The latest version of our group newsletter is published today.
Click here to download your copy.
Missed September’s group meeting? Read all about it here…
18 SepIn Afghanistan, 26 schools were bombed or burned down in 2010 and at least 126 students and teachers killed in the same period. In 2008, Taliban members threw acid in the faces of five girls on their way to school in Kandahar (Oxfam source).
These are the daily threats still facing women in Afghanistan. Susan Mew of the Minehead group of AI spoke to us about Women’s Rights in Afghanistan, and how vital pressure from the international community is in improving the situation. Justine Greening, the International Development Secretary, has described the violence worldwide against women and girls as ‘the greatest challenge of our times’.
We discussed the case of Dr Tun Aung, our Burmese prisoner of conscience, and how pressure can be brought to bear on the Burmese authorities to hasten his release.
The Taunton Deane Male Voice Choir, together with the Farey family, are putting on a concert at St Michael’s Church, Galmington, at 7.30pm on Saturday 26th October, in aid of the Church and of the Taunton Group of AI. Tickets £10 from the Group Treasurer (01823 284001) or from the Church Office (01823 332371). It sounds like a rousing evening. Hope to see you there!
Further details about this and our other activities can be found on our website amnestytaunton.wordpress.com. Meetings on the second Tuesday of the month at 8pm in the Silver Street most welcome!
Come to our fundraising concert with Taunton Deane Male Voice Choir
16 Sep
St. Michael’s Church, Galmington
7.30pm Saturday 26th October 2013
A programme of romantic love songs, semi-religious numbers and rousing battle tunes.
With star guests the Farey Family singing a range of folk and other popular songs.
Tickets £10 from Taunton Amnesty group Treasurer 01823 284001 or from the Church office 01823 332371. Cheques payable to St Michael’s Church. Seats reserved for payments received by 1st October 2013.
Oops, sorry! Incomplete postal address for Dr Tun Aung action
7 Sep
Our earlier post about Dr Tun Aung did not include the full postal address to send your messages to. Here it is:
Please send a supportive message to Dr Aung’s family. ”Dr Tun Aung’s Family, c/o Myanmar Team, International Secretariat, Amnesty International, 1 Easton Street, London, WC1X 0DW”
Click here to read original post with more details of the case
Burma: Send messages of support to family of Dr Tun Aung
7 Sep
Dr. Tun Aung
In 2012, Dr Tun Aung was asked by the Burmese police to help defuse tensions during a riot between Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims in Maungdaw. However he was later arrested for inciting communal violence, held incommunicado and denied the right to appoint his own lawyer or meet them in private
Please send a supportive message to Dr Aung’s family. “Dr Tun Aung’s Family, c/o Myanmar Team, International Secretariat, Amnesty International, 1 Easton Street, London, WC1X 0DW”. Please write in English, Burmese or your own language. Please do not send religious cards and please do make sure the card arrives at the address above by September 15th 2013.
Click here to read more about this case and how you can help.
Tuesday 10th September: Group meeting and workshop on women’s rights in Afghanistan.
3 Sep
Click to download the briefing report.
Join us for our group meeting next Tuesday 10th September at Silver Street Baptist Church. Meeting starts at 8PM. Click here for map and directions.
All are welcome to come along and meet the group, discuss human rights and take part in our workshop on Women’s Human Rights in Afghanistan.
Free the Guesthouse Six
20 Aug
Six human rights defenders in China are being detained by authorities after freeing activists who were being illegally detained in a guest house.
Three are now missing, their whereabouts unknown. One (Ding Hongfen, pictured) has already been subjected to torture.
Zimbabwe: human rights concerns despite a peaceful election
13 Aug
At least six women and their young children have been forced to flee their homes in Mukumbura district after being threatened with violence and forcible evictions after the 31 July election. Some of the women had to leave children behind.
The women alleged they had been targeted for refusing to follow instructions from ZANU-PF supporters to feign illiteracy, blindness or physical injury, which would have allowed someone else to ‘assist’ them by marking the ballot on their behalf . One of the women reported that she had first been threatened in her village two weeks before the election and reported the matter to the police but no action was taken. The six displaced political activists told us that there are more families in the same predicament who remain stranded in the district under threat of violence.
Note: Amnesty does not endorse or oppose any political party and will engage with any government to emerge from these elections to address human rights violations in Zimbabwe – past and present.
Let Okunishi clear his name before he dies
12 Aug
Okunishi Masaru on death row in Japan © Private
Okunishi Masaru has spent more than half his life on death row in Japan, knowing he could be executed any day.
In 1961, he was accused of poisoning five women and ‘confessed’ after prolonged police interrogation. He retracted his confession as soon as trial began, and was acquitted for lack of evidence. But a higher court reversed the decision, and sentenced Okunishi to death.
Okunishi’s lawyers have repeatedly requested a retrial, without success. Okunishi is now 87 years-old and his health is failing him, he slips in and out of consciousness and is unable to breathe on his own. But he’s desperate for a chance to clear his name before he dies.
Click here to call on the Japanese authorities to grant Okunishi a retrial.
Summer social group meeting – Tuesday 13th August at the Racehorse Inn
5 AugJoin us for our Summer Social group meeting on Tuesday 13th August at the Racehorse Inn. All are welcome to come along and meet the group, discuss human rights and learn more about Amnesty in an informal surrounding.
Please note this is instead of the usual monthly meeting at the Silver Street Baptist Church
The address of the pub is The Racehorse Inn, East Reach, Taunton, Somerset, TA1 3HT. It is less that a minute’s walk from our usual meeting place at Silver Street Baptist Church and a 5 minute walk from Taunton town centre.
Amnesty International Taunton Local Group 