Europe

Slovenia Pressured to Accept More Refugees as Hungary Closes Borders

by Shelby Vcelka

Impunity Watch Desk Reporter, Europe

LJUBLJANA, Slovenia–

Slovenian officials warned that the country’s ability to cope with the influx of migrants was nearing a breaking point after Croatia announced it was closing its border with Hungary. After a request from Croatia to take in 5,000 migrants per day, Slovenia has announced they can only allow 2,500 migrants to cross its borders daily. The Interior Minister, Bostjan Sefic, commented, “we can simply not have a situation where we would be receiving enormous numbers of refugees, knowing that they wouldn’t be able to leave.”

Migrants begin crossing over the border after numbers pile up, and breathing room collapses. (Photo courtesy of BBC.)

Officials said the country was accommodating the increased flow of migrants, but was unable to deal with migrants who were stranded and would not be able to pass through to other countries. Nearly 200,000 migrants have entered the country since mid-September, with 2,100 migrants arriving on Sunday alone. Slovenia is currently attempting to register as many refugees as possible, before moving them along to wealthier nations such as Germany and Austria.

Hungary was the first to close its borders with Slovenia, suspending the Schengen Rules of the European Union, which allows for passport-free travel between member nations. The Hungarian government stated that because of the arrival of refugees on the Slovenian side of the border, they had to cut off access to an already unstable country. Slovenia, in response to restricted travel for migrants, fortified border security with the military along their Croatian border.

The weather is of particular concern to the Slovenian government, as colder temperatures will be arriving soon. Currently, the autumn winds and rain are hammering temporary shelters, and endangering the safety of migrants. With winter chill arriving, Slovenia will be hard pressed to provide for the migrants in addition to their own welfare state.

For more information, please see–

NBC–Thousands of Migrants Surge Into Slovenia in New Route— 17 October 2015

BBC–Migrant crisis: Slovenia sets limit of 2,500 people a day— 18 October 2015

Reuters–Croatia diverts migrants to Slovenia after Hungary closes border— 18 October 2015

Wall Street Journal–Slovenia Pressured by Influx of Migrants— 18 October 2015

Belarusian President Lukashenko Wins Reelection

by Shelby Vcelka

Impunity Watch Desk Reporter, Europe

MINSK, Belarus–

Belarusian voters, in a seemingly rigged election, reelected incumbent president Alexander Lukashenko for a fifth term. Turnout to the election was high, with reporters saying 86.75% of citizens casting ballots. Lukashenko won by a profound margin, with 83.5% of the vote.

President Alexander Lukashenko casts his vote at a polling station on October 11th, before being reelected as president later that day. (Photo courtesy of The Guardian)

Lukashenko’s last reelection five years ago sparked massive protests and riots, ending with the imprisonment of leading opposition party members. Western countries have ostracized Lukashenko due to his human rights record and repression of political dissent, calling him “the last dictator in Europe.” However, Lukashenko criticized Russia’s activity in Crimea last year, and hosted peace talks during the Ukrainian crisis. In August, he pardoned six members of the opposition party he had previously imprisoned, with the hopes that his actions would soften his appearance to the West. For four months after the election, the European Union will lift sanctions on both Belarus and Lukashenko, barring any members from committing a last minute crackdown, as a result of his showing of good will.

“We have carried out everything the west wanted on the eve of the elections. If there is a desire in the west to improve our relations, nobody and nothing can prevent that,” Lukashenko commented while casting his vote during Sunday’s election. “The ball is now firmly in the west’s court.”

Belarus’ relations with Russia have shown signs of strain in recent months. In September, Russian President Vladimir Putin approved a plan to place a Russian airbase in Belarus, but by early October, Lukashenko stated that Belarus had no need for such a base. This is in addition to strains due to Belarus’ disapproval of Russian actions during the Ukrainian crisis.

Previous elections in Belarus have been monitored by the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and they continued to watch the election on Sunday. The OSCE and other Western organizations have rated these elections as unfair, and are looking at Sunday’s vote as a showcasing of Belarus’ willingness to have free and fair elections. The official report by the OSCE will be released within the week of the vote.

