Former Presidential Candidate Flees Belarus

Former Presidential Candidate Flees Belarus

By Daniel M. Austin
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

Opposition Leader Ales Mikhalevich. (Photo courtesy of Guardian).
Opposition Leader Ales Mikhalevich. (Photo courtesy of Guardian).

 MINSK, Belarus –  Fearing another round of interrogation and detention, Belarusian opposition leader and former presidential candidate Ales Mikhalevich has fled the country. Mr. Mikhalevich spent nearly three months in a prison cell following the December 9, 2010 elections. He claims he was tortured while in custody of the Belarus state security forces (KGB). Mr. Mikhalevich and several hundred other members of the opposition were arrested after protesting the December election results where Mr. Alyaksandr Lukashenka was elect president.

Mr. Mikhalevich was released from custody on February 19 and then fled the country on March 14. In a recent blog post Mr. Mikhalevich claimed he was safe and beyond the reach of Belarusian state security forces, however he did not reveal his exact location. Prior to fleeing the country, Mr. Mikhalevich described his time at the KGB detention center including claims he was tortured. Specifically, he claims he was placed in a cold room, stripped, and hung by his hands for several hours. Furthermore, he was forced to sign a document claiming he would collaborate with the KGB in order to be released. The KGB has denied Mr. Mikhalevich’s accusations including his claims of torture.

The December 9 presidential election brought Mr. Lukashenka back to power in a vote that was seen by many international observers as flawed. Following the election, the Belarus government cracked down on opposition figures and jailed over 700 opposition supporters including seven presidential candidates. Included in these figures are Andrey Sannikau and Mikalay Statkevich, both former presidential candidates who are still in custody. Additionally, Uladzimer Nyaklyaeu, another former presidential candidate, has been placed under house arrest. All three individuals have been charged with organizing mass disturbances and face up to 15 years in prison if convicted.

In a 31-page report released on Monday, March 14, Human Rights Watch describes the brutal crackdown on opposition groups and human rights abuses taking place in Belarus. The report claims individuals in custody for protesting election day results have not had access to defense counsel and have not been able to call their own witnesses. Additionally, offices for human rights organizations have been raided and the Belarus government is putting pressure on lawyers representing defendants’ accused of criminal charges relating to post-election protests.

For more information, please see:

Al Jazeera — Belarus politician ‘flees torture’   — 14 March 2011

Human Rights Watch – Shattering Hopes – 14 March 2011

New York Times — Former Presidential Candidate, Claiming Abuse, Flees Belarus – 14 March 2011

Radio Free Europe — ‘Fleeing’ Belarusian Opposition Figure Says Doing Fine – 16 March 2011

Peruvian War Criminal Arrested in UK

By R. Renee Yaworsky
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

A Peruvian death squad in 1993. (Photo courtesy of Daily Mail)
A Peruvian death squad in 1993. (Photo courtesy of Daily Mail)

Tiverton, UNITED KINGDOM–A Peruvian man has been arrested after becoming a suspect in alleged human rights abuses.  The man is a yet-unnamed political exile who has been living in the quiet town of Tiverton, England, after claiming asylum.  He is suspected of being involved in state-supported death squads, torturing and executing more than 100 people in Peru during the 1980s and 1990s.  The death squads he is suspected of being associated with used to target leftist rebel movements, including the infamous Shining Path.  A change in UK anti-war crimes laws has made the arrest of the man possible.

Metropolitan Police officers from an anti-terrorist squad arrested the suspect Tuesday morning at a residence in Devon.  The address and a business location were searched.  A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police stated:  “A 46-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of torture and crimes against humanity and has been detained at Exeter police station to be interviewed.”  The suspect has since been released on bail and will return to a central London police station in July.

Civil conflicts in the man’s native country of Peru were common between 1980 and 2000; during those years, about 70,000 people vanished.  A Maoist guerrilla group called Shining Path was responsible for destructive military campaigns in 1980.  Approximately half of the deaths and disappearances that took place during this period have been attributed to organizations like Shining Path.

The United Kingdom has been seen as a hiding place for alleged war criminals because of a lack of prosecutions and arrests.  The arrest of this suspect Tuesday came after an alteration in the law last year.  The new version of the law extends the historical cut-off point from 2001 to 1991 for war crimes, crimes against humanity and acts of genocide.

Nick Donovan, one of many who worked to change the law, said, “Before the recent change in UK law many of the dozens of British residents suspected of crimes against humanity couldn’t be prosecuted for crimes committed in the 1990s.  It’s great to see the new law being used already.  Obviously this man is innocent until proven guilty, but if this arrest leads to a successful prosecution it will be a great day for the families of the victims.”

For more information, please see:

CNN-British police make arrest linked to Peru abuses-17 March 2011

Daily Mail-Peruvian ‘war criminal’ is arrested . . . in Tiverton-17 March 2011

Independent-Peruvian ‘war criminal’ found in Tiverton-17 March 2011

Sri Lankan War Crimes Investigation: Senate Resolution Passed

David L. Chaplin II
Impunity Watch, Asia

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka – An independent mechanism was requested by the United States to investigate alleged War crimes and crimes against humanity caused by the Sri Lankan military as their civil war drew to a close.

