Schlagwort: human rights

• Families of missing people add voices to a new international campaign for justice

The abject failure of Spanish and Moroccan authorities to provide truth and ensure justice for at least 37 sub-Saharan African people killed and 77 others still missing following the deadly events that took place on the border of Spain’s Melilla enclave, smacks of a cover-up, said Amnesty International in a report published ahead of the six-month anniversary of the tragedy.

“They hit him in the head to see if he was dead”: Evidence of crimes under international law at the Melilla border details the events that took place when Sub-Saharan African migrants and refugees attempted to cross from Morocco to Spain on 24 June. Authorities on both sides have failed to ensure effective and transparent investigations in order to establish the truth about what happened that day. Families and expert organizations searching for the missing have been repeatedly impeded by Moroccan authorities.

“At this dismal six-month anniversary, the Spanish and Moroccan authorities continue to deny any responsibility for the carnage at Melilla. There is a growing mountain of evidence of serious and multiple human rights violations, including the unlawful death and ill-treatment of refugees and migrants and to this day the lack of information as to the identity of the deceased and the fate of the missing,” said Amnesty International’s Secretary General, Agnès Callamard.

It is essential for both governments to ensure truth and justice for what happened that day in order to prevent it from happening again.

Agnès Callamard, Secretary General, Amnesty International

“This smacks of a cover-up and racism, and rubs salt into already painful wounds. It is essential for both governments to ensure truth and justice for what happened that day in order to prevent it from happening again.”

Drawing on eyewitness testimony, video footage and satellite imagery, the report paints a detailed and harrowing picture of what happened when 2,000 migrants and refugees attempted to cross into Melilla through a border crossing known as ‘Barrio Chino’. Given the lack of transparency by both governments, Amnesty International wrote to both the Moroccan and Spanish governments asking them to share information about the mandate and status of the investigations. The organization also shared a summary of findings with both governments in November. No replies have been forthcoming.

The report shows that events of that day were predictable and the loss of life avoidable. It reveals that in the months and days prior to 24 June, refugees and migrants around Melilla, were subjected to increased attacks by the Moroccan security forces. Many had all their belongings burned and destroyed prompting thousands to walk to the border where they were met with unlawful and lethal force by Moroccan and Spanish authorities.

As they drew close, police pelted them with stones, firing tear gas at them in enclosed spaces. Many of the injured continued to be beaten and kicked as they lay on the ground, semi-conscious, unresponsive, or struggling for breath.

Zacharias, 22, from Chad, told Amnesty International: “Moroccan and Spanish security forces were throwing everything at us, gas bombs, stones, rubber bullets, rubber balls…We couldn’t see anything and it was difficult to breathe.” 

Around 400 people were corralled into a small walled area by the Moroccan forces. Working with Amnesty International’s Evidence Lab, an immersive 3D model and visual reconstruction of the events offers a chilling perspective of events and actions of security forces which may amount to torture and may have led to unlawful killings.

“It seemed that the Moroccan police gave us space to get there, then they cornered us…They started to shoot at us with gas, threw acoustic bombs at us…Everyone tried to move where they could, it was chaos,” Omer, a 21-year-old man from Sudan, told Amnesty International.

Salih, a 27-year-old from Sudan told Amnesty International: “The Spanish police sprayed us in eyes while the Moroccan police threw stones at our heads.”

Both the Moroccan and Spanish authorities failed to provide prompt and adequate medical assistance to the injured, including by denying a Red Cross ambulance team access to the area, while dozens were left unattended in the full glare of the sun for at least eight hours. 

One interviewee told Amnesty International that Spanish security officials forced injured people back across the border to Morocco even though they were “bleeding or with open wounds”. Many of those summarily returned to Morocco were jailed and subjected to further abuse and violence. One 17-year-old Sudanese boy told Amnesty International that he along with “all of the people captured by the police were taken by the Moroccan police to the prison, then after that in the prison they were being beaten by hammers in their head until they passed away. Others when they were beaten they also passed away”.

An estimated 500 people were bussed to remote parts of the country where they were stripped of their possessions and dumped by the roadside without medical care. Some people told Amnesty International that they were forcibly transferred more than 1000km away.

