Category: General News

The Pen Is Mightier Than The Thumbscrew

He was getting medical care for his son in Tijuana, northern Mexico, when they arrested him. Blindfolded, he is taken to a military base. Struck in the ribs, forced to walk on his knees, kicked, punched in the stomach. A plastic bag is put over his head to provoke near asphyxiation. Stripped, he is forced to lick clean the shoes of other detainees. Then he’s forced to sign a false statement. The authorities see the wounds; they do nothing.

You sit down and pick up a pen. ‘Dear President…’ Something about the government. Something about the Istanbul protocol – you take another biscuit – the international community, medical examinations, independent investigations… the letter meets the others, it’s put in the letterbox, you go home.

Angel Colon couldn’t stand up to his torturers, his imprisoners, the government. But thanks to thousands of similar letters, on 15 October 2014 the Mexican Federal Attorney General agreed to drop charges and release him unconditionally. Meriam Ibrahim, a Sudanese mother sentenced to death for her refusal to denounce her Christian faith; after over one million joined the Amnesty campaign, she was released, now living in New Hampshire.Two years ago, Mikhail Kosenko was committed to a closed psychiatric hospital by a compulsory treatment court order for his role in the Bolotnaya Square protest. He is now released. Nabeel Rajab, a prominent Bahraini human rights activist jailed for calling for anti-government protests, was released on 24 May. There are hundreds more success stories; all it takes is a brief Google search.

In December 2013, more than 2.3 million letters, emails, SMS messages, faxes and tweets were sent in Amnesty’s “Write for Rights” campaign, beating last year’s record of 1.9 million actions; and this year, the recently launched ‘Stop Torture’ campaign is seeking even more. Whether its letters of support for the family, the community, the survivor or to those directly responsible, Amnesty is a name to be feared and respected; whether it works, or doesn’t. In the words of Belarusian Ihar Tsikhanyuk, a drag artist and LGBTI activist beaten by police for being gay: “When I’m left with no hope to fight, I’ll get a letter and the light of hope appears again,” he said. “I remember I’m not alone”.

It’s not a popular opinion to have these days – most would rather absolve their guilt in cynicism – but people power is important, relevant, unifying. And it’s effective.

Bronte Philips

Palestine: When Aid Is Not Enough

The 139 square mile territory of the Gaza strip is what UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon calls “destruction beyond description”. 2170 dead on both sides during a 50 day bombardment in a brutal crackdown on ‘Hamas operatives’: 97% Palestinian, principally civilian, 500 children. 4 billion tons of lingering rubble: mosques, ambulances, beaches, schools of towering concrete flattened by ‘targeted’ drone attacks. One in five have access to water only once a week, the electricity only functioning for 4-6 hours every day, the sewage system demolished. Hospitals still standing are beyond full capacity, running on faulty equipment with an acute shortage of drugs for an acute overflow of casualties.

This is Gaza, two months after the assault. Only last Tuesday did building materials (scrupulously raided in search of arms) pass through the crossing with Israel. It wasn’t until a week ago that the international community pledged aid towards reparations.

Whilst the pledges in total amounted to £3.4 billion, if the last ten years have taught the Palestinians anything, it is that it is one achievement to raise the money, and yet another to collect it; the billions pledged in aid after the Operation 2008-9 were never received. Palestine is controversial. And this time the destruction is worse – much worse.
Firstly, the £3.4 billion is not just for Gaza; many countries included contributions already allotted for Palestine. Additionally, there are border blockades: Israel’s stranglehold still restricts goods entering Gaza, meaning the process of actually getting aid-materials in will be tortuously slow. At the Egyptian entry point, Egyptian authorities have refused to allow aid through, claiming the access point only sustains people (denied refugee status in Egypt), not urgent medical supplies.

Food is also scarce, the secret import tunnels into Gaza demolished and the trickle of food through the border and the 6-mile fishing area not enough to support the population; the 65,000 homeless have nothing to pay with. Yet even with one-off aid, without a lift in the crippled economy any sort of recovery will be slow. And who’s to say the area won’t be flattened again in a few year’s time? Aid to Israel has not been reduced.
So, what else? Yes, 130 different countries including Britain have voted for Palestine’s recognition as a state. But if the UN continues to preserve Israel as immune to International Law, possession of statehood will be irrelevant; the people of Gaza will not be protected. Meanwhile, 65,000 Gazans are facing a winter without a roof.

Bronte Philips

Michaelmas Cage Event – Sign Up Now !

This Michaelmas, from 14th – 16th October, the Amnesty Cage will emerge once again from hibernation to draw the startled attention of passers-by, perching on King’s Lawn in all its ancient and somewhat shabby glory. We need you to make it work! Cambridge Amnesty members have been spending their days and nights manning the petition stall and huddling behind bars for at least fourteen years. From one angle, that’s something to be proud of. From another, it illustrates just how longmany injustices still drag out.

