Our featured image shows our beloved Miriam (1947-2012), a great friend and human rights defender
HE WHO PERMITS OPPRESSION PERMITS CRIMES.-Desiderius Erasmus (1466-1536)
Desiderius Erasmus in 1523 as depicted by Hans Holbein the Younger. The Greek and Latin words on the book translate to “The Herculean Labors of Erasmus of Rotterdam”.
CHARITY CORNER
At the request of Reporters Without Borders (RSF), the Eiffel Tower’s lights were turned off for a minute at 6:30 p.m. today on the eve of the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists to pay tribute to Saudi newspaper columnist Jamal Khashoggi and all the other journalists in the world whose murders have so far gone unpunished.
This week we turn our attention to Reporters Without Borders, or Reporters Sans Frontières, an international non-profit, non-governmental organization that promotes and defends freedom of information and freedom of the press. The organization, with a head office in Paris, France, has consultant status at the United Nations. Its core belief:
Freedom of expression and information will always be the world’s most important freedom. If journalists were not free to report the facts, denounce abuses, and alert the public, how would we resist the problem of children-soldiers, defend women’s rights, or preserve our environment? Please support this worthy organization
INDIGENOUS PEOPLE
Indigenous tribes do not simply die out. They are killed by the actions of so-called civilized nations. Survival International provides a long list of cases in which a letter from you can and will make a difference. Please open this link and write at least one letter. This link will be a permanent feature on our blog and we would be grateful if you gave it a bit of attention each week. We suggest going down the list in the order given. The letters are pre-written for you. All you need to do is send them. It would be nice also if a donation to Survival International could be forthcoming. They are the best conservationists--help that fact go viral.
Dams on the Amazon can destroy indigenous tribes. Your support can help us fight for the most vulnerable people on the planet.
THE STRUGGLE AGAINST SLAVERY
We have added this section to the blog in order to join the struggle against slavery worldwide. This week we refer you to the the ILO’s Protocol on Forced Labor which is all about modern slavery. We call your attention to the anti slavery campaign. There you can sign up for action updates.The importance of checking your sellers’ supply chains cannot be overemphasized.
You can download this book
Look for these logos:
Find a campaign to work for. Light must be made to shine in the darkest of places. We invite you to join Freedom United and raise your voice against trafficking in children at bogus orphanages.
URGENT ACTION CASES
IRAN
Urgent Action Update: 38 Years and 148 Lashes for Women’s Rights Defender
Prominent 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.
Urgent Action Update: Held Incommunicado Despite Release Order
On 19 February 2019, a judge ordered the conditional release of Egyptian activist Islam Khalil. On 25 February, the police moved Islam to al-Santa police station to complete his release procedures, but instead of releasing him the authorities held him incommunicado. On 10 March 2018, Islam was forcibly disappeared after National Security Agency officers had abducted him. He remained in arbitrary detention for almost a year facing the trumped-up charges of “membership in an illegal group” and “disseminating false information.” His family believes that Islam is at serious risk of torture and other ill-treatment while in incommunicado detention.
Urgent Action: Activist, Opposition Members Charged with Treason
Activist Rashid Mahiya and Members of Parliament with the opposition, Joanna Mamombe and Charlton Hwende were arrested on different dates in Zimbabwe. All three have been charged with ‘subverting a constitutional government’ which attracts a sentence of more than 20 years in prison. This charge is in connection with a three-day national shutdown called for on 14-16 January in protest against a hike in fuel prices.
Release Jailed Labor Rights Activists Exercising Rights to Freedom of Association
In partnership with the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions, the only independent and democratic trade union federation on Chinese soil, and Globalization Monitor, a Hong Kong-based NGO that monitors the adverse effects of capitalist globalization on workers and the environment. Please click and join the protest.
Our featured image shows our beloved Miriam (1947-2012) a great friend and human rights defender
HE WHO PERMITS OPPRESSION PERMITS CRIMES.-Desiderius Erasmus (1466-1536)
Desiderius Erasmus in 1523 as depicted by Hans Holbein the Younger. The Greek and Latin words on the book translate to “The Herculean Labors of Erasmus of Rotterdam”.
