AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL  York  UK

Can Atalay ~ the fight goes on....

Can Atalay, one of the Turkish prisoners whom Amnesty York is supporting, was the spark for a massive brawl in the Turkish parliament on 16th August 2024.

Can Atalay was elected an MP for the Workers’ Party of Turkey (TIP) after being sentenced to 18 years in prison, after a controversial trial, in 2022 following the protests linked to Gezi Park in 2016.

The government removed his status as MP immediately. It would have ensured his release from prison. Subsequently, the Constitutional Court of Turkey, the highest court, ruled that the removal of his status as MP was illegal. The highest criminal court in Turkey over-ruled the Constitutional Court (in theory, impossible to do) and Can Atalay remained in prison. Recently the Constitutional Court repeated its decision in favour of Can Atalay.

The subsequent discussion of the status of Can Atalay in the Turkish parliament ended in a mass fight (see link to footage below). The footage shows Ahmet Sik, MP of the Workers' Party of Turkey (TIP), giving a speech in defence of Can Atalay, as Alpay Ozalan, an MP from Erdogan's ruling AK party, gets up to hit him. Mr Sik falls to the ground and MPs from other parties join the melee.

see the BBC video...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/videos/c1m0ej2dvmgo

get this in your diary now...

DEFY THE BAN - COME TO AMNESTY YORK’S SHOWING OF

the Turkish documentary film,“Kanun Hükmü” - "The Decree” - which is banned in Türkiye.

WHEN: Tuesday, October 29th at 7-8.30pm

WHERE: Penn Room, Friends Meeting House, York

FREE: Voluntary donations welcomed

BOOK YOUR PLACE

The film, directed by Nejla Demirci, was released last year. It focuses on the challenges faced by Yasemin, a doctor, and Engin, a teacher, who lost their civil service jobs under post-coup emergency decree-laws issued by the AKP government in 2016.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) government initiated a massive purge of state institutions following a coup attempt on July 15, 2016. Over 130,000 civil servants lost their jobs due to suspected, but unproven, ties to “terrorist organizations.” The people who were fired also faced barriers to employment in the private sector and restrictions on obtaining passports.

“The Decree" was banned while it was still in production. The director took the ban to the Turkish Constitutional Court which ruled that the film fell within the right to freedom of expression and that any ban was illegal. Nevertheless, showings were banned in Istanbul and at the 19th International Workers Film Festival in Ankara.

Nejla Demirci, the director, is collecting details of showings and audience numbers “to break the ban” at least internationally.

Photo by Svetlana Gumerova on Unsplash

John McDonnell MP and trade union leaders call for release of Egyptian textile workers

Leaders of some of Britain’s biggest trade unions representing hundreds of thousands of workers across public services, health, education and transport sectors have joined Labour MP John McDonnell in condemning the arrest and detention of workers from Egyptian textile factory Misr Spinning in Mahalla al-Kubra following a strike in late February. Maryam Eslamdoust, of the TSSA transport workers union, Patrick Roach of the teachers union NASUWT are two union General Secretaries backing a statement demanding the release of the 5 workers. They are joined by Julia Mwaluke, Vice-President of Unison which represents 1.3 million workers across the public sector, and Pat Davis, Vice-Chair of the Executive Committee of Unite, another of Britain’s largest trade unions with 1.4 million members across all sectors of the economy.

The five textile workers were arrested after a successful strike by thousands of workers at Misr Spinning’s massive factory won pay rises to combat the spiralling cost of living which has plunged millions of Egyptians deeper into poverty. Egypt’s military dicatorship criminalises strikes and protests and wants to take revenge for Mahalla workers’ defiance.

Dozens of other trade unionists who took part in the ‘Stop the Hate’ anti-racist protest in London on 16 March also backed the statement.   more online 

Hoda Abdelmoniem faces more bogus charges...

Egyptian human rights lawyer, Hoda Abdelmoniem, rather than being released at the end of her unjust five-year sentence, was instead ordered into pretrial detention pending investigations into yet more bogus terrorism-related charges. Please find  online the Eighth UA 190/18 calling for Hoda’s release.