For more information, please see–

BBC–Belarus president set to win fifth consecutive election— 10 October 2015

LA Times–Belarus election: Alexander Lukashenko will win, but by how much?— 10 October 2015

Al-Jazeera–Belarus poised to re-elect ‘last dictator in Europe’— 11 October 2015

The Guardian–Belarus election: Alexander Lukashenko wins fifth term with election landslide— 11 October 2015

Priest Comes Out as Gay On the Eve of Vatican Synod

by Shelby Vcelka

Impunity Watch Desk Reporter, Europe

VATICAN CITY–

Monsignor Krzysztof Charamsa, a senior priest at the Vatican, revealed he is gay on the eve of a synod on the Church’s family teachings. Monsignor Charamsa said he came out to challenge the Catholic Church’s “backwards” attitudes and traditions towards homosexuality. He also revealed that he was in a relationship, and was happy and proud of his decision. In reponse, the Vatican called his actions “very serious and irresponsible,” and subsequently stripped him of all responsibilities.

Monsignor Krzystof Charamsa poses with his boyfriend, Eduoard, after coming out as gay during a press conference. The Monsignor came out on the eve of a synod put on by the Vatican focusing on Catholic family values. (Photo courtesy of the Irish Times.)

The official subject under discussion at the three- week synod is how to make sure that Catholic families will follow Church teachings. However, Monsignor Charamsa’s announcement all but confirms the existence of a “gay lobby” in the Catholic Church, and threatens to derail the synod. The undertone of the conference, nonetheless, remains whether the Church can relax its abhorrence to same-sex relationships and marriage while the Pope comments, “Who am I to judge?”

Monsignor Charamsa has not yet submitted his resignation to the Vatican, but hopes that his coming out will encourage others to push for change within the Church. During the press conference, he presented a ten-point “liberation manifesto” against “institutionalized homophobia within the Church,” which Monsignor Charamsa claims oppresses gay men in the Church, who allegedly make up a majority of the priesthood.

“I dedicate my coming out to all gay priests,” Charamsa said. “I wish them happiness even if I know that most of them will not have the courage to make the gesture I have made today. To my Church, I want to say that I reject and I denounce the current atmosphere of exasperating homophobia. Open your eyes to the suffering of gay people, to their desire for love.”

Monsignor Charamsa has been a member of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith since 2003. While his fate as a priest is up to the local bishop in his home country of Poland, the Vatican has said he will no longer be a member of the Congregation.

For more information, please see

Al-Jazeera–Vatican fires senior priest who declares homosexuality on eve of synod— 3 October 2015

BBC–Vatican acts after Polish priest reveals homosexuality— 3 October 2015

DNA–Vatican sacks gay priest after highly public coming out— 3 October 2015

Irish Times– Holy See rocked as senior Vatican priest comes out as gay— 3 October 2015

France Opens Criminal Investigation of Torture by Assad Regime

by Shelby Vcelka

Impunity Watch Desk Reporter, Europe

PARIS, France–

Last week, France opened the first criminal inquiry into allegations of torture under the regime of President Bashar al-Assad of Syria. Based upon tens of thousands of photographs taken by Syrian defectors, the evidence of torture is quite convincing. However, the investigation is still in the early stages, as a French torture victim or the arrest of a Syrian official will be necessary to move the charges forward.

Syrian defector “Ceasar” (blue hoodie jacket) took many of the 55,000 photographs that depict torture conducted by the Assad regime between 2011 and 2013. The photos are the basis of a French investigation into the crimes committed by the Assad regime, the first in the world against the Syrian government. (Photo courtesy of Yahoo!)

International human rights advocates have hailed the measure as necessary, despite the move being largely symbolic in nature. The problem, advocates state, is not the evidence, but rather the ability to get a live witness in front of a French courtroom.

