Brief 1:
Mohammad al-Barghash komt op voor de rechten van de Bedoun, een staatloze minderheid in Koeweit. Hij kreeg in januari 3 jaar cel opgelegd omdat hij in een interview met een buitenlandse zender sprak over discriminatie van zijn volk. Volgens de autoriteiten zou hij daarmee nepnieuws hebben verspreid. Amnesty roept de minister van Justitie van Koeweit op Mohammad al-Barghash onmiddellijk vrij te laten.
Brief 2:
Agenten pakten in april 2022 journalist Ahmad Maher uit Zuid-Jemen op. Ze martelden hem met elektrische schokken en waterboarding en deden alsof ze hem gingen executeren. Ook dreigden ze zijn vrouw en dochter iets aan te doen. Zo dwongen ze hem te ‘bekennen’ dat hij betrokken was bij een aanval op een politiebureau. Het gaat erg slecht met Mahers gezondheid. Hij heeft dringend medische zorg nodig voor verwondin-gen die hij opliep door marteling. Amnesty roept de autoriteiten in Zuid-Jemen op Ahmad Maher onmiddellijk vrij te laten en medische zorg te geven. Hij mag nog altijd geen contact hebben met zijn advocaat.
Brief 3:
De 26-jarige Oqba Hashad uit Egypte zit al bijna 5 jaar onterecht vast. Hij wordt gestraft voor het werk van zijn broer. Die deed onderzoek naar mensenrechtenschendingen. Hashad verloor als kind een deel van zijn been en kan zonder prothese niet lopen. Bijna 2 jaar heeft hij moeten wachten op een nieuwe prothese toen die van hem was gebroken, januari dit jaar kreeg hij er eindelijk één maar die heeft de verkeerde maat en is dus onbruikbaar. Amnesty roept de autoriteiten van Egypte op om Oqba Hashad onmiddellijk vrij te laten en in de tussentijd de juiste medische zorg te geven.
Brief 1:
Minister of Justice, Faisal Saeed Al-Ghareeb
Council of Ministers General Secretariat
Al-Safat 13014
P.O. Box 1397
Kuwait
Arnhem, March 2024
Your Excellency,
I am alarmed by the news that on 31 January 2024, an Appeals Court sentenced Mohammad al-Barghash, the Head of the National Bloc of Kuwaiti Bidun, to three years imprisonment on charges that include “spreading false news” after he conducted an interview with a foreign broadcasting channel discussing the situation of the stateless Bidun community in Kuwait.
Mohammad al-Bargash was detained on 3 September 2023. On 25 October, a criminal court acquitted him, and he was released after spending over seven weeks in detention. However, the prosecution appealed the decision.
I urge you to immediately and unconditionally drop the charges against Mohammad al-Barghash, as they are based solely on his expression of his opinion and quash his conviction and sentence.
Yours sincerely,
Brief 2:
Major General Aidaros Alzubidi
President of the Southern Transitional Council
p/a Büro der Aussenbeziehung des Übergangsrates
Südarabiens in Europe e.V.
Grossbeerenstrasse 2-10, House 1
12107 Berlin
Arnhem, March 2024
Dear Major General Aidaros Alzubidi,
I am deeply concerned that Southern Transitional Council (STC) de facto authorities have subjected journalist Ahmad Maher to torture and have severely violated his fair trial rights. He has been on hunger strike since 17 January 2024 to demand a fair trial. Maher was subjected to beatings, water boarding, electric shocks, and mock executions. He was also threatened with harm to his wife and baby girl, to force him to “confess” to involvement in an attack on Dar Sa’ad police station in March 2022. Authorities have denied Ahmad Maher access to medical care, including for injuries sustained as a result of torture.
I urge you to drop all charges against Ahmad Maher and release him unless he is tried for internationally recognizable offences in a fair trial. I also urge you to ensure that he is protected from further torture and that he is given access to adequate medical care and regular access to his lawyer and family.
Yours sincerely,
Brief 3:
Public Prosecutor Mohamed Shawky Ayyad
Office of the Public Prosecutor
Madinat al-Rehab, Cairo
Arab Republic of Egypt
Arnhem, March 2024
Dear Counsellor,
I write to you to express my concern about the continued arbitrary detention of 26-year-old student Oqba Hashad without trial solely for his brother’s activism. Since his arbitrary arrest on 20 May 2019, authorities have subjected him to a catalogue of human rights violations including enforced disappearance as well as torture and other ill-treatment through beatings, electrics shocks and denial of adequate healthcare.
On 4 January 2024, Oqba Hashad was provided with a new prosthetic leg, which he needs to move unassisted. However, it is unusable, as it is the wrong size. Using it could even lead to further health complications.
I urge you to ensure that Oqba Hashad is immediately and unconditionally released and all charges against him dropped as he is detained solely as a punishment for his brother’s activism. Pending his release, he must be granted a suitable prosthetic leg as well as regular access to his family, lawyers and adequate healthcare.
Yours sincerely,