Six Men Sentenced to Life for Gang Rape in India

By Kevin M. Mathewson
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

MADHYA PRADESH, India — A court in India has sentenced six men to life in prison as a result of the gang rape of a Swiss tourist on vacation in March of this year.

Indian police escort the gang-rape suspects to court in Datia, in central Madhya Pradesh state, on March 18, 2013.

The 39 year old woman and her husband were attacked while camping in central Madhya Pradesh state. The husband was tied up as his wife was assaulted. The couple also alleged that the men had stolen their laptop, mobile phone, cameras and other articles after the assault. As such, in addition to life in prison, each of the six men was fined 20,000 rupees (337 dollars).

While all six were sentenced on Saturday, only four of the men were charged with rape. The remaining two were charged with robbery and assault after the victim testified they were “only present at the crime scene.”

Rajendra Tiwari, a public prosecutor, said the case presented a challenge as the victim could not recognize the accused because the attack took place at night.

“The prosecution proved its case using DNA tests as well as recovery of looted articles. All the accused have been convicted and we are satisfied with the judgment.” said Tiwari.

The men, aged between 22 and 30, were all from a village a short distance from the scene of the attack.

The rape of the Swiss woman came three months after the fatal gang rape of a 23 year old student on a bus in Delhi.  The student suffered massive internal injuries as a result of the rape and died weeks later. Her attack brought protest about the treatment of women in India.

Weeks of demonstrations over the Delhi rape prompted India’s parliament to toughen sex offense laws. Subsequently, days after the Swiss tourist was assaulted, changes to the laws were passed, containing stricter punishment for rapists, including the death penalty.

In India one woman is raped every 20 minutes according to the National Crime Records Bureau. However, the crime is vastly under reported due to the social stigma associated with such attacks.

The first verdict in the Delhi case is expected on July 25.

For further information, please see:

Channel NewsAsia – India jails six for gang-rape of Swiss tourist – 21 July 2013

BBC News – India jails six over Swiss gang rape in Madhya Pradesh – 20 July 2013

Yahoo! News – India sentences to life 6 men in Swiss gang-rape case – 20 July 2013

The Voice of Russia – India court jails six men for life for Swiss tourist gang-rape – 20 July 2013

Panama Charges North Korean Freighter Crew With Arms Trafficking

By Ellis Cortez
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

PANAMA CITY, Panama – Panamanian authorities have charged the crew members of a North Korean ship, the Chong Chon Gang, detained at the Panama Canal after it was found to be carrying weapons.

North Korean ship
A Panamanian police officer stands guard aboard the North Korean-flagged freighter Chong Chon Gang. (Photo Courtesy of Arnulfo Franco / AP)

Police authorities found a large supply of outdated Soviet-era weapons systems, and two MIG fighter jets buried beneath 200,000 bags of Cuban brown sugar. The ship’s crew, armed with what officials called sticks, tried to fend off Panamanian marines investigating whether the vessel was carrying contraband. They forcefully resisted being boarded and sabotaged the ship’s cranes to make the search and cargo movement more difficult. The captain was also reported to have attempted suicide during the confrontation.

State prosecutor Javier Caraballo accused the 35 crew members of endangering public security by attempting to traffic undeclared weapons. Caraballo also reports that the weapons trafficking charges could result in sentences of up to six years if the crew members are tried and convicted. The crew was expected to remain in detention while the Panamanian authorities finished unloading the vessel, which could take days.

The 450-foot Chong Chon Gang had been awaiting permission to cross the canal for the voyage home after a visit to Cuba. The ship was impounded on July 14th, and on July 17th North Korea asked Panama to release the ship and its crew. A statement by the North Korean Foreign Ministry asserted that the ship had been transporting the Cuban weapons to North Korea for refurbishment under a legitimate contract. The North Korean statement also criticized Panama for using what it called the pretext of searching the vessel for narcotics and for Panama’s violent treatment of the crew.

The Cuban government admitted being behind the supply of weapons found on board the ship. They said the weapons were Soviet-era arms from Cuba headed for repair and upgrading in North Korea. The Cuban foreign ministry said the Chong Chon Gang was carrying two anti-aircraft missile batteries, nine missiles in parts and spares, two MiG-21bis fighter planes and 15 MiG engines.

