Group 48 Newsletter - March 2016

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Amnesty International USA Group 48

Newsletter3.16

1 DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO: Urgent Action - Two Year Prison Term For Six Lucha Activists

3 SAUDI ARABIA: Urgent Action - Poet Resentenced To Prison And Flogging

5 CHINA: Urgent Action - Tibetan Writer Imprisoned After Unfair Trial

7 IRAN : Urgent Action - Tortured Filmmaker And Musicians Face Jail

9 URGENT ACTION - Convicted Blogger Appeals Sentence

10 URGENT ACTION: Two Lucha Activists And One Youth Denied Bail

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO: Urgent Action - Two Year Prison Term For Six Lucha ActivistsRebecca Kavugho, Serge Sivyavugha, Justin Kambale Mutsongo, Melka Kamundu, John Anipenda and Ghislain Muhiwa (m,f)

Six members of the Lutte pour le Changement (LUCHA) youth move-ment have been sentenced to two years in prison on charges of “attempting to incite disobedience”. The six were ar-rested on February 16th in Goma, hours before a general strike held in protest against delays in organizing the 2016 general elections in Democratic Repub-lic of Congo.

Rebecca Kavugho, Serge Sivyavugha, Justin Kambale Mutsongo, Melka Kamundu, John Anipenda and Ghislain Muhiwa were sentenced to two years in prison on February 24th immedi-ately after closing arguments in their

case were delivered by the prosecutor and the defense teams. They remain detained at Muzenze prison in Goma. Their lawyers intend to appeal this deci-sion within 10 days.

In the early morning of February 16th, authorities forced their way into a house where the six LUCHA activists had spent the night preparing messages for the general strike, called for by the opposition and civil society. The general strike was in protest against attempts to delay preparations for the 2016 general elections, which would extend Presi-dent Kabila’s rule beyond the timeframe outlined in the Constitution of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Amnesty International believes the six activists have been convicted solely for peacefully exercising their rights to

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AIUSA group 48 Newsletter March 2016 Pg 2

freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, and considers them to be prisoners of conscience.

Action Please write immediately in French or your own language:

◌ Calling on the DRC authorities to drop all charges against the six LUCHA activists in Goma and to immediately and unconditionally release them;

◌ Urging them to ensure that the six LUCHA activists are not subjected to torture and other ill-treatment while in deten-tion.

Appeals To PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE APRIL 11th 2016 TO: Minister of Justice Monsieur Alexis Tambwe Mwamba Ministry of Justice 228 Avenue de Lemera BP 3137 Kinshasa – Gombe DRC Email: [email protected] Salutation: Honourable Minister

Minister of Interior and Security Professor Evariste Boshab Ministry of Interior and Security Avenue Roi Baudoin Kinshasa – Gombe DRC Email: [email protected] Salutation: Honourable Minister

Copies To Prime Minister His Excellency Augustin Matata Ponyo Office of the Prime Minister 5 Avenue Roi Baudoin Kinshasa – Gombe DRC Email: [email protected]

Ambassador François Balumuene, Embassy of the Democratic Republic of Congo 1100 Connecticut Avenue, NW

Suite 725 Washington, DC 20036 Tel: 202 234 7690 Fax: 202 234 2609 Email: [email protected]

Please let us know if you took action so that we can track our impact! EITHER send a short email to [email protected] with

“UA 37/16” 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 "https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/X59XS23"short online form to let us know how you took action.

Thank you for taking action! Please check with the AIUSA Urgent Action Office if taking action after the appeals date.

Additional Information The DRC’s Constitution limits a presidential mandate to two consecutive five years terms. Tensions have increased as the incumbent President Kabila is prevented by the Constitution to seek another term after he was declared the winner of two consecutive elections in 2006 and 2011.

President Kabila has never declared his intention to stay in power beyond the Constitution’s limit of terms. However, there have been several attempts by the ruling majority to change the Constitution to allow him to stay in office or ex-tend his rule beyond the timeframe fixed by the Constitution.

