Amnesty International USA Group 48

Newsletter
10.14
1 Chinese Dissident Ai
Weiwei Opens Exhibit
Featuring Amnesty
International Research
at Alcatraz
2 IRAN: Urgent Action -
Jailed Scientist Denied
Urgent Medical Care
4 INDONESIA: Urgent
Action - Papuan Human
Rights Lawyer Attacked
5 Chinas Trade In Tools Of
Torture And Repression
7 Central African Republic:
Full Deployment Of UN
Peacekeepers Urgently
Needed To Protect Civilian
Lives
Chinese Dissident Ai Weiwei Opens Exhibit Featuring
Amnesty International Research at Alcatraz
San Francisco, CA
The exhibit, @Large: Ai Weiwei on
Alcatraz, features seven new sculp-
ture, sound, and mixed-media works
throughout the historic former prison
that will highlight political prisoners
and incarceration through a human
rights lens. Both Amnesty International
USAs Board Chair, Ann Burroughs, and
Executive Director, Steven W. Hawkins
will be in attendance for the exhibitions
opening reception on Friday, September
26.
Highlighting Amnesty International
prisoners of conscience on the site of a
notorious former federal prison under-
scores how powerful the combination
of advocacy and art can be, said Bur-
roughs. Having experienced frsthand
what it is to be jailed for speaking out
against injustice in South Africa,
@Large is an incredibly afecting exhibit.
Te work of the Beijing-based artist
and activist ofen explores conditions
in China, including limits placed on
freedom of expression, as well as his
personal experience of incarceration. Ai
was detained by the Chinese govern-
ment in 2011 for 81 days on disputed
charges of tax evasion and is prohibited
from leaving the country.
He developed the works in the Alcatraz
exhibit in his Beijing studio with sup-
port from curators from the FOR-SITE
Foundation, collaborating partners such
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AIUSA-Group 48
http://aipdx.org
503-227-1878
Next Meeting:
Friday October 10th
First Unitarian Church
1011 SW 12th Ave
7:00pm informal gathering
7:30pm meeting starts
NewsLetter Designed
By Michelle Whitlock
MichelleWhitlock.com

AIUSA group 48 Newsletter October 2014 Pg 2

as Human Rights Watch, Bay Area volunteers, and Amnesty
International, which provided research material. Most of the
cases highlighted are active Amnesty International cases.
Ais determination and perseverance to use his art to educate
the world on human rights abuses is awe-inspiring, said
Hawkins. Freedom of expression, especially in light of gov-
ernment censorship and persecution, is a human right that
we must protect. For the stories of Amnesty Internationals
prisoners of conscience to be included in such a compelling
exhibit is profoundly moving.
Te @Large installations will be featured in the dining hall of
the prison as well as several other areas that are usually of-
limits to visitors. Tese include the two-story New Industries
Building where privileged inmates were permitted to work;
the hospital main ward and psychiatric observation cells; and
A Block, the only cellblock not remodeled since the military
prison was constructed in the early 20th century.
Among the pieces on exhibit are Trace, featuring 175 Lego
portraits of people imprisoned because of their beliefs or
afliations; Stay Tuned, a sound installation featuring the
music of Russian feminist punk collective Pussy Riot and oth-
ers imprisoned for the creative expression of their beliefs; and
Illumination, in which traditional chants from the Hopi tribe
whose members were among the frst prisoners at Alcatraz
fll the psychiatric ward.
Te misconception of totalitarianism is that freedom can be
imprisoned. Tis is not the case. When you constrain free-
dom, freedom will take fight and land on a windowsill, said
Ai.
Admission to @Large is included with general admission to
Alcatraz. Visitors will have the opportunity to write post-
cards to some of the prisoners featured in the exhibit, and to
learn more from a team of Art Guides posted throughout the
installation.
As part of its mission to campaign for human rights world-
wide, Amnesty International has advocated on behalf of Ai
Weiwei during his detention and documented widespread hu-
man rights violations in China. An estimated 500,000 people
are currently enduring punitive detention without charge or
trial, and millions are unable to access the legal system to seek
redress for their grievances.
IRAN: Urgent Action - Jailed Scientist Denied Urgent Medical Care
Omid Kokabee, m
outside medical care. Omid Kokabees health has deteriorated
since August, when he was transferred from Section 350 to
the Quarantine area of Section seven, which is in a basement.
Tere, he has been kept in a small windowless cell and all
prisoners in this unit are denied access to the prison court-
yard for exercise.