Panama has requested that the United Nations Security Council investigate whether there has been a breach of the sanctions against North Korea. The United Nations sanctions prohibit the supply of arms to Pyongyang in the dispute over its controversial nuclear program.

Panama’s Security Minister Jose Raul Mulino said the ship and its cargo had broken Panamanian and international law. “This is not an official or military ship belonging to the North Korean government. It’s a commercial ship which wanted to pass through the Panama canal with a [cargo] declaration which failed to reflect what it was carrying, turning a blind eye to the fact that its cargo could be violating UN resolutions,” he said.

For more information please see:

Los Angeles Times – Panama charges ‘contentious’ North Korean crew with arms trafficking – 18 July 2013

BBC – Panama charges North Korea weapons ship’s crew – 18 July 2013

New York Times – Panama Charges North Korean Freighter Crew – 18 July 2013

La Prensa – El buque norcoreano transportaba un radar de control de tiro, según Jane’s  – 17 July 2013

Gay Rights Activist Killed and Tortured in Cameroon

By Erica Smith
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

YAOUNDE, Cameroon — Eric Ohena Lembembe, a gay rights activist, was found dead in his home on July 15. Lembembe was the executive director of the Cameroonian Foundation for AIDS (CAMFAIDS), which campaigns for AIDS sufferers in the country. Lembembe was an outspoken activist for the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex people.

Eric Ohena Lembembe (photo courtesy of 76Crimes.com)

 

Mr. Lembembe’s body was found by his friends Monday evening after he had not answered phone for two days. His friends founds his door padlocked from the outside but could see his body laying on a bed. The police were called and the door was kicked in. According to a witness, Lembembe’s neck and feet appeared to have been broken, and his face, hands, and feet had been burned with an iron.

Mr. Lembembe was one of Cameroons most well known gay rights activists. With CAMFAIDS he worked with Human Rights Watch (HRW), Alternatives-Cameroun, and the Association for the Defense of Homosexuals (ADEFHO), in researching and launching a March 2013 HRW report on prosecutions for consensual same-sex conduct. He and CAMFAIDS also meticulously documented arrests and violence against LGBTI people in Cameroon. Lembembe was also a contributor to the blog “Erasing 76 Crimes” and authored chapters in From Wrongs to Gay Rights about LGBTI rights around the world.

Homosexuality is punishable by a 5-year prison sentence in Cameroon. When anti-LGBTI prosecutions began to increase in Cameroon starting in 2005, Lembembe was one of the first to criticize the actions and shed light onto the issue. Lambembes death comes on the heels of other human rights organizations attacks in Cameroon in recent months.

The motive for his killing his unknown at this time but it is widely believed and speculated that he was murdered because of his sexuality and his work campaigning for LGBTI rights. “We don’t know who killed Eric Lembembe, or why he was killed, but one thing is clear: the Cameroonian authorities’ utter failure to stem homophobic violence sends the message that these attacks can be carried out with impunity,” said Neela Ghoshal from Human Rights Watch. “The police should not rest until the perpetrators of this horrific crime are brought to justice. President Biya should break his silence on the wave of homophobic violence in Cameroon and publicly condemn this brutal attack.”

There is fear among human rights groups that Lembembe’s murder will not be fully investigated by the police. “The friends who found Lembembe’s body have made a statement to the police, but at this point it’s hard to tell whether the police are really investigating,” said Ghoshal.

UNAIDS and the US Department of State both issued statements condemning the murder and urging Cameroonian authorities to fully investigate the case and speak out against violent actions taken toward LGBTI people.

 

For more information, please see:

Guardian — Cameroon gay rights activist found tortured and killed — 18 July 2013

UNAIDS — UNAIDS condemns killing of AIDS activist Eric Lembembe — 17 July 2013

Voice of America — Cameroon Urged to Assure Protection Following Death of Gay Activist — 17 July 2013

Advocate — Gay Rights Activist Killed in Cameroon — 16 July 2013

Human Rights Watch — Cameroon: LGBTI Rights Activist Found Dead, Tortured — 16 July 2013

U.S. Department of State — Murder of Cameroonian LGBT and AIDS Activist Eric Ohena Lembembe — 16 July 2013

 

 

 

Mayoral Candidate’s Release Pending Appeal Makes Unclear Whether Putin Wants Navalny Put out of Political Process

By Ben Kopp
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

MOSCOW, Russia – Anti-Putin blogger and Moscow mayoral candidate Aleksei Navalny is released from detention pending an appeal of his five-year prison sentence. Deputy Director Rachel Denber of the Europe and Central Asia Division at Human Rights Watch stated that she was shocked at Navalny’s sentence, but not his guilty verdict.

