Amnesty in Salisbury & South Wiltshire
Promoting human rights from Salisbury UK
June 2025
PAST EVENT
An evensong took place this evening (June 23rd) at 5:30 in the Cathedral. The notice on their website does not mention this is the annual evensong in partnership with the Amnesty group.
March 2025
UPDATE, 12 March: For those who would like to revisit the talk, the Cathedral has produced a recording, available until 17th March. 19 March: now removed.
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was interviewed in Salisbury Cathedral by the Rt Revd Bishop of Sherborne, Karen Gorham, about her experiences of being imprisoned in Iran and life after her release. Unfortunately, the sound system was such that many could not hear large chunks of what was said, some claiming only being able to hear a quarter of the discussion.
The local group was pleased that the Bishop, Nazanin and her husband all mentioned the role played by Amnesty and the introducer mentioned the local group in particular.
The event was a sell-out with nearly 1,000 people in attendance. It took place on International Women’s Day.
Nazanin made the point that there was a difference between being political prisoner and a hostage.
Being a hostage brought with it a different set of rules since what the legal case was did not matter. She also said you only appreciate freedom when you don’t have it for a long time. After release she found ‘adjustment quite difficult’. For a long time she said ‘my body was free but my mind was in prison’. Even meals were difficult because she found the rush of having to eat in prison was difficult to shake off.
She discussed the Boris Johnson affair. Johnson blurted out that Nazanin was in Iran to ‘train journalists’ which was untrue: she was there on holiday. This was used by the Iranian authorities against her. It took a long time for Johnson to meet her and he failed explicitly to apologise for his error despite the effect it had on her confinement. Both have been extremely critical of the British government during her ordeal.
Richard, her husband spoke about the ‘of the kindness of strangers’ . He also spoke of the role of Amnesty and of the symbolic nature of the Amnesty logo of a candle in a coil of barbed wire.
We apologise for the partial nature of this post for reasons outside our control. Image, Amnesty International.
December 2024
Some members of the Salisbury group took part in a Write for Rights event in the Cathedral Cloisters on Sunday 1 December. There were four individuals we were campaigning for and around 80 cards were signed over a 3 hour session. This is fewer than in previous years and possibly reflects the ceaseless campaigning by elements of the media against human rights and for the abolition of the Human Rights Act. Between approximately 10 and 15% of people took part and signed cards.
We have several events planned and this is a list for your diary. Note that not all are definite yet and are awaiting confirmation in some cases. Once known, they will be posted here.
Next group meeting on 10th November at the new start time of 2pm
For many years, we have done a signing at Christmas time, usually in the Market Square. We moved to the Cloisters the year before last and were more successful in getting people to sign. So we shall be there from 11:00 until 14:00 and anyone in Salisbury is welcome to come along and sign. It would also be a good opportunity for you to make yourself known to us if you were thinking of joining the group.
We shall be holding our Write for Rights signings in two locations this year: the first time we have done this. The first will be 5th December in the Cathedral Cloisters and the second on 11th in St Thomas’s. We do not have the times yet so keep an eye out on this site – or Twitter, Facebook or Tumblr – for more details once known. Almost certainly in the mornings. We hope you can come along and sign.
For people abroad, feel free to send us your desire to be listed and we will copy your name in.
Update: 14 March. Ben Rogers has kindly sent us the text of his talk which is attached at the bottom of this post.
The Salisbury group is grateful to the Cathedral for holding an Evensong once a year marking the work of Amnesty International and enabling us to nominate a speaker during the course of the service. About 60 attended last nights service. For many years the Cathedral has provided space for the group to display each month an appeal for a Prisoner of Conscience. This month it is Ahmed Mansoor a human rights defender and POC who is in prison in Abu Dhabi. The Cathedral has a window dedicated to the work of Amnesty.
We were delighted to invite Benedict Rogers (pictured) to speak who, among other things, has a particular interest
in North Korea. Ben is East Asia Team Leader of CSW, a Christian charity which promotes religious freedom around the world.
He said that the UN regards North Korea to be in a category all of its own as far as human rights are concerned. It violates every single human right. As a member of CSW, they were the first to call for a commission of enquiry and two years later in 2014, the UN did so.
The gravity, scale and nature of abuses has no parallel in the modern world he said. The report found that:
North Korea had committed crimes against humanity and manifestly failed to uphold its responsibility to protect. These crimes entail “extermination, murder, enslavement, torture, imprisonment, rape, forced abortions and other sexual violence, persecution on political, religious, racial and gender grounds, the forcible transfer of populations, the enforced disappearance of persons and the inhumane act of knowingly causing prolonged starvation. Source, Wikipedia
In 2007, CSW produced a report A Case to Answer. A Call to Act which concluded that the human rights situation in North Korea was a crime against humanity. Although things seem bleak, he said there were some glimmers of light. In a recent report, Movies, Markets and Mass Surveillance, it was noted that North Koreans were getting more information about the outside world. They were beginning to realise that life south of the border was better. There was anecdotal evidence that prison guards did realise the world was watching.
The regime saw Christianity as a particular threat. Anyone caught practising it faced severe punishment or could be executed. If a carol was allowed it would only be ‘We three Kims of Orient are!’
Those who did manage to escape to China were sent back to face severe punishment in the prison camps. There were around 200,000 thousand people in the prison camps he said. He ended with the famous quotation mistakenly attributed to Edmund Burke:
PAST EVENT
Cathedral Evensong takes place this evening (Thursday 12th) at 5:30. We are delighted to welcome Ben Rogers to give the address. There will be an opportunity for participants to sign a petition on leaving if they wish.
Joining
If you were thinking of joining the group, this would be an opportunity to make yourself known even if you do not wish to take part in the service itself (Amnesty is not a religious group). Several members will be around to great you.
These are always subject to change so please look here or on Facebook or Twitter for the up to date position before coming along.
Evensong An event largely organised by the Cathedral which we have held every year now for quite some time. 12 March starting at 5:30 pm. Free to come
Thrill of Love This is a play at the Studio Theatre in Butts Road concerning Ruth Ellis, the last woman to be hanged in the UK. We hope to hand out leaflets at the event (subject to permission from the theatre). We have abolished the penalty in the UK but from time to time, a desire to reinstate it emerges especially after some terrible crime or terrorist attack. Amnesty is opposed to the penalty in all circumstances. We publish a monthly report on the subject. 23 – 28 March
Citizenship day Schools event 30 June. If anyone from one of the local schools is reading this and would like us to do our presentation in your school, please get in touch.
Market stall In Salisbury market place morning of 11 July starting early. Goods to sell would be welcome and we can collect if needed. No electrical items (we cannot sell them untested) or VHS tapes please.
Film, Just Mercy Brilliant film concerning the racially segregated south of America and a black man sentenced to death for the murder of a white girl, a crime he did not commit. Not shown in Salisbury. Showing at the Arts Centre 4 November.
These are the things we have planned at present. If you are thinking of joining us you would be most welcome and introducing yourself at one of the above would be the easiest thing to do.
We are keeping a watching brief on human rights issues in the UK because several ministers and politicians would like to see the Human Rights Act abolished.
The minutes of the February group meeting are available thanks to group member Lesley for preparing them. They contain details of our activities and forthcoming events. These are listed towards the end and are a good opportunity for someone thinking of joining to come along and make yourself known.
Amnesty in Salisbury & South Wiltshire 