Chow Hang-tung

May 2, 2023 by zarganar

March 2024

Hong Kong: Overturning of Chow Hang-tung Tiananmen acquittal another blow to rule of law

‘I yearn to see you’ – Valentine’s letters to activists detained in mainland China and Hong Kong

September 2023

Chow Hang-tung remains in prison waiting for her appeal against her conviction in March. Other charges remain against her.

In June The Working Group on Arbitrary Detention of the U.N. Human Rights Council found that Chow Hang-tung’s imprisonment is a breach of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which China signed in 1998. The U.N. group has sharply criticized the new national security law that China imposed on Hong Kong, and under which Ms. Chow is being prosecuted. The group concluded Ms. Chow should be freed. On 4th June Chow Hang-tung went on hunger strike in prison for 34 hours to mark the 34th anniversary of the Tiananmen crackdown.

Chow Hang-tung was awarded the Gwangju Prize for Human Rights by the South Korean May 18 Memorial Foundation in May 2023. The Gwangju Prize is awarded to individuals and organizations who have contributed significantly to the development of human rights, unification, solidarity, and peace.

March 2023

Chow Hang-tung, 38, a prominent Hong Kong pro-democracy activist and former vice-chairperson of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China is back in prison. This is her third prison sentence. Along with Tang Ngok-kwan and Tsui Hon-kwong she was sentenced to four-and-a-half months.

Chow Hang-tung, along with six other Hong Kong pro-democracy activists, were found guilty of “not complying with a national security police request for information”, under the city’s controversial national security law.

The activists were charged in connection with the annual vigil held in Hong Kong’s Victoria Park to commemorate the victims of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre. The vigil had been banned by Hong Kong authorities in 2022, citing concerns over the spread of Covid-19, but many Hong Kongers defied the ban and attended the event anyway.

The convictions have been widely criticized by human rights groups and democracy advocates around the world. Many see them as part of a broader crackdown by the Chinese government on Hong Kong’s freedoms and autonomy, which were promised to the city under the “One Country, Two Systems” framework.

Chow also faces a further ten years in prison under Hong Kong’s draconian National Security Law, for allegedly endangering national security through her actions.

Tiananmen Square

Protests in China were largely student-led demonstrations calling for political and economic reforms – including free speech and a free press. An armed suppression ordered by the Chinese authorities, on June 4 and 5, 1989 led to a massacre of the unarmed demonstrators in Tiananmen Square. Reporters and Western diplomats in Beijing that day estimated that hundreds to thousands of protesters were killed, and as many as 10,000 were arrested. Despite efforts by the Chinese government to erase this event from history, it has inspired millions around the world to fight for human rights and democracy.

Annual Commemorations

The first commemoration of the Tiananmen Square massacre took place in Hong Kong in 1990, and Chow has been involved in recent annual commemorations, organizing the vigil on behalf of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China. Each year on June 4th, people would gather in Victoria Park to light candles and demand accountability for those killed.

But in 2021, everything changed for Chow. After urging people on social media to light a candle at home in remembrance of Tiananmen, she was arrested. Chow became one of the victims of Hong Kong’s new National Security Law, a sweeping piece of legislation that has eroded human rights and freedoms in Hong Kong, and essentially eliminated the right to peaceful protest.

In December 2021 and January 2022, Chow was initially convicted respectively for inciting and taking part in an unlawful assembly (the vigil in 2020) and sentenced to 12 months. A 15 month sentence was then added for organizing the vigil in 2021. She served a total of 22 months in prison

Write for Rights 2022: Hong Kong – Chow Hang-tung

Chow Hang-tund was featured in Amnesty’s Write for Rights 2022

[Read more…]

Europe Newsletter April 2023

April 30, 2023 by zarganar

Türkiye

Türkiye: People with disabilities neglected in humanitarian response to devastating earthquakes

As you will all be aware, southern Türkiye and northwest Syria were hit by devastating earthquakes in February. More than 48,000 people were killed and more than 100,000 were injured many of whom lost limbs and sustained other life-changing injuries. An estimated 3.3 million people have been displaced, with approximately 2.3 million people currently sheltering in tent camps and container settlements.

According to a joint Turkish government and United Nations assessment as many as 70 percent of injured earthquake survivors are expected to have a disability. In a shocking report, published by Amnesty International last Thursday 27 April it was revealed that people with disabilities living in displacement camps after the earthquakes in Türkiye are being overlooked in the humanitarian response to the disaster.

