NJ Amnesty International Legislative Action

Protect Central Americans Travelling Through Mexico!

2011-11-09T12:22:00.004-05:00

Thanks to everyone who has been helping support the DREAM Act by calling Congress. Here is another important opportunity to help immigrants--many of who are robbed, raped, or killed on their way to the U.S. through Mexico.

Please call your Member of the House of Represenatives and urge him to sign a letter to Secretary of State Clinton being circulated by Representative Raul M. Gijalva. It calls on her to regularly incorporate the rights of migrants in Mexico as part of our diplomacy with the Mexican government. You can read a recent Amnesty International news release for background on this important issue!

Scaring the real monsters since 1961!

2011-10-24T10:03:00.005-04:00

I created the stencil below on my computer and then carved a foam pumpkin from Michael's.

Help Save Troy Davis!

2011-05-04T08:53:00.000-04:00

Please urge members of the Congressional Black Caucus and the Progressive Caucus to sign a letter against the execution of Troy Davis. The Supreme Court has allowed this execution to go forward despite substantial evidence that he may be innocent! NJ Congressman to contact include Rep. Payne (202-225-3436) and Rep. Pallone (202-225-4671). They can sign by contacting Scott Goldstein in the Office of Rep. Hank Johnson.

Updated Maternal Mortality Report Available!

2011-05-03T13:39:00.001-04:00

The update to Deadly Delivery is available online.

Support the Maternal Health Accountability Act!

2011-04-29T18:58:00.001-04:00

Activists around the country are meeting with their local congressional offices to support the Maternal Health Accountability Act! These meetings will have a much bigger impact if Congress also hears about this issue from constituents like you! Please call your Representative's office and urge him to cosponsor HR 894!

Every day, 2 or 3 women die of pregnancy and childbirth related complications in the United States. Amnesty has found that the lack of reliable data contributes to this crisis. HR 894, the Maternal Health Accountability Act, will provide states with grants to collect and analyze this information!

Congressman Rothman onboard Maternal Heatlh Accountability Act

2011-04-18T16:19:00.000-04:00

So far, only one New Jersey Congressman, Representative Rothman, has cosponsored the Maternal Health Accountability Act (HR 894), the legislation that Amnesty International is supporting during our week of lobbying on Maternal Mortality. Please help bring the rest onboard by arranging or taking part in a meeting with your Congressman’s office at http://www.amnestyusa.org/our-priorities/demand-dignity-and-protect-maternal-health-in-the-us/page.do?id=1691023!

During the last Congress, NJ Representatives Holt, Payne, Rothman, and Sires cosponsored one or both of the maternal health bills supported by Amnesty.

Help Amnesty prevent Maternal Mortality this Mothers’ Day!

2011-04-11T10:23:00.001-04:00

Last year, Amnesty International released the Deadly Delivery report, establishing the alarming rate of maternal mortality and “near misses” in the United States. Since then, the U.S. performance on this issue has actually declined in comparison to other industrialized countries! The situation remains especially bad for African American women. Our Representatives and Congressmen are likely to be at their district offices sometime around Mothers’ Day. Amnesty activists across the country are going to be meeting them and/or their staff members to support legislation that would help improve maternal health care in the United States. We may also be supporting legislation to address this issue globally. You can sign up to coordinate a meeting with your Congressman’s or Senator’s local office . We are aiming to hold meetings during the period of April 29th through May 8th. Once we have some coordinators approved, you will be able to see a list of meetings being organized in your area.

Look for me at the AGM

2011-03-16T10:32:00.002-04:00

I will be arriving in San Francisco on Thursday afternoon and taking the redeye back on Sunday. It would be great to meet more NJ activists.

NJ Congressman Smith to attend Noble Prize Ceremony

2010-12-08T12:07:00.003-05:00

Congressman Chris Smith (NJ4) and outgoing Speaker Nancy Pelosi have announced that they plan to attend the ceremony awarding the Nobel Prize to Chinese human rights activist/prisoner of conscience Liu Xiaobo.

Good op-ed piece on the DREAM Act

2010-11-27T13:37:00.002-05:00

There is a good op-ed piece on the DREAM Act in the Times of Trenton: http://www.nj.com/opinion/times/oped/index.ssf?/base/news-1/1290840344228120.xml&coll=5. Amnesty supports this important piece of legislation to create a path to citizenship for immigrants who arrived in the U.S. as minors.

Congressman Rothman Supports IVAWA! Now Let’s Pass It!

2010-11-23T09:07:00.000-05:00

Congressman Steve Rothman became a cosponsor of the International Violence Against Women, joining NJ Representatives Holt, Payne, Sires, and Lance, as well as Senators Lautenberg and Menendez!

If you’re Representative is already on board, call his office to thank him and ask him to help move the legislation ahead. If he isn’t onboard yet, please call and urge him to support IVAWA!

It would also help to let Lautenberg and Menendez know that it is important to pass IVAWA before Congress adjourns and the whole process has to start over.

Now is the time to pass IVAWA!

2010-11-09T18:55:00.000-05:00

As you may know, Amnesty has been working hard to pass the International Violence Against Women Act (IVAWA) in this congress and the one before it. We are very close, but not quite there! If Congress does not pass it before they adjourn in December, the whole process will have to start from scratch. Please call both of New Jersey’s Senators and your member of the House of Representatives and urge them to pass IVAWA before the end of this congress!

You can thank both Senators for cosponsoring IVAWA and urge them to make sure it gets passed—Senator Menendez is particularly important!

If you are a constituent of Sires, Payne, Holt, or Lance, thank them for cosponsoring IVAWA and urge them to work to get it passed. If you live in another district, urge your Representative to cosponsor the International Violence Against Women Act!

Women Around the World Need Sen. Menendez’s Help TOMORROW!

2010-09-28T15:41:00.001-04:00

There is going to be a very important Senate committee meeting tomorrow at 2:15 on the International Violence Against Women Act (IVAWA). Amnesty wants to make sure that this important legislation is not changed in any way that would water down its effectiveness or hinder its passage. Senator Menendez is a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee and a cosponsor of the bill. We have heard, however, that he may have a scheduling conflict. Women around the world need him to help protect and advance this important piece of legislation. Please call his DC office at 202-224- 4744 and urge him to be there!

Larry Ladutke
NJ Legislative Coordinator, AIUSA

AI:Urge Your Rep. to Support the MOMS for the 21st Century Act

2010-07-23T15:38:00.001-04:00

As you may know, women in the United States are more likely to die of pregnancy-related causes than women in 40 other countries. The odds are even worse for women of color. Congresswoman Lucile Roybal-Allard has introduced legislation to address this problem, the Maximizing Optimal Maternity Services (MOMS) for the 21st Century Act (HR 5807). Please call your House Member today and urge him to cosponsor this bill!

You can find out the name and contact information for your Representative by entering your zipcode at www.house.gov.

4 NJ Reps onboard the Global Moms Act

2010-06-29T09:34:00.000-04:00

HR 5268 is aimed at reducing the epidemic of maternal mortality around the world. NJ cosponsors now include Payne, Sires, Rothman, and Holt!

Now let's get the rest of them onboard!

Tell Congress to Support Mexican Women Assaulted by Police

2010-06-11T16:19:00.001-04:00

In 2006, dozens of women were reportedly sexually abused by police after being detained in a protest in San Salvador Atenco, Mexico. The Mexican Supreme Court and the Mexican Human Rights Commission have called for those responsible to be brought to justice, and a report from a Mexican federal government office has identified 34 state security agents responsible for abusing these women. Nonetheless, the state government has not moved forward.

Representatives Tammy Baldwin and Keith Ellison are circulating a letter calling on the federal government in Mexico to take action to bring the police agents who abused these women to justice. Please call your representative and urge him to join them by signing this letter.
AIUSA

Let’s Pass the International Violence Against Women Act!

2010-06-02T21:41:00.000-04:00

It looks like the House of Representatives is almost ready to move forward on the International Violence Against Women Act (IVAWA)! Amnesty International has been behind this legislation from the very start, along with a broad coalition of women’s groups, human rights organizations, humanitarian groups, and churches. It looks like the bill is going to be discussed and marked up later this month, and it is important that we get as many cosponsors onboard before that happens.

So far, New Jersey Congressmen Payne (District 10), Sires (District 13), and Holt (District 12) have signed on. Please thank them if you are one of their constituents.

If you live in another district, however, please call your representative’s office and urge him to cosponsor HR 4594, the International Violence Against Women Act. This legislation will coordinate our foreign policy efforts in the effort to end violence against women around the world, making them more efficient and effective.

It is especially important for you to call your representative if you live in districts 4 (Smith), 7 (Lance), or 11 (Frelinghuysen)!

Don’t know which district you live in? Go to www.house.gov and enter your zip code to get the name of your House Member and his office numbers!

Support the Global MOMS Act

2010-05-12T16:29:00.000-04:00

Thanks to everyone who has helped with Amnesty’s efforts to address the maternal mortality crisis in the United States!

Amnesty is also working on this issue in other countries. Rep. Lois Capps of California has recently introduced the Global MOMS Act to provide family planning, screening, access to health workers, and post partum care to prevent many of the hundreds of thousands of needless deaths that happen every year. Amnesty is supporting this bill. Please call your Representative and urge him to support the Global MOMS Act!

See http://capps.house.gov/2010/05/capps-introduces-global-moms-bill-to-improve-maternal-health.shtml for more information!

You can find out the name and contact information for your House member by entering your zip code at www.house.gov.

Update on Maternal Mortality—Support Letter by Congresswoman Lois Capps!

2010-04-08T13:50:00.000-04:00

Members of Congress around the country are responding to activists’ demands that the United States government put more resources into solving the problem of maternal mortality. Congresswoman Lois Capps of California has begun circulating a sign-on letter to Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius about this important issue.

Please call your Representative in the House and urge him to add his signature! He can do so by contacting Adriane Casalotti in Congresswoman Capps’s office.

You can find out the name and contact information of your House Member by entering your zipcode at www.house.gov.

Tell Congress to Save Women’s Lives!

2010-03-29T10:26:00.000-04:00

This week, activists around the country are meeting with their congressional offices to urge their elected officials to take action to reduce the unacceptable levels of women dying during childbirth here in the United States. These meetings will be even more effective if every member of Congress hears from his or her constituents by phone. Please call your Representative and both of New Jersey’s Senators and tell them

• Amnesty International urges Representatives and Senators to contact the Department of Health and Human Services to raise concerns exposed in Amnesty International‘s new report. The Department should take steps to stop women from dying from preventable pregnancy-related complications, including addressing issues of discrimination, systemic failures, and accountability.
• Amnesty International urges Representatives and Senators to support an increase in funding for the Federally Qualified Health Center program.
• Amnesty International urges Representatives and Senators to contact the health departments of their own states to improve maternal health data collection.

You can find out the name and contact information for your Representative by entering your zip code at www.house.gov.

You can call Senator Lautenberg’s office at (202) 224-3224. The number for Senator Menendez’s office is (202) 224-4744.

Larry Ladutke
NJ Legislative Coordinator, AIUSA

AI Report on Maternal Morality Available Online

2010-03-12T13:29:00.002-05:00

Download Deadly Delivery

Time article on Amnesty's Deadly Delivery report on maternal morality in the US

2010-03-12T09:21:00.001-05:00

You can do something about this by joining a delegation to lobby Congress and by taking part in the on-line action below!

www.amnestyusa.org\deadlydelivery

Too Many Women Dying in U.S. While Having Babies
By Jennifer Block Friday, Mar. 12, 2010

Daniel Allan / Photodisc / Getty Images
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Amnesty International may be best known to American audiences for bringing to light horror stories overseas such as the disappearance of political activists in Argentina or the abysmal conditions inside South African prisons under apartheid. But in a new report on pregnancy and childbirth care in the U.S., Amnesty details the maternal health care crisis in this country as part of a systemic violation of women's rights.

The report, titled "Deadly Delivery," notes that the likelihood of a woman dying in childbirth in the U.S. is ﬁve times greater than in Greece, four times greater than in Germany, and three times greater than in Spain. Every day in the U.S., more than two women die of pregnancy-related causes, with the maternal mortality ratio doubling from 6.6 deaths per 100,000 births in 1987 to 13.3 deaths per 100,000 births in 2006. (And as shocking as these figures are, Amnesty notes that the actual number of maternal deaths in the U.S. may be a lot higher since there are no federal requirements to report these outcomes and since data collection at the state and local levels needs to be improved.) "In the U.S., we spend more than any country on health care, yet American women are at greater risk of dying from pregnancy-related causes than in 40 other countries," says Nan Strauss, the report's co-author, who spent two years investigating the issue of maternal mortality worldwide. "We thought that was scandalous."
(See the most common hospital mishaps.)

According to Amnesty, which gathered data from many sources including the CDC, approximately half of the pregnancy-related deaths in the U.S. are preventable, the result of systemic failures including barriers to accessing care; inadequate, neglectful, or discriminatory care; and overuse of risky interventions like inducing labor and delivering via cesarean section. "Women are not dying from complex, mysterious causes that we don't know how to treat," says Strauss. "Women are dying because it's a fragmented system, and they are not getting the comprehensive services that they need."

The report notes that black women in the U.S. are nearly four times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women, although they are no more likely to suffer certain complications like hemorrhage.
(See the top 10 medical breakthroughs of 2009.)

The Amnesty report comes on the heels of an investigation in California that found maternal deaths have tripled there in recent years as well as a maternal-mortality alert issued in January by the Joint Commission, a group that accredits hospitals and other medical organizations, which noted that common preventable errors included failure to control blood pressure in hypertensive women and failure to pay attention to vital signs following c-sections. And just this week, a panel of medical experts at a conference held by the National Institutes of Health recommended that physicians' organizations revisit policies that prevent women from having vaginal births after having had a cesarean. Such policies, designed in part to protect against litigation, have contributed to the U.S. cesarean rate rising to nearly 32% in 2007, the most recent year for which data is available.