LUCHA is a youth movement that was created in Goma, east-ern DRC in 2012. It is a community based organization the holds sit-ins, demonstration and other actions to campaign for human rights and on social issues. LUCHA has been vocal in campaigning calling for the authorities to observe electoral deadlines in the Constitution, and for the president to respect term limits as enshrined in the Constitution.

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SAUDI ARABIA: Urgent Action - Poet Resentenced To Prison And FloggingAshraf Fayadh (m)

General Court found the poet’s repentance in relation to the charge of apostasy to be satisfactory. The Court of Ap-peal, however, recommended that he should nevertheless be sentenced for apostasy and sent the case back to the General Court, which in turn sentenced him to death for apostasy on November 17th, 2015. Ashraf Fayadh was denied access to a lawyer throughout his detention and first instance trial, in clear violation of both international and national law.

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

◌ Calling on the authorities to release Ashraf Fayadh imme-diately and unconditionally, as he is a prisoner of conscience, held solely for peacefully exercising his human right to free-dom of expression;

◌ Urging them to ensure that Ashraf Fayadh’s conviction is quashed;

◌ Urging them to immediately establish an official mora-torium on all executions as a first step towards total aboli-tion, and abolish flogging and all other cruel, inhuman and degrading punishments.

Appeals To PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE MARCH 15th 2016 TO: King and Prime Minister His Majesty King Salman bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud The Custodian of the two Holy Mosques Office of His Majesty the King Royal Court, Riyadh Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Fax: (via Ministry of the Interior) +966 11 403 3125 (please keep trying) Twitter: @KingSalman Salutation: Your Majesty

Minister of Justice His Excellency Dr Walid bin Mohammed bin Saleh Al-Samaani

Palestinian poet and artist Ashraf Fayadh has had his death sentence overturned by a court in Saudi Arabia. He has been re-sentenced to eight years in prison and 800 lashes. He is a prisoner of conscience.

Ashraf Fayadh’s death sentence was commuted by the General Court in Abha, southwest Saudi Arabia, on February 2nd. He has been re-sentenced to eight years in prison and 800 lashes. According to his lawyer, the Court has also ordered Ashraf Fayadh to publicly announce his repentance in official Saudi Arabian media. The same court initially sentenced him to four years in prison and 800 lashes on the same charges, before sentencing him to death upon the recommendation of an ap-peal court. His lawyer has stated that he will appeal the latest sentence.

The 35-year-old Palestinian poet and artist, born and resid-ing in Saudi Arabia, was first arrested on August 6th, 2013 following a complaint by a Saudi Arabian citizen alleging that the poet was promoting atheism and spreading blasphemous ideas among young people. He was released the next day, but rearrested on January 1st, 2014 and charged with apostasy due to his supposed questioning of religion and spreading atheist thought via his poetry. He was also charged with violating Article 6 of the country’s Anti-Cyber Crime Law by taking and storing photos of women on his phone.

Ashraf Fayadh was sentenced by the General Court in Abha on April 30th, 2014 to four years in prison and 800 lashes for the charges relating to images of women on his phone. The

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The government has accused LUCHA of being criminal movement, set up with the aim of disturbing public order. At

least 19 people connected to LUCHA are currently in jail.

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Ministry of Justice University Street, PO Box 7775, Riyadh 11137 Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Fax: +966 11 401 1741 / 402 031 Salutation: Your Excellency

Copies To President, Human Rights Commission Bandar Mohammed ‘Abdullah al-Aiban Human Rights Commission PO Box 58889, Riyadh 11515 King Fahd Road Building No. 3, Riyadh Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Fax: +966 11 418 5101

Ambassador Adel Ahmed Al-Jubeir, Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia 601 New Hampshire Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20037 Fax: 1 202 944 5983 Phone: 1 202 342 3800 Email: [email protected]


“UA 24/16” 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 "https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/DS78PFN"short online form to let us know how you took action. Thank you for taking action! Please check with the AIUSA Urgent Ac-tion Office if taking action after the appeals date.

