Join us on Saturday, February 26, from 4 – 5:30 pm at the Green Lake Branchof the Seattle Public Library (7364 E Greenlake Dr. N) when Amnesty International USA presents: Poets and Writers Demand Accountability for Victims of Gaza and Israel – a reading.
Greenlake Library
Event is free, not an open mic., and part of AI’s organizing for international justice. All voices invited to attend, to listen and to care about the topics.
To take action by sending Secretary of State Hillary Clinton a message to demand justice for all victims of the conflict in the Gaza and Israel click here. See Amnesty International USA‘s page on Israel and the Occupied Territories for further information.
Join us for our monthly meeting on Tuesday February 1, from 6:30 – 8:30 pm in the den at the Mosaic Coffee House, 4401 2nd Ave NE. First half hour is letter writing and socializing. Meeting starts at 7 pm.
We will be discussing Amnesty International USA’s latest Core Action packet (available at: http://amnestyusa.org/coreaction ) and upcoming events including an evening of letter writing to help end maternal mortality at Cafe Allegro on Weds. Feb. 9, 6-9 pm; and a reading at the Green Lake Branch of the Seattle Public Library on Sat. Feb. 26, 4-5 pm: Poets and Writers Demand Accountability for Victims of Gaza and Israel.
Click here to take action to demand justice for all victims of the conflict in Israel/Gaza, or come to our meeting and/or event to write a letter.
The Mosaic Coffee House is a nonprofit coffee house located in Seattle First Church (behind the Dick’s Drive In on 45th Street in the Wallingford Neighborhood). Check for directions, free parking and bus line information at: http://www.mosaiccoffeehouse.org/directions.html
Join us on Thursday, January 27, 7 – 9pm at the University of Washington, Savery Hall, Room 260 for a panel discussion entitled “From Local to Global: A Maternal Health Crisis.”
The panel will focus on the maternal mortality crisis in the United States and across the globe and is designed to raise awareness and spark discussion about the issue. It will open with a screening of a clip from the documentary, “Dead Mums Don’t Cry.”
Making a resolution to do more for human rights in 2011? Join us for our first monthly meeting of the year on Tuesday, January 4, from 6:30 – 8:30 pm in the den at the Mosaic Coffee House, 4401 2nd Ave NE. First half hour is letter writing and socializing. Meeting starts at 7 pm.
Shine a Light for Human Rights! 2011 is Amnesty International’s 50th Anniversary. Help us plan what we’ll be doing in Seattle to work on human rights and celebrate!
The Mosaic Coffee House is a nonprofit coffee house located in Seattle First Church (behind the Dick’s Drive In on 45th Street in the Wallingford Neighborhood). Check for directions, free parking and bus line information at: http://www.mosaiccoffeehouse.org/directions.html
We meet in the den of the Mosaic, just to your left as you enter. Feel free to head straight to the barista first to order coffee drinks, juice, tasty deserts or light meals. Choose your own donation (and they donate a percentage to a different charity each month)!
Join us for our final write-a-thon Sunday, December 12, noon – 2 pm at the Chocolati in Wallingford! Update below on featured cases, food drive and Amnesty swag. Join us!
Mariah Writes for Rights
WRITE FOR RIGHTS!
Write-A-Thon @ Chocolati Café in Wallingford
When: Sunday, December 12 @ 12pm-2pm
Where: Chocolati Cafe – Upstairs, 1716 N 45th St
(between N Densmore Ave & N Wallingford Ave) Seattle, 98103
Each year, hundreds of thousands of people across the world mark International Human Rights Day by taking part in Amnesty International’s Write for Rights Global Write-A-Thon, the world’s largest letter writing event. We write letters to demand that the rights of individuals are respected, protected, and fulfilled. In doing so, we show solidarity with those suffering human rights abuses, and we work to bring about real change in people’s lives.
FOOD DRIVE AT WRITE-A-THON!
