Success Stories!

Here's where all of your hard work writing letters and sending emails pays off!
Listed below are some of our most recent victories in the cause of human rights. Enjoy!

Ahmed Zuhair Released from Guantanamo (UA 350/08)
USA: 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)
United Arab Emirates: 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)
Syria: 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)
Chad: 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

US-Iranian Journalist Released (UA 77/09)
Roxana Saberi
Iran: Amnesty International has welcomed the news that the US-Iranian journalist, Roxana Saberi, is to be released from jail in Iran later today (Monday). "We are delighted that justice has been served by the appeal process and that Roxana Saberi is due to be released from prison in Tehran today," said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Amnesty International's Deputy Director of the Middle East and North Africa region. "She should, however, never have been imprisoned in the first place." Roxana Saberi was convicted of "collaborating with a hostile state" by Tehran's Revolutionary Court, behind closed doors, in April and originally sentenced to eight years in prison. Yesterday, a court heard an appeal against her conviction and commuted the sentence to a suspended two-year term on the charge of "collecting classified information", with a five-year ban on working as a journalist in Iran. "Although Ms Saberi's release is welcome, it should be unconditional," said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui. "We are concerned that she may face travel restrictions, like those imposed this weekend on Narges Mohammadi, an aide to Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Shirin Ebadi, and Soraya Azizpanah, the editor of Rasan magazine, who were banned from attending a conference in Guatemala."We are also calling on the Iranian authorities to release all other prisoners of conscience in Iran, including the Alaie brothers - both doctors - who are imprisoned on similar charges and whom we believe are held solely in relation to their work with international and specifically US institutions in the field of HIV and AIDS prevention and treatment."
2009-05-11

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

Uganda: LGBT Human Rights Defenders, Oundo George and Klilza Brenda, released
Uganda: On 17 September 2008, Oundo George and Kiiza Brenda, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) human rights defenders were released after a week in police detention at Nabweru Police Post. They were released on bond, after being charged for 'involvement in indecent practices'. Oundo George and Kiiza Brenda were prisoners of conscience arrested solely for their gender identity. Individuals detained by the Ugandan police for these reasons are at serious risk of ill-treatment. Consensual same-sex acts are illegal in Uganda and mistreatment during detention is common due to the homophobic attitudes of the Ugandan police. In detention, both were denied food for the first three days, despite the fact that Oundo George is diabetic. Oundo George was also denied medical treatment for his diabetes, which left him unwell after his condition worsened. They only received food when family and friends were able to bring it to them. The police sought information from Oundo George and Kiiza Brenda in order to identify other LGBT individuals. They were repeatedly beaten and mistreated whilst in detention. They were interrogated while being slapped and beaten with wooden batons, during which police demanded that they provide the names of, or further identify, other LGBT individuals. Thank you to all who sent appeals. » Learn more - Uganda: Amnesty International condemns attacks against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people
2009-04-20

Switzerland: Swiss Migration Office agrees to reexamine the asylum case of Anatole Zali Anatole Zali, arrived in Switzerland from Cameroon on 3 February and claimed asylum on the grounds that he had been threatened because of his sexual orientation, and was at risk of imprisonment if he stayed in Cameroon. On 14 February 2008, the Swiss Migration Office ruled that Anatole Zali should be returned to Cameroon and was given five days to appeal against this decision. He did not have access to state-funded representation and he had to submit his appeal himself. His appeal was rejected. Following international pressure, including by Amnesty International members, the Migration Office agreed to reconsider Anatole Zali's asylum claim, on the basis that he had not had access to a fair and satisfactory asylum procedure. His request for the reconsideration of his asylum claim was supported by Amnesty International, which also noted that international law prohibits the return of anyone to a country where they would be at risk of serious human rights violations. Thank you to all who sent appeals.
» Related Urgent Action
2009-04-20

Nicaragua: Sodomy Laws Repealed
Nicaragua:

On June 11, 1992 the Nicaraguan National Assembly approved a number of amendments to the Penal Code regarding sexual offences. Article 204 of the Penal Code, in its amended version, established the crime of "sodomy". In November 1992 a coalition known as the Campaign for Sexuality without Prejudices, comprising, amongst others, lawyers and lesbian and gay activists, presented an appeal to the Supreme Court of Justice, challenging the law as unconstitutional. The appeal presented detailed arguments stating that Article 204 of the revised Penal Code violated 12 articles of the Nicaraguan constitution, including the right to privacy, to freedom of expression and to non-discrimination before the law. It also argued that by violating these rights, Article 204 contravened international human rights standards. In March 1994, the Supreme Court rejected the appeal, concluding that Article 204 did not violate any of the rights guaranteed in the Constitution.

Later, reports in the media and from human rights activists in Nicaragua indicate that President Enrique Bolaños had allegedly ordered that a list of all members of his government "suspected" of being part of the "gay-lesbian world" be compiled so he could dismiss them before leaving office in January 2007 following the November 2006 election. Such high-level homophobia concerns Amnesty International as it gives official sanction to acts of violence committed against LGBT people.

