Kategorie: Humans

Cardiff man Luke Symons, 29, detained without charge in Yemen since 2017 following arrest over UK passport 

Arm broken during torture, with solitary confinement taking heavy toll on his health

‘It’s long overdue that the Government properly engaged with his family and exerted sustained pressure on the Houthis’ – Sacha Deshmukh

Amnesty International is calling on the UK government to do more to secure the release of a British man who has been detained without charge in Yemen for almost five years.

Luke Symons, 29, from Cardiff, has been held by the Houthi authorities in the capital Sanaa ever since his arrest at a security checkpoint in the southwestern city of Ta’iz on 4 April 2017. 

According to his relatives, Symons, who was apparently arrested simply because he had a UK passport, has been accused of spying for the British government though he has still to be formally charged with any crime whatsoever. His family say that in the early periods of his confinement Symons was tortured to make him “confess” to being a spy – and as a result of beatings his arm was broken. 

The Briton is currently held in solitary confinement in a prison in Sanaa, and during his last phone call with his family earlier this week, Symons said his detention conditions were having a serious detrimental impact on his physical and mental health. Symons’ wife, a Yemeni national, expressed similar concern for his welfare after visiting him in jail last month.

Amnesty, which is working alongside the family on the case, is calling on the Houthi authorities to immediately release Symons unless he is charged with a recognisable crime. Amnesty has contacted the Foreign Office and called on officials to significantly step up efforts on behalf of the Cardiff man. 

Symons’ MP, Kevin Brennan, who raised the case during Prime Minister’s Questions last month, said:

“Luke Symons is a young man from an ordinary Cardiff family with ties to Yemen because of Cardiff’s seafaring past. He is the innocent victim of the conflict who has been held without charge or trial for almost five years. 

“As he approaches his 30th birthday I call for his captors to release him on humanitarian grounds so that he can be with his wife and child. I also call for the UK government to begin a new initiative to help secure his release before his mental and physical health deteriorate any further.”

Symons’ grandfather, Robert Cummings, who has had a number of phone calls with his grandson during his detention, is increasingly concerned that UK officials are not doing enough to help his grandson. Mr Cummings said: 

“Luke is now in a worse situation than when he was arrested – there’s been no meaningful progress in five years. 

“The FCDO isn’t getting anywhere, and the family are now urgently requesting a meeting with Liz Truss to try to find out what the Government is actually doing to help Luke.”

Sacha Deshmukh, Amnesty International UK’s CEO, said:

“Luke has already endured almost five gruelling years behind bars and it’s long overdue that the Government properly engaged with his family and exerted sustained pressure on the Houthis to get him out of jail and back home to Cardiff.”

Family connections with Yemen

Luke Symons, whose family – like many in the Cardiff area – have longstanding connections with Yemen, travelled to the country in 2012. In Yemen, Symons met and married his wife, a Yemeni national. When the international conflict in Yemen began, the couple attempted to flee the country, travelling to Djibouti. From there, the pair were effectively forced back to Yemen by the Houthi-run Yemeni embassy. Symons and his wife – who was then heavily pregnant – were threatened with detention in a desert refugee camp as well as suffering physical threats. Before their forced return to Yemen, the couple sought help from the UK authorities in Addis Ababa in neighbouring Ethiopia. However, the UK authorities would not issue Symons’ wife with a travel visa and the couple reluctantly returned to Yemen. Symons was stopped and arrested soon after their return. 

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By Ngoné Wade, twin sister of Cheikh Wade, killed on 8 March 2021 *

8 March 2021 remains a painful memory for Cheikh Wade’s family, whom a delegation of Amnesty International, met in the neighbourhood of Cambéréne, in the Dakar suburbs. His mother Marieme** is still affected by the brutal death of her youngest son, and desperately waiting for justice to be served. For nearly a year now, human rights organizations have been standing together with the family to say no to impunity. As part of its campaign “Join us in demanding justice for the victims of Senegal’s violent repression of protests”, Amnesty International is mobilizing its members to ensure that the perpetrators of Cheikh Wade’s murder are identified and held accountable, and that peaceful protest is no longer synonymous with the risk of death.

In this op-ed, Ngoné Wade, Cheikh’s twin sister, calls on the authorities to bring the perpetrators to justice.

Today is 4 February and we should have been celebrating our 33rd birthdays together but you are no longer with us!
Cheikh, my twin brother, you were one of the 14 young Senegalese who were killed in March 2021 during the protests that followed the arrest of Ousmane Sonko, a leader of the opposition. This period was marked by protests, scenes of looting, destruction of property and clashes between demonstrators and security forces in several cities around Senegal.