If you are able, please bring items to be donated to FamilyWorks, a food bank serving the local community. Items in high need include canned tuna fish, jars of peanut butter, granola bars, canned fruit, and bus tickets. Unused toiletries (shampoo, conditioner, toilet paper, feminine hygiene products, etc.) and clean children’s clothing are also appreciated. Thank You!
Majid Tavakkoli
DETAILED INFO FOR WRITE-A-THON! At the Wallingford Write-A-Thon on Sunday:
1. SHOW YOUR SUPPORT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS: Get nifty Amnesty swag for the holidays! Swag includes awesome t-shirts to show support for Shi Tao, as well as the counter terror with justice campaign and health care as a human right, pins, pens, and coasters!
2. PARTICIPATE IN A VIDEO ACTION for Majid Tavakkoli, the Iranian student activist and prisoner of conscience!
3. We will be focusing on the following five cases (please note that all of the other 2010 Write-A-Thon case sheets and sample letters will also be available):
– SHI TAO, Journalist and Prisoner of Conscience (a special case for Group 4)
In April 2004, the Chinese journalist Shi Tao used his Yahoo! email account to send a message to a U.S.-based pro-democracy website. In his email, he summarized a government order directing media organizations in China to downplay the upcoming 15th anniversary of the 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy activists. Police arrested him in November 2004, charging him with “illegally providing state secrets to foreign entities.” Authorities used email account holder information supplied by Yahoo! to convict Shi Tao in April 2005 and sentence him to 10 years in prison. Amnesty International considers Shi Tao to be a prisoner of conscience, imprisoned for peacefully exercising his right to freedom of expression, a right protected in international law and the Chinese constitution.
More info: http://www.amnestyusa.org/individuals-at-risk/priority-cases/china-shi-tao/page.do?id=1101243
– MAJID TAVAKKOLI, Student Activist and Prisoner of Conscience
On 7 December 2009, Majid Tavakkoli was arrested after criticizing the Iranian government during a peaceful student protest at Amir Kabir University of Technology in Tehran. The protest, held on National Student Day, was one of many across the country in response to the disputed presidential election that took place in June 2009. After his arrest, Majid was reportedly beaten and subjected to an unfair trial where he was denied the presence of his lawyer. Majid Tavakkoli was sentenced to over eight years in prison on charges that included “participating in an illegal gathering,” “propaganda against the system” and “insulting officials.” He is a prisoner of conscience, jailed solely for peacefully exercising his human right to freedom of expression.
More info: http://www.amnestyusa.org/writeathon/caseindex.php?i=8
– WALID YUNIS AHMAD, Unlawful Detention
Walid Yunis Ahmad went missing after his arrest on February 6, 2000. For three years, his family wondered if he was alive before learning that he was detained and tortured by authorities in Iraqi Kurdistan. After more than 10 years, the security agency, Asayish, continues to hold him even though they have yet to charge him with an offense or bring him to trial. He remains in solitary confinement. Amnesty International calls on authorities in Iraq to release Walid Yunis Ahmad if he is not promptly charged and tried.
More info: http://www.amnestyusa.org/writeathon/caseindex.php?i=9
– REGGIE CLEMONS, Death Penalty
Reggie Clemons was sentenced to death in Missouri as an accomplice in the 1991 murder of two women. Clemons has maintained his innocence, and his case illustrates many of the flaws in the U.S. death penalty system. For example, at the time of the trial, the prosecution conceded that Clemons neither killed the victims nor planned the crime; there is no physical evidence that ties him to the crime itself or the events leading up to it. Clemons alleges that he confessed under the pressure of police brutality to raping one of the victims. He never confessed to the murders. He subsequently retracted his confession. Two other suspects independently alleged mistreatment by the police. Witnesses attest to Clemons’ face being swollen after his interrogation. Four federal judges have agreed that the prosecutor’s conduct was “abusive and boorish.”
More info: http://www.amnestyusa.org/writeathon/caseindex.php?i=12
– BURKINA FASO, Maternal Mortality
Many maternal deaths in Burkina Faso are linked to high costs for care which leads to delays deciding to seek care, reaching health facilities and receiving treatment. These problems are among the common barriers to care resulting in preventable maternal deaths around the globe. Amnesty is calling on the US Congress to pass specific legislation and end preventable maternal deaths around the world.
