Karadzic Appeal for New Attorney Denied by ICTY

Karadzic Appeal for New Attorney Denied by ICTY

By Kenneth F. Hunt
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

THE HAGUE, Netherlands – The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) denied Radovan Karadzic’s appeal of a court-ordered appointment of an attorney to defend him in his impending war crimes case.

Mr. Karadzic, the former leader of Bosnian Serbs, requested that the ICTY, the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal sitting in The Hague, allow him to replace his British court-appointed attorney, Richard Harvey, with a lawyer of his own “heritage and language”. Mr. Harvey became Mr. Karadzic’s attorney in November 2009 when Karadzic boycotted court proceedings and insisted on defending himself.

Mr. Karadzic alleged that he had the right to “legal assistance of his own choosing” under the Statute of the ICTY Article 21(4)(d) and under ICTY case law.

The ITCY, in a written opinion, dismissed the appeal “in its entirety” noting that “[t]he right to self-represent[ation] is not absolute and may be subject to certain limitations.” As such, Mr. Karadzic’s “persistent obstructive behaviour has made it necessary, in the interests of justice, to limit his right to self-representation by assigning counsel to represent his interests.”

Mr. Karazdic’s trial will resume on March 1, assuming no more appeal delays occur, in order to give Mr. Harvey ample time to prepare a defense. The ITCY wants to strictly comply with this trial date so as to avoid a repeat of the situation surrounding former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic’s trial. Mr. Milosevic died in his jail cell during the fourth year of his extended trial.

When it resumes, Mr. Karadzic will face eleven charges of war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity for his role in the wars in Bosnia of the early 1990’s. Karadzic will likely face life in prison, especially if convicted of these crimes, which include a major role in the Srebrenica massacre that left 7,000 Bosnian Muslims dead.

According to Jurist, Mr. Karadzic’s trial will be the ITCY’s last.

For more inforation, please see:

BBC – Karadzic lawyer appeal rejected by ICTY – 12 February 2010

JURIST – ICTY dismisses Karadzic appeal of court-appointed lawyer – 12 February 2010

REUTERS – War crimes court rejects Karadzic appeal on lawyer – 12 February 2010

UN Accuses Japan of Violating Activists’ Human Rights

By Hyo-Jin Paik
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

NEW YORK, United States – According to the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), the Japanese government has violated a series of human rights by detaining Greenpeace activists who uncovered corruption in the Japanese’s government’s whaling program.

While investing corruption allegations regarding Japan’s whaling program, two Japanese men, Junichi Sato and Toru Suzuki, learned that although the program is referred to as a “scientific research,” boxes of whale meat were being shipped to whaling crews’ homes and then sold for personal profit.

Sato and Suzuki reported the embezzlement to the Japanese authorities.  Soon afterwards, the two men were arrested for theft and trespassing and were detained for a month.  Their trial is set to begin next Monday, and both men face up to ten years in prison.

The UN claims that the detention violates international covenants on human rights.  The UNHRC concluded that “[t]he rights of these two environmental activists not to be arbitrarily deprived of their liberty…freedom of…expression…as well as their right to engage in peaceful activities without intimidation and harassment has not been respected by the [Japanese] [j]ustice system.”

Specifically, UNHRC stated that Articles 18, 19 and 20 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and Articles 18 and 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political (ICCP) rights have been violated.  Japan is a party to both the UDHR and the ICCP.

Sato and Suzuki were detained without charge for 23 days, denied access to a lawyer, and interrogated for up to 12 hours a day while being tied to a chair.

Head of Greenpeace, Kumi Naidoo, said that the Japanese prime minister should order a re-examination of the allegations made against Suzuki and Sato.

Sato said, “We were investigating the corruption in the whaling industry that is funded by taxpayer’s money.  So we wanted to show the real face of the whaling industry, how corrupt this industry is, to the Japanese public.”

The stakes are high for both Sato and Suzuki being that Japan has a 99.8% conviction rates for criminal cases.  However, their lawyer said that they do have a strong argument since research activities done by NGO members based on whistleblower evidence are given the same degree of freedom and rights as activities done by investigative journalists.

For more information, please see:

ABC News – Anti-whaling activists to front court – 8 February 2010

Common Dreams – United Nations: Japanese Authorities Breached Human Rights of Greenpeace Anti-Whaling Activists – 9 February 2010

The Huffington Post – UN: Japanese Authorities Breached Human Rights of Greenpeace Anti-Whaling Activists – 8 February 2010

TreeHugger – UN Says Japan Violated Anti-Whaling Activist’s Human Rights – 10 February 2010

Iran Marks Revolution Day as Protests Continue

By Bobby Rajabi
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

TEHRAN, Iran – On February 11 Iranian opposition demonstrators clashed with security forces throughout the country. The clashes took place as the country celebrated the thirty first anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Opposition protesters chanted anti-government slogans in Tehran’s (the Iranian capital) neighborhoods. Security forces fired teargas at large crowds in major city squares to disrupt the actions of the protesters

Opposition leaders Mir Hossein Moussavi, who lost the greatly contested June 2009 Presidential election to incumbent Mahmoud Ahmedinejad and Mehdi Karroubi both aksed supporters to turn out for a peaceful demonstration to mark the anniversary of the revolution. Karroubi’s son reported that his father was attacked by pro-government agents. Additionally, Karroubi’s brother was arrested by government agents.

