Amnesty International launched an urgent action today (online at www.amnesty.it), to protect nine defenders of human rights, six men and two women, who were threatened with death in Kenya. Those nine people, a few of whom are outstanding exponents of local organizations for human right defence, received a series of anonymous SMS, mails and telephone calls in which they were accused of ‘betraying’ their ethnic group. Eight of them belong to the ethnic group Kikuyu, most of which upholds President Mwai Kibaki. In the last few weeks, the nine defenders of human rights had denounced irregularities in the elections at the end of December, as well as the violations of human rights carried out by the police and armed gangs, including the ones set up by the Kikuyu. Four of them are mentioned in an anonymous leaflet spread within the Kikuyu community, in which the names of 25 people are listed. They are called ‘betrayers peacefully living among us’, and there is a subtle allusion to their murder. The nine defenders of human rights adopted a few precautionary measures, abandoning their houses and avoiding further public declarations. Amnesty International asks the government of Kenya to guarantee their ‘security’, to protect all defenders of human rights, to investigate the threats, and to take the people responsible before trial.” ” ” “