The Amnesty report spotlights numerous barriers women face in accessing care, even among those who are insured or qualify for Medicaid. Poverty is a major factor, but all women are put at risk by overuse of obstetrical intervention and barriers in access to more woman-centered, physiologic care provided by family-practice physicians and midwives.

Amnesty is calling on Obama to create an Office of Maternal Health within the Department of Health and Human Services to improve outcomes and reduce disparities, among other recommendations. The report also calls on the government to address the shortage of maternal-care providers.

"Access is only one factor," cautions Maureen Corry, executive director of Childbirth Connection, a research and advocacy organziation that recently convened more than 100 stakeholders, including the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the NIH, in a large symposium on transforming maternity care. "We need to make sure that we reduce the overuse of interventions that are not always necessary, like C-sections, and increase access to the care that we know is good for mothers and babies, like labor support."

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1971633,00.html?xid=rss-topstories#ixzz0hyL7H9Nw

Hoped-for drop in childbirth deaths not happening

2010-03-09T14:50:00.001-05:00

As you may know, Amnesty's report on maternal mortality in the US is going to be released on March 23rd. We will have a week of lobbying around this issue starting March 29th!

---------

AP – This Oct. 2007 family photo provided by Clare Johnson shows Linda Coale holding her son Benjamin in Crownsville, … .By LAURAN NEERGAARD, AP Medical Writer Lauran Neergaard, Ap Medical Writer – Tue Mar 9, 3:04 am ET
WASHINGTON – Eleven days after her son Benjamin's birth by C-section, Linda Coale awoke in the middle of the night in pain, one leg badly swollen. Just as her doctor returned her phone call asking what to do, she dropped dead from a blood clot.

Pregnancy-related deaths like Coale's appear to have risen nationwide over the past decade, nearly tripling in the state with the most careful count — California. And while they're very rare — about 550 a year out of 4 million births nationally — they're nowhere near as rare as they should be. The maternal mortality rate is four times higher than a goal the federal government set for this year.

"It's unacceptable," says Dr. Mark Chassin of The Joint Commission, the agency that accredits U.S. hospitals and which recently issued an alert to hospitals to take steps to protect mothers-to-be. "Maybe as many as half of these are preventable."

Two years after Coale's death near Annapolis, Md., her sister says topping that list should be warning women about signs of an emergency, like the clot called deep vein thrombosis, or DVT, that can kill if it breaks out of the leg and moves to the lung.

"All she wanted to do was have her own family, and when she finally gets that privilege, she's no longer with us," says Clare Johnson, who says her sister's only risk was being pregnant at age 35.

Maternal mortality gets little public attention in the U.S., aside from last year's worry over the swine flu that killed at least 28 pregnant women. Among the leading preventable causes are hemorrhage, DVT-caused pulmonary emboli and uncontrolled blood pressure.

It's not clear what's fueling the overall increase, although better counting is playing some role. But there are some suspects: A jump in cesarean deliveries that now account for almost a third of births. One in five pregnant women is obese, spurring high blood pressure and diabetes. More women are having babies in their late 30s and beyond.

"It can be a death here, a death there," says Dr. Elliott Main of the California Maternal Quality Care Collaborative, whose research is helping to uncover the rise. "Any one doctor or any one hospital hasn't really seen this change."

When he shows the statistics at medical meetings, "everybody sits up."

More startling, black women are at least three times more likely to die from pregnancy complications than white women, and research is too limited to tell why.

Then there are the near-misses. For every death, 50 additional women suffer serious complications of pregnancy or delivery, notes Dr. Jeffrey King of the University of Louisville, a spokesman for the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

At issue are deaths directly related to pregnancy or childbirth, up to 42 days after delivery. In 2006, the latest year for which data were available, there were 13.3 maternal deaths for every 100,000 births. A decade ago, the rate hovered around 7 — and by this year, the U.S. government had hoped to lower it to 3.3 deaths. California in 2006 charted 16.9 maternal deaths for every 100,000 births, up from a rate of 5.6 in 1996.

How pregnancy-related deaths are coded and counted changed during that time period, but Main says only about 30 percent of the increase may be due to that.

At the request of California health officials, Main is finishing an in-depth study of maternal deaths that already has prompted a project to reduce hemorrhage in 30 of the state's hospitals.

"Jumping on it early is very important," says Main, who worries that hospitals can lose track of bleeding that happens a bit at a time until "before you know it, you've bled a lot."

Among other safety steps:

_Seek early prenatal care to control underlying disorders and check for DVT risk. Pregnancy makes everyone's blood clot more easily. At extra risk are women who've already had a clot or whose relatives have, who are obese or who have varicose veins, says Dr. Geno Merli of Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. They may need blood-thinning medication.

C-sections, like any major surgery, also add to the risk.

Andrea Darling of Skillman, N.J., suffered a DVT in her first trimester in 2002 and endured months of treatment and anxiety before her son was born healthy. Darling already was being treated for a genetic clotting disorder but says patient education helped her take extra steps to avoid a C-section.

_Hospitals should consider using compression boots on C-section patients, says King. They help keep blood from settling in the lower legs.

_C-sections can be lifesaving but women should understand how to reduce their chances of needing one — because next pregnancies tend to end in C-section, too, and repeat C-sections increase hemorrhage risk. Coming to the hospital before you're properly dilated or seeking induction before the cervix is ready unnecessarily increases the C-section risk, Main says.

There often aren't clear explanations for these deaths, and Maryland's Clare Johnson tries not to wonder if anything could have saved her sister, because that's impossible to know.

Still, she urges better education about DVT as the family watches her nephew Benjamin, now 2, grow.

"He is truly our blessing in all this," Johnson says. "He's truly what gets us through."

___

EDITOR's NOTE — Lauran Neergaard covers health and medical issues for The Associated Press in Washington.

Thank You Congressman Payne!

2010-02-08T15:48:00.002-05:00

New Jersey Congressman Donald Payne appears among the 25 original cosponsors of HR 4594, the International Violence Against Women Act (IVAWA). Amnesty International greatly appreciates his leadership on this crucial piece of legislation!

Unfortunately, however, none of the other 12 House members from New Jersey appear on the list of original cosponsors. Please call their offices and urge them to become cosponsors! You can find the name and contact information for your Representative by entering your zipcode at www.house.gov.

Support the International Violence Against Women Act

2010-01-27T17:32:00.003-05:00

The International Violence Against Women Act (IVAWA) is going to be introduced in the House of Representatives on February 4th. This legislation would help ensure that U.S. foreign policy efforts are coordinated so that the best practices for addressing violence against women are incorporated in all areas of our government’s work with other nations. It is being introduced by Rep. Delahunt, a Democrat from Massachusetts, and Rep. Ted Poe, a Republican from Texas. It is very important that this bill continues to have bipartisan support.

Please call your Congressman and ask him to become an original cosponsor of the International Violence Against Women Act. He can contact Celia Richa in Rep. Delahunt’s office or Betsy Huffine on Rep. Poe’s staff.

Once again, you can find out the name and contact information for your Congressman by entering your zipcode at www.house.gov.

Call House to Oppose Anti-Gay Legislation in Uganda

2010-01-12T13:28:00.001-05:00

As you have probably heard, the parliament in Uganda is considering legislation that would punish “any form of sexual relations between persons of the same sex” with severe penalties, including death in some circumstances. It is therefore crucial that the Ugandan government understand that such action would be unacceptable to the international community.

House members Tammy Baldwin, Barney Frank, and Jared Polis are organizing two letters for their colleagues to sign on this issue. The first asks U.S. President Obama to speak out publicly against this legislation and to bring further attention to the issue. The second urges Ugandan President Musevini to convince the leaders of parliament that this legislation is unwise and should be withdrawn from consideration immediately.

Please call your representative’s office and urge him to sign these letters. The contact people are Amber Shipley (Rep. Baldwin, 5-2906), Diego Sanchez (Rep. Frank, 5-3609), and Brian Branton (Rep. Polis, 5-2616).

You can find out the name and contact information for your Representative by entering your zipcode at www.house.gov.

So far, this action is only for the House of Representatives. We will let you know if there is a similar effort in the Senate.

AI Urgent Action on El Salvador

2010-01-04T21:30:00.002-05:00

This is not a legislative action. As many of you know, however, I have particular interest in the human rights situation in El Salvador.

Larry

URGENT ACTION
TWO ACTIVISTS KILLED, OTHERS THREATENED
Local radio station staff have received death threats, days after anti-mining activists were killed.
Radio Victoria staff received death threats in email and mobile phone text messages on 23 and 24 December. The 23 December email threat, sent to 16 Radio Victoria staff, said: "Well, we already sent two to the pit, the question is who will be the third…it's not a bad idea to carry on with one of the big mouths from Radio Victoria…the deaths will continue and nobody can stop the revenge already begun, we prefer that the third of the dead should be a presenter, or a correspondent, or anybody else from that damn radio station, the safest target is a presenter, be careful, we’re not playing around this is the new wave of warnings that we’re beginning after killing Ramiro."

Another threat was sent by email the next day, to eight of the 16 people who had received the previous threat. It read, "we've already chosen the next one to die, it's one of the best-known presenters at that radio station, this will be a real blow for all of them at the radio station, today we're not going to make mistakes saying any names we’re just saying that this presenter is better known and that sooner or later this will hurt you we’re going to kill you"

The threats followed the killings of two anti-mining activists in Cabañas department: Gustavo Marcelo Rivera in June and Ramiro Rivera on 20 December. Ramiro Rivera was the legal representative of the NGO Cabañas Environment Committee (Comité Ambiental de Cabañas), and had survived an August attack in which he was shot eight times.

On 26 December, another member of the Cabañas Environment Committee was killed. Dora Alicia Recinos Sorto, who was eight months pregnant, was shot dead, and her two-year-old child was wounded. Her husband, José Santos Rodríguez, is the Cabañas Environment Committee spokesperson.

The day after Dora Alicia Recinos was killed, six armed men on motorbikes were seen arriving at the home of the head of Radio Victoria's news team, Isabel Gámez. She was out at the time, but the men went into her garden and shone flashlights through the windows: they left when they saw no one inside.

PLEASE WRITE IMMEDIATELY in Spanish or your own language:
 Urging the authorities to order a prompt, full and independent investigation into the threats against Radio Victoria staff, and the recent killing of Ramiro Rivera and Dora Alicia Recinos Sorto environmental activists in Cabañas department in 2009, and to bring those responsible to justice;
 Urging them to ensure that full protection is provided to all Radio Victoria staff, and to members of the Cabañas Environment Committee and their relatives who have received threats, in accordance with their own wishes.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 15 FEBRUARY 2010 TO:

President
Mauricio Funes
Casa Presidencial
Alameda Dr. Manuel Enrique Araujo, No. 5500
San Salvador
EL SALVADOR
Fax: +503 22 43 99 47
Salutation: Dear President / Estimado Sr. Presidente

Attorney General
Fiscal General
Fiscalía General de la República
Final 4ª Calle Oriente y 19ª Avenida Sur, Residencial Primavera,
Santa Tecla, La Libertad, San Salvador, Salvador
Fax : +503 2523-7402
Salutation: Dear Attorney General / Estimado Sr. Fiscal General

And copies to:
Human Rights Organization
La Fundación de Estudios para la Aplicación de Derecho
25 Calle Poniente No. 1332,
Col Layco
San Salvador, El Salvador
Fax: +503 2236 1833

Also send copies to diplomatic representatives accredited to your country. Please check with your section office if sending appeals after the above date. This is the first update of UA 223/09. Further information: www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/AMR29/001/2009/en

URGENT ACTION
TWO ACTIVISTS KILLED, OTHERS THREATENED
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
A number of organizations in the Cabañas department campaigned against fraud they alleged had taken place in local elections in January 2009, and have also been campaigning against preparations for gold-mining in the area. Activists have said they began experiencing threats, attacks and intimidation as early as May 2008, when campaigning against mining exploration in the area began. This has intensified since January 2009, when activists reported irregularities in the elections.

Radio Victoria is a community radio station, committed to social and human rights reporting. Broadcasters at Radio Victoria have reported on corruption issues and anti-mining campaigns, and have called for those responsible for the abduction and killing of Gustavo Marcelo Rivera to be brought to justice.

The Cabañas Environment Committee is a grass-roots organization of approximately 140 members, representing 26 communities in Cabañas Department. It was established in 2005 to campaign on local environmental issues and has spoken out against a proposed mining project in the area.

Further information on UA: 223/09 Index: AMR 29//001/2010 Issue Date: 4 January 2010

America's Secret ICE Castles

2009-12-21T12:11:00.001-05:00

The Nation has a good artilce on immigrant detention, America's Secret ICE Castles. It quotes Amnesty's Sarnata Reynolds and refers to the Jailed Without Justice Report.

Sires Cosponsors Immigrant Detention Reform

2009-10-31T09:51:00.000-04:00

Great news! Congressman Albio Sires (NJ13) joined fellow NJ Representatives Holt, Payne and Rothman in supporting the Immigration Oversight and Fairness Act, HR1215. This legislation addresses the most serious flaws identified in Amnesty’s Jailed Without Justice Report:
• Extreme over reliance on detention without considering effective and less expensive alternatives.
• Lack of due process allowing those imprisoned to challenge the grounds of their detention.
• Inhumane prison conditions for those who are detained.

If your Congressman is not on the list above, please call his office and urge him to cosponsor this important bill.

Amnesty is also supporting two of Senator Robert Menendez’s bills that address these issues, S 1549 and S 1550. Wherever you live in NJ, please call Senator Lautenberg’s office and urge him to support these bills!

Amnesty is currently organizing a lobbying week (the week of November 11th) across the country to support this legislation. We are also going to be focusing on closing Guantanamo and supporting the ratification of a women’s rights treaty (CEDAW). Please go to http://www.amnestyusa.org/delegation/list.php to find out more!

