R2P Monitor January 2012 Issue 1
Report Wants Investigation and Prosecution of Bush Administration Officials
By Brittney Hodnik
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America
WASHINGTON, United States – On 2 January 2012, Human Rights USA released a report detailing planned and authorized acts of torture against terror suspects. After the September 11 attacks, many terror suspects were detained and unlawfully treated. These alleged acts of torture were in violation of domestic and international law.
The 270-page report is entitled Indefensible: A Reference for Prosecuting Torture and Other Felonies Committed by U.S. Officials Following September 11th. It outlines all of the evidence that indicates illegal interrogation techniques under the Bush Administration. According to a press release from Human Rights USA, the report is a multi-year collaborative effort between Human Rights USA and the International Human Rights Law Clinic at American University in Washington, D.C.
According to the same press release, the courts still have not held a top government official accountable for any act of torture. Although some torture survivors have sought judgments against these officials, none has prevailed.
Although the Bush Administration authorized this kind of lawless behavior, the Obama Administrations has similarly failed. Obama has not investigated these allegations of torture and other inhumane treatment, nor created a Special Counsel for its investigation.
This report was released less than two weeks before Guantanamo Bay’s 10th anniversary of opening. Although President Obama set a deadline to close Guantanamo, no detainee has left in over a year because of restrictions on transfers, according to USA Today. Furthermore, indefinite military detention has now become enshrined in U.S. law.
Allison Lefrak, litigation director of Human Rights USA said, “Our country’s legal system relies on the fundamental principle that no one is above the law – even top government officials.” She believes that nothing will be fixed until the responsible officials are actually held accountable for their actions.
“Repudiation of torture and accountability for the government officials who authorized it is essential in order to restore the rule of law in the United States and prevent similar acts of torture from being repeated in the future,” she said.
Just one example of supposed torture victims is Saudi national, Mohammed al-Qahtani. He claims he was the victim of “torture and other profoundly cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment,” according to Newser. His lawyers are calling for the release of ‘sickening’ videos of his torture at Guantanamo Bay.
Overall, the report is a cry for help; it seeks to encourage people to recognize the atrocities that happened under the Bush Administration after the horrendous attacks on September 11. Furthermore, the report seeks to point out the current administration’s avoidance of prosecuting those individuals in power.
The full report can be found at: Indefensible
For more information, please visit:
Human Rights USA – Press Release — 4 Jan. 2012
Newser — ’20th Hijacker’ Sues for Gitmo Torture Tapes — Videos are Sickening Says Lawyer — 11 Jan. 2012
USA Today — Guantanamo Closure Hopes Fade as Prison Turns 10 — 11 Jan. 2012
As the Arab League’s Mission In Syria Continues, One Monitor Quits and Labels It a ‘Farce’
By Adom M. Cooper
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East
DAMASCUS, Syria–In the midst of the Arab League’s mission to discover what exactly is happening inside Syria since the protests began, one monitor decided to call it quits after what he witnessed. Anwar Malek, an Algerian member of the monitoring team, has called the Arab League’s mission to the country a ‘farce.’
Malek stated that he resigned due to what he saw and that the mission itself was falling apart. He also stated that security forces did not withdraw their tanks from the streets, but rather hid them and chose to redeploy them after the observers had gone. He shared these sentiments with an Al-Jazeera correspondent.
“What I saw was a humanitarian disaster. The regime is not just committing one war crime, but a series of crimes against its people. The snipers are everywhere shooting civilians. People are being kidnapped. Prisoners are being tortured and none were released. The mission was a farce and the observers have been fooled. The regime orchestrated it and fabricated most of what we saw to stop the Arab League from taking action against the regime.”
Meanwhile, President Bashar al-Assad addressed a rather large gathering of his followers and supports in the Syrian capital, Damascus. In his second speech in as many days, al-Assad stated again his accusations that the “homeland was reeling under the brunt of conspiracy.”
“You are standing against a desecration of our identity, and you are confirming your steadfastness and support for the armed forces, whose martyrs are falling every single day so you can live in safety.We will triumph over this conspiracy. It is dying; it’s the end of their plot.”
The United Nations has declared that more than 5,000 civilians have lost their lives since the protests began against al-Assad in March 2011. Conversely, al-Assad has declared that “terrorists” have killed some 2,000 members of his security forces.
A senior UN official informed the UN Security Council on Tuesday 10 January 2012 that Syria had accelerated its killing of pro-democracy demonstrators and protesters after the Arab League monitors had arrived. Susan Rice, the US ambassador to the UN, delivering the following statement concerning the increased death of civilians since the Arab League monitors began their observance.
