Syrian Protesters Call for Help from International Community as Assad Steps Up Brutality

Syrian Protesters Call for Help from International Community as Assad Steps Up Brutality

By Zach Waksman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

DAMASCUS, Syria – Protests against the regime of embattled President Bashar al-Assad reached a new level in Syria on Friday.  For the first time, activists requested assistance from the international community in dealing with Assad’s crackdowns on public dissidence.  More than 2,200 people are estimated to have died since protests started in mid-March.

Protesters Friday held signs calling for aid from the international community, such as the one at left. (Image courtesy of AFP)
Protesters Friday held signs calling for aid from the international community, such as the one at left. (Image courtesy of AFP)

At the same time, a story of new atrocities by the security forces surfaced.  Thursday, Human Rights Watch reported that security forces stormed al-Barr hospital in Homs, Syria’s third-largest city on Wednesday, and removed 18 wounded people from the facility.  Five of those taken were in the operating room at the time, and two were unconscious.  A doctor at the hospital told Human Rights Watch that security forces were looking for a man named Bilal, but by the time they arrived, a person of that name who had checked in had succumbed to his injuries.  The forces then went through the hospital and took anyone who had a bullet wound.

“When we tried to help the wounded who needed urgent medical care, the security forces pushed us back, saying these were criminals and rapists. They were beating the wounded as they moved them out of the hospital,” the doctor added.  “A woman, who must have been a mother or a sister of one of the wounded, begged them [the security forces] to give her relative his medication but they pushed her. The security forces then put the wounded in ambulances and drove them away. We could see them beating them inside the ambulance as they departed. I don’t know where they took them.”

This new action runs counter to a statement made by International Committee of the Red Cross president Jakob Kellenberger at the end of his visit to Syria on Monday.  Kellenberger said he insisted that members of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent be able to do their work without interference while he met with Assad.  Instead, it continues a pattern of security forces interfering with medical personnel’s ability to provide needed treatment to the wounded.

Friday’s rally, dubbed “Friday for International Protection,” is the latest statement from the regime’s opposition.  Despite near-certain response from the country’s security forces, these protests, with attendance numbering in the thousands, have taken place every Friday after the week’s primary Muslim prayer service.  This one was no different, with troops firing into the crowd once again.  Several people were killed, including a 15-year-old boy, but the death toll is unclear at this time.

“We want international protection!” was heard in several cities across the country.  Others called for Assad’s execution.  Still others held signs that read “Bashar: Game Over!”

A Facebook page titled “Syrian Revolution 2011” has asked the United Nations to send a permanent observer mission.  Such a mission, if deployed, would be at best, “a first step” in the process of calming and stabilizing a rapidly decaying situation, according to the Syrian Revolution General Commission, an umbrella bloc of activists that called for monitoring as an attempt to deter continued attacks.  But such an effort could also backfire, according bloc spokesman Ahmad al-Khatib during an interview with Reuters.

“Calling for outside intervention is a sensitive issue that could be used by the regime to label its opponents as traitors,” said Khatib.

Syria’s own government does not take the protests seriously.  Friday, SANA, the country’s official news agency, issued a press release reporting that Samih Khreis, Secretary-General of the Arab Bar Association, considered the activists’ cries for help from the international community illegitimate. The report also said that the opposition should not make these requests because “’Genuine reform cannot be built on the ruins of the homeland,” but through unity.  This same release also alleged that the same calls were not representative of the people.  Instead, it said, they were “manufactured by a group from the Canadian-Zionist Organization.”

Syria’s allies are rapidly losing patience with Assad’s continued crackdowns.  Russia, who has long opposed sanctions, still feels that Syria is using excessive force in dealing with the protesters, even if they might be “terrorists.”  Turkey, once a strong supporter of the Assad regime, is now one of its most vocal critics.  Even Iran, its closest friend in the international community, has called for the killing to stop.  Wednesday, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad recommended that Assad start talking to the opposition instead of shooting at it.  Friday, he suggested that the region meet in Tehran, his country’s capital.

