Web pages about "Trials And Legal Systems"

President-elect Obama recommits to closing Guantánamo and ending torture

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 13:36:27 +0000

US President-elect Obama said in an interview on Sunday that he will take “early action” on closing the detention centre at Guantánamo Bay and ensuring that the USA does not resort to torture. He told the CBS programme 60 Minutes on Sunday: "I have said repeatedly that I intend to close Guantánamo, and I will follow through on that.

"I have said repeatedly that America doesn't torture. And I'm gonna make sure that we don't torture."

Amnesty International said on Monday that President-elect Obama's statement is an important a step in the right direction.

"Amnesty International urges him to seize the initiative after taking office in January and to prioritize ending all internationally unlawful detention and interrogation practices by the USA,” said Rob Freer, Amnesty International's researcher on the USA.

"We urge president-elect Obama to turn his words into action within the first 100 days of his presidency and demonstrate his commitment to meeting the USA's international obligations, including by signing an executive order prohibiting torture and other ill-treatment, as defined under international law.

“President George W. Bush also said that the USA would not torture, but the use of "waterboarding" and other "enhanced interrogation techniques" against detainees held in secret CIA custody and the torture or other ill-treatment of detainees in Afghanistan, Iraq and Guantánamo have told a different story.

"They reveal the sad and disturbing fact that the USA has authorized and justified the use of torture and other unlawful practices in the name of national security,” said Rob Freer.

Amnesty International is also calling on the President-elect to support an independent commission of inquiry into all aspects of the USA's detention and interrogation practices in the "war on terror", and to ensure full accountability for human rights violations committed in that context.

The organization has written to President-elect Obama to urge him to ensure that closing Guantánamo, ending torture and other ill-treatment, and supporting a commission of inquiry, are among his priorities for his first 100 days in office.

Harsh sentences for Myanmar dissidents

Thu, 13 Nov 2008 11:27:23 +0000

Fourteen dissidents, who took part in the 2007 anti-government demonstrations in Myanmar, were sentenced to 65 years' imprisonment each on Tuesday 11 November. The sentences were handed down at a closed-door hearing in Yangon's Insein prison. On the same day the authorities sentenced another 27 people for their protest activities.

Three of those sentenced are Min Zeya, Kyaw Min Yu (also known as Ko Jimmy), and Ko Jimmy's wife, Nilar Thein. They are prominent 88 Generation Students group leaders - former student activists who spearheaded the pro-democracy uprising in Myanmar 20 years ago.

They were sentenced for their involvement in the 2007 demonstrations, popularly known as the "Saffron Revolution". These protests began on 19 August 2007 as small-scale marches against sudden state-imposed fuel price rises, but quickly grew in size and significance. Later tens of thousands of protesters added calls for the release of all political prisoners and demanded an end to the long-standing political impasse through a process of national reconciliation. The authorities brought the protests to an end with a violent crackdown in late September 2007.

"In the midst of its so-called 'Roadmap to Democracy', the government of Myanmar reveals its true intentions by sentencing these dissidents for nothing more than peacefully expressing their views during last year's demonstrations," said Benjamin Zawacki, Amnesty International's Myanmar researcher.

The sentences are a clear example that Myanmar's military government is ignoring calls by the international community to clean up its human rights record. They also belie the government’s claims that its new constitution and plans for elections in 2010 are genuine efforts toward increasing political participation.

The other dissidents sentenced for their involvement in the "Saffron Revolution" are Mie Mie, Zaw Zaw Min, Than Tin (also known as Kyi Than), Zayya (also known as Kalama), Ant Bwe Kyaw, Kyaw Kyaw Htwe (also known as Marky), Pannate Tun, Thet Zaw, Mar Mar Oo, Sandar Min (also known as Shwe), and Thet Thet Aung.

Also sentenced on 11 November was labour activist Su Su Nway, who was sentenced to 12 years and six months’ imprisonment for her role in last year’s demonstrations. The day before, blogger Nay Phone Latt, received a jail term of 20 years and six months for, among other offences, showing disrespect for Senior General Than Shwe in his blog.