Immigrant Detention Vigil in Elizabeth

2009-10-10T20:02:00.002-04:00

I will be briefly speaking about Amnesty's efforts on immigrant detention at this vigil tomorrow.

Larry

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 11

Come to the IRATE & First Friends 11th annual vigil

at the Elizabeth Detention Center

March and pray in solidarity with the thousands of immigrants being held in detention throughout the country.

2 pm at the corner of Dowd Street and Evans Street, Elizabeth, NJ

You are cordially invited

to a Spaghetti Supper & Teach In after the vigil on

Sunday evening, 10/11/09,

4 pm at the St Joseph Social Service Center

118 Division Street, Elizabeth, NJ

This supper will include presentations by invited speakers:

Marisol Conde-Hernandez, Rutgers undergraduate & activist

and

Msgr. William Reilly, member NJ Blue Ribbon Committee on Immigration Policy

Donations: Adults $25, Students $15, Children under 10 free

---------------------------

Space is limited so please make your reservation NOW by e-mailing your name and the number in your party to firstfriends2@juno.com.

Then please mail your check for the donation to:

IRATE & First Friends, 321 South Broad St., Elizabeth, NJ. O7202

When you check is received, we will confirm your reservation by e-mail.

Any question? Call 908-965-0455

November Lobby Week

2009-10-05T07:45:00.000-04:00

During the week of November 11th, Amnesty activists across the country will be meeting with their local congressional offices to urge them to take action three of our top priorities:
• Fix the broken immigrant detention system to ensure due process and treat people humanely.
• End torture and take effective measures to ensure that it does not happen again.
• Ratify the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).

Amnesty believes that it is now a key moment where grassroots pressure could help convince Congress to move forward on all three of these issues.

You can volunteer to organize a visit to your local congressional office at http://www.amnestyusa.org/delegation/leader.php?d=013&s=NJ &ICID=G0909A01.

Or, you can look for an existing delegation to take part in at http://www.amnestyusa.org/delegation/list.php?ICID=G0909A01.

Cyber Trolls & Such

2009-10-03T10:40:00.004-04:00

An anonymous troll has been clogging the comments with posts totally unrelated to the topic he/she has been posting under. Sadly, this "anonymous" wants to simply call me names without having the deceny to take credit for his or her actions. Furthermore, the ire is directed against my comments on Tim's El Salvador. I have finally figured out that "anonymous" has decided to try to attack me here because Tim does not allow anonymous posts. (I guess he changed that because of similar troll problems.)

I have therefore changed the settings to not allow anonymous posts. Again, "Anonymous," I am willing to respond to serious challenges on issues--but calling me names (without having the decency to reveal yours) simply reveals your lack of maturity.

By the way, he/she finally did comment on an issue--only to reveal that he/she does not think that the forced disappearance and subsequent murder of an environmental activist; death threats against jornalists investigating the case; and attacks on a priest are things that Amnesty should be working on. The decision to put out this urgent action was made by senior AI staff members--not me. Having said that, right on AI! This action makes me proud of my affiliation with Amnesty.

And thank you, anonymous, for clearly displaying your true colors with your comment on the Marcelo Rivera case!

Please send letters to the editor on immigrants' rights

2009-09-16T10:41:00.001-04:00

There is a lot of coverage of immigrants’ rights rallies in today’s NJ papers. Please write letters to the editor in response to articles such as

http://www.nj.com/morristown/jamieduffy/index.ssf/2009/09/pastors_and_people_call_for_an.html

http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/press/cumberland/article_722821a4-1bca-5a28-b914-ea3a3e2eb8db.html

http://www.mycentraljersey.com/article/20090915/NEWS/909150366

http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/2009/09/jersey_city_vigil_held_today_f.html

Be sure to mention Amnesty’s Jailed Without Justice Report (http://www.amnestyusa.org/uploads/JailedWithoutJustice.pdf) and call on Congress to support HR 1215, The Immigration Oversight and Fairness Act. (You can thank Holt, Rothman, and Payne for their support.)

AI Urgent Action on El Salvador

2009-08-27T11:56:00.001-04:00

This is not a legislative action. As many of you know, however, I have a long history of human rights work on El Salvador, including my doctoral dissertation/book.

URGENT ACTION
death threats for activists demanding justice
Those seeking justice for a murdered environmental activist in Cabañas department, El Salvador, are at risk. Another anti-mining activist has also been shot, and five men and one boy have received threats and warnings in an effort to stop the campaign for justice for the murdered environmentalist, Gustavo Marcelo Rivera.
The body of Gustavo Marcelo Rivera, who opposed mining in the area, was found in Cabañas on 30 June, bound and showing signs of torture. According to local human rights organizations, the authorities have charged at least two men with his abduction and killing. However, as Gustavo Marcelo Rivera campaigned against what he considered “deadly [mining] projects” that could have a negative impact on the people and the environment in the department, Amnesty International is concerned that local authorities are not investigating the motives for his killing.
Ramiro Rivera, a male community leader who has also campaigned against gold mining in the area, was shot eight times outside his home in Cabañas on 7 August. Police have arrested the man named by Ramiro Rivera as his attacker. Ramiro Rivera is receiving treatment for his injuries.
Three broadcasters on a radio station in Cabañas, José Alexander Beltrán Castillo, aged 19, Ludwin Franklin Iraheta, aged 20, and 16-year-old Vladimir Abarca Ayala, have received death threats after reporting on Gustavo Marcelo Rivera's killing. The threats were sent in anonymous letters and SMS messages on 24 July. One of the SMS messages said: “You are also on the list…you saw what happened to [Marcelo] the next one is you” On 27 July, Father Luis Quintanilla, a Catholic priest in Cabañas, was driving home after appearing on the same radio station to call for justice for Gustavo Marcelo Rivera, when another vehicle forced him off the road. Four hooded gunmen travelling in the vehicle surrounded his car but Father Luis Quintanilla was able to escape unhurt. Community leader Héctor Antonio Garcia Berríos was warned on 4 August by a man he knew that if he and Gustavo Marcelo Rivera's brother, Miguel Rivera continued campaigning for justice for the murder, their lives would be at risk.
PLEASE WRITE IMMEDIATELY in Spanish or your own language, urging the Salavdoran authorities to:
n Ensure that they provide José Alexander Beltrán Castillo, Ludwin Franklin Iraheta, Vladimir Abarca Ayala, Luis Quintanilla, Ramiro Rivera, Miguel Rivera and Héctor Berríos with all necessary protection according to their wishes;
n Urgently carry out an independent investigation into recent threats and attacks against anti-mining and environmental activists, journalists, community and religious leaders in the department of Cabañas;
n Thoroughly and promptly investigate the abduction, torture and killing of Gustavo Marcelo Rivera, with the results made public and those responsible, including those who may have ordered the killing to be brought to justice.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 08 OCTOBER 2009 TO:
Acting Attorney General
Lic. Ástor Escalante Saravia
Fiscal General en Funciones
Fiscalía General de la República
Final 4ª Calle Oriente y 19ª Avenida Sur, Residencial Primavera,
Santa Tecla, La Libertad, San Salvador El Salvador
Fax: +503 2523-7402/7170
Email: astor.escalante@fgr.gov.sv
Salutation: Dear Attorney General
Director of the National Civil Police
Comisionado Carlos Ascencio Girón
Director de la Policía Nacional Civil
Policía Nacional Civil
6ta. Calle Oriente entre 8va y 10ma Ave. Sur, # 42 Barrio La Vega
San Salvador, El Salvador
Email: carlosascencio@pnc.gob.sv
Salutation: Dear Commissioner

And copies to:
Human Rights Organization
La Fundación de Estudios para la Aplicación de Derecho
25 Calle Poniente No. 1332,
Col Layco
San Salvador, El Salvador
Fax: +503 2236-1833Email: fespadinfo@vip.telesal.net

Also send copies to diplomatic representatives accredited to your country. Please check with your section office if sending appeals after the above date.
URGENT ACTION

attacks continue after activst murdered
ADditional Information
Community, development and environmental organizations in the Cabañas department have been campaigning against reported electoral fraud following local elections in January and against mining exploration due to the potential environmental impact and impact on the health of the local population. Threats, attacks and intimidation against activists reportedly began at least as early as May 2008 when campaigning against mining exploration in the area began and have intensified since January this year when activists denounced electoral irregularities following the elections.
Gustavo Marcelo Rivera Moreno, was Director of the House of Culture (Casa de Cultura), linked to the Ministry of Education in the municipality of San Isidro Cabañas department and together with his brother Miguel Rivera, co-founder and director of the community organization Association of Friends of San Isidro, Cabañas (Asociación Amigos de San Isidro Cabañas, ASIC). He had a long history of activism including human rights education, denouncing electoral fraud and concern for the environment.
Radio Victoria is a community radio station, committed to social and human rights reporting. Broadcasters at Radio Victoria have reported on anti-mining campaigns and have called for those responsible for the abduction and killing of Gustavo Marcelo Rivera to be brought to justice. On 25 July, the human rights ombudsman in San Salvador called on the Attorney General and the Director of the National Civil Police to provide security and protection measures for the three threatened broadcasters, to carry out a thorough investigation into the threats and for those responsible to be brought to justice. Following the threats all three broadcasters left Cabañas in fear for their safety. Ludwin Iraheta has since returned to work on Radio Victoria and is receiving protection from police from outside the area. At the time of writing, Jose Beltrán, who has reportedly refused protection, and Vladimir Abarca, have not yet returned to work in fear for their safety.
Leaders of other community-based organizations campaigning against mining in the area have also received death threats. On 29 July, Antonio Pacheco, Director of the Social and Economic Development Association of Santa (Asociación de Desarrollo Económico y Social Santa Marta, ADES) received death threats. ADES has been campaigning against the negative consequences of gold mining in Cabañas department and calling for justice in the killing of Gustavo Marcelo Rivera.

UA: 223/09 Index: AMR 29/001/2009 Issue Date: 27 August 2009

Urge Lautenberg and Menendez to Stand Up for the Constitution!

2009-07-14T12:37:00.000-04:00

The Senate may vote this week to officially allow indefinite detention without charges, “legalizing” a Bush-era practice that violates both the U.S. Constitution and international human rights law! Amnesty International is also concerned that the Senate may approve revisions to the Military Commission Act this week instead of overturning it. Amnesty has consistently argued that the US federal court system is the correct place to try those accused of terrorism and make sure that justice is done.

Please call the offices of Senator Lautenberg (202- 224-3224) and Senator Menendez (202-224-4744) and urge them to:
Overturn rather than rework the Bush-era Military Commissions. The U.S. federal court system is the correct place to find justice.
Oppose any efforts to legalize indefinite detention, an egregious violation of the right to due process.

Call Congress to Support Immigrant Detention Reform!

2009-07-01T21:40:00.000-04:00

This week, activists across the United States are meeting with their local congressional offices to support HR 1215, the Immigration Oversight and Fairness Act. Even if you aren’t taking part in a meeting, you can still help out by calling your Congressman’s Washington, DC office and urging him to support this important legislation to:

1. Imprison accused illegal aliens only when he or she is shown to be a flight risk or a danger to the community. By relying on effective alternative procedures, we can humanely assure that the accused show up for their hearings while reducing costs and strain on the overburdened prison system.
2. Ensure that each and every person who is detained has the opportunity to challenge the grounds of his or her detention. This is necessary because legal residents and even U.S. citizens have had to spend months in prison while waiting for their deportation hearings.
3. Create enforceable standards of humane treatment for those who are detained, whether in federal, state, local, or private facilities.

NJ Congressmen Rush Holt, Donald Payne, and Steve Rothman have already agreed to cosponsor this important bill! If you live in one of their districts, please call to say “thank you.”

If you live in another district, please call your Congressman and urge him to support HR 1215.

You can find out the name and contact for your representative by entering your zip code at www.house.gov.

Rothman Supports Immigrant Detention Reform

2009-06-20T07:23:00.002-04:00

Congressman Steve Rothman's office has informed me that he has agreed to support HR 1215, the Immigration Oversight and Fairness Act!

As you may know, Amensty activists around the country are currently organizing a lobby week in support of this legislation, which address the three main problems identified in Amnesty's Jailed Without Justice report.

House votes to establish Office for Global Women’s Issues

2009-06-11T16:13:00.000-04:00

Last night, the House of Representatives approved legislation that would implement an important component of the International Violence Against Women Act (IVAWA) by creating a new permanent position on women’s issues in the State Department. Nine of New Jersey’s thirteen representatives voted in favor, and the remaining four voted against.

The next step is to get this legislation passed in the Senate. There will then be a conference committee to reconcile the House and Senate versions, followed by another round of voting in each chamber. We also need to continue pushing for passage of IVAWA in both chambers.

In favor of the creation of the Office for Global Women's Issues at the Department of State to help coordinate efforts to fight violence against women:

Robert E. Andrews ( D - NJ - 01 )
John Adler ( D - NJ - 03 )
Frank Pallone ( D - NJ - 06 )
Leonard Lance ( R - NJ - 07 )
Bill Pascrell ( D - NJ - 08 )
Steve Rothman ( D - NJ - 09 )
Donald Payne ( D - NJ - 10 )
Rush D. Holt ( D - NJ - 12 )
Albio Sires ( D - NJ - 13 )

Against:

Frank LoBiondo ( R - NJ - 02 )
Christopher H. Smith ( R - NJ - 04 )
Scott Garrett ( R - NJ - 05 )
Rodney P. Frelinghuysen ( R - NJ - 11 )

Urge Congress to Reform Immigrant Detention!

2009-05-29T14:59:00.001-04:00

One of our nation’s greatest strengths is the wide diversity of its population, built on the arrival of immigrants of all social classes from every part of the globe. Those of us living in New Jersey can be especially proud of the wide array of cultures that have contributed to the development of our communities.

