Amnesty International Group 22 Pasadena/Caltech News
Volume X Number 6, June 2002
UPCOMING EVENTS
Wednesday, June 26, 7:00 PM. Program for Torture Victims and
Amnesty International present a program in honor of United Nations
International Day in Support of Victims of Torture at Loyola Marymount
University, Ahmanson Auditorium, University Hall 100. Justice
for Survivors: Torture and Impunity. Keynote Speaker: William
Aceves, California Western School of Law, Author of USA: A Safe Haven
for Torturers with Chris Abani, Nigerian Poet, survivor of torture.
Directions: At Lincoln & Jefferson, enter campus on Lincoln at LMU
Drive. First building on right. Park in P1 entrance, auditorium by
main entrance.
Thursday, June 27, 7:30 PM. Monthly Meeting 414 S. Holliston, Caltech
Y Lounge. Help us plan future actions for Tibet, the abolition of the
death penalty, campaign against torture and more.
Tuesday, July 9, 7:30 PM. Letter-writing Meeting at the Athenaeum.
Corner of California & Hill. During the summer the basement
recreation area is closed so we will meet on the patio. Ask at
the front desk if you can't find us. An informal meeting, a
great place for first-timers to ask questions!
Sunday, July 21 6:30 PM. Rights Readers Human Rights Book Discussion
Group. Vroman's Bookstore (695 E. Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena)
This month we discuss Coyotes by Ted Conover. (See inside for more
information about the book).
ANNUAL REPORT 2002
Visit www.amnesty-usa.org for more info
Many governments have scrimped on human rights following the September
11 attacks in the United States, using the "war on terrorism"
to quash legitimate dissent or justify ongoing conflicts, Amnesty
International charged as it released its 2002 Annual Report. The
report documents the status of human rights in 152 countries. The
organization also contended that the deficient human rights record of
the US government erodes its capacity for human rights leadership,
limiting the pressure the US can exert on other governments to improve
their human rights practices. As evidence, it cited eight examples of
actions by the US government that weaken its foreign policy hand, with
dire consequences for people worldwide:
Eight Significant Human Rights Failings of the US Government that
Undermine Its Global Leadership on Human Rights
1. Military
Tribunals
Parallel system of justice that concentrates power in executive
branch, no appeals process
Risk to Global Leadership: Erodes ability to criticize other
countries for violations of due process, and endangers US citizens and
troops overseas
Example: Saudi Arabia has a judicial system in which the accused have
a limited right to defend themselves and a limited right to appeal;
secretive trials are hidden from the public and are vulnerable to the
undue influence of the executive branch - in this case the royal
family - even in capital cases.
2. Selective Adherence to
Geneva Conventions
US has selectively applied portions of the Geneva Conventions'
guarantees to prisoners at Guantanamo Bay
Risk to Global Leadership: Dangerously signals that the US
believes states can pick and choose which treaties and principles to
uphold
Example: Russian government abuses against Chechens that violate
Geneva Conventions.
3. Treaty
Exceptionalism
The US has failed to ratify key treaties including the Convention on
theRights of the Child and has "unsigned" the Rome Statute
of the International Criminal Court
Risk to Global Leadership: Undermines global consensus on human
rights and sets dangerous precedent for other countries to similarly
"unsign" treaties
Example: Pakistan's failure to ratify the International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights
4. Post-September 11
Detentions of Foreigners
Mistreatment in detention, indefinite detention, lack of access to
counsel
Risk to Global Leadership: Overlooks mistreatment of ethnic
minorities in other countries
Example: Ethiopia's detention of Oromos and Somalis without due
process, including access to counsel; the detainees have been subject
to indefinite detention and poor conditions.
5. Death Penalty
Execution of juveniles and the mentally retarded, failure to institute
federal moratorium, first federal execution in 38 years (McVeigh), new
anti-terrorism legislation with enhanced death penalty statutes,
federal government bringing capital charges against defendants in
non-death penalty states
Risk to Global Leadership: Lends dangerous legitimacy to
governments that execute.
Example: China: During the government's national "strike hard"
campaign, at least 1,781 people were executed between April and July
2001 -- more than the total number of people executed in the rest of
the world in the previous three years. China executed at least 2,468
people in 2001.
6. Safe Haven for
Torturers
Failure to prosecute or extradite known torturers whom the government
knows or should know are traveling through or living in the US
Risk to Global Leadership: Sends the message that those who
commit torture, genocide and war crimes can flee from justice.