More than 2,100 political prisoners are currently behind bars in Myanmar. At least another 23 members of the 88 Generation Students group are on trial in Myanmar, including prominent dissidents Min Ko Naing, Htay Kywe, and Ko Ko Gyi. They are expected to be sentenced soon.

"These sentences and the ongoing trials should disabuse anyone of the notion that the Myanmar government has any intention of honouring its assurances to the United Nations that it would improve its human rights record and increase political participation. It knows only repression," said Benjamin Zawacki.

Min Zeya
A leading activist in the 88 Generation Students group, 40-year-old Min Zeya was arrested along with 12 other activists on 21 August 2007 after organising the first protests against the fuel price increases. Min Zeya was chairperson of the All Burma Students' Union Reconstruction Committee which was founded after the 1988 pro-democracy uprising. He was arrested in August 1989 and later sentenced to eight years' imprisonment after being accused of leading an underground network. After his release in October 1995, he was detained on three other occasions before he was again re-arrested in August 2007.

Kyaw Min Yu
Also known as Ko Jimmy, Kyaw Min Yu was arrested together with Min Zeya on 21 August for his role in the fuel price protests. He had been previously imprisoned between early 1990 and July 2005 for his pro-democracy activities. The 39-year-old served two separate sentences during this time; he was given a second sentence after he was accused of involvement in plans to distribute news from overseas broadcasts within Insein Prison, and to contact the United Nations Human Rights Commission about conditions in the prison. He was tortured during his imprisonment.

Nilar Thein
Along with her husband Kyaw Min Yu, 36-year-old Nilar Thein is a leading activist in the 88 Generation Students group. Nilar Thein had been previously detained for two months in 1991. In December 1996 she was again arrested for participating in student demonstrations in Yangon. She was later sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment.

Mie Mie
A high school student when she took part in the 1988 uprising, 38-year-old Mie Mie was arrested on 13 October 2007 as the authorities searched for the organisers of the major anti-government protests. She was forced into hiding after leading a women's movement march together with Nilar Thein on 22 August 2007, one day after 13 leaders of the 88 Generation Students group were arrested for their role in the protests. Whilst in hiding, she continued to support the protesters through solidarity appeals and interviews with international media.

Mie Mie was detained for four months in 1989 because of her political activities. During the student demonstrations in 1996, she was arrested and sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment. She has not received adequate treatment for her health problems in detention.

Thet Thet Aung
A member of the 88 Generation Students group, 31-year-old Thet Thet Aung was arrested on 19 October 2007. Her mother and mother-in-law were arbitrarily detained by the authorities, seemingly to intimidate and pressure Thet Thet Aung to turn herself in.

Nay Phone Latt
The owner of two internet cafés in Yangon, Nay Phone Latt was arrested in Yangon on 29 January 2008 in possession of a video that was banned by the military government. The 28-year-old also kept a blog (http://www.nayphonelatt.net/) in which he wrote about the difficulties that young Burmese people faced in the aftermath of the September 2007 protests.

Su Su Nway
A member of the youth wing of the main opposition party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), Su Su Nway was arrested on 13 November 2007, during a UN visit to Myanmar to investigate the September 2007 crackdown. The 36-year-old was arrested after attempting to put up leaflets near the hotel where a UN investigator was staying.

Su Su Nway had previously been imprisoned after successfully taking legal action against village authorities over their use of forced labour. The officials concerned received prison terms, following which Su Su Nway was charged with criminal intimidation and sentenced to 18 months in jail in October 2005. She was later released in June 2006. She suffers from a long-term heart condition and has not received adequate treatment for her health problems while in detention.

Video: Irene Khan discusses mission to Chile

Wed, 12 Nov 2008 17:19:43 +0000

Amnesty International's Secretary General Irene Khan led a mission to Chile in at the beginning of November to assess the country’s human rights situation. This visit coincided with the tenth anniversary of the arrest of Augusto Pinochet in London and with the 25th anniversary of Amnesty International's section in Chile.

