British Producer Arrested for Gay Play in Uganda

British Producer Arrested for Gay Play in Uganda

By Ryan Aliman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

KAMPALA, Uganda – British producer, David Cecil, is facing at least two years of imprisonment in Uganda for staging a play that dealt with homosexuality.

David Cecil detained in a court cell in Kampala the Ugandan Capital. (Photo courtesy of The Telegraph/Sandra Wandera/AP)

“The River and the Mountain” ran from August 17 to 23 in a small cultural center in Kampala managed by Cecil and his girlfriend. The play was initially scheduled to be held in the Uganda National Theater, but was transferred to a different venue out of fear of a police raid.

“The River and The Mountain” by British playwright Beau Hopkins, tells the story of Samson, a gay Ugandan businessman, who faces violent reactions from his family and colleagues after he comes out at a party following a promotion. His mother contracts a Christian pastor and a witch doctor to try to “cure” her son. Samson is eventually killed by his colleagues.

The play was intended to further dialogue about homosexuality and homosexual acts. Homosexual acts are illegal in Uganda and draw condemnation from church pastors and politicians.

Cecil was charged for ignoring an advance warning from the Uganda Media Council that the play was not to be staged until they obtained official clearance. The Media Council issued the warning on August 16, the day before the play premiered. On August 29, after the shows had ended, the Media Council ruled that the play was not to be staged because parts of the production “implicitly promote homosexual acts” which “are contrary to the laws, cultural norms and values of Uganda”.

Cecil said he, along with British playwright Beau Hopkins, Ugandan director Angella Emurwon and the Ugandan actors, decided to go ahead with the staging because the Media Council’s warning letter “in no way” made reference to any potential legal consequences. “Even my Ugandan lawyer read the letter and said: ‘It does not clearly constitute a legal order,'” Cecil explained.

However, Cecil was contacted by the police and subsequently charged for disobeying an order from the Media Council – a public authority in Uganda. The law enforcers asked Cecil, who has been living in Uganda for three years, to surrender his passport. A police bond was also issued for him.

The Ugandan ethics minister Simon Lokodo condemned the play. Lokodo explained, “This play is justifying the promotion of homosexuality in Uganda, and Uganda does not accommodate homosexual causes. We will put pressure on anyone saying that this abomination [homosexuality] is acceptable,”

As a conservative, dominantly Christian society, many Ugandans regard homosexuality as contrary to both African traditions and their faith. Homosexuals are often harassed and even killed in the country.

The Ugandan parliament is due to debate a 2009 bill that threatens the death penalty for what was termed “aggravated homosexuality”.

 

For further information, please see:

The Telegraph – British Theatre Producer Jailed for Putting on Gay Play in Uganda – 13 September 2012

BBC News – Uganda Charges British Producer David Cecil over Gay Play – 13 September 2012

The Huffington Post – Producer of Play about Gays Faces Jail in Uganda – 12 September 2012

The Observers – ‘I Play a Gay Man in Uganda, where Homosexuality is illegal’ – 11 September 2012

Radio Netherlands Worldwide – Producer of Uganda’s First Gay Play Could be Jailed – 8 September 2012

International Business Times – Producer of Pro-Gay Play Arrested in Uganda; Faces Two Years in Jail – 7 September 2012

 

UN-Backed Tribunal Deems Khmer Rouge’s ‘First Lady’ Unfit for Trial

By Karen Diep
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia – Yesterday, Cambodia’s UN-backed tribunal, responsible for prosecuting the members of the Khmer Rouge for crimes against humanity, released a statement that 80-year-old leng Thirith, the regime’s “first lady,” was unfit to stand trial.

leng Thirith before the ECCC. (Photo Courtesy of CNN)

“There is not prospect that the accused can be tried in the foreseeable future,” the tribunal stated.

Furthermore, Neth Pheaktra, a spokesman for the Extraordinary Chambers in the Court of Cambodia (ECCC), said that leng Thirith would be released today if prosecutors did not appeal the court’s decision.

