Amnesty in Salisbury & South Wiltshire
Promoting human rights from Salisbury UK
January 2025
We are pleased to attach the latest death penalty report thanks to group member Lesley for the work in compiling this. Iran features in this report with the suspension of its draconian legislation on women who do not dress appropriately. As ever, we note that China is believed to be the world’s largest executioner of its citizens but details are a state secret.
January 2025
For women, life under the Taliban is like living in a prison. Even prisons have windows but the latest edict from the Taliban is that no new buildings can have a window through which a woman can be seen. Existing buildings must have such windows blocked up or screened off. The reason is “seeing women working in kitchens, in courtyards or collecting water from wells can lead to obscene acts”. Thus spoke Hibatullah Akhundzada, leader of the Taliban.
This is just the latest draconian measure. Women have no rights to free movement, education or work. Outside they must be completely covered over. Protections for girls and women subject to domestic abuse have been demolished. There has been a surge of forced marriages for girls and women. A full report, published by Amnesty called Death in Slow Motion reveals the full horrific nature of life for women, if ‘life’ be the correct word to use, in Afghanistan.
Enter cricket and the question of whether England should play Afghanistan: men, of course, because women are not allowed to play cricket or anything else, and members of the nascent women’s cricket team fled the country. This brings up the familiar question of whether we should engage in sporting activities with countries that have little concept of, or adherence to, human rights. We have discussed Saudi Arabia’s huge investment in sport and the recent disgraceful decision to award them the football (soccer, US) World Cup.
Bizarrely the Guardian reports (7 January) the England and Wales Cricket Board are refusing to schedule games against Afghanistan out of concern for a deterioration of basic human rights for women in the country. They are however, along with Australia, happy to play them in next month’s Champions Trophy. They are quoted as saying that they do not think a ban would make much difference to the ruling party there and that a unilateral decision would be less effective than a unified one by the International Cricket Council.
What should be the response for sporting bodies to taking part in sports with regimes who do not observe human rights for all or part of their citizenry? Does playing sport offer hope as the ECB argue? Or does continuing to play sport bolster the regimes and enables them to bask in the publicity while doing nothing to improve rights? Indeed, does sport actually make matters worse? During the communist era, East Germany and USSR for example, used sport to promote the idea of a healthy and successful society. The Saudi regime is investing billions in its sporting activities simply to promote the country to the world. We call it ‘sportswashing’. This enables regimes to sanitise their image knowing that the excitement of sport will give them massive uncritical coverage.
Will playing cricket against Afghanistan offer hope in the country? It might provide some amusement to Afghan men to watch their team, but the women? On the one hand it might put a spotlight on the country and its appalling treatment of women (good). On the other, it offers some favourable publicity to the regime and demonstrates to Afghanis that when money is on offer, the West very quickly loses its moral scruples (bad).
Meanwhile, a group of politicians led by Tonia Antiniazzi (Lab), has written to the ECB expressing their deep concern. The ECB’s responses can be seen in this BBC Sport report. Neither local MPs, John Glen nor Danny Kruger have signed the letter.
Sources: ECB, The Guardian, Amnesty International, BBC
Peter Curbishley
On Saturday 18th January at 1pm, Exeter Amnesty group hosts the film, All Static and Noise, at Exeter Phoenix, followed by a Q&A session with Nabila Hanson, AIUK China Coordinator. The plight of Uyghurs in China does not receive the attention it deserves. Governments are keen to forge relationships with the country for commercial reasons. Little attention is paid for example to the scandal of cotton produced using forced or slave labour in the region which finds its way into clothes sold on our high streets.
In the film, All Static & Noise, by David Novack, survivors and their families risk everything to expose the truth of China’s Uyghur detention and ‘re-education’ camps. Jewher, a Uyghur teen from China, lands in the US after she is violently separated from her father at the Beijing airport. Abduweli, a linguist and poet imprisoned and tortured for teaching Uyghur language, leaves for Istanbul upon his release. Together, they join survivors of China’s “re-education camps” and their families, in Turkey, Kazakhstan, Europe and the United States to expose atrocities with the hope that global awareness brings change.
Saturday 18th January 2025 1pm Tickets £7 www.exeterphoenix.org.uk 01392 667080 https://exeterphoenix.org.uk/events/all-static-and-noise/
Image from the film site.
January 2025
Another year and we held our 57th Vigil in Salisbury yesterday (4 January). A bitterly cold evening and snow threatened. Over 30 attended and we were pleased with some passers-by stopping to join us for a brief while.
The death toll is now around 46,000. It was reported that 6 infants died of cold.
Peace talks are set to resume, but they are unlikely to make much progress before President Trump takes office in a few weeks.
We are pleased to attach a video from yesterday made by Peter Gloyns;
Recent posts;
January 2025.