Three Amnesty International researchers undertook research from 9-22 March, in four of the provinces that have been most affected by the earthquakes in southeast Türkiye. Those were Gaziantep, Kahramanmaras, Hatay and Adiyaman. Research was undertaken in urban and rural areas. Amnesty International met with people from a mix of ethnic backgrounds. In total, the team interviewed 131 people, including survivors who have been living in displacement camps and aid workers. Interviewees included Turkish nationals and Syrian refugees.

Amnesty International did not have access to Syria for this report – which does not address the situation in Syria.

During the visit to Türkiye, Amnesty International researchers identified that persons with disabilities were among those particularly at-risk of being marginalised or left behind with regards to access to assistance, and who also experienced unequal access to their human rights in the aftermath of the earthquake. They found that there were significant gaps in humanitarian response programmes, which included barriers to equally accessing sanitation, food, water and specialist support.

As result of this work Amnesty has made a number of wide ranging recommendations to the Turkish government, humanitarian agencies and organisations and countries donating aid for earthquake victims (see report).

ELECTIONS 2023

On 14 May, in what are being described as the most important elections in the history of the Republic since it was founded in 1923, the people of Türkiye will go to the polls to elect their president for the next 5 years and a new parliament, the 600 member Grand National Assembly.

Standing for re-election is President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan who has been in office since 2014 and was Prime Minister from 2003.

[Read more…]

South America Newsletter April 2023

April 12, 2023 by zarganar

Dear friends

This month we bring you news from Colombia, Brazil, Peru, Venezuela, Argentina and Chile. Plus we have the regional highlights from Amnesty International’s annual report on human rights worldwide.

In Colombia Amnesty International, together with many local NGOs, has published its detailed proposals for police reform. Whilst in Brazil, Amnesty and other civic society organisations have launched the campaign “The Ministry Has to Be Public”. This is an attempt to tackle the severe problem of police violence. Amnesty has marked the 100th day since the start of social protests in Peru.

In Venezuela Amnesty has decided to extend the deadline for its Urgent Action on “Venezuelan NGOs at risk” for another eight weeks. They have also highlighted the ongoing arbitrary detention, and health deterioration, of Javier Tarazona, director of an NGO, who was imprisoned and charged with inciting hatred, treason, and “terrorism” in July 2021.

In Argentina the remaining aircraft used to carry out “death flights” during the military dictatorship is being returned to the country. Amnesty has published a new report, based on the testimonies of female Venezuelan refuges in Chile, outlining the difficulties they experience.

REGIONAL

Amnesty has issued its annual report on human rights worldwide. It found, among other things, that:

An additional 15 million people in Latin America and the Caribbean have begun to live in poverty since the Covid-19 pandemic began, raising the total to 201 million;
The Americas remained the region with most fatalities from Covid, with more than 2.9 million confirmed deaths, while Peru has the highest death rate from Covid in the world;
At least 67 people have died since widespread protests began across Peru in December, including at least 49 deaths from state repression;
The Americas accounted for 273 of 327 trans and gender-diverse people reported murdered worldwide, while Brazil recorded more killings (96) than any other country on earth
More than 7.17 million Venezuelans have left the country, mostly since 2015, over 6 million of whom are living in other countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon reached the second highest annual figure since 2006.

COLOMBIA

José Eduardo Cardenas Sanchez, community leader,
killed 19 March 2023 in Quibdó, Chocó.

Following Amnesty International’s reports on the excessive use of force by the National Police during the 2021 National Strike, Amnesty International, together with many local NGOs, has published its detailed proposals for police reform. These include removing the police from the Defence Ministry, re-orientating its objectives and changing its recruitment and training to enable it to serve the people and fully recognise their human rights, including the right to protest. (See attached proposal). Please sign the petition supporting these proposals.

Amnesty has submitted its findings to the UN’s Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly. Between 2018 and 2022 Amnesty International documented worrying trends of excessive use of force by Colombian security forces when intervening in protests and mobilizations. Among the most commonly used repertoires of violence were extrajudicial executions, injuries (including severe eye trauma) and gender-based violence (including sexual violence).

The UN Commissioner on Human Rights reports on his visit to Colombia. While noting the many advances on human rights and the 2016 Peace Accord’s transitional justice under the new administration, he calls on ‘the Attorney General’s Office to advance accountability for violations reportedly committed by security forces during protests. The charges of serious offenses, such as terrorism, against protestors, needs to be reviewed.’ The Attorney General is independent of the Government.