Since he was jailed in January 2011, Omid Kokabee has lost
four teeth and has been told dental work must be done on an-
other four teeth. He has had persistent kidney problems since
childhood, and they have been exacerbated by prison condi-
tions. He has passed kidney stones on at least fve occasions
in prison. Omid Kokabee has also sufered recently from
heart palpitations, shortness of breath, pain and pressure on
the lef side of his chest, and migratory joint pain (pain that
moves to other joints in the body). For his kidneys and heart
palpitations he requires diagnostic testing which can only be
done outside prison. He has also been having stomach pains.
Iranian physicist Omid Kokabee, serving a 10-year sentence
in Tehrans Evin Prison, is in urgent need of medical care,
which the authorities have refused. He is sufering from a
number of health problems, including kidney stones and
heart palpitations, exacerbated by the poor conditions in
which he is held. He is a prisoner of conscience.
Omid Kokabee, aged 32, has been examined by the prison
medical clinic doctors and dentist and told by them that he
needs further care outside the prison, but the authorities have
either rejected, or lef unanswered, his several requests for
Pawel Kryj Stock.Xchng

AIUSA group 48 Newsletter October 2014 Pg 3

Action
Please write immediately in English, Persian, Arabic, Spanish
or your own language:
Calling on the Iranian authorities to release Omid Koka-
bee immediately and unconditionally as he is a prisoner of
conscience;
Calling on them to ensure that he receives any medical
treatment he may require, outside prison if necessary, as rec-
ommended by the prison clinic.
Appeals To
PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE NOVEMBER 11th 2014
TO:
Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran
Ayatollah Sayed Ali Khamenei
Te Ofce of the Supreme Leader
Islamic Republic Street - End of Shahid Keshvar Doust Street
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Email: info_leader@leader.ir
Twitter: @khamenei_ir
Salutation: Your Excellency
Head of the Judiciary
Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani
c/o Public Relations Ofce
Number 4, 2 Azizi Street intersection
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Salutation: Your Excellency
Copies To
President of the Islamic Republic of Iran
Hassan Rouhani
Te Presidency
Pasteur Street, Pasteur Square
Tehran, Eslamic Republic of Iran
Twitter: @HassanRouhani (English), @Rouhani_ir (Persian)
Additional Information
Omid Kokabee is a prisoner of conscience held solely for his
refusal to work on military projects in Iran and as a result of
spurious charges related to his legitimate scholastic ties with
academic institutions outside of Iran.
Omid Kokabee had been pursuing post-doctoral studies in
the USA when he was arrested in January 2011, when he went
to Iran to visit his family. He was held in solitary confnement
for 15 months and was subjected to prolonged interrogations,
and pressured to make confessions. In May 2012, afer an
unfair trial in a Revolutionary Court at which it is understood
that no evidence was presented against him, he was sentenced
to 10 years in prison for having connections with a hostile
government. His sentence was upheld on appeal in August
2012.
In an open letter written from prison in April 2013 Omid
Kokabee said: During interrogations which were conducted
in solitary confnement, while all my communication with
my family and the outside world was cut of, and while I was
constantly being put under pressure and threats by receiving
news about the horrible physical and mental state of my fam-
ily, I was asked again and again to write up various versions of
my personal history afer 2005.
Omid Kokabee has also said that since he graduated from
university in 2005 he had been invited several times to work
as a scientist and technical manager for military and intel-
ligence projects. Tis included being ofered admission to
a PhD program with full sponsorship by the Atomic Energy
Organization of Iran. He declined all invitations.
Omid Kokabee was awarded the Andrei Sakharov Prize by
the American Physical Society in 2013, for his courage in
refusing to use his physics knowledge to work on projects
that he deemed harmful to humanity, in the face of extreme
physical and psychological pressure.
Prison conditions in Iran are notoriously poor, and some-
times amount to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment.
Poor conditions, including overcrowding, inadequate food
and sanitation and the denial of adequate medical care, exac-
erbate prisoners medical problems. Many prisoners requests
for medical leave under Iranian prison regulations, even in
very serious cases, are routinely denied. Whether done on
purpose or by neglect, failing to provide adequate medical
care to prisoners is a breach of Irans international human
rights obligations. Te denial of medical treatment may
amount to a violation of the absolute prohibition of torture
and other ill-treatment, which is enshrined in the Interna-
tional Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Iran
is a party.
AIUSA group 48 Newsletter October 2014 Pg 4
Te International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights also recognizes the right of all people to the highest
attainable standard of physical and mental health. Te UN
Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners also
states that prisoners who require specialist treatment must be
transferred to specialist institutions or civil hospitals.
