The local Amnesty International group of Norwich marked the up-coming birthday of Binyam Mohammed, who has now spent one fifth of his life in Guantanamo. Marking growing concern about Binyam’s physical and mental health, and the fact that the trial process is getting under-way in Guantanamo, (more…)

To mark the International Day of Victims of Torture, on 26 June, Amnesty International in India organized street performances at various sites in Delhi. The play Bandhi! (Prisoner) is about how prisoners are treated in jails and the oppression, in the form of torture, both physical and mental, they have to go through.

Bandhi! picks up the issue of the state’s response to political prisoners, peaceful protesters in the name of national security. It also touches upon the critical issue of racial profiling in India where minorities face the brunt of their religious affiliations and are often labeled as “terrorists”. The play refers to various instances of torture in India and around- Dr. Binayak Sen, Guantanamo Bay prison, China’s Human rights violations, Bhopal Gas Tragedy survivors’ protests, death penalty and the state of detention centres. The play also takes a satirical stand on the role of media in sensationalizing news.

In addition to street performances, activists in India organized the conference ‘Counter Terror with Justice: No torture. Policy implications for India’. The meeting was well attended by people from diverse backgrounds - security/intelligence personnels, politicians, academicians, diplomats, activists, lawyers etc.

The demonstration took place on the evening of 26 June, in Kabalagala, Kampala. 80-100 people attended, representing several East African countries.

The focus was on torture and sending refugees back to torture. 5 people were asking members of the public to sign a letter addressed to Eritrean authorities regarding over 800 Eritreans recently returned from Egypt. 150 signatures were collected which were faxed to Isaayas Afewerki, Fawzia Hashim and Eritrea’s commissioner for police, as well as Uganda’s minister for Foreign affairs.

The assembly chanted, sang and held a candle-lit vigil.

Watch more pictures of the action and actions in other countries

On 26th June AI-Luxembourg held a public action at the main square of the city centre.

Amnesty activists performed a street theatre in co-operation with Dana Rufolo of the Theatre Research Institute of Europe. The play was performed in French, Luxembourgish and English and illustrated how torture is used to silence people all around the world. There was also one person dressed up as a Guantanamo detainee in an orange jumpsuit, black hood and handcuffs. He had a sign around his neck, describing the case of Ahmed Agiza, who was handed over to CIA agents by the Swedish authorities and taken to Egypt where he was allegedly tortured and sentenced to 15 years in prison.

We had very good media coverage with articles published in five different newspapers, the action was shown on the news of RTL-Luxembourg television and interviews with the chair of AI-Luxembourg were broadcasted on the local radio as a headline of their news. Members of Amnesty International were also invited to a live radio show on Thursday evening at a local radio station to talk about the action, the street theatre performance and the work of Amnesty International in general.

AI-members have been collecting signatures for the postcard action targeting the French presidency of the European Union at four different public actions around the country throughout the month of June and as a result up to 900 persons have signed the postcards.

Activists in Sydney, Australia, organized an action to demand that governments reaffirm that torture is never acceptable.

Watch more pictures of this and other actions to mark International Day of Victims of Torture

Visit the website of Amnesty International in Australia