Neither the Moroccan nor Spanish governments have released preliminary results of any investigations into the numbers of people who died and causes of death, nor have they at any point announced that they are investigating the use of force by border staff. Neither government has released all the CCTV footage from any of the many cameras along the border and Spanish authorities have refused to open an independent probe.

Rather than supporting them, Moroccan authorities have made it practically impossible for families and NGOs to carry out searches for the missing and dead. This has proved distressing for the families seeking trace of their loved ones. Jalal, the brother of Abdel Shakour Yehia, a 24-year-old Sudanese man, told Amnesty International: “If my brother was alive then he would have contacted us, so I think that he is disappeared”.  

After months without word from him, Huwaida, the niece of Anwar – a 24-year-old Sudanese man missing since 24 June – came across videos and photos of his apparently lifeless body posted online. She told Amnesty International: “Without him, there’s no laughter or action. His mother has been thinking a lot about him. She wants to know what happened. I beg you to help us get justice.”

For more than a decade, United Nations experts have expressed concerns about discriminatory treatment of Sub-Saharan African people on this border. On 1 November 2022, theUN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, xenophobia and related intolerance, stated that the Melilla violence “reveals the status quo of the European Union’s borders, namely racialised exclusion and deadly violence deployed to keep out people of African and Middle Eastern descent, and other non-white populations.”

“The unlawful force used in Melilla has left an indelible stain not just on the hands of the Moroccan and Spanish security forces, but also on the hands of all those pushing racist migration policies, predicated on the likelihood of harm and violence against those seeking to cross borders. Instead of fortifying borders, authorities must open safe and legal routes for people seeking safety in Europe,” said Agnès Callamard.

“The Moroccan and Spanish authorities must be transparent about the mandate and scope of any existing investigations and not only ensure that they are effectively carried out by cooperating with them fully, but also ensure that their mandate is expanded to include concerns about racism.”

BACKGROUND                                 

Whilst states are permitted to take measures to prevent unauthorized entry at the borders, they must do so in a way that does not violate human rights.

In the months since the events on 24 June, more and more details of what happened have emerged and pressure has mounted on Spanish and Moroccan authorities.

Following a visit to Melilla at the end of November, the Council of Europe’s Human Rights Commissioner Migrants publicly criticized the fact that asylum seekers in Morocco have no “genuine and effective” access to asylum at the border post, leaving migrants with little choice other than to seek to cross illegally.

Further, the Spanish Ombudsperson, after a preliminary investigation and a visit to Melilla, concluded that at least 470 migrants and refugees were summarily returned to Morocco from Spain, and reminded the state of its obligations regarding prevention of ill-treatment.

The post Morocco/Spain: Stalled and inadequate inquiries “smack of cover-up”, six months after 37 deaths at Melilla border appeared first on Amnesty International.

Responding to the Iranian authorities’ public execution today of Majidreza Rahnavard, a young man sentenced to death, after a sham unfair trial, in connection with ongoing nationwide protests, Diana Eltahawy, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa, said:

“The horrific public execution of Majidreza Rahnavard today exposes Iran’s judiciary for what it is: a tool of repression sending individuals to the gallows to spread fear and exacting revenge on protesters daring to stand up to the status quo. The arbitrary execution of Majidreza Rahnavard less than two weeks after his only court hearing lays bare the extent of the Iranian authorities’ assault on the right to life and their disregard for even maintaining a façade of meaningful judicial proceedings.

“We urge the international community to take all necessary measures to pressure the Iranian authorities to stop executions and quash death sentences.

Amnesty International further urges all states to exercise universal jurisdiction over all officials reasonably suspected of criminal responsibility for crimes under international law and other grave violations of human rights.”

Background

Majidreza Rahnavard’s unfair trial consisted of just one session before a ‘Revolutionary Court’ in Mashhad, Khorasan-e Razavi province, on 29 November. He was charged with “enmity against God” (moharebeh).

The authorities accused him of fatally stabbing two Basij agents in Mashhad on 17 November. Before his court session, state media broadcast videos of Majidreza Rahnavard giving forced “confessions”. His heavily bandaged left arm could be seen in a cast, raising serious concerns that he was subjected to torture.

