PEN PROTESTA! Los autores más importantes del mundo apoyen los periodistas y la libertad de expresión en México

Los autores más importantes del mundo aprueban evento, Piden justicia para compañeros asesinados en anuncio en El Universal

PEN International ha publicado hoy un anuncio de página completa en El Universal firmada por 170 de los principales escritores del mundo, declarando su solidaridad con los escritores y periodistas mexicanos. Esto forma parte de PEN Protesta! la delegación de PEN International a México, que incluye eventos y la presión de las autoridades mexicanas. Signatarios del anuncio exigiendo el enjuiciamiento de los responsables de asesinar a periodistas incluye los ganadores del Premio Nobel JM Coetzee, Nadine Gordimer, Toni Morrison, Orhan Pamuk, Wole Soyinka, Mario Vargas Llosa y Derek Walcott se unió Margaret Atwood, Salman Rushdie, Jonathan Franzen, Claribel Alegría, Dao Bei, Erofeyev Víctor, Ariel Dorfman, AB Yehoshua, Hanif Kureishi, Leonard Cohen, y decenas de otras estrellas internacionales de la literatura.

Ver el anuncio adjunto y lean más a http://pen-international.org/newsitems/pen-protesta-los-autores-mas-importantes-del-mundo-apoyen-los-periodistas-y-la-libertad-de-expresion-en-mexico/?lang=es

Agregar su nombre a la petición electrónica aquí

PEN PROTESTA!

Leading authors call for justice for murdered colleagues in Mexico

World-leading Authors Endorse Event, Call for Justice for Murdered Colleagues in El Universal Ad

PEN International today published a full-page ad in El Universal signed by 170 of the world’s leading writers declaring solidarity with Mexican writers and journalists. This is part of the PEN Protesta! international PEN delegation to Mexico which comprises events and high-level lobbying of the Mexican authorities. Signatories of the ad demanding prosecutions of those responsible for murdering journalists include Nobel Prize laureates J.M. Coetzee, Nadine Gordimer, Toni Morrison, Orhan Pamuk, Wole Soyinka, Mario Vargas Llosa and Derek Walcott along with Margaret Atwood, Salman Rushdie, Jonathan Franzen, Claribel Alegría, Bei Dao, Victor Erofeyev, Ariel Dorfman, A.B. Yehoshua, Hanif Kureishi, Leonard Cohen and scores of other international literary luminaries. See the ad attached and read more about the delegation at http://pen-international.org/newsitems/pen-protesta-leading-authors-support-of-journalists-and-freedom-of-expression-in-mexico/

ETHIOPIA: Two Journalists Given 14 Years in Prison; One Sentenced to Death

The Writers in Prison Committee (WiPC) of PEN International is outraged at the draconian sentences handed down to Ethiopian journalists Reeyot Alemu, Woubshet Taye and Elias Kifle. Alemu and Taye have been sentenced to 14 years in prison; Kifle, who is currently in exile in the US, was tried in absentia and has been sentenced to death. 

The three were convicted on terrorism-related charges. The WiPC believes that the journalists have been convicted because of their critical reporting, in violation of their right to free expression. We call for their convictions to be overturned and for Alemu and Taye to be released. On 19 January 2012, an Ethiopian court convicted Alemu, Taye and Kifle of lending support to groups designated ‘terrorist’ under Ethiopia’s 2009 anti-terrorism law. On 26 January 2012, Alemu and Taye received 14-year prison sentences; Kifle received a death sentence. 

Alemu, a contributor to the independent weekly Feteh, and Taye, deputy editor of the now-defunct Awramba Times, were arrested in June 2011 and accused of plotting to sabotage telephone and electricity lines; they were charged using anti-terrorism legislation in September 2011. It is widely believed by press freedom groups that they were targeted for their coverage of banned opposition groups. 

There are reports that Taye was tortured after his arrest, and that the health of both journalists deteriorated whilst in jail. Kifle, editor of the US-based opposition website Ethiopian Review, was sentenced to death in absentia. In 2007 he was convicted of treason and handed a life-sentence (also in absentia). The treason charge was based on his coverage of the government’s repression of the 2005 post-election protests. For more information on Alemu, Taye and Kifle, please see our previous alert. 

