Pakistan Reinstates Death Penalty for 500 Terrorism Cases in Wake of Peshawar Shootings

By Max Bartels

Impunity Watch Reporter, The Middle East 

 

Islamabad, Pakistan 

Last week Taliban gunmen stormed a school run by the Pakistani army, they shot and killed 149 people including 133 school children. In the wake of this attack Pakistan has decided to reinstate the death penalty for terrorism cases. The public outrage over the Peshawar shooting has driven Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to end a six-year moratorium on the death penalty. The Pakistani government now plans to use the punishment on around 500 militants who have been convicted on charges of terrorism.

Pakistani demonstrators push for executions after the Peshawar shootings. (Photo Curtesy of The Guardian)

So far six convicted terrorists have been executed. Two were executed on December 19th and four more on the 21st. The four executed on the 21st were convicted of terrorism charges for their attempted assassination of then military leader Pervez Musharraf with a suicide car bomb. While one of the two executed on the 19th was convicted of an attack on army headquarters in 2009.

The Prime Minister had directed the Pakistani Department of Justice to pursue terrorism related cases and prepare them for capitol punishment. Of the 500 cases chosen, all of the convicts have exhausted their appeals and their mercy petitions have been denied. All 500 executions have been scheduled over a period of the next two weeks.

While the Pakistani public has pushed for the government to take a hardline against the Taliban, in the aftermath of the Peshawar shooting, Pakistan faces international pressure regarding their new anti-terror punishment. There are several economic and political implications to the executions, it dangers an E.U. trade deal, pressure from the U.N. as well as pressure from human rights groups around the world.

Several specific cases have been brought to the media’s attention in an attempt to halt the executions, The U.N. has released that one of the convicted terrorists already executed was a Russian citizen and appeals to Pakistan to avoid a potentially dangerous diplomatic situation by executing more civilians, many of which are foreign citizens. Human rights groups have released the story of one of the condemned terrorists who was only 14 at the time he was convicted of kidnap and murder and has since retracted his confession, saying it was the product of nine days of police torture. Regardless of the international pressure to halt the executions, the domestic pressure stemming from the outrage over the Peshawar school shooting has decided the matter and there is no sign Pakistan will halt any executions.

For more information, please see:

The Sydney Morning Herald — Four Militants Hanged in Pakistan, More Executions to Come — 22 December, 2014

SKY News — Pakistan to Execute 500 Terror Convicts 22 December, 2014

BBC News — More Executions After Peshawar School Massacre — 21 December, 2014

The Guardian — Pakistan Hangs Four More Prisoners as Execution Campaign Widens — 21 December, 2o14

Demonstrator’s Take to the Streets in Protest of “One China Policy”

By Kathryn Maureen Ryan
Impunity Watch, Managing Editor

BEIJING, China – Dozens of protesters took to the streets of Macau on Saturday demanding universal suffrage during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s first official visit to the region. The demonstrators spoke out against the “One China Policy” supported by the central government in Beijing. The protesters fear the move is simply a power grab by the central government intended on striping the country’s semi-autonomous regions, like Hong Kong and Macau, of their political power.

The recent protests in Macau come days after police cleared the last remaining protest sites in Hong Kong. (Photo courtesy of Al Jazeera)

During his visit President Xi warned the people of Macau and Hong Kong, a region racked by protests over the past few months as young demonstrators have taken to the streets to show their support for the Umbrella Revelation, to remember they are part of “one China,” as activists in both semi-autonomous territories call for free leadership elections free from the control of the central government. “We must both adhere to the ‘one China’ principle and respect the difference of the two systems,” Xi said at the inauguration of Macau’s chief executive Fernando Chui, who was selected for a second term by a pro-Beijing committee made up of 400 people in August, he was the only nominee given for the position. “This is the only way leading to sound and steady progress,” Xi added. “Otherwise a misguided approach from the beginning, just like putting one’s left foot into the right shoe, would lead us nowhere.”

On Saturday the protesters gathered in streets of Macao. “We want universal suffrage!” they chanted. The protest march in Macau’s historic district finishing in a public square where approximately 100 protesters remained into the early evening. “I am uncertain about Macau’s future, so we have to come out to make noise for ourselves,” Mark Pang, a 15-year-old high school said as he held up an open yellow umbrella in solidarity with Hong Kong’s umbrella revolution. The Macao protests come just days after Chinese police cleared the last remaining protester camps in Hong Kong.

