Success Stories!

(UA 286/09) Turkmen Environmentalist Evades Five Years' Imprisonment

Andrei Zakota, a 53-year-old male environmentalist, was released on 6 November from a sentence of five years in prison after he paid a fine of 1,000 Manat (about 350 USD). He was arrested on 20 October on charges of "hooliganism" and faced an unfair trial. When the regional court ruled that the city court did not take into account mitigating factors such as his environmental activity, his reputation and his cooperation, his prison sentence was commuted to a fine.
2009-11-12

(UA 110/08) Freedom in Sri Lanka for Vettivel and Valarmathi Jasikaran

Journalist Vettivel Jaskaran and his wife Valarmathi Jaskaran were released on 26 October 2009 after being arbitrarily detained since March 2008 under anti- terror legislation. Vettivel Jasikaran was arrested on suspicion of "terrorism- related activities" as was his wife for supposedly supporting him. After six months being held without charge he and his wife were indicited for "inciting communal disharmony". Their case has now been dismissed.
2009-11-10

After 3 Months, Iranian Prisoner of Conscience Released Without Charge (UA 176/09)

Jakarkhon Sheikho, an Iranian prisoner of conscience who was detained incommunicado for nearly three and a half months, was released without charge on October 3. He spent part of his detention in an interrogation center in Damascus that is notorious for torture. It is believed that he was arrested by Military Security because of his activities as a senior member of an unauthorized Kurdish Syrian political party.
2009-10-23

Ahmed Zuhair Released from Guantanamo (UA 350/08)

Saudi Arabian national Ahmed Zaid Salem Zuhair was released from Guantanamo and flown to Saudi Arabia on June 12. He had been held without charge or trial in Guantanamo since June 2002 and had been on hunger strike and a force feeding regime since August 2005. He was seized in a market in late December 2001 in Lahore, Pakistan, by a dozen men in civilian clothes. He was blindfolded and taken to a house where, he said, he was tortured and otherwise ill-treated. He was transferred to a military facility in the capital, Islamabad, and held incommunicado there for about 10 weeks. In mid-March 2002, he was handed over to U.S. custody and held in Bagram air base in Afghanistan. In June 2002, he was transferred to Kandahar, where he was held for two weeks. He was transported to Guantanamo later that month. He said he was ill-treated while in U.S. custody in Afghanistan. In Saudi Arabia, he will be subject to judicial review before undergoing a rehabilitation program, throughout which he will be under the control of the Saudi government. The U.S. Justice Department emphasized that his transfer, as well as those of two other Saudi Arabian nationals, Khalid Saad Mohammed and Abdalaziz Kareem Salim AL Noofayaee, were the result of the review by the Guantanamo Review Task Force set up under an executive order signed by President Barack Obama on January 22.
2009-06-15

Student Released and in Good Health in United Arab Emirates (UA 142/09)

Khalil Abdul Rahman Abdul Karim al-Janahi, a 38-year-old United Arab Emirates national and a student of Shari'a (Islamic) law in Saudi Arabia, was released this morning and is staying with his relatives in the UAE. He is said to be in good health. Khalil Abdul Rahman Abdul Karim al-Janahi was arrested on April 26, 2007 when he went to the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh to catch a plane to Bahrain where his wife and other relatives live. He was arrested at passport control in the airport and taken to 'Ulaysha Prison in Saudi Arabia where he was held incommunicado for four months. His family was eventually able to visit him on several occasions, but they were not given the reason for his detention. On November 24, 2008, Khalil Abdul Rahman Abdul Karim al-Janahi was deported from Saudi Arabia to the UAE where he was immediately detained and held by members of Amn al-Dawla (State Security), the main security agency. He was held in incommunicado detention, but he was allowed to make a number of very brief phone calls to his wife. Despite repeated queries by his relatives, the UAE authorities refused to allow them to visit or to inform them of the reasons for his arrest and detention.
2009-06-11

UK Nationals Maryam Kallis and Yasser Zahur Ahmed Released in Syria (UA 90/09)