Background 

Ethiopia’s anti-terrorism law, which criminalizes any reporting deemed to ‘encourage’ or ‘provide moral support’ to groups and causes which the government considers to be ‘terrorist,’ has been widely criticized as being vaguely worded and catch-all. In December 2011, Swedish journalists Johann Persson and Martin Schibbye were controversially convicted of supporting terrorism and sentenced to 11 years in prison. 

Please send appeals:

Protesting the 14-year sentences given to Woubshet Taye and Reeyot Alemu, and calling for the release of the journalists; 

Calling for the immediate overturning of the draconian death sentence handed to Elias Kifle; Expressing concern that the journalists have been tried and convicted purely in relation to their peaceful journalistic activity, in violation of the right to freedom of expression protected under international human rights treaties to which Ethiopia is a party, including the United Nations 

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights. 

Appeals to: 

Minister of Justice 

Berhanu Hailu 

Ministry of Justice 

P.O. Box 1370 

Addis Ababa 

Ethiopia 

Fax: +251 11 551 7775/ 7755 

Email: justice@telecom.net.et, ministry-justice@telecom.net.et

Salutation: 

Dear Minister 

Minister of Foreign Affairs 

Mr Seyoum Mesfin 

Ministry of Foreign Affairs 

PO Box 393 Addis Ababa, 

Ethiopia 

Fax: +251 11 551 43 00

Email: mfa.addis@telecom.net.et 

Salutation: Dear Minister 

Please also send a copy of your letter to your nearest Ethiopian diplomatic representative (the contact details for some Ethiopian embassies are listed here: http://www.embassyworld.com/embassy/Ethiopia/Ethiopia1.html). 

***Please send appeals immediately. Check with International PEN if sending appeals after 25 March 2012*** 

For further details please contact Cathal Sheerin at the Writers in Prison Committee London Office: PEN International, Brownlow House, 50-51 High Holborn, London WC1V 6ER Tel: +44 (0) 207 405 0338 Fax +44 (0) 207 405 0339 email: cathal.sheerin@pen-international.org

Uzbekistan: Editor Muhammed Bekjanov to serve an additional five years in prison

PEN International is shocked by news that Uzbek editor, Muhammed Bekjanov, held since 1999 on charges widely believed to have been fabricated and whose sentence was about to expire in the coming days, has been served with an additional five year sentence. The Committee to Protect Journalists, describes the case in a press release issued today. 

Uzbek editor sentenced to jail while still in prison 

New York, January 25, 2012

The Committee to Protect Journalists is outraged by the politically motivated additional sentence handed to Muhammad Bekjanov, the jailed editor of now-defunct opposition newspaper Erk, who has been in prison in Uzbekistan since 1999 on trumped-up charges. On Tuesday, just days before Bekjanov was due to be released, a district court in the city of Kasan sentenced him to an additional five-year term after charging him with breaking unspecified prison rules. Bekjanov denied the charges and planned to appeal, news reports said. The journalist was imprisoned in 1999 in a strict-regime penal colony in Kasan on charges that included distributing and publishing Erk, a banned newspaper, news reports said. 

Bekjanov is one of two journalists who have been jailed longer than any other reporter worldwide, according to CPJ research. The other is Yusuf Ruzimuradov, Bekjanov's colleague at Erk, who was given a 15-year prison term in 1999. Both journalists were tortured before their 1999 trial began and were jailed in high-security penal colonies for individuals convicted of serious crimes, CPJ research shows. In a 2003 interview at a prison hospital where he was being treated for tuberculosis, Bekjanov described being beaten and tortured while in prison. He suffered a broken leg and hearing loss as a result, international news reports said. "This is a blatantly politicized new prison term levied against Muhammad Bekjanov, who should not have served even a single day in prison," CPJ Europe and Central Asia Program Coordinator Nina Ognianova said. "We are appalled by reports of Bekjanov's torture and demand that authorities bring to justice those responsible for his abuse in custody and also release him without delay." 

