Comedian gets 2 years in prison for insulting the king of thailand

By Irving Feng
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BANGKOK, Thailand – Thai comedian, Yossawaris Chuklom, was sentenced to two years in prison by a local judge after making insulting remarks against the Thai Monarchy in a political demonstration speech from 2010.

King Bhumibol Adulyade (Left) and the “red-shirt” group protests (Right). (Photo Courtesy of The Telegraph)

Yossawaris Chuklom, age 54, who uses the stage name Jeng Dokchik, made the insulting remarks during a mass political rally in Bangkok.  He is a key member of the “red-shirt” political movement which supported exiled Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

Thaksin Shinawatra was ousted by a military coup in 2006 during a period of extreme political upheaval.  The “red-shirt” group occupied different parts of the Thai capital of Bangkok in March of 2010 to support the exiled Thaksin Shinawatra and demanded the resignation of then Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva.

During the political unrest staged by the “red-shirt” group where Yossawaris Chuklom made his allegedly insulting remarks against the Thai Monarchy, roughly 90 people, both civilian and government soldiers were killed.  The ordeal lasted about two months.

Yossawaris Chuklom was convicted for his crimes under Thailand’s strict lese majeste laws which punish any person who defames the Thai king, queen, heirs, or regents.  The maximum penalty under these laws is up to 15 years in prison.

Chuklom was originally sentenced to three years in prison; however, the judge reduced the sentence from three years to the current sentence of two after Chuklom gave up useful evidence.  Yossawaris Chuklom also faces separate state terrorism charges for his role in the 2010 “red-shirt” group street protests in Bangkok.

Chuklom’s lawyer, Thamrong Lakdaen, says that his client intends to post bail and appeal the unfair sentence.  Pundits and critics say that Thailand’s lese majeste laws are only in place to suppress freedom of speech and have no legitimate legal purpose.

Yossawaris Chuklom also currently serves as an advisor to Thailand’s deputy minister of commerce.  The deputy minister serves under a government led by exiled Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s sister who came into power after elections in 2011.

Chuklom’s ties to Thaksin’s sister and his ties to the “red-shirt” group have all been cited as possible activities that have led to his unfair sentencing and incarceration.  This has been used as further fuel by critics to question the legitimacy of the lese majeste laws.

The Thai Monarchy however is highly revered in the country by a vast amount of the population.  The lese majeste laws are intended to provide Bhumibol Adjulyadej, the 85 year old king and head of the Thai Monarchy, protection.

For further information, please see:

BBC – Thai comedian and ‘red-shirt’ leader jailed for royal insult – 17 January 2013

The Telegraph – Thai comedian sentenced for insulting monarchy – 17 January 2013

The Star – Comedian gets 2 years’ jail for insulting Thai royals – 17 January 2013

The Southern Illinoisan – Thai Red Shirt gets jail term for anti-king speech – 16 January 2013

Ivory Coast Youth Leader Arrested in Connection to Crimes Against Humanity

By Hannah Stewart
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast — Ghanian authorities have arrested Charles Ble Goude, the former leader of Young Patriots, an Ivory Coast nationalist youth movement.  Ble Goude is wanted in connection the postelection violence that ensued in 2010 when Former President Laurent Gbagbo refused to accept defeat to current president, Alassane Ouattara.  Some 3,000 people lost their lives in the four-month crisis.

Charles Ble Goude, Ivory Coast’s former youth minister and ally of former President Laurent Gbagbo. (Photo Courtesy of Reuters)

Ble Goude has been in hiding since April 2011, when Gbagbo was arrested on charges of crimes against humanity.  The former president, who governed Ivory Coast for a decade, is now awaiting trial at The Hague.

Most top military and political officials from Gbagbo’s regime were killed, are in jail in Ivory Coast or now living in exile.  While Ghanaian police last year arrested former budget minister Justin Kone Katinan, Ivory Coast’s request for his extradition has been stuck in the courts for months.  Ghana has previously stated it considers the exiles to be refugees and has yet to extradite any Gbagbo supporters.  Ble Goude currently faces extradition to Ivory Coast.

Ble Goude is wanted by Ivorian authorities for alleged kidnappings, illegal detentions, torture, incitement of hatred and economic crimes while a member of Gbagbo’s inner circle.   Moreover, he is currently subject to United Nations sanctions including a travel ban and asset freeze.  The UN first instated sanctions against Ble Goude in 2006 when he was accused of inciting attacks against UN personnel.

Ble Goude has denied leading pro-Gbagbo militias that attacked foreigners and northerners during the 2010 upheaval.  He claims that he only organized Young Patriot rallies and meetings.  Likewise, Ble Goude has denied purchasing weapons or arming Ivorian youth.  Ble Goude further denies holding regular rallies where he used increasingly xenophobic rhetoric until Gbagbo was forced from power.

