Obama To Sign Congressional Defense Bill; Guantanamo Bay To Remain Open

By Samuel Miller
Impunity Watch Desk Reporter, North America and Oceania

WASHINGTON, D.C., United States of America — On Tuesday, the Senate approved an annual military policy bill, and White House officials said President Obama would sign the measure, despite provisions that bar the transfer of detainees from the terrorist detention center at Guantánamo Bay to the United States. President Obama vetoed an earlier version of the bill last month because it kept across-the-board budget cuts in place, and prohibited him from closing the prison.

The U.S. Detention Center at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. (Photo Courtesy of the WSJ)

The president had objected to the previous bill because of the Guantanamo language, as well as because it eased military spending cuts without also loosening restrictions on domestic spending.

Members of the Senate overwhelmingly approved the 2016 National Defense Authorization Act (“NDAA”) 91-3 on Tuesday, just days after the House passed the bipartisan measure by a vote of 370-58. The legislation authorizes Pentagon spending on military personnel, ships, aircraft and other war-fighting equipment.

The Senate also voted 93-0 to send Obama another bill affecting Guantanamo. The military construction appropriations measure bars spending to renovate or build facilities in the United States to house former Guantanamo detainees.

Together with extending a ban on transferring Guantanamo detainees to the United States, the bill also imposes new restrictions on transfers to third countries, including Libya, Syria, Yemen and Somalia.

White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest addressed members of the media Tuesday to explain the President’s rationale for signing the bill, while also emphasizing the President’s position toward closing Guantánamo Bay remains unchanged.

“I would expect that you would see the president sign the NDAA when it comes to his desk,” Mr. Earnest stated in a news briefing. “That certainly does not reflect a change in our position, or the intensity of our position, about the need to close the prison at Guantánamo Bay.”

Although the Defense Department has been slowly releasing prisoners from Guantánamo, there are still 112 prisoners at the prison. The majority of these inmates are suspected terrorists whom were captured in Afghanistan; Obama has made the closure of the prison a national security priority.

In response to the passage of the NDAA, Republicans on Capitol Hill fear the president may prepare an end-run around Congress, and will try to close the prison through an executive order.

“If the President moves forward with this, it would be blatantly unconstitutional, flouting laws passed by Congress,” House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R., Texas) told the Wall Street Journal.

Alternatively, there are voices in Washington which remain hopeful Guantánamo may yet be closed. “If the president can find a constitutional path to that conclusion, I hope he can serve our country by closing Guantanamo once and for all,” said Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois.

White House officials said that Mr. Obama intended to send Congress a plan to close the detention center after signing the bill.

For more information, please see:

NY Times — Senate Passes Military Bill That Bars Transfers of Guantánamo Detainees – 10 November 2015

Reuters — Obama to sign defense bill with Guantanamo restrictions – 10 November 2015

USA Today — Obama will sign defense bill despite Guantanamo Bay closure ban – 10 November 2015

US News and World Report — Congress sends Obama defense bill that bans moving Guantanamo detainees to US – 10 November 2015

Wall Street Journal — Obama to Sign Defense Bill Despite Provisions to Keep Guantanamo Open – 10 November 2015

Washington Times — Congress passes defense policy bill that keeps Guantanamo open – 10 November 2015

Press Release: Russian Anti-Corruption Activist Navalny Urges US Government to Add New Names to Magnitsky Sanctions List for Abusing His Brother in Prison

11 November 2015 – Alexei Navalny, Russian anti-corruption activist, whose brother has been jailed by Russian authorities since December 2014 on trumped up charges and who has been subjected to discriminatory pressure in detention, has urged the US Government to add new names onto the Magnitsky Sanctions list under the US Sergei Magnitsky Law (https://navalny.com/p/4533/) which imposes visa bans and asset freezes on gross human rights violators.

“[The Magnitsky Law] is a truly pro-Russian law…This is the law that protects Russian citizens from the lawlessness,” said Alexei Navalny on the role of the Magnitsky Act in today’s Russia.

“My brother [Oleg Navalny] is being held in jail as a hostage. His only guilt is that he is my brother,” said Alexei Navalny.