More info: http://www.amnestyusa.org/writeathon/caseindex.php?i=1
Our regular Group 4 meeting for December has been cancelled as one of our write-a-thons is on December 7, which would have been our regular night. Please consider coming to one or more of our write-a-thons, and come back for our regular meeting in January!
Join us for one or more of our local write-a-thonevents on December 7, 10 and 12!
YOUR WORDS HAVE POWER
They can bring FREEDOM to prisoners of conscience. They can demand JUSTICE for survivors of torture. They can offer HOPE to human rights defenders at risk.
Your words can SAVE LIVES
Each year hundreds of thousands of people across the world mark International Human Rights Day on December 10 by taking part in Amnesty International’s Write for Rights Global Write-a-thon – the world’s largest letter writing event. We write letters to demand that the rights of individuals are respected, protected and fulfilled. In doing so, we show solidarity with those suffering human rights abuses and work to bring about real change in people’s lives.
2009 Seattle Write-a-thon
Join us for any or all of our local write-a-thons:
Friday, December 10, 4-6 pm, as part of International Human Rights Day, UW Gates Hall, Room 115 at Law School – sponsored by UW Center for Human Rightsand UW Law School Amnesty Students
* BELLEVUE: Eastside Write-A-Thon !
WHEN: Sunday, December 5 @ 12pm-2pm
WHERE: Bellevue Library – Room 3, 1111 110th Avenue NE, Bellevue, 98004 Show support for an active Amnesty presence on the Eastside!
Bainbridge: Write for Rights SUNDAY, DECEMBER 5 1:00-3:00pm, Bainbridge Island Library meeting room Join us to get informed about forgotten prisoners, write letters and enjoy holiday snacks.
Olympia: Evergreen State College Write-a-Thon WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 8 Amnesty International at TESC will host its annual Write-a-Thon in the CAB from 11:30-2:00. Contact Hannah at hannerss@gmail.com for more information.
Several area high school AI groups are holding write-a-thons as well. To find these and other write-a-thons near you, or take part as an individual, go to: http://www.amnestyusa.org/writeathon/
Amnesty International celebrates the release of Aung San Suu Kyi by the government of Myanmar (Burma) today after 7 and a half years of house arrest. Aung San Suu Kyi, whom Amnesty recognized as a Prisoner of Conscience, and won the Noble Peace Prize in 1991, has spent more than 15 of the last 21 years under house arrest.
We want to thank everyone who joined with us in writing letters, signing petitions and attending events over the years on Aung San Suu Kyi’s behalf and for the human rights of the people of Myanmar.
Join us for our monthly meeting on Tuesday, November 2, from 6:30 – 8:30 pm in the den at the Mosaic Coffee House, 4401 2nd Ave NE. First half hour is letter writing and socializing. Meeting starts at 7 pm.
We will have updates on cases of individuals at risk and other areas we work on, be planning for our participation in the Global Write-a-thonin early December, and have a discussion on our group vote on resolutions for the upcoming Western Regional Conference in San Francisco on November 5 – 7.
The Mosaic Coffee House is a nonprofit coffee house located in Seattle First Church (behind the Dick’s Drive In on 45th Street in the Wallingford Neighborhood). Check for directions, free parking and bus line information at: http://www.mosaiccoffeehouse.org/directions.html
Town Hall Seattle is at 1119 8th Ave at Seneca, in downtown Seattle. Doors open 6:30 pm, and the event is downstairs, enter on Seneca St.. Tickets $5 at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/124397 or 800-838-3006, and at the door beginning at 6:30 pm. Nobody will be turned away for lack of funds.
Dr. Hunsinger will sign copies of his books after his presentation.
Torture is a moral issue! Join Amnesty International, the National Religious Campaign Against Torture and other allies in ending U.S. sponsored torture forever.
