The petition
Following is the text of an urgent appeal by members of 'Ugandans at Heart' forum demanding immediate and unconditional release of Mr. Kalundi Serumaga from prison, in Uganda.
We express our astonishment that a person, who has served his country, has devoted his life to the improvement of civil society and has come to be known as one of the most vocal and respected journalists of his time should be treated in this way.
We believe that Mr. Serumaga is held in violation of his right to freedom of expression, as guaranteed by Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Constitution of the Republic of Uganda.
The undersigned call for all international human rights advocacy organizations, as well as groups active in support of journalists and media to protest the arrest of Kalundi Serumaga and demand an immediate halt to any future harassment of journalists by the Ugandan government.
We are very disturbed by the health conditions of Mr. Kalundi Serumaga because we read in the Monitor newspaper on 15th September 2009 that he had been brought by the security operatives to Kampala International with a lot of wounds on his body. We demand that Kalundi Serumaga be released immediately and unconditionally and charges against him dropped. In addition we urge you to ensure that he receives immediate and proper medical treatment while his release is being processed.
Furthermore, we urge all other freedom loving citizens around the globe to join us by signing this petition and writing to the following authorities on this very urgent and critical matter.
President Museveni of Uganda, State house, Nakasero, Kampala
Mr.Edward Sekandi, Speaker of Uganda Parliament, Kampala, Uganda
Secretary General, the United Nations, New York, NY 10017 Fax # (212) 963-4879
The United Nations High Commissioner on Human Rights, 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland, Fax # 41 22 917 9022 E-mail: tb-petitions@ohchr.org
Executive Director, Human Rights Watch, New 350 Fifth Avenue, 34th floor New York, NY 10118-3299 Tel: 1-(212) 290-4700, Fax: 1-(212) 736-1300 Email: hrwnyc@hrw.org
President, PEN American Center, 568 Broadway 4th Floor,New York, NY 10012 Tel: (212) 334-1660 Fax: (212) 334-2181 Email: pen@pen.org
We hereby sign below to demand the immediate release of the Journalist Kalundi Serumaga, without any constraints or conditions.We also hold Museveni’s government accountable and responsible for his life, dignity, and well-being.
International Secretariat, Amnesty International, 99-119 Rosebery Avenue London, EC1R 4RE United Kingdom. Tel : +44(0)2078146200 Fax : +44(0)2078331510
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