Actions and Issues
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2020 Actions:
Sri Lanka: Justice for the Trinco Five China/Tibet: Unconditional release of Tibetan activist Tashi Wangchuk and Uyghur economist and professor Ilham Tohti Iran: Unconditional release of Nasrin Sotoudeh from prison, for regular access to her family members and a lawyer of her own choice, and for the abolition of mandatory hijab laws United Arab Emirates: Unconditional release of Human Rights Defender Ahmed Mansoor Syria: Vulnerable prisoners should be released to prevent spread of COVID-19 Saudi Arabia: Unconditional release of Saudi Women Human Rights Defender Loujain al-Hathloul United States: Legislation for protecting people from gun violence |
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Sri Lanka: Justice For Ragihar Manoharan and the Trinco FiveRagihar Manoharan, a Sri Lankan Tamil student, and four fellow students had gathered for a chat near the seafront in the town of Trincomalee in northeastern Sri Lanka at about 7:00 p.m. on January 2, 2006, when a grenade was thrown at them from a passing auto rickshaw. The students ran, but at least three of them were injured in the explosion. A short while later, a group of 10 to 15 officers in uniform, believed to be police from the elite Special Task Force, arrived. They reportedly put the injured students into their jeep and beat them with rifle butts, and then pushed them out onto the road. According to a witness, the security forces personnel then shot the five students dead.
Despite subsequent court hearings and an investigation by a presidential commission of inquiry, no one has been convicted for these murders. Ragihar’s father gave evidence at the proceedings and then received death threats. Ultimately, Ragihar’s family was forced to flee Sri Lanka. Justice for Ragihar and the rest of the Trinco Five has been one of the GOTB actions for several years. In July 2013, due to the mounting international pressure, the Sri Lankan government arrested 12 Police Special Task Force members in connection with the murders. All 12 were out on bail while the case was pending. In July 2019, the court acquitted all of the defendants due to lack of sufficient evidence. The Sri Lankan Attorney General later ordered the police to re-open investigations into the killings. We are continuing to call on the Sri Lankan government to effectively investigate and prosecute those who murdered Ragihar Manoharan and the rest of the “Trinco Five." Both the 2017 and 2018 reports on Sri Lanka from the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights cited the case of the Trinco Five students as an emblematic case of human rights violations for which no appreciable progress has occurred. Take Action Now: Join the South Asia Regional Action Network Sign up for monthly actions by email on Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Nepal, India, Pakistan, Bhutan, the Maldives and Bangladesh. Email jmcdonald@aiusacs.org and write "SARAN sign-up" in the subject line. |
Online Resources
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Tibet/China: Unconditional release of Tibetan activist Tashi Wangchuk and Uyghur economist and professor Ilham TohtiThis year's Get on the Bus will once again call for the immediate and unconditional release of political prisoners being held by the Chinese government. We will have a special focus on two prisoners of conscience: Tibetan language rights activist Tashi Wangchuk and Uyghur scholar Ilham Tohti.
Tashi Wangchuk: Tashi Wangchuk is a Tibetan entrepreneur and language rights activist. He has been detained by the Chinese government since January 27, 2016 on charges of inciting separatism, after he worked to sue the Chinese government to expand access to Tibetan language education. He faces up to 15 years in prison if he is convicted. Coming to the China/Tibet rally? Please print and cut out this mask of Tashi Wangchuk's face. We will be bringing some to the rally, too. Ilham Tohti: Ilham Tohti has been held by the Chinese Government for more than five years. He was an economics professor at Central University for Nationalities in Beijing. He has worked for two decades to build understanding between Uighurs and Han Chinese. Rejecting separatism and violence, he tried to reconcile differences between these ethnic groups. Uighurs, a mainly Muslim Turkic ethnic group, have faced widespread discrimination in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region (XUAR) in northwest China. In January 2014, Ilham Tohti was taken from his home in Beijing by police. For five months, family and friends were not told where he was. He was denied food for 10 days and his feet were shackled for 20 days straight. In September 2014, following an unfair trial, he was sentenced to life imprisonment on charges of separatism. Amnesty International recognizes Ilham Tohti as a prisoner of conscience, and continues to call for his immediate and unconditional release. Amnesty also is calling for the release of the many other Uighur scholars and community members who are being unrightfully detained. 
