Guinea declares state of emergency after post-election violence

Guinea declares state of emergency after post-election violence

By Polly Johnson
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

Conde supporters celebrated outside his residence. (Photo Courtesy of Reuters).
Conde supporters celebrated outside his residence. (Photo Courtesy of Reuters).

CONAKRY, Guinea – Ten people have been killed and more than two hundred injured in the violent aftermath of a contentious presidential election in Guinea.

Authorities declared a state of emergency after three days of street violence and imposed an overnight curfew until disputes over the election results are resolved.

The National Independent Electoral Commission reported late Monday that Alpha Conde had won Guinea’s presidential election, receiving 52.5 percent of the 2.89 million ballots cast in a runoff.  Cellou Dalein Diallo, his opponent, received 47.5 percent.

Mr. Diallo alleged massive voter fraud and has challenged Mr. Conde’s win in the Supreme Court.

A police officer said that the state of emergency would remain in place until the election results were officially confirmed by the Supreme Court. The Court has eight days to rule on the preliminary results from the time they are published.

Despite Mr. Diallo’s calls for calm, his supporters took to the streets, fighting with security forces and even destroying homes of many members of the Malinke ethnic group, to which Mr. Conde belongs. Mr. Diallo’s supporters are primarily from the Peul ethnic group.

Violence erupted in the neighborhoods of Hamdallaya, Bambeto, Cosa, and Simbaya, all of which are primarily Peul communities. “Shooting and targeted arrests are continuing,” a resident of Koloma told Reuters.

On Tuesday, interim Prime Minister Jean More Dore blamed Mr. Diallo’s supporters for the violence and described them as hooligans. Mr. Diallo blamed the security forces for inflicting “savage brutality” upon his supporters.

The United Sates also denounced the post-election violence. “The United States condemns the violent clashes between rival political supporters in Guinea following the Nov. 15 announcement of the provisional presidential election results,” State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said. “Such incidents have no place in the democratic society that Guinea aspires to become.”

The election marked an end to fifty-two years of authoritarian rule – the country’s first democratic election since independence from France in 1958.

But violence and delay have overshadowed the process since the first round of elections in June.

“The situation is very tense in Guinea,” West African analyst Adam Gaye said. “You have really a legacy of military rule and of violence that will be very difficult to fix . . . Conde has appealed to the defeated side to announce that it’s necessary to build a national reconciliation government.”

For more information, please see:

Al Jazeera – Guinean military declares emergency – 17 November 2010

BBC – Guinea declares state of emergency after poll clashes – 17 November 2010

New York Times – Guinea: Presidential Winner is Declared – 15 November 2010

Reuters – Guinea government declares state of emergency – 17 November 2010

Wall Street Journal – US Denounces Post-Election Violence in Guinea – 17 November 2010

Game Killing of Afghan Civilians by U.S. Soldiers

David L. Chaplin II
Impunity Watch, Asia

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan – Andrew Holmes is one of five soldiers accused of killing Afghans for sport. They’re also accused of mutilating corpses and keeping grisly souvenirs as troops allegedly covered up the deaths of their victims. Holmes’ lawyer denies the charges and says he will fight them vigorously.

Five U.S. soldiers from the 5th Stryker Brigade accused of killing
Four of five U.S. soldiers from the 5th Stryker Brigade accused of killing

Pfc. Andrew Holmes of Boise, Idaho, faces military officials Monday who will determine if there is enough evidence to court martial him over the premeditated killing of three Afghan civilians.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai was briefed about the Army’s investigation into a “rogue” Stryker platoon in southern Afghanistan while the soldiers were deployed there earlier this year, an Army investigator testified yesterday.

Camero, testifying by phone Monday morning at an Article 32 hearing for Pfc. Andrew Holmes, said that the Army was careful to contain information about the investigation because it didn’t want to inflame the Afghan populace’s sentiment against U.S. soldiers.

“We didn’t want the public to know,” he said.

As one of five U.S. soldiers from the 5th Stryker Brigade accused of killing for sport and staging the deaths to look like legitimate war casualties, Holmes will face an Article 32 hearing at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington.  Spc. Jeremy Morlock was the first of the five to face an Article 32 hearing.

