Amnesty International Group 22 Pasadena/Caltech News
Volume XIII Number 11, November-December 2005
UPCOMING EVENTS
Saturday, December 10, 8:00 AM to 2:00 PM. International Human Rights
Day Global Write-a-thon. Café Culture, 1359 North Altadena Drive,
Pasadena (Near Altadena Drive & Washington Boulevard). Drop by
anytime, have a cup of coffee, breakfast or lunch, sign a postcard,
write a letter and share a little conversation!
Monday, December 12, 8:30 PM. Death Penalty Vigil. All Saints Church,
132 N. Euclid Ave. Pasadena. Witness against the death penalty prior
to the scheduled execution of Stanley Williams. Service begins at 9:00
PM.
Sunday, December 18, 6:30 PM. Rights Readers Human Rights Book
Discussion Group. Special Location! Home of Lucas Kamp: 187 S.
Catalina, No. 2, Pasadena. This month we read Marjane Satrapi
illustrated memoir of growing up in Iran, Persepolis. (More below.)
Tuesday, January 10, 7:30 PM. Letter-writing Meeting at the Athenaeum.
Corner of California & Hill. Look for our table downstairs in the
cafeteria area. This informal gathering is a great for newcomers to
get acquainted with Amnesty!
Sunday, January 15, 6:30 PM. Rights Readers Human Rights Book
Discussion Group. Vroman's Book Bookstore, 695 E. Colorado Blvd.,
Pasadena. This month we read Edward P. Jones' Pulitzer-winning novel,
The Known World. (More info below.)
COORDINATOR'S CORNER
Hi all. It's been awhile since I've written the column- in September my
work schedule was too crazy!
Robert and I attended the Western Regional Conference, November 11-13
in San Francisco, as well as other group 22 members, Veronica Raymond,
Lucas Kamp, and Joyce Wolf. I am hurrying to write this as we are
driving home before it gets dark! The weather was great in "the city"--
not that we had much time to walk around! The conference was titled, "A
Turning Point for Human Rights" and addressed the need to keep fighting
for human rights in the repressive climate of the "War on Terror."
Workshops were held on human rights in US prisons, harassment of LGBT
persons by police, human rights and corporations, HIV-AIDS in Africa
and how gender and the debt crisis affect this, diversity in AI, and a
new POC from Honduras, just to mention a few. The opening plenary
featured Rebiya Kedeer, a Uighur woman (a religious and ethnic minority
in China), who was a POC that we wrote letters on behalf of in the
past. Although she spoke through a translator, the passion and
forcefulness of her speech came through. She reported that Uighurs are
still being persecuted in China, including members of her family. Some
are being held in Guantanamo! Not that everything was so serious-- we
also heard from Richard Montoya of Culture Clash, a well-known Latino
comedy and theatre group!
During the conference, several resolutions were discussed and voted on.
You may be interested to know that the "no-circ" resolution did not
make it out of the working party and therefore was not voted on! (This
was an attempt by a group of activists to equate male circumcision with
FGM, or female genital mutilation and to have AI pass a resolution
against male circumcision). Other resolutions dealt with putting more
focus on Prisoner of Conscience cases.
The ending session was a very interesting panel of speakers on "human
rights and the war on terror" which included the attorney who argued
Rumsfeld vs. Padilla, the director of the immigrant rights project of
ACLU, who is suing Don Rumsfeld and other high ranking commanders to
hold them accountable for torture and abuse of detainees in Iraq and
Afghanistan and an Iranian attorney based in San Francisco who is
defending Middle Eastern, South Asian and Muslim men targeted by the US
government solely on the basis of their ethnicity/religion. We also
heard from Steve Fainaru, Iraq Correspondent for the Washington Post,
who described his recent experiences in Iraq. He spoke about
accompanying US troops to villages where all the men/boys of military
age were "swept up" and then a paid informant randomly selected the
ones who were "terrorists" --those persons were then detained!
We also had our Christmas cards and "Animals for the Ethical Treatment
of people" tee shirts for sale, and we did pretty well. (I bought a tee
shirt from a group from Las Vegas, New Mexico!).
This month be sure to join us on International Human Rights Day,
December 10, at Cafe' Culture for our first (annual?) write-a-thon.
Drop by, enjoy a cup of coffee and write a letter or two!
