Oct. 4
CANADA:
International Conference on the Death Penalty to Convene in Montreal
On October 6, the 2nd World Congress Against the Death Penalty will
convene in Montreal, Canada. More than 1,000 participants from around the
world are expected to gather at the city's Place des Arts, including many
U.S. policy makers and death penalty experts. Americans such as Mike
Farrell, Barry Scheck, and several death row exonerees will join
international human rights leaders including former U.N. High Commissioner
on Human Rights Mary Robinson, Bianca Jagger, and actress Catherine
Deneuve for the 3-day conference. The Congress will explore criminal
justice issues and will aim to advance worldwide ratification of a United
Nations treaty to forbid capital punishment in all circumstances. For more
information, visit the Congress's Web site, www. montreal2004.org
(source: ECPM (Together Against the Death Penalty) Press Release, Sept.
29, 2004).
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Dear friends, dear Human rights activists, dear abolitionists,
Take part in the Walk for Abolition in Montreal, Canada October 9!
RAIDH, ECPM and PRI and "Montreal 2004" partners are inviting you to
participate in the Walk for Abolition, the demonstration that will close
the 2nd world Congress against the Death Penalty in Montreal, Canada,
October 9 2004.
Please sign the call in the name of your organization or network (anwser
to [email protected]), publish it on your website or forward it to any
contacts that might be interested in.
For more information on the demonstration, get your "Abolition Kit" at :
www.raidh.org or directly at
http://altermondes.free.fr/article.php3?id_article=32 (in powerpoint and
PDF).
For more information on the 2nd World Congress on the death penalty :
www.montreal2004.org
Download and print the leaflet at :
http://altermondes.free.fr/ressources/flyer_demo_manif.doc
ZAMBIA:
'Scrap the death penalty'
12 bishops from the Roman Catholic Church, the biggest Christian
denomination in Zambia, called on Lusaka on Monday to scrap the death
penalty from its new constitution.
President Levy Mwanawasa has come out against the death penalty but said
he would not outlaw it without first holding broad consultations with
Zambians who are divided on the issue.
The bishops said in a statement that they were speaking on behalf of the
Roman Catholic Church in taking an abolitionist stance.
"We, therefore, submit that the death penalty should be removed in the
constitution," said a statement signed by 12 Catholic bishops.
Some human rights organisations have called for a referendum on outlawing
the death penalty to allow Zambians to decide on the matter at the ballot
box.
The Catholic bishops have also urged the Constitution Review Commission
(CRC), which is drafting the new fundamental law, to scrap a provision
that declares Zambia as a Christian nation because there are Zambians who
adhere to different faiths.
(source: News 24)
UZBEKISTAN:
At risk of execution
Iskandar Khudoberganov's sister tol AI: 'The police took away all
photographs we had of my brother.' The only photo that is left is from his
student ID card
Reminder
AI members should not send appeals to the authorities of their own
countries.
Appeal status: Active
Appeal started: October 2004
Iskandar Khudoberganov, who is on death row in Uzbekistan, may be executed
at any moment, despite government assurances to the contrary. The Uzbek
authorities have stated that his execution has been postponed while the UN
Human Rights Committee considers his case. However, AI has received
reports that the Uzbek authorities secretly executed two death row inmates
at the same prison even though the Committee had also intervened on their
behalf.
Iskandar Khudoberganov was sentenced to death in November 2002 for his
alleged involvement three years earlier in a bomb plot in Tashkent. In a
letter he smuggled to his family during his trial, he reported that he had
been tortured and given drugs against his will while in detention. After
the trial, he told his sister that he had been beaten and given electric
shocks in the basement of the Interior Affairs Ministry. In court, two
witnesses retracted their statements against Iskandar Khudoberganov,
stating that they had been tortured and forced to incriminate him.
For almost two years, Iskandar Khudoberganov has not been allowed to
exercise outdoors. He has reportedly been diagnosed with tuberculosis, but
has not received any medical treatment.
In September 2001, President Islam Karimov publicly stated that around 100
people were executed in Uzbekistan each year. However, local human rights
activists believe the true figure to be more than twice that.
To take part in AI's campaign, Make Europe and Central Asia a death
penalty free zone, starting on 4 October, see:
http://www.amnesty.org/deathpenalty
Please write, asking the authorities to confirm that Iskandar
Khudoberganov will not be executed while his case is being considered by
the UN Human Rights Committee. Call on the President to commute his and
all other death sentences in Uzbekistan. Urge the authorities to
immediately provide him with appropriate medical treatment.
Send appeals to:
President Karimov I.A.
Rezidentsia prezidenta
ul. Uzbekistanskaia
43, Tashkent 700163
Uzbekistan.
Fax: +998 71 139 53 25
Email: [email protected]
