Tower Hamlets and City Amnesty Group

Winter booksale 2011

2011-10-28T22:43:00.004+01:00

What's bigger than a mammoth? I don't know either, but our next booksale already has, like a beloved child, many names: The Son of Mammoth. The Daughter of Mammoth. The Mammoth Returns. And so on. (The last one was called a Mammoth Booksale in case you've forgotten.)

Now it's time to put the date in your diary: Sunday 27 November.

Put also the time in your diary: 11am to 4pm.

And if you have a big enough diary, make also a note of the place: The Vibe Bar, on Brick Lane.

It's going to be just like the last time. Only bigger and better.

LGBT rights

2011-10-28T22:28:00.002+01:00

No special rights, just the same human rights as for everyone else.

At our meeting a couple of weeks ago, we welcomed as a guest speaker Martin Lunnon, from AIUK's LGBT network. Martin first spoke about his personal experiences at the Belgrade Pride march only a few weeks ago. Last year the march went ahead, with heavy security to protect the participants. But this year's march was again banned at the last minute by the city authorities.

AIUK representatives have in the past few years also attended several other Pride events in eastern Europe, e.g. the Baltic states, Moscow, Poland, and Kosovo. Although these countries, some members of the EU, have anti-discrimination laws in place, they are not always properly enforced. There is open and violent hostility by political, civil and religious groups. A comparison was made to the Roma attacks we have taken action on in recent months. There is also some good progress, for example the situation in Poland seems much better than only a few years ago.

The aim of this work is to guarantee individual rights for all. The Pride actions have also created many vocal human rights activists in the countries in question, and developed links across Europe. Outside of Europe the situation is sadly often even worse, with constant threats of, and actual violence suffered by LGBT people. The death penalty is still the legal punishment for gay sex in several countries.

AI's work in this area begun properly at the International Council Meeting of 1991. The first lesbian prisoner of conscience was adopted in 1997. The UK LGBT network was also born around this time. In 1999 the first activist meeting was held in the UK. Today, AI has dedicated staff, working on decriminalisation of gay sex in Africa, relationship recognition in Latin America, and so on. There are networks in many countries, and LGBT issues have become a regular part of AI's work. Further information can be found at the AIUK website.

Martin also brought along an action for a man jailed in Cameroon for homosexuality and “attempted homosexuality”, and at risk of violence. Please complete the action!

Swish! Swap your clothes for human rights!

2011-10-12T23:20:00.002+01:00

Dear sisters,

CAST OFF YOUR CLOTHES AND BE FREE!

The City and Tower Hamlets Amnesty International Group would like to invite you to SWISH, an afternoon of unrivaled splendour (for ladies only, trans women welcome) on the afternoon of 22nd October at the Royal Inn on the Park, a really nice pub in Lauriston Road, Hackney E9 7HJ, on the edge of Victoria Park. You can bring along yesterday's cast offs from your boudoir and exchange them for trend-setting new fashions or the heady retro delights of a bygone era.

Drinks, refreshments, fun and agitation.

It will be a blast. Please come!

Entry suggested donation £8 waged / £4 unwaged.

22 October · 14:00 - 17:00
Royal Inn on the Park, 111 Lauriston Road, E9 7HJ

Street collection

2011-10-12T23:03:00.003+01:00

The annual London-wide street collection by local groups took place again last Saturday. Our group decided to do continue with our fancy dress theme from last year, so passers-by on Brick Lane were treated to some superhero collectors, such as Shoreditch Girl and Superwoman here. A fantastic amount of money was raised for Amnesty, and I believe a good time was had by all!

Remembering Troy Davis

2011-09-26T21:18:00.006+01:00

Last week saw hope, and then that hope quickly dashed, for Troy Davis. Despite a high-profile and world-wide campaign to get the courts in Georgia, USA, to grant him a retrial, Troy was executed on Thursday 22 September, after 20 years on death row. He had been convicted of a murder, based mainly on eyewitness testimony; seven of the nine witnesses have since recanted their evidence; many have said that police coerced them into their testimony; one has not spoken about the case at all; and the ninth is a suspect himself, who has even been heard to confess to the crime. Troy's case was clearly a tragedy, of someone most likely killed for a crime he did not commit.

At the moment, 139 countries in the world have abolished the death penalty, either in law or in practice. Last year, 67 countries still gave death sentences, but only 23 actually carried them out. Last year, at least 527 people were executed in the world outside China - there are no reliable figures for Chinese executions which are thought to number thousands every year. There has been progress in several countries, but 23 countries and 527 individuals plus an unknown number of Chinese people are still horrendous numbers.

And although it is perhaps easier to campaign against a clearly unjust execution, and for someone who appears innocent of the crimes they have been accused of, we should never forget that every execution is a crime against humanity, against article 3 of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights ("Everyone has the right to life"). So whether for armed robbery in Belarus, for being gay in Uganda, for drug smuggling in Singapore, for racist murder in the US, or for “enmity against God” in Iran, death penalty is always, everywhere, for every crime, and every non-crime simply wrong.

Troy died with his dignity and humanity intact. His last words were to his executioners: "For those about to take my life, may God have mercy on your souls. May God bless your souls.” Troy's campaign is over. But we can still keep on working.

We can send a message of solidarity to Troy's family.

We can read more about Amnesty's death penalty campaign.

We can work for every future person waiting to be executed.

Wherever they are, whatever they have been convicted of.

We can end this crime against humanity.

And we can remember Troy.

Urgent action - Troy Davis

2011-09-13T18:38:00.003+01:00

This is literally a matter of life and death. Please complete this action if you haven't already. It will only take a minute. Literally. And it could save somebody's life, who is most likely innocent for the crime he was convicted of. You can read more about the case here.

Coming next: New Voices

2011-07-04T21:52:00.004+01:00

The next event you will find us at will be the New Voices festival, organised by our friends Praxis.

We've had a stall there before, and it truly is a fantastic event: music, dance, and other entertainments by the many immigrant communities in east London. The legendary "Michael Jackson dancers" were spotted here two years ago.

We'll provide two activities: a refugee quiz for grown-ups, and the now-traditional umbrella-making for children. And why not grown-ups too?

The date is Saturday 16th July, and the programme runs from 12.30 to 6.30, at at Museum Gardens (next to the Museum of Childhood) in Bethnal Green. I don't even have to tell you to be there, you will have figured it out already.

Book sale memories

2011-07-04T21:38:00.005+01:00

It's been a little while already now, but it's never too late to remember our latest book sale success. Coincidentally, it was also the day of the worst weather Brick Lane had seen since, oh, at least the previous weekend. But it was raining a lot, so the traffic going past wasn't quite as busy as we'd hoped. On the other hand, we offered a nice place to hide from the downpour, which quite a few people gladly made use of.

So in the end, the sale actually went pretty well, despite the bad weather omens. By the end of the day, the till was full of sweet cash to be sent to AIUK, many a happy customer walked away carrying bags heavy with beautiful books, and we also had many many names on our petitions. And a fun day was had by all. Except maybe the poor people who volunteered to hand out flyers out in the rain...

And many thanks to the Vibe Bar for the great venue, and all their support on the day!

Not just any book sale, but a Mammoth book sale!

2011-06-08T20:28:00.004+01:00

So the time is nearly upon us. The books have been lovingly sorted, and competitively priced. A magnificent banner (see below) has been artfully painted, and with great difficulty hoisted up on railings, only to be taken down an hour or two later. But no fear, it is only resting, and waiting for the weekend, to be hoisted up on railings again.

So we're all set to go. According to some calculations, this is the biggest hoard of reading matter we have on our hands. The quality of the books is of the usual high standards - brand new books on just about any topic you can think of, and lots of fantastic fiction. This year's specialities seem to be fantasy and sci-fi, and boxes and boxes of beautiful science books.

So, you say, is it all about books and commerce? Not at all. There will be actions and Amnesty information too. The serious theme this time is Roma issues in eastern Europe.

So this is what you need to know. Location: The Vibe Bar, 91 - 95 Brick Lane, E1 6QL. Time: Sunday 12 June, 11am to 4pm.

So, see you all there?

Dates for diaries

2011-05-05T20:33:00.004+01:00

Just a bit of advance warning about some upcoming Amnesty events:

Celebrate 50 years of AI with London Met's Amnesty International Society. Friday 20th May, 6.30 - 11pm, City Campus, The Hub, 2 Goulston Street. Canapes, drinks, live music, actions, auctions, and much more!

Saturday 28th May is Amnesty's big 50th birthday bash. Our group will be demonstrating outside the Chinese embassy (from 2 to 4pm), and there are events all over town throughout the day. Check the AIUK website for full details.

Our grand summer book sale, the literary event of the year. Sunday 12th June, at the Vibe Bar, Brick Lane. I don't even have to big this one up.

You are also going to find us and our stall at the New Voices festival, organised by our friends at Praxis, in mid-July.

And then there's also going to be a SWISH, some time soon...

Transeuropa Festival

2011-05-05T20:28:00.005+01:00

This festival should be of interest to us too. One of the events is a debate on Roma discrimination in Europe (on 12 May - scroll down nearly all the way the page for the details). There is also much more that I didn't even have time to look at!

Roma actions

2011-05-05T20:14:00.003+01:00

As noted in the previous post, there are lots of actions we can all take around Roma mistreatment in Europe. Here are some current ones from the AIUK website:

Stop forced evictions in Serbia

End segregation of Romani children in Slovak schools

Stop forced evictions in Italy

Evicted families living in metal cabins next to a sewage treatment plant in Romania.

These are all quick and easy actions to do online. Off you go then!

Let's hope this time history does not repeat itself?

