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-177165-350520Amnesty International Salisbury GroupMinutes of Monthly Meeting on Thursday 12th February 2015 7.30 pm at 4, Victoria Road.NB. NEXT MEETING ON 19TH MARCH DUE TO CLASH WITH EVENSONG ARRANGEMENTS.1Chairman’s WelcomePresent: Andrew, Tony, Eddie, Peter, Lesley, Michael P, Karen2Apologies: Jonathan and Michael S.3Minutes of previous meetingTaken as read.4Treasurer’s Report?481.57 in current acc., (after the annual membership fee being paid). ?15.06 in petty cash.?80 coffee money to come in from Jonathan, plus ?10 handed in by Eddie as general public donation from last stall.?50 cheque written at meeting to cover bill for printing and laminating NK campaign cards.5Update on campaigns DEATH PENALTY SUMMARY – FEBRUARY 2015GeneralPakistan – Report in The Independent 11.1.15 Trading Justice for Money. In 1990, the Qisas and Diyat Ordinances enshrined in law the practice of blood money. This includes the right for the victims’ next of kin to pardon those on death row ‘for the sake of God’ and for financial compensation in lieu of an eye for an eye punishment. Particular concerns have been raised following Pakistan’s lifting of the moratorium for ‘terrorism related offences’. Wealthy families can put pressure on the poor families of those on death row, and face considerable financial pressure in raising money themselves.Ikramul Haq, a member of a banned Sunni militant organisation, was hanged on 15.1.15, despite receiving a pardon from his victim’s family. On 3.2.15 two sectarian militants, Attaullah alias Qasim and Mohammad Azam, were hanged. They had been convicted of killing Dr Ali Raza in 2001. 22 people have now been executed in the aftermath of the school massacre and the reinstatement of hangings in ‘terror’ cases.USAGeorgia – 13.1.15 – The execution took place of Andrew Brannan, a decorated war veteran, despite a history of PTSD as a result of service in Vietnam. He had been found guilty of the killing of police officer.27.1.15 – Warren Hill was executed, despite having a learning disability. In 2002 the US Supreme Court ruled against the execution of prisoners with mental disabilities, but each State was authorised to determine what constitutes mental disability. Georgia is the only State requiring ‘absolute proof of mental disability’. Hill had been on death row for 24 years, and had had three stays of execution.Oklahoma – 15.1.15 – The first execution since that of Clayton Lockett was carried out on Charles Warner, found guilty of the killing of a baby. Concerns continue regarding the use of the ‘cocktail of drugs’ – Warner’s final statement was ‘My body is on fire’.28.1.15 – The US Supreme Court postponed the executions of Richard Glossip, John Grant and Benjamin Cole. The three had sued the State over the current lethal injection drugs. The final decision is expected in late June.Florida – 15.1.15 – Following an unsuccessful late appeal, the execution took place of Shane Kormondy, found guilty of murder and rape. This was the 21st execution to take place under the governorship of Rick Scott. Texas – 29.1.15 – Robert Ladd was executed by lethal injection, despite his learning disability. The State of Texas defines mental disability by reference to the character Lenny in Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men.Kansas – 27.1.15 – A Bill was introduced in the State Legislature to repeal the Death Penalty and replace it with life without parole.Indonesia – updateTwo Australian men, convicted over the ‘Bali Nine’ drugs case, are to be executed at the same time. Myuran Sukumaran’s appeal for clemency has been rejected, and the result of Andrew Chan’s appeal is awaitedSix men were executed on 18.1.15. The men, all convicted of drugs charges, were from Brazil, the Netherlands, Vietnam, Malawi, Nigeria and Indonesia. Brazil and the Netherlands recalled their Ambassadors.Ethiopia – update – A delegation of the All Parliamentary Group on Human Rights is to visit Andargachew Tsege, the Briton under sentence of death. Tsege, secretary-general of a banned Ethiopian opposition movement is being kept in solitary confinement and there are fears that he is being tortured. Clive Stafford-Smith of Reprieve believes Tsege will come to be seen as the Nelson Mandela of Ethiopia.. Saudi Arabia – On 16.1.15 Murdi al-Shakra, a Saudi citizen, was beheaded. He had been found guilty of the murder of a fellow tribesman. His was the 10th execution carried out since the start of 2015.On 17.1.15 Layla bint Abdul Mutaleb Bassimi, found guilty of the rape and murder of her stepdaughter, was beheaded. Two blows of the sword were required. A video posted online caused outrage and led to an arrest, but because of the video, not the actual execution.On 26.1.15 the first public execution took place only 5 days after the accession of the new King SalmaOn 27.1.15 three further executions took place, one for a man accused of heroin trafficking, two for men found guilty of incest and amphetamine smuggling.Report from Human Rights Watch – to date, 28 executions have taken place in Saudi Arabia in 2015 (5 weeks).Jordan – on 4.2.14 two hangings took place in retaliation for the murder of the Jordanian pilot by ISIS. Al-Rishawi, a woman, had been on death row for 10 years following the 2005 hotel bombings. It had been hoped to exchange her for