Newsletter

Amnesty International USA Group 48

11.15
Eduardo Livino Stock.Xchng

1 Amnesty International USA

Calls for Reforms to
Lethal Force Laws Following
Decision in Kajieme Powell
Shooting
2 Burundi: Urge Justice for
Pierre Claver Mbonimpa
3 CHINA: Urgent Action Two Missing And Teenager
Under House Arrest
4 Woodfox Must Be Released
Immediately
5 Write 4 Rights and Save a
Life
AIUSA-Group 48
http://aipdx.org
503-227-1878
Next Meeting:
Friday November 13th
First Unitarian Church
1011 SW 12th Ave
7:00pm informal gathering
7:30pm meeting starts

NewsLetter Designed
By Michelle Whitlock
MichelleWhitlock.com

Amnesty International USA Calls for Reforms to

Lethal Force Laws Following Decision in Kajieme
Powell Shooting
November 3, 2015

Following the announcement that the

St. Louis Circuit Attorneys Office will

not press charges against the officers
who killed Kajieme Powell in August
2014, Amnesty International USA
repeated calls for nationwide reforms to
laws guiding the use of deadly force by
police.

of the incident which showed him some

distance away with his arms at his sides
when he was shot nine times.
Amnesty International USA sent a letter
to the Chief of Police at the time calling
for a full, impartial and independent
investigation of the incident, which occurred almost two weeks after Michael
Brown was killed by a police officer in
nearby Ferguson.

Powell was shot by officers a few

seconds after they arrived in response
to an emergency call that Powell was
displaying agitated behavior and had a International law requires that lethal
knife.The St. Louis Police Department
force only be used in self defense in
claimed in a press conference shortly
the face of imminent death or serious
thereafter that Powell presented a threat injury, said Steven W. Hawkins, executo the officers, a claim called into ques- tive director of Amnesty International
tion after the release of cell phone video USA. Shamefully, not one U.S. state

AIUSA group 48 Newsletter November 2015 Pg 2

has laws that comply with international standards. We urge

the Missouri Legislature, and the legislatures in all states, to
bring their laws in line with international standards by limiting the use of lethal force solely to those instances in which it
is necessary to protect life. We also call on the Department of
Justice to gather federal statistics on police shootings which

currently do not exist and to create a national commission

to recommend guidelines on policing issues and accountability mechanisms.
Amnesty International USA issued a report on lethal force
laws in the U.S. earlier this year.

Burundi: Urge Justice for Pierre Claver Mbonimpa

Pierre Claver Mbonimpa is

Pierre Claver Mbonimpa

President of the Association

for the Protection of Human
Rights and Detained Persons
(APRODH), an organization which provides vital
assistance to detainees and
victims of human rights violations, including torture and
sexual violence. His defense
of Burundis most vulnerable
has led to his work receiving
much international acclaim.

On August 3, 2015, Mbonimpa was shot in the face and neck

as he returned home in his car from the office. The shooting
came a day after the assassination of Adolphe Nshimirimana,
a top military general who was a close ally of President Pierre
Nkurunziza. Nshimirimana was killed in a drive-by shooting
early Sunday in Burundi.
Mbonimpa survived the attack and is currently living abroad.
A police officer before he was a human rights defender,
Pierre-Claver Mbonimpa was wrongfully imprisoned from
1994 to 1996 for illegal possession of a firearm. His time in
prison prompted him to establish APRODH upon his release.
The organization was setup to defend the rights of prisoners, but has grown and works on a number of justice-related
issues. Pierre-Claver Mbonimpa has since received international recognition for his human rights work, including the
Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders in 2007
and the Henry Dunant Prize in 2011.
On October 27, 2015, Mbonimpa received the Pan African
Human Rights Defenders Networks 2015 East Africa Shield
Award, recognizing his outstanding work as a human rights

defender in Burundi. However, those responsible for the attempt on his life still have not been brought to justice.
Action

Please write Ambassador Ndabashinze and President Nkurunziza, asking that an inquiry be launched into the attempt
on Pierre Claver Mbonimpas life and those responsible be
brought to justice.

