1 MEXICO: Urgent Action Evicted community at risk

Newsletter
Amnesty International USA Group 48

12.11
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2 Oregon state governor blocks executions and opens door to abolition 3 Action Request: Please send note of thanks to Governor Kitzhaber 4 MYANMAR: Urgent Action Prisoners at risk of ill-treatment, torture 5 REPUBLIC OF CONGO: Urge Release of Men Held Since 2004 7 CHINA: Urgent Action Falun Gong Woman at Risk of Torture/ill-treatment, Arbitrary detention, Freedom of expression AIUSA-Group 48 http://aipdx.org 503-227-1878 Next Meeting: Friday December 9th First Unitarian Church 1011 SW 12th Ave 7:00pm informal gathering 7:30pm meeting starts
NewsLetter Designed By Michelle Whitlock MichelleWhitlock.com

refuge across the Mexican border in the community of Nuevo Progreso, Tabasco evicted a community that was living in state. The violence and speed of the northern Guatemala . The 300 inhabiteviction left the community unable to ants have fled over the border to Tagather their belongings before they left. basco state, southern Mexico. They are living in precarious conditions without The conditions the community are now living in Mexico are extremely precariadequate access to food, clean water, ous. They live in makeshift huts with housing and medical services. no access to basic services such as clean On 23 August the community of Nueva water and medical services. The condiEsperanza were forced off their land by tions have led to illness and infections members of the Guatemalan army and amongst the community. As winter National Police. They were not given approaches, with prolonged rainfall, the prior warning of the eviction and were communitys lack of access to safe water, not provided with alternative housing. food and adequate shelter is increasThe authorities claim the community ingly concerning. The Mexican auhad to be removed from the land as thorities have so far failed to ensure the it was an environmental conservation communitys safe living conditions with area. The communitys houses, school sufficient access to adequate services and church were burnt down during the and shelter. eviction. Negotiations between the community As a result of the eviction, the 300 and the Guatemalan government have inhabitants, including over 100 children progressed slowly. The government has and several pregnant women, sought so far offered the community a much

Guatemalan authorities have forcibly

MEXICO: Urgent Action - Evicted community at risk

AIUSA group 48 Newsletter December 2011 Pg 2

smaller plot of land and has refused to provide the community with reparations for the land and property they have lost.
Action

Please write immediately in Spanish or your own language: Urge the Mexican authorities to provide the Nueva EsAppeals To peranza community with urgent humanitarian assistance PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 3 JANUARY 2012: including access to food, clean water, adequate housing and President of Mexico education and to foster negotiations leading to the safe and Lic. Felipe de Jess Caldern Hinojosa fair return of the community to Guatemala; Residencia Oficial de Los Pinos Urge the Guatemalan authorities to resolve the dispute as a Casa Miguel Alemn matter of urgency and grant the Nueva Esperanza community Col. San Miguel Chapultepec adequate alternative land and housing in accordance to their MEXICO DF, CP 11850 wishes, with access to shelter, food, water, healthcare services Fax: +52 55 5093 5321

in a location where their physical integrity can be guaranteed; Call on the Guatemalan authorities for a full, prompt and impartial investigation into the forced eviction of the Nueva Esperanza community.

Oregon state governor blocks executions and opens door to abolition

25 November 2011
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Amnesty International has hailed the principled stance of a

Governor Kitzhaber announced on 22 November that he was blocking the execution of Gary Haugen, a 49-year-old man facing death by lethal injection after waiving his appeals. A day earlier, the Oregon Supreme Court had ruled that the execution could go forward, narrowly rejecting a petition seeking a new mental competency hearing for Haugen. Haugen was sentenced to death in 2007, along with Jason Van Brumwell, for the murder of fellow inmate David Polin in Oregon State Penitentiary in 2003. Earlier this year, a neuropsychologist assessed Haugen as suffering from a delusional disorder that makes him incompetent to be executed. Oregon has carried out two executions since judicial killing resumed in the USA in 1977 one in 1996 and one in 1997. Both were executed during Governor Kitzhabers first term in office. Governor Kitzhaber said that he had allowed the two earlier executions to go ahead despite my personal opposition to the death penalty. I do not believe that those executions made us safer; and certainly they did not make us nobler as a society. I could not participate once again in something I believe to be morally wrong, said Kitzhaber. The governor noted that many judges, prosecutors, legislators and victim family members were now in agreement that Oregons capital justice system is broken. He called on the state legislature to bring potential reforms before the 2013 legislative session, adding that he

US state governor who this week imposed a moratorium on executions for the rest of his term in office. Oregon governor John Kitzhaber issued a reprieve to convicted murderer Gary Haugen, who was due to be executed on 6 December after giving up his appeals. Kitzhaber said Oregons death penalty was neither fair nor just and that he would allow no further executions while he is governor.

