Amnesty International Group 48

Newsletter October 2008 The Group 48 newsletter is now

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Amnesty International Disappointed by Appeals New website for Group 48

Court Decision to Delay Release of A new website with a unique URL has been set up for Group 48.
Uighur Detainees Go to aipdx.org and you will find the latest Amnesty actions that are
related to some of the campaigns Group 48 is working on. For example,
[Washington, DC October 9th, 2008]—Larry Cox, executive direc- the Troy Davis’ case has been the focal point for AIUSA’s staff and
tor of Amnesty International USA, issued the following statement re- volunteers for the last few weeks. Terrie Rodello, the Oregon State
garding the continued legal wrangling about the status of the 17 Death Penalty Coordinator sent updates of the case to the group by
Uighur detainees’ in Guantanamo Bay. On the evening of October 8, email. A few of those up- dates are also on the
the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit blocked website so individuals who are not sub-
the release of the Uighur detainees, which had been ordered by the scribed to the group’s email list can read
lower District Court on October 7. The Court granted the U.S. about the progress of the case as well.
government’s emergency motion for a stay so that the U.S. government Aside from the latest actions and
could file an appeal regarding the Uighur detainees’ entry into the other related news, the website has a
United States: brief description of the group and in-
“The latest decision regarding the continued illegal detention of formation about the monthly meetings.
the Uighur detainees is disappointing, to say the least. Per the ruling The monthly newslet- ter is now posted on
by the U.S. District Court, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security the website. Printing and mailing the news-
(DHS) had been asked to provide recommendations on the conditions letters is the largest expense of the group. When the
under which the Uighurs would live in the United States. Amnesty group’s finance is low, it becomes impossible to produce the newslet-
International urges the DHS to recognize the U.S. Department of ters. Therefore, the website was selected as the solution at the Septem-
Defense’s declaration that these men are not enemy combatants and ber group meeting to maintain the continuity of the group’s only pub-
allow them to lead normal lives, to the extent possible in the United lication and at almost no cost.
States.” Those who wish to continue receiving the hard copy newslet-
“The U.S. Department of Justice seeks to file an appeal on the ters can still do so. However, if you have regular access to the
basis that the District Court overstepped its authority by allowing Internet and are able to open PDF files (require the free program
the Uighur detainees into the United States. That is rather ironic Adobe Reader, go to www.adobe.com for more details), please
since the Bush administration has abused its executive privileges download the newsletter from the website to help lower the group’s
and shown contempt for international law and Constitutional prin- expense. Starting next month, the newsletters will be sent only to
ciples — especially when applied to detainees at Guantanamo Bay.” the individuals who request to receive the hard copy newsletters.
“Mr. President, the U.S. Constitution is the foundation of this Requests need to be made just one time by phone or through the
nation’s rule of law; not a sheet of paper that bends to suit your website.
administration’s unlawful actions in the name of national security.
It is time for you and your administration to stop fighting the courts
and respect the time-honored principle of the Constitution.”
No truth, no justice 40 years after Mexico City massacre
2 October 2008 -- Forty years ago, the Mexican army opened fire
on students peacefully demonstrating in Tlatelolco, Mexico City, on
2 October 1968. Estimates vary on how many people were killed,
but the massacre remains one of the worst incidents of mass kill-
ing in Mexico’s history.
1968 was a year where students and activists around the world
rose up to change their reality and, in many places, they clashed
with the authorities.
Students shut down campuses across the USA as riots and anti-
war marches spread across the country. 80,000 marched against the
Vietnam War in London and the civil rights movement in North-
ern Ireland gained impetus. In May, students in Paris rose up, fol-
lowed by a huge public strike. There was widespread popular op-
position in Czechoslovakia as Soviet troops suppressed political
reforms.
And, in downtown Mexico City, just days before the 1968 Olym-
pics opened, police, military and unidentified armed men sur-
rounded La Plaza de Las Tres Culturas, Tlatelolco. The square was
full of people demonstrating against police brutality as part of a
general student strike that followed the beating of students by the
anti-riot police “los granaderos” in July.
At about 6pm, they opened fire, from armoured vehicles using
heavy weapons and soldiers on foot carrying bayonet rifles. They
fired on the square packed with students and on surrounding resi-
dential buildings. Forty-four bodies were eventually released by the
government – ten have still not been identified.
