 This year's Christmas Greetings Campaign will be available at St. Joseph's and at St. Pius, and has been arranged by the CPG Justice & Peace Group. Greetings sign-up weekend is 8th/9th December at both churches. Michael Combes tells us here about the charity ACAT - Action by Christians Against torture - and the case studies at the heart of this campaign. There is quite a lot to read here and ALL the text is included below. If you prefer to look at specific parts, you can view and download these individual sections as pdf's: Action By Christians Against Torture (UK) (ACAT) has as its principal goal to mobilise and bring together Christians of all denominations to stamp out the evil of torture. ACAT encourages prayer, writes appeals and urges governments and authorities to end the torture and abuse of human beings. By exposing torture Christians can hope to end it. Action by ACAT and others engaged in this work can improve conditions of detention and help achieve the release of prisoners who are often innocent of any known criminal offence. Amongst other things, ACAT conducts greetings campaigns at the high points in the Christian Calendar of Christmas and Easter in an endeavour to bring hope to victims of torture and other abuse. It is vital work. ACAT believes it is God’s Will. For more information about ACAT please visit https://www.acatuk.org.uk/ and follow the link to the latest ACAT Newsletter. The Newsletter contains extensive information about the Christmas Greetings Campaign as well as other news and suggested prayers and meditations for Advent. The Newsletter gives full details of the human rights groups and individuals to whom greetings could be sent. Some of the names will be well known, for example Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who was first featured in the September/November 2016 newsletter, and Asia Bibi who is currently seeking a safe destination outside Pakistan. Details of many of the current cases will be printed and displayed at St Joseph’s and St Pius prior to and at the signing. Parishioners can either sign at the signing sessions or take a card away, complete the greeting at home and post it. It is important to follow the guidance of ACAT as to the tone and content of the greeting. There may be particular guidance for a particular case. ACAT suggests that you write a simple card or greeting to an individual saying, for instance, that you are thinking of them and/or perhaps urging them not to lose hope (or words to that effect). A picture postcard is always welcome and cheapest to send. You can include your name and address (if you wish) but ACAT asks you please not to mention ACAT or include a religious greeting (if so advised in the case notes) as communication from a foreign organisation can endanger the prisoner and lead to harsher sentences. Several individuals featured in ACAT’s last Christmas Greetings Campaign have been released. Sadly others are still in prison and it is important not to forget any of them. The time for signing of cards in CPG has been arranged for the weekend of 8 and 9 December and will take place after all masses at St Joseph’s and St Pius. In the meantime please pray for the work of ACAT and the relief of the victims of torture and abuse. The ACAT prayer is:
CASE STUDIES FROM ACAT Postage overseas is expensive: a letter or card weighing up to and including 10g (e.g. a postcard) costs £1.25 (to Europe and the rest of the world); a letter or card up to 20g (e.g. a folded Christmas-type card) costs £1.25 for Europe (including the Ukraine) and £1.45 for the rest of the world. These are believed to be the current rates. Signed greetings may be left with the organisers for posting. ORGANISATIONS  CARITAS BAKHITA HOUSE in Westminster, London, is a centre for the emergency placement of women escaping from trafficking and its associated physical and emotional abuses. It assists the most vulnerable and traumatised individuals, both from the London area and elsewhere in the UK, by providing accommodation, medical help, legal/financial assistance and mentoring. The house is owned by the (RC) Diocese of Westminster and managed by Caritas Westminster. Its partners include the Metropolitan Police Anti-Trafficking Unit, local parishes, and the Adoratrices Sisters, whose work includes liberating women affected by prostitution and trafficking. The house is named after Josephine Bakhita (1869-1947) who was born in Sudan, kidnapped by Arab slave traders at the age of seven and repeatedly bought and sold. She was so traumatised by her captors' brutality that she could not remember her own name and was mockingly dubbed 'Bakhita' — the fortunate one. With 144 permanent scars on her body by the age of 13, her final owner brought her to Italy, where she was