Ilham Tohti
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Tashi Wangchuk. Photo by Gilles Sabrié for The New York Times
Tashi Wangchuk links:
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Iran: Unconditional release of Nasrin Sotoudeh from prison, for regular access to her family members and a lawyer of her own choice, and for the abolition of mandatory hijab lawsProminent Iranian human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh has been sentenced to 38 years in prison and 148 lashes after two grossly unfair trials. The charges against her stem solely from her peaceful human rights work, including defending women’s rights and her outspoken opposition to the death penalty.
On 9 February 2019, Nasrin Sotoudeh was informed by the office for the implementation of sentences in Tehran’s Evin prison, where she is jailed, that the verdict in her most recent court case had been issued. Some of the charges against her are related to her opposition to forced hijab (veiling) laws, including “inciting corruption and prostitution” and “openly committing a sinful act…by appearing in public without a hijab”. Some of her legitimate activities that the authorities have cited as “evidence” against her include: opposing Iran’s abusive, discriminatory and degrading forced hijab laws; removing her headscarf during prison visits; giving media interviews about the violent arrest and detention of women protesting against forced hijab. On 11 March 2019, Mohammad Moghiseh, the judge who pronounced the verdict, spread confusion by telling journalists that she had been sentenced to seven years in prison on two charges, one of which, “insulting the Supreme Leader”, she was not on trial for. In response, Nasrin Sotoudeh has asked lawyers in Iran to raise a complaint against the judge for spreading lies before the disciplinary court for judges. In September 2016, Nasrin Sotoudeh was sentenced to five years in prison in a separate case. She was not present during the trial because the court authorities said she was not wearing appropriate Islamic dress and refused her entry. She was charged with “spreading propaganda against the system” and “gathering and colluding to commit crimes against national security”. However, the judge, in breach of procedure, convicted her on another charge, that of “assisting in hiding spies with the intent to harm national security”, citing legitimate activities such as her meetings with foreign diplomats to convict her. This case is now pending review before an appeal court. |
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United Arab Emirates: Unconditional release of Human Rights Defender Ahmed MansoorIn December 2018, Ahmed Mansoor, recipient of the Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders, was sentenced to 10 years prison for exercising his rights to freedom of expression. According to news reports, the authorities suspect him of using his social media accounts to, among other things, publish false information and incite sectarianism. But along with other human rights groups and United Nations human rights experts, Amnesty International believes his arrest is an attack on his work as a human rights defender and a violation of his human rights. Amnesty International is calling for his immediate and unconditional release as he is being held solely for peacefully exercising his rights to freedom of expression, including through his social media accounts.
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Take Action:
Sample letter to the UAE Prime Minister Sample letter to the UAE Ambassador Petition for Ahmed Mansoor United Arab Emirates: Send a message to the UAE government to demand the unconditional release of human rights defender Ahmed Mansoor via Twitter: @HHShkMohd, Facebook: www.facebook.com/HHSheikhMohammed/, Email: contactus@mocaf.gov.ae, or Web: https://uaecabinet.ae/en/contact-the-prime-minister (asks for a copy of Emirati ID, but can upload any photo file) Alireza Azizi's 2020 Get on the Bus slides are posted here: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1GXR4TcS_hIfHrtOzjHhzdlhBhoobqI3S_qUGXwAeKwc/edit?usp=sharing 
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Syria: Vulnerable prisoners should be released to prevent spread of COVID-19Since the start of the crisis in Syria in 2011, anyone perceived to oppose the Syrian government is at risk of being arbitrarily detained or forcibly disappeared and subjected to torture and other ill-treatment, in many cases leading to death in custody. Ali Mahmoud Othman, the focus of our 2019 Get on the Bus letter writing action, was part of a network of activists who ran the makeshift Homs media centre and was also well-known for helping foreign journalists move in and out of Homs. He started reporting on the situation in Syria in the absence of reports by professional journalists, because of restrictions imposed by the Syrian authorities following the outbreak of the Syrian uprising in mid-March 2011. Ali Mahmoud Othman was disappeared in March 2012, and died in government custody, according to documents obtained by his family last year.