And, four decades later, the Mexican government still hasn’t
given answers to questions surrounding the massacre that took
place in Mexico City, according to Amnesty International. Javier
Zúñiga, now a special advisor at Amnesty International, then a lec-
turer at the National School of Agriculture, had brought his wife
and two-year-old daughter to what was expected to be a peaceful
event. They witnessed the arrival of government troops from a
nearby bridge overlooking the square.
”Forty years on from the Tlatelolco massacre, so many disturb-
ing questions remain unanswered,” said Javier Zúñiga. “Who or-
dered the massacre? For how long had it been planned? How many
were killed? Who are those whose bodies still have not been iden-
tified?
”It was getting dark at the time the gunfire started, so it was dif-
ficult to see exactly what was happening, but I remember, as clearly
now as at the time, that the army moved into the square before the
gunfire started and not as a consequence of it, as many government
sources have maintained. People panicked and started running in
different directions crying ‘the army is coming, the army is com-
ing!’ Before long, it seemed as if the square was full with bodies.
”I went back early the following morning and saw piles of belts
and shoes. Pools of blood remained on the ground despite obvious
efforts to wash them away. I also saw large bullet holes on concrete
pillars at adult head height.”
Despite continuous efforts by victims, relatives and participants
in the student movement to establish the truth of what occurred that
night, the full facts have never been established and those respon-
sible have not been held to account.
”The failure of the Mexican government to establish the truth
of what happened on the night of 2 October 1968 has left a deep scar
in Mexican society that can only be healed by full disclosure, bring-
ing the perpetrators to justice, and providing reparations to the
victims or their families,” said Kerrie Howard, Deputy Director of
the Americas Programme at Amnesty International.
”President Calderón’s government has been all but silent on this
dark chapter in Mexico’s history. We challenge this administration
to open all relevant archives and records, establish a new and in-
dependent inquiry, and lift the obstacles preventing those respon-
sible for this horrific crime being brought to justice.”
The organization called on Mexican President Felipe Calderón
to establish once and for all the truth behind the massacre that took
place in La Plaza de Las Tres Culturas, Tlatelolco, Mexico City, just
days before the 1968 Olympics opened. It also urged the govern-
ment to provide justice and reparations for the families of the vic-
tims.
submitted by Marylou Noble
Central America RAN Coordinator
Pakistan/Afghanistan: Thousands of displaced
civilians in border area have right to
international assistance
October 3, 2008 Tens of thousands of civilians require immedi-
ate international humanitarian assistance as a result of escalating
fighting on both sides of the Afghanistan-Pakistan border since the
beginning of August, Amnesty International said today.
More than 20,000 people have fled from Pakistan to eastern
Afghanistan to avoid fighting between government forces and pro-
Taleban insurgents in
Pakistan’s Federally
Administered Tribal
Areas (FATA), while
FATA authorities have
asked Afghan refugees
in Bajaur Agency to
leave the area.
“Both the govern-
ments of Pakistan and
Afghanistan, as well as
international forces op-
erating in Afghanistan,
have a legal obligation to provide safe passage, consistent security
and humanitarian assistance to the refugees and internally dis-
placed people on both sides of the border. They should also ensure
that local and international humanitarian agencies are able to work
safely in providing assistance to those in need,” said Sam Zarifi,
Asia Director at Amnesty International.
“The continued fighting in southern Afghanistan and the more
recent conflict in northern Pakistan are creating a very dangerous
situation in the region for civilians trying to find refuge. With the
end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, there is an expectation
that even more civilians will leave their homes to avoid the fight-
ing.”
According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refu-
gees (UNHCR), since mid September more than 600 families have
fled fighting in Bajaur Agency in the FATA, where in recent months
a Pakistani military campaign against anti-government insurgents
has increased tensions. This is in addition to the 3,364 families
which took refuge in the districts of Shigal, Marawara, Dangam, and
other areas of Afghanistan’s Kunar province in early August.
