17th November 2021 Open Meeting Minutes
Chair David B welcomed us to the meeting.
9 people present
Apologies None
Committee roles
Chair outlined roles of committee members and others. David B introduced Evie M-E as our new group secretary and Evie outlined her aims for the post which she will take up in the new year
AIUK How it works
David F gave a short review of how Amnesty UK, the Amnesty Charity and Amnesty International are related, their Board and management structures and how cases that we work on progress from research to work on individual cases by groups such as Norwich
Action Networks
- North Africa – Mohad Gasmi Algeria a new case reported and letters sent to the Ambassador
Action for Asser Mohamed sending postcards in support of his appeal being considered by the Egyptian court on 21st November - Children’s Human Rights Network – No new cases received
- Feminist Network – There were no new cases, but Roz C directed the meeting to 4 online actions drawn from the Amnesty quarterly magazine and outlined below
- Nasrin Sotoudeh, Iranian human rights lawyer faces 38 years imprisonment and 148 lashes.
- Loujain al- Hathloul, Saudi women’s rights defender sentenced to 5 years 8 months in 2020 currently on conditional release.
- Yulia Tsvetkova, Russia, facing criminal charges for sharing her drawings of the female body, online.
- Nazanin Zaghari Radcliffe has lost her latest appeal against a second jail sentence. Richard Ratcliffe has ended his hunger strike but the patchwork quilt he asked supporters to contribute towards continues and the meeting made several patchwork squares using amnesty motifs which Roz C will send to AIUK
- Proposed Rainbow Network – David Y will work on establishing this local group in the new year.
- Giulio Regeni. An Italian research student from Cambridge university murdered by Egyptian security personnel who are being prosecuted by an Italian court – No current developments to report
- Kashmir – UK Activist led campaign underway. As previously reported the group will contact us when the campaign and actions have been decided and approved by AIUK
- New Case David F reported that that our offer to take on the case, an imprisoned Moroccan journalist Omar Radi has been accepted. The case folder will arrive shortly Our new secretary will act as the case coordinator
Local news and events
- Amnesty bookshop moved on Saturday 23rd October to St Benedicts Street. The group organized an all-day Writeathon on the day and about 40 letters were written on various current cases. A poster advertising the Open meetings will be displayed and links between the bookshop and our group have been added to both websites.
- Quaker vigil – First Saturday of the month 12-1 outside St Peter Mancroft Church.
- Write for Rights – Saturday 11 December 10.30 -2.30 St Peter Mancroft Church. Chair has invited the Mayor and MP for Norwich South. Children’s author Mitch Johnson will pop in during his lunch hour for a photo which we will submit to the EDP. His book Kick has been endorsed by Amnesty.
- Norwich Open Rights Group. The Chair has cosigned a letter to the Norwich MP’s asking them to support an exemption from a forthcoming trade arrangement which would reduce the protection of personal data transferred to other countries.
- Possible future change of Open Meeting venue from the Charing Cross Centre to the new Amnesty bookshop. David F reported on a helpful meeting with the shop manager and the committee will decide in the new year
- We await information from Shan B. who will let us know about a Peace tree to be planted in Chapelfield and to which individuals may wish to contribute.
Fundraising
- Quiz and Dips – Delayed until 2022
AOB
- David B led a brief discussion about the Amnesty position on Trans Rights and freedom of speech and a recent twitter contribution from the AIUK Board Chair.