The group met for a business meeting yesterday and the Minutes are now completed.
Ex Ambassador to Saudi Arabia speaks
On the occasion of Saudi National Day, I am reminded of the great history of Saudi Arabia. Today, the Saudi people can be rightly proud of their nation, of their history and their developments. Saudi Arabia is a strong nation, an important player in the world and a key partner of the UK. The development of this nation began with unification.
Sir John Jenkins, September 2014
Sir John Jenkins was the Ambassador to Saudi Arabia and has been in the news recently following the mass execution of 47 people in that country. He was interviewed on the Today programme on the BBC and was asked if he wished to condemn the executions. This question seemed to vex him and prompted him to write a three page piece in the New Statesman (8 – 14 January 2016) in which he attempted to explain the quandary he found himself in. He wrote:
I understand the point of the question. But I have been wondering since then what exactly it is that I and others hare being invited to condemn. The fact of the execution its nature, the Shia identity of the victim [Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr] his status as a cleric, that the Saudis still practise capital punishment, the nature of their judicial system, the timing of the act, the suspicion that it might undermine the peace process in Syria or infuriate Iran – or perhaps all of this and more?
He then goes into a long explanation of the history of the country and its tortuous relationship with Iran and other neighbours. At the heart of the article is the assumption is that most of those executed along with al Nimr were terrorists. He then goes on to say that one might still think it is an act of state brutality and should be condemned as such but that this position is not a policy. The signal the Saudis sought to send out was that they will enforce the judgement of the courts on those who seek to undermine the stability of the kingdom.
The article begs a number of questions not least of which is the fact that most of those executed were not terrorists but people who are protesting at the iniquities of the state itself. Nothing like fair trials took place which is not unusual. Torture is routine and prisoners are denied access to lawyers.
His response and the subsequent article attracted some interest and a biting piece in Private Eye (No 1409). They pointed out that Sir John was now executive director of the International Institute of Strategic Studies. A quick look at their web site reveals who it is who funds the charity. It is an interesting list and includes Lockheed Martin; BAE Systems; HSBC; British American Tobacco; Exxon; Raytheon; Ministry of Defence; Ministry of defense (Saudi Arabia) and so on, all organisations with a vested interest and substantial business interests in Saudi. It also receives substantial funding from FCO. Once again we see the interests of arms and other companies exercising undue influence over the opinion makers. Private Eye makes the point that it is a pity the BBC did not mention to its listeners the funding behind the institute when interviewing people like Sir John. Many might have been misled into thinking that they were hearing the wisdom of a former Ambassador not someone speaking for a range of arms firms and other business interests. No wonder Sir John was in such a quandary. He wants us to believe that Saudi is a strong nation. It is a long way from that. It is deeply corrupt and far from progressing seems by its recent actions, to be regressing.
Urgent Action: Florida
This is the latest urgent action, this time for the ‘sunshine’ state of Florida. Urgent Actions are a key part of Amnesty activity and we ask that people spare a moment or two to write a letter or letters to the people 
concerned. You can try emailing but these are frequently blocked. You can read the details in the attachment below. If you can write it would be appreciated. Our monthly death penalty report is available.
Death penalty report
The latest death penalty report is now available and thanks to group member Lesley for assembling it. The full year summary has already been posted. It has been a particularly difficult month with a rash of executions in Saudi Arabia and Pakistan has been active as well. In earlier posts we have discussed the feeble response by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to the execution of 47 individuals in Saudi recently and we have argued that the government is more concerned with arms sales than with the human rights in that country.
We have a small team which responds to urgent actions many of which are connected to the death penalty. You are welcome to join us and we will forward you details and cases from time to time.
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Film about ‘honour violence’
Film focusing on ‘honour violence’ to be shown in London
Honor Diaries is the first film to break the silence on ‘honor violence’ against women and girls. It 
features nine courageous women’s rights advocates, with connections to Muslim-majority societies, who are engaged in a dialogue about gender inequality. These women, who have witnessed firsthand the hardships women endure, are profiled in their efforts to affect change, both in their communities and beyond.
The film gives a platform to exclusively female voices and seeks to expose the paralyzing political correctness that prevents many from identifying, understanding and addressing this international human rights disaster. Freedom of movement, the right to education, forced marriage, and female genital mutilation are some of the systematic abuses explored in depth.
Spurred by the Arab Uprising, women who were once silent are starting to speak out about gender inequality and are bringing visibility to a long history of oppression. This project draws together leading women’s rights activists and provides a platform where their voices can be heard and serves as inspiration to motivate others to speak out.