Hope to see you at one of our December events!
Kathy aigp22@caltech.edu
RIGHTS READERS
Human Rights Book Discussion Group
Special Location!
187 S. Catalina Ave. No. 2, Pasadena
Contact Lucas at 626-795-1785 / lwkamp@sbcglobal.net for more
information
Sunday, December 18, 6:30 PM
Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
Wise, funny, and heartbreaking, Persepolis is Marjane Satrapi's memoir
of growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. In powerful
black-and-white comic strip images, Satrapi tells the story of her life
in Tehran from ages six to fourteen, years that saw the overthrow of
the Shah's regime, the triumph of the Islamic Revolution, and the
devastating effects of war with Iraq.
Persepolis paints an unforgettable portrait of daily life in Iran and
of the bewildering contradictions between home life and public life.
Marjane's child's-eye view of dethroned emperors, state-sanctioned
whippings, and heroes of the revolution allows us to learn as she does
the history of this fascinating country and of her own extraordinary
family. Intensely personal, profoundly political, and wholly original,
Persepolis is at once a story of growing up and a reminder of the human
cost of war and political repression. It shows how we carry on, with
laughter and tears, in the face of absurdity. And, finally, it
introduces us to an irresistible little girl with whom we cannot help
but fall in love.
RIGHTS READERS
Human Rights Book Discussion Group
Vroman's Bookstore
695 E. Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena
Sunday, January 15, 6:30 PM
The Known World by Edward P. Jones
In one of the most acclaimed novels in recent memory, Edward P. Jones,
two-time National Book Award finalist, tells the story of Henry
Townsend, a black farmer and former slave who falls under the tutelage
of William Robbins, the most powerful man in Manchester County,
Virginia. Making certain he never circumvents the law, Townsend runs
his affairs with unusual discipline. But when death takes him
unexpectedly, his widow, Caldonia, can't uphold the estate's order and
chaos ensues. In a daring and ambitious novel, Jones has woven a
footnote of history into an epic that takes an unflinching look at
slavery in all of its moral complexities.
DEATH PENALTY
Another California Execution set for January 17
If you haven't yet written a letter requesting clemency for Stanley
Williams, you may still do so using the addresses in this action. We
must turn however to the next scheduled execution (January 17) in
California. California People of Faith Working Against the Death
Penalty supplies us with the following background: Clarence Ray Allen,
a Choctow Indian, will turn 76 years old on Jan. 16, 2006, the day
before the state intends to execute him. If this execution is carried
out, Allen will be the oldest man put to death in the U.S. in over 60
years. Allen is in very poor health, suffering from advanced heart
disease and diabetes. He is confined to a wheelchair and nearly blind.
He suffered a major heart attack and on Sept. 2, 2005. He has been
nearly discipline-free for the past 23 years. Executing him now will be
gratuitous and uncivilized.
Case History. Allen was convicted in 1982 for ordering the murders of
three individuals while serving a life sentence at Folsom State Prison
for the murder of a young woman in 1974. Billy Hamilton, the man who
actually carried out the three murders, also received a death
sentence.
Case Status. On Jan. 24, 2005 the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals denied
Allen's petition for relief. On Oct. 3, 2005 the U.S. Supreme Court
denied Allen's request for relief. Attorney General Bill Lockyer has
requested that the Glenn County Superior Court set Allen's execution
date on Jan. 17, 2006.
Can We Trust This Death Sentence?
(1) Case depends on the testimony of unreliable informant witnesses.
All of the key witnesses against Allen at trial were co-participants in
the crimes that he was charged with. The prosecutor gave all of them
benefits in exchange for their testimony, including the promise that
some of the witnesses would not be charged with these very same
murders. All of these witnesses had obvious reasons to lie, shifting
blame and responsibility to Allen in order to protect themselves.
(2) Race is a factor in this case. Allen is Native American. All of
the victims are white. This case was tried in a rural, predominantly
white county. According to recent study published in the Santa Clara
Law Review, racial and geographic factors such as these,
inappropriately effect who is sentenced to death in California.
(3) Allen had an ineffective, poorly qualified lawyer. The 9th
Circuit Court of Appeals said in their opinion denying Allen relief,
"Trial counsel admits he did nothing to prepare for the penalty phase
until after the guilty verdicts were rendered, and even then, in what
little time was available, he failed sufficiently to investigate and
adequately present available mitigating evidence." His performance,
according to the court, "fell below an objective standard of
reasonableness."