(page two)
 Central Africa Regional Action Network
Chad: Oumar Mahamat Saleh Is Missing and
Must Not Be Forgotten
Ibni Oumar Mahamat Saleh, leader of an opposition political
party and spokesperson for a political coalition, was arrested at his
home in the Chadian capital, N’Djaména, by members of the
Chadian security forces on 3 February 2008. He was arrested a few
hours after a major armed offensive by rebel groups had been de-
feated by the Chadian army. No one has seen him since.
Background:
What happened to Ibni Oumar Mahamat Saleh is very similar
to the fate of more than 20 Chadian high-ranking officers and civil-
ians arrested in April 2006 and November 2007. Since their arrests,
none of these people have been seen or heard from by their fami-
lies. They do not even know if the
men are alive or dead.
On 13 April 2006, armed opposi-
tion movements attacked
N’Djaména. In the aftermath of this
attack more than 14 army officers
and civilians were arrested by
Chadian security forces because
they were suspected of being in-
volved. They included Army Chief
of Staff Abdouramane Youssouf
Seid. On 30 November 2007, seven
men including Brahim Idriss
Ibrahim, governor of Dar Tama
province, were arrested in the east-
ern town of Guéréda. Some were members of the former armed op-
position movement FUC (United Front for Democratic Change).
They were arrested during or soon after a meeting with President
Idriss Déby to discuss disarming former FUC combatants.
To date, only one of the missing men has reappeared: Haroun
Mahamat Abdoulaye, Sultan of Dar Tama, was released from a se-
curity facility in N’Djaména in May 2008. The Chadian authorities
have persistently refused to disclose information on the where-
abouts of these men and the state of their health, or to confirm
whether they are alive or dead.
Charles Dean Hood’s execution stayed
USA: The execution of Charles Dean Hood, scheduled for Sep-
tember 10, has been stayed by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.
The stay was not based on the highly publicized allegations that
Hood’s trial judge and prosecutor were involved romantically dur-
ing the time of his trial, but was in response to a challenge that his
jury was given flawed instructions. News accounts have also re-
ported that, in their reprieve request to Texas Governor Rick Perry,
Hood’s attorneys stated that the former judge and prosecutor in
question admitted to the affair under oath earlier this week in a
separate civil proceeding. Thanks to all who took action on his
behalf! 2008-09-10
Sample Letter:
His Excellency Idriss Déby Itno
President of Chad
Présidence de la République
BP 74
N’Djaména
REPUBLIC OF CHAD via fax: 011-235-251-4501
Your Excellency:
I am very concerned for the safety of Dr. Ibni Oumar Mahamat Saleh, the
leader of Chad’s Party for Liberties and Development (PLD) and spokes-
man for the Coordination of Political Parties for the Defense of the Con-
stitution. Both organizations have peaceful democratic aims and no known
connection with the armed opposition that attacked the capital of
N’Djamena during the first week of February 2008.
Dr. Saleh is a respected Professor of Mathematics at the University of
N’Djamena. Dr. Saleh was arrested at his home on 3 February 2008 by
uniformed officers identified as members of the Chadian government se-
curity forces. Since then, he has not been seen, and authorities contend
that they know nothing about his whereabouts or condition. Amnesty In-
ternational fears that he could be a victim of enforced disappearance and
that he may have been tortured or ill-treated in custody. Please state pub-
licly where Dr. Saleh is being held, and give him immediate access to his
family, legal counsel, and any necessary medical care. He should be re-
leased immediately if no charges have been brought.
Other cases of possible enforced disappearance have been reported
during the past two years in Chad, particularly since the state of emer-
gency was declared in March 2008. What happened to Dr. Saleh is very
similar to the fate of more than 20 Chadian officers and civilians arrested
in April 2006 and November 2007. Since their arrests, only one has re-
appeared, and the families of the others do not know if the men are alive
or dead. If they are alive, they should be released.
I thank you for your attention to my concerns about Dr. Saleh and other
victims of enforced disappearance. I respectfully look forward to your reply.
Sincerely,
Copy to:
Ambassador Bechir Mahamoud Adam
Embassy of the Republic of Chad
2002 R Street NW
Washington, DC 20009
Fax: 202-265-1937
Darfur Arms Embargo resolution update
Sudan: Good news - and thank you!
