Amnesty International Bournemouth Poole Christchurch Group

local news & events Amnesty International group for Bournemouth, Poole & Christchurch

  • Home
  • Events
  • Action
  • Newsletter
  • Why A.I.?
  • Contact
  • Privacy
    • Terms Of Use
    • Privacy Policy

Europe Newsletter June 2023

June 5, 2023 by zarganar

From Monday  the 19th of June to Sunday 25th June Refugee Week takes place across the World. The theme of this years Refugee Week is compassion. While many ordinary people across the world show compassion and solidarity to refugees who have lost everything due to war, oppression and violence, governments across Europe particularly at the borders of Fortress Europe :Spain, Italy, Greece, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Croatia are using violence against refugees who are simply trying to find a place of safety.

Often this results in loss of lives. At least 37 died at the Mellila border last year (+77 missing) and at least 94 people died at sea close to the coast of Italy because Frontex and the Italian authorities did not attempt to rescue them. And those people who are rescuing refugees from drowning in the sea are criminalised and threatened with long prison sentences for their humanity. Sarah and Sean are back in court again on baseless charges. The trial against the crew of the Juventa , who saved several thousand lives before being impounded, is on-going. And Tommy Olson from Norway is threatened with 25 years in prison for documenting how refugees and migrants are treated in Greece. Poland, Latvia and Lithuania, while welcoming refugees from Ukraine are still violently pushing back or detaining and deporting refugees from other wars and violence.

And our government is trying to get rid of the Universal Human Right to asylum from persecution altogether. If the „illegal“ immigration bill becomes law refugees fleeing war, oppression and violence will not be able to claim asylum in the UK any more if they have arrived „illegally“. There are no safe and legal routes for people seeking asylum to enter the UK. The bill will apply to people arriving in the UK on or after 7 March 2023 (the day the bill was published), and anyone caught by it would be permanently barred from the UK. Their partners and children will face the same fate, regardless of whether they arrived without permission – even if they were born here.

This would mean that many British children would be robbed of their rights to British citizenship. We have to fight this bill. Please join the digital action

STOP THE CRUEL BILL: Email Rishi now (amnesty.org.uk)  And please write personal letters to Rishi Sunak as well as your MP.

Refugee Week   Take part in International Actions

EUROPEAN BORDER ACTION WORLD REFUGEE DAY 20TH OF JUNE 2023

On World Refugee Week 19th-25th of June we come together to commemorate the challenges faced by refugees all over the Europe and the incredible courage they show. Find out below when it is and how we mark this important day.  

#SafeAndLegalRoutesNow #AmnestyUKEurope

Amnesty International

We are planning a mixed action, where the groups themselves can decide whether they want to demonstrate loudly, join digitally, join in creative and artsy ways or by making informational events. What we all will have in common are our demands.

Use #SafeAndLegalRoutesNow #AmnestyUKEurope and tag @amnestyukeurope

Actions Collect signatures for the Melilla case  19th-25th of June

For groups who want to collect signatures: Print the petition for the Melilla case and organise joint signing 

Spain and Morocco: Demand justice for dead and missing at Melilla

On 24 June 2022, people attempting to cross into Melilla through a border crossing between Spain and Morocco were met with a shocking display of unlawful force by Moroccan and Spanish security forces. At least 37 Black people – mostly from sub-Saharan Africa – died unlawfully and 77 are missing. Their loved ones still don’t have answers about what happened to them.

Join us to demand truth, justice and reparations for the victims and their families.

Sign the petition here https://www.amnesty.org/en/petition/justice-for-dead-and-missing-at-melilla/,

[Read more…]

Filed Under: amnesty international, Europe Newsletters, newsletter, South America Newsletter

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…]

Filed Under: amnesty international, Europe Newsletters, newsletter, South America Newsletter

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 8th 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 18th 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_finalDownload

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.

Emine Osak

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’.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: amnesty international, Europe Newsletters, newsletter, South America Newsletter

Europe Newsletter January 2023

January 26, 2023 by zarganar

Türkiye

This month we bring you news from Türkiye, Latvia, Malta, Slovenia, Greece, Croatia, Hungary & Bulgaria. There are several actions you can take.

Prof Şebnem Korur Fincancı : verdict

The third and final hearing in the baseless prosecution of human rights defender, forensic medicine expert and head of the Turkish Medical Association Prof Şebnem Korur Fincancı ( see October 2022 newsletter for case details) was held on 11 January. Regrettably, the court found her guilty of ‘making propaganda for a terrorist organisation’ and sentenced her to two years eight months and 15 days in prison.

The court also ruled that she be released from pre-trial detention where she has been held since 27 October 2022 pending appeal. The decision to release her is very welcome though the prosecutor can appeal this, as we have seen in other cases.