December 2024
The fighting still goes on in Gaza and the death toll is over 45,000 many of whom are women and children. This week, the last functioning hospital in northern Gaza was ordered to evacuate and has been largely destroyed by the IDF. It is claimed the hospital is a ‘terrorist hub’. There are reports of bombing next to the hospital denied by the IDF. As foreign media is denied access, the claims cannot be verified. The World Health Organisation said it was ‘appalled’ by the move and it does seem to be part of the undeclared plan to empty the area of all Palestinians. This is denied by the Israeli government.
We held our vigil again this evening (28 December) with over 30 in attendance. About 50 passers by took notice.
The prospects do not look good. Last weeks talk of peace talks do not look to be progressing well. Commentators are saying that Netanyahu has strengthened his position despite the court case. He has Donald Trump to look forward to who is pro-Israel and, importantly, pro the hard right in the Knesset. The new US Ambassador is very pro-Israel and speaks of the region in biblical terms.
A video of the vigil can be viewed here
Recent posts:
We shall be holding the first vigil of the New Year on Saturday 4th at 5pm.
December 2024
A useful review of the year as far as human rights in the UK is concerned has just been produced by Each Other. They point to a number of human rights concerns in the UK. One issue were the calls for the country to leave the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR). A leading proponent of this was the East Wiltshire MP Danny Kruger. According to Politics he says the ‘Conservatives will not get back into power unless they make a commitment to leave the Convention’. The anger felt by Kruger and some of his colleagues concerns the issue of immigration and how we deal with people arriving here.
Immigration has indeed been one of the hot political topics during the year and was a key feature during the July election. There was a long drawn out proposal to send people to Rwanda and the first flight with the first of the deportees was due to leave from nearby Boscombe Down airfield. At the last moment, the European Court stepped in. It said more time should be allowed to consider the issue. It was this intervention which angered so many in the then government. Rwanda was abandoned by the Labour government.
Another important development during the year was the effects of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 which increased police powers to prevent or limit protests. We have the right to free speech and to assembly. Protests frequently anger governments of all stripes and it does not seem the Labour government is in any rush to repeal the act. The act has a deadening effect on protests – at least that was its intention. Protests have taken place with climate and the Palestine issue chief among them.
The Online Safety Bill is another contentious issue. It pits the right to free expression against guarding against hate speech. The murder of three little girls in Southport brought the issue to a head. Social media accounts alleged the alleged murderer was a Muslim and had arrived by boat. He is neither. It sparked widespread rioting and attacks on police and asylum hotels.
However, although most of the opprobrium was directed at social media, legacy media have maintained a prolonged campaign against immigrants, the boat people and Muslims. The Media Diversity Institute provides a number of examples and others are not difficult to find. They laid a groundwork for demonising ‘others’ and the response to the murders in Southport was arguably a result. Blame focused almost entirely on the rioters (correctly) and social media. The role of print media largely escaped censure.
Democracy and human rights are under threat in the UK. Elon Musk’s alleged major investment in a party in the UK will distort our politics if it happens. Musk is strongly against trade unions, for example. He has turned his X platform into a mouthpiece of far-right views. He regards the UK as a ‘tyrannical police state’. The point is not the expression of his views, which are shared by many, but that he has enormous wealth to put them into action.
Seasons greetings to our readers.
December 2024
It is gratifying to be able to report some good news concerning the death penalty particularly at this time of year. Yesterday, 22 December, President Biden commuted 37 death sentences turning the sentences into life without the possibility of parole. This, which will be one of his last acts of his presidency, was widely welcomed in the States and elsewhere.
Biden has come some way from his time as a Senator when he championed a bill to widen the scope of the death penalty to a further 60 new offences. It is ironic that some of those who are having their sentences commuted – with a preponderance of Black people – were condemned as a result of his bill.
Part of the reason is the worry about when President-elect Trump takes office in a month or so. Trump put more people to death than the previous ten presidents combined. He is committed to the penalty and with a compliant Supreme Court, there will be little to stop him. Biden said: “In all conscience, I cannot stand back and let a new administration resume executions that I halted”.
These are Federal death penalty cases and it does not affect state actions.
Amnesty is opposed to the death penalty in all circumstances. The local group produces a monthly report on its use around the world.
Sources: The White House; BBC; NBC; ACLU; USA Today
Recent posts:
December 2024
A key part of our democracy is our ability to protest peacefully. We have a right to free speech and a right of assembly. The Conservative government passed several laws which restricted these rights but the new Labour government seems in no hurry to repeal previous legislation.
The public is in two minds about demonstrations. They object to the climate protestors and some are happy that they were jailed for throwing paint at pictures or obstructing the M25. In the last century, there was similar disquiet at the suffragettes who took actual violent action in their pursuit of their desire for votes for women. They were referred to as ‘terrorists’ and ‘anarchists’ in their day.
