Group 48 Newsletter - April 2011

Amnesty International USA Group 48

Newsletter04.11

1 Act to Protect Two Indonesian Prisoners of Conscience

2 RWANDA: Urge Government to Reveal Whereabouts of Disappeared Businessman

4 BURUNDI: Update on Ernest Manirumva Trial and Action Request

5 CHINA: Urgent Action - Prisoner of Conscience

7 Troy Davis - Appeal denied, but the fight continues!

AIUSA-Group 48http://aipdx.org 503-227-1878Next Meeting: Friday April 8thFirst Unitarian Church1011 SW 12th Ave7:00pm informal gathering 7:30pm meeting starts

NewsLetter Designed By Michelle Whitlock MichelleWhitlock.com

Act to Protect Two Indonesian Prisoners of ConscienceFrom reliable first-hand reports, Amnesty has learned about unneces-sary abuse of two political prisoners in Papua , Indonesia. On March 7, politi-cal prisoner (Individual at Risk) Filep Karma was returned to Abepura prison from police detention in Jayapura. As public humiliation he and two other prisoners were forced to squat and

“duck walk” from the entrance of the prison to an isolation cell. A guard pub-licly touched Filep intimately, ostensibly searching for a cell phone. They are forced to sleep on the floor of the cell. Guards confiscated a sleeping mat given to Filep by his family.

Buchtar Tabuni was transferred to Doyo prison. His attorney, Anung Siregar has been refused access to him, as have most members of his family. His fiancée had to claim to be his wife to visit him.

Amnesty International considers Filep and Buchtar prisoners of conscience. The Indonesian government recognizes that they are political prisoners. Both have well-established records of non-violence.

Please text message or fax or email the authorities below asking respectfully that:

◌ Filep not be humiliated or mistreated by guards, and that he be given his bed.

◌ That Buchtar’s family and attorney be allowed reasonable access to him, and that he not be abused or mistreated.

◌ That neither Filep Karma nor Buchtar Tabuni be held in isolation, as they are not threats to guards nor other prisoners.

Drs. Liberty Sitinjak Kepala Lapas IIA - Abepura Jalan Kesehatan 11, Jayapura Papua 999351, Indonesia

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AIUSA group 48 Newsletter April 2011 Pg 2

TEXT MESSAGE TO: +62 813 70201123 Fax 011 62 967 581705 email: [email protected]

Copy To Dr. Harkristuti Harkrisnowo Director General of Human Rights Ministry of Justice and Human Rights Jakarta, Indonesia Email: [email protected]

Please share any responses with: Max White Country Specialist, Indonesia and Timor-Lesté Amnesty International USA 9275 SW Westhaven Dr. Portland Or 97225 USA +1-503-292-8168 +1-503-544-0690 mobile [email protected]

RWANDA: Urge Government to Reveal Whereabouts of Disappeared Businessman

in Kigali. On that morning, he was driving a silver grey Toyo-ta Vista registration number RAA 060Y but never reached his brother’s home in Kigali, as planned. Family members tried to contact him by telephone later that morning. At first, he did not answer and by mid-morning, his phone was switched-off.

His family reported him missing to the Rwandan National Se-curity Service (NSS) on 27 March 2010, but have not received further news from the NSS about his whereabouts. On 7 May 2010, Robert Ndengeye Urayeneza made a phone call saying that he was detained at an unknown location in Rwanda. No-one has heard from him since.

In October 2010, Amnesty International received credible information suggesting that Robert Ndengeye Urayeneza was detained in Rwandan military custody.

The Rwandan Ministry of Defence did not respond to a letter from Amnesty International requesting information on Rob-ert Ndengeye Urayeneza’s whereabouts in November 2010. In October 2010, two months after a written request for infor-mation, the Rwandan police confirmed that Robert Ndengeye Urayeneza was not in police custody. They suggested that Amnesty International instead direct enquiries to the Ministry of Defense.

Amnesty International calls on the Rwandan authorities to: ◌ Immediately reveal the fate or whereabouts of Robert

Ndengeye Urayeneza.

◌ Promptly charge Robert Ndengeye Urayeneza with a rec-ognizable criminal offence and transfer him from military to civilian custody or release him.

On 27 January 2011, Amnesty International urged the Rwandan government to immediately reveal the whereabouts of Robert Ndengeye Urayeneza, not seen since his enforced disappearance in Kigali, Rwanda’s capital, on 26 March 2010.

Amnesty International believes that Robert NdengeyeUrayeneza is detained in military custody in Rwanda and should be released.

