Promoting human rights from Salisbury UK
October 2024
We are pleased to attach the latest bi-monthly report on the death penalty thanks to group member Lesley for the work in preparing this. It is worth remembering that the 10 October was the World Day Against the Death Penalty. As usual we note that China is believed to execute more of its citizens than the rest of the world combined but details are a state secret.
October 2024
The 44th Salisbury peace Vigil continues with around 35 in attendance yesterday (5th October). It is almost a year since the terrible events on 7th October 2023 was the trigger for the current round of violence which seems to be getting worse by the day. Last week, saw a huge barrage of missiles from Iran directed towards Israel. Israel also stepped up its campaign with a ground invasion of Lebanon as well as bombing communities in the south and in Beirut itself. A million or more have been displaced and there have been around 1,500 deaths. Over 41,000 have been killed in Gaza.
After October 7th, there was a wave of international sympathy for Israel. The number killed and the manner of their deaths – some burned alive and others brutally and gleefully murdered – shocked world opinion. As time has gone by and the images of destruction wrought on Gaza, sympathy for Israel has turned to frustration. We have seen footage of building after building being demolished. People are being forced to move time and again. The scale of misery has been shocking. The seemingly indiscriminate nature of the bombing is also shocking. The ‘human shield’ argument has been much used and evidence for it has not been supplied.
Huge numbers of women and children have been killed. Many thousands have received life changing injuries including the loss of limbs. Entire families have been wiped out when blocks of flats have been destroyed. Aid deliveries have been restricted or delayed. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic.
And the world has looked on powerlessly. Peace efforts have come to nought. Military aid continues largely unabated. The US, formerly the key player in the region, is looking as feeble as its president. It is a tragedy being played out in real time on our screens. Israel is accused of genocide and ignoring claims that its response is disproportionate.
It seems a long time since talk of a ‘new world order’ and international relations being settled by diplomacy. Israel is in danger of winning battles but ultimately losing the war. They may inflict crippling physical damage on Hamas and Hezbollah due to its huge superiority in military strength, but they cannot crush the ideology. Peace in the area can never be achieved until the Palestinian question is resolved probably through some kind of two state solution. The sad fact is that at the end of this campaign (and when that will be is unpredictable) fundamental issues will remain unresolved. The Palestinians will not have a state: Israel will continue to be surrounded by hostile neighbours.
What is alarming to note is that neither the UN nor USA has been able to secure a peace deal or any kind of enduring settlement. The EU is side lined.
We shall continue our vigil in Salisbury each Saturday at 5 o’clock in the market square. A small gesture perhaps …
October 2024
The Salisbury Amnesty group was established 50 years ago this year and some of the current members met briefly for a photo in the Market Square. It was probably not imagined in those distant days that we would still be active. After all, the purpose of a charity is to work itself out of existence. Unfortunately, human rights are in a fairly parlous state in many parts of the world. Almost wherever you look, people are imprisoned for their political beliefs. Media organisations are tightly restricted or banned. Journalists are murdered, with three quarters of recent murders in Gaza alone. Terrible events are taking place in the Middle East. Atrocities continue in Burma, almost completely unreported. Individuals are tortured and justice is denied for millions. The post-war hope ushered in by the Universal Declaration has had only mixed results.
Depressingly, it is not just foreign countries where human rights are under threat. In the UK there has been a prolonged campaign to repeal the Human Rights Act led by a vocal section of the press. Several acts have been passed making protest harder and reducing access to judicial review. Police powers have been increased. Facial recognition technology does not seem to be far away. One of the leadership contenders for the Conservative party wants the UK to leave the European Convention of Human Rights.
Sadly, we are the only extant group in Wiltshire. So the next 50 years begins …
Members and supporters outside the Guildhall on 3 October. We were particularly pleased that one of the founder members from 50 years ago was able to attend. (Picture: Salisbury Amnesty)
October 2024
Don’t forget that we shall be in the Market Square, Salisbury today, Thursday, at 2:30 for a photo to celebrate the 50 years since the formation of the Salisbury Amnesty group. If you are able to spare half an hour or so, that would be wonderful. Whether you are a member, supporter or want to celebrate with us – doesn’t matter.
