Maas, Alberto Coc Cal and Sebastian Xuc Coc from the indigenous Maya Qeq'chi community Quebrada Seca, left their community which is situated on a river at 6.30 am by boat to attend university in Rio Dulce, in the Izabal department. They reached their destination two hours later and left their boat at a dock. At 2.00pm Alberto Coc Cal and Sebastian Xuc Coc went back to the dock to have lunch in a nearby cafe. Half an hour later, an unknown man asked for them at the cafe, but they had already left.
Alberto Coc Cal, Catalina Mucu Maas and Sebastian Xuc Coc finished their classes around 5.00pm and were joined by Amilcar Choc, a friend. The four started making their way back towards the Quebrada Seca community. Catalina Mucu Maas called her relatives by mobile to tell them she was coming back. After that call, there was no contact with the activists. Family members asked for the authorities help in finding them.
At 2.00pm on 13 February, members of the community found the boat with several bullet holes and traces of blood. The activists were not there, but their backpacks were found. Members of the community began searching for the students on the following day. On 14 February, Alberto Coc Cal, Catalina Mucu Maas and Sebastian Xuc Coc were found dead, their bodies floating on the water around the same area where the boat was the day before. On 15 February, the body of their friend, Amilcar Choc, was found 1 km away. They had all been shot numerous times and had apparently been shot in coup de grace manner.
The three defenders killed were active in promoting the rights of the Quebrada Seca community. They had participated in negotiations on a land dispute in the area. Other community activists have received death threats recently, and members of the community are now at risk, fearing to work their lands and continue their daily activities.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
According to local sources, the relevant authorities – Ministry of Interior (Ministerio de Gobernacion) and Public Prosecutor's Office (Ministerio Publico)- responded to the community members calls for searching the bodies and for visiting the crime scene with delay. The Public Prosecutor's Office, for example, did not collect crucial evidence such as the defenders' backpacks, which were returned to their relatives, and four bullet casings.
Amnesty International is concerned that the evidence is not collected according to best practice, thus having an impact on the standards of the investigation. Additionally, the relevant authorities did not investigate into the threats and other incidents that members of the community had denounced in recent weeks. Amnesty International has previously raised concerns about the authorities practice when investigating crimes in the following reports: "Guatemala: No protection, no justice: killings of women in Guatemala"; "Guatemala: No protection, no justice: killings of women (an update)".
Amnesty International is concerned for the situation of human rights defenders in Guatemala, who constantly face attacks and threats because of their legitimate activism. Most of the incidents involving human rights defenders result in impunity. See the report "Central America: Persecution and resistance: The experience of human rights defenders in Guatemala and Honduras"
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible:
- Calling for an independent, thorough and impartial investigation by the Prosecutor's office into the killing of the four individuals, with the results made public and those responsible brought to justice;
- Urging that the authorities take immediate steps to provide appropriate protection to the Quebrada Seca community
APPEALS TO:
Attorney General
Claudia Paz y Paz Bailey
Fiscal General de la Republica
Ministerio Publico
15a Avenida 15-16, Zona 1, Barrio Gerona
Ciudad de Guatemala,
GUATEMALA
Fax: 011 502 2411 9124
Salutation: Dear Attorney General / Estimada Sra. Fiscal General
Ministry of Interior
Lic. Carlos Menocal
Ministro de Gobernacion
6a Avenida 13-71, Zona 1,
Ciudad de Guatemala,
GUATEMALA
Fax: 011 502 2413 8658
Salutation: Dear Minister / Estimado Sr. Ministro
COPIES TO:
UDEFEGUA
UDEFEGUA – Unidad de proteccion a defensores y defensoras de derechos humanos
1 Calle 7-45 zona 1, Oficina 2-b,
Ciudad de Guatemala,
GUATEMALA
E-mail: udefegua@yahoo.com
Ambassador Francisco Villagran de Leon
Embassy of Guatemala
2220 R St. NW
Washington DC 20008
Fax: 1 202 745 1908
Email: info@guatemala-embassy.org
PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY.
Check with the AIUSA Urgent Action office if sending appeals after 5 April 2011.
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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 learn about recent Urgent Action successes and updates, go to
http://www.amnestyusa.org/iar/success
----------------------------------
For a print-friendly version of this Urgent Action (PDF):
http://www.amnestyusa.org/actioncenter/actions/uaa04411.pdf
23 February 2011
UA 44/11 Fear for Safety
NICARAGUA Luis Galeano (m)
Luis Galeano, a Nicaraguan journalist with the newspaper El Nuevo Diario, has received death threats by letter and phone from unknown individuals. Luis Galeano’s life is at risk.
On 19 February an unknown individual called Luis Galeano on his mobile phone and said “You have 72 hours to change your mind about what you’ll publish, otherwise your family won’t see you anymore” ([…]”Tenés 72 horas para arrepentirte de lo que vas a publicar, de lo contrario no te va a ver más tu familia”). The caller alluded to an investigation that Galeano and a colleague had carried in recent days into a corruption case. The case deals with allegations of misuse of funds, estimated at around US$20m, by officials in the Supreme Electoral Council (“Consejo Supremo Electoral”) between 2004-2008.