In September 2007, a movement initiated by Amnesty International Mexico, culminated in protests against the country’s sodomy laws taking place outside Nicaraguan embassies and consulates in over 10 countries worldwide, including Mexico, Chile, Germany, Canada, and Iceland. A new Penal Code repealing Article 204 came into force on 1 March 2008.


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» Read Love, hate and the law: decriminalizing homosexuality
2009-04-20

Brett Hartmann Receives Stay of Execution in Ohio (UA 76/09)
USA: Brett Hartmann received a stay of execution from the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit on 31 March. He was due to be executed in Ohio on 7 April for the murder of Winda Snipes in 1997. Brett Hartmann's lawyers had appealed to the Sixth Circuit to stay the execution and allow them to file a new habeas corpus petition on the grounds that there was new evidence supporting Brett Hartmann's claim of innocence, including their claim that one of the state's key witnesses may have committed perjury when he testified at the trial. The court has stayed the execution at this time, but has not allowed the petition to go ahead under the stringent rules that apply in US federal law to filing successive habeas corpus petitions. The Ohio Parole Board had recommended that Governor Ted Strickland not intervene to stop the execution. The governor, who is not bound by this recommendation, had not made a decision on the case by the time the judicial stay was handed down.
2009-04-15

Fujimori brought to justice

Peru: Human rights advocates everywhere celebrated the conviction of Alberto Fujimori on Tuesday, April 7th, for crimes committed during his time in office. In a landmark decision, Peru's Supreme Court concluded that Fujimori bore personal responsibility for three massacres during the 1990s, including the case of La Cantuta in which nine university students were kidnapped and killed.
2009-04-09

Death Penalty Abolished in New Mexico!
USA: On Wednesday, March 18, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson signed into law a bill to abolish the death penalty! New Mexico now becomes the 15th state to outlaw capital punishment, and the 2nd in only two years. Congratulations to the New Mexico Coalition to Repeal the Death Penalty, and to all who have been working so hard there!
2009-04-01

Stay of Execution Granted for Brett Hartmann in Ohio
USA: On March 31, the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit granted a stay of execution for Brett Hartmann, who was scheduled to be put to death by the state of Ohio on April 7. Mr. Hartmann is seeking access to evidence for DNA testing he argues could prove his innocence, and the stay was granted to allow the US Supreme Court to issue a ruling on another case which could determine what kind of rights he has to access such evidence.
2009-04-01

Husband and Wife Released from Detention in China (UA 85/09)
Wei Liangyue (m) and Du Yongjing (f)
China: Human rights lawyer Wei Liangyue and his wife Du Yongjing have been released and returned home after 30 days of detention. Both were released on bail on 30 March 2009 pending further investigation. Wei Liangyue remains under suspicion of "gathering a crowd to disturb social order," and Du Yongjing is still under suspicion of "using a heretical organization to undermine implementation of the law." Wei Liangyue's colleagues told Amnesty International that they were released on bail pending investigation because of insufficient evidence to further the charge. In mid-March, according to sources, the police thought of sending Wei Liangyue to Re-education through Labour, a form of administrative detention imposed without charge, trial or judcial review, but gave up the idea because of insufficient evidence to back up the measure. On 28 February, Wei Liangyue drove to pick up his wife Du Yongjing from a gathering at her friend's home. The police accused them of "attending a Falun Gong meeting" and took them to Nangang District Detention Center in Harbin. Both of them were interrogated repeatedly during the detention. Wei Liangyue was once interrogated throughout the entire night, but was not tortured. Before the detention, Wei Liangyue has been repeatedly warned by the local authorities that he had to stop representing detained Falun Gong practitioners and should stop giving them not guilty defense. Wei Liangyue believes that international attention and pressure contributed to the temporary release of him and his wife, and would like to thank those who have taken actions for them.
2009-03-31

Prisoner of Conscience Treated by Doctor and Allowed to Meet with Family (UA 45/09)
Egypt: Dia el Din Gad was transferred to al-Qota Prison in Giza, on the outskirts of the capital, Cairo, on 24 February, and was able to meet his family and lawyer there on 7 March. He is receiving treatment from the prison doctor. He is not know to have been charged with any offense, and is most probably held under an administrative detention order from the Minister of Interior, under the Emergency Law. Dia el Din Gad was interrogated about his blog, about his participation in protests in solidarity with the people of Gaza during Israel’s recent military campaign there, about Egyptians suspected of having entered Gaza during the conflict, and about whether he has any connections with Hamas. He was also questioned about his involvement with Egyptian protest movements, including the Egyptian Movement for Change, known as Kefaya (Enough), and the 6 April Youth movement.
2009-03-13

President of Political Opposition Group in Burundi released (UA 318/08)
Burundi: Alexis Sinduhije, President of the political opposition group Movement for Security and Democracy, was released and the charges against him were dropped. He was arrested on 3 November and charged on 11 November with showing "contempt for the Head of the State."
2009-03-11

