People in the Park


Salisbury group attends this event with its focus on sustainability

May 2026

This event, organised by Salisbury Transition City each year with 75 exhibitors present this year. The theme is sustainability and with this in mind the Salisbury group focused on the abuse behind the manufacture an everyday item such as a pair of jeans. Billions are made every year and millions are employed in making them. This followed the publication by Amnesty International of a report Stitched Up which details the multiple abuses of this massive industry. From health hazards, physical and sexual abuse of the mainly female workforce, wage theft and the denial of union and collective bargaining rights are all described. The failure of high street retailers to control adequately what is going on is also noted.

The results were muted and only a few of the handouts were taken (see below). It is disappointing to report the Mayor of Salisbury and her party quickly walked past our stall without stopping. Perhaps it was because people view sustainability mainly as an environmental problem. The idea that globalisation and the abuses that flow from it is perhaps not so well appreciated. Massive amounts of water are consumed in their production and of course the fuel needed to move the items from country to country during the course of their manufacture.

Clearly the idea that abuses taking place on the far side of the globe are both a human rights and a sustainable issue is not well recognised. Around a quarter of the cotton used comes from the Xinjiang region of China where the abuse of Uyghurs is taking place and their culture being systematically destroyed. Thousands are engaged in forced labour to produce the cotton. The region is closed to outsiders for obvious reasons.

There is work to do to convince people that sustainability is not just about trees – important though that is – but about the clothes we wear, where they come from and how they’re made. Retailers can continue to sell goods made with the exploitation of millions of mostly female workers, some in near slave like conditions, while claiming their humanitarian credentials on their web sites.

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Good news from Oklahoma


Richard Glossip released after nearly three decades on death row

May 20

We are pleased to report the release on bail of Richard Glossip for whom we have campaigned for many years. His case is a long and tortuous one and he has been served ‘last meals’ on three occasions. He has been on death row for 27 years. In the endless series of trials and appeals it seems to be clear that the prosecution case was always weak. The crime was the murder of Barry van Treese in 1997 and Glossip was alleged to be the killer.

The prosecution allowed its key witness, Justin Sneed, to provide false testimony about his mental health and medical treatment. The new evidence showed that Sneed was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and prescribed lithium, facts that were withheld from the defence. At trial, Sneed falsely claimed he was never treated by a psychiatrist and received lithium mistakenly. This falsehood was material because Sneed’s testimony was the only direct evidence implicating Glossip, and impeachment of his credibility could have influenced the jury’s decision. The prosecution had prior knowledge of Sneed’s mental health treatment and still failed to correct the misstatement when it was made to the jury.

Correcting this false testimony would likely have changed the jury’s assessment of Sneed’s reliability. The prosecution is alleged to excluded exculpatory evidence, interfered with witness testimony, and allowed destruction of key physical evidence. Given these cumulative errors and their impact on the fairness of the trial, Glossip is entitled to a new trial. The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals’ rejection of the attorney general’s confession of error was based on a misapplication of federal law.

Free for now

Richard Glossip walked out of an Oklahoma County jail Thursday with his wife, free on bond for the first time since his 1997 arrest, after a judge set his release terms ahead of a retrial the U.S. Supreme Court ordered last year. As Hannah Ziegler reported for the New York Times, Judge Natalie Mai set Glossip’s bond at $500,000, requiring an electronic monitoring device and prohibiting contact with witnesses or travel outside Oklahoma. A group of supporters helped raise the bond money.

Glossip was convicted in 1998 and again in 2004 of arranging the murder of his employer, Barry Van Treese, through motel handyman Justin Sneed. The state set execution dates for him nine times. Two independent investigations later found that critical evidence had been withheld and that Sneed’s testimony, the cornerstone of the prosecution’s case, was faulty.

Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond, who had previously asked the Supreme Court to throw out Glossip’s conviction, said he would retry the case but would not again seek the death penalty. Glossip’s attorney Donald Knight said the bond ruling was unexpected and marked a step forward after what he called a decades-long nightmare.

Judge Mai wrote that a new trial free of error would give all parties and Oklahoma citizens the closure they deserve. Knight said the court’s decision had rejected the state’s claim of a strong case for guilt. Glossip told reporters outside the jail Thursday that it was overwhelming but amazing.