cared for by nuns and released from slavery. Baptised in 1890 and taking the name Josephine, she became a Canossian Sister and was the first Sudanese national to be canonised as a saint in 2000. Her biography (Bakhita: From Slave to Saint) appeared in 2000 (author Roberto Italo Zanini, English edition 2013) and her life was dramatized as a film (From Slave to Saint) in 2009. Please send a message or greetings card expressing support to: Ms Finola Ryan Caritas Development Team Vaughan House 46 Francis Street London SW1P 1QN Email: growinginfaith@rcdow.org.uk Tel: 020 7798 9099  REDRESS was set up in 1992 by Keith Carmichael, a businessman in the Middle East after he was interned without charge or trial from 1981 until 1984. Detained in solitary confinement for some of this time, he endured serious physical injuries, including a fractured spine, and psychiatric trauma that will affect him for the rest of his life. REDRESS helps survivors to obtain justice and reparation, brings perpetrators of torture to court and promotes national and international standards which provide effective and enforceable remedies for torture. Please send a message or greetings card expressing support to: Redress 87 Vauxhall Walk London SE11 5HJ Email: info@redress.org Tel: 020 7793 1777  KHPG assists individuals in the Ukraine whose rights have been infringed. It monitors and investigates human rights violations and also promotes education and legal awareness in the country. Monitoring human rights in the Ukraine since 1995, it has around 50 members and renders free legal aid to more than 200 victims of torture and ill-treatment each year. Please send a message or greetings card expressing support to: KHPG 27 Ivanova St., Apt. 4, 61002, Kharkiv, Ukraine or to: POB 10430 61002 Kharkiv Ukraine Email: khpg@ukr.net Website: http://khpg.org/en/.  B'TSELEM, the Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, was established in 1989 by a group of prominent academics, attorneys, journalists, and Knesset members. It endeavours to document and educate the Israeli public and policymakers about human rights violations in the Occupied Territories, combat the phenomenon of denial prevalent among the Israeli public, and help create a human rights culture in Israel. B'Tselem in Hebrew means "in the image of" and is based on Genesis 1:27: "And God created human beings in his image". It is also used as a synonym for human dignity. Please send a message or greetings card expressing support to: B'Tselem P.O. Box 53132 Jerusalem 9153002 Israel Email: mail@btselem.org Website: www.btselem.org.  The Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR) is a non-profit, non-governmental organization, registered with the Bahraini Ministry of Labour and Social Services since July 2002. Despite an order by the Bahraini authorities in November 2004 to close, the BCHR is still functioning after gaining wide local and international support for its struggle to promote human rights in Bahrain. Do not mention ACAT or send a religious message. Please send a message or greetings card expressing support to: International Office BCHR Dronningensgade 14 1420 København K Denmark Website: www.bahrainrights.org. INDIVIDUALS  Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, Iran* Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was first featured in the September/November 2016 newsletter. Subsequent appeals have focussed on urging the UK government to help gain her release. Gaoled for spying and facing threats to extend her five-year sentence, Nazanin was temporarily released for three days in August 2018 to visit her family, but permission to extend the period was denied. This was the first time she had seen her four-year old daughter for almost two years. You are invited to send a card to Nazanin herself. The card can be religious and can include your name, address and information about yourself. Do not mention ACAT. It is not known whether she will be allowed to receive it, but her family asks that you send one. Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe Evin Prison District 2 Behesht St Tehran Islamic Republic of Iran  Linda Carty, USA* Linda Anita Carty, who has dual US and UK nationality, was convicted and sentenced to death in February 2002 for the abduction and murder of 25-year-old Joana Rodriguez in order to steal her new-born son. The trial was characterised by an incompetent lawyer and prosecutorial misconduct. In 2011 the Supreme Court refused to hear her case but in October 2017 a Texas court granted her a rare evidentiary hearing to examine evidence uncovered by Reprieve. This indicated that the key witnesses at her original trial lied after being threatened by the prosecution. The current status of her appeals is unclear but, born