British nationals Maryam Kallis and Yasser Zahur Ahmed were released on June 7 and returned home to their families in the UK. They had been held without charge in a variety of undisclosed locations for almost three months without access to legal assistance or their families. Both were accused of involvement in terrorism. Maryam Kallis was arrested on March 15 by a group of eight or 10 men in civilian clothes while with her eight-year-old son in the Rukna al-Din area of the capital, Damascus. The men took Maryam Kallis and her son back to her sister's apartment, where Maryam Kallis had been staying with her three children since March 5. The men confiscated her passport and those of her children before handcuffing her and taking her away. During her detention, Maryam Kallis was visited by a number of staff members of the British Consulate in Damascus. During a visit on April 23, she is said to have appeared frail and fatigued. According to the authorities detaining her, she was being treated daily by a doctor as an apparently routine measure. Yasser Ahmed was arrested on March 17 at the Abi Noor Language Institute in the Rukna al-Din area of Damascus, where he was in his second year studying Arabic. He had travelled to Syria with his wife and daughter in October 2006. On May 10, a British newspaper reported that Maryam Kallis and Yasser Ahmed were being held on suspicion of connections with a "terrorist organization" related to al-Qaeda. The Syrian authorities claimed that "Ms. Kallis is involved in receiving funds ... and in conveying the funds to [al-Qaeda]." This was the first public statement by the Syrian authorities regarding their detention.
2009-06-09

Issa Palkoubou Released in Chad (UA 12/09)

Issa Palkoubou, a teacher in the Chadian capital, Ndjamena, was released on the morning of May 21, 2009. He was weak and sick and did not know why he had been detained. He had not been seen since he was abducted on September 3, 2008 at the American Language Center in N'djamena, where he teaches English. He was abducted by three men in plain clothes. When challenged, Issa Palkoubou's abductors refused to show any identification. He is now known to have been held in a cell run by the security services in N'Djamena. Issa Palkoubou's enforced disappearance fits a pattern of similar cases in Chad, where people not known to be members of any particular political party are abducted.
2009-05-27

Mohamed Al Mahjoub Released Without Charge in Sudan (UA 101/09)

Mohamed Al Mahjoub, acting director of Amal center for the treatment and rehabilitation of victims of torture in El Fasher, North Darfur, was released without charge on April 17, 2009. He is in good health and has said that he was not tortured. He is not allowed to leave El Fasher. He was arrested on April 11, 2009 and taken into a National Security and Intelligence Services detention center in El Fasher where he spent six days detained incommunicado. While detained he was not permitted any personal visits or given access to a lawyer. He appears to have been detained solely because of his peaceful activities at Amal center.
2009-04-28

US Resident Waited Nearly Six Years for Fair Trial (UA 48/09)

Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri, a Qatari national and US resident, was arrested in Illinois in December 2001, but his trial never took place, because on 23 June 2003, President George W. Bush designated him an "enemy combatant." Ali al-Marri was then transferred to the custody of the US Department of Defense and detained in a military facility in Charleston, South Carolina. During the first sixteen months of his military detention, he was held incommunicado and allegedly subjected to torture and other ill-treatment. President Barack Obama has ordered his release from military detention to civilian custody. On 26 February 2009, a federal grand jury in Illinois finally charged Ali al-Marri with a two-count indictment, allowing him to face a fair trial in the US criminal justice system. Amnesty International welcomes the administration's decision to end Ali al-Marri's indefinite military custody and to bring him to trial in an ordinary civilian court. The organization also emphasizes that, presuming that Ali al-Marri is soon transferred for trial, the trial must comply with international standards of fairness and due process, and that under international treaties to which the USA is party, victims of torture and other ill-treatment have the right to redress including rehabilitation and compensation, and victims of unlawful detention have the right to compensation.
2009-03-04

Indigenous community leader Receives Medical Treatment in Bangladesh

Rang Lai Mro was releaseed on bail on 8 January, on the orders of the Bangladesh High Court. The head of a community of indigenous Mro people, he had been detained since 22 February 2008 charged with possessing a pistol without a license. He was tortured in army custody after his arrest: he was at risk of a heart attack, and his health was deteriorating. His release on bail now allows him to recieve the medical treatment he requires.
2009-01-21

Helen Berhane, a well-known Christian evangelical singer, was released from captivity in Eritrea. She had been detained incommunicado without charge or trial for two and a half years. Most of her detention was spent in inhuman and degrading conditions inside a metal shipping container which was used as a prison cell. The authorities reportedly tortured her many times to make her recant her faith. Helen was hospitalized as a result of beatings and is said to be confined to a wheelchair. She refused to abandon her faith despite the threats and ill-treatment.