This is the first update of 265/15. Further information: https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/mde23/2925/2015/en/

Additional Information Since 2012, the Saudi Arabian authorities have been perse-cuting human rights defenders, civil society activists and critics with complete impunity, using both the courts and administrative means such as the imposition of travel bans. Members of the independent Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA) bore the brunt of this persecution. Eight of the organization’s founding members are currently in prison either serving their sentence or awaiting the outcome

of their retrial before the Specialized Criminal Court (SCC, the counter-terrorism court). Only two members remain at liberty, pending the outcome of their ongoing trials in front of the same Court. Dr Abdullah al-Hamid, Dr Mohammad al-Qahtani, Dr Suliaman al-Rashudi, Dr Abdulkareem al-Khoder, Dr Abdulrahman al-Hamid, and Fowzan al-Harbi, are currently serving prison sentences for up to 15 years, to be followed by a travel ban of equal duration, for their peace-ful activism. Abdulaziz al-Shubaili and Issa al-Hamid are still free pending the outcome of their trials. Saleh al-Ashwan has been detained since April 2012 without any charge or trial. In March 2013 the court also ordered the disbanding of ACPRA, confiscation of its property and the closure of its social media accounts.

Other peaceful activists persecuted by the authorities include human rights defenders Waleed Abu al-Khair and Fadhel al-Manasif (see "https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/mde23/1546/2015/en/" https://www.amnesty.org/en/docu-ments/mde23/1546/2015/en/ and "https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/MDE23/008/2014/en/" https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/MDE23/008/2014/en/ respectively).

Activist Abdulaziz al-Sunaidi was sentenced on October 13th to eight years in prison followed by an eight-year travel ban,

March 15, 2016 will mark a year since Fred Bauma and Yves Makwambala, two human rights activ-ists, were arrested in Kinshasa. The two are facing charges of “treason, attempted coup and an attempt to take the life of a Head of State”. Fred Bauma and Yves Makwambala were featured in the Amnesty International latest Write for Rights campaign and remain in detention.

Please help us promote this social media Thunderclap action calling for their immediate release. https://www.thunderclap.it/projects/38276-drc-free-fred-and-yves

Thank you, Terrie Rodello AIUSA Central Africa Activist Network Coordinator

Democratic Republic of Congo: Action for Fred Bauma and Yves Makwambala

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and a fine of 50,000 Saudi Arabian riyals (about US$13,300) by the SCC in the capital Riyadh, for among other things violating Article 6 of the Anti-Cyber Crime Law through his tweets and writings. Throughout his detention, interrogation and trial Abdulaziz al-Sunaidi was denied access to a lawyer.

Dr Zuhair Kutbi, a prominent writer, commentator and critic was found guilty of violating the Counter-Terror Law and Article 6 of the Anti-Cyber Crime Law and sentenced on December 21st, 2015 to four years in prison followed by a five-year ban on overseas travel, a fine of 100,000 Saudi Ara-bian riyals (about US$26,600) and a 15-year ban on writing and giving interviews to the media, after he was found guilty of violating the Counter-Terror Law and Article 6 of the Anti-Cyber Crime Law by “inciting public opinion”, “sowing dis-

cord” and “reducing people’s respect of the rule of law”. The Court also ordered him to erase his social media accounts. It suspended two years of his four-year sentence because of his health, but indicated it would reimpose them if he “offended” again. It is believed that Dr Zuhair Kutbi was arrested on July 15th because of comments he made on June 25th on the TV show Fi al-Samim (To the Point), on the Rotana Khalijia satellite channel, in which he criticized political repression in Saudi Arabia and argued for reforms such as transforming the country’s political system into a constitutional monarchy.

Amnesty International considers all of the above activists and critics to be prisoners of conscious, detained solely for peacefully exercising their right to freedom of expression and assembly, and calls for their immediate and unconditional release.

