Dear Amnesty Activists and supporters
Please take urgent action to stop Eritrean asylum-seekers being deported to Eritrea, where they would face torture and imprisonment. Here is a sample letter. Please also look at our Write for Rights case from Türkiye. After the last elections in Poland the government changed, but there are no improvements for refugees stuck in the swampy forests between Poland and Belarus, violently pushed back from both sides. Just today, Donald Tusk, the new Prime Minister of Poland announced that he wants to suspend the right to asylum, a grave violation of European and international human rights law.  More details and reports below.

2 dates for your diaries : the Amplify Human Rights Festival on 7^th December where we are contributing a workshop on Fortress Europe, and the screening of the  Film “Green Border” at the Human Rights Action Centre on 16^th January.

Türkiye

Urgent Action:- Eritrean asylum seekers in Türkiye at imminent risk of forcible return home

by Chris Ramsey
Hundreds of Eritrean nationals are at imminent risk of forcible return from Türkiye to Eritrea where they would face a real risk of torture, arbitrary detention and other serious human rights violations. Reports indicate that around 300 Eritreans recently detained in Türkiye without adequate access to communication or legal support have been deported to Eritrea. Amnesty says the authorities must immediately halt any plans to forcibly return Eritrean nationals from Türkiye and grant them access to asylum procedures, in line with international law.
Türkiye is party to the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol. However, Türkiye retains a geographic reservation to its ratification of the Convention, so that only citizens from Council of Europe member states are allowed to apply for refugee status. People who do not qualify for refugee status in Türkiye, can request conditional refugee status or subsidiary protection under the Law on Foreigners and International Protection of 2013. The conditional refugee status was created for people originating from “non-European” states and provides more restrictive rights than the ones granted to refugee status holders.

Amnesty International has found that the Eritrean authorities regard the act of applying for asylum abroad as evidence of treason, and a reason to detain anyone forcibly returned to Eritrea. Appalling detention conditions in Eritrea amount to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has noted that “Eritreans who are forcibly returned may, according to several reports, face arrest without charge, detention, ill-treatment, torture sometimes death at the hands of the authorities. They are reportedly held incommunicado, in over-crowded and unhygienic conditions, with little access to medical care, sometimes for extended periods of time” and that “For someEritreans, being outside the country may be sufficient cause on return to be subjected to scrutiny, reprisals and harsh treatment. Individuals may be suspected of having sought asylum, participating in diaspora-based opposition meetings or otherwise posing a (real or perceived) threat to the Government, particularly where they have exited the country illegally.”

Furthermore, in 2015, the UN Human Rights Council Commission of Inquiry on human rights in Eritrea found that ‘’with a few exceptions, those who have been forced to return to the country have been arrested, detained and subjected to ill- treatment and torture.’’ According to a 2016 Amnesty International report, deserters are likely to face prolonged arbitrary detention, inhumane detention conditions and torture and other-ill treatment. National service is compulsory for all men and women between the ages of 18 and 40 in Eritrea, with additional mandatory reserve duties up to age 50. There is no limit on length of service. Initially 18 months long, it generally includes six months’ military service followed by 12 months’ deployment in military or government service. However, this is frequently extended indefinitely.

National service often involves forced or involuntary labour in state projects. Conscripts perform construction labour on government projects such as road building, work in the civil service or work for companies owned and operated by the military or ruling party elites. Conscripts are paid minimal salaries that do not meet the basic needs of their families. Much of the adult population of Eritrea is currently engaged in mandatory national service. There is no exemption from military service for conscientious objectors.

ACTION:

Use this model letter to the Head of Migration Management in Türkiye requesting that the country fulfils its international obligations with respect to refugees and desists from deporting people back to Eritrea. [Read more…]

Dear Amnesty activists and supporters. The Olympic games should be a time of celebrating diversity, but the French ban prohibiting Muslim women from wearing sports hijabs is excluding French athletes from taking part. Please join the on-line campaign to end discrimination in France. For any inquiries about France please contact our coordinator for Western Europe Jovana Bosnjak Jovana.Bosnjak@amnesty.org.uk

We also have a postcard action supporting the Saturday mothers in Turkiye. Please print the attached postcard templates and send cards to the Interior Ministry of Turkiye. For further questions please contact Chris Ramsey country coordinator for Turkiye  chris.ramsey@amnesty.org.uk