One such injustice we continue to highlight this year is the detention of Shaker Aamer, a British resident and father of four who has been held since 2002 without charge in Guantánamo Bay. Despite President Barack Obama’s executive order of 2009, which committed the US Administration to closing Guantánamo within a year, 171 men are still held there. Shaker Aamer is the last British resident left in Guantánamo Bay, and despite calls for his return by the UK government, he remains in indefinite detention. This constitutes a serious human rights violation – one which by February 2012 will have continued for ten years.

Shaker Aamer must either be given a fair trial in US federal courts or released back to his wife and children in the UK. To make sure that he is not forgotten, and to keep the pressure firmly on the US government to end this travesty of justice, we will be getting petitions signed by the public and letting as many people as possible know what’s going on. Stand up for human rights, meet new people – and enjoy free biscuits!

To date, only one Guantánamo detainee has been transferred to the US mainland for trial in a civilian court; trials by military commission do not meet international standards of fairness.

Aamer is originally from Saudi Arabia but is married to a British citizen and has four British children. He had permission to live indefinitely in the UK when he was originally detained in Afghanistan by Afghan forces in the autumn of 2001.

Through his lawyer, Aamer has alleged that he was badly beaten and subjected to death threats in front of an MI5 officer as well as US intelligence officials while being secretly held and interrogated in Afghanistan in early 2002. In February 2002 Aamer was transferred to Guantánamo Bay. There are allegations that he was again tortured there, and he has spent long periods of his incarceration at the camp in solitary confinement.

Amnesty International UK Director Kate Allen sums it up: “Shaker has already had nine years of his life stolen from him, he says he’s been horribly tortured and he’s still sitting in a cell without any form of due process.”

Sign up here! Note: the purpose of the form is not to collect people’s availabilities, but rather to let you decide which slot you intend to attend. Signing up to more than one slot is possible and encouraged, but you are invited to attend all those to which you sign up for if possible !

Amnesty Week 1

Hello everyone ! We’ve had a lot of Freshers sign up to our mailing list this year. Here’s a recap of what’s happening this week:

  • Our first Action team meeting will take place on Sunday at 5, at the Union conference room.
  • On Monday we will have a squash at7 at the Maypole Pub (by the ADC Theatre), so come one, come all, to meet the wonderful people that make up Action Team and our Board.
Have fun ! Stay keen !

Site Reboot & Troy Davis Emergency

Onwards and upwards ! CUAI is back online and better than ever.

We would like to bring to attention the case of Troy Davis, whose execution has been set to the 21st September by the U.S. state of Georgia. The facts in his case are rife with witness coercion and lack of evidence, yet despite this and various campaigns by Human Rights associations, his death has been scheduled after 20 years in Death Row.

All hope is not lost, however, since the Court has allowed a clemency hearing on the 19th September, to decide if the execution will be carried  out at all. The time to act is now, and here’s what you can do to help : by going on the Amnesty International website, read up on the facts in his case, and send a message to the clemency board to help convince them that this execution should not take place !

Cage – sign up now available

Yes indeed the time has come to start signing up to be in this terms cage. We have loads and loads of slots both in the cage and on the stall that need to be taken by your lovely-selves, so sign up now. This term we’re campaigning once again for the release of Burmese political prisoners in particular the 88 generation Students group as well as Aung San Suu Kyi. Come to the action team this Sunday to find out why this cause is so incredibly important.

The cage takes place Fri 26th-Sun 28th of Feb. The link to sign up is this:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/QSLQYHW

Shell hits back at CU Amnesty protest

Shell have hit back after our protest outside the Senate House on Thursday 4th February – Shell Hell day – which asked Shell to stop gas flaring and to clean up their operations in the Niger Delta.  13 colleges at Cambridge university have investments in Shell and Shell sponsors the Engineering department. It’s for this reason that Cambridge is particularly responsible to request that Shell is doing everything it can to protect the communities who live in the regions they operate in.

Watch a video of the protest here by Cambridge News.

Read all about the Shell Hell campaign here. 

Read Shell’s come back comment here.

Read CU Amnesty’s further comments, in response to Shell here.

Thanks to everyone who supported Shell Hell day and signed our petitions – its good to know Shell’s listening.

Varsity Letter Writing

AMNESTY VARSITY LETTER WRITING 2010
Last year Oxford pipped us to the post in our challenge to write the most letters in a week- let’s not let that happen again!

Main event:
What: Letter writing and pancakes!
When? 1-4pm Tuesday 16th Feb
Where? Saunders Room, Newnham College
Who? Everyone Welcome

Plus, look our for events in your own college! ”

Let’s get writing!!!