Amnesty in Salisbury & South Wiltshire
Promoting human rights from Salisbury UK
The death penalty report is now available thanks to group member Lesley for the work in putting it together. The report covers several countries but it must always be remembered that China leads the world in executing its citizens.
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We attach the latest monthly death penalty report with thanks to group member Lesley for compiling it. A fairly full report with a big section on Turkey which is contemplating reintroducing the death penalty following the recent failed coup.
We attach an urgent action just issued by Amnesty concerning individuals in Kuwait. If you can find time to write or get in touch that would be appreciated.
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There is something of an execution spree going on in Indonesia at present with a number of people already executed by firing squad and more likely to follow. This is a message sent out by Amnesty UK: –
I’m getting in touch with sad news. Last night, Indonesian authorities killed four prisoners by firing squad. All four had been convicted of drugs crimes, their families only told yesterday morning that their loved one would be killed that night.
Indonesian Fredi Budiman, and Nigerian prisoners Humphrey ‘Jeff’ Jefferson Ejike, Michael Titus Igweh, and Seck Osmane had their right to life taken from them in the depth of night in the middle of a raging storm. They were shot dead by a firing squad on Indonesia’s infamous ‘execution island’.
But ten more prisoners received a last-minute stay of execution.
The lives of ten more people hang in the balance. And we need to make sure the Indonesian authorities do not go ahead with these executions.
Thanks to [Amnesty supporters] contacting the Indonesian authorities and sharing the story, the tragic execution of four people last night made headlines around the world. All we can do now is keep calling for justice and for an end to the executions – with the hope that pressure from around the world will save the ten lives at stake.
Do please share our action to stop the remaining executions. Go to the Amnesty UK site for more details on how to take action.
action@amnesty.co.uk
The group’s death penalty report for June – July 2016 is now available thanks to group member Lesley for compiling it. USA features strongly where there are a number of struggles going on. The Maldives appear and we have written to our local MP Mr John Glen, who has a special interest in the country, to intercede.
China remains the country which executes the most followed by Iran and Saudi Arabia. Details of executions in China are a state secret.
UPDATE 23 JULY
The following letter has been sent to John Glen MP concerning the imminent use of the death penalty in the Maldives. Mr Glen has spoken and written often about the human rights situation there.
[…] You may remember that, when you came to speak to our Group about HumanRights, you told us of your particular interest and involvement in the issuesaround Human Rights in the Maldives.I am sure, therefore, you will have been concerned, as was our Group, to readof the Maldives Government’s confirmation of the sentencing to death of ayoung man found guilty of the killing in 2012 of a lawmaker. I understand that,days before this ruling, the Government had amended the rules to allowexecution by lethal injection or hanging. This would bring the Country’sdecades-long moratorium on capital punishment to an end.I would be grateful if you could let me know whether our Government will bemaking any intervention in this man’s case, and expressing their concerns atthis change of policy. You will also, I am sure, be aware that the decision iscontroversial, and has resulted in the resignation of the Country’s ForeignMinister, Dunya Maumoon. We would like to ask whether you would be ableto use your influence with any of the Government contacts you will have madein the course of your work in relation to the Maldives to support thecommuting of this man’s death sentence to a term of imprisonment, and areversal of the new policy.[…]
[..] I do remain closed involved with monitoring the situation in Maldives and I believer that there are number of issues there give give cause for grave concern.You may have seen reports about the recent return to Salisbury of Anni Nasheed, the democratically elected president of the Maldives, who has recently been imprisoned in his home country on entirely spurious grounds. I am pleased that I was able to see him while he was here and bring myself up to date with the latest developments.As you will know, the UK opposes the death penalty in all circumstances as a matter of principle and the government continues to call on all countries around the world that use the death penalty to cease its use.As you say, this apparent selective reintroduction of the death penalty is deeply worrying. A group of colleagues and I are committed to keeping the Maldives in forefront of the minds of Foreign Office ministers and I will certainly ensure that specific pressure has been brought to bear around this case.[…]
It seems hardly credible that someone who has spent 34 years on death row should now be at risk of execution but that is the case with John Wayne Conner in Georgia. The details are below and if you are able to write we would be grateful. This is URGENT however.
Amnesty is opposed to the death penalty. China remains the country which executes more than any other country. See our monthly report.
A former Swindon Amnesty member and lawyer, Catherine Dunmore, has secured funds from a crowdsourcing site to enable her to go to the state of Florida in the USA to work on first degree murder cases. She has been there three weeks now and she has a blog which is worth reading. Florida is one of the states still using the death penalty.
We hope you will follow her blog and also be moved to send funds to her crowdfunding site.
This is the text of a letter sent to the Salisbury Journal but which was not published:
The Salisbury Group of Amnesty International is campaigning to end the use of the death penalty around the world. Of particular concern to the local group is its use in countries like Iran to execute juveniles.As the report recently published by Amnesty shows, around the world at least 1,634 people were executed last year, a 54% increase on the previous year. This excludes China where the numbers are a state secret.Frequently, after a high-profile murder or terrorist action in this country, someone will call for the death penalty to be re-introduced. When emotions run high it’s almost understandable, but it would be a mistake. The Amnesty report shows how in nearly every country where they still apply capital punishment, trials are grossly unfair, defendants are mistreated in prison, and legal representation is shockingly poor. In the USA, defence lawyers have fallen asleep during trials. In Iran, hearings may last only ten minutes. In China, where torture is rife, thousands are executed. This is not a club we want to join.Further details can be seen on the Group’s web site http://www.salisburyai.com/ and we would welcome anyone who would like to join us in our campaign to end the practice of the execution of juveniles in Iran.
We attach the monthly death penalty report, this time for 2 months, prepared by group member Lesley. China doesn’t figure in the report as its executions are a state secret but is believed to be the world’s leader in the numbers executed.
Amnesty in Salisbury & South Wiltshire 