By Irving Feng
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China – Nephew of blind Chinese activist, Chen Guangcheng, faces charges of intentional infliction of injury after being detained for five months without any communication with friends, family or legal counsel.

Chen Kegui was taken into custody shortly after his uncle, Chen Guangcheng, escaped an alleged illegal house arrest and fled to the United States back in April.  Chen Guangcheng, was under house arrest at his farm house, evaded dozens of armed guards, hidden cameras and other security measures during his miraculous escape.  He made his way to the American Embassy in Beijing and eventually to the United States.

Chen Guangcheng had been in prison for four years prior to his 19 month house arrest stint for openly protesting China’s family planning policies involving forced sterilizations and forced late term abortions.  Chen was imprisoned for inciting social unrest, disrupting traffic and causing property damage.  His escape was seen as a great embarrassment to the Chinese government.

Shortly after his escape, plain clothes police officers entered the home of Chen’s nephew, Chen Kegui, and beat him and his family.  The policemen scaled the wall and beat Chen Kegui in the courtyard of his Shangdong home.  When Chen Kegui grabbed a knife from the kitchen in order to defend himself and his family, three of the attackers were allegedly injured by his defensive actions.

The family alleges that it was impossible to tell that the attackers were in fact local police.  They did not wear any uniforms, did not announce their identity, and intruded the home without any proper documentation such as a search warrant.  Chen Kegui was hauled away by the police and initially charged with intentional homicide.

Chen Kegui was allegedly beaten and interrogated for several days after the abduction regarding the whereabouts and escape of his uncle.  The family has not seen their son since the incident at their Shangdong home.  They have only received a formal notification of the arrest from the police and the possible charges against Chen Kegui.

Although the charges have since been dropped down from intentional homicide to intentional infliction of injury against the policemen who abducted Chen Kegui, Jerome Cohen, an expert on Chinese law at the New York University School of Law, believes there is a high likelihood of conviction.

Given the high profile nature of the case and the possible connection to Chen Guangcheng’s escape and embarrassment suffered by the Chinese government, the outcome of the case may have already been decided by local party officials.  The formal proceedings such as the indictment and trial may be just a charade to fabricate some semblance of a fair and just legal system.

For further information, please see:

The Daily Beast – Chinese Dissident Chen Guangcheng’s Nephew Faces Assault Charges – 13 October 2012

The New York Times – Charges Likely for Chinese Activist’s Nephew – 13 October 2012

Radio Free Asia – Chen’s Nephew Faces New Charges – 13 October 2012

Reuters – Blind Chinese activist says nephew could face unfair trial – 13 October 2012

By Karen Diep
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China – On Thursday, Amnesty International released a report entitled Standing Their Ground which stated that large stimulus expenditures after the global financial crisis are responsible for a spike in evictions over the past three years in China.

According to Aljazeera, hasty construction surges primarily caused the increase in people being forcibly removed from their homes.  This was especially evident in years 2008 and 2010, during which China hosted the Olympics in Beijing and World Expo in Shanghai.

Though citizens are able to purchase and sell land rights which last for 70 years, the Chinese government legally owns all land.  As a result of recent property disputes, violence and instability reign.

Amnesty International’s 85-page report, assembled between February 2010 and January 2012, asserts that violence against residents has resulted in imprisonment, self-immolations, and death.

“The problem of forced evictions represents the single most significant source of popular discontent in China and a serious threat to social and political stability,” read the report.

According to Amnesty, nine of forty forced evictions resulted in the deaths of people resisting eviction.  A 70-year-old woman was allegedly buried alive by an excavator as she attempted to prevent workers from demolishing her home.  In another incident, authorities purportedly took a baby from its mother and refused to return it until she signed an eviction order.

“Potentially, millions of people in the country are at risk of these illegal forced evictions and indeed protests about forced evictions are the single biggest issue of populist discontent in the country,” said Amnesty’s senior director of research, Nicola Duckworth.  “So it’s a huge issue; it’s been going on for many, many years. We feel it’s rising in scale now and it’s really time to put an end to it,” continued Ms. Duckworth.

In response, the government stated that Amnesty’s report lacks credibility.

