LGBT Rights – Good & Bad News

So, do you want the good news or the bad news on LGBT rights?

The good news is that Baltic Pride is going ahead this weekend in Riga, Latvia!  Thanks to the 1,200 people who signed the UK petition (and the many who signed petitions around the world) to help make sure the authorities allowed a safe Baltic Pride to go ahead.

The bad news is that anti-pride protesters will try to make the event as unpleasant as possible, and attempt to dampen the positive message of LGBT people standing up for their rights.  But spurred on by the support of so many around the world, the Pride marchers will be going out there on Saturday to show that we’re not intimidated.  I’ll be blogging here, and why not check out blogs by other Amnesty activists going to Riga.

More bad news in Ukraine – we heard earlier this week that the first ever Kiev pride was cancelled 30 mins before the start, and that the Ukraine government plans to vote on a bill that would ban ‘promotion of homosexuality.  The campaign group All Out have a petition you can sign.

But to end on some good news, via AI Australia – the Malawian President, Joyce Banda’s announced in Parliament on Friday the intention to repeal laws criminalising homosexuality – Amnesty have called for the bill to be enacted without delay.

Come along to a Barbecue for Amnesty June 16th

Judicial Harassment of Ales Bialiatski

So, not only do the Belarusian regime  imprison the human rights defender, Ales Bialiatski, now they are adding an extra financial penalty (over £10,000). To add insult to injury, Ales’ basic prison wages have been reduced to a fifth of that of other prisoners AND his right to receive and send letters has been curtailed (so, if you have sent letters to Ales, he may not have received them – however, the authorities know how many people are supporting him, so please don’t stop…).

We call in the first instance for the authorities to cease this persecution immediately – and release him NOW.

Please take action in support of Ales

Please write to the Belarusian authorities, urging them to :

i. Immediately and unconditionally release Mr. Ales Bialiatski since his detention is arbitrary as it seems to merely sanction his human rights activities;

ii. Put an end to any kind of harassment – including at the judicial level – against Mr. Ales Bialiatski and quash the decisions regarding this additional fine as well as the previous one;

iii. Guarantee in all circumstances the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Ales Bialiatski;

iv. Conform to the provisions of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on December 9, 1998 as well as international human rights standards and international instruments ratified by Belarus.

Addresses:

· President Alexander Lukashenko, Fax : + 375 172 26 06 10 or + 375 172 22 38 72, Email: contact@president.gov.by

· Head of the Administration of the President of Belarus, Mr. Vladimir Vladimirovich Makei, Fax: + 375 17 226-06-10

· General Prosecutor, Grigory Alekseevich Vasilevich, Fax: + 375 17 226 42 52

· Minister of Justice of Belarus, Mr. Viktor Grigorevich Golovanov, Email kanc@minjust.by

· Permanent Mission of Belarus to the United Nations in Geneva, Fax: +41 22 748 24 51. Email: mission.belarus@ties.itu.int

· Embassy of Belarus in Brussels, Fax : + 32 2.340.02.87, Email : embbel@skynet.be

Please also write to the diplomatic mission or embassy of Belarus in your respective country.

***

Paris-Geneva, May 15, 2011

Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.

To contact the Observatory, call the emergency line:

* E-mail: Appeals@fidh-omct.org

* Tel and fax FIDH + 33 (0) 1 43 55 25 18 / +33 1 43 55 18 80

* Tel and fax OMCT + 41 (0) 22 809 49 39 / + 41 22 809 49 29

Read more at fidh (worldwide human rights movement)

Eurovision tonight – take part!

Can love set them free?

Go to this urgent action page to read more, and follow the links there (or in-text below) to call for human rights in Azerbaijan:
Amnesty Urgent Action Blog

By spending just a few moments of your time you can use your right to free expression to:

Call for the release of Tural Abbasli and other prisoners of conscience
Call for Jabbar Savalan to be released from military service and allowed to resume his studies
Spread the word! Follow @AmnestyUK on Twitter to share the latest news and actions on human rights abuses in Azerbaijan.
Then settle on the sofa to cheer on the UK’s Eurovision representative Engelbert Humperdinck – for Azerbaijani activists like Tural and Jabbar, we can but hope that Love Will Set You Free…

From AIUK Blog.

Eurovision – Love Will Set You Free?

Tomorrow it’s Eurovision time and there are number of concerns we’ve got on the human right situation in the host country Azerbaijan. The song contest is a rare opportunity for Amnesty International to shine a spotlight on the country. In just the last few weeks there have been a whole series of horrific incidents.

Back in March, Radio Free Europe journalist Khadija Ismayilova was the victim of harassment. A renowned investigative reporter she had been looking into corruption in the presidential office. She was secretly filmed having sex with her boyfriend and blackmailed. The case got the backing of Sandie Shaw.

More recently two other journalists were violently assaulted and peaceful protestors attacked by police.

Meanwhile, a band faces possible torture after they played at an opposition rally.

And 11 prisoners of conscience have gone on hunger strike.

So when everyone else is curling up to watch Eurovision there couldn’t be a better time to turn the spotlight on the real big issues in Azerbaijan. And of course there is the bitter irony that the British entry for Eurovision by Engelbert Humperdink is entitled Love Will Set You Free.

This post courtesy Niall from Amnesty Media Team.

Execution of an innocent man

Its one thing to be executed for murder. It’s another to be executed for a murder you didn’t commit. Looks

as if the Texas authorities executed the wrong man. See http://www3.law.columbia.edu/hrlr/ltc/

How many more people need to die before we stop the death penalty?

Kate Allen on Amnesty’s Annual Report and Arms Trade Treaty

A great piece in the Guardian reflecting on Amnesty International’s annual report on the state of the world’s human rights, celebrating the bravery of peaceful protesters and challenging the UN security council’s permanent members, who stand in the way of the proper working of international justice. She finishes the piece by saying:

The failure of leadership in response to the uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa has not been restricted to any one country, and so the responsibility for the remedy is widely held. The UK government must take a leading role in the international talks to secure a binding and comprehensive arms trade treaty to stem the flow of weapons and ammunition to rights abusing governments. That would be a fitting epilogue to this momentous year.

Read the article here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/law/2012/may/24/global-arms-trade-treaty