Action alerts
Kenya: Take action on police violence today!
2008-08-01, Issue 391
http://pambazuka.org/en/category/action/49899
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On Tuesday, July 8, senior police officers in Nairobi, Kenya, beat,
sexually violated, and arrested a group of seven civil society advocates as
they planned a peaceful protest against government corruption. Two of them,
including Ann Njogu, a leading democratic voice and Kenyan lawyer who
helped push through Kenya's landmark Sexual Offences Act, suffered sexual
violations.
TAKE ACTION ON KENYA POLICE VIOLENCE TODAY
SIGNATURES NEEDED BY EARLY NEXT WEEK
July 29, 2008
Dear friends and colleagues,
On Tuesday, July 8, senior police officers in Nairobi, Kenya, beat,
sexually violated, and arrested a group of seven civil society advocates as
they planned a peaceful protest against government corruption. Two of them,
including Ann Njogu, a leading democratic voice and Kenyan lawyer who
helped push through Kenya's landmark Sexual Offences Act, suffered sexual
violations.
The Kenyan Group of Seven are now facing court trial on August 5th, and
they need your help TODAY--THIS WEEK.
We're asking you to add your voice today to send an urgent message to
Kenya's President Mwai Kibaki and his government colleagues. We are
demanding that the President act immediately to drop all charges against
these Kenyan citizens, and to arrest the police who perpetrated these
crimes against citizens exercising their constitutionally-protected rights
of assembly and speech. We are asking him to take stronger action to assure
that the police are prosecuted for violating Kenyan laws outlawing sexual
violence.
As many of you know, these latest arrests are not happening in a vacuum.
Since post-election violence broke out in January, reports show that sexual
violence has risen by 7500% -- an astonishing statistic – according to the
Crime Scene Investigation (CSI) group in Nairobi.
We will share this Joint Statement on Stop Police Violence in Kenya with
African and global leaders, including those at the United Nations, the
European and African Unions, and the US government. We are urging these
leaders to speak out and join us in signing this global Statement of
Support.
We are hoping to gather at least 50 signatures by early next week – before
our colleagues in Kenya go to court August 8. Will you help us?
Please email your signature. Send us your NAME, AFFILIATION and COUNTRY
(below) to be added to our sign-on names.
EMAIL BY FRIDAY (or early next week at the latest) to the email address
below, and mark it "Attn: Kenya Petition": weactx@gmail.com
And please keep the momentum going by forwarding the petition on to some of
your friends once you've had a chance to sign. Thanks for joining me in
this important struggle. It means a lot.
Thanks,
Anne-christine d'Adesky, Journalist and member Athena, WE-ACTx
Confirmed signatures (beginning 7/28/08 ) include:
1. World YWCA
2. AIDS-Free World
3. Athena Network
4. World Pulse Magazine, US
5. Global AIDS Alliance, US
6. Sonke Gender Justice Network
7. James Onyango, KAIPPG Kenya, Kenya
8. Janet Feldman, KAIPPG International, USA
9. ActALIVE, USA and Global
10. Fidèle RUTAYISIRE, Rwanda Men's Resource Centre, RWANDA
11. Marlise Richter, Steve Biko Centre for Bioethics, Wits Universit,
South Africa
YES I WANT TO ADD MY NAME:
Name _________________________________
Affiliation ______________________________
Country ________________________________
Anne-christine d'Adesky
weactx@gmail.com (WE-ACTx)
or acd@worldpulse.com (World Pulse)
skype: acdadesky
3345 22nd Street,
SF CA 94110
415-690-6199 cell
'Change What You Think About AIDS'
www.we-actx.org / www.worldpulse.com