September 2024
After spending one and a half hours unsuccessfully trying to find a vein, sticking the needle into various parts of his body including arms, neck and feet, they suspended the prisoner upside down for 20 minutes in the hope of finding one but failed to execute him and returned him to his cell. Two years later they used nitrogen hypoxia after which he shook for 2 minutes and after six minutes of gulping, he died. Thus ended the life of Allan Eugene Miller on Thursday last week (26th September).
This is not a description of an execution from some barely civilised country but in USA in the state of Alabama. It was one of 5 executions last week the others being Emmanuel Littlejohn; Travis Mullis; Marcel Williams and Freddie Owens.
The case of Marcel Williams, 55, is particularly troubling since he was almost certainly innocent. Despite copious blood at the scene, none matched his DNA. Key evidence was either lost or destroyed. Witnesses had an incentive to give false evidence to receive a $10,000 reward.
Republican prosecutors seemed to have become more aggressive in pushing for the ultimate penalty. This may be linked to current politics and ‘Make America Great Again‘ rhetoric from Donald Trump. During his time as president, he altered the composition of the Supreme Court which now has an ultra-right super-majority.
Anyone who has followed Clive Stafford-Smith or read his books will know the process is far from perfect in many states in the Union. Poor trial procedures, withheld evidence, packed juries and defendants represented by inexperienced lawyers are not at all unusual. Many states have abandoned the death penalty but a number still keep it of which Alabama is one. It is no accident that despite only representing 13% of the population, 34% of black people are on death row.
There are many who believe the penalty is a deterrent. The problem of course is that mistakes cannot be put right. As the Death Penalty Information Center points out, since 1973, 200 former death row prisoners have been found innocent of all charges.
The issue has become a political one. It has been noted that Kamala Harris, the deputy president standing for election to become the president this November, makes no mention of abolition in her speeches or literature. She opposed the penalty in 2019. However, the promise to do so has not survived. This shift partly results from a change of mood following some high profile police murders. Trump is solidly in favour as part of his ‘tough on crime’ policy. There is a lot of discussion in the American press and there are suggestions that such a principled stand was not popular even with fellow Democrats.
Sources: Death Penalty Information Center; Washington Post; The Guardian; NBC; Amnesty International; Mother Jones.
September 2024
We tend to think of Japan as a modern democracy and a sophisticated society having cast off the problems of its warlike past. It is a G7 nation and enjoyed a post war boom leading to considerable commercial success. But there are elements of the society which have not changed one of which is the legal system.
Japan still has the death penalty a particular cruel feature of which is that prisoners do not know of their execution until a few hours before it takes place.
The news that the Appeal court in Japan has declared Hakamada Iwao as innocent has been a long time in coming – 56 years in fact. Hakamada was convicted of murdering his boss in 1966. He spent a staggering 46 years on death row. Much of it was in solitary. The only problem was that he is almost certainly innocent. Key evidence was fabricated. He was forced to sign a confession after 20 days of intense interrogation and beatings by the police. He was not allowed a lawyer.
Bloodstained clothing – a key element in the prosecution’s case – turned out not to be Hakamada’s blood. It may have been planted. There are many things wrong with the whole process and further details can be found on the background provided by Amnesty. The role of the police was a key part of the miscarriage of justice. This led to probably the longest death sentence ever. Historically, this was a familiar story in the UK with forced confessions after long hours of interrogation. It led to the introduction of PACE which has led to improvements in police practice here.
One of the problems is the attitude of the Japanese public. It is reported that 80% of the Japanese are in support of the penalty. It is unlikely therefore that change will happen quickly.
Although it is encouraging to see Hakamada exonerated from this crime, the case raises several concerns. The use of the death penalty which, had he been executed, would have resulted in the state killing an innocent man. As in all these cases of police coercion, the real killer(s) have never been found or prosecuted. It also reveals a legal system which seems amazingly slow both to act and ultimately acquit. It also seems reluctant to admit mistakes. Finally, his treatment in prison with years spent in solitary confinement are unreasonably cruel. Altogether, this does not reflect well on the Japanese state.
