Lantos Foundation Awards Grant to a One Woman Crusader

Retired Teacher Erases Over 90,000 Displays of Anti-Semitic Graffiti

The Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice is pleased to announce that a Front Line Grant has been awarded to 68-year old Irmela Menshah Schramm, a one-woman crusader who has single-handedly fought neo-Nazi hate by documenting and then removing anti-Semitic graffiti, stickers, and posters from the streets of Berlin and greater Germany for over 25 years.

Schramm’s tools are a white bag, camera, paint brushes, paint solvents, and a can of black spray paint. Each morning since 1985, she has made it her mission to find, scratch off, erase, or cover up these hate-filled messages. Schramm pays for her ‘tools’ out of her own money.

The Front Line Fund grant will be used to help Ms. Menshah Schramm offset expenses in her continuing work to remove anti-Semitic graffiti in an effort to eliminate this hatred and promote tolerance in her community.

The work that Ms. Menshah Schramm undertakes often puts her in great personal danger; death threats and brutal beatings are popular scare tactics used by the extremist movements she faces. Despite the probability of violent attacks, her own medical complications, and the general indifference of her society, Ms. Menshah Schramm devotes every day of her life to the cause of combating this poison.

The recent resurgence of anti-Semitic crime and hate-speech is of particular concern to the Lantos Foundation. “Citizens like Irmela Schramm, who actively work to combat hatred and bigotry wherever they come across it are an invaluable force in working to create societies built upon mutual respect and acceptance. The Lantos Foundation is very pleased to offer a Front Line Grant to support the work and mission of Ms. Menshah Schramm,” said Foundation President Katrina Lantos Swett.

Lantos Foundation Joins Organizations in Statement Regarding Obama & Vietnamese President

Joint Statement of Human Rights Organizations Regarding the Upcoming Meeting between U.S. President Barack Obama and Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang: 

The upcoming visit to the United States by President Truong Tan Sang of Vietnam presents an opportunity for U.S. President Barack Obama to reiterate his Administration’s position that Vietnam’s “backsliding” on human rights is a stumbling block to expanded trade and security collaboration between the two countries. Likewise, this is an opportunity for the Vietnamese leadership to demonstrate their commitment to internationally recognized human rights.

We, the undersigned organizations, would like to see expanded U.S.-Vietnam partnership in the context of greater respect for human rights. We strongly believe that President Obama should insist on the full release of all Vietnamese political prisoners and other prisoners of conscience. At the same time we call on the Vietnamese government to agree to the following steps as milestones:

(1) Immediate and unconditional release of Dr. Cu Huy Ha Vu, independent journalist Nguyen Van Hai (aka Dieu Cay), and blogger Ta Phong Tan.

Dr. Vu, a constitutional scholar who fought for environmental justice and the rights of indigenous peoples, is serving a seven-year sentence for "propaganda against the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam". He suffers congenital heart problems, acute migraine, unstable blood pressure, high cholesterol, and persistent skin rashes. Dr. Vu needs medical treatment and round-the-clock care. Last month he held a 25-day hunger strike to protest the abject prison conditions.

Last year the U.S. State Department highlighted Dieu Cay’s courage, making his case the first in a series of profiles of bloggers and journalists honored on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day. Speaking on that occasion, President Obama specifically called on the international community to not forget Dieu Cay. He is serving a 12-year sentence for "disseminating anti-state information and materials." He is on hunger strike to protest the abject prison conditions.

On International Women’s Day of this year the U.S. First Lady and Secretary of State John Kerry jointly honored blogger Ta Phong Tan as a woman of courage. She started a blog called Truth and Justice to expose corruption in the Vietnamese legal system. She was arrested in 2011 and sentenced to ten years in prison.

The release of these three prominent prisoners of conscience would be viewed as a positive development and a significant effort toward improving human rights practices in Vietnam. We are confident that this will set a positive tone for President Sang's upcoming meeting with President Obama.

(2) Release of all known Vietnamese political prisoners and other prisoners of conscience prior to the upcoming ASEAN Summit in Brunei, where U.S. President Barack Obama reportedly will hold a side meeting with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung.

International human rights organizations have documented at least 150 political prisoners and other prisoners of conscience. The Vietnamese government should release all such prisoners unconditionally before the upcoming ASEAN Summit.

Reports of several hundred other such prisoners, particularly among ethnic and religious minorities in highland areas, have been difficult to confirm because the government severely restricts access to these areas.

As the confirmation process may take time, the government of Vietnam should agree to a timeline for verification, which is to start immediately. Verified political prisoners and other prisoners of conscience should then be gradually released from prison in groups and no later than the end of this year.

(3) Prison visits by the International Committee of the Red Cross, UN agencies, and international human rights organizations to inspect the conditions in Vietnamese prisons and detention centers.

We urge the Vietnamese government to end the arbitrary arrest and incommunicado detention of people who peacefully exercise their rights to freedom of expression, association, assembly, and religious belief.

The government should ensure that all detained suspects and prisoners are treated in accordance with international human rights standards. Detainees should have prompt access to a lawyer of their choice, be promptly brought before a court, and not be subject to torture and other forms of cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment.

We also urge the government to fully apply international standards on the treatment of prisoners and conditions of detention, in particular by enacting into legislation and adhering to the U.N. Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners.

Regular and unhindered prison visits by credible parties such as the International Committee of the Red Cross, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, and international human rights organizations will help verify such adherence.

