Petition Tag - amnesty international

1) We the undersigned demand the immediate and unconditional release of Mohammadreza Pourshajari !

2) We demand for Mohammadreza Pourshajari to receive urgently needed medical care for the torture wounds inflicted by prison authorities!

3) We demand the prison authorities, all government forces, agents, police, and basij to stop the inhumane torture of Iranian citizens in prison in Iran! "

Blogger “Mohammad Reza Poorshajari” with weblog name “Siamak Mehr” was arrested on September 21, 2010 at his apartment in Karaj, Iran. Mr. Poor Shajari has been jailed early June with heavy charges which have been attributed to him in Karaj Branch 109 court.

Currently he is awaiting his second trail that is scheduled for December 21, 2011. In this case, he will be trailed for “Insulting religious sanctities and propaganda against the system”. The Information Ministry and the prosecutor in Karaj intend to request death penalty.

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Peace and stability are the objectives that the United Nations have pledged to establish this Century.

Furthermore, in 2011, the United Nations have also marked the 30th anniversary of the publication of “Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief”.

We believe that all members of the United Nations have the duty to pursue the common goals of peace, stability and social justice that this body has striven for.

However, in the past couple of decades, for economic development, the government of Chinese Communists has been following a policy of progressive occupation of the neighbouring regions that it alleges to be its land and sea territories. A typical instance is the region of the South East Asia Pacific Sea that it calls China Sea, which has caused confusion in the international opinion.

Therefore, for the last six months, Nguyen thai Hoc Foundation has lead a campaign seeking online signatures (http://www.change.org/petitions/change-the-name-south-china-sea-to-southeast-asia-sea) demanding the change in name from China Sea to Southeast Asia Sea. This campaign has gathered 49,436 signatures from different individuals residing in 100 countries all over the world. The purpose of this campaign aims at restating the sovereignty of Viet Nam over the sea regions in question.

Another member of the United Nations, the Vietnamese Communist government, has constantly and fragrantly violated human rights that the United Nations had defined.

...

These past and present acts of aggression of the Chinese Communist government have intensified, and it could constitute the fuse that ignites a war that will undermine the stability and the prosperity of the South East Pacific region in particular and of the whole world as a whole.

And the acts of human rights violation of the government of Vietnamese Communist have reached a critical level, severely affecting the life of the Vietnamese population; these acts have also spread in the region and created an oppressive ambiance which threatening the stability and the prosperity of the neighbouring people and the world.

We invite everybody to join their efforts for the sake of peace, prosperity of the region and the whole world to support and sign for this Common Declaration on the South East Asia Pacific Sea.

Best regards and thank you all.

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Appeal on behalf of Mr. Shahin ZeinAli an Iranian journalist who is scheduled to serve a harsh sentence for activities namely membership in a legal political party and participating in peaceful gatherings.

We are writing to you on behalf of Mr. Shahin ZeinAli, a 29-year-old Iranian journalist who is scheduled to serve a harsh sentence for activities that do not appear to constitute a crime under the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, namely membership in a legal political party and participating in peaceful gatherings. What follows is the information that has caused us a great deal of concern.

According to the Iranian Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), in the morning of Wednesday, June 16, 2010, Shahin ZeinAli, a 29-year-old Iranian journalist was sentenced to two years, three months incarceration by Judge Pirabasi of the Revolutionary Court of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Reportedly, two years of the above mentioned sentence was for Shahin's alleged conspiracy against national security of the Islamic Republic of Iran through membership in a political party (Pan-Iranist Party). The remainder of Shain's sentence, 91 days, was for participating in illegal assemblies that resulted in chaos [presumably in the post- June 2009 disputed Iranian presidential election], interview with foreign media. Shahin will also have to pay a monetary penalty, in the amount of one million, five hundred Rial (approximately $150000).