Last year, the government implemented regulations forbidding the use of violence in urban evictions.  It further granted urban owners confronting eviction new protections such as the right to air complaints in public hearings, file appeals, and collect suitable compensation.

Nevertheless, these recent regulations neither apply to people in rural areas or renters.

For more information, please see:

Los Angles Times – Forced eviction on the rise in China, Amnesty International says – 12 October 2012

Aljazeera – Report says forced evictions rise in China – 11 October 2012

The Guardian – Chinese forced eviction on the rise, says Amnesty – 11 October 2012

By Karen Diep
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

NEW DELHI, India – On Tuesday, Sonia Gandhi, president of India’s ruling Congress party, denounced the increase in rape victims.  Ms. Gandhi visited the home of a 16 year-old victim who had recently committed suicide.

“We will take strict action against the offenders,” promised Ms. Gandhi during her visit.  “Such barbaric acts are condemnable . . . [and] rapists should be given the severest punishment.”

According to New York Daily News, Ms. Gandhi, who is considered the most powerful politician in India, travelled to the girl’s village in the Haryana state to meet the victim’s relatives and relay the government’s outrage over the surge in such crimes.

“Now I am hopeful justice will be done,” said the victim’s mother after meeting Ms. Gandhi.

Last week, the victim burned herself to death after being gang-raped by men in the Jind district just 80 miles from New Delhi.  Furthermore, according to media reports, authorities have arrested five men, one of which was a police officer.

Over the last seven years, rape cases in the Haryana state have doubled.  Moreover, this past September, there were 12 purported rapes, and according to BBC, most of these victims were underage Dalits (formerly known as “untouchables”).

A member of Ms. Gandhi’s party, Phool Chanda Mulana, stated, “[S]uch incidents have happened earlier.”

On September 18th, a man committed suicide by swallowing pesticides in the Hisar district after he learned that 12 men gang-raped his underage daughter.  Furthermore, on October 1st, a man allegedly raped a 15 year-old Dalit girl with learning disabilities in the Rohtak district.  Within the same area and just two days after, a 13-year-old girl was purportedly raped by her 45-year-old neighbor.

In response, Haryana’s police chief, Ranjiv Dalal, asked the media to “exercise restraint” while reporting these attacks.  Mr. Dalal further stated that from January to August, the number of rape cases in the state had decreased to 455 rapes this year compared to 534 the same time last year.

“The nature of the crime created hype in the number of rape cases registered in Haryana,” said Hisar district’s Police Superintendent, Satish Balan.  “In two cases there were suicides which led to media coverage of rapes in Haryana otherwise the number of rapes registered has come down by 15%. This is the truth.”

Four U.N. agencies urged the Indian government to give the issue urgent attention in a letter to the country’s minister for Women and Child Development.

For further information, please see:

CNN – Indian girl seeks justice after gang rape – 12 October 2012

The International News – Sonia speaks out against rape cases – 10 October 2012

BBC – Sonia Gandhi visits Haryana rape victim family – 09 October 2012

NY Daily News – India’s Sonia Gandhi speaks out over rape cases – 09 October 2012

 

By Irving Feng
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

Dhaka, Bangladesh – A recent Human Rights Watch (HRW) report alleges that tanneries in Bangladesh’s capital, that produce luxury leather goods sold around the world, are poisoning workers.

In Dhaka’s slum neighborhood of Hazaribagh, the tightly packed tanneries boast untreated waste water, which contains chemicals like sulfuric acid, chromium and lead as well as animal flesh.  The deadly cocktail of untreated waste water flows freely into open gutters near the tanneries which meanders its way through the city and into the city’s main river.

The tanneries employ roughly 15,000 workers including children as young as 11 years old.  The HRW report alleges a health and safety crisis that exists among the workers and their families.  Workers have contracted a host of health problems due to their occupation including a multitude of skin diseases, respiratory illness, diarrhea, and amputations caused by the operation of dangerous machinery.