Signed by: 
Boat People SOS (BPSOS) 
Burma Partnership
Committee for Religious Freedom in Vietnam
Con Dau Parishioners Association
Council for Human Rights in Vietnam
Environmental Defense Law Center
Hmong National Development
Human Rights Watch
ICT Watch Philippines
INDIGENOUS
International Office of Champa
The Lantos Foundation
Vietnamese Committee on Justice and Peace of the Catholic Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston

Lantos Foundation Statement - Posthumous Conviction of Sergei Magnitsky

Following the announcement that a Moscow Court posthumously convicted Sergei Magnitsky yesterday, Lantos Foundation President Katrina Lantos Swett issued the following statement: 

“The absurd posthumous conviction of Sergei Magnitsky by a thoroughly corrupt Russian judicial system represents a new low in the annals of Putin’s misrule of Russia. Sergei Magnitsky is hailed around the world as a brave and idealistic lawyer who exposed massive tax fraud on the part of corrupt Russian officials. He paid for this disclosure with his life and the pathetic attempt by these guilty officials to implicate Magnitsky in their crimes would be laughable if it weren’t so tragic. Thankfully, Sergei Magnitsky’s former client Bill Browder, who was also falsely convicted in absentia, remains free and has dedicated himself to exposing the crimes of Putin and his henchmen. History will not be kind to Putin and his corrupt cronies who have tried to besmirch the name of a fallen hero. The good news is they have already failed and Sergei Magnitsky’s proud legacy of integrity and idealism will continue to shine brighter with each passing year.”

A Message of Solidarity to Mikhail Khodorkovsky

Today is the 50th birthday of Mikhail Khodorkovsky and tragically, once again, he will spend this day in a Russian prison. It has been nearly 10 years since Mr. Khodorkovsky was unjustly imprisoned for the “crime” of daring to challenge the corruption and authoritarianism of Vladimir Putin. During the past decade, the dangerous and criminal nature of Putin’s regime has been unmasked for the entire world to see. From the murder of the crusading lawyer Sergei Magnitsky while in official custody, to the stolen Duma elections of 2011, to the harassment and persecution of civil society organizations dedicated to human rights and democracy, to the wholesale corruption of the legal system, it is clear that democracy and basic human rights are scarce commodities in Putin’s Russia. 

Millions of people now recognize Mikhail Khodorkovsky as a man who had the foresight to see what was happening to his country and the courage to try and stop it. It is vital that people of goodwill stand in solidarity with Mikhail on this important day. He has spent 10 long years languishing in prison but is due to be released in October of 2014. We call upon governments and citizens around the world to demand that the Russian government honor his release date and set this brave man free. Through letters, calls, social media, and public demonstrations we must make it clear to Putin that the world is watching. 

Lantos Foundation president Katrina Lantos Swett said, "Mikhail Khodorkovsky was willing to stand up for Russian democracy and freedom and has paid a very heavy price for his courage. Now it is time for those who support these values to stand up for him."

Katrina Lantos Swett Op-Ed : CNN World/GPS -- Time to tear down the internet 'walls'

The following op-ed appeared on CNN World/GPS on June 26, 2013.

Fifty years ago today, on June 26, 1963, President John F. Kennedy stood in West Berlin and condemned the newly erected Berlin Wall. Twenty-four years later, President Ronald Reagan traveled to West Berlin and challenged Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to "tear down this wall.”

In the decades between these speeches, human rights and religious freedom advocates behind the Iron Curtain defied the walls of tyranny by relying on the samizdat, a clandestine system to print and distribute government-suppressed material. Today, many use the internet in much the same way, raising both challenges and opportunities as the forces of repression and freedom clash in the virtual and physical worlds.

To read the entire op-ed please visit CNN World/ GPS

Lantos Foundation Urges Interpol to Reject Russia's Latest Political Witch-Hunt

CONCORD, NH – The Lantos Foundation for Human Rights & Justice has sent a letter petitioning Interpol to reject Russia’s request to issue an All-Points Bulletin to locate Mr. William Browder, the CEO of Hermitage Capital Management. The Russian Government has been pursuing Mr. Browder on tax evasion charges, but it is widely believed that his pursuit is related to his work calling for justice for his slain former employee Sergei Magnitsky, who is currently the subject of an outrageous posthumous trial in Russia. Interpol’s Commission for the Control of Files will consider the request at its next scheduled meeting beginning on May 23rd.

Katrina Lantos Swett, President of the Lantos Foundation, stated:

“We strongly urge Interpol not to become embroiled in Russia’s latest attempt to make a mockery of international justice. Bill Browder deserves praise, not condemnation, for the work he has done with the Sergei Magnitsky Act here in the US and other attempts to gain justice for his slain friend. Interpol must not play into Putin’s hands by acquiescing to an APB that would make them accessories to an outrageous abuse of justice and put a respected human rights champion at risk of his life should he fall into the corrupt and violent hands of Russia’s Interior Ministry.”

Statement on International Day Against Homophobia

The advance and expansion of the scope of human rights has been one of the important good news stories of the past half century. In nation after nation we are seeing basic respect, dignity, and justice being extended to communities that, for far too long, were forced to live on the margins of their societies. This has certainly been true of the LGBT community. On this International Day Against Homophobia, we must not only celebrate the advances that have been made, but also renew our vigilance and our determination to extend fundamental human rights to all people, regardless of their sexual orientation.