Last year, Shahin was arrested at his residence, detained at Section 240 of notorious Evin prison in the north of Tehran. He was released after serving three weeks in solitary confinement. During the search of his home, his computer, computer files, academic and journalism-related books, news archives and other personal items were confiscated. Shahin has awaite the reurn of his personal property by the authorities to no avail. The security forces refuse to return to him what they have taken illegally from him.

Shahin was asked to present before Section 25 of the Revolutionary Court for last defence after four months of having no information on the status of his case. He attorney, Mr. Mohammad Mustafayee, continued his case to June 16, 2010, at which time he was notified of his two-year-three-month sentence.

We are asking the authorities of the Islamic Republic of Iran, including the presiding judge, Mr. PirAbbasi, Mr. Larijani, the heard of Judiciary, and Mr. Seyed Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, to commute this unjust sentence and apologize to Mr. ZeinAli and his family for undue hardship and anxiety caused by Mr. ZeinAli's arrest and related events (search, seizure of property and solitary confinement).

We thank you in advance for your kind and prompt attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

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The 15th branch of the Revolutionary Court in Tehran found Amir Reza Arefi guilty of Moharebeh, and based on articles 186, 187, 189, 190, 191 and 46 of the Islamic Penal Law sentenced him to death.

The 21-year-old Arefi is married and was arrested before the June presidential election on April 15th, 2009.

Arefi's lawyer, Mohammad Mostafai, said the 21-year-old man was sentenced in Tehran on February 17. The revolutionary court also ruled that Arefi tried to plant bombs at polling stations during the presidential election in June; But Arefi was arrested two months before the vote was held.

The 15th branch of the Revolutionary Court has found my 21-year-old client guilty of Moharebeh for his alleged membership in the Anjoman Padeshahi (an exiled monarchist group) and based on articles 186, 187, 189, 190, 191 and 46 of the Islamic Penal Law, has sentenced him to death.

Mostafaie and his client have 20 days to file an appeal.

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For peacefully raising a flag, Filep Karma and Yusak Pakage may spend the next decade or more in prison in Indonesia.

On December 1, 2004, some 200 people participated in a nonviolent ceremony outside Abepura in Papua Province during which the Morning Star flag, a symbol of Papuan independence, was raised in commemoration of the declaration of Papuan independence in 1962. The commemoration is celebrated annually by some Papuans. While approximately 200 people took part in the December 1 ceremony, hundreds more local people watched from the edge of the fields.

Indonesian police advanced on the crowd, firing shots and beating people with batons. At least four people were reportedly injured by bullets fired by the police, including two with wounds to the head. Police reportedly beat a human rights monitor from the Institute for Human Rights Study and Advocacy who was trying to photograph the police attack on the crowd. Outnumbered by the crowd, the police retreated temporarily until reinforcements arrived. They were then able to force an end to the ceremony.
Police arrested Filep Karma at the site of the ceremony, and reportedly beat and stomped on him during transport to the police station. A group of about 20 people were later arrested at the police station when they went to protest Mr. Karma’s arrest. This group was subsequently released, except for Yusak Pakage, who remained in detention with Filep Karma. The two men were later charged with rebellion for their role in leading and organizing the flag-raising event.

Supporters of independence for Papua Province have been among those jailed as prisoners of conscience in Indonesia. Simply attending a meeting at which the political status of Papua has been discussed can lead to one’s arrest.

In May 2005, a court sentenced Filep Karma to 15 years in prison and Yusak Pakage to 10 years on charges of treason for having "betrayed" Indonesia by flying the outlawed Papua flag.

While Amnesty International takes no position on the political status of any province of Indonesia, it believes that the right to freedom of expression includes the right to peacefully advocate independence or other political solutions and that these rights must be upheld.

Amnesty International considers Filep Karma and Yusak Pakage to be prisoners of conscience who have been detained purely for the peaceful and legitimate exercise of their right to freedom of expression. It calls on the government to free them and all other prisoners of conscience in Indonesia.