Robert Ndengeye Urayeneza, a dual citizen of Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), was living in Gisenyi and working as a businessman and on the Ecumeni-cal Program for Peace, Conflict Transformation and Recon-ciliation (PAREC) demobilization program in the DRC at the time of his enforced disappearance. He was the leader of an armed opposition group, the Front patriotique congolais, in eastern DRC in the late 1990’s. The group disbanded and later reformed before being integrated into the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC).

Mr. Urayeneza was last seen on 26 March 2010 around 6am when he dropped a family member at Nyabugogo Bus Station »

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Group CoordinatorJoanne [email protected]

Concert TablingWill [email protected]

Newsletter EditorDan [email protected]

TreasurerTena [email protected]

Legislative CoordinatorDan Johnson503-310-4540 [email protected]

Indonesia RANMax [email protected]

Central Africa RANTerrie Rodello503-246-6836 [email protected]

OR State Death Penalty Abolition CoordinatorTerrie Rodello503-246-6836 [email protected]

Central America RANMarylou Noble503-245-6923marylou_noble@ yahoo.com

Prisoners' Cases & DarfurJane [email protected] [email protected]

AIUSA Group 48 Contact Information

◌ If charged, grant Robert Ndengeye Urayeneza with all the legal safeguards available under Rwandan law, including the right of regular access to a lawyer and a prompt and fair trial which meets international standards.

◌ Immediately release or else reveal the whereabouts and charge any other individuals subjected to incommunicado detention or enforced disappearance.

◌ Bring any individuals subjected to incommunicado deten-tion promptly before a court to review the legality of their detention.

◌ Bring to justice all those responsible for ordering or car-rying out enforced disappearances, regardless of rank, in proceedings which meet international fair trial standards.

Action Please write a letter like the sample below requesting action from the Rwandan government on behalf of Robert Ndeng-eye Urayeneza with a copy to the Rwandan ambassador in the United States. Sample Letter President Paul Kagame Presidence de la Republique BP 15 Kigali Rwanda

Dear President Kagame, I am writing about the case of Robert Ndengeye Urayeneza, whom Amnesty International believes is detained in military custody in Rwanda. He has been missing since March 2010. The conditions of his disappearance would seem to indicate that he was apprehended, but requests for information con-cerning his case have not been heeded.

We are requesting that the Rwandan government immediately reveal the fate or whereabouts of Robert Ndengeye Urayeneza.

If he is suspected of having committed a crime, please promptly charge Robert Ndengeye Urayeneza with a recog-nizable criminal offence and transfer him from military to ci-vilian custody or release him. If he is charged, we request that the Rwandan authorities grant Robert Ndengeye Urayeneza with all the legal safeguards available under Rwandan law,

including the right of regular access to a lawyer and a prompt and fair trial which meets international standards.

As other individuals were apparently also apprehended, and have disappeared, since last March, we are requesting you im-mediately release or else reveal the whereabouts and charge any other individuals subjected to incommunicado detention or enforced disappearance. We also request you bring any individuals subjected to incommunicado detention promptly before a court to review the legality of their detention.

Disappearances are an abrogation of each individual’s human rights. We request you bring to justice all those responsible for ordering or carrying out enforced disappearances, regard-less of rank, in proceedings which meet international fair trial standards. Sincerely,

Copy to His Excellency James Kimonyo Ambassador to United States for Rwanda »


Rwanda Embassy 1714 New Hampshire Avenue Northwest Washington D.C., DC 20009-2502

Tel: (202) 232-2882 mailto:[email protected] http://www.rwandaembassy.org

BURUNDI: Update on Ernest Manirumva Trial and Action Requestthe work of third commission of enquiry, and the recently disclosed findings from the FBI enquiry, had implicated high-ranking members of the security forces.

Civil society continues to speak out about the lack of prog-ress and Gabriel Rufyiri, Pierre-Claver Mbonimpa, Pacifique Nininahazwe and Solange Habonimana (The human rights defenders in Burundi leading the campaign to bring justice for Mr. Maniruva’s family.) holding are continuing their work despite the risks. Civil society groups, lead by the Forum for the Strengthening of Civil Society (Forum pour le Renforce-ment de la Société Civile, FORSC) issued a public statement on 9 February in which they reiterated the demands of the lawyers. They urged the authorities to prioritize the case and promptly set a date for the new trial.

Pacifique Nininahazwe continues to act as spokesperson for the campaign. On 18 February, he told journalists that:

“thanks to the FBI investigations and the third commission, certain leads have been identified -all that remains now is to follow them up.”

A date for a new trial has not been set. Continued campaign-ing will really make a difference.

Action The second anniversary of Ernest Manirumva’s killing is fast approaching (8-9 April). If possible, please take the following action on the Facebook account for the President of Burundi President Nkurunziza.

Please write directly to President Nkurunziza’s Facebook account. The Amnesty International Burundi team hopes to send a large number of messages from 8 to 15 April.

