Africa

Cameroon Among the Top For Most Aggressive Homosexual Prosecutions

By Ryan Aliman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

YAOUNDE, Cameroon – Cameroon has one of the most aggressive “homosexuality” prosecutions in the world, according to a report released Thursday by four human rights groups.

Local residents in Ambam, a small town in Cameroon, stand by during the trial of two women accused of homosexuality. (Photo courtesy of Huffington Post)

In cooperation with Alternatives-Cameroun, Association for the Defense of Gays and Lesbians (ADEFHO), and the Cameroonian Foundation for AIDS (CAMFAIDS), Human Rights Watch (HRW) conducted 10 case studies of arrests and prosecutions under article 347 bis of Cameroon’s penal code. Based on this statute, having sexual relations with the same sex is punishable by up to five years of imprisonment.

In their 55-page report, “Guilty by Association: Human Rights Violations in the Enforcement of Cameroon’s Anti-Homosexuality Law,” the human rights organizations revealed that at least 28 people have been prosecuted for same-sex conduct in Cameroon since 2010. Most of them were tortured, forced to confess, denied access to legal counsel, and subjected to “discriminatory treatment by law enforcement and judicial officials.”

The study also found out that most of the arrests were based solely on suspicion, while most of the convictions were based on little or no evidence.

One man from Limbre who was accused of being gay was beaten with an iron belt, in addition to being forced to swim in the gutter. Local police also burned plastic bags on his chest. Another detainee told the human rights groups that authorities had him “sleep naked on the floor and [they] beat him with clubs on his feet so severely that his toenails fell out.” Other men arrested for homosexuality were subjected to anal exams before being sent to jail.

According to the human rights groups, Cameroon’s anti-homosexual laws “violate international human rights standards and Cameroon’s own constitution”. In the first place, Cameroon ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) that protects the rights to privacy and non-discrimination. Secondly, as pointed out by HRW, Cameroon is a member of the Commonwealth, which has a charter that opposes discrimination on all grounds.

“Our government and our courts need to recognize that when it comes to Cameroon’s international human rights commitments, they cannot pick and choose on the basis of personal biases,” said Alice Nkom, president of ADEFHO.

Last month, the Association of Cameroon Roman Catholic jurists, a group of lawyers affiliated with the Catholic Church in Cameroon, expressed their support for the country’s anti-gay laws. According to the group, such laws prevent same-sex relationships which they, along with Archbishop of Yaoundé Simon-Victor Tonyé Bakot, describe as “a serious crime against humanity”.

The group’s chairperson, Sandrine Soppo, said that fighting homosexuality “is not a question of human rights violations . . . the question was about human dignity.”

 

For further information, please see:

ABC News – Report: Cameroon Officials Torture Gay Suspects – 21 March 2013

Huffington Post – Cameroon Officials Torture Gay Suspects, Says Human Rights Watch Report – 21 March 2013

Human Rights Watch – Cameroon: Rights Abuses in ‘Homosexuality’ Prosecutions – 21 March 2013

LGBTQ Nation – Report: Cameroon most aggressive country in prosecuting suspected gays – 21 March 2013

Africa Review – Cameroon Catholic lawyers vow to uphold anti-gay laws – 25 February 2013

War Criminal Bosco Ntaganda Surrenders at US Embassy

By Hannah Stewart
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

KIGALI, Rwanda — Fugitive Congolese warlord Bosco Ntaganda walked into the US embassy in Kigali, Rwanda on Monday and surrendered.  He asked to be transferred to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague.  There, Ntaganda faces a litany of war crime charges.

Congolese rebel leader Bosco Ntaganda, seen in 2009. (Photo Courtesy of Lionel Healing/AFP)

Ntaganda’s surrender came as a surprise, as he effectively ended a career that saw him fight as a rebel and government soldier on both sides of the Rwanda-Congo border during two decades of conflict in Africa’s Great Lakes region.

Born in Rwanda, Ntaganda grew up in Congo; however, he fought alongside Rwandan Tutsi rebels who seized control of the small central Africa country and ended the 1994 genocide.  Estimates for the death toll range from 700,000 to 1,000,000 people.

Ntaganda then returned to Congo, where he took part in a series of rebellions, but also served temporarily as a senior general.  He made a name for himself by smuggling minerals.

During the 2002 and 2003 conflict in Congo’s Ituri province, it is said that Ntaganda kidnapped, enlisted and conscripted children under the age of fifteen as soldiers and used them in the hostilities.  Moreover, it is said that troops under his command massacred hundreds of civilians on ethnic grounds and used rape as a weapon of war.

In 2009, Ntaganda was integrated into the Congolese army with insurgents and has acted a leader of the M23 rebellion.  The M23 rebels have pursued an insurgency in a mineral-rich region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.  M23 forces embarrassed Kinshasa and UN peacekeepers in fall 2012 by briefly seizing control of the North Kivu province.

The UN has repeatedly denounced this group’s activities and has sanctioned its leaders, accusing M23 rebels of war crimes.