Amnesty International has identified 20 people at risk of execution in connection with the protests. They include:

• 11 individuals sentenced to death: Sahand Nourmohammad-Zadeh; Mahan Sadrat (Sedarat) Madani; Manouchehr Mehman Navaz; Mohammad Boroughani; Mohammad Ghobadlou; Saman Seydi (Yasin); Hamid Ghare Hasanlou; Mohammad Mehdi Karami; Sayed Mohammad Hosseini; Hossein Mohammadi; andan unnamed individual in Alborz province.
• Three individuals who have undergone trials on capital charges and who are either at risk of being sentenced to death or may have already been sentenced to death, with no publicly available information on their status:  Saeed Shirazi; Abolfazl Mehri Hossein Hajilou; and Mohsen Rezazadeh Gharegholou.
• Six individuals who may be awaiting or undergoing trial on charges carrying the death penalty: Akbar Ghafari; Toomaj Salehi; Ebarhim Rigi; Amir Nasr Azadani; Saleh Mirhashemi; and Saeed Yaghoubi.

The horrific public execution of Majidreza Rahnavard today exposes Iran’s judiciary for what it is: a tool of repression sending individuals to the gallows to spread fear…

Diana Eltahawy, Amnesty International

Thousands have been arrested and indicted, raising fears that many more people could face the death penalty in connection to protests.

Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases without exception regardless of the nature of the crime, the characteristics of the individual, or the method used by the state to carry out the execution. The death penalty is a violation of the right to life and the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment.

The post Iran: Public execution of Majidreza Rahnavard exposes authorities’ revenge killings appeared first on Amnesty International.

Amid the doom and gloom of human rights work in the region, a few success stories this year give me hope.

by Yamini Mishra, South Asia Regional Director at Amnesty International

A cursory look at the human rights situation in South Asia can make one feel that the arc of the moral universe in the region has been too long and does not seem to be bending towards justice. And yet, as people committed to human rights, we can’t let doom and gloom be our defining narrative. We must keep hope close to our hearts in terrain that is so hostile to human rights work.

Indeed, while 2022 has seen a great number of violations of human rights across South Asia, there have also been positive developments that need to be acknowledged and celebrated.

We must keep hope close to our hearts in terrain that is so hostile to human rights work.

Yamini Mishra, South Asia Regional Director at Amnesty International

The use of draconian anti-terror laws in the region to put behind bars and silence activists, journalists and almost anyone who dares to speak up against injustice has become an easy and replicable template across the region. But our collective struggle for freedom and justice did ensure liberty for at least some of those critical voices.

In Sri Lanka, the authorities have been using legislation from 1979 called the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) to intimidate critics. But in February, after spending almost two years in pre-trial detention, Hejaaz Hizbullah, a Sri Lankan lawyer and a vocal advocate for minority rights who was detained under the PTA, was granted bail. In August, Mohamed Imran, a computer engineering student, was released after a long, unjust detention under the PTA; a month later Divaniya Mukunthan, the director of a Tamil YouTube channel, was also let go.

During the anti-government protests earlier this year, the Sri Lankan government once again used this draconian legislation to quash dissent, along with excessive force and mass arrests. But after deciding not to renew the state of emergency imposed due to the upheaval, the authorities also released most protesters who were arbitrarily detained. Student leader Galwewa Siridhamma Thero who was arrested under the PTA got bail earlier this month.

In India, the authorities have been using the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) to hold activists in jail without a trial. But there were at least two cases this year with positive developments. Poet and radical thinker Varavara Rao, who was detained under the UAPA in 2018, was granted bail from the Supreme Court. Prominent intellectual and scholar Anand Teltumbde, who was arrested in 2020 also on UAPA charges, was also given bail.

Another encouraging development came from the Supreme Court of India after, in May, it suspended the country’s colonial-era sedition law, which has also been used to suppress dissent. This was a big step in the right direction, particularly for the protection of freedom of expression. The court also passed landmark orders affirming the right of sex workers to dignified life and the right to abortion for every pregnant person until the 24th week, notwithstanding their marital status.