On September 27, the U.S. Senate
passed Resolution 660 by unanimous
consent; the resolution calls on the UN
Security Council to stop the flow of
weapons into Darfur by expanding the
current UN arms embargo to all of
Sudan. Our activists sent more than
13,000 actions to Congressional members urging passage of this
resolution. The resolution in the U.S. House of Representatives has
not yet passed - please contact your Member of Congress now!
(page three)
Death Penalty: Troy Davis Update:
The US Supreme Court issued a stay less than two hours before
Troy Davis’s scheduled execution. The US Supreme Court decision
to accept Troy’s petition for a Writ of Certiorari by Monday Septem-
ber 29th, the deadline of the stay was not issued but the order may
come down on g Monday, October 6
Action Request:
After consulting closely with Troy’s legal team, the best course
of action will be to continue writing letters targeting the Georgia
Board of Pardons and Paroles, but have those letters delivered to
Amnesty International’s Atlanta office, so that they can be hand
delivered at the appropriate time if it becomes necessary. Please
direct all such actions to our website www.amnestyusa.org/
troydavis - so an accurate count of all the letters on behalf of Troy
can be kept.
Please direct all such actions in this way. More letters, phone
calls, emails or faxes to the Board would not be helpful and could
be counterproductive. Actions to other Georgia authorities, like the
Governor or Attorney General, would also not be helpful. And, of
course, actions directed at the U.S. Supreme Court would be coun-
terproductive as well. So, please do not plan any rallies or demon-
strations in front of the US Supreme Court as such actions have the
potential to jeopardize a positive outcome in this case.
Martina Correia, sister of Troy Davis:
Letter from Troy Anthony Davis:
Below is a message Troy Davis mailed to his sister, Martina, on
September 22, 2008 the night before his scheduled execution in
Georgia
To all I want to thank all of you for your efforts and dedication
to Human Rights and Human Kindness, in the past year I have
Is it time to renew your membership in the Portland chapter of
Amnesty International?
experienced such emotion, joy, sadness and never ending faith. It
is because of all of you that I am alive today, as I look at my sister
Martina I am marveled by the love she has for me and of course I
worry about her and her health, but as she tells me she is the eldest
and she will not back down from this fight to save my life and prove
to the world that I am innocent of this terrible crime.
As I look at my mail from across the globe, from places I have
never ever dreamed I would know about and people speaking lan-
guages and expressing cultures and religions I could only hope to
one day see first hand. I am humbled by the emotion that fills my
heart with overwhelming, overflowing Joy. I can’t even explain the
insurgence of emotion I feel when I try to express the strength I draw
from you all, it compounds my faith and it shows me yet again that
this is not a case about the death penalty, this is not a case about
Troy Davis, this is a case about Justice and the Human Spirit to see
Justice prevail.
I cannot answer all of your letters but I do read them all, I can-
not see you all but I can imagine your faces, I cannot hear you speak
but your letters take me to the far reaches of the world, I cannot
touch you physically but I feel your warmth everyday I exist.
So Thank you and remember I am in a place where execution
can only destroy your physical form but because of my faith in God,
my family and all of you I have been spiritually free for some time
and no matter what happens in the days, weeks to come, this Move-
ment to end the death penalty, to seek true justice, to expose a sys-
tem that fails to protect the innocent must be accelerated. There are
so many more Troy Davis’. This fight to end the death penalty is not
won or lost through me but through our strength to move forward
and save every innocent person in captivity around the globe. We
need to dismantle this Unjust system city by city, state by state and
country by country.
I can’t wait to Stand with you, no matter if that is in physical or
spiritual form, I will one day be announcing,
“ I AM TROY DAVIS, and I AM FREE!
Never Stop Fighting for Justice and We will Win!

Please return this form to to our treasurer: Janan Stoll, 3004 NE 18th
Avenue, Portland OR 97212. If we already have all your current con- AI Group 48 Contact Info
tact information then all we need is your name. None of your contact
information will be shared with any other organization. It will, how-
ever, be published in the roster sent out to all members – make a note if Phone Guy China RAN
Marty Fromer Joanne Lau,
you do not want your name on the roster.