At a January 18 hearing held at the penal colony, Bekjanov's three cell mates testified against him, accusing the journalist of violating a prison order after he argued with them, news reports said. However, Uznews reported that the inmates appeared nervous in the courtroom, which led the journalist's lawyer to believe they had been forced to testify against him. "The authoritarian government of Islam Karimov holds the disgraceful record of one of the top journalist jailers in Eurasia," Ognianova said. "If Uzbekistan is to rejoin the international community, authorities must release all the journalists they are currently holding in retaliation for their work." 

In 2006, Bekjanov's wife, Nina Bekjanova, visited him in prison, and told independent news website Uznews that the journalist had lost most of his teeth due to repeated beatings in custody. Exiled Uzbek journalists and local human rights workers told CPJ they had been unable to obtain information about his condition since. CPJ has also been unable to obtain information from Uzbek authorities on the journalist's condition. 

Please send appeals:

Protesting the additional sentence served against Muhammed Bekjanov who has already served 13 years in prison on politically motivated charges. 

Calling for him immediate and unconditional release. 

Send Appeals to: 

Mr Yuldashev Nigmatilla Tulkinovich 

Minister of Justice 

5 Saylgokh Str Tashkent 

Republic of Uzbekistan 100047 

www.minjust.uz info@minjust.gov.uz 

Similar appeals should be sent to the Uzbek embassy in your own country.

To check if there is one in your country, go to http://mfa.uz/eng/mfa/dipcons_mis/ 

*** Please contact the PEN International Office if sending appeals after 25 February 2012 *** 

For further information please contact Sara Whyatt at the Writers in Prison Committee of PEN International, Brownlow House, 50-51 High Holborn, London WC1V 6ER Tel: +44 (02) 20 7405 0338 Fax: +44 (0) 20 74050339 Email: sara.whyatt@pen-international.org

CHINA: Dissident poet Zhu Yufu charged with subversion for a poem

The Writers in Prison Committee (WiPC) of PEN International condemns the imprisonment of the writer Zhu Yufu, who has been charged with ‘subversion’ for a poem posted online. The WiPC calls for his immediate and unconditional release, and that of all those currently detained in the People’s Republic of China for peacefully expressing their views. 

The following information is given by The Guardian: ‘Chinese authorities have indicted veteran dissident Zhu Yufu on subversion charges for writing a poem urging people to gather to defend their freedoms, his lawyer said. He is the latest activist to face such charges. Zhu, 60, from the eastern city of Hangzhou, was arrested last April for "inciting subversion of state power". No trial date has been set, his lawyer, Li Dunyong, said on Tuesday. 

"The main reason for the indictment was a poem he had written calling for people to gather. He had written the poem around the same time there was chaos [in the Middle East]," Li said. "He believes in freedom of expression." Li collected the indictment on Monday from a court in Hangzhou and met Zhu, whom he described as being in a good condition. 

Calls to the Hangzhou intermediate court were unanswered on Tuesday. The authorities disclosed their decision to prosecute Zhu nearly a year after Zhu had written the poem, titled It's time. A verse reads: "It's time, Chinese people!/the square belongs to everyone/the feet are yours/it's time to use your feet and take to the square to make a choice." Zhu's lawyer said the poem had been published online. Li said, however, that Zhu had nothing to do with the online calls for 'Jasmine revolution' rallies inspired by uprisings in the Middle East. Police rounded up dozens of dissidents in response to the calls, which began on an overseas Chinese website that is blocked to most people in mainland China by censorship walls. The attempted rallies were tiny and the demonstrators were quickly outnumbered by hundreds of police and security guards.

Li said he will defend Zhu on the basis of freedom of expression but believes Zhu's prospects for victory look bleak. "You can't be optimistic about anything in China," he said. "In this country, he'll be punished harshly." China's Communist party is preparing for a leadership handover late this year, when its determination to fend off political challenges to its rule is likely to intensify…’ To read the full text of the poem ‘It’s Time’, translated into English by A.E. Clark, click here. 

