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Jerry Yang and David Filo RE: Don’t put profits ahead of human rights!Dear Mr. Yang and Mr. Filo, I am very deeply concerned over recent allegations that your company has assisted authorities in China in events which led to the imprisonment of Shi Tao, a Chinese journalist. On April 27, 2005, Shi Tao received a ten-year prison term for sending information about a Communist Party decision through his Yahoo email account to a website based in the United States. Amnesty International considers him a Prisoner of Conscience because he was imprisoned for peacefully exercising his right to freedom of expression and opinion. I am alarmed that in the pursuit of new and lucrative markets, your company is contributing to human rights violations. Yahoo should urgently give consideration to the human rights implications of its business operations. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights calls upon every organ of society, which includes companies, to respect human rights. Yahoo’s conduct in Shi Tao’s case has exposed your company to the risk of being complicit in human rights violations. I therefore very strongly urge Yahoo to: • Use its influence to secure Shi Tao’s release. • Stop any actions that could undermine human rights in any country in which you operate. • Take immediate steps to ensure that all your units – the parent corporation and subsidiaries – uphold human rights responsibilities for companies, as outlined by the UN Norms for Business. • Develop an explicit human rights policy, ensuring that it complies with the UN Norms for Business.I will join millions of concerned Americans and internet users in closely following your actions in these vital matters. Most Sincerely,
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