12 U.S. soldiers have been charged in what they called a conspiracy to murder Afghan civilians and cover it up; along with charges they mutilated corpses and kept grisly souvenirs.

Five of the soldiers face murder charges, while seven others are charged with participating in a cover-up.

According to the military documents, the five were also involved in throwing grenades at civilians.

His civilian lawyer, Dan Conway, said his client did not kill any civilian and was ordered by his supervisor, Gibbs, to keep a human finger.

“There is no proof that … Holmes caused or conspired to cause the death of any human being unlawfully,” Conway said.

The Army refuses to comment on any aspect of any of the cases and has sought to limit circulation of evidence, especially since videotaped interrogations of some of the soldiers and alleged written confessions by some soldiers were leaked.

Holmes’ attorney said he plans to put on a vigorous defense of his client, arguing that he killed no one.

“The only way these kinds of allegations can occur is the command is completely derelict in supervising, meaning there involved or there are ignoring that this kind of conduct may be occurring,” Conway said. “And I don’t know which one it is at this point.”

Holmes’ attorney, Dan Conway, pressed Camero, who was part of a team that went to the scene of a related May killing, to gather evidence about the investigation to highlight the Army’s lack of physical evidence from the January incident in which Holmes was involved.

Camero said the decision to visit crime scenes rested with higher-ranking officers who were aware that the location of the January incident was in hostile territory.

For more information, please see:

CNN – Soldier accused of Afghan sport killings faces hearing – 15 November 2010

The News Tribune – Stryker murder scandal details shared  with top level of Afghan Government – 15 November 2010

Boise Weekly – War: More  Testimony in the Holmes Case – 15 November 2010

EU Accuses Seven In Kosovo Organ Trafficking

By Christina Berger
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

PRISTINA, Kosovo — Seven people have been accused of participating in an international organ-trafficking ring by European Union officials. The seven people, including doctors and a former Health Ministry official, have allegedly trafficked kidneys and other organs from impoverished people through a clinic on the outskirts of Pristina.

According to the AP, EU prosecutor Jonathan Ratel said in the indictment that an “organized criminal group” had trafficked persons into Kosovo for the purpose of removing “human organs for transplant to other persons”. Ratel is part of the EU’s rule of law mission, which handles serious crime in Kosovo.

The victims, who mostly came from impoverished areas of Turkey, Russia, Moldova, and Kazakhstan, were promised up to €14,500 ($20,000) for their organs. The organs were then sold to patients around the globe, from Israel to Canada, for between €80,000 and €100,000 ($110,000 and $137,000).

The organ-trafficking ring was first discovered two years ago, but it took time for investigators to learn the extent of the network. EU officials have recently made requests for evidence from Canada, Germany, Kazakhstan, and Turkey.

EU officials allege that the leader of the organ-trafficking ring is Dr. Lutfi Dervishi, who is a prominent surgeon and professor at Pristina University Hospital. His son, Arban Dervishi, ran the clinic. According to prosecutors, Lufti Dervishi recruited a Turkish doctor, Yusuf Sonmez, to perform organ transplants after Dervishi attended a medical conference in Istanbul. Moshe Harel, an Israeli citizen, allegedly identified, recruited, and transported the victims, as well as managed the cash payments before the surgeries. Along with those four, Illir Rrecaj, a former senior Health Ministry official, and two other doctors were also indicted.

The seven people were charged with counts of trafficking in persons, unlawful exercise of medical activity, and abuse of power. They were all released on bail and are not currently in custody.

Allegations have been made in the past that during the war dating back to 1999, the Kosovo Liberation Army kidnapped and killed Serb civilians for organ harvesting. These claims have been investigated, but never proven.


For more information, please see:

NYT — Seven Charged in Kosovo Organ-Trafficking Ring — 15 November 2010

AP — EU in Kosovo probes organ trafficking — 15 November 2010

BBC — Kosovo medics accused of trafficking kidneys — 12 November 2010

AP — EU prosecutor: 7 suspected of organ trafficking — 11 November 2010

Colombia’s High Court Blocks Suit To Legalize Same-Sex Marriage

By Patrick Vanderpool
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

Colombians show their support for gay rights (photo courtesy of www.queerty.com)
Colombians show their support for gay rights (photo courtesy of www.queerty.com)

 BOGOTA, Colombia – Colombia’s high court ruled against a lawsuit which would have legalized same-sex marriage in the country by a vote of 5-4.