Unfortunately, this asset is undermined by a judicial system that places of the burden of proof on those accused of being illegal immigrants rather than on those accusing them. As Amnesty’s Jailed Without Justice report documents, legal residents and even U.S. citizens can be arrested and jailed on charges of immigration violations WITHOUT having the opportunity to go before a court and say, “on what grounds am I being held?” Furthermore, those arrested are almost always subject to mandatory detention, regardless of factors such as flight risk or danger to the community. This winds up costing taxpayers $95 per detainee per day! Since 1996, the number of individuals in immigrant detention has tripled! This problem is compounded by the inhumane treatment that many detainees receive, such as being housed with violent offenders and denied adequate medical care.

Congressmen Rush Holt and Donald Payne are already cosponsors of the Immigration Oversight and Fairness Act (HR 1215), a bill that would correct this horrible situation. Please help convince the rest of our state’s representatives and our senators to join them. Activists across the country will be meeting their elected officials’ offices on this issue during the week of June 29th to July 5th. You can volunteer to organize a meeting or look for an existing meeting to join at http://www.amnestyusa.org/immigrant-detention/join-a-delegation/page.do?id=1011618.

Payne Becomes 2nd NJ Rep to Cosponsor Immigrant Detention Reform

2009-05-15T23:03:00.000-04:00

Earlier this week, Congressman Donald Payne joined fellow NJ Representative Rush Holt in supporting HR 1215, the Immigration Oversight and Fairness Act. This important legislation addresses the problems identified in Amnesty’s recent report, Jailed Without Justice.

As you know, the state of New Jersey is home to many immigrants and there families. All members of our congressional delegation should therefore join Holt and Payne in supporting legislation that will guarantee due process, ensure that detention is used only when necessary, and improve inhumane prison conditions!

Report from DC Lobbying!

2009-05-07T21:26:00.002-04:00

Last weekend was the annual meeting for Legislative Coordinators at AI’s DC office. On Monday, I met with staff members from the offices of
· Rep. Chris Smith
· Rep. Rush Holt
· Rep. Albio Sires
· Rep. Leonard Lance
· Rep. Steve Rothman
· Rep. Bill Pascrell
· Rep. Donald Payne
· Sen. Frank Lautenberg
· Sen. Robert Menendez

One of the main issues I raised was the horrible state of immigrant detention documented in Amnesty’s Jailed without Justice report. We asked House members to support HR 1215, the Immigration Oversight and Fairness Act to:
· Ensure that detainees can challenge the grounds for their detention (They may be legal residents or even citizens, for example.)
· Consider alternatives to detention before sending accused illegal immigrants to prison.
· Create enforceable standards to ensure the humane treatment of detainees, regardless of whether they are in federal, state, or local facilities.

I am happy to report that Congressman Holt had already cosponsored this important piece of legislation! Amnesty hopes that similar legislation will soon be introduced in the Senate.

I also followed up on the national in-district lobbying campaign to establish accountability on torture. I urged members of both chambers to:
· Support and independent commission to investigate the policies that led to torture and produce recommendations to prevent it from happening again.
· Call upon Attorney General Eric Holder to launch criminal investigations of torture and prosecutions and where there is sufficient evidence.
· Write to the President calling for an end to the abuse of “state secrets” arguments to refuse Freedom of Information requests. (We are particularly interested in the CIA Inspector General’s 2004 Report.)

Naturally, it would be great if you could follow up with a call to your Congressman, as well as Senator Lautenberg and Senator Menendez!

Star-Ledger Letter on Current Accountability Campaign

2009-04-10T14:07:00.002-04:00

The Star-Ledger published my letter (below) on Amnesty's current push for Congress to investigate human rights violations by the previous administration. Please call your Congressman and both Senators if you have not done so already!

I'll be meeting with Congressman Albio Sires on Tuesday!

----------

Thank you for printing the op-ed piece by Leonard Pitts Jr. criticizing the previous administration's willingness to sacrifice the honor of the nation's Constitution for the "fool's gold" of false security ("We sacrificed our honor for what?" April 5).

Pitts' comparison of the Bush administration's anti-terrorist policies to Major Frank Burns' witch hunts on the television program "M*A*S*H" was very apt. I would like to suggest another show on which to model our future: "Law & Order." Every episode involves a thorough investigation of the crime and the prosecution of those found responsible.

Amnesty International is calling upon Congress to support the creation of an independent commission to investigate abuses committed in the "war on terror." Given that Attorney General Eric Holder has stated that some of the alleged abuses during the previous administration amounted to torture, Congress should also call upon his office to investigate and punish those responsible.

-- Larry Ladutke, Weehawken

Urge Congress to Investigate Torture and Establish Accountability

2009-04-06T15:20:00.000-04:00

This week and next week, activists across the country are meeting with their Senators and Representatives to urge them to investigate torture and human rights abuses committed during the “war on terror” and to hold those responsible accountable for their actions. This is the only way that we can find out the full extent of the crimes that were committed and prevent them from happening again.

Even if you are not taking part in one of these meetings, however, you can help by calling the office of your Congressman and both of our state’s Senators. Please tell them that you would like them to:

1) Establish a non-partisan commission of distinguished Americans to examine, and provide a comprehensive report on, policies and actions related to the detention, treatment, and transfer of detainees after 9/11 and the consequences of those actions, and to make recommendations for future policy in this area.

2) Call on Attorney General Eric Holder to launch a criminal investigation that U.S. engaged in torturing detainees and to hold those responsible for such conduct accountable.

3) Introduce or support a Dear Colleague letter calling on the administration to immediately produce and publish all the relevant policy memos which argued for and established the basis for coercive interrogation, detainee treatment and policy in the last administration.

You can reach Senator Lautenberg’s office at (202) 224-3224. The number for Senator Menendez’s office is (202) 224-4744.

You can find out the name and contact information for your Representative by entering the zip code where you are registered to vote at www.house.gov.

Urge Congress to Investigate “War on Terror” Abuses!

2009-03-11T21:56:00.001-04:00

I hope you have all had a chance to call Senator Lautenberg and Senator Menendez in support of the Tribal Law and Order Act. If not, please do so soon!

The next thing on Amnesty International’s legislative agenda is encouraging Congress to investigate the abuses that took place during the previous administration. From April 6th to the 17th, activists across the country will meet with the offices of their Senators and Representatives to once again encourage them to do their job—performing oversight of the Executive Branch and thus ensuring that our constitutional system of checks and balances works!

We have planned this action to coincide with a congressional recess, a time in which Members of Congress are likely to be back in their home districts. That means that there is a good chance that you can meet with your Senator and/or Representative in person without having to travel to Washington!

You can sign up to lead a delegation . If you are approved, Amnesty will provide materials, online training, and a conference call to help you prepare yourself and train other members of your delegation.

You can also look for an existing delegation to join .

We don’t expect governments in countries like China and Iran to seriously investigate themselves and determine who is responsible for human rights violations. In democracy such as the United States, however, we should accept nothing less.

International Women’s Day/Protect Native American Women

2009-03-08T18:15:00.001-04:00

As you probably know, today, March 8th, is International Women’s Day. Amnesty is marking this event with a week of phone calls to the Senate supporting to protect Native American women from violence.

In its 2007 Maze of Injustice report, Amnesty International found that Native American and Native Alaskan women were TWO AND A HALF TIMES MORE LIKELY to be raped or sexually assaulted than other women in the United States. It found that factors such as confusing and overlapping layers of bureaucracy and legislation; inadequate funding for law enforcement in the areas where they live; and lack of standards for the treatment of victims have left these women vulnerable and allowed their attackers to often remain unpunished.

The Tribal Law and Order Act of 2009 would directly address these factors and thus offer Native American women the same level of protection that most of us take for granted. Please contact the offices of Senator Frank Lautenberg (202-224-3224) and Senator Robert Menendez (202-224-4744) and urge them to support this important legislation. Everyone in our nation deserves to be protected by the law! No one should live in fear, especially not because of her gender or ethic background!

You can find more information, including a sample script, at http://www.amnestyusa.org/svawlobby/tloa.php?st=NJ You can even use this website to let us know that you called and tell us how the offices responded!

Urge the Senate to Investigate Abuses Under the Previous Administration

2009-02-16T22:30:00.001-05:00

As you know, a lot has already been accomplished during the 100 Days of Action to urge the new administration to undue the damage to human rights, the U.S. Constitution, and the rule of law in the name of the “war on terror.” President Obama has ordered Guantanamo closed, banned torture, and ended the “extraordinary rendition” of prisoners to nations where they face abuse.

Our government must do more, however, and that means that WE must do more. This week, February 17-20, activists across the country are calling to urge the Senate to support the creation of a nonpartisan commission to investigate the torture and other forms of inhumane treatment prisoners that took during the previous administration. Yes, President Obama has taken some very important steps. We can not be sure, however, that these things will not happen again unless we have a full accounting of what actually happened.

The Bush Administration resisted every effort by Amnesty International and its allies to investigate these abuses through the Freedom of Information Act. Unfortunately, this is one area where the Obama Administration has not taken decisive action to restore our nation’s credibility and help prevent a repeat of these horrible mistakes.

Please call Senator Lautenberg and Senator Menendez and urge them to support the creation of a nonpartisan commission to investigate the abuses committed in the “war on terror.” Amnesty will even connect you to their offices if you enter your phone number at http://www.amnestyusa.org/stoptorture/test.php?st=NJ. You may also contact Senator Lautenberg’s office directly at (202) 224-3224 and Senator Menendez’s office at (202) 224-4744.

Women's Rights Speaker from DRC at The College of New Jersey 11/10/08

2008-11-06T09:50:00.003-05:00

On Monday, November 10, the Mercer County Amnesty Local Group and the Amnesty chapter at The College of New Jersey will host a presentation on violence against women by Dr. Roger Luhiriri from the Democratic Republic of Congo. There will also be opportunities for those attending to learn about and support the International Violence Against Women Act (IVAWA).

Dr. Luhiriri is currently in residence at the Human Rights Advocates Program at Columbia University. The Program's website provides the following biographical information about him:

Dr. Roger Luhiriri serves as a specialist physician in traumatic fistula at Panzi Hospital, the only center for victims of sexual violence in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Dr. Luhiriri also helps to guide the hospital’s other services for survivors of sexual violence, including psychological support, vocational training, and childcare. As a representative of Panzi Hospital, Dr. Luhiriri has built alliances between the Hospital and other nongovernmental organizations in the immediate area to encourage local participation in conflict resolution.
In addition to his work at Panzi Hospital, Dr. Luhiriri collaborates with Synergie des Femmes pour les Victimes des Violences Sexuelles (SFVS), a coalition of women’s organizations addressing sexual violence against women. To address a growing need to support the caregivers of sexual violence survivors, Dr. Luhiriri has introduced
a new Program of Psychological Assistance for Social Workers and Doctors. Dr. Luhiriri recently advocated this new initiative at Toronto University’s Stephen Lewis Foundation, where he studied women’s human rights.

The event will take place at 6:30 in Forcina Hall 130 at The College of New Jersey in Ewing. Directions to TCNJ are available at http://www.tcnj.edu/~pa/about/directions.html.

Those of you going to the Northeast Regional Conference

2008-10-08T11:20:00.000-04:00

The Northeast Regional Office has asked me to co-facilitate a workshop on the Stop Violence Against Women Act. It will focus on efforts to promote the International Violence Against Women Act (IVAWA) in key states, including New Jersey.

Zimbabwe’s new government has to tackle culture of impunity

2008-09-23T16:56:00.003-04:00

As many of you may know, AIUSA's Northeast Regional Office is focusing on the issue of impunity in Zimbabwe this year. Amnesty's International Secretariat has posted the following statement on its website:

Zimbabwe’s new government has to tackle culture of impunity

23 September 2008

Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe signed a power-sharing agreement with the Movement for Democratic Change’s leaders on Monday, 15 September 2008 in an attempt to resolve the political crisis that has been developing since 2000 and escalated sharply in the last six months.

The crisis has been characterised by a series of politically-motivated violations of civil, political, social and economic rights against real and perceived opponents of President Mugabe. Those who instigated or committed these violations have enjoyed almost total impunity.

In the run-up to the 27 June presidential election run-off, the country saw a wave of state-sponsored human rights violations that left at least 165 people killed, thousands tortured and nearly 30,000 people internally displaced. How Zimbabwe’s unity government will tackle important questions of justice and impunity remains unclear.

Amnesty International has said that the validity of the deal would be seriously compromised if it includes amnesties or pardons that prevent human rights violators being brought to justice, the emergence of the truth, and full reparations to victims.

"Nothing should be agreed that would prevent the full emergence of the truth – and those responsible for the gross human rights violations that took place must be brought to justice," said Simeon Mawanza, Amnesty International's expert on Zimbabwe who recently returned from speaking to victims of state-sponsored violence in the country.

"The victims of human rights violations are demanding justice for the crimes they have suffered – and they deserve no less than that. It will be a great betrayal of these victims if national, regional and international leaders were to support pre-trial amnesties for perpetrators of human rights violations."

Simeon Mawanza added that Zimbabwe has clear obligations under international law and that the country must not fail to fulfil those obligations, particularly in this critical point in their history."

Any durable solution to the crisis in Zimbabwe must have the respect and protection of human rights at its foundation," Mawanza said.

SEN. MENENDEZ MEETS WITH U.S. ENVOY TO SUDAN

2008-09-20T14:42:00.001-04:00

I received the following press release about Darfur from Senator Menendez's office:

SEN. MENENDEZ MEETS WITH U.S. ENVOY TO SUDAN
Foreign Relations Committee member expresses frustration with slow deployment of peacekeepers

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ), a member of the Foreign Relations Committee who has consistently pushed the Bush administration to become more engaged in combating genocide in Darfur, met with the U.S. envoy to Sudan, Ambassador Richard Williamson in the Senator’s Washington offices this week. Senator Menendez released the following statement:

“I expressed to Ambassador Williamson my continuing frustration and concern over the stunningly-slow deployment pace of the essential peacekeeping forces. I also expressed the need for the Department of Defense to step up its logistical support in order to facilitate the deployment of these troops. Ambassador Williamson seems to share these concerns and have a better grasp of situation than previous Bush administration officials, and I hope that this will result in a more aggressive and focused administration Darfur policy over the next four months. We must not let Bashir off the hook as he allows more slaughter to take place. Just because this administration is coming to an end doesn’t mean that it can relax in regard to Darfur – the bloodshed and misery continues.”

