March, 14 2016, 02:30pm EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Reprieve's London office can be contacted on: communications [at] reprieve.org.uk / +44 (0) 207 553 8140.,Reprieve US,, based in New York City, can be contacted on Katherine [dot] oshea [at] reprieve.org
Cameron Urged to Save Saudi Juveniles Facing Execution
WASHINGTON
David Cameron has been urged to intervene with Saudi Arabia to prevent the execution of three Saudi juveniles, after reports suggested their sentences may soon be carried out.
Last week, a government-affiliated Saudi news website reported that the authorities are planning to 'complete' a mass execution of 47 prisoners in January, by executing four more prisoners convicted in the country's Specialized Criminal Court (SCC). The reports raised fears that the juveniles - Ali al-Nimr, Dawood al-Marhoon and Abdullah al-Zaher - would be among those executed. All three juveniles had their sentences upheld last year, following secretive SCC proceedings which relied on 'confessions' they signed following torture.
Human rights organization Reprieve has written to David Cameron, asking him to intervene with the Saudi government and request that the authorities commute the sentences. Last year, UK Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said that, having raised Ali al-Nimr's case with Saudi Arabia, he "did not expect" the execution to go ahead. However, subsequent comments by Mr Hammond regarding January's mass execution - that those killed had been 'terrorists' - raised concerns about the UK's approach. Reprieve has established that the 47 prisoners who were executed included political protestors, and at least four juveniles.
Reports of the latest impending executions came as the juveniles' families voiced their fears. Speaking to Vice News, Abdullah's father, Hassan al-Zaher, said: "We have been living a nightmare ever since Abdullah was arrested." He added: "Please help me to save my son from the imminent threat of death - he doesn't deserve to die just because he attended a protest."
Research by Reprieve last year found that, of those that could be identified as facing execution in Saudi Arabia, some 72 per cent were convicted of non-violent crimes, including drug offences and political protest. Torture and forced 'confessions' were also reported to be common.
Commenting,Maya Foa, head of the death penalty team at Reprieve, said:
"Though Philip Hammond and David Cameron claim to have received assurances from the Saudi government that these juveniles will not be put to death, the executions of Ali, Dawood, and Abdullah once again appear imminent. It is too late to save the peaceful protestors and juveniles killed in January's mass execution - but David Cameron can still act to ensure that the UK does not allow more children, convicted on sham terrorism charges, to be executed in Saudi Arabia."
Reprieve is a UK-based human rights organization that uses the law to enforce the human rights of prisoners, from death row to Guantanamo Bay.
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'Ed Scare' Deepens​ as 4,000+ Book Banned in First Half of School Year
"The bans we're seeing are broad, harsh, and pernicious—and they're undermining the education of millions of students across the country," said one lead author of a new PEN America report.
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U.S. school districts banned more books during the first half of the current academic year than during the entire last scholastic year, a report published Tuesday revealed.
PEN America recorded 4,349 book bans across 52 school districts in 23 states during the fall 2023 semester, more than double the 1,841 titles that were prohibited during the spring term and more than the 3,362 volumes reported banned nationwide during the entire previous academic year.
"For anyone who cares about the bedrock of American values and the protection of free expression, this report should be a red alert," said Sabrina Baêta, manager of PEN America's Freedom to Read program and a co-lead author of the report, which comes as the free expression and human rights group is under fire from critics who say it's ignoring Palestinian writers during Israel's genocidal war on Gaza.
The report found that Florida again had the highest number of banned books, with 3,135 proscribed titles across 11 school districts. In Wisconsin, PEN America recorded 481 banned books in three districts—including 444 titles blacklisted in the Elkhorn Area School District following one parent's request. Iowa and Texas—with 142 and 141 forbidden titles, respectively—round out the report's top four book-banners.
According to PEN America:
While censors continue to use the concept of "obscenity" to justify widespread books bans, the report examines a wave of intense scrutiny over books that discuss women, sexual violence, and rape. This concerted focus comes amid an epidemic of sexual violence in the United States. The report also finds that books discussing race and racism, LGBTQ+ and especially transgender identities continue to be targeted at consistently high rates.
Book-banners continued to lean heavily upon "anti-obscenity" laws and exaggerated claims of "pornography in schools" in attempts to justify prohibiting books about sexual violence and LGBTQ+ issues. This has resulted in the disproportionate targeting of queer, nonbinary, and women authors. Similarly, the conservative fixation on purging critical race theory and "woke ideology" is undermining efforts to ensure school libraries are diverse and inclusive.
"Book bans are targeting narratives about race and sexual identities and sexual content writ large, and they show no sign of stopping," said Baêta. "The bans we're seeing are broad, harsh, and pernicious—and they're undermining the education of millions of students across the country."