While the Indian judiciary has sometimes failed to uphold human rights over these past few years, such developments make me think that not everything is lost. They also give me hope that the Indian courts can also step up and defend rights, particularly those of persecuted minorities.

The persecution of minorities has been a dominant trend across the region, not just in India. In Pakistan, blasphemy laws have contributed to violence against ethnic and religious groups and several deaths were reported. However, in a positive move, the Supreme Court of Pakistan called on the authorities to ensure due process in the administration of justice in relation to blasphemy cases. This, of course, is not enough and such legislation needs to be abolished altogether.

In the Maldives, which also has strict blasphemy laws, activist Mohamed Rusthum Mujuthaba was arrested for posting content critical of religion on social media and for possession of “obscene material”. He was released from detention in August and relieved from further imprisonment.

In Bangladesh, teenager Dipti Rani Das, who was arrested for “hurting religious sentiment” was released after spending 16 months in detention.

There have also been modest gains for women’s rights in the region, too. In Nepal, activists secured reforms to strengthen the rights of survivors of gender-based violence. As a result of their campaigning, the government extended the restrictive statute of limitation on rape and other forms of sexual violence from one year to up to three years. This is a small win and we need to continue advocating until the statute of limitations is done away with.

Afghanistan has seen perhaps the most disheartening human rights crisis in the region. One year of Taliban rule has been marked by gender persecution of the worst kind, as well as persecution of minorities, including torture and enforced disappearances of Hazara people and individuals associated with the former Afghan government.

But at times even the Taliban has given in after people stood up for justice. Professor Faizullah Jalal, a prominent leader and university lecturer in Afghanistan, was released after being detained for pointing out the Taliban’s failure to address the humanitarian catastrophe in the country. His release came after months of campaigning by Amnesty International and many others.

Another positive development came in October, when the International Criminal Court (ICC) announced that investigations into war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in the armed conflict in Afghanistan will resume. This has restored some hope for long-awaited justice. The ICC Prosecutor must now seize this opportunity to urgently commence investigations into all parties to the conflict and ensure justice and reparations for the victims of these heinous crimes.

While 2022 has seen no dearth of human rights violations in vast tracts of South Asia, and as widespread repression persists, there is definitely a light that continues to shine.

Let’s keep the candle of human rights burning.

Yamini Mishra

It burns in every Afghan woman who continues to protest and claim her space in what is probably one of the most hostile environments for women. It burns in Bilkis Bano who continues to demand justice for the 2002 Gujarat riots and fights the premature release of her rapists in India. It burns in activist Shahnewaz Chowdhury who faces prison in Bangladesh for speaking up about pollution and deaths at a coal plant. It burns in the resilience that protesters in Sri Lanka have shown to claim a better future for themselves and for their country.

South Asia has a history of strong people’s movements fighting against injustice, so let’s celebrate them and support them in their quest to secure human rights for all. Let’s keep the candle of human rights burning.

As the late Archbishop Desmond Tutu said: “Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.”

---

Yamini Mishra

Regional Director for South Asia at Amnesty International

Originally published on International Human Rights day, December 10, 2022 at Al Jazeera:

A flicker of hope for human rights in South Asia | Opinions | Al Jazeera

The post Op-ed: A flicker of hope for human rights in South Asia appeared first on Amnesty International.

Back in 2001, a group of friends from Warsaw, Poland, decided to celebrate Human Rights Day by holding a 24-hour letter-writing marathon. Over the course of the day, they managed to write more than 2,000 letters on behalf of individuals whose rights were being denied by various state authorities. No mean feat. 

Fast forward 21 years and the idea conceived by those friends has spawned something they couldn’t possibly have envisaged. Each year, more people in more countries also started to write letters. Today, what’s now known as Write for Rights has become the world’s biggest human rights event. In 2021 alone, more than 4.5 million actions—including letters, e-mails, tweets and petition signatures—were taken across over 200 countries and territories.  

The event’s staggering growth and enduring appeal rests upon a simple but powerful idea that has been central to Amnesty International since its foundation in 1961: when enough people come together to oppose injustice, using only the power of words, authorities do listen, and change does happen. 