Example: Japan's refusal to either return Peru's former president
Alberto Fujimori to Peru -- where he has been indicted on charges of
crimes against humanity -- or open an investigation into his
responsibility for the human rights violations committed while in
office.
7. Mistreatment of
Asylum-seekers
Imprisonment of non-criminal asylum-seekers
Risk to Global Leadership: Signals that similar abuses against
asylum-seekers elsewhere are acceptable
Example: Guinea: where Liberians and Sierra Leoneans in refugee camps
are mistreated, including beatings and rapes, by Guinean security
forces. In some instances, humanitarian assistance has been
withheld.
8. Exporting Tools
for Torture & Human Rights Violations
Risk to Global Leadership: Complicity in torture and other
human rights violations by supplying US-made or supplied weapons and
training used for abuse
Example: Spanish company markets restraint devices to countries
including Pakistan and Yemen.
ISRAEL/OCCUPIED TERRITORIES
Conscientious Objectors in Israel
Be sure to visit www.amnesty-usa.org for additional crisis response
actions!
Amnesty International is concerned about the increasing number of
Israeli soldiers and reservists detained because of their refusal to
perform their military service.
A person who for reasons of conscience or profound conviction arising
from religious, ethical, moral, humanitarian, philosophical, political
or similar motive refuses to perform armed service or any other direct
or indirect participation in wars or armed conflicts and is imprisoned
as a result of his/her refusal to serve is considered by Amnesty
International to be a prisoner of conscience unless such a person has
also refused to perform alternative civilian service of comparable
length. There is no such alternative civilian service in Israel.
The number of imprisoned conscientious objectors is now approximately
7, although numbers fluctuate every day. The total number of objectors
imprisoned since the beginning of the intifada has now reached
130.
Appeal Case 1: Ilan Windholtz: On 26 May, Ilan Windholtz (18)
received a third prison sentence for his refusal to enlist as a
conscript. This time, he received a 28-day sentence. His release date
is 20 June.
Appeal Case 2: Uri Dotan: On 2 June, Sgt. Maj. Uri Dotan, a
student, received a 35-day prison sentence. His release date is on 3
July.
Appeal Case 3: Yosef Sendik: On 5 June, reservist Capt. Yosef
Sendik (38) received a 28-day prison sentence. Yosef Sendik, who works
in marketing in Tel Aviv, was previously imprisoned in August 2001 for
outright refusal "to serve in an army of occupation". He is
to be released on 5 July.
TAKE ACTION Please write to the Israeli authorities describing the
cases above, and explaining Amnesty International's position on
conscientious objectors. Please call for all conscientious objectors
who have been imprisoned to be immediately and unconditionally
released.
Please also send letters/e-mails of support to the conscientious
objectors through:
- Yesh Gvul, an Israeli group supporting Israeli soldiers who refuse
to serve in the Occupied Territories: peretz@yesh-gvul.org
- New Profile, Movement for the Civil-ization of Israeli Society, an
Israeli peace organisation supporting conscientious objectors:
sergeiy@netvision.net.il
ADDRESSES
Binyamin Ben-Eliezer
Minister of Defence
Ministry of Defence
37 Kaplan Street
Tel-Aviv 61909,
Israel.
E-mail: sar@mod.gov.il or pniot@mod.gov.il
Brig. Gen. Menachem Finkelstein
Chief Military Attorney
Military postal code 9605
IDF
Israel
JUST EARTH NETWORK
Update on Shareholder Resolution
Activist groups, mainstream investors and religious groups scored a
huge victory in their collective campaign to hold ExxonMobil
accountable for promoting human rights and protecting the environment
at the company's annual shareholder meeting in Dallas.
The resolution sponsored by Amnesty International USA, urging
ExxonMobil to develop human rights policy garnered about 6.8% of the
vote. This translates into approximately 374 million shares
representing more than $15 billions in shareholder equity, far in
excess of the 3% minimum votes required and guaranteeing that we can
reintroduce the resolution in the next two years.
Equally important is that a resolution calling on ExxonMobil to adopt
a plan for renewable energy source gathered an impressive 20.3% of the
votes, more than double the 8.9% vote for the same resolution last
year. In addition a resolution to amend the company's equal
employment opportunity (EEO) policy to explicitly prohibit
discrimination based on sexual orientation gathered an incredible
23.5%. On the whole, it was a great day for shareholder activism
at ExxonMobil's AGM as shareholders try to prod the company to do the
right thing on human rights, environment and labor rights
fronts.