But people are fighting back against what PEN America calls the "Ed Scare."
"Galvanized by the actions of the very students most impacted by book bans, a broad coalition of educators, librarians, parents, authors, and advocates are organizing in ways large and small to protect the freedom to read," the report notes.
PEN America Freedom to Read program director Kasey Meehan, another co-lead author of the report, said that "students are at the epicenter of the book-banning movement, and they're fearlessly spearheading the fight against this insidious encroachment into what they can read and learn across the country."
"By suppressing these stories, censors seek to delegitimize experiences that resonate deeply with young people," Meehan added. "Just as we've seen the power of America's youth in rallying around causes such as gun violence prevention, they're refusing to yield to the censorship of book bans threatening their peers and communities."
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"We need more young people represented in all spheres of decision-making—within government, at the United Nations, in civil society, private sector, and academia. And they must be taken seriously."
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"We still believe in the promise of a better world for all. Do you?"
That's how a letter to world leaders, spearheaded by the United Nations Youth Office, begins. It was released Monday, ahead of the U.N. Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Youth Forum, as part of a campaign arguing that "it's time to let youth lead."
The letter stresses that "all around us, humanity is in peril. The impacts of war and conflict, humanitarian catastrophes, the mental health crisis, and the climate emergency have reached unimaginable heights."
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Emphasizing how including diverse perspectives helps to "ensure we don't continue to repeat past mistakes" and that the youth "will live with the consequences of the decisions taken today," the letter calls on "all leaders and institutions to take immediate action to make global policymaking and decision-making spaces more representative of the communities they serve."
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According to the youth, "The Summit of the Future this September will be one important opportunity for governments to commit to finally giving young people their rightful seat at the table."
The summit's U.N. webpage describes it as "a once-in-a-generation opportunity to enhance cooperation on critical challenges and address gaps in global governance, reaffirm existing commitments including to the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and the United Nations Charter, and move towards a reinvigorated multilateral system that is better positioned to positively impact people's lives."
Ahead of that summit, ECOSOC is hosting the youth forum from Tuesday through Thursday at U.N. headquarters in New York City. Attendees are set to share recommendations and ideas in preparation for the September event.
The young people joining the forum are also expected to participate in discussions focused on five SDGs: partnerships for the goals, no poverty, zero hunger, climate action, and peace, justice, and strong institutions.
"The energy and conviction of young people are infectious, and more vital than ever. Our world is bristling with challenges, tragedies and injustices—many of them linked," U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said in remarks to the forum on Tuesday.
"In the face of all these crises, public trust is plummeting. Alienation is growing. And the international system is creaking. The future of multilateralism is at stake. And so we need action and we need justice," he continued. "I salute young people around the world for standing up, speaking out and working for real change. We need you. And I am fully committed to bringing young people into political decision-making; not just listening to your views, but acting on them."
Guterres noted that "we established a new Youth Office in the United Nations to advance advocacy, coordination, participation, and accountability for and with young people."
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"Every generation serves as caretaker of this world. Let's be honest: Mine has been careless with that responsibility," said the 74-year-old U.N. chief. "But yours gives me hope. The United Nations stands with you. Together, let's deliver justice. Let's deliver solutions. And let's create a world of peace and prosperity for all."
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'My Own University... Has Abandoned Me': USC Cancels Muslim Valedictorian's Speech
"I am both shocked by this decision and profoundly disappointed that the university is succumbing to a campaign of hate meant to silence my voice," student Asna Tabassum said in a statement.
Apr 16, 2024
In a decision that the largest U.S. Muslim civil rights organization called "cowardly," the University of Southern California announced Monday that it would not allow a Muslim valedictorian to speak at its commencement ceremony, citing safety concerns.
USC's 2024 valedictorian, Asna Tabassum, is a first-generation South Asian Muslim student majoring in biomedical engineering with a minor in resistance to genocide. Her selection as valedictorian drew criticism from pro-Israel groups because of a link pasted into her Instagram profile that advocates for a single Palestinian state where "both Arabs and Jews can live together without an ideology that specifically advocates for the ethnic cleansing of one of them."
"This campaign to prevent me from addressing my peers at commencement has evidently accomplished its goal: Today, USC administrators informed me that the university will no longer allow me to speak at commencement due to supposed security concerns," Tabassum said in a statement. "I am both shocked by this decision and profoundly disappointed that the university is succumbing to a campaign of hate meant to silence my voice."
"I am not surprised by those who attempt to propagate hatred," Tabassum continued. "I am surprised that my own university—my home for four years—has abandoned me."
"USC cannot hide its cowardly decision behind a disingenuous concern for 'security."