In 2010, the Young Patriots reportedly played a decisive role in creating a climate of terror, erecting barricades and checkpoints where they attempted to identify “enemies of Ivory Coast.”  Young Patriots killed countless West African nationals at these checkpoints, often by “necklacing” individuals with tires, which were then set on fire.  As President Ouattara is from northern Ivory Coast and has familial ties to Burkina Faso, pro-Gbagbo groups targeted Ouattara’s supporters: anyone with a northern name, immigrants and foreigners.

Netherlands-based attorney Nick Kaufman says he has been in contact with Ghanaian officials seeking the legal grounds for the arrest and has petitioned the International Criminal Court in The Hague to indicate whether Ble Goude was the subject of a warrant from the court.

For further information, please see:

BBC – Charles Ble Goude: Ghana Extradites Ivory Coast Gbagbo Ally – 18 January 2013

Fox News – Lawyer: Authorities in Ghana Arrest Charles Ble Goude – 17 January 2013

Reuters – Fugitive Ivorian Youth Leader Ble Goude Arrested in Ghana – 17 January 2013

The Washington Post – Ghana Arrests Ble Goude – 17 January 2013

 

Hundreds of Thousands Oppose Gay Marriage Bill in Paris

By Alexandra Sandacz
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe 

PARIS, France – Last week, hundreds of thousands of people gathered in Paris to protest President Francois Hollande’s bill to legalize same-sex marriage. Protestors waived their pink and blue flags depicting fathers, mothers and children to express their concern over the marriage bill.

Protesters from all over France gather to oppose President Francois Hollande’s same-sex marriage bill. (Photo Courtesy of CNN)

In his 2011 campaign, President Hollande promised he would move to grant the full status of marriage to gay couples. His promise would essentially upgrade France’s 1999 PACs civil union law, which granted a number of rights to registered partnerships. As a result, President Hollande pushed through a same-sex marriage law with his Socialist party’s parliamentary majority, however, not without opposition.

Despite a strong indication for the support of the legalization, followers of the Catholic Church, members of the extreme far-right Front National party, some Muslims, evangelicals, and a few openly gay people showed up to the Eiffel tower to voice their disagreement with Hollande’s new bill. Protestors believe same-sex marriage would cause psychological and social harm to children regardless of the need for equal rights of gay adults.

However, notwithstanding their opposition to same sex marriage, protestors insist they do not oppose gays and lesbians. Instead, they support the rights of children to have a father and a mother. Protestors raised posters and banners that read, “Marriagophile, not homophobe,” “All born of a father and mother,” and “Paternity, maternity, equality.”

Two Parisians, Jean-François and Amelie, stood next to the Eiffel Tower and held up placards next to their baby buggy that said, “Papa and Mama — nothing is better for a child” and “Children can only be made with a man and a women.”

A 39-year-old business man and his wife handed out chocolate bars and stated, “We are demanding the withdrawal of the gay marriage law.”

Furthermore, Yvonne Raguet, a mother, three-time grandmother, and practicing Catholic participated in the protests, “Gays shouldn’t be allowed to adopt children. It breaks with all traditions.”

Supporters of Hollande’s bill believe the legislation will finally provide equal treatment of gays, lesbians, and the children same-sex couples are raising together.

Same-sex marriage is legal in 11 countries such as, Belgium, Portugal, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Norway, South Africa, and nine states in the United States.

For further information, please see:

CNN – Protestors rally against same-sex marriage in France – 15 January 2013

Spiegel – Mass Rally in Paris: France Agonizes Over Plan to Allow Gay Marriage – 14 January 2013

BBC News – Mass Paris rally against gay marriage in France – 13 January 2013

NBC News – Protesters in France: Gay marriage would hurt children – 13 January 2013

Nasrin Sotoudeh Temporarily Released from Prison

By Justin Dorman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

TEHRAN, Iran – Recent Sakharov Prize winner and Iranian human rights attorney Nasrin Sotoudeh has been released from Evin prison. Her release is only a temporary furlough that is set to last just three days. Sotoudeh has spent roughly more than two years in jail thus far.

Nasrin Sotoudeh, now weighing 95 lbs. after her hunger strikes, has been given a three day furlough from Evin prison, after two-years of incarceration. (Photo Courtesy of the Guardian)

Currently, Sotoudeh is serving a six-year prison sentence and a ten-year ban on practicing law for “acting against national security and propaganda against the regime.” She was arrested for providing legal services in human rights cases for activists who were viewed unfavorably by the Iranian authorities. Many believe it was her specific representation of Shirin Ebadi, the Iranian Nobel peace prize laureate who is living in exile, that upset the Iranian authorities.

Throughout the course of her detainment, Sotoudeh was often held in solitary confinement. Additionally, her family was harassed with international travel bans, and Sotoudeh was frequently denied access to family visitation and telephone communication. She was also denied the right to attend her father’s funeral who died while she was in jail; although, she was allowed to attend her mother’s who also died around the same time. In an effort to protest such harassment, Sotoudeh began to partake in a hunger strike.

