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/uaa24110.pdf
18 November 2010
UA 241/10 - Death Penalty
PAKISTAN Aasia Bibi (f)
Aasia Bibi, a Pakistani Christian woman, has been sentenced to death under the country's blasphemy laws.
On 8 November, the 45-year-old mother of five children was found guilty of blasphemy and sentenced to death under Section 295B and 295C of Pakistan's Penal Code, for insulting the Prophet Muhammad, by a court in Nankana, around 75km (45 miles) west of the city of Lahore in Punjab province.
Aasia Bibi, a resident of Ittanwali, was arrested in June 2009. She was working as a farm laborer and was asked by a village elder's wife to fetch drinking water. Some other female Muslim farmhands reportedly refused to drink the water, saying it was sacrilegious and "unclean" to accept water from Aasia Bibi, as a non-Muslim. Aasia Bibi took offense, reportedly saying: "are we not human?" which led to an argument between them. The women allegedly complained to Qari Salim, the local cleric, that Aasia Bibi had made derogatory remarks about the Prophet Muhammad. The cleric informed local police who arrested and charged her with insulting the Prophet Muhammad.
Aasia Bibi denies the allegations and her husband, Ashiq Masih, claims her conviction was based on "false accusations". However, the trial judge, Naveed Iqbal, "totally ruled out" the possibility of false charges and said that there were "no mitigating circumstances". Aasia Bibi has now filed an appeal against the judgment in the Lahore High Court. She has been detained in prison and held in isolation since June 2009. She has claimed that she has not had access to a lawyer during her detention and the final day of her trial.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The blasphemy laws introduced in 1982 and 1986, while purporting to protect Islam and religious sensitivities of the Muslim majority, are vaguely formulated and arbitrarily enforced by the police and judiciary in a way which amounts to harassment and persecution of religious minorities and Muslims alike. Accusations of blasphemy have sometimes resulted in the murder of both Muslims and members of religious minorities.
Evidence from Amnesty International and other human rights groups suggests that charges brought against individuals under the blasphemy laws are founded solely on the individuals' minority religious beliefs or unfounded malicious accusations stemming from personal enmity, often with the motivation to imprison people to gain advantage in business or land disputes. Police frequently fail to record and investigate complaints and justice is impeded by the biased attitude of some judges against religious minorities.
Many of those accused or suspected of blasphemy have been assaulted or tortured. Some people detained on blasphemy charges in prisons have been killed by fellow detainees or prison wardens. Others suspected of blasphemy, but not under arrest, have been unlawfully killed without police taking any action to protect them.
"Defiling the name of the Prophet Mohammed" is a capital offense under Section 295C of the Pakistan Penal Code, which states, "Whoever by words, either spoken or written or by visible representation, or by any imputation, innuendo, or insinuation, directly or indirectly, defiles the sacred name of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) shall be punished with death, or imprisonment for life, and shall also be liable to a fine". The Federal Shariat Court, whose tasks include reviewing laws to ensure they conform with Islamic doctrine, ruled in 1991 that anyone convicted of blasphemy should face the death penalty, not life imprisonment.
Articles 18 and 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights set out that everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience, religion, opinion and expression. International human rights law provides that any limitations placed on these freedoms should be only such as are prescribed by law as well as being necessary and proportionate for, among other things, the protection of the rights and freedoms of others.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible:
- Calling on President Zardari to commute the death sentence use his powers under Article 45 of the Constitution;
- Calling for the immediate release of Aasia Bibi, unless she is charged with internationally regognizable offenses and tried in proceedings and under laws that meet international human rights standards;
- Calling on the authorities to take immediate measures to guarantee the safety of Aasia Bibi and her family;
- Expressing concern that the blasphemy laws are used indiscriminately against religious minorities and Muslims alike, and urging the government to amend or abolish laws, particularly section 295C of the Pakistan Penal Code which carries the death penalty for anyone found guilty of blasphemy; and
- Calling on the Supreme Court of Pakistan to take Suo Moto notice of the case;
- Urging the government to fulfill its pledge to review and improve "laws detrimental to religious harmony", announced by Prime Minister Giliani in August 2009;
- Calling for an immediate moratorium on all executions in the country, in line with the worldwide trends to abolish the death penalty with a view to an eventual abolition of the death penalty.
APPEALS TO:
President Zardari
Pakistan Secretariat, Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Fax: 011 92-51-9207458
E-mail: publicmail@president.gov.pk
Salutation: Dear President Zardari
Dr. Zaheeruddin Babar Awan
Federal Minister
Ministry of Law, Justice & Parliamentary Affairs
Room 305, S-Block,
Pakistan Secretariat, Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Fax: 011 92 51 9202628
E-Mail: minister@molaw.gov.pk
Salutation: Dear Minister
COPIES TO:
Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry
Chief Justice of Pakistan
Supreme Court of Pakistan
Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Fax: 011 92-51-9213452
Salutation: Dear Chief Justice Chaudhry
Ambassador Hussain Haqqani
Embassy of The Islamic Republic of Pakistan
3517 International Ct NW
Washington DC 20008
Fax: 1 202 686 1534
Email: info@embassyofpakistanusa.org
ambassador@embassyofpakistanusa.org
PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY.
Check with the AIUSA Urgent Action office if sending appeals after 29 December 2010.
----------------------------------
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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
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Washington DC 20003
Email: uan@aiusa.org
http://www.amnestyusa.org/urgent/
Phone: 202.509.8193
Fax: 202.675.8566
----------------------------------
END OF URGENT ACTION APPEAL
----------------------------------
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Urgent Action 11-17-10
URGENT ACTION APPEAL
- From Amnesty International USA
To learn about recent Urgent Action successes and updates, go to
http://www.amnestyusa.org/iar/success
----------------------------------
For a print-friendly version of this Urgent Action (PDF):
http://www.amnestyusa.org/actioncenter/actions/uaa24010.pdf
16 November 2010
UA 240/10 Fear for Safety
MEXICO José Alberto Donis Rodríguez (m)
Migrants' rights defender José Alberto Donis Rodríguez was assaulted and threatened with death on 11 November by a suspected gang member in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca. Local sources believe the gang member is part of a migrant trafficking ring operating in the area. José Alberto Donis and his colleagues are at risk.
José Alberto Donis is a staff member at the "Brothers on the road" ("Hermanos en el camino") migrants' shelter in Ixtepec city, Oaxaca state. He is a Guatemalan migrant himself who arrived at the shelter in 2008 and decided to stay to support the work of the other staff and volunteers.
On 11 November at around 11am, José Alberto Donis approached a man who was standing at the entrance of the migrants' shelter. As José Alberto Donis had seen the man wandering near the shelter for several days, he told the man that all those who stay at the shelter or who regularly visit the shelter have to be photographed and have their personal details recorded for security reasons. The man refused, and José Alberto Donis asked him to leave the shelter. An argument began and the man attempted to punch José Alberto Donis, threatened to kill him, and left the shelter. At around 2pm a colleague of José Alberto Donis ran into the man at the local train station and overheard him telling others that he was going to kill José Alberto Donis.
The man, who is in his late twenties, could be part of a trafficking ring which operates in the area. The gang has tried to lure migrants with the promise of taking them to the US border. Hundreds of migrants are kidnapped every year in Mexico, and many of them are eventually killed after they fall prey to these trafficking rings.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Defending human rights can be a life-threatening job in Mexico. Scores of activists have suffered death threats, intimidation, and harassment in the last few years. Some of them have been killed for doing their job. The authorities have recognized that adopting and implementing an effective and comprehensive protection programme (mecanismo de protección), as requested by human rights defenders, is paramount. However, they have not fulfilled their promises yet.