Appeals To

President of Burundi
Pierre Nkurunziza
Office of the President
Boulevard de lUprona
BP 1870
Bujumbura, Burundi

H.E. Ernest Ndabashinze

Ambassador of the Republic of Burundi
Embassy of the Republic of Burundi
2233 Wisconsin Avenue, NW, Suite 408
Washington, DC 20007
Recent News and Video Message from Pierre: https://www.
defenddefenders.org/2015/11/voices-that-cannot-be-silencedpierre-claver-mbonimpa-speaks-out-on-burundi/
Amnesty International Press Release: https://www.amnesty.
org/press-releases/2015/08/burundi-shooting-of-humanrights-activist-increases-climate-of-fear
Postage Rates
Within the United States
$0.35 - Postcards
$0.49 - Letters and Cards up to 1 oz.
To all international destinations
$1.20 - Postcards
$1.20 - Airmail Letters and Cards up to 1 oz.

AIUSA group 48 Newsletter November 2015 Pg 3

CHINA: Urgent Action - Two Missing And Teenager Under House Arrest
Bao Zhuoxuan (m), Tang Zhishun (m), Xing Qingxian (m), Wang Yu (f), Bao Longjun (m)
Alan Belmer Stock.Xchng

A 16-year-old whose parents are detained as part of a crack-

down on legal activists in China has been placed under house

arrest. He had crossed the border into Myanmar along with
two activists, and all three were taken away by a group of uniformed officials on 6 October. The teenager was returned to
China where he remains under house arrest. There has been
no information about the whereabouts of the two activists.

According to eyewitness reports, Bao Zhuoxuan, the son of

Chinese lawyer Wang Yu, and Chinese activists Tang Zhishun
and Xing Qingxian were taken away from a guesthouse in
Mong La, a town in Myanmar close to the Chinese border, by
uniformed officials and plain-clothed individuals on October
6th. After several days during which there was no information about their whereabouts, Bao Zhuoxuan was returned to
his grandparents home in Ulanhot, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, in northern China, where he is being held
under house arrest. State media in China have denounced the
actions of the two men travelling with him, and activists who
are advocating for their release believe they are being held by
Chinese authorities.
Both men have long-term health conditions which require
medications; Tang Zhishun has hyperthyroidism and Xing
Qingxian suffers from asthma and respiratory diseases. Their
families fear that they fear they will not get the medical care
they need.
Wang Yu is a prominent human rights lawyer who has not
been seen since she was taken away from her home on July
9th, which proved to be the start of a wider crackdown on

lawyers and activists in the country. She and her husband Bao
Longjun have been held under residential surveillance at
an unknown location on suspicion of inciting subversion of
state power since early July. Bao Zhuoxuan had been interrogated and briefly detained by Chinese police in early July
during his fathers detention, and was prevented from travelling to Australia where he had been accepted to study at a
high school. He has been under tight surveillance and faced
frequent harassment by police in Ulanhot.
Action

Please write immediately in English, Chinese or your own

language:
Calling on the Chinese authorities to immediately disclose
the whereabouts and legal status of Tang Zhishun and Xing
Qingxian;
Urging them to ensure that they are protected from torture
or other ill-treatment, and have prompt access to any medical
treatment on request or as needed, and to their lawyers and
family;
Demanding that they lift all restrictions on Bao Zhuoxuans
movement.
Appeals To

Please send appeals before November 24th, 2015 TO:

Minister of Public Security

Guo Shengkun
No.14, Donchanganjie,
Dongchengqu, Beijing 100741
Peoples Republic of China
Email: gabzfwz@mps.gov.cn
Salutation: Your Excellency
Director of Ulanhot City Public Security Bureau
Liu Yanping
Wuyibeilu, Ulanhot City, Xingan Meng,
Inner Mongolia, 137400
Peoples Republic of China
Email: 2165777@qq.com
Salutation: Dear Director

