Group 48 Newsletter - January 2016

5

Amnesty International USA Group 48

Newsletter1.16

1 REPUBLIC OF CONGO: Urgent Action - Release Paulin Makaya

2 CHINA: Urgent Action - Four Held For Supporting Detained Lawyer

3 DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO: Urgent Action - Release Nine Peaceful Protesters

4 U.S. Immigration Authorities Must Abide by International Obligations on Detention of Immigrants and Asylum Seekers

5 USA: Urgent Action for Death Penalty - Halt Plans to Adopt New Lethal Injection Regulation

REPUBLIC OF CONGO: Urgent Action - Release Paulin MakayaCongolese political opposition mem-ber, Paulin Makaya who has been de-tained since November 23rd was finally brought before an investigating judge of the High Court of Brazzaville on 1 December. He is held in pre-trial deten-tion at the central prison of Brazzaville facing three different charges.

Action 1) Please write immediately:

◌ Calling on the Congolese authori-ties to ensure Paulin Makaya is tried in accordance with international fair trial standards ;

◌ Urging the authorities to ensure that during his detention, Paulin Makaya is not subjected to torture or other ill-treatment and has access to a lawyer of his choice, to medical attention, to fam-ily visits and to all basic necessities.

2) For the full Urgent Action, including appeal addresses and further informa-tion, please go to the AIUSA website http://www.amnestyusa.org/get-in-volved/take-action-now/republic-of-congo-release-paulin-makaya-ua-27415

3) Please let AIUSA Urgent Action Team know if you took action so that we can track our impact!

EITHER send a short email to [email protected] with “UA 274/15” in the subject line, and include in the body of the email the number of letters and/or emails you sent,

OR fill out this short online form to let us know how you took action. https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/2MMVGYB

Marek B

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AIUSA-Group 48 http://aipdx.org 503-227-1878 Next Meeting: Friday January 8th First Unitarian Church 1011 SW 12th Ave 7:00pm informal gathering 7:30pm meeting starts

NewsLetter Designed By Michelle Whitlock MichelleWhitlock.com

AIUSA group 48 Newsletter January 2016 Pg 2

CHINA: Urgent Action - Four Held For Supporting Detained LawyerZhang Zhan (m), Wang Su'e (f), Qu Hongxia (f), Ran Chongbi (f), Pu Zhiqiang (m)

Action Please write immediately in Chinese, English or your own language:

◌ Demanding that the authorities immediately and uncondi-tionally release Zhang Zhan, Wang Su'e, Qu Hongxia and Ran Chongbi and anyone else detained for peacefully expressing their right to freedom of expression and assembly;

◌ Calling on them to ensure that pending their release, they have regular access to their lawyers, family and any medical treatment they require, and are protected from torture and other ill-treatment.

Appeals To PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE JANURY 29th 2016 TO:

Director Fengtai District Detention Centre No. 6 Shagang Village Yuanpingcheng Dongnanbu Fengtai District Beijing 100071

Salutation: Dear Director

Four activists have been criminally detained after gathering outside a court in Beijing during the trial of prominent hu-man rights lawyer Pu Zhiqiang. It is not known what charges they are being held under, and they have not had access to their lawyers or families. Several other activists who were taken away have not been heard from since, and it is feared they may also be in detention.

On December 14th, several hundred supporters of Pu Zhiq-iang gathered outside the Beijing No. 2 Intermediate People's Court in Beijing, including many whose cases he had repre-sented. Pu Zhiqiang was standing trial for "inciting ethnic ha-tred" and "picking quarrels and provoking trouble”, primarily on the basis of seven social media posts in which he criticized the government. Approximately 20 people were taken away by plain-clothes police officers, some of whom were later re-leased, but activists Zhang Zhan, Wang Su'e, Qu Hongxia and Ran Chongbi remain in criminal detention in Fengtai Deten-tion Centre in Beijing. More than 12 people who were also taken away have not been heard from since, and it is feared they may also be detained.

According to eyewitnesses, people started being taken away by police even though the crowd was peaceful. Foreign diplo-mats and journalists were also involved in scuffles with police outside the trial, and were prevented from entering the court building.

The four detainees have not had access to lawyers, and when other activists tried to bring them money and clothes, police at the detention centre refused to allow them in.