Father Alejandro Solalinde, the director of the “Brothers on the road” shelter, has suffered arbitrary arrest and intimidation at the hands of local authorities and members of the community. On 10 January 2007, Father Solalinde was arrested and detained for several hours by police while carrying out human rights work. On 24 June 2008, a group of about 50 residents of Ciudad Ixtepec led by municipal officials, including the mayor and 14 municipal police, broke into the shelter and threatened to set the building on fire if it was not shut down within 48 hours.
Following further acts of intimidation in late 2009, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights ordered the Mexican authorities to provide Father Solalinde and his colleagues with adequate protection. Since 23 April 2010, when the request was issued, Father Solalinde has held meetings with representatives of the Ministry of the Interior and they have agreed on a plan to implement specific protection measures. To date, very few of these measures have been put into practice.
Every year, thousands of undocumented migrants from Central America travel across Mexico in order to reach the US border. Many of them suffer beatings, kidnapping, rape, and even murder. In most of the cases the attacks are carried out by criminal gangs, but officials are known to have been complicit or acquiescent in many of the attacks. By and large, the authorities fail to investigate attacks against migrants and to bring those responsible to justice.
On 8 November Amnesty International and Mexican actor and director Gael García Bernal launched a series of films on the situation of undocumented migrants in Mexico. The films are available on: http://www.youtube.com/invisiblesfilms
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible:
- Expressing concern at the assault and death threat suffered by human rights defender José Alberto Donis on 11 November;
- Urging the authorities to provide José Alberto Donis and his colleagues with effective protection, in strict accordance with their wishes and in compliance with the request issued by Inter-American Commission on Human Rights on 23 April 2010;
- Calling on the authorities to carry out a full and prompt investigation into the operations of trafficking rings around the migrants’ shelter;
- Reminding the authorities of their duties to guarantee that human rights defenders can carry out their work without fear of reprisals as established in the 1998 UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders.
APPEALS TO:
Minister of the Interior
Lic. José Francisco Blake Mora
Secretaría de Gobernación
Bucareli 99, 1er. piso, Col. Juárez
Delegación Cuauhtémoc
México D.F., C.P.06600,
MÉXICO
Fax: 011 52 55 5093 3414
Email: secretario@segob.gob.mx
Salutation: Dear Minister/Estimado Señor Secretario
Governor-elect of Oaxaca state (takes office on 1 December)
Lic. Gabino Cué Monteagudo
Gobernador electo del Estado
Representación del Estado de Oaxaca en la Ciudad de México
Shakespeare 68, Col. Nueva Anzures, Del. Miguel Hidalgo,
México, D.F., C.P. 11590,
MÉXICO
Fax: 011 52 55 5531 4041 OR 011 52 55 5545 7362
Email: goboaxdf@prodigy.net.mx
COPIES TO:
President of the National Human Rights Commission
Dr. Raúl Plascencia Villanueva
Presidente, Comisión Nacional de Derechos Humanos (CNDH)
Blvd. Adolfo López Mateos 1922, 6° piso,
Col. Tlacopac San Ángel, Del. Álvaro Obregón,
México D.F., C.P. 01040,
MÉXICO
Fax: 011 52 55 5668 0767
Email: secpartpresidencia@cndh.org.mx
Ambassador Arturo Sarukhan Casamitjana
Embassy of Mexico
1911 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Washington DC 20006
Fax: 1 202 728 1698
Email: mexembusa@sre.gob.mx
PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY.
Check with the AIUSA Urgent Action office if sending appeals after 28 December 2010.
----------------------------------
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- 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/uaa24010.pdf
16 November 2010
UA 240/10 Fear for Safety
MEXICO José Alberto Donis Rodríguez (m)
Migrants' rights defender José Alberto Donis Rodríguez was assaulted and threatened with death on 11 November by a suspected gang member in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca. Local sources believe the gang member is part of a migrant trafficking ring operating in the area. José Alberto Donis and his colleagues are at risk.
José Alberto Donis is a staff member at the "Brothers on the road" ("Hermanos en el camino") migrants' shelter in Ixtepec city, Oaxaca state. He is a Guatemalan migrant himself who arrived at the shelter in 2008 and decided to stay to support the work of the other staff and volunteers.
On 11 November at around 11am, José Alberto Donis approached a man who was standing at the entrance of the migrants' shelter. As José Alberto Donis had seen the man wandering near the shelter for several days, he told the man that all those who stay at the shelter or who regularly visit the shelter have to be photographed and have their personal details recorded for security reasons. The man refused, and José Alberto Donis asked him to leave the shelter. An argument began and the man attempted to punch José Alberto Donis, threatened to kill him, and left the shelter. At around 2pm a colleague of José Alberto Donis ran into the man at the local train station and overheard him telling others that he was going to kill José Alberto Donis.
The man, who is in his late twenties, could be part of a trafficking ring which operates in the area. The gang has tried to lure migrants with the promise of taking them to the US border. Hundreds of migrants are kidnapped every year in Mexico, and many of them are eventually killed after they fall prey to these trafficking rings.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Defending human rights can be a life-threatening job in Mexico. Scores of activists have suffered death threats, intimidation, and harassment in the last few years. Some of them have been killed for doing their job. The authorities have recognized that adopting and implementing an effective and comprehensive protection programme (mecanismo de protección), as requested by human rights defenders, is paramount. However, they have not fulfilled their promises yet.
Father Alejandro Solalinde, the director of the “Brothers on the road” shelter, has suffered arbitrary arrest and intimidation at the hands of local authorities and members of the community. On 10 January 2007, Father Solalinde was arrested and detained for several hours by police while carrying out human rights work. On 24 June 2008, a group of about 50 residents of Ciudad Ixtepec led by municipal officials, including the mayor and 14 municipal police, broke into the shelter and threatened to set the building on fire if it was not shut down within 48 hours.
Following further acts of intimidation in late 2009, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights ordered the Mexican authorities to provide Father Solalinde and his colleagues with adequate protection. Since 23 April 2010, when the request was issued, Father Solalinde has held meetings with representatives of the Ministry of the Interior and they have agreed on a plan to implement specific protection measures. To date, very few of these measures have been put into practice.
Every year, thousands of undocumented migrants from Central America travel across Mexico in order to reach the US border. Many of them suffer beatings, kidnapping, rape, and even murder. In most of the cases the attacks are carried out by criminal gangs, but officials are known to have been complicit or acquiescent in many of the attacks. By and large, the authorities fail to investigate attacks against migrants and to bring those responsible to justice.
On 8 November Amnesty International and Mexican actor and director Gael García Bernal launched a series of films on the situation of undocumented migrants in Mexico. The films are available on: http://www.youtube.com/invisiblesfilms
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible:
- Expressing concern at the assault and death threat suffered by human rights defender José Alberto Donis on 11 November;
- Urging the authorities to provide José Alberto Donis and his colleagues with effective protection, in strict accordance with their wishes and in compliance with the request issued by Inter-American Commission on Human Rights on 23 April 2010;
- Calling on the authorities to carry out a full and prompt investigation into the operations of trafficking rings around the migrants’ shelter;
- Reminding the authorities of their duties to guarantee that human rights defenders can carry out their work without fear of reprisals as established in the 1998 UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders.
