Group 48 Newsletter - December 2008

CHINA Regional Action Network

UA 331/08 Fear of torture and other ill-treatment CHINA Abdushukur Qurban (m) aged 32

Amnesty International Group 48 Newsletter December 2008

www.aipdx.org 503-227-1878 Next Meeting: Friday, December 12th

December 5, 2008) Abdushukur Qurban, an ethnic Uighur and father of three, was detained on 21 November in Penjim Township, Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region (XUAR). In violation of the 24-hour limit of family notification required by the Criminal Procedure Law, the police notified his family on 26 November that Abdushukur Qurban had been held on suspicion of crimes of endangering state security. Amnesty International believes he is at risk of torture and other ill-treatment. Abdushukur Qurban was first interrogated at a local police station in Penjim and then transferred to Yining (Gulja) City No. 1 Detention Center (also know as Yengi Hayat “New life” Prison) on 22 November. His family has not been allowed to visit Abdushukur Qurban since his detention and the authorities have turned down their request to release him on bail pending investigation. The family has also been refused permission to bring him winter clothing and blankets. Police have told Abdushukur Qurban’s family that he was “not admitting his guilt, and that they were searching for another suspect connected to him”. It is not known if Abdushukur Qurban has requested a lawyer or if he has access to one. Abdushukur Qurban’s family has been a target of police harassment for years. In 1999, the Qurban family and their neighbors gave refuge to, a religious teacher who was wanted by the authorities. The religious teacher was eventually arrested and sentenced to 17 years’ imprisonment for his involvement in a peaceful demonstration brutally broken up by the authorities in Gulja in 1997. Twelve villagers who hid him in their homes were sent to between 1-3 years in Reeducation through Labor(RTL).Abdushukur Qurban’s father received a 1-year RTL term. BACKGROUND INFORMATION Uighurs are a mainly Muslim ethnic minority who are concentrated primarily in XUAR. Since the 1980s, the Uighurs have been the target of systematic and extensive human rights violations. This includes arbitrary detention and imprisonment, incommunicado detention, and serious restrictions on religious freedom as well as cultural and social rights. Amnesty International is concerned that the high levels of repression in the XUAR are narrowing the space for any independent expression of Uighur ethnic, cultural or religious identity. Such expression, even when it takes the form of peaceful criticism, dissent or dissatisfaction, is often branded by the authorities constituting “separatist”, “terrorist” or “illegal religious” activities, leading to arbitrary detention, torture and other serious human rights violations. The Chinese authorities continue to use several provisions of the Criminal Law as political tools to suppress dissent. Broadly defined

First Unitarian Church 1011 SW 12th Ave 7:00pm informal gathering 7:30 Meeting starts

categories of crimes, such as “separatism”, “subversion”, “disturbing public order”, “endangering state security” and “leaking state secrets” continue to be used to prosecute those engaged in legitimate and peaceful human rights activities. They are at high risk of torture or other ill-treatment during detention and imprisonment and often deprived right to access to lawyers or family during detention. Despite repeated calls from reformists at home and overseas, the authorities have so far failed to review these provisions with a view to amending or repealing them so that they cannot be used to prosecute individuals in violation of their human rights. RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible: - urging the authorities to guarantee that Abdushukur Qurban is not tortured or ill-treated while he remains in custody; - urging the authorities to ensure Abdushukur Qurban has access to his family, legal assistance of his choice and any necessary medical treatment; - calling on the authorities to make a clear distinction between activities which involve the peaceful exercise of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights and those that would be internationally recognized as criminal acts; - calling on the authorities to either charge him with an internationally recognizable criminal offense or release him; - calling on the authorities to ensure that everyone in the XUAR is able to exercise their fundamental human rights regardless of race, religion or political opinion. APPEALS TO: Chairman of the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Regional People’sGovernment Nur BEKRI Zhuxi Xinjiang Weiwuer Zizhiqu Renmin Zhengfu 2 Zhongshanlu Wulumuqishi 830041 Xinjiang Weiwuer Zizhiqu PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA Email: [email protected] Salutation: Dear Chairman Secretary of the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Regional Party Committee WANG Lequan Shuji Zhonggong Xinjiang Weiwuer Zizhiqu Weiyuanhui 2 Jiankanglu Wulumuqishi 830002 Xinjiang Weiwuer Zizhiqu PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA Salutation: Dear Secretary (continued on next page)

Central Africa Regional Action Network

Urge Members of UN Security Council to Contribute to UN Forces in DRC without Delay

