Story
It's true - I'm crazy enough to take on the London Marathon! My right knee is not so crazy about it, but I shall not be deterred. I'm proud to be fundraising for Amnesty International again, and pleased to say that with your help I've managed to raise a lot of money for them already:
- £782.20 in sponsorship for running Birmingham half-marathon in October
- £606.99 at The Cheesegraters' fundraising gig in January
- £40 for sponsored squash
So in April I'll be running the London Marathon and hope that your sponsorship will enable me to raise over £2,000 for Amnesty in total. In particular I'll be using my fundraising to highlight the case of a Burmese prisoner of conscience. 66-year-old U Win Htein was first arrested in 1996 when he was sentenced to 14 years in prison for organising data collection on agricultural productivity and for helping three foreign journalists report on conditions for political prisoners.
He was released as part of a government amnesty in September 2008 but his freedom lasted less than 24 hours. U Win Htein was rearrested and taken to a prison in the remote north of the country, far from his family. No reasons have been given for his re-arrest and he remains in detention. A man being held solely for his peaceful political work, he is being held in solitary confinement and is not receiving the treatment he needs for his numerous health problems including hypertension and heart disease.
In the case of Masood Janjua and Faisal Faraz which I highlighted last year, the Supreme Court in Pakistan has resumed its hearings of disappearance cases after more than two years. The Pakistan government has formed a six-member joint investigation team consisting of officials from the intelligence services to trace Masood Janjua. Find out more.
Any donations you can give to support Amnesty's important work to highlight these and other cases would be very much appreciated. If you would like to take action in support of U Win Htein by contacting the Burmese authorities, you can find out more here.
Many thanks,
Mark
- £782.20 in sponsorship for running Birmingham half-marathon in October
- £606.99 at The Cheesegraters' fundraising gig in January
- £40 for sponsored squash
So in April I'll be running the London Marathon and hope that your sponsorship will enable me to raise over £2,000 for Amnesty in total. In particular I'll be using my fundraising to highlight the case of a Burmese prisoner of conscience. 66-year-old U Win Htein was first arrested in 1996 when he was sentenced to 14 years in prison for organising data collection on agricultural productivity and for helping three foreign journalists report on conditions for political prisoners.
He was released as part of a government amnesty in September 2008 but his freedom lasted less than 24 hours. U Win Htein was rearrested and taken to a prison in the remote north of the country, far from his family. No reasons have been given for his re-arrest and he remains in detention. A man being held solely for his peaceful political work, he is being held in solitary confinement and is not receiving the treatment he needs for his numerous health problems including hypertension and heart disease.
In the case of Masood Janjua and Faisal Faraz which I highlighted last year, the Supreme Court in Pakistan has resumed its hearings of disappearance cases after more than two years. The Pakistan government has formed a six-member joint investigation team consisting of officials from the intelligence services to trace Masood Janjua. Find out more.
Any donations you can give to support Amnesty's important work to highlight these and other cases would be very much appreciated. If you would like to take action in support of U Win Htein by contacting the Burmese authorities, you can find out more here.
Many thanks,
Mark