Please send appeals: 

· Calling for the immediate and unconditional release of dissident poet Zhu Yufui, imprisoned by the P.R.China for the peaceful exercise of his right to free expression; 

· Expressing alarm at the crackdown on dissent in which writers, journalists and human rights defenders are amongst those to have been targeted;

· Reminding the Chinese authorities of their obligations under Article 35 of the Chinese constitution and Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to which it is a state party; 

Send appeals to:

His Excellency Hu Jintao 

President of the People’s Republic of China 

State Council 

Beijing 100032 

P.R. China 

Please note that there are no fax numbers for the Chinese authorities. WiPC recommends that you copy your appeal to the Chinese embassy in your country asking them to forward it and welcoming any comments. You may find it easier to write to the Chinese ambassador in your own country asking him or her to forward your appeal. Most embassies are obliged to forward such appeals to the relevant officials in the country. 

A letter or petition signed by an eminent member of your Centre may give make it more likely for your appeal to be considered. Similarly if your appeal is published in your local press and copied to the Chinese ambassador, this too may have greater impact. See this useful link to find the contact details of the Chinese embassy in your country Chinese embassies abroad 

**Please contact the PEN WiPC office in London if sending appeals after 29 February 2012** 

For further information please contact Cathy McCann at International PEN Writers in Prison Committee, Brownlow House, 50/51 High Holborn, London WC1V 6ER, Tel.+ 44 (0) 20 7405 0338, Fax: +44 (0) 20 7405 0339, email: cathy.mccann@pen-international.org

SRI LANKA – Prageeth Ekanaliyagoda disappeared 24 January 2010

A series of actions commemorating writers and journalists killed or disappeared in recent years as part of PEN International’s focus on Killings with Impunity in 2012

Two years ago, on 24 January 2010, Pregeeth Ekanaliyagoda was abducted and has not been heard from since. No thorough and credible investigation into his case has been made and his wife has received no response to her repeated requests for information about her husband’s fate. It is widely believed that pro-government forces are responsible for his disappearance. Today journalists and writers in Sri Lanka continue to be targeted with apparent impunity for their dissenting views. PEN is urging the authorities to take immediate action to ensure all crimes against journalists, including Pregeeth Ekanaliyagoda, are vigorously investigated and those responsible brought to justice. 

It urges further that the Sri Lankan authorities to abide by their obligations to the international treaties protecting free expression, in particular Article 19 of the United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Sri Lanka is a state party. Political analyst, journalist and visual designer for the Lanka eNews, Pregeeth Ekanaliyagoda was last seen leaving his office on the evening of 24 January 2010. It is widely believed that he was abducted and killed by pro-government forces for his open support of the opposition during Sri Lanka’s 2010 presidential elections. Government sources have denied the allegation. 

Ekanaliyagoda is a leading columnist, and published articles in support of the defeated opposition candidate General Sarath Fonseka ahead of the Sri Lankan presidential elections that took place on 26 January 2010. The Lanka eNews website was reportedly blocked during the elections, and its offices were searched by unidentified individuals on 28 January 2010. Previously, on 27 August 2009, Ekanaliyagoda had been abducted and held blindfolded overnight, and was released after being told that he was not the correct target. Family and colleagues have expressed increasing concern that the authorities have done very little to investigate Pregeeth Ekanaliyagoda’s disappearance, and they fear for his safety. 

Background 

Journalists, writers and media outlets commonly suffer intimidation and violence in Sri Lanka, a situation which has continued in spite of commitments to protect freedom of expression by President Mahinda Rajapaksa. After twenty-five years of conflict between the Sri Lankan army and the Tamil Tigers, victory over the Tigers was declared by President Mahinda Rajapaksa on 16 May 2009. Rajapaksa went on to win a landslide victory in the presidential elections of 26 January 2010. However the outcome was rejected by many, including his main opposition rival and former army chief General Sarath Fonseka. General Fonseka was arrested on 8 February 2010 on charges of conspiracy, and convicted several months later. In April 2010, Rajapaksa’s ruling coalition won an overwhelming majority in parliamentary elections. Later in the year, MPs passed a constitutional amendment allowing President Rajapaksa to stand for unlimited terms in office. 

Since the end of the war the state of free expression in Sri Lanka is widely believed to have deteriorated, with increased state control enabling in a ‘culture of terror’ to flourish in the country which has resulted in widespread self-censorship and many journalists fleeing. 