2011-04-10T22:02:00.001+01:00

I'm sure we're all familiar with this story. In the background there is economic hardship and political uncertainty. And although the story takes place in modern, "civilized" Europe, things get very ugly and uncivilized. A small minority of the population, which has never been treated particularly well, suddenly gets blamed for all kinds of bad things. Violent mobs, sometimes dressed up in military-style uniforms with strange new symbols on their sleeves harass, beat up, and even murder innocent passers-by, purely on the basis of their ethic background. The reaction from the government and the police is, at best, one of neglect, and at worst seeming to condone or even encourage the attacks. Some politicians talk openly about a "final solution".

As unbelievable it may seem, these events are not only found in history books. All of this is again taking place today, in Europe, to Roma minorities. Things are especially worrying in many countries of the former Eastern bloc, such as Hungary, Slovakia, Serbia, and Romania. Governments in some of these countries have long segregated Roma children into substandard special schools, which leaves the children with no prospects for higher education. Many Roma communities live in appalling conditions, and under threat of eviction. One recent Amnesty action relates to 75 Romanian Roma now living in metal cabins, next to a sewage treatment plant, since they were evicted from their homes. There have been several documented incidents of violence that local police have not investigated. And sadly things aren't always much better in countries closer to us either: France has been evicting Roma migrants from eastern Europe back to their countries of origin, against EU rules.

At least there is some hope in this situation. Action taken by Amnesty and individuals across Europe seems to be making a difference, especially in Hungary. One current action is on harassment of Roma by vigilante groups in villages in Hungary - the action is really easy to complete: just fill in your details in a form, and emails will be sent to Prime Minister Orban Viktor, and the Hungarian ambassador to the UK Borbála Czakó.

Our group recently invited Ulrike from the Hackney and Islington group to give us a talk about these Roma issues, and it was agreed that there must be more we can do. So watch this space for further information and actions. And as ever, there is also much more information on the AIUK website.

Will it make any difference?

2011-03-14T08:37:00.005Z

This is a question often asked when writing letters, sending postcards, and signing petitions. Sure, at least it makes us feel better, but will anything change because of it? Well, as it happens, things sometimes do change. AIUK has updates on this year's greetings card campaign on their website (you can also read about our group's efforts here). It is all worth reading, but take just one example:

"Coordinated physical attacks on the WOREC office have stopped".

WOREC (Women's Rehabilitation Centre) works for human rights for women in Nepal, and have suffered threats and harassment because of it. But they don't any more. WOREC was one of the dozen cases we selected for our action. And we have made a difference.

Donuts for justice!

2011-03-07T20:30:00.005Z

"Donuts for Justice!" That was just one of the many slogans used to tempt passers-by on Brick Lane on Sunday, 6 March. We were there to celebrate International Women's Day; a few days early for the actual day perhaps, but what a celebration! We had donuts for sale, and petitions to sign.

In only a few hours, we managed to sell all of the donuts, collect plenty of signatures on petitions for women's rights in Iran and Nicaragua, and a wonderful time was had by all.

PS - Many many thanks to the marvelous Eastside Books for lending their pavement for us!

Egypt rally/celebration

2011-02-13T10:44:00.007Z

Our group made an appearance at Trafalgar Square yesterday too. I won't even try to tell you about it in words, I'll let these pictures do their thousand words' worth instead.

Solidarity with the people of Egypt & North Africa

2011-02-09T20:16:00.003Z

This Saturday, 12th February, at Trafalgar Square, 12 to 2pm.

Our group will be there in force - meet at 11.50 by the statue of Edith Cavell, next to the entrance to the National Portrait Gallery. We'll also be doing some sneaky Burundi actions on the day. Well, Burundi and Egypt are both in Africa, right?

Film showing in Stratford

2011-02-09T20:12:00.002Z

Tuesday 15 February, at Stratford Picturehouse - come and support our friends at the Picturehouse! A film about a kidnapping in Columbia, including a Q&A with the directors. Our group is trying to attend too, but details are still to be confirmed.

Free Jean-Claude Kavumbagu

2011-01-12T21:19:00.006Z

At our meeting this week, we heard about Jean-Claude Kavumbagu, a journalist in Burundi. He has been jailed on charges of treason and defamation for criticizing the Burundian security services. We believe he has been detained solely for exercising his right to freedom of expression.

You can read more about his case, as well as other news from Burundi, on Richard Wilson's blog. There are also actions you can take on behalf of Jean-Claude. Please take a look. Last year our group campaigned for the release from prison of another Burundian journalist, Alexis Sinduhije. Happily, he is now free, and the leader of Burundi’s “Movement for Security and Democracy”.

Greetings card campaigning in snow

2011-01-12T20:50:00.006Z

It was a dark and stormy morning. 11am, 18 December, 2010 to be precise. Well, maybe not dark, or even that stormy, but it was snowing. Snowing a lot. A few brave members of the group had nonetheless managed to ski, slide, cycle, or even take the tube to Whitechapel Idea Store, for our traditional greetings card campaign action. The first picture, on the left, is what Dan looked like, emerging from the blizzard.

The idea of the greetings card campaign is to ask members of the public to write a solidarity card to someone in prison, a threatened human rights defender, or someone else worthy of support. So we set up our stall in the quiet library, as seen in our second picture, with our lovingly crafted postcards, information about the cases and about Amnesty, and some materials for children to pass the time with some crafts as well. And our balloon candle.

Yes, you did read that right. This kind of event just doesn't work without a stunt of some magnitude. This year we had asked a balloon artist to create an Amnesty candle out of, well what else but balloons. The candle was big enough for a person to get in it, so the artist was able to add to the surreality of it all by standing outside on the pavement, in the snowstorm, dressed in a candle, and tempting (nonexistent) passers-by to come in.

All that fun aside, the event was also a success from a card-writing point of view: about 70 cards were written and posted! Not bad, considering the circumstances. Last year it really was stormy, this year it was snow. Who knows what we will see next year...

Book bonanza

2010-12-05T18:09:00.005Z

Today was the big day. Dedicated members of the group got up well before sunrise, and met in the early hours of the morning at the Human Rights Action Centre, to load up a van with books. It was only a short drive to Rich Mix on Bethnal Green Road, where our fabulous book sale took place.

Tables laden with handsome volumes, an Amnesty candle made out of cupcakes (thanks to Jessica, our baking genius), and a special exhibition on the first 30 years of our group's history were all waiting for the dozens of customers who came, ate, bought, admired, and signed some petitions too. We didn't quite sell all of the books, but raised a very handsome amount of money for Amnesty indeed.

Many thanks to all who carried books, sorted books, prized books, carried books again, again, and again, or otherwise helped on the day. Extra special thanks to the lovely people at Rich Mix for offering us their great venue. The second picture below, by the way, is of the very first customers at 11am - it did get a lot busier soon after!

Book sale coming up!!!

2010-10-27T21:09:00.003+01:00

Very exciting! Coming up: Another episode in our spectacular series of book sales. On 5th of December, in cooperation with, and at Rich Mix.

Mountains of fantastic books, both pre-read and brand new. At silly silly prices.

The story of our group's first 30 years, told in words and pictures.

Live acoustic music.

Human rights.

Cake.

What else could you possibly want? Do believe the hype this time!

Rich Mix is at 35 - 47 Bethnal Green Road, London, E1 6LA.

The dirty thirty, and how to celebrate it?

2010-09-30T19:24:00.003+01:00

It was noted the other week, as Dan said that he'd been coming to our meetings since the group was formed in 1980, that this is an anniversary year for us!

Ignore for the time being the fact that it's taken us nearly ten months to discover this fact (mathematically and chronologically challenged perhaps?) . There was a brief discussion at our last meeting about the most appropriate ways of celebrating the newly-discovered birthday. In some exotic cultures this apparently involves references to "the dirty thirty", and ritual consumption of large amounts of alcohol. (Yes, in Canada, obviously.)

So how about it? How should a 30-year-old Amnesty group celebrate? All ideas welcome!

Our crafty ways

2010-09-30T19:07:00.004+01:00

At our meeting this week, it was arts and crafts time: we'd been asked to take part in an international show of solidarity on behalf of an Indonesian teacher, who is serving a 15-year jail term for protesting peacefully.

Johan Teterissa was arrested, with 21 other activists, in 2007 during a government-organised event in Ambon, the capital of Maluku province, attended by the President of Indonesia. The protestors performed a traditional war dance and unfurled the Benang Raja flag, perceived by government authorities to be a symbol of the Republic of South Maluku independence movement.

According to Amnesty, Johan has been tortured, and is consequently seriously ill, with no access to medical care. Amnesty is calling for his release.

The solidarity action was to create a small piece of fabric, which will form part of a "solidarity patchwork". So at the end of our meeting, a fabulous silk fabric patch was indeed created, with an Indonesian theme. "Melepaskan" means "Free".

There is, as usual, much more information at the AIUK website.

Standing in solidarity

2010-08-12T21:21:00.004+01:00

Summer or no summer, human rights are being abused. But regardless of the seasons, they are also being protected. And even when the quality of attendees far outstrips the quantity at our regular group meetings (every second and fourth Tuesday of every month, remember!), decisive action is being taken. At this week's meeting (8pm, at Dan's house, remember!) we took pictures of ourselves. And just how is taking pictures of anyone protecting human rights, I hear you ask. Well, I'm glad you asked.

Amnesty is collecting pictures of people, standing in solidarity with Burmese prisoners of conscience, with a name of a prisoner written on the palm of the right hand. All of these pictures will then be taken to the summit meeting of political leaders from Asia and Europe in Brussels in October - the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM). In the picture below, Victoria is demonstrating the correct posture, while Florian is using his fancy new phone to send a powerful message to the Burmese junta.

If you look carefully, you will also notice a kettle in the picture. Yes, there are hot and cold drinks on offer at our meetings too. It's not all just human rights talk, good deeds, and fabulous company.

For further details and instructions on how you can take part in this action, follow this link.