Amnesty International
Schwelm / Wuppertal
Postfach 126
58314 Schwelm
Germany

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The Turkish state and the government has long promised to the European Court and the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture, CPT, to change the brutal isolating conditions that has been held towards the Kurdish PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan during eleven years on the Imrali island prison in the Sea of Marmara in Turkey. This gave us hope that the isolation would be removed and that Ocalan's right to life and his human rights would be respected.

According to reports from both the CPT and the European Court, the condition Ocalan lives in is a clear violation of all international laws regarding the respect of a prisoner, his human rights and human dignity are therefore not reasonable. This fact threatens both his mental and physical health. That Ocalan's physical and mental health has significantly deteriorated by his confinement on Imrali and the conditions he is held captive in, is also witnessed by his relatives and his lawyers. It has long been said by the Turkish government that the conditions Ocalan has lived in during the recent ten years should change. The actual result of this change occurred by an emergency report that Ocalan himself, his lawyers and relatives have published for the national and the international community.

The report presents that the Turkish state has set up a new prison, which Ocalan was transferred to on Tuesday 17 November 2009. According to the Turkish Justice Minister Sadullah Ergin, nine other prisoners from different prisons around the country will also move there so that Ocalan will not be the sole prisoner on the island of Imrali. But no trace of this change has until now been recognized. Ocalan is still the only prisoner in a prison which is ten times more isolating and the conditions which he lives in are much more inhumane than the previous prevailing conditions.

Although the Turkish Ministry of Justice indicate that obvious changes have been made at the newly built prison on the island in order to improve the living conditions of Ocalan, the reality is quite the opposite. In the new prison and in the new cell which Ocalan is in, much worse conditions exist compared to the previous prison he has been held in. Ocalan’s new cell is only six square meters, while the previous cell was 13 square meters. The air conditioning is much worse than before, which leads to big difficulties in absorption of oxygen. The window is also extremely worse. It is constructed upwards and no oxygenated fresh air is let through. Its design prevents Ocalan from having a view of the outside world and the daylight that comes in from the window is very hot.

In his statement, on 18 November 2009, Ocalan describes his new living conditions by following:

"My new cell is half the size of my old cell and consists of six square meters. The air conditioning here is also much worse. In order to be able to inhale and exhale air, I must stand by the window and open it. The window here is built upwards and I have no view on the outside world. The only thing I can behold is the sky. When I have to open the window in order to get oxygen, the sun burns me greatly. Even though the heat from the sun is so unpleasant, that I feel like I will get a heat stroke, I am forced to stay by the open window in order to get oxygen. I have very severe breathing problems here. "

The Kurdish PKK leader's brother Mehmet Ocalan, who recently visited his brother at the newly established prison, on 18 November 2009, said in an interview with the press that the sharp deterioration had been made on Ocalan's living conditions at the prison by informing the following:

"In the name of improvement clear deterioration has been made. The cell that my brother now is living in is a room of six square meters, but the former was thirteen square meters. The air conditioning is significantly much worse and my brother has great difficulty in inhalation and exhalation of air. Ocalan said during the meeting to us that he feels that he at any time will be suffocated and that every time he tries to inhale air, it feels like his guts are coming out of his body. My brother was also subjected to solitary confinement during our meeting with him. Previously, the distance between him and us was ten metres less when we met him, but now Ocalan was buried in a cage of glas and the distance between us was thirty metres. We had to yell to hear each other. This was the worst meeting and the worst state we have seen him in during the ten years which Ocalan has been held in a Turkish prison. As Ocalan's family, we strongly protest against the Turkish government's actions against him. His deteriorated condition and state create considerable concern for us."

We, the Kurds in the Diaspora and Kurdish friends, would like to turn to Amnesty International & European Committee for the Prevention of Torture, CPT and all organizations which have the objective to work for humanity and human rights and we appeal for your humanity and your human attention on this serious issue. The above mentioned factors all point to a system, which is twice as much worse isolating and painful, has been established at the new prison. This has occurred despite CPT's demands for improvement of the conditions.

