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- Newsgroups: misc.activism.progressive
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- From: tofutti@barkley.Berkeley.EDU (Caryn R Graves)
- Subject: FREEDOM WRITERS APPEALS - NOV. 1992
- Message-ID: <1992Nov10.232209.18996@mont.cs.missouri.edu>
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- Date: Tue, 10 Nov 1992 23:22:09 GMT
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-
-
-
- ***"Freedom Writers Network Appeal Cases - November 1992"***
-
- Each month, Amnesty International's Freedom Writers Network
- focuses on three different cases of victims of human rights
- abuse. Some may be prisoners of conscience -- people
- imprisoned solely for their beliefs, color, sex, ethnic
- origins, language, or religion, who have not used or
- advocated violence. Others may have been denied a fair and
- prompt trial, while others may have been tortured or
- "disappeared," or may be facing execution. All are of great
- concern to Amnesty International. Personal letters from
- caring people can bring about a prisoner's release, secure
- vital information, launch an investigation, or even save a
- life. Your letters can make a tremendous difference in the
- fate of these individuals.
- Below are copies of the three sample letters published
- in this months' Freedom Writers bulletin. Please direct
- your correspondence to the address at the top of each letter
- and send a copy to the embassy address at the bottom (where
- applicable). You may copy the sample letters directly onto
- your stationery or compose your own letters, using the
- samples as guides. For the greatest impact, letters should
- be polite in tone and mailed within the month. U.S. airmail
- postage is 50 cents for a one-page letter.
- NOTE: While you are free to depart from the text given
- in the sample letters when writing your own personal
- appeals, no one may in any way alter the on-line material as
- presented originally by Amnesty International.
- Amnesty International is a worldwide movement working
- impartially for the release of prisoners of conscience, fair
- and prompt trials for all political prisoners, and an end to
- torture, "disappearances," and executions. It is funded by
- donations from its 1.1 million members and supporters
- throughout the world. If you are interested in joining
- Amnesty International USA, please write to: Amnesty
- International, 322 Eighth Avenue, New York, NY 10001.
-
-
- * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
-
-
- Chief L. M. Mangope
- President
- Private Bag X2005
- Mmabatho 8681
- Bophuthatswana
- SOUTH AFRICA
-
- Your Excellency,
- I would like to bring a matter of great importance to
- your attention. On March 21, 1991, Johannes Mafatshe, a 22-
- year-old teacher and one of a group of unarmed and peaceful
- demonstrators, was shot and killed in Phokeng, in the
- Bophuthatswana "homeland." Bophuthatswana security forces
- have admitted that they were responsible for Johannes
- Mafatshe's death; however, authorities have neither
- suspended the officers involved in the unlawful shooting nor
- brought them to justice.
- Johannes Mafatshe and many other members of the
- Bafokeng community had gone to the home of their traditional
- leader, chieftainess Mrs. Molotlegi, to show their support
- for her. Mrs. Molotlegi faced imminent expulsion from
- Bophuthatswana, apparently on account of her political
- opposition to your government. Security forces are said to
- have used tear gas, water cannons and live ammunition to
- disperse the crowd, reportedly without giving prior warning.
- The independent human rights organization Amnesty
- International is concerned that the security forces used an
- unnecessary degree of force to disperse the peaceful crowd.
- I urge you to investigate this matter fully and impartially,
- to make the findings of such an investigation public, and to
- bring to justice those found responsible.
-
- Respectfully,
-
-
-
-
-
- copy to:
- His Excellency Harry Heinz Schwarz
- Embassy of South Africa
- 3051 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W.
- Washington, D.C. 20008
-
-
- * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
-
-
- President Hafez al-Assad
- Office of the President
- Presidential Palace
- Damascus
- SYRIAN ARAB REPUBLIC
-
- Your Excellency,
- I have recently learned of the situation of Burhan
- Nassif, a student who was arrested in July 1983, apparently
- on account of his membership in a banned political party.
- He has been held without charge or trial for over nine
- years.
- Burhan Nassif had been a student at Damascus University
- at the time of his arrest. Although he was initially held
- in Shaikh Hassan Prison in Damascus, it is not known where
- he currently is being detained. Despite the fact that some
- 2,000 political prisoners were released in Syria between
- December 1991 and January 1992, Burhan Nassif is one of
- several thousand prisoners of conscience and political
- prisoners still locked away in Syrian jails.
- The independent human rights organization Amnesty
- International considers Burhan Nassif to be a prisoner of
- conscience, detained for the non-violent expression of his
- beliefs. I urge you to look into this case and see that
- Burhan Nassif is immediately and unconditionally released.
- Thank you for your attention to this matter.
-
- Sincerely,
-
-
-
-
-
- copy to:
- His Excellency Walid al-Moualem
- Embassy of the Syrian Arab Republic
- 2215 Wyoming Avenue, N.W.
- Washington, D.C. 20008
-
-
- * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
-
-
- Mr. Seyfi Oktay
- Minister of Justice
- Adalet Bakanligi
- 06659 Ankara
- TURKEY
-
- Dear Minister,
- I am pleased to learn that government officials in your
- country have indicated a desire to improve Turkey's
- adherence to international human rights standards, including
- those pertaining to fair trials. Given your concern in this
- area, I would like to bring the situation of Selahattin
- Simsek, a 37-year-old Kurdish schoolteacher, to your
- attention. I understand that he has been in prison for more
- than 12 years, having been convicted of robbery and killing
- a policeman on behalf of the Kurdish Workers' Party.
- Selahattin Simsek has consistently denied any involvement in
- these crimes, and, according to the independent human rights
- organization Amnesty International, his trial was grossly
- unfair.
- Selahattin Simsek has said that he was tortured for 23
- consecutive days while undergoing interrogation. During a
- two-year trial involving more than 500 defendants, he was
- allowed to see his lawyer only once. None of the
- prosecution witnesses was able to identify him in court, and
- his conviction was based on contradictory evidence, mainly
- statements extracted by torture from his fellow defendants.
- In addition, he was not permitted to see important legal
- documents relating to his case, including the testimony of
- witnesses, until three years after the trial ended. He was
- sentenced to death in 1983, although this was commuted to a
- 20-year prison term in 1991. He is currently held in Bursa
- Special Type Prison.
- I urge that Selahattin Simsek's allegations of torture
- be investigated by an impartial and independent authority,
- and that his case be reviewed.
-
- Respectfully,
-
-
-
-
- copy to:
- His Excellency Nuzhet Kandemir
- Embassy of Turkey
- 1714 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W.
- Washington, D.C. 20036
-
-
-
-