Omar Khadr Boycotts Second Day of Hearings

April 29, 2010

By William Miller
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba – Canadian Citizen Omar Khadr was not present for the second day of hearings to decide if any of the evidence against him should be suppressed. Khadr who was just fifteen when he was arrested in Afghanistan is to be tried for war crimes in a military tribunal. He decided to boycott the proceedings because military officials required him to wear sensory deprivation equipment while he was being transported from the jail to the court house.

Omar Khadr at age 15 when he was captured and at age 22 (PHOTO: Miami Herald)

Khadr was born in Canada to Al Qaeda supporters. He was taken to Afghanistan when he was just ten. During his time in Afghanistan he stayed in Al Qaeda camps and assisted in building road side bombs.

Khadr was just fifteen years old when he was arrested by U.S. Forces in Afghanistan for allegedly throwing a grenade that killed a United States medic. Prosecution witness FBI agent Robert Fuller testified to an account of the incident he says Khadr gave him when he was sixteen.

“He said one of the Afghan locals was running toward their compound yelling, ‘The Americans are coming. At that time he remembers (they gathered) up personal effects — the video camera and some film — placed them into duffel bags and then (tried) to exit the compound, where they engaged U.S. forces.”

Fuller further testified that Khadr told him how he watched as the three men he exited the compound with were gunned down by U.S. Forces. Fuller then said Khadr told him he “then he retrieved a grenade, threw the grenade over the compound wall, and then said he passed out.” Khadr presumably passed out from injuries he incurred during the conflict.

Fuller said he never read Khadr his rights during the interview but defended this position saying it was FBI policy not to and that the conversations were not coercive.

Khadr refused to appear at his hearing on Thursday, April 29 after guards required him to wear earmuffs and goggles during transport which were designed to block out his sight and hearing. Although he had complained of an eye problem earlier in the day this was not why he refused the to wear them. He said that the goggles and earmuffs were humiliating.

Khadr’s lawyer, Barry Coburn said this was the first time he was forced to wear such equipment. Coburn said Khadr had only been required to wear them until he was secured in a windowless transport in the past but guards had forced him to wear them for the entire trip as an unnecessary form of punishment.

Military Judge Col. Patrick Parrish originally held that Khadr had knowingly and voluntarily waived his right to appear and started the proceedings without him. After a short recess however he returned and said no one had ever advised Khadr of his right to appear and the consequences of not doing so. He ordered Khadr to be forcibly brought to the courthouse to be advised of his rights unless his defense attorney could persuade him to do so voluntarily.

The hearing Khadr has boycotted is being held to determine if confessions given by Khadr should be suppressed because they were elicited through torture. Khadr has been interrogated more than 100 times during his imprisonment. The defense also seeks to suppress a video tape of Khadr participating in the building of a roadside bomb.

Khadr who is now twenty-three has spent more than a third of his life in prison. If he is convicted he could be sentenced to life. Khadr’s attorneys say that they will appeal any decision to allow Khadr’s confessions to be used as evidence. The case has inflamed many activists who believe Khadr should be considered a child soldier and rehabilitated and sent back home to Canada.

For more information, please see:

Globe and Mail – Khadr Absent from Day Two of Hearings – 29 April 2010

Vancouver Sun – Khadr Boycotts Proceedings at Guantanamo Bay – 29 April 2010

Washington Post – Military Tribunal Opens Hearing on Guantanamo Detainee Omar Khadr – 29 April 2010

Australian Human Rights Framework Focuses on Education Initiatives

April 29, 2010

By Eileen Gould
Impunity Watch Reporter, Oceania

CANBERRA, Australia – The Australian Government has refused to incorporate human rights into the law, an action which has been criticized by the ACT Human Rights Commissioner.

A recommendation suggested that the administration of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd adopt a law, allowing judges to review Australia’s laws, practices, and policies for human rights compliance.

Instead, Julia Gillard, Minister for Education, and Robert McClelland, Attorney General, announced the Government’s initiative to educate Australians and ensure their access to information about human rights.

According to Mr. McClelland, “[e]nhancing [Australia’s] efforts to improve human rights education is critical as too many Australians are not informed about what human rights are or how they are currently protected.”

Among the education initiatives included in the framework is a provision for “greater support for human rights education across the country, including primary and secondary schools” and “investing $2 million for the development and delivery of community education and engagement programs to promote a greater understanding of human rights by non-governmental organizations (NGOs)”.

The Federal Government plans to invest a total of $12 million for human right education, including the establishment of the framework for human rights, and also includes the formation of a new Parliament committee on this issue. However, the Government refuses to set up a Bill of Rights as part of this framework, contrary to recommendations made by an expert panel.