(4) Other serious mistakes were made. The judge gave the jury the
wrong instructions on the law, stating "If you conclude that the
aggravating evidence outweighs the mitigating evidence, you shall
return a death sentence." This is not an accurate statement of the
law. The jury was completely misled by the judge and the prosecutor. In
addition, the jury should have considered only 3 aggravating factors,
but mistakenly considered 11 aggravating factors. On this issue, the
9th Circuit stated in its denial of relief, "No one disputes that the
trial court erred."
(5) How can we execute Allen while the Justice Commission investigates
these issues? The California Commission on the Fair Administration of
Justice has been established to study exactly these kinds of mistakes.
No one should be executed while the Justice Commission is conducting
this in-depth study. The Justice Commission must report its
recommendations to the Governor and Legislature by Dec. 31, 2007.
(6) This execution will not deter other murders. The percentage of
people convicted of murder who then murder again while in prison is
only one fifth of one percent -- regardless of whether the state does or
does not have the death penalty. The threat of death in those states
where it is available does not have even an incremental effect on that
rate. ("The Deterrent Effect of the Death Penalty on Prison Murder," W.
Wolfson in Bedau, The Death Penalty in America, 1982)
Please send letters and emails requesting clemency for Clarence Ray
Allen to the Governor and the Parole Board:
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
State Capitol Building
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: 916-445-2841
Fax: 916-445-4633
To send an Electronic Mail please visit:
http://www.govmail.ca.gov
Board of Parole Hearings
1515 K Street
Suite 600
Sacramento, CA 95814
(916) 445-4072
http://www.bpt.ca.gov/about_us.asp
CORPORATE ACTION NETWORK
Human Rights Violations in Oil-Rich Niger Delta
"It is like paradise and hell. They have everything. We have nothing...
If we protest, they send soldiers."
Eghare W.O. Ojhogar, chief of the Ugborodo community.
"I was told to kneel down on the beach with some of the chiefs and
their hands were tied behind their backs. Then the soldiers started
beating them with horsewhips, and told us to eat sand."
Cadbury George Omieh, Igno XXI, Amanyanabo (King) of Odioma.
Ten years after the execution of human rights advocate Ken Saro-Wiwa
and eight fellow activists, a new Amnesty International (AI) report
reveals that the people of Nigeria's oil-producing Niger Delta continue
to face death and devastation at the hands of security forces. In
particular, members of poverty-stricken communities who protest the
actions of Chevron, Shell or their subcontractors, or are suspected of
obstructing oil production, risk collective punishment by forces
charged with protecting major oil installations.
"A decade after executions that horrified the world, the exploitation
of oil in the Niger Delta continues to result in deprivation, injustice
and violence," said Dr. William F. Schulz, Executive Director for
Amnesty International USA (AIUSA). "Security forces are allowed to kill
and raze communities with impunity, and civilians who escape such
injustices often suffer the pollution that saps their health and
renders their economic livelihood impossible. That Nigeria's federal
government continues to turn a blind eye to its own people is
unconscionable."
The report, Ten Years On: injustice and violence haunt the oil Delta,
focuses on human rights violations committed this year at the Escravos
oil terminal and in the community of Odioma, both on the Niger Delta
coast:
On February 4, soldiers from Nigeria's Joint Task Force fired on
protesters from Ugborodo at Chevron Nigeria's Escravos oil terminal.
One man was shot and later died from his injuries while 30 other
demonstrators were injured, some of them seriously by blows from rifle
butts and other weapons. It took several hours to transport the injured
by boat to a hospital. Neither the government nor Chevron Nigeria
provided adequate medical care or assistance to transport the injured;
no thorough, independent inquiry has been carried out into the
incident.
On February 19, at least 17 people were killed and two women reportedly
were raped when Joint Task Force soldiers raided the Ijaw community of
Odioma. The raid ostensibly was to arrest members of an armed vigilante
group, but the suspects were not captured and about 80 percent of homes
in the area were destroyed. The previous month, Shell Nigeria had
withdrawn plans for oil exploration in the area, reportedly after
youths from Odioma demanded a halt to operations and the company became
aware that ownership of the land was disputed. An inquiry into the raid
has not been made public, no one has been charged and Odioma is now
almost deserted.
