Author: welland2

Well attended Vigil


Over 40 attended the Vigil

December 2044

Over 40 attended the 55th Vigil this evening (21 December) in the days before Christmas. Over 45,000 are now dead in Gaza with thousands more unaccounted for. There are peace talks underway but how successful they will be remains to be seen. Without a Palestinian state being established and international pressure – including an arms embargo – on Israel to put a stop to the violence, a lasting peace looks unlikely.

This week, Human Rights Watch (HRW) published its report Extermination and Acts of Genocide claiming that Israel is deliberately depriving Palestinians in Gaza of water. This was stated quite openly by the then Defense Minister Yoav Gallant when he talked of a ‘complete seige’ including depriving the territory of water. The report is detailed and the Israeli government was invited to respond. It says:

[…] Israeli authorities and military forces have matched these statements with actions. Israeli authorities and forces cut off the water supply piped into Gaza from Israel and later restricted the supply, cut off the electricity supply from Israel to Gaza that was needed to operate water pumps, desalination plants, and sanitation infrastructure within Gaza, and blocked and restricted the fuel needed to run generators in the absence of electricity. They have also blocked United Nations agencies and humanitarian aid organizations from delivering critical water-related materials and other humanitarian aid from entering Gaza, damaged, and in some cases, deliberately destroyed water and sanitation infrastructure, including where Israeli forces were in control of the area, and prevented repairs by blocking imports of nearly all water-related material. Some Israeli strikes have killed water utility workers as they were trying to make repairs, while others have destroyed the main water-utility warehouse in Gaza which housed spare parts, equipment, and supplies critical to water production.

This report is another in the sequence which shines a light on Israel’s action in Gaza and accuses them of genocide. It includes a report by Amnesty.

Readers may recall a quite disgraceful remark by Sir Keir Starmer in an LBC interview in October last year where he supported Israel’s right to cut off water supplies. He was questioned about the use of collective punishment which is against International Humanitarian law but did not respond. Spokesmen for the Labour Party tried subsequently to defuse the comments by saying that Sir Keir only meant Israel had a right to defend itself. The fact remains he made the remarks and did not withdraw them. It is clear now from the HRW report that Israel is using water as a weapon against the population.

After the Vigil, there was a short session Voices from Bethlehem where we sang a carol. Marina Barham is the cofounder and General Director of al Harah Theater in Bethlehem. They are not having Christmas celebrations for a second year as ‘our children in Gaza, Jenin, Tulkarm, Salfit and other places are under rubble’. Since the terrible attack of October 7th, last year, killing around 1,200 Israelis and taking 254 hostages, over 45,000 have died in Gaza. 20,000 have been children and 15,000 were women. Over 2 million have been displaced, some many times. She emphasised that the violence did not start on October 7th but has been going on for 76 years. More and more land is being confiscated on the West Bank.

We shall return on Saturday 28th.

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Death penalty rage in US


A spate of executions in US prompts rage and frustration

December 2024

The authoritative Death Penalty Information Center in the US has published its 2024 report on executions in the USA. The num­ber of new death sen­tences in 2024 increased from 2023, with 26. The num­ber of peo­ple on death row across the United States has con­tin­ued to decline from a peak pop­u­la­tion in the year 2000. Support for the penalty in the US has continued to decline.

Three of the cases it highlights are those which the Salisbury group has campaigned on: Marcellus Williams, Robert Roberson and Richard Glossip.

It has mainly been the Southern states that stick to this penalty. Indeed, it is just four states that conducted 76% of executions: Alabama, Oklahoma, Texas and Missouri. Concern has been expressed that too many people are executed who have a credible defence of innocence. Many of those who await execution or who were executed demonstrate classic vulnerabilities, including intellectual disability or brain damage, serious mental illness, or a history of severe childhood trauma or abuse.

The US joins a motley crew of countries which execute significant numbers of its citizens. China leads the way with large numbers executed but the numbers are a state secret. Others include North Korea, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Iraq.