Sample Message Dear Minister,

To protect the people in the DRC, all members of the UN Security Council must contribute to the reinforcement of the UN troops in the DRC. This is not a time for delay or excuses. Action Request: Send an email to the members of the United Nations Security Council and urge them to contribute directly to the urgent reinforcement of MONUC, the UN peacekeeping force in the DRC. Please email the following members of the United Nations Security Council with the sample message: Belgium: Karel De Gucht, Minister of Foreign Affairs Email: [email protected] France: Bernard Kouchner, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Email: [email protected] South Africa: Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, Minister of Foreign Affairs Email: [email protected] United Kingdom: Rt. Hon David Miliband MP, Foreign Secretary Email: [email protected]

I welcome the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolution authorizing the reinforcement of the UN peacekeeping force in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), MONUC. It is now time to turn words into action. I am appealing to your country to urgently contribute to the reinforcement of MONUC with your own equipment, specialist personnel and troops and/or to use your voice as a member of the UNSC to encourage other states to contribute with theirs. In particular, I urge your government and other Security Council members to act and agree to: * Urgently contribute to the reinforcement of MONUC peacekeeping contingents in eastern DRC. * Urge all parties to the conflict to ensure that humanitarian aid agencies are not hindered in their work to provide aid to displaced people. * Call on all parties to stop committing violations of international humanitarian law and human rights law. * Press the governments of the DRC and Rwanda to refrain from providing support to armed groups operating in eastern DRC. * Assert that justice and an end to impunity must now have a central place in the search for durable peace in the Great Lakes Region. Finally, I implore the international community to develop lasting solutions to the conflict that has ravaged eastern DRC for more than 10 years. Sincerely,

(China action continued from previous page) COPIES TO: Ambassador Wen Zhong Zhou Embassy of the People’s Republic of China 2300 Connecticut Ave. NW Washington DC 20008 PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the AIUSA Urgent Action office if sending appeals af ter 16 January 2009. — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — ** POSTAGE RATES ** Within the United States: $0.27 - Postcards $0.42 - Letters and Cards (up to 1 oz.) To Mexico and Canada: $0.72 - Postcards $0.72 - Airmail Letters and Cards (up to 1 oz.) To all other destination countries: $0.94 - Postcards $0.94 - Airmail Letters and Cards (up to 1 oz.)

AI Group 48 Contact Info

Phone Guy Marty Fromer 503-227-1878 [email protected] Treasurer Janan Stoll, 503-282-8834 [email protected] Central Africa RAN Christine Glenn, Terrie Rodello 503-452-8087 [email protected] OR State Death Penalty Coordinator Terrie Rodello, 503-246-6836 [email protected] Legislative Coordinator Dan Johnson, 503-310-4540 [email protected]

China RAN Joanne Lau, 971-221-5450 [email protected] Philippine/Indonesia RAN Max White, 503-292-8168 [email protected] Central American RAN Marylou Noble 503-245-6923 [email protected] Newsletter Editor / Designer Dan Webb (503) 253-3491 [email protected]

(page two)

Urgent Action on behalf of Kidnapping Victims in Mexico 18 November 2008 UA 317/08 Fear for safety MEXICO Father Alejandro Solalinde Guerra (m), Catholic priest and migrants’ rights worker Migrants who witnessed the 5 November kidnapping in Las Anonas, Oaxaca state A group of 11 migrants who witnessed an armed gang kidnapping 12 women migrants in Las Anonas, Oaxaca state, have filed a criminal complaint with the federal authorities for kidnapping, extortion, theft and threats against those responsible. The migrants were aided by Father Alejandro Solalinde Guerra, who is the coordinator of the Catholic Pastoral Care Centre for Migrants in Southwestern Mexico (Pastoral de Movilidad Humana Pacífico Sur del Episcopado Mexicano) and director of a migrants’ shelter in the municipality of Ixtepec, Oaxaca state. The migrants and Father Alejandro Solalinde are at risk of reprisals by those who carried out the kidnappings. The incident took place on 5 November, in the locality of Las Anonas, Oaxaca state, where up to 12 migrant women were kidnapped by a group of armed men, some of whom were apparently wearing military fatigues. Some of the women were waiting to board a freight train, one of the principal forms of transport for irregular migrants heading north, while other women were removed directly from the train. Eyewitnesses claim that the train driver was paid by the armed men to stop the train. According to the witnesses’ testimony, other migrants present were threatened by the armed gang; and since the incident, the gang has tried to locate the witnesses who were staying in shelters in the area. Father Solalinde has been threatened repeatedly for his public condemnation of the treatment of migrants by both criminal gangs and Mexican officials. On one recent occasion, he was told that his shelter would be burnt down if he did not close it (see UA 191/08, 2 July 2008). In a separate incident, on 10 November, reports indicate that another group of armed men attacked a migrant holding cell (garita) in San Pedro Tapanatepec, Oaxaca state, run by the National Migration Institute, part of the federal Interior Ministry. The cell contained about 13 migrants waiting to be transported to the main migrant detention centre in Tapachula, Chiapas state. According to some witnesses, the armed men kidnapped up to eight women. The migration authorities deny that any women were abducted. Hundreds of thousands of people attempt to travel through Mexico from Central and South America every year to reach the US. Many are detained by the Mexican migration authorities and returned to their countries of origin. Amnesty International recently visited Mexico to investigate reports of human rights violations against these people. They found that many had been kidnapped by gangs, often collaborating with local officials. These gangs and the corrupt officials are almost never brought to justice and people who file complaints against them may face reprisals and fabricated criminal charges. This impunity has allowed abuses against the migrants, who are extremely vulnerable, to increase since about 2003, despite government commitments to ensure respect of migrants’ rights. Particularly vulnerable are women and children, who are at heightened risk of rape and trafficking.

RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible: - calling on the authorities to take appropriate protection measures to guarantee the safety of the 11 witnesses to the 5 November kidnappings so they can testify without fear of reprisals; - calling on the authorities to take appropriate protection measures to guarantee the safety of Father Alejandro Solalinde so he can continue his work to defend the rights of migrants in his area; - calling on the authorities to take appropriate protection measures to guarantee the safety of all migrants staying at the shelter Hermanos en el Camino, run by Father Alejandro Solalinde in Ixtepec, Oaxaca; - calling for a prompt and impartial investigation into the kidnappings of migrant women in Las Anonas and from the migrant detention cell in San Pedro Tapanatepec, and ensure those responsible are found and held to account; - calling on the authorities to take urgent steps to prevent attacks against migrants and migrant rights workers; - reminding the authorities that the UN Declaration on the Rights and Responsibilities of Individuals, Groups and Institutions 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. APPEALS TO: Attorney General of the Republic Lic. Eduardo Medina-Mora Icaza Procuraduría General de la República, Av. Paseo de la Reforma nº 211-213, Piso 16 Col. Cuauhtémoc, Del. Cuauhtémoc, México D.F. C.P. 06500 MEXICO Fax: 011 52 55 53 46 09 08 Salutation: Señor Procurador General/Dear Attorney General COPIES TO: Padre Alejandro Solalinde Guerra Casa del Migrante “Hermanos en el Camino” Av. Ferrocarril Pte no. 60, Barrio de la Soledad Ciudad Ixtepec, Oaxaca CP 701101 MÉXICO Ambassador Arturo Sarukhan Casamitjana Embassy of Mexico 1911 Pennsylvania Avenue N.W. Washington, D.C. 20006 Fax: 1 202 728 1698 Email: [email protected] PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the AIUSA Urgent Action office if sending appeals after 30 December 2008. (page three)

Indictments in Blackwater Shootings are Welcome Sign that U.S. Government May Finally Hold Contractors Accountable (New York, Dec 8th, 2008) — Erica Razook, director of Business and Human Rights at Amnesty International USA, issued the following statement today in response to the indictments of Blackwater Worldwide personnel in the Sept. 2007 killings of 17 Iraqi civilians near Baghdad: “For years, reports of serious human rights abuses by U.S. contractors in Iraq have been met with almost total impunity. Finally, today’s indictments are a meaningful step toward justice and a welcome signal that the Justice Department is pursuing criminal accountability of contractors who have largely escaped judicial scrutiny. “The Justice Department needs to take a second look at other cases of abuse which reportedly occurred at the hands of U.S. contractor personnel, including rape, other shootings and torture and mistreatment of detainees. The department has thus far declined to prosecute these cases for no apparent good reason. Certainly, there

is no jurisdictional issue for a case of detainee abuse that occurs within a U.S.-controlled facility, such as Abu Ghraib.” Amnesty International has called for the immediate investigation and prosecution of nearly two dozen cases of detainee abuse by contractor personnel referred to the Justice Department. Inquiries by Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL) revealed that prosecutors had “declined to prosecute” nearly all of the cases. Amnesty International is a Nobel Peace Prize-winning grassroots activist organization with more than 2.2 million supporters, activists and volunteers in more than 150 countries campaigning for human rights worldwide. The organization investigates and exposes abuses, educates and mobilizes the public, and works to protect people wherever justice, freedom, truth and dignity are denied.

Amnesty International USA Group 48 Portland, Oregon USA

Amnesty International Group 48 Newsletter December 2008