Irans own prison regulations are also routinely fouted by
prison and judicial ofcials. Article 229 of the Iranian Prison
Regulations stipulates that a prisoner sufering from a serious
medical condition that cannot be treated inside prison or
whose condition will worsen if they stay in prison, should
be released by the prison authorities for one months medi-
cal leave, renewable on the recommendation of a doctor and
with the agreement of the Prison Director.
INDONESIA: Urgent Action - Human Rights Defenders, Prisoner Of Conscience,
Fear For Safety, Papuan Human Rights Lawyer Attacked
Anum Siregar (f), Areki Wanimbo (m)
on August 6th afer meeting two foreign journalists who
were making a documentary on the separatist movement in
the Papuan region. He was accused of supporting separat-
ist activities and charged with rebellion under Articles 106
and 110 of Indonesias Criminal Code. Amnesty International
considers Areki Wanimbo to be a prisoner of conscience.
Anum Siregar is a respected human rights lawyer and has
represented numerous victims of human rights violations in
Papua for over a decade. She is also the Director of Alliance of
Democracy for Papua (ALDP), a human rights organization
in Papua. Tere are continued concerns that she might face
retaliation for her human rights work.
Action
Please let us know if you took action so that we can track our
impact. Send a short email to uan@aiusa.org with UA 229/14
in the subject line and include in the body of the email the
number of letters and/or emails you sent. Tank you for
taking action! Please check with the AIUSA Urgent Action
Network Ofce if sending appeals afer the appeal end date.
Please write immediately in Indonesian, English or your own
language:
Urging the authorities to take immediate action to ensure
the safety of Anum Siregar, in accordance with her wishes;
Urging them to conduct a prompt, independent and im-
partial investigation into any allegations that this attack was
linked to Anum Siregars work as a human rights defender;
Calling on the authorities to immediately and uncondition-
ally release Areki Wanimbo as he is a prisoner of conscience,
arrested solely for the peaceful exercise of his right to free-
dom of expression;
Papuan human rights lawyer Anum Siregar was attacked
by an unknown person in Wamena, Papua province. She is
currently defending a tribal leader who is a prisoner of con-
science accused of supporting separatist activities. Tere are
concerns for her safety.
Amnesty International has received information about an
attack on human rights lawyer Anum Siregar in Wamena,
Papua province. Anum Siregar was attacked by an unknown
person at about 11pm on September 16th on the way back
to her hotel from a court hearing. Te attacker, armed with
a knife, stole her bag and injured her hand before feeing the
scene. Anum Siregar received treatment for her injuries at
Wamena hospital, requiring at least two stitches.
Anum Siregar and another lawyer had travelled from Jaya-
pura to Wamena to represent Areki Wanimbo, the Head of
the Lani Besar Tribal Council, at a pre-trial hearing. When
they arrived both felt they were being monitored. Tey were
challenging Areki Wanimbos arrest and detention which they
believe to have been unlawful and in violation of Indonesias
Criminal Procedure Code. Areki Wanimbo was arrested
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AIUSA group 48 Newsletter October 2014 Pg 5
Establish special mechanisms to ensure the protection of
human rights defenders in Indonesia.
Appeals To
PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE OCTOBER 29th
2014 TO:
Papua Regional Head of Police
Jotje Mende
Jl. Samratulangi No. 8 Jayapura,
Papua, Indonesia
Fax: 011 62 967 531014 / 011 62 967 533396
Salutation: Dear Brigadier General
Copies To
Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission
(Komnas HAM)
Mr Hafd Abbas
Jl Latuharhary
No.4 Menteng Jakarta Pusat
10310, Indonesia
Fax: 011 62 213 912026
Email: pengaduan@komnasham.go.id
Director General for Human Rights
Harkristuti Harkrisnowo
Ministry of Law and Human Rights
Jl. H.R. Rasuna Said Kav No. 4-5
Kuningan, Jakarta Selatan
12950, Indonesia
Fax: 011 62 215 253095
Salutation: Dear Harkristuti
Harkrisnowo
H.E. Ambassador Budi Bowoleksono
Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia
2020 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20036
Fax: 202 775 5365
Email: http://www.embassyofndonesia.org/contactform/
contact-form.php
Chinas Trade In Tools Of Torture And Repression - new AI report
September 23, 2014
products, a sharp rise from a decade ago, but the size and
scope of this industry in China has barely been researched
until now.