She wrote to her children, “I know that you require water, food, housing, a family, parents, love, and visits with your mother. . . However, just as much, you need freedom, social security, the rule of law, and justice.”

After a forty-nine day hunger strike, Sotoudeh finally began eating again once her daughter’s travel ban was lifted in early December.

Since the start of her temporary release, it has been reported that Sotoudeh weighs just ninety-five pounds. Drewery Dyke of Amnesty International stated that, “We urge the Iranian authorities to confirm an extension to this period of leave, to allow Nasrin to get any medical checks which she may not have received in Evin prison.”

Besides for an extension of her furlough for health reasons, Amnesty International further urges the Iranian government to release Sotoudeh indefinitely. Dyke added, “In order to abide by human rights commitments, though, her conviction should be overturned and she should be released unconditionally.”

Amnesty International was thrilled to hear of Sotoudeh’s three-day release, however, Dyke believes, “Nasrin shouldn’t have been imprisoned in the first place.”

For further information, please see:

Eurasia Review – Iran: Human Rights Lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh Given First Furlough – 18 January 2013

Women News Network – Imprisoned Iran Rights Attorney Ms. Nasrin Sotoudeh Gets 3 Day Release – 18 January 2013

Guardian – Iranian Human Rights Lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh Temporarily Freed – 17 January 2013

Amnesty International – Iran: Further Information: Lawyer Ends Hunger Strike but Still Detained: Nasrin Sotoudeh – 7 December 2012

Journalist Arrested for Interviewing Somali Army’s Rape Victims

By Ryan Aliman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

MOGADISHU, Somalia – Somali police have detained freelance journalist Abdiaziz Abdinur Ibrahim, who is also known as “Koronto”, without warrant and charges filed against him. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and other local journalist organizations suspect that Koronto was brought to custody for interviewing women who claimed they were raped by national security forces.

A rape victim hides her identity. She is among the internally displaced women frequently exploited by both rebels and government soldiers in Somalia. (Photo courtesy of Sven Torfinn/The New York Times)

On January 6, Al-Jazeera English published a story about government soldiers raping internally displaced women in Mogadishu camps.

4 days later, the Somali police’s Central Investigation Department (CID) in Mogadishu arrested one of those women, along with Omar Faruk, a correspondent for the Al-Jazeera Arabic Service in Somalia.

During interrogations, the head of CID, Gen. Abdullahi Hassan Barisse, allegedly compelled the woman to give them contact information of any journalist who interviewed her for the Al-Jazeera story. According to local news reports, she gave Koronto’s name and phone number. Using the alleged rape victim’s phone, they called Koronto who admitted that he recently interviewed the same woman, but has yet to publish the story. The police ordered him to come to the CID headquarters. Koronto complied and was brought to custody on January 10. On the same day, the police searched his home and confiscated his belongings including his laptop and digital recorder.

During a phone interview with the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ), Koronto described what happened: “I received a phone call this afternoon from the number of the woman I interviewed, but, It was Gen. Barise, the CID chief and told me to come to the CID headquarters. When I came to the CID, I saw the woman. . . I was asked if I interviewed this lady and I said, ‘Yes, I interviewed.’ Later, I was told that I was under arrest.”

The CID decided to release the alleged rape victim provided that she returns the following week for further questioning. Omar Faruk was likewise released after convincing the police that he was not involved in the Al-Jazeera report. Koronto, however, remains in detention.

According to the CPJ, both the information minister and deputy information minister refused to answer the CPJ’s calls to clarify why the police is still keeping Koronto in custody.

“It is shameful that Somali authorities have arrested a woman who has reported a rape, and a reporter who documented her story, instead of conducting an investigation into this reported crime,” said CPJ East Africa Consultant Tom Rhodes. “There is absolutely no reason Abdulaziz Abdinuur should be in custody. He should be released immediately and his personal property returned.”

Meanwhile, Africa director at Human Rights Watch Daniel Bekele urged the President to take action, “President Hassan Sheikh should honor his commitment by making sure the police handling of this case doesn’t discourage journalists from reporting government abuses or victims from seeking justice.” “Silencing rape victims and journalists will not end sexual violence, but just reinforce Somalia’s climate of impunity,” Bekele added.
For further information, please see:

Human Rights Watch – Somalia: Free Journalist, Others Linked to Rape Allegation – 12 January 2013

RBC Radio – SOMALIA: Vicious Campaign against Somali Journalists Continues in Mogadishu – 12 January 2013

All Africa – Somalia: Journalist Arrested for Interviewing Reported Rape Victim – 11 January 2013

SpyGhana – Police In Somali Are Questioning A Journalist, Whiles Detaining Another – 11 January 2013