How we respond to refugees fleeing wars and oppression defines us as a society and civilization. On 14^th of June vigils and demonstrations were held in many European countries including Greece, Denmark, Germany, France, Bulgaria, Turkey, UK and others to call for justice for the 600 people who drowned when the “Adriana”, a clapped out fishing boat packed with refugees including many children, sank near Pylos Greece. Investigations by Amnesty, Human Rights Watch and the BBC point to the culpability of the Greek authorities particularly the Hellenic coastguard for this horrendous and preventable loss of life.  Just this week Amnesty released a report investigating the suffering of people detained in the EU-funded Closed Controlled Access Centres in Samos Greece. And in Finland a new law on migration is a green light for violence and pushbacks at the border. For more information please contact Ulrike Schmidt Balkan and regional team coordinator Ulrike.schmidt@amnesty.org.uk

In Poland refugees are still dying in the forests pushed back and forth by Belarussian and Polish border guards. Refugees from Afghanistan, who have often helped Western troops and are persecuted by the Taliban are not receiving the welcome that Ukrainian refugees rightly receive. Used by Belarus and forcibly returned by Polish border guards refugees from Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and other oppressive and war-torn countries are forced back and forth over the border. Many, including children have died in the swampy and unforgiving forests. Our new coordinator for Central Europe Lucja Jastrzebska is giving us overview and updates. For further information please contact lucja.jastrzebska@amnesty.org.uk

Finally Amnesty has released a detailed report called “Under protected and over restricted“ about the right to protest in 21 countries. Chris Ramsey, our coordinator for Turkey  has worked through the 209 pages of the report for us and produced a more digestible summary for us. For further inquiries please contact chris.ramsey@amnesty.org.uk.

Malta

El Hiblu update :

Apologies to all the groups who expressed an interest in adopting the El Hiblu 3. The Action circular on the case has still not been issued, and I finally received an answer from the research team: The courts in Malta are currently hearing preliminary issues, following the attorney generals decision to indict the El Hiblu 3. The first preliminary issue is that they are examining whether Malta has jurisdiction over the case. At the moment all we can do is wait. I will keep you updated as soon as I receive more information. In the mean-time all we can do is continue to write solidarity messages. [Read more…]

First some good news : Our Europe team has four country coordinators again : Lucja Jastrzebska has joined us and she will be taking over the work on Central Europe, while Ulrike will focus on the Balkans and the eastern Mediterranean. Welcome Lucja! She will cover the Baltic republics, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. Ulrike will focus on Romania, Bulgaria, Former Yugoslavia , Greece and the El Hiblu 3 case.

Türkiye

Saturday Mothers

Emblematic case in Protect the Protest Global Campaign.

Global day of action planned for 25 May

As  you will be aware, because of the increasing pressure on freedom of expression and freedom of assembly there, Türkiye is one of the 10 focus countries in Amnesty’s global Protect the Protest campaign. In respect of Türkiye the two particular areas for campaigning on this issue have been identified as supporting local Prides (the main focus in 2023) and the Saturday Mothers vigils.

Time and again, the Saturday Mothers have been met with brutal crackdowns and even prosecutions for taking part in peaceful vigils. What is most strange about this is that they are not actually protesting about anything the current regime has done but about historic injustices. The Turkish authorities have never provided a valid justification for their unlawful denial of the right to exercise freedom of expression and assembly.

For several years we have been campaigning on their behalf because of the prosecution of 46 of those indicted in 2021 following their brutal arrests 2018. They are still facing the charges of ‘refusing to disperse despite warnings.’ The prosecution continues and what is supposed to be the “final” hearing in the case is due to take place in Istanbul on 5 April.

In November 2023, and after several advocacy meetings with the Governor of Istanbul, the group secured a partial victory, that ten representatives would be allowed to meet in front of the barriers on the square for a brief statement. The blockade on the square was not lifted but the detentions ended. This is the current situation. Saturday Mothers/People continue to demand that the blockade on Galatasaray Sq is lifted and we continue to support their call.

However, now, 20 people who were detained as result of attempting to hold a vigil on 10 June 2023 are facing a new prosecution under the Law on Meetings and Demonstrations and the first hearing in the case took place on 27 February. As is all too often the case in these situations, this was inconclusive and we now await the date for further hearing.

Global Day of Action

The 1000th vigil of the Saturday Mothers will take place on 25 May, and Amnesty is hoping to stage a global day of action on or around that day to publicise this case. Ideas are being worked up in AI sections around the world and I would welcome any ideas you have for how we might draw attention to the Saturday Mothers in the UK.

[Read more…]