Amnesty International Group 22 Pasadena/Caltech News Volume XIV Number 2, February 2006 UPCOMING EVENTS Thursday, February 23, 7:30 PM. Monthly Meeting Caltech Y is located off San Pasqual between Hill and Holliston, south side. You will see two curving walls forming a gate to a path-- our building is just beyond. Help us plan future actions on Sudan, the War on Terror, death penalty and more. Thursday, March 9, 7:00 PM. Conscientious Projector Screening of "Deadline." Metro Gallery, 64 North Raymond Avenue, Old Pasadena. Save the date for this film, doubly important as we strategize for a moratorium on executions in our state: What would you do if you discovered that 13 people slated for execution had been found innocent? That was exactly the question that Illinois Governor George Ryan faced in his final days in office. He alone was left to decide whether 167 death row inmates should live or die. In the riveting countdown to Ryan's decision, Deadline details the gripping drama of the state's clemency hearings. Documented as the events unfold, Deadline is a compelling look inside America's prisons, highlighting one man's unlikely and historic actions against the system. Tuesday, March 14, 7:30 PM. Letter-writing Meeting at the Athenaeum. Corner of California & Hill. Look for our table downstairs in the cafeteria area. This informal gathering is a great way for newcomers to get acquainted with Amnesty! Sunday, March 19, 6:30 PM. Rights Readers Human Rights Book Discussion Group. Vroman's Book Bookstore, 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena. This month we read Peter Robb's A Death in Brazil (More below.) COORDINATOR'S CORNER Hi everyone. Hope this finds you well. Group 22 members Stevie Caroll, Lucas Kamp, Joyce Wolf, Robert and Kathy Adams, Ido Dooseman, Paul Wagner and Marti Moss took the Gold Line light rail from Pasadena to Union Station, then to the Red Line to MOCA to see the exhibit "Masters of American Comics" on Sunday February 12. Our fearless leader Martha TerMaat, arranged the outing for us since we recently read Persopolis, a graphic novel about Iran by Marjane Satrapi in our Rights Readers reading group. Although she was not able to join us, she was with us in spirit. Highlights of the exhibit for me were panels from "Maus" by Art Speigelman, a graphic novel about his father's experiences in the Holocaust with the prisoners as mice and guards as cats(!) and the underground comics by R. Crumb. There was a lot of superhero-type stuff also that I wasn't as interested in. Lucas also attended a free concert at the Coburn School next to MOCA. I would definitely recommend this exhibit and also our method of travel via light rail-beats driving any day! Amnesty USA will have a new Executive director, effective May 1, 2006. Larry Cox worked for the the Rainforest Foundation in the past and currently works for the Ford Foundation as Senior Program Officer for their Human Rights Unit. He has also held many positions within Amnesty. April 28-30, the AGM will be held in Portland, Oregon. The title is "Make Some Noise-Human Rights At High Volume". Workshops/speakers on various topics such as the women of Juarez, Niger Delta, War on Terror, rural organizing, Death Penalty, plus many more will be featured. For info and/or to sign up, go to http://www.amnestyusa.org/events/agm. Amnesty USA is hosting online discussions of indefinite detentions and extraordinary renditions in the War on Terror on Feb 21 and 28 from 1-2 pm eastern time. To participate, go to http://www.amnestyusa.org and click on "events" to sign up. You can submit questions in advance from the website. At our letter-writing meeting, we were discussing the prisoners at Guantanamo naval base in Cuba who were on hunger strike and were being force-fed. An action on this issue is featured below. Finally, please join us on March 9 (see Upcoming Events for details) for the screening of Deadline, a film about the death penalty moratorium in Illinois, followed by discussion with our community partners about how we can re-energize our moratorium campaign in California. Take care, Kathy aigp22@caltech.edu DENOUNCE TORTURE Concern for Guantanamo Hunger Strikers Detainees at Guantanamo participating in the hunger strike are reported to have been placed into isolation, strapped into restraint chairs, been subjected to painful force-feeding methods and deprived of "comfort items" such as blankets and books. Kuwaiti national Fawzi al-Odah told his lawyer that on 11 January 2006 he ended his hunger strike after being threatened with force-feeding using a thick tube with a metal edge whilst restrained. He says that the previous day he had heard the screams of a detainee in an adjacent room being force-fed in this manner and that he had also heard a doctor tell this