In Amnesty International reports the case has been highlighted a number of times in the past and even the organization has made an appeal that the social and psychological isolation, which Ocalan is subjected to, should end. Amnesty International has clearly expressed criticism against the CPT's latest report, which was published on 6 March 2008 and held a number of softer emphasizes against Turkey, on the case where it was revealed that Ocalan has been poisoned. Amnesty International had through their head office in London stated that the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture, CPT, was vague and weak in their indications and pressure on Turkey concerning the treatment and the poisoning of Ocalan. According to Amnesty International reports and international criteria, isolation is an extensive and dangerous crime of a man's physical and mental well-being.

That a country like Turkey, who has signed on most of the European criterias and laws for a humane treatment of detainees in prisons, promising to improve Abdullah Ocalan's situation and living conditions, but are instead doing the exact opposite, is both appalling and unacceptable. We hereby demand that Amnesty International and mainly that the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture, CPT, give attention to the case and that you put this on your agenda. We demand you to initiate immediate efforts and that you take actions against this brutal decomposition, where the aim is to slowly break down Abdullah Ocalan and thus conduct him into a life-threatening health condition - both mentally and physically. We demand that a delegation from your organizations visits the Imrali island prison in Turkey in order to follow up and to pay attention to the new changes that have been made. We demand CPT, who are responsible for this situation, to take their obligation, to fulfill their responsibility and to defend the rights the committee themselves have guaranteed.

That Abdullah Ocalan's death sentence was abolished was good news for everyone, but that the sentence was replaced by torture and painful isolation, which may be called as a white execution, is an inhumane fact which your organizations should not accept and therefore do everything in your power to both deter and prevent.

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Update: September 21, 2010 Trial has been held and the prosecutor has requested the death penalty by execution for Hossein 'Hoder' Derakhshan. The sentencing verdict has not been delivered to the court but the risk is implied. Please sign and forward petition to all contacts. Thank you.

Hossein 'Hoder' Derakhshan is an Iranian-Canadian Blogger, journalist, and internet activist. He has been advocating the use of the internet as a means for social and political reform in Iran.

He is credited with starting the blogging revolution in Iran and is called by many journalists as the father of Persian blogging or the 'Blogfather'. He also helped to promote podcasting in Iran. His weblog, like some other political Persian blogs and websites, has been blocked (or filtered) by the government in Iran, since 2004

On leaving Iran, he was shortly detained and summoned to the Ministry of Intelligence. A few days later he was interrogated by an intelligence official over the content of his blog and was forced to sign an apology before being allowed to leave Iran.

After returning to iran On November 1, 2008, Derakhshan was arrested at his family home in Tehran.
As of late April 2009, the New York Times stated that Derakhshan remained under detention and had not been charged. However, by late October 2009, approaching the one-year anniversary of his arrest, his family began speaking out to Persian and English-language media. His father, Hassan Derakhshan, most notably released an open letter to the new head of the Iranian Judiciary, Ayatollah Sadeq Larijani. asking for more information about his son's detention.

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On 13 June 2009 it was announced that President Ahmadinejad had won the presidential election. Hundreds of thousands of Iranians were subjected to draconian restrictions by the Iranian authorities of the right to freedom of expression.

Access to the Internet was and continues to be blocked or severely disturbed. Since the announcement of the election results, it is prohibited for Iranian newspapers to publish information about the unrest. Foreign journalists were banned from the streets, and some foreign reporters were expelled from the country.

According to Amnesty International representatives investigations, at least 2277 people were arrested by the police or the Basij militia during and after demonstrations across the country since 12 June 2009. This includes information from those close to well-known political figures such as Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mehdi Karroubi, and former President Khatami, who supported the campaign of Mir Hossein Mousavi.