It’s a principle that’s been proven time and again.  

Since its inception, Write for Rights has transformed the lives of more than 100 people, freeing them from torture, harassment, or unjust imprisonment. Recent examples include Bernardo Caal Xol, an environmental activist from Guatemala who was freed this year after being jailed on bogus charges; Magai Matiop Ngong, released in March after being sentenced to death at just 15 years old in South Sudan; and Burundian human rights defender Germain Rukuki, released in 2021 four years into a 32-year prison sentence. 

The event is a testament to the power of activism and collective action. So, in a year punctuated by mass protests and violent crackdowns, it’s only fitting that Write for Rights 2022 is speaking up for those who have paid a heavy price for speaking out.  

From Iran and China to Cuba and Sri Lanka, the last 12 months has seen people across the globe loudly assert their right to peaceful protest. We’ve witnessed iconic acts of defiance, including Afghan women taking to the streets to protest Taliban rule and Iranian women posting videos of themselves cutting their hair in protest against the country’s abusive and forced veiling laws. 

Almost without exception, this wave of mass protest has been met with obstructive, repressive and often violent responses by state authorities. 

The escalating global threat to the right to protest is one of the key human right battlegrounds of our time. Over recent decades, issues including the environmental crisis, growing inequality and threats to livelihoods, systemic racism and gender-based violence have made collective action ever more necessary. They have given rise to some of the biggest protest mobilizations seen for decades. Groups including Black Lives Matter, MeToo, and climate change movements have inspired millions the world over to take to the streets and online. 

Across the globe, governments of every stripe have responded by implementing an expanding array of repressive measures. Protesters everywhere are facing a potent mix of pushbacks, with a growing number of laws and other measures to restrict the right to protest; excessive use of force, the expansion of unlawful mass and targeted surveillance; internet shutdowns and online censorship; and abuse and stigmatization. 

Reflecting the universal nature of this threat, Write for Rights 2022 is campaigning for 13 individuals from every region of the world who have suffered as a result of repression. They include a lawyer from Hong Kong jailed for encouraging people to light candles to commemorate the Tiananmen Square crackdown; an Iranian man jailed and tortured for peacefully protesting against inequality and political repression who has been held in solitary confinement for more than two years; and three Zimbabwean activists who were abducted, beaten, sexually assaulted and jailed because of their activism. 

Writing a letter, sending a tweet, signing a petition. Surely you can’t change the world with something so simple? Yes, you can! 

______________________________ 

For more information about Amnesty International’s Protest the Protest campaign, see here 

The post Write for Rights 2022: Championing activists in a year of global protest appeared first on Amnesty International.

Activists across the globe will mark this year’s Human Rights Day by taking part in the world’s biggest human rights event: Amnesty International’s Write for Rights campaign. Held annually since 2001, Write for Rights sees people in more than 200 countries and territories take millions of actions in support of people whose human rights are under attack.

Reflecting the growing global threat to the right to protest—and tying in with Amnesty’s new global Protect the Protest campaign—Write for Rights 2022 is campaigning for 13 individuals who have paid a great price for speaking out. This year’s campaign includes a lawyer from Hong Kong jailed for encouraging people to light candles to commemorate the Tiananmen Square crackdown; an Iranian man jailed and tortured for peacefully protesting against inequality and political repression who has been held in solitary confinement for more than two years; and three Zimbabwean activists who were abducted, beaten, sexually assaulted and jailed because of their activism.

“Year after year, Write for Rights offers a reminder of the enduring power of collective action. The campaign has shown time and again that when enough people come together and challenge injustice with one voice, authorities do listen and lives can be transformed,” said Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General.

“Everywhere you look across the world, the right to protest is coming under attack. Over the last 12 months alone, from Iran to Cuba and beyond, we’ve seen a host of protest movements met with repressive government responses. It’s only fitting that for Write for Rights 2022, activists are speaking up in solidarity with those who are paying a heavy price for speaking out.”