Call on ExxonMobil to publicly disclose exisiting security
arrangements with state police, military forces, local militia groups
and private security firms that have been hired to protect the
company's operations in Chad, Cameroon, Nigeria and Indonesia.
For more information on this campaign and to take action on
environmental defender cases, please visit our website at
www.amnestyusa.org/justearth.
SUMMER POSTCARD ACTION
Send Greetings to Activists in Israel/OT/Palestinian Authority
Each summer we take time out to send greetings to activists, some
imprisoned, others harassed, who receive a boost from knowing that
they have supporters from all over the world. Join us at the
letter-writing meeting to send cards to more human rights defenders.
Here are some tips for writing the cards.
* Keep your message simple and personal, such as: "We are
thinking of you, and hope you are well."
* Don't mention the political situation or the accusations
against any prisoners.
* Picture postcards would be good, but please be sensitive to
different cultural and religious mores. Pictures of men or women in
revealing swimsuits or references to alcoholic beverages could be
offensive.
* International Airmail postage is 70 cents for standard size
postcards and 80 cents for one-page letters.
In responding to the escalation of violence in Israel, the
Occupied Territories and the Palestinian Authority, Amnesty
International has made addressing this crisis a movement-wide
priority, mobilizing its membership to help stop the killing. The
organization has condemned grave human rights abuses committed by all
sides in the conflict. The crisis and Amnesty's response to it have
presented AI members in Israel, the Occupied Territories and the
Palestinian Authority with challenges to their work. Travel
restrictions have severely hampered the work of activists in the
Palestinian Authority. The offices of AI Israel have received
threatening calls and letters. AI members in Bethlehem have written to
AIUSA from homes without water or electricity and surrounded by tanks.
AI members in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv tell us they are afraid to take a
bus, shop for food or even walk outside. Morale is low, but all of
these members consider their connection to the international human
rights movement to be a lifeline. As one member put it, "The fact
that we all, as members of AI, have a common goal - that is to
promote and protect human rights - helps to keep us unified in these
times when we could become divided."
Please send messages of support to AI members in the Palestinian
Authority and to those in Israel. You can send cards and letters to
the address below, and AIUSA will pass them along to the appropriate
offices:
AI Members in Israel Israel/Occupied Territories/Palestinian Authority
and AI Members in the Palestinian Authority
c/o Amnesty International USA
600 Pennsylvania Avenue S.E.
5th floor
Washington, D.C. 20003
LETTER COUNT
Government Action Network 3
Death Penalty
9
Urgent Actions:
3
Total:
15
Want to add your letters to the total? Get in touch with
lucas.kamp@jpl.nasa.gov
DEATH PENALTY
Pre-emptive Action for Texas Juvenile
First an update on the juvenile cases featured in the April and May
newsletters. Napoleon Beazley was executed in Texas on May 28,
2002. Chris Simmons who was scheduled for execution on June 5
received a stay from the Missouri Supreme Court pending the outcome of
the case challenging the execution of the mentally retarded now before
the US Supreme Court. It is believed that if the US Supreme
Court rules to abolish the execution of the retarded, the premise for
the execution of juveniles will be undermined. The Texas Supreme
Court was presented with the same argument, yet refused to grant a
stay. You are encouraged to write a letter to Governor Perry in
Texas protesting the arbitrary nature of this decision and his failure
to grant Mr. Beazley even a 30 day reprieve. The US Supreme
Court's decision is expected sometime this month. This month
we have a chance to protest the charging of a another Texas juvenile
with the death penalty.
The Smith County District Attorney in eastern Texas is intending to
seek a death sentence against William Hodges (m), white, at his
forthcoming murder trial. William Hodges was 17 years old at the time
of the crime of which he is accused. International law prohibits the
imposition of the death penalty against defendants who were under 18
at the time of the crime.
William Hodges has been charged with the rape and murder of 22-
year-old Tonya Boaz committed near Lindale, Smith County, on 11
January 2002. Jury selection for his trial was due to begin on 23 May,
but was postponed to allow more time for the state laboratory to
complete DNA testing. The trial has not yet been rescheduled, but it
could begin as early as July.