A chilling gruesome video
I remember it as if it were yesterday, that Monday 8 March 2021, when a shocking viral video was making the rounds on social media. Like many other Senegalese, I watched that video showing a young man being shot in cold blood by a police officer. I watched in shock as the police car drove up to his limp body, as if checking to see if he were still alive, and then drove off, leaving him to his fate. A deep chill ran through my body at the sight of this gruesome scene. My heart was heavy, and I was suddenly overwhelmed with sadness: another young man had been killed, what a loss for his family.
That evening of 8 March, at around 10 pm, I placed your meal in your room as usual and went to bed. I thought you were finishing a late customer’s order, as you often did. As the evening went on, I called you several times but you never picked up.

I remember when a shocking viral video was making the rounds on social media. Like many other Senegalese, I watched that video showing a young man being shot in cold blood by a police officer. I watched in shock as the police car drove up to his limp body, as if checking to see if he were still alive, and then drove off, leaving him to his fate.

Ngoné Wade

News that took my breath away
As I woke up the next day, a phone call from the police informed the family of the horrific news of
your death. I could never have imagined that you were Cheikh, the man in that viral video. My brother, my twin, taken from us so suddenly. You didn’t deserve that fate.

You were brutally taken from your family, and far too soon. This news has turned my life, and that of our family, upside down. How could this have happened?
You were exercising your right as a citizen to demonstrate peacefully. You had sewn the Senegalese flag yourself, with which your body was wrapped in by bystanders after you died. So many questions continue to haunt me to this day. Why were you shot? You were draped in the very flag that the man who shot at you, wore as a badge on his uniform.

Why did they not help you as you were lying on the ground, soaked in blood? I can’t rid myself of that image of you, abandoned to such an unjust fate, and the inhumanity displayed by those who are supposed to maintain law and order.
How can someone shoot a defenceless person they are supposed to protect? Cheikh, you were my brother, and a devoted son, but you are no longer here. And in the meantime, the one who killed you, and those who refused to help you, remain completely free to go about their lives scot-free.

Today, our family has only one demand: that justice be served regarding your death. Our quest for justice may be a long one but we remain united and determined. We demand answers. We want to know who and why? The immensity of our sorrow and grief is shared by so many of our fellow citizens, particularly the families of the other victims, whether they fell in Bignona, Diaobe, Ziguinchor or here in Dakar.

In our family, we find strength and support
Mum misses you so much since you’ve been gone. Almost a year since your brutal death, she is continuing to question the silence of the justice system and she reminds us constantly that we must never give up.

The young people of the neighbourhood miss you, the friends with whom you would play football. The only memory they have left of you now is a portrait hanging in the entrance to our house.
I miss you, my twin. You were my trusted best friend. Thanks to your wonderful talents as a tailor, you would use your sewing skills to make all my clothes, particularly for special celebrations.

We will not give up. We want to know why they shot you and we want to make sure it never happens again

Ngoné Wade

You were always a rock for all of us, ever silent and watchful and always ready to help and assist. The family misses you. The past year was hard on us, with your loss, and also the passing of another family member: Ndeye Astou, our 19 year old younger sister, passed away 4 months after your death. She will never know the whole truth. For her sake too, we will fight for justice.
The family also did grown and you will unfortunately never meet your “tourondo”***, your nephew born last October. Like us, he is also a twin and, together with Mamadou, they bring us great joy despite the difficult moments we are facing.

Standing together for you, Cheikh
Fortunately, we are not alone in our quest for justice. Many people and organizations who believe in justice are supporting us. On 25 May 2021, our older brother Abdoulaye filed a complaint for culpable homicide, failure to assist a person in danger, infringement of liberties, abuse of authority, barbaric actions, and cruel and degrading acts. And yet still nothing has changed. Our feelings of injustice and inequality before the law remain strong in the face of the silence of the Senegalese judicial authorities regarding the circumstances of your death and those of all the people killed. Even though the President of the Republic of Senegal has stated that internal investigations are underway, our lawyer has yet to be summoned for the purposes of the investigation.

We will not give up. We want to know why they shot you and we want to make sure it never happens again.
Together with our supporters, we repeat our demand for justice for you, Cheikh, and all the other victims of the March 2021 events.

• Twin sister of Cheikh Wade, shot dead on 8 March in Dakar, Senegal
  ** Alias
  *** Namesake in Wolof

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South Sudanese authorities should urgently advance and implement a comprehensive human rights agenda to improve the human rights in the country and address impunity, end repression and ensure rights protection, the South Sudan Human Rights Defenders Network, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said today in a briefing as the country’s human rights record comes under the spotlight at the Universal Periodic Review (UPR).

Children, older people, pregnant women and people with disabilities, are impacted by the ongoing human rights violations in South Sudan

Deprose Muchena, Amnesty International's Director for East and Southern Africa

During its UPR in 2016, South Sudan accepted to adopt a human rights agenda but has failed to do so. The three organizations urge the Government of South Sudan to implement this commitment without further delay.