Why should it be banned? There are five good reasons:

  • It is not a deterrent. If it was, one would expect to see a fall in violent crime in the states using the penalty. There is no such correlation.
  • It is irreversible. Mistakes cannot be put right. There is no comeback from an execution. We can quote Andy Malkinson who was released after 17 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. Had he been executed …
  • It is often used as a political tool especially in countries such as Iran, Saudi and China. There are elements of this in the Southern states of the US with disproportionate numbers of Black people on death row.
  • It is often used after unfair justice. Readers of Clive Stafford-Smith’s work, for example, Injustice, will know that the process of criminal trials in the US is far from perfect or fair. There is no obligation on police to produce evidence that proves a plaintiff’s innocence. Plea bargains are frequently used to enable one participant to escape justice at the expense of another. Juries are often biased.
  • It is discriminatory with a preponderance of black people or those with mental impairment who find themselves on death row.

In Oklahoma, Richard Glossip (pictured) is one of the cases the group has pursued which illustrates several of the

above points. Doubts around the death sentence of Glossip also provoked intense soul-searching. Glossip was convicted of the 1997 murder of Barry Van Treese, the owner of a motel in Oklahoma City which Glossip managed.

He was convicted based on the testimony of a co-worker who later admitted he was the actual murderer. It was also recently revealed that prosecutors destroyed evidence before trial that could have cleared Glossip.

The Report notes that the Supreme Court has largely abandoned its role of critical appraisal of cases which come before it. When Donald Trump assumes the role of President a month from now, he is committed to accelerating the pace of Federal executions. It is likely that a number of death row inmates will die who have credible doubts about their convictions.

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Illegal police surveillance of journalists


Tribunal finds that police illegally spied on journalists

December 2024

Viewers of news programmes last evening (17 December) will have noticed journalists and David Davies MP standing outside the Royal Courts of Justice holding Amnesty signs saying ‘Journalism is not a Crime’. This was as a result of the Investigatory Powers Tribunal ruling that both the Police Service of Northern Ireland and the Metropolitan Police had acted unlawfully by spying on journalists during the Troubles*.

Journalism is an important part of our society and is sometimes the only means we have of getting some glimpse of the truth. Police actions in spying on journalists is to be deprecated. Two journalists, Trevor Birney and Barry McCaffrey produced a film called No Stone Unturned which documented the alleged collusion between the Police and the suspected murderers in the massacre which took place in Loughinisland in 1994. Six Catholic men were shot dead in the UVF attack, which was later found to involve collusion. In making enquiries to the PSNI this set off the surveillance operation in a bid to find the sources the journalists had relied on. It seemed relatively easy for the police at the time to acquire these orders.

‘Landmark case for press freedom‘ – Amnesty

Responding to a judgment from the Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT) which today ruled that the police acted unlawfully and breached the human rights of Northern Ireland journalists, Amnesty declared it a ‘landmark case for press freedom’.

The Investigatory Powers Tribunal, which is the only British court with statutory powers to investigate secret police surveillance, ruled that the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) and the Metropolitan Police Service unlawfully spied on the journalists in a bid to uncover their sources.

At the conclusion of a five-year investigation, the Tribunal found that the PSNI had repeatedly acted unlawfully, in breach of the European Convention of Human Rights and the Human Rights Act 1998. The unlawful behaviour reached all the way to the top of the PSNI with the then Chief Constable Sir George Hamilton being found by the Tribunal to have acted unlawfully by failing to “consider whether there was an overriding public interest justifying an interference with the integrity of a journalistic source” when he authorised a spying operation against an official at the Office of the Police Ombudsman of Northern Ireland.

There are increasing concerns about police and security service surveillance, which is becoming easier with new technology. Software can be placed on phones to intercept messages, whether the phone is switched on or not.

Sources: Amnesty International; Irish Times; Irish News; The Guardian

*The ‘Troubles’ were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted for about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed to have ended with the Good Friday Agreement of 1998. Although the Troubles mostly took place in Northern Ireland, at times violence spilled over into parts of the Republic of Ireland, England, and mainland Europe. (Wikipedia)

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54th Vigil


Powerful video of this Vigil

December 2024

The 54th Vigil was held in Salisbury on Saturday 14th with good attendance. There is a powerful video produced by Peter Gloyns with images from Gaza. The death toll continues to rise and is now in the region of 45,000 with no sign of a let up.

