Kategorie: Humans

US authorities have subjected Haitian asylum seekers to arbitrary detention and discriminatory and humiliating ill-treatment that amounts to race-based torture, said Amnesty International today in the new report, ‘They Did Not Treat Us Like People’: Race and Migration-Related Torture and Other Ill-Treatment of Haitians Seeking Safety in the USA.

These human rights violations, along with mass expulsions under Title 42, are the latest chapter in a long history of detention, exclusion, and the practice of trying to deter Haitians seeking safety in the United States, rooted in systemic anti-Black discrimination.

“One year ago, the Biden administration condemned the shameful scenes of mounted Border Patrol agents violently dispersing Haitian asylum seekers in Del Rio, Texas. Despite this, US authorities have continued to restrict their right to seek international protection at the US-Mexico border,” said Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International.

“They have also continued to evoke the evils of slavery by shackling and handcuffing Black Haitians onboard expulsion flights, inflicting further pain and mental suffering upon them that amounts to torture under international human rights law. Our research provides ample evidence that systemic racism is embedded within the US immigration system, as described by Haitian asylum seekers interviewed for this report.”

The report shows that successive US administrations have tried to deter Haitian people from claiming asylum in the United States through the application of various policies designed to intercept, detain, and remove them, starting in the 1970s and continuing with Title 42. 

One year ago, the Biden administration condemned the shameful scenes of mounted Border Patrol agents violently dispersing Haitian asylum seekers in Del Rio, Texas. Despite this, US authorities have continued to restrict their right to seek international protection at the US-Mexico border.

Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International

Nicole Phillips, legal director at Haitian Bridge Alliance, an organization that has been at the forefront of highlighting the mistreatment of Haitians by US authorities said: “Last September the world watched in horror as photos went viral of a mounted Border Patrol officer using his reins to whip at Mirard Joseph, one of about 15,000 Haitian people seeking protection in Del Rio, Texas. As appalling as the incident was, it was the tip of the iceberg of decades of mistreatment to deter Haitians from seeking safety in the United States. We hope the recommendations in this report will spark a dialogue among US authorities to dismantle the race-based discrimination and torture that Haitians and other Black migrants often face in the US immigration system.”

All 24 people that Amnesty International interviewed in Haiti for this report appear to have been expelled under Title 42 between September 2021 and January 2022. None of them had the opportunity to go through an individual assessment by asylum officers (fear-based screenings) before being sent back to Haiti. According to the testimonies gathered, US officials even detained babies as young as nine and 14 days old, and in several cases separated them from their parents. These are violations under international law. Haitians interviewed also stated they did not have access to interpreters, legal representation, or information about the place of their detention or the reasons they were being held, which constitutes arbitrary detention.

Additionally, none of the Haitians that Amnesty International interviewed reported that they were tested for Covid-19 or offered vaccines at any point during their detention or prior to expulsion. Many also noted they were not provided masks or able to physically distance themselves from others, which undermines claims that Title 42 expulsions are designed to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

The ill-treatment Haitians experienced in US detention facilities – which included a lack of access to sufficient food, healthcare, information, interpreters, and lawyers – had a cumulative impact on those interviewed for this report, as they had already suffered a range of human rights violations, including anti-Black racism, throughout their journey to the United States.

Finally, all 24 Haitians interviewed by Amnesty International said they were returned to Haiti by plane in handcuffs and shackles – treatment that caused them severe psychological pain and suffering due to its association with slavery and criminality. In the assessment of Amnesty International, based on the testimonies gathered, this amounts to torture based on their race and migration status under international human rights law, which absolutely prohibits torture and other ill-treatment, and requires states to protect people from all acts of torture, including those based on specific vulnerabilities such as race, migratory status, and nationality. 

A history of anti-Black racial discrimination

The history of enslavement of people of African descent and contemporary forms of systemic anti-Black racism are a critical backdrop to this research. As evidence highlighted in the report suggests, practices of ill-treatment towards Haitians are widespread and have occurred historically at different times and in different places, pointing to long-term and systemic racial discrimination within the immigration system with the aim of punishing Haitian people and deterring them from seeking asylum in the United States.

We hope the recommendations in this report will spark a dialogue among US authorities to dismantle the race-based discrimination and torture that Haitians and other Black migrants often face in the US immigration system.

Nicole Phillips, legal director at Haitian Bridge Alliance

Amnesty international calls on all states to address and dismantle systemic racial discrimination and acknowledge how racism is rooted in structures and practices that emerged during colonialism and slavery. US authorities must take steps to reform all institutions, legislation, policies, and practices that reinforce harmful racial and nationality-based stereotypes. Title 42 is a clear example of such a policy. Not only does it unlawfully bypass laws that protect people from being deported to harm, but it also reinforces harmful and racist stereotypes that lead to human rights violations.

