Tag Archives: take action

Call for justice for the family of Darius Evangelista

8 Feb

Darius EvangelistaIn March 2010, Darius Evangelista was arrested in Manila on suspicion of theft. Fellow detainees saw him brought back to their cell badly injured, before being taken from the police station. They never saw him again.

In August 2010, a video was broadcast on national television of a naked man crying out in pain on the floor, while a police officer beat and abused him. Darius’s wife is convinced that the man in the video is her husband as she recognised his tattoos. It’s the last time she saw her husband alive.

No one has been brought to justice for the torture, enforced disappearance and possible extra-judicial execution of Darius Evangelista.

What you can do to help.

1. Write to the Chief of Philippine National Police calling for justice for the Evangelista family.  Address: PDG Nicanor Bartolome, PNP National Headquarters Camp General Crame, Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines.

2.Send a message via Facebook on the Philippines Police Chief’s Facebook page.

3. Send a message of support to the Evangelista family.  Address: Margie Evangelista, c/o Center for International Law, Unit 1904 Antel Corporate Center, 121 Valero Street, Salcedo Village, Makati City, Philippines

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Missed January’s meeting? Read all about it here…

25 Jan

The first meeting of 2014: an occasion to look forward to new plans and initiatives, and maybe, even, in hope.

One for whom we hope, and on whom we are still concentrating as the New Year begins, is Dr. Tun Aung, the Group’s adopted Prisoner of Conscience in Burma. He has been sentenced to 17 years’ imprisonment after an unfair trial, having been arrested following riots between Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims in Maungdaw, a town in western Burma, in June 2012. Independent eyewitnesses confirm that Dr Aung actively tried to calm the crowd during the rioting and played no role in the violence. Nevertheless, he was convicted of inciting riots and various other criminal offences.

Speaking in London in July 2013, Burma’s President Thein Sein gave his guarantee that all prisoners of conscience would be freed from his country’s jails by the end of the year; we continue to press him for Dr Tun Aung’s release.

We heard reports on the Death Penalty (possibly some improvement in China, Singapore and Saudi Arabia, but more, and more brutal, in Iran) and signed a plea for a prisoner in Iraq. One of Amnesty’s main campaigns for 2014 is for victims of torture.

The group’s AGM will be held in February; in March Ann Marcus will speak on the Middle East and North Africa.  All are welcome at our meetings, 8pm the second Tuesday of the month at the Silver Street Baptist Church.

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My Body, My Rights – Tell world leaders to protect sexual and reproductive rights

4 Jan

My Body, My Rights

Being able to make your own decisions about your body, your life and your sexual and reproductive health is a basic human right. But for millions worldwide – many of them young people – this right is denied on a daily basis.

Please take a moment to sign the My Body, My Rights petition and call on World Leaders to stand up for the health and human rights of young people everywhere.

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December group meeting: Tuesday 10th December at 8pm.

7 Dec

wordcardOur last Taunton Amnesty meeting of 2013 will be an informal seasonal one.  

Join us at 8pm on Tuesday 10th December at the Silver St Baptist Church, for festive food & drink and the opportunity to send messages of hope to those suffering human rights abuses around the world.  This year, Dr Tun Aung (the group’s adopted prisoner of conscience) features in the Write for Rights campaign.

We would like to thank everyone for their continued interest and support throughout the year.

Wishing you all a joyful festive season and peaceful New Year.

About Write for Rights: Every year during November and December, Amnesty International asks people to write a letter and send a message of hope to someone suffering human rights abuses. Presidents, police chiefs and prison governors do take note when they receive hundreds of appeals to release a prisoner, stop the harassment of an activist or change an unjust law. For more information on this year’s cases please click here.

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Next group meeting: Tuesday 12th November

4 Nov

Keep Calm and Support AmnestyOur next monthly group meeting takes place on Tuesday 12th November from 8PM at Silver Street Baptist Church, Taunton.  Click here to view location on a map.

All are welcome to come along and discuss human rights, receive campaign updates, and take part in letter writing and other actions to promote human rights.

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Burma: Send messages of support to family of Dr Tun Aung

7 Sep
Dr. Tun Aung

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.

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Free the Guesthouse Six

20 Aug

Ding HongfenSix 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.

Please click here to send an email to the Chinese authorities and ask them to release the activists immediately.

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Stop the execution of Reggie Clemons in Missouri

6 Jul
Reggie Clements

Reggie Clemons was sentenced to death in St. Louis as an accomplice to a 1991 murder of two young white women. Since his conviction allegations have arisen of police coercion, prosecutorial misconduct, and a ‘stacked’ jury. Yet inadequate legal representation at trial hampered appeal efforts, and a ruling overturning his death sentence was reversed on technical grounds. From the investigation through the appeals process, his case illustrates many of the flaws in the U.S. death penalty system.

Despite so many lingering questions, Missouri is still planning to execute Reggie Clemons.

Shortly after a 2009 execution date was stayed, the Missouri Supreme Court assigned a judge (a “Special Master”) to investigate the reliability of his conviction and proportionality of his sentence. Amnesty International urges the state of Missouri to recognise the serious problems with Reggie Clemons’ case and to commute his death sentence.

If you are able to, please write on Reggie’s behalf.  Click here for a template letter.

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Zimbabwe: Stop this year’s elections descending into violence

30 Jun

Illustrative of violence in Zimbabwe. Copyright AP.

In 2008 it took the intervention of Zimbabwe’s neighbours in the Southern African Development Community (SADC)  to stem the bloodshed. This time, we want them to use their influence to prevent the violence from happening in the first place, and send in human rights monitors so that human rights defenders and activists can carry out their work without fear.

Tanzania is chair of the group responsible for peace and security within the region. Help prevent the bloodshed returning in 2013 – click here to sign our petition to the Tanzanian President, Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete.

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