CHINA: Urgent Action - Tibetan Writer Imprisoned After Unfair TrialDruklo (pen-name Shokjang) (m)

detention or during his trial, and his family were only in-formed that his sentencing would take place two days before. Druklo will appeal against the verdict.

Druklo is a prominent Tibetan writer and blogger known for his critical articles about the current situation in Tibetan areas. On March 16th, 2015, Druklo had written an article on his blog about the 56th anniversary of the failed Ti-betan uprising against Chinese rule in 1959, describing the increased police patrols on the streets of Tongren County (Rebkong). Druklo was previously detained in 2010 when he was studying at China’s Northwest University for Nationalities in Lanzhou, Qinghai province, for writing about the Tibetan protests of 2008.

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

◌ Urging the authorities to release Druklo immediately and unconditionally;

◌ Pending his release, urging the authorities to ensure that he has regular, unrestricted access to his ffamily and lawyers, and is protected from torture or other-ill-treatment.

Appeals To PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE APRIL 8th 2016 TO:

A young Tibetan writer and blogger, Druklo (pen-name Shokjang), was sentenced to three years imprisonment, almost one year after he was first detained. It is believed that this is as a result of an article he wrote describing the increased presence of Chinese security officers ahead of a politically-sensitive Tibetan anniversary.

On March 19th, 2015, Druklo (pen-name Shokjang) was taken away by national security police officers in Tongren County (Rebkong) in the Huangnan (Malho) Tibetan Auton-omous Prefecture, Qinghai province, in northwest China. On February 17th, 2016, Druklo was sentenced to three years in prison by the Peoples’ Intermediate Court in Tongren County (Rebkong). The exact charges are unknown, but are related to separatism. He did not have access to a lawyer throughout his

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Director Wang Hucheng Huangnan Aut. Prefectural Public Security Bureau Huangnan People’s Government Building No.10 Xiaqiong Zhonglu Longwuzhen, Tongren County Huangnan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture Qinghai Province 811300 People's Republic of China Salutation: Dear Director

Director Jiang Mingkuan General Office of the Huangnan People’s Government Huangnan People’s Government Building No.10 Xiaqiong Zhonglu Longwuzhen, Tongren County Huangnan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture Qinghai Province 811300 People's Republic of China Salutation: Dear Director

Copies To Director Wang Zhengsheng Qinghai Provincial State Security Department No 50 Bayi Zhonglu Xining 810007 People’s Republic of China

Ambassador Cui Tiankai, Embassy of the People's Republic of China 3505 International Place NW, Washington, DC 20008 Fax: 1 202 495 2138 Phone: 1 202 495 2266 Email: [email protected]


“UA 85/15” 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 "https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Q36DTCC"short online form to let us know how you took action.


Additional Information Ethnic Tibetans in China face discrimination and restrictions on their rights to freedom of religious belief, expression, as-sociation and assembly.

Druklo was born in Xiahe (Labrang) in Gansu province, in the Tibetan area of Amdo. He is popular among Tibetans for his critical writings, including his books written in Tibetan language: For freedom, I have no regret and The courage of Rangdrol, as well as articles posted online such as Con-flict and Resolution: A Response to Liu Junning, which is a rumination of China’s ethnic policies, and Tonight, I am in the Grasslands of my Hometown, which is a critique of the Chinese government’s resettlement of Tibetan nomads.

This is the second time Druklo has been targeted by the Chi-nese authorities. OApril 6th, 2010, while he was still attending the Northwest University for Nationalities in Lanzhou, Druk-lo was detained with a fellow student Teurang, for co-editing the banned literary magazine the Shar Dungri (Eastern Snow Mountain) in which articles touching on the 2008 protests in Tibetan areas of China had been published. The authorities accused him at the time of having been in contact with the Tibetan Youth Congress, a Tibetan exile organization. He was eventually released on 8 May 2010.