And in case you didn't notice the very subtle hints hidden in this post, we look forward to seeing you all at our next meeting, on Tuesday 24th August, 8pm!

A stall at a festival? Let's have two!

2010-07-11T19:42:00.008+01:00

It has been a tradition for a couple of years now, that our group has had a stall at the "New Voices Festival", organized by Praxis in Bethnal Green to bring together all the local communities, their music, dance, arts and foods. So for this year it was decided to have not one, but two stalls. One for children, to make and decorate the famous if not legendary little "refugees are ok" umbrellas. The other stall was for a more grown-up audience, with a refugee themed quiz and the usual Amnesty information.

The children (and their parents) loved the umbrella business, as ever. The quiz turned out to be hard even for people with advanced degrees in refugee studies. But fabulous prizes were still won in large numbers. Especially if you count sweets and Amnesty badges as fabulous. And really, who wouldn't?

The weather on the day was the kind that will be described as glorious in newspapers, the music and dancing were outstanding, and so a fantastic time was had by all.

The pictures below are of our grown-up stall (between Unicef and a Russian community group), the children's stall, the stage and the audience, and the children in action.

LGBT rights

2010-07-04T18:04:00.007+01:00

This weekend saw again central London taken over by the sequinned, dayglo hotpantsy, leathery, purple spectacle of Gay Pride. And Amnesty also had a float on the march through town on Saturday, with a giant inflatable rainbow, a soundsystem loaded with great cheesy pop, and a shiny bunch of volunteers bouncing along to Abba and handing out (extremely popular) "Love is a human right" stickers, and (not quite as popular) leaflets about LGBT human rights and Amnesty's work in this area.

So amongst all the glamour and glitter there is a serious message too. Although there is still work to do in the UK (and the second charitable aim of Pride 2010 is to tackle UK hate crimes), there has been enormous progress towards equality in the last few years. Sadly, the same can't be said of much of the rest of the world. There have been many cases in the news recently about the harassment and even violence suffered by LGBT people around the world.

With this in mind, the major campaign of this year's pride is "Love without Borders". The aims are to raise awareness of "the rights and plight of LGBT within the Commonwealth", creating links to LGBT organizations in countries such as Jamaica, Uganda and Nigeria, and finding ways of supporting their work. With the party over, a lot of hard work still remains.

Where does Amnesty stand on gambling, drinking, and animal cruelty?

2010-05-29T17:28:00.009+01:00

That vexing question was indeed raised at the George Tavern on Friday 21 May, when our group organized our first "race night" there. The idea behind the races is that a video of an old horse race is shown on a screen, and you can bet on one of the horses. Half the money went to a good cause (Amnesty International), the other half was shared among the winners. If it sounds complicated, it's probably because it is hard to explain, but once you're there it all suddenly starts making sense. What the action looks like can be seen in the first picture.

The evening got off to a somewhat surreal start, when the first race didn't have horses at all. Instead, it was a herd of pigs jogging around a track. Someone even talked about the possibility of a hamster race coming up. But things soon started heating up, as the serious betting got underway. Our secretary Victoria can be seen in our next photo, with actual money changing hands.

The audience got into the spirit of the night, and kept cheering their horses on with great enthusiasm. A number of dedicated punters had also embraced the theme of the night; note the gentleman with the top hat in our next exhibit...

...and the winners of the "Ascot" outfit competition with their stylish headware pose for a joint portrait in the last snap.

A great night of fun and games in other words. If you missed this, I can only recommend that you start petitioning the group for race night part two. It could happen!

(With special thanks again to Florian for the pictures!)

Would you do it in Whitechapel?

2010-05-26T20:14:00.004+01:00

Amnesty has an ongoing campaign, as part of its wider Demand Dignity/Poverty and Human Rights work, around Shell's actions in the Niger Delta. Decades of letting oil leak into the rivers, and burning (or "flaring") enormous amounts of natural gas has led to severe pollution in a globally important ecosystem, home to more than 30 million people. Fishing, farming and drinking water are all affected, with obvious consequences for the living conditions and livelihoods of the local communities. There are also health concerns for the people living in the area.

The Nigerian central government collects vast revenues from the oil companies, but very little of the money benefits the local communities. Nigeria also has laws in place against pollution and for regulating the oil industry, but enforcement of the laws does not seem effective at all. And in any case, Amnesty feels that Shell should work to higher standards than those required by Nigerian law when it comes to polluting the environment - one of the campaign themes is "you wouldn't do it here, don't do it in the Niger Delta".

As part of this wider Amnesty campaign, the London local groups organised a day of action at Shell petrol stations around London. That is why the City and Tower Hamlets group spent a Saturday afternoon (15th May) at the Whitechapel Shell station, collecting signatures to a petition to be delivered to the CEO of Shell, and raising awareness of the issues. And the reception on the pavement outside the station was exceptionally good - passers-by and even some Shell's customers were interested in hearing about the case and the campaign, and all in all we collected more than 200 signatures! Special mentions have to be given to Viola and Kate who did a wonderful job stopping people and getting them to sign the petition.

Click on this link for a picture of Viola collecting a signature - and this one for Kate collecting four!

London-wide, 100 activists, from 20 local Amnesty groups, collected more than 2000 signatures at nine Shell stations all around town. Truly, regional co-operation at its finest! Many more pictures from Whitechapel, and elsewhere in London can be found on Flickr.

And there is lots more information about the campaign, Amnesty actions, and things you can do yourself at the AIUK website. The London Region also has its own website, and a Facebook page dedicated to the Shell campaign.

Friday 21 May: Get ready for the first ever Amnesty Race Night!

2010-04-21T18:27:00.001+01:00

Place your bets... and dig out those Ascot outfits for a night at the races on Friday 21 May at 9pm at...

The George Tavern

373 Commercial Road

London E1 0LA

Entry is only a fiver! Order tickets via Eventbrite or e-mail racenightforamnesty@gmail.com

The first race will be screened at about 9.30pm and the last race at around 11.30pm. We expect to have six races.

Once the horses have run their course, there will be a DJ from 11:30pm 'til 3am.

This Race Night is being organised to raise awareness of the plight of Mongolians who were arrested after political protests in 2008 and remain in prison. For more information about the arbitrary arrests, detentions and ill-treatment, check out the Mongolia section of Amnesty International's 2009 Report.

Winners receive an equal share of 50% of the take on the race split between the winning bets. The other 50% of funds raised on each race will go to Amnesty as part of our fundraising programme.

Have fun and help support Amnesty's work - we look forward to seeing you there!

AIUK annual conference and AGM, Warwick University, 9-11 April 2010

2010-04-18T13:26:00.003+01:00

If you've spent any time near any Amnesty people, you will have heard about the annual conference, and probably heard many stories about it. I attended my first conference this year, and this is my story.

This year's conference was at Warwick University. A big and buzzing campus just outside Coventry. Ok, the buzzing part we'll have to take on trust, as most of the students were away on one of their many extended holidays. Kids today, eh?

The conference programme has many many workshops, lectures, and talks on all things Amnesty, and campaigns past, present and future. This year's guest talk was given by John Kampfner, from Index on Censorship. He talked about freedom of expression, and where the limits of that freedom should be; although personally feeling pretty bad about it, he nonetheless lobbied the BBC to allow the British National Party to appear on TV in Question Time. Interestingly this classical liberal take on freedoms didn't go down too well with some of the audience.

A panel discussion on Sunday morning, though admittedly not the best of times for it, was also really interesting: three experts on the developing superpowers of “BRICS” countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) discussed and answered questions on human rights in these countries. In conclusion, a mixed picture: there have been many positive developments, particularly in India and South Africa, but many concerns remain.

The weekend is also the annual general meeting (AGM) of the organization that is AIUK. A big part of the programme is therefore taken up by the running of the official side of Amnesty's work. And a big part of that big part is taken up by discussions and voting on various proposals. These can be made by the AIUK board, any local or student group or affiliate (these are mainly trade unions?), or any individual member. The proposals are usually asking that AIUK take on a cause or an area of campaigning, or suggest things to the International Secretariat for consideration. Most of these seem to be agreed by the AGM, and the board then needs to take them into the AIUK plans. In true voluntary organization style, the biggest debate was on a procedural matter, around the timescales that the board must implement the agreed proposals, and report back to the AGM.

All the proposals are first discussed in smaller groups or “working parties”, where amendments to them can also be proposed, discussed, and voted on. In the end, an indicative vote is taken on the popularity of each proposal. The final discussion takes place at the “plenary”, where everyone gets together. The proposers present their proposals, everyone gets to give their opinions, and the fate of each proposal is voted on. If it all sounds complicated, that's probably because it is. Someone had produced a flow chart on how the working parties work, and believe me, it came in handy in trying to figure out the difference between a friendly amendment, and an unfriendly one. But once you've seen it all in action, it does begin to make sense. There is also some other official AGM business to take care of, which is handled with such speed and efficiency that you hardly notice it.

Our own Dan handed out prizes for creative fundraising, assisted by Lady Godiva and her horse (for this spectacle to make sense I suppose you really had to be there). And the coveted prize for the local group that had raised the most money was again won by our neighbours south of the river, Blackheath and Greenwich, with a handsome £13,000 raised last year. And Leeds came second, not far behind in terms of £££. Yay Leeds!

And of course it's not all serious and official business only. There's plenty of time to catch up with old friends, make new ones, and stay up too late with the Leeds group when really you should have gone to bed when you all got thrown out of the student union bar after midnight. And there is where I will leave you, kind reader. In a student halls of residence kitchen, 3am on Sunday morning, an armwrestling match at the one end of the table, and a comparison of the Scandinavian and British welfare state models at the other end. What else could you possibly want from a weekend in the country?

Next year's conference will be in Belfast, in early May, by the way. Highly recommended if you can make it!