The local group has campaigned for many years and it is gratifying to see some kind of justice at last for this man.
Sources: Amnesty, Guardian, BBC
September 2024
We are pleased to attach the minutes of our group meeting in September 2024 – thanks to group member Lesley for preparing them. The minutes contain a lot of interest including future group actions (see the last page). We are celebrating our formation 50 years ago and we shall be holding a brief photo op in Salisbury market square on 3 October near the Guildhall. All supporters and those with an interest in human rights are welcome to come.
Note that we are no longer on X due to its recent history but we do have a presence on Mastodon with the handle @SalisburyAmnesty
September 2024
The Salisbury group has decided to deactivate its account with X formerly Twitter. The platform has been the source of considerable disinformation and allows much unpleasant material to be posted. Although this is not unique to X its failure to moderate content properly was a factor. Our departure will make no difference to the site of course but we were concerned at the risk to our reputation.
We have instead registered with Mastodon and a handle of @salisburyai. Please give it a try and put it into your favourites (favorites)! Please let us know of any difficulties.
September 2024
NOTE FOR YOUR DIARY
And we want to celebrate it with a photo. We were formed not too long after Amnesty International itself was created and we are, sadly, the last group left in Wiltshire.
We shall be assembling at 2:30 near the Guildhall in the market square tomorrow, October 3rd for a group photo. It should only take 30 minutes or so and we are inviting all members and supporters who can make it, to come and join in.
In some ways it is sad that we still need to exist. The hope after the Second World War and the signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 was high. People believed human rights would become the norm in societies around the world. It hasn’t turned out that way. Atrocities still continue in Africa, the Uyghurs are still persecuted in China, war rages in Ukraine, bombing continues in Gaza and human rights violations continue around the world in Syria, Iran, Burma and Saudi Arabia.
One of our continuing campaigns is the ending of the death penalty around the world (see our reports on this site). You will also see from our site and elsewhere that the UK is a major supplier of arms to states which are engaged in abusing their citizens. This has been a vexed issue at present concerning arms to Israel. It is an irony of the post war world that the UN Security Council is comprised of the world’s major arms suppliers. So there is still a need for human rights work.
Come and join us on 3rd!
September 2024
We are pleased to post the current month’s refugee report produced by group member Andrew.
Following the General Election, a new approach to the issue of immigration and asylum seeking has been promised. Straight away the new government declared the deportation of irregular immigrants to Rwanda would no longer be pursued. It is not known whether Rwanda will return the £270 million received in advance. The new Home Secretary will review the position by 1st October following complaints from asylum seekers rounded up in preparation for flights to Rwanda. It was also intimated that changes would be made to the Illegal Migration Act of 2023. On which topic, the House of Lords Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee has published a report noting that the Home Office has been trying to remove some barriers to the processing system under the Act, observing that it was “lamentable that the Home Office put forward an Act of Parliament that it has simply not been able to implement.”
The Prime Minister has announced the creation of a new Border Security Command designed to “smash the gangs” in some undisclosed fashion. The Command would be funded by money previously earmarked for the Rwanda plan and would be responsible for coordinating the activities of Immigration Enforcement, MI5, the Border Force and the National Crime Agency in tackling the gangs.
Latest statistics reveal that 22,000 migrants have arrived by boat this year so far, about the same as last year. The biggest numbers are from Afghanistan (despite some increase in the number of legal arrivals from there), Iran, Vietnam, Turkiye and Syria.
224,000 claimants are still in the system despite efforts to clear the backlog. 40% of them are still awaiting an initial decision (the total number is high because of lower levels of initial acceptance leading to a large number of appeals.)