CHARITY CORNER
This week we turn our attention to Women of the Wall who were severely abused by orthodox people at the Western Wall in Jerusalem and were abandoned by police who chose not to protect them. The link connects you to the charity monitor Israel Gives through which you can donate to them. Their mission statement says in part: ” As Women of the Wall, our central mission is to attain social and legal recognition of our right, as women, to wear prayer shawls , pray, and read from the Torah, collectively and aloud, at the Western Wall. We work to further our mission through social advocacy, education and empowerment”.
INDIGENOUS PEOPLE
Indigenous tribes do not simply die out. They are killed by the actions of so-called civilized nations. Survival International provides a long list of cases in which a letter from you can and will make a difference. Please open this link and write at least one letter. This link will be a permanent feature on our blog and we would be grateful if you gave it a bit of attention each week. We suggest going down the list in the order given. The letters are pre-written for you. All you need to do is send them. It would be nice also if a donation to Survival International could be forthcoming. They are the best conservationists--help that fact go viral.
THE STRUGGLE AGAINST SLAVERY
We have added this section to the blog in order to join the struggle against slavery worldwide. This week we refer you to the the ILO’s Protocol on Forced Labor which is all about modern slavery. We call your attention to the anti slavery campaign. There you can sign up for action updates.The importance of checking your sellers’ supply chains cannot be overemphasized.
You can download this book
Look for these logos:
Find a campaign to work for. Light must be made to shine in the darkest of places. We invite you to join Freedom United and lend your voice to the call to stop loans to Uzebekhistan as long as forced labor is used in the cotton fields.
Slavery under the auspice of the World Bank
URGENT ACTION CASES
ISRAEL/OPT
Urgent Action Victory! Palestinian Lawmaker Released
NO FURTHER ACTION IS REQUESTED. MANY THANKS TO ALL WHO SENT APPEALS.
On 28 February 2019, Palestinian lawmaker and prominent political figure Khalida Jarrar was released from HaSharon prison in central Israel, after spending 606 days in detention without charge or trial.
Following her release, Khalida Jarrar thanked Amnesty International and all those who took action on her behalf: “I thank you all very much for standing up for my rights and of those of other Palestinian prisoners and detainees. While I was detained, I had no doubt that Amnesty’s members and supporters from all over the world would stand again to denounce the arbitrary administrative detention and to demand my immediate release.’’ She added: “I’m free now, but I left at least 48 female Palestinian prisoners and detainees behind Israeli prison bars, whose lives are extremely difficult and filled with misery. I hope that Amnesty could continue to campaign on cases of Palestinian prisoners in the face of injustice. The support and mobilization should continue until the release of all Palestinian political prisoners and detainees. My final message to all Amnesty supporters, is that the fight for human rights never ends and it is on us to continue these efforts.’’
On 2 July 2017, Khalida Jarrar was arrested from her home in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank. The Israeli military commander of the West Bank issued a six-month administrative detention order against her on 12 July 2017, and since then the order has been renewed three times, on 31 December 2017, 17 June, and 25 October 2018. Although six months is the maximum period of detention for each administrative detention order, each order can be renewed indefinitely under Israeli military law.
Khalida Jarrar, is a Palestinian parliamentarian and outspoken critic of the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories as well as the security cooperation between the Palestinian and Israeli forces. For decades, Khalida Jarrar has been harassed and intimidated by the Israeli authorities for her political and human rights engagement. Israel has banned her from travelling outside the country since 1998.
TAJIKISTAN
Urgent Action Victory! Opposition Activist Released
Opposition leader Sharofiddin Gadoev returned safely to the Netherlands on 2 March. He had been held by the Tajik authorities following his arbitrary arrest in Moscow on 14 February and forcible return to Tajikistan.
NO FURTHER ACTION IS REQUESTED. MANY THANKS TO ALL WHO SENT APPEALS.
On 2 March Sharofiddin Gadoev was transferred without identification documents from Dushanbe, Tajikistan’s capital, to Frankfurt, Germany, and returned safely to the Netherlands the same day. He is the leader of Group 24, an opposition political movement banned in Tajikistan, who legally resides in the Netherlands.
Sharofiddin Gadoev was arbitrarily detained on 14 February by the authorities in Moscow, during a trip to meet representatives of the Russian Security Council. On 15 February, he reappeared in Dushanbe, and on 20 February he was transferred to an undisclosed place by officers from the Tajik Interior Ministry and special forces. The Tajik authorities did not disclose his whereabouts or lay official criminal or administrative charges against the activist.
