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Stop Human Rights Abuses and the Killing of Activists

Published on September 3, 2014, at ForceChange.com

Target: Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, King of Bahrain

Goal: Hold corrupt cops accountable for killing protesters and torturing prisoners

Since the Arab Spring uprisings, Bahrain security forces have killed dozens of activists and wounded hundreds of others. Indiscriminately gunning down and viciously beating protesters, the police cover up their crimes and rarely face prosecution. Many of those arrested are subjected to torture and horrific threats to their families. Arrested children receive the same mistreatment. The government of Bahrain must investigate these human rights abuses and punish the cops committing these crimes.

During protests, police in riot gear have repeatedly killed and crippled activists by shooting them with birdshot. In one case, Mahmood al-Jazeeri was killed when a cop fired a tear gas canister at his head at close range. According to the U.S. State Department, an eight-year-old child reportedly died from inhaling tear gas dispersed by the police.

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Protect Monarch Butterflies from Extinction

Originally published on September 3, 2014, at ForceChange.com

Target: U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid

Goal: Provide protection to monarch butterflies under the Endangered Species Act

With their population in rapid decline, monarch butterflies have lost over 165 million acres of habitat. Herbicides, pesticides, the loss of the milkweed plant, and illegal logging in Mexico have contributed to the massive reduction in monarch butterfly populations. The U.S. government needs to protect the monarch butterflies under the Endangered Species Act before it is too late to save them.

Butterfly monarch populations have declined by 90 percent in less than twenty years. During the 1990s, roughly one billion monarch butterflies migrated to fir forests in the winter. Scientists estimate that only 33 million monarch butterflies remain today.

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Demand Justice for Handcuffed Suspect Shot in the Chest by Police

Originally published on September 2, 2014, at ForceChange.com

Target: Bobby Jindal, Governor of Louisiana

Goal: Investigate the alleged “suicide” of a handcuffed black suspect who police claim shot himself in the chest

Notorious for excessive brutality and corruption, police officers in Louisiana are attempting to cover up the murder of 22-year-old Victor White III by falsely labeling his death a suicide. At first, law enforcement officials claimed White produced a hidden gun and shot himself in the back. The autopsy report refutes their claims by revealing White had been shot in the chest with his hands cuffed behind his back. An investigation into the shooting of White must be launched to provide justice for his family and punishment for his killers.

According to the police, White had been arrested for a fight he was not involved in and taken into custody. After searching him twice and claiming to find drugs on him, the police cuffed White’s hands behind his back and placed him inside the back of the patrol car. As they arrived at the station, police claim White became uncooperative and refused to exit the vehicle. Even though they searched him twice, White allegedly pulled out a hidden gun and fatally shot himself in the back.

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Court Catches FedEx Cheating Employees of Their Benefits

Originally published on August 29, 2014, at NationofChange.org

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that FedEx Corp. misclassified their employees as independent contractors to evade paying benefits. By classifying their drivers as independent contractors, FedEx unlawfully subjected their employees to repeated labor and wage violations. Seeking a rehearing by the entire Ninth Circuit, FedEx wishes to avoid potentially paying out hundreds of thousands of dollars in back wages, damages, and attorneys’ fees.

In the case known as Alexander v. FedEx Ground, a panel of federal judges determined that over 2,300 FedEx drivers in California and Oregon had been deprived of employee status and benefits. According to court documents, FedEx drivers were required to pay for their FedEx branded trucks, uniforms, insurance, fuel, tires, oil changes, maintenance, workers’ compensation coverage, and the wages of employees covering their shifts during vacations and sick days. The drivers were even forced to rent the scanners that record their deliveries and ended up trapped with expensive long-term leases on their FedEx branded trucks.

“We have heard of many instances where the secondary drivers are earning such low wages that they have to rely on public assistance to make ends meet,” stated the plaintiffs’ attorney Beth Ross. “Nationally, thousands of FedEx Ground drivers must pay for the privilege of working for FedEx 55 hours a week, 52 weeks a year. Today, these workers were granted rights and benefits entitled to employees under California law. To be clear, the Ninth Circuit exposed FedEx Ground’s independent contractor model as unlawful.”

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Stop Corporations from Illegally Destroying a National Park

Originally published on August 29, 2014, at ForceChange.com

Target: Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, President of Indonesia

Goal: Prevent illegal gold mining and deforestation from demolishing a national park

Even though it is currently illegal to deforest national parks in Indonesia, corporations are overtly breaking the law by logging and gold mining on Borneo. These rapidly depleting forests are home to the endangered orangutans and proboscis monkeys. The Indonesian government needs to enforce the law and protect its rainforests from corporate greed.

Although the Indonesian government has chosen to impose a temporary moratorium on the deforestation of their country’s rainforests, corporations continue to illegally raze the ground at Borneo’s Tanjung Puting National Park. A palm oil company is tearing down trees in order to make room for new plantations, while gold mining corporations contaminate the environment. These companies must be punished for their violations and kept out of the national park.

Refusing to perform environmental impact assessments, the corporations are allegedly bribing local officials to acquire permits. Villagers protest the decimation of their land as endangered orangutan and proboscis monkey populations are under the threat of possible extinction. Hundreds of species of birds and trees are also at risk due to this blind avarice.