APPEALS TO:
Minister of the Interior
Lic. José Francisco Blake Mora
Secretaría de Gobernación
Bucareli 99, 1er. piso, Col. Juárez
Delegación Cuauhtémoc
México D.F., C.P.06600,
MÉXICO
Fax: 011 52 55 5093 3414
Email: secretario@segob.gob.mx
Salutation: Dear Minister/Estimado Señor Secretario
Governor-elect of Oaxaca state (takes office on 1 December)
Lic. Gabino Cué Monteagudo
Gobernador electo del Estado
Representación del Estado de Oaxaca en la Ciudad de México
Shakespeare 68, Col. Nueva Anzures, Del. Miguel Hidalgo,
México, D.F., C.P. 11590,
MÉXICO
Fax: 011 52 55 5531 4041 OR 011 52 55 5545 7362
Email: goboaxdf@prodigy.net.mx
COPIES TO:
President of the National Human Rights Commission
Dr. Raúl Plascencia Villanueva
Presidente, Comisión Nacional de Derechos Humanos (CNDH)
Blvd. Adolfo López Mateos 1922, 6° piso,
Col. Tlacopac San Ángel, Del. Álvaro Obregón,
México D.F., C.P. 01040,
MÉXICO
Fax: 011 52 55 5668 0767
Email: secpartpresidencia@cndh.org.mx
Ambassador Arturo Sarukhan Casamitjana
Embassy of Mexico
1911 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Washington DC 20006
Fax: 1 202 728 1698
Email: mexembusa@sre.gob.mx
PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY.
Check with the AIUSA Urgent Action office if sending appeals after 28 December 2010.
----------------------------------
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To Mexico:
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Monday, November 15, 2010
Urgent Action 11-15-10
URGENT ACTION APPEAL
- From Amnesty International USA
To learn about recent Urgent Action successes and updates, go to
http://www.amnestyusa.org/iar/success
----------------------------------
For a print-friendly version of this Urgent Action (PDF):
http://www.amnestyusa.org/actioncenter/actions/uaa23810.pdf
15 November 2010
UA 238/10 - Risk of torture/ Legal concern
TAJIKISTAN Ilkhom Ismanov (m) Russian national
Ilkhom Ismanov, a Russian citizen, has reportedly been tortured by police in the northern Soghd region of Tajikistan and continues to be at risk. His lawyer has been denied access to him.
According to the NGO Center for Human Rights of Soghd region, on 3 November, Ilkhom Ismanov disappeared and his family was not told his whereabouts. On 4 November two men came to his family's house and made an inventory of his possessions without presenting any official documents. They told Ilkhom Ismanov's wife that he was being held at the Department for the Fight against Organized Crime (6th Department) of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the city of Khudzhand in the Soghd region.
On 4 November Ilkhom Ismanov's wife hired a lawyer, but despite several attempts the she has reportedly only seen her client in court on 12 November, when the judge authorized his further detention. On 5 November a representative of the Center for Human Rights of Soghd region tried to meet with him, but was also denied access.
On 5 November, when Ilkhom Ismanov's wife and brother went to the detention facility in Khudzhand to provide him with food and clothing, a policeman reportedly asked them to bring some ointment for injuries and pain killers. Ilkhom Ismanov's relatives have been denied access to him many times, but they were able to see him twice. They said that he was unable to walk, had several cuts on his neck, his hands were bruised, his whole body was wet and there was water on the floor. His wife reported that when she asked to look at his feet police stopped the visit and escorted them out. When she asked the police what they had done to her husband they reportedly made fun of her and said: "You should say thank you to us that we showed you your husband. Now, go. We also need time to rest."
According to a source present at the court hearing on 12 November, Ilkhom Ismanov told the judge that he was tortured including by giving him electric shocks and pouring boiling water over his body. The judge reportedly turned down Ilkhom Ismanov’s offer to show him evidence of torture on his body. The judge did not address the torture allegations and said that the lawyer should take it up with the police investigator. The judge ruled on 13 November that allegations that he had been detained since 3 November rather than 9 November, as the police had stated, should be investigated. According to the Tajikistani Criminal-Procedural Code, detainees have to be brought before a judge to rule on their continued detention no later than 72 hours after their arrest. The court announced that Ilkhom Ismanov was charged with "organizing a criminal group" (Article 187 of the Criminal Code of Tajikistan).
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
On 11 November Ilkhom Ismanov was reportedly transferred to the Temporary Detention Facility of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the town of Chkalovsk.
Ilkhom Ismanov's relatives and his lawyer have sent several complaints to the authorities including the Regional Department for the Fight with Organized Crime and the Procurator's Office of Sogd. On 11 November they sent a telegram to the regional procuracy urging them to give Ilkhom Ismanov a medical examination. No replies have been received.
Tajikistan is a landlocked country bordering China (East), Afghanistan (South) and Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan (North) and has an estimated population of 7.2 million. Tajikistan gained its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. The economic decline of the country after the collapse of the Soviet Union was compounded by a devastating civil war, lasting from 1992- 1997. President Emomali Rakhmon has been in power since 1994. Emomali Rakhmon has been successful in consolidating Tajikistan after its devastating civil war. He views himself as the indispensable guarantor of stability and peace in the face of possible new unrest, including in the context of the unstable economic situation in the country and the politically unstable situation in neighbouring Afghanistan.
Amnesty International has criticized human rights violations in the country such as torture and ill-treatment of detainees, and other persons, by law enforcement officers, impunity for torturers, denial of the right to fair trial, inhuman prison conditions, restrictions of freedom of speech; and violence against women. Torture and other ill-treatment are believed to be widespread in Tajikistan.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible:
- Expressing concern at allegations that Ilkhom Ismanov was tortured or ill-treated by police from the Department for the Fight against Organized Crime (6th Department) of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the city of Khudzhand and urging the authorities to promptly conduct a medical examination and open an investigation into the allegations;
- Expressing concern that Ilkhom Ismanov was detained for six days longer than the lawful period before being brought before a judge;
- Expressing concern that his lawyer has been denied access to Ilkhom Ismanov and urging the authorities to ensure that his lawyer is promptly granted access.
APPEALS TO:
The President
Emomali Rakhmon
Apparat Prezidenta Respubliki Tajikistan,
or. Rudaki 80,
734023 g. Dushanbe
TAJIKISTAN
Email: mail@president.tj
Salutation: Dear President
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Zarifi Khamrokhon
pr. Rudaki, 42,
734051 Dushanbe
TAJIKISTAN
Fax: 011 (992 37) 221-02-59
Email: info@mfa.tj
Salutation: Dear Minister
COPIES TO:
Ambassador Abdujabbor Shirinov
Embassy of the Republic of Tajikistan
1005 New Hampshire Avenue, NW
Washington DC 20037
Fax: 1 202 223 6091
Email: tajikistan@verizon.net
PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY.
Check with the AIUSA Urgent Action office if sending appeals after 27 December 2010.
----------------------------------
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.)
- 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/uaa23810.pdf
15 November 2010
UA 238/10 - Risk of torture/ Legal concern
TAJIKISTAN Ilkhom Ismanov (m) Russian national
Ilkhom Ismanov, a Russian citizen, has reportedly been tortured by police in the northern Soghd region of Tajikistan and continues to be at risk. His lawyer has been denied access to him.
According to the NGO Center for Human Rights of Soghd region, on 3 November, Ilkhom Ismanov disappeared and his family was not told his whereabouts. On 4 November two men came to his family's house and made an inventory of his possessions without presenting any official documents. They told Ilkhom Ismanov's wife that he was being held at the Department for the Fight against Organized Crime (6th Department) of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the city of Khudzhand in the Soghd region.
On 4 November Ilkhom Ismanov's wife hired a lawyer, but despite several attempts the she has reportedly only seen her client in court on 12 November, when the judge authorized his further detention. On 5 November a representative of the Center for Human Rights of Soghd region tried to meet with him, but was also denied access.
On 5 November, when Ilkhom Ismanov's wife and brother went to the detention facility in Khudzhand to provide him with food and clothing, a policeman reportedly asked them to bring some ointment for injuries and pain killers. Ilkhom Ismanov's relatives have been denied access to him many times, but they were able to see him twice. They said that he was unable to walk, had several cuts on his neck, his hands were bruised, his whole body was wet and there was water on the floor. His wife reported that when she asked to look at his feet police stopped the visit and escorted them out. When she asked the police what they had done to her husband they reportedly made fun of her and said: "You should say thank you to us that we showed you your husband. Now, go. We also need time to rest."