Video placeholder

Irene Khan discusses what they found in Chile.

Guilty verdict upheld for student who "offended" Moroccan king

Wed, 12 Nov 2008 18:10:37 +0000

The Marrakesh Court of Appeals in Morocco has upheld a lower court's guilty verdict against an 18-year-old student for insulting the King. Yassine Bellasal was sentenced to a one-year suspended prison term and a fine of 1,000 dirhams (approximately US$115).

Amnesty International said that the verdict serves to confirm that the monarchy remains a "taboo" topic in Morocco and shed a different light on the image projected by the Moroccan authorities of a state, where respect for human rights has greatly improved.

A number of human rights defenders, journalists and others have been prosecuted in recent years, and in some cases sentenced to prison terms, for peacefully expressing views deemed by the authorities to be critical of or offensive to the King.

Yassine Bellasal was sentenced on 28 September by the Court of First Instance in Marrakesh. In addition to the one year prison term, he was fined 1,000 dirhams.

He was charged with insulting King Mohamed VI after he wrote on his school wall “God, The Nation, Barça”, in a play of words on the country’s motto “God, The Nation, The King” . According to his family, his intent was only to express his support for the FC Barcelona football team.

Arrested at his home in Ait Ourir, 35 kilometres from Marrakesh, he was detained at the local Centre of the Royal Gendarmerie, where he is reported to have been beaten and threatened with electric shock torture. He was then brought before the Royal Prosecutor in Marrakesh on 21 September without legal representation and tried under article 179 of the Moroccan Penal Code, which prescribes imprisonment of up to five years and fines up to 1,000 dirhams for “any offence committed towards the person of the King or the Heir to the Throne.”

Yassine Bellasal was provisionally released from Boulemharez prison in Marrakesh on 29 October pending the outcome of his appeal.

"Amnesty International has repeatedly called on the Moroccan authorities to lift all impediments to freedom of expression and to act in conformity to article 9 of the Moroccan Constitution and to its obligations under article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights by respecting freedom of expression," said Diana Eltahawy, North Africa researcher at Amnesty International.

Last year, eight members of the Moroccan Association for Human Rights (Association Marocaine des Droits Humains, AMDH) were sentenced to prison terms of up to four years and fined for “undermining the monarchy”, after they had participated in May Day demonstrations during which slogans criticizing the monarchy were chanted. They were pardoned by the King in April this year.

Ahmed Benchemsi, editor of the weekly magazines Nichane and Tel Quel, is facing charges of “undermining the monarchy” after he had published an editorial commenting on a speech by the King.

"Amnesty International is also urging the Moroccan authorities to investigate allegations that Yassine Bellasal was beaten and threatened in police custody following his arrest," said Diana Eltahawy.

Human Rights groups call on European governments to offer humanitarian protection to Guantánamo detainees

Mon, 10 Nov 2008 11:28:43 +0000

(Berlin, November 10, 2008) -- Five leading human rights groups today call on European governments to provide humanitarian protection to Guantánamo detainees who will not be charged with any crime but cannot be returned to their countries of origin for fear of torture or other serious human rights violations. European governments should agree to accept them into their countries and ensure they are provided with adequate support.

Amnesty International, the Center for Constitutional Rights, Human Rights Watch, Reprieve and the International Federation for Human Rights urge governments to work with the new US administration to take this important step in order to facilitate the closure of the detention facility at Guantánamo.

“We must find a solution to the 50 men imprisoned at Guantánamo simply because they have nowhere to go,” said Emi MacLean, Staff Attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights. “The US government has twice previously tried to send our client, Abdul Ra’ouf Al Qassim to Libya even though it is undisputed that he would likely be tortured, or disappeared into Libyan jails, if returned. His survival depends on the simple humanitarian gesture of another country opening their doors to him.”