detainee, "I have to do this, I have to cause you pain." The detainee who was force-fed later advised Fawzi al-Odah that he should eat voluntarily so as not to experience the pain. Lawyers for other detainees have told Amnesty International that the hunger strikers have been moved into isolation in cold rooms, strapped into restraint chairs and deliberately force-fed too much food, causing them extreme pain and, in some cases, diarrhea. Many of the hunger strikers were forced to submit to this process several times a day. Fawzi al-Odah has said that some of those detainees were forced to urinate and defecate on themselves because they remained strapped to the restraint chairs. Some are also said to have vomited blood. As a result of these force-feeding methods the numbers participating in the hunger strike is believed to have dropped dramatically. Of the long-term hunger strikers, only three or four are thought to be continuing, although some reports suggest that a number of other detainees have now joined the hunger strike to protest against the force-feeding methods. Fawzi al-Odah's lawyer has stated that "it is clear that the government has ended the hunger strike through the use of force and through the most brutal and inhumane types of treatment." A Pentagon spokesperson has said that force-feeding is being carried out in "a humane and compassionate manner" and was used only when necessary to keep the detainees alive. Twenty-five "Emergency Restraint Chairs" are reported to have been sent to Guantanamo between 5 December 2005 and 10 January 2006. BACKGROUND INFORMATION Detainees at Guantanamo began the current hunger strike in August 2005. They are demanding for their rights under international law to be respected, and to be released if they are not charged and given a fair trial. They have also requested that organizations such as Amnesty International be permitted to visit them. Some have expressed their determination to continue the hunger strike until death. Amnesty International neither opposes nor recommends forcible feeding of prisoners on hunger strike. However, if forcible feeding is done in such a way as deliberately to cause suffering, Amnesty International considers that this may constitute torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. The UN Special Rapporteur on torture has declared that if the reports about the force-feeding methods being used at Guantánamo are true, then it would amount to cruel treatment. RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible: - expressing serious concern at the latest allegations that hunger strikers at Guantanamo are being force-fed in a manner which may amount to torture or ill-treatment; - calling for independent medical experts to be given access to all the detainees at Guantanamo; - calling for all Guantanamo detainees to be released unless they are to be charged with a recognizably criminal offence and tried in full accordance with international standards for fair trial; - stating that lawyers and families of the detainees should be kept fully informed as to their legal status, health and wellbeing. APPEALS TO: Dr William Winkenwerder JR. Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs US Department of Defense The Pentagon Washington D.C. 20301-1200 Army Brig General John Gong Joint Task Force Guantanamo JTF-PAO. APO AE 09360 Guantanamo Naval Base, CUBA Email: mediarelations@jtfgtmo.southcom.mil Donald Rumsfeld Secretary of Defense The Pentagon Washington DC 20301 Matthew Waxman Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Detainee Affairs 2500 Defense Pentagon 5E420 Washington, DC 2031 DENOUNCE TORTURE Algerian/French national faces torture in Algeria Nouamane Meziche was arrested shortly after he arrived in Algeria from Germany on 5 January. The authorities have since refused to tell his family where he is held, and he is in grave danger of torture. He had flown in to the capital, Algiers, from Frankfurt in Germany. He was arrested by the border police at Houari Boumediene airport. He was able to telephone his mother two days later, on 7 January, to say that he had been arrested and was held at a police detention center in the Ben Aknoun district of Algiers. When family members went there to see him they were told that he had been handed over to the custody of the Departement du renseignement et de la securite' (DRS), Department of Information and Security, for questioning in connection with alleged "terrorist" activities abroad. They were told to leave without finding out where he was held. Nouamane Meziche, who was born in France, has dual French and Algerian nationality. He had been living in Hamburg, Germany, with his wife and two children. He had left Algeria in 1992 after the army had intervened to stop elections, which a