the pilot. The second execution was of Ziyad Karboli, a senior member of Al Quaida.Urgent ActionsBahrain – UA 1/15 – Mohamed Ramadhan Issa ‘Ali Hussain and Hussain ‘Ali Moosa Hussain Mohamad were sentenced to death on 29th December for the killing of a policeman following a trial with the main evidence allegedly obtained under torture. Circulated to the DPLWG 9.1.15. This month’s Group Urgent Action.USA – Texas - UA 13/15 – Robert Ladd was executed on 29th January. The claim that his level of intellectual functioning rendered his execution unconstitutional was rejected by the Courts. Circulated to DPLWG 22.1.15. USA – Georgia – UA 15/15 – Warren Hill – executed on 27th January, despite intellectual disability. Circulated to DPLWG 25.1.15Indonesia – UA 305/14 – 11 more people were at risk of imminent execution. Circulated to DPLWG 25.1.15. Note: on 26.1.15 AI asked for action to be suspended until further notice.CampaigningReggie Clemons – there is no further news regarding the Court’s final decision. The Justice for Reggie Group are following Salisbury Amnesty AI on TwitterIndividual Actions – we continue to send letters on an individual basis, and one group monthly action.A summary of this report was provided at the meeting to give enough time for discussion of Magna Carta plans.Lesley requested that if anyone receives a DP action by email please forward to her so that it can be circulated around the group.NORTH KOREASub Group meeting 19/01/15 KB, TM and FD.The group met to decide on campaigning schedule for the coming year. Decisions were then put to the whole group in the monthly meeting.80 petition cards have arrived from Kenny, the country coordinator. They are addressed to the Chinese President asking to stop forced repartition of N. Koreans. Fiona’s husband Paul has designed an A1 poster to publicise this.It was agreed that as the St Thomas' Saturday cafe was not available the card signing would be split between the regional meeting on the 21st and the petition signing part of evensong cathedral service on the 12th of March. The A1 poster can then be used at both events.2. Amnesty quiz night - the group thought this was a possible idea as both an awareness and fund raising exercise. Date suggested was 10th October, which is world day against the Death Penalty. It was noted that there would be a significant level of organisation needed so it was agreed to send out requests for support to the larger group.3. Larmer Tree Festival, 15-19th July. Fiona is awaiting a reply from organizers regarding us having a stall. Suggest take 1 day and have rota for manning stall from 11am-10pm. It would be a good opportunity to have a NK petition signing with a ‘mass abstract painting’ the group talked about last year. Tony also suggested selling Amnesty goods; possibly negotiate a small commission as fund raising exercise.4. The NK sub-group discussed and agreed a rota would be set up to provide NK articles for the newsletter/website. There are 6 people in the group, TM FD KB AH MP and DW and the newsletter is published every 2 months so everyone only needs to produce one per year. Tony kindly agreed to be the first contributor.NK news updates;With Sony’s controversial comedy “the interview” being released in cinemas last week Amnesty have produced their own film exposing the truth about NK; an interview with ‘defector’ Park Ji-hyun. To watch click on the link below. details how Ji-hyun escaped near starvation in North Korea by being trafficked into China, only to be betrayed to the authorities, separated from her son and repatriated – to a life of torture and hard labour in one of the country's notorious camps. To date there have been 56,000+ hits. ? We have had a reply from Kenny, Bona Shin is happy to work with any ideas of sponsorship for her radio academy.? The “Shin Dong-hyuk affair.” At least some suspicions had been confirmed when Shin suddenly admitted what many had suspected: he did not spend most of his life in the total control zone of the notorious Camp 14; rather, Shin was an inmate of the more liberal Camp 18 (at least for a few years). As Shin in the last few years had emerged as the most promoted refugee worldwide, this admission changes much. No reasons have yet been given but commentators have suggested that as there are so many refugees from different areas of the world that there is almost a climate of competition for media attention, thus creating an incentive to deliver more dramatic and, if necessary, embellished stories. Unfortunately it has now become far easier for Pyongyang to simply reject all refugee testimony as in recent correspondence with the UN.11/2/15 US Administration to Open Center to Fight Cyber attacks (New York Times)President Obama’s homeland security adviser said Tuesday that the administration was planning to open a new center that would quickly assess and deter cyber attacks on the United States.9/02/15 N. Korea flaunts new stealth ship with advanced missile capabilityImages of an anti-ship missile test firing published by state media reveal the existence of one of the DPRK’s most secret programs for the production of advanced stealth naval craft. 