“A military solution is never the right solution,” Ahmadinejad told a Portuguese broadcaster. “We believe that freedom and justice and respect for others are the rights of all nations. All governments have to recognize these rights.  Problems have to be dealt with through dialogue.”

For more information, please see:

Al Jazeera — Syrians appeal for international protection — 09 September 2011

BBC — Syria unrest: Protesters call for international help — 09 September 2011

CNN — Report: Syrian forces snatched operating room patients — 09 September 2011

New York Times — Group Says Syrian Forces Seized Hospital Patients — 09 September 2011

SANA — Arab Personalities, Political Analysts: Calls for International Protection of the Syrian People Come from Canadian Zionist Organizations — 09 September 2011

Human Rights Watch — Syria: Security Forces Remove Wounded From Hospital — 08 September 2011

Troy Davis Faces Execution for the Fourth Time; Human Rights Groups Seek Clemency

By Brittney Hodnik
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

WASHINGTON, United States – With September 21 quickly approaching, Troy Anthony Davis’s friends and family are doing all that they can to halt his execution.  Forty-two year old Davis has been on death row since 1991 for allegedly killing off-duty police officer, Mark MacPhail.  Since his trial, seven of the nine witnesses have recanted their guilty statements, admitting they are not sure who killed MacPhail.  Now, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and other human rights groups are lobbying to delay and vacate Davis’s death sentence, scheduled for September 21, 2011.

Forty-two year old Troy Anthony Davis faces execution in just 12 days, and still maintains his innocence.  (Image courtesy of Georgia Department of Corrections)
Forty-two year old Troy Anthony Davis faces execution in just 12 days, and still maintains his innocence. (Image courtesy of Georgia Department of Corrections)

On August 18, 1989, Officer MacPhail went to assist Michael Young, a homeless man who was being attacked in the parking lot of a Greyhound Bus Terminal/Burger King Restaurant, according to Savannah Now News.  When he got to Young’s side, MacPhail was shot twice with a .38-caliber pistol, once in the heart and once in the face.  MacPhail died from those injuries.

Troy Davis was subsequently tried in the Chatham County Superior Court.  According to Savannah News Now, it took the jury only two hours to convict Davis of the murder and recommend the death penalty. 

There is no physical evidence linking Davis to the crime.  Police never even found the murder weapon.  Nine witnesses testified against Davis, stating that he was guilty.  Seven of the nine witnesses have since recanted their statements, saying that they are not sure who killed MacPhail.  Furthermore, three witnesses now say that another man, Sylvester “Redd” Coles has confessed to the crime, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.  Davis still maintains his innocence.

Amnesty International reports that since 1991, when Davis was first put on death row, more than 90 prisoners have been released from death row around the United States.  In fact, a number of states have recently acted to abolish the death penalty including New Jersey, New Mexico, and Illinois.

Some believe that there are racial undertones playing a significant role in this case; Davis is an African American man, MacPhail a white cop.  Human Rights Watch disapproves of the death penalty in general, for its inherent cruelty and finality.  Amnesty International’s USA researcher, Rob Freer said, “Given the doubts that persist in this case, the Board cannot in good conscience allow this execution to go ahead.”

Davis’s friends and family have created a website to keep the public informed of his struggle.  The website is entitled: “Troy Anthony Davis: An Innocent Man Facing Execution in Georgia.”  On the website, readers can find letters from celebrities and political figures supporting his cause.

In 2007, the Georgia Board of Pardons and Parole pardoned Davis less than 24 hours from execution because there needs to be “no doubt as to the guilt of the accused,” according to Amnesty International.  In 2008, the Supreme Court granted Davis a stay of execution just two hours before he was scheduled to be put to death.  The Court mandated that the federal district court look at the case again; the district court held that Davis “failed to show his actual innocence,” according to CNN.