Unlike Hong Kong, a thriving Industrial city, Macau’s economic health is heavily dependent on strong relations with mainland china, the region is the only place in China where gambling casinos are legal. Its resorts depend on wealthy high-rollers from the mainland to stay afloat. In recent months shares in Macau’s casinos have suffered. Over the past ten years Macau has become the largest gambling destination in the World, today the Casino industry accounts for more than 80% of the region’s economy.

While Macau’s democracy movement has not been as large as the movement in neighboring Hong Kong the formal Portuguese colony, which was returned to China fifteen years ago, saw its largest ever protest in May of this year. The protesters were held over proposed cash benefits for retired Macau officials, with 20,000 people taking part in the demonstrations.

For more information please see:

Al Jazeera – Protesters March in Macau during Xi’s Visit – 21 December 2014

BBC News – Xi Jinping Defends ‘One-China’ Idea in Macau, Amid Protests – 20 December 2014

The New York Times – Macau Looks Beyond Gambling As the Take from the Tables Slows – 19 December 2014 2014

Bloomberg – Macau Casinos Drop $75 Billion As China’s Crackdown Continues – 19 December 2014

Something from home: UNITED STATES HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL MUSEUM

Dear Friend,

I hope you had the chance to watch the video my young friend Danielle recently shared with you about my doll, Marlene.

I donated Marlene to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum because I want her to be preserved forever in memory of all children whose lives were destroyed by the Holocaust.

Artifacts like my doll give proof to the world that the Holocaust happened. The Museum is in a race against time to acquire evidence in more than 40 countries.

Your gift will support this effort and help the Museum educate more young people like my friend Danielle through artifacts and the powerful stories associated with them.

Thank you for making a generous year-end donation today. When we survivors are no longer here to tell our stories, these items will be the only authentic evidence that can help combat rising Holocaust denial and antisemitism.

Thank you,

Inge Auerbacher
Holocaust Survivor

P.S. My doll, Marlene, was my constant companion when I was at the Terezin concentration camp. After my parents, Marlene was what I was most afraid of losing. Since I donated her to the Museum, I no longer have to worry about Marlene being lost. Please help the Museum preserve this important history.

Photo: Inge Auerbacher with her doll, which she donated to the Museum.
US Holocaust Memorial Museum

Sony Pictures Gives In to North Korea; Cancels Christmas Release of ‘The Interview’

By Kathryn Maureen Ryan
Impunity Watch, Managing Editor

Washington D.C., United States of America – Sony Pictures Entertainment announced Wednesday that the study would cancel the December 25th Release of “The Interview” in response to threats from the North Korean regime. Following alleged ambiguous threats to movie goers referencing the September 11th 2001 attacks in the United States several major multiplex companies across the country refused to show the film. Sony referenced this issue in its announcement saying “in light of the decision by the majority of our exhibitors not to show the film.” The decision to cancel the release of “The Interview” comes as the United States government confirms that last month’s cyber-attack on Sony pictures originated form the Korean Peninsula and the North Korean regime was behind the attacks.

Major American theaters pull plans to show “The Interview” after threats from North Korea. The Film, a satirical comedy staring James Franco and Seth Rogen, centers on a plot to kill the North Korean dictator. (Photo courtesy of The New York Times)

“The Interview,” a satirical political comedy staring Seth Rogan and Academy Award Winning Actor James Franco told the story of two Americans tasked by the CIA to assassinate North Korea leader Kim Jung-un, played by Randall Park. The film was deemed offensive by the North Korean regime, one of the world’s most secluded and censored countries where the majority of people live in extreme poverty, which deemed the goal of preventing the film’s releases worth devoting its resources to carrying out one of the largest cyber-attacks ever carried out against an American corporation.

Sony Pictures cited alleged terror threats originating from the North Korean regime as its primary reason for pulling the film. On Tuesday an email, allegedly sent from the North Korean hacking group responsible for last month’s cyber-attack on Sony Pictures, was sent to various news outlets referencing the film and the September 11th attacks. However, The Department of Homeland Security said Tuesday there was “no credible intelligence to indicate an active plot against movie theaters,” but noted it was still analyzing messages from the group. United States President Barack Obama also responded to the alleged threats saying Americans should go to the movies.