503-227-1878 971-221-5450
Your membership in Portland’s Group 48 is separate from your martyfromer@gmail.com jlau@easystreet.net
membership in the national Amnesty International organization. To
Treasurer Philippine/Indonesia RAN
join the national organization, call 1-800-AMNESTY Janan Stoll, Max White,
503-282-8834 503-292-8168
Name:____________________________________________________ JJJN4NOW@aol.com maxw33@attbi.com

Address: __________________________________________________ Central Africa RAN Central American RAN

City/State/Zip: ______________________________________________ Christine Glenn, Terrie Rodello Marylou Noble
503-452-8087 503-245-6923
Phone: ___________________________________________________
christineglenn@comcast.net marylou_noble@yahoo.com
Email: ___________________________________________________
OR State Death Penalty Coordinator Newsletter Editor / Designer
Terrie Rodello, Dan Webb
Check whether you would like your email address 503-246-6836 (503) 253-3491
o ON or o OFF the Group 48 email list. Please indicate if you would trodello@igc.org danielw2@earthlink.net
like your name o ON or o OFF the membership roster sent to other
Legislative Coordinator
Group 48 members. Dan Johnson,
503-310-4540
subtlet@hotmail.com
o $15 regular membership o $25 family membership
o $50 Generous donor o $100 Amnesty Angel
o $5 limited income o membership fee waiver for financial hardship
(page four)
 CHINA Regional Action Network
Take Action for Liu Bing-lang, Su Chien-ho and
Chuang Lin-hsun
Summary
On the night of March 23-24,1991 Yeh In-lan and her husband
Wu Ming-han were stabbed to death at their home in the town of
Hsichih in Taiwan. Five months later, on August 13, 1991, police
traced a fingerprint left at the scene of the crime to a marine named
Wang Wen-hsiao. Wang Wen-hsiao was taken into custody on Au-
gust 13, 1991, and confessed to the police immediately. More than
36 hours after he had been taken into custody Wang Wen-hsiao
added new information to his confession, implicating his brother,
Wang Wen-chung, and three of his brother’s classmates, whom he
could not name.
Wang Wen-chung was detained soon after by police without an
arrest warrant and was allegedly tortured. He named his three
classmates as Liu Bing-lang, Su Chien-ho and Chuang Lin-hsun.
Wang Wen-chung served
two years in prison for his
alleged role as an accom-
plice in the crime. After his
release, he retracted his evi-
dence and stated publicly
that the police had forced
him to implicate his class-
mates. Wang Wen-hsiao
was executed for his part in
the murders on January 11,
1992.
After numerous retrials and extraordinary appeals, Liu Bing-
lang, Su Chien-ho and Chuang Lin-hsun were acquitted by the
Taiwanese High Court in January 2003. However, in August 2003
the Supreme Court overturned that verdict and ordered the case to
be returned to the High Court yet again. On June 30, 2007, the High
Court overturned the verdict of not guilty and sentenced the men
to death. In November, the Supreme Court rejected the verdict and
returned the case to the High Court for another retrial. The three
men are not detained at this time, but continue to face severe emo-
tional distress as a result of the lengthy nature of the case and their
fear of execution.
A large amount of physical evidence, including blood and fin-
ger prints, was found at the scene of the crime, but none of it has
ever been linked to Liu Bing-lang, Su Chien-ho or Chuang Lin-
hsun. Furthermore, physical evidence presented by six expert wit-
nesses in the last trial supports the defendants’ claim of innocence,
evidence that the High Court refused to consider. Physical evidence
also contradicts key portions of the defendants’ confessions, includ-
ing the men’s confession to the crime of rape. However, the fact that
the charge of sexual assault was selectively dropped in the recent
verdict places serious doubt on the overall legitimacy of the men’s
confessions, as confession to the crime of rape is part of the origi-
nal confession.
The men have alleged that their confessions were extracted
through torture, which they have described in great detail. “(Police)
put a thick yellow book against my chest and hammered me on the
chest”, Liu Bing-Lan has said, “and they then hung me upside down
and started pouring water and urine into my mouth.” Liu Bing-lan,
Su Chien-ho and Chuang Lin-hsun all describe being beaten and
having water or urine forced into their mouths. Su and Chuan also
claim to have been subjected to electric shocks to their genitals, and
in Su Chien-ho’s case police allegedly smeared a concentrated
chemical on the wounds on his genitals caused by the electric
shocks.