Prior to his trip to Russia Sharofiddin Gadoev recorded a precautionary video stating he had no intention of returning to Tajikistan, where he is at risk of torture and other ill-treatment and unfair prosecution. After his forcible return to Dushanbe photos were published falsely claiming that Sharofiddin Gadoev was visiting friends and family in Tajikistan.
Sharofiddin Gadoev, a is believed to have been released following interventions from international human rights organisations and European governments.
SOMALILAND
Urgent Action Victory! Poet Acquitted and Released
Abdirahman Ibrahim Adan, a poet in Somaliland, was released on 25 February. He had been arrested and detained on 12 January after reciting a poem the previous day in which he called on the Somaliland government to reform its prisons and criminal justice system.
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NO FURTHER ACTION IS REQUESTED. MANY THANKS TO ALL WHO SENT APPEALS.
Abdirahman Ibrahim Adan alias Abdirahman Abees, a poet in Somaliland, was released on 25 February. This was after the Hargeisa Regional Court acquitted him of the charge of ‘insulting the state’.
He was arrested in Hargeisa on 12 January in connection with a poem he had recited on 11 January at the Mansoor Hotel in Hargeisa. In the poem, he highlighted human rights violations people in Somaliland face including police brutality, arbitrary detention and the degrading treatment of prisoners. The poem also called on the Somaliland government to reform its prisons and the criminal justice system.
His lawyer called to thank Amnesty International for publicly speaking out against Abdirahman’s detention
TURKEY
Urgent Action: Turkey Must Release Civil Society Figures
Osman Kavala (pictured above), Yiğit Aksakoğlu and 14 other prominent civil society figures are facing life in prison after a court accepted an indictment against them on 4 March. They are wrongly accused of ‘attempting to overthrow the government or prevent it from performing its duties’ for their alleged role in ‘directing’ the Gezi Park protests of 2013. Osman Kavala has already been remanded in pre-trial detention for over 16 months and Yiğit Aksakoğlu for almost four months. The rest of the accused are currently free pending trial. The Turkish authorities must immediately and unconditionally release Osman Kavala and Yiğit Aksakoğlu and drop the trumped-up charges against all 16.
Urgent Action: Prisoner of Conscience Suffers Behind Bars
Prisoner of conscience Huỳnh Trương Ca is being held in conditions of detention that further violates his rights. He shares a small, unlit cell with four other prisoners and cannot leave the cell, not even for meal times. The only time he leaves the cell is once a month for family visits. He also suffers several illnesses, yet the prison authorities refuse to provide him with the medical treatment he requires. The Ministry of Public Security plans to move him to another facility far away from his hometown. We call on the Vietnamese government and its Ministry of Public Security to release Huỳnh Trương Ca immediately and unconditionally.
Urgent Action: Indigenous Community Attacked by Armed Men
The Ysati Indigenous community in the district of Itakyry (department of Alto Paraná, southeast Paraguay) had their crops and six houses burned down and 55 people, of which 38 children, were displaced because of the violence. Community members are afraid that new attacks could take place and they are forced to flee. We urge the Attorney General to launch an immediate investigation on the attacks against the Ysati Indigenous community and to bring those responsible to justice.
HAITI, INDONESIA, IRELAND, THE PHILIPPINES AND THE UNITED STATES
Coca-Cola is becoming a serial human rights offender
Human rights abuses are accumulating at The Coca-Cola Company. That makes Coke a serial offender when it comes to failing to respect the human rights of workers and acting to remedy abuses. The right of all workers to form, join and be represented by a union for collective bargaining is an internationally recognized fundamental human right. Please click and join the Zero Rights protest.
Our featured image shows our beloved Miriam (1947-2012), a great friend and human rights defender
HE WHO PERMITS OPPRESSION PERMITS CRIMES.-Desiderius Erasmus (1466-1536)
Desiderius Erasmus in 1523 as depicted by Hans Holbein the Younger. The Greek and Latin words on the book translate to “The Herculean Labors of Erasmus of Rotterdam”.
