Schlagwort: Amnesty International

The Eritrean authorities must immediately and unconditionally release 21 journalists and politicians who were arrested in a sweeping crackdown on dissent 20 years ago, said Amnesty International as it launched a new campaign #WhereAreEritreasDissidents

The arrests of the journalists between 21 and 23 September 2001 followed the arrest on 18 September 2001 of politicians popularly known as G-15 and the banning of independent media after they had published an open letter urging reforms.

“It is unconscionable that these brave prisoners of conscience are still languishing in jail 20 years since they were arrested for exercising their human rights, with no word from the authorities on their current circumstances, and that the ban on independent media remains in place,” said Deprose Muchena, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for East and Southern Africa.  

Days have turned into months, months into years and now years have turned into decades of unending anguish for these detainees, their families and loved ones. We call on President Isaias Afewerki to take meaningful steps to bring an end to this travesty of justice

Deprose Muchena

“Days have turned into months, months into years and now years have turned into decades of unending anguish for these detainees, their families and loved ones. We call on President Isaias Afewerki to take meaningful steps to bring an end to this travesty of justice.”

The journalists arrested between 21 and 23 September 2001 are Dawit Isaak, Seyoum Tsehaye, Dawit Habtemichael, Mattewos Habteab, Fesseaye “Joshua” Yohannes, Amanuel Asrat and Temesegn Gebreyesus, Said Abdelkader, Yosuf Muhamed Ali and Medhanie Haile. The politicians – all members of Isaias’ ruling People’s Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ) – include former Vice-President Mahmoud Ahmed Sheriffo and his wife and independence war heroine Aster Fissehatsion, and former foreign ministers Haile Woldetensae and Petros Solomon. Nine of the politicians and journalists have previously been reported to have died in detention, a claim the Eritrean authorities refuse to confirm.

“There are also many other politicians, journalists and activists that were arrested and detained without charge before September 2001 and since then and they must be released too,” said Deprose Muchena

Some of the high-profile detainees in Eritrea include former Finance Minister Berhane Abraha, who was arrested in September 2018 following his publication of a book considered critical of President Isaias, and Ciham Ali,  the daughter of the defected former Minister of Information Ali Abdu, who was arrested in 2012 aged 15, as she tried to flee the country. Amnesty International has documented extremely poor prison conditions in Eritrea, in some cases amounting to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. Prisons in Eritrea are generally overcrowded, with inadequate water and sanitation facilities and providing poor-quality food and drinking water.

The post Eritrea: Release journalists and politicians arrested 20 years ago appeared first on Amnesty International.

On the first anniversary of the unprecedented crackdown on the Human Rights Center Viasna (“Viasna”) in Belarus, 20 international and Belarusian human rights organizations are launching a campaign to demand the release of seven detained Viasna members, and highlight the plight of hundreds of others, who have been prosecuted and jailed solely for exercising their right to peaceful assembly and freedom expression.

“Today marks one year since the Belarusian authorities started their shameless witch-hunt against Viasna by arbitrarily detaining Marfa Rabkova, Viasna’s Volunteers Coordinator. In the months that followed, six more members of this human rights organization were thrown behind bars and charged with unfounded criminal offences for carrying out their legitimate human rights work,” the organizations said.

Today marks one year since the Belarusian authorities started their shameless witch-hunt against Viasna by arbitrarily detaining Marfa Rabkova, Viasna’s Volunteers Coordinator

The following is a list of those detained and their charges under the Criminal Code of Belarus:

Marfa Rabkova, the coordinator of Viasna’s network of volunteers, was detained on 17 September 2020, and has been in pre-trial detention ever since. She has been charged with ‘training and other preparation of people for participation in mass riots’, ‘incitement of racial, national, religious or other social hatred or discord committed by a group’, and ‘membership of a criminal organization’ and could face up to 12 years in prison.

Andrei Chepyuk, a volunteer for Viasna in Minsk, was detained on 2 October 2020 and is charged with ‘participation in mass disorder’ and ‘membership of a criminal organization’. He could face up to seven years in prison.

Leanid Sudalenka, the director of the Homel branch of Viasna, was detained on his way to the office on 18 January 2021.  Sudalenka had provided legal assistance to dozens of Homel region residents who were detained and charged for their participation in post-election protests.

Tatsyana Lasitsa, an activist who volunteers for Viasna in Homel, was detained on 21 January 2021, and is charged with ‘organization or participation in group actions that gravely violate public order’. She could face up to three years’ imprisonment.

Another volunteer of the Homel branch of Viasna, Maryia Tarasenka, was detained on 18 January 2021. She was held for three days before being released on 21 January 2021 after she agreed to sign a pledge not to leave the country.