“The under-secretary-general noted that in the days since the Arab League monitoring mission has been on the ground, an estimated additional 400 people have bee killed, an average of 40 a day, a rate much higher than was the case before their deployment. That is a clear indication that the government of Syria, rather than using the opportunity to end the violence and fulfill all of its commitments to the Arab League, is instead stepping up the violence. The Arab League has failed for six decades to take a position in the Arab interest.”
The Arab League condemned an attack on Monday 9 January 2012 in which 11 of its monitors were hurt by demonstrators and protesters in the province of Latakia. The monitors were upset, saying that Syria breached its obligation to protect them. al-Assad’s regime claimed that it was continuing to provide security for the observers and also condemned any act that would obstruct their mission’s work. The Arab League released the following statement concerning the attacks on its monitors.
“Failing to provide adequate protection in Latakia and other areas where the mission is deployed is considered a serious violation by the government of its commitments.”
Malek further expressed his disgust what the situation, stating that the government was not assisting the observers with their requests. He also stated that those who were supposedly freed and were shown on television, were actually people who had been randomly grabbed off the street.
“The regime didn’t meet any of our requests, in fact they were trying to deceive us and steer us away from what was really happening, towards insignificant events. The people were detained for four or five days in tough conditions and later released as if they had been real prisoners.”
“Around some of the buildings, there were even army officers in front of the building, while snipers were on the roof. Some on our team preferred to maintain good relations with the regime and denied that there were snipers. From time to time, we would see a person killed by a sniper. I have seen it with my own eyes. I could not shed my humanity in such situations and claim independence and objectivity.”
One can only wonder what the civilians on the ground are really going through if one of the Arab League’s monitors, sent to help their situation, felt so repulsed by what he saw that he had to resign. The civilians of Syria need all the attention that they can get so the violence against them ceases. But as long as the violence rages on, the voices for freedom will continue to be silenced.
For more information, please see:
Ahram – UN Says Syria Killings Rise After Monitors Arrive – 11 January 2012
Al-Jazeera – Arab Observer Calls Syria Mission a ‘Farce’ – 11 January 2012
BBC – Ex-Arab League Monitor Labels Syria Mission a ‘Farce’ – 11 January 2012
CNN – Al-Assad Revs Up Pro-Regime Rally – 11 January 2012
The Guardian – Arab League Official Attacks Syria Mission as ‘Farce’ – 11 January 2012
Reuters – Arab Monitor Quits Syria Mission in Disgust – 11 January 2012
FBI Expands its Definition of Rape
By Brittney Hodnik
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America
WASHINGTON, United States – For the first time in 80 years, the FBI has amended its definition of “rape” under federal law. After years of push from both women’s rights groups and gay advocacy groups, Attorney General Eric Holder finally announced the new definition. The FBI expanded the definition tremendously from the antiquated 1929 version.
The previous definition of rape was “the carnal knowledge of a female, forcibly and against her will.” Over the years, this definition did not protect men who found themselves victims of rape, nor did it protect other forms of sexual assault against women.
The new definition, which expands rape to include men and non-vaginal penetration, reads as follows: “The penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or the anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim.”
Every year, the FBI compiles data about crime in the United States in its Uniform Crime Report (UCR). Previously, thousands of rapes against men and women alike were not included in the data because the acts did not fit the narrow definition of rape that many police departments use.
For example, the current prosecution of Penn State assistant coach Jerry Sandusky would not have been included in the UCR, even though he is being investigated for the rape of 10 young boys. Additionally, in 2010, the Chicago Police Department reported about 1,400 sexual assaults, but none of them were included in the UCR. According to The Huffington Post, the sexual assaults did not fit the government’s definition of rape so they were not included in the report.
“If you can’t measure it accurately, you can’t monitor it and you can’t direct appropriate resources to deal with the problem,” said Carol Tracy, executive director of the Women’s Law Project, according to USA Today.
Although every state has its own definition of rape, the FBI is hopeful that the change in the federal standard will cause the states to follow suit, according to The Daily Activist.
The change comes from advocacy by Vice President Joseph Biden, according to The Seattle Times. In 2010, the FBI reported an estimated 84,767 rapes and it anticipates that the number will increase. FBI Director Robert Mueller said that the previous definition was “unworkable” and “not fully applicable to the types of crimes that it should cover,” according to The Huffington Post. The new definition will take a couple of years to be fully implemented.