According to a source present at the court hearing on 12 November, Ilkhom Ismanov told the judge that he was tortured including by giving him electric shocks and pouring boiling water over his body. The judge reportedly turned down Ilkhom Ismanov’s offer to show him evidence of torture on his body. The judge did not address the torture allegations and said that the lawyer should take it up with the police investigator. The judge ruled on 13 November that allegations that he had been detained since 3 November rather than 9 November, as the police had stated, should be investigated. According to the Tajikistani Criminal-Procedural Code, detainees have to be brought before a judge to rule on their continued detention no later than 72 hours after their arrest. The court announced that Ilkhom Ismanov was charged with "organizing a criminal group" (Article 187 of the Criminal Code of Tajikistan).
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
On 11 November Ilkhom Ismanov was reportedly transferred to the Temporary Detention Facility of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the town of Chkalovsk.
Ilkhom Ismanov's relatives and his lawyer have sent several complaints to the authorities including the Regional Department for the Fight with Organized Crime and the Procurator's Office of Sogd. On 11 November they sent a telegram to the regional procuracy urging them to give Ilkhom Ismanov a medical examination. No replies have been received.
Tajikistan is a landlocked country bordering China (East), Afghanistan (South) and Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan (North) and has an estimated population of 7.2 million. Tajikistan gained its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. The economic decline of the country after the collapse of the Soviet Union was compounded by a devastating civil war, lasting from 1992- 1997. President Emomali Rakhmon has been in power since 1994. Emomali Rakhmon has been successful in consolidating Tajikistan after its devastating civil war. He views himself as the indispensable guarantor of stability and peace in the face of possible new unrest, including in the context of the unstable economic situation in the country and the politically unstable situation in neighbouring Afghanistan.
Amnesty International has criticized human rights violations in the country such as torture and ill-treatment of detainees, and other persons, by law enforcement officers, impunity for torturers, denial of the right to fair trial, inhuman prison conditions, restrictions of freedom of speech; and violence against women. Torture and other ill-treatment are believed to be widespread in Tajikistan.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible:
- Expressing concern at allegations that Ilkhom Ismanov was tortured or ill-treated by police from the Department for the Fight against Organized Crime (6th Department) of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the city of Khudzhand and urging the authorities to promptly conduct a medical examination and open an investigation into the allegations;
- Expressing concern that Ilkhom Ismanov was detained for six days longer than the lawful period before being brought before a judge;
- Expressing concern that his lawyer has been denied access to Ilkhom Ismanov and urging the authorities to ensure that his lawyer is promptly granted access.
APPEALS TO:
The President
Emomali Rakhmon
Apparat Prezidenta Respubliki Tajikistan,
or. Rudaki 80,
734023 g. Dushanbe
TAJIKISTAN
Email: mail@president.tj
Salutation: Dear President
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Zarifi Khamrokhon
pr. Rudaki, 42,
734051 Dushanbe
TAJIKISTAN
Fax: 011 (992 37) 221-02-59
Email: info@mfa.tj
Salutation: Dear Minister
COPIES TO:
Ambassador Abdujabbor Shirinov
Embassy of the Republic of Tajikistan
1005 New Hampshire Avenue, NW
Washington DC 20037
Fax: 1 202 223 6091
Email: tajikistan@verizon.net
PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY.
Check with the AIUSA Urgent Action office if sending appeals after 27 December 2010.
----------------------------------
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Sunday, November 14, 2010
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
----------------------------------
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.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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/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.
----------------------------------
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 re-posted if kept intact, including contact information and stop action date (if applicable). Thank you for your help with this 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/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.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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/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.
----------------------------------
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 re-posted if kept intact, including contact information and stop action date (if applicable). Thank you for your help with this appeal.
Friday, November 12, 2010
Urgent Action 11-12-10
URGENT ACTION APPEAL
- From Amnesty International USA
To learn about recent Urgent Action successes and updates, go to
http://www.amnestyusa.org/iar/success
----------------------------------
For a print-friendly version of this Urgent Action (PDF):
http://www.amnestyusa.org/actioncenter/actions/uaa32809.pdf
Note: Please write on behalf of these persons even though you may not have
received the original UA when issued on December 8, 2010. Thanks!
11 November 2010
Further information on UA 328/09 (8 December 2009) and follow up (17 March 2010) - Death penalty/ Prisoner of conscience
SAUDI ARABIA ‘Ali Hussain Sibat (m), aged 46
The Supreme Court in Saudi Arabia’s capital, Riyadh, has refused to ratify the death sentence on a Lebanese national for “sorcery” and has ordered the case to be reviewed by the original court.
‘Ali Hussain Sibat, who is 46 and has five children, was a presenter on a TV show aired in Saudi Arabia via the Lebanese satellite TV station Sheherazade, where he gave advice and predictions about the future. He was arrested by the Mutawa’een (religious police) and charged with “sorcery”, among other related offences, in May 2008 while he was in Saudi Arabia to perform a form of Muslim pilgrimage, the umra. He was convicted of these charges and sentenced to death by a court in Madina on 9 November 2009 after secret court hearings where he had no legal representation or assistance. Amnesty International concluded that he was sentenced solely for the peaceful exercise of his right to freedom of expression and that he was therefore a prisoner of conscience.
In January 2010, the Court of Appeal in Makkah accepted an appeal against his death sentence, on grounds that the verdict was premature, that all allegations against him had to be verified, and that if he had really committed the crime he should be asked to repent. However, on 10 March, a court in Madina upheld the death sentence. The judges in a statement said that he deserved to be sentenced to death because he had practiced “sorcery” publicly for several years before millions of viewers and that his actions made him an “infidel”. The Court of Appeal in Makkah subsequently upheld the death sentence in April and sent it to the Supreme Court for ratification.
The Supreme Court has, however, refused to ratify the death sentence, considering it to be inappropriate as, in its view, there was no proof that others were harmed as a result of his actions. The Supreme Court ordered the case to be referred back to the original court in Madina for a new set of judges to reconsider the sentence with a view to commuting the death penalty and ordering his deportation back to Lebanon.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
‘Ali Hussain Sibat was a presenter on a TV show on the Lebanese satellite TV station Sheherazade, where he gave advice and predictions about the future. His lawyer in Lebanon believes that ‘Ali Hussain Sibat was arrested because members of the Mutawa’een had recognized him from the show. After he was arrested, ‘Ali Hussain Sibat’s interrogators told him to write down what he did for a living, reassuring him that, if he did so, he would be allowed to go home after a few weeks. This document was presented in court as a “confession” and used to convict him.
Another man sentenced to death for “apostasy” in July 2009 by a court in Hail on grounds relating to “sorcery” may also still be at risk of execution.
The crime of “sorcery” is not defined in Saudi Arabia, and has been used to punish people for the legitimate exercise of their human rights, including the rights to freedom of thought, conscience, religion, belief and expression. The criminalization of apostasy is incompatible with the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion as set out in Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
At least 158 people were executed in 2007 in Saudi Arabia, and at least 102 in 2008. In 2009, 69 people are known to have been executed, including almost 20 foreign nationals. Since the beginning of 2010, at least 22 people have been executed.
Saudi Arabia applies the death penalty for a wide range of offenses, including some with no lethal consequences. Court proceedings fall far short of international standards for fair trial. Defendants are rarely allowed formal representation by a lawyer, and in many cases are not informed of the progress of legal proceedings against them. They may be convicted solely on the basis of confessions obtained under duress or deception.