His account is at the following link: (Click on the icon in the right-hand corner marked “message”).

http://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=100000586692795

If you do not have a Facebook account, please send faxes to M. Wagara, the President’s Chief of Staff (Chef de Cabinet du President) fax: 011 257 22 24 89 08.

The Amnesty International Burundi Research Team sent the following update on the trial of those accused of the April 2009 murder of Ernest Manirumva, the vice-president of the Burundian group Anti-corruption and Economic Malpractice Observatory (l’Observatoire de lutte contre la corruption et les malversations économiques), OLUCOME.

From the Amnesty International Burundi Research Team: There has been little progress in bringing to justice the individuals alleged to have murdered Ernest Manirumva. A trial date was set for 19 January at the Appeals Court (Cour d’Appel) in Bujumbura.

Amnesty International issued a public statement on 18 Janu-ary 2011 (Burundi: Activists write in solidarity on the Ernest Manirumva campaign: http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/AFR16/001/2011/en). The statement drew attention to Amnesty International’s solidarity action for the four human rights defenders working on the “Justice for Ernest Mani-rumva” campaign. The statement was distributed widely in Burundi and received good coverage. Our solidarity has shown that the case is receiving attention worldwide.

However, the trial was adjourned on procedural grounds.

The Prosecutor (Procureur Général de la Cour d’Appel) ruled that the Manirumva file would have to be transferred to the High Court (Tribunal de Grande Instance).

On 21 January, the lawyers acting on behalf of OLUCOME held a press conference. They requested that additional investigations, including DNA testing, be carried out because »

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Please cut and paste the written message below. Mr. President, I am writing to you on the second anniversary of the killing of Ernest Manirumva, the former vice president of the Anti-corruption and Economic Malpractice Observatory “OLU-COME”. He was found stabbed to death outside his home on 9 April 2009.

A trial was set for 19 January 2011 at the Appeals Court (Cour d’Appel) in Bujumbura. However, it was adjourned on proce-dural grounds.

On the second anniversary of Ernest Manirumva’s murder, I kindly request that you:

◌ Bring all perpetrators to justice – including those who may hold senior positions in the security forces.

◌ Ask the Burundian authorities to investigate all threats against civil society activists who have called for justice for Manirumva, and bring the perpetrators to justice.

◌ Make a public statement making an unequivocal commit-ment to deliver justice in this critical case.

◌ Ask the prosecutor general to ensure the protection of wit-nesses,

◌ Encourage the Burundian authorities to establish a witness protection mechanism that will allow witnesses to provide testimony safely, especially witnesses who may hold informa-tion implicating members of the security forces.

I thank you for taking the time to consider my request. Yours sincerely, (ENTER NAME HERE)

CHINA: Urgent Action - Prisoner of ConscienceLiu Xianbin (m)

The political rights that will be officially taken away from him include the right to vote and the right to freedom of speech.

His wife Chen Mingxian was allowed to attend the trial. This was the first time she had seen Liu Xianbin since June last year.

Several local activists were detained on 24 March and released only after the trial, seemingly in an attempt to prevent them from showing their support to Liu Xianbin.

Background Since his release from prison in November 2008, Liu Xianbin has continued his democracy activism and defense of human rights. He has published articles on human rights and democ-racy and worked to increase public awareness of other perse-cuted activists. He has supported Charter 08, a proposal for fundamental legal and political reform in China that aims to achieve a democratic system that respects human rights, co-authored by Liu Xiaobo, the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate.

Liu Xianbin was detained on 28 June 2010. He was detained because of articles he wrote for Minzhu Zhongguo (Demo-cratic China) online magazine and because of his support of other democracy activists and human rights defenders, including Chen Yunfei and three netizens from Fujian prov-ince who had been charged with “defamation” after they had

On 25 March, veteran democracy activist Liu Xianbin was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment and to two years and four months deprivation of political rights. He is a prisoner of conscience.

The Suining People’s Intermediate People’s Court tried Liu Xianbin in the morning of 25 March 2011 on charges of ‘incit-ing subversion of state power’.

The judge did not allow Liu Xianbin to read out to the court his defense statement and interrupted his lawyers when they tried to speak in his defense. The court found him guilty as charged. Liu Xianbin has said he will appeal the judgment.

This is the third time Liu Xianbin has been sentenced to prison. Previously he has served sentences for ‘counter-revolutionary propaganda and incitement’ and ‘subversion’.

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alleged police malpractice (many young Chinese bloggers and tweeters refer to themselves as ‘netizens’, ie. active citizens on the internet).