TAKE ACTION 

Please send appeals: 

Expressing dismay that two years after abduction of journalist Pregeeth Ekanaliyagoda, his whereabouts are still unknown and there has been no credible investigation into case; 

Expressing serious concern for the safety of journalists and writers in Sri Lanka, and calling on the authorities to take all necessary measures to protect those who are being targeted with apparent impunity solely for their critical writings, in accordance with Article 19 of the United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Sri Lanka is a state party; 

Press and publicity Urging PEN members to write articles in their local press highlighting the deteriorating state of free expression in Sri Lanka. 

Appeals to: 

His Excellency the President 

Mahinda Rajapaksa Presidential 

Secretariat Colombo 1 

Sri Lanka 

Fax: +94 11 2446657 

Email: secretary@presidentsoffice.lk 

Salutation: Your Excellency 

Mr. Mohan Peiris 

Attorney General 

Attorney General's Department, 

Colombo 12, 

SRI LANKA

Fax: +94 11 2 436421 H.

M. G. S. Palihakkara 

Ambassador Permanent 

Mission of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka to the United Nations

#630, 3rd Avenue (20th Floor) New York 10017 

United States America 

mail@slmission.com 

Fax +1 (212) 986-1838 

Please copy appeals to the diplomatic representative for Sri Lanka in your country if possible. For further information please contact Cathy McCann at International PEN Writers in Prison Committee, Brownlow House, 50/51 High Holborn, London WC1V 6ER, Tel.+ 44 (0) 20 7405 0338, Fax: +44 (0) 20 7405 0339, email: cathy.mccann@pen-international.org

PEN Statement on Death Threat to Salman Rushdie

PEN International is appalled to learn that the author Salman Rushdie has once again been the subject of a death threat; we condemn this criminal attempt to silence an international exponent of free speech. Rushdie was warned of the threat to his life shortly before he was due to attend the Jaipur Literary Festival, Asia’s largest event of its kind. 

The author had intended to discuss one of his earlier novels, the Booker-prize winning Midnight’s Children. The threat caused Rushdie to withdraw from the festival. A brief statement was issued by the writer explaining that he had been warned by intelligence sources that members of Mumbai’s criminal underworld had put a price on his head. He said that he was unwilling to risk appearing at the festival, where there would be some risk to his family and other festival attendees. Rushdie was the victim of an infamous attack on free speech over the publication of his book The Satanic Verses (1988), when the Ayatollah Ruohollah Khomeini issued a fatwa calling for Rushdie’s death, forcing him to remain in hiding for many years.

Cathal Sheerin | Africa and Americas Programmes PEN International
t. +44 (0)20 7405 0338 |
e. cathal.sheerin@pen-international.org |
www.pen-international.org 

Celebrating 90 years of promoting literature and defending freedom of expression

CAMEROON: Writer Detained; Faces up to 50 years in Prison

The Writers in Prison Committee (WiPC) of PEN International protests the extended detention and ill-treatment of the writer and political activist Enoh Meyomesse by the Cameroonian authorities. Meyomesse has been in detention since his arrest on 22 November 2011, and is charged with robbery and ‘attempting a coup.’

There have been worrying allegations that the evidence against him is fabricated and PEN is seeking more information regarding these claims. In the past two months Meyomesse has been denied proper access to legal representation, and has reportedly been tortured. He will be tried before a military court and faces up to fifty years in prison if found guilty of the charges against him. Enoh Meyomesse, 57, is the author of numerous books and is a founding member of the Cameroon Writers Association.

He was arrested on 22 November 2011 at Nsimalen International Airport in Yaoundé on the return leg of a trip to Singapore. He was charged, alongside three other men, with 1) attempting to organise a coup 2) possessing a firearm 3) aggravated theft. Meyomesse denies all charges and maintains that he is being held because of views expressed in his writings, and for his political activism. The day after his arrest, Meyomesse was sent to a prison in Bertoua (Eastern Province), where he was held in solitary confinement - and complete darkness - for thirty days. During this time, the writer was denied access to a lawyer; he also says that he was tortured.