The point here is that the case was weak and there are serious doubts about his guilt. Had he been executed in one of the three previous occasions there would be no coming back. It could not be undone.

Sources: MSN, Oklahoma Watch, The Oklahoman. Picture NBC.

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A damp vigil


A reduced number at the latest vigil, No 128, held in the wet

May 2026

Well it still goes on. There was a report on the Channel 4 news ostensibly about a ceasefire in Lebanon followed by footage of bomb damage from the latest raids. Surreal. One wonders if there ever will be a ceasefire so belligerent are the various parties and so deep the hatreds. Things could be better if the US curbed its seemingly unconditional supply of weapons and support for Israel.

In his latest book Israel, What Went Wrong (Fern Press, 2026) the Jewish academic Omer Bartov writes:

“By what bitter cunning of history have we come to the point that not even eight decades after the Jewish state was established in 1948 – the same year in the genocide convention was adopted by the United Nations in direct response the Nazi extermination of European Jewry – Israel engages for two years in a genocidal undertaking with almost total impunity from the very international legal regime set up after World War II to prevent and punish this crime?”

Eurovision

The Eurovision song contest was held on Saturday and Israel came second to Bulgaria the winners. Five countries boycotted the contest because of Israel’s presence and there have been protests in Vienna. Coming second to Bulgaria it represents a triumph for the country despite the protests. Ireland did not to participate and RTÉ said in December that it felt Ireland’s participation would be “unconscionable given the appalling loss of lives in Gaza and the humanitarian crisis there, which continues to put the lives of so many civilians at risk”. It also said it was deeply concerned by the targeted killing of journalists in Gaza during the conflict and by Israel’s barring of international journalists from the territory. At least 235 journalists have been killed there making it the most dangerous place in the world for them to work.

It is nonetheless troubling that the Israeli entrant could perform so well with reports that the voting was ‘nail-biting’ with a chance that Israel could have won. This despite the terrible events going on in the region. The European Broadcasting Union insists the contest is not political. Last year, there were reports of aggressive marketing by Israel to help secure its second place.

Most media have simply reported the results with discussions about the merits of the performances. So we are indebted to the New York Times who have investigated the Israeli contestant and reveal that the country has invested heavily to the tune of $1 million to promote him. The full story is worth a read and reveals the extent they went to achieve their success. Further details in this Al Jazeera story. Looking at the BBC coverage for example, there is no hint of this activity leaving readers or viewers none the wiser about what happened. The British entrant got the dreaded ‘nul point’ for a second year.

Around 20 attended the vigil on Saturday, down from recent ones but People in the Park kept many away as did the weather. As ever, no sign of the local MP, Mr John Glen who is a proud supporter of Conservative Friends of Israel.

Sources: Politico, Irish Times, International Federation of Journalists, NY Times.

Photo from the vigil courtesy of Peter Gloyns

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Steady erosion of rights continues


Changes to the European Convention latest moves

May 2026

The endless discussion about who shall be the leader of the Labour Party has meant the latest moves to whittle away rights has received little attention. The guiding influence is immigration, a factor which is a kind of idée fixe in our politics and seems to have the capacity to win or lose elections for individuals or parties. It is claimed that the UK’s membership of the ECHR is preventing us dealing with the problem and in particular the wish to deport people back to their country or origin.

It is not unique to the UK hence the declaration last week giving European governments more power to deport immigrants. The 46 members have decided that ‘states had an undeniable sovereign right to control their borders‘. The Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, said ‘countries can [now] take action on illegal immigration‘. A questionable statement on many levels. The UK government wants to set up ‘hubs’ in foreign countries to process claims. It has been described as giving governments more ‘wiggle room’ to return migrants, even if there is a risk of mistreatment on their return. It is perhaps a measure of the moral collapse of our political parties that this agreement has generated almost no discussion and scarce mention in the media beyond the facts of the declaration.