In a 16-page briefing, the three organizations outline 10 priority rights concerns in line with the country’s human rights obligations, including under the Bill of Rights, international and regional standards, the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS) and pledges it made at its Universal Periodic Review in 2016. A comprehensive human rights agenda would offer a strong framework for the government to effectively implement these obligations and recommendations made at its UPR review on 31 January.

The organizations are calling on the Government of South Sudan to urgently address several concerns, including right to health, unlawful killings and the use of the death penalty, obstruction of humanitarian aid and violations of the right to food, water and education. They are also calling on authorities to take further steps to ensure truth, justice and reparations for victims of past and ongoing violations and abuses resulting from the conflict that broke out in December 2013.

The briefing outlines the multiple and interconnected ways in which diverse groups in South Sudan, including children, older people, pregnant women and people with disabilities, are impacted by these human rights violations.

Proposed reforms will need sustained international assistance and donor cooperation as well as domestic political leadership to fulfil human rights, including economic, social, and cultural rights

Deprose Muchena

In some cases, the proposed reforms will need sustained international assistance and donor cooperation as well as domestic political leadership to fulfil human rights, including economic, social, and cultural rights. But there are immediate steps that the Government of South Sudan can and should take to fulfil its primary legal obligations.

Background

Under the Universal Periodic Review system, the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva reviews the human rights record of each of the 193 UN member states every five years. South Sudan’s human rights record was examined on 31 January 2022, by the UN Human Rights Council’s UPR Working Group for the second time since independence from Sudan in 2011.

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After two months on trial in Tocoa, northern Honduras, against the eight prisoners of conscience, José Daniel Márquez, Kelvin Alejandro Romero, José Abelino Cedillo, Porfirio Sorto Cedillo, Ewer Alexander Cedillo, Orbin Nahún Hernández, Arnol Javier Alemán and Jeremías Martínez Díaz, known as “the Guapinol eight”, the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the legal teams of the eight defenders and the company Inversiones Los Pinares (ILP) are due to present their conclusions on 4 February. The court is expected to issue a sentence immediately afterwards.

“The Guapinol eight should not spend one more day in prison, as the available evidence has shown us that they stand accused of crimes they did not commit. They are victims of arbitrary detention and unfounded criminal prosecution stemming solely from their human rights work. The Public Prosecutor’s Office must not only drop the charges against them and call for their immediate release, but also carry out an independent, impartial and thorough investigation to identify and bring all those responsible for violating their human rights to justice,” said Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas Director at Amnesty International.

The unjust imprisonment of the Guapinol eight for more than two years is a clear attempt to criminalize and intimidate those who legitimately defend the right to water and a healthy environment in Honduras

Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International

Amnesty International is today publishing a letter it sent to the Attorney General of Honduras, Oscar Fernando Chinchilla, on 11 December 2021. In the letter, the organization expressed its concerns about serious irregularities in the investigation and prosecution of the Guapinol eight, concluding that the criminal charges against them, as well as their prolonged pre-trial detention, were unjustified and constitute a misuse of the justice system. To date, Amnesty International has not received a response to the recommendations contained in the letter.

“The unjust imprisonment of the Guapinol eight for more than two years is a clear attempt to criminalize and intimidate those who legitimately defend the right to water and a healthy environment in Honduras. The Honduran judiciary’s ruling must be fair and subject to due process. The Guapinol eight must be released immediately and unconditionally,” said Erika Guevara-Rosas.

For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact Duncan Tucker: duncan.tucker@amnesty.org

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With at least 20 human rights defenders and four journalists killed across the region in January, the first month of 2022 has demonstrated once again the dangers of defending human rights and journalism in Latin America, said Amnesty International today.

“The killing of 20 human rights defenders and four journalists in just one month is alarming and paints a frightening picture of what the year may hold for those who speak out for human rights in the Americas if states do not take urgent action to reverse this trend,” said Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas Director at Amnesty International.

“We must build a future where defending human rights in this continent does not mean risking one’s life. It is imperative that states take urgent measures to guarantee a safe and conducive space for the defence of human rights and independent journalism in the region, and that these cease to be lethal activities.”

The killings have occurred precisely in the countries considered most dangerous for the defence of human rights in previous years: 13 in Colombia, three in Brazil and three in Honduras, while one human rights defender and four journalists have been killed in Mexico, the most lethal country on the continent for practicing journalism. Of the 20 human rights defenders killed, 18 were involved in defending human rights related to access to land and the protection of territories and the environment.

“States have an obligation to investigate the killings in a prompt, thorough, independent and impartial manner, and with a primary line of investigation that considers the work of human rights defenders or journalistic work. Eliminating impunity in these cases is crucial to achieving a safe environment for defending human rights and sending a clear message that these acts will not be tolerated,” said Erika Guevara-Rosas.