“Everyone appears to rightly agree that Guantánamo must be closed, and President-elect Obama has said that he will close it,” said Daniel Gorevan, Counter Terror with Justice Campaign Manager at Amnesty International. “Clearly, other governments can help make this happen by offering protection to individuals who cannot be released to their own countries. This would have a double effect: helping to end the ordeal of an individual unlawfully held in violation of his human rights, and helping end the international human rights scandal that is Guantánamo.”

“This is a key opportunity for both sides of the Atlantic to move beyond the misguided acts of the ‘war on terror’: rendition, secret detention, and torture,” said Cori Crider, Staff Attorney at Reprieve. “President-elect Obama says he will close Guantánamo -- the question is when and how. One of Reprieve’s clients was sent back to Tunisia, drugged, hit, and threatened with the rape of his wife and daughter. Another is fighting, even now, to stay in Guantánamo because Tunisia threatened him with ‘water torture in the barrel.’ The US still asserts total authority to send him back. Europe can send a powerful message by reaching out to Obama and providing a safe alternative for these few people.”

“President-elect Obama has committed to closing Guantánamo, but he is going to need Europe’s help,” said Joanne Mariner, Terrorism and Counterterrorism Director at Human Rights Watch. “European governments could provide much-needed assistance by agreeing to take in some of the detainees who cannot be sent back home.”

“FIDH and CCR mobilised 77 members of the European Parliament who issued a joint call to EU member States to offer relocation for Guantanamo detainees. As an important strategic partner of the US, the EU should help the Administration relocate these men,” said Souhayr Belhassen, FIDH President.

Background

It is the primary responsibility of the United States to find solutions for all those held at Guantánamo, as it was the USA that brought them to the detention facility and is holding them there unlawfully. If the USA is not planning to charge and try them in ordinary US courts, and cannot release them to their own countries safely, it should immediately offer them an opportunity to be released into the USA.

It is also clear, however, that governments in Europe and elsewhere can and should play a vital role in providing such individuals with humanitarian protection in the form of a safe place to get on with their lives after years of suffering. The involvement of European governments will be instrumental in reaching a solution to this problem -- a solution that is critical to the international aim of closing Guantánamo.

Around 50 of the detainees currently held in Guantánamo cannot lawfully be sent back to their countries of origin because they would face a real risk of human rights violations such as torture or other ill-treatment. They come from countries including China, Libya, Russia, Tunisia, and Uzbekistan.

The human rights groups made their call after a two-day closed strategic workshop in Berlin, convened by the NGOs with other international actors active on the issue of humanitarian protection.

Statements of Support from International Actors

“We are at a critical juncture. It is now possible to anticipate the closing of Guantanamo, the end to the US practice of executive detention, and the re-affirmation of fundamental human rights principles, including the prohibition of torture in all circumstances. But European engagement and support will be essential to get there. One step that European governments should take is to accept into their borders the small number of men at Guantanamo who cannot be repatriated safely. Guantanamo cannot be closed until these men have a country which will accept them, and where their lives and liberty are not in jeopardy.”
Manfred Nowak, UN Special Rapporteur on Torture

“I urge European governments to open their doors to a small number of men who fear persecution or torture if transferred to their home countries. Such assistance is both the right thing to do, and of critical importance in our attempts to push for the immediate closure of Guantanamo Bay.”
Thomas Hammerberg, Human Rights Commissioner of the Council of Europe

“The efforts must be renewed now with European governments and the U.S. government working to close Guantanamo and offer protection to those unable to be returned safely to their own countries. The efforts of human rights NGOs are coming at the best moment, in order to use the next months in the most positive way.”
Anne-Marie Lizin, Special Representative on Guantanamo for the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and Vice-President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the OSCE.

Amnesty International assesses human rights in Chile

Fri, 07 Nov 2008 12:52:57 +0000

Concluding a one-week visit to Chile on Friday, Amnesty International’s Secretary General Irene Khan issued an assessment of the human rights situation in the country and a set of recommendations addressed to the Chilean government.

"Despite some positive steps taken by successive democratic governments in the last 18 years, Chile’s record on human rights leaves much room for improvement," said Ms. Khan.