There is an unequivocal international prohibition on the use of the
death penalty against child offenders, people who were under 18 at the
time of the crime. The Geneva Conventions, the International Covenant
on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the Convention on the Rights of
the Child, the American Convention on Human Rights and the United
Nations Safeguards Guaranteeing Protection of the Rights of Those
Facing the Death Penalty all have provisions exempting this age group
from the death penalty. The UN Sub- Commission on the Promotion and
Protection of Human Rights has affirmed that such use of the death
penalty violates customary international law, binding on all countries
regardless of which treaties they have or have not ratified. The UN
Human Rights Committee, the body established by the ICCPR to monitor
that treaty's implementation, has 'deplored' the USA's continuing
execution of child offenders, and confirmed that the ICCPR's
prohibition on such executions is non-derogable.
Since 1995, 10 child offenders have been executed in the USA, six of
them in Texas. In the same period, Amnesty International has
documented only seven such executions in the rest of the world
combined - three in Iran, two in Pakistan, one in Nigeria, and one in
Democratic Republic of Congo. In December 2001, the President of
Pakistan announced that he would commute the death sentences of all
child offenders on death row in his country. There are some 80 child
offenders on death row in the USA, 30 of them in Texas.
The Smith County District Attorney is well aware of this international
prohibition. Last year, he was the recipient of Urgent Action appeals
in the case of Napoleon Beazley, who was also tried in Smith County
(the current District Attorney was one of his prosecutors - see UA
156/01, AMR 51/095/01, 22 June 2001). Napoleon Beazley was executed on
28 May 2002.
Seven Nobel Peace Prize winners were among the thousands of people and
organizations who appealed for clemency for Napoleon Beazley.
One of the Nobel laureates was Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South
Africa. In his six-page letter of 16 May 2002, the Archbishop alluded
to the William Hodges case: 'The obstinacy of the Smith County
District Attorney, who within the last week, has set about getting the
death penalty against a new child offender, is something with which I
lament that I am all too familiar. During the Truth and Reconciliation
Commission hearings in my country, there were members of the apartheid
regime who refused to see that the human rights abuses they had
committed were wrong or unlawful. The execution of a child offender
clearly is such a human rights abuse. I stand assured that the Smith
County authorities have been educated on that fact. The Commission was
founded on the idea that people have an innate ability to repent and
change, and I was astounded by the heartfelt accounts offered by
perpetrators of the worst offences of human rights who were seeking
amnesty. I hold out hope for the Smith County District
Attorney...'.
The United Nations Guidelines on the Role of Prosecutors states that
not only should prosecutors be made aware of 'human rights and
fundamental freedoms recognized by national and international law',
but they must also 'respect and protect human dignity and uphold human
rights'.
There have been 780 executions in the USA since it resumed judicial
killing in 1977. Texas accounts for 271 of these executions.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as
possible, in your own words, using the guide below:
* expressing sympathy for the family and friends of Tonya Boaz,
and explaining that you are neither seeking to excuse the manner of
her death nor comment on the innocence or guilt of the accused,
William Hodges;
* noting that William Hodges was 17 years old at the time of
the crime, and expressing deep concern that the District Attorney is
seeking a death sentence in the full knowledge that he is violating
international law;
* note that he is also breaching the United Nations Guidelines
on the Role of Prosecutors by failing to uphold international human
rights law;
* noting Archbishop Desmond Tutu's concern about the District
Attorney's actions and his hope for change away from this human rights
violation;
* urging the District Attorney to drop his pursuit of the death
penalty and abide by international law and global standards of
justice.
Jack Skeen
Smith County District Attorney
100 North Broadway
Tyler, Texas 75702
Governor Perry
c/o Bill Jones, General Counsel,
PO Box 12428
Austin, TX 78711
PRISONER OF CONSCIENCE
Ngawang Pekar, Tibetan Monk
Our group remains committed to work for the release of prisoner of
conscience (POC) Ngawang Pekar (naw-wan pee-kar), a Tibetan Buddhist
monk. Pekar has been imprisoned since 1989 after being arrested by
Chinese authorities for participating in a peaceful demonstration in
the city of Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region, in support of Tibetan
independence.