Group CoordinatorMegan Harringtonmegan.harrington @gmail.com

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OR Area CoordinatorMarty [email protected]

IndonesiaMax [email protected]

Prisoners’ CasesJane [email protected]

Jama [email protected]

Concert TablingWill [email protected]

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

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IRAN: Urgent Action - Tortured Filmmaker And Musicians Face JailMehdi Rajabian, Hossein Rajabian, Yousef Emadi (m)

2013. At their appeal hearing, the judge told them that having a lawyer was “pointless” and that they would have to offer

“full explanations” themselves. Their “confessions” were used as evidence against them to secure their convictions even though they told the judge that they were obtained through torture. They had no access to a lawyer at any stage of their arrest, detention, trial or appeal.

Mehdi Rajabian is the founder of the Iranian website Barg Music, which was launched in 2009 and distributed unli-censed alternative music. In Iran, only music that passes official censors receives licenses, and musicians without licences are driven underground. Barg Music distributed Persian-language music by Iranian singers, including rappers and rockers, from outside the country, some of whose lyrics and messages are political or cover taboo social subjects, thus drawing official disapproval. They include famous Germany-based Iranian rapper Shahin Najafi whose 2012 song referenc-ing a Shi’a religious figure caused such controversy that some Iranian clerics issued fatwas calling him an “apostate”, which is considered punishable by death under Iranian law. The Barg Music website had apparently attracted 300,000 visitors a day and had exclusive contracts with popular Iranian artists who mentioned the website’s name in their videos. Mehdi Rajabian had been recording the history of an Iranian musical instrument called setar when he was arrested. The arresting officers searched his studio, confiscating his recordings and other materials related to this project, and have not returned them. Hossein Rajabian was arrested after making his first feature film, called “Inverted Triangle”, about women’s right to divorce in Iran. The arresting officials confiscated all the materials related to the film and have yet to return them. The film has not been allowed to be broadcast. Mehdi Rajabian and Yousef Emadi have been accused of broadcasting the voices of female singers, as well as those of “anti-Islamic Revolution” singers. The Iranian authorities place restrictions on female singers, with a ban on women singing solo in front of men. Conservative clerics say that women’s voices have the potential to trigger immoral sensual arousal. In Febru-ary 2015, conservative cleric Grand Ayatollah Hassan Nouri

Iranian filmmaker Hossein Rajabian and musicians Mehdi Rajabian and Yousef Emadi have each been sentenced to six years in prison, in connection with their artistic work. They have appealed their sentences. If jailed, they will be prisoners of conscience.

Filmmaker Hossein Rajabian, his brother Mehdi Rajabian and Yousef Emadi, both musicians, have been sentenced to a total of six years’ imprisonment and fined 200 million Rials (about US$6,625). They had been convicted, after a three-minute trial, of the charges of “insulting Islamic sanctities”, “spread-ing propaganda against the system”, and “illegal audio-visual activities” before Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court in Tehran on April 26th, 2015. The charges against them arose from their artistic work, including Hossein Rajabian’s feature film dealing with women’s right to divorce in Iran and Mehdi Rajabian and Yousef Emadi’s distribution of unlicensed mu-sic. Their appeal was heard on December 22nd, 2015 before Branch 54 of the Court of Appeal in Tehran. All three men are at liberty while they await the verdict of their appeal.

Hossein Rajabian, Mehdi Rajabian and Yousef Emadi had been arrested, tasered, and blindfolded by Revolutionary Guards officials on October 5th, 2013 while they were work-ing in their office in the northern city of Sari, Mazandaran Province. For the next 18 days, they were held at an unknown location where it is believed they were tortured or other-wise ill-treated, including by electric shocks. They were then transferred to solitary confinement in Section 2A of Tehran’s Evin Prison, which is under the control of the Revolutionary Guards, where they were held for the next two months. Their interrogators apparently pressured them into making tele-vised “confessions”, threatening them with life in jail if they failed to do so. All three were released on bail in December

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Hamedani said “We will stop any film, book, or music that is anti-Islamic and anti-revolutionary…No action can normal-ize women’s singing, and we will stop it.”