Large sections of our community have no love for Europe and the Brexit beliefs still remain strong among many who also have believed at the time of the Referendum that the legal controls would be gone as well. The key proponent of Brexit and leader or the then UKIP party, Nigel Farage said last year ‘the Reform [his new party] will remove the UK from the European Convention and disapply International treaties‘. Reform did well in the recent local elections winning many seats and control of 34 councils. The loss on the other hand of so many Labour held seats has put the future of the prime minister under threat which is where we came in. .

The issues

There are many issues worth setting out:

– The concerns about immigration and the role of people not born in the UK is very one-sided. A number of politicians making most noise about immigrants are themselves – almost bizarrely – sons or daughters of … immigrants. Priti Patel, Suella Braverman, Shabana Mahmood, Danny Kruger and many more have parents not born in the UK.

– There is little recognition, in the desire to deport those already here, of the essential role immigrants and foreign nationals play in our society and economy. The health service for example could not operate at its current level nor could care and nursing homes for the elderly. London underground and bus services would be down to skeleton levels of activity. Much of our food would disappear off the shelves.

– No recognition of the fact that the rise in those coming by boat has been caused by government’s closing almost all means to claim asylum legally.

There are also issues of morality and rights which seem to get ignored or set aside.

– As Amnesty International has put it, it risks creating a ‘hierarchy of people‘. Those who enjoy rights under article 3 not to be subject to torture and those who do not. We are seemingly happy to trade and sell arms to countries which practice torture but we don’t want those fleeing it to come here.

– It shows a politics which is driven by populism and biased coverage. In all the press coverage about immigrants which fill the pages of the mostly right-wing media, there is next to no coverage of the large numbers emigrating. It creates the illusion of the country becoming full-up like pouring more and more water into a jug. GB News is at last to be investigated by Ofcom for not countering in an interview with Donald Trump claims that London had no-go areas for police and parts of the UK were governed by Sharia Law. The interviewer did not challenge the president on this nonsense and retransmitted the interview the following day.

– It attacks the most vulnerable and those least able to defend themselves.

– It panders to the belief that immigration and immigrants are somehow the cause of our economic malaise. Never mind weak investment, low productivity, lack of export growth, high interest rates, poor training and other policy failures, just ship out the immigrants and somehow Britain will be great again.

– It is just another step in the drip, drip, drip of steadily removing rights. The limits on the right to protest and increasing and often ill defined police powers. The various acts we have noted before e.g. Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 and the Public Order Act 2023, with more legislation in the pipe line, are increasingly been seen as attacks on free speech. There is an attempt to reduce the number of jury trials. Juries have irritated politicians by freeing some people despite directions to convict by some of our reactionary judges.

We need to be much more aware of this populist drive to diminish or weaken our rights. The claims that the Human Rights Act is a ‘criminal’s’ or ‘terrorist’s charter’ is based on the false notion that such people are using the act to escape justice. Autocratic regimes almost always base their rise to power by finding a minority to foist onto the blame for the ills of society and their own failure to govern effectively. It is not done dramatically but bit by bit. It is not even true to say ‘by stealth’ as it is done in plain sight.

Local MPs John Glen and Danny Kruger are revealed by They Work for You, generally (Glen) and consistently (Kruger) to vote against proposed equality and human rights legislation. We cannot therefore rely upon either of these two gentlemen to support threats to our rights by these actions.

Sources: HRW, Civicus, Guardian, Irish Times, GB News, Standard.

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Minutes and newsletter


Contains a number of interesting items about human rights today

May 2026

We are pleased to attach our latest minutes and newsletter. We do not publish a newsletter as such but the minutes double as one. They contain pieces about immigration, the death penalty and the slowly deteriorating state of rights in the UK. Towards the end you will find details of forthcoming activities if you were interested in making contact.

May minutes (Word)Download

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78th anniversary of the Nakba


Terrible events of 1948 which continue to have an effect today

May 2026

The Nakba took place in 1948/49 and resulted in vast number of Palestinians and Arabs being displaced from their homes or murdered by soldiers of the newly created Israeli state. Numbers vary but 750,000 is the approximate figure. Those who survived lived in camps in Jordan, Gaza and Lebanon. Survivors within the new borders of Israel were subject to manifold restrictions which are recognised as apartheid. The catastrophe has left lasting pain and hatreds which means the prospects for peace and reconciliation are remote. Palestinians living in the West Bank are subject to increasing levels of violence and destruction of their property.