“Previously, each new wave of pressure on Oleg [Alexei Navalny’s brother] was precisely timed with my activities?and anti-corruption investigations. Now this pressure simply never subsides,” said Alexei Navalny about the treatment of his brother in Russian penal colony No 5.

Alexei Navalny and his colleagues have identified three officials responsible for applying the pressure to Navalny’s brother:

  1. Yuri Dorokhin, deputy head of prison system in Orlov region;
  2. Yuri Afanasiev, head of penal colony IK-5;
  3. Gennady Grevtsev, deputy head of IK-5 colony in charge of security.

In the last several months, Oleg Navalny was moved three times to a penalty facility where he spent 45 days, according to Alexei Navalny’s colleague Vladimir Ashurkov (https://www.facebook.com/vladimir.ashurkov/posts/1059742160743615)

The United States passed the?Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act in December 2012. The US law, named after deceased Hermitage Fund’s Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, imposes visa bans and asset freezes on those involved in his arrest, torture, death and cover-up, as well as other gross human rights abuses.

So far the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control has publicly sanctioned 34 Russian nationals under the US Magnitsky Act, including 28 who played a role in the Magnitsky case and 6 persons involved in other gross human rights violations in Russia. The lists of names were previously published by the US Government on 12 April 2013, 20 May 2014 and 29 December 2014.

For more information please contact:

Justice for Sergei Magnitsky

+44 207 440 1777

e-mail: info@lawandorderinrussia.org

website: www.lawandorderinrussia.org

Facebook: http://on.fb.me/hvIuVI

Twitter: @KatieFisher__

 

Mustard Gas Confirmed in Syria

By Brittani Howell

 Impunity Watch Reporter, The Middle East

Damascus, Syria 

On Friday, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) stated that mustard gas has been used by insurgents in Syria. The use of mustard gas is alleged to be the cause of death of an infant in August.

A projectile alleged to have contained mustard gas, lands in Aleppo, Syria in September. (Photo Courtesy of the Guardian)

“In this case, the team was able to confirm with the utmost confidence that at least two people were exposed to sulfur mustard, and that it is very likely that the effects of this chemical weapon resulted in the death of an infant,” stated the OPCW.

Mustard gas, or sulfur mustard, can cause severe damage, in the form of blisters, to the skin, eyes, respiratory system, and internal organs.  Sulfur mustard also can cause severe itching and wheezing.

On August 21, the town of Marea was hit by a mortar. According to Doctors Without Borders (MSF) a family of four had suffered difficulty breathing and developed blisters as a result of a mortar striking their home. The symptoms pointed to a mustard gas attack.

It is alleged that the Islamic State was responsible for the attack on Marea in August. Many fear that the Islamic State is using chemical weapons in Syria and in Iraq.

The OPCW also reported that toxic chemicals, including chlorine, were alleged to be used in an attack in the Idlib province in March. Human Rights Watch has alleged that Bashar al-Assad, Syria’s president, dropped barrels full of chlorine in a rebel area in March.

According to Assad, 1,300 tons of chemical weapons were destroyed per the agreement with the United States and Russia. The United States, however, suspects that the Syrian government has concealed some of the original stock of weapons.

A spokeswoman for the National Security Council of the United States, stated that the United States is, “continuing to investigate these allegations very closely and to be proactive about the threat from chemical weapons or similar threats.”

Over 250,000 people have been killed since the start of Syria’s civil war. Millions more have been forced to flee. There is growing concern that the use of chemical weapons will greatly escalate the conflict further.

For more information, please see:

BBC News – Syria Conflict: ‘Mustard Gas Used’ in Marea Attack – 6 November 2015

CNN – Mustard Gas Used in Syrian Town – 6 November 2015

The Guardian – UN Watchdog Confirms Mustard Gas Attack in Syria – 6 November 2015

The New York Times – Syria: Rebels Used Mustard Gas – 6 November 2015

The Washington Post – Weapons Inspectors Say Non-State Fighters in Syria Used Mustard Gas – 6 November 2015

“Sexist Terrorism”: Thousands March in Madrid to Protest Violence Against Women

by Shelby Vcelka

Impunity Watch Desk Reporter, Europe

MADRID, Spain–

Tens of thousands of protesters rallied in Madrid last Saturday to denounce violence and discrimination against women. The rally, organized by feminist groups, had members of all major political parties, and over 380 regional and 70 state-run feminist organizations in attendance, and had over 21,000 activists in total taking part. The protestors wore purple and black and lay in the streets to commemorate thousands of women abused or murdered by intimate partners and in hate crimes in what they described as “sexist terrorism.”