Pictures: Dan's ginormous petition to Shell about Niger Delta; Dan explaining the ginormous petition to Michael.

Birthday Card for Iwao Hakamada given to Japanese Embassy

2010-04-15T10:04:00.002+01:00

Iwao Hakamada, a death row prisoner for 42 years, turned 74 on the 10th of March. On his birthday, a delegation from Amnesty International, along with Alistair Carmichael, Chair of the UK All Party Parliamentary Group Against the Death Penalty met with the Political Secretary at the Japanese Embassy. They expressed their concern about how he was convicted, the length of his imprisonment and the impact on his mental health. The Political Secretary undertook to pass their concerns on to the Ambassador.

A giant birthday card was presented, covered in photos of people holding signs calling for the release of Iwao Hakamada.

Please write to the Japanese Minister of Justice and ask for Iwao Hakamada's release or re-trial. It only takes a few minutes.

Selling Books for Amnesty

2010-04-14T14:39:00.000+01:00

Thanks to the generosity of a private donor, we're now selling a small selection of good quality books on Amazon. The range goes from popular fiction titles to beautiful art books. We hope to have more available soon, so come take a look!

Your Chance at the Last Tracey Emin Notebook - Going, going...

2010-01-20T15:00:00.000Z

Tracey Emin generously donated six signed notebooks to our local group for fundraising and we're down to the very last one! Place your bid by mailing ssoffers (at) gmail.com To give an idea, the notebook put on eBay in November went for £31 + p&p. So the reserve is £25 which includes recorded delivery to mainland UK.

Bids will be accepted at £1 over the next highest offer. (Similar to the Ebay system regarding the final winning bid.) If there are two equal offers then the first received by email will be the winner. The winning bid will be published but the bidders will stay anonymous.

Auction ends at 20:00 on 7 February 2010. Try your luck!

Dimensions: H190 x W150 x D8mm

Write to Your MP to Support Iwao Hakamada

2010-01-18T16:40:00.007Z

This group has been working for the release of Iwao Hakamada who was sentenced to death in 1968. He has spent 42 years in prison in Japan, 29 of which in solitary confinement. Hakamada, who was found guilty of the murder of four members of the same family, was interrogated for 20 days without access to a lawyer and eventually convicted on the basis of a signed confession which he retracted at his trial.

Early Day Motion 188, which is sponsored by LibDem MP Timothy Farron, asks that the House denounce this injustice and that a fair trial be arranged. Unfortunately, there are currently only 22 signatures on the EDM though it was raised back in late November 2009.

So, please write to your MP, urging them to sign the EDM.
Please do it now - it only takes moments using this link
http://www.writetothem.com/
This link give you direct access to email / mail by post to your MP based on your postcode.

Further information:

Prisoners driven insane on Japan's death row, says Amnesty. 'Cruel' treatment including short-notice hangings, isolation and little exercise creates unbearable strain, says report - The Guardian, 10 September 2009.

The leading judge in the trial has always believed Hakamada's innocence. View video footage of Kumamoto Norimichi explaining how he came to oppose the death penalty and the influence of that case. (Subtitles can be enabled by clicking on the small arrow on the bottom right side of the player.)

Signed Tracey Emin notebook for sale

2009-11-22T17:36:00.002Z

Tracey Emin kindly donated a signed notebook to the City and Tower Hamlets Amnesty Group.

We are selling it through eBay. All proceeds go to Amnesty International.

See: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160380191971

A call to action: Londoner facing execution in China

2009-10-22T11:36:00.004+01:00

The City and Tower Hamlets Amnesty Group has joined the campaign to stop the execution of Londoner Akmal Shaikh.

Akmal, a 53-year-old father of five from Kentish Town, who is believed to be mentally ill, was sentenced to death in China for drug-smuggling on 29 October. He could be executed within days.

To join the campaign, please go to www.amnesty.org.uk/deathpenalty and write to the Chinese authorities, calling on the Supreme People's Court not to execute him and to allow him access to his family and any medical attention he may require, including psychiatric evaluation.

Background
According to Hong Kong and international media, Shaikh had been tricked by a criminal gang in Poland into taking heroin into China. Gang members had promised to introduce him to people in the music business, who would assist him with his music career, and arranged for him to travel to Kyrgyzstan and then to China; they asked him carry the luggage that contained the heroin. Believing that he was going to be able to launch a career as a pop star, he boarded a plane for China, carrying the piece of luggage.

Akmal Shaikh's family and lawyer have argued that he has suffered for many years with mental instability and is likely to have a bipolar disorder. Despite these claims, the Chinese authorities have refused to allow Akmal Shaikh to be examined by a doctor.

According to Article 18 of China's Criminal Law, a mental patient who commits a crime, and has not completely lost the ability to recognise or control his own conduct at the time, still has criminal responsibility but may be given a lighter punishment.

The death penalty is applicable to approximately 68 offences in China, including non-violent ones. China executes more people each year than any other country and while official statistics remain secret, Amnesty's figures show that China executed at least 1,718 people in 2008, nearly three-quarters (72%) of the world's executions. At least 7,003 people were sentenced to death in China last year. These figures represent a minimum - the real figures are undoubtedly much higher. Amnesty is urging China to introduce a legal procedure for clemency and to eliminate the death penalty for all non-violent crimes, with a view to establishing a moratorium on the death penalty.

Tracey Emin Sketchbook For Sale

2009-10-20T08:46:00.000+01:00

Tracey Emin very kindly donated us some nifty little sketchbooks, designed and autographed by her. Two of the six were sold at our annual summer festival and another one has just gone up on eBay. Check it out!

Amnesty as Art?

2009-10-15T23:53:00.002+01:00

After 100 days, the public art project in Trafalgar Square known as One & Other ended yesterday. 2,400 people, from all over the UK, each stood for an hour on the square's empty plinth.

Among the many worthy plinthers were at least two Amnesty supporters. Kevin's hour was on 4 August at midnight. His aim was to fold 1,000 cranes for Iwao Hakamada (whose case has been taken up by this group). Kevin also had a White Ribbon Scotland banner on display.

Three of us were on the ground in order to answer any questions that passersby had. Which in my case meant trying to dredge up enough Italian to explain "solitary confinement". Three times.

Alex S from the Reading local group was on the plinth at the unpopular hour of 3am on October 6. He commemorated the murder of journalist Anna Politkovskaya (as the 3 year anniversary was the next day) and human rights campaigner Natalia Estemirova . Alex also read out the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the names of the prisoners in Guantanamo Bay who still haven't been charged or tried. He also read poetry at various points. My favourite was "This Poem is Dangerous" by Elma Mitchell.

Another hour of interest was that of Brian C who was supporting one of Reprieve's cases: Linda Carty, who is on death row in Texas. He had a recording of her explaining her plight.

All of the plinthers' hours have been archived and are still available for viewing: Kevin H, Alex S and Brian C.

Street Collection

2009-10-10T14:31:00.008+01:00

Volunteers from Amnesty International are collecting money in the streets of London today. Our local group were in two places at once, Stratford and Liverpool Street Station.

It's the first time I've done a street collection for Amnesty. I was pleasantly surprised by how happy people were to be able to give us their money. The rise of the professional street fundraiser has left many of Amnesty's volunteers concerned about rattling their tins on the street: the last thing we want to do is be obnoxious.

While the majority clearly recognised that we were raising money for human rights, one smiling woman did go, "oh, animals!" while dropping her pound in. Technically, yes, just not the four-legged kind as I tried to explain. :-)

Standing still while wearing a bright yellow tabard also makes you a target for lost people. Maybe the candle emblem looks too much like an I for 'Information'... Which is fine, I'm happy to help.

Then there was the toddler who called me "Mummy". It must be the tabard.

Hopefully we'll have a nice tally at the end of the day. Thanks to all who donated, every penny counts!

Volunteers at Stratford, by Jussi

George Galloway to speak at annual festival!

2009-09-07T22:55:00.004+01:00

Local MP George Galloway will be coming along to speak at our festival this Sunday.

George gave an inspiring speech at last year's festival calling upon the international community to stand together against erosion of civil liberties worldwide... we even managed to get him in cage!

If you want to hear him speak, George will be with us at about 2pm.

End of Summer Festival!

2009-09-01T21:37:00.005+01:00

Yes its summer festival time again ... do come along and join us on 13th September for live music cakes and books!

This year our campaign focus is on the death penalty, as we've recently taken on the case of Hakamada Iwao (see panel on the right plus earlier blog posts)

If you want to help out on the day, please email the me on the email address shown in the right panel.

See you there!

No Bob Dylan puns here thanks

2009-08-15T19:54:00.004+01:00

It seems that an incident at the end of July has only just been reported. I'm sure it is very funny that the policemen didn't recognise Bob Dylan when they asked him for ID, and equally amusing that presumably they suspected he was a vagrant or other miscreant. But I don't find it amusing that police anywhere should be allowed to arrest anyone without any evidence at all that they were up to no good.

Read more comment here.

Award winning multi media on asylum seekers

2009-08-03T16:22:00.004+01:00

The National Theatre are currently displaying 2008's best press photos. It's a free exhibition upstairs outside the Lyttelton Theatre. There's a big mix of stuff including quite a lot of sporty shots of the Olympics as well as some harrowing images of the dead following the earthquake in China in May 08. You can read about the competition here. I did particularly enjoy the image of Ken Livingstone which you can see there....

I was drawn though to a multi media presentation on the plight of asylum seekers here in the UK. You can watch it here. To say that I am disgusted with the way we treat other human beings is a bit of an understatement. If ever I was glad to be a part of a body of people who campaign to stop injustices like these happening, it was then. When I'd watched this, far from feeling indignant but powerless, I felt spurred to new action and refreshed in my beliefs and convictions.