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Group CoordinatorMegan Harringtonmegan.harrington @gmail.com

TreasurerTena [email protected]

Newsletter EditorDan [email protected]

OR Area CoordinatorMarty [email protected]

IndonesiaMax [email protected]

Prisoners’ CasesJane [email protected] [email protected]

Concert TablingWill [email protected]

Central Africa/ OR State Death Penalty AbolitionTerrie [email protected]

AIUSA Group 48 Contact Information

»People’s Republic of China

mailto:[email protected]








14 Dongchanganjie Beijingshi 100741 People’s Republic of China Email: [email protected] Salutation: Dear Minister

Copies To President Xin Jinping Guojia Zhuxi The State Council General Office 2 Fuyoujie Xichengqu, Beijingshi 100017 People’s Republic of China Fax: +86 10 6238 1025

Ambassador Cui Tiankai Embassy of the People's Republic of China

3505 International Place NWWashington, DC 20008 Fax: 1 202 495 2138

Additional Information Prominent human rights lawyer Pu Zhiqiang was originally detained by police on May 6th, 2014, after he attended a semi-nar in Beijing that called for an investigation into the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown. His prosecution has been marred by repeated procedural irregularities including prolonged pre-trial detention, the denial of adequate medical care and prosecutors refusing to disclose evidence against him to his defence lawyers.

Pu Zhiqiang has represented individuals in many ‘sensitive’ human rights cases, including those linked with the ‘New Citizens’ Movement’, a loose network of activists who aim to promote government transparency and expose corruption.

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO: Urgent Action - Release Nine Peaceful Protesters ◌ Urging them to release the nine immediately and uncondi-

tionally;

◌ Urging them to respect the rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly including of LUCHA activ-ists, their sympathizers and supporters;

◌ Urging the authorities to ensure that the nine are not sub-jected to any ill-treatment while in detention.

2) For the full Urgent Action, including appeal addresses and further information, please click on this link: http://www.amnestyusa.org/get-involved/take-action-now/democratic-republic-of-congo-release-nine-peaceful-protesters-ua-17315

3) Please let the AIUSA Urgent Action Team know if you took action so that we can track our impact!

EITHER send a short email to [email protected] with "UA 173/15" in the subject line, and include in the body of the email the number of letters and/or emails you sent,

OR fill out this short online form to let us know how you took action. https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/T5XH6SW

Nine people, including two activists from Lutte pour le Changement (LUCHA), Juvin Kombi and Pascal Byumanine, are in detention. They were arrested on November 28th in Goma during a peaceful demonstration in honor of victims of the ongoing killings in the Beni area of Northern Kivu, DRC.

Action 1) Please write immediately:

◌ Urging the Congolese authorities to drop all charges against the nine immediately and unconditionally;

FPhilip Mason S

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Minister of Public SecurityGuo Shengkun


U.S. Immigration Authorities Must Abide by International Obligations on Detention of Immigrants and Asylum SeekersDecember 22, 2015 Detention center. Similarly, on December 21, a second federal

judge in Florida granted a petition that authorizes medical staff to involuntarily draw blood and force feed 10 hunger striking detainees through nasal-gastric tubes, if necessary, at Krome Service Processing Center in Miami. While Amnesty International is not in a position to know the details of these cases, the forced feeding of protesters on hunger strike raises issues of medical ethics, informed consent, detainee autono-my, confidentiality and the overall treatment of detainees.

"While it is generally accepted that countries have the right to regulate the entry and stay of non-nationals in their territory, they can only do so within the limits of their human rights obligations. Detention is only appropriate when authorities can demonstrate in each individual case that it is necessary and proportionate to the objective being achieved and on grounds prescribed by law and that alternatives would not be effective. A limited number of specific purposes are recog-nized as legitimate grounds for detention under international standards, including verifying identity, protecting national se-curity or public order, and preventing a person from abscond-ing following an objective assessment or flight risk. Amnesty International USA has repeatedly called on immigration authorities to reform U.S. detention practices, especially for asylum seekers who are seeking protection from persecution and insecurity.

