Our featured image shows Miriam, a human rights defender, 1947-2012
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”.
HE WHO PERMITS OPPRESSION PERMITS CRIMES.-Desiderius Erasmus (1466-1536)
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CHARITY CORNER
This week we turn our attention to the issue of domestic violence in Israel. We call your attention to the charity No2Violence, founded in 1977 by Ruth Resnick.
“No2Violence” was established in 1977 in Herzliya, in order to save women and children suffering from domestic violence, enabling them to leave and start a new life by providing them with shelter, professional help, vocational training, legal aid and by raising awareness about domestic violence.
“No2Violence”‘s main activity is the management and operation of 3 shelters for abused women and their children.
A drawing by a child in a shelter–the words are “broken heart.”
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.
A major calamity for indigenous people is forced “development”. Help stamp it out.
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.
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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 forced labor in the cotton fields of Uzbekistan!
URGENT ACTION CASES
TURKEY
In Turkey today, it’s dangerous to speak your mind.
Since the July 2016 failed coup attempt, more than 100,000 people have faced criminal investigations and possible prosecution, and more than 50,000 people have been imprisoned pending trial. Turkey is also the biggest jailer of journalists, with more than 120 finding themselves behind bars, simply for doing their job.
Those who continue to speak out and stand up for human rights in Turkey are paying a heavy price.
Being exposed to smear campaigns on social media and in pro-government media is often just the beginning. At any moment they might be arrested and find themselves in prison for months on baseless charges. This climate of fear leads to self-censorship. Activists start hesitating to raise their voices, knowing they could be thrown in jail for what they say.
As human rights lawyer Eren Keskin told Amnesty: “I try to express my views freely but I am also acutely aware of thinking twice before speaking or writing.”
Eren Keskin has been repeatedly prosecuted over several decades. ©Amnesty International
Please click and join the campaign.
IRAN
Urgent Action Update: Iranian Trade Unionist on Hunger Strike
Iranian trade unionist Esmail Abdi started a hunger strike on 24 April,
to protest against the treatment of teachers and workers in Iran, on the
one hand, and the denial of his requests for prison leave, on the other.
Esmail Abdi is a prisoner of conscience serving a six-year sentence in
Tehran’s Evin prison for his peaceful trade union activities.
PAKISTAN
Urgent Action: Disappeared Human Rights Defender at Risk of Torture
Deedar Ali Shabrani, a journalist from Pakistan’s Sindh province, is believed to have been forcibly disappeared and may be at high risk of torture and death. No information about his whereabouts are known since he was taken from his home by armed men in the early hours of 16 December 2017.
NICARAGUA
Urgent Action: State Repressing Demonstrators
Nicaraguan authorities have responded violently to demonstrations taking place throughout the country by repressing protesters, and violating their rights to freedom of expression and assembly. At least 28 people have been killed in this context since 18 April, including students.
TAKE ACTION
CHINA
Urgent Action Update: Chinese Activist’s 8 Year Sentence Upheld
Prominent Chinese activist Wu Gan (better known by his pen name Tufu, ‘The Butcher’) continues to face grave risks of torture and other ill-treatment after the Tianjin Municipal High People’s Court rejected his appeal and upheld his sentence of eight years’ imprisonment for subverting state power.
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