Dec. 7
CHINA:
URGENT ACTION APPEAL UPDATE
To participate in the 2004 Holiday Card Action, go to
http://www.amnestyusa.org/action/holiday/
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7 December 2004
Further Information on UA 290/04 issued 15 October 2004 -
Fear of execution
PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA:
Tenzin Deleg Rinpoche (m)
The Chinese authorities have not yet made any official
announcement about the fate of Tenzin Deleg Rinpoche, amid
conflicting reports about when the two year period of suspension
on his death sentence comes to an end. Mass appeals now could
help to save his life.
The two-year period of suspension on his death sentence expired
on 2 December, according to some sources. Others claim it will
not expire until 26 January 2005, two years after his
unsuccessful appeal.
Under Chinese law, prisoners serving a two-year period of
suspension on a death sentence are executed only if they commit
a particularly serious crime while in prison. According to
Amnesty International's research, these crimes are limited to
attempted or actual murder of fellow inmates or prison staff, or,
in some cases, attempts to escape from prison.
Tenzin Deleg Rinpoche, a religious leader from a traditionally
Tibetan area of Sichuan Province, was detained on 7 April 2002,
reportedly on suspicion of involvement in an explosion that had
taken place in the main square of the provincial capital,
Chengdu, a few days earlier. The Chinese authorities have never
clarified what his involvement in the incident was alleged to
have been. Another man, Lobsang Dhondup, was detained on 3
April 2002 at the scene of the explosion on suspicion of planting
the bomb. Both men were also charged with producing and
distributing ''splittist'' leaflets advocating independence for Tibet.
They were reportedly tortured for several months before their
trial in November 2002. Official documents claim that they both
''confessed'' to their crimes, but at his sentencing on 2 December
2002, Tenzin Deleg Rinpoche reportedly shouted his innocence
in court. Tenzin Deleg Rinpoche was sentenced to death,
suspended for two years, for ''causing explosions'' and ''inciting
separatism''. Lobsang Dhondup was sentenced to death on the
same charges, and on an additional charge of possessing
explosives.
Tenzin Deleg Rinpoche's appeal against his sentence was
rejected on 26 January 2003. It remains unclear whether Lobsang
Dhondup appealed against his sentence, but he was executed
immediately after the appeal hearing, despite assurances from
senior Chinese officials to US and EU diplomats that the case
would receive a ''lengthy review''.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Amnesty International believes that the proceedings against
Tenzin Deleg Rinpoche and Lobsang Dhondup fell far short of
international fair trial standards, and that their sentences are a
serious miscarriages of justice. In the light of this, the
organization maintains that the criminal justice system in China
is currently so flawed it cannot provide a fair trial in capital
cases, and that the Chinese authorities must therefore impose an
immediate moratorium on the death penalty. (For further
information, see Executed ''according to law''? - the death
penalty in China, AI Index: ASA 17/003/2004, and Miscarriage
of justice? - the trial of Tenzin Deleg Rinpoche and related
arrests, AI Index: ASA 17/029/2003.)
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive
as quickly as possible:
- urging the authorities to stay the execution of Tenzin Deleg
Rinpoche;
- urging the authorities to give Tenzin Deleg Rinpoche's family
and the international community full details of his current status;
- pointing out there are still serious concerns that Tenzin Deleg
Rinpoche's detention, trial and sentencing appear to have
involved severe miscarriages of justice;
- urging the Chinese authorities to conduct a full and open
review of the evidence and legal procedures used to convict and
sentence Tenzin Deleg Rinpoche and Lobsang Dhundup, and to
punish any officials found to have abused their powers.
APPEALS TO:
Governor of the Sichuan Provincial People's Government:
ZHANG Zhongwei Shengzhang
Sichuansheng Renmin Zhengfu
Duyuanjie, Chengdushi
Sichuansheng
People's Republic of China
Fax: 011 86 28 435 6784 / 435 6789 (c/o Foreign Affairs
office)
Salutation: Dear Governor
Director of the Sichuan Provincial Department of Justice:
ZENG Xianzhang Tingzhang
Sifating
24 Shangxianglu
Chengdushi 610015, Sichuansheng
People's Republic of China
E-mail: [email protected]
Fax: 011 86 28 435 6784 / 435 6789 (c/o Foreign affairs
office)
Salutation: Dear Director
Minister of Justice:
Zhang Fusen
Sifaju (Ministry of Justice)
10 Chaoyangmen Nandajie
Chaoyangqu
Beijingshi 100020
People's Republic of China
E-mail: [email protected]
Fax: 011 86 10 6529 2345
Salutation: Your Excellency
COPIES TO:
Ambassador Jiechi Yang
Embassy of the People's Republic of China
2300 Connecticut Ave. NW
Washington DC 20008
Fax: 1 202 328 2582
Please send appeals immediately. Check with the Colorado
office between 9:00 am and 6:00 pm, Mountain Time,
weekdays only, if sending appeals after January 17, 2005.
Amnesty International is a worldwide grassroots movement that
promotes and defends human rights.
This Urgent Action may be reposted if kept intact, including
contact information and stop action date (if applicable). Thank
you for your help with this appeal.
