participate in a 43t letter-writing group for amnesty international

sending off cards of support to Patrick and Monica.

was in support of Patrick Okoroafor, whose been literally rotting in jail in Nigeria for 14 years—since he was 14 years old. more information here

the video features Patrick’s brother, Henry, a lovely, lovely man who walked with us yesterday.

please send appeals to the Nigerian authorities and letters of support to Patrick himself and to his mum, Monica!

i’ve been too despondent to post about this, but they executed Delara despite the stay of execution. her case is now getting some proper news coverage at last. too late, too late.

by two months according to the german amnesty site. see also here

jeez, it’s cruel and inhuman.

Delara’s execution is scheduled for today or Monday. For a crime she allegedly committed when she was 17. please fire off mails/faxes immediately!

Film on Delara’s story: http://scenews.blog.com/2698913/

Your Excellency,

I am greatly disturbed and saddened by the news that Delara Darabi is in imminent danger of execution for a crime committed when she was under 18.

Iran is a state party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), which prohibit the use of the death penalty against people convicted of crimes committed when they were under 18.

I urgently request that you halt the execution of Delara Darabi immediately and commute her death sentence.

Yours respectfully and sincerely,

Addresses here

are still in prison in Zimbabwe. They were arrested on 28 May for having the audacity to exercise their right to peaceful demonstration. They are being held under harsh conditions and are in grave danger of torture and other ill-treatment.

I actually picked these ladies up from the airport when they visited Berlin a couple of years ago. And goodness only knows what they’re going through now.

Please send appeals for their release and solidarity messages to Jenni and Magodonga in prison.

I was just doing a bit of research on the price of a loaf of bread in Zimbabwe, am pasting it in here.

15 February 08: This week, the cost of bread shot up from Z$2.5 million (£42) per loaf to Z$4.5 million (£78). The lowest-paid worker for the state water authority gets just Z$34 million a month (http://news.scotsman.com/world/A-loaf-hits—78.3781428.jp)

4 April 08: A loaf of bread now costs 16 million Zimbabwe dollars (http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/252707)

16 May 08: Sources indicated that the NBA, whose new executive is led by Harambe Holdings operations director Bramwell Bushu, was pressing for a review of the bread price from $66 million per loaf to $290 million. (http://allafrica.com/stories/200805161046.html)

6 June 08: The price of a loaf of bread has skyrocketed to 350 to 700 million Zimbabwe dollars in many shops, the state-owned newspaper, The Herald, reported Saturday. Last month, the price was 100 million. In 2006, it was one million. (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/08/world/africa/08zimbabwe.html?partner=rssnyt)

26 June 08: A loaf of bread now costs six billion Zimbabwe dollars, or 150 times more than at the time of the first round of elections on 29 March. (http://www.rte.ie/news/2008/0626/zimbabwe.html)

The BBC today says that inflation is in the region of 9 million percent (last paragraph of http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7481857.stm). i can’t imagine what that means—probably that your loaf would cost more by the time you got to pay for it than it did when you entered the shop.

In an act of unparalleled cynicism, the Zimbabwean Embassy in Berlin is participating in the All Nations Festival with the theme of Breakfast this Saturday. It really makes me feel physically sick.

On 18 June 2007 three teenagers – Ruslan Bessonov, 19, Maksim Genashilkin, 17, and Dmitri Pavlov, 18 – were sentenced to 10 years in a strict regime prison after an unfair trial. Detained in March 2005, they have been subjected to torture and ill-treatment, and charged with the murder of another teenager. The boys deny the charge. take action here

here are the boys’ addresses in prison. you can send them cards and wishes directly. i’m going to do that today.

here’s a recent update:

When Dmitry Pavlov’s parents visited him in February, he asked her to pass on a huge thank you to all AI members who sent letters to him.

