U.S. Protests North Korea’s Punishment of 2 Journalists

U.S. Protests North Korea’s Punishment of 2 Journalists

By Alishba I. Kassim
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

WASHINGTON, U.S. – The U.S. government and several human rights groups have started protesting after North Korea’s highest court sentenced two American journalists to 12 years of hard labor.

The two journalists, Laura Ling and Euna Lee, were detained by North Korean soldiers at the Chinese border in March. They were charged with illegally entering North Korea and with “hostile acts.”

There are conflicting reports emerging regarding the stories the journalists were working on. Laura Ling’s sister, Lisa Ling, told ABC television that the journalists had been working on a story regarding the trafficking of North Korean women into China, while other reports suggest they had been reporting on North Korean refugees who had fled North Korea.

The White House has also expressed its sentiment on the issue, and President Obama has been “deeply concerned” by the sentencing. Statements from the White House say that the U.S. is “engaged through all possible channels to secure their release.”

Groups such as Amnesty International have also been criticizing North Korea’s judicial and penal system by highlighting the fact that the journalists have had “no access to lawyers, no due process, no transparency.” They have gone on to call the North Korean judicial system an “instrument of supression than of justice.” Needless to say, the sentencing is the latest development in the strained American-North Korean relationship.

The Obama administration has reached out to the governor of New Mexico, Bill Richardson, who helped released American citizens imprisoned in North Korea in the past. However, Governor Richardson added that “talk of an envoy is premature because what first has to happen is a framework for negotiations on a potential humanitarian release. What we would try to see would be some kind of political pardon.”

Governor Richardson also noted that North Korea had not filed espionage charges against the journalists as many had assumed might happen and this was a positive sign.

Needless to say the plight of the two journalists has garnered substantial media attention, and the attention of the government and several human rights agencies. According to Governor Richardson there are some positive developments that can be utilized as stepping stones. However, let’s hope the U.S. government can work towards the journalists speedy release since several international reports strongly suggest that detainees at the labor camps are subject to hunger, brutal beatings, and inhumane workloads.

According to the four minute conversation Laura Ling had with her sister, the only thing that could help them would be if the “two countries communicate.”

For more information, please see:

NY Times – U.S. Protests North Korea’s Punishment of two Journalists – June 8, 2009

AP – Will U.S. Send Envoy after North Korea Jails Reporters? – June 8, 2009

Straits Times – Reporters Get Hard Labor – June 8, 2009

Threatened and Censored Professor Files Complaint With Human Rights Commission in Mexico

By Sovereign Hager
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

SINALOA, Mexico – Florencio Posadas Segura, a professor at the Autonomous University of Sinaloa (Universidad Autónoma de Sinaloa, UAS) was censored and threatened after commenting via radio that new rules regarding the succession in the rector’s position had “not passed democratic and academic tests.” Professor Segura spoke on the morning program, “A Primera Voz”, which airs on a University Radio Station.
Professor Segura’s comments resulted in a harsh reprimand by the university rector, who allegedly ordered Victor Hugo Aguilar Gaxiola, the radio show’s host not to allow Professor Segura back on the air. Professor Segura claims that the Host also told him to “Be careful, you never know when a car could run you over”. Professor Segura promptly filed a complaint with the Human Rights Commission (Comisíon Estatal de Derechos Humanos) because he fears for his life. He expressed indignation at the actions censuring his rights to self expression.
CENCOS (National Center for Social Communication) and IFEX ( International Freedom of Expression Exchange)  have called on the rector of the University and the directors  of the Radio Station to reconsider their actions and put measures in place to allow for Professor Segura to freely express himself.
Professor Segura has been a commentator on Radio UAS for 10 years. He is a professor and investigator in the UAS Social and Economic Investigations Unit (Instituto de Investigaciones Economicas y Sociales). He holds a doctorate in social sciences from the Metropolitan Autonomous University.

Nicaragua’s Absolute Ban on Abortions Violates Women’s Human Rights

By Nima Nayebi

Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

MANAGUA, Nicaragua – In November 2006, Nicaragua enacted a ban on all abortions with no exceptions, even to save a mother’s life. This position was largely adopted due to the influence of the Catholic Church, according to reports. The United Nations High Commissioner on Human Rights and the UN Committee against Torture have called on Nicaragua to reconsider its total ban and to consider including life-saving exceptions.