Tis report documents Chinas manufacture of and trade in
law enforcement equipment other than frearms and related
ammunition, and considers some examples of how this
equipment is used in China and abroad. Te rise in Chinese
manufacture and export of equipment for use in law en-
forcement has not been accompanied by adequate domestic
regulations or export controls. Some equipment manufac-
tured and openly marketed by Chinese companies - such as
electric shock stun batons and weighted leg cufs is intrinsi-
cally cruel, inhuman and degrading and therefore should be
prohibited.
Te promotion, trade and export of inherently abusive equip-
ment is already prohibited in the EU a position reinforced
by the 2013 UN General Assembly resolution on torture.
Other equipment - for instance ordinary handcufs or certain
types of crowd control equipment - can have a legitimate
role in law enforcement, but its trade and use need to be
strictly controlled in line with international standards for law
In recent years China has consolidated its position as a major
manufacturer and exporter not only of frearms and related
ammunition but also of a growing range of other equipment
used in law enforcement from handcufs to electric shock
stun batons to riot control gear. Chinese companies have
been actively promoting their equipment globally, increasing
their presence at trade fairs across the world. Tere are now
more than 130 Chinese companies involved in the develop-
ment, manufacture and trade in these potentially dangerous
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AIUSA group 48 Newsletter October 2014 Pg 6

enforcement to remove any substantial risk of the equipment
being used for violations of human rights.
China does not have adequate controls in place and has ex-
ported law enforcement equipment to countries where there
is a clear risk that the equipment will be misused.
Chapter 1 presents an overview of Chinas law enforcement
equipment manufacturing sector. It looks in detail at four
categories of equipment manufactured in China: restraints,
electric shock devices, striking weapons and crowd control
gear, assessing in each category whether the equipment has
a legitimate use and, if so, the necessary controls that should
apply to prevent misuse, or whether the use of the device
should be prohibited outright or suspended pending further
research by independent experts.
Chapter 2 looks at how this equipment has been used by law
enforcement ofcials in China to violate human rights. It de-
scribes cases in which law enforcement personnel have used
electric shock equipment and restraints to torture detainees
held in Chinas notoriously harsh detention facilities. It also
looks at the misuse of riot gear in the policing of public as-
semblies, including against Tibetan and Uighur protesters.
Chapter 3 pieces together Chinas opaque international trade
in an array of law enforcement equipment using data gath-
ered at trade fairs, company literature, photographic evidence
and specifc cases of irresponsible transfers. It analyses
Chinas export controls, and concludes that they sufer from
inadequate export assessment criteria, weak oversight, lack of
transparency and reluctance to enforce existing regulations.
As a result, Chinese equipment marketed to law enforcement
agencies in other countries risks facilitating serious human
rights violations.
Chapter 4 analyses the responsibility of states and companies
focusing particularly on responsibilities in relation to the
export of law enforcement equipment. States have a legal
obligation to co-operate in the realization of human rights
within and beyond their borders. Te chapter argues that
this principle, already explicitly recognized in relation to a
wide range of conventional weapons through the Arms Trade
Treaty and other international legal agreements, applies to the
use and export of law enforcement equipment. It also looks at
the corporate responsibility to respect human rights and the
risk of corporate complicity in human rights violations where
companies have failed to act with due diligence to prevent
equipment they manufacture or sell being misused.
For many years Amnesty International and the Omega Re-
search Foundation (Omega) have advocated that states should
adopt legally enforceable regulations at the national and inter-
national levels to strictly control the production, promotion,
trade, transfer and use of policing and other law enforcement
equipment. In 2005 Amnesty International and Omega were
instrumental in the EUs adoption of regulations that ban the
production and export of specifc tools of torture and strict-
ly control trade in other equipment which, while intended for
law enforcement, can easily be misused for torture or other
ill-treatment. Amnesty International and Omega continue to
campaign for these regulations to be strengthened in the EU
and adopted globally.
Amnesty International and Omega are calling on the Chinese
authorities to bring Chinas national regulation of law enforce-
ment equipment into line with this emerging international
framework. Te Chinese authorities should prohibit the
production, use and export of tools of torture. China must
also reform its export licencing system for law enforcement
equipment, making the system transparent and publicly ac-
countable. Strict, human rights-based criteria must be applied
and met before export licences are issued. More broadly, there
must be a greater understanding of the potential problems
associated with law enforcement equipment, and the rationale
behind the regulation of its design, transfer and use. Concrete
steps need to be taken by all states, not only China, to combat
the misuse of legitimate law enforcement equipment by law
enforcement agencies around the world.