AIUSA activists sent cards of support and appeals for her release as part of AIUSA's Holiday Card and Easter Actions. We'd also like to thank Music for Human Rights supporters and their fans, including Gwen Stefani, Duran Duran, Coldplay, Sting, Anti-Flag, Incubus, Bright Eyes, Astralwerks Records and Axis of Justice who helped make Helen's release a reality. Read more »
2006-10-31

Student Leader, Gagan Thapa, Thanks Urgent Action

Gagan Thapa appeared before the Special Court in Kathmandu in August 2005, where he was charged with sedition before being released pending trial. He told trial observers that such international attention had been instrumental in ensuring his safety. "If the international community had not been present at the right moment, the action taken against me would have been even more serious... As soon as the international pressure started, the police changed their tone." Gagan Thapa, a student leader and former Secretary General of the Nepal Students Union (NSU), was detained by police in Kathmandu on July 27, 2005. He chose to stay with the other prisoners so as not to appear privileged.
2005-08-15

Human Rights Defender Thanks Activists

Sudan: Lawyer and human rights defender Saleh Mahmud Osman visited AI UK in London in April 2005. He discussed his work for the Amal Center in Nyala, in the Darfur region, where he provides legal aid for the victims of human rights abuses. The center also provides medical treatment and rehabilitation for survivors of torture. Saleh Mahmud Osman was detained in connection with his work on February 1, 2004, and spent seven months in detention before being released on September 4, 2004.
2005-07-27

Grassroots events held around the country

Denounce Torture activists from around the United States held more than 50 events in commemoration of June 26th, the United Nations International Day in Support of Victims of Torture. From Miami, FL to Olympia, WA, from Tuscan, AZ to Owensboro, KY the day was truly inspiring. Actions ranged from flashlight vigils, to concerts against torture and demonstrations in community plazas. Thousands of signatures were collected on Amnesty International's "Statement Against Torture" and the media covered many events. Congratulations to all who helped make June 26th activities a success. Lets keep the momentum up!
2005-07-18

Congress blocks the outsourcing of torture

In June, Congress banned the government from using any money in a newly passed State Department and Defense Department spending bills to render someone to a country where they will likely be tortured or to subject any person in US custody to torture. The amendments to HR 2863, the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, and HR 2862, Science, State, Justice, Commerce, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, were proposed by Congressman Markey (MA) and passed the House with overwhelming majority support. The inclusion of these provisions would not have been possible without thousands of Amnesty International activists and others advocating for the US government to end any acts of torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and hold those accountable in the military and civilian chains of command who have had involvement in the formulation or carrying out of such policies. Read more. »
2005-06-20

Activist Imran Ezhiev Continues Work, Even After Multiple Arrests and Torture

Imran Ezhiev, head of the regional department of the Russian-Chechen Friendship Society for Ingushetia and Chechnya and a regional coordinator of the Moscow Helsinki Group, has been detained more than a dozen times in the course of the last five years. But he has not stopped his human rights work. In September 2000, he was detained by police for a week, and has stated he was tortured and threatened with "disappearance."
2004-07-16

Letters Help Prevent Amputation of 16 Year Old

The sentence of cross amputation passed on 16-year-old Mohamed Hassan Hamdan, member of the Ja'afra ethnic group (an Arab group in South Darfur), was quashed in December 2003 by the Appeal Court in Nyala, South Darfur State, on the grounds that the accused was a child. The sentence was commuted to a year of imprisonment in a reformatory. Mohamed Hassan Hamdan has now been sent to a reformatory in Khartoum. External pressure from the UA Network was reportedly one factor that led authorities to reconsider the sentence.
2004-02-26