Their article was published by El Nuevo Diario on 21 February.
A few hours prior to the call, Luis Galeano had received a message left for him by an unknown man at the reception desk of the El Nuevo Diario office where he works. The message contained a reference to his research on the corruption case and warned Luis Galeano not to publish the article. The message ended by saying “What you’re trying to do is to compromise the Supreme Electoral Council, given that on 1 March [political] alliances will be registered […]We´re not joking” (“Lo que Uds. Pretenden es perjudicar al CSE, ya que el 1o de marzo es la inscripción de alianzas […] No estamos jugando”) followed by the slogan “Free country or death” (“Patria Libre o Morir”).
Reports of intimidation of media workers in Nicaragua have increased in recent months in the context of a heated political debate in the run up to the presidential elections scheduled for November 2011.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Amnesty International has previously raised concerns about the issue of freedom of expression and association in Nicaragua. In the Amnesty International Report 2010, Amnesty International documented a series of incidents involving attacks on journalists, government critics and civil society activists. In November 2009, pro-government supporters in Managua, the capital, attacked a group of protesters demonstrating against corruption and curbs on freedom of expressions. The pro-government supporters threw stones against the demonstrators and they broke the door of a police station where the protesters had taken refuge. See Nicaragua entry in “Amnesty International Report 2010 – The State of the World Human Rights” (AI Index POL 10/001/2010).
According to news reports, on 11 February a correspondent for El Nuevo Diario in Masaya was intimidated after having published an article involving a relative of the head of the local police.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible:
- Calling for an independent, thorough and impartial investigation by authorities into the threats against Luis Galeano, with the results made public and those responsible brought to justice;
- Urging that the authorities take immediate steps to provide appropriate protection to the Luis Galeano, according to his wishes.
APPEALS TO:
Attorney General
Dr. Julio Centeno Gómez
Fiscal General de la República de Nicaragua
Ministerio Público
Km 4, Carretera Masaya
Contiguo al Bancentro
Managua,
NICARAGUA
Fax: 011 505 2255 6832
Salutation: Dear Attorney General/ Estimado Sr. Fisca
Head of National Police
Primera Comisionada Aminta Granera Sacasa
Directora de la Policía Nacional
Edificio Faustino Ruiz
Managua,
NICARAGUA
Fax: 011 505 2277 1871
Salutation: Dear Commissioner/ Estimada Comisionada
COPIES TO:
CENIDH
De la Texaco de Montoya 1 ½ c. al sur,
Managua,
NICARAGUA
Ambassador Arturo Cruz Sequeira Jr.
Embassy of Nicaragua
1627 New Hampshire Ave. NW
Washington DC 20009
Fax: 1 202 939 6542
PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY.
Check with the AIUSA Urgent Action office if sending appeals after 6 April 2011.
----------------------------------
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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: 202.509.8193
Fax: 202.675.8566
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END OF URGENT ACTION APPEAL
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URGENT ACTION APPEAL
- From Amnesty International USA
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23 February 2011
Further information on UA 27/11 (10 February 2011) - Death Penalty
USA (Texas) Timothy Adams (m), executed
Timothy Adams was executed in Texas on the evening of 22 February. He was sentenced to death for the murder of his young son in 2002.
On 18 February, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles voted against clemency for Timothy Adams. Among those who had appealed for clemency were more than 90 religious leaders from across Texas. In their letter to the Board and Governor Rick Perry on 16 February, they wrote: “As faith leaders, we believe that our justice system should be directed toward the improvement of life, not its destruction. We advocate for a system that is rehabilitative and humane, while still taking every measure possible to support and facilitate the healing of victims… We join the victim’s family in asking that you spare Mr. Adams from death. You have an extraordinary opportunity to show mercy to a family that has already suffered greatly and to uphold the sacredness of human life. We pray that you grant life to Timothy Adams.”
Family members had also appealed for clemency, as had three jurors from the original trial (see original UA).
The Board of Pardons of Paroles voted 7-0 against a reprieve and also unanimously against recommending that the governor commute the death sentence to life imprisonment. Governor Perry, who still had the authority to issue a stay of execution, declined to intervene.
The execution went ahead about half an hour after the US Supreme Court refused to issue a stay. Timothy Adams made no final statement before being put to death by lethal injection.
This was the second execution in Texas this year, and the eighth nationwide. There have now been 1,242 executions in the USA since judicial killing resumed there in 1977. Texas accounts for 466 of these executions. Of these 466 people put to death, 116 were convicted in Harris County, where Tim Adams was sentenced to death. If Harris County was a state, it would account for more executions than any other state in the USA apart from the rest of Texas.
NO FURTHER ACTION IS REQUESTED. MANY THANKS TO ALL WHO SENT APPEALS.
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: 202.509.8193
Fax: 202.675.8566
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END OF URGENT ACTION APPEAL
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