There is a march in London tomorrow which no doubt elements of our media and some politicians will demonise calling it a ‘hate march’ or other accusations. Reporting will focus on any violence and very little on the causes. The Jewish Chronicle, quoting Labour Friends of Israel MPs, is calling for a ban.

Reporting

On the question of reporting and the bias of large parts of our media, our attention has been drawn to a piece Prince Harry wrote condemning anti-Semitic and anti-Muslim hatred in the New Statesman. Within days, nearly all the media removed the anti-Muslim element. It is an astonishing read and involves supposedly trusted outlets including the BBC; the Guardian, Sky News, CNN and others. The reasoning or the motives are not clear. It is recommended that you read the evidence provided in this link. Many find claims of media bias hard to accept and this is a clear cut example of altering the news to suit an agenda.

Some background is here concerning the Nakba. A report by Amnesty International on the right of Palestinians to return. Middle East News provide further stories.

We shall be holding our vigil – with others – tomorrow, Saturday 16th as usual. In the market place, Salisbury starting at 5pm for half an hour.

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Risks to our rights steadily increasing


Our monthly report on trends in the UK is worrying

May 2026

Government appeal against Palestine Action ban

Good Law Project warns that if the Home Secretary Shabana Mahmoud wins her appeal against the lifting of the ban on Palestine Action th the combination of the Online Safety Act 2023 and the Terrorism Act 2000 could be used to silence support for anti-genocide campaigners.

The problem lies in the very broadly drafted offences which even the police have found hard to apply. Online platforms might share this difficulty and fear heavy fines if they don’t remove references to action for Palestine. The Online Safety Act obliges platforms to remove “priority illegal content” from the internet in the UK. At the top of this list is “terrorism content” which includes posts that relate to section 12 of the Terrorism Act, such as “inviting support” for a terrorist organisation or “expressing an opinion or belief that is supportive of a proscribed organisation” while being “reckless as to whether a person to whom the expression is directed will be encouraged to support a proscribed organisation”. See also a previous post on this site pointing out the risks inherent in using this firm.

Palantir Data Privacy Concerns continue

The Good Law Project is supporting Democracy for Sale to raise a challenge about the information commissioner’s decision to keep secret documents sent to Wes Streeting Health Secretary and Health and Social Care Minister Karin Smyth that will reveal truths about the risks of Palantir’s data platform. The British Medical Association has expressed concern about handing sensitive health data to the company which has ties with the Israeli Military and ICE. See our previous post about the threats to our rights from this firm. Statements by the firm’s chief executive are illuminating.

Equality and Human Rights Commission

Following the Good Law challenge in the Supreme Court, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has been obliged by Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson to revise its guidance on the application of the Sex definition in order to provide ‘legally accurate, practical guidance’ and ensure ‘all service users are treated with dignity and respect’. Parliamentary approval will be sought in May. Recent testimonies from trans patients suggest that their health concerns are sidelined by some doctors.

Democratic decline

Amnesty International warns the UK is increasingly reflecting, rather than resisting, global trends towards weakening of democratic norms. The 2026 report can be accessed here and download the full report which is divided into countries.

In 2025 – 2026 the UK has:

– used counterterrorism powers to restrict peaceful protest

– overseen the mass arrest of peaceful protesters, with courts ruling aspects unlawful

– intensified hostile policies towards migrants and people seeking asylum

– increased surveillance and policing powers

– continued arms transfers to Israel despite clear risks of use in serious violations of international law

– cut international aid amid escalating global humanitarian need

– defended the use of national security vetoes in legacy Troubles cases, undermining truth, accountability and justice for victims and families

– pursued economic and social policies that risk pushing more people into poverty, weakening protections for economic and social rights.

As we have noted on several occasions before, successive governments have got themselves ensnared with various unpleasant regimes because of their desire to maintain arms exports. We continue to arm UAE despite their support for the rebels in Sudan and other destabilising actions in Libya and Yemen for example, and as noted, we continue to arm and support Israel despite the genocide in Gaza.

