Fortnightly Action and News 03/10/2025
Manchester Amnesty Fortnightly Action and News
Manchester Amnesty sends condolences to all those affected, the victims, their families and the wider Jewish communities after the shocking attack outside a synagogue in Manchester yesterday. Manchester is a city where people of different faiths and backgrounds live peacefully and respectfully side by side. Attempts to create division through violence and hatred will not succeed as we come together in peace and solidarity.
Please do this action and make a difference
Across the world, peaceful protesters face waves of repression from police and military forces in deliberate attempts to crush dissent. While weapons like tear gas, rubber bullets, pepper spray, and batons are promoted as safer alternatives to firearms, all too often these weapons are used unlawfully to harass, intimidate, punish, or drive away protesters, undermining their right to peaceful assembly. Amnesty International has documented cases where protesters have been killed or blinded by such weapons.
Next week, the use of these weapons will be discussed at the United Nations. Click the link below to sign an Amnesty International petition demanding that governments all over the world vote yes on a Torture-Free Trade Treaty and commit to the regulation of the trade in policing equipment.
Our October Group Meeting will take place online on Monday 13th October at 7pm.
We are very pleased to welcome Mohannad Taha from Manchester4Sudan who will speak to us about the ongoing war in Sudan, which has displaced 12 million people. We really need to know and talk about this war, which is largely ignored by the media. We will also have updates on our other campaigning work – there is a lot of it! All are welcome including new members. A zoom link will be emailed to members before the meeting – please look out for it.
***THIS EVENING***
MANCHESTER AMNESTY SILENT VIGIL for the people of Palestine
St Peters Square, Manchester, Friday 3rd October, 5-6pm.
Please do not bring placards, banners or flags.
We will provide placards with Amnesty’s messages. Feel free to bring your friends.
Friends of Al- Aqsa
Know Their Names
The names of children who have been killed in Gaza will be read out all over the UK.
In Manchester – Saturday, 4th October, St. Peter’s Square, 7am to midnight.
GMFoP - Two years of genocide in Gaza. End the Israeli Occupation!
Demonstration, Saturday 4th October, starts 12 noon outside Manchester Cathedral,
and finishes at the “Know Their Names” event (see above) in St. Peter’s Square.
Gaza Remains the Story Exhibition
Manchester Amnesty and Greater Manchester Friends of Palestine present this exhibition of words and pictures. Now at the Friends Meeting House, until 10th October.
See GMFoP website for further information and showing dates.
Manchester Amnesty and St. Clement’s Church, Chorlton
The Palestinian Struggle didn’t begin on 7th October 2023…
Talk by Mike Reed on Amnesty’s report on Israeli Apartheid, followed by discussion
Friday, 10th October, St. Clement’s Church, Edge Lane, M21 9AE, doors open 6.30
British Muslim Heritage Centre, College Road, M16 8BP, Friday 10th October, 7-8pm.
Palestine: Past, Present and Future
An evening with Omer Hussein, son of a Nakba survivor. Free entry, all welcome.
Members may be interested in joining “Red Line for Gaza” an online group backed by many reputable charities and organisations, which, if you sign up, provides you each week with an email to send to your MP, all on different topics relating to Gaza. See this link
For Whalley Range, Didsbury and Levenshulme events please see GMFoP website.
***THIS SUNDAY***
To commemorate 75 years of the European Convention on Human Rights,
2-4pm, Sunday, 5th October, Friends’ Meeting House, Mount Street, M2 5NS
Dreams of Peace and Freedom, a song-cycle by Sue Casson.
Please support this event which will raise funds for Amnesty International and you can combine it with a visit to the Gaza Remains the Story Exhibition ( see above).
. Reserve your place here.
University of Manchester, 2025 Annual International Peace Lecture
The Continuous Struggle: Women’s Rights in the Past Four Decades and the Backlash Against Progress
Talk by Madeleine Rees OBE 3pm on Wednesday 8th October, Roscoe Building.
Book your place here
Good news
220925
Spain / Israel / Occupied Palestinian Territory - On September 19, 2025, the Spanish Ministry of Defence cancelled the contract with Israel to equip Eurofighter combat aircraft with a new laser guidance system, designed to hit targets with greater precision.
Egypt - On September 22, 2025, after he and his mother put their lives at risk with long hunger strikes, British-Egyptian human rights defender Alaa Abd el-Fattah, who had served 6 years in prison for expressing his views on social media, was granted a presidential pardon and released from detention. See this Guardian article
Israel / Occupied Palestinian Territory - On September 24, 2025, the US multinational IT company Microsoft ended the access of the Israeli army's 8200 espionage unit to its surveillance tools. The step was taken as a result of the illegal collection and storage of millions of telephone conversations between Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, in violation of the terms of the contract.
Italy / Peru - On September 25, 2025, the Court of Appeal of Florence rejected the request for extradition, coming from Peru, of a Peruvian citizen wanted for common crimes due to human rights violations in the South American state, citing representations from Amnesty International.
The next Fortnightly Action and News will be on 17th October
Manchester Amnesty issue and campaign coordinators
Anti-racism –Hazel Errey hazelerrey@gmail.com and Umbareen Siddiqi
Human Rights in the UK Richard Umpleby richump@live.co.uk
Individuals at Risk bi-monthly drop in Liz Carter lizcarter64@yahoo.co.uk
Israel's Apartheid Against Palestinians - Mike Reed mikewreed101@gmail.com
LGBTQ+ and Pride – Fynn Kawe fynnkawe@gmail.com
Press freedom and Julian Assange – Lima Al-iskalachi limazakoor@gmail.com & Danny Jones dannyj644@gmail.comsu
Prevent campaign – Tom Milnes thomashmilnes@gmail.com
Refugees - Caroline Glendinning caroline.glendinning@york.ac.uk and Alison Wearden
UAE - Kathryn Fletcher bussk@btinternet.com
Our website Manchester | Amnesty International UK [amnesty.org.uk] (managed by Alison Wearden)
X/Twitter @amnestymanc [twitter.com] (managed by Steve Lindsay – stevenjameslindsay@gmail.com)
Facebook Manchester Amnesty Group [facebook.com] MANAGER NEEDED!
Instagram @amnestymanchester [instagram.com] managed by Hazel Errey (hazelerrey@gmail.com)
Digital design coordinator Fynn Kawe fynnkawe@gmail.com
Alison Wearden
Communications Secretary
Manchester Group of Amnesty International.
Please contact me on alison.wearden@gmail.com with items for our Fortnightly Action and News, or with ideas for longer articles for the quarterly Manchester Amnesty Group Bulletin (Mar, Jun, Sep, Dec).
Group email address: manchestergroup@amnesty.org.uk
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