All three members of Homel branch of Viasna, Leanid Sudalenka, Tatsyana Lasitsa, and Maryia Tarasenka, face charges of “organising, financing, training and preparation of actions grossly violating public order and financing such activities” under parts 1 and 2 of Article 342 of the Criminal Code. If convicted, they could face up to three years of imprisonment.

On 16 February 2021, Belarusian law enforcement officers raided Viasna branches in Minsk, Homel, Mahilyou, Vitsebsk, Brest, and other towns, as well as the homes of staff.  In March 2021, the Belarusian Investigative Committee, an agency responsible for criminal investigations, opened a criminal case into Viasna’s activities under Article 342 of the Criminal Code (“organizing and preparing actions that gravely violate public order or active participation in such actions”).

Finally, on 14 July 2021, following raids on more than a dozen major Belarusian civil society and human rights organizations, including Viasna, by Belarusian law enforcement officers, Ales Bialiatski, the chair of Viasna, Valiantsin Stefanovich, a member of the Viasna Board and vice-president of the International Federation of Human Rights, and Uladzimir Labkovich, a Viasna lawyer, were detained. They have all been charged under Article 342 and Article 243(2) (“tax evasion”) which carries a maximum sentence of seven years.

Systematic silencing of civil society

The reprisals against Viasna are just a part of a broader crackdown on civil society in Belarus. On 22 July 2021 alone, the Ministry of Justice ordered the closure of 53 organizations.  At present, more than 200 civil society organizations have been shut down or are in the process of being closed down.

“Alyaksandr Lukashenka’s government openly assaults peaceful protesters but tries those who defend them in secret. Its sham ‘trials’ are kept out of sight, to hide the absurd charges, avoid public witnesses and save itself profound embarrassment. The government pressures lawyers representing peaceful protesters not to speak, and information is sparse. Even so, one thing we can be certain of is that these seven human rights defenders are innocent of all charges, and we demand their immediate and unconditional release,” the organizations said.

Alyaksandr Lukashenka’s government openly assaults peaceful protesters but tries those who defend them in secret. Its sham ‘trials’ are kept out of sight, to hide the absurd charges, avoid public witnesses and save itself profound embarrassment

There are concerns that none of the Viasna staff members or volunteers will face a fair trial. Uladzimir Labkovich, for instance, was not given access to his lawyer for several days after his detention. There are also concerns about the detention conditions, as the majority of human rights defenders have not been allowed any phone calls or visits from family members and their correspondence is often blocked.

The joint campaign #FreeViasna, demanding the immediate release of the Viasna seven, calls on the Belarusian authorities to:

• Fully abide by their international human rights obligations as a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to respect the rights to freedom of association, peaceful assembly, and expression of all people in Belarus.
• Fully respect and protect the work of human rights defenders and ensure that everybody has the right to complain about the policies and actions of individual officials and government bodies and to offer and provide professionally qualified legal assistance or other relevant advice and assistance in defending human rights and fundamental freedoms.
• In line with these obligations, release Marfa Rabkova, Andrei Chepyuk, Tatsyana Lasitsa, Leanid Sudalenka, Ales Bialatski, Valiantsin Stefanovich, and Uladzimir Labkovich immediately and unconditionally, drop charges against them, Maryia Tarasenka, and other Viasna staff and volunteers, and ensure their right to a remedy for unlawful persecution.

Background

Founded in 1996, Viasna is a leading human rights group in Belarus and has been actively monitoring and documenting human rights violations following the August 2020 disputed presidential elections. Viasna has faced harassment and interference from the Belarusian authorities throughout its existence. In 2003, the authorities deregistered the organization, and despite numerous attempts to re-register, Viasna has been forced to continue its work without official registration. In 2011, the Chair, Ales Bialiatski, was sentenced to four and a half years in prison on tax evasion charges and served almost three years of his sentence before being released in an amnesty in 2014.

Signed,

Human Rights Centre Viasna

Amnesty International
Article 19
Barys Zvozskau Belarusian Human Rights House
Belarusian Helsinki Committee
Civil Rights Defenders
FIDH
Freedom House
Front Line Defenders
Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights
Human Rights House Foundation
Human Rights Watch
Libereco
Netherlands Helsinki Committee
Norwegian Helsinki Committee
OMCT
Östgruppen – Swedish Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights
People In Need
Protection International
Right Livelihood

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Following the release of the second report of the UN Fact-Finding Mission on Venezuela, Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International, said:

“The Fact-Finding Mission on Venezuela confirms that crimes against humanity committed in the country will go unpunished if alternative means to justice that do not go through state institutions are not sought, as Amnesty International and a large part of Venezuelan and international civil society have been denouncing. Nicolás Maduro’s government has used the judicial system for years to repress people who think differently from the government, so it’s unlikely that it can provide justice, truth and reparation to the victims and their families.”