Hakamada Iwao

2009-07-27T19:56:00.004+01:00

The City and Tower Hamlets Amnesty Group recently took on the case of Hakamada Iwao, a prisoner who has been on death row in Japan for more that 40 years. More details about his case are shown in the panel on the right.

We believe that his trial was unfair as the evidence against him was largely based on a confession extracted under duress. Since his conviction, one of the judges of the case has stated publicly that he believed he was innocent.

Hakamada Iwao should be granted a fair retrial that conforms to international standards.

We are also calling upon the Japanese authorities to:

1) Abolish the interrogation system known as "daiyo kangoku" (see panel on the right), as this can facilitate further human rights violations such as torture and ill-treatment;

2) Improve prison conditions for those on death row in accordance with the recommendations of the UN Human Rights Committee;

3) Put an end to the death penalty in Japan.

What are we doing to help Hakamada Iwao?
The City and Tower Hamlets Group has been sending messages of solidarity to Hakamada. We have also been sending letters to the Japansese authorities. Our next step is to to look at raising the profile of the case locally and nationally.

To find out more about the case, please see: http://www.amnesty.org.uk/content.asp?CategoryID=11436

Our Square is Tiananmen Square

2009-07-25T13:39:00.008+01:00

To mark the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre, Amnesty International activists from across the world staged solidarity vigils in local squares, proclaiming "Our Square is Tianamen Square".

The City and Tower Hamlets Amnesty Group went to Tower Bridge, where we asked people to sign petitions and post cards of solidarity to the mothers of those who were killed at Tiananmen, twenty years ago

Stop the execution of Troy Davis!

2009-05-18T23:40:00.003+01:00

You may remember from an earlier post that Troy Davis was given a stay of execution in October last year.

This stay expired on 16 May 2009 and we need to send a strong message to the US Authorities that Troy's death sentence must be commuted.

JOIN US ON TUESDAY 19 MAY FOR A GLOBAL DAY OF ACTION FOR TROY DAVIS

On Tuesday 19 May 2009, people will be taking part in a global day of action for Troy Davis. Be part of it.

Time: 4:30pm to 6pm
Date: Tuesday 19 May 2009
Location: US Embassy, Grosvenor Square, London, W1A 2LQ (MAP)

Join us at 4:30pm to 6pm when we will be handing in a letter to the US Embassy and we will also be joined live on the phone by Troy's inspirational sister Martina.

Troy's case:
Troy Davis was sentenced to death for the murder of Police Officer Mark Allen MacPhail at a Burger King in Savannah, Georgia; a murder he maintains he did not commit. There was no physical evidence against him and the weapon used in the crime was never found. The case against him consisted entirely of witness testimony which contained inconsistencies even at the time of the trial. Since then, all but two of the state's non-police witnesses from the trial have recanted or contradicted their testimony. Many of these witnesses have stated in sworn affidavits that they were pressured or coerced by police into testifying or signing statements against Troy Davis.

One of the two witnesses who has not recanted his testimony is Sylvester "Red" Coles – the principle alternative suspect, according to the defense, against whom there is new evidence implicating him as the gunman. Nine individuals have signed affidavits implicating Sylvester Coles.

For more details and ways to take action, see: http://www.amnestyusa.org/death-penalty/troy-davis-finality-over-fairness/page.do?id=1011343

Good news on Alexis Sinduhije!

2009-05-18T23:20:00.004+01:00

Alexis Sinduhije, the leader of the Burundi opposition party of the Movement for Security and Democracy (Mouvement pour la Sécurité et la Démocratie, MSD), who was arrested in November 2008 and jailed on a charge of "insulting the president" has been acquitted and released. (See earlier post)

There had been speculation that the ruling party intended to keep him there at least until the next elections in 2010. However, a vocal international campaign against his detention seems to have paid off.

The City and Tower Hamlets Amnesty International Group had been active in writing letters to the Burundian Government on this case and we are thrilled to learn of his release.

Come to our Pub Quiz - Sunday 26th April

2009-04-18T16:32:00.004+01:00

City and Tower Hamlets Amnesty International Group has teamed up with the King Eddie pub on the Broadway, Straford for a pub quiz on Sunday 26th April.

The quiz starts at 8pm. There will be a human rights themed round and some fantastic prizes!

Come along, have some fun and help raise money for Amnesty!

See: http://www.kingeddie.co.uk/about.php for details of where to find the King Eddie and we hope to see you there!

Send a book to Mohammed el Gharani in Guantanamo Bay!

2009-03-09T21:25:00.003Z

Legal campaigning organisation Reprieve has launched a campaign calling for books to be sent to Guantanamo Bay detainee Mohammed el Gharani.

Mohammed was just 14 years old when he was wrongfully imprisoned in Guantanamo Bay seven years ago.

His release was ordered by a federal judge earlier this year, but his is still detained.

Mohammed spent his school years in a Guantanamo Bay, but loves books - particularly history. He recently told Reprieve attorneys that he is keen to read as much as possible to prepare for his release.

This is why Reprieve has launched this new campaign. Books need to arrive at the Reprieve offices by Saturday March 14

How to send a book:

1) Choose a book - one of your own, second-hand or new is fine
2) Write one sentence on why you have chosen it
3) Call or email Reprieve who will collect it from you and deliver it to Mohammed in Guantánamo Bay. Alternatively you can post at ‘A Book for Mohammed el Gharani’, Reprieve, PO Box 52742, London EC4P 4WS.

For more information see: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/event.php?eid=57244162108&ref=mf

or http://www.reprieve.org.uk/casework_mohammedelgharani.htm

Introducing Israel and Palestine ...

2009-02-15T15:17:00.006Z

The City and Tower Hamlets Amnesty International Group will be joining a new organisation known as "Cowboy Tactics 101" for an evening of live music and spoken word on Wednesday 25th February at the Rhythm Factory 16-18 Whitechapel Rd, E1 1EW.

The idea behind the event is to raise awareness about the issues in Israel/Palestine in a relaxed atmosphere ... and to enjoy the fantastic line up of talented musicians.

There will be a Q&A room all evening, where the speakers will be on hand to answer any questions. The City and Tower Hamlets Amnesty group will also be in this room providing information on Amnesty's postion and what action you can take to help improve the situation in Israel/Palestine.

The evening starts at 7pm. Entry is £5.

The event has been organised by Cowboy Tactics 101. For more information on Cowboy Tactics 101, see: http://www.myspace.com/cowboytactics101

Hope to see you there!

Liberez Alexis Sinduhije!

2009-02-09T22:44:00.003Z

At our last meeting at the end of January, Amnesty activist and writer Richard Carter came to speak to us about the detention of Alexis Sinduhije, the leader of the Burundi opposition party of the Movement for Security and Democracy (Mouvement pour la Sécurité et la Démocratie, MSD).

Alexis was arrested on 3 November during a MSD party meeting. Thirty-six others were also arrested, but have since been released. Alexis Sinduhije is currently detained in Mpimba Central Prison in the capital, Bujumbura.

He is a prisoner of conscience, held solely for expressing his political views.

Following our talk with Richard, the City and Tower Hamlets Amnesty International Group have chosen to take on his case and we are looking at the different ways we can put pressure on the Burundian Government to release him.

For more details on the case, see: http://blogs.amnesty.org.uk/blogs_entry.asp?eid=2307

100 Days

2009-01-19T21:00:00.002Z

Greetings card campaign comes to Whitechapel

2009-01-18T20:41:00.007Z

On Saturday 13th December, the City and Tower Hamlets Amnesty International Group brought Amnesty's Greetings Card campaign to Whitechapel ideas store, with much success.

The Campaign asks people to send a card with a friendly greeting or message of solidarity to someone who is in danger or unjustly imprisoned. These are prisoners of conscience, people under sentence of death, human rights defenders under threat because of their work, and others at risk.

The cards offer hope and encouragement and can also bring about change - the impression their international mail makes on police, prison staff or political authorities can help keep them safe.

We encouraged all at the ideas store to get involved whatever their ages and provided glitter and card, so that the children in the centre could help make the cards. Here is some of their handiwork:

Good news on Bu Dongwei!

2008-12-29T22:46:00.003Z

At our last meeting of 2008, the group learnt of the release of Bu Dongwei, a Falun Gong practitioner, who we have written letters about to the Chinese authorities on a number of ocassions.

He has now been reunited with his wife and daughter in the States. Thanks to everyone who took action on this case!

2009: Spotlight on China continues

2008-12-29T22:25:00.008Z

In 2008, the Chinese authorities failed to uphold their human rights promises, made when they were awarded the Games, and therefore betrayed the core values of the Olympics.

Amnesty International is working to ensure that the international pressure on China to improve its record on human rights continues beyond the Olympics, so that human rights defenders like Hu Jia (pictured) can be freed from prison and allowed to speak out against injustice.

Please go to http://www.amnesty.org.uk/actions_details.asp?ActionID=407 to find out more about his case and send a Greetings Card to give a message of hope to his wife, who is under house arrest with their young daughter.

June 2009 will mark the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen crackdown and Amnesty International will be organising a campaign event to put the spotlight back on China.

Watch this space for details on the Tower Hamlets and City Group's activities on China in 2009.

Booksale success!

2008-12-20T13:55:00.004Z

Thanks to everyone who came along to our fantastic booksale on 29th November at Bethnal Green Library. We raised around £800 for Amnesty!

WATCH THIS SPACE FOR DETAILS OF OUR NEXT BARGAIN BOOK AND CD SALE

We also had a massive number of postcards signed for the "No recourse to public funds campaign".

The campaign draws attention to the indefensible situation where women legally allowed to be in the UK (e.g on temporary work permits, student visas or spousal visas) cannot be given support and funds to help escape a violent situation. Women's refuges have to turn away these vulnerable women as a result. See http://www.amnesty.org.uk/content.asp?CategoryID=11227
for more details.