These allegations combined with an apparent lack of material
evidence and irregularities in the investigative process suggest that
this verdict is the result of a miscarriage of justice and a violation
of international human rights standards for fair trials, standards
which require particularly close attention in capital punishment
cases. The Taiwan High Court’s judicial decisions further violates
Taiwan’s own Criminal Procedure Law, revised in 2003, that pre-
cludes confessions as the sole basis of evidence, and prohibits the
use of evidence extracted on the basis of torture.
Amnesty International considers the defendants to have suf-
fered repeated miscarriages of justice over the 16 years that the case
has been in the Taiwanese court system. Amnesty International
opposes the use of the death penalty in all cases, as the ultimate
cruel and inhuman punishment, and asks the Taiwanese authori-
ties to commute all death sentences.
Background
The death penalty remains applicable to some 52 crimes in the
Taiwanese criminal code, including non-violent crimes, such as
drug related offences and some economic crimes.
Taiwan was the first government after the United States to leg-
islate lethal injection as a form of execution. This was seen by the
Taiwan authorities as a more ‘humane’ way to execute prisoners.
To date, it has never been used and shooting remains the sole form
of execution in practice.
Executions usually take place at dawn and are carried out by
prison guards who position the prisoner on the ground, face down,
and shoot him directly in the heart. Other parts on the body may
be chosen if the prisoner is an organ donor. Three or more armed
guards usually carry out an execution. This is witnessed by 10-20
officials, including officers of the detention center, the prosecutor
and any religious counsel. Families and lawyers are not informed
in advance of an execution.
Between 1994 and 2005, Taiwan executed 198 people but execu-
tions progressively decreased between 1998 and 2004. Three pris-
oners were executed in 2004, and again in 2005, but no executions
have been carried out in 2006, 2007, 2008.
Take Action Please write polite, encouraging letters to the Presi-
dent in Chinese, English or your own language:
· Calling on the authorities to commute the death sentences
against the Hsichih Trio and bring the case to swift conclusion in
view of serious allegations that they were subjected to torture by
the police and that their trial has been continuing for 17 years with-
out conclusion;
· Immediately establish a moratorium on executions with a view
to abolishing the death penalty as provided by UN General Assem-
bly resolution 62/149.
Address
President Ma Ying-jeou
Office of the President
No. 122, Sec. 1, Chongcing S Road
Jhongjheng District
Taipei 100
Taiwan
Fax: 011 886 2 2383 2941
Salutation: Your Excellency
Postage for letters to Taiwan is 94 cents.
(page five)
On Anniversary of Civilian Shootings, Amnesty International
Calls on U.S. Government to Hold Contractor Accountable
This newsletter is available online
(New York, Sept 16, 2008) – On the one-year anniversary of the killings of 17 Iraqi civil- at: http://aipdx.org/newsletters/
ians by Blackwater Worldwide contractors working for the State Department in Iraq, Am-
nesty International today condemned the U.S. government for failing to hold anyone ac- To receive the newsletter by mail:
Please send your vitals
countable for the deaths.
(name, address, phone #) to:
“The U.S. government has failed to ensure legal accountability for widespread abuses
Amnesty International Group 48
by civilian contractors,” said Larry Cox, executive director of Amnesty International USA.
1704 NW Johnson Street
“Iraqi and U.S. investigations have determined that this assault was an unjustifiable use of
Portland, OR 97209
force against civilians. And yet, a year later, we are still waiting for justice in this case. Ro-
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discriminate shootings and killings of civilians.” (Additional contributions gladly
The deaths of 17 Iraqi civilians on Sept. 16, 2007, occurred when Blackwater personnel accepted)
fired into the streets in Baghdad near Nissour Square as the contractors were providing
security protection for a U.S. diplomatic convoy. Both Iraqi and FBI investigations concluded $25 Family
that the shootings represented an unjustifiable use of force against civilians. $15 Individual
In April, despite Blackwater’s history of reports of attacks against civilians, the State $5 Student/Senior/Low Income
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forts to improve contracting oversight.” Please send your items for the
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to prevent further abuses.

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Group 48
Portland, Oregon USA

Amnesty International Group 48 Newsletter October 2008