Sony’s decision to pull the film is ultimately a business decision rather than a response to alleged future threats. The company suffered an embarrassing blow from the release of documents and personal emails from company expertise and potentially lost millions of dollars in revenue after the hackers released three unreleased movies online and posted full scripts of several upcoming Sony films. “This attack went to the heart and core of Sony’s business and succeeded,” said Avivah Litan, a cybersecurity analyst at research firm Gartner. “We haven’t seen any attack like this in the annals of U.S. breach history.”

Before Sony announced its decision Wednesday, Regal Cinemas, AMC Entertainment and Cinemark Theatres, the three top movie-theater chains in North America announced that they were postponing any showings of film. Regal said in a statement that it was delaying “The Interview” ”due to wavering support of the film ‘The Interview’ by Sony Pictures, as well as the ambiguous nature of any real or perceived security threats.” AMC noted “the overall confusion and uncertainty” surrounding the film.

The North Korean regime, a country with a GDP of just $40 Billion Dollars successfully attacked the servers of the Sony Corporation, an estimated $70 Billion company, stealing more than 100 terabytes of data from Sony Pictures and force the cancellation of an American motion picture.

The cancellation of the release of “The Interview” is reminiscent of the history of one of the greatest political satires of all time; Charlie Chaplin’s “the Great Dictator.” When Charlie Chaplin was producing the film the British Government stated that it would not allow the release of the film in British Theaters out of fear that it would offend the Hitler regime in Nazi Germany, at the time the British government was practicing the policy of Appeasement, refusing to stand up to one of the deadliest regimes in human history.

For more information please see:

ABC News – Sony Cancels ‘The Interview’ Dec. 25 Release – 17 December 2014

Al Jazeera – Sony Pulls N Korea Film Release after Threats – 17 December 2014

The Hollywood Reporter – Top Five Theater Circuits Drop ‘The Interview’ After Sony Hack – 17 December 2014

The New York Times – Sony Pictures Cancels Holiday Release of ‘The Interview’ After Threats – 17 December 2014

Syrian Commission for Transitional Justice Visits Bosnia and Herzegovina

Click here to read the release

The Syrian Commission for Transitional Justice (SCTJ) in cooperation with the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) organized a study visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina, which ran between December 1 and 6, 2014. The SCTJ delegation included the Syrian Interim Government’s Minister for Justice, a member of the legal bureau of the Syrian National Coalition, in addition to a number of Syrian judges, lawyers, and representatives of Syrian NGOs involved in the documentation of human rights violations. The aim of the visit was to learn about the Bosnian experience in addressing the issue of missing persons in the aftermath of the Bosnian war 1992-1995.

This visit is a part of the Syrian Commission for Transitional Justice’s endeavors to contribute to the capacity building of legal and judiciary professionals, in the context of its work on programs of enforced disappearance, and in light of its work establishing the Syrian Special Court.

The delegation visited ICMP’s DNA laboratories, which work to match the DNA of the families of missing persons with the skeletal remains of anonymous victims exhumed from mass graves. Through such work, it has been possible to identify more than 17,700 missing persons. To learn about the process, the delegation was able to tour the ICMP’s premises in Sarajevo and Tuzla.

The delegation also visited the Potocari Memorial Center in Srebrenica, and met representatives of local societies for the families of victims. The delegation met a representative of the Missing Persons Institute which, on behalf of the government, is responsible for affairs concerning missing persons, and also met speakers from the Croatian Office of Detained and Missing Persons, which worked on DNA matching and identification prior to the establishment of the ICMP. The delegation also had the opportunity to meet representatives of civil society institutions involved in peace building.

All speakers stressed the importance of building a legislative and institutional system, as well as establishing a comprehensive national vision concerning missing persons’ affairs, before the commencement of field work.

SCTJ also made a brief presentation on the latest developments in its electronic system for the documentation of human rights violations in Syria. This system was built as a comprehensive central database for all human rights violations, and works in coordination with Syrian organizations currently documenting such abuses.

The delegation from the Syrian Commission for Transitional Justice included representatives of the Free Independent Judicial Council, the Free Lawyers Union, the Free Lawyers Gathering, the Syrian Network for Human Rights, in addition to a number of independent judges, allowing the knowledge and expertise of different groups and organizations to be shared and disseminated.