US Resident Waited Nearly Six Years forCharged in Fair Trial

2009-03-04

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

Ma Khin Khin Leh Finally Released!
Ma Khin Khin Leh
Myanmar (Burma): Ma Khin Khin Leh, a political prisoner in Myanmar, was unexpectedly released on Saturday, February 21, in the first group of 6,313 prisoners the government has agreed to release, including 24 political prisoners. A school teacher and young mother, she was serving a life sentence after being arrested in 1999 because her husband had organized a demonstration in support of the National League for Democracy (NLD). The authorities could not find her husband, and so arrested Ma Khin Khin Leh and the couple's three-year-old daughter, whom they held for five days in prison. Ma Khin Khin Leh was sentenced in December 1999 under vaguely worded security legislation. Her release is great news, and it offers encouragement for all of our members to continue campaigning on behalf of individuals at risk.
2009-02-27

Stimulus funding for Native Women
USA: The economic stimulus package the U.S. Congress recently approved includes hundreds of millions of dollars to fund the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Indian Health Services. This victory is due in part because of AIUSA and the 2007 AIUSA report, Maze of Injustice: The Failure to Protect Indigenous Women from Sexual Violence in the USA.
2009-02-20

Peccerelli and Family No Longer in Grave Danger in Guatemala (UA 7/09)
Guatemala: Fredy Peccerelli, his family and colleagues, are no longer in immediate danger as a result of the death threat recieved on 8 January. Amnesty International is continuing to monitor their situation, and will take further campaigning action as necessary.
2009-02-13

Death Row Inmate Granted Clemency in Ohio (UA 30/09)
USA: Ohio Governor Ted Strickland granted clemency to Jeffrey Hill on 12 February. He had been due to be executed on 3 March. Jeffrey Hill was sentenced to death in 1992 for the murder of hi mother, Emma Hill, in 1991. In a statment issued on 12 February, Governor Strickland said that, based on his review of the case, including judicial decisions, arguments for and against clemency, and letters and petitions received in the Governor's office, "I concur with the rationale and recommendation of the Ohio Parole Board and have, therefore, decided to commute Mr. Hill's sentece to a term of from 25 years to life." Jeffrey Hill will be eligible for parole in 2017. Responding to the clemency decision, Emma Hill's younger brother said: "Our family's prayers have finally been answered, and we are so grateful to Governor Strickland, the parole board, and all of Jeffrey's supporters for giving him a second chance at life. The Governor's actions today not only respect our wishes, but they also honor the memory of my beloved sister and Jeffrey's mother, Emma Dee Hill, who believed in the power of redemption and the value of all life."
2009-02-13

Women's Stoning Penalties Lessened in Iran (UA 257/06)
Iran: Kobra N. has had her sentence of stoning commuted to 100 lashes. Soghra Mola'i, who had been sentenced to 15 years imprisonment for being an accomplice to the murder of her husband Abdollah, and to execution by stoning for adultery, was cleared of the charge of adultery after a reinvestigation of her case that ended in Novermber 2007. She was sentenced to 80 lashes for having "illicit relations." After being flogged, she was transferred to Varamin Prison near Tehran. Fatemeh is beliebed to have had her sentence of stoning, imposed in 2005, overturned. After a retrial, she is said to have been acquitted of the carge of adultery and to have been sentenced to three years imprisonment in connection with the death of a man with whom she is said to have had an affair. Amnesty International does not have details of when the retrial took place. Iran and Khayrieh both remain detained in prisons in Khuzestan province and Abdollah Farivar Moghaddam remains detained in Sari Prison, all under sentence of stoning. Amnesty International will continue to campaign on their behalf.
2009-02-13

Conscientious Objector Allowed to Remain in Canada (UA 22/09)
Canada: Dean Walcott has been allowed to stay in Canada until the country's Federal Court decides whether or not to review his case. It is not yet known when this will be decided. He had been due to be deported to the uSA on 30 January. If deported to the USA, he risks being court-martialed and imprisoned for between for between one and five years and would therefore be a prisoner of conscience. Dean Walcott is seeking refugee status on a number of grounds, including that if returned to his unit in the USA, he would risk being subjected to hazing and other non-judicial punishment. Whilst in Canada, Dean Walcott has spoken out about his objection to the armed conflict in Iraq, and has become a member of a Canadian organization, the War Resisters Support Campaign, which works to lobby the Canadian government to offer sanctuary to US military personnel who go to Canada because of their opposition to the armed conflict in Iraq.
2009-01-29

Larry Swearingen Granted a Stay of Execution (UA 17/09)
USA: On January 26, Larry Swearingen was granted a stay of execution by a three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, the federal court one level below the US Supreme Court with jurisdiction over Texas cases. He was scheduled to be put to death in Texas on the evening of January 27. Swearingen was sentenced to death in 2000 for the murder of Melissa Trotter in 1998. He maintains his innocence of the murder and several forensic experts have provided statements and testimonies that support his claim.
2009-01-28