"Chevron must commission an independent, impartial investigation into
the company's role during the incidents at Escravos terminal," said
Mila Rosenthal, Director of AIUSA's Business and Human Rights Program.
"The company promised to ensure respect for human rights in its
worldwide operations, but its actions in Nigeria tell a different
story."
AI also demands that Shell investigate allegations of a security
arrangement between a Shell Nigeria subcontractor and a criminal group
in Odioma, and calls on the Nigerian federal government to conduct
thorough and independent inquiries into allegations that security
forces killed, injured and raped civilians and destroyed their
property. The findings should be made public and those responsible for
human rights violations brought justice.
Act now to support the human rights claims of the Niger Delta people.
Join the campaign for governments and companies to be accountable for
human rights abuses in the communities of the Niger Delta.
Call on The Nigerian federal government to:
- urgently conduct thorough and independent inquiries into allegations
that the security forces killed, injured or attacked civilians or
damaged their property in incidents on 4 February 2005 at Escravos
terminal and on 19 February 2005 in Odioma, to establish whether
excessive force was used; make public the findings of these inquiries
and of the Bayelsa State inquiry into the Odioma case; and bring those
responsible for human rights violations to justice ensure that all
members of the security forces receive training in international
standards on the use of force and firearms, in particular the 1979 UN
Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials and the 1990 UN Basic
Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement
Officials
His Excellency
Olusegun Obasanjo
President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria
Office of the President, Aso Rock
Abuja, Federal Capital Territory
Nigeria
Call on Chevron to
- commission an independent and impartial investigation into Chevron
Nigeria's role, responsibility and conduct in relation to incidents on
4 February 2005 at Escravos terminal in which the security forces
allegedly killed, injured or attacked civilians suspend all security
arrangements with individuals who have allegedly abused human rights
and terminate the arrangements if the individuals are found after
investigation to be responsible for such abuses; and make public the
findings of such investigation.
David J. O'Reilly
Chairman of the board and Chief Executive Officer
Chevron Corporation
6001 Bollinger Canyon Rd
San Ramon, CA 94583, USA
Call on Shell to
- investigate allegations of a security arrangement between a Shell
Nigeria subcontractor and a criminal group in Odioma; make public the
findings of such investigations; and halt immediately any
subcontractual relationship that is found to benefit criminals either
directly or indirectly.
Jeroen van der Veer
Chief Executive Officer
Shell International
Shell Centre
London SE1 7NA, UK
LETTER COUNT
Denounce Torture 10
OutFront 10
Death Penalty 25
Urgent Actions 18
Total: 63
Want to add your letters to the total? Get in touch with
lwkamp@sbcglobal.net
DENOUNCE TORTURE
Force Feeding of Prisoners at Guantanamo
Some of the Guantanamo detainees who have been on hunger strike since
12 August are being forcibly fed by the authorities. Some of those who
participated in the hunger strike, including Saudi Arabian national
Yousef al-Shehri, may not be receiving adequate medical treatment for
injuries he apparently sustained during force-feeding.
On 26 October a District Court judge ruled that lawyers for the hunger
strikers must be informed by US authorities 24 hours before the
detainees are force-fed. Ruling on a petition filed by a law firm
representing ten Guantanamo detainees from Qatar, Yemen, Saudi Arabia
and Afghanistan, Judge Gladys Kessler also ordered the US government to
give the lawyers access to their client's medical records for the week
prior to any force-feeding.
Lawyers for the ten detainees visited Guantanamo from 30 September to 2
October and met a number of their clients, including two participating
in the current hunger strike. One of their clients, Yousef al-Shehri,
described how after approximately seven days without food or water, he
and four other prisoners were taken to the camp hospital where they
were verbally abused, insulted and placed in shackles or other
restraints on their arms, legs, waist, chest, knees and head. After
this he said they were given intravenous medication and described how,
if they moved, they were hit in the chest area. The detainees were then
apparently told, falsely, that a court had ordered that they be
forcibly fed. The petition describes how Yousef al-Shehri, who is
believed to have been a juvenile when initially detained, was
administered the force-feeding: "Yousef was given no anaesthesia or
sedative for the procedure; instead two soldiers restrained him -- one
holding his chin while the other held him back by his hair, and a
medical staff member forcefully inserted the tube in his nose and down
his throat. Much blood came out of his nose..." After two or three days
he was given liquid supplement through the tube. He said that he and
other prisoners were "vomiting up substantial amounts of blood. When
they vomited up blood, the soldiers mocked and cursed them, and taunted
them with statements like 'look what your religion has brought you.'"
