Category: Event

#Nigeria #stoptorture


Card signing
Card signing

We held a stall in the Library tunnel on Saturday 11 October in aid of the #stoptorture campaign and in particular, to highlight the case of

Moses Akatugba in #Nigeria.  He was arrested for allegedly stealing mobile phones, shot in the hand and tortured by the Nigerian Army.  He has been in prison now for eight years and is on death row awaiting execution.  Torture is routine in Nigeria and it is reported that police stations even have a ‘torture officer’.

We collected 189 signatures in three hours which is a good haul for a difficult subject which has received next to no publicity.  We shall be sending the cards in two batches to the Governor of Delta state in Nigeria where Moses is being held.  We have sent a report of the signing to the Nigerian Embassy in London (see under Update below).

If you would like to know more about this case then you can find it here: Nigeria fact sheet

We are grateful to all those who stopped to sign a card.  The great majority of passers-by did not to sign it has to be noted for

Moses Akatugba
Moses Akatugba

reasons that are never clear or revealed.  155 countries around the world have signed the UN protocol against the use of torture but according to Amnesty International figures, it is still practised in 141 of them. In other words, they sign treaties to end it but continue to use it.

Thanks to all the Salisbury Group’s team for taking part and their help in making this a success: Michael; Jonathan; Andrew; Lesley; Peter; Fiona; Eddie; Cynthia; Tony and Karen.

UPDATE 13 October  Nigerian Embassy letter

Some of the signed cards
Some of the signed cards
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Stop Torture campaign


The local group will be manning a stand on 15 November to highlight the #stoptorture campaign which was launched by Amnesty in May this year.  The practice is alive and well throughout the world and Amnesty has recently ramped up its campaigning to stamp out the practice with the Stop Torture campaign.

'Waiting for the guards'
‘Waiting for the guards’

Ahead of its launch, Salil Shetty, Amnesty International’s Secretary General said governments around the world are “two-faced on torture” – prohibiting it in law, but facilitating it in practice”.

He added: “Torture is not just alive and well – it is flourishing in many parts of the world.  As more governments seek to justify torture in the name of national security, the steady progress made in this field over the last thirty years is being eroded.”

Stop torture will be a key part of the Amnesty display as part of the Magna Carta events at the Cathedral next year.

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Film: Omar


Each year we team up with the Salisbury Arts Centre and host a film which has a human rights element to it.  This year the Oscar nominated film is #Omar which is set in the occupied territories of Palestine.  Omar is a freedom fighter who is used to dodging bullets to cross the separation wall to visit his girl friend, Nadia.  After he is captured after a deadly act of resistance he is tricked to act as an informant. The film is directed by Hany Abu-Assad.

The film will show in the evening of 4 December at the Arts Centre and early booking is advised.

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