For now, the International Secretariat has requested that we stop sending appeals – they will issue an update as appropriate once they have determined the next strategy in this case.

Many thanks for all the appeals that were sent. The responses received by many from the chief public prosecutor’s office were pro-forma replies, not quite relevant to our appeals, but it was interesting to see the difference between the Ankara chief public prosecutor’s office (the initial target) who appeared to have blocked the appeals from reaching them and the Istanbul one who replied.

The link below takes you to the prison diaries Şebnem has been writing since her in initial detention. Although the “machine translation” is less than perfect they still give a really vivid impression of life in a Turkish prison and in her comments and concerns about the plight of fellow prisoners her commitment to the needs of others shines through.

https://www.evrensel.net/yazi/92322/hapishane-gunluklerini-bitirmeden

Saturday Mothers

The next hearing in the prosecution of the 46 people including relatives and human rights defenders, namely the Saturday Mothers / People is going to take place on 3 February and not 23 February as indicated in some of the previous communications from the IS.

The hearing and latest developments

While no major development is expected at this hearing (around seven of the 46 defendants have not yet given their initial statement at the trial and this is what is likely to be completed), it is still important to maintain attention on the case, especially because AI has also found out that another prosecution has been initiated against 14 relatives / people from the group linked to their attempt to mark the International Day of the Disappeared on 30 August last year – the first hearing in this new prosecution is set for 4 May. The criminalisation of their right to peaceful protest continues and the solidarity with them is ever more important.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: amnesty international, Europe Newsletters, newsletter

Europe Newsletter November 2022

November 3, 2022 by zarganar

Please find our latest Newsletter full of Actions and reports. Starting with a very urgent Action on Turkey, we are also campaigning for justice for Zineb Redouane, who was killed by a tear gas grenade in France. For the last year we have been campaigning against unlawful pushbacks and the inhumane and cruel treatment of asylum-seekers who tried to enter the European Union via Belarus. (Europe -wide action January 15th Stop Refugees Freezing about refugees trapped in the freezing forests between Poland and Belarus).

Meanwhile we have received shocking reports about violent pushbacks and detention of refugees in overcrowded conditions as well as cruel treatment amounting to torture from Lithuania and now in the latest report from Latvia. The treatment of asylum-seekers from war-torn and repressive countries like Syria, Afghanistan, Yemen, Congo, Iraq and Eritrea stands in stark contrast to the warm welcome offered to refugees from Ukraine. We are calling for all refugees and asylum-seekers to be treated with compassion and dignity and offered protection from persecution.

At the end of this newsletter you will find an action which is not (yet) an amnesty case but a Syrian family being supported in their community.

Darkness is rarely lifted by itself. We have to continue to light the candle standing up for universal human rights.

Türkiye

FREE PROF ŞEBNEM KORUR FİNCANCI

Prof Şebnem Korur Fincancı is a prominent forensic medicine doctor, a member of the Human Rights Foundation of Türkiye and the head of the Union of Turkish Medical Associations. As a human rights defender, she has been subjected to baseless criminal investigations, detentions and prosecutions in the past. In 2016, she was briefly remanded in pre-trial detention when prosecuted for ‘propaganda for a terrorist organization’ for her role as a symbolic editor of the shuttered Kurdish daily Özgür Gündem. Along with her two co-defendants, she was acquitted in 2019 but their acquittals were overturned on appeal and their retrial is ongoing.

Over the last seven years, the Union of Turkish Medical Associations has also been targeted in multiple criminal investigations under Türkiye’s overly broad anti-terrorism laws, their prominent members subjected to detention and prosecutions.

In the early hours of 26 October 2022, police detained Prof Fincancı. A criminal investigation was launched against her after she called for an independent investigation into allegations that Turkish armed forces might have used chemical weapons in Kurdistan Region of Iraq in comments during a live TV interview. Amnesty International is calling for Prof Fincancı to be released immediately and unconditionally from detention and must not be prosecuted for her human rights work.

There is an Urgent Action aimed at the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor. Please take part in this action as soon as possible and circulate it to supporters to maximise the impact. Download and edit with your details this  Sample Letter

Pressure on Freedom of Expression

In yet another squeeze on freedom of expression in Türkiye, in early October the authorities pushed a bill through parliament that enables three year sentences to be imposed on individuals who the courts decide have been publicly spreading “false information”.  The broad, “catch all” wording of the new criminal code will make it very difficult for individuals to be able to judge in advance whether they are likely to fall foul of it and there are significant concerns that this will lead to increasing self censorship by civil society groups. [Read more…]

Filed Under: amnesty international, Europe Newsletters, newsletter

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • Next Page »

Categories

Copyright © 2025 · Outreach Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

Facebook
Facebook
fb-share-icon