According to United Nations figures from 2019, an estimated 100,000 people currently are detained, abducted, or missing in Syria. The COVID-19 pandemic has the potential to turn these massive human rights violations into a public health crisis for the region. To avoid this, Amnesty International demands that all prisoners of conscience – political activists, human rights defenders, and others imprisoned solely for peacefully exercising their rights – must be immediately and unconditionally released. The early or conditional release of prisoners at high risk, such as older prisoners or those with serious medical conditions, also should be considered. In Syria, prisoners and detainees, including tens of thousands of people arbitrarily detained or forcibly disappeared, are at risk of contracting the COVID-19 disease as they are held in unhygienic conditions in locations across the country operated by the country’s security forces. In Syrian prisons and detention centers, COVID-19 could spread quickly due to poor sanitation, lack of access to clean water and severe overcrowding. The Assad government has a long record of denying prisoners and detainees the medical care and medicines that they urgently need. Anyone detained must have access to prevention and treatment services as the COVID-19 pandemic threatens lives. Amnesty International has documented the arbitrary detention and enforced disappearance of scores of people targeted for their peaceful activism. Others were detained by security forces because they are relatives of wanted people who fled the country, or after being reported by informers on false accusations. Amnesty International has extensively documented inhumane conditions in military prisons in Syria, including Saydnaya, and other detention centers. These conditions include severe overcrowding in cells; lack of access to medicine and medical treatment; and lack or inadequate access to sanitation, food and water. Former detainees have also told Amnesty International that they were held in cells with bodies of deceased detainees for several days. Others said that they were subjected to torture and ill-treatment. |
Resources
Amnesty Research Report, 2017/2018: The State of the World’s Human Rights - Syria https://www.amnesty.org/en/countries/middle-east-and-north-africa/syria/report-syria/ Amnesty News, August 2014: “Disappearances in Syria: The ghosts of the war”: https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2014/08/disappearances-syria-ghosts-war/ Letter writing action: https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/8000/mde240352014en.pdf Sample Action Letter: Download AIUSA blog post about the dangers journalists in Syria face: https://www.amnestyusa.org/syria-is-a-dangerous-place-for-journalists-but-heres-why-we-need-them-there/ AIUSA blog post about ‘enforced disappearances” of journalists: https://medium.com/@amnestyusa/where-are-the-disappeared-6cd6993b55a1 Committee to Protect Journalists: Ali Mahmoud Othman profile: https://cpj.org/data/people/ali-mahmoud-othman/index.php |
Saudi Arabia: Free Loujain al-HathloulSaudi women human rights defender and prisoner of conscience Loujain al-Hathloul has been arbitrarily detained since May 17, 2018.
Statements, Campaigns, and Reports:
- Saudi Arabia: Women's rights campaigner Loujain al-Hathloul due in court: https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2020/03/saudi-arabia-womens-rights-campaigner-loujain-alhathloul-due-in-court/ - Saudi Arabia: Release Women Human Rights Defenders Immediately!: https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/campaigns/2018/06/saudi-arabia-release-women-human-rights-defenders/ - Campaign: “Muzzling Critical Voices: Politicized Trials Before Saudi Arabia's Specialized Criminal Court": https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/research/2020/02/saudi-arabia-specialized-criminal-court/ Campaign Resources: - Petition 
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 (Photo Credit: Amnesty International)
Videos:
- Amnesty International Expert talks about the Saudi Women Human Rights Defenders detention, including that of Loujain al-Htahloul, on NBC News “Think”: https://youtu.be/dGymnno4dI0 - 60 Minutes interview with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman on Loujain al-Hathloul’s detention and torture: https://youtu.be/tArnWhgr2Vo - Democracy Now! episode focused on Loujain al-Hathloul’s imprisonment (family members interviewed) : https://youtu.be/6gleRL2r90c Recommended Social Media Hashtags and Links: - #FreeLoujain - #StandWithSaudiHeroes - #FreeSaudiActivists - @LoujainHathloul - @KingSalman 
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United States: End Gun ViolenceTake action with us by asking your United States Senators to co-sponsor the Background Check Expansion Act, Senate Bill 42.
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