What is not understood or widely accepted is that governments are not too keen at having their policies objected to. They are able to force through poor or ill-thought through legislation by whipping or coercion of their MPs. If the public objects or points out inadequacies in their policies their instinctive reaction is to stifle them. Many reforms come about as a result of protest, rights for gay people for example. With the new legislation, they have given wider powers to the police to arrest or prevent such demonstrations. Forty people will be behind bars this Christmas, in already overcrowded prisons, for planning or taking part in protests either for climate change or Gaza. British police arrest environmental protesters at nearly three times the global average rate, research has found, revealing the country as a world leader in the legal crackdown on climate activism.
Public opinion is clearly influenced by the media which adopts a variety of different positions concerning protests. Some of the tabloids are keen to demonise climate protestors using words like ‘thugs’ or ‘eco zealots’. Some are happy to demonise those who are in support of Palestinians. Declassified has produced a video of a march in support of Palestine. The march was peaceful yet it was smeared by both the Times and Daily Mail. The latter suggested that it was sufficiently threatening for MPs to be frightened of leaving Parliament. The film shows this to be nonsense. There were two protestors and MPs were able to leave unmolested! Members of the public are seen strolling by. Police are stood about chatting. Orthodox Jews are present in support of the demonstration. This is but one example of our legacy media creating the impression of violent anti-Semites and anti-Israel protestors. It is interesting to note that the farmers held protests in London a week or so ago blocking roads with tractors. None were arrested and they were not demonised by the media.
Liberty are launching a campaign #WeProtest. They are on a mission to restore protest rights after years of decline, by making the case for how protest has made the UK a better place for everyone. We all have the right to speak out on issues that matter to us and our communities. Perhaps it’s saving your local library, or equal rights, or environmental justice. Whatever is important to you, you have the right to protest. This campaign is in partnership with the thinktank Demos.
Few reforms would come about without protests from the public. It is vital we retain that right.
December 2024
As if we need another report into the dreadful destruction that is Gaza. Médicins sans Frontières is an organisation that provides medical assistance to people affected by conflict, epidemics, disasters, or exclusion from healthcare. Their teams comprise tens of thousands of health professionals, logistic and administrative staff, most of whom are hired locally. Their actions are guided by medical ethics and the principles of impartiality, independence and neutrality. [Update: 23 December]. The European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights has also published a report stating their belief that Israel is engaged in genocide in Gaza].
They have published a detailed report into the humanitarian disaster that is Gaza. As with previous reports by HRW, Amnesty and the UN, it consists of many pages of details concerning the destruction taking place there. The evidence is overwhelming. Whatever Israel suffered in the appalling attack on October 7th 2023, the wholesale demolition of huge chunks of the territory go beyond a reasonable response to the attack. As far as we are aware, there has been no Israeli government response to the report.
Part of their report says that MSF has witnessed 14 months of repeated attacks on civilians, the dismantling of essential civilian infrastructure including healthcare facilities, and a systematic denial of humanitarian assistance, seemingly underpinning Israel’s campaign to unravel the very fabric of society in Gaza. Over the first 12 months of hostilities, MSF staff themselves have endured 41 attacks and violent incidents, including airstrikes, shelling and violent incursions in health facilities, direct fire on its shelters and convoys and arbitrary detention by Israeli forces.
Eight MSF colleagues and many of their family members have been killed, many more have been injured. Medical personnel and patients alike have been forced to urgently evacuate health facilities on 17 separate occasions, often literally running for their lives. MSF has only been able to restart activities in three facilities.
Throughout the offensive, Israeli forces have blocked essential items such as food, water and medical supplies from entering the Strip. They have either denied, delayed or instrumentalised humanitarian assistance, allowing insignificant quantities of aid into Gaza with a complete disregard for the actual needs and the level of suffering of the population. Gaza’s last remaining oncological hospital had to shut down as it ran out of fuel on 1 November 2023. MSF teams had to carry out surgery without sufficient anaesthesia. The consequences of these impediments are made even more harmful due to the uniqueness of a war being waged on a besieged area from which nobody can escape.
The report calls for an end of unconditional support by Western nations, for border crossings to be opened and aid supplies to resume and for Unwra to be allowed to operate. It also calls for an end to arms supplies.
Vigil
We reported yesterday on the 55th Vigil held in Salisbury. As we said, it was well attended with over 40 people there. There is a moving video of the event with a reference to the MSF report. With thanks to Peter Gloyns for permission to post the video and for producing it in quick time.
Pic: Peter Gloyns
Recent posts:
Amnesty in Salisbury & South Wiltshire 