Manchester Amnesty Weekly Action and News 

Please do this action and make a difference 

Twitter storm for Ahmed Mansoor’s birthday.

This week’s action comes from our UAE subgroup, who have been campaigning on behalf of Ahmed Mansoor for several years. Ahmed Mansoor is a human rights defender, an engineer, a poet, a writer, and a father of four. He was unjustly imprisoned for his human rights work, shining a light on the human rights abuses in the UAE. He has been in prison for 5 ½ years in solitary confinement. Prolonged solitary confinement is considered a Cruel, Inhumane and Degrading Treatment in International Law.

This Saturday, 22^nd October, is Ahmed’s 54^th birthday, and together with other Amnesty groups, we want to create a twitter storm, urging the UAE leaders to release Ahmed from solitary confinement. Please tweet and retweet on 22^nd October around lunchtime.

Please compose your tweet and then upload one of Ahmed’s poems attached as images below and on the accompanying document. If you have time to record yourself reading a poem that is even better. Please use the following in writing your tweet:  #FreeAhmed We call on: @HHshkMohd @MohamedBinZayed @SaifBZayed

in the  #UAE to release @Ahmed_Mansoor

If you want to go to the Acoustic Amnesty party on Friday, 18^th November,

please buy your tickets TODAY, as ticket sales will close tomorrow.

We need to sell more tickets to make the event viable.

If the event is cancelled, refunds will be available, but we would much rather it went ahead, as we have a great line up of singers, bands, poets and a DJ spinning dance tunes.

100% of ticket sales will go to good causes including Amnesty Manchester

Door time 6:00pm, Start time 7:30pm

Manchester 53two, Arch 19, Watson Street, M3 4LP

Click on the link below and book your ticket TODAY!

WeGotTickets | Simple, honest ticketing | Acoustic Amnesty is going electric and having a party

Forthcoming event

Join JUSTICE and the Ombudsman Association on Wednesday 2 November for a free lecture on Democracy and the Rule of Law (title TBC) delivered by the Rt. Hon. Sir Ernest Ryder.

Registration: from 5:30pm

Lecture: 6pm, followed by a drinks reception,

Location: Manchester Monastery, Manchester, M12 5WF

Book your ticket here

JUSTICE are grateful to the Ombudsman Association for their support of this event.

If you have any questions, please email events@justice.org.uk.

Good news

Turkey - On 10 October 2022, the European Court of Human Rights rejected Turkey’s appeal against its ruling that the human rights of Taner Kilic, former president of Amnesty International, had been violated when he was arrested in 2017 and  sentenced in 2020 to six years and three months in prison for crimes of "terrorism".

India - On 14 October 2022, the Bombay High Court acquitted human rights defender Gokaraonda Naga Saibaba of “denouncing discrimination against native communities and Dalits,” and ordered his release. Saibaba had been arrested in 2014, and sentenced in 2017 to life imprisonment under the Prevention of Illegal Activities Act.

Egypt - On October 16, 2022, human rights lawyer Amr Nohan was released. He had been detained without trial since June 10, 2019 on charges of "joining a terrorist group" after he had defended a political prisoner.

Nigeria - On 9 October 2022, the governor of the state of Katsina ordered the release of six death row inmates and the commutation of another 11 death sentences: nine to life imprisonment, one to 30 years and one to 15 years in prison.

Malaysia - On 13 October 2022, a federal appeals court overturned the 2017 death sentence against then student V. Sathya for drug trafficking. The prisoner was acquitted of all charges and released.

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 – Kathryn Fletcher, bussk@btinternet.com

Anti-racism – Hazel Errey, hazelerrey@gmail.com,

Refugees – Alison Wearden, alison.wearden@gmail.com

HR in UK – Matthew Sherwood, m.j.sherwood@outlook.com

Craftivism - Kathryn Fletcher bussk@btinternet.com

Other areas of work are led by:

Crisis and Tactical Afghanistan, Myanmar, Syria, Ukraine, Yemen Rebecca Shaw, r.h.shaw.7@gmail.com

Europe/ Turkey, Fatih Segmen, fsegmen@yahoo.com

Israel's Apartheid Against Palestinians Mike Reed mikewreed101@gmail.com

Individuals at Risk (quarterly letter writing) Anne Walker anne.walker9@ntlworld.com

Alison Wearden 

Communications Secretary 

Manchester Group of Amnesty International 

alison.wearden@gmail.com 

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.