"The U.S. government has an obligation under international human rights law to ensure that its laws, policies and prac-tices do not place immigrants at an increased risk of human rights abuses. Amnesty International continues its call for U.S. immigration authorities to reform policies to ensure they adhere to international standards by:

Justin Mazzola, Deputy Director of Research for Amnesty International USA, issued the following statement:

"Over the past two months, detainees in 10 immigration detention facilities across Texas, Alabama, Louisiana, Florida and California have staged hunger strikes to protest their prolonged and indefinite detention and conditions of confine-ment. Many of the detainees are from South Asian, African and Central American countries and are seeking asylum in the United States. Despite passing credible fear interviews, they have been held in detention for prolonged periods of time, one as long as two years, as they seek protection, ac-cording to advocacy and immigrant rights organizations such as D.R.U.M., #Not1more and Grassroots Leadership.

"In violation of both U.S. and international law, authorities at the El Paso Processing Center in Texas, where the hunger strikes originated, brought the consul from Bangladesh to the facility to speak to the detainees, despite many of the hunger strikers seeking protection from the very government the consul represents. Following the meeting, images of the detainees along with several of their names were published by media outlets in Bangladesh.

"While several of the initial hunger strikers were released, oth-ers have been placed in solitary confinement, transferred to remote facilities, undergone abusive strip searches or alleged other abuse from guards, including one detainee’s claims of a forced catheterization by medical staff. Many of the deten-tion facilities where hunger strikes have occurred have been previously reported for poor conditions and lack of access to services by advocacy organizations in the past, including Etowah County Detention Center in Alabama.

"On December 8, a federal judge in Alabama approved an or-der to force feed a hunger striking detainee at Etowah County

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◌ Utilizing immigration detention only as a measure of last resort; it must be justified in each individual case and be subject to judicial review.

◌ Authorities must provide detained immigrants access to competent counsel and interpretation services, medical and mental health care, and regular and meaningful reviews of their detention status.

◌"Non-custodial alternatives to detention should always be considered before the decision to detain, and the least restric-tive alternative should be used in each individual situation.

◌ Federal, private, state and local facilities detaining im-migrants should be required to abide by enforceable human

rights standards of treatment and be held accountable when the standards are transgressed."

In 2009, Amnesty International released Jailed Without Jus-tice: Immigration detention in the USA, which demonstrates how immigrants are often arbitrarily detained for indefinite periods of time without any meaningful opportunity to review their detention, while held in prisons and jails that do not meet international standards for administrative deten-tion including a lack of access to proper medical care. During the course of their detention, detained immigrants are often moved multiple times to remote facilities, far from legal and family support.

USA: Urgent Action for Death Penalty - Halt Plans to Adopt New Lethal Injection Regulation

◌ Reminding them that the USA is among the minority of countries that still executes, and that there is no humane way to kill.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE JANUARY 22nd 2016 TO: Chief, Regulation and Policy Management Branch Timothy M. Lockwood California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation – Regulation and Policy Management Branch P.O. 942883 Sacramento, CA 94283-0001 Fax: 1 916 324 6075 Email: [email protected] Salutation: Dear Mr. Lockwood

2) For the full Urgent Action, including appeal addresses and further information, please go to this website: http://www.am-nestyusa.org/get-involved/take-action-now/usa-halt-plans-to-adopt-new-lethal-injection-regulation-ua-28715

3) Please let the AIUSA Urgent Action Team know if you took action so that we can track our impact!

EITHER send a short email to [email protected] with "UA 287/15" in the subject line, and include in the body of the email the number of letters and/or emails you sent,

OR fill out this short online form to let us know how you took action. https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/TR3JGBQ

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilita-tion has launched a public consultation on its proposed new lethal injection protocol. The public has until January 22, 2015 to submit comments on the regulation, the adoption of which would allow for the resumption of executions in the US state with the highest death row population. Officials are required by law to read all comments.

Action 1) Please write immediately to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation using the address below:

◌ Urging the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to immediately halt its plans to adopt the new lethal injection regulation and work with other state authori-ties to abolish the death penalty;

◌ Urging the California authorities to establish an official moratorium on all executions as a first step towards aboli-tion of the death penalty, in line with the international and national trend and five UN General Assembly resolutions adopted since 2007;

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AIUSA group 48 Newsletter January 2016

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