Group 48 Newsletter - April 2009

Newsletter Amnesty International USA Group 48

04.09

In This Issue . . .

McKenna71 Stock.Xchng

1 Activist Feng Zhenghu victim of enforced disappearance 2 A Call for Congo 3 Justice for Colonel Paul Ndokayi 5 Human rights activist attacked in Russia AIUSA-Group 48 http://aipdx.org 503-227-1878 Next Meeting: Friday April 10th First Unitarian Church 1011 SW 12th Ave 7:00pm informal gathering 7:30pm meeting starts

China: Activist Feng Zhenghu victim of enforced disappearance Amnesty International Press Release March, 23 2009

The Chinese government should im-

mediately reveal the whereabouts of prominent human rights defender Feng Zhenghu, whose detention by security forces in Beijing on 15 February ago has just come to light. In the 40 days that he has been held by the authorities, neither his whereabouts or the charges against him have been made public.

NewsLetter Designed By Michelle Whitlock MichelleWhitlock.com

“Feng is a victim of enforced disappearance and as such is particularly vulnerable to torture and ill-treatment,” said Roseann Rife, Amnesty International’s Asia-Pacific Deputy Director. “Chinese

authorities should immediately allow him to meet his family and lawyers; he should either be released immediately or charged with a recognizable crime.” Feng Zhenghu was detained in Beijing by seven Shanghai police as he was accompanying a victim of forced eviction to a meeting with a lawyer. The police forced him into a car outside the Guobin Hotel near Buwai Dajie. Feng Zhengfu was taken back to Shanghai on 16 February. He was able to call his brother on the telephone on the way to Shanghai but has not been heard from since. »

AIUSA group 48 Newsletter April 2009 Pg 2

Feng Zhenghu’s family went to a police station near their home in Shanghai on 20 February and asked for his whereabouts but was given no answer. On 12 March, nearly one month after Feng Zhengfu was taken away, Shanghai internal security police (guobao) requested his wife’s cooperation to prevent him from meeting or helping petitioners in the future. The internal security police officers accepted his family’s request to send some clothes to him. However, in violation of China’s Criminal Procedure Law, they refused to inform the family of Feng Zhenghu’s whereabouts and what charges he was facing.

Zhenghu and ensure they are not being subjected to any forms of torture or ill-treatment at the hands of state agencies or non-state actors.”

“Given the horrible torture that Gao Zhisheng experienced during his previous detention in 2007, he may be in grave danger now,” said Roseann Rife. “The Chinese authorities should reveal the whereabouts of Gao Zhisheng and Feng

a manner that goes far beyond what is allowed in Chinese Criminal Law for those serving suspended sentences and has been forcibly removed from his home at least twice during this period and placed under detention where he has experienced ill-treatment and torture.

Background

Feng Zhenghu, 54, was the director of the China Enterprise Research Centre which published articles in 1989 as the army started to enter Beijing predicting a possible crackdown on the pro-democratic movement. After that, Feng Zhenghu was questioned and ordered to leave the research centre.

In 2001, he was convicted of “illegal business activity” and sentenced to three years’ imprisonment. Since his release in “It is a disgrace that Chinese law enforcement agencies disobey 2004, he has been writing economic critiques, focusing on the law in such a blatant manner,” said Roseann Rife. “Accord- the malpractice of the local government and forced evictions. ing to Chinese legal procedure Feng Zhenghu should have Many Shanghai petitioners who suffered consequences of the access to a lawyer and his family should know where and why economic development approached Feng Zhenghu and asked he is detained.” for his help to seek justice. He documented their cases and helped them find lawyers to lodge lawsuits. Feng Zhenghu’s abduction follows the detention of human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng, who has not been heard from Gao Zhisheng was convicted of “inciting subversion, after a since 4 February, when he was taken away from his Shaanxi closed trial, and sentenced to a three-year prison sentence, home by more than 10 security agents. His family fled China suspended for five years as well as a one year subsequent earlier this year because of the continued harassment and deprivation of political rights in December 2006. He has been intense surveillance the entire family was experiencing. kept under constant surveillance since he was sentenced, in

A Call for Congo By Sherry Harbert March 16, 2009

From Left: Vincent Chirimwami, Maguy Masikini and Jeremie Ruvunangiza

Among all the human rights violations that occur around

the world, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) may hold some of the worst. The atrocities are so overwhelming that words alone cannot describe the depth of what is happening. The images can be so graphic that they are largely ignored by the media and public. Such atrocities cannot continue, so members of the Congolese Community of Oregon and the Portland Chapter of Amnesty International have combined forces to launch a public outreach campaign. »