“Today the need for international justice mechanisms, such as the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, to support victims in Venezuela is more evident than ever. The confirmation that crimes against humanity could go unpunished should alert the international community to prevent grave human rights violations from continuing to be committed in a country that is going through one of the deepest humanitarian and human rights crises, which has generated the second largest refugee crisis in the world.”

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

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Responding to the Thai parliament’s vote to approve in principle a draft law that seeks to criminalize both torture and enforced disappearances in Thailand for the first time, Emerlynne Gil, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for Research, said:

“Amnesty International welcomes today’s development, which marks the first time legislation on these crimes has reached this stage. This symbolic act shows that the government recognizes the need to protect people against these heinous violations and to provide long-overdue justice to victims and their families.”

“Authorities must now take the next steps and ensure the existing draft laws are further developed to fully comply with Thailand’s international human rights obligations – and then swiftly enacted.”

“The government’s delay in making torture and enforced disappearances a criminal offence has denied victims’ access to justice and deterred others from coming forward. It has also sent a message to officials that they can carry out these violations with impunity.”

“Victims of torture and relatives of disappeared people – such as lawyer Somchai Neelapaijt and abducted activist Wanchalearm Satsaksit – have been campaigning for a law that would allow them to obtain justice, truth and reparation for their family members; this draft legislation, if amended, may provide a pathway for them to do so.”  

“The vote to approve this draft law serves as a vital first step, but will not be not enough on its own. Recent news reports of police torture highlight the need for the government of Thailand to effectively address a culture of torture and abuse of powers by some officials.”

“Amnesty International calls on the authorities to pass a law that includes definitions of torture and enforced disappearances in full accordance with international law, places legal responsibility along all points of the chain of command and respects the legal principle of non-refoulement.”

Background

The Thai parliament today voted to approve a draft law on the Prevention and Suppression of Torture and Enforced Disappearance Act and set out a timeline to pass the law by early 2022. After a seven-day period allowing for amendments, parliament will then seek to combine this draft law with three other draft bills on the same subject before submitting them to parliament again for review within 90 to 120 days.

The government first drafted the law in 2016, yet it remained on hold after authorities repeatedly amended, delayed and apparently suspended action on the legislation over recent years.

Crucial gaps remain in the recent draft legislation, including on issues related to detention safeguards, universal jurisdiction, the prohibition of accepting information obtained by torture as evidence, as well as concerns about the applicability of statutes of limitations.

Although Thailand ratified the United Nations Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhumane and Degrading Treatment or Punishment in 2007 and signed the United Nations International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance in 2012, officials have continued to violate these conventions.

Amnesty International has documented widespread commission of torture and cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment by the Royal Thai Police and Royal Thai Army, and numerous cases of enforced disappearance. Human rights defenders, suspected insurgents, migrants, drug users and military conscripts in basic training are among the many victims of these crimes. In addition, Thai authorities have forcibly returned persons to countries where they are at risk of torture, in violation of the principle of non-refoulement.

The Thai authorities have also further compounded a prevailing culture of impunity by filing criminal proceedings against victims and human rights defenders who have made their concerns public.

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Following today’s publication of a damning new Council of Europe report which finds that Poland is failing to adequately prevent and combat violence against women and girls, Amnesty International’s Senior Women’s Rights Campaigner in Europe, Monica Costa Riba said:

“This report confirms what women and girls in Poland know all too well: that the government’s deeply misogynistic attitudes are putting them at daily risk of violence, and the dangers they face are getting worse.

“Lack of adequate protections for victims of violence combined with antiquated laws and a culture of victim blaming and impunity form a combustible mixture. Rather than tackling these urgent problems through actions such as adopting a consent-based definition of rape, Polish law makers are threatening to make the country less safe for women and girls.

“Attempts among some parliamentarians to replace the Istanbul Convention with a new ‘family rights’ law that restricts gender equality and LGBTI rights must be fully rejected and a new chapter in woman’s rights must begin.

“It’s time to protect survivors of violence and recognize that sex without consent is rape. The government must adhere to these recommendations and take decisive action to fully implement the Convention.”

Background

The new report from the Group of Experts on Action against Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (GREVIO), which monitors the implementation of the Council of Europe’s Istanbul Convention on preventing and combating violence against women, urges Poland to reform all sexual offences in the Penal Code to “fully incorporate the notion of freely given consent and to ensure appropriate sanctions for all sexual acts without the consent of the victim”.

The report also emphasised the difficulties faced by women in Poland who seek to terminate a pregnancy resulting from rape, despite rape being a legal ground for lawful recourse to abortion in Poland. Women continue to also face obstacles of all sorts including in obtaining a certificate from the prosecutor on the suspicion that the pregnancy occurred as a result of a criminal act, and difficulties in accessing information and referral to medical services performing lawful abortions. These issues and others which frustrate women’s access to abortion services after rape in Poland must be dealt with to guarantee them the services they need and have a right to.

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