Tag Archives: 2015

Global Day of Action in Support of Victims of Torture

19 Jun

468x283mexicotorture2Friday 26th June is the annual Global Day of Action in Support of Victims of Torture.  Amnesty is currently running a major campaign focused on the use of torture. To support the Global Day of Action, please would you sign a petition demanding justice for victims of torture in Mexico?

Amnesty’s research shows that torture in Mexico has increased by 600% since 2003. Despite making the right noises, the Mexican authorities have failed to properly tackle the issue. Claims of torture are rarely properly investigated, and scant few perpetrators are ever brought to justice.

Prompt and impartial forensic medical examinations are a key step towards justice for victims. Such examinations rarely happen and when they do, they are often years after the claims of torture – by which point, many physical wounds have healed and the experts often fail to document the psychological signs of torture.

The fact that timely and impartial examinations rarely happen is a big contributor to the on-going culture of torturers getting away with it. Change this, and we will be on the road to justice. There’s increasing pressure on Mexico to sort this out and with a new Federal Attorney General in post we have a real chance of making a difference.

Please sign the petition here.

Thank you.

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Report from our June meeting

15 Jun

The life of a 10-year-old girl, pregnant after being raped by her stepfather, is in danger in Paraguay. Despite the high risk this pregnancy poses, and her mother’s request, Paraguayan authorities have denied her access to a safe abortion. We signed letters to the Attorney General and President of Paraguay pleading for swift action in this distressing case.

We also signed letters to the Japanese authorities for Hakamado Iwao, the Japanese man who, until his provisional release last year, had been on death row for 46 years, living under the constant fear of execution, never knowing from one day to the next whether he was going to be put to death. This adds psychological torture to an already cruel and inhumane punishment. At 79, he now awaits a possible re-trial.

Dr. Tun Aung

Dr. Tun Aung

On a happier note, the Group were delighted to read the letter that Dr Tun Aung (left), our now released Burmese Prisoner of Conscience, had written to Amnesty:

‘When I was arbitrarily arrested and sentenced, Amnesty was the first organization I thought of and I hoped in some way it would work for my release….I started receiving some letters from Amnesty International members. It was the first flicker of light in my dark days…. The extent of the campaign and hundreds of personal letters written to me and my family made me very emotional and humbled.’

Our next meeting is at 8pm on Tuesday 14th July at the Silver Street Baptist Church, Taunton. We look forward to seeing you there.

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Next Taunton Amnesty meeting Tues 9th June

3 Jun
Our next monthly meeting is on Tuesday 9th June at the Silver Street Baptist Church, Taunton, TA1 3DH.  8pm start.
You are most welcome to join us for campaign updates, news and actions and to find out more about human rights and the work of Amnesty International.
We look forward to seeing you there.
Note: there is parking at the rear of the church; ring the bell at the rear entrance if there is no-one there to let you in. Check the board by the entrance door for which room we are in.

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Stop Torture campaign – good news!

31 May

Moses AkatugbaMoses Akatugba, who was sentenced to death for stealing mobile phones, has been granted a total pardon by Emmanuel Uduaghan, the Governor of Delta State in Nigeria. Moses was just 16 when he was arrested, and 24 when he was sentenced to death. He was convicted based on ‘a confession’ obtained through repeated torture.
More than 34,000 people signed the Amnesty petition to the Governor of Delta State in Nigeria, asking him to show mercy on Moses Akatugba – and it’s thanks to those actions that Moses will experience freedom again after ten years behind bars, the last few of which were on death row.

Moses sent Amnesty International this message:
‘I am overwhelmed. I thank Amnesty International and their activists for the great support that made me a conqueror in this situation. Amnesty International members and activist are my heroes.
‘I want to assure them, that this great effort they have show to me will not be in vain, by the special grace of God I will live up to their expectation.
‘I promise to be a human rights activist, to fight for others. I am thanking the Governor for his kind gesture and for keeping to his words.’

Together our voices really can free people, change laws and defend human rights around the world.

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Report from our May meeting

21 May

Amnesty Taunton - writing cards to Mahdi Abu DheebAbducted by the security forces, held incommunicado and tortured: this was the fate of Mahdi Abu Dheeb, President of the Bahrain Teachers Union, during the Arab Spring of 2011. He’s now serving a 5 year jail sentence; he’s denied medical care, and his health is deteriorating. In neighbouring United Arab Emirates, Dr Mohammed Al Roken, a well known and respected human rights lawyer, is in the second year of a 10 year sentence which effectively silences a voice speaking out in defence of human rights.

For our monthly action on their behalf we sent messages of solidarity and signed a petition to keep up pressure on the authorities.

Andy Moody, Amnesty’s UK China co-ordinator, talked to us on China’s poor record on human rights under the current regime, and its heavy use of the death penalty.

He spoke of three major dissidents, including Liu Xiabo, a prominent writer and academic, currently jailed. In 2010 Liu was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, despite threats by China to Norway if the award went ahead. No one was able to receive it on his behalf; his empty chair stood on the stage during the award as mute testimony to his achievements.