Urgent Action Network
Amnesty International USA
PO Box 1270
Nederland CO 80466-1270
Email: [email protected]
http://www.amnestyusa.org/urgent/
Phone: 303 258 1170
Fax: 303 258 7881
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END OF URGENT ACTION APPEAL
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INDONESIA:
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7 December 2004
Further Information on UA 303/04 issued 10 November 2004
- Imminent execution
INDONESIA: Astini (f), aged 49
Final preparations are being made for the execution of Astini, a
mother of three. According to Indonesian press reports, a source
in the Prosecutor's Office has confirmed that Astini will be
executed in December, although the exact date and place of
execution has not been announced.
Her execution had previously been postponed until after the
Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which ended on 15 November.
The authorities have still made no official announcement, but
according to the recent press reports the Prosecutor's Office has
established an ''execution team'' to arrange the details of the
execution, including the return of Astini's body to her family. A
12-man firing squad has been formed to carry out the execution.
Astini spent Idul Fitri (the feast to mark the end of Ramadan)
with her children and grandchildren, who visited her at Malang
Women's Prison. She reportedly cried and kissed her
grandchildren repeatedly, aware that this might be the last time
she would see them.
Astini was sentenced to death in October 1996. She had been
found guilty of murdering three women between August 1993
and January 1996 and of dismembering their bodies. Her appeal
for clemency was rejected by president Megawati Sukarnoputri
in July 2004. In October the Supreme Court rejected her
application for judicial review.
In a letter sent to the Attorney General's Office in October,
Astini's lawyers presented evidence that during her time in
Malang Women's prison, Astini had behaved well and had
participated in rehabilitation programmes. Astini's lawyers
noted that the point of the prison system in Indonesia was to
reform prisoners to become socially functional people.
According to the letter, Astini's value systems have changed
significantly during her time in prison. In the letter her lawyers
questioned the purpose of rehabilitation if, after Astini had
become a good person, she is still to be executed.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Indonesia has carried out three executions this year: Indian
national Ayodhya Prasad Chaubey was executed in August;
another man, Thai national Saelow Prasert, and a Thai woman,
Namsong Sirilak, were executed in October. All had been
sentenced to death for drug trafficking. Eight other people had
their appeals for presidential clemency rejected in June and July,
and are also thought to be at imminent risk of execution.
Amnesty International opposes the death penalty unreservedly in
all cases. Every death sentence is an affront to human dignity,
every execution a symptom of a culture of violence, rather than a
solution to it. Today, 118 countries are abolitionist in law or
practice. At least 56 people are believed to be on death row in
Indonesia. Before the executions carried out this year, only two
people had been executed in the country since 1995.
The risk of error in applying the death penalty is inescapable, yet
it is irrevocable. The Indonesian Commission on Human Rights
(Komnas HAM) noted in 2001 that, ''Aside from being
internationally recognized as a human rights violation in itself...
the death penalty administered by a corrupt judiciary is
extremely dangerous.'' Following his visit to Indonesia in July
2002, the UN Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges
and lawyers expressed concern regarding corruption within the
judiciary.
Amnesty International recognizes the need to address serious
crime all over the world, including murder and the trade in illicit
drugs. However, the organization is convinced that the death
penalty will not provide a solution. There is no clear evidence
that the death penalty acts as a more effective deterrent against
crime than other forms of punishment.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive
as quickly as possible:
- calling for Astini's death sentence to be commuted;
- expressing deep concern about the renewal of executions in
Indonesia;
- urging that all death sentences in Indonesia be commuted, as
they constitute the violation of one of the most fundamental of
human rights - the right to life.
APPEALS TO: (Fax numbers may be difficult to get through
to. Please keep trying)
President
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
President RI
Istana Merdeka
Jakarta 10110, Indonesia
Fax: 011 62 21 345 2685 / 526 8726 / 345 7782
Salutation: Dear President Yudhoyono
Attorney General
Abdul Rahman Saleh
Jaksa Agung
Jl. Sultan Hasanuddin No. 1
Kebayoran Baru
Jakarta Selantan 12130, Indonesia
Fax: 011 62 21 725 0213
Salutation: Dear Attorney General
COPIES TO:
Chairman, Komnas HAM
Abdul Hakim Garuda Nusantara
Komisi Nasional Hak Asasi Manusia
Jl Latuharhary No. 4B
Menteng
Jakarta Pusat 10310, Indonesia
Fax: 011 62 21 392 5227
Salutation: Dear Chairman
Ambassador Soemadi Djoko M. Brotodiningrat
Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia
2020 Massachusetts Ave. NW
Washington DC 20036
Fax: 1 202 775 5365
Please send appeals immediately. Check with the Colorado
office between 9:00 am and 6:00 pm, Mountain Time,
weekdays only, if sending appeals after December 22, 2005.
Amnesty International is a worldwide grassroots movement that
promotes and defends human rights.
This Urgent Action may be reposted if kept intact, including
contact information and stop action date (if applicable). Thank
you for your help with this appeal.
Urgent Action Network
Amnesty International USA
PO Box 1270
Nederland CO 80466-1270
Email: [email protected]
http://www.amnestyusa.org/urgent/
Phone: 303 258 1170
Fax: 303 258 7881
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END OF URGENT ACTION APPEAL
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