These pieces have tended to concentrate on the people arriving in the UK on boats, but it is important to remember that the refugee crisis is worldwide. This is reflected in the sudden increase in numbers of refugees from the new hotspot of Sudan (mostly in the neighbouring parts of Africa but also 60% of the most recent boat arrivals here). This piece gives more information: The Sudan War has Been Dubbed the ‘Forgotten Crisis’ by the Same Media who Have ‘Forgotten to Report on it’ – Here’s Why – Byline Times.
Similarly, this recent article indicates that most displaced people stay close to their home area and don’t necessarily want to come to Europe, a fact that is often forgotten in the debate: Refuge in the Levant and Eastern Mediterranean: Spaces of containment or places of choice? | Journal of Refugee Studies | Oxford Academic (oup.com).
Also on a non-UK topic, the German government have instituted temporary controls on its borders to prevent the arrival of irregular migrants (and extremists) from other EU countries. This is contrary to the Schengen agreement on free movement within the Union.
BLOG
October 2026 Today, 17th October, is the 150th vigil in Salisbury. If you are able to come that would be wonderful. You may wonder why you haven’t heard of this and we are disappointed to report that the Salisbury Journal declined to publish the press notice. We cannot know why. 5 o’clock outside the Library…
NAZA was shown in cinemas around the country October 2026 The film NAZA was shown in cinemas around the country yesterday and following the showing there was an interview with the makers and others involved. NAZA is the word used by the IDF to assess collateral deaths in pursuit of one Hamas operative. It is…
The 149th vigil held on Saturday. Big row about the Green party motion on Zionism October 2026 A tense week on the Israel front with a major row erupting at the Green party conference arising from a motion to defining Zionism as “a political ideology which called for the creation – and, now it exists,…
October meeting minutes October 2026 We are pleased to attach the minutes of the last meeting thanks to group member Lesley for preparing them and thanks to group members for their contributions. Rather longer than ordinary minutes, they contain reports on the death penalty, the situation with refugees and immigrants, statistics and a report on…
Because … is now published. Next week will be the 150th vigil October 2026 We are pleased to announce the publication of our video Because … in which some participants of the vigils we have held every Saturday since the horrific events of October 7th and the aftermath, give their reasons for attending. This coming…
Three years since the October 7th massacre. What have we learned? The first casualty of war is truth is a well worn saying and in the case of the war in Gaza it can be modified to say truth has been a continuing casualty. In this post we want to discuss the things we have…
A scarcely believable wish by Pete Hegseth to live stream an execution by firing squad UPDATE: the execution will no longer be live streamed President Trump announced on 15th. This has followed a sustained and worldwide condemnation of Pete Hegseth’s proposal. 16 October. The Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth, wants to live stream the execution by…
Regulation of Artificial Intelligence October 2026 The Joint Committee on Human Rights has called for a new AI Bill to address the scale and seriousness of threats posed to human rights by artificial intelligence systems. Local MP, Sir Desmond Swayne is on the Committee. It points out that existing UK laws that could apply to…
Political concerns still a factor in attitudes to immigration and refugees October 2026 Worldwide, while the number of refugees continues to grow by contrast, the amount of support continues to fall. The UNHCR have a new report Protection Eroded: the Human Cost of Underfunding, which notes how governments are cutting back on their provisions for…
Amnesty holds a webinar to discuss aspects of the death penalty October 2026 Amnesty International does not agree with the use of the death penalty in any circumstances. Even if the individual or individuals have committed horrific crimes, the use of the penalty merely perpetuates violence by the state. There is no evidence that it…
October 2026 We are pleased to attach the latest death penalty report for mid September to mid October thanks to group member Lesley for the work in compiling it. This month the failed execution of Christa Pike in Tennessee has led to international outrage. After two failed attempts to execute her she was found still…
October 2026 Amnesty has just produced this video about the right to protest and the threats to that right by successive governments and home Secretaries. Video
Latest vigil – No 148 – well attended. Green party passes a vote on Zionism October 2026 Over 30 attended the 148th vigil on what turned out to be a damp evening. The major news this week was the decision by the Green party at their annual conference to declare Zionism an ‘ethnonationalist project’ which…
