Russia Pushes Forward with Magnitsky’s Posthumous Trial

By Alexandra Sandacz
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe 

MOSCOW, Russia – Yesterday, Russia pushed forward with the posthumous prosecution of a whistleblowing lawyer, Sergei Magnitsky, for tax evasion charges.

Russia moves forward with posthumous trial against Magnitsky. (Photo Courtesy of The Guardian)

Magnitsky, whose name titled a new U.S. law that punishes alleged human rights abusers, died in 2009 during his stay in a Moscow pretrial detention facility. Magnitsky was jailed and charged with tax evasion after he accused high-ranking Russian officials of a multimillion-dollar embezzlement.

Despite an attempt by Magnitsky’s relatives to block a trial they believe is “inhuman and politically motivated”, a Moscow Tverskoi District Court judge ordered the appointment of a state sanctioned lawyer to represent and give ‘legal advice’ to deceased Sergei Magnitsky.

The next scheduled hearing is for the judge to determine if Magnitsky has been ‘properly notified’ of the trial and if Magnitsky provided the prosecutor with ‘confirmation of notification in writing.’

A Hermitage Capital representative stated, “The fact that this posthumous trial is going ahead, indicates that justice in Russia is turning into raw and out­right blasphemy. The only place where a notice to Sergei Magnitsky can be delivered is to his grave at the Preobrazhenskoye cemetery, and any written confirmation would need to be obtained from his corpse. There is a special place in hell for the people organizing this.”

Amnesty International believes Magnitsky’s trial is “a whole new chapter in Russia’s worsening human rights record” and is a “sinister attempt to deflect attention from those who committed the crimes he exposed”. In addition, the trial violates his human rights even in death, denying him “in particular the right to defend himself in person.”

Magnitsky’s mother, Natalia Magnitsky, sincerely requested that all Moscow lawyers boycott any requests from the court to participate in the trial as state appointed lawyers.

In her statement, she stated, “The reopening of a prosecution against my dead son without my consent and without the consent of other close relatives and against their will, is contrary to the aims and the legal meaning of the judgment of the Russian Constitutional Court… It distorts its legal purpose, violates the constitutional rights of my son, and especially in light of recent international events, is politically motivated.”

Natalia Magnitsky continued, “With the help of my son, crimes of persons occupying high positions in govern­ment were exposed, and because of these crimes, those officials have become enormously rich. These individuals, especially at the present time, are interested to compromise my son. With this purpose, they have organized this posthumous prosecution in order to obtain a knowingly unjust judgment and posthumously defame the honest name of my son.”

Conversely, lawyer, Mark Feigin, said he was interested in finding Magnitsky guilty because it would offer some vindication for the officials who were accused of embezzlement. Furthermore, lawyer, Anna Stayitskaya stated, “The purpose of the case is to acknowledge Magnitsky’s guilt and demonstrate to the world that it is defending a guilty person and the Magnitsky Act was a mistake. But Russia doesn’t understand that no one will believe the court’s decision.”

For further information, please see:

Law and Order In Russia – ‘Blasphemous’ Posthumous Trial Against Magnitsky Begins with the Forced Appointment of a State Sanctioned Lawyer to Magnitsky – 18 February 2013

The Guardian — Dead Russian Lawyer to go on Trial Next Month — 18 February 2013

The Moscow Times – Magnitsky Hearing Put Off for 2 Weeks – 18 February 2013

Reuters – Russian Court Rejects Attempt to Block Dead Lawyer’s Trial – 18 February 2013

The Independent – Russia Set for Posthumous Magnitsky Trial – 17 February 2013

U.N. Commissioner Says Sri Lanka Is Failing To Investigate Civil War Atrocities Perpetrated By Their Military

By Irving Feng
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka – Navi Pilay, the U.N.’s High Commissioner for Human Rights, recently released a report on the Sri Lankan central government’s failure to investigate widespread killings and other wartime atrocities committed by their military forces during the bloody, 25 year civil war with the Tamil Tigers.

Commissioner Navi Pilay addresses the public at a U.N. conference on human rights. (Photo Courtesy of The Star)

Pilay is calling for independent, international criminal and forensic investigations to help rectify the situation in Sri Lankan.  Experts and human rights groups say that the Sri Lankan military, who fought for the central government and population majority composed mainly of ethnic Sinhalese, murdered as many as 40,000 civilian, non-combatants in Tamil territory.

U.N. Secretary, General Ban Ki-moon, set up an expert panel whose study led to the exposure of the murders by the Sri Lankan military and the statistical figures.  The Sri Lankan government, however, has rejected the reports alleging abuses and atrocities committed by their soldiers.

Pilay has also accused Sri Lanka of not implementing a system to relocate missing adults that disappeared during the latter stages of the civil war.  Disappearances of thousands of citizens have gone uninvestigated and their perpetrators have not been arrested nor prosecuted for their crimes.

