Weekly Action and News 20/01/2023
Manchester Amnesty Weekly Action and News
Please do this action and make a difference
Guantanamo Bay detention centre has now been open for 21 years. It was opened outside the United States (offshore) to evade legal restrictions. 35 men are still imprisoned there, none has had a fair trial and many have been tortured. Artwork produced by detainees has been “classified” so that even if they are released or moved on, detainees can’t take their only personal belongings with them. Amnesty have consistently called for the closure of the facility and for all detainees who have not been charged with crimes to be transferred to countries where their human rights will be respected. Those who have been charged with crimes should be dealt with using properly constituted judicial procedures. Today’s action comes from the organisation Reprieve, and will only take you minutes to do. Please click on the link below to tweet President Biden demanding that the prison is emptied and shut down for good, and that detainee’s artwork is declassified.
Proposed Amnesty North regional conference – your chance to influence the agenda
Reminder to complete survey by Sunday 22nd January
AIUK are currently planning a regional conference for activists from the north of the country. This will probably be in April, and probably in Leeds, but further information will be provided once the conference has been arranged.
If you are a paid-up member of Amnesty International UK and live in the north, you should have received an email invitation to provide your views on the topics that you would like to see covered at the conference, as well as your accessibility needs and travel preferences.
Please complete it now!
Subscriptions to the group due now, please!
Voluntary subscriptions to the group are now due. We suggest £20 per year for those who receive a wage or a pension, and £5 (or whatever you can afford) for others. We do not want to discourage people from taking part in our meetings or activities because they cannot afford to pay subs.
In order to make a payment to the group, either do so directly by bank transfer to our account:
Manchester Amnesty Group, 68177527, 05-05-73, preferably with the reference “subs”,
or contact our treasurer Sean Dunne (sean.a.dunne@btinternet.com) for other ways to pay. If you are able, it might be a good idea to set up a standing order, so that you don’t need to think about subs each year.
Upcoming events
Bi monthly letter writing drop-in.
Enjoy a convivial afternoon with friends, writing Amnesty appeal letters for individuals at risk.
Saturday, 28th January, 2-4pm, café area of Manchester Central Library.
All materials provided. If you prefer to send an email, please bring a device. Free wifi is available.
We will also be making “Protect the Protest” ankle tags.
Children of all ages might enjoy this activity!
There is no need to book a place, just drop in for half an hour, or for the whole two hours!
Date for your diary
Acoustic Amnesty 17th February, from 7pm.
Following the fantastic success of our Acoustic Amnesty fundraising event in November, we are pleased to announce our next Acoustic Amnesty event, in conjunction with our friends from Women Asylum Seekers Together (WAST) and featuring 5 choirs, 3 poets, a singer and a band. It will take place on Friday 17th February, 7pm, at Sacred Trinity Church in Salford. For those who want to get their tickets early, they are available here:
WeGotTickets | Simple, honest ticketing | Acoustic Amnesty - choirs and friends
Good news
United States of America - On January 10, 2023, the Federal Supreme Court ordered the Texas Court of Appeals to review the decision to execute Areli Escobar, convicted of murder in 2011. Evidence obtained through DNA tests was performed by a laboratory that was later closed because of inadequate procedures and was deemed "scientifically not credible."
Elwood Jones, 70, on Ohio state death row for more than 27 years, was released on January 14, 2023 after a ruling that there was no guarantee that his trial was fair. Jones had always proclaimed his innocence of the murder, in September 1994, for which he had been sentenced to death.
Indonesia - On January 11, 2023, President Joko Widodo admitted, expressing "deep regret", that "serious violations of human rights" occurred in at least 12 cases between 1965 and 2003, a period ranging from anti-communist repression in the sixties to military operations against the independence movement in Papua.
Nigeria - On January 12, 2023, a judge struck down the rule stating that unmarried police officers should not become pregnant, on pain of dismissal. The judgment was brought by an agent dismissed in 2021, who also obtained compensation equivalent to 9000 euros.
Manchester Amnesty Subgroups and other work
If you would like to join any of our subgroups, please contact the current convenors for joining details.
UAE – Next meeting tbc, Kathryn Fletcher, bussk@btinternet.com
Refugees – Next meeting, Monday 16th January, 7pm, online, please contact Alison Wearden, if you would like to join alison.wearden@gmail.com
Anti-racism – Next meeting,Thursday 19th January, 7pm, online, please contact Hazel Errey if you would like to join hazelerrey@gmail.com
Craftivism –Next meeting tbc, Kathryn Fletcher bussk@btinternet.com
Individuals at Risk (bi-monthly letter writing drop ins) Next session, Saturday, 28th January 2-4pm, Manchester Central Library, café area. Contact Anne Walker for more information anne.walker9@ntlworld.com
Other areas of work are led by:
Israel's Apartheid Against Palestinians Mike Reed mikewreed101@gmail.com
Crisis and Tactical Afghanistan, Myanmar, Syria, Ukraine, Yemen Rebecca Shaw, r.h.shaw.7@gmail.com
Europe/ Turkey, Fatih Segmen, fsegmen@yahoo.com
Alison Wearden
Communications Secretary
Manchester Group of Amnesty International
Please contact me with items for our Weekly Action and News email, or with ideas for longer articles for the quarterly Manchester Amnesty Group Bulletin.
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