For most of the time they were detained, Hossein Rajabian, Mehdi Rajabian and Yousef Emadi were held incommuni-cado. In the last few weeks of their detention, and after they had been forced to “confess” in front of a video camera, they were allowed intermittent four-minute telephone calls with their families. Ten days after their three-minute long trial on April 26th, 2015, Hossein Rajabian, Mehdi Rajabian and Yousef Emadi were told that the verdict had been issued and they should go to the courthouse to read it. They were each sentenced to five years’ imprisonment for “insulting Islamic sanctities”, one year imprisonment for “spreading propaganda against the system”, and fined 200 million Rials for “illegal audio-visual activities”. They were not given the written judgement, but were told by a court clerk they had 20 days to lodge an appeal, which they did without the assistance of a lawyer. They represented themselves during their appeal hearing on December 22nd, as they were told by the presid-ing judge that they were not entitled to have a lawyer present. At both trial and appeal, the men told the presiding judges that their “confessions” had been extracted under torture and other ill-treatment and while they were held incommuni-cado. The investigator at the Office of the Prosecution in Evin Prison told them that being tortured in the secret detention facility in the city of Sari was irrelevant in Tehran. The presid-ing judge at their appeal hearing before the Court of Appeal in Tehran warned them against talking about their torture allegations and threatened to give them harsher sentences if they did so.

Mehdi Rajabian suffered a seizure following beatings while he was detained in Sari and has suffered more seizures since. Following his release, he was diagnosed with epilepsy and has been taking daily medication to treat the condition.

In December 2013, more than 400 Iranians, including promi-nent musicians, signed a petition addressed to Iran’s Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance, calling on him to put an end to the crackdown on the artistic community and release Mehdi Rajabian and Yousef Emadi. The petition was initi-ated amid a crackdown that has continued with the Iranian

authorities stepping up their attacks on artists, musicians and filmmakers and continuing to censor or ban many forms of cultural and artistic expression. The Ministry of Islamic Cul-ture and Guidance has, in recent years, banned or prevented the work of numerous writers, publishers, filmmakers and musicians. Many others have been arrested and jailed because of their work.

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

◌ Calling on the Iranian authorities to quash the convictions of Mehdi Rajabian, Hossein Rajabian and Yousef Emadi as they arise solely from the men’s peaceful exercise of their rights to freedom of expression and association through music and film;

◌ Reminding them that Articles 19 and 22 of the Interna-tional Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Iran is a state party, protect the right to freedoms of expression and association;

◌ Expressing concern that Revolutionary Court hearings continue to be seriously flawed and do not meet international fair trial standards.

Appeals To PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE APRIL 5th, 2016 TO: The Office of the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Sayed ‘Ali Khamenei Islamic Republic Street- End of Shahid Keshvar Doust Street Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran Email: via website http://www.leader.ir/langs/en/index.php? p=letter Twitter: @khamenei_ir (English) Salutation: Your Excellency

Head of the Judiciary Ayatollah Sadeq Larijani c/o Public Relations Office Number 4, Deadend of 1 Azizi Above Pasteur Intersection Vali Asr Street Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran Email: [email protected] Salutation: Your Excellency»


Copies To President Hassan Rouhani The Presidency Pasteur Street, Pasteur Square Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran Twitter: @HassanRouhani (English), @Rouhani_ir (Persian)

Iran does not presently have an embassy in the United States. Instead, please send copies to: Embassy of Pakistan - Interests Section of the Islamic Re-

public of Iran 1250 23rd ST. N.W. #200, Washington, D.C. 20037


“UA 41/16” 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 "https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/MQGMBVH" short online form to let us know how you took action.


URGENT ACTION - Convicted Blogger Appeals Sentence Darya Poliudova (f)

such as “No war in Ukraine but a revolution in Russia”. Under one photo of her protesting against the Russian government, she posted a message blaming President Vladimir Putin for “acts of terror and catastrophes in Russia” that had occurred during his time in office. The judge considered that some of her online posts and comments on Ukraine were evidence that she wanted “a violent overthrow of the constitutional order”.