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Global Trends in Refugees and Asylum Seekers 2024


Refugees and asylum seekers still generate a lot of political heat

May 2026

The International Organisation for Migration has produced its latest World Migration Report, covering 2024/5.  It assesses the number of internally displaced people worldwide at 83 million, mostly due to environmental disaster, but about 20 million due to conflict.  In 2025 there were 94 million migrants in Europe (i.e. people living in a different country from their starting residence).  Of course, these figures include people who move for reasons of work or family, as well as refugees and asylum seekers.  

At the end of 2024, there were 36.9 million refugees globally, with 31 million under the UNHCR mandate, and 5.9 million refugees registered by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).  A further 5.9 million other people in need of international protection – largely from Venezuela – were reported at the end of 2024.  The number of refugees under the UNHCR mandate has decreased slightly since 2023, when it stood at 31.6 million.

Increase in asylum claims

There were also approximately 8.4 million people seeking asylum status.  This is a 22 per cent increase from the end of 2023.  Despite partial reporting from the United States (only until mid-2024), the country still had – by far – the largest number of pending asylum claims (3.2 million) by end of 2024.  Other countries with large asylum applications included Egypt (631,100), Peru (540,000), Germany (348,900) and Canada (292,100).

In 2024 alone, 3.1 million new individual asylum applications were registered globally, with half of these received in only four countries: the United States (729,100), Egypt (433,900), Germany (229,800) and Canada (174,000). Nationals of the Sudan, Venezuela, Syria, Colombia and Afghanistan comprised most new individual asylum applications in 2024.  Obviously the situation will be somewhat different post-2024, particularly with regard to the USA.

At the end of 2024, children (that is, people under 18 years of age) made up around 41 per cent of refugees, people in a refugee-like situation and other people in need of international protection.

The (American) Migration Policy Institute have researched the question of anti-immigrant borders.  They reckon that in 1989 there were 12 border walls, and there are now 74.  The EU has increased its fenced length between 2014 and 2022 from 315km to 2,048 km.  One of the results of this sort of growth has been the number of drownings at the US/Mexico border, up by 3,200% between 2020 and 2023.  It was observed that tougher border policy has resulted in more seasonal migrants deciding to stay. Picture shows the wall between the US and Mexico.

UK situation

In the UK, the amount of legislation on immigration has now seen 6000 changes to the rules since 2010.  The latest areas of conflict concern the 1 in 1 out arrangements with France, the prevention of family reunion, and the replacement of hotel accommodation for asylum seekers by use of military establishments.  On the latter, the Institute for Public Policy Research has reported on the relations between claimants and the local community, and concludes that the main problem is the lack of transparency from government bodies, the absence of consultation and the lack of any obvious benefit from the newcomers’ arrival to the community.  The IPPR support a community-based long-term social housing project that would be of benefit to all groups.

The Refugee Council has a briefing on how to respond to the government consultation on asylum support and family returns, which runs out on 28th May.

Other unhappy organisations include the Law Society (the new independent appeals body is not satisfactory) and 150 children’s’ social and legal organisations, who believe the latest changes in immigration rules amount to an attack on children’s rights.

The government is withdrawing travel support for Afghans seeking to come to the UK, of which there are believed to be about 9,000.  They will now have to make their own way vie third countries.  The Home Secretary (pictured) has made a new agreement with France worth £662 million to provide more enforcement on the Channel coast beaches and better intelligence.  The Home office say that 480 people smugglers were arrested in 2025.  The Telegraph have quoted Ms Mahmood with saying that the crackdown on irregular migrants will give her room to allow more legitimate routes, but there is no detail on this as yet.

Reform’s claims

Other proposals in the air include Reform UK’s intention to deport migrants who have settled status if they arrived by non-legal means.  This would amount to some 400,000 (and they claim would save £14.3 billion through 2029-34 (when they would presumably be in power).  The (Reform) Lancashire County Council are withdrawing from the government’s resettlement scheme for accepted asylum seekers.

