Peruvian President Guilty Of Death Squads Seeks Pardon

Peruvian President Guilty Of Death Squads Seeks Pardon

By Brendan Oliver Bergh
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

LIMA, Peru – The family of former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori has requested a humanitarian pardon from his extended sentence due to health problems.

Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori Seeking Medical Pardon. (Photo Courtesy of CNN)

His family has requested that his four concurrent sentences be commuted due to complications from mouth cancer and resulting lesions that may not have healed properly.

The former President led Peru from 1990-2000 and is credited with the dismantling of the terrorist group the Shining Path as well as reining in destabilizing hyperinflation. His administration is not without blemishes as his authoritative leadership included the operation of death squads that killed citizens and corruption. His third presidential candidacy election was constitutionally challenged and it was only by a large corruption scandal that ex-President Fujimori was finally brought down from power.

After being brought down, Fujimori fled to Japan, who refused to extradite him. Declared “morally unfit to govern” by the Peruvian congress, he returned to Chile in 2005 where he was placed under house arrest and extradited to Peru in 2007.

By 2009, special tribunals had convicted him and found him guilty of multiple human rights scandals and sentenced him for a number of charges. His largest sentence? 25 years for authorizing the operation of death squads that killed or disappeared numerous citizens.

Human Rights Watch has requested that the President of Peru take great care in determining whether or not to grant the medical pardon. While well within the wheel house of political powers weld by the President. The Peruvian Constitution requires that any pardons need to be in accordance with international treaties ratified by Peru. And international law dictates that the duty to investigate and punish perpetrators of human rights abuses cannot be undermined by pardons and immunities. Without extreme care, a pardon even for medical care could come off as contrary to human rights law and the international community.

While the request to pardon the former president is being analyzed by a commission “without any ‘politization’ and impartially” the former Health Minister, Luis Solari has raised concerns. Soalri claims that according to the medical certificates, Fujimori would not even qualify for such a pardon. One can be pardoned if they are at serious and imminent risk of losing life. Solari continues that Fujimori is not at risk of losing his life due to complications and his cancer is not in fact “terminal cancer.”

All in all the decision will come down to current President Ollanta Humala who was elected to the position over opponent and petitioner Keiko Fujimori, daughter of Alberto Fujimori.

 

For further information, please see:

El Comercio – Request For Pardon To Fujimori Is Analyzed With “No Politicization,” Said Justice Minister – 16 October 2012

El Comercio – “Fujimori Medical Certificates Are Not Accurate,” Said Former Minister Solari – 15 October 2012

Human Rights Watch – Peru: Humala Shouldn’t Give Fujimori Special Treatment – 11 October 2012

CNN – Family Seeks Pardon For Former Peruvian Leader – 10 October 2012

Monks Protest Establishment of an Office of Aid for Rohingya Muslims

By Irving Feng
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

NAYPYIDAW, Myanmar – Thousands of Buddhist monks in Myanmar took to the streets to protest the establishment of an Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) office which would supply aid to Rohingya Muslims in the country.

 

Monks protest in the streets of Rakhine. (Photo courtesy of Al Arabiya News)

Three thousand monks marched through downtown Yangon, the former capital, holding banners which read “No OIC.”  In Mandalay, Myanmar’s second largest city, thousands of protestors said they could not accept the establishment of an OIC office in the country.  Further demonstrations sprang up in the town of Pakokku in the central region of the country.

Plans to set up an OIC office in the northwest Rakhine state had been in the works until the recent protests.  Rakhine had been the stage for violent clashes between native Buddhists and the Rohingya Muslims in June which resulted in at least 77 deaths and displaced thousands more.

The demonstrations by the monks, a powerful political force in the predominately Buddhist country, was followed by an announcement by the president’s office which conveyed that an OIC office would not be opened in Rakhine after all.  President Thein Sein’s office stated that due to the popular desire of the people, the government would not sanction the opening of the OIC office.  It is uncertain whether or not the protests were directly linked to the government’s announcement.

The United Nations has described Rohingya Muslims as one of the most persecuted minority groups in the world.  Human Rights watch has also found evidence of state sponsored discrimination and persecution against the Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar.

Myanmar is currently home to approximately 800,000 Rohingyas with no state to call home due to their illegal immigrant status.  Thousands of Rohingya were displaced by the violence in Rakhine and have been seeking shelter in temporary homes and refugee camps.  The conditions that Rohingya Muslims are currently living in are described as abject and dire.

Government officials have been criticized by the United Nations as contributing to the problem by allowing violence to occur against the Rohingyas rather than implementing policies to curb it.  Lawmaker Aung San Suu Kyi, an advocate for Burmese rights, is under fire from the international community for failing to advocate for the Rohingyas.  The Burmese are suffering from the same denial of basic rights.

Amidst the arsons, ethnic clashes and other violent displays directed at the Rohingyas, many have attempted to flee by sea to neighboring Bangladesh.  Those that have attempted to fled, however, were met by Bengali security forces and turned away, forcing their return to Myanmar to endure persecution, discrimination and illegal status.

For further information, please see:

Al Arabiya News – Mass monk rallies against OIC in major Myanmar cities – 15 October 2012

Al Jazeera – Myanmar scraps Islamic group’s office plan – 15 October 2012

Press TV – Myanmar bans OIC from opening office for Rohingya Muslims – 15 October 2012

Reuters – Buddhist monks march in Myanmar to thwart Islamic office plan – 15 October 2012

Yemenis Demand an End to Saleh Immunity

By Ali Al-Bassam
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

SANA’A, Yemen — Lawyers representing victims and family members of those who died in last year’s Friday of Dignity Massacre have requested that the appellate court in Sana’a add the names of thirteen defendants to a list of others who were potentially involved in the tragic event.  The slaughter took place on March 18, 2011, when more than fifty people were killed during a protest for reform near Sana’a University.  Charges were also filed against former President Ali Abdullah Saleh.  He lost control of Yemen during last year’s revolution.