AIUSA group 48 Newsletter April 2009 Pg 3

Founders of the Voices for Congo organization spoke before a packed audience on March 13, to offer their concerns, their hopes and their voices to ending the horrors in the DRC. They each conveyed a stark reality that many Americans find surprising. The demand for cell phones, laptop computers, gaming devices and other hi-tech gadgets is what is fueling the continuation of the atrocities in the DRC. Vincent Chirimwami, Maguy Masikini and Jeremie Ruvunangiza told of the devastating consequences of minerals trade in their country. Chirimwami asked the audience whether after six million dead, “does it truly count?” The DRC counts for 80 percent of the coltan in the world. The mineral is key to the electrical capacitors of hi-tech components. With such vast resources, neighboring countries and the world market demands are fueled by the political unrest in the country. The mining of the mineral is usually performed in dangerous conditions. But it is the money and power that drives smugglers, militias and other groups to even more grave acts. The horrific rapes of women in the

country are some of the most brutal in the world. Those who survive suffer lifelong physical and mental effects. Few organizations have been documenting the severe abuses that has occurred in the DRC over the last decade. Amnesty International and the United Nations are working to keep attention on the events happening in the DRC, especially in East Congo where the use of rape as a tool of war takes on an entirely new meaning. Some of the graphic images Masikini showed to the audience drew unanimous gasps. Yet, she contends, it happens so frequently that most women wish for death over survival. Masikini said that hospitals are overrun with new cases. The medical community is ill-equipped to handle the overwhelming numbers. The Congolese Community of Oregon hopes to raise awareness about the atrocities and work for a political solution. Ruvunangiza said the U.S. is key to bringing about change. It cannot happen soon enough.

Justice for Colonel Paul Ndokayi Central African RAN Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) Craig Jewell Stock.Xchng

C

olonel Ndokayi was arrested on November 27, 2006 in Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Detained at the Special Services Police (DRGS) headquarters for about a month, he was tortured and subjected to other forms of serious ill-treatment. Held at the Kinshasa Penitentiary and Re-education Center (CPRK), he has not been tried or given the chance to challenge his detention. He is denied medical treatment for serious injuries suffered during his torture. Background

Colonel Paul Ndokayi is from the Equateur province of Congo, the province of origin of Jean Pierre Bemba, the leader of the opposition party, the Movement for the Liberation of the Congo (Mouvement pour la Liberation du Congo, MLC). He has served in the army since 1972, and was head of a program to demobilize former militias in the northeastern Ituri district and reintegrate them into the national army, the FARDC (Force Armées de la République Démocratique du Congo). »

AIUSA group 48 Newsletter April 2009 Pg 4

While on leave in Kinshasa on November 27, 2006, he was surrounded by a group of Rapid Intervention Police (PIR), who forced him into a vehicle and took him to the PIR detention center. The next day, he was interviewed by a colonel from the PIR who beat him, calling him 'a brother of (JeanPierre) Bemba'. The colonel then returned with five police officers, handcuffed him, took him outside, and again beat him. Later that day, Colonel Ndokayi was transferred to KinMazière, the headquarters of the Special Services Police (DRGS) in Kinshasa. On November 29, he was removed from the cell, beaten and tortured for five hours: almost, as his lawyer put it, 'to the point of death'. He was tied and his ankles chained. Made to lie on the floor, he was beaten with belts, truncheons and sticks and kicked in the head. He was also stabbed in the foot with a knife. He eventually lost consciousness and had to be revived by his torturers. A piece of wood was then forced between his fingers and his hand was struck, breaking his hand in several places. After around a month in DRGS detention, he was transferred to the CPRK, the central prison in the capital. In July 2007, he and several other former army officers from Equateur province were charged with 'terrorism', although it is not known when any legal proceedings will take place. He spent a month unable to leave his cell, was denied access to visitors, and had limited contact with his lawyer. Though he is now permitted to receive visitors, Colonel Ndokayi has never been brought before any judicial authority, and he has been denied the right to challenge the legality of his arrest and detention. When Amnesty International (AI) delegates met Colonel Ndokayi in prison in June 2007, he was suffering from pain across his body and poor mobility in his arms and hands. He complained of pain and bleeding from his ears, and had difficulty hearing. At no stage during his detention or in prison has he been given medical care for the serious injuries he sustained during torture. Action Request

Please write a polite letter to the following government officials on behalf of Colonel Ndokayi and in your letter: ◌◌ Express concerns over Colonel Ndokayi’s health following his torture.

