To All Living
Things
Last Week's Column
"...these two young men, and possibly the other six as well, died as a direct result of ill-treatment and torture they received at the hands of prison authorities." |
Amnesty
Action:
Death as a
Result of Ill-Treatment and Torture in Kazakhstan
by Kathy Gay
his week’s action from 
Amnesty
International concerns the deaths of at least eight young
inmates who were imprisoned at a penitentiary for
juveniles in Kazakhstan. Reports indicate that one of
them died from a wasting condition apparently caused by
ill-treatment and malnutrition, and another died from
unspecified causes shortly after his release. Both were
17 years old.
Amnesty International is very concerned that these two young men, and possibly the other six as well, died as a direct result of ill-treatment and torture they received at the hands of prison authorities.
Background Information
LA-155/6 is a prison for male
juveniles in Almaty, Kazakhstan. 
It
is one of four such prisons in Kazakhstan, and one of
eight in the Commonwealth of Independent States (the
former U.S.S.R.). It houses a population of 600 boys
between the ages of fourteen and eighteen.
A former employee has described
the modus operandi of prison authorities at LA-155/6 as
based on the "fist and truncheon." Such
treatment of juveniles is in direct contravention to
Article 37 of the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the
Child, 
to which Kazakhstan has acceded. Article
37 specifically states that "no child shall be
subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading
treatment or punishment" and that "every child
deprived of liberty shall be treated with humanity and
respect for the inherent dignity of the human person, and
in a manner which takes into account the needs of persons
of his or her age."
How you can help
Please send a letter to the
Kazakhstani authorities as soon as possible, but no
later than May 17, 1997. 
You may
use the sample letter linked below or use it as a model
to write your own letter. If you choose to use the sample
letter, please cut off or delete all website information
at the very top of the letter. If you choose to write
your own letter, make sure that it is politely worded and
non-partisan (i.e., not used as a vehicle for political
expression). Care must be taken to ensure that nothing is
written that will cause harm to any juveniles currently
imprisoned at this penitentiary. Be sure to include both
your name and address, as well as the date, on the
letter.
U.S. airmail postage to Kazakhstan is 60 cents.
Questions?
If you have any questions, just post a message to me (Kathy Gay) at the Pub, and I will respond as soon as I can. I greatly appreciate your interest and support.
To see the sample letter for this action, click here.
__________________________________________________
Kathy Gay is a vegan, and has been a member of Amnesty International for nearly 10 years, where she has worked on numerous campaigns. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area and is a business analyst for a leading California bank.
Kathy's column, To All Living Things, is a regular feature of VegSource On-Line Magazine.