While Amnesty International has reviewed and summarized strong evidence that anti-Black racism is embedded within the US immigration system, US authorities do not appear to proactively collect data on racial bias or discrimination, as required by international human rights standards.

Reiterating the calls made by more than 100 members of Congress to the Biden administration in February 2022, Amnesty International calls on the US government to commit to reversing anti-Black policies and to conduct a full review of the disparate treatment of Black people seeking protection in the US immigration system.

For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact:

Duncan Tucker (Amnesty International Americas): duncan.tucker@amnesty.org

Gabby Arias (Amnesty International USA): media@aiusa.org 

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World leaders at the UN General Assembly must support calls for the establishment of an independent international investigative and accountability mechanism to address the prevailing crisis of impunity in Iran. Their urgent need for action was demonstrated most recently by the death in custody of 22-year-old Mahsa (Zhina) Amini, and the barrage of gunfire unleashed on protesters which has left at least eight people dead and hundreds injured, Amnesty International said today.

Iranian security forces are violently quashing largely peaceful protests sparked by Mahsa Amini’s death on 16 September, days after her violent arrest by the “morality police” for not complying with discriminatory compulsory veiling laws. Amnesty International collected evidence on the security forces’ unlawful use of birdshot and other metal pellets, teargas, water cannon, and beatings with batons to disperse protesters.

“The global outpouring of rage and empathy over Mahsa Amini’s death must be followed by concrete steps by the international community to tackle the crisis of systemic impunity that has allowed widespread torture, extrajudicial executions and other unlawful killings by Iranian authorities to continue unabated both behind prison walls and during protests,” said Diana Eltahawy, Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International.

“The Iranian authorities’ latest brutal crackdown on protests coincides with Ebrahim Raisi’s speech at the UN. He has been given a platform on the world stage, despite credible evidence of his involvement in crimes against humanity, in a stark reminder of the devastating impact of the repeated failure of UN member states to tackle impunity for grave crimes in Iran.”

Amnesty International has recorded the deaths of six men, one woman and one child during protests on 19 and 20 September in the provinces of Kurdistan (4), Kermanshah (2) and West Azerbaijan (2). Of these, at least four died from injuries sustained from security forces firing metal pellets at close range.

At least two other people have lost sight in one or both eyes. Hundreds more, including children, have sustained painful injuries amounting to torture or other ill-treatment due to the unlawful use of birdshot and other munitions against them.

Iran’s security forces will continue to feel emboldened to kill or injure protesters and prisoners, including women arrested for defying abusive compulsory veiling laws, if they are not held accountable.

Diana Eltahawy, Amnesty International

Shooting to kill and harm

Amnesty International has gathered eyewitness accounts and analysed images and videos of the protests, which reveal a harrowing pattern of Iranian security forces unlawfully and repeatedly firing metal pellets directly at protesters.

Eyewitnesses reported that at least three men (Fereydoun Mahmoudi in Saqqez, Kurdistan province; Farjad Darvishi in Urumieh, West Azerbaijan province; and an unidentified man in Kermanshah, Kermanshah province) and one woman (Minou Majidi in Kermanshah, Kermanshah province) died from fatal injuries caused by metal pellets during protests on 19 and 20 September. Four other victims, Reza Lotfi and Foad Ghadimi in Dehgolan, Kurdistan province; Mohsen Mohammadi in Divandareh, Kurdistan province; and 16-year-old boy Zakaria Khial in Urumieh were killed. Human rights defenders told Amnesty International that according to their sources on the ground, they were shot by security forces but did not have any additional information on the types of munitions used.

Authorities have confirmed the death of three people in Kurdistan province on 19 September and two people in Kermanshah province on 20 September, but, consistent with widespread patterns of denial and cover-up, they attributed responsibility for their deaths to “enemies of the [the Islamic Republic]”.

Consistent eyewitness accounts and video footage leave no doubt that those firing weapons during the protests belonged to Iran’s security forces. Extensive video evidence indicates that protesters in Kermanshah, Kurdistan and West Azerbaijan provinces, where protester deaths were recorded, were mostly peaceful. In some places, some protesters engaged in stone-throwing and damaged police vehicles.* This in no way justifies the use of metal pellets, which is prohibited under all circumstances.

Horrific injuries inflicted on protesters

According to a primary source interviewed by Amnesty International, on 16 September, the first day of protests, security forces in Saqqez fired birdshot at 18-year-old Nachirvan Maroufi at a distance of about 10 metres, resulting in him losing sight in his right eye. The source said security forces also fired birdshot at another young man, 22-year-old Parsa Sehat, who consequently lost sight in both eyes.