US State Department plays ‘ultimate savior of genocidal Colombo’
US State Department plays ‘ultimate savior of genocidal Colombo’

A resolution was passed by the United States Senate calling on the current Sri Lankan administration and the international community to support the United Nations in putting plans together, holding Sri Lanka to an international standard of accountability against human right violations.

Senator Robert Casey presented the resolution as sympathetic to the Tamil cause.

As we approach the two-year anniversary for the end of the 26-year conflict between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the Government of Sri Lanka, a “Lessons Learned and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC)” was established by the Sri Lanka Government.

This LLRC was established to determine who bears responsibility for incidents that occurred between February 2002 and May 2009. The LLRC also recommends agencies to proactively prevent recurrences of a similar nature in the future, while promoting national unity for all communities.

Panels of Human Rights and International Law experts have been appointed by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in counseling the Sri Lankan Government toward human rights accountability.

The Government of Sri Lanka must “allow humanitarian organizations, aid agencies, journalists, and international human rights groups’ greater freedom of movement, including in internally-displaced persons camps” and make strides in establishing a democracy rule of law.

The growing global voice of Sri Lankan Tamil refugees domiciled in the U.S. and European nations has created outcry for Sri Lanka to face an international commission and for alleged violations of international humanitarian laws.

The Sri Lankan Government claims no civilian were lost during military advances against Tamil separatists.

But, global rights group Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch possess evidence that an estimated 40,000 noncombatants lost their lives during the months of conflict.

The Sri Lankan military projects blame on the Tamil strike forces for their alleged use of nearly “300,000 civilians as human shields”.

Assistant secretary Blake told AFP in an interview “The point I would make is now here we are almost two years after the end of the war and still these kinds of challenges to, particularly to press freedoms and media freedoms continue. It’s a bit unusual and a bit counter-intuitive. Again, the LTTE is no longer a force to be reckoned with.

“It’s important to say that if Sri Lanka is not willing to meet international standards regarding these matters, there would be pressure to appoint an international commission to look into these things, ” says Blake.

This process has become more common in recent weeks as the United Nations Security Council recently passed a resolution unanimously against Libya and the referral of Moammar Qadhafi to the International Criminal Court to impartially investigate suspected war crimes as well as strong arm abuses against his people.

Senate Resolution 84 is a simple resolution, and “although it is non-binding, it does express the concerns of American lawmakers that the government of Sri Lanka provide a credible and fair mechanism of ensuring accountability for possible violations of human rights during the war,” a US Embassy official told the Daily Mirror.

For more information, please see:

Hindustan Times – US call for probe in Lanka – 3 March 2011

Asian Tribune – US Senate/ State Department in consensus to bring Sri Lanka under global scrutiny for alleged war crimes – 3 March 2011

– US call for independent mechanism – 3 March 2011

Colombo Page  – US Senate resolution expressing support for reconciliation in Sri Lanka introduced – 2 March 2011

Tamil Net – US Senate Resolution calls for accountability for Sri Lanka war crimes – 2 March 2011

Times Online – US Senate resolution backs Lanka war crimes panel – 2 March 2011

MANHUNT CONTINUES FOR CANADIAN FUGITIVES INVOLVED IN NYC TERROR PLOT

By Erica Laster                                                                                                                   Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

TORONTO, Canada – Two Canadian fugitives are now facing conspiracy, instruction and training to carry out terrorist activity charges in Canada, authorities announced at a news conference in Winnipeg Tuesday.  Two  of three other New York co-conspirators, including one, Najibullah Zazi, pled guilty to the bombing attempt carried out on behalf of al Qaeda in 2009.  Maiwand Yar and  FeridImam are now the subjects of an international manhunt which some believe includes the CIA.

Maiwand Yar, left, and Ferid Imam, are the subjects of an international manhunt. Photo courtesy of CNN.
Maiwand Yar, left, and FeridImam, are the subjects of an international manhunt. Photo courtesy of CNN.

A former student at the University of Manitoba, Imam, 30, has been identified as a weapons instructor known as “Youseff.” 

Authorities indicated that both Imam and Yar left Canada for Pakistan in 2007.  Authorities believe they planned to receive training in scouting, the use of firearms, guerrilla warfare and the use of explosives. Their goal was to join insurgents in committing terrorist attacks on NATO forces currently stationed in Afghanistan.  

Royal Canadian Mounted Police assistant commissioner Bill Robinson indicated that “This extensive and thorough national security investigation has provided us with the evidence we require to lay criminal charges.”

A second indictment from the Eastern District of New York, unsealed on Tuesday, revealed charges that Imam received military training from al Qaedasubjects and provided material support to the known terrorist group  “including currency, lodging, training, safehouses, communications equipment, personnel and transportation.”

