We are pleased to attach the death penalty report for the period September – October 2022 thanks to group member Lesley who has prepared it. Of note is a handwritten letter from Jagtar Singh Johal who still languishes in prison. Note, as ever, that China does not feature in the report despite being the world’s largest executioner, but details are a state secret. We are pleased to report that Equatorial Guinea is the latest country to abolish the penalty.
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.
Indonesia
Video from Human Rights Watch on the proposal by the Indonesian Government to move its capital and thus threaten the future of indigenous people and threatened species.
Death penalty report: April – May 21
We attach the death penalty report for April – May 2021. Note the report does not include China which is believed to execute thousands of its citizens but the statistics for which are a state secret.
Death penalty report July – August
We attach the latest monthly death penalty report compiled by group member Lesley.
Majai Matiop Ngong who’s death penalty has been suspended is featured in the report
Edited: 13 August
July – August death penalty report
The current issue of the monthly death penalty report is now available thanks to group member Lesley for compiling it. A number of countries are featured including, as ever, the USA, and Japan which has executed several people recently.
You may want to join a small group by writing one of the urgent actions featured in this report. We have several members who do this in the privacy of their own hom
Death penalty report
The most recent death penalty report on the use of the death penalty around the world is now available thanks to group member Lesley for compiling it.
Spyware outrage
Observer publishes article about use of spyware
March 2019
Today’s (17 March 2019) UK Observer newspaper published a story about the use of spyware around the world and in particular by countries known for their poor human rights record. These include Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.
Readers of this blog will know that this has been going on for some time and a report by the University of Toronto’s Citizen’s Lab has been compiling evidence of this activity and publishes reports of the use of spyware around the world. Other organisations like Privacy International are also concerned.
What the Observer article reveals is the scale of the UK’s exports which have amounted to £75m since 2015. Human Rights groups are concerned at this trade since it enables authoritarian governments to penetrate the devices of anyone it doesn’t like and gather information at will from their equipment. The equipment is capable of intercepting email, instant messaging and VoIP communications, as well as spying on users through webcams and microphones and transmitting the data to a command-and-control server.
In addition to the scale of trade, is the issue of secrecy and attempts to get details of what and who is being supplied from Department of International Trade using FOI are largely fruitless. The concern is that what matters is trade and not the purposes to which the equipment is put.
This is of interest in the Salisbury area because one of the firms which manufactures this equipment called Finspy is a firm called GammaTSE based in the village of Porton not far from the city (and not far from Porton Down, the chemical weapons centre – the same Porton). A report by the University of Toronto in 2013 found Finspy installed in 36 countries. The firm’s website coyly describes its service thus;
GammaTSE has been supplying government agencies worldwide with turnkey surveillance projects since the 1990s. GammaTSE manufactures highly specialized surveillance vehicles and integrated surveillance systems, helping government agencies collect data and communicate it to key decision-makers for timely decisions to be made.
An earlier post described the firm’s activities in more detail. The UK is therefore heavily involved in a trade which allows governments to intercept messages of human rights activists, opposition members, journalists and more or less anyone it does not like.
Death penalty report – January
Attached is the death penalty report for the mid December – January period prepared by group member Lesley. Some good news especially in Texas – a state with a high use of this punishment – but elsewhere in the world, a depressing number of countries in the list.
Death penalty report
The latest death penalty report covering four weeks to mid August is attached thanks to group member Lesley for compiling it. Please remember China remains the world’s biggest executioner but details are a state secret.
Amnesty in Salisbury 