The minutes of the group’s meeting in April are attached thanks to group member Lesley for preparing them. We are slowly getting back to normal after the pandemic and we discussed going back to a face to face meeting in May.
Migrants to be sent to Rwanda under new scheme
Priti Patel launches new scheme to transfer migrants to Rwanda
The government is caught in pincer movement as far as immigration and asylum seekers are concerned. On the one hand are those seeking to cross the Channel in small boats or dinghies, who are to be deterred at all costs, and on the other are those fleeing the war in Ukraine who the public want to be treated sympathetically.
The Home Secretary Priti Patel announced today (14 April 2022) a scheme with an initial cost of £120m to fly immigrants to Rwanda where they will be ‘supported to build a new and prosperous life in one of the fastest growing economies recognised globally for its record on welcoming and integrating migrants’. Home Office press release 14 April 2022.
Perhaps there are two Rwanda’s: one in the imagination of the Home Secretary and the other which exists in the real world. The real world version is a long, long way from the idyllic country Ms Patel and the prime minister seem to imagine. The Amnesty country report in 2021/22 has a long list of human rights abuses which include disappearances and the use of torture. The case of Paul Rusesabingina has attracted some international attention. He was abducted from Dubai, tortured for 4 days, held incommunicado for a further 3 days and denied access to his lawyers for 6 weeks. Confidential documents from his lawyers were illegally confiscated.
The country has failed to ratify the Convention against Enforced Disappearance and there has been a lack of independent investigation into a number of deaths in custody.
There has been extensive use of the Israeli firm’s Pegasus Spyware which has been used against activists, journalists, political opponents, foreign politicians and diplomats.
Human Rights Watch report a lack of credible investigations into enforced disappearances or suspicious deaths in custody. They report the use of arbitrary detention, ill-treatment and torture in official and unofficial detention facilities and fair trial standards are regularly flouted.
The Conservative MP Rory Stewart, interviewed on the BBC’s PM programme, doubts if anyone will be sent to the country. The idea is intended, he believes, to be a stunt to detract attention from the government’s woes at present with both the prime minister and the chancellor having been issued fines by the Metropolitan Police as part of the ‘partygate’ scandal. Let us hope he is right although it is reported Priti Patel flew to Rwanda yesterday (13 April) to seal the deal. The long term costs are not known.
It is not clear who will administer the places where the migrants will be housed: the UK or Rwandan authorities. If it is the latter, then there is a high risk that they will be subject to abuse and mistreatment if their record with their own population is repeated.
The policy is reprehensible on many fronts and panders to popular opinion. The Daily Mail online has a number of below the line comments including ‘I think this is a great policy’ and ‘Great idea, well done government, its (sic) time to do something about it.’ The most popular, attracting 13,362 likes [accessed circa 18:15] from Jaygee in Bucks UK: ‘Let’s put it to a referendum. Probably 75% in favour, snowflakes 25%’. The overwhelming level of comments was favourable for the policy. Several comments refer approvingly of the Danish scheme to send people to Rwanda – which is no doubt where the Home Office got its ideas from – but whether the Danes have actually sent anyone is not at present clear. A similar scheme where Israel sent migrants to Rwanda was abandoned.
The migrant problem is greatly exaggerated. Britain receives many fewer refugees and asylum seekers – around 0.02% of the global total – than other comparable countries. We make it almost impossible to come here legally (hence the fuss over difficulties for Ukrainians) which leads to desperate measures in the Channel. Overall, migrants are a net benefit to the country as a number of Home Office studies have shown. As a wealthy country we have a moral obligation to ‘do our bit’ for the international crisis of people fleeing conflict, war or persecution. The government has allowed itself to be driven by tabloid stories which are often exaggerated and overtly hostile to those seeking to come here.
A shameful policy, of doubtful legality, expensive and very unlikely to work in practice. It is very revealing of a mindset however and is unworthy of a country which aspires to be an influence for good in the world.