# # #

Update: Sires Also Signs Indonesia Letter

2008-08-05T15:23:00.002-04:00

In my last post, I thanked Congressman Rush Holt and Congressman Steve Rothman for signing a letter to the president of Indonesia calling for the release of Filep Karma and Yusuf Pakage.

Unfortunately, the list of signers that I was given was incomplete. I have since received letter from Congressman Albio Sires’s office indicating that he also signed this important letter. I have also obtained a copy of the signed letter with Representative Sires’s signature.

Naturally, Amnesty International greatly appreciates Congressman Sires’s support for these two prisoners of conscience. I am sorry for the oversight in my original message.

NJ Congressmen Rothman and Holt Support POCs in Indonesia

2008-07-30T09:26:00.000-04:00

Representatives Steve Rothman and Rush Holt joined thirty-eight other House members in signing a letter in support of Filep Karma and Yusuf Pakage, prisoners of conscience who have been jailed and abused by Indonesian authorities for the simple act of peacefully raising a flag.

Amnesty greatly appreciates Rothman and Holt’s support for these men and hopes that the Indonesian government responds by releasing them and demonstrating respect for freedom of expression.

Update on Guantanamo Lobbying

2008-06-12T16:56:00.001-04:00

So far, activists in New Jersey are organizing meetings with nine of the state’s fifteen members of Congress.

You can join the following meetings that are being organized by visiting http://www.amnestyusa.org/delegation/list.php:

Congressman LoBiondo
Senator Menendez
Congressman Jim Saxton
Congressman Pallone
Congressman Rush Holt
Congressman Chris Smith
Congressman Garrett
Congressman Rodney Frelinghuysen
Congressman Albio Sires

Don’t see your member of Congress on the list? There is still time to volunteer to organize a meeting in your district by filling out the application at http://www.amnestyusa.org/delegation/leader.php!

Tell Congress to FINALLY Close Guantanamo!

2008-06-05T09:43:00.002-04:00

Once again, the detention facilities at Guantanamo Bay remain operating as we mark Torture Victims and Survivors Month this June. Hundreds of people remain in the prison without formal charges. Those who have been charged face the prospect of an unfair trial at the hands of a “military commission” that lacks independence and is allowed to use evidence that would be thrown out in a normal court of law as tainted by torture and other abusive interrogation methods.

June also marks the beginning of Congress’s annual Independence Day recess. Many our elected officials will return home from Washington during this break, creating an excellent opportunity to for us to meet with them in person and remind them that it is long since time to close the detention facilities at Guantanamo. All prisoners should either be charged with a recognized criminal offense or released. Those that are charged should be given fair trials in civilian courts.

You can help out by volunteering to organize a meeting with one of our members of the House or the Senate. You can also join an existing delegation.

Lobbying Congress is easy and effective, especially with the materials and training that Amnesty provides. As the Legislative Coordinator for New Jersey, I will also be available to assist delegation leaders plan their visits.

NJ in AI's 2008 Report

2008-06-04T11:17:00.000-04:00

Here is a section of Amnesty International’s 2008 Annual Report I have been looking forward to reading! Congratulations and thanks to all those who helped out!

Larry Ladutke

On 17 December, New Jersey became the first US state since 1965 to abolish capital punishment. The following day, the UN General Assembly passed its landmark resolution calling for a global moratorium on executions. Sixty years after the right to life and the prohibition of cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment were written into the UDHR, and three decades after executions resumed in the USA, advocates of the death penalty are increasingly on the defensive across the world.

In the USA, the abolitionist cause looks far less bleak than it was even a decade ago. A number of factors have contributed to this trend, including the release of more than 100 people from death row since 1977 on grounds of innocence – three of them in 2007. The number of death sentences passed each year continues to decline from its peak in the mid-1990s. Just over 100 death sentences were believed to have been handed down in the USA during 2007. Yet from 1995 to 1999, on average 304 people were sent to US death rows annually.

The 42 executions in the USA during 2007 – while 42 too many – represented the lowest annual judicial death toll in the country since 1994. This was at least in part due to the moratorium on lethal injections since late September 2007 when the US Supreme Court agreed to consider a challenge to the constitutionality of that method of execution.

AI Group Cosponsors Army Doctor Talk Against Torture in Princeton 6/23

2008-06-04T10:14:00.002-04:00

I wanted to make sure you saw this upcoming event by AI LG 67 in Princeton. It is taking place right before activists across the country will meet with the congressmen and senators to urge them to support legislation to close the detention center at Guantanamo Bay.

Monday, June 23 7:30 p.m. co-sponsored by Amnesty International Local Group 67Nassau Presbyterian Church61 Nassau Streetright across from Palmer Square)Princeton, NJ
To mark Torture Awareness Month, the Princeton Area Anti-Torture Advocacy Group is hosting a talk at 7:30 pm on Monday, June 23, at Nassau Presbyterian Church, 61 Nassau Street in Princeton (right across from Palmer Square). Torture Awareness Month commemorates the date, June 26, 1987, when the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment went into effect.
The speaker is Brigadier General (Ret) Stephen Xenakis, MD. His talk is entitled No More Torture: Defending Against Global Risk.
Dr. Xenakis served 28 years in the US Army as a medical corps officer. He is on the Board of the National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT), is an advisor to Physicians for Human Rights, and a contributor to Human Rights First. Dr. Xenakis is a member of Rock Spring United Church of Christ in Arlington, VA, and a Princeton University alumnus.
Dr. Xenakis has held a wide variety of military assignments -- as a clinical psychiatrist, staff officer, and senior commander including Commanding General of the Southeast Army Regional Medical Command. Dr. Xenakis has spoken and written widely on medical ethics, military medicine, and the treatment of detainees. He has an active clinical and consulting practice, and currently is working on the clinical applications of quantitative electroencephalography (QEEG) to brain injury and other neurobehavioral conditions.
Dr. Xenakis has written: "Until now, perhaps the most well-known image of the American military doctor was Hawkeye Pierce of M.A.S.H., who protected his patients from dubious orders from his superiors, even when his patients were enemy soldiers. Now, the world's impression of the American military doctor is something quite different. The International Committee of the Red Cross has accused American military physicians of participating in actions that are 'tantamount to torture."
The Princeton Area Anti-Torture Advocacy Group is affiliated with NRCAT, which is headquartered in Washington, D.C. The NRCAT slogan "Torture is a Moral Issue" will be displayed on banners by a number of area churches in June. NRCAT's Founding Conference at Princeton Theological Seminary in January 2006 was organized by the Coalition for Peace Action and the Rev. Dr. George Hunsinger of the Seminary faculty. Nassau Church, in which Dr. Hunsinger is an active participant, became a participating member of NRCAT in March 2007.
Co-sponsors of the presentation include: Nassau Presbyterian Church-Princeton; Coalition for Peace Action; ACLU-NJ; Amnesty International-Mercer County Group; Mercer County Coalition for Civil Liberties; New Brunswick Presbytery, PC (USA)-Social Witness Committee; Princeton Clergy Association; Princeton Friends Meeting-Peace & Social Concerns Committee; Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Princeton; Westminster Presbyterian Church-Trenton; Witherspoon Street Presbyterian Church-Princeton.
The presentation is a free public event. It will be followed by a question and answer period, as well as light refreshments.

Support NJ Representative Chris Smith’s Global Online Freedom of Information Act

2008-05-16T10:38:00.000-04:00

I wanted to draw your attention to an action that listed in the May 2008 issue of Connect: supporting the Global Online Freedom Act of 2007. This legislation—which was introduced by New Jersey’s Chris Smith—would prevent U.S. internet companies from cooperating with repressive governments in their efforts to stifle freedom of expression.

Unfortunately, the need for this legislation is clearly demonstrated by the case of Shi Tao, a journalist who was sentenced to ten years after Yahoo! provided his identity to the Chinese government.

Please call the office of your House member and urge him to support H.R. 275, the Global Online Freedom Act of 2007. You can find the name and contact information for your House member by entering your zip code at www.house.gov.

Amnesty has also set up an online action on this issue.

Update: 4 NJ Congressmen Sign Solis Letter on Sexual Violence in Mexico

2008-05-12T20:33:00.004-04:00

The following NJ members of Congress have signed the letter calling upon the Mexican government to investigate the sexual abuse of Barbara Italia Mendez and other female protestors arrested in May of 2006 and punish those responsible:

Rush Holt
Donald Payne
Steven Rothman
Albio Sires

Congressman Chris Smith's office has indicated that he is planning to send his own letter about this matter.

Update on Barbara Italia Mendez Letter!

2008-05-08T13:22:00.001-04:00

Congressmen Albio Sires and Steve Rothman have joined Donald Payne in signing the congressional letter asking the Mexican government to investigate the rape of Barbara Italia Mendez and twenty-five other women who were arrested after a protest in May 2006!

If you live in one of the remaining NJ congressional districts, please call your House member’s office ASAP to urge him to sign on to this important letter by contacting Congresswoman Hilda Solis’s office. TOMORROW, May 9th, is the deadline!

Update on Barbara Italia Mendez Letter and IVAWA

2008-05-03T11:00:00.000-04:00

We have received the list of the first fifty House members that have agreed to sign the letter urging the Mexican government to fully investigate the sexual abuse of Barbara Italia Mendez and twenty-five other women after they were arrested at a demonstration in San Salvador Atenco in May 2006.

Thanks to Congressman Donald Payne for being the first member of the New Jersey delegation to sign this important letter! There is still time, however, for the others to join him. Please contact the office of your Congressman and urge him to sign the Barbara Italia Mendez letter by contacting Laura Marsh in Representative Hilda Solis’s office.

As you may recall, Amnesty recently asked House members to support the International Violence Against Women Act once it was introduced. On Thursday, Congressman Howard Berman introduced this legislation as HR 5927! Please contact your congressman’s office to let him remind him to support this important bill that would coordinate U.S. foreign policy programs to effectively fight gender-based violence by implementing the practices that our own government knows work best.

Report from Lobby Day

2008-04-29T14:02:00.000-04:00

The post-AGM lobby day went really well yesterday! Do to an oversight, the DC office had not arranged a meeting with Congressman Chris Smith’s office. As you probably know, Smith has been a very important leader on gender-based violence and human rights in general. It was therefore very important to contact him about the International Violence Against Women Act (IVAWA) yesterday. I was therefore very excited to be able arrange a meeting first thing Monday morning. A senior staff member even decided to take part!

Unfortunately, however, I wound up missing the meeting that Amnesty’s staff had scheduled with Congressman LoBiondo’s office. Two volunteers from the lobbying training sessions at the AGM were able to be there, though, and I have heard that the meeting went well. I also made a point of going to the office to apologize in person for not being able to attend.

I also had meetings with the offices of Albio Sires and Rush Holt. In general, all three of the offices that I met with were very positive about IVAWA and the congressional letter regarding the rape of Barbara Italia Mendez by Mexican police agents. Naturally, Smith’s office wants to make sure that IVAWA does not promote abortion. I told the Smith staff members I met with that Amnesty had made sure that the legislation does not deal with this issue. Understandably, however, they need to read the text of the bill once it is introduced.

The offices were also very interested in the northeast region’s special focus case, Fathi el-Jahmi of Libya.

It looks like our next big legislative push will be to press for closing the detention center at Guantanamo Bay. We are going to arrange some district meetings during the congressional recess in early July. This will be a great opportunity to actually meet with our representatives themselves! Please keep an eye out for further details. It would be great if student groups could try to stay in contact about this after classes end. Students can also check http://njailegaction.blogspot.com for more information!

Support Lobby Day (even if you can’t stay in DC Monday!)

2008-04-23T16:09:00.000-04:00

As you know, Amnesty International is planning a day of lobbying in support of women’s rights following this weekend’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Washington, DC. Activists from across the country will be meeting with their congressional offices to ask them to sign a letter to the Mexican government calling for justice in the case of Bárbara Italia Méndez. Ms. Méndez was one of several women arrested, beaten, and raped by Mexican police following a demonstration in San Salvador Atenco in 2006. We will also ask our representatives to be prepared to support the International Violence Against Women Act (IVAWA) when it is introduced in the near future. This legislation would seek to coordinate and improve U.S. efforts to protect women and girls against violence through various foreign policy programs.

If you are staying to lobby on Monday, I look forward to working with you! Even if you can’t stay (or can’t attend the AGM), however, you can still support these efforts. Call your Congressman’s office and urge him to sign the letter on Ms. Méndez that is being circulated by Representative Hilda Solis. Be sure to mention that you also want him to support the International Violence Against Women Act when it is introduced!

(You can find the name and contact information for your Congressman by entering your zip code at http://www.house.gov/).

You can also take part in an online action regarding Ms. Méndez’s case. It calls Members of Congress to make sure that safeguards are put into police/military assistance to Mexico and Central America to prevent further abuses.

Thanks,
Larry Ladutke
NJ Legislative Coordinator, AIUSA

Support Freedom of Expression in China!

2008-03-06T11:41:00.001-05:00

There is an online action to support Shi Tao, a Chinese journalist who is in prison for the “crime” of sending e-mail messages to a pro-democracy website in the United States. All you need to do is enter your contact information and Amnesty will send an e-mail message urging your Congressman to sign a letter urging U.S. Secretary of State Rice to take action on this case and other violations of the right to freedom of expression in China.

Week of Action on Darfur!

2008-02-24T21:50:00.000-05:00

This week, activists across the nation are meeting with their local congressional offices to urge them to support the deployment of peacekeepers in Darfur. You can help by calling your Representative, along with Senators Lautenberg and Menendez!