This Human Rights Day, a host of Write for Rights events will be taking place across all regions of the world. These include a concert in Cote D’Ivoire, a half-marathon in Zimbabwe, and public letter writing events in Belgium, Denmark, Canada, Italy, Ireland, Mali, Mongolia, Netherlands, Poland, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, Thailand and Turkey. Further events will take place globally throughout December. 

Every December, people around the world write millions of letters, emails, tweets, Facebook posts and postcards in support of those who are unjustly persecuted. Write for Rights has helped transform the lives of more than 100 people since 2001, freeing them from torture, harassment, or unjust imprisonment. In 2021, more than 4.5 million actions were taken.

Last year’s campaign featured Guatemalan teacher and environmental activist, Bernardo Caal Xol, who had been sentenced to more than seven years in prison on bogus charges aimed at preventing his work to protect his people’s land and resources. Write for Rights 2021 saw more than half a million actions taken on his behalf and, in March 2022, he was released. In a video message to Amnesty International activists, he said: 

“I, Bernardo Caal Xol, a member of the Maya Q’eqchi’ people of Guatemala, am grateful to each and every one of you. You have given me hope for the justice, liberty and equality that must prevail in every people and nation.” 

Across all regions of the world, state authorities are implementing an expanding array of measures to suppress dissent. Protesters across the globe are facing a potent mix of restrictions, with a growing number of laws and other measures to limit the right to protest. These include preventing, forbidding, and criminalising protests, excessive and unnecessary use of force, the unlawful use of law enforcement equipment, unlawful arrests and detentions, the expansion of unlawful mass and targeted surveillance, internet shutdowns and online censorship, and harassment and stigmatization.

People who face inequality and discrimination, whether based on race, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, age, disability, occupation, social, economic or migratory status are also more affected by restrictions on their right to protest and face harsher repression.

This year, Write for Rights is featuring 13 people whose lives have been negatively impacted by governments’ crackdown on the right to protest:

• Chow Hang-tung, a lawyer from Hong Kong who is serving 22 months in jail for encouraging people on social media to light candles to commemorate the Tiananmen crackdown.
• Vahid Afkari, who was sentenced to decades in prison and 74 lashes for joining protests against inequality and political repression in Iran, and whose family have been repeatedly targeted for seeking truth and justice, including through the arbitrary detention last month of Vahid’s sister Elham. According to state media, she was arrested in connection with the current wave of protests sweeping the country.
• Zimbabwean activists Joanah Mamombe, Netsai Marova and Cecillia Chimbiri, who were abducted, beaten, sexually assaulted and jailed for protesting, then charged with faking their ordeal.
• Shahnewaz Chowdhury, who faces prison in Bangladesh for writing a Facebook post raising concerns about the potential negative environmental impact of a new power plant.
• Dorgelesse Nguessan, a hairdresser from Cameroon, sentenced to five years in prison after she attended her first ever protest. 
• Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, who was sentenced to five years in prison in a maximum-security jail in Cuba after posting a video in which he said he would attend a protest.
• Zineb Redouane, an 80-year-old woman who was killed by the reckless use of a tear gas grenade in France. Police officers were using tear gas to disperse protesters in the streets below her apartment when a police officer fired a tear gas grenade in Zineb’s direction. It hit her in the face and she died from her injuries. No one has been charged or suspended over her tragic death.
• Nasser Zefzafi, who is serving 20 years in prison in Morocco for his involvement in a peaceful protest movement demanding improvement to healthcare, education and employment opportunities in his region.
• Yren Rotela and Mariana Sepulveda, two trans women from Paraguay who have been barred from legally changing their names by the authorities.
• Aleksandra Skochilenko from Russia, who faces up to 10 years in prison for opposing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Background

Write for Rights began 21 years ago in Warsaw, Poland, when a group of friends decided to celebrate Human Rights Day with a 24-hour letter-writing marathon. From 2,326 letters in 2001 to 4.5 million letters, tweets and petition signatures in 2021, Write for Rights has grown into the world’s biggest human rights event. For more information about Write for Rights, see here. For more information about Amnesty International’s Protect the Protest campaign, see here.

The post Write for Rights: World’s biggest human rights event returns for Human Rights Day 2022 appeared first on Amnesty International.