In announcing the university's decision, provost and senior vice president for academic affairs Andrew Guzman said that, in recent days, "discussion relating to the selection of our valedictorian has taken on an alarming tenor."
Several groups had called for Tabassum's removal as valedictorian entirely because they argued the link that she shared, a slideshow titled "Free Palestine," was antisemitic.
"Trojans for Israel strongly supports the right to free expression—including informed criticism of the Israeli government. However, rhetoric that denies the right of the Jewish people to self-determination or calls for the destruction of the only Jewish state in the world must be denounced as antisemitic bigotry," a campus group wrote in a social media post calling on USC to choose a new valedictorian.
The slideshow Tabassum shared includes a page explaining that anti-zionism is not antisemitism and linking to a debate on the topic featuring former MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan and Israeli-Jewish historian Ilan Pappé.
Tabassum toldNBC Los Angeles that she had added the link to her Instagram bio five years ago—long before Hamas' deadly October 7 attack on Israel and Israel's ongoing genocide in Gaza—and that she had not written the text herself.
However, Israel's current war on Gaza has led to widespread campus protests at U.S. universities, as well as repression of pro-Palestinian student groups and national attention on university leaders' responses to the conflict, which has led to the resignation of at least two high-profile university presidents.
"The intensity of feelings, fueled by both social media and the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, has grown to include many voices outside of USC and has escalated to the point of creating substantial risks relating to security and disruption at commencement," Guzman said in the university announcement. "We cannot ignore the fact that similar risks have led to harassment and even violence at other campuses."
Guzman continued that he had spoken with the university's Department of Public Safety and campus security teams.
"After careful consideration, we have decided that our student valedictorian will not deliver a speech at commencement," Guzman said. "While this is disappointing, tradition must give way to safety."
The provost maintained that this was not a free speech issue.
"There is no free-speech entitlement to speak at a commencement," Guzman said. "The issue here is how best to maintain campus security and safety, period."
However, in her statement, Tabassum said that she attended a meeting with the provost and the associate senior vice president of safety and risk on Sunday, during which they told her that campus security would be able to protect her from any threats while speaking, but that taking appropriate measures would result in a commencement ceremony that was not what the university wants to "'present as an image.'"
"Because I am not aware of any specific threats against me or the university, because my request for the details underlying the university's threat assessment has been denied, and because I am not being provided any increased safety to be able to speak at commencement, there remain serious doubts about whether USC's decision to revoke my invitation to speak is made solely on the basis of safety," Tabassum said.
Council on American-Islamic Relations-Los Angeles (CAIR-LA) executive director Hussam Ayloush also cast doubt on the university's motives in a statement.
"USC cannot hide its cowardly decision behind a disingenuous concern for 'security,'" Ayloush said. "Asna is an incredibly accomplished student whose academic and extracurricular accomplishments made her the ideal and historic recipient of this year's valedictorian's honor. The university can, should, and must ensure a safe environment for graduation rather than taking the unprecedented step of cancelling a valedictorian's speech."
"The dishonest and defamatory attacks on Asna are nothing more than thinly-veiled manifestations of Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian racism, which have been weaponized against college students across the country who speak up for human rights—and for Palestinian humanity," Ayloush continued.
Earlier this month, CAIR released its 2024 civil rights report, stating the organization received more complaints of anti-Muslim bias than during any other year in its three decades of existence.
Ayloush argued that USC's decision to cancel Tabassum's speech "empowers voices of hate and censorship, violates USC's obligation to protect its students, and sends a terrible signal to both Muslim students at USC and all students who dare to express support for Palestinian humanity."
Washington Post columnist and Columbia adjunct Karen Attiah also saw the university's decision as a setback for academic freedom.
"What is happening at USC shows that the credibility/legitimacy of many liberal institutions died in Gaza," Attiah wrote on social media. "Western journalistic objectivity died in Gaza. True academic freedom died in Gaza. Do we see how much violence it takes to uphold an imperial status quo?"
Writer and editor Tom Gara called out the university for the discrepancy between its actions and its course offerings.
"Incredible story. USC offers a minor in 'resistance to genocide,' this girl minored in it, was named valedictorian, and then they cancelled her speech because she might talk about genocide," Gara said on social media.
CAIR-LA is calling on USC to reverse its decision and circulating a petition in support of this demand.
Tabassum, meanwhile, addressed her fellow students.
"As your class valedictorian, I implore my USC classmates to think outside the box—to work toward a world where cries for equality and human dignity are not manipulated to be expressions of hatred," she said. "I challenge us to respond to ideological discomfort with dialogue and learning, not bigotry and censorship. And I urge us to see past our deepest fears and recognize the need to support justice for all people, including the Palestinian people."
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