The Sri Lankan central government has devised plans for some of their own official, internal investigations on the alleged atrocities committed during the 25 year long civil war.  President Mahinda Rajapaksa also said that the government never ordered attacks on civilian targets during the armed conflict.

Commissioner Navi Pilay, however, still believes that there are inaccuracies in the central government’s official investigations.  Pilay cited a video broadcasted in 2009 which allegedly showed summary executions of Tamil prisoners by central government military forces as evidence for the necessity of independent investigations into the matter.

Pilay is calling for greater transparency and impartiality in the investigation process to get to the bottom of the abuses that may have been rampant during the violent conflict.  Witnesses coming forward to testify as to the abuses carried out by the military, as well as the victims of the atrocities, also need protection in this investigatory process.

There have also been reports of new abductions as recent as 2011 and 2012.  Political activities and members of their family have alleged been abducted, tortured, and in extreme cases, killed.  The central government says that they have been looking into these alleged crimes.

Journalists from media outlets have also been harassed and attacked by the central government.  I addition, human rights activists that took part in the U.N. Human Rights Council a year ago had also been attacked in public by government ministers.

Due to these recent public abuses, Sri Lanka has come under more pressure by Western states to take a look at the human rights situation in the country.

For further information, please see:

News Daily – Sri Lankan military inquiry says army did not shell civilians – 15 February 2013

Reuters – Sri Lanka’s wartime investigation lags as abuses persist: U.N. – 13 February 2013

The Star – Sri Lanka’s wartime investigation lags as abuses persist, U.N. says – 13 February 2013

The Washington Post – UN rights chief faults Sri Lanka probe of alleged wartime abuses – 13 February 2013

Activist Creates South African Political Party to Challenge Ruling ANC

By Hannah Stewart
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

Johannesburg, South Africa — Dr. Mamphela Ramphele, an anti-apartheid activist and co-founder of South Africa’s Black Conscious Movement, has announced the formation of a new political party to challenge ruling African National Congress (ANC), to which Nelson Mandela once belonged.  Dr. Ramphele’s party is called Agang, a Sesotho word meaning “build.”

Mamphela Ramphele speaks at the women’s jail on Constitution Hill in Johannesburg, South Africa. (Photo Courtesy of The Guardian via Stephane De Sakutin/AFP)

Dr. Ramphele, a 65 year-old medical doctor and social anthropologist, told a news conference on Monday that her party will serve millions of South Africans who desire a new beginning.  She stated her call to South Africa: “join me in building the South Africa of our dreams.”

She accused the governing party of corruption, undermining democracy, and abusing its political power.

Moreover, Dr. Ramphele confirmed at the news conference that her party will run in the 2014 elections and will campaign “from village to village.”  Her party is the latest in a string of opposition groups challenging ANC’s dominance.

The ANC, which was formed more than a century ago, has won every national election since the end of apartheid in 1994.  However, the party has been subject to increased scrutiny due to charges of corruption and poor governance.  Despite promising “a better life to all,” inequality in South Africa has only grown since apartheid ended.

South Africa faces a growing chasm between rich and poor, as well as widespread unemployment.  As such, South Africa has seen increasingly violent protests against job losses and utility shortages.  Moreover, the country is facing an education and health crisis.

Dr. Ramphele has been a fixture in South African public life for decades.  She had a close relationship with Steve Biko, a Black Consciousness activist, who died in police custody in 1977.  They had two children together.  The apartheid government banished her for seven years to the village of Lenyenye for her political activism.  There she committed to bettering the community and she started a small clinic that treated thousands of rural residents.  She has also earned degrees in anthropology and business.

After apartheid ended, she became the first black vice chancellor of the University of Cape Town.  She later became a managing director of the World Bank.

When asked how the Mandela of 1994 would feel about the state of the nation now, Dr. Ramphele said: “absolutely disappointed.”  She went on to say that, “he would be the first to acknowledge that he failed, but the fact of the matter is that failure is not a problem, the problem is what do we learn from failure?”

For more information, please see:

The Guardian – Mamphela Ramphele Launches Challenge to South Africa’s ANC – 18 February 2013

The New York Times – Anti-Apartheid Leader Forms New Party in South Africa – 18 February 2013

The Wall Street Journal – Activist Seeks to Take On African National Congress – 18 February 2013

The Washington Post – Anti-apartheid Fighter Mamphela Ramphele to Form a Party to Build a “South Africa of Our Dreams” – 18 February 2013

Rafael Correa Wins Presidential Election in Ecuador, Many Fear More Media Restrictions

By Pearl Rimon
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

QUITO, Ecuador – Rafael Correa won the presidential election earlier this month by a wide margin. Correa’s win could mean more media regulations on the country.

President Rafael Correa and Vice President Jorge Glass celebrating the election results. (Photo Courtesy of Getty Images)

“No one will stop our revolution….We have never failed and we will never fail,” a jubilant Mr. Correa told a screaming crowd from a balcony at the government palace after the results were announced.