The Saudi Arabian authorities arrested scores of people for “sorcery” in 2009, and have continued to arrest people for “sorcery” this year. A number of them were arrested by the Mutawa’een (religious police), which is officially referred to as the Commission for Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice. The last known execution for “sorcery” was that of Egyptian national Mustafa Ibrahim, on 2 November 2007. He was convicted of “sorcery” and “witchcraft” for allegedly casting spells to attempt to separate a married couple.
In a report issued in 2008 on the use of the death penalty in Saudi Arabia, Amnesty International highlighted the extensive use of the death penalty as well as the disproportionately high number of executions of foreign nationals from developing countries. For further information please see Saudi Arabia: Affront to Justice: Death Penalty in Saudi Arabia (Index: MDE 23/027/2008), 14 October 2008: http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/report/saudi-arabia-executions-target-foreign-nationals-20081014
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible:
- Welcoming the decision of the Supreme Court not to ratify the death sentence against ‘Ali Hussain Sibat, given Amnesty International’s opposition to the death penalty in all circumstances;
- Reminding the authorities that the UN Safeguards guaranteeing protection of the rights of those facing the death penalty stipulate that “capital punishment may be imposed only for the most serious crimes, it being understood that their scope should not go beyond intentional crimes with lethal or other extremely grave consequences” and that the decision of the court in Madina due to retry the case must, as a minimum, ensure this safeguard is upheld;
- Calling on the authorities to release ‘Ali Hussain Sibat immediately and unconditionally as he has been convicted solely for the peaceful exercise of his right to freedom of expression.
APPEALS TO:
King
His Majesty King ‘Abdullah Bin ‘Abdul ‘Aziz Al-Saud
The Custodian of the two Holy Mosques
Office of His Majesty the King
Royal Court, Riyadh
KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA
Fax: Via Ministry of the Interior: 011 966 1 403 1185 (please keep trying)
Salutation: Your Majesty
Second Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior
His Royal Highness Prince Naif bin ‘Abdul ‘Aziz Al-Saud,
Ministry of the Interior,
P.O. Box 2933, Airport Road
Riyadh 11134
KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA
Fax: 011 966 1 403 1185 (please keep trying)
Salutation: Your Royal Highness
COPIES TO:
President, Human Rights Commission
Bandar Mohammed ‘Abdullah al- Aiban
Human Rights Commission
P.O. Box 58889, King Fahad Road,
Building No. 373, Riyadh 11515
KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA
Email: hrc@haq-ksa.org
Ambassador Adel A. Al-Jubeir
Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia
601 New Hampshire Ave. NW
Washington DC 20037
Fax: 1 202 944 5983
Email: info@saudiembassy.net
PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY.
Check with the AIUSA Urgent Action office if sending appeals after 23 December 2010.
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
----------------------------------
END OF 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/uaa32809.pdf
Note: Please write on behalf of these persons even though you may not have
received the original UA when issued on December 8, 2010. Thanks!
11 November 2010
Further information on UA 328/09 (8 December 2009) and follow up (17 March 2010) - Death penalty/ Prisoner of conscience
SAUDI ARABIA ‘Ali Hussain Sibat (m), aged 46
The Supreme Court in Saudi Arabia’s capital, Riyadh, has refused to ratify the death sentence on a Lebanese national for “sorcery” and has ordered the case to be reviewed by the original court.
‘Ali Hussain Sibat, who is 46 and has five children, was a presenter on a TV show aired in Saudi Arabia via the Lebanese satellite TV station Sheherazade, where he gave advice and predictions about the future. He was arrested by the Mutawa’een (religious police) and charged with “sorcery”, among other related offences, in May 2008 while he was in Saudi Arabia to perform a form of Muslim pilgrimage, the umra. He was convicted of these charges and sentenced to death by a court in Madina on 9 November 2009 after secret court hearings where he had no legal representation or assistance. Amnesty International concluded that he was sentenced solely for the peaceful exercise of his right to freedom of expression and that he was therefore a prisoner of conscience.
In January 2010, the Court of Appeal in Makkah accepted an appeal against his death sentence, on grounds that the verdict was premature, that all allegations against him had to be verified, and that if he had really committed the crime he should be asked to repent. However, on 10 March, a court in Madina upheld the death sentence. The judges in a statement said that he deserved to be sentenced to death because he had practiced “sorcery” publicly for several years before millions of viewers and that his actions made him an “infidel”. The Court of Appeal in Makkah subsequently upheld the death sentence in April and sent it to the Supreme Court for ratification.
The Supreme Court has, however, refused to ratify the death sentence, considering it to be inappropriate as, in its view, there was no proof that others were harmed as a result of his actions. The Supreme Court ordered the case to be referred back to the original court in Madina for a new set of judges to reconsider the sentence with a view to commuting the death penalty and ordering his deportation back to Lebanon.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
‘Ali Hussain Sibat was a presenter on a TV show on the Lebanese satellite TV station Sheherazade, where he gave advice and predictions about the future. His lawyer in Lebanon believes that ‘Ali Hussain Sibat was arrested because members of the Mutawa’een had recognized him from the show. After he was arrested, ‘Ali Hussain Sibat’s interrogators told him to write down what he did for a living, reassuring him that, if he did so, he would be allowed to go home after a few weeks. This document was presented in court as a “confession” and used to convict him.
Another man sentenced to death for “apostasy” in July 2009 by a court in Hail on grounds relating to “sorcery” may also still be at risk of execution.
The crime of “sorcery” is not defined in Saudi Arabia, and has been used to punish people for the legitimate exercise of their human rights, including the rights to freedom of thought, conscience, religion, belief and expression. The criminalization of apostasy is incompatible with the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion as set out in Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
At least 158 people were executed in 2007 in Saudi Arabia, and at least 102 in 2008. In 2009, 69 people are known to have been executed, including almost 20 foreign nationals. Since the beginning of 2010, at least 22 people have been executed.
Saudi Arabia applies the death penalty for a wide range of offenses, including some with no lethal consequences. Court proceedings fall far short of international standards for fair trial. Defendants are rarely allowed formal representation by a lawyer, and in many cases are not informed of the progress of legal proceedings against them. They may be convicted solely on the basis of confessions obtained under duress or deception.
The Saudi Arabian authorities arrested scores of people for “sorcery” in 2009, and have continued to arrest people for “sorcery” this year. A number of them were arrested by the Mutawa’een (religious police), which is officially referred to as the Commission for Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice. The last known execution for “sorcery” was that of Egyptian national Mustafa Ibrahim, on 2 November 2007. He was convicted of “sorcery” and “witchcraft” for allegedly casting spells to attempt to separate a married couple.
In a report issued in 2008 on the use of the death penalty in Saudi Arabia, Amnesty International highlighted the extensive use of the death penalty as well as the disproportionately high number of executions of foreign nationals from developing countries. For further information please see Saudi Arabia: Affront to Justice: Death Penalty in Saudi Arabia (Index: MDE 23/027/2008), 14 October 2008: http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/report/saudi-arabia-executions-target-foreign-nationals-20081014
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible:
- Welcoming the decision of the Supreme Court not to ratify the death sentence against ‘Ali Hussain Sibat, given Amnesty International’s opposition to the death penalty in all circumstances;
- Reminding the authorities that the UN Safeguards guaranteeing protection of the rights of those facing the death penalty stipulate that “capital punishment may be imposed only for the most serious crimes, it being understood that their scope should not go beyond intentional crimes with lethal or other extremely grave consequences” and that the decision of the court in Madina due to retry the case must, as a minimum, ensure this safeguard is upheld;
- Calling on the authorities to release ‘Ali Hussain Sibat immediately and unconditionally as he has been convicted solely for the peaceful exercise of his right to freedom of expression.