now-banned Islamist party, the Front Islamique du Salut (FIS), Islamic Salvation Front, were set to win. Violent conflict broke out the following year between the government and self-styled "Islamic" armed groups. One of Nouamane Meziche's brothers joined an armed group during the internal conflict, and was reportedly killed by the security forces in 1996. His father and another brother were arrested in 1995, apparently for no reason other than the activities of the first brother, and have not been seen since. Thousands of Algerians "disappeared" during the internal conflict for their alleged or perceived support of the FIS, or of armed groups. Thousands more were sentenced to prison terms in unfair trials, many of them in their absence. Before Nouamane Meziche returned to Algeria on 5 January, his family had made enquiries with the Algerian judicial authorities to make sure that he would not be at risk of arrest if he returned to the country. There was apparently no arrest warrant against him, and he had not been sentenced in any trials which had taken place during his absence. BACKGROUND INFORMATION Detainees may be held without charge for a maximum of 12 days, under Article 51 of the Algerian Penal Procedures Code. The arresting authorities must immediately give them the opportunity to communicate with their families and to receive visits from them. The provisions of this law are routinely violated in "terrorist" cases. Those arrested are systematically held in secret for 12 days, and sometimes beyond this limit, until they are either brought before the examining magistrates or released without charge. It is while they are in secret detention in police, gendarmerie or DRS centers that detainees are most at risk of torture, ill-treatment and "disappearance". During the 1990s, more than 4,000 people "disappeared" in Algeria after they were arrested, and their whereabouts are still unknown. The most serious reports of torture and ill-treatment come from detention centers used by the DRS. Algeria's civil authorities appear to exercise little or no control over the activities of the DRS. Judicial authorities routinely overlook allegations of abuse by the DRS, so that its officers enjoy effective impunity. RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible: - expressing concern for the safety of Nouamane Meziche, who was arrested at Houari Boumediene airport on 5 January; - expressing concern at reports that he has been detained at an undisclosed location since 7 January, in violation of Article 51 of the Algerian Penal Procedures Code; - asking why he has been detained, and calling on the authorities to release him immediately unless he is to be charged with a recognizably criminal offence; - urging the authorities to ensure that he is treated humanely while he is in custody, and protected from torture and ill-treatment; - calling on the authorities to tell his family where he is detained, and to ensure that he can communicate with them and is given any medical attention he may require. APPEALS TO: Interior Minister: His Excellency Noureddine Yazid Zerhouni Ministre de l'Interieur Ministere de l'Interieur et des Collectivites Locales Palais du Gouvernement 18 rue Docteur Saadane Alger Algeria Salutation: Your Excellency/Excellence Justice Minister: His Excellency Tayeb Belaiz Ministre de la Justice Ministere de la Justice 8 Place Bir Hakem 16030 El Biar Alger Algeria Salutation: Your Excellency/Excellence COPIES TO: Official human rights body, reporting to president: Commission nationale consultative de promotion et de protection des droits de l'Homme M. Mustapha Farouk Ksentinin (President) Palais du Peuple Avenue Franklin Roosevelt Alger Algeria Ambassador Amine Kherbi Embassy of the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria 2118 Kalorama Rd. NW Washington, DC 20008 Fax: 1 202 667 2174 CORPORATE ACTION NETWORK Tell Yahoo! to End Censorship in China! Censorship aided by giant internet corporations has been much in the news lately. It has real consequences! Here's a sample letter to Yahoo! executives protesting Yahoo!'s enabling of the arrest of journalist/poet Shi Tao. Co-founder David Filo Yahoo! Inc. 701 First Avenue Sunnyvale, CA 94089 Co-founder Jerry Yang Yahoo! Inc. 701 First Avenue Sunnyvale, CA 94089 Dear Mr. _______, I am writing to you to express my deep concern over recent allegations that your company has assisted authorities in China in events which led to the imprisonment of Shi Tao, a Chinese journalist. On April 27, 2005, Shi Tao received a ten-year prison term for sending information about a Communist Party decision through his Yahoo email account to a website based in the United States. Amnesty International considers him a Prisoner of Conscience, as he was imprisoned for peacefully exercising his right to freedom of expression and opinion. I am alarmed that in the pursuit of new and lucrative markets, your company is contributing to human rights violations. Yahoo should urgently give consideration to the human rights implications of its business operations. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights calls upon every organ of society, which includes companies, to respect human rights. Yahoo's conduct in Shi Tao's case has exposed your company to the risk of being complicit in human rights violations. I therefore call upon Yahoo to: -- Use its influence to secure Shi Tao's release -- Stop any actions that could undermine human rights in any country in which you operate -- Take immediate steps to ensure that all your units (the parent corporation and subsidiaries) uphold human rights responsibilities for companies, as outlined by the UN Norms for Business -- Develop an explicit human rights policy, ensuring that it complies with the UN Norms for Business. Sincerely, Your NAME and ADDRESS LETTER COUNT Death Penalty 4 Urgent Actions 33 Total: 37 To add your letters to the total contact lwkamp@sbcglobal.net RIGHTS READERS Human Rights Book Discussion Group Vroman's Bookstore 695 E. Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena Sunday, March 19, 6:30 PM Death in Brazil by Peter Robb Deliciously sensuous and fascinating, Robb renders in vivid detail the intoxicating pleasures of Brazil's food, music, literature, and landscape as he travels not only cross country but also back in time - from the days of slavery to modern day political intrigue and murder. Spellbinding and revelatory, Peter Robb paints a multi-layered portrait of Brazil as a country of intoxicating and passionate extremes. JUST EARTH/CHILDREN"S EDITION Protect Guatemalan Sisters Once again, an opportunity for everyone to join in solidarity with young activists by writing letters on behalf of children at risk of human rights violations. Amnesty International is worried about Margarita del Rosario Monterrosa Alvarez and Lauramara Monterrosa Alvarez. The girls' father, Romeo Monterrosa, is a lawyer* who is representing a human rights organization called The Mutual Support Group (GAM) and other Guatemalan activists who are working for human rights and justice in Guatemala. Romeo Monterrosa, his wife, and his two daughters are being threatened because of Romeo's work to defend peasants* who claim rights to Guatemalan land. Margarita and Lauramara's father fears the girls may be hurt in order to make him stop his work on these cases. BACKGROUND: Powerful landowners in Guatemala don't want to give up their land and have sometimes tried to frighten peasants who need land to farm. Eight farm workers were killed during a protest at El Corozo farm in January 2005 but police did nothing. The families of the farm workers that were murdered were too scared to appear in court because they had received threats. In another land rights case, Romeo is defending a group of people who claim they are the owners of the Colonia La Catorze farm that was illegally sold to a Panamanian company, even though the Guatemalan constitution doesn't allow this. WHAT YOU CAN DO: Please write a short, courteous letter before February 28, 2006, to the Guatemalan Minister of the Interior, Carlos Vielman. Tell him that you are worried about Margarita and Lauramara and their parents. Explain that the Monterrosa family is in danger because people who do not want attorney* Romeo to continue defending landless farmers has threatened the girls' lives. Thank the Minister for reading your letter and ask him to protect Margarita and Lauramara and their parents. Ask him to let you know when he arrests those who made the threats against the Monterrosa family. The address for the Minister of the Interior of Guatemala is : [Salutation*: Estimado Ministro/ Dear Minister] MINISTRO DE GOBERNACIÓN CARLOS VIELMAN 6A AVENIDA 4-64, ZONA 4, NIVEL 3 CIUDAD DE GUATEMALA GUATEMALA MEXICO Investigate Murder of Juarez Attorney A sample letter follows concerning the murder of Dante Almaraz. Background: More than 370 women have been murdered in Ciudad Juarez, on the border with USA, since 1993. In more than half the cases the perpetrators have not been brought to justice. In several cases defendants allege that they were tortured into signing confessions by representatives of the local Public Prosecutor's Office. These allegations have never been effectively investigated. The federal authorities identified at least 130 local officials who may have been negligent or complicit in the failure of the original investigations. However, the few prosecutions mounted against these officials have collapsed. Governor of the State of Chihuahua Jose Reyes Baeza Terrazas Palacio de Gobierno, Primer piso, C. Aldama