For more information, please visit:
The Daily Activist — Human Rights: FBI Redefines Rape After 80 Years — 9 Jan. 2012
The Seattle Times — Rape Redefined for FBI to Include Male Victims — 9 Jan. 2012
USA Today — FBI Changes Definition of Rape to Include Men — 6 Jan. 2012
The Huffington Post — FBI Director Robert Mueller: Agency Will Update Definition of Rape — 15 Dec. 2011
French Legislature To Mull Ban On Armenian Genocide Denial
By Terance Walsh
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe
PARIS, France – The upper house of France’s parliament is preparing to vote on a measure that would criminalize the denial of the Armenian genocide. The proposed law has drawn the ire of Turkey as well as free speech proponents.
The law would prescribe a maximum one-year prison sentence and a € 45,000 penalty to those who would violate it. This penalty is equal to the law that criminalized the denial of the Holocaust. French government minister Patrick Ollier reasoned that “There is no reason to punish the denial of one genocide but not the other. This is a simple coordination of punishment.”
According to Armenia the Armenian genocide took place in 1915 when 1.5 million Armenians were killed by Ottoman Turks. France officially recognized the Armenian genocide by passing a law in 2011. Turkey objects to the description of genocide and comparison to the Holocaust, reasoning that there was substantial loss of life on both sides.
French President Nicholas Sarkozy, whose signature is necessary to ratify the bill, has thrown his support behind the bill.
Some French Members of Parliament stand in opposition to the bill. Foreign Minister Alain Juppe slammed the bill, calling it “a futile and counterproductive bill, which will have serious consequences on bilateral ties with Turkey.” French Senator Nathalie Goulet has declared that she will “go on a crusade” against the proposed anti-denial law.
The National Assembly, France’s lower house approved the bill last month. The passage of the law prompted Turkey to recall its ambassador and suspend all contracts and military cooperation with France. Turkey’s Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogam slammed the bill, calling it “politics based on racism, discrimination and xenophobia” and accused France of committing genocide in Algeria and being complicit to genocide in Rwanda.
The French law has also come under fire for its assault on free speech. William Bauer of Policymic argued against the sensibility of denying genocide, but added “the act of genocide denial, written or verbal, must never be made an illegal, criminal act.”
Protests of about two dozen people of Turkish descent have taken place in front of the French embassy in New York City on January 5th to oppose the ratification of the bill. Protestors want an open and fair discussion to find out what truly happened in 1915. “The Turkish government [are] always asking Armenia [to] open the books, let’s discuss on both sides,” protestor Mae Somnez said. “But they never open the books…we never can discuss archives and what is the truth.
Supporters of the bill cite the protection of the dignity of those who perished as reason enough to restrict speech. An appeal signed by famous singer Charles Aznavour, director Robert Guédiguian, lawyer Serge Klarsfeld, philosophers Bernard-Henri Lévy, Michel Onfray, and Turkish writer Erol Özkoray was published in Le Journal du Dimanche.
“As Elie Wiesel has written, the denial of the genocide is killing its victims for the second time. We welcome the adoption of the bill on racism, discrimination and denial by the French National Assembly on December 22.
Our target is the ban of denial on state level that the Turkish authorities bring up to France. In order the text to become a law, we call the French President, the government and the leading parties to confirm their gesture and let the Senate ratify the bill.”
The Senate will debate the bill on January 10th. This will be followed by discussion by the Constitutional Court sometime between January 23rd and January 30th. If the bill passes it will go to President Sarkozy’s desk where he will have the opportunity to sign the bill into law. The bill poses the difficult balance between allowing freedom to discuss controversial issues and reverence for horrific events in human history.
For more information please see:
Hurriyet Daily News — French Senator To Launch ‘Crusade’ On Genocide Law — 6 January 2012
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty — France Said To Speed Up Vote On Armenian Genocide Bill — 6 January 2012
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty — Protest Held In NYC Over France’s Armenian Genocide Legislation — 6 January 2012
Azatutyun — French Senate To Vote On Armenian Genocide Bill — 5 January 2012
Euractiv — Turkey Pressues France To Stop Armenian Genocide Bill — 5 January 2012
PanARMENIAN — Sarkozy Approves Genocide Bill — 5 January 2012
Policymic — France’s Armenian Genocide Bill An Assault On Free Speech — 4 January 2012
NEWS.am — Aznavour, Philosophers, Turkish Writer Call French Senate To Ratify Bill Penalizing Armenian Genocide — 2 January 2012