Last week saw the fall of Assad in Syria who has fled to Moscow. The speed of HTS’s swoop on Damascus and the fall of the much hated regime has surprised the world. We hope of course that the Syrian people will have a future with a normal government that will be tolerant of minorities and will not rule by fear. Assad, supported by Russia, was spectacularly brutal. He used chemical weapons on his people and also dropped deadly barrel bombs on many towns and cities, particularly Aleppo. His regime tortured thousands many of whom were murdered in large numbers.

It is sad to note that no sooner had the regime fallen than Israeli forces used the hiatus to seize land in Syria. The UN has asked them to leave Syrian territory. They have entered the buffer zone. Now should be a time for the nation to come together and start the lengthy process of rebuilding the state. Peace and human rights should be the norm now. They have been plagued by outside interference from Turkey, Iran and the US with Russia a willing helper to enable them to establish a port in the Mediterranean.

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Group minutes


Minutes of the December meeting

December 2024

We have pleasure in attaching the minutes of our December meeting thanks to group member Lesley for preparing them. They contain details of the group’s recent activities including a schools talk, carol singing and Write for Rights. Future activities are also listed and if you are thinking of joining us, coming along to one of those would be a good place to start. Seasons greetings to our readers!

December minutes (Word)Download

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Correction: school visits date should be 21st January not 23rd as shown.

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Shameful media coverage


British media coverage of the Gaza conflict has been shameful

December 2024

A major human rights organisation publishes a detailed report on the activities of the IDF in Gaza with copious evidence that it amounts to genocide. An Israeli academic, also in an extremely detailed and well referenced report, alleges the same thing. A UN report points in the same direction. Since the events in Gaza, with 44,000 dead and many thousands missing, are of international importance, how they are reported is of great concern. Yet the coverage by our mainstream media has been exceedingly poor and the journalism of a very poor standard.

Coverage is important in terms of shaping public opinion. Since our politicians pay very close attention to how they are regarded by the media it matters for the shaping of policy and how they react to events in conflicts such as Gaza. The UK continues to supply weapons and offer aid to the Israelis precisely because they can and there is precious little media opprobrium.

How then would you expect a report produced by Amnesty International to be reported by a responsible

newspaper or broadcaster such as the BBC? You might expect that they would first of all spend a few minutes on what the report actually said commenting on its detailed nature and the evidence it has produced. You might also note that key aspects of the report were sent to the Israelis to ask for their response ahead of publication. Then you might, for the sake of balance, speak to a representative of the Israeli government or the IDF for a response. You would also expect that the report was actually reported on since the horror of events there are all too evident. So how did our media measure up to these expectations? In short – poorly.

Reporting is seriously wanting

A piece by Media Lens examines the reporting of the genocide in the British media and finds it seriously wanting. They note that in a sane world politicians such as David Lammy and Sir Keir Starmer would be under severe pressure to take a more robust line with Israel. They would call what is going on ‘genocide’ and would find calls to end arms sales all but irresistible.

They note the Daily Telegraph began with Israel’s denunciation of the report which was not in any way a detailed point-by-point rebuttal, just an accusation that Amnesty were ‘fanatics’. Sketchy details of the report appeared at the end of the piece. The Daily Mirror placed it on page 8 or 10 (according to edition). The Guardian reported it online. However, and shamefully, the Daily Mail, The Sun, The Times, and the Daily Express ignored it altogether. The BBC was also poor giving more time to the perpetrators than to the report itself. Media Lens claim that ‘the BBC’s balance and impartiality: [was] a brazen attempt to to protect Israel’s reputation from the truth during an ongoing genocide’.

They claim that the BBC’s much-vaunted impartiality has been increasingly exposed as a charade. They also claim that the BBC’s complicity in genocide and failure to give more than a passing mention of the reports on their news bulletins should be a matter of very serious concern by senior BBC managers.

