This posting is part of our Write-a-Thon Cases Series. For more information visit www.amnestyusa.org/writeathon/

Four years ago, Chinese journalist Shi Tao was sentenced to 10 years in prison. His crime? Sending an e-mail.

©AI Shi Tao

In April 2004, Shi Tao e-mailed a pro-democracy Web site in the United States about a government regulation ordering the country’s media outlets to down play the upcoming 15th anniversary of the military crackdown on pro-democracy activists in Tiananmen Square.  Authorities arrested him seven months later, charging him with “providing state secrets to foreign entities.”

China has a history of cracking down on freedom of expression through restricting journalism. It has implemented broad censorship of the Internet. Authorities used information provided by the host of Shi Tao’s e-mail account, Yahoo!, to convict him in April 2005.

Amnesty International considers Shi Tao to be a prisoner of conscience, imprisoned solely for his peaceful self-expression.  His family has been continually harassed, and his wife eventually divorced him under immense pressure.  At the beginning of his prison term, Shi Tao was forced to labor under hard conditions in prison that has compromised his health. Although his prison conditions have later improved, he still has six years left in his sentence.  Help us campaign against this injustice during Amnesty International’s Global Write-a-thon from December 5-13, calling on the Chinese authorities to release Shi Tao immediately and urging Yahoo! to stop violating customer privacy.  Call attention to China’s ambiguous prosecution laws, and remind officials that freedom of expression, promised in the Chinese constitution, is an inherent human right.

This posting is part of our Write-a-Thon Cases Series. For more information visit www.amnestyusa.org/writeathon/

©AI Le Thi Cong Nhan

Vietnamese human rights lawyers Le Thi Cong Nhan and Nguyen Van Dai were arrested on March 6, 2007 for “conducting propaganda against the Socialist Republic of Vietnam” and sentenced to four and five years’ imprisonment respectively for their activism and education efforts. Although the sentences have since each been reduced by one year, the two will be subject to several more years’ house arrest upon their release. Meanwhile, the human rights situation remains grave in Vietnam, which has silenced activists through surveillance, restrictions on movement, arbitrary detention and imprisonment.

©AI Nguyen Van Dai

The two lawyers together spoke through Radio Free Asia and Voice of America to publicize the deficiency of human rights in their country. Nguyen Van Dai has represented some dissidents in court and founded the Committee for Human Rights in Vietnam, which seeks to document abuses. Le Thi Cong Nhan joined this committee and was also the spokeswoman of the Vietnam Progression Party, a pro-democracy group formed in 2006. They have both been supporters of Bloc 8406, an online petition for democracy and freedom in Vietnam.

Article 88 of the Penal Code, under which Le Thi Cong Nhan and Nguyen Van Dai were charged, has been criticized as unconstitutional and in violation of international human rights covenants. The two lawyers are considered prisoners of conscience, as they were arrested only for peacefully exercising their right to freedom of expression. Activists will campaign for their unconditional release during Amnesty International’s Global Write-a-thon from December 5-13. Send a letter demanding justice for Le Thi Cong Nhan and Nguyen Van Dai, as well as other human rights advocates and peaceful dissidents whose voices have been stifled and basic civil liberties breached by the republic of Vietnam.

This posting is part of our Write-a-Thon Cases Series. For more information visit www.amnestyusa.org/writeathon/

Mohammed Mohammed Hassan Odaini © Private

Despite having been cleared for release more than four years ago, twenty-six-year-old Mohammed Mohammed Hassan Odaini remains detained in Guántanamo. Odaini was sent to the detention center at the U.S Naval Base in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba in March 2002 along with fourteen other Yemeni nationals, all of whom were turned over by Pakistani police. In June 2005, U.S. authorities declared Odani suitable for release from Guantánamo. Yemeni authorities are prepared to take him back, however he continues to be detained without reason. He has not been interrogated for nearly two years and the reason for his continued detention is unclear.

Participate in this year’s Amnesty International annual Global Write-a-thon and help free Mohammed Mohammed Hassan Odaini by writing a letter on his behalf to the Commander of the Joint Task Force Guantánamo. Be one of the thousands of individuals asking why Odaini and fellow detainees remain detained despite being cleared for release. By putting pressure on the Commander now, we hope to help release Odaini and fellow Yemenis and enable them to go back to Yemen. Writing a letter could not only help Mr. Odaini but the other detainees currently being unlawfully held in Guantánamo.