◌◌Ask that Colonel Ndokayi be given immediate access adequate medical care. ◌◌ Request an independent investigation into the allegations that he was tortured and ill-treated, and for those responsible to be brought to justice. ◌◌Urge that Colonel Ndokayi be tried in accordance with international fair trial standards or be freed immediately. WRITE TO Head of State

Son Excellence Joseph Kabila President de la Republique Presidence de la Republique Palais de la Nation Avenue de Lemera Kinshasa-Gombe » AIUSA Group 48 Contact Information Group Coordinator Joanne Lau 971-221-5450 [email protected] Phone Guy & Darfur Marty Fromer 503-227-1878 [email protected] Concert Tabling Will Ware 503-227-5225 [email protected] Newsletter Editor Dan Webb 503-253-3491 [email protected] Treasurer Janan Stoll 503-282-8834 [email protected]

Legislative Coordinator Dan Johnson 503-310-4540 [email protected] Central Africa RAN OR State Death Penalty Coordinator Terrie Rodello 503-246-6836 [email protected] Central America RAN Marylou Noble 503-245-6923 marylou_noble@ yahoo.com Indonesia RAN Max White 503-292-8168 [email protected]

AIUSA group 48 Newsletter April 2009 Pg 5

Sample Letter

REPUBLIQUE DEMOCRATIQUE DU CONGO (DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO) E-mail: [email protected] Salutation: Dear President Kabila/Son Excellence Monsieur le President Minister of Justice and Human Rights

Mr Mutombo Bakafwa Nsenda Ministre de la Justice et Droits Humains Ministère de la Justice 228 Avenue de Lemera BP 3137 Kinshasa-Gombe, REPUBLIQUE DEMOCRATIQUE DU CONGO (DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO) Email [email protected] Salutation Cher ministre / Dear Minister SEND COPIES TO Ambassador Faida Mitifu

Embassy of the Democratic Republic of the Congo 1800 New Hampshire Ave, NW Washington, DC 20009

I am writing to express my deep concern for the health of Colonel Paul Ndokayi who is currently held in detention at the Kinshasa Penitentiary and Re-education Center. I understand that he was tortured in November 2006 while held at the headquarters of the “Special Services” police in KinMazière in Kinshasa and has not yet been given access to appropriate treatment for his serious injuries. I urge you to grant Colonel Ndokayi immediate access to adequate medical care and to launch a thorough and independent investigation into his reported torture and ill-treatment in order to bring those responsible to justice. I am particularly concerned that Colonel Ndokayi has never been brought before a judicial authority and has been denied the right to challenge the legality of his arrest and detention. I call on you to give Colonel Ndokayi a fair trial in accordance with international standards or free him immediately. Thank you for giving this important matter your attention. I look forward to hearing from you.

Human rights activist attacked in Russia April 1, 2009

A prominent Russian human rights activist who has long

Steve Woods Stock.Xchng

been critical of the government was assaulted near his Moscow home on Tuesday. Amnesty International has called on the Russian authorities to fully investigate the incident and bring those responsible to justice.

Lev Ponomarev, 67, was attacked by three men late on 31 March, according to For Human Rights, the non-governmental organization that he heads. He was thrown to the ground and kicked and beaten. “Far too many abuses against human rights and civil society activists, lawyers and journalists have gone unpunished and perpetrators believe they can act with total impunity,” said Nicola Duckworth, Europe and Central Asia Program Director. »

AIUSA group 48 Newsletter April 2009 Pg 6

“President Dmitry Medvedev and the Russian government must speak out clearly against the increasing climate of intolerance towards human rights defenders and send a message that such abuses, whether by private individuals or by state officials, will not be tolerated. “The continuing silence in view of the many recent threats and attacks will be equivalent to condoning such crimes.” Lev Ponomarev has been speaking out against a wide range of human rights violations in the Russian Federation for decades. More recently, he has been very critical of the authorities’ handling of the case of the oil company Yukos. A new trial of former head of Yukos, Mikhail Khodorkovskii, and his associate, Platon Lebedev, started on 3 March in Moscow. Just prior to the attack, Lev Ponomarev had met with Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger, the Rapporteur of the Parlia-

mentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, regarding allegations of politically-motivated abuses of the criminal justice system in connection with this trial. Lev Ponomarev has also criticized the Russian penal system repeatedly. At a press conference in June 2008, during which he described ill-treatment of detainees in penal colonies, he was attacked by a group of young people, allegedly acting on behalf of a Russian parliamentarian. The young men threw eggs at Lev Ponomarev and another human rights defender, Ludmilla Alekseeva, the head of the Moscow Helsinki Group. At the end of 2008, Lev Ponomarev told his family that he believed he was under surveillance.

Postage

AIUSA group 48 Newsletter April 2009