michael@ucbiris.BERKELEY.EDU (Tom Slone [(415)486-5954]) (02/02/86)
None of these people should be in prison. Your letter can help them. These people are prisoners of conscience, imprisoned solely for their religious or political beliefs or for their ethnic origins. They have neither used nor advocated violence. Their cases appear here because Amnesty International (AI) considers that personal letters from caring people the world over can, at this time, help to secure their release or to ameliorate their conditions of imprisonment. ETHIOPIA: Former Education Minister Detained and Tortured Ethiopian authorities arrested Mengesha Gebre-Hiwot 2 years ago for his alleged membership in an opposition group which criticized the government's ties to the Soviet Union. According to reports received by AI, officials tortured him after his arrest, and he has been detained without charge or trial since that time. The Ethiopian government reportedly accused Gebre-Hiwot, along with at least 18 other alleged members of the Ethiopian People's Democratic Alliance, of distributing "anti-revolutionary" pamphlets "in connivance with imperialist designs to stifle the Ethiopian Revolution." Authorities permitted Gebre-Hiwot's family to send him food at the Public Security detention center until mid-1985, when they told his relatives to stop the deliveries. AI has been unable to determine his present location of detention, and the organization has expressed concern about his health. AI has "adopted" him as a prisoner of conscience. Please send POLITE letters requesting clarification of Mengesha Gebre-Hiwot's whereabouts and medical condition to: His Excellency Mengisty Haile-Mariam, Head of the Revolutionary Government of Socialist Ethiopia, Office of the Head of State, P.O. Box 1013, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Salutation is "Your Excellency." Airmail postage: $.44, Airletters: $.36. HAITI: Engineer Held for Peaceful Political Activities The Haitian government forced William Josma to withdraw as an independent candidate in 1979. Despide Constitutional guarantees of the right to join political parties, Haitians attempting to organize opposition parties frequently suffer harassment, short-term detention, and imprisonment by government authorities. Josma has suffered detention without charge or trial since spring 1981. Members of the Haitian security forces held him at an army barrack a short distance fro the capital city of Port-au-Prince for two weeks, then transferred him to the National Penitentiary. He remained incommunicado in that prison until January 1982, when authorities transported him to an unknown location. Two years later, the Hatian government acknowledged Josma's detention, accusing him of participation in terrorist activities. Authorities have failed to present evidence supporting the charge, and AI believes they detained him solely for his peaceful opposition to the government of Jean-Claude Duvalier. Please send POLITE letters requesting clarification of William Josma's whereabouts and urging his immediate release to: His Excellencey Jean-Claude Duvalier, President for Life, Palais National, Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Salutation is "Your Excellency." Airmail postage: $.39, Airletters: $.36. MALAYSIA: Prisoner Jailed Without Charge for 13 Years Loo Ming Leong, a Malaysian rubber tapper, has remained in detention without charge or trial for the past 13 years. The government has failed to make public any allegation that he committed a crime, although authorities detained him in 1972 under the country's Internal Security Act. The act permits detention of Malaysians without charge or trial, believed to threaten national security. Loo reportedly belonged to the banned Communist Party of Malaysia, and AI has expressed concern that the government continues to detain him because he has refused to confess publicly his membership in the party. AI considers Loo to be a prisoner of conscience, jailed solely for the non-violent expression of his opinions. From 1977 to 1982 Loo and all other political prisoners held in the Batu Gajah Special Detention Camp spent 22 hours each day in solitary confinement. In March, 1983 authorities transferred him to the Taiping Detention Camp, where he reportedly undergoes periodic interrogation. According to AI's information, he now resides in a special detention block where cells are poorly ventilated and hot. AI believes that he receives inadequate medical care for kidney and circulatory diseases. Please send POLITE letters appealing for the immediate release of Loo Ming Leong to: Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, Prime Minister's Department, Jalan Dato Onn, Kuala Lumpur 11-01, Malaysia. Salutation is "Your Excellency." Airmail: $.44. Airletters: $.36. AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL asks that you write on the prisoners behalf within 3 weeks after receiving this message. All letters should be courteous, accurately specifying the facts given in the case histories appearing above. Under no circumstances should you write to the prisoner. To receive the "Guide to Writing Appeals for Prisoners of Conscience," send a stamped addressed envelope to: Appeals Guide, AIUSA, 322 8th Ave., New York, NY 10001. ===== A personal note: if you appreciate this net-service and send a letter on the behalf of any or all of these prisoners, please send a brief net-note to that effect to me and I will consider continuing this service if there is sufficient response.