Newsletter, Region Mid, October 2024

Publisert: 22. Okt 2024, kl. 08:02 | Sist oppdatert: 22. Okt 2024, kl. 09:07

Dear activists in region Mid,

In this newsletter you will find information about:

- Regional meeting, agenda

- Write for Rights digital campaign training

- Nationwide poster campaign; Gaza

- New campaign: Freedom of Speech in Saudi Arabia

- Good news!

Greetings from the regional office!

Welcome to regional meeting 2024!

The 2024 regional meeting for the Midt region will be held over two weekends; Saturday, November 2nd in Trondheim at the regional office at DIGS and Saturday, November 9th at Hotel Brosundet in Ålesund.

The regional meeting is a gathering point for activists in the region, where we will look at plans moving forward, the new Saudi campaign, and welcome a visit from Amnesty’s board member Linnea Røsjø Johanssen(Trondheim) and Juni Emilie Baardvik (Ålesund). We will also prepare for the national meeting.

You can find more information, and the registration form below!

Regional meeting TronheimRegional meeting Ålesund

National poster campaign

We believe that the U.S. holds the key to stopping the military actions against the Palestinians as long as it supplies Israel with weapons. We aim to convey this through a coordinated nationwide poster campaign on October 26th-27th, marking the one-year anniversary of the ground invasion of Gaza.

This is happening very soon, but we hope as many groups as possible will participate, in whatever capacity — every bit of participation is needed! Since we are short on time, we have decided to send all group leaders a package of posters in the mail; if you do not wish to participate, you can simply return the package to the regional office. If you would like to join the campaign, you can read more and get tips in the action circular below

Action circular

Write for Rights is back!


Every November and December, the entire Amnesty movement comes together to show solidarity and raise awareness for people who are subjected to serious human rights violations.
This year, we will be working for Manahel, Maryia, Neth, and the Sleeydo/Wet’suwet’en people.

At the link below, starting from November 1st, you will find information about everyone we are working for this year, as well as tips, tricks, and inspiration on what you and your group can do in this year's action guide.
Are you, or someone you know, a teacher? If so, we recommend checking out our teaching resources for Write for Rights. From November 1st, this year’s lesson plans will be available on our website.
If you’re a student, feel free to suggest the teaching resources to your teacher 🙂
Landing page for Write for Rights, teaching resources and action guide:
Action circular

There will also be a national digital campaign training for Write for Rights on Wednesday, October 23rd, from 17:30 to 18:30. Join in—either on your own or gather your group and plan what you can do together afterwards.

Remember to sign up below!

Digital campaign training

New campaign: Freedom of Speech in Saudi Arabia

The next national campaign will be for freedom of expression in Saudi Arabia. It is dangerous to have an opinion there. It is dangerous to speak, to express oneself. People are spending years in prison for something they said, wrote or shared. A common conception is that Saudi Arabia is opening up, becoming more free. But if you dare to challenge the freedoms that have been granted to you, you will be punished unbelievably hard.

Manahel al-Otaibi is one of the people that has been punished with a terrible sentence. She has been in prison for 2 years on November 16. We will work for her release on that day, and with freedom of expression in Saudi-Arabia in the following weeks. On December 11., the kingdom will likely get the bid for the 2034 World Cup.

We will publish a campaign site and an action circular soon. Stay tuned!

Great news: Maksym Butkevych has been released

Maksym Butkevych is a Ukrainian human rights defender and former journalist who helped establish Amnesty in Ukraine. He assisted people fleeing persecution in Russia and Belarus, which later had serious consequences for him. When Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Maksym voluntarily enlisted as a soldier to defend Ukraine. On June 24, 2022—just months into the war—he was captured by Russian soldiers at the frontline and later sentenced to 13 years in prison for war crimes he did not commit. Human rights organizations believed that Maksym received such a long sentence because of his human rights work.

Last fall, 8,800 signatures were collected by Amnesty Norway, demanding that Maksym Butkevych be released, at a time when no one knew where he was being held. Now, a year later, he has been freed as part of a prisoner exchange. The first thing he did when interviewed was to speak about all those still held in Russian captivity and the importance of securing their release.

This newsletter will go out to all activists who are registered in groups on Min Side. Currently, I see that not everyone is registered here and ask group leaders to share with those who may not have received this e-mail - thank you!

Get in touch if you have any questions!

Tove Marie Paasche

Organisasjonsrådgiver
E-post
[email protected]
Tlf
99 50 71 25