Known as “The Terminator,” Ntaganda was first indicted in 2006 by the ICC for conscripting and using child soldiers during a 2002-2003 Congo conflict.  A second arrest warrant, issued July 2012, accused him of a range of crimes including murder, ethnic persecution and rape.

Neither Rwanda nor the United States has an obligation to hand Ntaganda over to ICC since they are not parties to the Rome Statute that established the court; however, the countries are working towards his transfer.

US State Department spokeswoman, Victoria Nuland told reporters in Washington that, “We are currently consulting with a number of governments, including the Rwandan government, in order to facilitate his request.”  Likewise, ICC spokesman Fadi el-Abdullah said the Court would put in place all necessary measures to ensure a swift surrender.

It remains to be seen why this infamous war criminal suddenly surrendered himself to the authorities now.

To learn more about Ntaganda’s crimes in interviews with his victims, please watch this short video uploaded by the Washington Post: “A Powerful Video on War Criminal Ntaganda”

For more information, please see:

CNN – Suspected War Criminal Surrenders in Rwanda – 19 March 2013

NBC News (blog) – War Crimes Suspect “The Terminator” Surrenders at U.S. Embassy in Rwanda – 19 March 2013

Reuters – Rwanda Says War Crimes Suspect Surrenders at U.S. Embassy – 19 March 2013

The Washington Post – Congo Warlord Bosco Ntaganda, Wanted by the ICC Since 2006, Remains Ensconced at US Embassy – 19 March 2013

Somalia Frees Journalist Held For Reporting Rape

By Ryan Aliman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

MOGADISHU, Somalia – Freelance journalist Abdiaziz Abdinur was finally released from imprisonment last Sunday.

Local journalists demand the release of their colleague, Abdiaziz Abdinur Ibrahim, in Mogadishu. (Photo courtesy of Reuters/Feisal Omar)

Also known as “Koronto”, Abdinur was arrested last month for interviewing a woman who alleged she had been raped by Somali soldiers. He and the alleged rape victim were brought into custody without warrant and were sentenced to a year in jail for “offending state institutions”.

On Sunday, however, the Somali High Court announced that the charges against Abdinur had been dropped. High Court Chairman Aideed Abdullahi Ilkahanaf told the press that the justices found “no evidence to support his charges.”

Abdinur was relieved upon hearing the court’s decision. “I’m happy to be free,” Abdinur told reporters after thanking the international community and journalist organizations for urging the Somali government to free him. “I’m very happy that I got my freedom back, I thank those who worked in this process that helped my release including my lawyers,” he added on his way out from court.

Abdinur’s case fueled worldwide outrage from various governments and human rights groups.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said he was “deeply disappointed” by Abdinur’s arrest. The U.S. State Department, meanwhile, said his imprisonment “the wrong message to perpetrators of sexual and gender-based violence”.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) described it as “a direct assault on press freedom” in the country especially since it is in the process of recovering from civil war and dictatorship.

Condemning the government’s decision to convict Abdinur, Africa director at Human Rights Watch Daniel Bekele reminded Somali authorities that “silencing rape victims and journalists will not end sexual violence, but just reinforce Somalia’s climate of impunity.”

After announcing Abdinur’s release, Prime Minister Abdi Farah Shirdon Saaid acknowledged the “deep-seated problems” with both the armed forces and judicial system. He said that his administration shall implement measures to safeguard the independence of the local media. He hopes to put an end to the threats, arrests, and attacks several journalists have been subjected to. According to him, the local media plays a critical and constructive role “during the hard times of the country.”

But the Prime Minister also reminded the press of their responsibility. He told reporters that they, in turn, “should be professional and work in the line of the ethics of the media and journalism” as they receive protection from the government.

“Somalia is returning to normalcy and peace, the local media should prioritize how to pacify the country and lead harmony within the Somali people,” Prime Minister Shirdon said.

 

For further information, please see:

All Africa – Somalia: Somali Prime Minister Vows Protection of Independent Media – 17 March 2013

Al Jazeera – Somali journalist held over rape report freed – 17 March 2013

BBC News – Somalia frees rape row journalist – 17 March 2013

Reuters – Somali court frees reporter jailed for interviewing rape victim – 17 March 2013

Shanghai Daily – Somalia court frees rape reporting journalist – 17 March 2013

Kenya’s Election Results Appealed While Protests Ensue

By Hannah Stewart
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

NAIROBI, Kenya — Kenya’s Prime Mister Raila Odinga filed an incendiary appeal with the Supreme Court on Saturday, alleging widespread ballot rigging and contend that “glaring anomalies” existed in the vote.  As such, Odinga is petitioning to court to void the results and order a new election.

Supporters of Kenya’s Prime Minister Raila Odinga protest outside the Supreme Court. (Photo Courtesy of Khalil Senosi/AP)

Approximately one hundred of Odinga’s supporters gathered in downtown Nairobi outside the courthouse just before the petition was filed.  Many wore shirts brazenly displaying slogans including “Democracy on Trial” and “I Support the Petition.”