This sort of principled stand is something we have seen too little of in the USA as executions there have continued, even as other countries have abandoned this punishment, said Rob Freer, Amnesty Internationals USA researcher. Oregons state legislature should seize the opportunity provided by Governor Kitzhaber and turn this temporary moratorium into permanent abolition.

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was convinced we can find a better solution to violent crime What Governor Kitzhaber has done is entirely consistent with that promotes public safety and assists victims and their the abolitionist spirit of international human rights law and families. the UN General Assemblys repeated calls for a global moratorium - other US states should follow his example said Rob Governor Kitzhaber said that he had chosen not to commute Freer. Governor Kitzhaber was elected to a third four-year Gary Haugens death sentence, or any of the other 36 inmates term as governor in 2010, taking office in January 2011. His on the states death row, because the policy of this state is not term runs until January 2015. mine alone to decide.

Action Request: Please send note of thanks to Governor Kitzhaber

On November 22, 2011, Governor John Kitzhaber an-

by Terrie Rodello, AIUSA Oregon State Death Penalty Coordinator

nounced that no one will be executed in Oregon as long as he is governor. He called the death penalty compromised and inequitable, an expensive and unworkable system that fails to meet basic standards of justice.

Gov. was courageous and that he is right that there is a better way than the death penalty. The real work now begins. But with your help, we will reach our goal of ending the use of the death penalty in Oregon. http://www.amnesty.org/en/news/oregon-state-governorblocks-executions-and-opens-door-abolition-2011-11-25 It places Oregon as important to the international death penalty abolition movement. The pressure is on. AIUSA Group 48 Contact Information
Group Coordinator Joanne Lau 971-221-5450 jlau@easystreet.net Concert Tabling Will Ware 503-227-5225 ww_ware@yahoo.com Newsletter Editor Dan Webb 503-253-3491 write_to_dan@yahoo.com Treasurer Tena Hoke tena.hoke@gmail.com Legislative Coordinator Dan Johnson 503-310-4540 subtlet@hotmail.com Indonesia RAN Max White 503-292-8168 maxw33@comcast.net Central Africa RAN Terrie Rodello 503-246-6836 tarodello@igc.org OR State Death Penalty Abolition Coordinator Terrie Rodello 503-246-6836 trodello@igc.org Central America RAN Marylou Noble 503-245-6923 marylou_noble@ yahoo.com Prisoners' Cases & Darfur Jane Kristof kristofj@pdx.edu Marty Fromer 503-227-1878 martyfromer@gmail.com

Thank you to all who took action to ask the governor to stop the use of the death penalty in Oregon. Amnesty International welcomes Gov. Kitzhabers rejection of the death penalty. He has courageously joined the growing chorus of responsible elected officials who have realized that the death penalty cannot be fixed, and that there are better ways to protect public safety and honor victims families. It is important to let him know that his decision took courage and we appreciate it. Please take a moment to thank him for his principled and courageous decision by taking one, some or all of the following actions: 1. Take Amnesty International USA online action to thank governor: http://takeaction.amnestyusa.org/siteapps/advocacy/ActionItem.aspx?c=6oJCLQPAJiJUG&b=6645049&aid=516901 2. Write a letter to Governor John Kitzhaber at 160 State Capitol, 900 Court St, Salem OR 97301 3. Post a message at his website: http://governor.oregon.gov/Gov/contact.shtml 4. Call him at 503-378-4582 and leave a message 5. Send in letters to the editor. 6. Make online comments to news stories, etc. welcoming the Governors action. No talking points are needed. Just write and say you think the

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MYANMAR: Urgent Action Prisoners at risk of ill-treatment, torture

Please write immediately in English, Burmese or your own language: Requesting the Myanmar authorities to take immediate action to ensure that the hunger strikers are not subjected to psychological or physical abuse; Explaining to the authorities that torture and other forms of ill-treatment are absolutely prohibited under international law; Urging the authorities to conduct a full and impartial invesames of those who were involved in the hunger strike between 26 October and 7 November are as follows: Nyi Nyi tigation into the reports that eight hunger strikers were placed Tun, Thaw Zin aka Ngapain, Kaung Myat Hlaing, Ko Saw No- in dog cells between 29 October and 7 November, and that many of the hunger strikers were deprived of drinking water, bel, Than Naing Oo, Ko Wunna Htay aka U Vithoddi, Aung with the results of the investigation made public and those Naing, Nyan Tun Lin aka Yan Naing, Ko Aung, Inter aka Spy, Swam Khant Thwam, Zin Min Shein, Sandimar aka Tun responsible brought to justice. Naung, Aung Moe Zaw and Ko Soe Moe Tun. (all male)
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Further information on UA 322/11 (3 November 2011) Action

PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 6 JANUARY 2012: Minister of Home Affairs Lt. Gen. Ko Ko Ministry of Home Affairs Office No. 10, Nay Pyi Taw The 15 political prisoners, all men, who started a hunger REPUBLIC OF THE UNION OF MYANMAR strike at Insein prison on 26 October, ended their protest on 7 Fax: 011 95 67 412 439 November without achieving their objectives. Recent inforSalutation: Dear Minister mation suggests that many of the men were denied drinking Chairman water during at least some of that period. U Win Mya A new hunger strike started in Insein prison on 10 November, Myanmar National Human Rights Commission this time by six political prisoners who were in the prison 27 Pyay Road hospital. These political prisoners are calling for improved medical care and the same rights to reductions in prison sen- Hline Township, Yangon REPUBLIC OF THE UNION OF MYANMAR tences to which criminal convicts are entitled. Fax: 011 95 67 412 439 There is no information available about whether the two Salutation: Dear Chairman hunger strikers who were hospitalized on 1 November were Copies To allowed drinking water. The eight hunger strikers who were Minister of Health moved to dog cells on 28 October were all returned to their Dr Pe Thet Khin normal cells by 7 November. One of the current protesters, Ko Aung Cho Oo (aka) Yunaut, was also involved in the hun- Building 4 Nay Pyi Taw ger strike which started on 26 October. It is not known if he REPUBLIC OF THE UNION OF MYANMAR was one of the two hunger strikers who had previously been Salutation: Dear Minister hospitalized. Names of those who started a hunger strike on 10 November 2011: U Hla Myint Than, Ko Maung Maung Tin, Ko Aung Tin Win, Ko Aung Cho Oo aka Yunaut, former Captain Nay Myo Zin and Ko Thura Soe. (all male)

Appeals To

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U Soe Paing, Minister-Counselor Charge dAffaires Ad Interim Embassy of the Union of Myanmar 2300 S St. NW Washington DC 20008 Tel: 202 332 3344 Fax: 1 202 332 4351 Email: pyi.thayar@verizon.net Please check with the AIUSA Urgent Action Office if sending appeals after the above date. The 15 political prisoners, all men, started a hunger strike at Insein prison at midday on 26 October. The strike was in protest that political prisoners in Myanmar are commonly denied the reductions in their sentences which are allowed to criminal convicts. It has been reported that some of the hunger strikers were being denied drinking water. Depriving prisoners of drinking water as a punishment for participating in a hunger strike could result in the prison authorities being responsible for the rapid death of the hunger strikers due to dehydration. This would amount to a violation of the right to life according to international law, including in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Additional Information

This also violates the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, which states that drinking water shall be available to every prisoner whenever they need it. Eight of the 15 hunger strikers were reportedly moved to dog cells on 29 October. The names of the eight political prisoners sent to dog cells have not yet been confirmed. The dog cells at Insein Prison are about 3m in length, just over 2m wide, but it is possible to stand upright. They are windowless and often have poor ventilation. There is generally no proper sanitation, no bed and no mats on the floor. By the morning of 1 November it was reported that two of the hunger strikers had been sent to hospital. The names of those hospitalized and details of their medical situation are currently not available. The hunger strikers were also denied visits from their families and receipt of parcels from relatives, which may have included medicine, food or letters. Many political prisoners in Myanmar have used hunger strikes as a form of protest. Prison authorities have tortured those who protest, or subjected them to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, including shackling them, and confining them in dark cells or military dog cells for protracted periods. of the Republic of Congo since March 2004. The three men are held at the headquarters of the DCRM military security service in Brazzaville.