CHARITY CORNER
the This week we turn our attention to the Helen Keller International. The mission is to prevent blindness where possible. Our mission is to save and improve the sight and lives of the world’s vulnerable. They have high ratings from Charity Watch and Give Well.
Helen Keller International (HKI) is proud to announce that we have been rated a “top charity” by GiveWell for the second year in a row for our vitamin A supplementation program.
INDIGENOUS PEOPLE
Indigenous tribes do not simply die out. They are killed by the actions of so-called civilized nations. Survival International provides a long list of cases in which a letter from you can and will make a difference. Please open this link and write at least one letter. This link will be a permanent feature on our blog and we would be grateful if you gave it a bit of attention each week. We suggest going down the list in the order given. The letters are pre-written for you. All you need to do is send them. It would be nice also if a donation to Survival International could be forthcoming. They are the best conservationists--help that fact go viral.
We have added this section to the blog in order to join the struggle against slavery worldwide. This week we refer you to the the ILO’s Protocol on Forced Labor which is all about modern slavery. We call your attention to the anti slavery campaign. There you can sign up for action updates.The importance of checking your sellers’ supply chains cannot be overemphasized.
Urgent Action: Three Jehovah’s Witnesses At Risk of Torture
On 15 February Russian law enforcement officials carried out raids on homes of Jehovah’s Witnesses in the city of Surgut and arrested at least 40 people. There are credible allegations of torture and other ill-treatment in custody. Sergei Loginov, Artur Severinchik and Yevgeniy Fedin remain remanded in custody and are at serious risk of torture and other ill-treatment. They are prisoners of conscience, detained solely in connection with their religious beliefs, and must be released immediately and unconditionally.
Urgent Action: Opposition Activist at Risk in Tajikistan
Sharofiddin Gadoev is believed to be held by the Tajik authorities following his arbitrary arrest in Moscow on 14 February and forcible return to Tajikistan. He is a member of Tajikistan’s opposition National Alliance coalition and Group 24, an opposition political movement banned in Tajikistan. Sharofiddin Gadoev is at risk of torture and other ill-treatment.
Urgent Action: Environmental Rights Defender Killed
Samir Flores Soberanes, environmental, land and territory human rights defender, was shot dead on 20 February, after receiving several death threats for his work defending the territory of his community. Samir was a member of a grassroots collective for environmental and the territorial protection called Front of Peoples in Defense of the Earth and Agua in the states of Morelos, Puebla and Tlaxcala (southeast Mexico). He was also vocal against the geothermic project called “Proyecto Integral Morelos” and had received written death threats and was beaten by an unknown group in October 2018.
Myanmar hotel workers are fighting for their rights!
In 2015, after a majority of workers at the Hotel Tharabar Gate in the heart of the country’s famous Bagan Archeological Zone formed their union, management attempted to dismiss elected union chairman Ko Nay Myo Win. Hotel staff including non-union members protested, and management relented. The union then joined together with other local hotel unions (including the union at the Bagan Hotel River View) to form the area-wide union organization HLOB, which elected him chairman. Please click and support their struggle.
Our featured image shows our beloved Miriam, a great friend and human rights defender.
HE WHO PERMITS OPPRESSION PERMITS CRIMES.-Desiderius Erasmus (1466-1536)
Desiderius Erasmus in 1523 as depicted by Hans Holbein the Younger. The Greek and Latin words on the book translate to “The Herculean Labors of Erasmus of Rotterdam”.
CHARITY CORNER
This week we call your attention to Global Giving, an organization that connects nonprofits, donors, and companies in nearly every country around the world. “We help local nonprofits access the funding, tools, training, and support they need to become more effective. ”
Hurricane Florence as an example of disaster relief
INDIGENOUS PEOPLE
Indigenous tribes do not simply die out. They are killed by the actions of so-called civilized nations. Survival International provides a long list of cases in which a letter from you can and will make a difference. Please open this link and write at least one letter. This link will be a permanent feature on our blog and we would be grateful if you gave it a bit of attention each week. We suggest going down the list in the order given. The letters are pre-written for you. All you need to do is send them. It would be nice also if a donation to Survival International could be forthcoming. They are the best conservationists--help that fact go viral.