This decision, according to Human Rights Commissioner Dr. Helen Watchirs, goes against Australia’s wishes. A national consultation process revealed that approximately 29,000 submissions out of 35,000 favored a Human Rights Act. The research revealed that Australians supported human rights education rather than a human rights charter, yet there is no doubt Australians would support a human rights act.

Based on the experiences of two provinces, Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory, both of which have implemented Human Rights Acts, advocates claim that a national Act would be beneficial, as it would promote a more accountable government, address poverty, and improve public services.

This new Human Rights Framework will be reviewed in 2014.

For more information please see:

Sydney Morning Herald – A charter of rights is divisive? The vast majority think not – 23 April 2010

ABC – Human Rights Framework: icing without the cake – 22 April 2010

ABC News – Govt ‘ignoring’ Australian’s wishes on human rights – 22 April 2010

Govmonitor – Australia Outlines Education Initiatives to Enhance Human Rights – 22 April 2010

Suspension of Due Process in Paraguay Criticized

April 29, 2010

By Sovereign Hager
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

Photo Courtesy of MERCO Press

ASUNCION, Paraguay- On Sunday, April 25, 2020, Paraguay’s president signed a bill into law declaring a state of emergency in five of Paraguay’s seventeen provinces. The bill includes a thirty day suspension of constitutional due process guarantees, with an aim to grant the military greater power to combat the Paraguayan People’s Army (PPA). The PPA, an armed leftist group is allegedly responsible for murders, including four police officers.

The bill affects the norther provinces of Concepcion, San Pedro, Amambay, Presidente Hayes and Alto Paraguay and permits officers to arrest any suspected members of the PPA, without warrants. Additionally, there is a ban on public gatherings and protests along with increased controls on the circulation of vehicles on highways and local roads.

The PPA established itself as an armed group after taking responsibility for the September 2004 murder of Cecilia Cubas, a daughter of a former president. Her body was discovered in 2005 after she died in captivity. The group is thought to have roughly one hundred members that operate in remote, inaccessible forested areas, with little access to technology.

Controversy over the bill took center stage when the Vice President Federico Franco declared that the objective of the emergency law is not the elimination of the PPA. It is unclear what Franco was referring to, however, rights groups are also voicing opposition. The Paraguayan Human Rights Coordinating Group (CODEHUPY) stated that the threshold for a state emergency to be declared has not been reached. Specifically, they highlighted the fact that Paraguay is neither involved in an international armed conflict nor facing a situation that could endanger any state institutions in the five affected provinces. CODEHUPY, speaking with IPS, attributed the current situation to “criminals acting outside the law who should be apprehended, charged, and sentenced under the regular legal system.”

CODEHUPY further remarked that if the armed group, they allege contains around ten individuals justifies a state of emergency, then there is a problem with the incapacity of the country’s security agencies. Similarly, a trade union federation, Central Nacional de Trabajadores, pledged to act swiftly in the event there are any violations of the public freedoms established by the constitution.

For more information, please see:

AFP-Paraguay Suspends Rights in Crackdown on Rebel Group-25 April 2010

BBC-Paraguay Suspends Rights in Crackdown on Rebels-24 April 2010

IPS-Paraguay:Controversy Over Troop Deployment-28 April 2010

US Intends to Transfer non-Afghan Bagram Detainees

April 28, 2010

By Alok Bhatt
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BAGRAM, Afghanistan – Representatives of the US military recently divulged its designs to remove and re-locate non-Afghan prisoners presently detained in Bagram Air Base. Bagram Air Base signifies the United States’ controversial detention facility outside the capital city of Kabul. Since 2001, the US military has utilized Bagram Air Base to hold suspected enemy combatants, persons classified as terrorists, and other alleged malefactors. Numerous human rights issues have been invoked since the transformation of the Air Base into a prison. Among the most significant international law violations charged are the torture of Bagram inmates and the indiscriminate abduction and subsequent captivity of persons with unconfirmed combatant status from countries surrounding Afghanistan.

Vice-Admiral Robert Harward of Joint Task Force 435, overseer of detainees and operations concerning their imprisonment, stated that Bagram contains only a small number of non-Afghan detainees. There are supposedly only approximately thirty to sixty foreign nationals held in Bagram. The US military has also claimed that it is currently coordinating with the native countries of the non-Afghan detainees. These negotiations aim to deliver non-Afghan inmates back to the legal structures of their respective home nations.