APPEALS TO:
King
His Majesty King ‘Abdullah Bin ‘Abdul ‘Aziz Al-Saud
The Custodian of the two Holy Mosques
Office of His Majesty the King
Royal Court, Riyadh
KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA
Fax: Via Ministry of the Interior: 011 966 1 403 1185 (please keep trying)
Salutation: Your Majesty
Second Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior
His Royal Highness Prince Naif bin ‘Abdul ‘Aziz Al-Saud,
Ministry of the Interior,
P.O. Box 2933, Airport Road
Riyadh 11134
KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA
Fax: 011 966 1 403 1185 (please keep trying)
Salutation: Your Royal Highness
COPIES TO:
President, Human Rights Commission
Bandar Mohammed ‘Abdullah al- Aiban
Human Rights Commission
P.O. Box 58889, King Fahad Road,
Building No. 373, Riyadh 11515
KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA
Email: hrc@haq-ksa.org
Ambassador Adel A. Al-Jubeir
Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia
601 New Hampshire Ave. NW
Washington DC 20037
Fax: 1 202 944 5983
Email: info@saudiembassy.net
PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY.
Check with the AIUSA Urgent Action office if sending appeals after 23 December 2010.
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
----------------------------------
END OF URGENT ACTION APPEAL
----------------------------------
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Urgent Action 11-10-10
10 November 2010
Further information on UA 135/10 (18 June 2010) and follow ups (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 needs urgent specialized medical intervention. At the start of the final session of his appeal on 10 November, his lawyer asked the appeal court judge to allow his client to be seen immediately by a specialist surgeon. No surgeon had been called by the end of the session and his family and colleagues fear for his life.
Azimzhan Askarov was given a life sentence on 15 September for participation in mass violence and murder in June 2010. The final session of his appeal was on 10 November, and the sentence was upheld.
His lawyer and family members reported on the final day of the hearing that Azimzhan Askahov has not been able to eat for over 15 days because of undiagnosed problems with his digestive tract. At the start of the session his lawyer submitted a petition to the presiding judge to allow for him to be seen by a surgeon urgently given the critical condition of his health. However, he had not been seen by a surgeon by the time the judges returned their verdict. Azimzhan Askarov’s colleagues described him as looking very gaunt with yellowish skin. Colleagues and family fear that he may die if he is not examined by a surgeon as soon as possible.
Azimzhan Askarov’s lawyer and family members also stated an ambulance had to be called earlier in the day to the detention center in Bazar-Korgan where Azimzhan Askarov has been held for parts of the duration of the appeal hearing because his condition was deteriorating rapidly. Despite his ill-health, Azimzhan Askarov was transferred to the court building in Nooken to attend the hearing. The 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.
Azimzhan Askarov is not safe at the Bazar-Korgan detention center; when he was first detained there in June and July he was subjected to prolonged beatings and other ill-treatment; he was also denied necessary medical treatment and his lawyer and family members were threatened and attacked on the premises of the detention center.
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 center. 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 Internal Affairs
Zarylbek Rysaliev
Frunze Street, 469
Bishkek 720040
KYRGYZSTAN
Fax: 011 996 312 682044
Email: pressa@mail.mvd.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 23 January 2010.
----------------------------------
** 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: 202.509.8193
Fax: 202.675.8566
----------------------------------
END OF URGENT ACTION APPEAL
----------------------------------
Further information on UA 135/10 (18 June 2010) and follow ups (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 needs urgent specialized medical intervention. At the start of the final session of his appeal on 10 November, his lawyer asked the appeal court judge to allow his client to be seen immediately by a specialist surgeon. No surgeon had been called by the end of the session and his family and colleagues fear for his life.
Azimzhan Askarov was given a life sentence on 15 September for participation in mass violence and murder in June 2010. The final session of his appeal was on 10 November, and the sentence was upheld.
His lawyer and family members reported on the final day of the hearing that Azimzhan Askahov has not been able to eat for over 15 days because of undiagnosed problems with his digestive tract. At the start of the session his lawyer submitted a petition to the presiding judge to allow for him to be seen by a surgeon urgently given the critical condition of his health. However, he had not been seen by a surgeon by the time the judges returned their verdict. Azimzhan Askarov’s colleagues described him as looking very gaunt with yellowish skin. Colleagues and family fear that he may die if he is not examined by a surgeon as soon as possible.
Azimzhan Askarov’s lawyer and family members also stated an ambulance had to be called earlier in the day to the detention center in Bazar-Korgan where Azimzhan Askarov has been held for parts of the duration of the appeal hearing because his condition was deteriorating rapidly. Despite his ill-health, Azimzhan Askarov was transferred to the court building in Nooken to attend the hearing. The 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.
Azimzhan Askarov is not safe at the Bazar-Korgan detention center; when he was first detained there in June and July he was subjected to prolonged beatings and other ill-treatment; he was also denied necessary medical treatment and his lawyer and family members were threatened and attacked on the premises of the detention center.
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 center. 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 Internal Affairs
Zarylbek Rysaliev
Frunze Street, 469
Bishkek 720040
KYRGYZSTAN
Fax: 011 996 312 682044
Email: pressa@mail.mvd.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 23 January 2010.
----------------------------------
** 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: 202.509.8193
Fax: 202.675.8566
----------------------------------
END OF URGENT ACTION APPEAL
----------------------------------
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Two Urgent Actions 11-3-10
3 November 2010
UA 231/10 - Risk of torture/ Incommunicado detention/ Legal concern
SUDAN
Abdelrahman Mohammed Al Gasim (m) human rights defender
Dirar Adam Dirar (m) human rights defender
Abdelrahman Adam Abdelrahman (m) human rights defender
Manal Mohammed Adam (f) activist
Aziza Ali Idriss (f) activist
Aisha Sardo Sherif (f) activist
Abu Gasim Al Din (m)
Zakaria Yacoub (m)
Between 30 October and 1 November, eight Darfuris, including a number of human rights activists, have been arrested in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan. Although the authorities have not yet acknowledged the arrests, there are reports from Sudan that all eight of them are being held incommunicado by the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS), without access to a lawyer or their families. They are at risk of torture and other ill-treatment.
Abdelrahman Mohammed Al Gasim, legal aid and protection coordinator for the Darfur Bar Association, and member of the Human Rights and Advocacy Network for Democracy (HAND); Dirar Adam Dirar, finance and administration officer at HAND, and Abdelrahman Adam Abdelrahman, deputy director of HAND were reportedly arrested by the NISS on the evening of 30 October in Khartoum.
Three female activists, Manal Mohammed Adam, Aziza Ali Idriss, and Aisha Sardo Sherif were also reportedly arrested by the NISS on 30 October.
Another two men, Abu Gasim Al Din and Zakaria Yacoub were reportedly also arrested. There are reports that more people have been arrested, but there is no confirmation as to all their names, identity or present whereabouts. The arrests have targeted Darfuris working for HAND, which is a coalition of grassroots Darfuri organizations that publishes human rights monitoring reports on Darfur, and people working for Radio Dabanga, a Sudanese radio station registered in the Netherlands that broadcasts news on the conflict in Darfur. Both reportedly share the same building in Khartoum.
None of the families of those arrested have had any news of their whereabouts or reasons for the arrests. There are reports that Abdelrahman Adam Abdelrahman may have been subjected to torture or other forms of ill-treatment.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Torture or other forms of ill-treatment of human rights activists and journalists by the National Intelligence and Security Services is often reported in Sudan, particularly amongst Darfuris and when those detained are not given access to the outside world. Amnesty International documented many cases of torture and ill-treatment in detention against human rights activists and journalists, and amongst Darfuris, namely at the hands of the NISS.
The 2010 National Security Act (2010 NSA), passed in December 2009, provides extensive powers of arrest and detention to members of the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS). Under the same Act, NISS agents are also provided with immunity from prosecution for any act committed in the course of their work. The 2010 NSA maintained powers and immunities provided under the previous law, the 1999 National Security Forces Act. As a result of these laws, a culture of impunity has pervaded in Sudan and NISS members have been carrying out human rights violations with impunity.
