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Update

Just a few weeks ago, on October 28th, elections were held in Mozambique, elections won by President Armando E. Guebuza of the ruling Frelimo party by about 75% of the votes. The main opposition party, Renamo, is now contesting the vote, accusing Frelimo of rigging the vote. Nevertheless, election observers from the European Union said the voting was “well-managed” and “calm.” So far no election-related violence has erupted in this southern African Country. Positive signs you may say.  But not everything in Mozambique is as rosy as it may seem. Amnesty International just released today a new report on police…

November 16, 2009

Update

The Obama administration’s decision to refer a further five GTMO detainees, including self-proclaimed 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammad, for trial federal court in New York City is a small but significant victory for the rule of law. Carrie Lemack, whose mother was killed on board one the planes flown into the World Trade Center, welcomed the transfer telling the BBC: “At the end of the day my mother and nearly three thousand others were murdered. And they deserve the right to have a trial of their murders and their families, me, my sister, so many other families of 9/11, deserve…

November 16, 2009

Update

On November 11th, 2009, the New York Times reported that in December 2007, top executives at Blackwater (currently known as Xe) authorized cash payments up to $1 million to Iraqi officials with the intent to buy silence and support from the Iraqi government over the Nisour Square shootings on September 16th, 2007, in which 17 Iraqis were shot and killed by Blackwater guards. The Times received this information from four anonymous former Blackwater executives. Two participated in talks about the payments and the other two had heard about the payments from other Blackwater officials. According to the executives, the payoffs…

November 12, 2009

Update

This posting is part of our Write-a-Thon Cases Series. For more information visit www.amnestyusa.org/writeathon/ Trade Unionist Mansour Ossanlu, age 49, is the leader of the Union of Workers of the Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company (Syndica Sherkat-e Vahed). He has been peacefully working to obtain better conditions for workers in Iran and to end discriminatory laws and practices that curtail workers' rights in Iran. He is currently serving a five-year prison sentence for "acts against national security" and "propaganda against the system." He had been previously arrested and detained several times for his peaceful labor activism and severely beaten in…

November 11, 2009

Update

A new report released by New York's City Bar Justice Center opens a window not only to the problems of immigrants being held in the Varick Federal Detention Center, but also profiles the problems rampant throughout the US immigration system.  The report describes the Know Your Rights Project - a joint effort of the City Bar Justice Center, the Legal Aid Society and the American Immigration Lawyers’ Association NYC Chapter Pro Bono Committee.  158 interviews were conducted from December 2008 to July 2009, by pro bono attorneys providing legal counsel to immigrants detained at Varick Federal Detention Center. While sometimes…

November 11, 2009

Update

This posting is part of our Write-a-Thon Cases Series. For more information visit www.amnestyusa.org/writeathon/ You've read before on this blog about the women of Atenco, who were arrested without explanation during a police operation in response to protests by a local peasant organization in San Salvador Atenco, in Mexico State. Dozens of them were subjected to physical, psychological and sexual violence by the police officers who arrested them. In the case of one of the women, Bárbara Italia Méndez, police officers pulled her hair, beat her, and forced her into a state police vehicle with her shirt pulled over her head.…

November 10, 2009

Update

UPDATE:  Virginia Governor Tim Kaine has denied John Muhammad's request for clemency. This evening Texas and Virginia, the two most prolific executing states in the USA, are both slated to carry out lethal injections.  Texas has scheduled an execution for Yosvanis Valle – a Cuban national – while Virginia is preparing to put to death John Allen Muhammad, known by most simply as the "DC sniper".  The crimes for which John Muhammad is known inflicted serious trauma not just on the victims  and their families but on the entire Washington DC area. But we at Amnesty International oppose the death penalty in…

November 10, 2009

Update

What's Up This Week Colombia – Venezuela: No Love Sudan: Threat Against Election Officials Upcoming This Week Colombia and Venezuela – The Cold War Continues? The tension between Colombia and Venezuela has once again flared with Venezuela's government sending 15,000 troops to the border at the end of last week and publicly stating that it is preparing for war. There have been multiple causes for the recent deterioration of relations between the two governments. Most recently, the murder of two national Venezuelan guardsmen on the border allegedly by Colombian paramilitary groups resulted in the closing of two bridges connecting the…

November 10, 2009

Update

Zimbabwe gets a lot of bad press, but not many are aware of some of the amazing people making a difference there every day. These are people, who usually at great personal risk, fight for human rights, civil liberties, justice, equality and a better Zimbabwe for all. So here's a shout out to some personal heroes of mine and I hope you are equally inspired.  (Feel free to share stories about other amazing human rights heroes in Zim or southern Africa in general in the comment section.) Betty Makoni Betty is a teacher who got tired of hearing about the relentless sexual abuse of young girls…

November 9, 2009

Update

While protesters have been occupying House Speaker Pelosi's office, demanding a health care system that serves "Patients not Profit", the House of Representatives is preparing to vote on the market-based health care bill introduced last week by Speaker Pelosi. It is not expected that the House leadership will allow a lengthy floor discussion, but the most recent news reports suggest that the promised vote on Rep. Anthony Weiner's (D-NY) single payer amendment may be allowed. Meanwhile, Speaker Pelosi has presented the leadership's additions to the bill in a so-called Manager's Amendment, stating that this would strengthen provisions for "excluding insurers…

November 6, 2009

Update

On Monday November 9, the award ceremony for this year’s winner of the Martin Ennals Award for human rights defenders will take place in Geneva. The recipient of the award will probably not be there though. Emadeddin Baghi, one of Iran’s leading intellectuals and human rights activists, will be the first laureate in the award's eighteen-year history to be denied the opportunity to receive his prize in person since the Iranian authorities are not allowing him to leave the country to accept it. Iran’s citizens have won more than their fair share of prestigious international human rights awards. Fearless attorney…

November 6, 2009

Update

Sudanese President Omar al Bashir is expected in Istanbul, Turkey, this Sunday and Monday for a summit of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC). Back in March, the International Criminal Court indicted al Bashir on counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, which means al Bashir is a fugitive from international justice and that no countries should willingly host al Bashir without taking steps to arrest him and surrender him to the ICC in The Hague. President Omar al Bashir is a fugitive from international justice, charged with responsibility for crimes against humanity and war crimes against men,…

November 6, 2009