Workers that were interviewed, like Sumon a 23 year old leather worker, reported shallow coughs and stabbing chest pains, most likely due to his exposure working at the tanneries.  He also reports that when he first started working at the tanneries, the fumes of the chemicals made him so ill he could not eat for 2 months, but now, the fumes don’t even register with him anymore.  Sumon believes that his occupation is hazardous to his health, but he has no choice because he is from an impoverished background.

Richard Pearshouse, author of the HRW report, saw firsthand how the residents of Hazaribagh lived.  Residents were reportedly bathing in black ponds in the slum neighborhood.  Young children employed in the tanneries were operating dangerous industrial machinery, cutting hides with sharp razor blades, and exposed to hazardous chemicals as they soaked hides.

Local authorities have allegedly ignored labor and environmental laws as well as court orders to clean up their acts.  The government’s hands off approach in the Hazaribagh area that houses approximately 90% of the tanneries in Bangladesh has created a dangerously unsafe environment teeming with hazardous chemicals.

Syeda Rizwana Hasan of the Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association has attempted to alert the proper authorities of the state Hazaribagh is in without any luck of swaying the government into taking action.  The government has alleged that there is a possible plan being devised to relocate the tanneries out of the slum neighborhood.  It is believed, however, that the government is delaying this process due to pressure from the tannery owners.

The Hazaribagh tanneries and the leather industry in Bangladesh have emerged as a major source of economic wealth in the country.  Though the country is still highly impoverished, the leather goods industry has helped make a dent by hauling in an estimated $663 million in 2011.  The chief importers of Bangladeshi leather are China, South Korea, Japan, Italy, Germany, Spain and the United States.

For further information, please see:

Accessories Magazine – Human Rights Group Warns of Toxic Leather Tanneries in Bangladesh – 9 October 2012

The Chicago Tribune – Photos: Toxic tanneries drive Bangladesh leather exports: report – 9 October 2012

Reuters – Toxic tanneries drive Bangladesh leather exports: report – 9 October 2012

The Times of India – Bangladesh: Tanneries harm workers, poison communities – 9 October 2012

Zee News – Bangladesh tanneries spew pollution, says report – 9 October 2012

The Himalayan – Workers pay high price at Bangladesh tanneries – 18 February 2011

By Karen Diep
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

NEW DELHI, India – Yesterday, five family members were sentenced to death for the murder of a young couple in 2010.

Members of the young girl’s family tortured the couple in an alleged honor killing.  Authorities arrested the girl’s parents, cousin, uncle, and aunt the day after the couple’s murder.

“It can be safely concluded that the prosecution has been able to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the accused persons had caused the death of the victims with the common intention after giving them merciless beatings by tying them with rope and thereafter electrocuting them on various parts of their body,” said Judge Ramesh Kumar on Monday.

However, the convicted family could appeal against the decision in a higher court.

Last year India’s Supreme Court ruled that honor killings would receive the death penalty and deemed the crime a “barbaric slur” on the nation.

According to Telegraph, Yogesh, a taxi driver, wanted to marry nineteen-year-old Asha, the daughter of a vegetable seller, but Asha’s family objected because Yogesh belonged to a lower caste.

Local media reports revealed that the Autopsy reports showed that the couple had been tied up, beaten with metal pipes, and electrocuted.

“Medical examination had revealed that the two had died due to the thermoelectric shock from repeated electrocution,” read the Indian Express newspaper.

There are no statistics regarding the number of honor killings in India, but one 2010 study states that as many as 900 people are killed each year for falling in love or marrying despite their families’ objections in the northern states of Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh.

Most parents in India still prefer arranged marriages within their own caste and relationships outside of caste are frowned upon.

According to Telegraph, New Delhi lawyer, Ravi Kant, has been fighting to pass a law that will provide detailed and harsh penalties to reduce honor killings

“Such a punishment will certainly have a huge impact on the society. It will serve as a strong deterrent to one and all. The sentencing is also in line with the Supreme Court directive and it must be lauded,” shared Mr. Kant.

For further information, please see:

BBC – Death penalty for family members in India ‘honour killing’ – 05 October 2012

Telegraph – Death penalty for family members over India ‘honour killing – 05 October 2012

Washington Post – Indian honor killing family get the death penalty – 05 October 2012