CORRECTION: Rory Stewart is no longer an MP.
Sources: BBC; Amnesty International; HRW; Home Office; Daily Mail
Death Penalty report: March – April
We are pleased to attach our monthly death penalty report for March – April 2022 thanks to group member Lesley for the work in compiling it. Singapore features quite strongly this month. Note that Chiana, which is believed to execute more of its citizens than the rest of the world combined, does not feature as details are a state secret.
Market stall
We held our market stall in Salisbury market yesterday after an absence of three years. We had plenty of stuff to sell but overall, the results were down on previous years. Time was when we got to the stall at 7:30 there was already a crowd of a dozen or so and it activity was pretty hectic for the first hour. Those days seem to be gone and the first hour was very quiet. Activity began to pick up towards midday and we may think of extending the timing by an hour next year.
The City Council has also changed the location and instead of being adjacent to the main market, we were placed well off to the east of the market place. Also there are two stalls placed cheek by jowl with another charity which also did not help. Times are hard of course and this month (April) was when all the cuts and energy bills came into effect. So all in all …
We had an enjoyable day and many thanks to group member Ria who took the unsold items away for another go at a car boot sale. Other items, including a quantity of hardback Booker shortlist novels, went to Oxfam who were delighted apparently. Thanks also to all group members who came and manned the stall through the day.
Photo: Salisbury Amnesty
Risk of execution – Saudi
Mohammed al-Faraj’s hearing was postponed – so he remains in prison in Saudi Arabia at risk of the death penalty. Mohammed was only 15 years old when he was arrested outside a bowling alley in Saudi Arabia. That was in 2017.
The fifth anniversary of his imprisonment is coming up. He has endured five years away from his family. Five years away from his friends. And five years at risk of a death sentence.
When Mohammed was arrested, he was beaten, kicked and shackled with his arms above his head for up to four hours at a time. The Saudi Arabian authorities forced him to sign a “confession”.
The so-called “crimes” Mohammed committed included going to his uncle’s funeral when he was just nine years old. 20,136 people in this community signed the petition demanding Mohammed is not executed. Sending a message to Mohammed today will let him know we’re still fighting for him.
Will you let Mohammed know we’re thinking of him and fighting for his freedom?
Repost from Reprieve
Good news! Sudan
Release of prisoner on death row
You might remember Magai Matiop Ngong, who was only 15-years-old when he was sentenced to death in South Sudan. After two years and eight months on death row, we are thrilled to share that Magai has been released.
More than 765,000 people around the world took action for Magai, which resulted in his death sentence being sent back to the High Court for a review. This week, we are celebrating his release.
This is just one example of the change we can be part of when we come together, and the incredible difference campaigning can make in the lives of people facing injustice like Magai.
Execution is the ultimate punishment and we will always stand against it. Every human being on this planet has the right to life, and we need to ensure that right is protected no matter what.
Market stall
Market stall is back today, Saturday, 9th April
After an absence of 2 years, we are back with our popular stall in the centre of Salisbury. As you would expect, we have masses of stuff including quality books, clothes, CDs, china items and so forth. We look forward to seeing you there.
If, by chance you are thinking of joining the group, please make yourself known to one of us on the stand.
Apartheid in Israel: UN report
UN report concludes there is apartheid in Israel
In a significant development this week (21- 27 March 2022), the UN Special Rapporteur for human rights in the OPT published a landmark report concluding that Israel is committing the crime of apartheid. Due to his mandate, he was only able to look at the situation in the occupied Palestinian territories but his findings are similar to Amnesty’s. Amnesty’s detailed response can be read in full here.
This is a link to a short video made outside the Israeli Embassy in London to highlight the campaign against apartheid.
In a previous post, we discussed the issue in greater detail and provided links to two other reports by B’Tselem and Human Rights Watch which provide copious evidence of the Israeli government’s dreadful behaviour towards its Palestinian citizens. The UN report can be accessed here.
