Amnesty International Bournemouth Poole Christchurch Group

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

Group Newsletter June 2025

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Welcome to the latest newsletter. Our next meeting  is on Thursday 3rd July 2025, 7.30pm – 9.00pm at Moordown Community Centre. We will have updates on campaigns, letter writing and planning future events. But before, help us celebrate Refuge Week at…
This is a community festival to celebrate Refugee Week. Established in 1998 in the UK, Refugee Week takes place every year around World Refugee Day (20th June). It’s the world’s largest arts & culture festival celebrating the contributions, creativity and resilience of refugees and people seeking sanctuary.
We have been directly involved in organising this event and will have a stall there throughout the day. There are more details on the Eventbrite page, (Eventbrite like you to register for tickets, but this isn’t essential  –  please just turn up – its FREE!)
So we hope to see you Saturday 21st June, anytime 12 -7, at Winton Recreation Ground, Bournemouth BH9 1BZ
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-great-community-get-together-at-winton-recreation-ground-tickets-1397975565549
https://refugeeweek.org.uk/

Europe Newsletter

The latest Europe Newsletter has just been published. This does expand extensively about the importance of Refugee Week. Its an opportunity to roll back the tide of misinformation, scapegoating, hate speech and hostility directed at refugees. Also a reminder that seeking asylum is a human right.
This right is seriously under threat in Poland, where a law “suspending” asylum claims is a  flagrant violation of international law and poses a serious threat to the rights of refugees and migrants.
There is also a reminder that five Gezi Park defendants remain in prison and have been responding to solidarity cards and messages.
https://amnestyat50.co.uk/europe-newsletter-june-2025

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Group Newsletter February 2025

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Welcome to the latest newsletter, in which we share some good news stories.
Our next meeting  is on Thursday 6th March 2025, 7.30pm – 9.00pm at Moordown Community Centre. We will have updates on campaigns, letter writing and planning future events. In particular our second Iftar next Saturday…

Iftar in Bournemouth

After last years successful event we will be co-hosting an Iftar on

Saturday 8th March from 5pm.

This will be alongside Feed our Community.  An Iftar is the  evening meal with which Muslims end their daily Ramadan fast at sunset. It is a significant religious observance during the holy month of Ramadan, symbolizing the breaking of the fast.
Last year we had a few false starts with a venue, but we are returning to

Ensbury Park Community Centre, Ensbury Avenue, BH10 4HG

Please contact us if you would like to attend or help
We are delighted share the news that Neth Nahara, featured in last years Write for Rights (W4R) is finally free after more than a year of arbitrary imprisonment.
Neth was arrested on 13 August 2023 in her home in Luanda, Angola, simply for broadcasting a TikTok video criticising President Lourenço. During her time in custody, she was denied vital HIV medication, which caused her health to deteriorate significantly. Neth was later hospitalized due to the condition that worsened during her detention.
Thousands of supporters demanded her release through W4R 2024. Following this global campaign, Neth Nahara and four other Angolan activists were finally freed in the first week of January 2025.
Salma al-Shehab, 36, a Leeds University PhD student and mother of two, was arrested on 15 January 2021 for tweeting and retweeting Saudi women’s rights activists on Twitter. Based on these tweets, she was charged, amongst other things, with “disturb[ing] public order, [and] destabiliz[ing] the security of society and the stability of the state.”
In March 2022, the Specialized Criminal Court (SCC) sentenced Salma al-Shehab to six years in prison. At her appeal trial in August 2022, the prosecution demanded a harsher punishment, and the SCC drastically increased her prison sentence to 34 years. Salma appealed that judgement and the court reduced her sentence to 27 years’ imprisonment.
We featured Salma al-Shehab on our stall at Increase the Peace, May 2023. Her release last month is fantastic news.
After more than four years of wrongful imprisonment for peacefully exercising her human rights, Dorgelesse Nguessan has finally been released.
In September 2020, over 500 people including Dorgelesse, were arrested for participating in protests in several cities across Cameroon.
Having never been politically active before, Dorgelesse joined her first protest in Douala due to her growing concern about Cameroon’s economy. Charged with “insurrection” and “public demonstrations” among other charges, she was then sentenced to five years in prison by a military court on December 7 2021.
In 2022, she was featured in W4R. On January 16 2025, she was finally released.