After a federal hearing last year, Judge William Moore ruled that “Mr. Davis is not innocent” and that he has not shown “by clear and convincing evidence that no reasonable juror would have convicted him in the light of new evidence,” according to Amnesty International.  Furthermore, Judge Moore said that Davis’s evidence was “too general” and provided “[nothing] more than smoke and mirrors,” according to CNN.

Troy Davis’s most recent appeal was to the United States Supreme Court.  Davis requested more time to prove his “actual innocence” as reported by CNN.  The Supreme Court however, refused his request without comment.

According to CNN, many prominent figures have supported Davis’s cause, including former President Jimmy Carter, actress Susan Sarandon, Pope Benedict XVI, and former Archbishop Desmond Tutu.  All of these figures have rallied to help Davis get a new trial.

The State Board of Pardons and Paroles has already scheduled an appointment for September 19 to give Davis’s legal team one last chance at delaying the execution, reported Savannah Now News.  Without a grant of clemency, the state of Georgia will execute Troy Davis on September 21, 2011.

For more information, please visit:

Amnesty International — Georgia Sets Execution Date for Troy Davis — 8 Sept. 2011

SavannahNow.com — Troy Davis Execution Date Set for Sept. 21 — 8 Sept. 2011

Atlanta Journal Constitution — Parole Board to Again Hear Troy Anthony Davis Case — 7 Sept. 2011

CNN.com — Human Rights Group Protests Imminent Execution of Georgia Man — 7 Sept. 2011

Human Rights Watch — Letter from HRW to Georgia Governor, Sonnie Perdue and Georgia State Board of Pardons and Paroles — 20 Oct. 2008

Burundi: Submission to the Technical Committee revising the law for a Truth and Reconciliation Commission

Originally Published by Amnesty International
7 September 2011

The Technical Committee responsible for revising Burundi’s 2004 Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) Law should propose significant revisions, Amnesty International said in a submission to the Committee this week.  Such changes are essential to ensure victims of human rights violations which occurred during the decades of violence and conflict in Burundi obtain truth, justice and reparations.

Amnesty International recommends that the mandate of the TRC should be broad enough to cover all crimes under international law, including genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.  Amnesty International recalls that Burundi is obliged under international law not to provide an amnesty for those responsible for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, torture, enforced disappearances and extrajudicial executions.

The law should determine the relationship between the mandates of the TRC and a Special Tribunal.  The TRC should not be considered a substitute for judicial processes to establish individual criminal responsibility.  Amnesty International urges that those responsible for crimes under international law are brought to justice by establishing a Special Tribunal.

Commissioners should be selected for their proven independence and competence in human rights.  They should not be closely associated – or perceived to be associated – with any individual, government, political party or other organization potentially implicated in the human rights violations under investigation or with organizations associated with victims.

Amnesty International also recommends that the procedure that the TRC will follow is clearly defined in the amended law.  This should be part of a victims-orientated approach to witness protection and reparations.  Reparations should include the right to non-repetition, not mentioned in the 2004 law.

Suspected perpetrators of crimes under international law should also have the right to be presumed innocent until and unless they are proven guilty in separate criminal proceedings in a trial meeting international fair trial standards.

The TRC should be part of a broader, long term, and comprehensive government action plan, developed, implemented and monitored with support from civil society and victims groups, to uphold the right of victims to obtain truth, justice and reparation. Such an action plan should also include prosecutions, mechanisms to ensure reparation and legislative, institutional and other reforms.

Background

Prior to and during Burundi’s armed conflict, all sides were responsible for serious violations of international humanitarian and human rights law.  Thousands of Burundians were killed during the conflict.

In June 2011, a Technical Committee was tasked with proposing amendments to a 2004 Law creating a TRC and with proposing criteria for members of the TRC.  The Technical Committee is expected to complete its work by 13 September 2011.

ICTJ World Report September 2011

ICTJ World Report September 2011