After two weeks of force-feeding, the detainees said that they were
transferred from the hospital and placed in solitary cells. They
described how the soldiers laughed and made fun of them, rattled the
bars on their cells day and night and interrupted their prayers. After
five days they describe being transferred to a different area with foam
walls, and a hole in the floor for a toilet. Here they allege that the
guards began inserting larger, thicker tubes into their noses.
According to Yousef al-Shehri, these larger tubes were forcibly
inserted up their noses and down into their stomachs without
anaesthesia or sedative. When the tube was removed, he described how
"blood came gushing out of him". He and several other detainees
apparently fainted and told that the tubes would be inserted and
removed twice a day until the hunger strike ended. The tubes were
reportedly forcibly inserted and removed in a brutal manner by men
identified by prisoners as members of the Immediate Reaction Force
(IRF) rather than by the doctors who were present in the room. On one
occasion a member of the IRF is said to have taken the tube from the
nose of one detainee and re-inserted it into another detainee's nose
without cleaning it first. A doctor was apparently present at the time,
but did nothing to intervene,
according to Amnesty International's information. According to Yousef
al-Shehri's lawyers, he can no longer walk, has lost some of his vision
and has been vomiting regularly since the force-feeding. He is also
said to suffer from severe headaches, pain in his ear and is only able
to urinate once every few days. They describe him as being visibly weak
and frail with speaking difficulties due to lesions in his throat from
the force-feeding. Amnesty International fears that he is not receiving
adequate medical attention for his injuries.
The lawyers met another of their clients, Saudi Arabian national
Abdul-Rahman Shalabi, who is said to have independently confirmed the
treatment described by Yousef al-Shehri, including the forcible
insertion and removal of the nasal tubes by members of the IRF.
Abdul-Rahman Shalabi reportedly told his lawyers of his determination
to die, saying, "Now, after four years in captivity, life and death are
the same". He also spoke of the other detainees participating in the
hunger strike: "These detainees are young. They are innocent - Now, the
situation is more severe. It has been four years now - All the promises
we've been given are lies. We lost trust - there is no law here, only
injustice."
Lawyers for Kuwaiti detainee, Fawzi al-Odah recently disclosed that he
has asked them to file court papers to seek the removal of his feeding
tube "out of desperation" over his imprisonment without charge.
The head of the detainee medical facility at Guantanamo has stated that
the nasal tubes are always inserted with a lubricant and anaesthetic if
necessary and were never administered in a manner intentionally
designed to inflict pain or harm on the detainees. A number of medical
experts have commented that forcible feeding of hunger striking
prisoners by physicians is contrary to internationally agreed medical
ethics, including standards of the World Medical Association.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as
possible:
- expressing serious concern at reports that Guantanamo detainees
participating in the hunger strike may be being force-fed in a manner
which is deliberately intended to cause harm and inflict suffering;
- expressing particular concern at the allegations that members of the
IRF have been inserting and removing nasal tubes in a brutal manner in
the presence of medical personnel, and stating that the force-feeding
methods used may constitute torture or other ill-treatment;
- calling for an independent inquiry into the specific allegations of
abuse against Yousef al-Shehri;
- calling for all the detainees who have participated, or who continue
to participate in the hunger strike, to be given immediate access to
adequate medical care and treatment;
- calling for all Guantanamo detainees to be released unless they are
to be charged with a recognizably criminal offence and tried in full
accordance with international standards for fair trial.
APPEALS TO:
Donald Rumsfeld
Secretary of Defense
The Pentagon
Washington DC 20301
Matthew Waxman
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Detainee Affairs
2500 Defense Pentagon 5E420
Washington, DC 20301
Editor's Last Word:
Read us on line: http://www.its.caltech.edu/~aigp22
Martha Ter Maat, 626-281-4039 / rightsreaders@yahoo.com