"We call on President Bachelet to use the remaining 17 months of her time in office to create a decisive and lasting legacy of human rights reform."

Irene Khan and her delegation met survivors and relatives of victims of torture, killings and enforced disappearances committed during the Pinochet regime and with Indigenous Peoples in San Tiago, Temuco and Calama, and with local officials, government ministries and members of the Congress.

At a meeting with President Bachelet, Amnesty International presented her with a memorandum containing a series of recommendations to improve human rights in Chile.

The main recommendations presented in the Memorandum to the government are to:

Remove the obstacles to truth, justice and reparations for the victims and survivors of human rights abuses committed during the Pinochet regime
End the marginalization and discrimination of Indigenous Peoples
Ratify key international human rights treaties
Fulfil the obligation to develop a comprehensive national human rights plan and establish a national human rights institution according to international standards

"While President Bachelet assured us of her commitment, Congress remains ambivalent and in some cases has been a major stumbling block in the ratification of international treaties and adoption of legal changes to make human rights a reality for all Chileans," said Irene Khan.

"Major cultural and institutional changes are urgently needed if Chile is to make a clean break from its past and successfully tackle the human rights challenges of today. All political leaders and sectors of society share that responsibility and must show stronger will and commitment."

Justice and impunity
Despite some positive developments, there remains a large legacy of “unfinished business” on ending impunity and rendering truth, justice and reparations for past human crimes. Amnesty International is calling on Chile to nullify the 1978 Amnesty Law, to introduce legislation on human rights crimes without limitations, and to extend reparations to all victims of human rights violations, including those living outside the country.

"If Chile is to put to rest the ghosts of the past, the government must take – and Congress must support - concrete and immediate steps to remove the laws from the military era and change the institutional culture in some sectors of state institutions that are hampering the process of truth, justice and reparations," added Irene Khan.

"Impunity for human rights crimes is unfortunately not only a matter of the past but persists also today." Ms. Khan called on the government to reform the Military Code of Justice and to bring Chile in line with international standards by ensuring that all human rights violations are prosecuted in civilian courts.

Indigenous Peoples
Describing her visit to Temuco and Calama to meet the Mapuche, Atacameno and Diaguita peoples, Irene Khan said: "Indigenous peoples are severely discriminated and marginalized in Chile, and see themselves as the victims of an economic strategy that is destroying their lives and livelihoods."

Amnesty International has welcomed Chile’s ratification of Convention 169 of the International Labour Organization, and is calling on the government to ensure that legislation is adopted by Congress to implement the Convention and address the legal anomalies that are depriving the Indigenous Peoples of their human rights.

Amnesty International is calling on the prosecution authorities not to apply anti-terrorist law to acts related to the Indigenous Peoples’ struggle for land, and for the police to respect international standards in policing the communities.

Creating a lasting legacy for human rights
Amnesty International has welcomed Chile’s constructive engagement in the United Nations and in regional issues, and is calling on the government to ratify the Statute of the International Criminal Court and the UN and International Conventions on Enforced Disappearances.

"Chile played a major in the drafting of these treaties and it is therefore hugely disappointing that their ratification is bogged down in Congress."

"If Chile is to retain its credibility as a major player on the international stage, it must close the gap between its constructive contribution internationally to human rights and its slow and inadequate implementation of human rights domestically."

Malaysian court frees blogger

Fri, 07 Nov 2008 16:45:35 +0000

A Malaysian high court has ordered the release of blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin, on the grounds that his arrest, under the Internal Security Act (ISA), was unconstitutional.

An online social commentator and the editor of news blog Malaysia Today, Raja Petra was arrested on 12 September for threatening national security and potentially "causing tension among the country's multi-racial and multi-religious society".

Articles published online by Raja Petra were deemed insulting to Muslims and to the Prophet Muhammad and were thought defamatory of Malaysia's leaders. The articles in question were 'Malays, the Enemy of Islam', 'Let's send the Altantuya murderers to hell', 'I promise to be a good, non-hypocritical Muslim' and 'Not all Arabs are descendents of the Prophet'.

