Jamnesty at Chaplins Bar

We are delighted to announce that Chaplins Bar Boscombe have agreed to stage a music benefit for Amnesty International – a Jamnesty – on

Saturday 2nd September 2023.

This starts at 12.30pm and goes on till 3am! (although our involvement won’t go on beyond 10pm) There will be an afternoon session on their Garden Stage, a brief early evening on Chaplins Bar Stage then transferring to their Cellar Bar Main Stage.  Dorset MIND did a similar event on 10th June, see their Facebook page. The “suggested voluntary donation entry” will go to Amnesty.

The music acts are still to be finalised. As well as the entry, we can also raise money by holding our own stalls, such as Face Painting, Cake Stall, a raffle, etc. We can also have readings/speakers.

We are still at the planning stage, but we will clearly need volunteers to help – mainly collecting money! Please  reply to this email or use the contact form if you would like to help, or have any queries. We will update our Events page as we get more information.

Europe Newsletter January 2023

The Europe Newsletter is now on the website. There are developments in Türkiye, post elections, with solidarity actions relating to their Pride events. Also the seven prisoners of conscience languishing in Turkish prisons as a result of the unfair Gezi Park trials.
The newsletter has a big feature, with several actions, on Refugee Week, 19th to 25th June. The theme this year 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  are using violence against refugees who are simply trying to find a place of safety. 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 (see video above)
There is also a feature on protests in Cornwall opposing the presence of the Bibby Stockholm, which the government plans to use to house 500 male asylum seekers in when it is moved to Portland. (Some of our group joined a similar protest in Portland). This proposal is just one of a number of elements of the government’s strategy for dealing with immigration set out in the Immigration Bill currently going through Parliament that Amnesty is strongly opposed to. Add you name to Amnesty’s petition to the Prime Minister.
Read more in the Europe Newsletter.

South America Newsletter June 2023

This month there is news from Peru, Colombia, Brazil, Venezuela, Chile and Argentina. There currently 3 Urgent Actions from Venezuela relating to people separately arbitrarily detained – Emirlendris Benitez, Javier Tarazona and Guillermo Zárraga.
Guillermo, a 59-year-old Venezuelan engineer and a former industry unionist, was detained in In November 2020.. Since then, he has been charged and tried for criminal association and for allegedly revealing national security information. There is no evidence to substantiate those allegations and Guillermo’s trial was marred by a failure to provide due process.
Since then, Guillermo’s health has severely deteriorated as a result of inhumane detention conditions and inadequate nutrition. In March, he suffered a cardiac syncope. His blood test results show a severe disbalance that requires urgent care and his family has reported that his weight has dropped over 20 kilos.
There is more information are more links on our website.

Who was responsible for the repression in Peru?

On 25 May, Amnesty launched its full report on the illegitimate use of lethal force by the security forces in Peru that resulted in 49 deaths during the protests from December to February.  Titled Lethal racism: Extrajudicial executions and unlawful use of force by Peru’s security forces, the report analyses 52 cases of people killed or wounded during the protests. Agnès Callamard, Secretary General of Amnesty International. said:-
“Using lethal firearms against protesters shows a blatant disregard for human life. Despite the government’s efforts to paint them as terrorists or criminals, those killed were demonstrators, observers and bystanders. Almost all of them were from poor, Indigenous and campesino backgrounds, suggesting a racial and socio-economic bias in the use of lethal force.*
On the Amnesty Peru website there is an email action you can take.  Basically this demands that the National Prosecutor’s Office get to the truth and investigate those most responsible for the repression in Peru. You’re browser should translate into English; the option above “send” is asking is you want further information from Amnesty Peru (Sí) or not (No).

Back Door Parole

Some of you may remember attending the Journeymen Theatre’s performance of Feeding the Darkness (about state-sanctioned torture), a few years ago. This will be the very last performance of Journeymen as Lynn and Dave are retiring.