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Stop the Detention and Murder of Community Leaders

Originally published on August 28, 2014, at ForceChange.com

Target: Otto Perez Molina, President of Guatemala

Goal: End the extreme violence against environmental rights activists and their community leaders

While resisting the construction of local hydroelectric plants, two community leaders were arbitrarily arrested by the police. In retaliation, the community rose up in protest against their discriminatory detention. During the protest, three Mayan community leaders were shot and killed as police brutalized the activists. The Guatemalan government needs to investigate their deaths and punish any police officers responsible for these human rights abuses.

On August 15, law enforcement officials arrested community leaders, Rafael Chen and Carmen del Cid. Large crowds gathered in protest of their unlawful arrests. The police violently attacked the protesters and reportedly shot Sebastian Rax Caal, Luciano Can Cujub, and Oscar Chen Quej to death. At least 40 activists have been arrested with many others left injured.

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22 Puerto Rico Cops Plead Guilty to Corruption Charges

Originally published on August 27, 2014, at NationofChange.org

Twenty-two Puerto Rico Police Officers have pleaded guilty to multiple charges of robbery, extortion, civil rights violations, drug dealing, and obstruction of justice. Tainted by a pervasive history of abuse and corruption, the Puerto Rico police department operates with virtual impunity and a blatant disregard for the law. Separate investigations from the DOJ and ACLU confirm multiple reports of the police engaging in the unjustified use of excessive force, lethal force, and criminal activities.

On the evening of November 5, 2008, Lt. Erick Rivera Nazario and Officer Jimmy Rodriguez Vega confronted and killed 19-year-old Jose Luis Irizarry Perez. While Officer David Colon Martinez restrained Irizarry Perez, Lt. Rivera Nazario and Officer Rodriguez Vega beat the teenager to death with their batons. On March 8, 2013, Officer Rodriguez Vega pleaded guilty to one count of depriving Irizarry Perez of his civil rights by striking him with his police baton.

After failing to cover-up the unlawful killing, Officer David Colon Martinez pleaded guilty on August 22, 2014, to one count of making a false statement to the FBI and one count of perjury for lying to the federal grand jury that investigated the incident. Officer Miguel Negron Vazquez joined him in pleading guilty to making a false statement to the FBI.

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Demand an End to Government-Sponsored Human Rights Abuse

Originally published on August 27, 2014, at ForceChange.com

Target: Jose Eduardo dos Santos, President of Angola

Goal: Stop the human rights abuses committed by the police and other security forces in Angola

Government officials are allowing arbitrary arrests, torture, and unlawful killings of civilians by the police. Activists are arrested for attending protests even though their constitution protects the right to assemble. With a lack of due process, suspects often face potentially life-threatening prison conditions and corrupt corrections officers. The Angolan government must root out these criminal cops to prevent further abuses against their people.

According to the U.S. State Department, widespread government corruption is responsible for the proliferation of dirty cops patrolling the streets. Two police officers reportedly shot a man twice in the head for confronting them after they had severely beaten his friend. Police regularly arrest activists without charges and utilize excessive force in order to intimidate protesters. The murders of political opponents are rarely investigated, allowing many assassins to walk free.

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Whistleblower Reinstated After Radiation Leak at Nuclear Dump

Originally published on August 26, 2014, at NationofChange.org

Following an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) investigation, the U.S. Department of Labor ordered a government contractor to reinstate whistleblower Shelly Doss and pay $200,000 in back wages, attorney’s fees, and damages. The agency concluded government contractor Washington River Protection Solutions (WRPS) had wrongfully terminated Doss for reporting federal and state environmental violations at the nuclear cleanup site at Hanford, Washington.

Along the banks of the Colombia River lie a series of decommissioned nuclear reactors known as the Hanford site. Built during WWII as part of the Manhattan Project, the reactors produced plutonium for nuclear weapons. According to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), creating plutonium produced massive amounts of nuclear byproducts that were not properly disposed of and unintentional spills of liquid waste have contaminated the site.

Two years after the last reactor ceased operation in 1987, the DOE, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and Washington State Department of Ecology entered into a legally binding accord to clean up the toxic waste posing a risk to the local environment at Hanford. Notorious for ignoring evidence of leaking nuclear waste tanks and toxic exposure to their employees, DOE contractor WRPS fired Doss in 2011 for raising concerns about environmental safety and record-keeping violations to management and to government agencies.

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Protect Endangered Black Spider Monkeys

Originally published on August 24, 2014, at ForceChange.com

Target: Dilma Rousseff, President of Brazil

Goal: Create protected sanctuaries to prevent the rapid depopulation of black spider monkeys

Because black spider monkeys inhabit tropical and subtropical rainforests throughout South America, logging and deforestation are reducing their environment and endangering their species. Although they play a vital role in the survival of their ecosystem, these monkeys are dying out as their rainforests are destroyed. Brazil and other South American countries must lead the charge to save these creatures by designating protected areas to ensure the survival of the black spider monkeys and their rainforests.

The black spider monkey is key to the growth and survival of the tropical rainforests. By contributing to seed dispersal, the monkeys take active roles helping their ecosystem to nourish and thrive. Unsustainable deforestation counteracts seed dispersal by annihilating plant life and endangering the monkeys living within those habitations.

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