Greetings Card Campaign 2008 - Saturday 13th December

2008-12-12T13:57:00.004Z

Once again the City and Tower Hamlets Amnesty International Group will be holding a stall at the Whitechapel Ideas Store (next to Sainsbury's) to encourage people to send a message of solidarity in a greetings card to someone who is in danger or unjustly imprisoned.

This includes prisoners of conscience, people under sentence of death, human rights defenders under threat because of their work, and others at risk.

Last year one of the members of our group received a response to the card she sent to Jamil El Banna in Guantanamo Bay. See post from 11.07.07 to read how the card she sent made a real difference to him, helping lift his spirits.

Come and join us tomorrow (Saturday 13th December) from 11am-4pm at the Whitechapel Ideas Store and help make a difference!

PARTY, PARTY,PARTY!

2008-12-08T21:57:00.012Z

Come and join City and Tower Hamlets Amnesty and BPP Amnesty for a Christmas party on Thursday 11th December at 93 Feet East, Brick Lane from 8pm til 2am.

There will be an eccelectic mix of live music and DJs, including DJ Snuff, Afro Medusa, the Good Gods and many more...

Tickets are £5 and can be bought in advance or on the door. All money goes to Amnesty International. Email amnesty@bpplaw.co.uk for more details.

London Calling to City and Tower Hamlets members...

2008-12-04T19:24:00.012Z

At the end of November, while some of our members were hard at work preparing for our fantastic booksale (blog post to follow - with pictures), other City and Tower Hamlets members went along to the "London Calling ..." Amnesty conference for members of Amnesty who live in London. The picture above shows Amnesty members sending a message of solidarity to Iranian women who are fighting for equality.

The day started with a treat in the form of a very talented drummer brought in to help us wake up!

Following discussions in the Hall about how London members could work better together, we divided off to workshops to learn how we could campaign better online, how to use the press and to learn more about Amnesty's strategic plan. In the afternoon, workshops covered campaigning for individuals, making meetings more exciting and fundraising. These were useful workshops that stimulated thought and discussion.

We also heard from Marjorie, a refugee from Uganda. She told us her story of seeking asylum in the UK. One of our group members Kimbereley described her speech as the highlight of the day. It really brought home not only the human rights abuses happening abroad, but the real problems with the UK immigration system, she said.

Marjorie, now a UK citizen, experienced torture and rape in prison in Uganda

City and Tower Hamlets members also helped out on the day with stewarding duties.

It was a fantastic day and our thanks go to London Regional representatives Premal and Hugh for organising it.

City and Tower Hamlets Amnesty members get fired up...

2008-12-01T23:21:00.005Z

This Saturday members of the City and Tower Hamlets Amnesty International Group will be joining other London group members for a rally to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights ...

Join us from 4.30 in Potters Field Park next to City Hall (SE1) on Saturday 6th December.

We are one of the 30 locak groups to have designed a banner to depict one of the articles of the declaration.

As part of the rally everyone who comes along will be invited to hold candles and form the shape of the Amnesty candle.

We will also be asking people to sign Greetings Cards to send to prisoners of conscience around the world.

See you there!!

Time is running out on the Congo

2008-11-25T23:09:00.003Z

Amnesty International UK is holding a demonstration outside Downing Street tomorrow from 11.30 til 1pm to call upon the Government to do more to help the people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

AIUK says: The UK Government must pledge specialist equipment and resources, as well as urge partner nations to assist.

Please come along to show your support for the people of the DRC ... and bring a clock!

For more details, see: http://amnesty.org.uk/events_details.asp?ID=1087

Booksale!

2008-11-15T13:10:00.003Z

Busy ... busy ... busy!

2008-11-10T22:28:00.007Z

The City and Tower Hamlets Amnesty International Group is going to be very busy over the next few weeks and into December ...

We have a meeting tomorrow (11th November) to discuss the following ...

1) The organisation of our booksale on 29th November at Bethnal Green Library (see http://www.towerhamlets.gov.uk/templates/services/services-detail.cfm?sid=1838). We will be going along to the library in the weeks leading up to the event to help sort the books.

2) Our involvement in the "London-wide" rally on 6th December to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The City and Tower Hamlets Group will be representing the right to a fair trial

3) Our Greetings Card campaign plans (See http://www.amnesty.org.uk/content.asp?CategoryID=10673 )

4) We will also be discussing:

Attendance at the London wide conference - this is an opportunity for members of groups based in London to get together, hear about each others work and listen to some inspirational speakers - the conference is on 22nd November

Reclaim the Night on the evening of the 22nd of November (see http://www.amnesty.org.uk/content.asp?CategoryID=10673 )

AND the all important Christmas Party!

60th Anniversary of the UDHR

2008-11-03T22:49:00.005Z

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights turns 60 on 10th December 2008.

To celebrate the anniversary of this landmark document, local Amnesty International groups from across London have come together to organise a rally in the centre of the capital on Saturday 6th December from 4-6pm.

Watch this space for more information

Reclaim the night - Saturday 22nd November

2008-10-28T23:07:00.004Z

Join over 2000 marchers for the 2008 Reclaim the Night march on Saturday 22nd November from 6pm!

The Reclaim The Night march aims to give women a voice and a chance to reclaim the streets at night on a safe and empowering event. The idea is to put the issue of women's safety on the agenda for this night and every day.

The London Feminist Network revived the tradition of Reclaim the Night marches five years ago.

And this year, there will be some special five year anniversary celebrations.

When Reclaim The Night marches were started in the 1970s, women were appalled that only 1 in 3 rapists were ever convicted; shockingly today that figure is 1 in 20.

Assemble on Whitehall Place in Central London for this women only march to Friend’s Meeting House, Euston Road - where there will be a mixed rally for men and women with stalls and speakers.

Please see http://www.reclaimthenight.org/ for more details.

BOOKSALE - 29TH NOVEMBER

2008-10-28T22:40:00.008Z

Our mammouth booksale will take place on Saturday 29th November. Once again the lovely people at Bethnal Green Library have agreed to let us use one of the rooms in the library to sell their old stock, with all proceeds going to Amnesty International.

Please come along from 10am-4pm to pick yourself up a bargain book with prices starting at just 10p.

We will also be handing out some information about some of our campaigning work.

With Christmas fast approaching you simply cannot afford to miss our amazing booksale. See you there!!

We also need help sorting through the books in the weeks leading up to the booksale. Please email Sarah at the address in the panel on the right of this page for more information.

Stay of Execution for Troy Davis - Our action can make a difference

2008-10-25T12:13:00.005+01:00

Yesterday(Friday 24 October) Troy Davis was given a 25-day stay of execution from the 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals, dramatically illustrating just how effective taking action can be.

Troy was due to be executed, in Georgia, USA on Monday 27th October. He has spent 17 years on death row for a murder he maintains he did not commit. He was convicted solely on eyewitness testimony and there was no physical evidence linking him to his alleged crime. Since his trial, 7 of the 9 non-police witnesses, on whose evidence he was convicted, have recanted or changed their testimony with several citing police coercion.

Sadly, Troy's case is not alone and the death penalty is used in many countries around the world.

By supporting the work of Amnesty International and taking action on cases such as Troy's, you can help ensure that real justice is done.

The City and Tower Hamlets Amnesty Group will be watching Troy's case carefully as it develops. Watch this space for updates or see: http://www.amnesty.org.uk/content.asp?CategoryID=11458

Booksale - Provisional date 29th November

2008-10-17T19:01:00.006+01:00

You may remember that back in July, the City and Tower Hamlets Amnesty International Group organised a book sale at Bethnal Green library.

We raised around £1000 as people clamoured to get hold of former library books at a bargain price.

The event was so succesful that we're going to do it again! We have pencilled in 29th November for the sale ... watch this space for confirmation and more details.

News Flash: 42 days defeat

2008-10-13T23:50:00.010+01:00

The House of Lords has this evening voted against Government plans to allow the period of detention without trial to be extended to 42 days.

Following the defeat, the Home Secretary Jacqui Smith made an emergency Commons statement and announced that the 42 days proposal would be published in a separate, draft Bill that could be voted on in the event of a national emergency.

AIUK opposed the 42 day proposal from the start and City and Tower Hamlets Amnesty International Group has taken a keen interest in the curbing of civil liberties in the UK as a result of anti-terror legislation. We warmly welcome tonight's news!

See: http://www.amnesty.org.uk/e_preview.asp?web=1&MessageID=398&TransmissionID=1631&Body=HTML&User=YM63%2Fk0

Protect the Human Party at the George!

2008-10-13T21:51:00.021+01:00

Our Protect the Human party at The George pub on Saturday 10th October went down a storm!

The pub was packed with supporters who helped raise money for Amnesty International and who were treated to live music from an impressive lineup of talent....

Including ....

Tony Tsr

The Shanners

And ... Captive State

The aim of the evening was to raise awareness of human rights and promote the Protect the Human web site www.protectthehuman.com. Punters showed their support by signing actions to support two current Amnesty campaigns...

One of these two campaigns calls for the release of Mansour Ossanlu - a trade unionist detained in Iran because of his legitimate and peaceful activities as trade union activists and human rights defenders. (see earlier blog entry for more details)

The other campaign that we focused on looks the impact of the "no recourse to public funds" rule on vulnerable immigrant women.

Currently women who have moved to the UK to marry or who have come on temporary work permits or on student visas or spousal visas are unable to access women's refuges to escape a violent partner. This is because the "no recourse to public funds" rule says that a woman in this position - even if she's married to a British citizen - is not entitled to certain state benefits, including housing benefit and income support.

Amnesty International UK is calling for an exemption to this rule to ensure women are not forced to remain with a violent partner. See http://www.amnesty.org.uk/content.asp?CategoryID=11227 for more details.