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

◌ Insisting that the sentence against Darya Poliudova is quashed and urging the Russian authorities to stop the crimi-nal proceedings against her;

◌ Stressing that Darya Poliuodva is being prosecuted for peacefully exercising her right to freedom of expression;

◌ Urging them to respect and protect the right to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association for all people in Russia, without discrimination against people with dissenting political and other views.

Appeals To PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE APRIL 8th, 2016 TO: Prosecutor of Krasnodar Region Leonid Gennadevich Korzhinek Prokuratura of Krasnodar Region Ul Sovetskaia 39 350063, Krasnodar Fax: +7 (863) 287 70 01 Salutation: Dear Prosecutor

Blogger Darya Poliudova was sentenced on 21 December 2015 to two years’ imprisonment in an open prison colony for criticizing the Russian government. The appeal hearing will take place on 10 March.

Political activist and blogger Darya Poliudova was sentenced on December 21st 2015 by the Oktiabrskii District Court in Krasnodar, southern Russia, to two years’ imprisonment in an open prison colony. She has already spent six months in pre-trial detention which will be counted against the sentence. The Court found that her posts on the Russian social media site VKontakte (VK) criticizing Russia’s annexation of Crimea and the official policy towards Ukraine constituted “calls to commit extremist activities” and “calls to take action threat-ening the territorial integrity of the Russian Federation”. The judge did not order her immediate detention but she remains under travel restrictions.

Darya Poliudova insists that she only exercised her right to freedom of expression and appealed the sentence. The appeal hearing will take place on 10 March at the Krasnodar Re-gional Court.

The charges against Darya Poliudova relate to her social me-dia posts in which she peacefully expressed her views, includ-ing photos of herself carrying political banners with slogans

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Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation Yurii Yakovlevich Chaika Prosecutor General’s Office ul. B. Dmitrovka, d.15a 125993 Moscow GSP- 3 Russian Federation Fax: +7 495 987 5841 / +7 495 692 1725 Salutation: Dear Prosecutor General

Copies To Colonel General Igor Kolosov Head of the Regional Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation for Krasnodar Region Ul. Mira 46 350063, Krasnodar Fax: +7 (861) 268 43 59 Email: [email protected] Ambassador Sergey I. Kislyak Embassy of the Russian Federation 2650 Wisconsin Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20007 Phone: 1 202 298 5700 Fax: 1 202 298 5735 Email: [email protected]

Please let us know if you took action so that we can track our impact! EITHER send a short email to [email protected] with “UA 160/15” 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 "https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/KQ9LKY9" short online form to let us know how you took action. Thank you for taking action! Please check with the AIUSA Urgent Action Office if taking action after the appeals date. This is the sec-ond update of UA 160/15. Further information: https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/EUR46/3053/2015/en/

Additional Information Darya Poliudova is well known locally for her street actions and online activism. She is a vocal critic of the Russian au-thorities, particularly for their policies towards Ukraine. She has been detained on numerous occasions for her peaceful street protests against the annexation of Crimea and Russia’s involvement in the armed conflict in eastern Ukraine.

On August 29th, 2014, she was arrested under Articles 280(2) and 280.1(2) of the Criminal Code (“public calls to commit extremist activities” and “calls to commit actions threaten-ing the territorial integrity of the Russian Federation”). Both Articles carry a sentence of up to four years’ imprisonment. She was released from detention on February 26th, 2015 and placed under travel restrictions pending the court hearing on her appeal.