The lawsuit, which was filed in September 2009, sought to alter the definition in Colombia’s civil code which defines marriage as “a solemn contract through which a man and a woman unite.” 

Felipe Montoya, one of the lawyers who filed the suit, wanted judges to eliminate the phrase “man and woman” from the code, in order to open up the possibility of a same-sex marriage.  The court ruled that the lawsuit was “flawed” and presented in an “irregular manner.”  

Judge Mauricio Gonzalez Cuervo, president of Colombia’s Constitutional Court, said that “nothing is final, and it is possible to insist on civil marriage for same sex couples in front of the court, but with more detailed arguments because this article will play a vital role within Colombia’s constitution.”

The lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community is rallying against the Court’s decision, calling it “unconstitutional” and vowing to seek legislation to ensure equality if the Court fails them.  Marcela Sanchez, director of Colombia Diversa, a Colombian organization which represents the interests of the LGBT community, asserts that, as a result of the Court’s actions, “[Colombia] will lose a unique opportunity to achieve a true concept of equality.”

In addition to Colombia Diversa’s criticisms, gay rights advocates in Colombia planned to protest the Court’s ruling on Friday with demonstrations in Colombia’s capital.

In July, Argentina became the first Latin American country to legalize same-sex marriage after legislators passed a bill giving same-sex couples equal marriage rights.  While the attorney’s likely viewed Argentina’s actions as a broader, more progressive attitude toward the issue, Colombia’s Constitutional Court did not sway from their traditional view.

For more information, please see:

CNN – Colombia gay rights groups protest after court’s gay marriage decision – 12 November 2010

Colombia Reports – Court Blocks Gay Marriage – 12 November 2010

Queerty.com – Did Colombia’s Constitutional Court Turn Down The Gay Marriage Lawsuit Because It Was Too Weak? – 12 November 2010

Poor Conditions Lead to Third Prison Riot in One Week

By R. Renee Yaworsky
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

Brazils prisons are alarmingly overcrowded. (Photo courtesy of LAHT)
Brazil's prisons are alarmingly overcrowded. (Photo courtesy of LAHT)

IRANDUBA, Brazil—On Sunday, a riot in a jail became the third prison riot in a week in Brazil.  The latest riot resulted in three deaths and has sparked debate over possible human rights violations in the nation’s correctional facilities.

The most recent riot occurred in the jail of a police station in Iranduba, a city in the Amazon.  The prisoners became violent in the early hours Sunday in order to protest the poor living conditions they were subjected to.  The protesters were eventually subdued by police officers, but in the wake of the incident, three prisoners were found dead.  It is unknown how many others were wounded, and whether the deceased were killed by rioters or authorities when they moved in to regain control of the facility.

Brazil’s prisons and jails are frequently overcrowded and can lead prisoners to riot and go on organized hunger strikes.  Sunday’s violence arose after the jail became packed with 40 prisoners.  The jail was designed to hold only eight.
Police officer Geraldo Pereira de Oliveira said that, “After the riot, there were negotiations and the possibility of transferring some prisoners is being studied.”

Sunday’s deadly protest is the third of its kind this week alone in Brazil.  On Wednesday, three prisoners were killed by other prisoners in a similar riot, just 19 miles from Iranduba.  Last Monday, 18 prisoners—four of whom were decapitated–died in a riot in the penitentiary complex in Sao Luis.  A correctional officer was also injured by a gunshot wound.  The riot began when prisoners shot the guard while he was conducting an inspection, then took him and five other guards hostage.  The prisoners announced that they were protesting substandard quality of life in the institution.  The prison is currently inhabited by 4,000 prisoners—double the number that the building was constructed to hold.

In each of the three riots, experts and authorities have determined that overcrowding and unsatisfactory living conditions were the primary impetus for the melee.  In Brazilian prisons, gangs vie for control, their violence unchecked by an inadequate number of correctional officers.

For more information, please see:

Latin American Herald Tribune-Third Brazil Prison Riot in a Week Leaves 3 Dead-15 November 2010

Sydney Morning Herald-Three dead in Brazil jail riot-15 November 2010

Telegraph-Brazil prison riot leaves 18 inmates dead-9 November 2010