The Memorial Day event, co-sponsored by AI Group 22, that featured two
Tibetan nuns speaking about their experiences as prisoners in Drapchi
Prison (where Pekar is being held) was a great success! It was quite
moving to hear the nuns, Chuye Kunsang, age 26, and Passang Lhamo, age
25, tell of the harsh conditions and brutality which they and many
others were forced to endure as prisoners of conscience. And in answer
to our "big question" in last month's newsletter: Although
they never met him, Chuye and Passang said that they had heard Ngawang
Pekar's name mentioned while they were at Drapchi! Unfortunately, they
could not provide any more specific information about him.
Some good news was recently released by the Tibetan Information
Network (TIN) regarding four nuns who belonged to a group of prisoners
dubbed the "Drapchi 14." These nuns gained notoriety after
they secretly recorded songs on an audiotape, which was smuggled out
of Drapchi, in which they expressed their feelings about conditions in
prison and conveyed a message of hope over despair. In response to
this courageous action, the nuns were subjected to severe beatings and
increases in their sentences. Recently, one of these nuns, Ngawang
Sangdrol, reportedly had her sentence reduced by one and a half years,
and another, Phuntsog Nyidrol, had her sentence reduced by one year
after both had "shown signs of repentance." Unfortunately,
both Sangdrol and Nyidrol are reportedly in quite poor health as a
result of maltreatment. The two other nuns, Tenzin Thubten and Ngawang
Choekyi, received early releases for reasons that are unknown at this
time. One can only hope that their releases were not due to fatal
medical conditions, as it is fairly common practice for the Chinese
authorities to release dying prisoners in order to avoid "bad
press."
It is imperative that we continue writing to the Chinese
authorities in order to keep them aware that there are those in the
outside world (particularly Americans) who are concerned about Ngawang
Pekar's plight. This month, we ask that you write to the Chairman of
the Tibet Autonomous Regional People's Government. Below is a sample
letter you can copy or use as a guide in composing your own:
Dear Chairman,
I am writing to you out of concern for a prisoner being held in Tibet
Autonomous Region Prison No. 1. The prisoner's name is NGAWANG PEKAR
(layname: Paljor).
Ngawang Pekar, a Tibetan monk, was arrested in 1989 for participating
in a peaceful demonstration in the city of Lasashi and sentenced to 8
years in prison. Subsequently, his sentence was increased by an
additional 6 years. Amnesty International considers him to be a
prisoner of conscience and I am concerned that he has been imprisoned
solely for the peaceful exercise of his universally recognized right
to freedom of expression. I am further deeply concerned about reports
that he has been beaten and denied access to medical care since his
arrest.
I respectfully urge you to request that Ngawang Pekar's case be
reviewed and that he be immediately and unconditionally released in
accordance with the international laws to which China is signatory. I
further request that he be allowed access to independent
non-governmental agencies so that his current state of well-being may
be determined and made known.
I thank you for your attention to this important matter and would
greatly appreciate any further information that your office may be
able to provide.
Sincerely,
Address your letter to:
Legchog Zhuren
Xizang Zizhiqu Renmin Zhengfu
1 Kang'angdonglu
Lasashi 850000, Xizang Zizhiqu
People's Republic of China
RIGHTS READERS
Human Rights Book Discussion Group
Vroman's Bookstore
(695 E. Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena)
Sunday, July 21, 6:30 PM
Note: If you plan to purchase the book at Vroman's please
request it at Will Call. It should be shelved under Amnesty
International.
COYOTES:
A Journey through the Secret World of America's Illegal
Aliens
By Ted Conover
"This is the most objective account of illegal immigration
from Mexico I've read, and one reason is that the writer =8A is so
subjective. Interviews with 'experts,' ranging from an American labor
organizer to a Mexican priest, are there for those who want
sociological analysis. But they're interjected naturally and
gracefully into Mr. Conover's first-person account of his travels with
the migrant workers who start out as the subjects of his book and wind
up friends he respects, admires and, in probable violation of United
States immigration law, sometimes helps to reach their destinations.
Another reason this book is so good is that Mr. Conover has such a
true eye for human and topographical detail....There is grace in this
book, even more wisdom. What makes it really glow on every page is Mr.
Conover's realization that he is dealing neither with a crime nor a
tragedy, but with another of those human adventures that make America
a country that is constantly renewing itself." T.D. Allman, New
York Times Book Review
EDITOR'S LAST WORD:
Read us on line: http://www.cco.caltech.edu/~aigp22
Martha Ter Maat, 626-281-4039 / mtermaat@hsc.usc.edu