Gunmen targeted protesters during last year’s revolution. One such incident has been dubbed the Friday of Dignity Massacre. (Photo Courtesy of Al Jazeera).

Among those charged is Saleh’s nephew, Yehya Abdullah Syed, who still holds a senior position in the country’s central security services.  He is charged with “inciting and participating in the killing of young protesters.”  The list of defendants also includes others affiliated with the former president, such as his top aides, who are also accused of playing a part in attempting to quell last year’s revolution.  Former Interior Minister Motahar Rashad Al-Masri and the former Head of Central Security Services, Abdulmalik Al-Taieb, were also named.

On the day of the massacre, gunmen, who witnesses described as hired “thugs” working for Saleh, shot at protesters from the rooftops around a square at Sana’a University, killing 52 and wounding many others.  Relying on eyewitness accounts, lawyers alleged on Saturday that the gunmen were driven to the site in cars bearing presidential license plates.  The act was scorned and condemned by Western powers and human rights groups.  Hundreds of people were killed during the revolution. It ended when Saleh promised to leave office after he accepted a Gulf-brokered power transfer deal that offered immunity from prosecution for himself and his aides.

Faisal Al-Majid, a member of the prosecuting team that represents the victims and their families, said that even though Saleh bargained for immunity when he left office, it does not mean that an investigation cannot be carried out.  He also claims that Saleh could still be brought to trial.

“U.N. Charters don’t allow human rights-related crimes to be exempt from prosecution,” said Al-Majid.  “We will see in the next days the seriousness of the Yemeni judiciary in dealing with this issue in a fair and effective way.”

Youth groups who want to see Saleh and his former aides stripped of their immunity continue to stage rallies.  Mohammed Saeed Al-Sharabi, a pro-democracy protester who witnessed the carnage, labeled the trial a “farce,” believing that it will not result in jail time for Saleh or anyone else who is immune from prosecution.

“Many revolutionaries are completely unsatisfied with this trial.  How are they conducting a trial while the main defendants are released?”  he asked.

The next hearing in this case is scheduled for November 23.

For further information, please see:

The News International — Yemenis Demand Saleh Trial — 14 October 2012

Yemen Times — Lawyers Seek to put Ousted Saleh on Trial — 14 October 2o12

Al Jazeera — Families of Killed Yemenis Demand Saleh Trial — 13 October 2012

Khaleej Times — Yemenis Demand Saleh Trial — 13 October 2012

Wounded Pakistan Teen Relocated to the United Kingdom

By Alexandra Sandacz
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

LONDON, United Kingdom – On Monday, a wounded teenage activist, who was shot by the Taliban, was airlifted from Pakistan to the United Kingdom for more specialized medical treatment. The teenager was also transferred to the UK to protect her from potential various other militant attacks.

Malala Yousufzai’s arrival in the United Kingdom. (Photo Courtesy of BBC News)

A week ago, in Pakistan, 14-year-old Malala Yousufzai was returning home from school when the Taliban targeted her for promoting girls’ education and criticizing the militant take over of Swat Valley. Two armed men stopped the van Malala was in, asked which girl was Malala, and opened fire. One of the shots hit her in the head and wounded two others.

The Taliban admitted they sent assassins, despite a tribal code forbidding the killing of women. The Taliban threated to continue targeting Malala until she is killed because she promotes “Western thinking.”

Due to continuing threats, the Pakistani military released a statement, “It was agreed by the panel of Pakistani doctors and international experts that Malala will require prolonged care to fully recover from the physical and psychological effects of trauma that she has received.” The military also suggested that Malala be transferred to a center in the United Kingdom that has the ability to provide adequate care to children who have undergone serious injuries.

The decision to relocate Malala was also determined with her family. Malala was flown from Pakistan on an air ambulance and accompanied by a full medical team. She will be treated at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham. The Pakistani government confirmed they would pay for her treatment.

Before Malala was moved to the UK, Pakistani doctors had already removed a bullet from Malala’s body. Malala’s initial recovery was described as satisfactory, and she is able to move her legs and hands.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague said, “The UK stands shoulder to shoulder with Pakistan in its fight against terrorism. Malala’s bravery in standing up for the right of all young girls in Pakistan to an education is an example to us all.”

Yousufzai, a schoolgirl, became a symbol of resistance against the Taliban’s efforts to deprive girls of an education.

Former UK Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, launched a petition in Malala’s name “in support of what Malala fought for.” He stated, “The petition calls on Pakistan to ensure that every girl like Malala has the chance to go to school.” He also called on the international community to guarantee that all children will have access to education by the end of 2015.

For further information, please see:

BBC News — Malala Yousafzai, schoolgirl shot by Taliban, now in UK – 15 October 2012

The Independent — Pakistani girl Malala Yousufzai who was wounded in an assassination attempt by the Taliban arrives in Britain for NHS treatment – 15 October 2012

Reuters — Pakistani schoolgirl shot by Taliban sent to UK for treatment – 15 October 2012

The Washington Post — Pakistan airlifts girl activist shot by Taliban to the United Kingdom for treatment – 15 October 2012