[Read more…]

Europe Newsletter March 2023

March 9, 2023 by zarganar

There is a special International Women’s day action featuring Eren Keskin, fearless human rights defender from Türkiye. Please take action on International Women’s day Wednesday 8^th March.

Human Rights in Europe are under threatened and under attack, particularly the human rights of those who are fleeing war and persecution and hoping to claim their universal human right to asylum. The latest shocker from our government are the plans to suspend the right to asylum altogether. I am currently taking part in discussions with the International Secretariat and other European Sections about coordinated action against the human rights violations at Fortress Europe’s borders and will keep you posted.

In the mean-time I want to inform you of the actions organized by other organizations: Care for Calais, Trade Unions and others. On 18^th of March in to date 12 countries including the UK, people will be marching against racism and for the rights of refugees. Find out more at #WorldAgainstRacism and at the end of this Newsletter.

Türkiye

Response to Earthquake

Everyone will be aware of the dreadful series of earthquakes that struck south west Türkiye and Syria in early February killing in excess of 50,000 people, injuring far more and creating hundreds of thousands of displaced, homeless persons.

Amnesty International has expressed its deepest sympathies to all those affected by the earthquakes and acknowledges the tireless efforts of volunteers and first responders in search and rescue operations in such difficult circumstances.

Türkiye has invoked a state of emergency in the affected provinces. Aid provision in Syria has been slowed down and obstructed by political considerations and logistical difficulties that have eclipsed the need for an urgent and immediate response to people’s needs in the northwest.

In times of such crises, human rights must not be suspended and there must be concerted efforts towards the promotion and protection of the human rights of everyone. In acknowledgement of this, Amnesty has published: TÜRKİYE/SYRIA: A HUMAN RIGHTS RESPONSE TO THE 6 FEBRUARY EARTHQUAKES

TURKIYE_SYRIA_A-human-rights-response_briefing-EUR44-6470-2023_final Download

Buyukada hearing

As I informed you in a previous newsletter, the hearing at the first instance court in the Buyukada prosecution following the overturning of the convictions of Taner Kılıç, former Chair of Amnesty’s Turkey section, Idil Eser former Director of Amnesty Turkey, Günal Kurşun and Özlem Dalkıran is set to take place on 8 March.

You will recall that in November 2022 the Court of Cassation ruled to overturn the convictions for ‘aiding a terrorist organization’ for Idil, Ozlem and Gunal on grounds of lack of evidence, whilst Taner’s conviction for ‘membership of a terrorist organization’ was overturned on grounds of ‘incomplete investigation’.

In December, the first instance court requested that additional investigation be carried out and the date of the hearing be set for 8 March, indicating that the court will agree with the Court of Cassation ruling – though we will not know if this is the case until the hearing takes place. Since then, some responses were received and added to the case file online. The latest correspondence is from the Ministry of Justice, sharing the European Court of Human Rights ruling in Taner’s application, informing the trial court of its conclusions finding Taner’s rights to liberty and security and freedom of expression had been violated. In other words, helpfully, the Ministry is drawing the attention of the court to a binding decision, informing them that the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe is monitoring the implementation of the judgment. On the face of it, this is a positive step.

It is possible that the hearing will end with a decision to uphold the Court of Cassation decision or as is within their power, to resist it. Even if the court rules to accept it, the prosecution could appeal, starting the whole process again which obviously would be extremely distressing for the 4 defendants.

I will let everyone know what happens on 8 March and if further follow up action is required.

Saturday Mothers/People

The 6th hearing in the baseless prosecution of the 46 people from the Saturday Mothers/People group related to their banned gathering in 2018 as reported in the January newsletter as being scheduled for 03.02.2023 was in the end postponed because the judge was ill. A new date has not yet been identified.

In a further development, a few days ago a decision of the Turkish Constitutional Court on the application of a member of the group called Maside Ocak relating to the banning of the Saturday Mother/People in August 2018 that led to the prosecution was published in the Official Gazette. Maside is the sister of Hasan Ocak who was forcibly “disappeared” in 1995 and daughter of 82 year old Emine Osak who has appeared prominently at Saturday Mother/Peoples vigils for many years.

The Constitutional Court found that Maside’s right of freedom to peaceful assembly had been violated and ruled that the decision should be sent to the Beyoglu Governorate ‘in order that the violation of the right in the future be prevented’.

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