Within the United States
$0.34 - Postcards
$0.49 - Letters and Cards up to 1 oz.
To all international destinations
$1.15 - Postcards
$1.15 - Airmail Letters and Cards up to 1 oz.
Postage Rates
AIUSA group 48 Newsletter October 2014 Pg 7
Group Coordinator
Joanne Lau
jlau@aipdx.org
Treasurer
Tena Hoke
tena.hoke@gmail.com
Newsletter Editor
Dan Webb
write_to_dan@yahoo.com
Darfur (Sudan)
Marty Fromer
martyfromer@gmail.com
Indonesia
Max White
maxw33@comcast.net
Prisoners Cases
Jane Kristof
kristofj@pdx.edu
Megan Harrington
megan.harrington
@gmail.com
Concert Tabling
Will Ware
ww_ware@yahoo.com
Central Africa/
OR State Death
Penalty Abolition
Terrie Rodello
tarodello@igc.org
AIUSA Group 48 Contact Information
Central African Republic: Full deployment of UN peacekeepers urgently
needed to protect civilian lives
September 15, 2014
tion of CAR that its presence can make a tangible diference
on the ground.
Te initial MINUSCA deployment comprises approximately
7,600 peacekeepers Amnesty International is calling on the
UN to bring MINUSCA its agreed full capacity of around
12,000 troops at the earliest possible opportunity. Te organi-
zation is also calling for the prompt deployment of all other
essential staf including human rights monitors.
Te gap between the number of peacekeepers promised and
the number deployed must be urgently flled. Only once the
full force is on the ground, undertaking patrols and protect-
ing CARs civilian population, can MINUSCA properly fulfl
its protection mandate, said Stephen Cockburn.
Amnesty International has documented a catalogue of serious
human rights violations, including unlawful killings, commit-
ted by some MISCA troops.
Te organization is calling for the UN to ensure that peace-
keepers suspected of committing human rights violations
in CAR when serving in MISCA are not allowed to be part
of MINUSCA. Instead they must be investigated and where
there is sufcient evidence, held to account.
Dear All, Amnesty International has issued the following
press release about the deployment of UN peacekeepers to
the Central African Republic. --Terrie Rodello, AIUSA Central
Africa Activist Network Coordinator
As the UN peacekeeping mission takes over authority from
African Union (AU) peacekeepers, Amnesty International
is concerned that the initial deployment - only around 65
percent of its full strength will struggle to fulfl its expanded
mandate that includes the protection of civilians and stabiliza-
tion and securitization of the country.
Te switch from AU to UN peacekeepers must be more
than a cosmetic change: the swapping green berets for blue
helmets. Instead it must serve as a fresh start for the peace-
keeping operation in CAR, said Steve Cockburn, Amnesty
Internationals Campaigns Deputy Regional Director for West
and Central Africa.
Whilst we welcome the new peacekeeping mission, we are
concerned that it will only be able to efectively protect civil-
ians from the threat of physical violence once the full peace-
keeping force has been deployed across the country.
Te Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the
Central African Republic (MINUSCA) which has taken over
authority from the African Union-led International Support
Mission (MISCA), has a duty to protect civilians from the
threat of physical violence, including specifc protection of
women and children afected by the ongoing armed confict.
In order to fulfl this duty, MINUSCA must show the popula-
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AIUSA group 48 Newsletter October 2014 Pg 8
AIUSA group 48 Newsletter October 2014
All alleged incidents involving AU troops must be investi-
gated and the fawed vetting system currently in place must
be improved to ensure that there is no place in the UN mis-
sion for peacekeepers suspected of committing human rights
violations, said Stephen Cockburn.
Following an incident in Bangui on March 29th 2014 in
which around 30 civilians were killed and hundreds of oth-
ers wounded by Chadian peacekeepers, Chad unilaterally
withdrew its troops from MISCA the following month. On
March 24th 2014 MISCAs Congolese (Brazzaville) contingent
were implicated in the enforced disappearance of at least 11
persons. To Amnesty Internationals knowledge, no MISCA
peacekeepers have been prosecuted for any human rights
violations.
It is essential that proper screening processes are in place to
ensure that troops and police suspected of serious human
rights violations do not become part of MINUSCA, said
Stephen Cockburn.
Te UN must ensure that its own policy on human rights
vetting of UN personnel applies at all times and that soldiers,
police and civilian staf have clean human rights records in
their countries and abroad.
Amnesty Internationals July report on CAR is available at:
http://www.amnesty.org/en/news/car-perpetrators-
atrocities