By Morgan Brescia, AIUSA Campaign for Individuals at Risk

This posting is part of our Write-a-Thon Cases Series. For more information visit www.amnestyusa.org/writeathon/

Mansour Ossanlu

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 custody, causing damage to his retinas. He is currently serving his term in a prison for violent criminals and has been mistreated by staff and other inmates. He suffers from several severe health problems, but has not received necessary medical treatment.

Mansour Ossanlu is one of Amnesty International’s 10 priority cases who you can help free by participating in our Global Write-a-thon running from December 5-13. Amnesty International considers him a prisoner of conscience who is being detained on vaguely worded charges in order to halt his efforts to build strong trades unions capable of defending the human rights of workers.

Placing pressure on the Iranian authorities to release Mansour Ossanlu and allow Iran’s vibrant civil society activists to exercise their human rights, could be especially effective now.  Iran is a State Party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, of which Article 22 (1) states: “Everyone shall have the right to freedom of association with others, including the right to form and join trade unions for the protection of his interests.” Article 26 of Iran’s Constitution states: “The formation of parties, societies, political or professional associations…is permitted provided they do not violate the principles of independence, freedom, national unity, the criteria of Islam, or the basis of the Islamic republic. No one may be prevented from participating in the aforementioned groups, or be compelled to participate in them.”

Mansour Ossanlu is in prison in defiance of both international as well as Iranian laws. With your help, Amnesty International will campaign for his immediate release in our Global Write-a-thon.

By Elise Auerbach, Iran and Jordan country specialist for AIUSA

This posting is part of our Write-a-Thon Cases Series. For more information visit www.amnestyusa.org/writeathon/

© Private

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. She was made to lie on top of other detainees, and during the journey to the prison, police officers sexually assaulted her repeatedly.

More than three years later, these brave survivors are still waiting for justice. None of the officials responsible for their abuse have been held accountable. One of the women was able to identify her attacker, and he was tried on the watered-down charge of “libidinous acts” and sentenced to time served plus a small fine. He appealed the ruling, and was acquitted, thus avoiding even that weak punishment.

In October, 2006, Mexico’s National Human Rights Commission issued a recommendation calling for criminal investigations into abuses committed by police in Atenco, but the recommendation has not been implemented effectively. Later, in February 2009, the Mexican Supreme Court issued a decision stating that human rights abuses had in fact occurred in Atenco, and the women of Atenco still haven’t seen justice.

Federal authorities had conducted an investigation that resulted in a list of 34 names of police officers who were suspected of being responsible for the abuses, but the federal authorities recently concluded that these individuals should be prosecuted at the state level. Now is the time to push for real justice and ask the Governor of Mexico State not to let this impunity continue.

With help from Morgan Brescia, AIUSA Campaign for Individuals at Risk

This posting is part of our Write-a-Thon Cases Series. For more information visit www.amnestyusa.org/writeathon/

Aung San Suu Kyi, © Chris Robinson

Democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi has called for political change in Myanmar and has spent 14 of the last 20 years being punished for it. The military junta that has run the country since a 1962 coup has cracked down on political dissent, jailing thousands of reformists and activists. Aung San Suu Kyi, the primary face of the movement for democracy, has been kept under house arrest, unofficially detained, and subjected to other restrictions since the National League for Democracy (NLD), which she co-founded, won a 1990 general election. The NLD was immediately denied power by the ruling State Peace and Development Council.

Aung San Suu Kyi is one of Amnesty International’s 10 priority cases who you can help free by participating in our Global Write-a-thon running from December 5-13. She has most recently been placed under 18 months’ house arrest in August, a move that the international community has censured as a government pretext to prohibit her from participating in state elections scheduled for 2010.

Placing pressure on the Myanmar authorities to release Aung San Suu Kyi and allow the peaceful exercise of freedom of expression could be especially effective now.  Addressing Asian state leaders on Saturday, General Thein Sein, Myanmar’s prime minister, announced that the government would be open to including Aung San Suu Kyi in reconciliation processes before the elections. In addition, it may ease some restrictions on her movement if she “maintains a good attitude.” While initially encouraging, the ambiguity of Thein Sein’s words do not guarantee Aung San Suu Kyi’s freedom or involvement in the elections, and with your help, Amnesty International will campaign for her immediate release in our Global Write-a-thon.