Speaking to reporters about his release, Raja Petra said, "I'm really glad it's over. I'm really tired. The judge's decision proves there is no justification for my detention. We have to fight all-out and get the ISA abolished."

Judge Syed Ahmad Helmy, of the high court in the state of Selangor, ruled that the Malaysian Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar had acted beyond his powers in having Raja Petra arrested.

The Malaysian government continues to use or threatens to use the ISA against people whom they accuse of being threats to national security, including government critics and those allegedly involved in "terrorist-linked" activities.

The ISA allows the police to arrest individuals they believe have acted, or are "about to" or "likely to" act in a way that would threaten Malaysian security, "essential services" or "economic life" (Article 73 (1)b).

After an initial 60-day detention for "investigation", the ISA allows for detention without trial for up to two years renewable indefinitely, without the detainee being charged with a crime or tried in a court of law. More than 60 other people are still detained under the ISA without charge or trial.

"Amnesty International welcomes Raja Petra's release ", said Donna Guest, Amnesty International's Asia-Pacific Deputy Director. "We call on the government to stop using this law to control dissent."

WOZA activists released on bail in Zimbabwe

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 16:47:52 +0000

The leaders of Zimbabwean activist movement, Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA), have been released on bail after three weeks in detention. Jenni Williams and Magodonga Mahlangu were each granted bail by the Bulawayo High Court on Wednesday.

The two women were ordered to report to their closest police station twice a week and not travel outside of a 40km radius of Bulawayo Post Office without written permission from a Magistrate. Justice Ndou of Bulawayo High Court ruled that the reasons given by Magistrate Charity Maphosa for denying bail to Jenni Williams and Magodonga Mahlangu were not sufficient.

"Attempts to release the two were frustrated by administrative errors that meant the re-typing (twice) of their release documents. These delays meant that it was not possible to secure the release of the two this evening, although the support team did travel to Mlondolozi to try. The team will return to the prison first thing in the morning to collect them," said WOZA in a statement.

Jenni Williams and Magodonga Mahlangu, leaders of Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA), were arrested on 16 October in the city of Bulawayo after leading a peaceful protest of about 200 activists demanding immediate access to food aid in Zimbabwe. Police used excessive force to break up the protest. Magodonga Mahlangu was beaten by police during her arrest.

Amnesty International considered Jenni Williams and Magodonga Mahlangu to be prisoners of conscience and called for their immediate and unconditional release. The organization said that their arrest was part of the government of Zimbabwe's clampdown on human rights defenders who are campaigning to highlight the suffering of the people of Zimbabwe.

Legacy of Musharraf abuses lingers on in Pakistan

Mon, 03 Nov 2008 12:35:09 +0000

Pakistan is still suffering from the abusive policies put in place one year ago Monday, when General Pervez Musharraf unlawfully declared a state of emergency. General Musharraf sacked 60 judges of the higher judiciary, suspended the Constitution, including the human rights protection it guaranteed, and replaced it with the Provisional Constitution Order (PCO) on 3 November 2007.

The new civilian government took office after general elections in February 2008, but a spokesperson for Amnesty International said that it has not done enough to improve the country’s human rights situation since then.

"The new civilian government that replaced Musharraf has taken some steps to improve on Pakistan's poor human rights record, but it could and should do more, starting immediately with declaring the 2007 dismissal of judges illegal," said Sam Zarifi, Amnesty International's Asia-Pacific Director.

"Pakistan’s leaders need to actively demonstrate that they respect the rule of law and that the government is responsible for the human rights of all Pakistanis. Without re-establishing its legitimacy and credibility through a strong independent judiciary system, the Pakistani government will be unable to overcome the many troubles facing the country."

Pakistan’s Supreme Court was about to rule on Musharraf’s eligibility to contest the Oct 2007 presidential elections immediately before the state of emergency was declared. The judiciary was also pursuing several hundred habeas corpus petitions brought by families of those who had been subjected to enforced disappearances by Pakistan’s security agencies.