Honduras

On 9 January, two unidentified men killed Pablo Isabel Hernández, an Indigenous leader, social communicator, and human rights and environmental defender, while he was on his way to a church in the municipality of San Marcos de Caiquín, department of Lempira. According to the Committee of Relatives of the Detained/Disappeared of Honduras, Pablo had been the victim of multiple threats for his human rights work, in particular for his reports on the community radio station where he worked.

The following day, Thalía Rodriguez, a trans human rights defender, was killed in Tegucigalpa. Thalía carried out her activism through several organizations, including Asociación Kukulcán, Cattrachas, Colectivo Violeta and Cozumel Trans, among others, raising awareness of human rights, leading self-help groups and promoting labour alternatives to sex work for transgender women.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights reported that on 22 January, Melvin Geovany Mejía, a territorial defender and member of the Tolupán Indigenous community, was found dead with gunshot wounds in the municipality of Morazán, department of Yoro.

Colombia

According to the Institute for Development and Peace Studies (Instituto de Estudios para el Desarrollo y la Paz), 13 human rights defenders were killed in Colombia in January, all of them linked to the defence of land, territory and the environment. In addition, the Institute has documented thirteen massacres resulting in the deaths of 40 people living in rural areas in Colombia.

Our region remains the most dangerous for the defence of human rights and independent journalism because human rights defenders and journalists threaten the political and economic interests of a few while states remain apathetic and negligent in the face of the violence they face

Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International

One of the defenders killed was Luz Marina Arteaga. Her body was found on 17 January, after she had been missing for five days. Luz Marina was a well-known defender of the rights of campesino communities in the department of Meta. Amnesty International had visited her home in the municipality of Puerto Gaitán in 2019. On that occasion, Luz Marina mentioned that the situation in the area was complex due to historical neglect by the state, which resulted in the invasion of Indigenous and campesino territories by illegal armed groups, contributing to a series of threats and attacks on social leaders in Meta.

The National Protection Unit had granted Luz Marina protective measures since April 2019. However, the measures granted were mostly of a material nature and did not reduce the risk she faced. In October 2019 Luz Marina reported threats against her to the Public Prosecutor’s office and in 2020 she informed the National Protection Unit that one of the measures was not culturally appropriate for the region she lived in.

On 24 January, the Defence of Life and Human Rights Network (Tejido de Defensa de la Vida y los Derechos Humanos, TDVD) reported the killing of Albeiro Camayo Güetio, former regional coordinator of the Indigenous Guard in the Las Delicias reservation, municipality of Buenos Aires, in Cauca. According to information from the TDVD, Albeiro Camayo was killed when suspected members of a paramilitary group shot at the community after the Indigenous Guard had expelled them from the territory.

Amnesty International has reported on the failed prevention and protection policies that contribute to an unsafe environment for the protection of human rights defenders in Colombia. 

“The protection of Indigenous, campesino and Afro-descendant communities in Colombia is ineffective because it does not address the structural causes of violence and often occurs without the proper participation of those at risk. Defenders of communities at risk are constantly unprotected, and threats, attacks and killings are constant in the country considered the most dangerous in the world for defending human rights,” said Erika Guevara-Rosas.

Brazil

On 9 January, the bodies of three members of the same family known for releasing turtle hatchlings and for defending the land and environmental protection were found in San Francisco do Xingú, Pará state. On 14 January, the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office (MPF) stated that the events took place in a context of repeated attacks on environmentalists and human rights defenders in the country. The MPF also requested information from the Military Police on the measures taken for the protection of the victims’ families, as well as other human rights defenders in the region.

Mexico

The journalists José Luis Gamboa Arenas, Lourdes Maldonado, Alfonso Margarito Martínez Esquivel and Roberto Toledo were killed in January. Amnesty International believes that journalism can only be practised freely in an environment free from threats, physical, psychological or moral aggression, or other acts of intimidation and harassment. The Mexican government must take concrete, prompt and effective measures to guarantee the lives and safety of journalists in Mexico, as well as to investigate these killings.

On 27 January, human rights defender Ana Luisa Garduño was killed in Temixco, Morelos. Ana Luisa was fighting for justice for the feminicide of her daughter. Amnesty International has shown that Mexico is a dangerous country for families seeking justice in cases of feminicide.

“Our region remains the most dangerous for the defence of human rights and independent journalism because human rights defenders and journalists threaten the political and economic interests of a few while states remain apathetic and negligent in the face of the violence they face. It is time to act, otherwise lives will continue to be lost, lives that are essential for building an equal and just region where human rights are a reality,” concluded Erika Guevara-Rosas.

For more information or to arrange an interview, contact Duncan Tucker: duncan.tucker@amnesty.org

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