Europe Newsletter

Februarys newsletter also contains good news.  Three of the GEZI defendants have been acquitted, overturning their previous 18-year prison sentences. But the other four defendants remain in prison serving long sentences for attending peaceful protests. Osman Kavala is serving a life sentence.
Since the newsletter was published Taner Kılıç  a founding member of Amnesty International Türkiye and its former Chair, has been released from prison. He was convicted of “membership of a terrorist organisation” and sentenced to more than six years in prison. The end of the almost eight year ordeal for Taner Kılıç comes amid a new wave of detentions in Türkiye, in  which rights defenders, journalists, political activists and others have been targeted.
https://amnestyat50.co.uk/europe-newsletter-february-2025
https://amnestyat50.co.uk/turkiye-acquittal-of-taner-kilic

South America Newsletter

The latest South America Newsletter has updates on Venezuela, Colombia, Argentina, Chile and Suriname. There is a new Urgent Action for Venezuela, calling for the release of four human  defenders currently arbitrarily detained for their activism.  At our last meeting we sent letters to the Colombian Minister for the Interior. This is regarding the safety of civil society organisations, and the communities, of the Magdalena Medio region. They continue to be under persistent threat from armed groups, who have labelled them as collaborators and declared the community a “military objective”.
https://amnestyat50.co.uk/south-america-newsletter-february-2025

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Group Newsletter December 2024

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Welcome to the latest newsletter,
sending you our best wishes for 2025. Our next meeting  is on Thursday 6th February 2025, 7.30pm – 9.00pm at Moordown Community Centre. We decided not to meet on January 2nd

Write for Rights 2024

We had successful events at the Social Canteen and St John’s Church, Parish of Four Saints, in Bournemouth. Also at our meeting in Moordown. We sent over 90 cards and messages of support to the 9 people and groups featured this year. Its not too late to send messages of support or add your voice to the campaigns.
Read more about Write for Rights, and take action. Or see the last article in this newsletter.
https://amnestyat50.co.uk/write-for-rights-2024

South America Newsletter

The latest South America Newsletter has updates on Peru, Colombia, Argentina, Venezuela, Chile, Brazil, Paraguay and Ecuador. In Venezuela  there is a new Urgent Action calling on the Venezuelan authorities to stop their attacks in the media and through the judicial system on the non-governmental organisation Provea. And in Brazil Amnesty International has launched a petition for Brazil to put in place an effective national policy of protection of Human Rights Defenders, Communicators and Environmentalists.
https://amnestyat50.co.uk/south-america-newsletter-december-2024

Europe Newsletter

In the latest Europe Newsletter there is a new Urgent Action calling for the immediate release of prominent human rights defender Nimet Tanrıkulu, who was remanded in pretrial detention on 30 November and is currently held at the Sincan Women’s prison in Ankara, accused of ‘membership of a terrorist organisation.’
Amnesty International is deeply concerned that Nimet Tanrıkulu is being maliciously investigated due to her human rights work. The authorities in Türkiye frequently misuse counter-terrorism investigations to silence those who defend human rights, and Nimet Tanrıkulu has herself faced such malicious investigations on at least two past occasions. There is a sample letter and you can email it as well as post.
https://amnestyat50.co.uk/europe-newsletter-december-2024
Professor Şebnem Korur Fincancı

Write 4 Rights (W4R)

W4R is Amnesty International’s annual campaign, sending greetings cards to prisoners of conscience, their families and other human rights defenders around the world.  Worldwide several million messages of support and appeal letters are now sent during a W4R campaign. They made a big difference to the people and communities confronting injustice and facing human rights violations.
One case featured is forensic medicine expert and human rights defender Professor Şebnem Korur Fincancı. She has dedicated her life to eradicating torture and defending human rights. Trying to silence her, the Turkish authorities have subjected Şebnem to baseless criminal investigations. In 2023, she was convicted for allegedly “making propaganda for a terrorist organization” after she had called for an investigation into allegations that the Turkish military was using chemical weapons in Iraq. Şebnem is appealing against her conviction but could be imprisoned for almost two years if unsuccessful. More comprehensive details, a sample appeal letter and links are on our website.
Another person featured in the W4R campaign is  Argentinian Joel Paredes. See the video about him below and read comprehensive details, a sample appeal letter and links on our site.
https://amnestyat50.co.uk/write-for-rights-2024
Joel Paredes

Group Newsletter November 2024

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Welcome to the latest newsletter.
Our next meeting  is on Thursday 5th December 2024, 7.30pm – 9.00pm at Moordown Community Centre. We will mainly focus on Write 4 Rights...
Professor Şebnem Korur Fincancı