in St Kitts, she is the only British citizen on death row in the US and is dangerously close to execution. Send a greetings card and/or message of support, religious if you wish. You can also include your name and address and may mention ACAT. Mountainview Unit 2305 Ramson Road Gatesville Texas 76528 USA  Mussie Ezaz, Eritrea Christian evangelist Mussie Ezaz was first arrested in 2007 but escaped, only to be re-arrested attempting to flee to Ethiopia. Despite fears that he had been killed or been taken to a remote area of the country, reports indicate that he is imprisoned in the maximum security crime investigation unit of Wengel Mermera. Many Christians, church leaders and political prisoners are known to have been held here. Conditions are harsh and dungeon-like in the inner prison and inmates are likely to be subjected to ill-treatment. It is a desert camp where temperatures often exceed 400 C. Mussie's family have not seen him since his arrest. Please send a (non-religious) greeting and short message of hope and encouragement (do not mention ACAT) to: The Family of Mussie Ezaz c/o Release International, PO Box 54, Orpington BR5 9RT  Mussie Eyob, Eritrea Mussie Eyob became a Christian in 2008. In 2011, while living in Saudi Arabia, he visited a local mosque in Jeddah to meet and talk with attendants there about Christianity. On 12 February he was arrested for preaching to Muslims and was imprisoned for proselytising, which is a capital offence in Saudi Arabia. Following appeals from various human rights groups on Mussie’s behalf, the Saudi authorities deported him to Eritrea in November instead of carrying out the death sentence. In Eritrea Mussie disappeared into the vast prison system where many Eritrean pastors and evangelists have been detained incommunicado. Recently it was revealed that he is a prisoner in Me’eter prison camp in North West Eritrea, which was opened in 2007 specifically to house Christians arrested because of their faith. In 2009 at least two detained Eritrean Christians, Mogos Hagos Kiflom, 37, and Mehari Gebreneguse Asgedom, 42, died there. Currently there are believed to be around 89 prisoners in Me’eter, all Christians. The prison resembles a labour camp where prisoners are required to work hard on the land, which is especially hard for older or infirm inmates. Mussie appears to be in reasonably good health and tries as much as he can to work on behalf of the sick and the weak. Please write a message of encouragement (do not mention ACAT) to: Mussie Eyob Me’eter Prison Asmara Eritrea  Naser Navard Gol-Tapeh, Iran* Naser Navard Gol-Tapeh was arrested on 24 June 2016 at an engagement party at a house in Karaj, near Tehran. Everyone present was detained, including three visiting Azeri Christians from Baku, Azerbaijan. Most of the Christians were released after questioning and collection of their personal information, but Naser and the Azeris were transferred to Evin prison. Held in solitary confinement for two months and subjected to intense interrogation, they were all charged with 'illegal gathering, collusion and evangelism'. The Azeris were later allowed to leave Iran in November 2016, forfeiting their bail. At his trial in 2017 Naser was charged with 'acting against national security through the formation and establishment of an illegal church organisation in his home' and was sentenced to ten years in prison. In November he lost his appeal in spite of his lawyer providing numerous grounds for his innocence. In January 2018 he was moved to Evin Prison. In recent months Naser has been denied medical treatment for a severe gum infection. He is in great pain, and his family fears he may lose all his teeth if the authorities continue to deny him treatment. In August 2018 he wrote an open letter to the authorities asking how his house church activities could be seen as anti-state. Please write a message of encouragement on a card (do not mention ACAT) and send it to: Naser Navard Gol-Tapeh C/o Release International, PO Box 54 Orpington BR5 4RT  Mohammed Roghangir Mohammad, Iran* is just one of many prisoners in Iran who are being held because of their beliefs. He was arrested in October 2012 and sentenced to six years imprisonment. Under Iranian law a convict is entitled to early release for good behaviour. Although Mohammed applied to the public prosecutor for release in March 2016, the Iranian intelligence services blocked the request. A local church leader, he has been under pressure from the authorities to agree to leave Iran when he is eventually released from prison, and it is believed that his determination to remain has prompted the action of the intelligence services. Please send a message of encouragement to him (do not mention ACAT) at: Adel Abad prison Shahrak-e-Shahid