Author: Secretary

Protesters in orange jumpsuits took to the streets of Lewes in August to protest against the continued detention without charge or trial of forty men in Guantanamo. Lewes Amnesty Campaigners were joined by Amnesty members from Brighton and Hove, Tunbridge Wells, Maidstone and Kingston.

We were keen to raise awareness about the continued operation of the illegal detention centre where dozens of men continue to languish without ever having been charged or faced a trial.

We also wanted to show the detainees, all of whom have not seen their family members during their detention, that they had not been forgotten.

Sara Birch, one of the organisers of the vigil, said “It is likely that the detainees will become aware of this action and so buy taking this action at the very least we will show these men that they have not been forgotten by the outside world”.

Lewes Amnesty is also organising a letter-writing project over the coming months to ensure that each of the detainees receives a letter. Says Birch: “Amnesty International aims to shine a light on the darkness whenever and wherever human rights violations are taking place and this is what we are aiming to do next Saturday on behalf of those men still detained in Guantanamo”.

What is happening to America?

The United States was founded on civil liberties, but in the past decades it has retreated from those ideals. We have all been shocked by the sight of young children taken from their parents and put in cages, videos of police violence and moves to deny the rights to prisoners on death row, in Guantanamo Bay and in “Residential Centers” for immigrant families.

How did it get this bad? And what will happen to the fight for human rights in places like China or Russia if America walks away? 

Lewes Has a Connection to Human Rights in America. Let’s make use of it.

As Americans prepare for a new administration, Lewes Amnesty Group are sending politicians, newspapers and schools copies of our AMERICAN CRISIS leaflet, a synopsis of Amnesty International’s new report to the UN on human rights abuses in the United States. We compare that report to the writings of Tom Paine when America was founded and ask: What happened?

We need your help. We want the whole town of Lewes writing letters and making phone calls this autumn. 18,000 people can make a lot of noise if we all shout in the same direction. Aimed at one child or prisoner at a time, we might just get them free.

Join our mailing list and help us call America back to its founding principles.

STOP THE EXECUTIONS

Brandon Bernard was the youngest person in the US to receive a death sentence in nearly 70 years for a crime committed when he was an adolescent.
Take action now to stop others.

FREE THE REFUGEE CHILDREN

A federal judge has ordered that children still in detention centres be released. But the authorities are separating them from their parents.
Sign this petition to #FreeThemAll.
Other cases can be found here.

CLOSE GUANTANAMO BAY

This summer we intend to write to all of the 40 men detained in Guantanamo to show them they have not been forgotten. To be part of this project and be allocated prisoners to contact, join our mailing list.
Meanwhile, you can write to the US Secretary of Defence.

STOP POLICE BRUTALITY

The PEACE Act (HR 4359), establishes a national standard to prevent police officers from using lethal force unless nonlethal methods have been exhausted. Take this short online course on policing issues in the States. Sign this petition to pass the Justice in Policing Act.

LEWES AMNESTY GROUP PUBLIC MEETING

8pm – Thursday 11^th June 2020

Speaker: Andy Worthington

Guest speaker Andy Worthington (journalist, activist and co-founder of the Close Guantanamo campaign) brought us up to date on what is happening in Guantanamo. His talk was followed by an opportunity to ask questions an we were joined by Mohamedou Ould Slahi, a former detainee at Guantanamo.

To attend other meetings like this one, join our mailing list.