-Caveat Lector- --- "I understand the unicorn's song, And my own is made of owls and flowers; I have made my voice of night and time; My shadow goes before me like a spear." -- from Taliesin and the Dark -----Original Message----- Subject: Amnesty International www.amestyusa.org This week, Amnesty International celebrates its 40th Anniversary. It all started back in 1961 when Peter Benenson, a London lawyer, wrote an appeal in the Observer calling for amnesty for two Portuguese students who had been jailed for drinking a toast to freedom. More than 1,000 people responded with offers of support and Amnesty International was born. Now, Amnesty International is the world's largest human rights organization with more than one million members. For 40 years, men and women on the front lines fighting for human rights have turned to Amnesty International for support. And Amnesty International members like you have been there. Amnesty International has helped save thousands of lives, protected human rights defenders and held governments accountable for human rights abuses. Thanks to all of you for supporting Amnesty International. Your involvement and support help Amnesty International continue the fight to bring justice and freedom to countless numbers of people all over the world. This week, Amnesty International celebrates its 40th Anniversary. It all started back in 1961 when Peter Benenson, a London lawyer, wrote an appeal in the Observer calling for amnesty for two Portuguese students who had been jailed for drinking a toast to freedom. More than 1,000 people responded with offers of support and Amnesty International was born. Now, Amnesty International is the world's largest human rights organization with more than one million members. For 40 years, men and women on the front lines fighting for human rights have turned to Amnesty International for support. And Amnesty International members like you have been there. Amnesty International has helped save thousands of lives, protected human rights defenders and held governments accountable for human rights abuses. Thanks to all of you for supporting Amnesty International. Your involvement and support help Amnesty International continue the fight to bring justice and freedom to countless numbers of people all over the world. Amnesty International's 2001 Annual Report finds that for many people, human rights remain "paper promises," endorsed by governments in rhetoric but neglected or ignored in practice. The report documents evidence of human rights violations perpetrated by governments, opposition groups and others in 149 countries last year. It shows that in 2000 torture was used in 125 of the 149 countries surveyed. In addition, political killings occurred in 61 countries - a 69% increase over the previous year and a return to the highest levels of the decade. It also shows a slight decline in "disappearances" and the detention of prisoners of conscience. Amnesty International also released a list of human rights heroes and scoundrels for the year 2000. Among the human rights heroes are: George Ryan, Governor of Illinois, for instigating a new national debate on capital punishment by declaring a moratorium on the death penalty. Mehrangiz Kar, an Iranian human rights advocate who has fought to gain recognition of women's rights and children's rights. Among the scoundrels are: Robert Mugabe, President of Zimbabwe, for his determination to hold on to power no matter what the cost to human rights and the rule of law. The Texas Board of Pardons and Parole, for operating a flawed capital punishment system, reviewing clemency petitions in secret and voting without due process procedures. Click here to read more about Amnesty International's 2001 Annual Report. Professor Mesfin Wolde-Mariam, aged 72, and Dr Berhanu Nega, President of the Ethiopian Economic Association, both leading human rights defenders, have been released. Professor Wolde-Mariam and Dr Nega were arrested on May 8 and were held incommunicado. According to their families, the two were charged with inciting a riot and forming an illegal clandestine political party. Although they have been released on bail, the charges against them remain. Amnesty International will continue to monitor the situation. Thank you to the thousands of FAST activists who sent emails on this case. Three young men, Luis Manuel HERNANDEZ, Jose Luis CASTELLANOS and Jose Luis de la TORRE, have reportedly been tortured in police custody. They are now in prison awaiting trial and Amnesty International fears that they will suffer further torture. There is also concern that they were forced to confess under torture, and so will face an unfair trial. The three, who are from Venustiano Carranza Municipality, Chiapas state, were reportedly arrested on 17 May by State Judicial Police (Policia Judicial Estatal) and Municipal Police (Policia Municipal), and taken to the Municipal Police detention center. They were tortured and ill-treated by judicial and municipal police officers to force them to confess, with a prosecutor from the State Attorney General's Office (Procuraduria General del Estado, PGE) present to take their statements. They were beaten with rifle butts and clubs. One of them had a plastic bag pulled over his head to suffocate him, and had his left wrist burnt, apparently with a cigarette lighter. The three men later reported how they had been tortured and ill-treated, but the PGE disregarded their statement and excluded it from the case file. One of the men is an indigenous Tzotzil, and does not speak Spanish, but he was not provided with a translator at any point.The three men are now in Cerro Hueco prison, Chiapas state. Visit http://amnestyusa.policy.net/torture <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. 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