Write 4 Rights (W4R)

W4R is Amnesty International’s annual campaign, sending greetings cards to prisoners of conscience, their families and other human rights defenders around the world.  Worldwide several million messages of support and appeal letters are now sent during a W4R campaign. They made a big difference to the people and communities confronting injustice and facing human rights violations.
One case featured is forensic medicine expert and human rights defender Professor Şebnem Korur Fincancı. She has dedicated her life to eradicating torture and defending human rights. Trying to silence her, the Turkish authorities have subjected Şebnem to baseless criminal investigations. In 2023, she was convicted for allegedly “making propaganda for a terrorist organization” after she had called for an investigation into allegations that the Turkish military was using chemical weapons in Iraq. Şebnem is appealing against her conviction but could be imprisoned for almost two years if unsuccessful. More comprehensive details, a sample appeal letter and links are on our website.
We have decided not to have a stall in the library this year. As well as signing cards at our meeting on 5th December, we will also be at St Johns Church, Vicarage Road,  Moordown on 8th December (after service,11.15am). Also at the Social Canteen at the Garden Rooms Café, 118 Haviland Road, Boscombe on Friday 13th December, 5 – 7pm.
Another person featured in the W4R campaign is  Argentinian Joel Paredes. See the video about him below and read comprehensive details, a sample appeal letter and links on our site.
https://amnestyat50.co.uk/write-for-rights-2024
Joel Paredes

Autumn Quiz

Many thanks to everyone who came to our Quiz Night, We had a great evening and raised £300. Special thanks to the Brunswick again for giving us a great venue, for free. Also David Rogers for setting the questions and Sally Hawksworth for being the hostess.
Read more about the event and download  all 70 questions (and answers!). Do you know on which television show Simon Cowell made his debut – as a contestant? Can you name two members of Coldplay? What was the bestselling book in the UK, 2023? Which city is furthest north – Lincoln, Liverpool or Leeds? Who are the two women below?
Questions 9 and 10, see above

South America Newsletter

The latest South America Newsletter has updates on Peru, Colombia, Argentina, Venezuela, Chile, Brazil, Paraguay and Ecuador. In Brazil the trial has started of two former military police officers who have confessed to the murder of Marielle Franco and Anderson Gomes. As a group we have campaigned for justice since their murders 6 years ago; they featured in 2018’s W4R. Whilst an important step, Amnesty International have stated true justice will only be achieved when “those responsible for the crime, including its masterminds, as well as all those responsible for any deviations and obstructions of the investigations, are also brought to justice.”
https://amnestyat50.co.uk/south-america-newsletter-november-2024

Group Newsletter October 2024

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Welcome to the latest newsletter.
Our next meeting  is on Thursday 7th November 2024, 7.30pm – 9.00pm at Moordown Community Centre. We will catch up on campaigns, letter writing, and finalize planning for…

Friday 15th November  8pm

Yes, its back. Get ready for an evening packed with trivia, fun and friendly competition!  Test your knowledge on a broad range of topics –  from current events and TV, to history and everything in between. We always start with a picture quiz.  Enjoy a night head scratching, frustration, joy and  groaning out loud!

Our quizzes are informal but competitive! We are returning to one of our favourite venues, The Brunswick Hotel (199 Malmesbury Park Road, BH8 8PX)  Please help planning by reserving your tickets via Eventbrite. As ever you pay on the night, but we need to ensure we don’t exceed the room limit. Teams of up to 6, entrance £5 a person. If you aren’t in a team they can be adjusted/formed on the night to ensure no one’s on their own. As ever we will have a raffle (prize donations very welcome).
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/amnesty-international-quiz-night-tickets-1040456552557
Keith Dear, a founder member of our Amnesty group (in 1986!), singing with blues band For Pete’s Sake at Jamnesty

Jamnesty

This was a great success. It rained all afternoon, which curtailed outdoor performances, but didn’t dampen spirits. We raised over £1300. This couldn’t have happened without the generous support of all the musicians, poets, cake makers as well as raffle prize donators.
Special thanks are due to Nick Humphrey, Conrad Barr and the owner Harry Secombe, who made Chaplin’s and the Cellar Bar available, and to their lovely staff who couldn’t have been more helpful.
And thanks to everyone who came to the event and supported us. You can find more photos on our website.
https://amnestyat50.co.uk/jamnesty-september-2024

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