According to Reuters, under the Khmer Rouge’s rule from 1975 to 1979, approximately 1.7 to 2.2 million people, nearly a quarter of the population, died from execution, torture, disease, and/or starvation as a part of the regime’s attempt to create a peasant utopia.

leng Thirith, Khmer Rouge’s highest-ranking woman, acted as its minister of social affairs, and the tribunal accused her of participation in the “planning, direction, co-coordination and order of widespread purges.”  Leng Thirith was formerly charged with crimes against humanity, genocide, homicide, grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions, torture, and religious persecution.

However, according to Al jazeera, leng Thirith responded that the charges against her were “100 per cent false” and that she always worked for the benefit of the people.

According to CNN, in November of last year, proceedings against leng Thirith stopped after the ECCC decided that she suffered from dementia.

After pursuing additional medical assessments, the tribunal issued yesterday’s statement confirming that leng Thirith is suffering from a “progressive, degenerative illness (likely Alzheimer’s disease) and remains unfit to stand trial.”

The tribunal further confirmed that “all treatment options have [] been exhausted and that the accused’s cognitive impairment is likely irreversible.”  The court’s conclusion disappointed many of the regime’s surviving victims.

“I cannot oppose the court, but I am not happy with its decision,” shared Bou Meng, one of few Cambodians to survive incarceration in Phnom Penh’s Tuol Slen jail (S-21), with Agence France-Presse.  “The decision is mocking the souls of the dead, including my wife and children,” continued Mr. Meng whose wife and children never escapted S-21 alive.

The court has convicted S-21’s prison chief, Kaing Guek Eav, who oversaw the deaths of approximately 14,000 people.  The tribunal sentenced Kaing Guek Eav to 35 years in prison but he may serve only 19 years.

However, Ieng Sary, the Khmer Rouge’s former foreign minister, Nuon Chea, also known as Bother No. 2, and the regime’s former head of state, Khieu Samphan, are still on trial.  Moreover, prosecutors claimed that there is adequate evidence to charge a number other former members.

For further information, please see:

Al jazeera – Cambodia to free Khmer Rouge ‘first law’ – 13 Sept. 2012

CNN – ‘First lady’ of Khmer Rouge rules unfit for genocide trial – 13 Sept. 2012

Independent – ‘First lady’ of Khmer Rouge is judged ‘unfit to stand trial’ – 13 Sept. 2012

Reuters – ‘First lady’ of Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge mentally unfit, to be freed – 13 Sept. 2012

 

Colombian General Did Not Act Alone In Aided Paramilitary Organization

By Brendan Oliver Bergh
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

SANTIAGO, Colombia — Last month, retired General Mauricio Santoyo, a former security chief to ex-president Álvaro Uribe, pled guilty to aiding paramilitary groups in Columbia. New evidence has also surfaced that shows that he did not act alone, supporting a theory previously put forth by representative from the 2nd  Chamber of the Colombian House of Representatives, Iván Cepeda. Cepeda claimed that this was “not an isolated incident” and was part of a “criminal structure” that included numerous officers and NCOs who operated within the Antioquia Police in the ‘90s and had links to the presidency from 2002 to 2010.

General Mauricio Santoyo. (Photo Courtesy of el Heraldo).

General Santoyo, who has been extradited to the United States for ties to drug trafficking, entered his plea before the Eastern District Court of Virginia for aiding the paramilitary organization United Self-Defense of Columbia (Spanish Acronym AUC). During his plea, General Santoyo identified at least seven other senior officers of the Colombian Army and Officers of the police, including two ex-directors of that institution.

During his confession, Santoyo confessed to receiving “substantial bribes” from the AUC in-exchange for helping them “achieve acts of terrorism and drug trafficking.” Santoyo continued by explaining that he intercepted communications that provided relevant information and then relayed that information to officers of the AUC. Santoyo then admitted that he would notify the AUC of imminent arrests against members of the organization. Most of these information intercepts were made by members of the police who were specifically employed to fight against paramilitary organizations.

Santoyo was promoted to Chief of Secuirty during Presdient Uribe’s administration. There, with several commissioned officers of the National Police, Santoyo was able to participate in activities that aided the AUC, and as Chief of Security he aided the rise of many officers who had been implicated for corruption by his confession.