The police had warned the Coalition for Reforms and Democracy supporters they would not be allowed to gather, and fired tear gas into the crowd to force them to disperse.

Since the March 4 election, Odinga has urged his supporters to remain peaceful and refrain from rioting, as they did in 2007 when he narrowly lost Kenya’s last presidential election amid widespread evidence of vote rigging similar to the allegations he is making now.

The presidential, legislative and municipal elections were Kenya’s first elections since the 2007 poll that triggered nationwide ethnic and political violence.  This violence resulted in the death of more than 1,200 people.

On March 4, millions of Kenyans flooded to the polls. According to the national election commission, Uhuru Kenyatta – son of Kenya’s first president – won 50.07 percent of the vote, avoiding a runoff by a nominal margin of approximately 8,000 votes.

Odinga won about 43 percent.  However, he claims in his petition to the court that his vote was covertly reduced and that Kenyatta’s was inflated in a “deliberate, well-calculated and executed ploy” to hand the election to Mr. Kenyatta.  Moreover, the petition claims that there were problems with the registration of voters and an electronic vote counting mechanism.

Odinga’s attempts to nullify Kenyatta’s victory will be the first significant test for Kenya’s new Supreme Court, established under a constitution adopted in a 2010 referendum.  Chief Justice Willy Mutunga, appointed in 2011 to reform a corrupt legal system accused of serving elitist interests, will be under international scrutiny to render a transparent verdict.

Mutunga received death threats in the weeks before the vote, but he has promised that the judiciary will act without “favor, prejudice or bias” when handling election complaints.  Moreover, he has already invited the media to cover any court proceedings live.

Odinga was the also the runner-up in the 2007 presidential election to Mwai Kibaki, which he also said was stolen.

In his acceptance speech last Saturday, Kenyatta called the election “free and fair” and a “triumph of democracy.”

For more information, please see:

BBC News – Raila Odinga Files Kenya Election Appeal– 16 March 2013

Reuters – Kenya’s Odinga Challenges Election Defeat in Top Court – 16 March 2013

The New York Times – Kenya Court Asked to Order New Election for President – 16 March 2013

The Washington Post – Kenya Police Tear Gas Prime Minister’s Supporters as He Files Court Case Against Election Loss – 16 March 2013

Malian Media Strikes Following Editor’s Arrest

By Hannah Stewart
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

BAMAKO, Mali — Mali’s private media launched a news strike after an editor was arrested for publishing a letter about the substandard conditions of Malian soldiers fighting Islamist militants in the north.

Man selects one of the 40 newspaper titles typically published each week in Bamako. (Photo Courtesy of BBC)

Agents from Mali’s intelligence service arrested Boukary Daou, editor-in-chief of Le Republican newspaper, and took him from his home on March 6.  This followed soon after his newspaper published a letter from an army officer denouncing Captain Amadou Haya Sanogo’s recently-decreed salary of $8,000 per month.

Sanogo’s salary is incredibly high salary for anyone in the impoverished country.  The letter contends that the salary — as much as 26 times what Sanogo earned before last year’s coup — serves as an incentive for future coups.

The letter further threatened that if Sanogo’s salary is not reduced, soldiers deployed in northern Mali’s will refuse to fight.  Currently, the average salary of an enlisted soldier is just $100 a month, which is 80 times less than what Sanogo’s salary.

Sanogo seized power a year ago last March.  Just weeks later, he was forced to relinquish control due to international sanctions.  Sanogo managed to negotiate a “golden parachute” before resigning, including the salary of an ex-head of state.  Despite officially stepping down, many observers contend that Sanogo continues to pull the strings in government, as Daou’s arrest evidences.

President Dioncounda Traore spoke to reporters at a stop in Dakar, Senegal, and defended his administration’s decision to arrest Daou.  President Traore assured reporters that if Daou is innocent that he will be freed.  Moreover, President Traore condemned the letter published in Le Republican as subversive and aimed to demoralize the nation’s troops during wartime.

Sources in the capital of Bamako, say that approximately 40 periodicals are published weekly; however, none appeared on newsstands on Tuesday morning.  Furthermore, the 16 local private FM radio stations are either silent or only playing music.

According to a statement from the country’s press association, the media strike “will continue until Boukary Daou is freed.”

“Mali is in a state of emergency.  We all need to remember this.  We are in a state of war, and we cannot allow this kind of thing,” President Traore said.  “If he is guilty, he will need to answer to the courts.  If he is not, there’s no reason he’ll be kept in prison.”

Following Sanogo’s coup last year, various rebel groups allied with al-Qaeda forces in northern Mali have sent the the country and the region careening into crisis.  Since January, French troops have joined with Malian and regional soldiers to push back against the northern rebels.

For more information, please see:

BBC News – Mali Media Strike Over Editor Boukary Daou’s Arrest – 12 March 2013

Bloomberg – Media in Mali Protest Journalist’s Arrest with National Strike – 12 March 2013

Financial Times – Mali Media Strike Against Editor’s Arrest – 12 March 2013

NPR – Mali Media Outlets Go Silent Over Editor’s Arrest – 12 March 2013