January, 03 2012, 07:54am EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Frida Berrigan, frida.berrigan@gmail.com, 347-638-4928
Helen Schietinger, h.schietinger@verizon.net, 202-344-5762
Jeremy Varon, Jvaron@aol.com, 732-979-3119
Anti-Torture Activists to Go on Trial for Speaking Out Against Guantanamo, Indefinite Detention, and the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA)
Press Conference Scheduled for Wednesday, January 4
WASHINGTON
A jury trial for five anti-torture activists begins on Tuesday, January 3, 2012 in D.C. Superior Court before Judge Fisher. They are charged with unlawful conduct in the citizen's gallery at the House of Representatives on June 23, 2011, and face jail time if convicted.
"Our strategy is to put Guantanamo on trial," says Josie Setzler, a human rights advocate and grandmother from Ohio, "and demand that Congress and the President close Guantanamo and restore the U.S. Constitution." The press conference will discuss the court case and the larger issues of torture, Guantanamo, and the NDAA.
The defendants -- Brian Hynes of the Bronx, NY, Judith Kelly of Washington, DC, Mike Levinson of New Rochelle, NY, Carmen Trotta of New York City, NY, and Josie Setzler of Freemont, Ohio--were among fourteen originally arrested and charged. All are members of Witness Against Torture, which will maintain a solemn presence of "detainees" in orange jumpsuits and blacks hoods outside the courthouse for the duration of the trial.
PRESS CONFERENCE
WHEN: 8:30AM, Wednesday, January 3, 2012
WHERE: Grassy area directly across from the main entrance to Superior Court, 500 Indiana Ave, NW (where Indiana intersects 5th Street, NW).
WHAT: Brief statements by the defendants, legal experts and anti-torture activists
WHO: Josie Setzler, defendant in the case
Jeremy Varon, history professor at New School University, NYC
Frida Berrigan, activist with Witness Against Torture from New London, CT
According to court documents, the case is known as "Shakir Ami (aka Bryan Hynes) et al Co-Defendants" -- a garbled reference to Shaker Aamer, a British resident of Pakistani descent who is one of the longest-held men at Guantanamo. Witness Against Torture activists sometimes take the names of detainees when arrested, so as to symbolically give them the day in court denied by the Bush and Obama administrations.
The courthouse is located at 500 Indiana Avenue NW, near the Navy Archives Metro stop. Activists will fill the courtroom each day of the trial and hold vigil outside in the mornings, lunch time and evenings.
The trial kicks off a ten-day "Hungering for Justice" campaign which will include a daily presence at the Moultrie Courthouse, as well as activities throughout the city to call attention to the terrible injustice that is Guantanamo and Bagram and secret prisons throughout the world. It will culminate in a "Ten Years Too Many" mass mobilization on Wednesday, January 11 at Lafayette Park across from the White House organized by a coalition of groups, including Amnesty International and National Religious Campaign Against Torture.
Witness Against Torture is a grassroots movement that came into being in December 2005 when 24 activists walked to Guantanamo to visit the prisoners and condemn torture policies. Since then, it has engaged in public education, community outreach, and non-violent direct action. For the first 100 days of the Obama administration, the group held a daily vigil at the White House, encouraging the new President to uphold his commitments to shut down Guantanamo.
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Greenpeace Says Ban Deep-Sea Mining, Not Our Right to Protest Against It
"How can Greenpeace's activists paddling on kayaks be a threat to the environment, but the plundering of the oceans be a solution to the climate catastrophe?"
Mar 18, 2024
As the International Seabed Authority kicked off its annual summit in Jamaica on Monday to discuss rules for extracting minerals from the ocean floor, Greenpeace—which could be expelled from the United Nations body over a demonstration targeting a mining company—is urging the ISA to "stop deep-sea mining, not protests."
Representatives of 167 nations are gathering in Kingston to draft the regulatory framework for deep-sea mining, which ISA member states agreed to work out by July 2025. Although there are no current commercial deep seabed mining operations, the ISA has issued exploration licenses to state-owned companies and agencies in China, France, Germany, India, Japan, Russia, and South Korea, and to private corporations including U.K. Seabed Resources, a subsidiary of U.S. military-industrial complex giant Lockheed Martin.
The Metals Company, a Canadian startup looking to make a big splash in deep-sea mining, has been targeted by Greenpeace "kayaktivists," who last November boarded a ship belonging to subsidiary Nauru Ocean Resources Inc. in the Pacific Ocean and occupied the vessel's stern crane to draw attention to the potential harm that mineral extraction would cause to one of the world's last untouched ecosystems.
That peaceful protest could cost Greenpeace its ISA observer status, as members will consider whether to punish the environmental group during this week's conference. ISA Secretary-General Michael Lodge claimed that Greenpeace's kayak protest posed a "serious threat" to company personnel and "the marine environment."