Ex-President Uribe denies any knowledge about the ties between Santoyo and paramilitary groups as well as having influenced Santoyo’s rise to General despite Santoyo’s questionable past. Colombian Senator Jorge Enrique Robledo states “it’s extremely clear that if Col. Santoyo had not been a part of the President’s inner circle, had not been the chief of security at the presidential palace, the situation we’re discussing today wouldn’t have happened, wherever one looks.”

There have been attempts to link Santoyo’s illegal operations with officials and politicians from within Uribe’s government. This includes the former Minister of Defense, the current president Juan Manuel Santos, former national chief of police Oscare Naranjo and the former peace commissioner Luis Carlos Restrepo, who is now a fugitive from justice.

 

For more information please see:

El Pais – Congressman Ivan Cepeda splashed seven police officers by the Case Santoyo – 12 September 2012

The Spectador – Iván Cepeda other officers linked to scandal Santoyo – 12 September 2012

Vanguardia – Santoyo is not an isolated case, is part of a criminal apparatus: Iván Cepeda  – 12 September 2012

Global Voices – Colombia: Former General Santoyo Admits Ties to Paramilitary Group – 26 August 2012

El Pais – To help the AUC, General (r) Santoyo ‘pike’ colleagues – 22 August 2012

South Africa Struggles With Mining Labor Strikes

By Heba Girgis
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

CAPE TOWN, South Africa—Just today, thousands of South African miners made a vow to cripple the country’s mining industry while also bringing the country’s platinum production to a halt. This is especially crucial—as South Africa is the world’s top platinum producer.

Striking Workers at the Anglo American Platinum Mine. (Photo Courtesy of The New York Times)

This labor unrest has spread throughout the gold and platinum-producing regions of South Africa after law enforcement officers killed 34 miners while attempting to stop a violent, illegal strike held by miners demanding higher wages. Julius Malema, the former leader for the African National Congress Youth League, demanded that this strike continue until the wages for all miners are increased to at least $1,500 a month. This raise would be approximately double or triple what miners bring to the table now.

The company Anglo American Platinum, which produces about 40% of the world’s platinum, announced just yesterday that it would be shutting down its operations near the town of Marikana—where the above-mentioned killings took place—because of threats received against its workers. In a statement to the press, the company said, “In light of the current volatile situation in the Rustenburg area, where our employees, who want to go to work, are being prevented from doing so and are being intimidated by the threat of violence, Anglo American Platinum has decided to suspend its operations.”

Many of the strikers participating in this unrest were members of a radical breakaway union that was deeply dissatisfied with South Africa’s largest union, the National Union of Mineworkers. Even though this strike has been detrimental to mining companies, it has not done much damage to the overall economy of South Africa. The country’s stock market and currency have not struggled as a result of the strikes.

Although the country has not yet faced too much economic strife because of these events, the strikes reflect other problems that South Africa is up against. These problems include: the highest level of inequality of any large economy; jobless rates that reach 50% among young blacks; and finally an education system that sends out graduates who are not prepared for the jobs that the country has available.

Frans Cronje, an analyst for the South African Institute of Race Relations, noted, “The corporate world does not yet realize the seriousness of the social and economic inequalities that confront the country.”

As of today, 45 people have died since the strike began. As the strikes continue, some have begun to feel that the best way to approach this issue is to start negotiating.

 

For further information, please see:

Mining.com – Labour Leader Calls S.A. Workers to ‘Bring Mining Companies to Their Knees’ – 13 September 2012

The New Age – Strikers Vow to Cripple Mining Industry – 13 September 2012

The Globe and Mail – World’s Largest Platinum Producer Shuts Rustenberg Mines – 12 September 2012

The New York Times – South African Unrest in Mining Deepens – 12 September 2012

YouTube Video Fuels Islamic Unrest Across the Middle East

By Justin Dorman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

TRIPOLI, Libya – Very little is known about the film, The Innocence of Muslims, or its maker, Sam Bacile. One thing we do know is that the anti-Muhammad film has led to Muslim protests and violence directed at American embassies in Egypt, Iraq, Libya, and Yemen.