AIUSA group 48 Newsletter November 2015 Pg 4

Copies To

Ambassador Cui Tiankai

Embassy of the Peoples Republic of China
3505 International Place NW
Washington DC 20008
Fax: 1 202 495 2138
Email: chinaembpress_us@mfa.gov.cn
Additional Information

Over 200 human rights lawyers and activists have been

detained, missing, or brought in for questioning as part of an
unprecedented nationwide crackdown which began in July.
Twenty-eight people are still in detention or are unaccounted
for. At least ten people are being held on suspicion of inciting subversion of state power, which carries a prison sentence of up to 15 years. The crackdown was accompanied by
a smear campaign in state media, with lawyers and activists

accused of being part of a criminal operation to undermine

social stability. For the latest information on those targets,
https://www.amnesty.org/en/press-releases/2015/08/chinalist-of-lawyers-and-activists-targeted/.
Xing Qingxian, an activist from Chengdu, used to be a technician with China Railway before he lodged a labour dispute
lawsuit against the company. He was imprisoned for two
years after reporting on a protest outside Chengdu Intermediate Peoples Court in March 2009. After being released from
prison in 2011, he has been helping petitioners to draft legal
documents and providing assistance to other detained activists.
Tang Zhishun, a Beijing activist, used to work at a company in
Beijing which produced biological products. His activism has
included protesting against forced evictions and providing
assistance to detained activists.

Woodfox Must Be Released Immediately

June 12, 2015

stephan fleet Stock.Xchng

Today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in

"At this point, the Louisiana authorities must ensure Albert

Woodfox's freedom-not only from incarceration, but from the
deeply flawed legal process that has consumed him for more
than four decades."

Since 2013 alone, Amnesty International USA has generated

Louisiana announced that they would continue a stay of a
more
than 100,000 actions on Woodfox's behalf, including
U.S. District Judge's decision to release Albert Woodfox. The
Court's decision effectively blocks the release of the Louisiana the delivery of a petition to Governor Jindal with more than
prisoner, pending a ruling on whether or not Albert Woodfox 50,000 signatures calling for Albert Woodfox's release. Over
the course of the last five years, Amnesty's global movement
will be tried a third time. This decision follows U.S. District
has
generated more than 500,000 actions on behalf of the
Judge James J. Brady's ruling on Tuesday, which granted
Angola 3. UN Special Rapporteur on Torture Juan Mendez
unconditional release to the last imprisoned member of the
U.N. decried the indefinite solitary confinement imposed
Angola 3, Albert Woodfox. In response, Amnesty International USA Executive Director Steven W. Hawkins issued the on Woodfox, saying that it "clearly amounts to torture and it
should be lifted immediately."
following statement:

"Given that the overturning of Albert Woodfox's conviction

on three separate occasions was not enough, Judge Brady's
decision to grant him unconditional release should have certainly ended this 43-year-long nightmare. Instead, he remains
behind bars, fighting to prove his innocence as a result of the
Louisiana Attorney General's desperate attempt to thwart
justice.

On June 11, in the wake of Judge Brady's ruling, 18 members

of the Louisiana House of Representatives voted for a resolution (H.R. 208) urging Attorney General Caldwell to stop
standing in the way of justice, withdraw his appeals, and let
Judge Brady's unconditional writ and release ruling stand.
Follow Steven W. Hawkins on Twitter: twitter.com/StevenWHawkins

AIUSA group 48 Newsletter November 2015 Pg 5

Write 4 Rights and Save a Life

By Karen Kennedy, MENA RAN Coordinator

Marcel Hol Stock.Xchng

in Nigeria after being featured in last years W4R

Report your letters, so that we can share the total number
with our cases, their families and government officials
Check out our new Educators Guide for High School and
College teachers (coming soon!) as well as a special kids case
sheet for young children
Please note: printed materials will be available at the Regional
Conferences, where we will also have sign up stations and
W4R workshops

in this years Write for Rights! Your involvement is pivotal to

the success of this initiative. This year, the program is featuring three Middle East and North African cases.