Correa won this year’s election he won with 57% of the vote, his closest opponent was Guillermo Lasso, a former banker who had 23% of the vote. Correa has only been office since 2007 but is the country’s longest serving President in decades with this second term. Since taking office, Ecuador’s poverty rate has dropped to 32.4%. The number of government employees has increased from 16,000 to 90,000. He has improved access to education and health care as well as improved the country’s roadways.

During Correa’s first term, he made radical changes including changing electoral law and the constitution to allow for consecutive political terms.

He has had a tough policy regarding media outlets that issues out fines and lawsuits when the outlets are critical of his government. Despite Correa’s win, many are worried that his win will threaten the free press. A specific concern is a proposed communications law, which could lead to more checks on the media.

“We hope that the confrontation and harassment of the press is over, but we hope that the confrontation and harassment of the press is over, but we see the risk of trying to control the media’s content and establish prior censorship of journalist work,” Vicente Ordoñez, president of the country’s National Journalist Union, said Monday.

Current media laws in place make it illegal for biased political reporting. Examples of these laws since May 2012 include at least eleven radio stations have been closed and Vistazo magazine was charged with an $80,000 fine after being accused of violating a political propaganda law. Violations are ruled on by a tribunal or the country’s Constitutional Court.

Corerea has had repeated problems with the national newspaper El Universo, Ecuador’s National Court of Justice ratified a decision sentencing the paper’s owners and former columnist to three years in prison for defaming the president and fined them $40 million. After worldwide criticism, Correa pardoned the journalist and waived the fine.

Other criticisms facing Correa stem from his prosecution of indigenous leaders for organizing protests against large-scale mining projects.

 

For more information, please see:

Al Jazeera — Ecuador’s Correa Wins Third Presidential Term – 18 Feb 2013

The Guardian — Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa Says Citizens Will Be in Charge, Not Money – 18 Feb 2013

Wall Street Journal — Ecuador Election Win Seen Tightening Correa’s Grip – 18 Feb 2013

New York Times — President Correa Handily Wins Re-election in Ecuador – 17 Feb 2013

UN Inquiry Accuses Government, and Rebel Forces of War Crimes

By Ali Al-Bassam
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East 

DAMASCUS, Syria — Last Monday, investigators working in part with the UN Human Rights Council released a report for the UN Security Council, providing a list of names of the people who they suspect of committing war crimes in Syria.  Investigators said that their latest report was based on 445 interviews with victims and witnesses abroad.

Carla del Ponte spoke of the necessity of having the cases of “very high officials” determined by the International Community Court. (Photo Courtesy of The Daily Star)

The list gives the names of people who carried out orders, and also, the names of those who gave them.  Investigators urged the Security Council to ensure accountability, requesting that those suspected of war crimes be brought in front of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague.  Investigators said that the violations included murder and torture, which were committed by both government and rebel forces since the conflict, that claimed the lives of 70,000 people, began in March, 2011.

Investigators claimed that government forces carried out shelling and bombardment across Syrian cities and villages such as Aleppo, Damascus, Deraa, Homs, and Idib, citing recent satellite pictures of the region as evidence.  The report itself stated that “government forces and affiliated militias have committed extra-judicial executions, breaching international human rights law.  This conduct also constitutes the war crime of murder.”  UN Investigators say that government forces targeted “queues at bakeries and funeral processions, in violence aimed at ‘spreading terror among the civilian population,’ and used cluster bombs.”

The report also claims that rebel forces committed war crimes in their fight against President Bashar al-Assad’s forces.  The charges include murder, torture, hostage-taking, and using children under the age fifteen in hostilities.  “They continue to endanger the civilian population by positioning military objectives inside civilian areas,” the report said. Investigators also said that rebel snipers had added many additional civilian casualties.

The report noted that when compared to violations committed by government forces, war crimes perpetrated by rebel forces did not amount to the same intensity and scale.

UN Prosecutor Carla del Ponte, and a member of a UN-mandated commission of inquiry on the Syria conflict, emphasized the necessity of taking alleged war criminals to the ICC.  “The international community – and the UN Security Council – must take the decision to refer this to justice,” said del Ponte.  She said it was highly urgent for the ICC to hold hearings against “very high officials,” but did not identify them, since anonymity is part of the inquiry’s practice.  Acknowledging that they are not requiring the ICC to get involved, del Ponte, speaking on behalf of UN investigators, said “[w]e suggest the International Criminal Court.  We can’t decide, but we are pressuring the international community to act, because it’s time to act.”

For further information, please see:

Al Arabiya — U.N. Lists Syria War Crime Suspects in ‘Leadership Positions’ — 18 February 2013

Al Jazeera — UN: Both Sides Committing War Crimes in Syria — 18 February 2013

The Daily Star — Time to Refer Syrian War Crimes to ICC, UN Inquiry Says — 18 February 2013

Global Post — Syria War Crimes Suspects on Both Sides of Conflict, says UN — 18 February 2013