Imam is also accused of training the three New Yorkers involved and caught in the New York City plot.  Authorities further believe that in 2008, Najibullah Zazi, Zarein Ahmedzay and Adis Medunjanin were trained and supported by Imam during a trip to northern Pakistan.  The three former high school classmates returned to the United States with orders from al-Qaeda to commit terrorist attacks in the United States, specifically as suicide bombers.

At the command of al-Qaeda leaders, Zazi, an airport driver from Denver, traveled to New York to carry out orders in 2009.  He was later arrested after fleeing to Colorado.   Zazi and Ahmedzay pled guilty to all charges while Medunjanin alone has pled not guilty.

Unable to locate and arrest the two missing fugitives, Canadian authorities charged Zaxi and Yar, issuing their indictment in absentia.  “We continue to work with Canadian border services and domestic and international security partners on this matter,” says assistant commissioner Robinson.

Gilles Michaud, a second commissioner of the RCMP acknowledged that authorities have no credible leads regarding the fugitives’ locations.  “There’s been no proof of life for more than a year,” he stated.

Canadian authorities and counter-terrorismofficials have become increasingly concerned about the radicalization of such men from North America and Europe.  “There is no set criteria. It affects all walks of life. These were well-educated, young individuals with no past criminal history and supportive families,” Michaud stated.

The investigation is ongoing.

For More Information Please Visit

CNN – Canadians Facing Terror Charges in 2009 N.Y. Subway Plot – 15 March 2011

Washington Post – Canadian Fugitive Charged With Foiled Al-Qaida Plot Vs NYC Subways; More Charges In Canada – 15 March 2011

Toronto Sun – Ex-Winnipeggers Accused of Terrorism – 15 March 2011

Huffington Post – Ferid Imam, Canadian Fugitive Charged In NYC Subway Plot –

Six Years Later, Laptop in Peru May Hold Key to Teen’s Presumed Murder in Aruba

By Mario A. Flores
Senior Desk Officer, South America

LIMA, Peru — Joran van der Sloot, the prime suspect in teen Natalee Holloway’s 2005 suspect disappearance in Aruba may soon attempt to enter a plea of guilty by temporary insanity to his confessed murder of a young woman in Peru.

Holloway’s presumed murder has gone unresolved for more than five years. Van der Sloot, the person last seen with her, remains the only suspect. The teen’s disappearance occurred during a high school graduation trip to the Dutch island, where van der Sloot’s late father had been a prominent judge.

Van der Sloot was questioned repeatedly by Aruban authorities. He was twice arrested but released and never charged for lack of evidence.

At one point, Dutch crime reporters got a series of sensational “confessions” from van der Sloot, which he later denied, disproved or dismissed as lies. And last year, Van der Sloot was indicted in the United States on charges of extorting $25,000 from Holloway’s parents in exchange for revealing how Holloway died and the location of her body.

In June of 2010, van der Sloot was arrested in Chile in connection with the murder of Stephany Flores in Peru. Her body was found in his hotel room in Lima after he escaped to Chile. Van der Sloot apparently killed the young Peruvian student five years to the day after Holloway disappeared.

Chilean authorities extradited van der Sloot to Peru, where he subsequently confessed that he killed Flores in a rage when she found material regarding Holloway on his laptop. His defense team recently said that the homicide of Flores was a crime of passion provoked when the young woman began digging through van der Sloot’s laptop.

Oscar Gonzalez, Peru’s police chief of the Division of High Technology Investigations said that the laptop found in the possession of van der Sloot contained “additional information that could be of interest” to the Holloway case. This week, the FBI is sending agents to Peru to examine the laptop hoping that it will shed light into Holloway’s disappearance, considering that it may have prompted van der Sloot to slain Flores.

In the meantime, Maximo Altez, van der Sloot’s attorney, said that his client is considering pleading guilty to killing the young Peruvian woman and argue temporary insanity in a bid to significantly shorten his sentence. Temporary insanity or “violent emotion” is a plea specific to Peru, where van der Sloot could spend just 20 months in jail if the court accepts the argument.

Michael Griffith, senior partner at the International Legal Defense Counsel, stated that even in the unlikely event that van der Sloot gets a lesser sentence, he is going to be extradited to the United States on the outstanding warrant in Alabama for his alleged extortion in the Holloway case. There, van der Sloot would probably face a five-to-10-year sentence for the alleged extortion, according to Griffith.

However, Griffith believes that the chance a judge accepts the temporary insanity plea is slim. “This is such a big case in Peru that I don’t see them accepting a violent emotion insanity defense,” he said. “It would get the populace in an uproar.” As things stand, Van der Sloot is accused of first-degree murder, and faces a 15- to 35-year sentence if his plea is not accepted.

For more information, please see:

Daily Mail – FBI flies to Peru to scour Dutch murder suspect’s laptop in bid to end mother’s five-year agony over missing Natalee Holloway – 15 March 2011

Living in Peru – Peru police hands over copy of disc from van der Sloot’s laptop to FBI – 15 March 2011

AOL News – Expert: Van der Sloot Free in 5 Years? ‘So What? – 8 March 2011