We have added this section to the blog in order to join the struggle against slavery worldwide. This week we refer you to the the ILO’s Protocol on Forced Labor which is all about modern slavery. We call your attention to the anti slavery campaign. There you can sign up for action updates.The importance of checking your sellers’ supply chains cannot be overemphasized.
Urgent Action Update: Indigenous Human Rights Defenders at Risk
Armed men abducted Mexican Indigenous human rights defenders, Obtilia Eugenio Manuel (pictured above) and Hilario Cornelio Castro on 12 February 2019. Their captors released them on 16 February amidst an increasing national and international outcry over their disappearance. They continue doing their human rights work and continue at risk, while their attackers are at large. Both HRDs are members of the Organization of Indigenous Mepha’a People (OPIM, Organización del Pueblo Indígena Mepha’a). Obtilia Eugenio is also an elected member of the Indigenous Municipal Council of Ayutla de los Libres, Guerrero state, in southern Mexico. The authorities must implement protection measures on their behalf, investigate the attack they suffered, and bring those responsible to justice.
Urgent Action Update: Prisoner of Conscience Ill-Treated in Prison
Taiwanese activist Lee Ming-che has been given rotten food and insufficient clothing in his freezing prison cell. As a result of exposing these prison conditions, his wife is not allowed to visit him again until 22 April 2019. Sentenced in 2017 to five years’ imprisonment for “subverting state power”, Lee Ming-che is a prisoner of conscience and should be immediately and unconditionally released.
Urgent Action: Danish Jehovah’s Witness Jailed for His Faith
Danish national and Jehovah’s Witness Dennis Christensen was found guilty on 6 February of “organizing activities of an extremist organization” and sentenced to six years imprisonment by a court in Orel, western Russia. He is a prisoner of conscience imprisoned solely for peacefully exercising his right to freedom of religion. He must be immediately and unconditionally released, and his conviction must be quashed.
New labor law must recognize workers’ rights. The Jordanian government needs to hear from workers globally that it must ensure its laws comply with ILO fundamental lab our rights, including freedom of association, not make them worse. Please join the protest.
Indigenous tribes do not simply die out. They are killed by the actions of so-called civilized nations. Survival International provides a long list of cases in which a letter from you can and will make a difference. Please open this link and write at least one letter. This link will be a permanent feature on our blog and we would be grateful if you gave it a bit of attention each week. We suggest going down the list in the order given. The letters are pre-written for you. All you need to do is send them. It would be nice also if a donation to Survival International could be forthcoming. They are the best conservationists--help that fact go viral.
We have added this section to the blog in order to join the struggle against slavery worldwide. This week we refer you to the the ILO’s Protocol on Forced Labor which is all about modern slavery. We call your attention to the anti slavery campaign. There you can sign up for action updates.The importance of checking your sellers’ supply chains cannot be overemphasized.
*We have great news for you! Thai authorities have finally dropped extradition charges against refugee footballer Hakeem al-Araibi. He will now be able to return to his family and friends in Australia. This is a triumph for human rights activism. Thank you for all your support throughout the campaign! For the history of the case, click here.
On his way home!
CÔTE D’IVOIRE
Urgent Action: Detained Online Activist Alleges Torture in Prison
Soro Tangboho, alias Carton noir, an outspoken online activist, was arbitrarily arrested on 8 November 2018 in the town of Korhogo (the north of the country). He was detained and subjected to torture and other ill-treatment while live streaming a video on Facebook showing police officers who were, according to him, extorting money from motorists. He has been accused of disrupting public order. Soro Tangboho is currently hospitalized at the MACA prison clinic.
Urgent Action: Bill Could Grant Amnesty for Grave Crimes
Guatemala’s Congress could imminently pass a law that would grant an amnesty to those suspected or found guilty of crimes such as genocide, torture, and enforced disappearances during the internal armed conflict (1960-1996). The bill could lead to the release of those found guilty within 24 hours of its approval. It would also lead to the suspension of ongoing investigations into these crimes. Guatemala’s Congress must refrain from passing this bill to respect the rights of victims to justice, truth and reparation.
Urgent Action Update: Detained Journalist Denied Family Visits
Journalist Amade Abubacar was transferred from the Macomia district prison to Mieze prison in Pemba district, the capital of Cabo Delgado province on 24 January. Since then prison authorities have denied him family visits. He was allowed one supervised visit with members of a Commission of the Mozambican Bar Association and his lawyer on 25 January where he alleged that he had been subjected to ill-treatment while in military detention.
