Meeting minutes for March

Amnesty International Group 342 

Meeting Minutes for 21 March 2012

In attendance: Jeff Singleton, Gina Buckman, Colin Evans, Marsha Brofka-Berends,
Barbara Quintiliano, Tilo Stahl, April Zappaterini, Justin Williams, and Bill
Schomp

I. Review of minutes from last meeting

Minutes were not available from the last meeting.

II. Reports

• Treasurer’s Report: We have a total of $ 534 in our account and another $174 in cash.
• Group 342 Coordinator's Report: Jeff has been in contact with Michele Bolay about starting a new Amnesty International chapter at the STEM Academy in Downingtown.
• Area Coordinator's Report: There will be a joint regional meeting at the Ethical Society in Philadelphia on Saturday, March 24, 2012, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

III. Actions

• We did a Nowruz ("New Day"; the Iranian New Year) letter-writing campaign to the following prisoners of conscience in Iran:
• Seven Baha’is
• Majid Tavakkoli
• Nasrin Sotoudeh
• Sayed Ziaoddin Nabvi
• Zeynab Jalalian
• Sa’id Metinpour
• Behreh Hedayat
• We also wrote to U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon asking the U.N. to take continued action on behalf of civilians in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Central African Republic, South Sudan, Sudan, and Libya. We ask that missions to these areas receive additional support and that they take measures to protect civilians and encourage states to report and capture fugitives from the ICC (International Criminal Courts)

IV. Updates

• Case File Updates
• We did not write a letter on behalf of Siti Zainab Binti Duhri Rupa of Saudi Arabia at this meeting.
• Bill Schomp brought a letter on behalf of Mohammad Sadiq Kabuduad of Iran.
• NRCAT Update:
• They are focusing on domestic torture in U.S. prisons. People are urged to watch the video Solitary Confinement: Torture in Your Backyard. [NOTE ADDED AFTER THE MEETING: Barbara Quintiliano sent the link to the group via e-mail after the meeting.]
• Death Penalty Update: No updates at this time.

V. Presentations

None tonight. Gina Buckman will prepare a presentation for our next meeting.

VI. New Business

• Our Facebook site is up and running. [NOTE ADDED AFTER THE MEETING: This is here.]
• We are also on the calendar for the Southeastern PA Progressive Network website. [NOTE ADDED AFTER THE MEETING: The network's website is here; the calendar is here.]

VII. Other Items

None

Our next meeting will be Wednesday, April 18, 2012, at 7:30 PM at Wegman’s in Malvern.