To coincide with World Day Against the Death Penalty today, Amnesty has released a powerful six-minute video showing the impact of the death penalty on families in Belarus, the only country in Europe that still carries out executions.

The video, based on the case of Gennadii Yakovitskii who was executed in Belarus in 2016, reveals the torment of his family as they struggled to understand what was happening.

Yakovitskii’s daughter Sasha explains that she hadn’t even known that Belarus had capital punishment in its justice system until her father – accused of murder – was actually in court.

Ten months later, Yakovitskii was executed – like all death prisoners in Belarus, shot in the back of the head after being forced to kneel down by prison guards – without either his family or his legal representatives being informed in advance. His family merely received a letter in the post confirming his death. They were also told they would not be able to collect his body and could not know how his body had been disposed of as this was “classified information”.

At least two people have been executed in Belarus so far this year, while four others remain on death row. [Read more…]

Amnesty has issued a new report on public security in Venezuela, the UN Human Rights Council has passed a resolution on the crisis and this year’s Embassy Crawl included a stop at the Venezuelan Embassy.  In Colombia, environmental rights defenders continue to face threats, paramilitary groups are extending their presence, peace negotiations with the ELN have come to a standstill and the arrival of large numbers of Venezuelans fleeing their country is exacerbating tensions between the two governments.

Elections are imminent in Brazil and questions are being asked about the human rights credentials of some of the candidates, including the front-runner for President; there is concern about growing violence in Rio and against Afro-descendants; and Amnesty is unimpressed by the slow progress of the investigation into the murder of Marielle Franco, whose partner recently visited AIUK’s offices.  In Peru, a court ruling is imminent on a bid to reverse the presidential pardon granted to ex-President Fujimori; and charges have been dropped against 16 Human Rights Defenders.

In Chile, Human Rights Defender Karine Riquelme has faced further intimidation.  15 countries have signed the regional Escazú Agreement, which seeks to protect environmental rights; and Amnesty has called on all countries in the region to assume their responsibilities towards Venezuelans seeking to escape the crisis in their country.

VENEZUELA

In a new report, This is no way to live: Public security and the right to life in Venezuela, Amnesty has highlighted the responsibility of the Venezuelan state for violations of the right to life and physical integrity of thousands of people.  Amnesty reports that the state is not only failing to guarantee the life and security of the population in the context of alarming levels of insecurity, but it is also implementing repressive measures using military methods, supposedly to tackle crime. The result has been more than 8,200 extrajudicial executions between 2015 and June 2017.

On 27 September, the United Nations’ Human Rights Council passed a resolution to address the unprecedented human rights crisis unfolding in Venezuela. Amnesty has welcomed the resolution.

On 29 September the annual Embassy Crawl, organised by the Lambeth Group, included a stop at the Venezuelan Embassy to raise the case of Geraldine Chacón, a human rights defender, detained in February and conditionally released four months later.  She must register at a local court every 30 days and is not allowed to leave the country. Amnesty is demanding her unconditional freedom and for her case to be formally closed so that she can carry on with her valuable work as a defender of human rights.  Outside the Embassy and in Graham’s absence, David introduced the case to those taking part in the crawl. [Read more…]

Welcome to the latest newsletter. We hope you enjoyed the summer. The next meeting  is on Thursday 13th September 2018, 7.30pm  at Moordown Community Centre. On the agenda:-  letter writing, planning future events and an update on campaigns.

Some Good News August has been a good month, seeing the release of two of the human rights defenders we featured in this newsletter. Taner Kilic, one of the founding members of Amnesty Turkey and its Chairman, was released on bail on 16 August 2018, after 432 days in jail. Taner was arrested on 6 June 2017 and was sent to jail three days later charged with ‘membership of a terrorist organisation’ – a ridiculous claim made over and over again by the Turkish government to justify its attempt to silence human rights defenders. On 20 August, following a royal pardon, Cambodian human rights defender Tep Vanny  was released from prison having endured two years behind bars (pictured above). Tep is known for her campaigning against the forced eviction of her community from Boeung Kak Lake, Phnom Penh. A construction project on the site has seen thousands of families lose their homes. Very sadly, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s three-day leave from prison was not extended, however, Amnesty International will continue to fight until she is permanently released. Please take action here… https://www.amnesty.org.uk/actions/help-get-nazanin-zaghari-ratcliffe-home

[Read more…]

This newsletter includes amongst other matters:  troubling statistics regarding killings of human rights defenders in Colombia and police killings in Rio de Janeiro.  There are also concerns regarding the plight of environmental defenders in Ecuador, Venezuela and Brazil. Chile is criticised for misusing its anti-terrorism law. A vote on abortion in Argentina had a disappointing outcome and there are calls to solve a case relating to a particular disappearance in this country.  UN agencies have expressed concern about the crisis due to  people fleeing Venezuela. There are two urgent actions (Paraguay and Venezuela).

ARGENTINA

After a marathon 16-hour debate, Argentina’s Senate have voted against legalizing abortion during the first 14 weeks of pregnancy.  For now, people who need to terminate pregnancies in Argentina will have to continue to risk death or incarceration.  But, in this article, the Executive Director of Amnesty Argentina argues that the vote was a stepping stone, not a setback.

One year on from the disappearance and subsequent death of Santiago Maldonado, Amnesty has called on the authorities to solve the case and comply with their obligation to guarantee the rights of his family to truth, justice and reparation.  Maldonado disappeared following a violent raid on a Mapuche community by the Argentine National Gendarmerie.  He had arrived in the territory of the community the day before to assist in its suit to reclaim tribal lands.

CHILE

Ex-President Michelle Bachelet has been nominated as the new United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.  Bachelet, who served two terms, was Chile’s first (and so far only) woman President.  Following the 1973 coup that brought Pinochet to power, she and her mother were detained, interrogated, tortured and then released before going into exile.

Amnesty has issued a report criticising Chile’s use of its anti-terrorism law to prosecute Indigenous Mapuche people seeking to defend their land rights.  An English translation of the report should be available shortly.

PARAGUAY

Amnesty has issued an Urgent Action about Amada Martínez, a human rights Indigenous defender who was threatened by three armed men wearing uniforms of the Itaipú Binational (Paraguay-Brazil) hydroelectric plant.  Amada Martínez has been campaigning for the rights of her community, who have suffered displacement from their territory by the construction of the hydroelectric plant.   You can still take action here. [Read more…]