REPUBLIC OF CONGO: Urge Release of Men Held Since 2004

Germain Ndabamenya Etikilome, Medard Mabwaka Eg-

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Their detention constitutes a violation of the Republic of Congos obligations under the 1951 Geneva Convention on the status of refugees. In addition, the detention of the three men Background Germain Ndabamenya Etikilome, Medard Mabwaka Egbonde violates the Republic of Congos Code of Penal Procedure. The Code provides that a suspect should be brought before a and Bosch Ndala Umba are former high-ranking members judicial official within 48 hours of being arrested, and should of the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congos (DRC) either be charged with an offense or released. The Code also security forces. They have been detained without charge or provides that an accused person should also be brought to trial by the military security service, Direction Centrale des trial within six months of his or her arrest. The unexplained Renseignements Militaires (DCRM) in Brazzaville, capital

bonde and Bosch Ndala Umba are three former members of the DRC security services detained without trial or access to lawyers in the Republic of Congo. Amnesty International is seeking their release.

All three men say that they fled the DRC to avoid being arrested by the authorities. They allege that they were being falsely accused of seeking to overthrow the DRC government. They all claimed asylum in Brazzaville. Bosch Ndala Umba was granted refugee status while the two others are still waiting for a decision on their asylum application.

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and prolonged detention of the three men who went to the Republic of Congo to seek asylum is unlawful and constitutes an unlawful deprivation of their liberty. The three men are concerned that they may be forcibly returned to the DRC upon their release, where they could be subjected to arbitrary arrest, unlawful detention, torture and other forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, unfair trial and the death penalty, A group of former soldiers forcibly returned from Brazzaville to Kinshasa in early 2001 were subjected to torture and other forms of ill-treatment before they were sentenced by a military court to 20 years imprisonment after unfair trial. Amnesty International believes that these three former soldiers are likely to be subjected to similar human rights violations on return to the DRC.
Action

4891 Colorado Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20011 Salutation: His Excellency: Dear Minister, I am writing to ask about the status of three individuals, Germain Ndabamenya Etikilome, Medard Mabwaka Egbonde and Bosch Ndala Umba, three asylum seekers from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) detained without trial since Mach 2004. I hope that you can provide information about their long-detention without trial. Before their detention, these individuals and their families have filed for asylum in Brazzaville. Their detentions for over five years by the authorities of the Republic of Congo violates the laws of the Republic of Congo, as well as its international obligations to the International Covenant on Civilian and Political Rights, the Africa Charter on Peoples Rights and the 1951 Geneva Convention on the Status of Refugees. These individuals should be given the opportunity to access lawyers and to challenge the legal basis of their initial arrest and long-detention before an independent and impartial judiciary with the authority to release them immediately if their detention is unlawful. I also urge you to consider their application for asylum and to not forcibly return them the DRC upon their release due to their well-founded fears of torture. I look forward to your response to my concerns. Regards,
Holiday Potluck and Write-a-thon

Sample Letter

Please write a polite letter similar to the sample letter below to the Minister of Justice and the Minister of Defense in the Republic of Congo. The Minister of Justice has the responsibility is to ensure that arbitrary arrests and detentions do not take place and the Minister of Defense has authority for the military security service (DCRM).

Minister of Defense M. Charles Zacharie Bowao Ministre la prsidence charg de la dfense nationale Prsidence de la Rpublique B.P. 2006, Brazzaville Rpublique du Congo Fax: 011 242 2 81 45 60 Salutation: Dear Minister Minister of Justice Me Aim Emmanuel YOKA Ministre de la Justice, Garde des sceaux et des Droits humains Ministre de la Justice BP Brazzaville Rpublique du Congo Fax 011 242 2 81 41 67 Salutation: Dear Minister The Honorable Serge Mombouli Ambassador of the Republic of Congo to the United States Embassy of the Republic of Congo
Copy to

will a holiday potluck and write-a-thon at the December meeting Friday, Dec 9. Please add a comment to the post on the Group 48 website at the link below to specify what you will bring in terms of food and/or supplies. http://aipdx.org/2011/11/28/group-48-writeathon-2011/

AIUSA group 48 Newsletter December 2011 Pg 7

CHINA: Urgent Action - Falun Gong Woman at Risk of Torture/ill-treatment, Arbitrary detention, Freedom of expression
Li Shanshan (f)