“Faced with these crimes that offend the human conscience, this bureaucracy of horror, faced with this denial of the values of humanity, it is our responsibility to act against the impunity of the killers,” the French foreign minister, Laurent Fabius, said while announcing the investigation to international press. Mr. Fabius asked prosecutors to move forward with the investigation on September 10th, immediately after the French government authenticated the photographs taken by the defectors. A unit in the prosecutor’s office that specializes in mass crimes will be in charge of the investigation.

France, along with the United States, believes that Assad is part of the problem in Syria, and that he cannot be part of the solution in the Middle East. The French insistence on this is based on the photographs depicting mass torture taken by the defectors. These photographs, taken between 2011 and 2013, portray victims with eyes gouged out, starved, beaten and maimed, as well as corpses piled up by the thousands. The scale of the problem is believed to have grown, as more people have been killed by the Assad regime than by ISIS since the beginning of the Syrian civil war.

Earlier in the week, the U.N. Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon, called for the Syrian civil war to be referred to the International Criminal Court for investigation. France is the first country to act since this call has been made, and has since stated that their probe should not prevent other countries from acting, nor should the U.N. feel discouraged from beginning their own investigations.

For more information, please see

The Telegraph–France ‘opens war crimes inquiry against Assad regime’ in Syria: UN debate— 29 September 2015

Economic Times– France opens probe into Assad regime for ‘crimes against humanity’: Judicial source— 30 September 2015

New York Times– France Opens Criminal Investigation of Torture in Syria Under Assad— 30 September 2015

Toronto Metro– France opens investigation into alleged crimes against humanity by Syria— 30 September 2015

Yahoo! News– France opens probe into Assad regime for crimes against humanity— 30 September 2015

Pro-Russian Rebels Ban UN Agencies from Operating in Eastern Ukraine

by Shelby Vcelka

Impunity Watch Desk Reporter, Europe

KIEV, Ukraine–

Rebel leaders in Crimea have expelled most of the humanitarian and non-governmental organizations from Eastern Ukraine as tensions escalate. At least ten different agencies, including the United Nations, World Health Organization, and Doctors Without Borders, have been affected by the recent change. Although the reason for the expulsion is not clear, the Ukrainian rebels have been suspicious of foreign agencies because it opens the possibility for international spying. The move also mirrors a law passed in Russia earlier in the year, forbidding citizens from interacting with foreign NGOs.

Due to the pro-Russian rebels in Eastern Ukraine blocking access to food handouts in the war torn region, as many as 150,000 people do not have access to regular sources of food, UN officials state. (Photo courtesy of BBC.)

UN agencies were given until Friday to evacuate the area, while other international NGOs were given until Saturday. The “de facto” rebel leaders based in Luhansk refused to reregister 10 out of the 11 UN organizations present in the region due to “violations.” The violations center on unsafe medical practices and illegal storage of medicine, although the banned organizations deny such practices. The only organization that is unaffected by the new measures, the Luhansk rebel government announced, is the Red Cross. “We have our rules and our laws,” said rebel official Vasily Nikitin stated in a pro-rebel video post on Thursday afternoon. “This isn’t some piratical African country where you can just set up a tent and start doing operations.”

The ban sparked widespread condemnation among Western nations, and international organizations, as it was a clear violation of the peace treaty signed between the rebel and pro-Ukrainian forces in February of this year. A provision of the peace treaty required that both the Ukraine and the rebels provide humanitarian aid to the war torn region, and safe access for noncombatants. According to experts, at least 150,000 people will lose access to food distribution once the ban is in full force.

The move comes after the Ukrainian government in Kiev banned Russian journalists from entering the country. It is unclear whether Luhansk’s policy was in retaliation for disallowing pro-Russian coverage of events.

For more information, please see

AP–UN: Russia-backed rebels in Ukraine expel aid agencies— 25 September 2015

BBC–Ukraine crisis: Rebels order UN agencies to leave Luhansk— 25 September 2015

Wall Street Journal–Russian-Backed Separatists Ban Foreign Aid Workers in Eastern Ukraine— 25 September 2015

Al-Jazeera–Ban on foreign aid agencies by Ukraine’s rebels— 27 September 2015