Free tickets are available via Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/honor-diaries-screening-and-qa-tickets-19997574283”
When: Thursday, 28 January 2016 from 19:00 to 22:00 (GMT)
Where: Amnesty International UK – 25 New Inn Yard London EC2A 3EA GB
Please note this video contains images which will distress some people – viewer discretion is advised
Urgent action: Iran
Juvenile at risk of execution
With all the current focus on Saudi Arabia and their barbaric activities, we forget that across the water is Iran which is the second highest executioner of its people after China. This urgent action concerns a Hamid Ahmadi who was 17 when arrested for allegedly stabbing another person. He was not allowed access to a lawyer or to his family and was allegedly tortured into confessing. He is now 24 and is being tried for a second time. Attached is a document which gives all the details and background.
If you have time we would be grateful if you could write.
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Arms sales and human rights
Arms sales dictating policy in Saudi Arabia
Readers of this blog will be familiar with our argument that oil and arms sales dictate our policy to the kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The execution of 47 people last week has caused an international outrage but not, predictably from our government. Philip Luther of Amnesty said:
It is a bloody day when the Saudi Arabian authorities execute 47 people, some of whom were clearly sentenced to death after grossly unfair trials. Carrying out a death sentence when there are serious questions about the fairness of the trial is a monstrous and irreversible injustice. The Saudi Arabian authorities must heed the growing chorus of international criticism and put an end to their execution spree
A policy document published by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 2011 curiously omits mention of Saudi Arabia in its list of countries where diplomats will be seeking to ‘positively drive forward’ the government’s ultimate goal of abolishing the death penalty. Countries such as China, the US, Iran and Belarus are among those listed, but not Saudi Arabia.
Philip Hammond the Defence Secretary said HMG was ‘disappointed’ in the actions of the Saudi authorities. Disappointment seems to be a rather limp response to make to such an appalling act. It was Mr Ellwood who responded to our message to John Glen MP last year in which we asked for a more robust response to the Saudi government. Both he and Mr Glen assured us that these matters were being pursued but as the revelations keep appearing – altering the Ministerial code; dropping the death penalty abolition as a specific policy, and now the omission of Saudi from the list of countries to be targeted – we see that it is devoid of real intent.
Many human rights organisations have criticised the executions and the craven stance taken by the UK government. Maya Foa of Reprieve said:
Saudi Arabia has consistently ranked in the world’s top five executioners, and a large proportion of beheadings carried out in the country have been for non-violent offences, including protest.
It is shocking that the Kingdom was absent from the counties targeted by the UK’s death penalty strategy over the past five years, when every other major executioner in the world – China, Iran, Iraq, the US and Pakistan – was included.
Amnesty said the omission was ‘astonishing’.
Does it matter?
Why does this matter? Firstly, the middle east is fraught with much violence and tension. Ministers – including the Prime minister – fulminate about the terrible events in the area controlled by IS but are noticeably reticent oven similar violence in Saudi. Imagine the Prime Minister commenting on the latest gruesome execution IS video and saying it was ‘disappointing’. By continuing to supply arms we are both helping to support the violence in the area and also aiding the bombing of neighbouring Yemen where women and children are dying. Our policy should primarily be about seeking peaceful resolutions to problems not trying to sell yet more arms.
Secondly, by being so dependent on arms sales, this becomes the main driver of our policy. Not what is best for the region, or the people of the Saudi regime, or human rights, but what effect will it have on the bottom line of BAE Systems. Our actions also lend them credibility. Instead of applying pressure to encourage a more civilised approach to the Shia minority, to the rights of women and to foreign workers, we arrange for a Saudi to be elected onto the UN’s Human Rights Council and express ‘disappointment’ at mass executions.
We also lay ourselves open to charges of hypocrisy. In seeking to promote civilised conduct around the world, to end the death penalty and stamp out torture, our approach to Saudi is both inconsistent and craven. It weakens our international voice.
Malcolm Rifkind was interviewed on the radio and his argument was that the Saudis provide us with valuable intelligence. Is the argument that we tolerate shocking behaviour so that – it is claimed – we get some intelligence? This seems rather thin since no doubt the Saudis receive comparable intelligence from us.
The arms sales tail seems to wag the policy dog and by our actions we are not helping the Kingdom to adapt to the modern world.
Mass Saudi executions
The news today that Saudi Arabia has carried out a mass execution of 47 people has caused international outrage and speculation about the future of the ‘House of Saud’ itself. In our review of 2015 we noted the continuing dire human rights situation in Saudi was a backdrop for the year. In particular, we noted the closeness of our government to the regime, whatever they did on the human rights front, and how we continued to sell them arms which were used to attack Yemen. This new outrage raises the bar and the scale of international reactions may indeed have a dramatic effect on the future of the country.
2015 in review (statistics)
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2015 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 2,800 times in 2015. If it were a cable car, it would take about 47 trips to carry that many people.
Card signing
On the Saturday before Christmas, we undertook a card signing in the Library passage in the centre of Salisbury. A total of 155 cards were signed and have now been posted to the 4 prisoners we highlighted.
Thanks to members who turned out to help with this and to those Salisbury people who gave up a few moments to sign a card or two.
Amnesty in Salisbury & South Wiltshire 