Natalia Estemirova, Russian Human Rights Worker

Natalia Estemirova

I woke up this morning to read that another activist for human rights in Russia had been kidnapped and murdered. Natalia Estemirova was an activist for the activist group Memorial, which was working to improve the rule of law and document abuses by law enforcement officers in the North Caucuses of Russia. She was the recipient of several international awards, including the first Anna Politkovskaya award in 2007. There is no bright side of this, even to say that these events will bring international attention and condemnation from other human rights organizations. Mrs. Estemirova has undoubtedly made an impact on the human rights in Russia; it is unfortunate that humanity has to lose yet another ally in the battle against terror and government impunity.

Reuters
Amnesty International
Amnesty International USA (check out Rule without law: Human rights violations in the North Caucasus)
Press Release from Memorial (in Russian)
Robert Amsterdam’s Blog - Natalia Estemirova and the Price of Courage

Tibet 50 Years Later: Presentation and Discussion about Human Rights in Tibet on the Anniversary of the Tibetan National Uprising

Please join us this week for the March meeting of Amnesty International Local Group 133, featuring a screening of the 2008 Tibetan documentary, Leaving Fear Behind.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

7 p.m. - 9 p.m.

Amnesty International Northeast Regional Office

58 Day Street, Suite 409 

Somerville, MA 02144 (Two blocks away from the Davis Square stop on the Red Line)

As part of our March meeting, Group 133 Co-Coordinator Rick Roth will help us understand the current state of human rights in Tibet. We will watch Leaving Fear Behind, the documentary at the center of Tibetan filmmaker Dhondup Wangchen’s arrest. Wangchen has been held by Chinese authorities since last March. His case will be highlighted at Group 133’s upcoming Get on the Bus for Human Rights event (www.gotb.org), where we will call on China to unconditionally release Dhondup Wangchen. (For more information about the film, please go to www.leavingfearbehind.com.)

The first half-hour of the meeting will be dedicated to letter writing on urgent human rights issues.

We hope to see you there!