Israel’s response

It has to be wondered why, in the face of such non-reporting by sizeable chunks of the British media, they should feel the need to respond at all. Media Lens quotes Mark Goldfeder of the US National Jewish Advocacy Center as saying Amnesty redefined the legal term of genocide to suit their accusation, stripping the term of its actual meaning in the process. He claims that they admit this themselves halfway through the report. It did not. The bias in our media is a regular feature of articles in Byline Times.

The failure of British media to give a proper account of the detailed reports, particularly as their own reporters are not allowed into Gaza, is shameful. It means a chunk of the British population is largely unaware of the true horror of what is happening. They are led to believe the events were a direct result of the horrific attack by Hamas on 7th October 2023 when the origins are much deeper. They are regularly told when a hospital is flattened or a refugee camp is bombed, that Hamas is using it as a ‘human shield’ with almost no evidence provided to substantiate this, even after a year. We are told by reporters that there are miles of tunnels packed with arms yet no footage has appeared to evidence that. If it was true, would not the IDF be keen to display it? They are led to believe that the actions of the IDF are a response to violence when the reality – sometimes from the mouths of Israel’s politicians – is to drive out all the Palestinians from the territory.

The British public is being seriously let down.

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Death penalty report


December 2024

We are pleased to attach our latest death penalty report covering the period mid November to mid December 2024 with thanks to group member Lesley for the work in compiling this. As ever we must note that China is believed to execute more of its citizens than the rest of the world combined but the details are a state secret. This month saw the toppling of the Assad regime in Syria. People were able to gain access to the prisons where thousands were tortured and executed.

Report mid November to Mid December (Word)Download

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We are now on Bluesky and Mastodon

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Refugee report


Events in Syria may see many return

December 2024

To begin with more positive news, the collapse of the regime in Syria has led to a rush among exiles to return to the country. Refugee camps just outside Syria have been particularly active. The down side is that, as a result, European governments (including the UK) have paused processing active asylum claims from Syrians. The UNHCR has calculated that the largest number of refugees from Syria leaving for other countries under Bashar al-Assad were Turkey 3.1 million, Lebanon 774,000, Germany 717,000 and Jordan 628,000.

Statistics released this month indicate that the net migration totals for the UK have dropped to 728,000 for y/e June 2024, but of course most of these are legal. Of the asylum claimants, the backlog of cases was at 97,200 in September, mostly appeals, as the percentage of claims granted by the Home Office has fallen over the last 12 months from 75% to 52%. At the same time, it has been said that only 52% of asylum decisions have met the Home Office’s internal quality assurance requirements. Since the Home Office has imposed a 2 hour limit on interviews with claimants in an attempt to speed thing up, this is perhaps not surprising.

Small boat arrivals have dropped substantially in the last month, due mainly to adverse weather. No boats arrived between the 17th and 30th November, and only 8 since, which means 400 arrivals in the last 3 weeks. Greece, the main point of entry to Europe for many, has received 57,000 arrivals this year so far.

A change in the law means that newly accepted asylum seekers in the UK will now have 56 days to “move on” from asylum accommodation, twice the previous limit. The Home Office is also planning to house asylum seekers in disused care homes and student accommodation. The National Audit Office has concluded that accommodation like military bases and barges do not represent value for money.

Britain has signed a deal with Iraq to tackle people smuggling gangs, particularly in the Kurdistan region. Deals with other front line countries may follow. Meanwhile the UK and Germany have pledged to share intelligence and expertise against the gangs. Germany will make it a specific offence to facilitate smuggling migrants to the UK; many of the rubber dinghies used are stored in Germany.

Andrew Hemming

Pic: NY Times

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Carols


Group went carol singing in Salisbury last evening

December 2024

This was the 20th year we have done this and it is a pleasure when people come out to hear the singing. For one family who said it was one of the highpoints of the year, they sang two extra. The carols are actually sung by the Farrant Singers and it is wonderful to have a choir of their standing come and sing in the street for us.

“The Farrant Singers, based in Salisbury, are widely recognised as one of the most articulate and eloquent chamber ensembles in England.” (Review in The Church Times 20 June 2022)

We were delighted with the generosity of many which helps boosts our funds. As ever we finished at a supporter’s house for soup, cheese and mince pies. Our thanks to the Farrants and to all those who took part including the collectors.