Motahari Shiraz Iran  Nguyen Trung Ton, Vietnam* Nguyen Trung Ton is an outspoken human rights defender and Protestant pastor. He was first arrested in 2011 and released in 2013 after a two-year prison sentence. In February 2017 he was kidnapped by state agents, stripped naked, tied, beaten and abandoned in a remote mountainous location in the middle of the night. Both his knees were seriously injured and his lungs damaged. Arrested again on 30 July 2017, he was charged with attempting to overthrow the state and in April 2018 was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment. Please send a message of encouragement and comfort to his family (do not mention ACAT): Nguyen Thi Lanh Yen co village Quang Yen Commune Quang Xuong District Thanh Hoa Province Vietnam  Bakhrom Kholmatov, Tajikistan* As part of a harassment campaign of his local Protestant Church group, Bakhrom Kholmatov was arrested and sentenced in July 2017 to three years in prison for "extremism". Church members have been beaten and insulted and informed that the intention is to close down churches in Tajikistan and confiscate their buildings. Bakhrom's family have been threatened and ordered to remain silent about the case, the court and his condition in prison. Please send a non-religious card or greeting to the following latest known address. Do not mention ACAT. Tyurma Yavan Ulitsa Shamsova 735 Yavan Khatlon Oblast Tajikistan  Hadi Asgari and Amin Afshar Naderi, Iran* Christians Hadi Asgari and Amin Afshar Naderi, were arrested in August 2016 and sentenced in July 2017 to 10 years imprisonment for "violating national security and promoting Christianity" (Amin received an extra 5 years for blasphemy). During detention both went on hunger strike. Amin became seriously ill in solitary confinement for 3 months and Hadi suffered from an untreated kidney infection. Others arrested have been released after paying up to $30,000-$60,000 dollars and many Christians have their assets seized after being pressurised to leave the country. Send a (non-religious) greeting/card to the prisoners at the address below. Do not mention ACAT or any other foreign organisation. Evin Prison Saadat Abad Tehran Islamic Republic of Iran  Ebrahim Firouzi, Iran* A Christian convert from Islam, Ebrahim Firouzi has been in and out of prison in Iran since 2011, and although he was due to be released in January 2015, authorities retried him and extended his sentence by five years until January 2020. He was first arrested in January 2011. After interrogation and incommunicado detention for 154 days, he was conditionally released, which in Iran means that the authorities can re-arrest you at any time to complete your sentence. In March 2013 he was arrested again and held for 53 days. On 13 July 2013 a court sentenced him to one year in prison following two years of exile for propagandizing against the Islamic regime of Iran, organizing evangelistic activities, contacting foreigners and anti-Islamic revolutionary networks, and administering a Christian website. In August 2013 while on short leave from prison Ebrahim was arrested once more and accused of spying. He was held in Evin Prison in Tehran until October 2014 before transfer to Rajai Shahr Prison near Karaj. Due for release on 13 January 2015, he was kept in detention, retried in March 2015 and charged with "acting against national security, gathering, and collusion". In October 2018 it emerged that he has been continually refused medical treatment for severe toothache, which has spread throughout his jaw and face to the point that he is unable to eat. Send a card (non-religious), with your name and address if you wish, but do not mention ACAT. Ebrahim Firouzi Rajai Shahr Prison Karaj City Albourz State Iran  Dr. Kiflu Gebremeskel, Eritrea* Dr. Kiflu Gebremeskel, a leading figure of the Full Gospel Church of Eritrea, was arrested on 23 May 2004 at his home in Asmara Gejeret. Dr. Gebremeskel was a mathematics lecturer and department and faculty head at the University of Asmara until 1999, when he became a full-time pastor at the Southwest Full Gospel Church. He is among many Eritrean Christians being held in police stations, military camps and prisons in locations across Eritrea. The Eritrean government began forcibly closing evangelical Protestant churches in 2002. Dr. Gebremeskel is one of 28 clergymen in detention, including Kidane Weldou (see below) and Haile Nayzgi. Gaoled Protestants are routinely subjected to physical beatings and severe psychological pressure to deny their religious beliefs. Police and military authorities continue to demand the prisoners return to one of the three Christian denominations recognized by the government — the nation's historic Orthodox, Catholic and Lutheran churches — although even these have incurred government disfavour, experiencing threats from police and security and imprisonment of members. None of his family have ever been able to visit him. Send a card (non-religious) with your name and address if you wish. Do not mention ACAT. Dr. Kiflu Gebremeskel Karsheli Prison 2nd Police Station Zone 7 Northern East Zoba Maakel Asmara Eritrea  Pastor Kidane Weldou, Eritrea* Pastor Kidane Weldou disappeared in 2005 and is presumably detained by Eritrean security forces in Karsheli prison. He is a senior pastor of the Full Gospel Church and has been a leader in the church for many years. For several days his family, including wife and four daughters, were unable to learn of his whereabouts. Pastor Weldou is also a member of the executive committee of Gideons International in Eritrea. On 19 February 2005 a group of Sunday school teachers and students were arrested and detained by police after a raid on the Medhane Alem Orthodox Church in Asmara. They were later released. According to Compass Direct the pastors of the banned Protestant churches were ordered not to inform anyone outside Eritrea of their problems. These pastors rejected this advice and reported what was happening to the outside world. Some of those arrested were being held in metal shipping containers. Please send a card (non-religious). You may include your name and address if you wish but do not mention ACAT. Kidane Weldou Karsheli Prison 2nd Police Station Zone 7 Northern East Zoba Maakel Asmara Eritrea  Johan Teterissa, Indonesia* Teacher Johan Teterissa is serving a 15-year jail sentence for raising a flag banned by the Indonesian government. In 2007 he led a group of people, mainly teachers and farmers, in a peaceful protest in front of the president. They performed a traditional war dance, before unfurling a "rainbow" flag, a historical symbol of independence for the eastern province of Maluku. Police officers removed Johan and the others, punching and beating them. They forced them to crawl on their stomachs on hot asphalt, whipped them with electric cables, and beat their ears with rifle butts until they bled. After an unfair trial, the protestors were convicted of "rebellion" and Johan was sentenced to life, later reduced to 15 years. He is in prison thousands of kilometres away from his family and friends. Please send a non-religious card. You may mention ACAT and include your name and address. Johan Teterissa Lembaga Pemasyrakatan (Lapas) Klas 1 Batu Nusa Lambangan Tambakreja Cilacap Selatan 53213 Cilacap Central Java, Indonesia Gong Shengliang* is a Christian pastor in poor health in prison in China, where over the past years he has received countless beatings. In the 1980s, he founded and led a Protestant evangelical community which has grown in China. Arrested in 2001, he was subsequently sentenced at an unfair trial, based on a confession obtained under torture, then seriously wounded in the face after being beaten by a fellow prisoner. Following one such assault he became deaf in his right ear. Since suffering a stroke in detention in 2012, he has lost the use of his legs. He can no longer speak nor swallow and is denied proper medical care. Current news is hard to come by. Please send a simple (non-religious) message of greeting. Do not mention ACAT. Gong Shengliang Prison Hongshan Province de Hubei Wuhan 430223 People's Republic of China  Nonhle Mbuthama, South Africa A member of the Amadiba community in the Eastern Cape area of South Africa, Nonhle Mbuthama has led a peaceful struggle defending land rights against a mining company. Some 5,000 Amadiba people face eviction and loss of homes and livelihoods if a licence to mine is granted. A campaign leader has already been murdered and Nonhle faces intimidation and death threats. Please send a card (non-religious) with your name and address if you wish. You may mention ACAT. C/o Amnesty International South Africa 97 Oxford Road Saxonwold 2196 Johannesburg South Africa  Vitalina Koval, Ukraine A high-profile campaigner for LGBT rights in the Ukraine and founder of a community centre which provides a safe place for LGBT persons, Vitalina Koval has been repeatedly threatened and physically attacked. During a peaceful protest her eyes were chemically burned when members of a far-right group threw red paint over her. Her attackers were briefly detained by police but soon released. Previous complaints made by her to the police. Ukraine has seen a recent surge in far-right violence. Please send a card (it can be religious) with your name and address if you wish. You may mention ACAT. Vitalina Koval c/o Amnesty International Ukraine Office POB 40 04050 Kyiv Ukraine Twitter address: @VitalinaKovalUA
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