No.901, Col. Centro, CP 31000 Chihuahua Ambassador Carlos de Icaza Gonzalez Embassy of Mexico 1911 Pennsylvania Ave NW Washington, DC 20006 Dear Ambassador de Icaza Gonzalez I am writing to express my deep concern regarding recent murder of Dante Almaraz, a well-known defense lawyer in Cuidad Juarez. He had represented Victor Javier Garcia Uribe, a bus driver who was reportedly tortured into confessing to the murder of eight women in 2001 and sentenced to 50 years in prison. In 2005, Dante Almaraz stated publicly that some people within the local Public Prosecutor's Office resented him carrying out his legal defense work. In the weeks before his death he publicly voiced his concern about his safety and said that he believed if anything were to happen to him that members of the local State Public Prosecutor's Office would be responsible. Dante Almaraz was shot dead by unknown men while driving through the center of Cuidad Juarez, Chihuahua state, on January 26. A number of armed men blocked his way and shot him repeatedly. A passenger in the car, thought to be Almarez's brother, was also seriously wounded. First, I call on your office to guarantee the safety of Victor Javier Garcia Uribe, Dante Almaraz' family, and all human rights defenders in Cuidad Juarez who may also be at risk. I also urge you to condemn the murder of Dante Almaraz and the wounding of his passenger and begin a thorough, impartial and prompt investigation into the killing, with those responsible brought to justice. An investigation into possible links between representatives of the local Public Prosecutor's Office and the murder of Dante Almaraz must also be organized. Additionally, I would like to remind your office that the UN Declaration on the Rights and Responsibly of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms recognizes the legitimacy of the activities of human rights defenders and their right to carry out their activities without any restrictions or fear of reprisals. I again call on your office to condemn this murder and to offer an adequate protection to the human rights defenders in Cuidad Juarez, whose lives may be in danger. I am looking forward to your reply stating you commitment to these actions. Sincerely, Your NAME and ADDRESS STOP VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN Investigate Murders of El Salvadoran Women Marian Isabela Rivas Martinez and Rosa N. are two of at least 20 women killed in El Salvador between 2002 and 2004 in grisly circumstances. The dismembered body of 17-year-old Marian Isabela Rivas Martinez was found in San Salvador in 2002, followed five days later by the finding of the decapitated head of an unidentified woman, referred to as Rosa N. Investigations into both cases appear to have been closed without resolution. Amnesty International is calling on the authorities to bring to justice those responsible for these murders. Sample letter follows: President Elias Antonio Saca President of the Republic of El Salvador Casa Presidencial Alameda Dr Manuel Enrique 5500 San Salvador EL SALVADOR Dear President: I wish to express my deep concern about the rape and murder of Marian Isabela Rivas Martinez, the murder of Rosa N., and other cases of killings of women and girls in your country. In 2002, the dismembered body of 17-year-old Marian Isabela Rivas Martinez was found in San Bartolo, San Salvador. Five days later, the decapitated head of an unidentified woman, referred to as Rosa N., was found in Libertad Park in San Salvador. Investigations into both cases appear to have been closed without resolution. In 2003, several gang members were arrested on suspicion of involvement in one or both of the killings, but it appears that the charges were brought against the gang members on the basis of little or no evidence. The case collapsed in August 2004 when the accused were acquitted on the grounds that they had been imprisoned at the time of the killing. No other lines of inquiry into the cases of Rosa N. or Marian Isabela Rivas Martinez have apparently been explored. It is estimated that between 2002 and the middle of 2004, at least 20 women were killed in El Salvador in circumstances similar to those of the killings of Marian Isabela Rivas Martinez and Rosa N. According to reports received by Amnesty International, only a few of those cases have been properly investigated. I respectfully urge you to thoroughly investigate the killings of Marian Isabela Rivas Martinez, Rosa N., and all other similar cases. I further call on you to ensure that those responsible for these crimes are brought to justice. I thank you for your attention to this matter. Sincerely, Your NAME and ADDRESS copy to: Ambassador Rene Antonio Leon Rodriguez Embassy of El Salvador 2308 California Street N.W. Washington, D.C. 20008