Although Sudan’s Criminal Procedure Code contains safeguards against incommunicado detention, Article 50 of the 2010 NSA stipulates that the NISS can arrest and detain any person for a total period of four and a half months without judicial oversight. The 2010 Act does not specify the grounds on which such detentions can be made. Such incommunicado detention without access to the outside world and without any outside inspection increases the likelihood of torture taking place.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible:
- Urging the authorities to disclose the names and whereabouts of all those detained, including Abdelrahman Mohammed Al Gasim, Dirar Adam Dirar, Abdelrahman Adam Abdelrahman, Manal Mohammed Adam, Aziza Ali Idriss, Aisha Sardo Sherif, Abu Gasim Al Din and Zakaria Yacoub;
- Calling on the authorities to release all those detained or charge them with recognizably criminal offences;
- Urging the authorities to allow all the detainees access to legal representation as well as family visits and any medical attention they might require;
- Calling on the Sudanese government to immediately stop the harassment and intimidation of human rights activists and journalists in Sudan;
- Calling for the 2010 National Security Act to be reformed to remove the excessive powers of the NISS, including powers of arrest and detention without judicial oversight.
APPEALS TO:
President
HE Omar Hassan Ahmad ad-Bashir
Office of the President
People’s Palace PO Box 281
Khartoum
SUDAN
Fax: 011 249 183 782 541
Salutation: Your Excellency
Minister of Justice
Mr Mohammed Bushara Dousa
Ministry of Justice
PO Box 302
Khartoum
SUDAN
Fax: 011 249 183 764 168
Salutation: Dear Minister
COPIES TO:
Minister of Interior
Mr Ibrahim Mohamed Hamed
Ministry of Interior
PO Box 873
Khartoum
SUDAN
H.E. Ambassador Khidir Haroun Ahmed
Embassy of the Republic of the Sudan
2210 Massachusetts Ave. NW
Washington DC 20008
Tel: 1 202 338 8565
Fax: 1 202 667 2406
E-mail: info@sudanembassy.org
kahmed@sudanembassy.org
PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY.
Check with the AIUSA Urgent Action office if sending appeals after 15 December 2010.
----------------------------------
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
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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
----------------------------------
_______________________________________________________
----------------------------------
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/uaa22610.pdf
2 November 2010
UA 226/10 Death Penalty/ Legal Concern
SUDAN
Idriss Adam Abbaker - alleged child
Abdallah Abdallah Daoud – alleged child
Ibrahim Shareef Youssif – alleged child
Abdelrazig Daoud Abdessed – alleged child
Altayib Mohammed Yagoub
Abdelgasim Abdallah Abubaker
Adam Altoum Adam
Mohammed Adam Hasballah
Alsadig Abbakar Yahya
On October 21, the Special Court in Darfur, western Sudan, sentenced ten individuals including four alleged children to death by hanging following an unfair trial. One of the children has had his sentence commuted after a medical examination established him to be under 18 years old.
The ten were sentenced to death for their reported involvement in an attack on a government escorted convoy in South Darfur in May 2010. A total of eleven individuals allegedly affiliated with the Darfurian armed opposition group, the Justice and Equality Movement, were tried in relation to the attack. One of the eleven was acquitted.
The defendants were prosecuted for a number of criminal offences under the 1991 Criminal Act, including murder, offences against the state, armed robbery and criminal damages. The trial was flawed and violated the right of the accused to a fair trial. The detainees were denied access to their lawyers and their families before the trial except for one occasion when their lawyers were permitted to meet with them for half an hour.
The four alleged children were placed in the same detention facilities as adults and were all tried together with the adult defendants before the Special Court. Despite the fact that the four reportedly gave their exact age to the court’s registry, only two were allegedly sent for medical inspections, despite requests by the lawyers and claims by the other two that they were also under 18. In Sudan, many people do not have birth certificates, so courts sometimes rely on medical examinations to establish people’s ages when they are not provided by the defendants.
Idriss Adam Abbaker and Abdallah Abdallah Daoud, were reportedly both found to be under 18 by the first medical examination. A second examination only confirmed Idriss Adam Abbaker as a child, so only he had his sentence commuted. The court did not look for further medical expertise to verify the results and reasons behind the contradictory results and also did not allow Ibrahim Shareef Youssif and Abdelrazig Daoud Abdessed to undergo the same examination. This raises concerns about the arbitrariness of the process of determining the age of the defendants by the court. The adults sentenced to death are Altayib Mohammed Yagoub, Abdelgasim Abdallah Abubaker, Hassan Ishag Abdallah, Adam Altoum Adam, Mohammed Adam Hasballah and Alsadig Abbakar Yahya. The defence lawyers submitted an appeal on behalf of the defendants before the Chief Justice for South.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible:
- Stating that international human rights law and standards and the Sudanese 2010 Child Act prohibit the execution of children;
- Calling on the authorities to commute the death sentences of the nine people sentenced to death;
- Urging the authorities to ensure that the appeal is in accordance with international fair trial standards;
- Urging the authorities to transfer the suspected juvenile offenders to a juveniles detention facility, or release them pending their re-trial, and to re-try them before a juvenile court;
- Stating your opposition to the death penalty as a violation of the right to life and the ultimate cruel, inhuman, and degrading punishment, and calling for all death sentences to be commuted and a moratorium established.
APPEALS TO:
President
HE Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir
Office of the President
People’s Palace PO Box 281
Khartoum,
SUDAN
Fax: 011 249 183 782 541
Salutation: Your Excellency
Minister of Justice
Mr Mohammed Bushara Dousa
Ministry of Justice, PO Box 302
Al Nil Avenue
Khartoum,
SUDAN
Fax: 011 249 183 764 168
Salutation: Your Excellency
COPIES TO:
Minister of Interior
Mr Ibrahim Mohamed Hamed
Ministry of Interior
PO Box 873
Khartoum,
SUDAN
H.E. Ambassador Khidir Haroun Ahmed
Embassy of the Republic of the Sudan
2210 Massachusetts Ave. NW
Washington DC 20008
Tel: 202 338 8565
Fax: 1 202 667 2406
E-mail: info@sudanembassy.org
kahmed@sudanembassy.org
PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY.
Check with the AIUSA Urgent Action office if sending appeals after 14 December 2010.
----------------------------------
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
----------------------------------
END OF URGENT ACTION APPEAL
----------------------------------
UA 231/10 - Risk of torture/ Incommunicado detention/ Legal concern
SUDAN
Abdelrahman Mohammed Al Gasim (m) human rights defender
Dirar Adam Dirar (m) human rights defender
Abdelrahman Adam Abdelrahman (m) human rights defender
Manal Mohammed Adam (f) activist
Aziza Ali Idriss (f) activist
Aisha Sardo Sherif (f) activist
Abu Gasim Al Din (m)
Zakaria Yacoub (m)
Between 30 October and 1 November, eight Darfuris, including a number of human rights activists, have been arrested in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan. Although the authorities have not yet acknowledged the arrests, there are reports from Sudan that all eight of them are being held incommunicado by the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS), without access to a lawyer or their families. They are at risk of torture and other ill-treatment.
Abdelrahman Mohammed Al Gasim, legal aid and protection coordinator for the Darfur Bar Association, and member of the Human Rights and Advocacy Network for Democracy (HAND); Dirar Adam Dirar, finance and administration officer at HAND, and Abdelrahman Adam Abdelrahman, deputy director of HAND were reportedly arrested by the NISS on the evening of 30 October in Khartoum.
Three female activists, Manal Mohammed Adam, Aziza Ali Idriss, and Aisha Sardo Sherif were also reportedly arrested by the NISS on 30 October.
