[all images added] -------- Original Message -------- Friends, The recent news of another military assault on Gaza (18 killed and over 100 wounded including children), the murder of Mohammed Abu Khdeir who was burned alive by Zionist settlers, the brutal beating of Tarek Khdeir while protesting the murder of his cousin Mohammed Abu Khdeir, and the vicious beating of Marlene Pinnock by a California Highway Patrolman brought to mind these words by Carolyn Forche: "It is either the beginning or the end of the world, and the choice is ourselves or nothing." I am writing to ask that in the days ahead, as you struggle to respond to these atrocities, that you also remember those who have fought against this type of oppression and racism and paid the ultimate price: their own freedom. We cannot forget them. To fight for their liberation is an integral part of fighting for our own. Yesterday, I sent you an e-mail about the case of Amer Jubran and human rights abuses in Jordan, asking you to send 4 e-mails today on his behalf and on behalf of those like him who have suffered at the hands of the kangaroo Security Court. It is as simple as cutting and pasting some of the content of the Open Letter to Prince Zeid, signing your name and sending it to the 4 e-mails listed in the campaign-- a few minutes of your time, to draw attention to Amer's case and show that we demand justice for our prisoners-- that they do not stand alone. Please remember to do this today and thanks, Lana PS Campaign and letter are below. Ramadan E-Mail Campaign Justice for Amer Jubran Wednesday July 9th Thank you for your continued support of Amer Jubran. Amer Jubran has now been detained for over 2 months without charge. Until last week, he was being held incommunicado. Because Amer is a political dissident, we are gravely concerned that he may be tried with serious offenses based on his political speech under Jordan's legal framework. If so, he would be brought before the State Security Court in Jordan soon. The State Security Court is an institution that has been widely criticized by human rights advocates as a tribunal that lacks any real judicial independence from the Mukhabarat (Jordanian Secret Police). On July 8th, we sent an open letter to the recently elected UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Prince Zeid Ra'ad Zeid Al Hussein of Jordan demanding that he address the atrocious human rights abuses in Jordan, citing Amer's case. We are asking all supporters to take action on Wednesday July 9th. Please take a few minutes to do the following on July 9th: 1) Please forward the open letter to Prince Zeid to all your contacts/lists and post to Facebook; 2) Please write your own letter  reiterating the points in the open letter (see below) and e-mail your letter  to: ***Prince Zeid Ra'ad Zeid Al Hussein, UN High Commissioner-Elect for Human Rights     e-mail:  registry@ohchr.org ***Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour  e-mail: info@pm.gov.jo ***Minister of Interior, Hussein Majali  e-mail: info@moi.gov.jo ***Minister of Justice, Bassam Talhouni   e-mail:  Feedback@moj.gov.jo 3) Please encourage your contacts to sign the petition to free Amer Jubran if they have not signed it already http://freeamerpetition.wordpress.com/ Amer has always fought for justice. He needs your help now! Please follow the action steps above on Wed July 9th and let us know if you receive any reply. Thank you again for your continued support. Sincerely, Amer Jubran Defense Campaign defense@amerjubrandefense.org _________________________________________________________________________________________ [figure in illustration is Hanthala, Naji Ali's cartoon character, created when he was in an Israel jail. Hanthala is our UPandOUT mascot.] Amer Jubran Defense Campaign freeamer.wordpress.com defense@amerjubrandefense.org                                          July 8, 2014 To UN High Commissioner-Elect for Human Rights, Prince Zeid Ra'ad Zeid Al Hussein: In light of your recent confirmation as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, we are writing now to urge you to turn your attention to your own country, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, and its atrocious history of human rights abuses. The current case of Amer Jubran highlights Jordan's ongoing contempt for the most basic international standards of civil and political rights. Mr. Jubran, a Jordanian citizen, was arrested at his home on May 5, 2014 by agents of the General Intelligence Directorate (GID) and continues to be detained without charges. For the first seven weeks of his detention, he was held incommunicado, without access to a lawyer or family. The international human rights organization Alkarama recently filed his case with the UN as an instance of arbitrary detention (http://en.alkarama.org/jordan/24-communiqu/1251-jordan-arbitrary-detention-of-human-rights-defender-amer-jubran-since-may-2014 ). Mr. Jubran is an internationally known activist, speaker, and writer on Palestinian human rights and a critic of US and Israeli policies in the Arab world. All who know him and are familiar with his history recognize his arrest as a politically motivated silencing. We are therefore concerned that the amendments to Jordan's "anti-terrorism" laws passed on June 1st criminalizing new categories of speech as "terrorism" may be applied in Mr. Jubran's case. The legislation itself demonstrates the willingness of the Jordanian regime to exploit the label "terrorism" to further limit free speech, especially speech that is critical of the existing system of cooperation between Jordan, Israel and the United States. (See statement from Reporters without Borders:http://en.rsf.org/jordan-king-urged-to-repeal-draconian-16-06-2014,46423.html  ) We further call attention to the use of the State Security Court as an instrument for political repression. As a direct extension of the executive branch of government, the State Security Court violates all standards of judicial independence. It is a rubber stamp for arrests and detentions carried out by the GID, which has a well-documented history of arbitrary detention and torture to silence political opposition (http://www.amnesty.org/en/region/jordan/report-2013). The collaboration between the GID and the State Security Court in human rights abuses has been specifically cited by Alkarama: "The methods of torture most commonly employed by GID officers are beatings, beatings with cables, ropes, plastic pipes, whips etc all over the body including the soles of the feet (falaqa), stress positions, sleep deprivation, injections that cause states of extreme anxiety, humiliation, threats of rape against the victim and members of his family, electroshock, prolonged isolation, etc. Abuse is more prevalent in the GID due to its close collaboration with the judges of the State Security Court. Incommunicado detention, which is itself a form of mental torture, is routinely extended for undetermined amounts of time." (http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrc/docs/ngos/Alkarama_Jordan_HRC100_en.pdf) In your acceptance speech at your confirmation as the UN High Commissioner by the General Assembly in June, you spoke of the commitment to push forward the issue of human rights on the Asian continent. Such a commitment can only be taken seriously if you are willing to begin at home. We ask you to stand behind your words by demanding the release of Amer Jubran from his unjust imprisonment by unaccountable agencies within the state of Jordan, and to use your position to end extensive human rights violations carried out by the GID and the State Security Court. Sincerely, The Amer Jubran Defense Campaign National Lawyers Guild, Palestine Subcommittee Defending Dissent Foundation cc:  Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour (Jordan)        Minister of Interior Hussein Majali (Jordan)        Minister of Justice Bassam Talhouni (Jordan)        UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay