This was our Write for Rights evening, which, as has become customary, we spent writing cards to prisoners of conscience and their families, and letters to the authorities in their countries, pleading their cause.
Letters of solidarity can make a real difference to a prisoner wrongly detained, for family members waiting for news of a loved one who has ‘disappeared’, or for a torture survivor fighting for justice. A letter can also remind an abusive government that the world is watching.
Our monthly action focused on one of the Write for Rights cases: the problems that women in the sub-Saharan country of Burkina Faso in West Africa have in resisting early forced marriages, getting access to contraception and other basic sexual health services and information. We wrote to the President urging liberalisation in these matters.
Among others we wrote to Saudi Arabia for imprisoned human rights lawyer Waleed Abu al-Khair, to Malaysia for political cartoonist Zunar, to Syria for Rania Alabbasi, a dentist, and her six children, ‘disappeared’ since 2013.
The meeting had a lighter side too: members had brought festive food, which we enjoyed while we also made decorations for the Amnesty Christmas Tree at the United Reformed Church’s Christmas Tree Festival (pictured).
Tuesday 8th December at the Silver Street Baptist Church, Taunton,
Atena Farghadani is a 29 year old Iranian artist; she was jailed this summer for over 12 years for her art and her peaceful activism. Since then she’s faced further charges: she shook her lawyer’s hand when he visited her in prison and is now facing charges of ‘illicit sexual relations falling short of adultery’.
Our next monthly meeting is on Tuesday 10th November at the Silver Street Baptist Church, Taunton, TA1 3DH. 8pm start.
In Japan, Matsumoto Kenji could be hanged any day now, and he does not know why. He has been on death row for over 20 years. He was sentenced to death in the early nineties for robberies and murders committed with his brother (who killed himself in detention). Matsumoto has had a mental disability and low IQ from birth, allegedly caused by mercury poisoning. Despite this, he was ruled mentally competent and his sentence confirmed in 2000. 
In spring 2016, the Taunton Amnesty Group plans to host a debate about the Human Rights Act involving local schools. We hope the event will happen in the last 3 weeks of the spring term, and so far King’s College, Queen’s College, Taunton Academy, Taunton School and Richard Huish College are interested in taking part.
Our next monthly meeting is on Tuesday 13th October at the Silver Street Baptist Church, Taunton, TA1 3DH. 8pm start.
Following the release of peaceful activist Dr Tun Aung earlier this year, our group now has new prisoners of conscience in Burma that we will be campaigning to have released. 
