ICC Will Try “Ocampo Six” for Post-Election Violence in Kenya

ICC Will Try “Ocampo Six” for Post-Election Violence in Kenya

By Carolyn Abdenour
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

NAIROBI, Kenya – On Monday the International Criminal Court (ICC) ruled Kenya failed to prove it was investigating the six suspects responsible for provoking the 2008 post-election violence.  The Kenyan government moved to prosecute the suspects with governmental reforms and a new constitution.  Of the twenty-four attachments the Kenya government submitted to support their case, the ICC found only three attachments were relevant. 

The ICC also wanted to protect witnesses involved in the cases and ensure the right witnesses are called to testify.  Records did not indicate Kenya has questioned relevant witnesses.  Furthermore, Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo asserted campaigns in Kenya promote a “climate of fear”, which intimidates witnesses.  He stated “They are pursuing regional and political campaigns to stop the case.  Not only is this sending the wrong signal, but it is also promoting a growing climate of fear that is intimidating potential witnesses and ultimately undermining national and international investigations”.  Last year, the ICC warned the Kenyan government it would request arrest warrants for and identify anyone intimidating witnesses, including family members.  Mr. Mutula Kilonzo, a liaison of Kenya to the ICC, responded “I am surprised, because that is not true.  I am not aware of any attempt to create fear.  If anything, we are working round the clock to make sure the country goes through healing in preparation for next year’s elections.”

The charges against the “Ocampo Six”, named after Chief Prosecutor Ocampo, stemmed from demonstrations and riots that became violent following the December 2008 election.  Over 1,300 people died in the fighting, and hundreds of thousands were displaced as a result them.  This violence placed Kenya on the brink of civil war after supporters of current president Mr. Mwai Kibaki were accused of rigging the election.

Once the violence quelled, the two candidates agreed to share power.  Mr. Kibaki remained president, and Mr. Railia Odinga became the prime minister.  The men agreed to hold the parties responsible for the violence in Kenya’s courts or the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, The Netherlands.

In April, the Ocampo Six appeared before the ICC.  Three suspects supported Mr. Kibaki: Uhuru Kenyatta (deputy prime minister and finance minister and son of Kenya’s founding president), Francis Muthaura (head of civil service and cabinet secretary), and Hussein Ali (police chief during the violence).  The other three suspects supported Mr. Odinga: William Ruto (former minister of higher education), Henry Kosgey (former minister of industrialization and chairman of Odinga’s Orange Democratic Movement), and Joshua Arap Sang (reporter and executive of radio station Kass FM).

In September, the ICC will hold hearings for the confirmation of charges for the Ocampo Six.  If found guilty for their roles in the 2008 post-election violence, the defendants face life sentences.

For more information, please see:
BBC – ICC rejects Kenya bid to halt election violence probe – 30 May 2011
Daily Nation – Judges reject Kenya bid to save suspects – 30 May 2011
Reuters – Kenya government loses bid to stop Hague trials – 30 May 2011
Voice of America – Kenya denies undermining International Criminal Court – 30 May 2011

Police Arrested in Mexico for Suspected Involvement with Zetas drug Cartel

by Paula Buzzi
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

Police suspected of protecting Zetas drug cartel (Photo courtesy of Fox News)

PACHUCA, Mexico – 25 drug cartel members, including a police chief, two commanding officers and seven agents were arrested this week in central Mexico for suspected ties to the notorious Zetas drug cartel. Hidalgo Mexico officials stated that several of the authorities arrested have admitted to helping the Zetas.

The Zetas gang is a drug-trafficking organization in Mexico that is suspected of forcefully recruiting young migrants to battle the Gulf Cartel for control of territory and power. Those who refuse to fight are often killed or beaten.

The arrests began on Sunday in Hidalgo state after state officers were attacked while patrolling the town of Huejutla, said Martin Vivar, spokesman for the Hidalgo state attorney general’s office. After the attack, six alleged drug traffickers were arrested and admitted to have operated in the area with the aid and protection of local police.

Concerns over police corruption have constantly plagued the Mexican police system and have frustrated efforts to control drug trafficking– allowing drug gangs to carry out their violent crimes without repercussion.

On 21 May, gang members opened fire on the Café Iguana in downtown Monterrey. A squad of eight policemen rushed to the scene but only stood by and watched as gang members began loading dead bodies in the back of a truck. The officers involved are now being investigated but only one has been arrested.

