For 50 years Israel has occupied Palestinian land, forcing Palestinians from their homes and illegally using that land to house Israeli settlers and to produce millions of pounds worth of products that are sold around the world, including in UK markets. We petitioned the Foreign Secretary to ban the sale of Israeli settlement products in the UK, and to stop UK companies operating in settlements or trading in settlement goods.
We discussed Amnesty’s “I Welcome” campaign for refugees. Amnesty has put together a photo exhibition covering refugees past and present. We plan to show this exhibition at a number of venues in the Taunton area in the next few weeks, including Taunton Library from 16th October. It is also available online, with a commentary by actress (and Amnesty’s UK Ambassador) Juliet Stevenson. We will have a stall, focussing on refugees, at the Tacchi Morris Centre on 27th September when they show Twist, a modern, refugee directed take on Dickens’ novel.
We signed letters for prisoners in Egypt (Mahmoud Abu Zeid, a photo journalist, part of a mass trial of 738 people, whose hearing had been adjourned for the 35th time) and for two Ukrainians condemned to death. The number of countries rejecting the death penalty has risen in the last few years from 16 to 104 – but in the Maldives it has been resumed.
We discussed again the extremely worrying state of affairs in Myanmar (Burma) where Muslim minority Rohingya have been persecuted and forced to flee in Rhakine state. Questions over the stance of leader Aung San Sui Kyi, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate, remain of international concern.
Our next meeting is on Tuesday 10th October at 7.30pm in the Friends’ Meeting House, Bath Place, Taunton. All welcome!
After a break in August we are back at the Friends Meeting House, Bath Place, Taunton on Tuesday 12th September from 7.30-9.30pm (nearby parking behind Boots).
At our meeting in June, we took action to draw attention to the plight of British-Iranian citizens Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Kamal Foroughi imprisoned in Iran on trumped up charges. Both are missing out on family life: Nazanin has a young daughter, and Kamal, in his seventies has children and grandchildren he cannot see. Both are now in poor health. We made origami tulips inscribed with family memories to underline what they are missing. These are to be sent to their families, and to our own MPs to enlist their help.
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe: her story goes straight to the heart. Arrested a year ago as she and her small daughter were about to leave Iran for England after visiting her parents, this UK-Iranian charity worker was then jailed for 5 years for ‘membership of an illegal group’, and accused of being married to a British spy. Her daughter’s British passport has been confiscated and impossible conditions imposed upon her seeing her mother. Her appeal has been dismissed and her sentence confirmed. Her health is deteriorating. We wrote to the Iranian authorities on Nazanin’s behalf. Meanwhile her husband Richard is working unsparingly for her. His campaign is accessible on social media.
Join us for our next monthly meeting at 7.30pm in the Friends Meeting House, 13 Bath Place, Taunton TA1 4EP (there is nearby parking behind Boots). The meeting will include updates on Amnesty campaigns we work on. New members always welcome.
Amnesty International Taunton Local Group 