Our featured image shows Miriam, (1947-2012), a great human rights defender
HE WHO PERMITS OPPRESSION PERMITS CRIMES.-Desiderius Erasmus (1466-1536)
Desiderius Erasmus in 1523 as depicted by Hans Holbein the Younger. The Greek and Latin words on the book translate to “The Herculean Labors of Erasmus of Rotterdam”.
CHARITY CORNER
This week we turn our attention to the issue of keeping girls in school in Third World countries. The project is supported via global giving by the American Foundation for Children with AIDS. Their mission statement:
Mission
The American Foundation for Children with AIDS (AFCA) is a
non-profit organization providing critical comprehensive services to
infected and affected HIV+ children and their caregivers. Our programs
are efficient, promoting self-reliance and sustainability. Since 2005,
in collaboration with our in-country partners, we have served tens of
thousands of families in some of the most underserved and marginalized
communities in Africa. Our areas of impact include: medical support,
livelihoods, educational support and emergency relief.
We urge you to donate to this worthy cause.
INDIGENOUS PEOPLE
Indigenous tribes do not simply die out. They are killed by the actions of so-called civilized nations. Survival International provides a long list of cases in which a letter from you can and will make a difference. Please open this link and write at least one letter. This link will be a permanent feature on our blog and we would be grateful if you gave it a bit of attention each week. We suggest going down the list in the order given. The letters are pre-written for you. All you need to do is send them. It would be nice also if a donation to Survival International could be forthcoming. They are the best conservationists--help that fact go viral.
We have added this section to the blog in order to join the struggle against slavery worldwide. This week we refer you to the the ILO’s Protocol on Forced Labor which is all about modern slavery. We call your attention to the anti slavery campaign. There you can sign up for action updates.The importance of checking your sellers’ supply chains cannot be overemphasized.
Urgent Action Victory! Mauritanian Anti-Slavery Activists Released
Two anti-slavery activists Biram Dah Abeid and Abdellahi el Housein Mesoud were released from Nouakchott civil Prison on 31 December 2018. The Tribunal of Arafat in Nouakchott sentenced them to six months, two months of which would be a suspended sentence. Having already spent more than four months in prison, Biram and Abdellahi were released the same day.
Biram Dah Abeid
NO FURTHER ACTION IS REQUESTED. MANY THANKS TO ALL WHO SENT APPEALS.
MEXICO
Urgent Action: Two Activists Killed Among Escalating Violence
On 17 January, unidentified armed men attacked demonstrators in Amatán, Chiapas state, southern Mexico. Noé Jiménez Pablo and José Santiago Gómez Álvarez, two economic, social and cultural rights activists and members of the Independent Regional Campesino Movement (MOCRI – Movimiento Campesino Regional Independiente), were taken and deprived of their liberty by the armed men. The following day, their wounded dead bodies appeared in a local dumpster. In reaction to this attack, the government took measures like sending a few law enforcement officials, but members of the community fear further attacks and that these measures are insufficient to protect them.
Urgent Action: Canadian Sentenced to Death in a One-Day Retrial
Robert Schellenberg, a Canadian national, was sentenced to death after he was convicted of drug trafficking at his re-trial. First arrested in 2014, he was convicted and sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment by the Dalian Municipal Intermediate People’s Court on 20 November 2018. Schellenberg subsequently appealed the verdict and on 14 January 2019 at his retrial, he was found guilty of a more serious drug-related offense and sentenced to death. Announcing a death sentence at the same time of the conviction was unprecedented, according to Mo Shaoping, a partner of the law firm representing Schellenberg.
Urgent Action: Peaceful Protesters Attacked and One Murdered
Protest at Christmas time in Manila
Hundreds of workers from southern Philippines have been camping out in Manila since 27 November 2018 to protest the labor conditions on Japanese-owned Sumitomo Fruit Corporation (Sumifru) plantations. Since declaring a strike on 1 October 2018, the workers have faced multiple attacks, including the killing of a prominent union member and the burning down of the union’s office and the houses of some members. A prompt, thorough and impartial investigation by the Philippine authorities into the threats and attacks should be conducted immediately, and the authorities must also guarantee the safety of the protesting workers.