Our goals this year is 55,000 letters and 145,000 email actions.
Of course, we particularly hope you, as MENA RAN (Middle
East / North Africa Regional Action Network) activists, will
take action on the three cases from the region. Here are the
short descriptions of those cases:

Write for Rights is our movements largest event and it changes lives. Last year, hundreds of thousands of people worldwideincluding you--generated a record-breaking 3 million+
letters and email actions. As a result, we helped change the
lives of many of our cases, including Moses Akatugba who
walked free from death row in Nigeria. With your participation, we can change more lives this year.

Saman Naseem, Iran

Saman Naseem was tortured into confessing to shooting a
soldier. He was just 17. On the strength of this confession,
and in spite of the fact that Iran has signed on to an international ban on child executions, Saman was sentenced to death
in Iran. Huge efforts secured Saman a retrial, and now global
pressure can prevent a repeat. Write a short letter to the head

We are writing with a very special request: please take part

Every letter matters. Heres what you can do.

PLEASE GO TO
http://write.amnestyusa.org/?ac=none_r
WHERE YOU CAN
Sign up to host a letter writing party or event, join one, or
write on your own!
Show your participation on the map, and invite others to
join us via Facebook, Twitter and email
Meet this years 12 cases, including Albert Woodfox in
Louisiana
Download materials, including the new Action Guide, case
sheets and sample letters
Feel good about the people youve helped through W4R,
including Moses Akatugba, who was released from death row

AIUSA Group 48 Contact Information

Group Coordinator
Joanne Lau
jlau@aipdx.org

Prisoners Cases
Jane Kristof
kristofj@pdx.edu

Treasurer
Tena Hoke
tena.hoke@gmail.com

Megan Harrington
megan.harrington
@gmail.com

Newsletter Editor
Dan Webb
write_to_dan@yahoo.com

Concert Tabling
Will Ware
ww_ware@yahoo.com

OR Area Coordinator
Marty Fromer
martyfromer@gmail.com

Central Africa/
OR State Death
Penalty Abolition
Terrie Rodello
tarodello@igc.org

Indonesia
Max White
maxw33@comcast.net

AIUSA group 48 Newsletter November 2015 Pg 6

of the Iranian Judiciary, urging him to ensure Saman gets a

fair retrial, where the death penalty and forced confessions
play no part. After youve written that letter, please also take
a moment to write a short solidarity letter or postcard to
Saman, letting him know that you are taking action for his
human rights.
Waleed Abu Al-Khair, Saudi Arabia
Human rights lawyer Waleed Abu al-Khair was jailed for 15
years under a cruel terrorism law in Saudi Arabia. He has
defended many peaceful activists, including jailed blogger
Raif Badawi, and has challenged the widespread crackdown
on human rights across the country. Waleed is a Prisoner of
Conscience. Write a short letter to the King of Saudi Arabia
calling for his immediate and unconditional release. After
youve written that letter, please also take a moment to write a
short solidarity letter or postcard to Waleed, letting him know
that you are taking action for his human rights.

Rania Alabbasi & Her Family, Syria

In 2013, Syrian government agents came to the home of
Rania Alabbasi, a successful dentist and mother of six, and
took her and her family away. No reason was given, and none
of them has been heard from since. Write a short letter to the
President of Syria, urging the immediate and unconditional
release of Ranias children. Rania herself must be released or
charged and given a fair trial. After youve written that letter,
please also take a moment to write a short solidarity letter
or postcard to Rania and her family, letting them know that
you are taking action for his human rights. We will use these
messages to put more pressure on the Syrian authorities to
disclose the location of the family.

Postage

AIUSA group 48 Newsletter November 2015