Shi’ites burn the American flag in response to the American made film that ridiculed Islam’s Prophet Muhammad. (Photo Courtesy of the Associated Press)

The film was supposedly shown at one largely vacant theatre before a thirteen-minute clip found itself posted on YouTube for the world to see. For most Muslims, any depiction of Mohammed is met with scorn, but The Innocence of Muslims’ depiction of Mohammaed as a religious fraud, womanizer, child molester, and ruthless killer has particularly incensed Muslims.  The actors involved in making the video claim to have been “grossly misled” about the purpose of the film. The crew believed they were making an Arabian Desert adventure film titled “Desert Warrior.” They maintain that all of their lines were dubbed over in post-production with the anti-Mohammed content.

Bacile has since gone into hiding following the fury he evoked in the Arab world. No one in the Hollywood film community has ever heard of him or his film, which casts serious aspersions as to whether The Innocence of Muslims is actually a full-length movie or just a thirteen-minute clip. After partaking in a single interview, the Associated Press described Bacile as “a California real estate developer who identifies himself as an Israeli Jew.” Neither the California Association of Realtors nor the Israeli consulate in Los Angeles claim to have ever heard of Sam Bacile. The Israeli consulate claims that he is part of the Egyptian Coptic diaspora, but a cleric with the Coptic Orthodox Church diocese of Los Angeles denies having ever heard of him. Regardless, Bacile is connected to Morris Sadik, an Egyptian Coptic Christian in California who played the clip for his group, the National American Coptic Assembly.

Public reaction against the film in the Middle East began on Tuesday and continue to spark demonstrations at the U.S. embassies in Yemen, Egypt, and Iraq.  In Yemen, hundreds of angered Muslims have congregated at the U.S. Embassy in Sana’a, burning U.S. Flags and chanting “death to America” as they attempted to storm the building.

“We want to close the American embassy for this insult on prophet Mohammed,” said Abdullah Rahman Safi, echoing the protesters’ sentiments.

Yemeni troops eventually suppressed the uprising by firing tear gas and live ammunition into the air. Both Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi and the Yemeni Embassy in Washington have apologized to America for the attacks and have sworn to investigate the attacks on the embassy and keep U.S. foreign diplomats safe.

Similar demonstrations, involving the throwing of rocks, are taking place near the U.S. Embassy in Cairo, Egypt. The initial protests occurred at the embassy, but police have since been able to keep protesters away from the building through the use of tear gas. So far, sixteen protesters and thirteen policemen have been wounded in the clashes. Additionally, twelve dissidents have been arrested. Egypt’s first Islamist president, Mohamed Morsi, has pledged to not allow attacks on foreign embassies, but expressed some conflict with suppressing his people’s freedom of expression.

Hundreds of Shi’ites in Iraq also congregated outside the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad calling for the termination of the embassy in response to the film. They too burned American flags and chanted “No, no, to Israel! No, no to America! Yes, yes for Messenger of God.”

The most violent protest took place at the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, on Tuesday night. There, demonstrating protesters were accompanied by heavily armed militants who shot gunfire and rocket-propelled grenades at the U.S. Consulate for four straight hours. Shortly after the firing began, the gunmen gained access to the building and were able to set it on fire. Many were injured and at least four people were killed, including Christopher Stephens, the U.S. Ambassador to Libya. He initially started working as an English teacher in Morocco, where he said he quickly realized that he “grew to love this part of the world.”

Suzanne Nossel, Executive Director of Amnesty International USA, said that, “However offensive this film may be it can in no way excuse such killings and violent attacks.”

While many of the Muslim protesters are upset about the movie, not everyone is convinced that the true motivation of the violence is the response to the film.  U.S. officials are currently investigating the question of whether the killings in Libya were planned to coincide with the anniversary of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

Al-Qaeda’s most active branch is located in Yemen. Prior to Tuesday night’s attacks on the U.S. Embassy, the country’s government announced that al-Qaeda’s “number two man” had been killed in a U.S. airstrike.

For further information, please see:

Huffington Post — U.S. Embassy Attacks: “Death to America” Chants and Flag-Burning Protests Spread to Iran, Iraq — 13 September 2012

USA Today – Protesters Storm U.S. Embassy in Yemen – 13 September 2012

Amnesty International – Libya: No Excuse for Attack on US Consulate – 12 September 2012

Guardian – Mystery Surrounds ‘Sam Bacile’, Maker of Controversial Anti-Muhammad Film – 12 September 2012

CNN – Six Things to Know About Attack That Killed Ambassador Stevens – 12 September 2012