On 22 December 2011, Meyomesse was moved to the over-crowded Kondengui Central Prison in Yaoundé, where he is still being held. On 12 January 2012, the military court issued Meyomesse with a warrant that will keep him detained in harsh prison conditions for the next 6 months as the government conducts its investigation, with the possible of an extension for a further 6 months. His lawyer has told press that he has been denied the full details of the charges against his client. A date for the next hearing has not been set. There are reports that the prosecution has fabricated evidence, but, due to a lack of further information, PEN International is unable to take a position on the charges against Meyomesse at this time. However, we are extremely concerned by his harsh treatment, and by the Cameroonian authorities’ unw

illingness to allow Meyomesse fair conditions in which to mount a proper defence in an open court. We believe that in its ill-treatment of Meyomesse, Cameroon is in breach of its obligations under the UN Convention Against Torture, and also of its obligations under Article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). By denying Meyomesse access to a lawyer for a month, Cameroon also breached its obligations under Articles 9 and 14 of the ICCPR.

Background:

Meyomesse is a writer and politician. He has published more than 15 books, including novels, essays and works on political and cultural themes. His first book was a collection of poems. In 2010, he published Le massacre de Messa en 1955 (The Massacre of Messa in 1955) and the tract Discours sur le tribalisme (A Discussion on Tribalism), in which he discusses the destructive effects of tribalism in Africa politics. Meyomesse attempted to run as a presidential candidate in the election on 9 October 2011, but was denied registration.

His passport was seized in January 2011 while trying to leave Cameroon to report on the political stand-off in Cote d’Ivoire. Cameroon has a poor record on human rights generally and on freedom of expression particularly. In 2010, the US ambassador to Cameroon, Robert Jackson, publicly drew attention to the country’s human rights problems: ‘Human rights abuses….killings and other abuses by security forces, harsh and life-threatening prison conditions, and arbitrary arrest and detention of citizens, including local human rights monitors and activists….incidents of prolonged and sometimes incommunicado pretrial detention…government restricted freedoms of speech, assembly, and association…’

Amnesty International has also criticised the prison system in Cameroon for its over-crowding and life-threatening conditions.

Please send appeals:

· Calling for Meyomesse to receive a fair and open trial in a civilian court;

· Expressing serious concern that Meyomesse has been denied proper access to a lawyer, and that his lawyer has been denied access to the full facts of the charges against his client, breaching Cameroon’s obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights;

· Condemning the reported torture of Meyomesse and the harsh conditions in which he is being held.

Write to:

President

President Paul Biya

Fax: +237 22 22 08 70

Email: cellcom@prc.cm

or contact@presidenceducameroun.com

Messages may also be sent via the Presidency’s website:

http://www.prc.cm/index_fr.php?link=messenger/write_pr

Minister of Justice

Hon. Minister of Justice

Amadou Ali

Ministry of Justice

Yaoundé Cameroon

Fax: +237 22 23 00 05

Prime Minister

Mr. Philemon Yang,

Prime Minister

Fax: +237 22 23 57 35

Email: spm@spm.gov.cm

Please copy appeals to the diplomatic representative for Cameroon in your country if possible.

Details of some Cameroonian embassies can be seen here: http://embassy.goabroad.com/embassies-of/cameroon

***Please send appeals immediately. Check with PEN International if sending appeals after 24 March 2012***

For further details please contact Cathal Sheerin at the Writers in Prison Committee London Office: PEN International, Brownlow House, 50-51 High Holborn, London WC1V 6ER Tel: +44 (0) 207 405 0338 Fax +44 (0) 207 405 0339 email: cathal.sheerin@pen-international.org Cathal Sheerin | Africa and Americas Programmes PEN International t. +44 (0)20 7405 0338 | e. cathal.sheerin@pen-international.org | www.pen-international.org Celebrating 90 years of promoting literature and defending freedom of expression International PEN is trading as PEN International. International PEN is a company registered in England and Wales with registration number 05683997. International PEN is a registered charity in England and Wales with registration number 1117088. International PEN’s registered office is Brownlow House, 50-51 High Holborn, London, WC1V 6ER, UK