Get on the Bus DC

Registration for Get on the Bus DC 2012 is open! http://gotbdc.org

This year’s cases:

Indonesia: Filep Karma, serving 15 years in prison for raising the Papuan flag

China: Dhondup Wangchen, imprisoned Tibetan filmmaker

Zimbabwe: Women of Zimbabwe Arise, human rights defender group whose members are often subject to arrest, harassment, and alleged torture

Iraq: Walid Yunis Ahmad, held in prison for 11 years without charge and is still in prison after an unfair trial

Democratic Republic of Congo: Arrest ICC indicted war criminal Bosco Ntaganda, so the ICC may bring him to justice

Philippines: James Balao, indigenous rights defender abducted as part of a government ‘security operation’

United States: Shaker Aamer, UK resident and Saudi Arabian national held at Guantanamo Bay for 10 years without charge.

See all cases here: http://www.gotbdc.org/actions.html

Please help spread the word!

Bosco Ntaganda - Wanted for War Crimes

Bosco Ntaganda is a notorious general in the army of the Democratic Republic of Congo. He is wanted on an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes. Ntaganda, known as “the Terminator,” and troops under his command have committed heinous abuses since at least 2002.

Over the past decade, Human Rights Watch has frequently documented Ntaganda’s continuing role in horrific abuses including ethnic massacres, killings, rape, torture, and recruitment of child soldiers.

Anti-Torture Vigil - Week 29

This vigil was dedicated to Shaker Aamer, a detainee who has long been cleared of all charges by the US but is still held in Guantánamo, unable to return home to his wife and kids, whom he has not lived with in over eight years.

Letters From Guantanamo.

Shaker Aamer has been detained in Guantanamo for the past ten years without committing a single offence. “Fears are growing for the welfare of Mr Aamer, from south London, who is now 45 and has a wife and four children. He has never met his youngest son. His lawyers are particularly concerned by the deterioration of his mental and physical state, which Mr Aamer describes vividly in his letters. He has lost 40 per cent of his body weight and is suffering from health problems, aggravated by long periods in solitary confinement.” In one of his letters, Shaker writes to his loved one:

‎You are the soul of my life. You are the best of my heart. You are the light of my eyes. You are the oxygen in my lungs, you are the sun on my back, the sweetest taste of my mouth you are everything you are everything I need to live, to love, to be… Do you know how much you are important for my life. If you break I will break, if you become weak I will become weak and if you go I will go. You are my soul twin. I need you to be strong.

Ten agonizing, brutal years without justice conveniently labelled as “interrogation” and “safety measures” by the government of USA. I’m speechless.

(via mehreenkasana)

If you are near Washington, DC, join Amnesty International at Get on the Bus on Friday, April 27 - we will be rallying in front of the White House for Shaker Aamer!

Sign the petition to return Shaker Aamer back to the UK. This man has been cleared for release for 3 years now, America don’t want him and the UK want him back but still he sits in Guantanamo

UK residents sign here 

Registration for Get on the Bus DC 2012 is open! http://gotbdc.org

This year’s cases:

Indonesia: Filep Karma, serving 15 years in prison for raising the Papuan flag

China: Dhondup Wangchen, imprisoned Tibetan filmmaker

Zimbabwe: Women of Zimbabwe Arise, human rights defender group whose members are often subject to arrest, harassment, and alleged torture

Iraq: Walid Yunis Ahmad, held in prison for 11 years without charge and is still in prison after an unfair trial

Democratic Republic of Congo: Arrest ICC indicted war criminal Bosco Ntaganda, so the ICC may bring him to justice

Philippines: James Balao, indigenous rights defender abducted as part of a government ‘security operation’

United States: Shaker Aamer, UK resident and Saudi Arabian national held at Guantanamo Bay for 10 years without charge.

See all cases here: http://www.gotbdc.org/actions.html

Please help spread the word!

Dhondup Wangchen, 34, is an independent filmmaker currently held in Xining City No. 1 Detention Centre in China- for “inciting subversion of state power.” He was first detained on March 23, 2008 in Silung, capital of Qinghai province. He was sentenced on December 28, 2009 following a secret trial in Xining city, Western China. Before his detention, he was involved in a documentary called “Leaving Fear Behind,” which is about the Tibetans’ views of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, their daily struggles, and the Dalai Lama.

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Tibet has been administered by the People's Republic of China since 1950. A rebellion against Chinese occupation broke out in 1956; by the time China crushed the uprising in 1959, the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan government leader, had fled to India. Hundreds of Tibetans have been detained for peacefully exercising their human rights or for taking part in protests that have continued since March 2008. Some have been held for prolonged periods without access to their families or legal counsel, and their families have not been told whether they have been charged, tried or sentenced, or whether they are now in prison or Re-education Through Labor facilities. Since March 2011, twenty Tibetans have set themselves on fire in protest of restrictions on basic freedoms and punitive security measures. The Chinese government has responded to the protests with mass arrests, imprisonment, and possible killings by security forces. Those arrested included 300 monks from Kirti monastery, who the authorities said were taken away for "patriotic education".

Join Amnesty International USA at Get on the Bus DC on Friday, April 27th and rally for Dhondup Wangchen in Dupont Circle, Washington DC.

Register HERE: http://gotbdc.org

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On July 7, 2010, due to constant pressure from Amnesty International activists and other groups, Yusak Pakage was freed. Pakage has expressed his thanks to Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch for all the work put towards demanding his release. Amnesty supporters continue to advocate on behalf of Filep Karma.

Amnesty International considers Filep Karma to be a prisoner of conscience who has been imprisoned solely for the peaceful and legitimate exercise of his right to freedom of expression. Amnesty is concerned by reports that Mr. Karma has been beaten by guards and has experienced serious health problems in prison. The organization calls on the Indonesian government to free Filep Karma and all other prisoners of conscience.

This year at GET ON THE BUS DC 2012 we will rally at the INDONESIAN EMBASSY to call for the immediate and unconditional release of Filep Karma— join us!

This year’s cases:

Indonesia: Filep Karma, serving 15 years in prison for raising the Papuan flag

China: Dhondup Wangchen, imprisoned Tibetan filmmaker

Zimbabwe: Women of Zimbabwe Arise, human rights defender group whose members are often subject to arrest, harassment, and alleged torture

Iraq: Walid Yunis Ahmad, held in prison for 11 years without charge and is still in prison after an unfair trial

Democratic Republic of Congo: Arrest ICC indicted war criminal Bosco Ntaganda, so the ICC may bring him to justice

Philippines: James Balao, indigenous rights defender abducted as part of a government ‘security operation’

United States: Shaker Aamer, UK resident and Saudi Arabian national held at Guantanamo Bay for 10 years without charge.

See all cases here: http://www.gotbdc.org/actions.html

Please help spread the word!