http://twitter.com/losotrosjudios/status/663078922167304192/photo/1

Activists were primarily concerned with expanding coverage under current domestic violence laws, and receiving more public funding to protect women from abusive partners. They held banners that read, “Stop machista violence!” and chanted, “We aren’t all here, the dead are missing!” Currently, Spain has an emergency hotline available to women that does not show up on their telephone bills, in addition to free legal assistance and accommodations for abused women. Spain is seen as a pioneer in combatting violence against women through progressive legislation and the availability of social programs.

Many of the activists in attendance were survivors of domestic violence themselves. “I think it’s important that people like me demonstrate today, because I’m an example of a woman who’s been able to get out of domestic violence,” Olga Aranza stated. “And that means that all abused women can also get out violence and that they deserve a better life. You really can get out,” she added. Another woman, Angela Gonzales, had a daughter that was murdered by her former husband in 2003.

Most of the men involved with the march felt personally connected with the issue at hand as well. According to attendee Miguel Navarro, “it’s essential that we men also take part in this demonstration so that we send a clear message to women, telling them they are not alone in this struggle.” Likewise, Nacho Molina stated, “in Spain, there is still a need to educate men so that they put an end to machismo (exceedingly masculine violence).”

For more information, please see—

BBC– Violence against women: Madrid stages big protest march— 07 November 2015

Euro Weekly– “Sexist Terrorism” turns Madrid streets Purple— 08 November 2015

RT– Stop ‘machista’ violence: Tens of thousands incl Podemos, FEMEN protest domestic violence in Madrid— 08 November 2015

SBS– ‘Sexist terrorism’: Thousands in Spain march against domestic violence— 08 November 2015

Germany, Facing Internal Pressure, to Expedite Deportations of Refugees

by Shelby Vcelka

Impunity Watch Desk Reporter, Europe

BERLIN, Germany–

After weeks of debates within the government regarding the recent “overwhelming” influx of refugees, Germany is preparing to expedite the process of deporting asylum seekers. On Thursday, Chancellor Angela Merkel announced that an agreement had been reached between the coalition government, allowing for three to five reception centers that would either accept or deport refugee applicants. For weeks, the opposition government has requested the majority party to reduce the number of refugees allowed in Germany, citing struggling local authorities.

Germany has been facing internal pressure to deport refugees from the country, as resources have been stretched thin. (Photo courtesy of Al-Jazeera)

The leader of the opposition party, Horst Seehofer of the Christian Social Union, called the agreement “very very good,” and said his relationship with Merkel had been “cemented again.” However, he did not revoke his threat to file a legal complaint against the government over its expansive refugee policy. Other members of the opposition parties have criticized the agreement, stating that the number of refugees entering the country far exceeds the resources available.

Robert Habeck, a critic of the agreement and a member of the Green Party commented, “people are waiting for half a year before their asylum applications can even be submitted. It is a complete mystery as to how the federal government can conclude the process within a few weeks in the special reception centers.”

Other critics within Merkel’s coalition government believe the agreement curtails the rights of refugees, and questioned the legality of detaining asylum seekers and refugees for an indefinite period of time. Initially, Merkel requested that “transit zones” be set up across the country, where new refugees would be detained before their status was determined. The Social Democratic Party, who claimed these zones would be akin to “internment camps”, rejected this.

Up to 10,000 refugees have entered Germany daily since January, totaling around 758,000 migrants. The influx has shown no signs of stopping, with the 800,000 refugee limit set by the German government likely to be exceeded sometime in the near future.

For more information, please see—

Chicago Tribune– Merkel ally says government will survive refugee turmoil— 04 November 2015

Al-Jazeera– Germany to expedite deportations of refugees— 06 November 2015

Irish Times– Germany agrees compromise on refugees after ‘intense’ talks— 06 November 2015

Wall Street Journal– Germany Steps Back Hours after Tighter Asylum Rules Are Unveiled— 06 November 2015