Stop the Wars (Iraq, Afghanistan, Haiti...)

In Iraq, at least three young women have been sentenced to death, for vague offenses. "Questions have arisen about the fairness of proceedings, the lack of legal representation, transparency in the justice system and use of the death penalty as well as the legitimacy of the legal tribunals themselves," reports Women's eNews.

More information on the three women's cases is below, and on Amnesty International's website. But first, this reminder to join the peace rally and march this Saturday:

Rally and March to End the Iraq War
Saturday, March 17 2007 at 12:30 pm
UW Library Mall in Madison (Lake and State Streets)
We are calling for an end to the war and bringing all the troops home now. We will gather to mark the 4th anniversary of the start of the Iraq war and call for "Not One More Death. Not One More Dollar." We will also be leafletting with the theme of encouraging young people to seek alternatives to military enlistment, and to resist the lures of military recruiters.

Gather at UW Library Mall at 12:30pm for musical satire and spoken word artists. Rally begins at 1pm with speakers. March steps off at 1:30pm. Bring signs and noise makers. Come early if you can volunteer to leaflet or help with another task.

From Women's eNews:

According to information collected by Amnesty International, Wassan Talib and Zayneb Fadhil were sentenced to death by the Central Criminal Court of Iraq on August 31, 2006, after being convicted of killing members of the Iraqi security forces in the Baghdad district of Hay al-Furat in 2005, charges that both deny. Zayneb Fadhil, the mother of a 3-year-old girl, has reportedly said that she was not in the country at the time of the incidents.

Liqa' Qamar Muhammad was convicted of participating in a kidnapping in 2005 and sentenced to death on Feb. 6, 2006. Her husband was detained and charged with the same crime, according to Amnesty International. Muhammad has an infant daughter, who was born in prison and remains there with her.

The International Committee of the National Lawyers Guild, a network of lawyers in the United States, points out that the U.N. has passed a resolution against imposing the death penalty on new mothers.

The group called for the Iraqi government to repudiate the executions. "We have received information that these three were denied legal counsel," the group said in a public statement. Denial of counsel violates international guarantees to a fair trial, the group said.