Even human rights defenders and journalists have been arrested. On 16 June 2009, the lawyer and human rights defenders in detention Abdolfattah Soltani (UA-160/2009 of 19 June 2009). Journalist Saeed Hajjarian, who formerly belonged to the City Council of Tehran, and was advisor to former President Mohammad Khatami, was arrested on 16 June 2009. Since an attack in 2000, he is confined to a wheelchair. He was transferred from Evin prison to hospital on 3rd July 2009 (UA-159/2009 of 18 June 2009). On 24 June 2009 70 university graduates were arrested as they left a meeting with Mir Hossein Mousavi in his office. All but four were later released.

Among the detainees are Dr Ghorban Behzadian, the campaign manager of Mir Hossein Mousavi, and Ardeshir Amir Arjomand, a law professor at the Shahid Beheshti University. Hundreds more people were arrested during the demonstrations against the election results by security forces using excessive force. Many were beaten and killed by authorities. A total of 20 deaths were originally claimed. The actual number of fatalities, however, is far higher.

The journalist Issa Saharkhiz was arrested on 4 July 2009. Amnesty International considers him a prisoner of conscience, held in prison solely for the peaceful exercise of his right to freedom of expression - including his opinion about the presidential elections. Issa Saharkhiz is in danger of being tortured or mistreated in other ways.

The journalist had supported the presidential candidate Mehdi Karroubi in the election campaign. He was arrested on the 4th July in northern Iran and taken to an unknown place. Although his family and his lawyer have been trying to get information about the arrest of Issa Saharkhiz and his place of detention, the Iranian authorities failed to provide this information for a considerable time. It is now known He has been held at Evin Prison since July 4, 2009.

Update: Isa Saharkhiz, renowned journalist, was transferred from Evin to Rajai Shahr prison last year after the execution of a number of Kurdish citizens. Rajai Shahr prison is notorious for its inhumane conditions and prison officials are generally indifferent towards the health and well being of prisoners.

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Colombia is suffering one of the worst humanitarian and human rights crises in the world, finding its clearest expression in the continuation of the world’s second worst internal displacement crisis (after Sudan).

Colombians are forced to flee by armed groups seeking to establish territorial and economic control, or are simply caught up in the violence. Between 3 and 4 million people have fled their homes in the past two decades and Colombians make up the third largest refugee population in the world. In 2008 there was a sharp increase in forced displacement. Those who have been displaced are very unlikely to see any significant compensation, let alone the return of their lands.

Civil society organisations, trade unionists and journalists seeking to expose crimes and human rights violations, or calling for different development policies, do so at the risk of violence or death at the hands of the police, the army, the guerrilla, or a new generation of paramilitary groups. Though there have been some advances in high profile cases following international pressure, impunity for these crimes remain the norm in Colombia. The only sustainable way to reduce levels of threats and violence is to bring the perpetrators to justice.

One of the most troubling aspects of the Colombian human rights crisis is the premeditated murder by soldiers of young people or community leaders outside combat (extrajudicial executions). Another is the stigmatisation campaign against human rights defenders being carried out by government representatives.

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Amnesty International (AI) (a leading human rights watch dog, http://web.amnesty.org/) has started a campaign titled "Sri Lanka: Play by the Rules" to be held at the Cricket World Cup 2007.

http://web.amnesty.org/pages/lka-020407-petition-eng

However the ICC has said they will not get involved in the campaign and not allow them to enter cricket grounds to carry out this campaign, but the campaign is active. This petition is against AI's plans to invade sporting events to voice their opinion.

Having this kind of campaign not only takes away the beauty of the Cricket World Cup but it also demoralizes the Sri Lankan cricket team. This petition is against any future plans by the AI to use sporting events as platforms to voice their concerns.

This petition is not against the alegations they have raised against the government of Sri Lanka or the LTTE (That is a different argument altogether).

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This is an international petition to urge the Castro government to free Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet who is unjustly held in a Cuban prison. Dr. Biscet is an Amnesty International Prisoner of conscience.

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