He is however still has aching leg following a breakage. His mother Natalia Pavlova has said “They told Dmitri they would break his leg a second time and then break his good leg. Then they would start work on breaking his ribs. Then they asked if he knew about electric shock treatment. He said no. They replied after we’ve given you electric shock treatment you’ll be a different person and you’ll give us the confession we’re after”.

Nonna Bessonova had the following to say about her son Ruslan:
“I was given access to my son two days after his detention. He was surrounded by five men to prevent him from saying too much… When I leaned forward to kiss him, he just managed to whisper “Mum, touch my head”. When I touched it, it didn’t have a single healthy spot on it. I started to stroke his hair on purpose and there were bumps all over the surface of his head. His trousers were torn, he was very dirty and his face was so fearful…

“Later, my child told me how they ill-treated him to make him
confess… They beat him in the most vulnerable place, tortured him, tied his legs with a rope, strung him up him and beat the soles of his feet with rubber sticks”

Their lawyer reports: “These boys were singled out (as scapegoats) because they were not of ethnic Azeri origin, two of them didn’t have fathers, they were low-income households and so these were vulnerable families with no one from ‘above’ to protect them.”

some of you have already sent appeals on Delara’s behalf.

there’s a new 11-minute video on her story here (warning: it’s terribly sad).

more info at stopchildexecutions.com

Child offender Behnam Zare’ is now facing execution within 72 hours. More information here
and here

TAKE ACTION VIA THEAMNESTY UK WEBSITE

Or mail off APPEALS IMMEDIATELY TO:
info@leader.ir
info@dadgostary-tehran.ir (Re: FAO Ayatollah Shahroudi)

Please mail copies to
dr-ahmadinejad@president.ir
and to the Iranian embassy in your country

Your Excellency,

Behnam Zare’ – STOP CHILD EXECUTIONS

I am writing to express my concern at reports that, following the failure of his appeal, Behnam Zare’ is now facing imminent execution for a crime committed when he was under 18 years old. This is in contradiction of both the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and also the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Islamic Republic of Iran is a state party to both of these.

I therefore call on you to immediately halt the execution of Behnam Zare’ and to commute his death sentence.

I recognise the right and responsibility of governments to bring to justice those found guilty of criminal acts. However, the death penalty is the ultimate cruel, inhumane and degrading punishment. International condemnation of the use of the death penalty for those under 18 at the time of the crime is based on the knowledge of children and young people’s immaturity, and also the increased possibility of their rehabilitation.

Yours sincerely

The execution of child offender Hafez Ibrahim, which had been scheduled for 8 August, has been stayed for three days. President ‘Ali ‘Abdullah Saleh ordered the stay of execution following international appeals on behalf of Hafez Ibrahim. The child offender, aged about 16 at the time of the alleged crime, still faces being put to death.

More here

Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible
- urging the authorities to halt the execution of Hafez Ibrahim, scheduled for 11 August;
- calling on the president to commute his sentence, as he was aged about 16 at the time of his alleged crime;
- urging the President to commute all outstanding death sentences and establish a moratorium on executions, with a view to completely abolishing the death penalty, as called for by Paragraph 5(b) of resolution 2001/68 of the Commission on Human Rights.

APPEALS TO:

President
His Excellency General ´Ali ´Abdullah Saleh
President of the Republic of Yemen
Sana’a
Republic of Yemen
Fax: + 967 127 4147
Salutation: Your Excellency

Attorney General
His Excellency Abdullah al-Ulufi
Office of Attorney General
Sanaa, Republic of Yemen
Fax: + 967 137 4412
Salutation: Your Excellency

Minister of Interior
His Excellency Dr Rashid Muhammad al-Alimi
Ministry of Interior
Sana’a
Republic of Yemen
Fax: + 967 1 332 511
Salutation: Your Excellency

Minister of Human Rights
Her Excellency Houda ‘Ali ‘Abdullatif al- Baan
Ministry for Human Rights
Sana’a, Republic of Yemen
Faxes: + 967 1 444 833
Salutation: Your Excellency

COPIES TO: diplomatic representatives of Yemen accredited to your country.