Nevertheless, the numbers of arrivals are down this year (by a third in the first quarter); the number of small boat arrivals in April 2025 was 11,000 against 7,000 this April.  The net inflow (of all types of immigration) over the last three years has gone from 900,000 in 2023 to 400,000 in 2024 to 200,000 in 2025; obviously much of this is due to restrictions of work and student visas, but it remains striking.  Next stats available 21st May

The Council of Europe are meeting on Friday in Moldova to discuss the issue of return hubs for refused asylum seekers.  Various European countries have made bilateral arrangements and up to 12 countries have been named as possible recipients.  The COE is the governing body for the European Convention of Human Rights, and possible changes to the ECHR will also be discussed.

The people behind Refugee Week (15th -21st June) are urging us to carry out a million acts of hope between 13th and 20th May.  Details at A Million Acts of Hope – Together With Refugees

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Clothing and the abuse of rights


We will be at the People in the Park event this Saturday to highlight this issue

Past event – report soon 16/05

At this event in Salisbury on Saturday 16th May, we shall be focusing on the human rights abuses involved in the manufacture of a pair of jeans. An everyday item of clothing, no less than 5 billion pairs are made every year mostly in factories in Far East countries. From the production of the cotton to the manufacture of the jeans themselves, millions of – mostly women – are subject to massive levels of abuse. Amnesty has produced a report called Stitched Up which provides background to this industry.

The numbers involved are quite staggering. There are something like 100 million garment workers worldwide the vast majority of whom suffer various kinds of abuse to enable us to buy cheap clothes (not just jeans).

The abuses

The abuses take place at every stage in the manufacture:

  • Around a quarter of the cotton comes from the Xinjiang region of China where the abuse of the Uyghurs is a massive issue. The treatment by the Chinese of these people is a story of itself and involves mass arbitrary detention and so-called ‘re-education’, unjust imprisonment, intrusive surveillance and forced labour. The treatment of the Uyghurs has been described as genocide.
  • To produce the faded look a dangerous process is used and the workers are in danger of contracting silicosis. Numbers die of this each year.
  • Low wages and levels below even minimum wage levels in their own country. This is linked to ‘wage theft‘. Workers are allegedly paid the minimum wage but do not if fact receive them. So inspectors carrying out cursory checks for the retailers see appropriate wages being paid.
  • Overwork. Overtime is compulsory if a big order arrives and workers may work very long shifts with no choice.
  • No collective bargaining and trade unions largely banned. It can involve working 99 hour weeks. Only 5 unions exist among Marks and Spencer’s 172 suppliers for example.
  • Abuses, physical and sexual, is widespread. With a mostly female workforce this is a serious problem.
The brands

The major brands on our high streets and on line are complicit in these abuses. It is important to stress the massive scale of the abuse involving millions of people. Virtually all the major brands are complicit in whole or in part, in these abuses largely due to inaction. If you read the Amnesty Stitched Up report linked above, you will see nearly all the familiar high street names mentioned. The supply chains are long so factories may be largely invisible to any inspection activity.

This post is to raise your awareness. It is almost certain that among the clothes you are wearing are garments produced which are the product of abuse, violence, forced labour about which the retailer you bought them from has likely done little to tackle. Cheap clothing comes at a cost. It is not costless because making clothes in the UK is extremely difficult if retailers are freely able to source from countries where regulations are ignored, wages are not always paid in full and there are no trade unions.

Previous year’s stall. Photo Salisbury Amnesty

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Latest Death Penalty report


May 2026

We are pleased to attach the latest report for mid-April to mid-May thanks to group member Lesley for the work in compiling it. It contains details of the penalty around the world including a massive number of executions in Iran and how Saudi has executed large numbers in recent years. Singapore is mentioned with its policy of executing individuals involved in the drugs trade. Florida continues to feature with the Governor signing warrants for executions.

Israel’s proposals to re-introduce the penalty and to hold public trials for those held following the 7th October massacre is discussed and the responses to the change from countries around the world. Israel seems to be sliding ever backwards with its genocide, apartheid, violence and now the reintroduction of the death penalty last used on Adolph Eichmann.

As ever, we have to note that China is thought to be the world’s largest executioner but details are a state secret. There is a disturbing report from Australia however with some details but there is a warning about its content.

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