Stop the Outsourcing of Danger – Justice for Kim Yong-gyun!
Kim Yong-gyun, a 24-year-old subcontracted worker was killed after getting stuck in a coal conveyer belt at the Taean Power Plant. Kim was working alone in the dark, doing extremely dangerous work. According to the occupational health and safety rules in the manual, Kim should have been working in a team of two.
Union leaders imprisoned for having negotiated a collective agreement
Guatemala has been going through an institutional crisis in recent months that has now become more acute. The Jimmy Morales government has systematically increased the persecution of community leaders, activists, journalists and trade unionists.
Luis Alpirez Guzmán, General Secretary of the National Union of Health Workers of Guatemala (SNTSG), and Dora Regina Ruano, from the same organization, were detained for nearly ten days (17-28 January) for negotiating and signing a collective agreement between the union and the Ministry of Health authorities back in 2013.
Our featured image shows our beloved Miriam (1947-2012), a great human rights defender
HE WHO PERMITS OPPRESSION PERMITS CRIMES.-Desiderius Erasmus (1466-1536)
Desiderius Erasmus in 1523 as depicted by Hans Holbein the Younger. The Greek and Latin words on the book translate to “The Herculean Labors of Erasmus of Rotterdam”.
CHARITY CORNER
This week we turn our attention to the Center of Reproductive Rights. They are now marking 46 years since Roe vs Wade. Please donate to support access to abortion and other rights.
INDIGENOUS PEOPLE
Indigenous tribes do not simply die out. They are killed by the actions of so-called civilized nations. Survival International provides a long list of cases in which a letter from you can and will make a difference. Please open this link and write at least one letter. This link will be a permanent feature on our blog and we would be grateful if you gave it a bit of attention each week. We suggest going down the list in the order given. The letters are pre-written for you. All you need to do is send them. It would be nice also if a donation to Survival International could be forthcoming. They are the best conservationists--help that fact go viral.
We have added this section to the blog in order to join the struggle against slavery worldwide. This week we refer you to the the ILO’s Protocol on Forced Labor which is all about modern slavery. We call your attention to the anti slavery campaign. There you can sign up for action updates.The importance of checking your sellers’ supply chains cannot be overemphasized.
Urgent Action Update: Lawyer Detained In Undisclosed Location
On 15 January 2019, Hoda Abdelmoniem appeared before the prosecution for investigation, and her pre-trial detention was renewed for 15 days. Hoda told her daughter that she is being detained in an undisclosed location. Hoda’s last appearance before the public prosecution was on 21 November 2018, after her 20 days of enforced disappearance. From 2 December 2018 until 14 January 2019, Hoda’s lawyer and family could not find her in any prison and did not know about her fate and whereabouts.
Urgent Action: Administrative Detention for Facebook Posts
Kishorchandra Wangkhem, a journalist based in Manipur, India, was arrested in August, and again in November 2018, because of Facebook posts where he criticized the government. While he was released on bail in both cases, on 27 November, he was arrested under the National Security Act (NSA). This draconian administrative detention law allows for him to be imprisoned for 12 months without charge or trial, in violation of regular criminal justice safeguards. The High Court of Manipur will hear his challenge to his detention under the NSA on 1 February 2019.
Urgent Action Update: New Charges Against Prisoner of Conscience
A photo of Mehman Huseynov, photojournalist, blogger and youth activist on Azerbaijan, potentially facing 5 years in jail on charges of \”hooliganism\”.
On 26 December 2018, the Azerbaijani authorities brought new criminal charges against prisoner of conscience Mehman Huseynov, just as his current jail term nears to an end. The prominent journalist has been charged with assault for allegedly attacking an inspector at the detention center. Mehman Huseynov denies the accusation. On 26 December 2018, he went on a hunger strike in protest of the new criminal charges and there are now grave concerns for his health which has been reported by his lawyer as ‘critical’. If convicted, Mehman Huseynov could face up to seven more years in jail. He must be immediately and unconditionally released.
The Education International (EI) invites the global union community to write to President Rodrigo Duterte to express its outrage at the death threats received by the General Secretary of the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT), Mr. Raymond Basilio, and at the unlawful profiling of union members by the Philippine authorities.