On 19 September, mass protests spread from Saqqez to other cities populated by Iran’s oppressed Kurdish minority including Baneh, Dehgolan, Divandareh, Kamyaran, Mahabad, and Sanandaj. Protesters, victims’ relatives, and journalists on the ground told Amnesty International that on that day alone, security forces injured hundreds of men, women, and children by repeatedly firing metal pellets at their heads and chests at close range, indicating intent to cause maximum harm.

An eyewitness to the crackdown in Kamyaran told Amnesty International: “Riot police were repeatedly firing towards people from about 100 metres away… I myself witnessed at least 10-20 people who were shot with metal pellets… Most of them were injured in their backs as they were running away.”

A protester from Mahabad described a similar pattern. He said: “In response to people chanting ‘Women, Life, Freedom’ and ‘Death to the Dictator’, security forces fired weapons loaded with metal pellets, often from a distance of about 20-30 meters… They particularly targeted people in their head.”

A journalist from Baneh similarly told Amnesty International: “Security forces directly shot people in their stomachs and backs at close range… Many of those initially shot at and injured were women because women stood in the front.”

Eyewitness accounts of the security forces’ extensive use of metal pellets are corroborated by videos and photos reviewed by Amnesty International in which sounds of repeated firing are heard and classic spray patterns of birdshot are seen on injured protesters and bystanders. 

Gruesome images and eyewitness testimonies obtained by Amnesty International further indicate that in Divandareh, Saqqez and Dehgolan, security forces also fired unidentified munition, causing gaping wounds on protesters’ legs, chests and abdomens.

They include Zana Karimi, a 17-year-old boy who sustained severe leg injuries after being shot in Divandareh, which may require his leg to be amputated and Ehsan Ghafouri who suffered severe kidney injuries after being shot in Dehgolan.

Amnesty International has learnt that most injured protesters and bystanders are not seeking hospital treatment for fear of arrest, which puts them at risk of infection and other medical complications.

Security forces violently arrested several hundred demonstrators, including children, both during the protests of 19 September and subsequent raids carried out during the night. An eyewitness reported seeing scores of arrested protesters in Kamyaran with fractured heads, noses or arms and bloodied bodies.

“Iran’s security forces will continue to feel emboldened to kill or injure protesters and prisoners, including women arrested for defying abusive compulsory veiling laws, if they are not held accountable. With all avenues for accountability closed at the domestic level, the UN Human Rights Council has a duty to send a strong message to the Iranian authorities that those responsible for crimes under international law will not go unpunished,” said Diana Eltahawy.

Background

On 13 September 2022, Iranian Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini was arrested in Tehran by Iran’s so-called “morality” police, who routinely subject women and girls to arbitrary arrest and detention, torture and other ill-treatment for not complying with the country’s discriminatory veiling laws.

According to eyewitnesses, Mahsa Amini was violently beaten while being forcibly transferred to Vozara detention centre in Tehran. Within hours, she was transferred to Kasra hospital having fallen into a coma. She died three days later. Iranian authorities announced investigations while simultaneously denying any wrongdoing. The promised investigation does not meet the requirements of independence as it is due to be carried out by the Ministry of Interior.

* End Note – This press release is focused on the provinces of Kurdistan, Kermanshah and West Azerbaijan where protesters were killed. Amnesty International is investigating the crackdown of protests that have taken place in other cities across Iran since 19 September including Hamedan, Rasht, Shiraz, Tabriz, and Tehran.

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Ahead of tomorrow’s hearing by a court in Rabat on the case of human rights defender Rida Benotmane, who is being prosecuted for criticising the authorities on YouTube and Facebook, Amna Guellali, Deputy director for Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International said:

“The only ‘crime’ Rida Benotmane has committed was to air legitimate grievances against the authorities in a few social media posts and videos. His case is just the latest attempt by the authorities to use absurd prosecutions to silence critical voices and highlights the worrying crackdown in Morocco on freedom of expression.

The only ‘crime’ Rida Benotmane has committed was to air legitimate grievances against the authorities in a few social media posts and videos

Amna Guellali, Amnesty International

“Rida Benotmane should be freed immediately and these bogus charges against him dropped. The Moroccan authorities must ensure that people are able to exercise their freedom of expression without fear of reprisals.”

Amnesty International has reviewed court files showing that the National Judicial Police Brigade (BNPJ) in Casablanca interrogated Rida Benotmane over a Facebook post he published on 13 September 2021, which called for a public march against abuses by security forces. Police also questioned him over two YouTube videos published in August 2021, in which he denounced the authorities for ignoring people’s demands for social justice and warned against the potential use of COVID vaccine passes as a tool of repression.