Another two men, Abu Gasim Al Din and Zakaria Yacoub were reportedly also arrested. There are reports that more people have been arrested, but there is no confirmation as to all their names, identity or present whereabouts. The arrests have targeted Darfuris working for HAND, which is a coalition of grassroots Darfuri organizations that publishes human rights monitoring reports on Darfur, and people working for Radio Dabanga, a Sudanese radio station registered in the Netherlands that broadcasts news on the conflict in Darfur. Both reportedly share the same building in Khartoum.
None of the families of those arrested have had any news of their whereabouts or reasons for the arrests. There are reports that Abdelrahman Adam Abdelrahman may have been subjected to torture or other forms of ill-treatment.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Torture or other forms of ill-treatment of human rights activists and journalists by the National Intelligence and Security Services is often reported in Sudan, particularly amongst Darfuris and when those detained are not given access to the outside world. Amnesty International documented many cases of torture and ill-treatment in detention against human rights activists and journalists, and amongst Darfuris, namely at the hands of the NISS.
The 2010 National Security Act (2010 NSA), passed in December 2009, provides extensive powers of arrest and detention to members of the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS). Under the same Act, NISS agents are also provided with immunity from prosecution for any act committed in the course of their work. The 2010 NSA maintained powers and immunities provided under the previous law, the 1999 National Security Forces Act. As a result of these laws, a culture of impunity has pervaded in Sudan and NISS members have been carrying out human rights violations with impunity.
Although Sudan’s Criminal Procedure Code contains safeguards against incommunicado detention, Article 50 of the 2010 NSA stipulates that the NISS can arrest and detain any person for a total period of four and a half months without judicial oversight. The 2010 Act does not specify the grounds on which such detentions can be made. Such incommunicado detention without access to the outside world and without any outside inspection increases the likelihood of torture taking place.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible:
- Urging the authorities to disclose the names and whereabouts of all those detained, including Abdelrahman Mohammed Al Gasim, Dirar Adam Dirar, Abdelrahman Adam Abdelrahman, Manal Mohammed Adam, Aziza Ali Idriss, Aisha Sardo Sherif, Abu Gasim Al Din and Zakaria Yacoub;
- Calling on the authorities to release all those detained or charge them with recognizably criminal offences;
- Urging the authorities to allow all the detainees access to legal representation as well as family visits and any medical attention they might require;
- Calling on the Sudanese government to immediately stop the harassment and intimidation of human rights activists and journalists in Sudan;
- Calling for the 2010 National Security Act to be reformed to remove the excessive powers of the NISS, including powers of arrest and detention without judicial oversight.
APPEALS TO:
President
HE Omar Hassan Ahmad ad-Bashir
Office of the President
People’s Palace PO Box 281
Khartoum
SUDAN
Fax: 011 249 183 782 541
Salutation: Your Excellency
Minister of Justice
Mr Mohammed Bushara Dousa
Ministry of Justice
PO Box 302
Khartoum
SUDAN
Fax: 011 249 183 764 168
Salutation: Dear Minister
COPIES TO:
Minister of Interior
Mr Ibrahim Mohamed Hamed
Ministry of Interior
PO Box 873
Khartoum
SUDAN
H.E. Ambassador Khidir Haroun Ahmed
Embassy of the Republic of the Sudan
2210 Massachusetts Ave. NW
Washington DC 20008
Tel: 1 202 338 8565
Fax: 1 202 667 2406
E-mail: info@sudanembassy.org
kahmed@sudanembassy.org
PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY.
Check with the AIUSA Urgent Action office if sending appeals after 15 December 2010.
----------------------------------
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
----------------------------------
END OF URGENT ACTION APPEAL
----------------------------------
_______________________________________________________
----------------------------------
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/uaa22610.pdf
2 November 2010
UA 226/10 Death Penalty/ Legal Concern
SUDAN
Idriss Adam Abbaker - alleged child
Abdallah Abdallah Daoud – alleged child
Ibrahim Shareef Youssif – alleged child
Abdelrazig Daoud Abdessed – alleged child
Altayib Mohammed Yagoub
Abdelgasim Abdallah Abubaker
Adam Altoum Adam
Mohammed Adam Hasballah
Alsadig Abbakar Yahya
On October 21, the Special Court in Darfur, western Sudan, sentenced ten individuals including four alleged children to death by hanging following an unfair trial. One of the children has had his sentence commuted after a medical examination established him to be under 18 years old.
The ten were sentenced to death for their reported involvement in an attack on a government escorted convoy in South Darfur in May 2010. A total of eleven individuals allegedly affiliated with the Darfurian armed opposition group, the Justice and Equality Movement, were tried in relation to the attack. One of the eleven was acquitted.
The defendants were prosecuted for a number of criminal offences under the 1991 Criminal Act, including murder, offences against the state, armed robbery and criminal damages. The trial was flawed and violated the right of the accused to a fair trial. The detainees were denied access to their lawyers and their families before the trial except for one occasion when their lawyers were permitted to meet with them for half an hour.
The four alleged children were placed in the same detention facilities as adults and were all tried together with the adult defendants before the Special Court. Despite the fact that the four reportedly gave their exact age to the court’s registry, only two were allegedly sent for medical inspections, despite requests by the lawyers and claims by the other two that they were also under 18. In Sudan, many people do not have birth certificates, so courts sometimes rely on medical examinations to establish people’s ages when they are not provided by the defendants.
Idriss Adam Abbaker and Abdallah Abdallah Daoud, were reportedly both found to be under 18 by the first medical examination. A second examination only confirmed Idriss Adam Abbaker as a child, so only he had his sentence commuted. The court did not look for further medical expertise to verify the results and reasons behind the contradictory results and also did not allow Ibrahim Shareef Youssif and Abdelrazig Daoud Abdessed to undergo the same examination. This raises concerns about the arbitrariness of the process of determining the age of the defendants by the court. The adults sentenced to death are Altayib Mohammed Yagoub, Abdelgasim Abdallah Abubaker, Hassan Ishag Abdallah, Adam Altoum Adam, Mohammed Adam Hasballah and Alsadig Abbakar Yahya. The defence lawyers submitted an appeal on behalf of the defendants before the Chief Justice for South.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible:
- Stating that international human rights law and standards and the Sudanese 2010 Child Act prohibit the execution of children;
- Calling on the authorities to commute the death sentences of the nine people sentenced to death;
- Urging the authorities to ensure that the appeal is in accordance with international fair trial standards;
- Urging the authorities to transfer the suspected juvenile offenders to a juveniles detention facility, or release them pending their re-trial, and to re-try them before a juvenile court;
- Stating your opposition to the death penalty as a violation of the right to life and the ultimate cruel, inhuman, and degrading punishment, and calling for all death sentences to be commuted and a moratorium established.
APPEALS TO:
President
HE Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir
Office of the President
People’s Palace PO Box 281
Khartoum,
SUDAN
Fax: 011 249 183 782 541
Salutation: Your Excellency
Minister of Justice
Mr Mohammed Bushara Dousa
Ministry of Justice, PO Box 302
Al Nil Avenue
Khartoum,
SUDAN
Fax: 011 249 183 764 168
Salutation: Your Excellency
COPIES TO:
Minister of Interior
Mr Ibrahim Mohamed Hamed
Ministry of Interior
PO Box 873
Khartoum,
SUDAN
H.E. Ambassador Khidir Haroun Ahmed
Embassy of the Republic of the Sudan
2210 Massachusetts Ave. NW
Washington DC 20008
Tel: 202 338 8565
Fax: 1 202 667 2406
E-mail: info@sudanembassy.org
kahmed@sudanembassy.org
PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY.
Check with the AIUSA Urgent Action office if sending appeals after 14 December 2010.
----------------------------------
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
----------------------------------
END OF URGENT ACTION APPEAL
----------------------------------
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