In September 2009, 124 municipal, state and federal level police officers were detained in Hidalgo after being suspected of collaborating with the Zetas.

Low salaries, an absence of resources and threats from the cartels are the most cited reasons for police complicity and overall corruption in police ranks.

“Our police do not have anything to lose,” said Jorge Domene Zambrano, executive director of the Office of Public Security for the state of Nuevo Leon, which includes Monterrey. “That’s why they are very easy to be kept by the bad guys.”

Javier Trevino Cantum, the state’s secretary general, acknowledges the problem and states that feuding off drug gangs is going to be a major challenge. The government is planning on revamping laws that will make it easier to go after drug gangs and targeting poor neighborhoods with social programs to help fend off recruitment by cartels.

For more information, please see:

CNN Latin America — Mexican police chief, officers charged with helping cartels —2 June 2011

El Universal — Encarcelan a 124 policías de Hidalgo ligados a Zetas —14 Sept 2009

The Globe And Mail — Police turn blind eye to Monterrey drug cartels — 27 May 2011

Univision Noticias — Detuvieron a 25 presuntos ‘Zetas’, diez policías entre ellos — 1 June 2011

Mladic to make first court appearance on Friday

By Polly Johnson
Senior Desk Officer, Europe

THE HAGUE, Netherlands – After a Serbian court rejected his appeal for extradition, Ratko Mladic, the former commander of the Bosnian Serb army, will appear before The Hague on Friday to face charges of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.

Mladic will also answer questions about his health.  Despite being deemed by judges in Belgrade, Serbia to be physically and mentally fit for trial, Mladic’s lawyer, Milos Saljic, said he had proof that Mladic, 69, had and was treated for lymph node cancer in 2009. However, tests administered while he has been at The Hague show that he does not have cancer. Saljic also said that Mladic’s memory was shaky.

Mladic was captured last week in Serbia, where he had been hiding out and on the run for sixteen years.  He was responsible for the massacre of thousands of Bosnian Muslim men and boys in Srebrenica in 1995, among other atrocities committed in the nineties.

On Tuesday, Mladic arrived at the high-security Scheveningen prison, near The Hague, where he spent the night in isolation and received his medical checkup the next day.

Relief spread throughout Europe upon news of Mladic’s capture, and marks a major milestone for international justice. The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) has sentenced other top generals from the Balkans. Radovan Karadzic, Mladic’s wartime boss, has been at Scheveningen for three years and is awaiting trial. Many of the other Scheveningen defendants from the Balkans were once associates of Mladic and are facing similar charges relating to atrocities.

Though there has been talk of possibly joining Mladic and Karadzic’s trials, no official decision has been made.

For now, all focus is on Mladic. “His arrest confirms that no one can have impunity for the crimes they’ve committed,” said ICTY prosecutor Serge Brammertz.

The time that has elapsed since Mladic’s atrocities “is a long time to wait for justice,” Brammertz said. “It is a long time to know that someone responsible for their trauma is walking free. We understand why the victims have been impatient for their day and we recognize their courage.”

For more information, please see:

CNN – Mladic to appear at war crimes tribunal on Friday – 1 June 2011

New York Times – Mladic to Appear Friday Before Hague Court – 1 June 2011

The Hague Justice Portal – Former Bosnian Serb General, Ratko Mladic, now in ICTY custody awaiting trial for war crimes – 1 June 2011

Human Rights Watch – In Mladic Arrest, a Reminder of How Far International Justice Has Come – 31 May 2011

NIGERIAN POLICE RAID “BABY FACTORY” AND FIND 32 TEENAGE GIRLS

by Tamara Alfred

Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

LAGOS, Nigeria —  On Saturday, May 28, in the southeast city of Aba, Nigerian police took into custody 32 young women and a doctor during a raid on The Cross Foundation, believed to be a so-called “baby factory.”  The girls, aged between 15 and 17 years old and usually poor or desperate teenagers with unplanned pregnancies, were reportedly being kept locked up and forced to get pregnant.  There are reports that some had come to the clinic believing it was an adoption agency.  Upon selling their babies to the doctor, the newborns were then resold for illegal adoption or to be used for ritual witchcraft.

The girls would sell their babies to the head of the clinic, who would then resell the newborns for anywhere between 100,000 naira ($640) to one million naira ($6,400).  According to the BBC, male babies were more prized and sold for a higher price.  After the sale of the newborns, the girls were given approximately $170 by the clinic owner.