The response from Jewish groups has been fierce. A report in the Jewish Journal included the following quotes:
Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva Meirav Eilon Shahar accused Lynk (the UN rapporteur) of promulgating “baseless and outrageous libels previously published by NGOs that share the same goal as the author of this report: to delegitimize and criminalize the State of Israel for what it is: the Nation State of the Jewish People, with equal rights for all its citizens, irrespective of religion, race or sex.”
Jewish Journal, 24 March 2022
Other comments include assert the report is ‘biased’ contains ‘outrageous libels’, ‘baseless allegations’ and a ‘gross distortion of the truth and should be placed in dustbin of antisemitic history’.
Good News From Iran: Death Sentence Overturned
| A man sentenced to death for an offence when he was a child has had his sentence overturned by the Iranian Supreme Court after 18 years on death row. Mohammad Reza Haddadi was 15 years old when he was arrested in 2002 on charges of committing murder while stealing a car. Although he initially pleaded guilty he later explained that his two co-defendants had coerced him by promising him money to take the rap for the murder telling him that he would not receive the death penalty as he was underage. Iran is one of the few countries in the world that still uses the death sentence against minors even though it is a signatory to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights which prohibits the use of the death sentence for crimes committed by anyone under the age of 18. However, in Sharia law, the “age of criminal responsibility” for children is defined as the age of maturity, which means that females over 9 lunar years of age and boys over 15 lunar years of age are both eligible for execution if convicted of “crimes against God” (such as apostasy) or “retribution crimes” (such as murder). The law grants judges the discretion to replace the death penalty with an alternative sentence if they find that there are doubts about the individual’s comprehension of the nature of the crime or consequences, or their full “mental growth and maturity” at the time of the crime. International human rights organizations say Iran is responsible for more than 70% of all juveniles executed in the last 30 years with at least 63 in the last decade, including at least six in 2018 and four in 2019. Given the security state, suppression of civil society activists, and limited interaction with detainees, the number of juvenile executions is likely to be significantly greater than reported. In 2020 Iran carried out at least 246 executions with 194 were for murder; 23 for drug-related offences; 12 for rape; four for “armed insurrection against the state”; five for “enmity against God”; two for espionage; one for “spreading corruption on earth” and one for drinking alcohol. One execution was carried out in public and nine women were executed. Hanging and shooting were the methods of execution. The Islamic Penal Code continued to provide for execution by stoning, for some consensual same-sex sexual conduct and extramarital sexual relations. The death penalty was increasingly used as a weapon of political repression against dissidents, protesters and members of ethnic minority groups. |
Repost from Amnesty
Singapore: execution to continue
Fury at decision to execute man with learning disabilities
In the early hours of yesterday morning (29 March) morning, Nagaenthran Dharmalingam, a man with intellectual disabilities on death row in Singapore, lost his fight in court against his execution. The courts may have rejected his appeal, but Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong could still save him. Nagen still needs this community to keep fighting for a life-saving pardon. The decision has received world wide condemnation. Singapore does not have a favourable human rights record and uses repressive laws against political opponents and human rights defenders. Human Rights Watch describes the country’s political environment at ‘overwhelmingly repressive’ with severe restrictions on free expression, association and assembly.
Nagaenthran claims he was coerced into carrying a package of heroin but that he was unaware of the contents. The UN has said the sentence is disproportionate and no allowance had been made by the authorities for his disabilities. His IQ is said to be 69.
In the 48 hours before his hearing, over 4,000 people made their voices heard and tweeted Lee Hsien Loong asking for Nagen to be spared. Only the Singaporean government can save him now, should they decide to show compassion and grant him a pardon that will spare his life.
Because of your support, Nagen is not standing alone in his fight for his life. For details and how you can help follow this link to the Reprieve site.
We include a link to a video of an interesting talk by Kirsten Han on the subject of the death penalty in Singapore.
Sources: Amnesty; Guardian; Reprieve; Human Rights Watch.