URGENT ACTION: Two Lucha Activists And One Youth Denied BailBievenu Matumo, Marcel Heritier Kambale Kapitene, Victor Tesongo (m)

Bienvenu Matumo and Marc Heritier, LUCHA youth activ-ists, were arrested on the early morning of 16 February at a hotel where they were hiding. Their arrest, which authorities denied at first, occurred just hours before a general strike held in protest against delays in preparations for the 2016 general elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Victor Tesongo, who was helping them prepare leaflets for the strike, was arrested the night before. The three were held incommu-nicado until they were presented at the Prosecutor’s office in the Gombe neighbourhood of Kinshasa on 19 February.

The three are detained at Makala Prison on a provisional warrant on the charges of “spreading rumours”, “incitement to disobedience” and “undermining national security”.

Amnesty International considers the three activists to be prisoners of conscience detained solely for peacefully exercis-

On 25 February a court in Kinshasa denied a bail request by three young men, two of whom are members of Lutte pour le Changement (LUCHA). The tribunal also authorized an extension of their provisional detention at Makala Prison for 15 days.

A bail request by Bienvenu Matumo, Marcel Heritier Kambale Kapitene and Victor Tesongo was denied by the Peace Tribu-nal in Ngaliema, in Kinshasa on 25 February. The Tribunal also authorized an extension of their provisional detention for 15 days. Their lawyers will appeal this court decision.

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ing their right to freedom of expression. They are at risk of ill-treatment while in detention.

Action Please write immediately in French or your own language:

◌ Urging Congolese authorities to drop all the charges against Bienvenu Matumo, Marcel Heritier Kambale Kapitene and Victor Tesongo and immediately and unconditionally release them;

◌ Urging them to ensure that they are not subjected to ill-treatment while in detention;

◌ Calling upon them to uphold the rights to freedom of ex-pression and peaceful assembly.

Appeals To PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE APRIL 8th, 2016 TO: Minister of Justice Monsieur Alexis Tambwe Mwamba Ministry of Justice 228 Avenue de Lemera BP 3137 Kinshasa - Gombe DRC Email: [email protected] Salutation: Honourable Minister

Minister of Interior and Security Professor Evariste Boshab Ministry of Interior and Security Avenue Roi Baudoin Kinshasa-Gombe DRC Email: [email protected] Salutation: Honourable Minister

Copies To Prime Minister His Excellency Augustin Matata Ponyo Office of the Prime Minister 5 Avenue Roi Baudoin Kinshasa-Gombe DRC Email: [email protected]

Ambassador François Balumuene, Embassy of the Democratic Republic of Congo

1100 Connecticut Avenue, NW Suite 725 Washington, DC 20036 Tel: 202 234 7690 Fax: 202 234 2609 Email: [email protected]

Please let us know if you took action so that we can track our impact! EITHER send a short email to [email protected] with “UA 36/16” 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 "https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/8VWMMSK" short online form to let us know how you took action.


This is the second update of UA 36/16. Further information: https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/afr62/3493/2016/en/

Additional Information As the November 2016 general elections draw closer, calls for President Kabila to step down have intensified, as has the gov-ernment’s crackdown on dissent. President Kabila took over the presidency after the death of his father in 2001. He was declared winner of the 2006 and 2011 general elections.

The DRC Constitution limits a president to two consecutive terms in office.

President Kabila has not been clear about his intentions on whether he will seek another term in office or not or whether he intends to stay in power beyond the timeframe stipulated by the Constitution. His party which is the ruling majority has been accused by the opposition of obstructing the prepa-rations for the general elections in 2016.

LUCHA is a youth movement created in Goma, the provin-cial capital of North Kivu. LUCHA has been campaigning peacefully in DRC since 2012. Its members and sympathizers organize sit-ins, demonstrations and other actions to claim their rights and those of the people of DRC. They have con-tinuously called for respect of the Constitution with regards to the timelines for general elections and strict respect of the presidential term limits.

Authorities have accused LUCHA of being a criminal move-ment, set up with the aim of disturbing public order. At least 19 people are currently in jail in connection with LUCHA.

Postage


AIUSA group 48 Newsletter March 2016

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Group 48 Newsletter - March 2016

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Transcript of Group 48 Newsletter - March 2016