Aleksei Navalny and Pyotr Ofitserov released from detention, pending appeal of their embezzlement convictions. (Photo courtesy of Reuters)

Aleksei Navalny is considered a charismatic Russian blogger and anti-corruption activist who, in November 2010, claimed that an embezzlement scheme drained a state-owned oil pipeline company of $4 billion. Russian President Putin and the head of the company denied Navalny’s allegations.

In 2009, as an advisor to the Kirov Regional Governor, Navalny allegedly imposed a deal on a state-owned company, Kirovles. The resulting contract required that timber be supplied through a commercial intermediary. Navalny’s old acquaintance, Pyotr Ofitserov owned the intermediary company. Prosecutors charged Navalny and Ofitserov with embezzling over $500,000 from the state.

Although an initial investigation found Navalny not at fault, head of the Investigative Committee, Alexander Bastrykin re-opened the case after Navalny released several documents suggesting that Bastrykin acquired a right to reside in the Czech Republic based on property unknown to Russian officials.

On 17 July 2013, Navalny became officially registered as a mayoral candidate in Moscow’s September 8 elections. The following day, a trial court found Navalny and Ofitserov guilty of embezzlement. Navalny received a five year sentence, and Ofitserov four years.

In Moscow, between 2500 and 5000 activists appeared to protest the conviction. Across Russia’s nine time zones, 25 similar rallies were reported.

Human rights activists quickly drew parallels between Navalny in Russia and Edward Snowden in the US.

“Of course, there were other cases that made that parallel obvious,” said Rachel Denber, deputy Europe and Central Asia director for Human Rights Watch. “On the day before Snowden met human rights groups in Moscow airport, Russia found Sergei Magnitsky guilty of tax fraud, after he died. And Magnitsky was also a whistleblower. It’s certainly a dark day today. We knew that it was going to happen, but that doesn’t prepare you for the shock of seeing him led away in handcuffs.”

However, the prosecutors who argued to place Navalny in detention soon argued to release Navalny and Ofitserov until their appeals were decided. While Navalny thanked the protestors who “forced them to release Pyotr” and himself, analysts saw the prosecutors’ change of heart more likely the result of Navalny’s mayoral candidacy, which ends if he is imprisoned.

“For now, he is still a candidate — he can campaign, his headquarters can work. Even the Moscow Election Commission has said this on the basis of the law,” explained Russian election-law expert Leonid Kirichenko. Nevertheless, if upheld, Navalny’s conviction would bar him from holding public office.

Currently, Navalny is the strongest Putin opponent, and is speculated to become a presidential candidate if elected mayor.

Absent an upheld conviction, Navalny will have difficulty showing that Putin himself wants to remove Navalny as opposition. With a conviction, such showing is a fruitless endeavor.

For further information, please see:

RadioFreeEurope Radio Liberty – Criticism of Navalny Trial Pours in from Russia, West – July 20, 2013

Bloomberg BusinessWeek – Putin Foe Navalny Vows Battle for Power on Return to Moscow – July 20, 2013

CNN International – What’s Behind Conviction of Russian Opposition Activist Aleksei Navalny? – July 20, 2013

Reuters – Navalny Embodies Generation of Rebellious Russians – July 20, 2013

RadioFreeEurope Radio Liberty – News Analysis: Twists in Navalny Case Leave Heads Spinning – July 19, 2013

Huffington Post UK – Alexei Navalny Jailed: Fury in Moscow as Demonstrators Protest Five-Year Sentence – July 18, 2013

RadioFreeEurope Radio Liberty – Explainer: What Comes Next for Aleksei Navalny? – July 18, 2013

Telegraph – Anger as Russian Activist Aleksei Navalny is Sentenced to Five Years – July 18, 2013