6/02/15 The Russian company last week announced that it was looking to increase electrical energy exports to North Korea starting in 2016, with the longer-term goal of connecting Russia to energy-hungry South Korea through the DPRK. Kim Jung-Un’s visit to Moscow has been confirmed.STOP TORTUREThis campaign is included as part of the Magna Carta festival.TM6Report on website and newsletterStatistics for January 2015Blog siteViews in January: 294Most popular views: N Korea and Death PenaltyAll time views: 1755. The blog site has been rejigged slightly and there are some new things on the left panel including links to other relevant organisations.Country viewsUSA113GB90Brazil33Russian Federation6Followers: 66Twitter61 followers and 15 following (don’t know difference)Twitter followers: Amnesty groups around the world including; Israel; Australia; Norway; Slovenia; Bahrain; Birmingham; Seattle; Paris etc (about 15); several individuals from Human Rights Watch; news groups including BBC; Guardian; Salisbury Journal; some AI directors and dozens of individuals including Rob Key. There are two followers on Facebook. YouTube and FlickrNorth Korean demonstration film has 250 views and 693 on Flickr (11/02).It is disappointing to report that there are few signs of local Amnesty supporters on any of the sites and it is ironic that we have more followers in Ecuador and Indonesia than in Salisbury! Contributions to the blog site would be most welcome.@salisburyai 7Magna Carta eventsEventsThe events are as follows:Standing exhibition in the cloisterTalk by Dominic GrieveTheatre event in JuneSixth form conference in JuneA meeting was held last year with Dan Jones of AIUK to agree a standing exhibition in the Cloister of the Cathedral. We will also show our torture wheel as well as the new general group leaflet and a factsheet about the torture campaign. The opening is on 6 March and so far we have not had word from DJ. Caroline and I are both chasing him and I hope to have word by the meeting. No word by meeting but continues to chase.The Dominic Grieve event is planned for 12 March and advertised. I will send in a press release for the following issue of the SJ (19th February). We were hoping for two other speaker events but neither has responded with dates. His talk (7pm) will follow directly from the Evensong (5.30pm). There are 150 tickets for sale on the Cathedral website. Peter offered to ferry DG around for the evening. Retiring collection will be held, volunteers please to rattle tins.The Playhouse event is in planning and that involves an actor (we hope Timothy West) and three speakers. The actor will read out selected passages and the three guests will debate those points. Speakers are Kate Allen; Prof Guy Standing and Ben Rawlence. This is set for the afternoon of 15th June. Tickets are likely to be ?5.00 each with 500 seats available, so potentially a big event for us.Sixth form conference in the morning of 15th June. Kate Allen will speak at that but further details of where and what are not known at present. Supporter involvementAttendance at the first three eventsWe may need some stewarding at the DG talk. There is a retiring collection and supporters will be needed to rattle tins. Also to put out leaflets on the seats. The cloister event is unmanned but occasional attendance by supporters during the period of the display would be useful. Just turn up as and when you have free time.I have also sent details to AI in London and they are going to put details through to local groups and in Group News etc.Hereford AI group contacted Peter regarding our events for Magna Carta as they are thinking of something similar.PCAll8Regional Conference 21st FebruaryPeter, Lesley, Fiona and Andrew are going, They will take the NK petition cards and poster and try for as many signatures as possible.9Monthly actionMonthly action sent from Farshid;My body my rights valentines day actionGeneral election engaging with politicians in your area. Information to follow.National conference and AGM 18-19th April. Group planning pack has been sent to Tony.Activism survey asking ‘to know more about groups’ takes 40 mins to complete!!! Fund raising for Raif B with Amnestea see website. Group Financial Return was handed on to Michael P. He will fill in and return.MP10Evensong Cathedral Service. 12th MarchCheck if Jonathan is happy to do candle guards. The group considered a range of ideas for the non-biblical reading. Andrew will source and offered to deliver it. LC agreed to stand in if AH delayed.NK petition cards and poster to be used for the signing part of the evening. JPAH/LC11Forthcoming events12Refugees/Asylum seekers in UKOn hold at present due to MC planning.13AOBAH has contacted Sian Williams, she replied and was happy for someone to go and speak. It was suggested that the ideas from the citizenship workshop could be used. There could also be a NK petition signing. Email received from Lindsey Bellringer regarding the new South Wilts Technical College to be part sponsored by arms companies including; Chemring, QinetiQ, Esterline and Dstl. The group agreed to monitor the situation and request a meeting with Gordon Aitken (head) to discuss concerns regarding the influence of these firms on students. See fuller item on this blog.AI Raffle tickets were sold to the group. Many thanks for supporting the cause. KBNext Meeting 7.30pm, Thursday 19th March @ 4, Victoria Rd.Group website; AIUK website: .ukCampaign box and banner: Karen ................
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