Since 2003, 200,000 people have been killed in Darfur and 2.5 million have been displaced. Both government-aligned and rebel organizations have prevented humanitarian organizations from delivering food, medical treatment, and other urgent supplies to the population. In 2006 and 2007, Amnesty and other groups asked Congress to send strong messages to the Arab League and China to use their influence to persuade the Sudanese government to allow UN peacekeepers into Darfur.

These efforts have paid off. Roughly 9,000 UN/African Union peacekeepers have already been deployed. Yet the Sudanese government has tried to slow or prevent the complete deployment of 26,000 peacekeepers. Worse yet, it continues to create obstacles that prevent the peacekeepers from doing their job. Furthermore, the peacekeeping force does not have the financial resources it needs from the international community.

Please call the offices of your Congressman and both of our Senators and urge them to write to Secretary of State Rice and ask her to:
· Increase the diplomatic pressure on Sudan to cooperate with the complete and effective deployment of UN/African Union peacekeepers in Darfur
· Provide an addition $334 million for peacekeeping operations in Darfur for fiscal years 2008 and 2009

Upcoming Torture Vote in the Senate

2008-02-04T15:40:00.000-05:00

In December, activists across the country told the House of Representatives to approve legislation that would ensure that all U.S. agencies and personnel are bound by the same rules regarding torture and interrogation. It makes it clear that even the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is bound by the standards set forth in the Army Field Manual.

The next step is a senate vote on the same conference report. Please call the offices of Senator Lautenberg (202-224-3224) and Senator Menendez (202-224-4744) and urge them to support section 327 of the Conference Report on the Intelligence Authorization Act (H.R. 2082).” Doing so will help

·Ensure the accuracy of intelligence because information obtained through torture and other inhumane methods is inherently unreliable

·Strengthen U.S. efforts to stop terrorism by improving relations with our allies

·Protect U.S. citizens, including servicemen, by supporting international law and thus removing any cynical justification for violating their rights

·Decrease support for anti-Americanism by improving our nation’s image

·Restore the America that We Believe—the nation governed by the U.S. Constitution

Why Congress Needs to Do More on Darfur NOW

2008-01-29T15:25:00.000-05:00

In UN police into Darfur refugee camp, Alfred de Montequiou of the Associated press quotes a tribal leader's reaction to the United Nation's peacekeeping mission in Darfur (UNAMID): We know they're our last chance, so we hope they're serious about helping us.

The elder's words also apply to those of us in the United States. As de Montequiou writes,

barely 1,400 of UNAMID's planned 6,000 police officers are in Darfur, and Bangladesh is the only contributing nation to have sent a new contingent so far. More urgently, the mission has only 7,000 troops instead of the expected 20,000, and wealthy Western countries are balking at offering crucial equipment such as helicopters. With so many troops and gear still missing, "we can only fulfill some of the mandate of UNAMID," Gen. Martin Agwai, the force commander,
told the AP last week.

Without financial support, the UN mission will fail and the people of Darfur will be left completely unprotected. You can help out by asking your Congressman and Senators to urge the State Department to provide funds for peacekeeping in Darfur and to help pursuade our European allies to do likewise! Please volunteer to organize or join a congressional visit in your area! Show the people of Darfur that we are serious about helping them!

The Peacekeepers Can't Protect Darfur Without OUR Help!

2008-01-18T22:01:00.000-05:00

Last spring, activists across the nation met with their senators and congressmen to urge them to sign a letter urging the Chinese government to persuade Sudan to allow UN peacekeepers into Darfur. The mobilization was a success, and the joint UN-African Union peacekeeping force has begun to deploy.

Unfortunately, however, this is not enough to guarantee the safety of the people of Darfur. The peacekeeping force continues to faces obstacles from the Sudanese government as well as financial shortfalls that prevent it from carrying out its mission of ending the violence.

Amnesty International wants the U.S. government to help overcome these problems! We are organizing another week of lobbying at the end of February to ask members of the House and Senate to sign a letter urging Secretary of State Rice to increase pressure on the Sudanese government to cooperate with the peacekeeping force; contribute needed funds and equipment; and help convince our allies to do likewise.

You can volunteer to lead a delegation to your Congressman and/or Senator at http://www.amnestyusa.org/darfurlobby. Once again, Amnesty International will provide online training, phone conferences, and other resource to help prepare those chosen to lead delegations.

Senator Lautenberg Response on Cluster Bombs

2008-01-02T12:00:00.000-05:00

I wanted to pass along this response from Sentator Frank Lautenberg regarding the Cluster Munitions Civilian Protection Act":

Dear Mr. Ladutke:

Thank you for contacting me about cluster munitions. I appreciate and share your concern for innocent people who have been maimed and killed by cluster bombs.

Cluster bombs' wide-area coverage make s them particularly dangerous. These weapons are used in military operations but often fail to explode on contact , as- designed . They can remain in the soil long after the reason for their use has passed and the conflict h as ended . There are instances where such buried munitions end up harming innocent civilians.

I am pleased that the Senate included in the Fiscal Year 2008 State and Foreign Operations Appropriations Act a provision restricting the sale and transfer of cluster munitions . It also urges the President to take steps toward protecting civilians from unintentional exposure to harm . I supported this bill. Currently, the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations is reviewing the "Cluster Munitions Civilian Protection Act" (S. 594) which would permanently restrict the sale and transfer of cluster munitions . While I do not serve this committee , please be assured that I will keep your views in mind should this legislation come before the full Senate.

Thank you again for contacting me about this very important issue.

Two Victories Today!

2007-12-13T18:45:00.000-05:00

Here in New Jersey, the State Assembly finally approved legislation abolishing capital punishment! Given that Governor Corzine has committed to signing this bill, it is sure to become law. As you know, Amnesty and our allies have worked very hard on this issue for many years. Now, people around the United States can build upon our state’s momentum. Thanks to everyone who has helped out! (The Star-Ledger published a letter I wrote on the subject in this morning edition, by the way.)

On Capitol Hill, the House of Representatives voted to support the conference version of Intelligence Authorization bill with section 327, which would clarify that the CIA and other agencies are bound by the same prohibitions against torture and inhumane treatment that apply to the military. The Senate has already approved an earlier version of this legislation, so chances are good that it will vote in favor of the legislation prepared by the conference committee.

Once again, thanks to everyone who has helped out with these important initiatives!

Urgent: Congress to Vote on CIA Interrogation Rules

2007-12-11T16:55:00.001-05:00

Please urge your member of the House of Representatives to support Section 327 of the Intelligence Authorization Bill. We are expecting a vote on this legislation TOMORROW, DECEMBER 12th. It would require the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and other government institutions to observe the same interrogation rules as the U.S. military. This is especially important given the recent revelations that the CIA has destroyed video evidence of waterboarding (simulated drowning) and other so-called “enhanced interrogation techniques” that constitute torture and/or cruel and inhumane treatment.

You can find out the name and contact information for your representative by entering your zipcode at www.house.gov. Please call as early as possible tomorrow (Wednesday) morning!

Thanks,
Larry Ladutke
NJ Legislative Coordinator, AIUSA

Help NJ take the lead against the death penalty!

2007-11-12T21:58:00.000-05:00

For years, the abolition of capital punishment in the United States has been high on our list of priorities. Now, we have the chance to do so in our state and thus set a precedent for the rest of the country! As expected, the New Jersey State Legislature is going to vote on bills to abolish the death penalty in December. This vote comes as the culmination of years of activism that led to a moratorium on capital punishment and the creation of an official commission that recommended overturning the death penalty! Now that victory is within our reach, we need to remind our lawmakers to vote to end capital punishment. It would be a shame to lose this vote after so much dedicated action!

Please send letter letters to your representatives in the State Senate and the Assembly. You can find out who they are and how to contact them by clicking HERE. Short, handwritten letters would be great. The message is simple: As a resident of your district, I strongly urge you to sponsor and support S171/A795 to abolish capital punishment in New Jersey. You can also include reasons why you are against the death penalty, such as:

The New Jersey Death Penalty Study Commission recommended replacing the death penalty with life without parole.
Capital punishment is not an effective deterrent.
Killing is wrong, whether it done by individuals or the state.
Wrongful executions can not be corrected, and we can never be one-hundred percent sure that a condemned prisoner is guilty because courts have convicted innocent people.
Revenge does not bring the victims of violent crime back.
Supposedly “humane” execution methods such as lethal injection can result in agonizing deaths.

Please also keep an eye out for media coverage of this issue and send in letters to newspapers supporting the abolition of capital punishment!

Help Launch 86 Days of Action Against Torture! Rally in Princeton This Saturday!

2007-10-15T21:35:00.000-04:00

This Wednesday marks the first anniversary of the Military Commissions Act, which denies the fundamental right of habeas corpus to anyone the government says is an “unlawful enemy combatant.” It further undermines the fundamental right to due process by allowing the use of so-called “evidence” obtained through physically and psychological abusive techniques—information that is clearly unreliable.

Fortunately, Wednesday also marks the beginning of Amnesty’s 86 Days of Act against torture, which runs until the sixth anniversary of the transfer of prisoners to Guantánamo. I will be speaking in at a rally in Princeton this Saturday, October 20th, at 12 noon. Rev. Robert Moore of the NJ Coalition for Peace Action will also be speaking I hope you can join us at Princeton Borough Hall!

As you may recall, Amnesty took part in a national day of action to support legislation to correct the damage done by the Military Commissions Act. We have seen some important progress. The Senate came very close to attaching an amendment restoring habeas corpus to the Defense Authorization Bill, but failed to overcome a filibuster. Congress has also forced the Bush Administration to release documents proving that, despite its claims to the contrary, our government has continued to physically and psychologically abuse prisoners with stress positions, sleep deprivation, and waterboarding (simulated drowning).

Please check back for information about hosting a screening of the new docmumentary, The Ghosts of Abu Ghraib.

National Week of Action on Treaty for the Rights of Women (CEDAW)!!!!

2007-09-22T18:09:00.001-04:00

This week, activists across the nation are urging the Senate to support ratification of the Treaty for the Rights of Women -- officially the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women or CEDAW.

The United States played an important role in drafting this treaty, which is the most complete international agreement for basic human rights of women. 185 countries have ratified it. Yet the U.S. remains one of the 8 countries that have not done so—along with Sudan, Somalia, Qatar, Iran, Nauru, Palau and Tonga. Until our government ratifies CEDAW, it credibly demand that others live up to their obligations under the Treaty.

Please call the offices of Senator Lautenberg (202-224-3224) and Senator Menendez (202- 224-4744) to urge them to help move this important treaty toward ratification!

Please begin by thanking both Senators for supporting S Res 178 on gender-based violence in Guatemala, as well as their support for women and other civilian victims in Darfur!

Please then urge both Senators to support efforts to finally ratify the Treaty for the Rights of Women (CEDAW). Here are some specific actions to suggest:

· Insert a statement in support of CEDAW in the Congressional Record.
· Send a short letter to Senators Joseph Biden (D-DE) and Richard Lugar (R-IN), Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, encouraging hearings and a vote in Committee on the Treaty.
· Make a brief statement on the Senate floor in support of CEDAW ratification.
· Write to Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), asking them to make the Treaty a priority and help build support for Senate ratification.

You may also wish to mention that the following NJ Congressmen have cosponsored H Res 101, a resolution calling for the Senate to ratify the Treaty for the Rights of Women (CEDAW):

· Representative Rush Holt
· Representative Frank Pallone
· Representative Bill Pascrell
· Representative Donald Payne
· Representative Steve Rothman
· Representative Albio Sires

NYT Editorial Supporting Habeas Legislation

2007-09-17T14:12:00.002-04:00

Today's New York Times has an editorial, Restoring American Justice, supporting Senate legislation restoring the right to Habeas Corpus that the Military Commission's Act took away from anyone identified as an "unlawfal enemy combatant" under the vague criteria of the Bush Administration.

Both Senator Lautenbuerg and Senator Menendez are already cosponsors of this important legislation.

BOTH NJ Senators Onboard Resolution Against Gender-Based Violence in Guatemala!

2007-09-17T10:47:00.000-04:00

I just checked Thomas (the on-line congressional database) and found that Senator Frank Lautenberg has become a cosponsor of S Res 178, the resolution condemnng violence against women in Guatemala! Amnesty International greatly appreciate's Senator Lautenberg's support for this important resolution, as well as Senator Menendez's earlier decision to support it.

Thanks also to everyone who contacted their offices about this issue!

Update--NJ Delegations to Support Ratification of Women's Rights Treaty

2007-09-05T20:04:00.000-04:00

There is a delegation being organized to meet with the Newark office(s) of Senator Lautenberg and/or Senator Menedez as part of Amnesty's national mobilization to support ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). Click here if you are interested in taking part!

From our friends at New Jerseyans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty

2007-09-05T20:03:00.000-04:00

Dear Friends,

After seven years of tireless and dedicated work, we are nearing the finish line.

As you may have read in media reports, the death penalty abolition bill is expected to be considered when the New Jersey State Legislature returns from the summer/fall break in November.

Because the legislative term ends in January of next year, this means that the abolition bill will need to go through several steps in less than 8 weeks.

As always, we will need to work together to insure that the bill is signed into law. We are going to again ask you to reach out to your legislators to ensure they do the right thing. NJADP is now scheduling special "letter writing sessions" to generate letters to state legislators. These sessions are great opportunities for local groups to be updated on the status of the abolition bill and to take action at the same time. They start with a five minute presentation by an NJADP staff member or volunteer, followed by about 25 minutes of letter writing.

Many of you held these letter writing sessions during the 2005 moratorium/study bill campaign. We ask that you call now to schedule one for the abolition bill this fall. NJADP can even bring stationary and stamps! Please contact Abe at NJADP's Trenton office ASAP at 609-278-6719 or abe@njadp.org for more information or to schedule a session.

The last seven years have been rewarding and inspiring. New Jersey is the leading state in the abolition movement because New Jerseyans like you have spoken up in record numbers. Because of our hard work, this summer, I was named by the web site www.politicsnj.com to their list of the 100 most politically powerful people in New Jersey. While I may be the face of NJADP most seen by legislators and the public, your strength of conviction and commitment to justice and sensible public policy is the real power behind this movement.