Hoda, 64, has been arbitrarily detained for over five years, solely in relation to her human rights work. Her health continues to deteriorate.

We are calling on Egyptian authorities to ensure that Hoda is immediately and unconditionally released.

A lovely note from Italy

This note was left in the York Amnesty International Book shop in Micklegate. It is also where we hold most of our Amnesty International, York, monthly meetings. Do feel free to join us.

A PAT ON THE BACK FOR AMNESTY YORK FROM TURKEY!

Milena Buyum, the senior AMNESTY campaigner for Türkiye this letter to all campaigners for the Gezi 7 prisoners in Istanbul in December 2023.

Dear all,

Together with Türkiye researcher Begüm Başdaş and Europe Research Director Dinushika Dissanayake, we visited Mücella Yapıcı and Hakan Altınay in Istanbul, the two Gezi prisoners of conscience who were released at the end of September following the overturning of their convictions. They face retrial under the Law on Meetings and Demonstrations which is set to begin in February. We will of course continue to monitor this retrial and keep you informed.

I wanted to briefly share with you both their gratitude for all the messages they received from around the world. There were many many letters… Unprompted, they explained how much difference this made to them while they were held behind bars. Hakan mentioned steady stream of letters and cards, giving the example of Amnesty activists from York in the UK, and how writing back was also very important to him. Mücella said this was one very crucial way to ensure people in prison feel they are not forgotten, a feeling that helped her a lot.

Thank you all for everything you have so far done to show solidarity with the Gezi PoCs. As you know Osman Kavala, Mine Özerden, Çiğdem Mater, Can Atalay and Tayfun Kahraman are still unjustly imprisoned. Please continue to write to them.

As you can see, our solidarity messages to the Gezi 7 are incredibly important. More are on their way as I type! Barbara L. Amnesty York

Spotlight - Myanmar

See these links...
Sky News Special Programme: Inside Myanmar's hidden war

Al Jazeera - Myanmar: Campaign of Terror | Bird’s Eye View

...about Noon

The Myanmar military’s decision to seize power on 1 February 2021 triggered a wave of resistance across the country. By the end of June, almost 5000 anti-coup demonstration events were reported in Myanmar. The military has responded with a campaign of violence and mass arrests. Despite the crackdown, anti-coup activists have continued to demonstrate, and some have armed themselves in self-defence. Noon, is a Ta’ang woman who has played an active role in nonviolent efforts using dialogue, discussion, social movement and advocacy to the leaders and the international community to resist the military junta's violence. She recently addressed a York Amnesty International meeting. These links provide more information.

Amnesty International Bookshop in York has relocated to 19 Micklegate York YO1 6JH.

The team from York Unlocked visited the shop earlier this month and made this video: beautiful building, welcoming bookshop.

To find out opening hours and a whole lot more follow this link

PLEASE, NO MORE DROWNINGS IN THE MEDITERRANEAN

Amnesty York’s installation of the sea with a flotilla of origami boats (folded by Amnesty York, York for Europe and RAY) was displayed in the Minster’s South Piazza by the Roman column on Saturday October 23rd. This was in recognition of the thousands of people who try to cross the Mediterranean each year.

The display was the focus of many passers-by throughout the day. It was also an opportunity to make new Amnesty friends and meet up with established York group members. The Revd Canon Michael Smith joined us to express his support and undertook to remember those who perish in this way at evensong at the Minster.

Of those fleeing their homelands, some seek asylum, some flee poverty. This year, more than 700 (and counting) have drowned.

The stream of people will not stop until the world works together to solve the problems which send them on their journey. In the meantime, Amnesty International is pressing for:

— the creation of safe and legal routes to Europe for asylum-seekers (to put an end to people smuggling) along with a fair asylum assessment procedure.

- the end of the practice by FRONTEX, the EU border force, in cooperation with the Libyan coastguard of forcing people back to holding camps in Libya where they are forgotten, ill-treated and die.

- the end of prosecutions of people and organisations such as Médecins sans Frontières and Save The Children International for saving lives at sea (as is current, for example, in Italy).

* NB There are about 26 million refugees worldwide. In 2020, the UK had 35,770 asylum applications.