Benotmane was arrested on 9 September and charged the next day with “insulting a body regulated by law”, “insulting public officials while carrying out their duties”, and “broadcasting and distributing false allegations without consent” under articles 265, 263, and 447-2 of the Penal Code respectively. He was also charged with breaching the decree law on the state of health emergency. He will appear before the Rabat first instance court on 22 September.

Benotmane, a member of the Moroccan Association for the defense of human rights (AMDH) and a political activist who has already spent four years in jail, is currently on hunger strike in protest at his detention.

Background

Moroccan authorities have increasingly targeted dissenting voices in recent months.

In April 2022, Saida el Alami, a human rights defender and member of the “Femmes Marocaines Contre la Detention Politique” collective, was sentenced to two years in prison for posting about her ill-treatment by the police and for criticizing the repression of journalists and activists. Blogger Rabie al-Ablaq was also sentenced in the same month to four years in prison for offending the king in two videos posted on social media. 

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Amnesty International’s “Write for Rights” campaign takes place annually around 10 December, which is Human Rights Day (commemorating the day when the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted in 1948). Write for Rights aims to bring about change to the lives of people or communities that have suffered or are at risk of human rights violations.

From 2,326 letters in 1991 to close to 4.7 million letters, tweets, petition signatures and other actions in 2021, people the world over have used the power of their words to unite behind the idea that geography is no barrier to solidarity. Together, these individuals have helped transform the lives of more than 100 people over the years, freeing them from torture, harassment or unjust imprisonment.

The human rights education toolkit for this year’s Write for Rights campaign can help educators and participants to gain more understanding and build solidarity, preparing them to take action. These human rights education activities can take place in a variety of settings, such as a school classroom, a community group, a family or an activist group. As a facilitator, you can adapt the activity to best suit the needs and context of the group you are working with. For example, you may want to consider what knowledge the group already has about the issues discussed, the size and age range of your group and how to best organize the activity to allow for active participation, the physical setting of your activity, delivering it in-person or online and any limitations. When participants want to take action on a case, discuss with them whether it is safe for them to do so.

The activities are all based on participatory learning methods in which learners are not merely presented with information, they explore, discuss, analyze and question issues

• relating to the stories they will work with in each activity. This methodology allows participants to: develop key competencies and skills
• form their own opinions, raise questions, and gain a deeper understanding of the issues presented
• take control of their learning, and shapes discussions according to their interests, abilities and concerns
• have the space required for them to engage emotionally and develop their own attitudes

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Drawing on a traditional form of popular protest across the world, demonstrators will bang pots and pans outside Congress from 11:30am-12:30pm on Thursday September 22 to call for an end to the anti-Black and traumatic ill-treatment of Haitian asylum seekers by US authorities, which amounts to race-based torture under international human rights law. There will be a press conference at 11:30 am.

Amnesty International, Haitian Bridge Alliance, UndocuBlack Network, and Communities United for Status and Protection will lead the action on Capitol Hill, which coincides with the release of the report ‘They Did Not Treat Us Like People’: Race and Migration-Related Torture and Other Ill-Treatment of Haitians Seeking Safety in the USA.

What: Press conference to denounce torture of Haitian asylum seekers

Speakers at the event will include:

• Moderator: Amy Fischer, Advocacy Director, Amnesty InterChange
• Rep. Andy Levin, Founder and Co-Chair, House Haiti Caucus
• Erika Guevara Rosas, Americas Regional Director, Amnesty International
• Daniel Tse, Haitian Bridge Alliance
• Krystina Francois, Communities United for Status & Protection (CUSP)
• Haddy Gassama, UndocuBlack Network

Rep. Andy Levin, Erika Guevara-Rosas and Krystina Francois as well as Taisha Saintil, advocacy and communications coordinator at Haitian Bridge Alliance, are available for interviews.

When: September 22 at 11:30 am

Where: United States Capitol Triangle, Washington, DC 20004

Please RSVP to: media@aiusa.org

To arrange an interview, please contact:

Amnesty International: media@aiusa.org

Rep. Andy Levin: Janae.Washington@mail.house.gov

Taisha Saintil (Haitian Bridge Alliance): tsaintil@haitianbridge.org

Carolyn Tran (CUSP): carolyn@wearecusp.org

Bethelhem Negash (UndocuBlack Network): bethelhem@undocublack.org

The post Amnesty International, Haitian Bridge Alliance, UndocuBlack Network, and CUSP to lead press conference outside Congress to denounce torture of Haitian asylum seekers; Rep. Andy Levin to speak appeared first on Amnesty International.