Collectively we have become a powerful force for change. Now it is time to take our grassroots voices to the State House for one last campaign.

If together we do our job well - and I have no doubt we will - we will guide New Jersey out of the darkness of state executions once and for all. We will also create what many are predicting will be the most important turning point moment on capital punishment in our nation's history.

We look forward to hearing from you over the coming weeks about the letter writing sessions.

Thank you.

In peace,

Celeste

PS - We are preparing now for action on the abolition bill later this year - so that we can be as ready as possible to turn out supporters for hearings and voting sessions. As you know, there is often only a few days notice before a hearing or a vote. We are currently developing a list of individuals who would like to be notified by telephone when the bill is scheduled to be considered. If you would like to be sure you are on that list, please contact Abe at abe@njadp.org or 609-278-6719.

Celeste Fitzgerald
Director, New Jerseyans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty
973-635-6396 Chatham Office
609-278-6719 Trenton Office
www.njadp.org

Senator Menendez Cosponsors Resolution on Violence Against Women in Guatemala!

2007-08-30T11:04:00.000-04:00

I just spoke with Senator Robert Menendez's office. Although it has not yet appeared on Thomas (the official legislative database on the web), he has signed on as a cosponsor to S Res 178, the resolution condemning the epidemic of gender based violence in Guatemala and calling upon the Guatemalan governemnt to take serious action to protect women and girls!

Amnesty International greatly appreciate's Senator Menendez's support for this important meassure. Thanks also to everyone who contacted his office about this issue!

I will let you know when I hear something from Senator Frank Lautenberg's office.

Urge Senators Lautenberg & Menendez to Support Ratification of the Treaty for the Rights of Women

2007-08-28T20:10:00.000-04:00

As I mentioned last month, Amnesty is organizing a week of visits to Senate offices across the country during the week of September 24 to urge them to support ratification of the Convention on All Forms of Descrimination Against Women (CEDAW--the Treaty for Women's Rights).

Unfortunately, the United States is one of the few countries that has not yet ratified this important instrument for protecting women's rights. It's time we finally did so! It would be especially great if you could volunteer to organize a meeting with one of the in-state offices of Senator Lautenberg (Newark or Camden) and/or Senator Menendez (Newark or Barrington). Amensty will provide training and materials to make your visit a success. And I would be happy to help out too!

Click here to volunteer to organize a delegation!

Article on Gender-Based Violence in Guatemala

2007-08-13T12:37:00.000-04:00

As you know, Amnesty is urging the Senate to support S Res 178 on the epidemic of violence against women in Guatemala. You might want to check out Michael Parenti and Lucia Muñoz's article Gender Savagery in Guatemala on the North American Congress on Latin America (NACLA) website. (This is not an Amnesty International document)

Once again, please contact the offices of Senator Lautenburg and Senator Menendez about this important issue!

Support Senate Resolution on Violence Against Women in Guatemala!

2007-08-03T15:16:00.000-04:00

This spring, activists from Amnesty International and other groups helped secure passage of H Res 100, a House resolution condemning the epidemic of violence against women in Guatemala and urging the Guatemalan government to take serious measures to protect women and girls.

Senator Bingaman (D-NM) has recently introduced a similar measure, S Res 178. Please call the offices of Senator Lautenberg (202-224-3224) and Senator Menendez (202-224-4744) and make the following points:

Over 2,500 women and girls have been murdered in Guatemala since 2001.
Many of them were also the victims of sexual violence.
Few cases have been investigated, and even fewer have bee brought to trial. Only a handful of cases have resulted in the conviction of the killers.
Please cosponsor Senator Binghamton’s S Res 178 to send a strong message to Guatemalan government that the U.S. Senate and its constituents value women’s lives and want to see justice done in these murders.

There is also an online action available.

Upcoming Mobilization to Support Women's Rights!

2007-07-27T09:51:00.000-04:00

Near the end of September, activist around the country will participate in a week of action to urge the U.S. Senate to finally ratify the Convention for the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), which is also known a s the Treaty for the Rights of Women.

If you are in a student group, this mobilization will take place within a month of your return to classes. It would therefore help if you could begin including it in your plans for the semester and put it on the agenda for your first meeting.

Please check back here for more information on this action!

Update on Senate Habeas Corpus Vote

2007-07-16T15:52:00.000-04:00

Senators Specter and Leahy have introduced the amendment to the Defense Authorization bill to restore the right to habeas corpus as S.A. 2022. It appears that Senate is likely to vote on this amendment this week, perhaps as early as Tuesday.

Please call the offices of Senator Lautenberg (202-224-3224) and Senator Menendez (202-224-4744) and make the following points:

Thank you for supporting S. 185, the Habeas Corpus Restoration Act!
I am glad that you share my concern for protecting the constitutional right to challenge the fact and conditions of one’s detention.
Please vote in favor of S.A. 2022, the bipartisan amendment to S. 1547 (the Department of Defense Authorization bill) introduced by Senators Arlen Specter and Patrick Leahy to restore habeas corpus.

Restoring Habeas Corpus Coming to a Vote in the Senate!

2007-07-11T21:39:00.000-04:00

Both of New Jersey’s senators have already cosponsored S. 185, the Habeas Corpus Restoration Act of 2007. One of the problems, of course, is that President Bush could veto this bill if it is passed on its own. Senators Specter and Leahy are therefore going to introduce a motion to attach it to the Defense Authorization bill, a piece of legislation that the president is unlikely to veto.

Please call the offices of Senator Lautenberg (202-224-3224) and Senator Menendez (202-224-4744) and make the following points:
1. Thank you for supporting S. 185, the Habeas Corpus Restoration Act!
2. I am glad that you share my concern for protecting the constitutional right to challenge the fact and conditions of one’s detention.
3. Please vote in favor of the bipartisan amendment to S. 1547 (the Department of Defense Authorization bill) introduced by Senators Arlen Specter and Patrick Leahy to restore habeas corpus.

Habeas Corpus Letter in 7/9/2007 Star-Ledger

2007-07-09T14:24:00.000-04:00

The Star-Ledger finally published my letter about the June 26th Day of Action to Restore Habeas Corpus.

Unfortunately, the online version is not formatted well. Look for “Restoring habeas corpus” on the same line as the signature for the letter from James Baukney of Pennsauken. It is above the letter (clearly) titled “Polls might help.”

Media Coverage of Bloomfield Demonstration on Habeas Corpus

2007-06-28T09:17:00.000-04:00

In addition to everyone who turned out to rally and lobby in support of habeas corpus in Washington, activists across the country took part in the day of action in their home communities. It is great to see that the Star Ledger covered the demonstration organized by the Amnesty members from Bloomfield High School and their local allies! You can read more about it at Young local activists stand up for global justice.

Thanks again to everyone who has helped out—and please keep up the pressure!

Report from the Day of Action in DC

2007-06-27T16:24:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, I joined roughly four thousand activists from all fifty states to tell Congress to restore the right to habeas corpus and undo other damage created by the Military Commissions Act of 2006. I rode down in a packed bus that left New York City around 6:00 a.m. We arrived in DC shortly before 11:00. The rally in the Upper Senate Park went very well. It was especially great to hear from Members of Congress who have taken the lead by introducing the legislation we were there to support. Sister Dianna Ortiz’s testimony as a torture survivor was both moving and helpful in preparing for the lobbying visits later in the day. And, as usual, it was great to hear from Amnesty’s Executive Director, Larry Cox.

Following the rally, everyone broke into state delegations to coordinate the afternoon of lobbying. Those of us from New Jersey all met with Senator Robert Menendez at 2:00. There were so many constituents involved that the meeting had to take place on the steps of the Capitol! The Senator also discussed ideas he has for advancing S 576 (The Restoring the Constitution Act).

As you may recall, Amnesty was especially eager to meet with Congressman Robert Andrews’s office. Unfortunately, however, there was no meeting scheduled. I stopped by his office with one of his constituents and dropped off some relevant AI literature, but the staff person we needed to speak with was not there.

I then joined a meeting with Congressman Rush Holt’s office that was already in progress. As you may know, Holt had already agreed to cosponsor HR 1415 and HR 1416. The room was packed with his grateful constituents. They were also interested in learning more about Holt’s new role heading an intelligence panel on the Appropriations Committee. While Congressman Holt was tied up during most of the meeting, he was able to stop by and briefly speak with us.

At 3:30, I met with my own Representative, Albio Sires. The meeting went well. He indicated that he shared our concerns and promised to look into the legislation.

My final meeting of the day was with Congressman Scott Garrett’s office. Unfortunately, a change of schedule prevented Garrett from joining us himself. I joined several of Garrett’s constituents a large group of high school students from Elizabeth in a meeting with the appropriate member of his staff. She informed us that Garrett believes that he did was correct to vote for the Military Commissions Act, but would listen to our concerns.

Thanks to everyone who made it to DC yesterday! Your participation showed our state’s congressional delegation just how important habeas corpus and other human rights issues are to the people of New Jersey.

Those of you who were unable to come yesterday can still help out! Please call your Representative and urge him to cosponsor the Restoring the Constitution Act (HR 1415) and the Habeas Corpus Restoration Act (HR 1416)! If possible, try to set up an in-district meeting with him during the upcoming 4th of July holiday recess—and please feel free to contact me at lladutke@yahoo.com for help!

National Week of Action to Restore Habeas Corpus!

2007-06-24T21:51:00.000-04:00

The national week of action to restore Habeas Corpus is here! Activists across the country are meeting with their House and Senator offices to urge them to support legislation restoring the right to habeas corpus and correcting other provisions of the Military Commissions Act that undermine the rights guaranteed in the U.S. Constitution. On Tuesday, Amnesty will help bring activists down to Washington, DC for a demonstration and day of lobbying!

These efforts will be even more successful, of course, if activists such as you call Congess and ask them to support HR 1416 (The Restoring Habeas Corpus Act) and HR 1415 (The Restoring the Constitution Act). You can find out the name and contact information of your House member by entering your zip code at www.house.gov.

Congressmen Rush Holt and Steve Rothman are the only two New Jersey House members who have already signed on. We especially need calls from Congressman Robert Andrews’s constituents!

You can refer to the recent Associated Press Article, “Army Officer Says Gitmo Panels Flawed,” which gives Lt. Colonel Stephen Abraham’s inside account of the need to reestablish the judicial oversight built into our nation’s system of checks and balances.

Please also remind your congressional office that Tuesday is the International Torture Victims and Survivors Day. Without the right to habeas corpus, prisoners are unable to challenge the conditions of their detention, even if they amount to torture. The Military Commissions Act also allows the use of unreliable information gathered through techniques that amount to torture.

Rush Holt Joins Steven Rothman in Supporting the Restoration of Habeas Corpus!

2007-06-11T09:52:00.000-04:00

Congressman Rush Holt [NJ-12] has become the second House member from New Jersey to support Hr 1415, the Restoring the Constitution Act of 2007, and HR 1416, the Habeas Corpus Restoration Act of 2007! These two bills would reverse much of the damage created by the Military Commissions Act, including the denial of habeas corpus—the basic right to challenge one’s detention before an independent court—to non-citizens. Restoration of this right, in turn, would be a key step toward preventing further acts of torture and the other forms of cruel and inhumane treatment that have been committed at Guantanamo and other U.S.-run prisons.

It’s great to know that two of our state’s House members are already onboard this important legislation. ! If you live in either of their districts, please thank Congressmen Holt and Rothman! If you don’t, please help us convince the rest of New Jersey’s House members to join them! Amnesty is currently working with other human rights organizations for a week of mobilization in support of these bills, including rally and day of lobbying in Washington as well as meetings with local district offices. Click HERE to help out!

Busses to June 26th Habeas Action in DC

2007-06-08T20:58:00.000-04:00

Amnesty is joining forces with the ACLU and other organizations to organize a day of rallying and lobbying in Washington, DC to restore the right to Habeas Corpus. The ACLU has posted information of free buses for those interested in going to DC.

There are buses leaving from the following loactions in New Jersey:

New Jersey: Newark/ElizabethDeparts: Tue. 6/26, 5:30am
Exact location to be determined
New Jersey: Trenton/PrincetonDeparts: Tue. 6/26, 5:30am
Exact location to be determined

Those of you in Northern Jersey might also consider taking a bus from NYC:

New York: New York City - 125 Broad StreetDeparts: Tue. 6/26, 5:00am
125 Broad Street No personal parking available
New York: New York City - Union SquareDeparts: Tue. 6/26, 5:00am
Union Square E. @ 16th St.No personal parking available
New York: New York City - Upper West SideDeparts: Tue. 6/26, 5:00am
Exact location to be determined No personal parking available

Those in Central/Southern Jersey may want to catch the bus from Pennsylvania:

Pennsylvania: PhiladelphiaDeparts: Tue. 6/26, 6:00am
Exact location to be determined No personal parking

Remember, we are also organizing in-district meetings with congressional offices during that week! You don't have to leave Jersey to help protect the U.S. Constitution.

NYT Week in Review on Roots of Bush Administration Torture

2007-06-03T21:27:00.000-04:00

The current Week in Review section of the New York Times has a good article on the origins of the torture and other inhumane “interrogation techniques” that the Bush Administration has used and defended as part of the “war on terror.” Not only does it show that the U.S. government copied these abusive methods from its former totalitarian rival, but also that it has a long track record of criticizing these methods as torture when used by the Soviet Union. You can read “They’ll Say Anything: Soviet-Style ‘Torture’ Becomes ‘Interrogation’” online.

Please remember that this is Torture Awareness Month! Amnesty is joining forces with other human rights groups to convince Congress to restore the right to habeas corpus, an essential safeguard against the practices described in this article. Click here to find out how you can help!