Protect the Human - Take Action

2008-10-09T22:52:00.003+01:00

As well as encouraging revellers to enjoy fantastic musical performances at our Protect the Human party at the George Tavern this Saturday, we will also be asking them to take action to try and secure the release of Iranian trade unionist Mansour Ossanlu.

He has long suffered persecution by the Iranian authorities, spending several periods in prison because of legitimate and peaceful activities he has been involved with as a trade union activist and human rights defender. Mansour Ossanlu was detained on 10 July 2007 after meeting international union colleagues in Europe.

There are reports that he is at risk of losing his eyesight due to injuries sustained by government security forces in May 2005 and exacerbated by a lack of proper medical care by the Iranian authorities while in custody.

Watch this short film to learn more about his case: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=in-vF2LvITk

Take action: http://www.amnesty.org.uk/actions_details.asp?ActionID=352%20

We hope you can also make our Protect the Human event at the George this Saturday.

Secret Policeman's Ball - Stratford Picture House

2008-10-09T22:32:00.006+01:00

The Stratford Picture House held a live screening of Amnesty International UK's Secret Policeman's Ball last Saturday (4th October).

Members of the local City and Tower Hamlets Amnesty Group went along to provide information on Amnesty's work to those going along to the screening.

Protect the Human Party - Saturday 11th October

2008-10-06T21:14:00.003+01:00

This Saturday, join the City and Tower Hamlets Amnesty International Group for a musical extravaganza at the world famous George Tavern in Stepney, to mark the start of Protect the Human Week 2008.

We kick off at 8pm. Tom McKean and the Emperors, the Shanners as well as DJs Nick St Nick and K Questa will be playing live. We also have a special surprise guest.

The George Tavern can be found at 373 Commercial Road, London, E1 0LA. See you there ...

Stratford Picturehouse to hold LIVE screening of Secret Policeman's Ball

2008-09-27T14:46:00.002+01:00

Amnesty International's Secret Policeman’s Ball 08 will be broadcast live from the Royal Albert Hall to the Stratford Picturehouse on Saturday 4 October, 7.00.

Featuring leading comedy talent from both sides of the Atlantic performing cutting-edge comedy and brand new sketches. Frank Skinner, Alan Carr, Graham Norton, Sean Lock, Katy Brand, Tim Minchin, Kristen Schaal, Sarah Millican, Kayvan Novak, Russell Peters, Fearne Cotton, Meera Syal, Sean Williamson, Matt Berry, Katherine Parkinson, Mitchell and Webb, Russell Howard, Jason Manford, Shappi Khorsandi, Sharon Horgan, Nick Mohammed, Dan Clark, David Armand and many more to take to the stage at The Secret Policeman’s Ball 2008.

Running time approximately 3 hours 30 minutes.

Call the Stratford Picturehouse on 0871 704 2066 for more details

Suitable for over-18s only.

Cage or cake? George Galloway behind bars to support our campaign

2008-09-16T21:15:00.020+01:00

Cage or cake? That was the cry ringing out from Christchurch Gardens on Sunday as festival goers at the City and Tower Hamlets Amnesty International Group's End of Summer Festival were invited to roll the "war on terror" dice to discover their fate.

Roll "UK resident" and you would expect to be safe. However, for the UK residents still being held in Guantanamo Bay, this is far from the truth. Therefore, in our war on terror game, rolling "UK resident" put festival goers straight into the cage. (More information on the UK residents in Guantanamo Bay)

Free cake was on offer for those who rolled "known torturer" or "bounty hunter", to demonstrate the injustice of who wins and who loses in the international war on terror.

Unfortunately for George Galloway, the local MP for Bethnal Green and Bow, he found himself behind bars (see picture).

We let him out though to make an inspiring speech in which he spoke of hope that the international community could stop the erosion of civil liberties worldwide, in the same way as it stood together to crush apartheid in South Africa.

George was not the only local politician we banged up on Sunday. Local London Assembly member John Biggs also found himself behind bars, after a poor roll of the dice. He even put on an orange jumpsuit!

The rest of the day's festivities also went well. Hundreds and hundreds of books, CDs and DVDs as well as delicious cream teas were sold, raising over £1000 for Amnesty International. We also had some fantastic musical performances from the Navarinos, the London Uyghur Ensemble and two local orchestras as well as DJ Instrumental.

The sun shone, despite earlier forecasts for heavy rain and we all got a little bit sunburnt!

Annual festival - One week to go!

2008-09-07T12:55:00.003+01:00

There's only one week to go until our annual end of summer festival. This years theme is human rights both at home and abroad. We are looking at how the "war on terror" has affected human rights across the world as well as its impact on civil liberties here in the UK. We will have an interactive action relating to this, which we have entitled "Cage or Cake". Curious? Come along and find out what it is about! We will also have actions on women's human right both in the UK and further afield.

We still need volunteers for the day. Any volunteers to make hot food would be most welcome, as well as people to hep out on the stalls.

Contact Sarah for more details (see email in the panel on the right hand side).

Olympics 2008: A force for good in China?

2008-08-24T15:16:00.004+01:00

As the Beijing Olympics comes to end, the City and Tower Hamlets Amnesty International Group is urging the world to continue to put pressure on China to improve its human rights record.

During their campaign to secure the 2008 Olympics, the Chinese authorities declared that the human rights situation in China would improve if Beijing were chosen to host the Games. Wang Wei, Secretary General of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games Bid Committee stated,

‘We are confident that the Games coming to China not only promotes our economy but also enhances all social conditions, including education, health and human rights’.

However, the reality has been quite different. The run-up to the Games saw forced evictions from sites earmarked for development for Olympic facilities. Ye Guozhu was forcibly evicted when his home became part of a site for development in preparation for the Olympic Games. He was sentenced to four years' imprisonment after he sought permission to organise a demonstration in Beijing with other victims of forced evictions in December 2004.

For more information about his case and other human rights abuses in China, click on the
following link, which also shows you how you can take action: http://www.amnesty.org.uk/content.asp?CategoryID=10924

End of Summer Festival - 14th September

2008-07-31T21:26:00.003+01:00

We are now able to reveal the date for this year's end of summer festival . It will be on 14th September from 1 until 5 in Christchurch Gardens in Spitalfields (opposite the market).

As always, we are planning some fantastic musical performances, delicious food, a fantastic book and plant sale, as well as some all important campaign actions.

This is the main event in our calendar and we hope that this year will be even more spectacular!

If you want to help out, please contact Sarah through the email address in the right hand box of the blog.

We need: creative people to produce a flier and also to help with making campaign materials, people with cars to pick up book donations, volunteers to help price the books, scone makers, other chefs of fantastic foods, a local business to sponsor the day (??), donations for our tombola as well as volunteers for on the day to sell cream teas and food, sell books and plants, manage the tombola and to help on the campaign stall ...

Booksale raises over £1000

2008-07-31T21:20:00.002+01:00

On 12th July, the Group organised a book sale at Bethnal Green library. All the books on sale were former library books that needed to be disposed of. We sold childrens books at 10p a book and adult books at 50p.

There were queues out the door for most of the morning as people clamoured to get a bargain!! And despite the cheap prices we managed to raise around £1000.

Do not worry if you missed your chance this time as we are planning to hold a similar sale in October - details to be confirmed! Watch this space!!

HUMAN RIGHTS FOR CHINA

2008-07-31T20:51:00.008+01:00

On Saturday 28th June, the City and Tower Hamlets Amnesty International Group held a joint day of fun and action in conjuction with St John's Church in Stratford to raise awareness of Human Rights issues in China in the run up to the Beijing 2008 Olympics.

Hundreds of people signed our postcards, balling for the release of political prisoners in China. We pinned all of the signed postcards on "our great wall of China" (see picture below). We have since sent them.

We had a fantastic day with some beautiful musical performances, including a performance from the Uygur ensemble (see below), who also made it into the press coverage of the event. See:

http://www.eastlondonadvertiser.co.uk/content/towerhamlets/advertiser/news/story.aspx?brand=ELAOnline&category=news&tBrand=northlondon24&tCategory=newsela&itemid=WeED30

Tiananmen Square - 19 years on

2008-06-19T15:25:00.004+01:00

On 4th June, members of the City and Tower Hamlets Amnesty Group joined other Amnesty activists and the Tiananmen Square Mother's organisation in a mass demonstration outside the Chinese embassy in London to mark the 19th anniversary of the massacre.

We heard speeches from prominent dissident Wei Jingsheng; Tiananmen Square survivor Shao Jiang; UK Director of the Friends of the Tiananmen Mothers Xia Ze and Amnesty International UK Director Kate Allen.

We lay red roses outside the embassy in solidarity with the 'Tiananmen Mothers', who are not free to mourn their children publicly without fear of reprisals from the Chinese authorities.

Jump for Justice - Raising the Bar for Human Rights in China

2008-06-01T11:57:00.003+01:00

On Saturday 28th June, the City and Tower Hamlets Amnesty International Group have teamed up with St John's Church in Stratford to organise a day of action (and fun) to raise awareness of Human Rights issues in China in the run up to the Beijing 2008 Olympics.

The event will take place in the grounds of the St. John's church on Stratford Broadway in East London from 1pm-5pm.

This family friendly event will include live music, Chinese Cultural performers, sports demonstrations, Chinese themed refreshments and activities to embrace the culture of China and raise awareness for the many Human Rights issues facing the citizens of China.

Please come along and support the event and if you would like to help out contact Sarah through the email address shown on the right of the blog.

See also: http://jumpforjustice.stjohnse15.co.uk/index.html

Tiananmen Square Demonstration

2008-05-12T21:41:00.002+01:00

On 4 June, members of the City and Tower Hamlets Amnesty Group will be joining Amnesty International UK's demonstration at the Chinese Embassy from 6pm to 7pm on the 19th anniversary of the brutal crackdown on democracy protestors in Tiananmen Square.