Buying or selling of babies is illegal in Nigeria and can carry a 14-year jail sentence.  The proprietor of The Cross Foundation, Dr. Hyacinth Orikara, is currently being questioned and is likely to face charges of child abuse and human trafficking.  Dr. Orikara is currently denying all charges, saying it was only a foundation to help teenagers with unwanted pregnancies.  The young women will either be charged or handed over to the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons for further investigation.

Human trafficking is ranked the third most common crime in Nigeria behind economic fraud and drug trafficking.  The United Nations estimates that at least 10 children are sold across the country each day.  Some children are bought for use as labor in plantations, mines, or factories, while others are sold into prostitution.  Others are used in witchcraft rituals believed to bring riches to families.  Many are also sold in illegal adoptions.

“We have so many cases going on in court right now,” Ijeoma Okoronkwo, the regional head of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, told AFP.  “There is a problem of illicit adoption and people not knowing the right way to adopt children.”

A few news agencies reported that some young children were also found at the clinic.  It was not known if they were related to the girls.

For more information, please see:

Reuters – Nigeria police break suspected baby-trafficking ring – 2 June 2011

CNN – Nigerian police free 30 girls in alleged ‘baby industry’ – 2 June 2011

BBC News – Nigeria ‘baby farm’ girls rescued by Abia state police – 1 June 2011

Global Post – Nigeria: “baby factory” raided, 32 pregnant girls rescued – 2 June 2011

AFP – Nigerian ‘baby factory’ raided, 32 teenage girls freed – 1 June 2011

Human Trafficking on the Rise: Smuggling ring uncovered in Mexico City as 12 officers are arrested in Arizona

By Brittney Hodnik
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

MEXICO CITY, Mexico – The recent arrests of twelve law enforcement officers in the state of Arizona illustrates the disturbing human trafficking epidemic.  Three of the officers allegedly conspired to smuggle and transport drugs and humans.  This “new slavery” continues south of the border, as Mexico City police recently freed 62 victims from a forced prostitution ring – many of whom were trafficked from almost 300 miles away.

Image courtesy of CNN International
Suspects arrested in Mexico City. Image courtesy of CNN International

Last week, a study performed by Mexico’s Human Rights Commission showed that human trafficking numbers in Mexico City may be worse than anyone anticipated.  CNN reports that in the last year, only3 convictions resulted out of a mere 40 investigations conducted for human trafficking by the police.  10,000 women are reportedly victims each year.  According to Eva Reyes, investigation coordinator and a partner in the study, the issue is not so much the number of victims, but rather the lack of investigation by Mexican authorities.  “The authorities are not investigating, nor are they asking witnesses,” Reyes stated.

The Human Rights Commission report  indicated that because these women “are not achieving access to judicial resources . . . the large majority of these incidents remain in impunity.”  As of 2003, human trafficking was not illegal in Mexico, but authorities used immigration and organized crime statutes to prosecute wrongdoers.  The United States has lent minimal assistance to help curb the trafficking.

Last Monday, Mexico City police freed 62 females from forced prostitution; one of which was only 13 years old.  According to Hispanically Speaking News, authorities have detained seven people – five men and two women ranging in age from 19 to 62 – for their connection to the crime.

Traffickers kidnap and coerce their victims into the human trafficking ring, often from cities far away from the capital.  As reported by CNN, one victim claims two men approached her in Oaxaca and offered her a “more comfortable life,” so she went with them.  Oaxaca is about 288 miles away from Mexico City which has become the hub of human trafficking in Mexico.   Coercion is the most common tactic used by traffickers to recruit victims.  Many traffickers go largely unnoticed because of the overwhelming population of the city – about 21 million people.

The practice continues to happen because the authorities have not made it a priority.  The stigma attached to prostitution overshadows the “victim” connotation.  The victims are “seen as people who are doing it freely [and] that is the first obstacle to justice,” said Reyes.  The arrests in Arizona will hopefully bring attention to the atrocity of human trafficking and its prevalence in both Mexico and the United States today. 

For more information, please see:

CNN International — Study Finds ‘Alarming’ Human Trafficking Figures in Mexico’s Capital — 27 May 2011

CNN Justice — Documents Detail Accusations Against Arpaio’s Employees After Sting — 27 May 2011

Hispanically Speaking News — 62 Victims of Forced Prostitution in Mexico City Rescued by Police — 26 May 2011

Wide Angle — Dying to Leave — 25 September 2003