Week of Action—Restore Habeas Corpus

2007-05-23T20:59:00.000-04:00

As I previously posted, Amnesty is teaming up with other human rights organizations for a week of lobbying to restore the right to habeas corpus. By eliminating this right for anyone the administration labels an “enemy combatant,” the Military Commissions Act has put a legal face on the unconstitutional practice of indefinitely holding prisoners without charges and without any opportunity to challenge their detention before an independent court. Unfortunately, past experience has shown that these circumstances create extremely favorable conditions for torture and other forms of cruel and inhuman treatment—which also violates the U.S. Constitution!

On June 26, the International Day in Support of Torture Victims, activists from around the country will gather in DC demonstrate, learn how to lobby, and then meet with their congressional offices. There is a possibility that Amnesty may be able to provide bus transportation for those interested in taking part! This will be a great opportunity to speak with the people who help set policy on human rights issues and to show them how much you care about our Constitution.

If you can’t make it to DC, we are also organizing meetings with local congressional offices throughout the week of June 26.

Click here to find out more and volunteer to take part in these activities—as a delegation leader or member.

Those of us in New Jersey have a lot of work to do on this issue. So far, Congressmen Steve Rothman [NJ12] is the only one of thirteen House members who has cosponsored the relevant legislation! Both of New Jersey’s senators have cosponsored the Restoring the Constitution Act. While Senator Frank Lautenberg has agreed to support the Habeas Corpus Restoration Act, however, Senator Robert Menendez has not yet done so.

I have also been told that getting Congressman Robert Andrews [NJ1] onboard is going to be especially important! Help from his constituents would therefore be greatly appreciated!

Larry Ladutke
NJ Legislative Coordinator, AIUSA

Torture Awareness Month Activities: Restore Habeas Corpus!

2007-05-18T21:01:00.000-04:00

It’s almost June, Torture Awareness Month. Once again, AIUSA will be teaming up with other human rights groups to press Congress to take action against torture and the policies that lead to it. Following the passage of the Military Commissions Act of 2006, this year's activities are more important than ever! We are going to be focusing on legislation to restore the fundamental right to habeas corpus. Without this right, prisoners can be held indefinitely without every being charged with a crime. Worse yet, lack of access to independent courts creates the perfect conditions for torture and other forms of cruel and inhuman treatment!

On June 26th, Torture Victims and Survivors Day, there will be a rally and day of lobbying in Washington. You do not need to have any previous experience—training will be provided. It also appears likely that we will be organizing buses to take people down!

We’re also going to organize a week of meetings with local congressional offices.

I know many of you are students who are nearing the end of another academic year. Please try to stay in touch with the members of your group so that as many people as possible can take part in these important actions. You can also check back here or at www.aiusa.org and for information as it becomes available.

Press Release on China & Darfur from Sentaor Menendez

2007-05-17T09:35:00.000-04:00

You can find out more about Senator Menendez's statements yesterday by reading CONGRESSIONAL PROPOSAL TO OFFICIALLY PRESSURE CHINA ON GENOCIDE IN DARFUR at his website. [Note: Amnesty International has not taken a position on whether or not the ongoing atrocities in Darfur constitute genocide. Whether or not they constitute genocide, the ongoing war crimes and violations of international humanitarian law must stop immediately.]

The release also contains statements by NJ Representative Chris Smith, who is introducing a resolution on this issue in the House. There are links to the text of both the Senate and House resolution, as well as video of Senator Menendez's statements before the Senate.

NJ Senator Menendez Calls Upon China to Take Further Action on Darfur

2007-05-16T13:52:00.000-04:00

I have heard that NJ Senator Robert E. Menendez has just made some very strong statements calling on China to help end the ongoing attrocities in Darfur. As you know, Amnesty recently completed a nationwide campaign to support congressional letters urging Chinese President Hu to help pursuade Sudanese President Al-Bashir to allow UN peacekeepers into Darfur. It is great to conitnue to see New Jersey politicians taking leadersip on this important issue!

Please see Menendez to introduce Darfur measure from Gannette for further information.

The Record Published my Letter on Capital Punishment

2007-05-16T09:15:00.000-04:00

The Record published the letter that I wrote in response to state Senator Gerald Cardinal's pro-death penalty editorial.

Please keep writing letters supporting legislation to abolish capital punishment in New Jersey!

NJ Prosecutors Tried to Kill an Innocent Man

2007-05-15T20:49:00.000-04:00

Please see the press release from the Innocence Project below. This offers clear evidence that there is indeed a real possibility of executing innocent people!

Please look for articles on this in Wednesday's papers and write letters to the editor expressing your support for legislation abolishing the death penalty.

Larry Ladutke

After 19 Years in Prison for One of the Most Heinous Crimes in NJ History, Byron Halsey Is Proven Innocent through DNA

DNA indicates that another man – who testified against Halsey two decades ago – is the actual perpetrator; Halsey’s conviction set to be vacated today

(ELIZABETH, NJ; May 15, 2007) – New DNA tests prove that Byron Halsey, who narrowly escaped the death penalty when he was convicted in 1988 of the brutal sexual assault and murders of two young children, is innocent and should be released from prison, the Innocence Project said today. At a hearing today in New Jersey state court, a judge is expected to grant a joint motion to vacate Halsey’s conviction filed by the Innocence Project and the Union County District Attorney’s Office.

The motion to vacate the conviction says that DNA testing on several key pieces of evidence used to convict Halsey actually indicates the guilt of another man, Cliff Hall, who is already in prison for several other sex crimes in New Jersey and who testified against Halsey during his trial. In March 1988, Halsey was convicted of several charges stemming from the November 1985 murders of a seven-year-old girl and an eight-year-old boy he was raising with his girlfriend; Hall, who lived next door to the family, had dropped Halsey off across town and then returned home on the night the children were brutally killed.

“Today, we can say with scientific certainty that Byron Halsey is innocent. Every piece of physical evidence connects Cliff Hall, not Byron Halsey, to these murders,” said Vanessa Potkin, Staff Attorney at the Innocence Project, which is affiliated with Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University. “It has taken more than two decades, but DNA has finally revealed the truth in this case.”

The physical evidence that was subjected to DNA testing over the last 14 months includes key evidence that was used at Halsey’s trial (when advanced DNA testing was not available):

• Semen on the seven-year-old girl’s underwear (which was stuffed into her mouth during the rape and murder); the prosecution said during the trial that the semen came from someone with the same blood type as Halsey, but DNA testing now shows that the semen was from Cliff Hall.

• Semen at the crime scene, which was also matched to Halsey’s blood type but is actually from Cliff Hall, DNA shows.

• A cigarette butt found at the crime scene, which was central to the initial police investigation of the crimes. DNA testing shows that the cigarette butt was Cliff Hall’s.

The brutal rapes and murders of the two children were among the most horrific crimes in memory in Northern New Jersey, and the prosecution sought the death penalty for Halsey. The girl had been brutally raped, beaten and strangled to death. The boy was sexually assaulted, and a piece of cloth had been hammered into his head with large nails while his face had been slashed with scissors (it was later determined that he died as a result of the nails being hammered into his brain). In public statements in 1987 leading up to the trial, one of the public defenders who represented Halsey accused the prosecution of “encouraging a lynch mob kind of feeling.” When the jury returned a verdict convicting Halsey on multiple charges, but not on charges that would have led to a death sentence, spectators in the courtroom jeered loudly.

“With New Jersey in the middle of a serious discussion about whether the death penalty is worth its risks and costs, it is imperative that we learn the lessons of Byron Halsey’s case. The fact is that Byron Halsey is lucky he is alive to see the DNA test results in this case. The state fought hard to execute him for a crime that, two decades later, science proves he did not commit,” said Barry Scheck, Co-Director of the Innocence Project. Last week, a New Jersey Senate committee approved legislation that would abolish the death penalty in the state.

Today’s motion vacates Halsey’s conviction and releases him from prison on bond; he will live under state supervision (wearing an electronic monitoring device at all times) while the District Attorney decides whether to dismiss the indictment against him, which would officially exonerate him of the crimes. “The District Attorney’s Office has been working cooperatively with us for over a year. They agreed to conduct DNA testing, and they agreed to vacate the conviction based on the DNA results. In cases where the DNA shows our client is innocent and matches another suspect, it is not unusual for a District Attorney’s Office to conduct a careful investigation before making a decision to dismiss the indictment. We recognize the District Attorney has an obligation to conduct a full investigation, and we are hopeful that he will reach the logical conclusion and dismiss the indictment,” Potkin said.

The only remaining evidence against Halsey is a supposed confession before his trial. “In about 25% of the 201 wrongful convictions that have been overturned by DNA, people confessed or admitted to crimes that DNA later proved they did not commit. It would be a stretch to say that Byron Halsey even confessed to this crime – given the state of mind he was in, the length of the interrogation, the tactics police used, and the words he actually said,” Scheck said.

The supposed confession was so riddled with problems that by the time Halsey’s trial started, the prosecution began to argue against the confession – telling the jury that Halsey intentionally gave a flawed confession as a “passport” out of being found guilty. In fact, the “confession” was the result of 30 hours of interrogation over a 40-hour period of time during which Halsey (who has a sixth-grade education and severe learning disabilities) had little sleep. Even the detective handling the interrogation characterized Halsey’s statements as “gibberish” and noted that Halsey was in a “daze” and a “trance” most of the time. On every key fact of the crimes, Halsey gave incorrect answers during the interrogation and had to guess several times before giving police accurate answers (on everything from the location of the bodies to how they were killed). The final police statement signed by Halsey does not reflect any of those inaccuracies or the process that led to them – it only recites the information that Halsey eventually guessed correctly after numerous tries and information about the crime he received from police and repeated back in fragments. Halsey confessed to things that DNA now proves did not happen.

The events leading up to Halsey’s wrongful conviction began on November 14, 1985. Halsey was living with Margaret Urquhart and her two young children in a rooming house in Plainfield; Halsey helped support the family and raised the children as his own. Halsey worked days at PMS Consolidated, and Urquhart worked nights as a health aide. On the night of November 14, Urquhart was at work and Cliff Hall (who lived in the same building) took Halsey across town while the children were home alone. After dropping Halsey off with friends, Hall went home. Cliff Hall’s whereabouts are unaccounted for the following two hours. Halsey, meanwhile, walked home a couple of hours after Hall dropped him off (which several witnesses corroborate) and discovered that the children were missing. Throughout the night, he repeatedly called Urquhart at work and checked with several friends and relatives to see if they had the children. The next morning, the children were found in the basement of the rooming house.

From his behavior and other evidence, police suspected Cliff Hall from the beginning. But as the lengthy interrogation of Halsey progressed, leading to the supposed confession, police stopped investigating Hall. By the time Halsey’s trial began, nearly three years later, Hall was called as a witness for the prosecution. Even though his testimony was contradicted by other witnesses, it was damaging to Halsey’s case. Halsey’s attorneys, both public defenders, presented evidence of Halsey’s alibi and argued strongly that his supposed confession was not valid. Regardless, the jury convicted him. Halsey – who had actually been born in prison in New Jersey to a mother who was convicted of fornication and essentially put in prison for being pregnant – was sentenced to two consecutive life terms, plus 20 years, in prison.

Cliff Hall committed three separate sex crimes in Plainfield during an 11-month period in 1991-1992. In June 1991, he grabbed an 18-year-old woman from behind on a street and, holding a knife to her throat, orally, vaginally and anally raped her for up to three hours. Three months later, he abducted a 19-year-old woman and took her to a building where he repeatedly and violently raped her vaginally and anally for two hours. Several months after that, he punched and attempted to rape a 26-year-old woman as she walked toward a train station in Plainfield. Hall pled guilty to all three of these crimes (all off which were committed while Halsey was in prison for the murders that DNA now indicates Hall committed).

Nationwide, 201 people have been exonerated through DNA testing, according to the Innocence Project. As in Halsey’s case, DNA in more than 37% of the exoneration cases also helped identify the true perpetrator of the crimes. Four of the 201 exonerations were in New Jersey. Raymond M. Brown of Greenbaum, Rowe, Smith & Davis in Woodbridge is co-counsel with the Innocence Project on Halsey’s case.

##

Further Impact of Darfur Letters!

2007-05-11T08:13:00.001-04:00

See China names special envoy for Darfur for more information about the impact of the congressional letters we supported! Once again, thanks to everyone who helped get 8 of NJ Congressmen and both of our Senators to sign these letter!

China Reacts to Congressional Letters on Darfur

2007-05-10T09:30:00.000-04:00

You can read news coverage of the congressional letters to urging China to convince Sudan to allow UN peacekeepers into Darfur.

China's reaction shows how important our work on this initiative has been. While the Chinese government continues to try to deny its damaging role in the Darfur crisis, the fact is that it has taken positive steps only in response to international pressure--including anticipation of these letters! Also, the fact the Chinese government is concerned enough to put out this PR campaign shows that it is in fact concerned about its image.

Online Action to Restore Habeas Corpus

2007-05-09T21:23:00.000-04:00

From Kevin Spidel in the DC office:

Help protect people from abuse and arbitrary detention! Habeas Corpus is a right that has been around since before the United States existed. It is the most basic and fundamental protection against arbitrary detention and other human rights abuses, and Congress has taken it away from any non-US citizen in US custody that the President designates an "enemy combatant."
Now, even lawful permanent residents who are in the US can be held without the simple opportunity to go to and independent court and ask the government to show it has a basis for holding them. People who have languished in Guantanamo for more than five years cannot get any substantive review of their detention. The United States has become a country that can hold people without charge, without hope and without end. I know this is not the America you believe in.

Take action now and tell you Senators and Representatives that this cannot stand. Ask them to restore this cornerstone of justice and due process by removing the prohibition on habeas corpus passed by the Congress and signed by the President last fall. Let them know that the United States is a nation of laws, and that no one should be held indefinitely on the judgment of one man. Let them know that this is not the America you believe in.
Help restore habeas corpus rights! Take action »

Sincerely,
Kevin Spidel
Project Manager, Denounce Torture Initiative
Amnesty International USA