The demonstration will show solidarity with the Tiananmen Mothers - a group of around 130 campaigners whose close relatives were killed or injured during the Tiananmen Square demonstrations in 1989.

Visible public action is also important in the run up to the Olympics to create international pressure on the Chinese authorities to live up to the promises they made on improving human rights when they won the right to stage the Olympics in China.

Amnesty's campaign not "anti-China"; it is against specific abusive policies of the Chinese regime and in support of the people who suffer from them, regardless of their ethnicity.

Please come and join us on 4th June at 6pm, outside the Chinese Embassy 49-51 Portland Place, W1B 1JL.

Olympic Torch

2008-04-07T22:02:00.009+01:00

The City and Tower Hamlets Group went out on Sunday 6th March to demontrate about human rights abuses in China as the Olympic Torch passed through Whitechapel.

Amnesty International is not calling for a boycott of the games. Instead, we want China to honour the promises it made to improve human rights when it was awarded the right to hold the Olympic in Beijing. More pressure must be put on the Chinese Authorities to reform, if the Games are going to leave a positive legacy for human rights in China.

See the following link for more details: http://www.amnesty.org.uk/news_details.asp?NewsID=17708

The City and Tower Hamlets Group are planning a demonstration in Stratford related to China later this year.

Amnesty International UK AGM

2008-04-07T20:53:00.009+01:00

Sarah represented the Group at the AGM this year.

The AGM voted on issues relating to sexual and reproductive rights, Burma, Indonesia and the Papua Region, China and a number of organisational matters.

Members of local groups in London met up and agreed to co-ordinate more actions on a pan-London level. We have set up a facebook group called Amnesty UK - London to help faciltate this.

We also heard from representatives from Amnesty International in China, Turkey and Norway and about the differing circumstances in which they operate.

We sent messages of solidarity to the human rights organisation Women of Zimbabwe Arise (Woza: http://www.wozazimbabwe.org/).

We also recorded a poignant demonstration of our solidarity with the Tiannemen Mothers - the women who lost their children during the protest in 1989, who still do not know exactly what happened to their children and who are denied the opprtunity to publically grieve for them. The recording will be sent out around the world and hopefully into China too.

There will be a demonstration in London on June 4th on the anniversary of Tiannemen Square - watch this space for more information.

Greetings Card Campaign

2007-11-28T14:52:00.000Z

Every year from the beginning of November to the end of January, Amnesty activists from around the world send greetings cards with messages of solidarity to prisoners of conscience, those awaiting the death penalty and human rights defenders under threat.

The City and Tower Hamlets Amnesty International Group is involved in this campaign every year. Last year, one of our members got a reply from the card, she sent to Jamil El Banna who is one of the UK residents in Guantanamo Bay (see earlier posts).

If you want to be involved, we will be at the Whitechapel Ideas Store on Saturday 8th December from 10.30 until 3.30 with cards for you to sign with your own individual messages.

Please come along and support this worthwhile campaign. The cards really can make a difference.

Protect the Human Week Party

2007-10-30T21:57:00.001Z

To mark Protect the Human Week we put a fabulous night of music at the George Tavern in Stepney. There was a wonderful acoustic set from Howard, and a lively set from ska band Brothers Bab which got everyone dancing! We also had two wonderful DJs. We raised £110 for Amnesty, had a couple of people join our group, and much fun was had by all.

Thanks to the bands and DJs, and especially to Jon and Emma from AIUK, who brought along loads of great posters and info leaflets about Amnesty - as well as a projector to display Amnesty films on the wall of the pub - these all helped meet the event's aim of raising awareness of human rights issues.

Pictures to follow.....!!

Sandblast festival this weekend!

2007-10-30T21:45:00.000Z

Sandblast festival is being held at Rich Mix Centre, Bethnal Green, on 3rd and 4th November from 11 am - 7 pm. It is a festival to give a voice to people from Western Sahara. The Tower Hamlets and City Amnesty Group will participate in the festival, undertaking actions for individuals at risk in the Western Sahara area.

Western Sahara is located along the Atlantic coast between Morocco and Mauritania. For over 30 years, close to 200,000 Saharawis have been refugees in the harsh Algerian desert near Tindouf, while tens of thousands more live without freedom in their own homeland, ignored and forgotten by the international community and media. Sandblast is a unique charity dedicated, through the arts, to empower the voices and visions of the Saharawi people and build awareness and support for their plight. Click here for more information about the event.

Blackheath and Greenwich AI Group booksale

2007-10-30T21:39:00.000Z

The Blackheath and Greenwich Amnesty Group holds its annual booksale on Saturday 17 November, from 10-4, at Church of Ascension, Dartmouth Row, Blackheath SE10. For more information, click here

Protect the Human Party - Friday 19 October!

2007-10-12T23:55:00.000+01:00

Come and celebrate national "Protect the Human Week" with an evening of live music and human rights campaigns.

The event is being held on Friday 19 October at The George Tavern, 373 Commercial Road, London, E1 0LA. 8 - 11 p.m. With a suggested voluntary donation of £3 to Amnesty International. Music will include the fabulous ska band Brother's Bab and others!

Protect the Human week is part of Amnesty's drive to get a million people in the UK standing up for humanity by 2011. At the event we will be running Amnesty's "Unsubscribe" campaign which unites people against human rights abuses in the 'war on terror'.

For too long the 'war on terror' has been used to justify acts of torture, 'rendition', discrimination and unlawful detention. Amnesty acknowledges that the perpetrators of terrorism must be brought to justice but believes this should be achieved without eroding the very values we are fighting to defend. The rule of international law and the protection offered by fundamental human rights mechanisms is being seriously violated. Governments assume you support such actions in the ‘war on terror’ but the truth is you’ve never been given a choice. Unsubscribe!

Sun shines on our summer festival

2007-10-02T20:58:00.000+01:00

The sun came out to play at our annual summer festival, making it the most successful yet.

A huge thank you to everyone who helped with transport, books, CDs, food, plants, pottery and music! It wouldn't have been possible without you...

Amongst the fun, we were campaigning for journalists at risk throughout the world, including City and Tower Hamlets group's 'individual at risk' case Sumi Khan.

In all festival goers completed 200 campaign postcards on 6 individual journalists, and the event raised around £1500.00 through sale of books, food and CDs.

End of Summer Festival 2007!

2007-08-19T15:43:00.000+01:00

As usual for this time of year we are currently in the throes of organising our end of summer festival.

It will be held on Sunday 16th September at the New Avenues Youth and Community Project, Christ Church Gardens on Commercial Street, opposite Spitalfields market.

This year's theme is journalists at risk and there will be a number of actions and notes of solidarity for people to sign.

There will also be live music from an eclectic mix of bands and DJs, international food, cream teas and a fantastic book and plant sale.

Please spread the word and come along and support us on the 16th.

If you want to help out - we need scone makers, drivers (with own transport), banner makers and people to man the stalls on the day - please contact Sarah on the email address shown in the right column of this page.

Jamil el Banna update

2007-08-14T21:52:00.000+01:00

We understand that Jamil el Banna (see below) has been cleared for release, although at this time it is unclear whether he will be returned to the UK or Jordan. More to follow...

Rise Festival

2007-07-26T10:52:00.000+01:00

The City and Tower Hamlets group were joined by the Hackney and Islington, and Mayfair and Soho groups on Sunday 15 July to campaign at the Rise Festival.

Together we collected postcards calling for an investigation into the murder of Claudina Velásquez, in Guatemala, and the rapes of two Mexican Women - Inés Fernández Ortega and Valentina Rosendo Cantú. (More information is available here and here)

We also displayed a visual exhibition on people trafficking in the UK.

Message from Camp Delta

2007-07-11T21:16:00.000+01:00

Our group was touched to receive a message from Jamil El Banna, a Detainee at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. We wrote a Greetings Card to Jamil El Banna in December last year, and are delighted to know our card provided some comfort. The postcard card is reproduced below

The message reads:

Dear Jenny,

Greeting. I hope you are well, and in good health. I thank you for the nice card, it's a big support to this ordeal which is now past four years. I will never forget this favour from you all for the rest of my life.

Gratefully,

Jamil El Banna

Vis Detention centre Guantanamo Bay, Cuba

Global Day for Dafur 29th April 2007

2007-05-01T21:14:00.001+01:00

Our banner in the first row and an hour glass filled with fake blood symbolised that the time is running out for the people in Darfur.

3500 people came to Whitehall to show their support (below). More on the BBC website and at Amnesty International UK.

Alan Johnston, Showing our support

2007-04-21T19:46:00.000+01:00

Sumi Khan

2007-03-22T14:16:00.000Z

After some consideration we have decided to campaign for the Bangladeshi journalist and human rights defender Sumi Khan.

Sumi Khan has written on the involvement of local politicians and religious groups in attacks on members of minority communities, and about kidnapping and land grabbing by landlords.

As a result of this, Sumi Khan has been the victim of numerous death threats, and on one occasion, a horrific attack which left her seriously injured. Despite this, Sumi Khan continues to publish her work.

We are very concerned about her safety, and Amnesty International considers her to be an individual at risk.

Please follow the link at the right to learn more.

Plans for 2007/2008

2007-03-05T13:58:00.000Z

As usual at this time of year we've had a bit of a think about what we want to do over the next 12 months.

We will be continuing with our work on the Stop Violence Against Women, Business and Human Rights and Death Penalty campaigns. We will also begin working on Terrorism, Security and Human Rights. Unfortunately this leaves us without the time to work on the Arms Control campaign this year, but if time permits then we may pick this up again.

By region, we decided to focus on West and Central Africa (which includes the DRC, a country we have worked on for a while) and China and East Asia.

We are also going to be taking on some individual case work, and are currently considering some of the individuals at risk we campaigned for at Christmas.