Unconfirmed reports said that Moussavi was prevented from joining a rally against the Ahmedinejad government. Additionally, the reports claim that Mousavi’s wife, Zahra Rhanvard was “beaten” by government forces. Reformist former President Mohammad Khatami was also reportedly attacked. His brother, Mohammed Reza Khatami, and wife, Zahra Eshraghi, the granddaughter of the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, were reportedly arrested but later released.

Witnesses report that the protests that too place throughout Tehran only turned violent after security forces began firing teargas at the members of the crowd. Additionally, security forces chased down opposition protesters with motorcycles.  In other parts of town reports came that protesters tore down pictures of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Clashes between security forces and opposition protesters also took place in a number of other cities in Iran. One such clash took place in the southern city of Shiraz where violent clashes took place between security forces and students who had turned out in the main square to demonstrate. Other anti-government protests were reported in the cities of Tabriz and Isfahan.

The disputed re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad in June 2009 plunged Iran into its worst political crisis since the 1979 revolution. The election was surrounded by reports of voting irregularities and rigging. The opposition to the Ahmedinejad government has repeatedly refused to the fight off the streets despite deadly crackdowns.

For more information, please see:

Al Jazeera – Rallies Mark Revolution Day – 12 February 2010

AFP – Iran Marks Revolution Day Amid Tight Security – 11 February 2010

BBC – Hundreds of Thousands Back Iran Revolution – 11 February 2010

Voice of America – Iran Protesters Clash With Security Forces – 11 February 2010

Saudi Girl in Divorce Battle

By Brandon Kaufman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia– In what could become a test case for banning child marriage in Saudi Arabia, a twelve-year-old girl is seeking to divorce her eighty-year-old husband.  It is believed that the girl will receive legal assistance from the government.

The state run Human Rights Commission has hired a lawyer to represent the girl when she takes her case to court in Buraidah, a conservative town near the capital Riyadh.  Currently, Saudi Arabia has no minimum legal age for marriage and it is fairly common for girls in the poorer, tribal areas to be married off.  Nonetheless, it is rare for a child bride to challenge the arrangement.

The young girl was married to her father’s cousin last year against both the wishes of her and her mother.  Locally, reports suggest that the marriage was sealed with a dowry of 85,000 riyals and subsequently consummated.  The girl’s mother filed for divorce, but withdrew her case earlier this month without explanation.

A draft law prohibiting child marriage is under discussion within the Saudi government, and activists hope that the case will be a watershed moment for the eventual implementation of an age minimum.  While no minimum currently exists, the draft law is expected to establish a minimum age for marriage between sixteen and eighteen.  Until a decision is reached, the government is seeking to ban notaries from sealing marriages for girls under the age of eighteen.

The government’s proposal of legal assistance would be the first time that the Human Rights Commission has publicly intervened in a case.  Alanoud al-Hejailan, a lawyer for the commission, said “Our main concern is to safeguard the child’s rights; it is in the hands of the court but the commission is firmly on the child’s side.”  It is believed that the court will have a ruling within the next few days.  If the divorce is not granted, the commission has suggested that it will pursue the matter through the appellate process if need be.

For more information, please see:

AOL News- Saudi Arabia Shifts Course on Child Marriage– 9 February 2010

Times Online- Twelve-Year-Old Saudi Girl in Divorce Battle with Eight-Year-Old Husband– 9 February 2010

Reuters- Saudi Rights Panel Takes Up Child Bride Case– 8 February 2010

Taylor’s Cross-Examination Comes To a Close

By Jonathan Ambaye
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa Desk

THE HAGUE, Netherlands-This past week saw special court prosecutors’ cross-examination of Charles Taylor come to a conclusion. Prosecutors addressed a number of issues including Taylor’s claims that there was a conspiracy against him that brought him to the Special Court for Sierra Leone.  Lead prosecutor Brenda Hollis said to Taylor, “Throughout your testimony to these judges, you have talked about a supposed conspiracy against you, and you have referred to this whole case as being about, let’s get Taylor.”

Taylor has claimed that the conspiracy was brought about by a collection of institutions including the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (“IMF”) and the European Union. Hollis pointed to the fact that Taylor admitted that the C.I.A worked with Taylor while he was in power in Liberia, contradicting the claim that the United States wanted him out of power as well. Hollis claims that if that was the case, the C.I.A would have been working against the interest of the United States. In response to this assertion, Taylor said, “It could have been, because sometimes intelligence agencies do one thing on one side, and do another thing on the other side. So it could have been.”

In the last day of his cross-examination, Hollis repeated allegations that Taylor’s government repressed independent news reporting. Hollis also repeated allegations that Taylor was behind operations launched by RUF rebels in Sierra Leone that resulted in the capturing of United Nations peacekeepers. Hollis questioned the motives behind Taylor’s attempts to help secure the release of the peacekeepers held hostage over ten years ago.  Taylor again denied these claims. The prosecution subsequently concluded their cross-examination of Taylor and the court adjourned the trial for one week.

For more information please see:

Charles Taylor Trial – As Prosecutors Conclude His Cross-Examination.. .– 5 February 2010

Charles Taylor Trial – Prosecutors Conclude the Cross Examination of Taylor – 6 February 2010

Charles Taylor Trial – Charles Taylor Trial Adjourned For A Week – 8 February 2010