The lawyer chosen by his family, Ma Xiaopeng, was able to meet with him once in July 2010. However, thereafter his access to Liu Xianbin to prepare for the trial was severely impeded. In September and December meetings were not allowed on the grounds that Liu Xianbin’s case involved so-called “state secrets.” According to China’s Criminal Law, anyone convicted of crimes endangering state security which include ‘inciting subversion’ is in addition to any other pun-ishment also sentenced to deprivation of political rights as a supplementary punishment. This means the deprivation of following rights

(1) the right to vote and to stand for election;

(2) the rights of freedom of speech, of the press, of assembly, of association, of procession and of demonstration;

(3) the right to hold a position in a State organ; and

(4) the right to hold a leading position in any State-owned company, enterprise, institution or people’s organization.

Action Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible:

◌ Urging the authorities to release Liu Xianbin immediately and unconditionally.

◌ Urging them to guarantee his safety whilst he remains in prison.

◌ Urging them to guarantee that he has access to his lawyers and his family.

◌ Urging the authorities to take effective measures to ensure freedom of expression in line with Chinese constitutional guarantees and the International Covenant on Civil and Po-litical Rights (ICCPR), which China has signed and declared an intention to ratify in the near future.

Appeals To President of the Sichuan Provincial Higher People’s Court Liu Yushun Yuanzhang Sichuansheng Gaoji Renmin Fayuan

108 Zhengfujie Qinyangqu Chengdushi 610017 Sichuansheng PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA Email:[email protected] Salutation: Dear President

Director of Suining City Public Security Bureau Wang Minghua Juzhang 19 Heping Lu Chuanshan Qu Suining Shi Sichuansheng PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA Salutation: Dear Director

Premier of the People’s Republic of China WEN Jiabao Guojia Zongli The State Council General Office 2 Fuyoujie Xichengqu Beijingshi 100017 PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA Fax: 011 86 10 65961109 (c/o Ministry of Foreign Affairs) Salutation: Your Excellency

Copies To Ambassador Zhang Yesui Embassy of the People’s Republic of China

Within the United States $0.28 - Postcards $0.44 - Letters and Cards up to 1 oz.

To Canada $0.75 - Postcards $0.75 - Airmail Letters and Cards up to 1 oz.

To Mexico $0.79 - Postcards $0.79 - Airmail Letters and Cards up to 1 oz.

To all other destination countries $0.98 - Postcards $0.98 - Airmail Letters and Cards up to 1 oz.

Postage Rates

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3505 International Place NW Washington DC 20008 Fax: 1 202 495-2138 Email: [email protected]

PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the AIUSA Urgent Action office if sending ap-peals after 6 May 2011.

Troy Davis - Appeal denied, but the fight continues!By, Laura Moye, AIUSA Death Penalty Abolition Campaign Director and Terrie Rodello, AIUSA Oregon State Death Penalty Abolition Coordinator

Print out and collect the hardcopy petition (return them to the address on the petition form) http://www.amnestyusa.org/abolish/pdf/TroyDavisPetition.pdf

2. Please send these sign-on letters to your contacts (we do not have nearly enough signatures yet)

Religious leader sign-on letter: http://www.amnestyusa.org/pdf/clergy%20sign-on%20letter-10-22-10%20final.pdf

Legal professionals sign-on letter: http://www.amnestyusa.org/pdf/legal%20sign-on%20letter-10-22-10%20final.pdf

3. Be prepared to come out for an international day of solidarity If an execution date gets scheduled, which is now very likely, we will hold a day of action. We will join our voices across the U.S. and across the world to tell the parole board in Atlanta that Troy Davis must not be executed. Vigils, tabling, street-corner demos and other activities will be encouraged on this day. We will use this action to drive up the number of peti-tions and generate media visibility. Stay tuned for a date and instructions.

4. Spread the news Here’s our press statement: http://tinyurl.com/4o9zdg8

Please tweet and Facebook-share the blog entry: http://blog.amnestyusa.org/deathpenalty/troy-davis-appeal-denied-execution-date-could-loom/

Let’s all tell Georgia: Especially when there’s doubt, do not execute!

The struggle continues!

Troy Davis’ appeal before the U.S. Supreme Court was de-nied this morning. This puts him at risk of an execution date within as few as two weeks. We are concerned, but we remain determined in our fight to prevent him from being executed!

Amnesty International members throughout the world are reacting to this news. Now is the time to mobilize our clem-ency campaign to prevent his execution. The State Board of Pardons and Paroles is the entity (not the governor) who can spare Troy Davis and who can commute his sentence to life. We will continue to collect these petitions at our offices so that we can deliver them in person to the board.

Action 1. Please continue to amass petitions on Troy Davis’ behalf Spread the online petition: http://tinyurl.com/l79wpy

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AIUSA group 48 Newsletter April 2011

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Group 48 Newsletter - April 2011

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