Civil liberties

Amnesty International's Brighton & Hove group has created an online petition calling for the immediate and unconditional release of five Cuban trade unionists.

The men have been arrested for excercising their rights to freedom of expression and freedom of assembly, and have never used or advocated the use of violence in opposition of the government.

Amnesty International's Brighton & Hove group is urging the Cuban authorities to give the men due access to lawyers, medical care and family members. They are also calling for the family members to be updated on the whereabouts and status of the prisoners.

Prisoners of conscience in Cuba has long since been an important campaign for Amnesty International's Brighton & Hove Group. In 2003, 75 Cubas - doctors, lawyers, economists, pro-democracy activists, and others - were arrested as part of a governmental security crackdown.

The petition can be found online at: www.ipetitions.com/petition/Cubamnesty/

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There is still time to join the NO2ID drive to renew passports before October to avoid the risk of giving up personal data to be used for the government identity database.

From October all first-time passport applicants will be subject to background checks and interviews at a new enrolment centre. Also the cost for a 10 year passport is rising from £51 now to £93 to pay for ID registration and inclusion on the National Identity database.For more about the passport scheme see www.renewforfreedom.org