Don’t forget we are now on Mastodon and Bluesky.

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Scandal of Saudi World Cup


Saudi has won bid for 2034 World Cup despite massive human rights failings

December 2024

The football World Cup is the most watched sporting event on earth. Millions will will watch and many thousands will travel to see matches. The sports pages of magazines and newspapers will be full of excited articles, photos and interviews with star players. The progress of the home teams will be a matter of much debate. Pubs will be full to the brim with cheering supporters watching massive TV screens. What’s not to like?

The award FIFA made this Wednesday (11 December) has attracted considerable controversy. Human rights are clearly a major issue in the Kingdom. Amnesty has identified a range of serious issues of concern:

  • Labour exploitation. The people employed to work on construction sites in Saudi die in large numbers. A combination of unsafe working conditions and high heat levels has resulted in the deaths of 21,000 Indian, Bangladeshi and Nepalese workers since 2016. The massive level of construction needed for the competition is likely to see many more die. Trade unions are prohibited and there is forced labour.
  • Women’s rights. Women have few rights. They can be imprisoned for wearing the wrong clothing. The guardianship restricts their freedom of movement and what they can study. Same-sex relations are banned. They are not free to play sports.
  • Repression. There is no freedom of speech. The media is highly restricted. Human rights organisations, trade unions and opposition parties are banned. Journalists face censorship and imprisonment.
  • Death penalty. The Kingdom is one of the world’s biggest users of the death penalty usually by beheading and often in public. Confessions are often gained by the use of torture.
  • Evictions. Mass evictions have taken place to enable the facilities to be built. Protesters have been imprisoned for up to 50 years. Over half a million people are affected by these evictions.

To satisfy the requirements – such as they are – for decent human rights, a report was commissioned from Clifford Chance, an apparently respected London law firm with an office in Riyadh. The report was a whitewash and the response in the London HQ was reported to be a ‘shitstorm’. FIFA’s assessment of the human rights situation in Saudi as ‘medium’. It has to be wondered quite what they would have to do to be regarded as ‘high’.

FIFA’s Charter

So what has FIFA’s Charter go to say? Two elements are relevant:

  • To improve the game of football constantly and promote it globally in the light of its unifying, educational, cultural and humanitarian values, particularly through youth and development programmes. (para 2a)
  • Discrimination of any kind against a Country, private person or group of people on account of race, skin colour, ethnic, national or social origin, gender, language, religion, political opinion or any other opinion, wealth, birth or any other status, sexual orientation or any other reason is strictly prohibited and punishable by suspension or expulsion (para 4). (our italics)

How then does a country that discriminates against women, does not have religious tolerance, does not allow any political opposition, bans homosexual activity and does little in the way of promoting humanitarian programmes, get to host the World Cup? Amnesty describes the situation in Saudi as ‘dire’. ‘Mohammed bin Salman has presided over a soaring number of mass executions, torture, enforced disappearance, severe restrictions on free expression, repression of women’s rights under the male guardian system LGBTI+ discrimination and the killing of hundreds of migrants at the Saudi Arabia – Yemen border’.

Sport can be used to alleviate misery and wretchedness. “Sport can unite the world” Jules Rimet

It is of course impossible to marry the two. Any notion or suggestion that sport, and in particular football, can be used to unite the world is nonsense on stilts.

Sportswashing

This is pure and simple an example of Saudi Arabia using its immense wealth to acquire the rights to another sporting event as a means to enhance its reputation through sport. It will be interesting to see as we draw near to the event itself, whether the media and the sporting press pays any attention to the human rights situation – the dire human rights situation – in the country. Or will they focus almost entirely on the competition itself with endless vacuous interviews with managers and players? Will the thousands who will pour into pubs to watch the event be concerned or even know? Are we all complicit in this monstrous example of corruption both of sport and any sense of human values?

In view of the thousands who will die building the stadia and infrastructure, will FIFA be open to corporate manslaughter charges?

Main sources: FIFA; Observer; Guardian; Amnesty; European Sport Management Quarterly;

Updated 11 December with actual FIFA decision

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