We hope to ‘adopt’ another Chinese prisoner of conscience, Liu Ping. A member of the New Citizens’ Movement, a peaceful network of activists, she is serving a 6 year jail sentence.

Our next meeting is on Tuesday 9th June at 8pm in the Silver Street Baptist Church, Taunton. Do join us to find out more about our work.

 

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Next Taunton Amnesty Group meeting Tuesday 12th May

5 May
chinabannerOur next monthly meeting is on Tuesday 12th May at the Silver Street Baptist Church, Taunton, TA1 3DH.  8pm start.
You are most welcome to join us for campaign updates, news and actions and to find out more about human rights and the work of Amnesty International.
The meeting will start with a talk from Andy Moody, who is Amnesty UK’s Country Coordinator for China. Even if you haven’t attended a meeting before, why not come along and hear what he has to say about the human rights situation in China.
We look forward to seeing you there.
Note: there is parking at the rear of the church; ring the bell at the rear entrance if there is no-one there to let you in. Check the board by the entrance door for which room we are in.

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Report from our April meeting

28 Apr

advan_1920x1080pxOur monthly action focused on the Human Rights Act. Often attacked, rarely championed, and surrounded by myths and misconceptions, the HRA is vitally important. As the election approaches, Amnesty’s April Monthly Action is to make people aware of this. What, for example, is our prospective Parliamentary candidates’ attitude to the HRA?

The Act incorporates into English law most of the rights in the European Convention on Human Rights. The Convention was created from the ashes of WW2, and inspired by the desire to protect individuals against those abuses happening again. It drew on British ideas – British lawyers drafted most of it, and the UK was the first to sign up to it in 1951. Don’t let those efforts go to waste!

Our meeting heard reports on, among others, the Mansoura Three in Egypt (3 young women caught up in the violence in 2014 – their appeal was being heard on April 12), letters written for those on Death Row in Pakistan, Belarus and Bahrain, and the possibility of a new Burmese Prisoner of Conscience.

At our May meeting Andy Moody, Amnesty’s China Country Co-ordinator, will be coming to speak on that country – do join us if you can. We meet on the second Tuesday of the month at 8pm in the Silver Street Baptist Church.

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Do the human right thing

15 Apr

i-stand-for-human-rights-468x283_0The Human Rights Act is a powerful tool. It brings home fundamental, universal rights we all have as human beings, and allows us to challenge authorities if they violate them.

However, it is misunderstood by many and misreported by sections of the press. Find out why the Human Rights Act matters to all of us by reading this thought-provoking article: Eight reasons why the Human Rights Act makes the UK a better place

UK Election 2015 – Join The Fight For Rights

Our human rights are under attack at home and abroad. In the UK, plans to scrap the Human Rights Act are threatening our fundamental freedoms. And despite a global ban, three quarters of the world’s governments still use torture – yet continue to deny it.

Tell your parliamentary candidates that you stand for human rights.

It’s time to show the next government that human rights matter. Click here to take action.

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Next monthly meeting Tuesday 14th April

7 Apr
Our next monthly meeting is on Tuesday 14th April at the Silver Street Baptist Church, Taunton, TA1 3DH.  8pm start.
You are most welcome to join us for campaign updates, news and actions and to find out more about human rights and the work of Amnesty International.
We look forward to seeing you there.
Note: there is parking at the rear of the church; ring the bell at the rear entrance if there is no-one there to let you in. Check the board by the entrance door for which room we are in.

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Report from our March meeting

23 Mar

Keep Calm and Support AmnestyHelp turn the lights back on in Syria and bring its people out of darkness!

For the fourth anniversary of the start of the Syrian conflict Amnesty International, along with many other international NGOs, is pressing to prioritise a political solution with human rights at its heart. For our March Monthly Action, we’ve been asked to  plan a light-filled vigil to mark the occasion. Find out more about this campaign at www.withsyria.com.

This month Amnesty member Nicky Saunter, CEO of Transform, gave a thought-provoking talk about their work. Transform is a charitable think tank that campaigns for the legal regulation of drugs both in the UK and internationally; currently drugs are criminalised, but there is no system of regulation. The human rights implications are considerable. Prohibition cannot be judged a success on any front. Handing control of the drug trade to organised criminals has had disastrous consequences across the globe. Transform therefore works to get drugs under control by advocating for strict regulation of all aspects of the trade.

We also signed letters on behalf of our Mansoor University cases in Egypt; Death Penalty letters to Florida for a case where key testimony has been retracted; the long-running case of Hakamada Iwao in Japan, who could be put back on Death Row; and on behalf of Liu Ping in China, who was imprisoned for campaigning for senior officials to reveal the sources of their wealth.

Members of the Group recently met with Rachel Gilmour, prospective Taunton parliamentary candidate for the Liberal Democrats, to hear her views, especially on issues that concern Amnesty; we’ve already met Conservative and Labour candidates.

Our next meeting is Tuesday 14th April at 8pm in the Silver Street Baptist Church, Taunton. We’re always delighted to welcome newcomers.

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