The decision to release all non-Afghan detainees is said to have formed from Afghanistan’s requests, for they did not desire to manage persons from other states when the Afghan government assumed control of the prison. Prior to the recent decision to ultimately relinquish control of Bagram to Afghanistan, the US military had sole rule over its operations. However, by the end of 2010, the US military hopes to transfer the responsibility of running the prison to the Afghan government. While Afghanistan will possess control of the institution,the US military will retain some minimal involvement.

In late 2009, the US military announced myriad reforms pertinent to the management of the Bagram Air Base. Following the completion of expansion and renovation of the prison, it was announced that greater transparency and regard for rights would be implemented into its system. The Afghan government will be charged with fulfilling these promises, particularly as they regard the non-Afghan nationals. Although negotiations to transfer foreign nationals have gone underway, the ultimate fate of non-Afghan detainees, as a general matter, remains to be determined.

For more information, please see:

Al-Jazeera – US to ‘transfer Bagram detainees’ – 27 April 2010

Common Dreams – US to “transfer Bagram detainees’… – 28 April 2010

NPR – Rights Groups Descry U.S. Stand on Bagram Detainees – 15 September 2009

Russia Publishes Katyn Massacre Archives Online

April 28, 2010

By Elizabeth A. Conger
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

MOSCOW, Russia – Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has ordered the online publication of the once-secret files pertaining the 1940 massacre of roughly 22,0o0 members of the Polish elite by Soviet forces. The files, labeled “Packet No. 1”, had previously only been available to researchers. The move is part of a campaign by Moscow to warm relations with Poland, and is seen as another step towards Russian acknowledgment of Soviet-era atrocities.

Medvedev told reporters in Copenhagen: “I think this is our duty . . . Let everyone see what was done, who made the decisions . . . all the signatures are there.”

Photo: German soldiers unearthing a mass grave at Katyn in 1943. / Source: Times Online

The April 1940 killings, which transpired largely in the Katyn forests near Smolensk, Russia, were carried out by Soviet secret police acting upon Stalin’s orders. Those killed in the massacre included members of the Polish elite, such as officers, politicians and artists. The men were shot in the back of the head and dumped into mass graves. Along with the remains of the Polish prisoners of war are mingled the remains of roughly 10,000 Soviet citizens shot in the Stalinist purges of the 1930s.

The Soviets had blamed the massacre on Nazi Germany for decades before acknowledging responsibility in 1990. Documents confirming the Soviet’s role were declassified by former Russian President Boris Yeltsin in 1992.

Despite Russian acknowledgment that the the Soviet Union was behind the massacre, there remained lingering speculation that the massacre was, in fact, an act of the Nazis. According to the WSJ, a poll taken in March revealed that more Russians blamed the massacre on the Germans than the Soviets.

Since historians have already had access to the files for nearly twenty years, the decision to publish the documents on the state archive website is seen largely as a symbolic gesture.

In response to the online publication of the documents, Polish ministry spokesman Piotr Paszkowski told the BBC: “It’s yet another symbolic step testifying to the fact that we are witnessing an obvious change in the Russian attitude and handling of the Katyn issue.”

There has been an ease in tension between Poland and Russia recently, and early this month leaders from both states marked the seventieth anniversary of the massacre together in a joint ceremony attended by Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.

Former Polish President, Lech Kaczynski, was killed in a plane crash on the way to another event marking the massacre. The way in which Russian officials handled the aftermath of the crash has been well received in Poland.

Russian state archive chief, Andrei Artyzov, said: “We on the Russian side are showing absolute openness in telling what happened in Katyn and other places with Polish prisoners of war. . . All the basic documents about these events have been published.”

The Russian state, however, still possesses confidential files regarding a Russian investigation into the massacre which began in the 1990s. Russian human rights activists have pressed the government to make these files public as well.

Atyzov also stated that Russian and Polish investigators should work jointly to research the victims to “restore truth to every last surname and to find all those who were shot and killed at Katyn and other places.”

One of the documents that will be published online is a letter addressed to Stalin and dated March 5, 1940 from the then-head of the Soviet secret police, [known as the NKVD], Lavrenty Beria. In the letter, Beria recommends the execution of the Polish prisoners of war and the concealment of their remains. Beria described the prisoners as “steadfast, incorrigible enemies of Soviet Power” and stated that “each of them is just waiting for liberation so as to actively join the struggle against Soviet Power.”

The letter also shows Stalin’s signature in blue pencil, with the comment: “In favor.”

For more information, please see:

BBC – Russia publishes Katyn massacre archives – 28 April 2010

RIA Novosti – Russia to reveal Katyn documents to end speculation – 28 April 2010

Times Online – Russia releases secret papers on Katyn massacre signed by Stalin – 28 April 2010

Wall Street Journal – Moscow Releases Katyn Documents – 28 February 2010