Calling on the authorities to allow Li Shanshans family and lawyer to visit her in detention. PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 30 DECEMBER 2011 Governor of Hebei Provence Zhang Qinqwei, Shengzhang Weiming jie 122 Shijiazhuang City Qiaoxi Hebei Province 050051 PEOPLES REPUBLIC OF CHINA Fax: 011-86-311-87026092 Salutation: Dear Governor Mayor of Hebei Province Chen Guoying Shizhang Xishandao, 3 Tangshanshi, Hebei Province 063000 PEOPLES REPUBLIC OF CHINA Fax: 011-86-315-2812404 Salutation: Dear Mayor
Copies To Appeals To

Li Shanshan was detained in Tangshan, Hebei Province,

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northern China, on 29 October. The Chinese authorities say they have assigned her to two years re-education through labor but are refusing to give details of where she is imprisoned. She is at risk of torture and other ill-treatment.

Li Shanshan was detained on 29 October by public security officers from the Tangshan Domestic Security Department while she was at a supermarket in Tangshan. Li Shanshan was detained following her open campaigning for the release of her husband, Zhou Xiangyang, who had been rearrested on 5 March after spending six years in prison from 2003-2009. On 10 November the Tangshan City Public Security Bureau provided confirmation to Li Shanshans mother, and lawyer that she had been assigned to two years re-education through labor. Li Shanshans family last saw her on 4 November, when they happened to catch sight of her at the Fengrun Legal Education Center, a facility designated for the transformation of Falun Gong practitioners, a process that seeks to force them to renounce their beliefs, often using torture. From January 2006, Li Shanshan served 15 months of re-education through labor. This was punishment for her persistent campaigning on behalf of Zhou Xiangyang during his imprisonment. On 26 June Li Shanshan posted on overseas websites an open letter entitled A Young Couples Hardship: Waiting Seven Years, Nine Years of Unjust Imprisonment. She described the letter as a love story that recounts the hardships the couple experienced as they waited seven years to be able to marry, which they did after Zhous release from prison in 2009, only to have him rearrested in March this year. Please write immediately in Chinese or your own language: Calling for the immediate release of Li Shanshan as she has been detained solely on the basis of exercising her rights to freedom of expression and association; Urging the authorities to inform Li Shanshans family of her whereabouts;

Public Security Bureau Chief Jiawenya Zhuzhang Gonganju Lubeiqu, Xishando, 8 Tangshanshi, Hebei Province 063000 PEOPLES REPUBLIC OF CHINA Postage Rates
Within the United States $0.28 - Postcards $0.44 - Letters and Cards up to 1 oz. To Canada $0.75 - Postcards $0.75 - Airmail Letters and Cards up to 1 oz. To Mexico $0.79 - Postcards $0.79 - Airmail Letters and Cards up to 1 oz. To all other destination countries $0.98 - Postcards $0.98 - Airmail Letters and Cards up to 1 oz.

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Email: gaj@tangshan.gov.cn Ambassador Zhang Yesui Embassy of the Peoples Republic of China 3505 International Place NW Washington DC 20008 Tel: 202 495-2266 Fax: 1 202 495-2138 Email: chinaembpress_us@mfa.gov.cn
Additional Information

Since September, more than 2,300 individuals from over 10 towns in Changli County, Hebei province have signed a petition for Zhou Xiangyangs release that was organized by his family. This petition was signed by over 1,500 residents of his hometown. A second petition calling for Li Shanshans release, organized by her family after they received news that she had been sent to re-education through labor, had been signed by over 500 people on 15 November. Falun Gong is a spiritual movement which gained large numbers of supporters in China during the 1990s. After it staged a peaceful gathering in Tiananmen Square in July 1999, the

government outlawed the group and launched a long-term campaign of intimidation and persecution, directed by a special organization called the 610 Office. Tens of thousands of Falun Gong practitioners have been arbitrarily detained as a threat to social and political stability since the spiritual movement was banned. Practitioners have been held in psychiatric hospitals, re-education through labor (RTL) facilities - a form of administrative detention imposed without charge, trial or judicial review, sentenced to long prison terms, and been held in specialized detention centers whose mission is to transform Falun Gong practitioners, a process through which they are coerced into renouncing their spiritual beliefs, often through the use of torture and ill-treatment. Torture and other ill-treatment are endemic in all forms of detention, despite Chinas ratification of the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment in 1988. Falun Gong sources have documented numerous deaths in custody of Falun Gong practitioners, believed to have been caused by torture and other ill-treatment.

Postage

AIUSA group 48 Newsletter December 2011