Pakistan’s judiciary has still not been restored to its status of 2 November 2007. In fact, disagreement over the reinstatement of the unlawfully dismissed judges contributed to the collapse of the coalition government that replaced Musharraf’s administration.

The new government signed the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention Against Torture. The cabinet has issued a proposal to commute death sentences. It has also drafted a bill to set up a national human rights commission and to withdraw amendments to the Bar Councils Act that interferes with the independence of the judiciary.

Amnesty International has urged the government to act immediately on its pledges to improve the country’s human rights situation by:

declaring the dismissal of the judges of the higher judiciary in November 2007 illegal and taking steps to ensure the independence of the judiciary, including providing security of tenure and freedom from intimidation or other undue interference in the judiciary’s functioning.
moving urgently to reverse constitutional amendments introduced by President Musharraf, including the amendment that placed all action taken during the emergency period outside judicial review and the amendment which gives the president powers to dismiss an elected government.
following through on its June promise to commute all death sentences – an estimated 7,000 remain on death row
providing public information about all those in government custody – hundreds of people remain subject to enforced disappearance, with their fate and whereabouts unknown.

Bali bombers to face firing squad

Fri, 31 Oct 2008 11:07:33 +0000

Three men convicted of involvement in the 2002 Bali nightclub bombings, which killed 202 people and injured a further 209, are to be executed in early November. The announcement was made by a spokesman for the Indonesian Attorney General's office on 24 October.

Amrozi bin H Nurhasyim, his brother Ali Ghufron and Imam Samudera, were sentenced to death by the Denpasar District Court in 2003. They were convicted for their part in three bombs which exploded in two nightclubs on the Indonesian island on 12 October 2002. The majority of the dead and injured were tourists.

Some time in November, officials from the Indonesian government will take the three men from their cells in Nusakambangan prison, to a field, where they will be blindfolded, placed before a firing squad and shot through the heart.

In the past few months Indonesia has moved away from the global trend towards abolition of the death penalty and has stepped up the number of executions. Up until June 2008, Indonesia had executed just 11 people in the last decade. The execution of the Bali bombers will bring the number of executions in the last six months to 10. At least a further 107 people are believed to be on death row.

The rise in the number of executions flies in the face of the UN General Assembly Resolution 62/149 of 18 December 2007, which calls for a moratorium on executions. The death sentences of Amrozi, Ghufron and Samudera also violate Article 15 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ratified by Indonesia in 2006) as well as the Indonesian Constitution – both of which ban the retroactive application of criminal laws. The three were tried and sentenced to death under the Law on Combating Criminal Acts of Terrorism, brought into force after the 2002 bombings. Nevertheless the Indonesian Supreme Court rejected the three men's appeal on these grounds in 2007.

Heads of state of abolitionist countries within the region, including Timor-Leste and New Zealand (which lost citizens in the bombings), have publically stated their opposition to the death penalty in all circumstances, specifically including the case of the Bali bombers. Other states in the region yet to take such a principled stand include Australia, which has abolished the death penalty.

While the Bali attacks were a horrific atrocity, Amnesty International firmly believes that to continue the cycle of violence through state sanctioned killing will not bring redress for the victims, and furthermore answers the violation of human rights with further violations.

The organization says that there is no reliable evidence that the death penalty deters future criminal acts, and in this particular case, the executions may only serve to perpetuate such atrocities. There is a serious risk that the executions will turn the bombers from murderers to martyrs, whose memories will be used to increase support and recruitment to their cause. As the executions approach, the three men themselves have made very public calls for their supporters to seek retribution for their deaths.

Amnesty International says that the death penalty is the ultimate denial of human rights. It is the premeditated and cold-blooded killing of a human being by the state. It is a cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment that violates the right to life as proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases without exception regardless of the nature of the crime, the characteristics of the offender, or the method used by the state to kill the prisoner. The organization calls on Indonesia to draw a line under its policy of escalating executions and to establish an immediate moratorium with a view to abolition. The sentences of people awaiting execution on death row should be commuted without exception.