By Michele Hong, AIUSA Campaign for Individuals at Risk

Brad Will ©AI

This week is the anniversary of the death of Brad Will, a US video journalist who was shot and killed in Mexico on October 27, 2006. When he was killed, Bradley Roland Will was in Oaxaca City, in southern Mexico, filming a clash between members of a local protest movement (Asamblea Popular del Pueblo de Oaxaca, APPO) and supporters and officials of the local governing party. Three years later, Amnesty International believes that the truth about Brad Will’s death has still not come out. Juan Manuel Martínez, an APPO sympathizer, has been detained pending trial since October 2008 for Will’s murder. However, experts from Physicians for Human Rights and the National Human Rights Commission have concluded that Will was not shot at close range, and Martinez is said to have been standing right next to him when the shooting happened. Amnesty International believes the evidence against Martinez is flawed and he is a being used as a scapegoat.

The tragedy and injustice of Brad Will’s death and Juan Manuel Martínez’s unfounded prosecution are part of the failure to investigate and hold to account those responsible for widespread human rights violations committed in Oaxaca in 2006 and 2007.

In October 2009, Mexico’s National Supreme Court of Justice concluded that serious human rights violations were committed in Oaxaca state. It attributed responsibility for many abuses to some senior public officials, including the governor of Oaxaca state. The Court called for those responsible to be held to account, but the authorities have yet to respond.

Tell the Mexican government that it’s time for the killing of Brad Will to be impartially investigated and prosecuted on the basis of reliable evidence and according to international fair trial standards.

Felipe Arreaga in Guerrero. © Monica Campbell

Amnesty International is sad to learn of the death of Felipe Arreaga, former environmental activist from Petatlán, Guerrero, in Mexico. Arreaga, founder of the Peasant Environmentalist Organization of the Sierra de Petatlán (Organización Campesina Ecologista de la Sierra de Petatlán – OCESP), died last Wednesday morning September 16th, after being hit by a mini bus while he travelled along the national highway, connecting Acapulco and Zihuatanejo.

In 2004, Amnesty International adopted Felipe Arreaga as a prisoner of conscience, issuing Urgent Actions and initiating other work on his behalf. On November 3, 2004, Felipe was detained and unjustly charged for a 1998 murder. During his detention lawyers proved that he was not responsible for the murder, and a witness admitted that he was forced to make a statement against Felipe. After 10 months, with the support of Amnesty International activists around the world, he was released and finally returned home. You can read more about Felipe and his work in this 2005 profile that appeared in Amnesty International Magazine.

Our most heartfelt condolences go out to Felipe’s wife, Celsa, and his friends and family. Felipe’s peaceful struggle to prevent excessive logging of local forests will always be remembered. Felipe Arreaga’s detention is a reminder to all of the unjust detentions occurring right now in Mexico and many other countries, and of the difference that human rights activism can make in the lives of individuals. Without the support of Amnesty and letters written by individuals, Felipe may not have been released. Thank you to all who supported Felipe Arreaga—his environmental activism, his dedication, and his strength of spirit will not be forgotten.

Letters expressing condolences can be sent to:

Tlachinollan
Mina no. 77
Col. Centro
C.P. 41304
Tlapa de Comonfort
Guerrero, MEXICO

Prisoner of conscience Jacinta Francisco Marcial, a mother of six who was falsely accused in 2006 of kidnapping six federal agents has been released after serving three years in prison in Mexico. Amnesty pressed for her release after concluding no evidence existed against her and she had been arrested, tried and convicted because she was poor and of indigenous heritage.

Her release raises serious questions about the reliability of the entire prosecution case and highlights clear failings in the investigation. Amnesty International is calling for a full review into her unfounded prosecution and for her to receive full compensation for unfair and wrongful imprisonment.

You can read the full press release here. Learn about Jacinta’s ordeal in her own words, in this interview conducted this past June 29th:

To our deep disappointment, Leonard Peltier was denied parole on Friday, nearly a month after his July 28 parole hearing. In addition to our online action, Amnesty International had sent an open letter to the parole board in early July urging that Peltier be granted parole, and Amnesty continues to call for his immediate release on parole. You can read more about Leonard’s case in this blog post, and in the full AI press relase. The US Department of Justice also issued a lengthy press release on Friday.