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The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil,    but because of the people who don't do anything about it

Occupation magazine - Activism Home page  back Print  Send To friend AI: Drop Charges Against Human Rights Defenders: Farid Al-Atrash and Issa Amro Amnesty International campaign 23 October, 2017 https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/mde15/7305/2017/en/ UPDATE Oct. 30 by Edith Garwood edith.garwood@gmail.com *** I re-write and forward these updates from the team for members here in U.S., but the action/update is sent out from team to ALL AI sections globally. Just fyi. Begin forwarded message: Dear Colleagues, Please find below an update from the team in Jerusalem of the court hearing Sunday (10/29) for Palestinian human rights defenders Farid al-Atrash and Issa Amro. Issa Amro and Farid al-Atrash appeared before the Ofer Military Court on October 29th. During the hearing, the military judge heard statements from three witnesses called by the military prosecution who testified against Issa and Farid. All three witnesses were present during the demonstration on February 26, 2016, and included an Israeli soldier who filmed the demonstration, the Deputy of the Civil Administration in Hebron, and a Border Patrol Officer. According to Issa, the witnesses stated that he was the lead organizer of protests against the Israeli authorities in the city of Hebron, and discussed his role in organizing, and attending the Open Shuhada Street demonstration in February 2016. The witnesses also stated that he was present in a closed military zone when the demonstration took place, and accused him of inciting against the Israeli occupation, including in his call to open Shuhada street in the old city of Hebron. In regards to Farid, the witnesses stated that he took part in the Open Shuhada Street demonstration in February 2016, and was therefore present in a closed military zone. They did not mention however his charge of assaulting an Israeli soldier. Amnesty International believes that the charges against both men are solely based on their peaceful exercise of their rights to freedom of expression and assembly. The next court hearing is set to take place on November 5th when the Ofer Military Court will hear four additional witnesses called by the Israeli military prosecution. Please continue to use the below social media messaging to target the Israeli authorities ahead of their November 5th court date! Message from me (Edie): Below is the original action sent out 10/24/2017. Please participate. For social media posts, a meme has been created and attached for Twitter and Facebook. One of the Urgent Actions below has hashtags to use and social media tags for targets. If there’s space, please tag @IOTPA. WE MUST BE HEARD. The conviction rate in the Israeli Military Court system is over 99%. Both these individuals should NOT have their liberty taken away based on the exercise of a basic human right, but they also both have families to support. YOU CAN make a difference. Thank you. Edie Begin forwarded message (10/24/2017): Greetings AIUSA Members! An urgent request has come in from the team in Jerusalem. The court date for human rights defenders Farid al Atrash and Issa Amro has been moved to October 29th and November 5th. Amnesty International is asking that members write immediately to the Israeli Military Advocate General, Foreign Minister and Prime Minister asking that the “baseless` and `politically motivated` charges against these two Palestinians be dropped. Please see the original Urgent Action at https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/mde15/7305/2017/en/. And the following attached files to use for action: •The AIUSA Urgent Action (with Israel’s ambassador to the U.S. contact information) for letter/email writing •The AIUSA Urgent Action (with Israel’s ambassador to the U.S. contact information) for social media •AIUSA solidarity image formatted for use on Facebook •AIUSA solidarity image formatted for use on Twitter Please take immediate ACTION with social media posts through October 29th and letter/email writing through December 4th. Let me know if you get a response or have any questions. https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/mde15/7305/2017/en/ Thank you. Edie [bz] Links to the latest articles in this section Israelis support Russian opposition to the Ukraine War All to Burin this Friday! Stand with the Palestinians against settler violence! The burial of ashes - an emotionally loaded day