However, last November a Dutch court rejected The Metals Company's request for an injunction against the protesters, finding it "understandable" that Greenpeace took direct action in the face of "possibly very serious consequences" of the company's mining plans.
Greenpeace plans to hold a side event at the ISA conference on Monday focusing on the right to protest.
"If Michael Lodge had put as much effort into properly scrutinizing deep-sea mining companies and ensuring transparent negotiations as he has chasing dissent, a pristine ecosystem would have a fair chance to remain undisturbed," said Greenpeace International Deep-Sea Mining campaign lead Louisa Casson. "How can Greenpeace's activists paddling on kayaks be a threat to the environment, but the plundering of the oceans be a solution to the climate catastrophe?"
This year's ISA conference comes as two dozen nations are calling for a moratorium on deep-sea mining and campaigners are urging the United States to ratify the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, under which the ISA was established.
"Over the past year, it's been outstanding to see the growing call for a moratorium from countries in the Pacific, Europe, and Latin America," said Casson. "Responsible nations at the ISA are listening to the mounting science that shows deep-sea mining would cause irreversible damage to the oceans... The momentum is on the side of a moratorium."
There is also pushback. Last week, more than 350 former military and political leaders in the United States including former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton published a letter urging the U.S. Senate to sign and ratify the Law of the Sea in a bid to boost deep-sea mining amid rising international competition for minerals.
"Almost everyone agrees that the United States should ratify the Law of the Sea—it's a no-brainer and has been since the treaty was adopted over 40 years ago. This might be the only thing that Greenpeace and Big Oil agree with each other on," said Arlo Hemphill, who heads the Oceans Are Life campaign at Greenpeace USA.
"Now, deep-sea mining corporation The Metals Company has jumped on the bandwagon, hoping it will increase their chances of making it big after several costly failed ventures," Hemphill added. "With two dozen countries already on the record opposing the launch of deep-sea mining any time soon, there is little possibility it will be permitted."
However, earlier this year Norway became the first country to green-light deep-sea mining, a decision one environmental campaigner warned will have "severe impacts on ocean wildlife."
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'Positive Step,' Says Sanders After AstraZeneca Agrees to Cap Inhalers at $35
"Americans who have asthma and COPD should not be forced to pay, in many cases, 10 to 70 times more for the same exact inhalers as patients in Europe and other parts of the world."
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AstraZeneca announced Monday that it will cap out-of-pocket costs at $35 per month for U.S. inhaled respiratory medicines—becoming the second pharmaceutical giant to make that move since U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders launched a probe in January.
The policy change—which will benefit patients with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), including those who are uninsured and underinsured—is set to start in June, like the Boehringer Ingelheim decision announced earlier this month.
While welcoming the development, Sanders (I-Vt.) noted that it comes after the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) that he chairs began investigating "the outrageously high cost of inhalers that 25 million Americans with asthma and 16 million Americans with COPD rely on to breathe."
"If AstraZeneca and Boehringer Ingelheim can cap the cost of inhalers at $35 in the United States, these other companies can do the same."
"In my view, Americans who have asthma and COPD should not be forced to pay, in many cases, 10 to 70 times more for the same exact inhalers as patients in Europe and other parts of the world," declared Sanders. "Since we launched that investigation, I have had conversations with all of the CEOs of the major manufacturers of these products."
The senator said that he is "very pleased" with AstraZeneca's announcement, adding that "this is a very positive step which will help save Americans thousands of dollars a year on the inhalers they need to breathe."
The panel's probe—supported by Sens. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), and Ed Markey (D-Mass.)—also targets GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Teva. Sanders called on the pair to "take similar action," arguing that "if AstraZeneca and Boehringer Ingelheim can cap the cost of inhalers at $35 in the United States, these other companies can do the same."
Sanders pledged that his committee "will continue to do everything we can do to make sure that Americans no longer pay, by far, the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs."
In AstraZeneca's announcement, CEO Pascal Soriot called for federal action, saying that "we remain dedicated to addressing the need for affordability of our medicines, but the system is complex and we cannot do it alone. It is critical that Congress bring together key stakeholders to help reform the healthcare system so patients can afford the medicines they need, not just today, but for the future."
AstraZeneca highlighted that the cap will apply to medicines including Airsupra, Bevespi Aerosphere, Breztri Aerosphere, and Symbicort—which cost up to $645—and that the company "substantially reduced the list price" of Symbicort at the beginning of the year.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in November disputed more than 100 patents held by pharmaceutical companies that make asthma inhalers, EpiPens, and other products listed in a Food and Drug Administration database, including Symbicort.
Acknowledging AstraZeneca's cap decision, FTC Chair Lina Khan said on social media Monday, "I urge the other firms whose patents FTC challenged—including GSK and Teva—to withdraw their improperly listed patents and drop costs for Americans."