In the two years since the enactment of the law, many international groups including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have organized to oppose it, pointing out that it is a violation of women’s human rights and it needlessly causes death or injury to Nicaraguan women. 6,700 women are reportedly hospitalized every year due to abortion-related complications in Nicaragua. According to Ipas Central America, twelve Nicaraguan women have thus far died in childbirth where they would have lived had the 2006 law not been enacted. The country imposes criminal sanctions, including prison terms, for doctors performing abortions for women seeking them, regardless of the circumstances.

Widney Brown, Senior Director of International Law and Policy at Amnesty International stated: “The [UN] is sending a clear message to the Nicaraguan state: So long as the complete ban with no exceptions is in place, you will be in breach of your international legal obligations to protect human rights. If this complete ban were to stay, women and girls would continue to be at risk of torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. Such inaction would show a cruel indifference to the physical pain, psychological anguish and lack of human dignity this law causes women and girls in Nicaragua to suffer by denying and thwarting their access to essential medical treatment during pregnancy.”

Managua continues to ignore objections to this unpopular law.

Rampant Prison Abuse in Indonesia

By Hyo-Jin Paik
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

JAKARTA, Indonesia– More than two dozen reports of torture and beatings by guards at Abepura prison have been reported.  This prison, located in the largest Indonesian province, holds more than 200 inmates, some of whom have been jailed for peaceful political protests.

Reported cases of abuse included an inmate who was hit on the head multiple times by a rubber club and eventually lost an eye when the guards poked his eye with a key, as well as an inmate who was beaten so severely that bleeding in one ear led to hearing loss.  There has also been a report of guards forcing inmates to hold boiling water in their hands.

Indonesia prison Indonesian inmate and guards (Source: AP)

The Papua Province is tightly controlled by Indonesian security forces and intelligence agencies.  Indonesian government also bars foreign human rights groups and journalists from entering Papua and conducting research in fear of political unrest.

However, Asia Director of Human Rights Watch Brad Adams said, “”How can the government turn a blind eye to beatings and torture in one of its prisons?  Jakarta needs to put an end to this disgraceful behavior, punish those responsible, and start keeping a close eye on what is happening there.”

Indonesia does have a law stipulating procedures to be taken in the event a mistreatment occurs in prison.  For example, victims can report the abuse to the provincial office of the Ministry of Law and bring a criminal action.  Despite this law, however, victims and families have stopped reporting the abuse cases, because no action is ever taken by the government.

Human Rights Watch is urging Indonesian authorities to investigate and hold those responsible for such brutality accountable, in addition to requesting that Indonesia open the prison to international monitoring.

For more information, please see:

ABC News – Papua prison abuse rampant: report – 5 June 2009

Human Rights Watch – Indonesia: Stop Prison Brutality in Papua – 4 June 2009

Island Business – Jakarta accused over West Papua prison – 5 June 2009

The Jakarta Post – Indonesia told to stop prison brutality in Papua – 5 June 2009

Canadian Court Orders Canadian Citizen Repatriated After 6 Years of Forced Exile and Torture

By Sovereign Hager
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

OTTAWA, Canada – A Canadian Federal Court has ordered the Ottawa government to repatriate Canadian citizen Abousfian Abdelrazik, after six years of imprisonment in Sudan. Abdelrazik was arrested on a visit to see his sick mother in Sudan in 2003. The arrest was allegedly prompted by Canadian officials who suggested to Sudanese Officials that he was a terrorist. Abdelrazik says that he was beaten and tortured while being held.
Canada refused to issue Abdelrazik an emergency passport so he can leave Sudan, and he has been living in the lobby of the Canadian embassy for a year. Abdelrazik says that he has been interrogated by Canadian Spy Agency and FBI officials regarding connections to terrorism.

Abdelrazik denies having any connection to terrorism and Canadian intelligence officials have now confirmed that there is no information linking him to terrorism. Despite this confirmation, the conservative government has denied Abdelrazik entry into Canada because he is listed on the UN Blacklist of suspected terrorists. The Canadian government has called the situation “complex” and insists that Abdelrazik needs to get himself off of the UN Blacklist.
Solidarity activists banded together and purchased a ticket for Abdelrazik after the Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs unanimously voted that he could testify on his own behalf.
The Canadian Federal Court held that the government has not properly justified its refusal to allow Abdelrazik back into Canada and that his constitutional rights are being violated. The Court stated that the government should issue Abdelrazik a passport and arrange to fly him home to Canada within thirty days.