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'No Longer on the Brink': Top EU Official Blames Israel for Famine in Gaza
"This famine is not a natural disaster. It is not a flaw. It is not an earthquake. It is entirely man-made," said Josep Borrell, the E.U.'s foreign affairs chief.
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The European Union's top foreign affairs official on Monday said that after more than five months of Israel's blocking of humanitarian aid and bombardment of Gaza, the U.S.-backed government has pushed the enclave into famine.
Josep Borrell, the E.U.'s high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, demanded that Western governments clearly state the reason that at least two of Gaza's five governorates have now been identified by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification global initiative (IPC) as experiencing famine "with reasonable evidence."
"In Gaza we are no longer on the brink of famine; we are in a state of famine, affecting thousands of people," Borrell said in Brussels at a meeting on humanitarian aid for the besieged enclave. "This is unacceptable. Starvation is used as a weapon of war."
"By whom? Let's dare to say by whom. By the one that prevents humanitarian support entering into Gaza," he said, adding that "Israel is provoking famine."
Borrell's remarks signify that the E.U. has now accepted that "that Israel is starving Gaza," said journalist Owen Jones, with "straightforward genocidal intent."
The IPC, which was established in 2004 by the United Nations and international humanitarian groups, said Monday that since the analysis it conducted in December—in which it warned of famine by May if a cessation of hostilities did not take place—the conditions needed to prevent such a catastrophe have not been met.
Famine in Gaza's northern governorates is now projected to take hold between mid-March and May, the IPC said.
"According to the most likely scenario, both North Gaza and Gaza Governorates are classified in IPC Phase 5 (famine) with reasonable evidence, with 70% (around 210,000 people) of the population in IPC Phase 5 (catastrophe)," said the initiative.
The group uses the famine classification when at least one of three conditions has been observed:
- At least 20% of households have an extreme lack of food;
- At least 30% of children suffer from acute malnutrition; and
- At least two adults or four children for every 10,000 people die daily from starvation or from disease linked to malnutrition.
At least 27 children in Gaza have now died of malnutrition in recent weeks, according to local authorities, as Israel has attacked civilians seeking humanitarian aid numerous times and has blocked deliveries.
The E.U. said Monday that just 100 tonnes of aid per day are reaching Gaza, compared with 500 tonnes that entered the enclave daily before Israel's current bombardment.
The entire population of 2.2 million people is now facing high levels of "acute food insecurity," according to the IPC.
Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, head of the pediatric department at Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, told Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) that the facility is seeing the daily effects of Israel's blocking of aid.
“Amid the famine in the north, there are many cases of elderly people and especially children showing symptoms of dehydration and malnutrition," said the doctor. "Twenty-five to 30 children are admitted to the hospital on a daily basis, with half of them suffering from dehydration and malnutrition. One child, two months old, died today because of dehydration and malnutrition. Other children are on the same trajectory unless the situation is addressed soon."
Meanwhile, he said, medical workers themselves are "suffering from physical weakness and extreme exhaustion" as they try to treat people injured in relentless bombings and gunfire.
“As a medical team managing the hospital, we have not been able to secure even one meal," said Abu Safiya. "Our staff are worn out working 24/7 without food."
Borrell pointed to recent comments by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in which Scholz warned: "We cannot stand by and watch Palestinians starve."
"This famine is not a natural disaster. It is not a flaw. It is not an earthquake. It is entirely man-made," said Borrell. "Chancellor Scholz is saying Europeans cannot sit and watch Palestinian starving, when on the other side of the border there is food for months accumulated in stocks, while on the other side of the road there are people dying of hunger."
Rose Caldwell, CEO of children's rights group Plan International, added that the "entirely man-made catastrophe should be a source of shame for the international community."
"After months of unimaginable trauma and indiscriminate bombing, the children of Gaza are now facing the horror of starvation and the threat of imminent famine," said Caldwell. "There can be no excuses: preventing access for humanitarian aid is a clear violation of international humanitarian law. The starvation of civilians as a method of warfare is illegal and immoral."
The IPC has classified only two other humanitarian crises as famines: one in Somalia, which killed 490,000 people in 2011, and one in South Sudan, which killed 80,000 people in 2017.
At least 31,726 Palestinians have been killed by the Israel Defense Forces since it began its bombardment.
"Before the war, Gaza was the greatest open air prison," said Borrell. "Today it is the greatest open air graveyard."
Melanie Ward, CEO of MAP, noted that the organization warned in January that its physicians were seeing evidence of severe malnutrition in children.
"World leaders have fiddled at the edges rather than take decisive action which addresses the cause of this starvation," said Ward. "Now world leaders must insist that Israel immediately opens all land crossings into Gaza, particularly the Karni and Erez crossings, and allows safe and unfettered access for aid and aid workers."
"Children in Gaza are being starved at the fastest rate the world has ever known," she added, "and their survival depends on more food, fuel, and water entering Gaza immediately, as well as a lasting cease-fire."
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